The Prolonged Night
The prolonged night was an extended sectarian conflict between the worshippers of Shar, Goddess of Darkness and Loss and Selune, Goddess of the Moon . While most of the conflict centered around the Varangia city of Laymyen; cities across Terrania reported Shar-Selune violence in their streets.
The incident's trigger was a fairly inconspicuous discovery of the dead body of a young woman named Reilia on the streets of Laymyen. Investigators eventually concluded she had been killed by her lover or associate; another young woman named Yazmira whom had fled the region by that time. They suspected motive had been either a lover's quarrel gone wrong, or a confrontation over unpaid debts. Now, this fairly mundane occurrence would have usually been lost to the mists of time, but Reilia had been a devoted follower of Shar, and it was later discovered that Yazmira had spent time living in the local Temple of Selune. At the time, the head Shar Priestess in Laymyen was a fiery, intense zealot by the name of Elmastra Darksoul who harbored intense hatred of Selune worship. She immediately seized upon the situation, attesting in bombastic public speeches that Yazmira had been ordered to kill Reilia by Selune a priestess; and that Selunites were purposely hiding the murderer in their ranks. Another accusation was that the Temple of Selune was bribing city officials to look the other way. This started a long period of mass protesting outside Selune shrines and the main temple in Laymyen. In the heat of the protesting, small skirmishes would erupt. The town guard tried their best to prevent, and break up the fights, but were often overwhelmed.
The situation reached a fever pitch the night of Selune's Luster . While the city spent the night celebrating the event; the Shar worshippers, using their maiden's cloak, snuck into the Selune Temple and defaced it. During the escapade, one of the nightwatchers in the Temple discovered the group and was mortally wounded trying to stop them. The Selune worshippers returned to the temple finding it desecrated, and one of their followers murdered. The city commandant tried to mediate the situation, but die had been cast; there would be no quarter. This began a long period where the worshippers of each temple roamed the streets; savagely beating any opposing believer they found. Any iconography within or outside the city was defaced, and usually caused a breakout in fighting. By this time the governor of the province realized the festering issue and sought to end it. He sent a detachment of Varangian soldiers to break up the conflict. Upon seeing the soldiers marching into the city, both sides, fearing the other had bribed the governor, fortified their temples and surrounding part of the city. The detachment gave the temples an ultimatum, surrender their temples and disperse, or be forced to. Both sides refused, and therefore the soldiers moved to take the temples by force. But, both Selune and Shar devotees held their positions, inflicting heavy casualties on the soldiers. The Governor pulled his soldiers back and decided to await Imperial help. The city was essentially left to become a battlefield; and soon become filled with the clashing of weapons and spilling of blood. While a sizable part of the population evacuated the city, many non-devotees of Selune and Shar stayed and joined the battle. They used the situation as an opportunity to take out rivals or end personal grudges.
Left festering, the sectarian dispute was leaking into the rest of the continent. Major clashes between Shar and Selune were happening in nearby cities such as Raggenhorn, Doaneer and Scheftholen. News of the conflict had spread outside of Varangia as well. Shar and Selune temples were full of rumors, hearsay, and calls to action. Weapons, armor and coin were sent to the city by the boat loads. Sworn devotees pledged themselves to crusade on behalf of their deity, travelling to the city to join the fight. Many traders and travelers reported the roads through southern Varangia were dotted with scorched battlefields, and mutilated corpses of religious fanatics.
By this point the Imperial Chamber was aware of the issue and sensed it spiraling out of control. The Emperor of Varangia sent his lead general Helinda Treshmorn, and a large detachment of his Imperial Guard to put down the conflict. Instead of attacking the temples directly, Helinda began a campaign of information. Her troops posted Imperial Decrees around town stating that by the order of the emperor, both sides must surrender. She also had her soldiers occupy the ports, and surround the city, preventing any outside interference. The Imperial Guard also fortified important intersections in the city to prevent the sides from clashing. Overtime, the religious fervor died out, and many devotees, fearing Imperial Wrath, fled the cause and city. The Selunites were the first to surrender; but Elmastra still refused and tried to keep her devotees in toe. But with the news of the Selunite leaders in custody, any illusion of conspiracy was fading. In late 1580 AC, the Imperial Guard stormed the Shar temple, pushing aside the paltry number of defenders and apprehending Elmastra.
In the following investigation and judicating of the conflict; Elmastra was said to have admitted she was actually a disciple of Cyric and thusly, quietly executed. But many believe this to be a fabrication by the investigators to create a scapegoat and prevent the creation of a Shar martyr. The Head Priestess of Selune accepted exile and left (along with many of her supporters) for Umbregia. Many leaders from both Temples spent various time in jail, and large indemnities were paid out to the families of victims and to the reconstruction of Laymyen. The city center had by almost completely leveled by a year of constant fighting. Although it's been over two centuries from the event, Shar and Selune worship in cities is still regulated. City officials ensure the complete separation of their temples and monitor the activities and rhetoric of its leaders. Shar and Selune temples, ashamed of what transpired, have done more community outreach, and attempted to shift their philosophy related to one another from adversarial to counter balanced. Yet, hardliners do still exist, and often work towards undermining one another.
Duration: 1578 - 1580
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