The Wars of Torment

The Wars of Torment cover the time between the time of mages and their fragmentation into Wicca and Wizards. Though tensions were kickstarted by The Mages' Accord, the conflict only had a firm resolution 250 years ago.
It is infamous for the widespread use of necromancy as a war tactic, which made the practise - though already illegal amongst mages - a very grim and public reality. After the Wars had concluded, even aether-ignorant nations explicitly outlawed the practise independently of any decisions made by the The Institute of Wizards. Considering these wars started because of the mages' reluctance to regulate themselves, it was a clear message that even if they proved capable, they were no longer trusted to do so.

The Conflict

Prelude

"If the honourable mages desired a more amicable result at the negotiations, mayhaps they ought to have sent their own representatives to Union Hall and their misgivings heard then. Their complicit silence in the agreement process has doomed them to infinite disgruntlement."

— King of Camelot, Dederick Blakeley

As soon as the Mages' Accord was ratified at Union Hall, a debate erupted amongst the mages whether to agree and what their terms would become. A fundamentally fragmented group of peoples in the first place, the Three Kingdom Alliance's naïve attempt to regulate all aether-gifted proved unpopular amongst almost all of them.  Though Noravägen were more understanding of these subtle differences and wasn't keen on persecuting them arbitrarily, Camelot and Oksal insist that since it was written in stone the terms could not be renegotiated. 
Neither leaders at the time were friendly to mages, with King Dederick's since made infamous. That being said, the Divine Prophet of Oksal's reaction was far more absolute and effectively decreed that the country would remain hostile to mages no matter the decision that eventually won out. In their case, it was a fundamental defence against heresy.

Battlefield

Since these wars were fought between mages, their extraordinary powers made and remade the battlefield, terrain and terms of engagement. The Unionists, caught in their intense and sometimes inexplicable crossfire, were left to wonder why landmasses rose and sank into the ground or how they would make it out alive.

Historical Significance

Legacy

Though they ended 250 years ago, the mage conflicts defined an entire era for most people - especially wizards. 
Most of public memory fixates on the later conflicts, rife with necromancy and wanton destruction of everyday lives. It permanently cemented in the minds of those who can't use magic that the aether-gifted are arrogant and farm power for its own sake, with no mind to who gets in the way. Even with the events outside of living memory, the pained screams of the living dead are a potent picture in the public consciousness. 
Many families of Unionists proudly preserve the memories of those who died - some even starting their family trees from this point rather than trying to trace their lineage back to the Round Table. Soldiers who became Risen were herded into the Kingdom of Garka by Wraithfarers under a Council of Camelan edict, though the other members of the Alliance would rather give them eternal rest.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

236

Ending Date

899

Belligerents

The Mage Consulate

Led by

Strength

They had the support of 29 out of the 46 mages who held domains within Poraile. Their magical abilities were unparalleled to current Wicca or wizard skills and have since been lost.
Each mage who held a domain had a aether-gifted force of about 8,000 people, including the mage nobility who held those positions, whilst the bulk of their force were a serf army of about 12,000 soldiers without aether. These were recruited from the lands they controlled through conscription.

Casualties

The casualties were profound on all sides, but none more so than for the Consulate. Most of these were sustained when mages who refused to comply with the new Accord were tried and executed as criminals in the countries concerned. Some were able to escape to more accepting regions, but their skills have been erased from current human society. All in all, it was not only a massive loss of life but a death of a culture.

Objectives

Their priority was to find some way to defy, reverse or somehow overthrow the Mages' Accord however possible. This included trying to convert those who opposed this plan or removing them from the equation. They fully believed that the magiocracy system was how the world was intended to be.

Unionists

• Camelot
• Council of Camelan
• Noravägen
• Oksal
• The Three Kingdom Alliance

Led by

Strength

They used the combined strength of their country's leaders to enforce the Mages' Accord. For the sake of neutrality, a legion of each country's military is dedicated to the Alliance, with each nation offering around 3,000-5,000 soldiers for this purpose.
These soldiers would be equipped with their own nation's technology and uniform but march under the Union Banner. Anyone serving under this military faction is recognised as a Unionist, excluding the leaders of each country of the Alliance.

Casualties

The Unionist soldiers couldn't face up to the aether-gifted forces they were put up against, mainly because it was forbidden at the time for soldiers to practise magic. Only sovereigns were allowed to wield these powers, since they were thought to be divine. 
Though social change did occur in the centuries of the Wars of Torment, few countries let their Unionist legions remain in conflict with fragmented mage forces. The casualties were so great for the Unionist, with no way to defend themselves, that their bodies were being revived to serve the opposing sides. These wraith soldiers were forced through magic to fight even after death, with some even seeming to remember their past lives, making the battlefields scream with agony and confusion. It was this that brought the horrors of necromancy into the public eye and transformed discussions around magic.

Objectives

The Unionists intervened to enforce the rules agreed within the Mages' Accord, since there had still been no agreement between the mages on whether they should comply or not. After some debate, some decided to attack the nations of the Three Kingdom Alliance and demonstrate where in hierarchy people without aether belonged. 
Their initial objectives were more of a Parish Constable - to find the cause behind the heated dispute and make sure both sides came away satisfied. Instead, a war began.

Mage Conformists

Led by

• Merlin

Strength

The remaining 17 mages with domains formed the Conformist forces. They refused to use those without aether as part of their military and instead was composed entirely of aether-gifted. Their numbers were at their highest at around 15,000 but after necromancy became common on the battlefield, no one is sure of these figures.

Casualties

The Conformists also faced heavy casualties, but not nearly as much as the Consulates or the Unionists. Neither were they as harshly persecuted at the end of wars, since they agreed to the terms of the The Mages' Accord and made their own regulatory body - The Institute of Wizards. It could be argued that most of the aether-gifted that retain high positions now are entirely made from this Conformist group.

Objectives

The mage Conformists were a faction of mages that sought to keep with the Mages' Accord and convince others that this was the ideal course of action. They attempted negotiation with the Consulate, but eventually the mages had to settle their differences traditionally - with a duel. 
The Unionists on the scene misinterpreted this agreement as a declaration of war and sought to calm the conflict as quickly as possible. The Conformists, though well-intentioned, refused to explain the situation to non-mages since they thought it would be disrespectful to their way of life. In the end, they shunned all Unionist help entirely and even turned hostile against them when they tried to interfere further.