Pre-Collapse

Together with the Ten'Tau & Kriss, the The Grand Courts declare a war of cleansing against all shards of The Drifters in The Heart of Tawdrii.

The Duel of Black Peaks was a Legendary duel between the Illuminated Few, Cult of Loose Strands & The Court of Hallowed Fields that marked the end of The Great Cleansing.

Influenced by the Cult of Loose Strands, the Valdesi family, precursors to the Valmour, revolt against the governor of the city of Morea. In less than a day, the city's entire garrison was turned against the resident governor, defecting from The Foundation & Proclaiming its independence, this single act would act as the catalyst for the rest of the events which took place during the Second Age & the proceeding conquest of the West by The Grand Courts.

In the wake of their conquest over the western provinces, the Valdesi family & their allies agree to unite under a single banner to form a new government that would take charge in the wake of The Foundation's dissolution. With Brakia Valdesi at its head, the The Gilded Court went on to revolutionize the economic & mercantilist systems which drove life in the west.

The Battle at The Middling Sister  was a Legendary conflict that erupted when an army numbering two hundred and thirteen thousand under the command of the Illuminated Few began their passage through The Broadhead to strike at the western provinces. In their expedition through the valley, the force was met with a smaller opposition, well garrisoned at the base of the mountain - setting up camp across the valley, the Few pondered on their strategy for two days before beginning their assault.   Calling upon Ascendant magic, a storm of acid rain was called above the battlefield, scoring the flesh & armor of the Court of the Gilded's forces. Launching a fierce assault on the defending forces, the Illuminated acted as a vanguard - folding back the affected area of their storm with each push - waiting down the Willpower of their enemies with each surge.   Thinking themselves outmatched, the Mercenary order which had been called to lead the defence of the Middling commanded a retreat. Forming a retreating line with their best at the forefront, the defeated Blades of the western provinces quickly mustered themselves and managed to pull back to safety with minimal losses.   Forming camp in the ruins of the defence at the base of The Middling Sister, the victors began to celebrate their decisive triumph over the enemy - only to have their celebrations cut short. Shaken in the middle of the night by the earth & sky thundering around them, the Illuminated called their forces to muster for what was to come. Arranging themselves defensively around the camp, by the time that their leaders had unveiled the Relics hidden under their very feet, it was too late.   In the midst of a hasty & chaotic retreat, the earth under the Sister began to turn in on itself, churning like a great mouth & revealing a massive serpent summoned from under the mountain proper. Forming a shield to defend their allies, the Illuminated faced down the mammoth, all while the very ground under them threatened to swallow them whole. Eventually, with the loss of several Illuminated, the retreat proved a costly but worthwhile effort - saving twenty one thousand of the army's Blades so that they might fight another day. Shattered & left without the support of their allies, The Grand Courts faced a sudden & shocking realisation; their greatest may not be great enough.

Hidden among the west, the Cult of Eternal Illumination had taken advantage of the weakened garrisons throughout the heart of the province to complete a Lesser Arcane ritual which brought the presence of Cult of Loose Strands to the forefront of their awareness. Suddenly in full view of those who they held Authority over, Esko and his ilk became the new focus of both sides of the war - causing revolutions against their presence throughout the west & weakening their hold over the populace.   Forced to flee from the territory for fear of further repurcussions, the Cult of Loose Strands migrated into The Broadhead & set up camp in the ruins of Kra'tau. With a Proclaimation from the Star of the South, the Cult of Loose Strands declared themselves an ally to the west, and set out to repair their reputation among the Court of the Gilded.

Reinforced by the resources of The Grand Courts, the Order of the Black Rose set out on an expedition into the western provinces of Tawdrii. Split into smaller parties, each lead by a powerful Blademaster, handpicked by the courts, they entered into the provinces under the identity of migrating Kindred among others seeking greater opportunities in the wake of The Broadhead cessation.   Embedding themselves into the cities of the Court of the Gilded, the Order quickly set about constructing a series of Secretive networks in the hopes of stealing away the Authority of their foes. However, the Order failed to accurately determine the capabilities of their enemy - and quickly found their connections uprooted or turned against them.   A number of skirmishes that ignited between separatists under the influence of the Order of the Black Rose brought immediate attention back to the conflict with The Grand Courts - and served as the spark to ignite a more intense nationalism & unity through the west. Now with the full support of the populace, Brakia Veldesi brought the entire province under a state of total war; rallying over three hundred thousand troops from the people to strike back at The Heart.

Enlisted by the Court of the Gilded, the Order of the Black Rose began the development of a magical pathogen that would settle itself into the Authority of the Court of the Gilded and spread through their people, sapping their Willpower & willingness to fight. Embedding an agent into each of the units stationed throughout The Broadhead, the affected fell victim to terrible throes of pain & nightmares that indiscriminately spread through the entire populace of the west.   Incapable of identifying the source of the magics wracking their province, the Court of the Gilded turned to those they had exiled - summoning the Cult of Loose Strands into their cities in the hopes that they might unveil the mysteries that hid the source of their suffering from them. Taking up the mantle of clearing the Grand Courts' magic through the province, Esko Tensenuma and his cult performed a sweep through the entire military - quickly identifying those who stood apart from the strongly united.   In an act of national anger, the agents of the Order of the Black Rose - as well as their compatriots - were subjected to the magic of their own creation prior to their execution & their corpses sent back to their masters to spread their ills.

Driven to the brink of Extinction by the unstoppable surge of war brought upon them by the Court of the Gilded, The Grand Courts command the Cult of Eternal Illumination & Order of Auditors to summon forth Luminare into the world. Pooling the last of their magical resources to perform a Ritual of Manifestation, they plead with the goddess for her favor in the war.   Granted assistance by the greater arcane, the Grand Courts found themselves born again, presented with a collection of Premonitions that would lead them into a new age. Armed with new magics, a Fontis of Willpower & an incomperable capability for Insight & Unveiling - a new order was born from the greatest of the Cult of Eternal Illumination.   Emerging from the capitol, the Order of the Illuminated set out to push back the invading forces of the Court of the Gilded - bringing with them Ascendant magics that would forever change the world.

Pushed back to the edge of The Broadhead, the Court of the Gilded fought a hard-won defense to keep the Order of the Illuminated & their army at bay. A costly & protracted endeavor, the defense of the west quickly began to drain the coffers & willpower of the populace, exhausted after countless years of fighting with their neighbor. Faced with the possibility of their Extinct, the Court of the Gilded summoned the Cult of Loose Strands to confer over their remaining options.   Settling on a bet-all battle to push the invading forces of Order of the Illuminated with the assistance of the entire Cult of Loose Strands, the remaining forces of the west gathered at the final frontier of The Broadhead to meet their foe in a Legendary conflict known as The Broadhead Shatter that would see both sides of the war crippled.

Disdainful of the The Grand Courts for their authoritarian methods of governance & unquestionable Authority throughout the continent, a coalition of racial councils & courts rose up from within, upsetting the balance of power & demanding equal representation for all races in the courts.    Mobilizing the Order of the Black Rose to put down the revolution with a cohort of seventeen thousand fresh recruits, the resulting conflict lasted two years & was primarily defined by the ebb and flow of support for either side. In the closing of the conflict, the revolutionaries which had fought in the war had their crimes against Kindred annulled by the courts - and had their wishes for representation recognized.