Ishtari Conflict

Belligerents| * Knights of Ishtar
* Archipelago
* Other Ishtar worshippers
* Iceland
* Other non-believers

Commanders and Leaders| * FlyingPokemon
* Kingkauw
* Jrod

The **Ishtari Conflict**, was a holy war fought in Novigrad during the Eleventh Era. The crusade was waged by the Knights of Ishtar and their allies against those they considered heretics and infidels; their enemies in turn considered KOI a fanatical cult of religious zealots and resisted their theocracy.

The conflict was characterized by a series of military stalemates (due to an overabundance of totems of undying) and proxy struggles over Novigrad Survivor and loot left by dragons from the Novigrad Nest, but both sides shed their fair amount of blood.

# History

### Background

   To open the Eleventh Era, the United Provinces began to worship Ishtar, the goddess of life, passion, and war. Thus they became the warrior-priests of her Knights of Ishtar, a religious military order dedicated to proselytizing residents of Novigrad and defending the faith against infidels.

As their wealth and reach expanded extraordinarily, so too did their evangelistic efforts to spread understanding and acceptance of their religion. They raised Temples of Ishtar in her name and attempted to dominate both Novigrad Survivor and the Novigrad Nest events. At the same time, they generously offered charitable donations and humanitarian assistance and invited allies to settle in their Archipelago protectorate. With these actions they hoped to convey to the populace that it was far easier to accept Ishtar into their lives than risk the wrath of her knights.

But a number of residents remained defiant and refused to recognize Ishtar or abide her priests. Many of these nonbelievers settled in a group of islands south of the Archipelago known as the Unbroken Chain, where they could live free from Ishtar's sphere of influence.

### First Strike

   On 11E:40, Gabault became the first person outside of the Knights of Ishtar to acquire elytra. Seeing this as a threat to their air superiority, KOI discussed their options.

Gabault was one of the few people in Novigrad that could still challenge their supremacy, being a peerless warrior who had led successful military campaigns years ago Dragonhollow against Hyperion, Ouroboros, and the Dragonslayers. While attacking him while he was still vulnerable might deliver a strategic setback for him that would buy the Knights more time, on the other hand it could create a self-fulfilling prophecy, creating an enemy out of fear that he would become an enemy.

After realizing Gabault was only wearing iron armor and using The Watcher to learn that he lived at one of the four corners of the Novigrad border, they decided to attempt an asassination. While out scouting, FlyingPokemon pinpointed his exact location and was joined by Kingkauw. When they ran out of invisibility potions, they were awkwardly forced to launch the attack at an inopportune moment. Though completely taken by surprise, Gabault rocket-boosted into a nearby cave and lost his pursuers with only a single heart of health remaining.

In the weeks to come, KOI attempted several more ambushes on Gabault, including one at mickdm's mesa village. In return, Gab regularly harvested the unclaimed crops at their incomplete headquarters in the Archipelago.

### Temple Desecrations

   The Knights of Ishtar built a number of Temples of Ishtar across Novigrad to distribute charitable goods among the populace and raise awareness of their religion. A wave of desecrations were carried out against these religion structures, replacing the reverent inscriptions with critical words that KOI deemed heretical.

FlyingPokemon, the High Priest of Ishtar, began an investigation and discovered that Gabault was responsible for this blasphemy, perhaps his direct response to their failed assassination attempt on his life. In retaliation, the Knights of Ishtar drew up plans to construct a Temple of Divine Justice at the summit of Aukstoja Mons, the manmade mountain on Gabault's terraformed home isle, which was not yet entirely claimed.

However, this plan never materialized as Gabault used the claimblock scrolls dropped during Bloodmoons to quickly acquire enough claimblocks to protect his property.

### Battling Infidels

    In the weeks that followed, the Knights of Ishtar continued to pursue an aggressive policy towards citizens across the land, converting them through charity or cowering them by force.

KingOfDaWild killed a visitor who did not properly give thanks to Ishtar after receiving donations on her behalf. Kingkauw beheaded Ben at Diggy Diggy Hole for undisclosed reasons, only cryptically citing Ishtar's insatiable need for blood and souls.

On 11E:57, four Knights lay invisibly in wait outside Jrod's taiga base in the frozen north to attempt another assassination. Their reasoning was similar to that of Gabault—Jrod and his Eternal Chaos had historically been the most formidable force on Halfast and it was only a matter of time before he rebuilt his might. However, a skeleton spotted an unarmored invisible KingOfDaWild and dealt considerable damage to him, which alerted their target to their presence.

Soon thereafter, Jrod moved from his arctic base to small mushroom isle not far from Gabault's own, establishing the Unbroken Chain as a hotbed of anti-Ishtar resistance.

### Battle of the Sapphire Spires

    On 11E:78, Jrod finally located the Sapphire Spires of Sagacity, the immense headquarters of the Knights of Ishtar. Spotting KOI's chief architect FlyingPokemon working out in the open, he immediately dropped from the skies to attack. Poke took flight without knowing who his foe was, quickly fleeing deeper into the structure and taking refuge behind a closed door as Jrod besieged the structure.

Moments later, Gabault ended his Eleventh Era pacifism by joining the siege beside his old ally Jrod. After taking time to arm themselves with handfuls of totems and potions, Poke and Kingkauw agreed to come outside to do battle.

What followed was a fierce, short-lived frenzy that chewed through many totems. Poke was nearly killed by friendly fire from his fellow warrior-priest due to his invisibility. Due to a pressing engagement, Jrod had to break off the attack and return to base. Nevertheless, Gabault stayed behind to continue the assault.

Despite having a 2-to-1 advantage, the Knights were unable to defeat him and the battle ended in a stalemate when Gabault left.

### Battle of Amanita Rock

    On 11E:84, the Knights of Ishtar arrived at the isle of Amanita Rock to consecrate a Temple of Ishtar that Tox had recently completed. On hand were Kingkauw, KingOfDaWild, Dr. Tech, Cookiemonsturrr, and mijn7.

While carrying out an aerial survey of the area, Gabault spotted what he considered "cult activity" and dropped down for a closer look. Despite being in an open state of war, neither he nor the Knights attacked, sizing each other up in air thick with tension. Ever the historian, Tox moved between the adversaries to chronicle the event as it happened.

Gabault broke the tranquility with sudden ferocity, his Blade of Inilth dealing out Sweeping Edge IV damage to everyone nearby. Tox's totem of undying popped immediately and he was dead within seconds. The Knights counterattacked and forced Gabault to take to the skies.

Kingkauw briefly mourned Tox and recovered what gear he could, then led KOI to fall back to the nearby Emmey Cube, a far more defensible position with nearly endless supplies.

### Battle of the Emmey Cube

    The Knights of Ishtar regrouped inside the Emmey Cube just as Gabault blockaded the emerald citadel. They traded ranged arrow attacks, KOI from behind the fence gates that secured the Cube's lower entrance, Gab executing complex aerial manuevers just above and in the surrounding ocean.

When FlyingPokemon joined the fray, combat eventually spilled out onto the roof, nearly two hundred meters above sea level. The spectacle proved intriguing enough to draw onlookers from around the Archipelago including Tox and Rawnblad.

Even though they once again seriously outmanned Gabault, they were unable to kill the unrivaled duelist. Nor he them; their limitless totems ensured it was nearly impossible for either side to break the stalemate. The skirmish lasted over an hour without a single death recorded until Gabault finally had to disengage as several pieces of his armor were about to shatter.

### Targeted Killings

   As it became increasingly clear that the war was at an impasse and direct action became more difficult, both sides advanced their goals through proxy attacks on affiliated third-party targets.

Gabault began to hunt known Ishtar worshippers. On 11E:86 Gabault killed Rawnblad, who had recently sworn allegiance to the Knights of Ishtar and moved to their Archipelago. One day later he murdered AC1DCL4NPancke for allowing a Temple of Ishtar to be built on his property.

Kingkauw assassinated Jrod's brother KushBandit with Souls for Ishtar on 11E:92 while the latter was in the early stages of constructing Chill. Kush felt the kill was uncalled for as he had only recently arrived in Novigrad and had, but KOI felt the set of full netherite armor he wore made him a valid target.

The Knights executed the infidel Polarbear2829 six times—twice by FlyingPokemon with Blood for Ishtar in reprisal for disrespecting and stealing from his former partner and their ally Rawnblad, and four times by Kingkauw with both Souls for Ishtar and the Bow of Ishtar for the crime of disrespecting their goddess. When Polarbear's new ally Rumble5335 questioned their decree of justice, Kingkauw embarrassed him by using a netherite pickaxe to smash his skull. He completed the righteous massacre by killing Blockbuster\_287 for his ignorance.

### Proxy Battles

    With kills hard to come by, both sides pursued indirect means of establishing dominance.

The Novigrad Nest proved a perfect venue, with its array of potential loot and egg trophies which could be exchanged at the Novigrad Black Market. The Knights of Ishtar dominated the Nest early on, being the first to defeat every single ender dragon, but later warriors of the Unbroken Chain flexed their power and the two organizations often split the wyverns who spawned twice daily, and occasionally clashed directly over the loot.

They further vied for prestige and power while competing in Novigrad Survivor. The Knights of Ishtar emerged victorious in the first contest with FlyingPokemon being crowned Top Survivor and Kingkauw placing fourth, but Gabault brought home the top prize for the next two months. As the event shifted towards an all-out sprint to acquire the priceless Top Survivor Keys, both KOI and their enemies employed new strategies—some illict, drawing swift intervention from HyperSilence—to survive and acquire days by any means necessary. By 11E:169, the Unbroken Chain had acquired 20 keys to KOI's 10.

### The War Continues

    On 11E:87, a rare ceasefire between Jrod and the Knights of Ishtar was agreed upon so that they could join forces to defeat Haiku, an ender dragon of the Novigrad Nest, and divide the spoils. After the beast was slain, KingOfDaWild smashed into an obsidian pillar and then died again to endermen, allowing Jrod to plunder two sets of prized netherite armor as well as the dragon's egg trophy.

Five days later, a Knights of Ishtar strike team tried to infiltrate KushBandit's fortress Chill in order to kill Jrod, who The Watcher revealed was standing motionless and apparently oblivious to of his surroundings. FlyingPokemon and Kingkauw stalked the base while invisible until Kush returned and tried to kill him as he entered to gain access, but Kush reached shelter ahead of them.

A new surge of desecrations far more destructive than the first struck the Temples of Ishtar, leaving some in decay and several in total ruin. Though these acts were blasphemy of the highest order to Ishtar devotees, they went unpunished because their perpetrators were never caught. As chief architect of KOI, FlyingPokemon did what he could to restore the places of worship.

    Against his better judgment, FlyingPokemon established a temporary alliance with KushBandit so that they could both take down the legendary dragon Tilenth and split the rewards. After the beast was defeated, Kush shoved Poke into the end portal and claimed all of the loot for himself, which he said was in retaliation for his unprovoked assasination at the hands of KOI. Poke attempted to negotiate a fraction of the drops, specifically one of the swords and bow, to which Kush initially seemed amenable. Instead, Kush made a counter-offer that he would exchange those items in return for the named items he had lost when Kingkauw killed him. Poke argued he was not responsible for the actions of other knights and reduced his request to one of the swords and the dragon's egg, but Kush rejected this because Kingkauw had also stolen a dragon egg from him previously and he needed the sword to repay a debt to his brother. Poke then issued a final offer to return the stolen dragon egg for the bow but Kush ignored him.

Six days later, FlyingPokemon attempted to slake his vengeance by once again attempting to eliminate Kush. An opportunity arose while the man was repairing walls in the icy waters surrounding Chill. Poke appeared suddenly and dove down under the effects of a "swimming potion" that made him faster—too fast, in fact, as his sword blows missed their target. Kush heard him immediately and swam to safety, closing the gap in his wall.

Kush later killed Archipelago resident Absurd on Ridic, and after failing to negotiate the return of the man's belongings in exchange for his head, burned everything he had dropped upon death.

### Second Battle of the Sapphire Spires

    On 11E:135, Jrod carried out a night assault on the Knights of Ishtar's headquarters at the Sapphire Spires of Sagacity. FlyingPokemon, who later claimed to be suffering under the deleterious effects of a hangover, was caught by surprise out in the open while constructing the castle.

Jrod had hoped to take advantage of the distraction and confusion caused by night's deadly mobs, but he was disappointed by the lack of nearby enemies.

His brother KingOfDaWild came to his immediate aid, but wearing wings without a chestplate Poke ultimately stood no chance even with a regenerative beacon and totems on hand. Before he was killed, Poke managed to store his Bedrock Pickaxe, Bedrock Chainsaw, and Vulcan Wings safely, but Jrod was able to loot his Excalibur, chestplate of Typhoeus, and Bow of Bassilith.

Jrod then mercilessly killed King twice with the Sword of Tilenth and obtained two more full sets of netherite armor and an Unbreaking X elytra in the process.

### Trap House

   As time passed, Jrod grew frustrated as he felt the Knights of Ishtar were purposefully avoiding battle in their attempts to win Novigrad Survivor. To rectify this, he began trying to infiltrate their nearly impregnable Emmey Cube citadel, where Knight-Engineer Kingkauw spent a significant amount of his time.

Kingkauw had anticipated this move and rigged the sole emerald entrance tunnel with a number of traps, hoping to catch his foe off-guard. Though Jrod made himself invulnerable to direct attacks through the use of a magic word, Kingkauw activated a fireworks trap that dealt him explosive damage. However, as Jrod pointed out, the damage was not severe and he could simply leave the tunnel the same way he came in.

On 11E:195, Jrod returned and Kingkauw was prepared. When the warrior warped in to the tunnel, he became snared by cobweb, preventing his quick escape either by flight or GPS. Kingkauw activated the trap, which dispensed hundreds of TNT into the tunnel, funneling a constant concentrated blast wave that even Jrod's netherite armor could not withstand. The massive detonation killed both Jrod and Kingkauw, who was temporarily skinchanged into WetMustardCat. Despite the invaluable bedrock loot being obliterated and dying himself in the process, Kingkauw and the Knights of Ishtar considered the delivery of Jrod's soul to Ishtar a worthy victory.

### Later Events

   As the months passed, activity in Novigrad reached an all-time low and combat operations from both factions ground to a halt. The Knights of Ishtar ceased construction of the Sapphire Spires of Sagacity and Gabault halted ongoing terraforming on Aukstoja.

On 11E:257, the land saw a resurgence of activity when the land's border expanded by four kilometers and new curiosities such as cherry blossoms, sniffers, and trail ruins were discovered. Gabault returned to Aukstoja, but his Unbroken Chain colleagues departed the island chain to begin work on a distant new base far from the battleground. Knight-Engineer Kingkauw also made a comeback but spent much of his time at work on a colossal subterannean city beneath snowy peaks in Novigrad's furthest reaches. Thus the war turned cold again.

While building at Aukstoja on 11E:422, Gabault was attacked by phantoms and accidentally combat-logged, causing his sudden death. Kingkauw witnessed the incident via The Watcher and immediately took to the skies. He swiftly crossed the Archipelago and landed at the apex of Aukstoja Mons' winding stone trail, stealing Gab's dropped items and safely escaping home. The loot haul was KOI's largest of the war and included Bedrock Elytra, a Bedrock Chainsaw, and the recovery of an upgraded Sword of Ishtar that had been used to commit blasphemies in the name of their goddess.