The Great Abyssal War

The Prelude to the Great Abyssal War (35,000 AE)

By 35,000 AE, the Aboleth Empire had reached unparalleled dominance over the oceans of Caemothas. Their psionic network, maintained by massive Mindscape Towers, allowed them to enslave entire civilizations without the need for physical force. Generations of Tritons, Merfolk, Sea Elves, and Tiberons had lived and died under their rule, knowing only servitude. The Mindscape was an all-encompassing psionic field generated by the Aboleth Empire. It infiltrated the thoughts of enslaved beings, twisting their perception of reality and suppressing the desire to rebel. Entire populations lived in a dreamlike haze, unaware of their chains.
Settlements like Lagicrus, Fro’sta, and Kalyspa were hubs of productivity for the empire. These cities provided labor, magitech resources, and magical artifacts harvested from the depths. The aboleths used these cities as factories of war, churning out constructs and aberrations to enforce their rule.
The empire’s experiments with psionics and flesh-shaping created monstrous entities like the Void Krakens and Mindbound Leviathans, designed to patrol the depths and crush any sign of resistance. These creatures were living symbols of the aboleths’ dominance.

The Spark of Hope

Despite their overwhelming power, the aboleths’ hold was not absolute. A few isolated groups managed to resist their psionic influence. These included:
Lagicrus, a diverse city of medium depth, was shielded by ancient magitech barriers developed by the city’s artificers. Though the barriers were imperfect, they prevented complete control by the Mindscape, allowing a small resistance to form.
The Pistris of the western depths, with their natural resilience to mental domination, had long been a thorn in the empire’s side. These sharkfolk maintained a nomadic existence, striking at aboleth outposts before disappearing into the currents. The sea elves, masters of stealth and evasion, began gathering artifacts of immense power in secret. Among these was the Heart of the Forest, a relic capable of disrupting psionic energies. The sea elves formed the first networks of communication between the scattered free peoples.

The Birth of the Alliance

The first seeds of rebellion were planted in 34,950 AE when leaders of the free peoples convened in secret at a hidden cove near the city of Fro’sta. This meeting, later known as the First Tide Accord, marked the formation of the Alliance of the Depths.
Several key figures would rise against the aberations. Kareth Tidebound, was a seasoned warrior who rallied the disparate Triton settlements into a cohesive fighting force.
Elsera Deepveil, a keeper of ancient magics, who devised the wards used to shield settlements from psionic influence. She would save countless lives and give rise to rebellion.
Morgaath “Fangbreaker”, a brutal and uncompromising Pistis leader, whose warriors became the vanguard of the Alliance. Acting like the very teeth of the ocean, ripping out the corruption in sea.

The First Oath

The remaning free leaders swore an oath to fight until the aboleths were overthrown or the oceans consumed them. This unity was a pivotal moment, for without it, the rebellion would have been crushed before it began. For most species of the depths only had worked together for brief stents. Even into the modern ear has this oath remained intact.

Early Skirmishes

The rebellion began not with grand battles but with quiet sabotage and guerilla warfare.

Sabotage of the Coral Spires

Rebel infiltrators, using stealth and illusory magic, targeted the Mindscape Towers near Fro’sta. These towers served as conduits for the empire’s psionic dominance. The destruction of even a single tower caused localized disruptions, freeing small pockets of enslaved peoples.

Ambush at the Maw Trench

Tiberon warriors launched a daring raid on an aboleth slave convoy, liberating hundreds of Merfolk and crippling the empire’s supply lines in the western depths.

The Whispered Resistance

In cities still under aboleth control, secret messages began to spread through the dreams of enslaved beings. These messages, sent by the sea elf mystics, planted the idea of rebellion in minds that had long been shackled.

The Lagicrus Rebellion (35,000 AE)

The turning point of the prelude period was the Lagicrus Rebellion, where the city openly declared defiance against the empire.
The artificers of Lagicrus unveiled their greatest invention: Psionic Disruptors, magical devices capable of nullifying the Mindscape in a localized area. These disruptors allowed the city to break free from aboleth control, inspiring others to follow suit.

Battle of Sunken Chains

The aboleths responded with overwhelming force, sending fleets of enslaved Leviathans to crush Lagicrus. The defenders, led by Kareth Tidebound, fought valiantly, using volcanic vents and disruptors to trap and destroy the Leviathans. Though victory came at great cost, it proved the aboleths could be defeated. The aboleths, enraged by these acts of defiance, began preparations for a brutal crackdown.

The Bleeding Tide

Psionic storms were unleashed upon shallow settlements, flooding entire regions and driving survivors into the aboleths’ grasp. This was the first instance of coordinated counter-rebellion warfare by the empire.

Creation of the Void Kraken

To counter the growing threat of the Alliance, the aboleths accelerated their creation of aberrations. The Void Kraken Thal’zun was unleashed as a living weapon of destruction. As more enslaved creatures, including deep-sea Eikons corrupted by aboleth psionics, were drafted into the empire’s armies. These forces would form the backbone of the First Leviathan Offensive.
By the end of the prelude, the oceans of Caemothas were on the brink of all-out war. The Alliance of the Depths had proven its potential, but the might of the Aboleth Empire remained a near-insurmountable challenge. The aboleths recognized that the rebellion posed a threat to their existence. For the Alliance, victory was the only path to freedom.

The First Leviathan Offensive: The Battle of Kalyspa’s Deep (36,500 AE)

The Battle of Kalyspa’s Deep marked one of the most pivotal moments in the rebellion’s early years. The Aboleth Empire, in an attempt to crush the growing resistance, unleashed a fleet of Mindbound Leviathans against the city of Kalyspa, one of the Alliance’s strongholds.
Nestled near a field of underwater volcanic vents, Kalyspa was a vital hub for the Alliance’s weapon production. Its location provided natural defenses but also made it a prime target for the aboleths. The city’s defenders were led by Nalara Deepcurrent’s ancestors, whose expertise in divine magic created protective wards around the settlement.
The aboleths deployed their Leviathan Pact, a group of colossal creatures enslaved and enhanced with psionic control. These creatures, led by the infamous Void Kraken Thal’zun, were tasked with obliterating Kalyspa’s defenses and severing the Alliance’s supply chain.
The Aboleth Assault began when the Leviathans approached Kalyspa under the cover of darkness, their massive forms blending with the ocean’s depths. Psionic storms generated by the aboleths disoriented the city’s defenders, forcing them to retreat to inner fortifications.Thal’zun’s Rampage targeted Kalyspa’s magitech towers, shattering them with its psionic tendrils and acidic bile.
Kalyspa’s defenders, using knowledge of the volcanic vents, lured the Leviathans into thermal eruptions. These geysers of superheated water inflicted significant damage on the creatures. Clerics and sorcerers formed a defensive line, casting wards to deflect psionic attacks. Morgaath’s warriors launched daring underwater raids, harrying the Leviathans and disrupting their coordination.
A miracle had arrived in form of Tempestus, the Storm Bringer, a sympatheitc primordial Archigos who loathed the aboleths, shifted the battle in favor of the Alliance. Tempestus summoned a cyclone that fragmented the aboleth fleet, isolating the Leviathans. Using Psionic Disruptors, the defenders severed the aboleths’ control over two Leviathans, turning them against their former masters. Aftermath
Kalyspa remained standing, but the city suffered immense casualties. Its defenses were heavily damaged, and its magitech production was disrupted for years. However, the victory proved that the Leviathan Pact was not invincible, bolstering morale across the Alliance. The tactics used at Kalyspa’s Deep became a model for future battles, particularly the use of natural terrain and Psionic Disruptors.
Survivors of the battle, including Tempestus, became celebrated heroes and were instrumental in subsequent offensives.

Mid-War Escalation (36,500 AE – 38,500 AE)

The Shattering of Xal’tathis (36,200 AE)

The Shattering of Xal’tathis was a daring covert strike that dealt a severe blow to the Aboleth Empire. Xal’tathis was the empire’s largest city and the center of its psionic network. Towering Mindscape Spires acted as conduits for the Mindscape, linking the aboleths’ mental domination across Caemothas.
A team of Sea Elf Rogues and Triton Infiltrators, led by Elsera Deepveil, was tasked with destroying the central spire. Using the Heart of the Forest, Elsera shielded the operatives from psionic detection as they infiltrated the city’s depths. The team planted aracne explosives at the base of the spire while decoys created diversions. The spire’s destruction sent shockwaves through the Mindscape, freeing thousands of enslaved individuals and cutting off communications between aboleth outposts.
The strike created chaos in the empire’s ranks, allowing the Alliance to reclaim key territories. However, the aboleths retaliated with a brutality that marked the next phase of the war.

Aboleth Retaliation: The Bleeding Tide (37,000 AE)

The aboleths unleashed massive psionic storms over shallow settlements, flooding entire regions and forcing thousands into slavery. Coastal cities like Tillamor and Montillia were devastated, driving survivors to deeper, safer regions. The aboleths accelerated their experiments, crafting Void Krakens, Mindbound Leviathans, and other horrors to bolster their armies. These creatures became living nightmares, capable of devastating entire cities.
Rebel forces concentrated their defenses in medium-depth settlements like Lagicrus, Fro’sta, and Plesiath. The city of Fro’sta, located near frigid volcanic vents, used the aid of Ice Eikons to create an impenetrable barrier of ice and thermal currents. This defense held back the Leviathan Pact for years. Through the use of strategic underwater trenches and volcanic fields allowed the Alliance to funnel aboleth forces into kill zones.
Then another archigos answered the prayers of the oceankin. Nautilus, the Abyssal Phantom descended from the plane of water to assist in fighting. Nautilus led surgical strikes against aboleth supply lines. Nautilus’s efforts ensured that key cities like Kalyspa and Fro’sta could remain resupplied despite aboleth blockades.

Conclusion of the Mid-War Escalation

The mid-war period was defined by brutal retaliation from the aboleths, countered by the Alliance’s ingenuity and the arrival of another Archigos. Although the war remained far from over, the Alliance proved that it could stand against the overwhelming might of the Aboleth Empire.

Late War: Turning the Tide (38,500 AE – 39,500 AE)

The late stages of the Great Abyssal War marked the beginning of the Aboleth Empire’s downfall. After centuries of brutal conflict, the Alliance of the Depths began to gain the upper hand, leveraging advanced tactics, daring offensives, and the extraordinary powers of the Archigos like Tempestus and Nautilus.

The Tidal Surge Offensive (38,500 AE)

The Alliance of the Depths, emboldened by victories at Kalyspa and Fro’sta, launched their most ambitious assault yet. The Tidal Surge Offensive aimed to dismantle the Leviathan Pact’s naval dominance by targeting their fleet near Tillamor, a vital strategic point for the aboleths. The offensive involved a coalition of Tritons, Merfolk, Tiberons, Sea Elves, and more. Lagicrus served as the staging ground, where psionic disruptors and new anti-Leviathan weaponry were prepared. The Abyssal Chasm, a geologically unstable region with numerous volcanic vents, was chosen as the battleground. The Alliance planned to exploit these vents to destroy the Leviathan fleet.
The Alliance’s forces engaged the Leviathan Pact, drawing the aboleth-controlled creatures into the chasm. Pistis strike teams, led by Morgaath “Fangbreaker,” harried the flanks, forcing the Leviathans to cluster into the volcanic zone. Pre-set arcane spells triggered the eruption of multiple volcanic vents, engulfing the Leviathan fleet in a maelstrom of molten rock and superheated water. Entire warships and several Void Krakens were annihilated.
The destruction of the Leviathan fleet marked the first time the Alliance fully broke the aboleths’ naval supremacy. Without their fleet, the aboleths struggled to project power over the medium-depth settlements. The victory allowed the Alliance to liberate Tillamor and secure crucial supply routes.

The Storm of the Forgotten Depths (39,000 AE)

As the war intensified, the Alliance prepared for an all-or-nothing strike against the heart of the aboleths’ power. This effort culminated in The Storm of the Forgotten Depths, a catastrophic battle that reshaped the oceans of Caemothas. The two primordial Archigos' devised a daring plan to summon a cataclysmic storm, using their combined powers to devastate aboleth strongholds in the deeper trenches. The plan required Tempestus to harness cyclonic winds and Nautilus to manipulate shadowy currents. The magic involved was volatile and threatened to consume the casters themselves.
The storm swept across the Forgotten Depths, creating towering whirlpools, lightning-charged maelstroms, and tidal waves. Entire aboleth cities were torn apart, and countless enslaved creatures were freed or killed in the chaos. The Leviathan Pact and its remaining forces were scattered, their psionic links severed by the storm’s destruction of key Mindscape nodes.
Many Alliance fighters perished in the storm, including elite Pistis warriors and Triton clerics who provided magical support. Tempestus suffered severe damage to their essence, limiting their ability to assist in future battles. Nautilus disappeared for weeks after the storm, recovering in the shadowy depths. Dealing a setback to the rebel forces.

Battle of Madness Reef (39,300 AE)

The Battle of Madness Reef was one of the bloodiest and most critical engagements of the late war. This deep trench settlement, long controlled by the aboleths, was a bastion of their psionic experiments and aberration breeding grounds.
Madness Reef housed facilities that created Void Krakens and Mindbound Leviathans. Its liberation was crucial to ending the aboleths’ ability to replenish their armies. Sea Elf rogues and Merfolk saboteurs infiltrated the reef to disable its defenses, allowing the Alliance’s main force to breach the settlement.
The aboleths unleashed Thal’zun, a monstrous Void Kraken enhanced with psionic amplifiers, to repel the invaders. Kai Bladefang, a legendary Pistris warrior, engaged Thal’zun in single combat to buy time for the Alliance to evacuate civilians and destroy the reef’s breeding facilities. Killing the Kraken: Kai delivered a fatal blow to Thal’zun by driving an explosive magitech spear into its psionic core, but the resulting detonation claimed his life. Liberation of Madness Reef:
The Alliance’s victory at Madness Reef marked the end of the aboleths’ ability to mass-produce aberrations. The reef’s liberation became a symbol of hope and a turning point in the war.

Conflict Type

War