Arc 3: Rebirth
Of those that were left upon the world, the future seemed bleak-the Rzen had left to seek their curators within the barren wastes beyond, the Monsters were trapped underground, the Dwarves erased from the world, leaving Humans and Elves. And so it was that, after consideration, those few who remained of the Higher Beings secluded themselves and wished not to trouble the world further, providing their underlings with what they needed to last and thrive, but did not interfere. One Higher Being, however, disapproved of this reclusive ideology. Their name was Echros. They wrought forth when no others would, another kin to light the lantern of civilisation, to propel society forth. Those that they brought forth were the Shades, who drew power from the dark world sealed away. The Shades took adapted form of other beings, and reshaped it to their liking-once they had decided on a form that matched their soul, that form would be set, and they would not shift any longer. The Shades carried forth the flame of civilisation, and established the Citadel, a gleaming capital and fortress at the heart of the homeland, beneath which slumbered a dormant Higher Being. Within the Citadel, and indeed all works of the Shades, all were welcome, and so they took others under their wing to continue society.
But the Shades were made to usher civilisation onwards, to keep it thriving, and most of them naturally deterred themselves from ruling. And so it was that five rulers came to be; Baron & Crion, twin rulers of a human empire spanning diverse lands, Eradon, an Elven monarch who made her domain stretching across stony pinnacles, aspiring to greatness. Her people mined vast resources, and stretched their vast forts across peaks, and they ascended to great prosperity, the human empire maintaining powerful economic ties to their people. Garin, an Elven knight had once led revolt against Eradon in hopes of providing greater freedom to the working classes-failing against the might of a kingdom, but diverting his army to the vast woods away and raising his own great dynasty. The human empire saw great use in them as allies, and wreathed vast magic from their lands in trade, harnessing goods from both Eradon and Garin. The last ruler, Serali, was a Shade, and led their people only to provide support, seeking not power nor dominance but to guide and aid their people, the Shades, and all who came to their lands. They dwelled within the Citadel, living not in grand halls of gold but within a vast labyrinth of knowledge, stored away in vaults of text, within a grand studious library, to keep track of all affairs. They maintained steady relation with everyone, wishing for their land to convert to a sanctuary during times of hardship and conflict. But, Eradon and Garin bickered oft, and the ruling twins Baron & Crion acted little to halt such, as they profited from all, and did not wish to disturb the world as it was. However, disturbed the world would be regardless.
One night, Garin fell to an illness, sudden and swift. His people were certain it was the doing of Eradon, and bittered by the loss of their great leader, who had sought to liberate them from masters far away. They garnered the spirit of revolution as they charged straight to battle, without warning, swiftly capturing an Elvish outskirt town, and burning its flag in front of all their prisoners to see.
An act of war had been cast, and those of Eradon saw them as leaderless and their attempts to shake their great land futile. They sent a fairly meagre army towards them, to squash their invasion, which was seen not as a foreign power declaring war but mere peasants revolting. This army was ambushed by hardened soldiers awaiting in rocky crags, who dropped boulders upon their heads. And so victory after victory ensued, and their strongest commander, Retargin, was made king of their land. The people of Eradon now panicked, and sent a vast force, an unbeatable army to face those of Ratergin. Naturally, they chose not to fight but to leave flame and camp and flee away, luring the vast army to their empty camp and surrounding them-utterly destroying them.
The conjoined empire hesitated to act, as they wished to stay neutral and benefit, not stagger from the war, but Eradon pressured their leaders, through all means possible. And so, Baron aligned their empire with Eradon-however Crion thought this a foul action and, upon failing to dissuade Baron, took with him a portion of the royal court, and a significant amount of supporters, and left the kingdom to found his own.
It took 11 days and 11 hours for Baron's soldiers to find him and end his life.
But as many of his court had sided with Crion, the Baron's government was weakened, which prompted Eradon to mount further pressure upon them, receiving great military assistance. Their lords weakened, the humans saw instability in their politics, and many migrated to the Citadel and its outskirts. More still went on strikes, hoping to gain economic advantage, and some even took this as chance to seize power. And so it was that Baron, seeing the strife within his land, abdicated the throne, passing the crown onto Kcaj, a formidable lord within his remaining court. Baron then garnered a small party and began a pilgrimage of sorts towards the EverPeak, and along the journey he perished, never to meet his destination. Kcaj meanwhile set to work organising the royal court, and instilled punishment upon those who ignored their toil. Eradon, still battling the determined armies of Ratergin, now was cut from the aid of Kcaj, however with her remaining forces pushed Ratergin's armies back, and ushered a flurry of peace negotiations. But Ratergin held firm, and acted without mercy, targeting farmlands and mines, their armies looting their supplies and keeping out of sight, evading Eradon's imperial forces while draining their resources, fighting a Guerrilla war. Eradon in response horded her supplies to large towns, fortifying them, converting them to vast castles. And so the long, arduous struggle was that Ratergin would try to pry open Eradon's strongholds, and Eradon would try to track Ratergin's nimble armies. Kcaj set about stabilising his kingdom, and reaping reward through trade, gathering strength. But eventually Eradon's forces located a resting camp where Ratergin themself was resting. Ambushing the soldiers, they initiated a fierce battle, and Ratergin won, taking their troops to a nearby town to recover their wounds. It was there that an innkeeper, whose child's life had been taken by on of Ratergin's own warriors, poisoned Ratergin. This resulted in substantial military success on Eragon's part, and many enemy soldiers were purged from their lands, destroyed or surrendered. Later, Eradon advanced into their forested land, and burnt the place, committing brutal genocide upon those they saw as a revolted enemy. But when the forest burnt, the cries of the fallen warriors filled the air, and some spirit or other seemed to wander about, as a foul wind blew upon Eradon's land, and plunged her into eternal sleep. Kcaj later sent a force to quench the flames, although the forest was already dead, and their empire expanded to provide refuge for those who had been scarred by the war, the human empire becoming the most powerful civilisation in the world, the Elven land heavily diminished and the Shades simply providing for others.