Bulwari Age of Cinders

The **Age of Cinders** is the period of Bulwar's history that succeeds the Age of the Phoenix. It commonly starts in 1162 after the death of Empress Jexis and the fall of her empire, and lasts until the beginning of the Jaddari conquests of the Bulwar plains in 1494, starting the Age of the Dancing Sun.

The period is characterised by the rise of the formers elven governors of the Phoenix Empire as local rulers, the consolidation of their realms into proper kingdoms, and the conflicts between them: The Cinder Wars.

## First Cinder War (1162 - 1170)

The First Cinder War saw the Phoenix Empire implode and carved by the elven governors of Bulwar into various kingdoms.

### The Bashed Skull Uprising

In Bulwar, the rule of Jexis was met with apathy and discontent, as the centre of the empire once again shifted away from the Bulwar region. In 1161, the old general and governor of the Upper Buranun, Gelmonias Dalzuir, was murdered in Anbenncóst by his rival Elizar the Blooded. The ones who dared protest to the empress were imprisoned, among them the governor of Imulšes, Birzartan.

The son of Gelmonias, Darastarion, and the brother of Birzartan, Eletar, rebelled against the unjust policies of Jexis and her brother. An imperial army was sent to quell the rebellion, headed by Elizar lieutenant, Filinar Alarzuir. This soon came to be known as the Bashed Skull Uprising.

### Death of the Empress

Filinar hoped for a quick victory after a series of battles won, however the death of Jexis in 1162 reshuffled the cards. Opposing her bloodthirsty brother Elizar, many governors joined the rebels, such as Ginerdu, Sareyand and Yametšes. Despite the dire situation, Filinar remained loyal to Elizar and managed to defeat and slay the governor of Sareyand in battle before embarking on a western campaign to provide a possible safe landing region for the imperial legions stuck in Cannor. However, the brutality of Filinar during the capture of the port city of Anzabad ended up sparking revolts against the empire in the nearby Medurubar and Brasan.

### Changes of Fortune

Filinar's army suffered his first defeat in Medurubar after a flood forced him to lift the siege. His allies were knocked out of the war following their defeat in Kutriq, and Elizar was slain during his Cannorian campaign, sparking uncertainty as he was the last member of the Jaherian bloodline. With little hope of victory and no more cause to fight for, Filinar took his own life on the banks of the lower Suran in the summer of 1169, ending the war.

### Partition of Kalib

After the war, the Phoenix legions that followed Elizar in Cannor retreated to Bulwar. Their leader, Erelassa, demanded the bulwari governors meet with her in the city of Kalib. There, she presented the bulwari governors an infant by the name of Jaddar, and proclaimed him as the heir of Jexis. At her dismay, all rejected her claim aside from Vulzin, governor of Elizna and fervent member of loyalists.

The initial meeting was followed by long negotiations during which the victors of the war drafted the Partition of Kalib : The Empire is declared forfeit and Jaddar was officially dismissed as possible heir. The various governors and Taelarios (who still lacked an official title) acknowledged each others as Kings of their demesnes, cementing the end of the Empire. From the old governorships appeared the kingdoms of Dalarand, Sareyand, Re’uyel and Birzartanšes.

## The Flickering Peace (1170 - 1258)

### Re'uyel's Expansion in Busilar

Following the death of Jexis Busilar was divided into two parties: those who supported Jexis' brutal half-brother Elizar the Blooded along with sun elf rule and those who wanted a free Busilar. The lines were again broken after Elizar's defeat, with the country split into various feudal lords. Using her wealth and fleet, Uyel sailed to Port Jaher and rallied the city council around her in 1178, following the assassination of the former Sun Elf governor Tranduir. Uyel began to arbitrate between the various warlords of Businor, ensuring that the Interregnum continued with no united Busilar to confront her on the Divenhal. The Interregnum would however end in 1224 when the Silnaras took the title of King of Busilar, but negotiated with the son of Uyel, Kalinael that Port Jaher would remain Re'uyeli.

### Medurubari Purge

Medurubar was an independent city following the Partition of Kalib, but which experienced unrest because of numerous sectarians who denied the divinity of elves. Wary of heretic tendencies in a city so strategic, Taelarios of Irrliam moved in with his personal guard composed of the Order of the Zenith to root out the heretics in 1220. Having exposed links between the Judges ruling Medurubar and the Cultists, he proclaimed the annexation of Medurubar and installed his court in the city, overseeing the judgments of heretics and their death on the pyres in what would later be called the Medurubari Purge. Amongst the notable clerics who escaped the purge was the young Ashuru szal Harumanz.

### Sareyand's Eastern Campaigns

Like the rest of the Kings of Bulwar,  Eledas II Sarelzuir tried to enhance his power by annexing more territories in the East. Chronicles tell of his intent to secure the Salahad and plan a new Raheni campaign. For a while, his successes against the Gnolls of the Harad oasis and beyond gave credit to the idea. But despite his best efforts, he suffered defeat against Celador of Azka-Sur who had allied with the Dwarves of Seghdhir and some Masnish tribes, leading to Eledas being forced to fall back to the fortress of Hasr in 1256.

### Divisions in the Cult

Taelarios worked to uniformize the Sun Cult teachings well beyond his demesne. In 1201, the Rabsukal of Brasan hosted an assembly of the various priests in the city, with notably the three Kašra of the Suran (Bulwar, Eduz-Vacyn and Azka-Sur) at the demand of Taelarios. There the doctrine of shared divinity he had put forward in Kalib was acknowledged as canon law : with the death of Jaher’s bloodline, his divinity was passed to all the Sun Elves who had the moral duty to protect the Cult and thus the Light.

However by 1252, the unity of the Cult was in danger as the new High Kašra of Bulwar was succeeded by the charismatic and militant Basir, friend and advisor of the King of Dalarand, who was renowned throughout Bulwar for his militant doctrine, seeing the splintering of the Empire as an action that only bolstered the Malevolent Dark. As one of the three Kasra of the Suran, he began to attack the Council of Brasan and especially Taelarios, who found an ally in the Kasra of Eduz-Vacyn, under the control of his brother-in-law, Eledas II.

### The Secret Accord

In the West, tensions had grown between Arantir of Birsartanses who had succeeded his father Birzartan in 1245 and his cousin Kaltan I who succeeded Eletar in Aqatbar in 1254. The arrangement between Eletar and Birzartan had been born out of brotherly love and trust ; their sons did not share these feelings. Arantir was a vain and envious ruler while Kaltan was seen as charismatic and ambitious, attracting the ire of his liege. Tensions grew higher as time went on, and messengers from both Darastarion of Dalarand and Kalinael of Re'uyel were seen by agents of the paranoiac Arantir in the port of Aqatbar where Eletar was promised independence in exchange for his support in the war to come in Bulwar. Kalinael and Darastarion commited to another secret pact to divide Bulwar between themselves, with Kalinael promising the hand of his sister Veharia to cement the pact and Eletar being confirmed as a future vassal of Kalinael.

## Second Cinder War (1258 - 1272)

### The campaign of the Young Phoenix

Darastarion of Dalarand had observed his fellow neighbors embroiled in wars and internal conflicts for years. The defeat of Eledas II and the perceived weakness of Arantir of Birsartanses prompted him to declare war on his rivals with the intent to reunify the Phoenix Empire. He could count on the support of the Temple of Bulwar, ruled by his friend Basir and the general Kalindil Varamzuir, a veteran of the Halessi campaigns. His forces are divided into two main armies, one he leads personally against Taelarios, and another led by his lieutenant Kalindil Varamzuir against Sareyand.

Darastarion won a great victory in Zansap against Taelarios while Kalindil besieges Sareyand. However, the Harpy sense weakness and began harassing the supply lines of Darastarion, forcing him to engage the clans in battle and diverting him from seizing the momentum and crush Taelarios. Sensing a loss of momentum, Darastarion proclaimed that the Bulwari cities would gain further autonomy in his Empire in the hopes to increase support for his cause while Taelarios of Irrliam painted Darastarion and Basir as servants of Darkness and stirred the Cult against them.

### The Baharkandi rebellion (1258-1261)

Arantir mobilizes his army and answers the calls to help of Taelarios and Eledas, eyeing lands belonging to Darastarion. However when his troops reached the Sad Kuz passes, he learns of the treason of his cousin Kaltan : the ruler of Baharkand declared independence with the help of the kingdom of Re’uyel which intended to increase their influence over them and have more control over the forests of Bahar (for shipbuilding). The grandson of Kaltan, the future Kaltan III Eletarzuir is promised to the daughter of Kalinael, Selusia.  As Baharkandi and Re’uyeli forces began to advance into Birsartansesi territory. Arantir decided to prioritize the war in Bulwar proper and decides to accept the independence of his cousin for the time being, with the treaty of Fajabahar in 1261.

### The Azkabar uprising (1262-1263)

The prison of Azkabar, under the supervision of the Kingdom of Dalarand, had hosted magi since the reign of Jexis, and only a few were rumored to have escaped since then. But in 1262, Old Cultists rose in the city and liberated the magi declaring that the war among the elves showed the lies of the ‘heretical elven cult’. Fearing a general uprising, Kalindil was tasked by Darastarion to abandon the city of Sareyand to put down the revolt. Kalindil would takes back the city of Azkabar after one year of siege, which had been prulunged by the numerous magicians in the revolt, and commit a bloodbath as all magicians and heretics were either thrown into the Prison of Azkabar once more or killed.

### The Western advance (1262-63)

Arantir crossed the Sad Kuz in 1262 and joined with Taelarios to fight Darastarion. In Anzarxax, on the banks of the Buranun, the king of Dalarand managed to gain the upper hand in combat until the mercenaries he had hired switched sides and forced him to fight a pyrrhic victory over his foes. Darastarion prefered to retreat to Bulwar after growing suspectful of Re’uyeli intrigues, which were confirmed after Kalinael broke the engagement of his sister to let her marry a local elven noble. However Taelarios and Arantir’s alliance was short lived as they end up fighting each other to get to Bulwar first.

### The betrayal of Bulwar (1263)

As the war promised to last longer than anticipated, Kalindil is approached by various factions hoping to end Darastarion's dangerous endeavors in Bulwar : the plot seems to have involved notably the Twelves of Bulwar, still angered by the loss of the High priest position to a commoner along with agents from Kalinael. The plot by Kalindil Varamzuir caught the ‘young Phoenix’ by surprise. He died assassinated in the city of Bulwar where he had retreated and gathered his forces, Galindil having killed him while he was resting in his bath. Varamzuir took over the realm of the Buranun but was not recognized by many Darastarion loyalists nor by any other King of the Phoenix Estates in Bulwar besides Kalinael.

Basir who denounced the murder of his former King was attacked by Crathanori agents of Kalinael smuggled by the Twelves in the temple of Bulwar. When he fled into the streets he was mocked and attacked by the people of the city who blamed him for the war. He managed to flee east, and was not heard again in Bulwar proper.

### The Years of Hunger (1264-72)

The death of Darastarion did not mean the end of the war, for Kalindil tried to secure an independent realm for his dynasty over the ruins of his former liege, while having to fight Sareyand, Irliam and Birzartanses. However, the various belligerents were forced to end large campaigns following the great famine of 1265, provoked by the large disruption of agriculture by the war and the destruction of several irrigation systems during the fights. The famine killed thousands of Bulwaris throughout the Suran, hitting even the city of Brasan who had remained neutral. In the city of Bulwar, the new government of the Twelve families estimated that a quarter of the inhabitants of the city died of hunger or by diseases that struck the already weakened population. Out of the various belligerents, Kalindil developed hit and run strategy of small cavalry units that raided the countryside and avoided the fortified cities. While he was successful in managing to secure his realm on the Upper Buranun by disrupting the war capacity of his enemies he also gained the nickname of the "Red Pretender" because of the blood he spilled all over the Suran with his chevauchées.

### The Drolas campaign of Re'uyel (1271)

In 1271, Kalinael continues to expand his influence by invading the neutral akalate of the Drolas, under the pretext of crushing piratry in the area. While criticized by the other powers of Bulwar, notably Birzartanses and Brasan, the campaign is a large success and Kalinael enforces this annexation in the Peace of Anzabad.

### Peace of Anzabad

The remaining Elven kingdoms proclaim peace with one another and recognize their borders :

- Sareyand takes the prize with the annexation of the Eastern Naza and Harklum and Zansap as vassals.

- Irrliam remains powerful, taking over most of the former Ginerdu demesne.

- Birzartanses keeps the control over Anzarzax and becomes the new overlord of Gelkalis and Kumarkand

- The new Varamzuir king gets a small domain north of Bulwar, ruling over Akalses as King of Varamhar.

- Bulwar is recognized as an independent and neutral city by the elven kings.

## The Re'uyeli Kindling (1274 - 1302)

Perhaps the main winner of the Second Cinder War was the kingdom of Re'uyel. Despite them initially supporting the losing side, they managed to quickly opt out the war without any loss and after fulfilling their main objective: weakening the kingdom of Birzartanšes by supporting the Baharkandi independence.

With the other realms still occupied by the drawn out war, they were then able to invade the Drolas peninsula completely unopposed. Their growing influence over Brasan didn't meet much resistance either: they deposed the Rabsukal of Brasan after dubious accusations of him being a former supporter of Darastarion surfaced, and replaced him with a puppet of theirs. Influence over the republic grew steadily in the following decade, until the Rabsukal formally swore fealty to the king of Re'uyel in 1285.

### Influence over Bahar

With the estuary of the Suran under their control, Re'uyel worked on restoring trade in the eastern Divenhal sea, after it was greatly disrupted by the recent conflicts. King Kalinael I ordered the construction of a grand merchant fleet, as well as the construction of a new military fleet to protect their interests. To secure the needed supplies, they turned towards Baharkand and its dense forests. The latter had no choice but to answer the increasingly ridiculous demands of Kalinael, as Re'uyel was the only realm willing to protect them against the threat posed by the Kingdom of Birzartanšes.

With the great merchant fleet built, trade in the eastern Divenhal boomed yet again, to levels similar as the time of the Phoenix Empire. The cannorian high demand for bulwari and raheni goods, such as silk, spices and porcelain made Re'uyel's entreprise extremely lucrative, making Kalinael I the richest individual of this part of world. Other individuals in the realms also made great profits, such as the Crathanori merchants who were able to establish commercial ties more easily with the Cannorian thanks to their identical religion and shared heritage with the Busilari.

### Ventures into Ourdanor

At the turn of the century, Kalinel looked at using his wealth to expand his realm. Isolated, the Petty Kingdom of Ourdia appeared as an easy target and an invasion was launched. However, Kalinael's forces were unable to take the great citadel of Bal Ourd after years of siege. A treaty was signed and Ourdia conceded their coastline to Re'uyel in exchange for peace and the retreat of the elven armies.

## Third Cinder War (1302 - 1311)

The incident that sparked the Third Cinder War happened in the late 13th century, when a massive gold vein was discovered near the Baharkandi citadel of Azka-Evran. Soon after mining operations started, Re'uyel started to demand a share of the revenues. Exasperated by this incident as well as multiple previous ridiculous demands, King Kaltan I of Baharkand started to actively oppose the growing influence of Re'uyel. Secret ties with countries wary of Re’uyel’s naval and mercantile hegemony were established, including the elven kingdoms of Irrliam and Elizna, the dwarven hold of Ovdal Tûngr, and the human kingdoms of Ourdia and Busilar.

Kaltan's plan was ready to be set in motion by 1302. War on Re'uyel was declared - soon followed by the other members of the secret coalition - and the part of the Re’uyeli navy that was docked in Aqatbar for maintenance was promptly seized. Despite their superior numbers, the coalition still experienced setbacks at sea, but managed to keep the tide of the war in their favour nonetheless, thanks to numerous victories on land.

In response, Re'uyel entered into an alliance with the Kingdom of Birzartanšes, allowing them to isolate Kaltan's force in Bahar. The support of the Ekhani fleet was negotiated as well to blockade Busilar and prevent any form of reinforcements from reaching Bahar.

The tide turned yet again after the Kingdom of Eborthíl, afraid of the consequences of a Re'uyeli victory, entered the war on the coalition's side. They managed to finally overwhelm their opponent at sea and on land, forcing Re'uyel to sue for peace in 1311.

### Treaty of Gemisle

The following peace talks took place on the island of Gemisle. Irrliam received the birzartanšesi territories south of the Šad-Kuz as well as the title of “protectors of Brasan", to the dismay of Elizna, who only obtained control of the Drolas peninsula for their efforts. Baharkand got the territories Re’uyel seized from Baharšes a century prior. Ovdal Tûngr took back the mountains surrounding their hold, including the lucrative gold mine of Gulangor.

Outside of Bulwar, Ourdia took back its former territories, Busilar received control over Port Jaher, and Eborthil obtained trade concessions from Brasan and Re’uyel.

The unintended consequence of the Treaty of Gemisle was the apparition of tensions between Elizna and Irrliam, exacerbated by a personal rivalry between queen Zelaria and princess Imariel. The former considered herself cheated after only receiving the poorly developed Drolas Peninsula despite largely contributing the most ships to the coalition’s fleet. She supposedly entered a fury when the Irrliami princess retorted that the Drolas was more than sufficient for a country fully responsible for the naval defeats that nearly cost the war.

## Century of Shimmers (1311 - 1413)

The Third Cinder War was the last large scale conflict that ignited between multiple sun elf states. With the last two potential hegemons put down by a coalition, no state dared to take their chance at unifying the region. This led to a period of overall peace, only occasionally disturbed by smaller and more localised conflicts.

### Eliznan Syncretism

The elven supremacist faction of Elizna was greatly weakened after the war, the core of their power centred around the recently sunken navy. Queen Zelaria seized the opportunity to cut them off completely from power, and started a series of reforms that aimed at incorporating Kheteratan customs into the Eliznan high society to stabilize her ruler over the region.

### Fall of the Šad Sur

After gradually losing ground to more and more persistant gnollish attacks during the past century, the Akalate of the Šad Sur finally fell after a massive gnollish pack broke in the fortress-capital of Ekluzagnu. Irrliami aid came too late to save the Kingdom, but still managed stop the gnollish advance and secure the refugees' safety. After relocating to the safer territory of Zanšap, the Šad Sur Akal pledged allegiance to the Irrliazuir dynasty in exchange for protection against future attacks.

### A New Queendom

In need of a prestige boost after having their legitimacy questioned, the kings of Birzartanšes and Varamhar turned their eyes towards the northern hills controlled by disunified harpy flocks. While initially successful, the fierce resistance mounted by the harpies made the campaigns extremely costly in manpower, and the conquered territories ended up being even costlier to hold in the long run. In the end, the campaigns archived the opposite objective, and kickstarted the events that would lead to the resurgence of an unified harpy realm.

The first major setback happened when Ishtara - the matriarch of a modestly sized harpy flock - managed to defeat an invading Varamhari army near Arkašul, at a battle that would later be known as the Ishtara swoop. She then used her newly found popularity to raise unity among the harpies and rallied the flocks into a combined attack against Gelkalis and Birzartanšes. With the Birzartanšesi armies exhausted and overextended, the harpies were able to retake a significant portion of the hills, at the cost of Ishtara's life. Her daughter, Mudam, used her mother's heroic status to fully unify the flocks in 1342, birthing a new Queendom of Harpylen.

### Founding of the Jadd Faith

Meanwhile, in the Easternmost part of the region, Jaddar Jexiszuir finally descended from the Mountain of Clear Sight in the summer of 1333, after 9 years of seclusion. This moment is generally considered as the founding act of the Jadd faith, a religion that would greatly shake the region in the following centuries.

The legend goes that Jaddar went into seclusion after reading the texts of the Kašra Basir, nicknamed "the old man of Bulwar" by the Mašnsih after he fled Dalarand and went into exile. These texts supposedly held a certain influence on the future Herald, for he was inspired by the man's speeches about the need to fight the Darkness, and the need for one empire to spread the Light.

### Attempts at Centralising the Sun Cult

A significant portion of the elven nobility felt their position threatened by the rise of an heresy that was promoting equality among its faithful. Many started to gravitate around Taelarios, who was preaching for a more structured, centralised and radical version of the Sun Cult in response. Galvanised by his growing number of followers, Taelarios abdicated the Irrliam throne to his eldest daughter, Imariel, to focus on unifying the cult around himself.

His attempt was only partially successful. He managed to make the Irrliami capital of Medurubar the new center of the cult (notably by using intimidation tactics carried by the Order of the Zenith on the historically important temples of Bulwar and Eduz-Vacyn), and many practices were codified and regulated during this period. However, he failed to negotiate the unification of local temples under the same organisation during the council of Idanaš, with every other elven kingdom opposing the idea of losing control over their own clergy.

Taelarios' actions also had the effect of reinforcing the animosity between the Irrliazuir and Vulzinzuir dynasties, with his hard-line policies frequently clashing against Elizna’s syncretistic approach towards the beliefs of their Kheteratan subjects.

### The Shimmering Palaces

During this period, the elven nobility started to drift more and more away from the rest of the bulwari society, secluding themselves in their palaces. Boredom was chased away by lavish balls, artistic expositions and scientific curiosities, and the many wealthy elven patrons hiring talented artists and scholars ushered a small golden age in their respective fields. Among the more ambitious projects of the period were the construction of the Eduz-Rakadagh of Bulwar, as well as the renovations of the great library of Aqatbar.

The financing of the sun elven luxurious way of life was secured by neglecting military spending and increasing taxes on the peasantry. While the cult played a key role at ensuring the general discontent was kept at an acceptable level, by the start of the 15th century the strain on the bulwari populace was at an all time high.

## From Cinders to Ashes (1413 - 1494)

The 15th century is the century of the sun elves' decline. Years of recurring dryness and crop failures between 1413 and 1418 coupled with wars and infighting severely weakened the region, letting the door open to external invaders.

### Bahari Decades of Devastation

Bahar was the region the most severely impacted by droughts and famines. Tax income plummeted, while at the same time kings were forced to buy grain from abroad to prevent food riots. Peasants turned to crime to feed their families in neglected regions, and incompetent responses from the elven monarchs decreased the trust placed in them. Succession wars between the kingdoms of Re'uyel, Baharkand and Birzartanšes worsened the situation even further, and let to rebellions in the Harpy Hills and secessions in Crathanor.

The general chaos opened the way to the Goblin Exodus, a horde of goblins that came out the Serpentreach mountains and swept through Bahar. The Kingdom of Baharkand was completely destroyed while the other realms barely managed to hold them. The goblins eventually converged under the Marblehead clan and slowly integrated into the region. Their new realm they established around the border of the late kingdom of Baharkand would latter became known as the Aqatbar Overclan.

### War of the Ember Queens

Since the Treaty of Gemisle, Brasan became the center point of the rivalry between Irrliam and Elizna, with the latter often trying to meddle with the Brasanni elections. Elizna's efforts came to fruition in 1417, when the high council of Brasan elected a pro-independence Rabsukal. After Irrliam unsuccessfully tried to have the new Rabsukal removed, Brasan declared their independence with Elizna’s backing, starting the War of the Ember Queens.

The war was a disaster for Irrliam. Their armies were no match for the well trained and better equipped forces of Elizna, Anzabad fell in a matter of weeks and Queen Imariel was slain at the battle of the Dasma confluence. The walls of the capital - Medurubar - managed to hold for 28 months, but the long siege only increase the wrath of the invaders and the city was brutally sacked and most of the royal family murdered.

Ironically this tragic event was what saved Irrliam from a total defeat. Elizna suffered an intense backlash from the other bulwari leaders, particularly the ones who lost family members in the massacre. Multiple countries threatened to enter the war against them, which forced Zelaria to sue for peace with Irrliam. Elizna ended up giving back the control of the cities of Medurubar and Anzabad, but kept control of the other occupied territories. The Brasani Rabsukal was deposed and the city remained under Irrliami influence, but obtained much more autonomy.

### Gnollish Resurgence

The weakening of the elven states paved the way for a gnollish resurgence in Bulwar, after centuries of being confined the Salahad desert. The movement was spearheaded by two leaders who managed to subjugate surrounding packs thanks to their magical powers: Tluuk in the Šad Sur and Zokka around the Harra Oasis.

Zokka was the first to take action, and attacked the kingdom of Sareyand in 1426. King Eledas was ambushed thanks to clever gnollish tactics and lost his left arm during a duel with the gnoll leader. The limb was allegedly eaten by Zokka, which is often the tale given to explain his moniker “Devourer of Suns”. After the battle, the remaining sareyandi forces retreated to their core territories while Hašr and Eduz-Vacyn became tributaries of the gnolls.

In the Šad Sur meanwhile, Tluukt managed to finish the subjugation of the last independent local packs by 1434. Judging correctly that Irrliam would not be able to intervene after the events of the War of the Ember Queens, she then launched an attack against Zanšap to drive them out completely of their remaining mountainous territories. Emboldened by her victories, she continued her advance towards to city of Bulwar, which recently conquered by the powerful mage and king of Varamhar, Carodir I. Sensing the overflowing pride of her opponent, Tluuk challenged Carodir to a magic duel she soundly won, allowed her to seize the city with minimal loses.

The gnollish victories dealt a great blow to the Sun Elves' prestige and weakened the faith their human subjects placed in them. An attempt at fighting back was launched in 1443, when the kingdoms of Sareyand and Azka-Sur supported an anti-gnollish rebellion in the cities of Hašr and Eduz-Vacyn. The human and elves armies were defeated again however, and King Erlian of Azka-Sur lost his life while protecting a convoy of refugees fleeing Hašr.

### A Fire Ignites the East

Zokka's success wouldn't last long however. His undoing wouldn't come from the sun elves in the West but from Jaddari legions in the east, during the Battle of the Sun's Providence in 1446. Jaddar personally sought a duel against the gnollish leader and slew him in front of all of his troops. His death shattered the gnolls' spirit, provoking a mass rout and ending the war. With the help of Zokka's son - latter be known as Zokka Devourer-of-Darkness - who surrendered and converted to the Jadd after the battle, the remaining gnolls were forcefully assimilated, after having been given the choice to convert or die. The Akalate of Hašr was liberated and their Akal proclaimed Jaddar as their saviour and promptly converted to the Jadd faith.

After securing a quick victory over Sareyand which saw him proclaimed as the protector of the lupper Suran, Jaddar turned his gaze towards the east. Successful campaigns were launched against the Siadan Harpies in 1453, Azka-Sur in 1454, the Gold Dwarves in 1462 and a join invasion of coastal Rahen with Bhuvauriin 1469. The following two decades were dedicated to consolidating and administrating the new holdings.

### The Tragedy of Samartal

In 1491, a grand summit took place at Duke Celador Elrazuir's estate of Samartal in the outskirts of Kumarkand. The summit had all the most prominent sun elf and Bulwari figures invited in an attempt appease the recent tensions among them, and address the threats posed by the Jaddari Legion to their east and the goblins to their north.

As rulers and diplomats started to make progress, the summit was struck by a magical attack that burned most of the estate. Many leaders lost their life or became gravely injured, and no one at the time knew who was responsible for the attack. This lead to suspicions and accusations, shattering the remaining unity among the New Sun Cults realms, even when it was latter revealed the culprits were a group of Old Sun Cult fanatics.

### The Fall of Sareyand

The facture caused by the events of Samartal made Jaddar turn his focus on the Suran plains again. As chaos descended on the elven realms, the eastern legions were mobilised, and the invasion was kickstarted in 1493. Less than a year latter, Sareyand had completely capitulated, unable to muster any worthy opposition to the Jaddari legion.

The fall of Sareyand in 1494 cemented the rise of Jaddar and the fall from grace of the Sun Elves. With the balance of powers completely reshuffled, most chroniclers mark this year as the end of the Age of Cinders and the start of the Age of the Dancing Sun, although some prefer to separate them with the Proclamation of Bulwar.