The Fragmented War

This is a more objective account of the Fragmented War. For how the world remembers it/what modern historians know about it, see its section in "The History of Emaxus."

The Fragmented War was a seven year conflict that ravaged Aitreas and saw Krathum's iron fist peeled away from the continent inch-by-inch. It is, to this day, the most brutal conflict since the Reckoning and the dawn of the Age of Extant.
Were it not for Ralla Kindguard, the Fragmented War may have never happened. And were it not for that, Krathum would rule Emaxus under a tyrannical veil of undead godhood.

The Conflict

Prelude

Before the Fragmented War began, Krathum's Defiled Empire had smothered Aitreas under its rule of undeath for nearly forty years. The Aitrean people were struggling to survive and Krathum was continuing to martial his power from his floating throne-city of Zanizer. 
The true spark to Ralla Kindguard taking up arms and rallying the Auric Exemplars was Krathum's Decree of Godhood, which was a declaration from Krathum about his intent to become God upon Emaxus. The exact Decree was as follows:

THE DIVINE DECREE, THE DECREE OF GODHOOD

I, Krathum the Defiler, the Unholy, the Tyrant, the Lich-King, have done what no other creature has done since the Obsidian War: I, once a mere mortal man, have ascended to immortality. And from it, I shall achieve Godhood. I have already begun the first stages of my Ritual of Ascension. Rejoice, mortals, for soon you shall serve Krathum the God-King, God of Death and the Unholy. In a way, I can thank you all for being the foundation for my great empire. My Defiled Empire.

Aitreas is only the beginning. The gods are dead, and I have come to play with the toys they left behind. They were not fit to wield their power. They never were. We, their creations, must take our fates into our own hands. I will be our spearhead.

Soon, I will be God on Emaxus.

Immediately after this, Ralla and her Auric Exemplars left Yathra Silthame and arrived upon the shores of Aitreas. Thus, the Fragmented War began.

Deployment

Though it began by Ariminium and along the shores of the Aitrean Sea, the Fragmented War eventually embroiled all of Aitreas as the Auric Exemplars liberated more and more of the continent -- and Krathum began fighting back even harder.

Outcome

The Defiled Empire fell but Aitreas was left in ruins. Warlords and monstrosities ruled the continent for several decades and many more died in the chaos.
In the explosion that destroyed/banished Zanizer, the northwestern peninsula of Aitreas was annihilated, becoming the Fragmented Isles that are known today.

Aftermath

The Imperium of Aitreas rose from the ashes of the war and Emaxus entered a several-century era of peace and prosperity. Aitreas had a golden age because of the adaptation of technology left behind by Krathum.

Historical Significance

There were too many battles, skirmishes, and sieges too count during the Fragmented War; however, there were two incredibly influential conflicts. The first -- the Liberation of Ariminium -- and the last -- the Final Battle of Zanizer.

The Liberation of Ariminium

When Ralla and the first three thousand Auric Exemplars came to Aitreas, they knew Krathum's grip on the continent was strong. They knew that they would need a base of operations if they were to make any real progress. They knew that they would have to rally the people of Aitreas to fight with them, or they would never have a glimpse of hope.
To achieve those two goals, they started the war quickly and brutally, with a swift strike at a large population center: Ariminium. Though it was nowhere near the megalopolis it is today, Ariminium was still an impressive city of some 40,000 people. If they could liberate it, they'd have a powerful city to wage the war from and have a symbolic victory to rally the people.
The Auric Exemplars hid on their boats as they pulled into the harbor. They blitzed the guards that checked them, rushed the city, and -- upon being joined by the people of the city -- liberated Ariminium in one day. And, though they would have to defend it from many sieges over the course of the war, Ariminium never fell back into Krathum's hands.

The Final Battle of Zanizer

The Final Battle of Zanizer was akin to a military campaign in and of itself. When Ralla, the Auric Exemplars, and hundreds of thousands of militiamen and freedom fighters blitzed the territory held by Zanizer, they fought for weeks to reach the Broken City itself. Once they grounded the floating capital, they fought for a full eight days to reach Krathum's tower.
The final battle between Ralla, Krathum, and each's closest allies is believed to have raged for hours.
Just this final "battle" took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Before becoming the Fragmented Isles, the northwestern peninsula of Aitreas (called the Fertile Lands) was a breadbasket valley between numerous mountain ridges, only accessible by a few tightly-controlled mountain passes. The military undertaking of breaking the hold on this region and then breaking Zanizer itself was unbelievable.
Once the final battle with Krathum began, many of the freedom fighters were told to retreat; Ralla knew the arcane fallout of stopping the ritual would be devastating. Only those Auric Exemplars not yet too wounded to fight stayed, defending Krathum's tower from any would-be allies of the Defiled Lich.
When the ritual was stopped and the Fertile Lands were annihilated, only a fraction of those told to retreat made it out alive. It is estimated that 30% of the war's total casualties occurred in this last battle and its subsequent fallout.

Legacy

Ralla and her Auric Exemplars are legendary heroes now, and the Imperium especially remembers them dearly.
The Defiler's Shadow was formed to begin an era-spanning plan to bring back Krathum. They still work in the shadows to this day.

In Literature

Ralla Kindguard and her Auric Exemplars are legendary nowadays, their tales -- and myths -- recounted in countless odes, bardic songs, and stories. Similarly, Krathum and his Defiled Empire have been reviled throughout the centuries in haunting ballads and war stories. 
The most notable literature about each groups are Kindguard: The Greatest Hero of Our Time for Ralla and The Fall of Riktor and the Rise of Krathum for Krathum.

Technological Advancement

Though the necroficy -- the fusion of chemicals, arcane technology, and necromancy -- practiced by Krathum was horrifying, it did lay the foundations for the greatest field of innovations in the modern age: artificy. All modern Aitrean artificy can be traced back to the ideas laid down in Krathum's necroficy, an interesting case study in the good that can come from the most horrifying things.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

390 AT

Ending Date

397 AT

Conflict Result

Pyrrhic Victory for the Auric Exemplars

Belligerents

Auric Exemplars and Allies

• The Auric Exemplars

The Defiled Empire

Strength

The numbers of Ralla's followers and their allies varied greatly throughout the war. By the end, it is estimated a total of 1.4 million people had pledged their lives to Ralla and the fall of Krathum.
The total number of actual Exemplars tended to be around 15,000.

Around 3-4 million undead and dark servants fought for Krathum over the course of the war.
Krathum's elite undead, the Undying, numbered around 100,000.

Casualties

Over the course of the war, a total of ~1.5 million people (civilians and fighters) were slain. Including those who died under Krathum's rule, the number becomes closer to ~2.5 million.
Ralla and most of the Auric Exemplars were slain at the Final Battle of Zanizer.

Around 3 million of Krathum's undead and unholy servants were slain or otherwise destroyed.
Krathum and his entire retinue of leadership was slain and/or banished.

Objectives

Slay Krathum and stop his Ritual of Seeding.
Break the Defiled Empire and free Aitreas.

Ensure Krathum completed his ritual and achieved divinity.
Crush the Aitrean resistance and then crush the world.