Third Rising

Twice before the mind flayers had created a dreaded Overbrain and emerged from The Warrens to invade the surface world. The First Rising was known as little more than a myth for most, and the Second Rising was a thing of impossibily distant antiquity. The Third Rising, however, is a thing even now imprinted on the memory of most civilizations.

Kirris

The people of Kirris have had a long history of being woefully underprepared for the invasions of the mind flayers. In the Third Rising, this was far different. It is widely believed that the gnoll diviner Ratagar of Rall predicted that event. The ancient wizard has refused to comment on this, however.
The nations on the continent of Hr'ask'r were a much more formidable threat than the mind flayers were expecting. This was mostly owing to their unity. These disparate peoples entered into an alliance with the Republic of Hnng'yar serving as the leader, and unifying force.
As always for the invasions of the mind flayers smaller towns and villages were hit the hardest. Evacuations were carried out extremely quickly. Some, such as the tabaxi of the Kingdom-in-the-Boughs fled to the deep wilderness, while others such as the minotaurs of Voror fled to cities. In particular, Hnng'yar and Labyrinthia served as havens for refugees.
The Overbrain, learning from the past Overbrains, made several grave miscalculations. It underestimated the recently-founded nation of Dolrar, and the Ursil dwelling there fought off their attack easily. While it brought overwhelming force to take Hnng'yar, it didn't take into account the effects of remarkable individuals like Ratagar of Rall.
The fighting in some places such as the Boughan capital of Finr was especially harsh, and there are scholars that believe they did enslave a human civilization north of Dolrar. Still, it is generally accepted that the entirety of Hr'ask'r was a crushing defeat for the invaders from below.

Amaun

The twin of Kirris fared far worse. While it is widely believed that the mind flayers do not feel emotion, as other creatures do, their actions during the Third Rising seem to discount this. They attacked Amaun with a fury that is unlike their usual coldness.
In particular, it was the Kingdom of Mandia that saw the worst of the fighting. The great Mandian cities fell quickly until only Ondolan and Whiteriver remained standing. After extended sieges, it seemed that they, too would fall before the onslaught of the relentless beasts.
The salvation of Mandia came from the most unlikely of sources: Tamasia, their rivals to the south. The communities in the Tamasian countryside fell like so many others, but the nation's power remained mostly intact as the siege of Tamas was broken by the ingenuity of the wizards that would become the Alabaster Brotherhood. The alliance of Mandia and Tamasia still weren't enough to fight off the mind flayers entirely, but they held their own.
The mind flayers mercilessly attacked the rest of the continent of Vald, as well. In what is now Qandaq, lamias ruled with a legion of bewitched slaves. These unfortunate people no longer had the free will to resist the mind flayers mental powers. The lamias' empire collapsed, leaving the beasts mere shadows of their former selves, never to rise again.
The nation of Nuveaux likewise suffered attacks. The Nuvoans were unfortunately too disorganized to mount an effective resistance. Still, they did have the perfect solution in that they loaded up into their ships and evacuated to the sea. Any who could not be taken with were simply left to their fates. Almost none remained when they returned.

Victory At Last

There was one thing that existed during the days of the Third Rising that did not during the previous ones: adventurers. As soon as it became clear what was happening, these men and women from across the Twin Worlds descended into the Warrens seeking to kill the Overbrain and end the invasion.
Some sought fame and fortune, or wished to do right by the world. Others desired nothing more than vengeance. Most who carried out the search did not return, and others returned after being driven off by the many dangers of the Warrens. Always there were more adventurous souls to replace those who were lost.
Eventually, two succeeded where all others failed. These were the twins, Larrison and Avela Darkwood. They found that many had discovered the Overbrain and were kept as its thralls. They then awoke in a strange, illusory world-- trapped in their own minds as so many others were.
Unlike the others, Larrison was able to break free. He and Avela fought, but she, too managed to break free. The twins then destroyed the Overbrain, sending all the invaders on the surface fleeing to their underground homes, and they haven't risen in the millennia since.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Planetary

Start Date

5146 2R

Ending Date

1 3R

Conflict Result

Mind flayer defeat