The Second Brumosa Crisis, A Decline in Faith

Disaster / Destruction

The second Brumosa Crisis would be the worst in the realms history and would encompass not just Brume creatures and natural disasters, but also magically resistant disease known as “Lucio Muerte'' or “Pike Death'' and Brume cultists emerged in settlements across the realm causing chaos. This crisis was also recorded in Sharādī and Karieba, but would challenge the communities of Talarena the most. Populations decline, and long standing institutions are shaken and destroyed under the pressure of a decade long crisis.

Valian conscription contracts become extremely exhaustive and predatory for the duration of the crisis, and eventually states would resort to using penal troops to man the forts in Aya. As the states around them can no longer support the Valians, they begin to support themselves. The commanders of the forts take direct control of their respective regions, demanding resources from settlements within their sphere of influence.   Aayin City States begin a sharp decline, their religious artifacts that were used to cure disease and end outbreaks before now fails them, and their Holy Warriors are beaten to near destruction fighting Brume creatures emerging in great waves from the mountains. The depopulation of their sprawling cities was devastating, with some one opulent abandoned settlements never being resettled due to the jungle reclaiming the land. The biggest cause for this was famine, as their Druids are killed by Pike Death at a rapid pace.   Apaian Clans close all passes using the citadels built by Khozri and effectively lock away the Drumul Mare to most of the outside world to protect themselves and attempt to slow the spread of Pike Death. However, the duration of this lock down would extend past the crisis as they took the disaster as a sign from the God's that no one should pass through unless proven worthy through long and arduous processes. A xenophobic attitude took hold of the clans in control of the Citadels, and trade and the movement of people between the mountains halted until they were forced open.   Arenia struggles to adapt as their concentrated populations are hit hard by disease and earthquakes, their image of long standing resoluteness against the challenges provided by the environment, the Brume and themselves were starting to melt away. Arenian priests also began to sacrifice people outside the practice of Golden Warfare, choosing even nobles from their own cities to be killed upon the top of their ziggurats to draw blessings from their Gods. Notably this would be the worse in Rio Avan, as there is significant sized Illaguan diaspora that lives there to this day. When their revered elven elders were sacrificed, the trauma would never heal.   Charstani nobility struggle with their Atentoa to maintain control of their territories, as the Ferroati Dynasty is brought to it's breaking point. Ariki Lāminaka would seek divine intervention from the God's to shift the mana of the land and help the people, and in doing so invite the Priests of Uru to have more of a hand in the Dynasty's politics. They would also use this as a chance to persecute people worshiping the Ayain Solar God, seeing that Aya had it worse it was justification to denounce that worship as something that interferes with the mana of the land and connection to Alakani. This would break the Dynasty almost in half, with an Ariki for southern Charsta and northern Charsta as religious differences become   The Arediāna islands cut themselves off from the mainland entirely, and avoid the worse of the crisis as the realm struggled with disease. Of course, the Brume did not forget to attempt to assault the Arediāni people with tsunami's originating in the southern portion of the seas attempting to drown the coastal settlements. Tīa'i Vahaoaitu, the de facto leader of the Kingdom of Alakani, would prevent the worst through divine intervention, but the Panua islands whose inhabitant were once stalwart defenders of the sea from the Brume experienced immense devastation as they were the first to be hit by the massive waves.   Records from Illagua on this are sparse, as the scribes who would usually send copies of historical events to Conión would die from Pike Death and for that same reason no one was ready to fill that role. What is widely accepted and have ample evidence for, is that the Brume assaulted the large island with as much, if not more, ferocity as the Peninsula. The journals of Dug Llyr Caernewydd and other nobility describe large scale battles with cultists and the massive creatures brought from the Brume, which is supported by the fact that envoy's from Illaguan territories requested military support for the first time in recorded history.