God War

This document has been contributed by: Rock

The God War was a civil war amongst the gods of the world. It was devastating for the population of the continents, causing the deaths of nearly 90% of the population, and damaging the world in a number of different ways. The War is the source of much religious-political unrest, as well as many permanent landmarks, and an entire continent.
Over the course of the god war, the continents devolved into fighting, and those who did not want to take part in the conflict became caught in the crossfire. While few were able to find shelter, many villages, towns, and even cities were wiped off the map. Mortal governments no longer held any sway, instead forced to surrender themselves to the direct rule of the gods. Non-followers cowered while their friends and families were slaughtered in the name of a War the gods would not even explain.
During this time, much of the world began to lose faith in the gods. They saw all of the fighting, and they could not justify to themselves any longer that the gods were benevolent. There became a growing sentiment of hatred and distrust toward the divine, as people began to need to rely on each other rather than their deities.

The Conflict

Prelude

Apotheosis of Zaldir

The true start of the story of the God War is in 1774 E.G., when Zaldir became a god. Originally, he was a god of truth and bravery. He ammased a fairly large base of supporters, who believed in him and his ability to make change in the world. Zaldir became friends with a goddess of similar domain, Ashla, goddess of justice.
However, circa 892 E.G., Zaldir began to think that it was unfair that Sesais was able to make all of the rules for the rest of the gods, despite not abiding to them herself. She gained power from the Astral Plane, something the majority of the deities were not allowed to do, and she had no mortal followers, unlike the rest of the gods.
He asked some of the other gods if they found this unfair, and had some mixed reactions. His closest friend, Ashla, disagreed with him, but refused to tell him why, and some of the newer gods agreed with him. With this, unrest began in among the gods, and would continue to brew.

Knights of Zaldir by notahumanhand

Foreshadowing of the God War

For the next multiple centuries, the unrest among the gods would only begin to grow. Many of the more peaceful gods would ignore the conflict, hoping that it would settle down over time. Others, who were particularly perceptive but did not want to take part in any arguments, decided to move away from their divine counterparts, either into their own realms or some other place of escape. The vast majority of the gods disagreeing with Zaldir paid little mind, assuming that the conflict would not come to fruition. However, tensions only began to rise, and it became quickly inevitable for the war to happen.

Conflict Type

Civil War

Start Date

-172

Ending Date

0

The Dawn of the Devils: An Etymology

The term "devil" did not originally hold the connotations that it does today. To the people of the God War, the world "devil" roughly meant "traitor". It was used in a derogatory manner towards the revolting gods and their followers, but would gain traction after the God War, when they were cast into the Nine Hells.

Course of the War

The Beginning

The God War is considered to have oficially begun when Ashla sent her followers after Zaldir's, killing many of his most devoted, known as the Knights of Zaldir. Zaldir considered this a betrayal from his closest friend, while Ashla viewed his ideas and dangerous and feared the number of followers and fellow gods he was gaining to his cause. After this, it did not take long for the War to get into full-swing. The gods did not perform much of the fighting themselves, staying mostly within their realms as they commanded their followers-turned-armies. Still, many of the gods that remained on Sesais' side did not want to get involved, remaining pseudo-neutral in the war and choosing to instead lend occasional medial support to wounded faithful.

Separation of the Continents

The four continents on the planet's surface became overcome with battles and fighting, and on each of them, two sides became victorious. Ansara and Prospera became the continents of the gods, while Vehasi and Valadia became the continents of the devils. The celestials would send their followers in boats across the oceans, or if they had the power, teleport them directly to where they needed to go.

The War-Forged Gods

Two new gods emerged over the course of the God War: Avena, goddess of medicine, and Caemrys, goddess of fire. Faith in Avena emerged due to the number of injured commonfolk that were unable to be healed by the far too spread out healers, and Caemrys' following grew due to a desire for the God War to end. While both technically sided with the gods and not the devils, their followers did not partake in any of the fighting, and held firm stances against it.

The Titan of Water

While most gods could not afford to remain neutral in this conflict, Kaurenis, the ocean god, held great power and influence. He wanted no part in the war or the senseless killing of his people. As a greater celestial, no one challenged him when he took his followers and created a separate continent for them to live on, safe from the dangers of the God War.
However, both sides soon came to see him as a threat. As he controlled the oceans, he controlled travel between the continents occupied by each of the sides: if he were to join either side, the other would undoubtedly suffer great losses. Both sides initially tried to recruit him, but as he continued steadfast, worry only grew.
His final conversation was one with his old friend, Ashla. She seemed sad when she saw him, but that was reasonable given how the War had been going for her so far. He understood why the gods had sent her to try to "reason" with him - she was the first friend he'd had, and the person he has ascended to godhood with. She was the most likely to convince him, if anything.
But Ashla did not try to convince him. She asked him, once, if he was ever going to join the side of the gods. He said no, and she simply sighed and sat down. They talked for a bit about their mortal lives, and as they were about to say their goodbyes, Ashla killed Kaurenis.
To her, this felt necessary. She was heartbroken, especially seeing the look of betrayal in his eyes during his last moments as his memory was wiped off the face of the planet. But he had stated he would never join the gods, which meant he was against them. And thus, however much she hated it, a threat.

The Turning Tides

As the war raged on, however, the remaining gods began to see more clearly the threat that the devils posed. More of them became involved, though there were still some that held off. The war began to turn in favour of the gods, as more of their followers joined in on the fighting. Eventually, the devils were cornered, their territory shrunk to half of one continent as the gods occupied the rest.

The Last Stand

The final stand of the God War happened on mortal soil, in a single city in northern Vehasi. The champions of the gods lined up, fighting each other's forces, and eventually, each other. However, they were interrupted.
There were strange, otherworldly monsters overtaking the area, ones that belonged to neither side. The champions begrudgingly were forced to work together, finding their way to the Astral Plane. In fighting these strange, abberant, monsters, one of the champions sent one of them to the celestial plane, to banish it.

The End of the War

When this creature entered the realm of Sesais, she became panicked and distracted. She knew where the creature had come from, but not that it was able to enter the celestial plane - a matter that demanded her immediate attention. As she began to deal with the issue, however, her closest supporter, Lyrveld, weakened her as she was not paying attention. As she applied new bindings to the source of the otherworldly creature, Zaldir was able to sneak into her realm and kill her, with a sword forged from the blood of his most faithful.
The entire world felt the shake of Sesais' death, even if they did not really know what it meant. The gods, however, immediately reacted. Ashla, powered by the now-united might of the rest of the gods, was able to banish Zaldir and his devils to the Nine Hells. This act shattered her sword, leaving it scattered in artifacts, and the event as a whole shook the gods to their core.

Outcome

Once the devils had lost the war, they were cast into what was then known as the Abyss, which they would soon claim a portion of to become the Nine Hells. This event also bound the devils to a set of magical rules, so that they could not corrupt the material plane or extend their realms outside of the Nine Hells.
This caused the devils to harbour a lot of resentment towards the gods, despite having been successful in their original goal. Many would try to find loopholes in the rules now binding them, just to spite the gods. Others resigned themselves to defeat.
Zaldir himself was the worst off, however. He was permanently trapped within the lowest layer of the Nine Hells, bound by unbreakable chains and incapable of leaving even his layer, but for an astral projection.
For a few years after the end of the God War, the gods were not as involved as they would normally have been. Many were still shaken by the events of the War, and others had dwindled in followers so much that they were reaching the brink of death.

Aftermath

The world was shaken for ages after the War, and never quite healed. Old elves still remember the time when the world was forsaken by the gods, and younger folk will sometimes hear stories regarding the war.
The devils have since found ways around their new rules, finding ways to corrupt people on the material plane to indirectly bring their souls to the hells, or making deals with those willing. Some devils became more sneaky about this, facing retribution from acolytes and monster-hunters alike.