Firbolg Civil War

The Firbolg Civil War is a civil war currently ongoing in the Great Forest.

## History

After Keisara and a good chunk of the Kolshet Empire's military went to join the Giant Crusade, Houndmaster decided to seize the opportunity to take over the Great Forest. He and his fellow exiles sailed over to the Southern Continent, making landfall just outside the Forest. He then rallied his supporters and tried to overthrow the Firbolg Council. Houndmaster's nature as a Chosen of Draeg Huntmaster, as well as his promise for change, caused the younger generations in firbolg society to flock to his banner, becoming known as his Hounds. The Firbolg Council refused to let what they saw as heresy stand though, and they rallied under the leadership of Elder. The Traditionalist faction refusing to accept Draeg Huntmaster as their true god, believing in the teachings of Draeg Treespeaker, angered Huntmaster to the point that violence broke out.

Houndmaster's faction won a number of early victories due to their willingness to use violent measures the traditionalists refused to use. This, combined with Houndmaster himself making a number of demonstrations of his Chosen abilities, caused more and more firbolgs to lose faith in Draeg Treespeaker and believe that Houndmaster may just be right. This lack of belief in Draeg Treespeaker caused the weakening of the Traditionalists' druidic power, allowing the Hounds to make even more gains.

Just when it was looking like the traditionalists were going to be overwhelmed, a messenger came from the Manian general Marcus Varrus Dennius, fresh from his triumph after finally completing the conquest of Dennia. He made Elder an offer: Varrus and his legions would come to the aid of the Traditionalist faction and work with them to defeat the rebels and bring peace to the Great Forest. In return, Varrus was to have total control over military matters, and the firbolgs would open their forest to trade with the Manian Empire, as well as allow them free movement through the forest. Elder saw that he had no real choice here, and in order to preserve his peoples' way of life he accepted Varrus' terms with a heavy heart. Varrus then entered the forest with his legions. Varrus had a number of firbolgs join his personal staff so he could use their knowledge of the terrain and firbolg customs to his advantage. Quickly, the tide of the war changed, and with the Manians' help, the traditionalists started rapidly retaking territory.

Seeing how things were going with this war, Houndmaster turned to the Kolshet Empire for help. He sent an urgent message begging for them to intervene in the war. However, both due to Keisara being preoccupied with the crusade and the Kolshet Empire wanting to outwardly distance themselves from this conflict, they refused to engage directly. Instead, they told Houndmaster that a Princess of their empire was working as a mercenary in Criptland. Houndmaster approached Eshana, the princess, and they entered negotiations. Since Eshana is a hero deity, it was decided that she alone would be enough, especially considering the fee she charged: 1 million Kolshet Kroner, all in the form of gemstones. He reluctantly accepted, expecting her to bring this war to a speedy conclusion.

Once Eshana got involved in the war, things went from bad to worse. In trying to evacuate civilians to get them away from the conflict, she ended up traumatising a great many (and may have gone on to loot some of their property). When she decided to destroy the grainstores used by the Manians and Traditionalists, she also destroyed the ones in use by the Hounds, forcing everyone to rely on goodberries. She launched attacks on Manian encampments, but accidentally killed a number of Hounds who were independently assaulting these encampments at the same time, repeatedly. Finally, she has repeatedly been fed false information by the Manians, leading her to lead the Hounds into ambushes, resulting in many deaths. Her repeated failures have caused Houndmaster to demand higher standards from her and for proper, tangible results. He began putting more and more pressure on her as time went on, resulting in her performance suffering.

Chronicler, granddaughter of Elder, came to the forest after being brainwashed by the huldrefolk, and proceeded to assassinate her grandfather before going into hiding. This plunged the traditionalist faction into disarray, with the Houndmaster's faction poised for a swift victory.

Ultimately, Oolong called upon the spirit of Saint Aristotle the Learned to come to the forest and negotiate with the two factions, bringing an end to the civil war.

## Aftermath

In the immediate aftermath, Houndmaster chastising Eshana for all the needless damage she caused and demanding she pay reparations for all the lives of the firbolgs on their own side she killed led to Eshana having a breakdown and unleashing an epic spell, *Power of the Sun*, granted to her by her father, Giha, and destroyed the vast majority of the Great Forest, with only Houndmaster surviving the blast, and the firbolgs becoming an endangered species.

The surviving firbolgs of the great forest went to live in the New Forest. The shock of the destruction has effectively traumatised their entire culture, and it will take decades at least to recover.

Due to the agreements between Houndmaster and the Kolshet Empire as well as between Elder and the Manian Empire, both empires laid claim to the remains of the forest, with a war almost breaking out. Aly and Mosh negotiated, resulting in the forest being granted to the Manian Empire, with the Kolshet Empire gaining an enclave on the coast, as well as the Manians having to give their sacred tree to the Kolshet Empire.

## Quotes

"I am sure it will all work itself out and everyone will be fine." ~ Keeper the Twice Exiled

"It didn't." ~ Keeper the Homeless