War of the Ancestors

A conflict that took place in the 400,000s BC between the elven empires and dwarven clans.

## Origins of the Conflict

The elven empires of the period dominated the surface world through a mixture of magic and slave labor. They worshiped the Fey and their entire society was heavily stratified. The dwarven clans on the other hand were very egalitarian, worshiped the Gods, and had declared slavery as an affront to creation itself. Once the dwarven clans established a presence on the surface world, small conflicts happened frequently and sporadically between the two races. Eventually the tensions erupted when the dwarven colony of Vighyahr was burned to the ground and its civilians enslaved by the Grand Empire of Meanor.

## The Conflict

### Early Phases

Following the sacking of Vighyahr, the clan leaders unanimously agreed to invade the surface world. Massive armies of dwarves and goblins were mustered as elven war parties attempted to invade the mountains. The elves were easily repelled as dwarven tunnel warfare was completely alien to them, and the dwarven armies marched out of the mountains to do battle.

Despite their discipline and experience the dwarves were consistently out-maneuvered and caught out of position, causing massive losses and slowing the invasion to a standstill. Some elven settlements were sacked and burned, but the war became stagnant when the dwarves retreated to the mountains.

### Middle Phases

Following their numerous humiliations, the dwarves quickly adapted their strategies and reinforced and resupplied their armies. They soon marched on the elven lands once again, and took to lighting forests on fire in order to flush out elven ambushes and force engagements. This time, the dwarven armies were much more mobile due to minor restructuring and regularly defeated elven armies on the battlefield. By now the war had been raging for nearly half a century, and the clans were interested in signing a peace treaty.

### Late Phases

Dwarven envoys sent to the elves were brutally tortured to death and their heads sent back to the dwarven armies. The elves refused to surrender to what they viewed as an inferior race of cave-dwelling savages, and began hatching plans to strike at the dwarven people and lower morale. Elven druids and mages twisted nature itself to create violent monsters and horrific diseases, and unleashed them upon the dwarves.

Beardrot and the fur-plague ravaged dwarven cities and armies, but rather than lower morale they infuriated the dwarven people. The dwarves struck back with a furious vengeance, slaughtering and butchering elven armies and thrusting even deeper into elven territory.

The dwarves descended on the remainder of the elves with renewed fury, and both sides would continue to commit brutal atrocities. Another fifty years of war would ensue, and the elves simply could not muster enough bodies for the war effort. City after city would be burned, and the elves were in genuine danger of extinction.

Come the hundredth year, the Grand Empire of Meanor completely collapsed. The dwarven armies slowed, and peace was once again offered. The Emperor of Meanor refused, but there was not much he could do to resist the combined power of the clans. Many elves began fleeing overseas to the Isle of Ilysalune, and others simply scattered throughout the world. The Emperor and his meager forces were slaughtered the next day, and the war officially came to a close.

## Aftermath

Following the war, dwarven settlers began to occupy the ruins of old elven cities and set up settlements in the old Meanorian lands. Dwarven settlement would spread across the continent, and became known as low-dwarves. They drove out the other elven tribes and nations and formed new nations.

The elves displaced from the Empire mostly migrated to Ilysalune. It is unknown why they did not travel further west to the continent of Wogun, but no evidence of elven settlement has been found there. Others joined the other tribes and kingdoms, but as the dwarves expanded and destroyed those nations too, they simply wandered the continent, taking root anywhere they could.

## Legacy

The war is the earliest recorded conflict, and is one of the most important events in the history of the world. The low-dwarves of the surface world would eventually evolve into humans and halflings, and elves would become wanderers.