The Silver Crusade

In the 800s, the curse of the lycanthrope proved to be a problem for the people of the continent of Khorvaire. In the year 832 YK, the Church of the Silver Flame announced the Silver Crusade: a church sanctioned scouring of the continent to destroy all lycanthropes and their ilk. This crusade slaughtered most of the lycanthropes on the continent, as well as a race of lycanthropic descendants known as shifters. Due to the atrocities committed by the Knights of the Silver Flame during the Purge, it remains a dark page in the church's history.

The Conflict

Prelude

The curse of lycanthropy started to reach an unprecedented peak in the 800s. Scholars believe that the confluence of moons caused this surge, but whatever the reason, lycanthropes became more deadly. Formerly peaceful lycanthropes began to become bloodhungry. Even the nature of the disease changed: at first, only those born as a lycanthrope could infect others; however, during this time infected lycanthropes found that they could carry the disease. By the year 800 YK, large groups of werewolves prowled the forests of western Khorvaire, while wererat tribes were creating warrens beneath the cities.

Deployment

The church had determined that lycanthropy was not just a disease of the body, but of the soul, and that those infested with the disease were beyond cure. He called for an immediate extermination of all lycanthropes and shifters on Khorvaire, asking for all loyal worshipers of the Church of the Silver Flame to take up arms and purge the lycanthropes and shifters from the face of Eberron. Knights and paladins across Aundair, Breland, and Thrane heeded his words, none more so than the Knights of the Silver Flame. Thus began what the church officially called the Silver Crusade, but was much more commonly called the Purge.

Battlefield

During the first few decades, the Purge was a monstrous fight. Crusade parties hunted down large settlements of werewolves and wereboars, fighting tooth and nail against the evil creatures. The lycanthropes continued their cunning strategy of misdirection, putting the shifter population between themselves and the crusaders of the Silver Flame. Many crusaders were slaying lycanthrope and shifter alike, though true paladins of Thrane used their ability to detect evil to differentiate between shifter and lycanthrope. As more Aundairians flocked to the cause, the desire of those to purge the evils of lycanthropy turned from justice to vengeance. Aundairians organized "full moon hunts," which left hundreds of innocent shifters dead. It wasn't until 835 YK that Keeper Solan Jol clarified that shifters were, in fact, a separate species than the evil lycanthropes. Though the crusaders were instructed to hunt only those corrupted by the disease, the damage was already done; shifters were as feared by the communities of Galifar as much as their lycanthropic ancestors. With suspicions against the shifter populations of Aundair, Breland, and Thrane still high, cities began forming Inquisitor's Crucibles, where shifters would be subjected to divine vision to see if they were good or evil. Aundair's hatred of lycanthropes and shifters reached a fever when they began creating "purification camps" designed to purge any evil from shifters that were captured. Some shifters detested the Purge, while others joined the ranks of the Silver Flame to purge these evil creatures who besmirched their names.

Outcome

Surprisingly, it was House Medani that helped end the Purge. As the crusaders continued to hunt down remaining lycanthropes on the western edges of Aundair and Breland, the church called upon the help of the Dragonmarked Houses. House Medani completed a dragonshard focus, which allowed them to use their Mark of Detection to reliably ferret out remaining lycanthropes from their hiding spots. At this point, most of the more settled portions of Aundair and Breland were considered "clean," with the remaining focus on the Eldeen Reaches. 
The Church of the Silver Flame announced 9 Barrakas 880 YK as the official end of the Purge, and the church pulled out all of its forces from the Eldeen Reaches. To this day, all over the Five Nations, children act out great tales of these final battles with toy swords, while adults of The Silver Flame attend sermons on the lessons of the triumphs, the defeats, and the sometimes questionable methods used during the purge. The church calls this day Victory Day.

Aftermath

Survivors of the Purge are scattered throughout the planes of Eberron. A large number of lycanthropes and shifters fled to the Eldeen Reaches, where they either continued to live their lives hidden from The Silver Flame. Some lycanthropes fled all the way to the Demon Wastes, while others to what is now Droaam.

Historical Significance

Legacy

With the Lycanthropic Inquisition now over a hundred years in the past, there are those that have forgotten the lengths of the atrocities committed, and wish to bring a new Purge to Eberron. Elder Wedon Nevillom of Taer Valaestas in Valenar has said that The Silver Flame has shown him that the Purge must begin again, and that we should eliminate all shifters from Khorvaire. Wedon Nevillom has many zealous followers in Valenar as they already have a natural hatred of magic

Another supporter of a new purge is Gennara ir'Damilek, a Silver Pyromancer and influential member of the Order of the Pure. Having grown up on the stories of the crusaders of the Purge, Gennara thinks of the crusades are the Church's glory days, and wishes to bring the Church back to that age. She does not yet know what the target of the next purge should be, but some candidates are necromancers, undead, and doppelgangers[12]

Conflict Type

Military Campaign

Start Date

832 YK

Ending Date

880 YK

Location

Khorvaire

Aliases

• The Purge
• The Lycanthropic Purge
• The Silver Purge
• The Silver Crusade

Combatants

• Church of the Silver Flame 
• Lycanthropes
• Sifters

Maps

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  Khorvaire

  The primary continent of Eberron