Eldritch War

War That Broke the World

A single decision changed the course of history in this world beyond imagination. In what would become known as year 1 of the Aftermath, a Warlock made a path with a being beyond understanding, a creature not from this world. Through the conduit of the Warlock, Eldritch abominations spread throughout the land, decimating areas that would become known as Deadzones and erasing peoples that had called this land home for millennia.

Over the next century, the militaries and forces of the world joined together to remove the blight that had been brought to their world. Magic was pushed to its limits and armies that had been successful in previous wars were decimated by what seemed little more than a hand wave. What would become known as the Eldritch War was far beyond anything any people had ever seen, even the Divine Races that had seemingly lived nearly as long as the world herself.

Through great effort and methods still fully unknown, the creatures that had entered the world were sealed away where their power could no longer tempt those who would do great harm to the world. The powers that be made laws against Warlocks who would make pacts with the otherworldly, sentencing those that dabbled in this magic to a fate worse than death.

— Volume VII of the Yllvalion Codex, The Eldritch War

The Conflict

Prelude

Since the end of the Giant Wars millennia before, little in terms of large-scale war had rocked Isekai. Squabbles and scuffles between various groups were common, but all-out war was unheard of. Warlocks were also common spellcasters, making pacts with a variety of beings to find their power. It was within the shadows, hidden behind falsehoods and half-truths that the mechanisms behind what would become the Eldritch War slowly came to fruition.

The Engagement

Without warning, the Eldritch War began with one spoken line from the Grimoire of Nine Horrors. Gates opened across the world allowing these otherworldly beings to cross over and begin their reign of decimation. The places where these gates appeared were essentially erased, leaving what would become known as the Deadzones in their wake. Very little survived in the areas of the gates and many of those that crossed paths with the Eldritch horrors did not live to see another day.
Engagements with the Eldritch beings were largely futile in the beginning. These instances often led to swift deaths for those mortals who met with the interlopers. Over the years, different armies created strategies to deal with the lowest tier Eldritch beings to the Eldritch Titans, but the Horrific Lords were the most difficult and created the most chaos. Even today, it is unknown to all except a select few how the Eldritch horrors were finally bested.

Outcome

While the armies of Isekai were eventually successful in sealing the Eldritch horrors, they did not come out of the war unscathed. Large swathes of land were turned to little more than dust, whole peoples and cultures were essentially erased from history, and there was little chance of proceeding with life as the world had known it. The first few years after the war were the most difficult as different kingdoms and countries decided their paths forward, but eventually, all chose to move on and rebuild from the destruction.

Aftermath

The world has largely rebuilt since the end of the Eldritch War. Phenomena such as The Black Children have cropped up in the days since, believed to be the world’s reaction to what had happened. The Deadzones are mostly uninhabited as the desolation there reaches deeper than the land itself, with the magic of the area forever altered. People like the Minotaurs who once lived in the areas that became Deadzones are numbered, often living as wanderers when their cultures were once thriving parts of the world.
Ways of life have changed for many in the aftermath. Barbarians who were once nomadic now choose mercenary lifestyles. The adventuring guilds that once spanned the world over are now limited to one. Races such as the Rodenta that were unknown before the war had their spectacular reveal and entrance into the world. Goblins, Orcs, and other somewhat monstrous races also gained a measure of confidence that they did not have before, leading to smaller conflicts scattered throughout the lands.

Included Conflicts

• War of the Giant Camellia

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

1 EA

Ending Date

100 EA

Related Reading