War of the Three

The War of the Three was a conflict in which the gods Harika, Tai, and Kross sought to punish Vash for the creation of the Eye, as well as the murder of Patron. The "war" comprised mostly of small skirmishes and localized conflicts until the allied forces arrived at Vash'eth, destroying the city after considerable losses.

## Origins of Conflict

The battle between Vash and Patron resulted in a massive rift in Creation's fabric; a vortex that siphoned off the energy of the elements. This vortex became known as the Eye of Vash, which served as a powerful locus of magic and a beacon for mages around the world. Mages near the Eye found their abilities amplified by the abundant energies, resulting in wave after wave of mages coming to settle nearby. This would lead to the eventual foundation of Vash'eth.

Meanwhile, gods representing the elements began to notice their strength being sapped by the Eye. The Krosswinds diverted their course, heading south towards Vasheroth instead of hitting other areas. Harika's storms seemed to drift southward before abruptly vanishing. Tai's sunlight shined brightest on that southern continent, leaving other lands shaded and dreary. The three elemental gods were angered by this phenomenon and sought the Eye's destruction, as well as Vash's punishment.

## Prelude to Vash'eth

As Kross marched through Creation, he assembled a coalition of gloryhounds, mercenaries, raiders, and warriors. They hailed from nearly every race; giants from the north, humans from all different lands, alari from the southern jungles, and even a few yinshung emerged from hiding to join the fight. Takamu, an emissary from the Celestial Citadel, also joined the invading force; bringing with him the three blades Daybreaker, Nightbringer, and Terminator. As they traveled, they witnessed many horrors, as communities began persecuting mages and executing them. In retaliation, many mages were forced to destroy their former neighbors and friends.

Meanwhile, rumblings began in Vash'eth as the war came closer and closer to home. Dragons scorched many villages and towns just to deny supplies to the invaders. Scouting parties that fell under the gaze of these massive beasts found themselves destroyed with prejudice. As the journey became more and more unbearable, attrition began to take its toll. Unable to effectively forage, many of the combatants not heavily invested in the conflict departed, settling in the mountain ranges between Vasheroth and the mainland.

In Vash'eth, large numbers of slaves began disappearing, as well as some low ranking mages. Many attributed this to efforts attempting to cull the city of disloyal or volatile elements. However, events later in the war would reveal that blood magic had taken hold in Vash'eth, tainting the city from within.

## Fall of Vash'eth

Finally, Kross and his troops arrived at the jungles surrounding Vash'eth, bracing for the final assault. Dragons continued their assault from the skies, setting fire to the jungles around Vash'eth and harrying Kross, whose massive frame could be easily targeted above the jungle canopy. However, the dragons were greeted with unprecedented retaliation, as giants cast their nets to bring the dragons down to the ground. Kross snatched a few dragons out of the air with his bare hands, casting them to the ground in broken heaps. In the initial stages, both sides had already paid dearly; Vash'eth had lost several dragons (something unheard of until this point), while Kross had been nearly blinded by dragonfire.

Harika's arrival to the battlefield allowed the invaders to continue on, her rains putting out the obstructing forest fires. The sea goddess's waves began to batter Vash'eth, while the city's mages began unleashing arcane assaults upon the mundane forces of the invaders. Despite the advantage in quality, Vash'eth's forces struggled against the combined might of Kross and Harika, who smote mortals with near impunity. Soon, Vash'eth's forces were in full retreat, either fleeing into the countryside or attempting to find shelter deep within the city. Attempts to reinforce the city would be in vain, as Harika began flooding the city with her waters. Tai, up until now a distant observer in the fight, began ripping through the city with beams of intense sunlight, cleaving through buildings and stone alike. The waters filling the streets ran red with blood and boiled with a hellish heat, no doubt scalding the few inhabitants that still remained.

One of Tai's blasts revealed an underground sanctuary, filled with bloated corpses, viscera, and blood. At the center of the gore sat a hunched over dragon, its scales stained blood red. Even the skulls of its fellow dragons sat next to it, a testament of its depravity. Empowered with Nital's blood magic, the dragon announced its intent on slaying Tai and drinking the blood of a god in order to achieve divinity itself. Like a screaming missile, the dragon shot towards Tai, who responded by directing his sunlight directly at the foul beast. Its scales peeled back, smoked, and burnt, but it continued its ascent towards the First Sun. Before breathing its last breath, its charred frame latched onto Tai, rending his flesh before being completely incinerated.

## Destruction of the Eye

With Harika focusing on casting Vash'eth into the sea and Tai retreating due to his grievous injuries, it was up to Kross to destroy the Eye. Still nearly blind, Kross guided himself to the arcane cyclone by feeling its tremendous pull. The Eye lacked a proper physical form, and so Kross felt nothing to grip when he finally came upon the eye. Quickly the God of Winter found his very essence becoming drained by the ravenous Eye, and his hands and arms began to disappear into its maw. With a great heave, Kross managed to pull his limbs out of the vortex, setting off a chain reaction that caused the Eye to rip itself apart.

With the Eye's destruction, victory had finally been achieved.

## Aftermath

The War of the Three would be remembered as a horrifically bloody conflict whose consequences did little to comfort the victors. It was true that Vash'eth had been cast into the sea as punishment for its hubris, and the Eye had been destroyed, but the cost had been enormous. Tai had become greatly weakened due to the assault directed at him, while Kross had to be carried from the field by his retinue of giants after the Eye nearly destroyed him. The hero Takamu would also be lost during the battle, although neither his body nor Terminator were recovered afterwards.

The Eye itself had been destroyed, but the power it siphoned off of Kross in its final moments was dispersed throughout the ley-network. Indirectly, Kross's actions (combined with Tai's weakened state) led to a winter that would blanket Creation for decades. This period would be known as the Long Winter.

Vash would escape justice in this conflict, remaining aloof during its entirety and largely leaving Creation for other ambitions.