The Surface Wars
The Surface Wars were a series of prolongued military campaigns over a 200 year period, culminating in the subsequent migration of Vöthar from the Vöthar Ùshel to the far Southern Reaches of Felora. Named for the attempt by the Vöth to claim permanent surface territory in Northern Felora after the Underdark's climate shifted, the wars represented a conflict between the surface and the subterranean. The cooling of Delvar's geothermal vents upended the Vöthar agricultural system, leading to widespread food shortages and threatening famine.
The Conflict
Prelude
The Vöthar had lived both above and below ground in the western regions of the Feloran continent, however the previous two periods of war between them and the Felorans, who sought to bring them under the control of their Empire had pushed the Vöthar to favor the Underdark. Unfortunately, the naturally occuring geothermal vents throughout the Delvar Underrealm had cooled in the latter centuries since the Second Vöthar-Fèloran War. With the Imperium refusing to yield to Feloran demands for tribute, and with the Empire refusing to negotiate for the ancestral land it now held, Puji Klamnagar, the Imperium's leader, began planning to take the lands by force.
Conditions
Much of the fighting took place kilometers underground, deep within the Underdark as Feloran armies tracked the locations of Chon’rhaulsh’tavost, Grommhl, and Dervh’vasht, the last remaining cities of the Imperium. The Empire sought to raze each city, perhaps to force the surviving Vöthar above ground and into Feloran-controlled villages. The lack of sunlight proved a massive barrier for Felorans, despite their natural Elven darkvision, as well as the lack of information about the Underdark, with previous wars mostly taking place on the surface or the upperdark.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The conflict led to the sealing of most passages into the Underdark, either by the retreating Vöthar for fear of pursuit, or by the terrified Felorans, hoping to keep the subterranean horrors discovered during the war at bay. The Underrealms faded into myth and legend until the Late Imperial Era, when several ancient passages were breached by Illithids taking advantage of the weakened state of the Empire.
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
231 EIE
Ending Date
1 EIE
Conflict Result
Defeat of the Vöthar Imperium, permanent exiling of Vöth from Northern Felora and Delvar
Location
