During the Reckoning, the floating city that would one day crash into Elzveir to form Cyfrolaef ripped key cities from the nation of Grozav into the sky. Fainarr, who had been in constant conflict with Grozav for hundreds of years prior, viewed this as a victory for their side, declaring that they had conquered the Grozavar people.
Following their declared victory over Grozav (the result of Grozav's destruction at the hands of the Unknowables), King Li'Behr VIII held a victory celebration in Fainarr Capital, within Castle Basaran. Nobles from all over Fainarr were present for this, and some of Fainarr's international allies were present too. Among them was the man who would assassinate the king later that evening.
Ambassador Gwayne Selevant from the nation of Buern in Elzveir arrives at the victory celebration in Fainarr and seeks a private audience with the King of Fainarr. It remains unclear how he and his Zelian steeljoint attendant secured this private audience with the king, but it would soon spell the death of the king of Fainarr.
King Li'Behr Basaran is slain by Ambassador Gwayne Selevant and his steeljoint, as confirmed by a necromancer's communication with the king's soul.
Prince Ridvan Basaran, the second (and only still-living) son of Li'Behr VIII), was officially crowned King of Fainarr shortly after his father's assassination was publicized. Ridvan brought significant war experience to the table, having sought his fame and fortune on the battlefield when under the impression his older brother would be king.
The Steeljoint Extermination Decree by King Ridvan Basaran was an effort to eliminate the presence of steeljoints in Fainarr, its territories, and ultimately all of Aen. While it wasn't successful in the latter effort, the former was successful due to strong military action on Fainarr's part, but most other nations were ready and willing to accept the steeljoints into the populace in spite of Fainarr's efforts.
In an effort to maintain peace between their nations, Queen Rebecca Woodwillow brought an escort to Fainarr and met with King Ridvan Basaran and his war council. She provided all the evidence she could that Buern was not involved in the assassination of Ridvan's father while assuring Ridvan that if it was war he wanted, she would hold her own.
King Ridvan Basaran makes an official declaration of war against Buern, much to the frustration of Aen's populace--including some Fainarran citizens.
The first battle in Fainarr's war with Buern took place on Halen Ocean between the two nations. Zukei and Aerdis joined alongside Buern, officially declaring that they were joining the war. The battle was a devastating loss for Fainarr, with not a single ship sent north surviving the encounter.
The Night of the Dread Blades is the name that was given to a violent event in Fainarr orchestrated by Emperor Otagi Nakomori. While Fainarr believed it was an effort to assassinate King Ridvan Basaran, it was actually a test of Fainarr's defenses and a scouting mission. Casualties were minimal, yet the event gained notoriety because no one knew that the Dread Blades were in the capital--or the castle--until morning came and the bodies of guards were discovered, having been silently slain.
At the next significant war council meeting of Fainarr, Ridvan showed up with a small green dragonling perched on his shoulder. This knowledge was shocking to the council and to all of Aen, as the last living dragon was believed to have been felled just a few months beforehand by a group of dragonslayers, and no new dragons had been born for nearly a thousand years. The green dragonling would accompany Ridvan everywhere it could from here on, at least until it was too large to fit within the castle walls.
To the surprise (and in some cases, anger) of Fainarr's populace, King Ridvan declared that Revansa was now the official Prime Deity of Fainarr and established the Prismatism. He appointed Erna Sozen as head of the new church, granting her the title of Draconic Matriarch. Over the course of the next month, statues of dragons were created and erected throughout Fainarr, and the banner of Fainarr was changed to that of a dragon. Everywhere that anyone in the city looked, draconic iconography was seen where once there had been homages to the strength of Fainarr's human population.
Fainarr ran a second naval assault in the Halen Ocean. This time, Ridvan accompanied the fleet and personally led the attack, alongside his young dragon. Ridvan won this battle despite his significantly smaller numbers, forcing Queen Rebecca to turn her ship around and return to the capital city of Buern, Beldapor.
While Ridvan and his naval fleet were holding the line south of Beldapor in Halen Ocean, several hundred foot soldiers of Ridvan's were stealthily moving from Chwahwr through the Esther Savannah, then south to Beldapor. The journey took well over a week, but a mage sent a magical missive to Ridvan once they were in position in the trees surrounding Beldapor.
Ridvan used the distraction of his ships abruptly moving in from the south to draw fire while his footsoldiers clambered over the walls of Beldapor to the north. By sunrise, his soldiers had massacred much of Beldapor's army (as well as some civilians), and Ridvan was marching on the Es'Theran Palace that Rebecca had retreated into during the siege.
King Ridvan, War King of Fainarr, led the remains of his military up the steps to Es'Theran Palace. With a battering ram, they broke down the doors. With iron, they slew the remaining soldiers. Upon finding Queen Rebecca's safe room, King Ridvan slew her guards, disarmed her, and dragged the queen out to the streets of Beldapor. Behind him, Es'Theran Palace was set ablaze.
King Ridvan told Queen Rebecca, in front of all her subjects, that she must rescind the throne and surrender to Fainarr or die. Queen Rebecca, feigning fliration, moved in and bit off Ridvan's left ear. As Ridvan staggered backward, Igrenax launched himself from Ridvan's pauldron and tore at Rebecca's face and throat, brutally slaying the Queen of Buern before returning to the War King's shoulder. With Rebecca's death, power over Buern fell to her uncle, Royal Duke Xander Woodwillow, who was then the Royal Duke of Raha, far to the north and across the watery channel that divided Elzveir.
The new King of Buern, Xander Woodwillow, met at a summit with King Ridvan in Beldapor to negotiate peace. Much was surrendered to ensure this peace, and result was Buern being split into two nations: Buern, a Fainarran territory, and Kathaya, ruled by King Xander Woodwillow. Ridvan would then choose a new ruler for Buern, whom Xander's daughter Mariella would wed to ensure the strength of their alliance.
King Ridvan Basaran appoints General Imren Drakechild as Viceroy of Buern, then departs from Elzveir, declaring his war with the nation over and his father avenged... but he would soon learn he had failed in the latter task.
In the newly-created Church of the Prism Moon, Imren Drakechild wed Mariella Woodwillow and immediately removed Woodwillow from her title entirely, as her name reminded him too much of the name he'd abandoned: Steelwillow. This finalized the alliance of Buern and Kathaya.
Now Viceroy of Buern, Imren Drakechild continued the war that King Ridvan had started, as Aerdis was still actively fighting with Fainarr, specifically over sharing a border with the warmongering nation. Imren fought a hard campaign for three months before Aerdis finally gave up and surrendered some of its territory to Buern in exchange. Despite this surrender, occasional skirmishes would continue to break out between Aerdis and Buern for many years to come, and the two would be perpetual enemies for centuries.
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