The Crusade of Light
Weep, for this is the day hope died
The Conflict
Prelude
The realm that would become the Deadlands was for a while known to be an abandoned and horrific place to live to the outside world, and for the most part attempts to recolonize and expand territory have been met with failure. However, in the year 4194, the vampires would send delegations to many of the nearby kingdoms, asserting their political dominion over the Deadlands and a hope for a respect of borders. This would result in public outrage, for this was the first time vampires were confirmed to the wider world population, and the Church of the Flame would rouse the flames of righteous hate in the masses. The Pope, Pope Theodore the II, would in a speech within the Capital City of Aramoor call for a crusade of fire and brimstone, and reveal to the people attending the Pureborn Hero, who was chosen by the gods of the Light Pantheon to vanquish evil. This holy display would inspire the king of Ashenfeld himself to officiate the crusade, and would call upon the world to fight by their side. Many would flock to the banner of the Crusade, and so they would set out, intent on raising the vampires domain to nothing but ash and ruin.
Conditions
Nightmarish, with much of the fighting being in swamp like terrain and mass graveyard like fields of bodies of soldiers and peasants. Crusade forces regularly suffered nighttime raids by monstrous minions, and elite vampire cavalry would engage in swift hit-and-run attacks against the crusaders. Mass Field battles were waged against undead, with mass cavalry charges of crusader orders and regiments of wizards firing arcane artillery to try and stem the tide of undead warriors. However, for every undead spawn slain, seemingly a thousand more took its place.
The Engagement
Oh, what a horor the war to decide the fate of the world was. The charge into the deadlands was slow, but mighty indeed. While losses were heavy and appalling, the world stood behind one man, the Pureborn Hero Aranel. He was the chosen one of the gods, every god it seemed, and he kept the spirit of the warriors of light high. Banners were unfurled in his name as they charged, making slow but noticeable progress. They had pushed into the heart of the Deadlands when the final battle came: The Battle of the Black Tower. Going over such a battle requires an entire scroll in its own right. Regardless, Aranel charged and found the throne of the mightiest vampiric lord in existence, one simply known as Dragos the Midnight King. Filled with god like power, the two did battle, eventually the fighting spilling into a realm gate leading to the Sanguine Realm. There they fought with some of their armies in the true home of the vampiric lord.
What a life it could have been were Aranel fully successful. It is oft forgotten but indeed, Aranel slew the vile vampiric beast, severing his head clean from his body with blessed silver and burning holy fire. However, a third party was always watching this war eagerly, for the forces of hell knew that to let Aranel return victorious would be their eventual undoing. So it was that as Aranel was about to let it be known to his armies that he had won, a thousand, thousand black daggers pierced him through the back, laced with a billion curses each from the lords of the Hells. The army watched in unrestrained horror, as the greatest champion the world has ever known, fell and fell down into the mud and blood of the battle. With a thud he landed, broken, bloodied, dirtied, and ruined, and so the armies of light realized in horror that the war had not been truly won. The world had lost, and doom soon followed...
Outcome
After the defeat of the Pureborn hero in the main citadel of Vampires within the Sanguine Realm, and a massive arcane artillery bombardment that took the main frontline by surprise, the Crusade of Light was quickly pushed back from the territory they had taken. Morale quickly and violently shatterted as news spread fast, and panic overcame the forces of light. A panicked mass retreat followed, leading to thousands upon thousands more dying, and some entire units being cut off from the rest of the world, left to fend for themselves. Seeing that the war was lost, King Colart the III made a gambit, in offering talks with the Crypt Kingdoms. This led to the Treaty of Ashes, being an agreed upon ceasefire amongst the signatories that the vampires would be recognized as the political governing body of the Deadlands, at the cost of them not expanding further into the continent of Nilush. While such a treaty was successful, it caused massive upheaval and outrage amongst most of the nations and back home in Ashenfeld, causing civil unrest.
Aftermath
The Treaty of Ashes is one of the most infamous documents in the world, with many people finding it borderline heretical to give vampires a dominion of there own. The aftermath has led to the political collapse of Ashenfeld, with so many dead, the general populace and vassals feel as if the current king is incompetent and should be deposed.
The Pureborn Hero was burred within a tomb off the coast of the Deadlands, for it is said his corpse is still so powerful with holy light that it helps prevent the undead from spreading unchecked. Though, this hasn't prevented the vampire from trying to spread their influence. Though with the Treaty of Ashes a ceasefire was enforced, it is tenuous at best, and it is clear the Vampires are planning to rise up at some point and conquer the world. It has been observed small pockets of "Darkness Zones" similar to the Deadlands have cropped up within Northern Orliea to the far west called the Weeping Lands, a province in northern Iadith called the Shadowlands, and a few unconfirmed reports of zones north of Ardità . It is theorized that a spell by the most powerful vampire in history, who fought the Pureborn Hero, has cursed the world to its very core, and now the world spirals into the end of days.
Historical Significance
Legacy
With the darkening of the world, and the increase of supernatural monsters and strange occurrences, many wonder if the end of days is soon coming, and has left the world in turmoil. So cataclysmic was this event, that some worry that the very cosmic balance of the realms and this world have been forever altered and broken.
In Literature
Many grim and dark stories tell of the battles fought in the Crusade, with many tales being told from warriors personal accounts of horror and death as they fought against undead and ruthless mercenaries.
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
4195
Ending Date
4200
Conflict Result
Ashenfeld and many of the other races being defeated, vampires gain political recognition, entire generations lost
Location
