War Between the Gods
Summary
The War Between the Gods was a conflict between three factions of the gods: the Azurene led by Teosanu, the Daevaenire, and the Yeituntesim. These alliances formed over time, as the war began between all gods.
Teosanu, driven by lust, self preservation or raw ambition, began seizing the human populations and demanding tribute from all of them. Each of the other gods followed suit, in particular Antu, and greedily gobbled up worshippers and territory. While some of the gods considered others of their race to be friends, there were no alliances in the beginning of the war and all of the gods were at war with nearly all others in a messy, confusing scrum for human hearts and minds.
The early stages of the war almost went unnoticed by Mankind, as they were the resource, not the soldiers. For the actual conflict, the gods used Ch'Meron as weapons, as well as facing against each other personally. The divine weapons and their monsters did not stay contained, and collateral damage did happen. The gods largely withdrew from the fields, using demigods and Heralds in larger scaled battles while they remained in their temples and drew up plans. These forces grew, and away from the direct control of the gods, they began hitting the human populations to deprive the enemy gods their ambrosia. human heroes stood to fight against these creatures, and began to align themselves to their gods.
N'Gar Dook created the first true army by assembling nomads, outlaws, and pirates and whipping them into some semblance of discipline. The brotherhood engendered by war was as much ambrosia as fear, and human sacrifice abounded on the battlefield. The development was rapidly mimicked by the other gods, and they soon each had soldiers, champions, heroes and levies marching amidst monsters and demigods. All three worlds were aflame, and this is when the alliances began. After being courted by Teosanu, Nin'Meter fled herself into the protection of Antu. In response, The Trine came to Teosanu and advised him to forge alliances. He called to his banner Inannona, Uridimmu, Su'Enanna, and Dag'Ng, forming the Azurene. In response, Antu formed bonds of friendship with Nin'Meter and P'tek, creating the Daevaenire. Nabuset and Pancern'nak formed an alliance, Yeituntesim. They manipulated N'Gar Dook into a nonaggression pact, and the three of them are all considered full members despite the complicated interpersonal factors. Allatu remained aloof, all men feared her as they feared death and she had no interest in earning their love. Gad'Erel used the chaos to turn communities against the gods, but was imprisoned in this period by Teosanu.
The first true wounds of the gods, their impetus for eventual peace, occurred hundreds of years after the formation of the alliances, and several thousand after the beginning of the war. Teosanu had just won a major victory, ambushing the forces of Antu with a force of demigods issued from his own loins. To accomplish this, he send armies all over the world on seemingly nonsensical maneuvers. While the all-seeing demigod distracted, a Herald of Teosanu slew Tharkus. Blinded, Antu was unable to carry out her war in the way that she preferred, and a mistake led her to the ambush.
Teosanu and his children shattered Antu's line, and she barely escaped. She successfully hid herself, so Teosanu went to The Trine seeking wisdom. N'Gar Dook ambushed him in turn, slashing him across the face with a Cold Iron sword, the first of its kind. The wound removed Teosanu's eye, and the Skyfather barely fought off the Yeituntesim. Due to the wound, Teosanu would never be able to manifest with two eyes again. Teosanu and The Trine reverse engineered the material, and how it was able to disrupt divine emanations in that way. Teosanu added the ability to his Hyalthetch to disrupt divine energies. Girded so for war, Teosanu marched on Thet-Valusia with the intention of burning the place down.
P'tek had also learned the secrets of Cold Iron, however, and he forged himself a mighty warhammer. In the final major battle of the war, P'tek wounded Su'Enanna with his hammer, and nearly finished her off before being driven away by an enraged Uridimmu. P'tek then saw Teosanu carve a ragged path through a phalanx of Heralds to strike a death blow at Antu. P'tek struck first, slaying a demigod with a clumsy throw of his hammer meant for the Skyfather's head. In return, Teosanu struck him over and over with repeated blasts of Hyalthetch, all but obliterating him. Antu retreated, gathering up a captured Uridimmu and both of the wounded gods.
With this significant escalation and two prisoners, Antu sued for peace. Prisoners were exchanged, and Antu was bound to Teosanu by marriage, ending the War Between the Gods. With the Aezura and the Daevaenire united, the Yeituntesim were forced to acquiesce to the new authority and they, too sued for peace, though with much less favorable terms.
Cultural Reception
In the lands of the Aezura, the War Between the Gods is celebrated as a great uniting period and the origins of their culture. In the lands of the Daevaenire and the Yeituntesim it is remembered as a travesty, where authority was imposed on them against their will.
In Literature
Many poems and songs are dedicated to the War. In the lands of the Aezura, these can range from chippy to bombastic. In lands where the Daevaenire hold sway these are usually somber and often bleak. Among the Yeituntesim and their worshippers, they rarely acknowledge the war in art or song at all.
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