Histories of the Homeworld

The Terror Wars, Part One

20,415-27,000:1 (-23,000)

	After the fall of the Ashloga Province and the return of the Terrors upon our people, the Elders decided that the threats from the sea must be neutralized, or else they may venture further inland and cause even more destruction.  

	The Terror Wars, as the collective battles ensuing over the next 10,000 years are called, are the first record we have of our people involved in conflict.  We must assume that since, at that time, we were still mere duracoix, however, it is highly likely that bickering and perhaps even civil war had taken place on more than one occasion up to that point.  Even so, the events of the Terror Wars display the potential we had just up to the point of Ascension.  No such event in our history is more defining of us as a people as when General Arack assumed command of our badly beaten forces at the Battle of Sigil Rock.  

	But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.  The victories towards the end of the First Age were indeed glorious, but the times leading up to that were none to be reveled.  The Elders were right to think that the Terrors would venture further inland.  Though the giant Terrors from the great deeps never came so close, a new breed of Terror, much smaller, but much more versatile had evolved and was brooding in the less inhabited territories of the main continent.  For years, isolated events of individual attacks would be reported from many cities.  The first wide-scale assault came on the night of the 21,005th solstice of the First Age.

	Thousands of the lesser breeds swarmed into the city of Hra’Tal, slaughtering anything that they came across.  The Hra’Talian militia attempted to organize and combat the invasion, but there was not enough time, and the city fell to the beasts.  There are tales of people being trapped inside the city and committing mass suicide rather than even risk trying to escape the terrible death that awaited them.  

	Hra’Tal was never liberated, but within the year, the first official army was mustered in the capital city of Khal’Shye.  The army, composed of some 2,000 regular militia and another 8,000 common volunteers, moved into the province that was thought to be occupied by the majority of the Terrors.  Planning only to eradicate the lesser breeds from the area, the force located a nest and initiated the attack.  They had no idea that they were completely surrounded.

	The entire army was butchered so the story goes.  

	Khal’Shye stood without an army now, and the surrounding cities began evacuating to within the confines of the capital, fearing retaliation.  Just as expected, the lesser breeds moved on the capital within the week.  Well fortified, the city’s defenses limited the entry of the Terrors.  Attempts by other cities sending bands of “liberators” failed as many were slain before even seeing the city.  At last, after weeks of fighting, the siege subsided and the city of Khal’Shye remained, though heavily battered, and with many casualties.  

	The lesser breed attacks would continue on smaller scales again as the years passed.  

	By 25,068:1, our people had repopulated areas of the continent and had established a well-trained military legion.  Outposts had been developed near coastal areas to watch for signs of the Terrors, while traveling battalions would wander the inner continent, seeking out lesser breed nests.  The lesser breeds had been given the name “Daksah”, and seemed to be able to thrive outside of the water, though they generally preferred the wetlands of the southern provinces.  

	The capital was moved from Khal’Shye to the new fortress city of Tryhl, located in the mid-northern province of Shyosa.  The Tryhlian army was vigilant is maintaining the safety, and for nearly a thousand years, they did so, with successful skirmishes across the continent. 

	However, not since the destruction of the Ashloga Ziggurat had anyone seen one of the deep Terrors, the giants that lurked the outer seas.  The consensus came that these great beasts were the parent race of the Daksah, and it also was agreed that to slaughter one may disrupt the cycle of their propagation.  So the Tryhlian forces, in their great bravery and ignorance, constructed great sea vessels, but not to sail out upon.  These were to be bait for the beasts of the deep.  The army moved south from Tryhl to the province of Urus, beyond the ruins of Hra’Tal, and on to a small island off the coast of the continent.

	The Tryhlians successfully baited and killed one of the monsters, but were caught on the island when another Terror attacked.  The task force on the island was not successful in killing this one, nor did they leave the island with their lives.  To honor them, the island was named “Isle of Sarthys” after the Tryhlian commander who led them.  

	The remaining army on the mainland continent was assaulted by the creature as well, but managed to flee with their lives.  The death of the Terror had two results:  fortunately, the people found that they could be killed; unfortunately, the death of a deep Terror only angered the Daksah, rather than cutting their numbers.  

	The next two thousand years would be the worst and greatest years our people have ever seen…