The Divine Crusades

Military action

What started as a debate between Caedis and Aemulus over the right of mortals to learn of each other transformed into a divine civil war that lasted a century. They ended with the Barrier Covenant, an unbreakable oath forced upon the Cozened by the Council of Nine Spears that prevented the Cozened and the Nine from ever returning to the Material Plane. Not only did the Divine Crusades result in the death of the god of knowledge, Aemulus, but also the spread of the Blight. This began the first crisis handled almost entirely by mortals: the Blight Crisis.

Tens of thousands of years after the arrival of the gods, the break between Aemulus and Caedis opened into an insurmountable chasm. Aemulus, stung by the previous decision to keep the mortals in the dark, still believed that each mortal deserved the ability to learn and progress. In secret, he had confided the truth about Argea’s two populations to a mortal named Seril the Bard. Through Seril, Aemulus began to spread the truth among Alandrans. Together, they kept their efforts secret from the gods. This illusion was shattered, however, once Seril’s followers announced a voyage to discover the new continent. As the mortals departed Smouldervault for the new world, the gods called Aemulus before a council to confess his disobedience. There, Caedis harangued the god of knowledge and demanded some kind of penance. The intervening years had done nothing to temper Caedis' opinion of the mortals. In fact, it had sunk considerably. He saw them as sniveling, selfish, and loath to take advantage of the gods' goodwill. Aemulus scoffed at Caedis' demands. Unwilling to compromise, the two gods began to argue their points in front of the other deities. The council, originally called to hear Aemulus' crimes, transformed into a tournament of opinions.   After a series of months-long debates, the gods had firmly established themselves into two camps. No longer just a rift between Aemulus and Caedis, the war of words became increasingly hostile. After years of this, it finally came to a point and the two camps marched to war. Although it began as a war between divine beings, it soon spread. The gods, now stuck in deep, inescapable, philosophical ruts, spread their propaganda to their mortal followers. Their followers coalesced around their respective faiths before quickly following the gods to war.   For a century, the opposing forces and their champions clashed. In a grotesque conclusion to the conflict, Caedis disguised himself as the goddess Naari and convinced Ilíos to fight his brother Aemulus. Despite Aemulus' best efforts to convince his brother that he was being deceived, Ilíos came for him anyway. They fought mightily, but ultimately Ilíos slew Aemulus and sprayed his blood all over the northeastern corner of Verda. Only after talking with Naari later did Ilíos realize what had happened. With great sorrow, he buried his brother in a magnificent mausoleum. After Aemulus was laid to rest, Caedis appeared and began to gloat. Overcome with rage and grief, Ilíos unleashed a devastating barrage of holy power, nearly destroying the unprepared Caedis. Then, with the help of the other gods, Ilíos cast Caedis into the plane of Hel and sealed him there for eternity. Caedis' corrupting influence had already tainted Aemulus' grave, however. The corruption spread, creating The Blight.   After the death of Aemulus, Ilíos met secretly with eight other gods: Pólemos, Afthonía, Ímagris, Kheses, Kálimir, Magiarr, Nynemos, and Tojun. Together they formed the Council of Nine Spears and wove a powerful spell to force the Cozened from the Material Plane. This act of sacrifice not only prevented the Cozened from returning to Argea. It also prevented any of the Nine from walking among mortals again. This spell, called the Barrier Covenant, is a legendary sacrificial act.