Greater Elven Civil War

The Greater Elven Civil War was the first great conflict of the First Age. It forever divided the solari [day] and shadus [night] elves. Despite early racial tensions and tribal conflicts, the two elven people groups had come together to forge the glorious Elven Empire, which covered much of the continent of Damocles during the First Age.

## The Development of the Elven Caste System

Over time, the infamous elven caste system emerged. At the advent of the Elven Empire, the caste system was rather vague.

### Neron Model

What developed within the lifetimes of the first two Emperors became known as Nero’s Model, or the Neron Model. According to Neron thought, the Nobility was clearly at the top and Working class [including unskilled laborers, farmers, slaves) at the bottom of society. One made their own fortune in the Neron model. In theory, warriors, magus and merchants all had equal opportunity to progress to nobility or fall to the Working class. In reality, the Nobility had little room to allow plucky climbers of the social ladder into its caste. The Senate drew its members from the central castes and recycled them regularly. Intermarriage was allowed between the central castes and up or down a level, but the Nobility by birth, including the Emperor, had little desire to marry down the social ladder. Nobility and Working castes could never intermarry. Slaves could only marry other members of the Working caste, though noon-slave members of the Working caste could marry members of one of the central castes.

### Cicebellian Model

As the Empire expanded, a new way of viewing the caste system emerged. The Merchant class was seen as more of a gateway to the upper echelons. Those who had money had the opportunity to get into the Warrior or Magus class. Those who had no money or land were not fit to rule. Whereas by the Neron model a Worker could ascend to either the Merchant, Warrior or Magus class, Cicebel’s Model made the Warrior and magus classes unattainable to mere Workers. Likewise, the Nobility was only attainable via the Magus and Warrior classes. Due to a deepening rivalry between the predominantly solari Magus caste and the predominantly shadus Warrior caste, intermarriage between these two castes, while permissible, was rare.

### Athon Model

As they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. By marriage, craft and political maneuvering, the solari infused themselves into the Nobility and took control of the Senate. During the reign of the eighth and last Emperor (Xander Valerian), Imperial Speaker Athon Lorenthal sought to codify a new caste system favoring the solari. The two previously mentioned models both had their adherents; up until this point the Senate was divided between members of the old school Neron and the newer Cicebellian parties. Athon’s new model sought to subjugate cultural preference and make the new model an Imperial mandate. By his model, the Worker/Slave castes represented the lowest circles of society and thsu they could freely intermarry. This point was accepted by everyone. The next caste circle was made up of the Warrior and Merchant castes. In his view, money and might were a means to an end. Athon considered them a step above the Working class. Merchants and Warriors could freely intermarry. As a concession to tradition, Merchants and Workers [but not Slaves] could likewise intermarry. Of course, the highest circle consisted of the Magus/Nobility castes. The Nobility were still at the top of the heap, but as a slap in the face to the predominantly shadus Warrior caste, Warriors could no longer intermarry with Nobility, unless they first married into the solari dominated Magus caste. In essence, shadus elves were to be denied access to royal bloodlines.

## Imperial Coup

The sad reality is that those to whom the Athon model was most likely to appeal to were already in control of the Senate. Seeing that they would effectively be denied a say in the government of the Elven Empire if the Senate passed the Athon caste codex into law, many of the shadus rebelled. The Imperial Speaker proclaimed that the shadus were attempting a coup and pressed the Emperor to intervene. Emperor Valerian locked down the Forbidden Palace. He and his elite guard prepared for a siege, all the while calling for the shadus to peaceably lay down their arms. Despite all precautions, an assassin killed the Emperor in the middle of the night. The shadus were blamed for his death. The shadus cried foul, especially when the Imperial Speaker made public his intent to seize the throne rather than fulfilling his traditional role as Arbiter of Succession. Hearing of his treachery, a solari magus named Zorat Silvanthus magicked away the Staff of Rule and cursed the Throne of Emperors; according to the terms of Zorat’s curse, no elf would be able to sit upon the Imperial Throne until the Staff of Rule was returned. Unperturbed, Athon had Zorat executed for treason and afterwards declared himself Emperor with great pomp and ceremony. Athon promptly disintegrated into a pile of ash. Thereafter, no elf called himself Emperor of the Elves. The Imperial Speaker became the highest office in the empire until the Staff of Rule could be found.

Despite Athon’s death, a long and bitter civil war ensued between the solari and shadus elves. Desite the military prowess of the night elves, the solari far outnumbered the shadus. The day elves also had the added advantage of a large magus force on their side. Over time, the objective of the shadus changed from wishing fair and equal representation in the Senate to simply desiring shadus independence.

## War’s End

The war raged on for several decades over the breadth of the continent of Damocles, until at last a truce was signed at the Great Tarn. The Bloodstone Accord granted shadus independence from Elvish Imperial rule and divided the Empire in half. The solari ruled the River Lands and the Green Lands, while the shadus held the High Lands and the Broken Lands. The Wylds belonged to no elf.

One other notable event of the war was the introduction of vampyres. A company of shadus was cursed to be the first vampyres for betraying their balrog master.