The Great War

Banner Credit: KELLEPICS

Ten ages ago, a human mage named Helkryvt Moothvaler rose to power and set out to conquer the world of Selaras.
Helkryvt offered himself to be the mortal vessel of Necrovar. On its own, Necrovar is no more than dark energy: it is the antimatter to matter, the antithesis to life, a force of destruction and balance. Humans have long held the belief that Necrovar is the physical manifestation of all evil; while this is partly true, it is not an all-encompassing definition, and thus, Necrovar cannot be relegated to a category as simplistic as "evil". It must be noted that while Necrovar feeds off of destructive energies and forces -- such as greed, hatred, war -- it is not the cause of these destructive forces. Like the gods, Necrovar cannot meddle in mortal affairs, and the evil choices and actions of mortals are their own.
At least, this was true until Helkryvt bonded with Necrovar. Once Necrovar had a human body and soul at its disposal, it gained the ability to wield magic. And once it had the ability to wield its vast power, it became unstoppable.
Through Helkryvt, Necrovar began his conquest of Selaras. While he always claimed his intention was to form a more perfect, ordered, balanced world, to forge a new and better future, his methods to attain this future were horrific. The atrocities he committed included genocide, torture, illegal arrogation of higher and arcane magics, and even the murder of certain gods.
Though the mortal races of Selaras were scattered and sundry in those days, the threat of Necrovar forced them to band together. A coalition of tribes, led by humans, elves, aphyri, and phoenixes, together formed the World Alliance, and took a stand against Necrovar.
For years the World Alliance begged the dragons -- the most noble and powerful of the wielding races -- to help in the fight against Necrovar. And for years, the dragons declined. To this day, no one knows why they elected not to stand against Necrovar, the Shadow of the World; it is one of the greatest mysteries of the past. If the dragons had fought, the course of history would likely have been much different; but they remained impassive observers, and the war raged on for two decades.
Eventually a young human hero rose to power. This was Valerion of the Unknown Lands -- he appeared one day in the northern wastes with no memory of his former life, but with the guidance of his only friend, a woman of equally mysterious origin named Arisse, he joined the World Alliance.
It transpired that Valerion was a lightmagic wielder, and thus the humans considered him miraculous, a sign from the gods, a savior sent to lead them. He quickly rose through the ranks of the ragtag army and breathed new life into the demoralized ranks. He led several campaigns over the course of two years, bringing his followers into direct confrontation with Necrovar; and though the World Alliance did not claim any definitive victories during that time, the mortals continued to follow Valerion because it was said that Necrovar feared him.
In the penultimate campaign of the Great War, fought at the feet of the Norythian Mountains, Necrovar finally suffered his first true defeat. The battle, although a victory, was extremely demoralizing for the mortals who fought in it. It was then that Valerion understood no mortal means or method would defeat Necrovar.
While in the well-protected human city of Noryk, Valerion researched possible magical methods that might lead to Necrovar's downfall. Eventually, in a desperate act, Valerion went to the gods of Changemagic, the Chardons, and begged for their help in ending the war. They agreed, and so it was that Valerion offered his life and magic in exchange for the gods' assistance.
Valerion sacrificed himself, and the gods used the energy of his soul to weave a spell to imprison Necrovar in a place where he could not touch or harm Selaras any longer.
But the spell went awry. In addition to imprisoning Necrovar and his followers, the spell also claimed and imprisoned the dragons. They were all sealed in an alternate dimension, now known as The Etherworld, and there they all have festered these past seven-thousand years.

The Conflict

Battlefield

Though Necrovar was far-reaching and ruthless in his conquest of mortal peoples and nations, most of the actual battles against him took place in the western hemisphere, in and around the territory that would one day become the Empire of Allentria.

_{Credit: Yuri B}

Included under Conflict

The Great War

Included Conflicts

• The Great War
• The Shadow War

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Planetary

Start Date

Second Age, Year 918

Ending Date

Second Age, Year 942

Conflict Result

The imprisonment of Necrovar and his followers; and the imprisonment of the dragons