The Southern Crusades (1685-1500)
During the Cativene Dynasty the Berythians at long last reinstate themselves as unchallenged masters of magic in northern Rela after their ousting by the Obertari. At the very end of the Cativene period, whispers start to circulate about a group of mages in the deep south who have somehow found a treatment for The Wrack, a condition which had so vexed the Berythian Order that the Obertari exiled them in the first place.
Investigating the matter, the Berythians make their first encounter with the Circle of Tyril a loosely organized group of sorcerors from the lower continent. The Circle agrees to share their knowledge of the healing arts with the north. In exchange, they petition the The Council of Landezon for aid against the overwhelming oppression they say they suffer from the mundanes ruling their lands. The Berythians concede to send humanitarian aid. The offer escalates when the Cativene lords, seduced by the massive advantage that healing magic would bring to society, press the mages to support a full-scale war. The ensuing conflict, which would rage for nearly two centuries, was dubbed the Southern Crusades.
The Crusades go very well for the Berythians, who put the healing magic they've been given to good use against the debilitating environment of the lower Magic Zones. Their aid permits the Circle of Tyril to fortify its territories and even expand them north of the Fourth Meridian. The supply route between north and south, which at first makes use of long-neglected trails, is developed further into the first form of the Ruby Road. However, at the height of their victories, Cativene military support falls away as the noble lords contend with a new threat, the Drakoya, who drive the Cativene back west towards their native Galori. Meanwhile, a shadowy ruler emerging in Miesz brings battle to the Cativenes on another front. The Berythians do what they can to see the cause to completion but without land support are ultimately forced to retreat, losing contact with their southern cousins in the process.
The Drakoya, seizing control over the Relan north, establish the foundation of their rule, known to scholars as the Old Empire. Within its renewal of structure, the Berythians form a pact with Nurhetic and Aurimbic Traditions, sharing with them their recently acquired knowledge of healing magic. With this massive boon comes a period of unparalleled learning and development across the continent. Life in the north is good.
The Old Empire reached out towards Tyril to continue strengthening its ties, but found that the south had fallen under a mysterious veil of silence. Small parties of southern diplomats and merchants continue to journey north, but proposals for reciprocal visits are quickly shot down by the Circle. Unbeknownst to the Masters of Landezon, the Circle was hard at work consolidating power, enslaving the mundanes who had once oppressed them and eschewing all but passing contact with outside nations until their reign was finally set in stone. Centuries would pass before anyone in Rela would realize the horrifying scope of this regime, and this they did only by falling prey to a deadly magical trap set by the Circle, resulting in the notorious Plague Years.
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