Caster's War

The Caster's War was an enormous military conflict between the city states of Stormgate and Oathstone that took place between the years 6620 and 6642. The name "Caster's War" refers to the large amount of spell casters that participated, because the conflict was most directly between divine and arcane practitioners.

## Cause

The crux of the conflict between Oathstone and Stormgate concerned the use of necromancy. As the arcane capital of the Northeast Wing, factions within Stormgate had practiced dark necromantic magic for thousands of years. Undead servants and reanimated military forces were not uncommon within the city, and more powerful arcanists would frequently attempt to prolong their lives using dark magic. The Arcanum was the center of much of this activity, and was known for unethical experimentation in this vein.

## Outbreak

The Caster's War began in Oathstone when Saint Cassius the Expurgator came to power in April of 6620. His aggressive extremist rhetoric shifted Oathstone's policy from one of passive condemnation to the point of holy war. Cassius and his clergy, the Children of the Dawn, pointed to Exandria and the Empire of the Lich God as evidence that Stormgate's forays into undeath would end in catastrophe. After issuing the Twin Kings an ultimatum, Oathstone's military mobilized into a crusade. Cassius swore to conquer Stormgate and excise the taint of necromancy from the region, and to install a branch of Oathstone's theocracy in the place of the Twin Kings.

The Twin Kings at the time were Arnholt "the Grave" Varius and "Curse Eye" Karlus Andrian. They were confident that they could defend Stormgate from the onslaught of Oathstone's zealots, and saw no reason to change Stormgate's way of life based on the demands of a corrupt church. They appointed Chancellor Uriah Voth of the Arcanum to the office of Ironstaff, and tasked him with winning the war.

The resulting war became one of the bloodiest conflicts in living memory. Oathstone's forces fought with zealous fervor, and Stormgate's fought in desperate self defense. The intensity of the conflict also fostered more powerful magic users, who were forced to grow in power by the trials of battle.

## Armistice

After more than 20 years of total war, both sides were at their limits. An armistice was brokered between the High Orthodoxy and the Binarchy on May 31, 6642. The terms included:

* The creation of undead beings would never again be permitted in any official capacity by Stormgate
* The Chancellor of the Arcanum would swear on their power when inaugurated to never cast a necromancy spell
* Oathstone would not meddle in Stormgate's affairs as long as the previous two requirements are met

As part of the armistice, Ironstaff Uriah Voth and a handful of other dark arcanists were given to Oathstone to be executed for crimes against the gods. In a controversial move, the Binarchy absolved itself of responsibility for the heresies of undeath by pinning the blame on Voth. He was flayed, drawn, quartered, and cut to pieces alongside his cabal of other necromancers. He howled bloody heresies through every second of his executions, his blistering vitriol outlasting even his corporeal form. When cremation proved ineffective against his remains, the pieces were isolated and scattered to the far corners of Azra under the strongest wards the pactlayers of the church could muster. There are still devotees of Voth that seek to reclaim these parts and reassemble their master.