Manywar

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The Manywar was a global conflict on Nalthis that involved the nations of Hanald, Kuth, Huth, Pahn Kahl, Tedradel, and Gys. It occurred about three hundred years before the Pahn Kahl rebellion.

Roots of the Conflict

The Tears of Edgli

The Tears of Edgli had made Hanald an economic powerhouse. The dyes that they produced were vibrant and prized throughout Nalthis. However, the Tears could only grow in Hanald's climate. Other nations were jealous and wished to take control of Hanald so they could profit from the dyes.

Awakening Developments

The process of Awakening Lifeless had already been developed before the Manywar. However, the Commands that had been known previously required fifty Breaths to create a single Lifeless. This arrested the ability for large amounts of Lifeless troops to be used in combat, it was simply too costly.

However, one of the Five Scholars, Shashara, was spurred by Yesteel's development of ichor-alcohol into making a new discovery. She invented a Command that allowed for the creation of a Lifeless with a single Breath. This allowed rulers to effectively double the size of their armies; along with the fact that the new troops did not eat, take pay, or feel pain and fear. Larger standing armies could be created. This made the Manywar the first conflict on Nalthis to utilize Lifeless in great numbers.

New Commands were also being discovered rapidly, a golden age of Awakening took place, due in part to the Five Scholars. These new discoveries helped further learning and knowledge, but they also provided dangerous weapons. The House of Idris, ruling family of Hanald, were particularly interested in Awakening, and gained powerful Awakeners and Lifeless.

The Returned's Prophecy

At that point, one of the Returned had a vision of war. This ended up being the catalyst for the war, it prompted Vasher to preemptively strike against the other nations before they attacked him.

Early Events

Seizure of Hanald

After his fellow Returned had a vision of war, Vasher, then known as Talaxin, used his knowledge of BioChroma and Awakening to raise up a vast army. In the beginning, it seems the House of Idris made Vasher their general. However, he used this army, and the Royal family's own Awakeners and Lifeless, to seize control of Hanald from them. The family promptly fled T'Telir Vasher also began developing a knew type of Lifeless, later known as Kalad's Phantoms, made from bone encased in stone. These troops were among the most powerful of Lifeless and formed the core of his army.

The Split of Five Scholars

As the Manywar began, the Five Scholars each seemed to go their own way. It appears likely that Vasher and Shashara, as husband and wife, remained on the same side. It is also likely that the brothers, Arsteel and Yesteel also stayed together. Denth began the war attempting to make peace, but eventually joined Vasher's side.

Creation of Nightblood

Main article: Nightblood

Working together, Vasher and Shashara successfully managed to develop Nightblood, a Type IV Biochromatic Entity. Through a complex and experimental process they created a sentient sword with a Command to destroy evil. Unfortunately, as a sword, Nightblood had no concept of the difference between good and evil, and so could be used to wreak great destruction.

Late Events

The Battle of Twilight Falls

The battle of Twilight Falls was the final engagement of the Manywar. It was the only battle of the Manywar where Nightblood was used in the battle. The sheer number of casualities caused by Shashara wielding Nightblood was devastating. Over the course of the battle the leader of the Pahn Unity, the coalition of nations against Hanald, was killed.

Death of Shashara

Vasher was horrified by the destruction caused by the use of Nightblood. Shashara planned on revealing the secrets of how to create Type IV Biochromatic Entities to the rest of Nalthis. Vasher decided that he couldn't allow that to occur, he couldn't allow other Awakened swords to become available to other nations. He and Shashara argued about it, and he ended up murdering her with Nightblood to stop her. Denth was furious at the death of his sister, he defected from Vasher's side and never forgave him for it.

Resolution

Return of Kalad's Phantoms

At some point during the war, Vasher grew sick of battle and war. He decided to end the Manywar by returning his Phantoms from battle to Hallandren. He took control of his own nation in an effort to end the fighting, which ended up being successful. He then Commanded the Lifeless to stay put like statues, a gift for the city, leaving them invested with enough Breath to hold their shape, but not to move.

Shattering of Hanald

Formation of Idris

After the House of Idris and its servants fled T'Telir, they moved to the northern highlands of Hanald. They established a kingdom there, named Idris after the family. The Idrians, who had previously experimented with Awakening, turned their backs on the art as a whole. The Idrians brought their religion, Austrism, with them. They used its tenets to make Awakening sound immoral and evil. This fear of Awakening impacted Idrians greatly, their culture was in fact shaped by it. Many superstitions grew up around Awakening. For example, Idrians always wore drab colors, such as black, white, or tans, so Awakeners could not use that color. However, this was not true, an Awakener could use those colors anyway. It was a symbolic gesture. Idrians, for the most part, were totally ignorant about the way Awakening worked, due to their insulation from it.

Formation of Hallandren

Pahn Kahl

Legacy

While the war itself was over, the tensions between the nations never fully vanished. Tedradel's hatred of Hallandren, in particular, would remain strong well over three centuries later.

Idris and Hallandren would keep an uneasy peace for the next three hundred years. Since the Royals took the blood of Vo, the first Returned, with them, they had a legitimate claim to the throne of T'Telir, a worry to many T'Telirites. Hallandren still considered them to be rebel faction within the borders of their nation. In addition to old hatreds, Idris controlled mountain passes that allowed trade routes to nations in the north, as well as copper mines. Hallandren

Over time, the specifics of Kalad's Phantoms were forgotten and they became known as the D'Denir, statues that had been a gift from Peacegiver to remind them of peace.

Notes

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Manywar