Dark War

The **Dark War** was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history and considered to be the end of the Age of Awakening. This event revolved around the rapid expansion of the Psionic Dark Empire and its attempted conquest of the world. While most of the nations of the world fought against this common enemy, each nation's conflict was primarily self-contained for the majority of the war.

## Farhan

Due to a high cultural aversion to magic in general, the nation of Farhan was perhaps the most prepared for the Dark War of all the world's communities. The Psionic invasion began by gaining control of the magic-using refuge communities in Biyabun. Many sympathized with the goals of the Psions and willingly joined. The Psions and their sympathizers were able to successfully install agents in three of Farhan's major cities: Gorkos, Jannan, and Isharun. However, the espionage did not go unnoticed, and in response, the Shahar deployed its secret weapon, the Muhaqq.

The war primarily occurred in secret between the Psions and the Muhaqq, but was marked by a number of notable public events. These events included the attempted assassination of Shah Kharus, the attempted secession of South Farhan, the simultaneous disappearances and assassinations of several councilmen (later called "The Beheading"), and the beginning of the Policy of Death. The war officially went public on 6 Ator 221 AA, as the Shah formally declared war on the magical forces of Biyabun, without stating any distinction between the Psions and the mages which did not support them. The last year of the war saw large casualties on both sides as the forces began open conflict with one another. Mages, whether they were sympathizers or not, suffered greatly during the conflict as the nation treated them as equivalent to the enemy. In addition, public support of the Tahir increased as citizens began to witness the devastation that magic could do. The war also brought the Muhaqq to the public eye for the first time, although its existence remained officially a secret.

## Setriel

The Dark War was a politically turbulent time in Setriel, making it an easy target for the Psionic Empire. Due to the disparate nature of the Modlan tribes and city-states, the Psions were able to easily infiltrate the land from the shadows by mind-controlling key, powerful individuals. By uniting the various conflicting tribes into a single, homogenous nation, the Psions founded the Modlan Confederation as a vassal-state to the Dark Empire. The Psions convinced the Modlan people to fight alongside them using promises of revenge against Osland, profit and prosperity for Modla, and psychic manipulation. The new Modlan state successfully crossed the divide and caused great damage to their rival state of Osland. The most notable raids occurred during the Daelanmor Massacre, where Modlans and Psions razed the Golden Forest, destroyed the cities of Harthope and Valenmir, and pillaged and murdered across the entire Duchy.

Responding to the unprecedented attacks, an army led by King Ferik VIII combatted the enemy in Daelanmor, successfully driving them away from Osland. King Ferik would ultimately meet his demise while trying to push the offensive into Modla, leading to a stalemate between both sides. Whilst the Modlan and Oslandic armies clashed across the Divide, the young Ferik IX placed an open call for adventurers and mercenaries to journey into Modla and combat the masterminding Psions directly. Of these adventuring companies, the most successful and famous came to be known as the Ashbringers, who would help to turn the tide of the war by liberating mind-controlled Modlans and defeating various Psion leaders. The Ashbringers participated in the forming of the Kingdom of Modlah, which grew out of the rebelling populace of Modla.