Spellborn Revolt
Prelude to Conflict: The Rising Tide of Division
For centuries, the Spellborn lived amongst Commonkind and the Dracomages, being different yet accepted from the non-magical neighbors and the soulbonded neighbors. However, subtle fissures began forming within society as Spellborn, unique in their innate connection to magic, began to question their place. This questioning culminated in a growing sense of identity, spurred by whispers of their superiority and the idea that Spellborn, unburdened by the needs of other races, could achieve more if left to govern themselves.
Over decades, this simmering discontent took shape. Spellborn began congregating exclusively with their own kind, establishing schools to teach magic through an "Elf-centric" lens, fostering a culture rooted in their heritage. They adopted the name "Elf" to signify their difference from other races of Commonkind. Among the Spellborn, an ambitious leader emerged: a charismatic figure who proclaimed himself the Elf King. His fiery rhetoric championed Elven independence, stoking pride among his followers while sowing seeds of resentment among other races. He promised a golden age where Elves could flourish without bowing to the decisions of Dracomages or their human allies.
The Spark That Ignited the War
Tensions escalated during one of the Elf King's impassioned rallies, meant to inspire unity among the Elves. In the fervor of his speech, he conjured an uncontrolled magical flame to emphasize his point. The flame spread too quickly, consuming a nearby home that housed a Demikin family—a tragedy that claimed their lives. Though the Elf King publicly expressed remorse and sought to make amends, the incident galvanized his detractors.
To the humans and Demikin in the village, the incident was no accident but proof of the Elf King’s disregard for non-Elves. The General of Benjamar Flight, leader of the Dracomages' forces, capitalized on the tragedy to fuel anti-Elf sentiment. His propaganda framed the Elves as a danger to the kingdom, accusing them of plotting to displace other races and seize control. This incident marked the breaking point, and within weeks, scattered skirmishes erupted into a full-blown civil war.
Year 1: The Uprising
The Spellborn began the war with calculated strikes against key Dracomage strongholds. Using their deep connection to magic, they disrupted supply lines and rendered entire routes inaccessible through enchantments. Elven forces, lean and swift, excelled in guerrilla tactics within their own territories, overwhelming the Dracomages' more regimented army in the early stages.
The Dracomages, however, were not without resources. Their mastery over their soulbond allowed them to unleash devastating aerial and land assaults. Entire Elven enclaves were reduced to ash in retaliatory strikes. Despite their tactical advantage, the Dracomages struggled with internal dissent, as not all Dracomages agreed with the General’s hardline stance against the Spellborn.
Year 2: The Blooding of Mordian Hills
The war reached its bloodiest phase during the Battle of Mordian Hills. Here, the Spellborn made their stand, weaving an immense protective barrier around their forces. For three days, the Dracomages unleashed dragons and spells of unparalleled force to break the barrier, culminating in an explosive clash that shattered the hills. Both sides suffered catastrophic losses. The Spellborn lost many of their most skilled mages, and the Dracomages mourned the deaths of several bonded dragons, weakening their future fighting potential.
The battle marked a turning point. Though the Spellborn demonstrated their resilience, they lacked the resources to sustain such attritional warfare.
Year 3: Betrayals and Deceptions
Desperation led both sides to employ increasingly ruthless measures. The Dracomages began targeting Elven civilians, a tactic denounced by some within their own ranks. Meanwhile, Elven spies infiltrated human villages, sabotaging grain stores and sowing discord. Factions within the Dracomages debated peace, but the General of Benjamar Flight silenced dissenters, declaring any leniency toward the Elves as treason.
A critical betrayal unfolded when a faction of half-Elves, torn between their Spellborn heritage and their human families, defected to the Dracomages. This defection provided the Dracomages with critical intelligence, tipping the scales further against the Elves.
Year 4: The Siege of the Evergrove
The Spellborn last straw was when the Dracomage General gave the order to incinerate the Evergrove, a sprawling magical forest they've resided in and protected for as long as they've been around. Here, they conjured powerful wards and summoned ancient elemental spirits to aid their defense. The siege dragged on for months as the Dracomages systematically dismantled the Elves’ defenses. In a final, desperate act, the Elf King left the Evergrove-with the Barkwardens holding the line to protect not only the forest but the thousands of Elves within-to negotiate with the General. Unfortunately, this is exactly what he wanted and as soon as the Elf King had gotten far enough away to not be able to save them, the General gave the command for the entire Flight to burn the forest. They had had the power to do so from the beginning, but the General knew it would not be enough to end the war if the Elf King had been martyr'd. The Elf King watched his people, the thousands who believed in him and his vision for their people, burned alive in the sacred forest the Gods themselves gave them.
Year 5: The Fall of the Spellborn
Weakened and devastated by the loss of the Evergrove and his people within, the Elf King went mad with fury and sorrow, ultimately meeting his end in a common village that was reduced to ash by the Unbound. The remaining Elves who did not wish to be punished scattered while those who wished to repent remained with the consequence of their magic connection being severed, and thus the Spellborn were declared defeated.
The Dracomages emerged victorious but shaken. The war had left both sides scarred, and distrust between the races will linger for generations. To prevent future uprisings, the General of Benjamar Flight enacted a secret law: any Spellborn adolescent not chosen during the Choosing Ceremony for soulbinding would be executed and their parents would simply be told that their child would be in service of Benjamar Army.
The Queen enacted her own policy which called for the connection to be severed for every magical member of a participants family to the Choosing Ceremony, justified as a means to suppress potential rebellion, further dwindling the Elven population over the following decades.
The Civil War between the Spellborn Elves and the Dracomages left an indelible mark on the realm. The once-proud Spellborn were reduced to a shadow of their former glory, their dreams of independence crushed, their people scattered in every direction. However, the memory of their struggle endured, inspiring whispers of unity among those who still believed in the dream of Elven sovereignty.
The Dracomages, though triumphant, paid a heavy price. The loss of dragons and the divisions within their ranks sowed the seeds for future conflicts. The secret of the Choosing Ceremony executions loomed as a dark stain on their legacy, forever tarnishing their ability to regain trust with the people they gave up their lives to protect.
The Civil War served as a harsh reminder of the cost of pride, ambition, and the struggle for identity, leaving the realm forever changed.
The Conflict
Prelude
In the years leading up to the official start of the civil war, the Spellborn began uniting under the new name "Elf" for their race, notating the clear differences between the rest of Commonkind and themselves. They chose to start congregating amidst their own kind, starting their own schools, making their own culture, until ultimately one ambitious and determined elf man stepped up to lead the separation from the Dracomages, rallying other Elves to his cause and spreading word of how much better life would be if Elves made decision for Elves, and if Elves who understood other Elves lived together and furthered our own cause instead of giving everything to the Dracomages. During the last rally the Elf King (self-proclaimed but wholly backed by his community) unintentionally set fire to one of the village home's while caught up in the moment and it unfortunately resulted in the death of the Demikin family residing within. While the Elves knew it was a mistake and the Elf King did what he could to rectify the wrongdoing, the rest of the village (being human and demikin) saw this as direct proof that the General of Benjamar Flight was right in his propaganda: the Elves were just trying to drive out non-elves so they could take the kingdom for themselves.
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