Crystal Wars

The Crystal Wars were two wars separated by a brief period of peace that were fought in Arthuria (then called Mercia). They were concluded by the crowning of Arthur Pendragon as king, and the disappearance of the previously incumbent Quartizine Order.

## Timeline of Events

### Pre-War

* The last Rey king takes the throne.
* Biggs Jasper, and Anera Terrali are born.
* Mordred starts serving the Mercian monarchy as a knight. He climbs the ranks quickly, and starts using his position to influence the prejudiced monarch.
* The Stone Massacre occurs, killing many of the Psychics in Arthuria's area, including Anera's parents and siblings.
	+ The surviving Psychics scatter and flee, hiding in the nearby hills.
	+ Uther Pendragon, Mercian knight and soon-to-be father of Arthur Pendragon, is forced to flee to escape execution for his refusal to take part in the massacre.
	+ Herbol Blythe, former court mage, abandons the monarchy entirely. He starts working against the king from the shadows.
* The Quartizine Order appears out of seemingly nowhere, and starts gathering up survivors of the Massacre to join their cause.
	+ The Order will eventually join a larger resistance, including Herbol, Anera, and Uther Pendragon, with the ultimate goal to put an end to the Rey dynasty.
* Arthur Pendragon is born.

### First Crystal War (Years 0-6)

* The rebels emerge, declaring war on Mercia and the Rey monarchy.
* Uther becomes one of the leaders of the rebellion.
	+ Excalibur is forged and given to Uther; the sword quickly becomes a symbol of the resistance.
* The rebels eventually storm the castle in the final battle of the First Crystal War.
	+ Mordred flees the castle to fight another day, leaving the king to his fate.
	+ The last Rey king is killed.
	+ Uther Pendragon is fatally wounded. He inadvertently embeds Excalibur in a stone just moments before his death.
	+ Morion Quartz is made leader of Mercia (though never truly crowned king).

### Years 7-10

* Mordred disappears completely.
* Herbol is transformed into an incubus through unknown means, disappearing from the public eye.
* Excalibur, still embedded in a stone, is removed from the castle grounds and taken to a nearby field as a memorial.
	+ The sword's unique enchantments become apparent at this time; while many people tried to pull Excalibur out of the stone, none were successful.
* Morion starts acting against the "gemless" of Arthuria, sending soldiers to extort resources from them.
* Arthur spots Excalibur and, oblivious to its importance, draws it from its stone.
	+ Anera, witnessing this, is able to convince Arthur to train to become a knight like his late father.
* A second group of rebels, led by Anera, starts to organize as Morion's soldiers become increasingly violent towards non-Psychics.

### Second Crystal War (Years 11-14)

* Anera's group of rebels declares war on the Quartizine Order.
* Anera is quickly captured and imprisoned, leaving her rebel group to fend for themselves.
	+ Arthur reorganizes the rebels, relying on covert tactics to fight the Order.
* Psychic spies manage to infiltrate Camelot, eventually freeing Anera.
* Morion is lured out of Camelot by the escaping Anera; he is consequently captured and executed by the rebels awaiting Anera's return.
	+ Without their leader, the Quartizine Order flees Arthuria, going into hiding.
	+ Arthur is crowned king of Mercia.

## Participants

### Quartizine Order

* Graysille Tabarth (indirectly)
* Biggs Jasper
* Morion Quartz (leader)

### Other Rebel Forces

* Anera Terrali (both wars; leader in the second war)
* Arthur Pendragon (leader, second war only)
* Herbol Blythe (first war only)
* Uther Pendragon (leader, first war only)

## Aftermath

The Crystal Wars resulted in the end of the Rey dynasty and the beginning of the Pendragon dynasty. King Arthur would have a long and successful reign, bringing the kingdom and its surrounding lands into an era of peace that would even outlast him; in fact, the peace would only truly be broken by the Red War one hundred years after his death. Due to his renown, after his death, his heir would rename Mercia to Arthuria in his honor.

Anera would become one of if not the only Psychic to remain in the public eye after the wars. However, she would serve the Pendragon family for generations, and those that knew of her saw her as the family's guardian. Despite her loyalty, she suddenly left just a couple decades before the Red War and remained absent until long after it concluded, thus being unable to prevent it or lessen its impact on the Pendragon line.

The remnants of the Quartizine Order never forgot their leader's failure, with the Order itself becoming divided for many years; some continued to support the late Morion, while others became disillusioned and spurned him. These disputes never became violent, though, and the group's members would eventually set aside their differences and unite to fight in the Red War.