Succession War

## Origins

In 3864 DY, Seedorus was nearly destroyed by a combination of Modori artifice on Seedorus and Neodari artifice on Ekar. Desperate to escape from the effects of the Shadowlords' corruption of Ekar, the leaders of N'Ekar sent a number of scouts through unstable dimensional rifts in 3863 DY with Neodari beacons. These scouts, if they located compatible Neodari artifacts and a world free of Shadowlord corruption, were to activate their beacons at sites able to funnel the raw magical energy necessary to transpose an entire landmass. On Seedorus, one such scout, Niku of Atam, succeeded with the help of the Fenris Cabal and Chronis in locating and reaching a now-vanished Modori ruin in the Cosm Sea. Content to have helped the Eechar they considered a friend and unaware of his intents, the Fenris Cabal sailed on to Muara late in 3864 DY.

Several days later, intense flares of magical energy surged across Seedorus, nearly setting off a cataclysmic chain reaction that had the potential to destroy much of Coznakk, if not the planet itself. As the Cosm Sea region rocked with seismic disturbances and ley lines approached a critical flash point, Niku's Island was consumed in a flash, and a pillar of light was visible across half the planet for almost an hour afterwards. Muara, being the closest nation with the magical resources and seafaring capabilities to investigate, dispatched the Muaran Navy ahead of curious corsairs and adventurers. Discovering that Niku's Island had vanished, the Muaran Navy instead neared the alien coasts of N'Ekar, finding its shores haunted by bizarre, withered, sun-blackened plants beneath the walls of a colossal city of strange humanoids at the epicenter of the disaster. As the Muaran Navy discovered the cause of the Godfall, the rest of Coznakk was beginning to realize the effect.

As 3864 DY gave way to 3865 DY, deities across Seedorus became increasingly distant and distracted, and the High Templars of Setosh remained uncharacteristically silent. As gods and mortals alike began to realize that Setosh was not merely secretive but *gone*, magical investigation revealed the horrifying truth that Setosh was slain stabilizing the transposition of N'Ekar and Niku's Island, consumed in the raw energies invoked. The gods of Seedorus, so long accustomed to obedience (willingly or otherwise) to the Silver Crown, had never even considered the possibility Setosh might ever fall, and as the guardian of Seedorus and effectively the king of its deities, the loss of Setosh created a power vacuum unlike any other. The gods saw their chance to mold Creation to their ideals, and conflict soon followed.

The Succession War began in the Eternal Ring in 3865 DY, but it refused to stay confined there. As more deities fought to claim Setosh's mantle, their Immortal and demigod allies came to their aid, and the conflict began spilling over into the Inner Planes and Seedorus itself. The High Templars themselves left Seedorus late in 3864 DY on the command of Supreme Templar Parinus Adain in the Final March of the High Templars, and Holus Sanrim filled the void with the bloody foundation of the Rocian Empire. The Nastrav Empire collapsed in the Northern Realms as demigods and Immortals sought control over one of Humanity's other great civilizations, Arkae plunged into chaos as the Obsidian Brotherhood succeeded in assassinating King Izan VII, and Eastern Arcazia fell into civil war with the revelation of past betrayals by Dwarven clans that controlled the region. These early fronts of the Succession War changed the course of history for centuries to follow, and mortals were not the only ones to fall in battle.

## 3864 DY to 4080 DY

While thus far no major deities have died as a direct result of the Succession War, hundreds of demigods and other beings of similar power are slain every decade in this time period. The former Nastrav Empire is one of the most active battlegrounds of the Succession War on Seedorus, and demigods and Immortals continue warring over control in the region, and even several skirmishes between major deities flash through the region. One of the most notable such battles of the period is the Battle of Ebon Hill in 3915 DY, when the Seven Saints fought against Naruyxz and an avatar of Azmedriel over the Ebon Hill Well just prior to its destruction at the hands of the Seven Saints.