The Dishonourable War

Military action

The 27 year war between the Kingdom of Quarius and the scattered colonies of the Emerald Pines, fought from the shadows through betrayal and treachery.

The Dishonourable War lasted for twenty-seven years and is colloquially known as the Poisoner's War. The war spanned most of the east of the continent of Timberfell, from the Silverspire Mountains in the south to the Cinderpeak Sierra to the north, with the slowly rebuilding colonies of the Emerald Pines in between. The settlements, towns, and cities had no means of long-range communication and could not warn each other of any approaching attack; Quarius was able to attack each one with little resistance. He taught his soldiers to infiltrate their enemy, listening from the shadows to uncover their weaknesses, determining the best point of attack and how best to destroy the morale of any obstinate insurgents. With the groundwork complete, one of Quarius’ generals would strike at the weakened masses with swiftness and savagery. Quarius’ shadow tactics, though viewed as highly irregular and dishonourable, proved extremely effective in preventing widespread uprising.

Cities crumbled beneath the shadow of Quarius’ rule. The lights within settlements of humans and wood elves alike were snuffed out, and this creeping brutality lasted more than nine years. King Nikolai Quarius eventually sent his troops to what was believed to be the nearly abandoned town of Wellspring, rumoured to be a haven for refugees. Nikolai led his men throughout the ghost town, and they scattered about to look for survivors. As they regrouped in the town square, Nikolai delivered an inspiring speech on the utility of fear and shadow in worthwhile victory. It was at the height of his arrogance that the first arrow struck, followed shortly by a volley that clouded the sky. It appeared that after nine years of darkness and slaughter, Sylaise’s wood elves and the rebellious humans of the scattered colonies joined forces and formed an alliance of their own accord, outside the need for civil agreements or political treaties.

After Nikolai Quarius fell, his first successor and son, Henrik Quarius rose to power. Henrik shunned the brutality of his father, instead turning his interest to more sinister methods. He became known as “Blackfinger”, as his dabbling in necromancy had left one arm withered and useless. However, his militarising of infernal magics and forbidden rites elevated the threat of Quarius’s war machine. Henrik led his army back to the town of Wellspring where his father was executed, to exact his hideous vengeance. In the town square, he piled high the corpses of the elven and human traitors to make pyres that lit the night. Wellspring was razed to the ground, burned to ash.

By far, the darkest days of the Dishonourable War were during Henrik’s rule. He introduced tactics and magics to fuel his soldiers beyond human limits, leaving their bodies altered and mutated by foul necromantic magics. Their minds became warped and twisted to favour mindless bloodshed and domination. Quarius’ forces became the perfect weapons of war, their ranks blessed by the unholy touch of the Defiler God known as the Withering Lord.

In the face of such terrible power and wilful tyranny, the rebellion of men and elves continued to bolster their ranks with vengeful orphans and eager heroes. One such hero who came to be instrumental in the coming conflict was called Aeryn Sicaria. A human who rose from the harried streets of Aureum during these dark times, Aeryn quickly proved to be both a mighty warrior and an inspirational leader. Rallying the broken ranks of the resistance, Aeryn lured Henrik and his vanguard into the mysterious brush of the Emerald Pines, a realm where fey magic was to work in Pren’hafan’s favour.

Having unleashed their forces upon what they thought was the Pren’hafan outpost known as Arkney, the illusionary magic of the locale left the army without a target and vulnerable to ambush. The retribution of the forest merged with the weapons of Aeryn’s warriors, striking with enough ferocity that Henrik and his blighted soldiers were crushed, signalling a shift in the tides of war. As word of Henrik’s defeat and death spread, hope grew for all the oppressed peoples of the realm.

Even so, the last years of fighting were still ahead of them, for Nikolai’s youngest son stood to take power, and was sworn to avenge his family and protect their seat of rule.