The First Crusade, “The Holy Crusade”
In the years before 1092 BEM, The Principality of Regnis and The Kingdom of Eden faced increasing raids from the Ra'var to the south. Thousands died as the Ra'var pillaged and murdered towns and villages along the coast of the Stone Sea. Several times even the capital city of Aps Eden faced sieges from larger raiding forces. Angered by the incursions from the pagans from the south, the Church of the White Sun called upon the Faithful Nations to bring justice for those affected by the raids. King Lazare the 3rd would call upon the Kingdom of Ruse, The Principality of Regnis, The Confederation of Drav and the clergy to meet at Aps Eden to discuss what would come next. King Lazare would declare a naval campaign to raid and burn the Ra'var Villages along the southern coast of the Stone Sea. The Principality of Regnis and the Church believed that this was not enough. A Bishop by the name of Berthold would call for a Holy War to cleanse the lands of the Ra'var, a campaign that would end with the burning of their capital. Under overwhelming support from the church and the other nations, The clergy would declare a crusade to cleanse the lands of the Ra'var. The faithful nations would establish an alliance under the name of The Nations of the White Sun. From 1092 - 1030 BEM, the Nations of the White Sun would launch several invasions into Ra'var territory. Many of the first invasions would meet resistance and eventually fail.
In 1052 BEM, an invasion led by King Lazare would succeed in taking the fortress city of Har'n Rh'otan. Their advances south would come to a halt as supplies became scarce as the pagan fleet raided ships coming from the north. The faithful would hold the city until 1030 when the Ra'var would slaughter all within the city, including King Lazare and Bishop Berthold. This would mark the end of the First Crusade as the faithful nations decided that they needed time to rebuild their forces.
The Second Crusade, “The Eastern Crusade”
After the failure of the 1st crusade Many faithful nations fell into chaos. The Faithful Nations became even more divided. The Principality of Regnis faced a civil war and the Kingdom of Ossenia was formed. The Kingdom of Eden would eventually broker a peace between the two nations. The Confederation of Drav would face internal strife that decimated the ruling families. Out of the chaos the Order of the Red Rose would reform the nation into the Dominion of Silence, with Albena the Mortal God at the head of its faith. The newly formed Kingdom of Ossenia insisted that the Kingdom of the Spring Isles be brought into the fold. Their sizable navy would have been able to assist in the moving of a force large enough to invade the pagans. The clergy and the Kingdom of Eden were strongly against this as they believed that the Loh'ka themselves were considered pagans. The Kingdom of Ruse and the Dominion would not lend their full force if a united front could not be established. Eventually the clergy offered to fund a fleet from the Visam Trading Company to assist in landing a substantial force off the eastern coast of Mhu'khul.
In 998 BEM, the 2nd crusade began. In the north the Kingdom of Eden, backed by the Knights of the Dominion and the Kingdom of Ruse landed and laid siege to Ra'gol Adi'. To the east the Kingdom of Ossenia and the Principality of Regnis, with assistance from the Visam fleet, invaded the coast near Chonchol. Splitting their forces the Kingdom of Ossenia laid siege to Ul'var Rh'otan while the Principality went north to Re'to Adi'. The Faithful would once again take Tomchol and advance towards Re'to Adi'. In the east the Principality were caught marching to Re'to Adi' by a large Ra'var war band. Forced to flee back to Ul'var Rh'otan, they found the city burning as the pagan fleet had burned the Visam fleet and forced Ossenias forces to flee in the remaining ships. Left stranded, word was sent to the Kingdom of the Spring Isles for aid. The Kingdom turned down the call for aid as war between the races was not what the Loh'ka wanted. Thousands would starve behind the city's walls as the Ra'var surrounded the city. After hearing of the news to the east the northern forces burned Ra'gol Adi' and pushed on towards Ra'gol Rh'otan. At the shores of Lake Tus, the faithful came face to face with the full might of the Ra'var. For days, wave after wave of Ra'var crashed in the lines of the faithful and every time many faithful fell. Eventually the faithful were pushed back to the shores of the sea where they were surrounded. The crusade would last for only 2 short years and very few would survive the horrors of the 2nd crusade.
The Third Crusade, “The Fallen Crusade”
Around the year 760 BEM, The Principality of Regnis was faced with an invasion from the south. The Ra'var invaded the southern coast of Hv'san with a force of 30,000. The southernmost towns were quickly overrun. The Principslity’s forces were pushed back beyond the southern stretches of Regnis Forest. While the port city of Ajastia burned, the Principality called for aid from the Kingdom of Eden and the Kingdom of Ossenia. While Eden came to their aid with a force of 20,000, Ossenia declared they would not send troops. Word was sent to the Kingdom of the Spring Isles for a fleet to attack the enemy from the sea. The Spring Isles while a request for troops was sent to the Sulmi Republic. Both Loh'kan nations would refuse aid as war was not wanted. In the open grass beyond Rajon, the combined forces of the Kingdom of Eden and the Principality would meet the Ra'var forces. These two forces would clash and thousands would die. While it looked dire for the Proto forces they would be saved by the late arrival of knights from the Dominion. 12,000 Dominion knights would arrive to decimate the flanks of the Ra'var forces. For the next several weeks they would clean out the last pockets of Ra'var as they fled for the coast line. Following the retaking of Principality territory, the combined forces would spend the next two years raiding and burning any Ra'var settlement along the shores of Mhu'khul. Thousands of Ra'var would be taken into slavery and sold throughout the faithful nations.
It is believed that 30,000 Ra'var were taken into slavery and sold throughout the world. Most of them would be forced to mine in various countries. Those lucky were sold to the Vari Alliance where many were given their freedom.
The Fourth Crusade, "The Andal Crusade"
The 4th Crusade, also known as the Andal Crusade or the Northern Crusade, was a turning point for many of the Proto Nations. The 4th Crusade is considered to be the first successful crusade by many commoners. To the Church of the White Sun, the 4th Crusade cemented its belief that man was meant to truly rule over all life.
Many centuries ago an expedition ventured north and found that the Proto Nations were besieged on all sides by the Ra'var. To the north in the Andalashin Mountains, miners would dig too deep and uncover an undercity that was home to a group of Ra'var known as the Stu'var. While not as militaristic as the Es-Var to the south, the Ra'var stopped expeditions to go further north beyond the Andalashin Mountains. A stalemate would take place between the Stu'var and the Kingdom of Ruse. Over time the Stu'var would no longer be viewed as a threat to the Kingdom of Ruse.
With the ending of the 3rd crusade in the last century and the increase in population of the Proto Nations, many believed that the lands would not allow them to continue to grow. With the failed Crusades in the south and the Ishvar holding the pass between Hv'san and the Vor'san, the Proto looked north. It was unknown what layed beyond the great mountains that were once believed to be uncrossable. Support would gather behind Queen Beatrix the II of Ruse and House Kron of the Dominion. Under the Banner of the Order of the Red Rose, troops would march north and lay siege to the Stu'var strongholds built within the mountain sides. It would take years for the combined crusader forces to find all the Stu'var strongholds, but once found they either starved out the holds or buried them within the mountains using siege engines.
With the northern and southern passes open the forces marched beyond the Andalashin Mountains and found themselves in the fabled Land of the Gods. To the north they found only wastelands but to the south habitable lands were found and shared between Proto Houses and Ar'ka Houses that agreed to mine the mountains and send much of the resources to the south.
The Fifth Crusade, “The Bloodletting”
The 5th crusade would mark the first time the faithful nations gathered to war not against the Ra'var. Since the 3rd crusade, many believed that the Loh'ka had stood by and did nothing as thousands were killed. With the Loh'kan nations refusing to send aid near the end of the 2nd crusade, the Church of the White Sun began to preach that the Loh'ka were no different from the Ra'var, they still prayed to the Old Gods and were themselves pagans.
In the years following the 4th crusade, hatred towards the Loh'ka would begin to pop up in different cities throughout Proto nations. While much of this hatred came from the church and soldiers wounded during the crusade, much of the population still saw the Loh'ka as a peaceful people. As time went on the hatred towards the Loh'ka would begin to seep into the people as many countries would experience famine and hardship. The church would eventually begin to preach that this was punishment for the failures of the crusade. Fear began to take hold of the people and over time it would fester and spread. Almost two centuries after the last crusade, many Proto nations were divided on the Loh'ka. Many began to leave and head west towards lands long held by the Ar'ka and Loh'ka that left the heartlands centuries ago. In response the church declared that the Loh'kan knew that their treachery was finally revealed to the people. Throughout the continent of Hv'san the Proto began to round up the Loh'ka and began to burn their homes and businesses. In the north, King Otmar of Ruse declared the nation a haven for the Loh'ka. Thousands fled to their lands in hope of finding safety. To the south, ports became overrun as the Loh'ka looked to flee to the Kingdom of the Spring Isles. While many were able to board a ship, thousands more were slaughtered as ships were forced to sail as Loh'ka jumped from the docks, choosing death at sea rather than by the sword. To the west, the Bankers of Romar sealed off the gates at the Eastern Eye as the Church of the White Sun had offered their people. The 5th Crusade would officially begin in 360 BEM as Knights of the Faithful began to murder Loh'ka in the streets without remorse. During a span of fifteen years the Knights of the Faithful would purge over 200,000 pagans. During this time, King Otmar was arrested by the Church and publicly executed without a trial for crimes related to the mixing of bloodlines. The Church would declare King Roland of House Voss as the rightful ruler of Ruse. King Roland would no longer harbor the Loh'ka and ordered any Loh'ka to leave the nations or face death. Thousands of Loh'ka would flee north beyond the Andalashin Mountains alongside many Drav. In 325 BEM the Church would declare the crusade as a success, but the war against the Loh'ka would continue for over 500 years.
It is believed that during the 5th Crusade almost 30,000 people of Proto blood were arrested and executed for their crimes of harboring Loh'ka. In addition over 75,000 Proto are said to have been arrested and executed for crimes related to the mixing of bloodlines. While generations have passed for many Proto, there are still Loh'ka alive today that remember the horrors of the 5th crusade.
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