Expulsion

**Consequences** | Amaranthine destroyed and surrounding area conquered by Sphyria, Amarantene forced to migrate

The **Expulsion** was a key event in the history of the Walls of the World. It involved the giant armies of the imperialistic Sphyrian Empire invading the glorious city of Amaranthine and the surrounding areas, and ended in the city being destroyed and the last of its survivors migrating south, where they found a new homeland in the Volantine region near Nova Core.

## History

### The state of Amaranthine

The city of Amaranthine had been prospering for many years in the fertile lands bordering the Asshir Desert, Starvast Mountains and mighty Sea of Braa. Despite its enormous size (the city would easily rank among the largest coreshti settlements of today), Amaranthine was an almost idyllic place to live. Surrounded on all sides by farmlands and other charming villages and cities, Amaranthine prospered, and so did its people. They enjoyed a rich cultural heritage and an extensive religious world that provided them with moral guidelines and a purpose in life. Generally, life in Amaranthine was good- but its inhabitants, in all their bliss, did not know that a force larger than life was trying to take all that away from them. The Sphyrian Empire, an imperialistic super-state, was looking to the city as a possible future conquest to further expand their already gigantic territory.

### Initiation of the attack

Many Sphyrians at the various imperial courts had been speculating about attacking prosperous Amaranthine, but there were also those who were calling for restraint. It was Grand Marshal Aubryn Colde, having been stationed in Asshir during the preceding years, who together with his cunning accomplice Rhaegon Malis managed to convince emperor Tevidian and the Sphyrian nobles in Vaissire to finally invade the wealthy city. From already conquered areas in Asshir, preparations were made to cross the Starvast Mountains.

### Early fases

The invasion of Amaranthine began with a Sphyrian army pushing north through the Asshir Desert and conquering the coastline of the Sea of Braa beneath the Starvast Mountains. After that, the fortified town of Altoren was attacked by the imperials, which gave them a way out of the desert and into the fertile lands that lay beyond the narrow gap between the mountains near Altoren. During the attack on Altoren, which proved surprisingly hard for the Sphyrians to succesfully pull off, another Sphyrian army attacked the Amarantene hearlands from the north, conquering various cities and large swaths of countryside. While the war is raging around Amaranthine, the situation in the city itself escalates drastically and eventually becomes critical. Large amounts of people want to flee from the advancing armies, but the gates are closed off by the military commanders and political leaders, which traps people inside the walls and creates an immensly tense atmosphere. This encourages illegal activities, and crime starts to rise.

### Siege of Amaranthine

The Sphyrian armies continue to push through the countryside, commanded by a very satisfied and increasingly bold Grand Marshal Colde. When everything around the Central Sea is conquered, the Sphyrians finally turn their eyes to the city itself. Aubryn Colde initiates the siege of the city, which is set to be a long and bloody fight. At first, Amaranthine seems well defensible due to the fact it is only accessible through four bridges connecting the mainland with the island on which the city is located. As such, the initial fighting is mainly carried out on the bridges, which are enormous in itself and house many buildings and people. The longer the siege lasts however, the more it becomes clear that the Amarantee do not stand a chance against the overwhelming Sphyrian forces. With the help of their infamous mages, led by the mighty Leuvaard during the Expulsion, the invaders manage to push further through the bridges, approaching the city proper. All the while, the Amarantene are trapped like rats. All escape routes have been blocked byt he enemy, and the entire Central Sea and everything around it is now ruled by the Sphyrians. Aubryn Colde looks on triumphantly. The situation in the Amaranthine is getting worse, with terrible things happening everyday: famine, murder, forced cannibalism, rape, crime and all other sorts of violence. The central authority of the city is severly destabilized, and the former situation of peace and calmness transforms into one of anarchy and lawlessness. Many people lose faith in the religion they have believed in for ages and turn to gambling, crime and murder. In addition, a terrible plage ravages the city and kills thousands of people. Life in Amaranthine has changed from a paradise to a hell; the once beautiful, glorious shimmering city is now a dark, depressing and very dangerous place.

### The rise of Sunbringer

In the midst of all the chaos strangling Amaranthine, a new figure manifests itself: a young woman with auburn hair and a relatively unnoteworthy background whose true name has long since been forgotten. This woman is sure that she has seen the light of the Amarantene God in a vision, and sees it as her sacred goal to save Amaranthine from "the darkness", namely the Sphyrians. After a miraculous victory for the Amarantene outside the city walls, she makes herself known as the prophet of the true faith, which has largely been abandoned in the lawlessness gripping the city. A large number of soldiers see her powers and are inspired by the woman, who seeks to revitalize the weakening resistance to the Sphyrian. She comes to be known as Sunbringer, and quickly becomes the most powerful person in the city in the political, military ánd religious life of the Amarantene, gaining the status of living saint. She regularly leads her people against the Sphyrians, and temporarily pushes back the enemy from the bridges multiple times. This causes the Sphyrians to withdraw from Amaranthine for a while and focus on consolidating their power in the surrounding countryside, taking care of supplies and reorganise the army. Meanwhile, Sunbringer begins an intense- and frankly quite bloody- hunt on Sphyrian agents in the cities, wanting to eliminate all foreign interference in the city. During the "interbellum", Sunbringer manages to give the Amarantene back their hope, and many turn back to their faith, rallying behind their newfound leader. She is also succesful in convincing the people of Tamerno, an allied city across the Sea of Braa, to send armies to help defeat the Sphyrians; these armies manage to reach the city via the river Serring. Amaranthine looks stronger for a time.

### Further siege and breakthrough

However big the influence of Sunbringer, the war is not going well for Amaranthine on a larger scale. Sunbringer does not manage to maintain the initial enthousiasm that once drove off the Sphyrians, and the enemy soon returns to the gates, and the misery is resumed in full. Food supplies are at an all-time low for the Amarantene; frequent riots break out on the street as a result, and no one is safe on the streets. Sunbringer proves unable to protect the people from these perils. The Amarantene, once a proud people, are now destroying themselves from the inside, General Colde remarks from his headquarters in Nomaran. He informs his commanders that it is time for the final attack. During the enormous assault, which was reported to be one of the largest direct attacks in history by famous writer Dwinnedoch, the gates and walls of Amaranthine are finally broken by the sheer numbers of Sphyrians, aided by the powerful mages. Sphyrian men enter the city, and chaos ensues. Terrible things happen as a result: a wave of crime, murders, rapes and plunderings ravage the city, and multiple large fires burn down many significant historical buildings and kill countless people.

### Sunbringer's trial

Sunbringer also does not escape harm during this large-scale attack. While leading a squad of soldiers to fight the Sphyrians in the streets, her troops are killed. However, Sunbringer herself has earned quite a reputation even among the Sphyrians, and the invading armies take her prisoner. The heroine is imprisoned in the dungeons, where she is repeatedly tortured, raped and otherwise abused while the Sphyrians take most of the city and subjugate its people under the supervision of governor Pieter Etz Artvelde. She does not break, however, and her faith in God manages to keep her going. Marshal Colde decides to burn her at the stake, ignoring warnings from his advisors that this might make her a martyr. However, Colde is convinced that Sunbringer's demise will surely make the Amarantene surrender. And thus, a barely clothed and badly wounded Sunbringer is brought to the stake before a somber crowd while Aubryn Colde and other Sphyrian elites look on. The heroine, now so far fallen, is tied to the pire, constantly praying for help from her God. The wood is lit on fire, and Sunbringer burns. Meanwhile, Grand Marshal Colde and Imperial Mage Leuvaard announce that Amaranthine has been conquered by the Sphyrian Empire, and that they will be taking over the entire city immedeatly- the execution of Sunbringer serves to confirm their dominance. However, something happens that the merciless Colde did not forsee: Sunbringer rises and steps out of the flames. She is stark naked, and her skin is on fire, but the heroine is not actually burnt and does not die. With her magical powers and newfound passion, she blows away the Sphyrians with enormous force. Colde and Leuvaard are also thrown to the ground, but manage to escape and leave the city safely. Sunbringer and the angry but passionate Amarantene crowd now attack the Sphyrians, who, despite their weapons, are expelled from the center of the city. The flame of hope is rekindled.

### Later fases

From this point forward, Sunbringer opts to always life and fight naked, convinced that the sins and mistakes of her past life have been burnt away by the holy fire. Under her leadership, the resistance against the Sphyrians is renewed, and many regular people who were subjugated rise up and fight. The Sphyrian troops are gradually being driven out of the city in a series of heroic battles, and eventually are forces to retreat beyond the four bridges. Faith in Sunbringer and her ability to save Amaranthine and her people is at an all-time hight. Meanwhile, a somewhat irritated grand marshal Colde contacts emperor Tevidian, who is still at home in the capital countless miles away. Colde explains everything, expecting the almighty ruler to be furious. However, the Emperor seems calm and controlled, and informs his military man that he will come to Amaranthine in person. This is one of the first things Aubryn Colde encounters in his life that actually frightens him: he knows how destructive the wrath of Tevidian can be, and expects the worst for the city. When the city has been recaptured by its inhabitants, the Amarantene manage to regroup and ressuply. With help of their allies from Temarno, they conquer the shores of the river Serring, ensuring a connection to the Sea of Braa.

### End of the invasion

However, all hell breaks lose once the immortal god-emperor and his elite army arrive to the site, seated on dragons. The Amarantene do not stand a chance against the onslaught that ensues. Sunbringer fights in the streets for a long time, but once she realises that her people are practically doomed, she flees to the highest tower of the grand central palace- alone. Looking down, she sees Amaranthine has become a sea of flames, death and destruction. Before she can do what she wants to the at the tower, Tevidian arrives seated on his dragon. The intimidating half-god steps down onto the stones, a large black and white giant towering above her, and tells her that their resistance was useless, and that all the death and destruction they see around them could have been prevented. Sunbringer tries to fight, but does not stand a chance against the all-powerful Tevidian. The emperor first attempts to kill her with magic, but she appears immune to it, which explains the fact she survived so long against countless Sphyrian mages. However, when she pulls out her sword, Tevidian pulls it out of her hands with just a thought. In a severe breach of character, the normally so distant emperor walks up to her and physically plunges the sword into the heroine's body, actually holding the sword in his hand (something Tevidian rarely does, instead usually relying on immensly powerful magic). Sunbinger falls to her knees and Tevidian turns around and walks away. Sunbringer however is not dead, manages to stand up, and takes the sword out of her stomach. For a moment there, it looks like the matter will reach a heroic conclusion, as Sunbringer stumbles toward Tevidian, who is walking to his dragon and does not seem to notice her. At the last moment, however, the emperor turns around. He hits her with the back of his hand, with such a force that Sunbringer dies in an instant, all her bones and organs shattered by the unimaginable force. Her naked, lifeless body flies off the tower and lands in the water below. Amarantene soldiers see the body of Sunbringer, their only hope in a world of darkness and despair, and quickly give up the fight. However, emperor Tevidian will not let the Amarantene surrender and orders marshal Colde to raise the city completely to the ground. When most of Amaranthine was burned down and its people all but completely murdered, the Sphyrians withdrew from the city. In a final demonstration of power, Tevidian decided to erase all evidence that Amaranthine ever existed: he lifted the entire island up, transforming it- and the ruins of Amaranthine with it- into a bleak mountain range called the Spires of the Fallen. So ended the Sphyrian war against Amaranthine.

## Aftermath

### Geopolitical changes

The fall of Amaranthine obviously had enormous effect. Since the city had been a major power in the region for centuries, and ever-prosperous hub of trade, religion and cultural refinement, its complete destruction meant a severe shift in power in the region. The Sphyrians now controlled the entire area around Amaranthine, lands which had become dark and bleak thanks to the war, and secured a permanent presence on the coasts of the Sea of Braa for their empire. This later enabled them to further expand their territory to Temarno, which had helped Amaranthine in the war and was conquered as a result. The conquest of the region was another in a never-ending series of imperialistic wars aimed at enlargening and strengthening the empire, which succedeed and gave the Sphyrians even more momentum. The Imperials managed to prolong this sense of momentum, which they later used in their attacks on the lands of Uthis and Thay- and more recently their large-scale invasion of Nova Core during the war of 513 5E.

### Position of Tevidian

One of the other significant things showcased by the war was the fact that emperor Tevidian, however cold and distant he might always seem, also had the potential to erupt and show his immense power. The demonstration of his unimaginible magic skills, which practically destroyed the entire city, was one of the first times in countless years that the Sphyrians saw their god (because that is how Tevidian is percieved in the Empire) directly intervene with earthly matters. The pure death and destruction caused by just a single man shocked even the highest of Sphyrian rulers, such as Marinne aep Selvey Carlean, a prominent mage who had not seen Tevidian showcase such power since their escape from Caescir Urtis and the creation of Vaissire. However, the emperor's actions also raised questions about him. Many people wondered why Tevidian dit not use his powers earlier, what was keeping him from revealing this awesome power. Ironically, it was especially this incident that sparked critisism of the almighty half-god, however small.

### Consequences for the Amarantene

Contrary to what the Sphyrians, and especially Tevidian, wanted to achieve and were sure they achieved, a group of Amarantene citizens did miraculously manage to escape the total onslaught wrecked by the invaders. Exactly when they succesfully fled the city is not known, but it is thought to have been quite a large group. De people, now homeless and without a name for their people, were banished from their home country and went into exile, wandering through the wilderness for years. Eventually, they travelled downstream along the banks of the river Braalis and found the fertile region of Volantine, just northeast of Nova Core. Volantine reminded the people of their homeland in such a way that they decided to permanently settled in the area. The first city they founded was Whitehaven, located in the utmost north of Volantine (and of the maps the coreshti use), which became an important cultural center from the people now calling themselfs the Volantene. Among other things, they built a tomb for Sunbringer here- this tomb is only symbolic, since the body of the heroine was lost in the destruction of Amaranthine- and erected many beautiful buildings. Another city that was founded was Autumn Hill on the shores of the Anthelossian Sea. Autumn Hill became the political center of power for the Volantene, and grew to be one of the most important cities in the area. The inhabitants of Volantine came to call the fall of Amaranthine "the Expulsion", since they saw their forced exile from their homeland as fundamentally unjust. However, the Volantene did not manage to maintain the unity they once had before the exile, and were soon fragmented into city-states like Calthume, Newhaven and Trogge. The Volantene also lost a large part of their religious identity, and many of the cultural and religious aspects of the Amarantene civilisations were abandoned. Only recent years have brought change in this situation. This was done with the establishment of the Northcoast Alliance, which unites the Volantene city-states under a central rule from Theddium. This city is characterised by the presence of the Equilibrian Palace and Heritage Hall, the latter of which having been established to honor the memory of Sunbringer and the Amarantene. Increasingly, some Volantene leaders have been calling for a return to the Amarantene system of faith, religion, morals and values. One of the main people arguing for this is politician Frederick Illedale, who is using the recent invasion of northern and western Volantine by the Sphyrian armies under Patriarchus to try and strengthen Volantene national pride and identity. This largely seems to be working, and the general Volantene populace is a thousand times more united than they were before the Northcoast Alliance. All the while, the memory of the Expulsion, of glorious Amaranthine and how it got brutally destroyed by the Sphyrians- the same people that are trying to attack Volantine now-, is alive and well.