The Seven Day War
The brutal end to the time before; the origin of the God-husks
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Heads up, this article (and much of this world) was designed with PC reading in mind. Some things may not work as intended, or may simply be hidden, on mobile :( I'll always do my best to make all the content readable on small formats, however.
Allow me to introduce myself... I am Gideon Hale, professor of History at the University of Russin. I've dedicated my life to studying the time before the God-husks, and in particular, the moment of their creation. What follows is the result of decades of research into the Seven Day War -- the cataclysmic war that nearly ended humanity, and ushered us into the dark new future within which we make our lives.
The War at a Glance
Starting off with a brutal surprise assassination, the Godly Civil War lasted a short but violent seven days. The fighting caused a collapse of life as it was known at the time; bringing about an era of darkness and suffering, with effects still felt even to this very day. While historically the war is confirmed to have happened, with the God-husks as living proof, the true myth of the event comes down to the motive behind the fighting. Unreliable ancient eye witness accounts and thousands of years of speculation have produced a variety of theories on the war, detailing things such as why it occurred, what it means, and whether or not it was something good for humanity. Some see it as the keystone event to humanities age of suffering, while others view it as the spark that light the flames of progression.Sourcing of Data
Most historical research is conducted within either The Comprilith or the Archives around it, but the data found in these places is often unreliable. The research into the Seven Day War aims for accuracy by cross referencing information found in The Comprilith with local histories, tales, and geographical features such as the Sacred Land Scar: Blasted Peak, in Hansun.Those funding my research has requested that I clearly state that the following recounting of the Seven Day War is merely my opinion, and not the de facto account of this brutal myth.
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The First day -- The Assassination of He'an
It begins, as many things do, with murder. In every tale of the war, in all documents and sacred texts written at the time of the battle, it is clear -- the war begins with the death of the most beloved He'an.He'an had something many of the other gods envied; the unwavering love of humanity. We can thus assume there was much jealousy towards the gentle He'an, which helps provide motive for what started the war. While this covetous impulse is where most theories on motive end, there's another more likely reason for He'an's death. The gods each had their own view of humanity in their mind, of what humans were good for, and what they could achieve. Among the 14 were two extremes standing in opposition of each other -- He'an's belief in humanity's perfection, and Qur's believe in humanity's potential. The former home of He'an and current home of Qur, the continent of Apathae, used to be one continuous land mass -- yet today is split in two. Geological records show that this split occurred during the time of the War, and when historical documents containing the arguments between Qur and He'an are taken into account, it becomes obvious who the assassin is. Qur murdered He'an over their ideological differences, and to hide his crime, blasted their body into space.
The Words of Gods
A theorized account of what the gods may have said before the end.
You coddle them. You hold them back. Because of you, they are dolls, they are playthings.
And you would bring about an era of suffering and pain, the likes of which will scar them for eternity.
The Second Day -- Accusations and Escalations
The first to react to He'an's death are naturally the god of Victory, and the Goddess of combat. Both of them see an opportunity, and yet both of them merely add fuel to the soon to be raging inferno.As the ash cloud from Qur's brutal act begins to encompass the entire globe, the next step of the war occurs. Gone are any semblances of noble motives for humanities sake, as the pride within certain key gods comes to the forefront. Miyu, moving in pure reaction without thought, heads towards the once continent of Apathae. Along the way she meets the goddess Rak'tos, and instinctively believing Rak'tos to be the killer, slays her on the spot. Qur and He'an were not the only gods to hold long standing disagreements. Some of the gods held each other in contempt, holding grudges that often teetered on the edge of hate. Qetzel and Avartarian were the strongest example of this; sharing a continent, but barely able to stand being near to one another. As He'an's body rose into the night sky for the very first time, Avartarian acted on impulse and ended the eons long grudge he had with Qetzel.
The Words of Gods
Eheh, here for another assured victory, my friennnnd? Or just time to play?
~
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Today is the end of your life AND THE BEGINNING OF MY GLORY.
The Third day -- The Burning of the Witness
The third day is when things really get set in motion. A witness to the original murder comes forth, and the previous reactionary violence gets criticized. If there was ever any real hope of stopping the conflict, it would be gone by the end of the third day.The third day of fighting is thought to have contained two separate battles -- one is viewed through geological evidence on the newest landmass upon Cathedris, while the other is told of through the increasing number of eye witness accounts referring to colossal arguments centered around one god in particular.
Caed's new Island
Left in the now gaping hole in the middle of the two halves of Apathae lays a newly formed Island, of which Old King Caed is the only modern inhabitant. Around him the ground is smooth, melted that way by powerful fire. His location, his scorched face, and the glassy terrain around him leads one to believe that Caed witnessed He'an's murder, confronted Qur about it, and then met a similar fate.Miyu takes her second
The people of Hansun have many legends and myths regarding Miyu's aptitude for combat, and tell of a time when she stood firm and fought off multiple accusers. They say the scarred land around her provides proof of the fighting. Not far from where she stands in modern times, Tatete came to rebuke Miyu -- but as with all things during these short 7 days, it escalated, and turned bloody.The Words of Gods
You know not of the minutia of what occurred. Your view is limited. What I did was necessary. What I did will help the world.
Nay, what you did... you have brought about our end in a way that only you could have done. You've doomed us all.
The Fourth day -- The Time of Blood
As we pass the halfway point of the war... things get complicated. They get messy. This is believed to be the day with the highest death count, with the most gods involved as well.
Much of the evidence regarding the combat and deaths on this day comes from local tales and legends. Some geological evidence can be found however, mainly stemming from the brutal fighting between Xiuthan, Codod, and Farad.
Miyu and Dimiti
With Tatete gone, Dimiti, the god of balance and only other god remaining nearby, attacks Miyu in an effort to end her brutal rampage. Yet Miyu was waiting for him, and he's easily outmatched -- fatally stabbed in the back by the now out of control combat goddess.Xiuthan and T'kalia
The rapid escalation of violence between gods begins to impact Xiuthan, the goddess of growth and decay. So much divine death has upset her and her mind begins to unwind. T'kalia, always supporting of Xiuthan, attempts to calm her. In an act of love, he leaves his spear behind with a vow of non-combat. Yet as he's leaving, Xiuthan hurls the abandoned spear in a fit of rage, and it impales the leaving T'kalia.Codod and Farad
The duo of the winter giants, the only other gods that have paired off personally, are shaken to their cores by the death of T'kalia at the hands of the one he loved. Believing Xiuthan to now be an entity of pure evil, they track her down, working together to bring about her end.The Fifth day - A tragedy among friends
It soon became clear that there was no stopping the carnage. No relationship nor shared history was enough to halt the bloodshed, as every god began to fear the motives of their peers.By the time of the 5th day, it's thought that only 6 gods remained. Qur, hiding after killing his only witness, would likely be watching the fighting play out as a direct result of his actions. Avartarian is reveling in the freedom of ruling a continent by himself, after his victory over Qetzel. Miyu, fresh in the passion of battle, is awaiting her next opponent.
Yet it is with Sharenskus, Codod, and Farad where the days blood is shed. The trio of gods had always had a close relationship, and it is this closeness that Sharenskus had hoped to use in order to convince the other two of Xiuthan's innocence.
Fully convinced that their slaying of Xiuthan was the right thing to do, and now doubting the eons old friendship they held with Sharenskus, Codod and Farad attacked Sharenskus, but using his superior reach and lengthy sword, Sharenskus beheaded his two former friends.
The Words of Gods
She was not of her right mind; you are not right of yours. Her blood is on your hands; I fear yours shall be on mine.
She was corrupt. You are corrupt.
We shall fix what the broken have started.
The Sixth day -- One final combined effort
The final two days of the war are the most well recorded of the entire event. Motives for some of the remaining gods became crystal clear, and actions were taken in the hopes of ending the fighting that was causing devastation across the entire planet.Near the end, most of the remaining gods all agree that Miyu's rampage must come to an end, though theories on motives vary wildly. It's thought that Sharenskus wanted to end Miyu because of her kill count, Avartarian wanted to claim victory over her, and Qur had at this point decided that none of the gods should remain alive.
Avartarian realizes that there's only 3 gods other than himself remaining, and sees an opportunity. He intercepts Sharenskus in the heart of Russin, and after grappling together in the city center, breaks the smaller god's neck.
Qur reaches Miyu first, and finds himself immediately under attack. His cleaver is no match for Miyu's twin spears, so he's forced to drop it -- instead firing a blast through Miyu's chest and the mountain behind her.
Even this is not enough to stop the goddess of combat, as the gaping wound begins to stitch itself together. Yet she is weakened, slower, and when Avartarian arrives, he is able to use his massive sword finally end Miyu.
The Words of Gods
A theorized account of what the gods may have said before the end.
The chaos she sews is proof that none of us should exist. The death she causes stretches far beyond that of the gods. We cannot leave her alive. We cannot have her be our legacy. We cannot remain.
You're right. Mostly.
The Final day -- Qur ends the world
And then there were two. One with a wish to end it all, the other with the desire to be the victor.
It is time for the end of gods. It has now become the time of humanity.
The final day of the war is the single most referenced day in all histories across all of Cathedris. In nearly every case, aside from local legends from Artazia, the final two gods are presented as hero and villain; the brave Qur and his valiant attempt to stop Avartarian.
Yet it is Qur's often unreported goal of freeing humanity from the gods that is the main drive for his final act. With one climactic explosion, with his head pressed firmly against Avartarians, Qur ends the gods, ensuring that humanity can grow and adapt at their own pace without godly intervention.
I'd much rather end you, and bring about THE ERA OF MY VICTORY.
This is so cool! I love the god's quotes and how its layed out as if its a book.
Love to code, but this one is driving me crazy!
My world Shattered won as the "Most ground-breaking premise new world"!
Thank you Cato! <3 I set up the God-husks on the edges first, and it felt like they were there inspiring me to write the rest as it came together :D