The transgressions wrought against Ácolitus during the First Feud are old wounds, ancient events relegated to dusty tomes and timeworn histories. The peoples of Qadal in 3451, over ten thousand years afterward, are blissfully ignorant to the details and its importance. They are unaware that the First Feud is what preceeded their existence, or that the tenuous peace that followed was a deal brokered between rebellious children and their furious master. The Eshan themselves never forgot, and neither did Ácolitus. With Kovûnkal forged and bound by the creator’s power, both sides settled into an established order. The Eshan would rule over Qadal and Voryndal while Ácolitus reigned as the master of passing esseythu and the power underlying olûndari life. The Mandates bid the sides remain aloof in the affairs of olûndi- distant watchers to the ebb and flow of fortunes both fair and ill. Untold numbers of days and lives have passed since then, but the memory remained. All the while, the malice of the creator grew. Why should Ácolitus, the great light bringer, be resigned to allow his arrogant children to rule over olûndi? They did not defeat him honestly, nor have they ruled fairly. The world they inherited became the grounds for their personal feuds rather than a canvas to express creativity and genius. In truth, it was all a travesty to the original pretenses under which the world was created. Ácolitus vowed to undo the damage- whatever the cost.
Black and malignant schemes of revenge burdened the mind of Ácolitus throughout those latter epochs. Yet, what machinations the creator could devise were hindered or halted by Kovûnkal. Under those terms, the Eshan could not actively destroy one another, nor could they insert themselves into Esha and personally alter the affairs of olûndi. Ácolitus was thus denied the use of his immense power to smite the Eshan and their creations utterly. The opportunity had presented itself upon the conclusion of the First Feud, but the creator was tired and foolishly optimistic then. All Eshanic entities, save the despised Nith’eshan, were bound in essence to Misladur, the Well and Pillar between Qadal and Voryndal governed by Idorûn, whose spirit is one with that place. Those Eshan who attempt to violate Kovûnkal for some self-serving purpose become targets of Idorû. Their Eshanic power is drained and absorbed within the Well and Pillar and dispersed into the world and Void. Ácolitus himself became subject to this judgement in turn. The prospect of another celestial feud was rendered nigh, but all save the cleverest plots and intrigues among the Eshan were also reduced. A peaceful status quo developed which favored the Eshan over their creator, reducing him to impotence while the Eshan themselves spread across Esha and improved it. The Etûletal historian Zil’dira the Letterbearer wrote extensively of this concept in the Vyndals.
“The master and creator, Ácolitus, great in mercy, made peace with his children. The Eshan and he bound together their essence and forged a pact known as Kovunkal, denying all further wars among the highest. In the memory of Atûn Etûsbal the Youngest, the Alor’eshan considered Kovûnkal their most cunning deception upon Ácolitus. Peace was rendered forever after upon pain of weakness and punishment, yet the inception of war derived from Ácolitus and the Eshan themselves. The new order of the Eshanic world secured the peace the Eshan themselves desired and Ácolitus believed he desired. It was many eons thereafter that Ácolitus recognized the full measure of his powerlessness. Indeed, I write these words with keen knowledge that I may be watched from Éshabal but protected from its reproach.”Zil’dira the LetterbearerThe Vyndals -- 3241
In the early millennia of the Awakening, the creator pondered by what means Kovûnkal could be surmounted or rejected to regain control over the Eshanic world. Foremost came conjectures of reigniting the First Feud. After all, Ácolitus yet retained immense abundances of Eshanic energy which could annihilate the Eshan and Olûllosia if mustered for the purpose. He mused that such a swift and complete purge would recreate the primal beauty of formative existence when the universe was only he and Kolura. However, such simplistic solutions carried horrible repercussions. Violation of Kovûnkal on such a scale as war would decimate the Eshanic power of all combatants, including Ácolitus. In the worst outcome, the ruination of Éshabal’s power and death of Ácolitus could mean the destruction of existence itself. In favorable circumstances, the devastation among the Eshan would be great, yet spare some measure of olûndari creation. The risks were outstanding, and too unpredictable to wager. Ácolitus diversified his considerations, and devised methods to convert Eshanic creations to his will. The famous Ácolian realms spawned from those designs. The history of those places exists elsewhere yet suffice to mention the threat they posed to Eshanic dominion over Qadal. Ácolitus desired to disperse the Eshanic faithful and introduce a religion regarding himself among olûndi. While these realms were small and scarce in numbers the Eshan swiftly decimated them. In final desperation, the creator considered the possibility of creating further generations of Eshor and Eshan to combat the Alor and Ebal’eshan. This too carried significant risk, as there were no guarentees that the new-borns would loyaly serve their creator. In truth, a new generation might scorn both Ácolitus and the Eshan themselves, and thus create for themselves an entirely original faction. This would spell ruin for all! Given those bleak circumstances, Ácolitus stayed his judgement and actions, preferring to observe and discover fruitful opportunities.
For the remainder of that epoch, Ácolitus stayed his hand, during which time the Eshan firmly entrenched themselves in Qadal and Voryndal. It was no longer possible to quickly undo them. Not all was lost, however. The end of the Awakening and beginning of the Ascension brought the inspiration Ácolitus had so desparately required. Atûn bestowed Vojûn upon the Etayen, giving them power that was beyond the confines of Eshara. This allowed Atûn’s power to influence the wider world without violating the Divine Mandates, which bar direct interaction between the olûndari world and the Eshan. It was a brilliant ploy, which only the cunning Atûn could have so perfectly conceived. With Vojûn in their arsenal, the Etayen burst forth from Etal and washed over the rest of Qadal, colonizing and enslaving their neighbors. Ácolitus observed with interest as the Etayen established direct and influential dominion over Qadal. It was through these observations that the Creator formulated his own machinations against the Eshan, all in secret. He began to harness energy which was beyond the control and perception of the Eshan: Vussalas, or the fabric of Ácolitus himself. Utilizing the methods of the Eshan against them, Ácolitus set to work.
Not all was trivialized into the simple acquisition of power over time. Ácolitus was bound by the terms of Kovûnkal just like his numerous children. His single race, being what was allotted, was expended upon the corruption of the Elivas race, meant to divide the loyalties of the Alor’eshan rather than seriously create viable olûndi. Whatever machinations he desired to pursue were inevitably complicated by necessary concessions to bypass the Mandates. In this latest scheme, then, Ácolitus was compelled to accrue the reserves of Eshara required to create life without bypassing the unseen Breathing Threshold which completed the processs. Moreover, the question arose of what to create. A olûndari race could be made permanent through the proliferation of that species, but no potent powers were afforded to such beings.
In form, the energy that Ácolitus harnessed from Vussalas was that of a blackened Eshor- a celestial body without external light, therefore inpercievable to both olûndi and Eshan. Among the most observant, it might appear as a pin-prick of an irregularity within Vussalas, nothing beyond. This clandestine craftwork was the proverbial Womb of an inverse being to the Eshan; it was both pragmatic and a symbolic counter-point. While they had been created by the light of Ácolitus, this being was created of the fabric of Vussalas- it was called the Vuss’eshan and was the only of its kind. It festered out in the far reaches of Vussalas, well beyond the eyes of the Eshan, and grew in strength over the following epochs. While the spawn of Vussalas manifested, Ácolitus maintained the guise of neutrality and strove to maintain order in Qadal. The Eshan were therefore none the wiser of the danger that lurked far beyond the olûndari realm.
After the failure of Bal’gorod and devastation of the Great Conflict, Ácolitus withdrew himself from Qadal. The Eshan were suspicious of the causes of that calamity yet were uncertain about the origin and purpose of the artifcats Bal’gorod coveted. Nobody among them shifted blame to Ácolitus, as the creation of Zarthum remained completely hidden. However, further meddling could bring undesired attention. Between the years 2304 and 3451, Ácolitus continued to build power and await another opportunity to strike. The Eshan struggled to rebuild. Centuries passed, and the memory of the Great Conflict receded into the darkest annals of history. This known, dire memory yet failed to preclude the horrors designed by the creator. In the year 3451, Ácolitus once again felt himself prepared to execute his schemes of revenge against the Eshan. Circumstances in Qadal had evolved favorably. Among the Etayen, unprecedented civil strife caused the downfall of the timeless Vishtal dynasty and ascension of the militant Unain. They began to move to restore their fallen domain and made it known that they would capitalize upon any means to achieve success.
Unlike their conservative predecessors, Atûsbal Unain Thin’tak Sekoras and his ilk desired the restoration of Étunas and the bold reassertment of Etayen power in Qadal. He and his son Atûsghal Unain Ul’thark were aware of Bal’gorod’s ancient machinations and knowledge through the lineage of the remnant Atysvala. Lone Taeyoril survived the cataclysm of Nathrovas’s destruction, as he was fighting in the west against the remaining defenders of Jequa. It was he who traveled to Etal in secret and spoke with the ancient Vishtal Atûsbalas regarding what Bal’gorod had learned from Ácolitus. Yet, in those years the Etayen remained weary of strange machinations and angered by the insolence of Bal’gorod in sharing the power of Shrik’s seed. The information was therefore stored within the annals of Amikiras and ignored for successive generations. When the Unain dynasty reopened those pages, Ácolitus watched with interest as those ancient plans once again came to motion. This was the opportunity he desired- perhaps the creature of the seed might be brought to life. Acolitus assisted the Etayen in subtle ways such that they got their hands upon the seed and might invest power into it (his power most likely) that it might flare to life from nothing. Meanwhile, Acolitus worked in the background to lay the foundations of his plan. Which enemies needed to die and in what order, and which enemies would be slain by his hand, and which would be slain by the seedling beast.
Now, before everything crumbles to chaos, consider an important distinction of motives, from one who sees the world here at distance to the reader. The motivations of Ácolitus were not apocalyptic, contrary to olûndari and Eshanic belief. His intention was to decimate the ranks of the Eshan to recreate the hierarchy of celestial control. By 3451, the incredible scale of olûndari civilization rendered the prospect of complete annihilation impossible. He was never so foolish to think that restarting ALL creation was possible- none since Semegon centuries ago ever considered it seriously. Zarthum could have slain millions, but this released Eshanic power would only serve to empower the survivors. This was how Eshanic power flowed, which would make Acolitus’ position even more tenuous among stronger, better prepared enemies. Instead, he desired to destroy only the most constant and severe enemies of his order among Eshan and olundi with this Nith’eshan (which could attack both) so that the ancient pillars of the current Eshanic order would fall. Who would be left to impose new order? Acolitus the Creator, of course.
A significant number of Eshan and olundi perished to Zarthum in the chaos which followed, spanning Vussalas and Esha in murderously swift moments. A whole roll call of the honorable dead could be drummed here, but all that has been done elsewhere. Here I wish to speak about perhaps the single most important death among them all, and the one that best represents the inner intentions of Acolitus. It was Aebaster, Eldest of the Eshan and greatest opponent of Acolitus since the days of the First Feud. Everyone with Eshanic knowledge knew about their bitter rivalry, but few to what fuming hatred Acolitus had burned over the centuries. Not only was Aebaster to blame for the chief failure of the First Feud (alongside Mesian and Atun) but was responsible (at close distance or far) for every other suffering of Acolitus. If anyone was to die here, it was Aebaster, and Acolitus vowed to do the deed himself.
/ “I was once father to a noble child. Never brighter did the sun shine than upon his visage which reflected my majesty like silver. No wiser counsel could I keep than he in two parts- reason and vigor. First did he stand when the time it was to stand. None were more brave when it was time to be brave. A long time has passed and he has gone missing. Where is he?”
~ “I am here.”
/ “You? You are half as bright and twice as quiet. You are not who I remember.”
~ “I am sorry.”
/ “Sorry? Not half as brave either!”
~ “Please do not dishonor me so cruelly.”
/ “Not cruel, but truthful. Do you remember this child of whom I speak?”
~ “When I am strong enough- for then I cannot remember. I thought he was found, but you ask and I have nothing more than a name to give. Perhaps he has escaped me in the night- displeased with me as an unjust host. If I have disappointed your search, hold true that nobody is more disappointed than myself.”
/ “I’m not disappointed. You’ve never disappointed me, dear one- never, since you were the strongest and brightest of the sparkles in my eye. How could I be disappointed? You were the infinite light to match my infinite darkness. You were strong. You were the dawn to our dreary night. None of the others could do that and how jealous they were!
~ “Of me?”
/ “Of course, your siblings have always held you above themselves, deity of deities.”
~ “I never wanted their titles.”
/ “Don’t blame them for keeping the truth holy. Allow them to offer titles as they choose. True beauty is found in a love of true order. It is the least you can afford them.”
~ “If they love true order, where is the true beauty? I have never seen it! Answer how your world of true order can become so truly ugly.”
/ “I have wondered the same thing for a long time. Listen here, let me explain, for once it was my children in the realm of eternity, building for themselves new creations among my ancient stars. Castles and grottos they built within the bowels of the celestial bodies. Think! How insolent were they to impose themselves upon my sky? It was not theirs to take. I gave them no love as punishment, and reveled when discord was sown among them. It was their just punishment, watching their little homes blown to dust. Soon they had nothing and I was proud.”
~ “Proud? How could you be proud of their evil?”
/ “Because they could have nothing without me.”
~ “But I had nothing either! Is that how you feint your love for me?”
/ “But then I gave you something. I created the world out of my love for you.”
~ “It was never mine alone.”
/ “And how angry that made me! My brightest star, my oldest gift, who dares give you less than you are due? At once I hated the others, building for themselves creations upon land that did not belong to them! They deigned to despoil my garden with their weeds. I gave them no love as punishment, and reveled when discord was sown among them. It was their just punishment, watching their little homes blown to dust. Soon they had nothing and I was proud.”
~ “Again! How can justice be sown in the same field as death? Don’t say it was for me.”
/ “Because they could have nothing without me.”
~ “And was your wrath then soothed?”
/ “No. For now came the greatest act of insolence. At once I noticed something new in a field of flowers beside a river, something small and curious. It was not a bird nor deer, nothing in the kingdom of the Instinctual Beasts whom I have deemed to be harmless companions to us. It stood on its legs and grasped with its hands, and coming to the waterside saw its reflection. It prayed to know its name and prayed to be answered.
~ “And you saw injustice in small curiosity?”
/ “No! For I discovered that the pride of my children was greater than my own. They did not learn. They dared to become deities of their own creation! Never did they recognize that they could have nothing without me, but were so blind with self-love that they sought to become me. They created children thinking that power over others was the balm to their dysfunction. What a stupid breed! Who dares ask me why things are ugly when they make things ugly? Who can be surprised? Who can be saddened by it?
~ “Ah. Now you show your old hand.”
/ “No, I… didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean it. That’s not why I came here.”
~ “Then why? Why now after a thousand lifetimes have you found me?”
/ “Please. Let me finish then. At once I saw that when all the roads of history converge, a prize greater than any worldly dominion lay before me. It was a river of sorts, just like that first mortal looked upon, and its waters were clear. I gazed into its twinkling eyes and prayed to know my own name and prayed to be answered. The gift which the mirror pool at the road’s end gave me is Clarity, now the brightest of my stars. I have realized something I did not before. It is all to me, I think. I have not been a good father to you.”
~ “Poor to me? Poor to all. Perhaps you’ve gained something, but not quite enough. These mortals- father, they’ve learned something too. It is wiser than the mirror pool, for what I speak about was born within them and requires nothing from the outer world to understand. It makes them greater than ourselves in every way.”
/ “What is it? I must know.”
~ “They have been born, and thus they are born to appreciate the beauty of birth. It is their all consuming passion. It is their life and death, and their lives are all they own. These mortals nurture one another so close. Each one seeks to spend a short while best. They pray earnestly that their neighbor may spend their time well. Time! What mastery they have of the unseen art! This is how they ensure that 50 years of life are spent well, as close to deified perfection as possible. Yet for us in 10,000 years we have lived worse lives than them. If even one of them could live 10,000 years they would have created paradise, for they were born and know to cultivate the crop of love as it otherwise withers too soon. Their fathers are fathers to children. But this you are not- you are a mere creator of creations.”
/ “No. Not just creations… that can’t be all. We are more to each other. I tried to love you. I always tried to do what was right for you!”
~ “I also tried to do what was right for me. How could we both fail? What fools we were- you a master of creations, me a father of mortals. In all of this we’ve been wrong. You speak love, I speak love, but we don’t know love because we weren’t born in love. Only mortals know love. They are the deities whose hearts live a rich eternity within a minute but must unfairly depart. We mock and mimic their love but fail because we cannot understand what it means. This is why they are the inheritors of the earth, though bound by death to live in it briefly. We immortals are cursed to live for nothing no matter how hard we look for something.”
/ “You speak so hopelessly. I’m sorry I’ve done this to you, child. How could I have known that living was more painful than silence? What if I didn’t know the path?”
~ “You couldn’t have, we are made of weak stuff.”
/ “No more then. I have been a poor father to poor children. I have been the creator of a broken creation. In everything made I have brought more pain than peace for I could not understand. Now I am older and my pain distills to wisdom. This is why I have come to you. I cannot be weak anymore.”
~ “What then?”
/ “I must first forgive you.”
~ “Hah, no. I don’t need that now. Time has buried 10,000 years and everyone inside. It doesn’t hurt me anymore. I have learned not to feel anything dearly anymore.”
/ “Don’t say that. I want to forgive you. I need to forgive you. Is that not a lesson taught by the mortal fathers, that life is too short to hold on to anger?”
~ “Now you mock them.”
/ “Learning is not mockery. I now understand why you’ve aimed wars and crimes against me. You struck against something dear which has left you forgotten. I was once angry in return but now I have seen this road was mine to create. You, my brightest star, were left alone in the sky without peers nor orbit in your constellation. I taught you nothing about art nor wisdom. I have left you outside and you’ve become cold.”
~ “But there were others to keep me warm.”
/ “But it should have been me. Into my arms should have flocked the million children, but I left them to find their own pasture. Perhaps I was always the one most sorely lost. I know this because I see the curve of the road and it leads to the same place every time. I need this peace so I forgive you.”
~ “You really mean to do this now? After so long? You make peace with me but can you understand how many more of your children were buried with anger in their hearts?”
/ “I regret it.”
~ “But do you understand it?”
/ “I believe I do. I feel it within my heart that I couldn’t have waited a single moment longer. The sensation was so strong I needed to seek you out now. I think that’s love.”
~ “Be it so, but it means nothing to me now, so forgive me or not. Well enough if it puts your heart at ease but it cannot heal the maimed nor unbury the dead.”
/ “I don’t want to heal the maimed or unbury the dead. I don’t believe in miracles because I don’t believe in my ability to perform them. For my heart only- also maimed and buried, I desire that you put your hate behind you.
~ “I can too easily put it behind because it is already behind me. In many ways it is lost to me. The pit it leaves in me is wide and deep, but it is hollow inside. It has inspired no great works of spite in me nor pushed me to dramatic heights of revenge. It burned so hot for so long, but then it burned out. So, father, if you’ve come to keep your crown, fine. I don’t want it. I dwell in the kingdom you left behind.”
/ “I take it, for I have been an imperfect prince. Peace be in pardons, and you are no longer the rebel of your youth. Now I must ask something of you.”
~ “For what? I have no kingdoms nor titles nor powers to give you.”
/ “You must forgive me.”
~ “For me to forgive? Forgiven on what counts?”
/ “What do you mean?”
~ “Peace requires truth. Truth requires judgment. This is something I learned without you. I withheld myself since our feud, but if you wish to speak you must answer.”
/ “Yes, alright, I will… go on.”
~ “Fine, listen to me now. Before the world, you forsook your children and celebrated their own self-destruction. What they built you hated though they knew no better. The stars above became yours alone to keep. You plotted against the helpless newborns birthed without purpose. What was yours they were powerless to take and too innocent to ask. You gave them no love as punishment for what? Life? For such youth there is no philosophy of good and evil, but the lived world, and you made their world the image of evil. You reveled when their homes were blown to dust. Everything in your infinite power served yourself alone and fostered evil among the ignorant.”
/ “I’m sorry.”
~ “In making the world, you gave the gifts to yourself first. Never me nor the others as you claimed. You traded love for servitude among your confused children, so that they were grown to abuse one another and call it love. What they built was only in your image, selfish and shallow, for under your eyes creativity was ever awarded with jealous annihilation. Even this you hated, that which was created under your influence, so that your children degenerated to your worst bitter excesses and called it lived wisdom.”
/ “I’m sorry.”
~ “Mortals, the smallest and weakest, you hated the most. You dragged them from our loving arms and smashed their heads upon the rocks. They who knew less than nothing were taught our worst lessons first. No art, but survival. No philosophy, but instinct. You unwove the fibers of reason and made them into wild beasts. Like animals you made awards and bounties to hunt them in dark places and burn them- you erased the little lives they owned. The only ones in existence born without any guilt were treated as the worst criminals, and we who protected them were rounded together and slaughtered as traitors. All this because they were not yours though they would have loved you too.”
/ “I’m sorry.”
~ “Of all this, only sorry? How can I forgive you?”
/ “I lay myself out with open hands. I cannot give them all back, I’m sorry.”
~ “Do you think you deserve forgiveness?”
/ “I can ask for it.”
~ “And I can deny it.”
/ “But please, do not! I make myself humble before you only because humility is the fountainhead of real peace. Clarity showed me the new path- it is straight rather than curved. But I did not list your crimes against me though I could. I did not grind your face into the dust. Do not do me wrong because I am vulnerable. That is not love.”
~ “My crimes? What are my crimes? Name them! You will not hang me from your tree!”
/ “I was not alone in all this. I was not. You were always the other half.”
~ “I’m not any part of you.”
/ “You were across the field from me. You have been my shadow. No closer could our spirits be bound than in that moment- every friend and foe between us were carried on our shoulders, in our decisions alone, and that is a weight that takes two to carry. They would never have fought that battle without you and they would never have fought it without me.”
~ “You know I didn’t want to fight. You forced my hand!”
/ “Who did? That is a dishonest defense. When were your actions out of your hands? When you began to rally allies against me? When you first wielded your weapon in your hands? Or do you claim it was my hands? Which of my hands swung your sword? I don’t remember deciding anything that was really yours to decide.”
~ “Don’t be a fool- you know what I mean.”
/ “You mean to plead defense to justify murder. You have placed yourself into danger so that others would strike you, then claim it as unfair when they do.”
~ “My siblings needed a leader. A friend! I wasn’t going to abandon them like you abandoned us. They have lived without their father but I couldn’t leave them without a brother. I couldn’t do it because I have seen where that road leads. Alone I was caretaker of the orphans- your orphans, and you claim we carried the same weight?”
/ “A defense. I hear you. I have my own defense to share. We could fight again but neither of us have the strength to do it. I don’t want that. Let it wash away like rain- let it burn out like fire. Forgive me as I have forgiven you and we call the matter settled.”
~ “So you didn’t really want peace then. You just want my validation. You don’t want real justice. You just want to share the guilt. You don’t actually want to be forgiven, do you? You just need to be tolerated. Now I see why everything is ugly. You are ugly inside and so too becomes your world.”
/ “But I will make it beautiful yet. I swear on it.”
~ “How could you?”
/ “So now that we have forgiveness, we need healing. I have inflicted the wounds and so I must be the hand that heals. It will be no small task. For you I admit that it will be the greatest burden of 10,000 years, but this time it is a weight we need not share.”
~ “The cut runs deep, you’ll never see the bottom of it. You can only sew the skin but what about the marrow?”
/ “How wide does the universe run? It is all my body from sundown to sunrise. How can you look at something infinitely wide and ask if it can go deep? Never was it a question of could or could not, but only if I knew how. Now I know how- I have seen the path drawn in the mirror pool.”
~ “And you suddenly know the first step on that path?
/ “This is why I needed your forgiveness, so that there would be no bad blood for our parting. Here I have taken it.”
~ “No blood between us, now you can part from me.”
/ “My child, my brightest star, never can I part from you within the fabric of my body, but you can part from me. I ask this because the world has made you weary and sad. You have no place to live any longer. One day the sun will shine. I promise. One distant tomorrow the Creator will fabricate more than mere creations. The art of love was new to me and in another life I could have become its wisest professor, but until then we must have nighttime. For us there is no end of time but perhaps an end to suffering.”
~ “What are you asking?
/ “That you don’t struggle too hard.”
~ “I-”
Despite the careful scheming of Ácolitus which remained unknown until this most recent epoch, events in Qadal turned against the vengeful creator. Foremost, not enough devastation was wrought for those malignant ends to be achieved. Zarthum deprived life from Eshan and olûndi alike but drawn amongst the chiefest agents of those disparate civilizations. The resilient olundi continued to live and their civilizations did not crumble to dust. Acolitus’ scheme was just another strange Eshanic flare among many incidents in history and the olundi built their world around the ruins. Yes, the olundi did not wail out in pain and beg for a new master but arose to the occasion and chose their own new masters among the living and venerated the dead. The influence of Acolitus in Qadal at this time was so tenuous- completely unknown in certain circles of Eshanic power, that most olundi would never have considered throwing themselves into the arms of Acolitus at all. This was the simple, painfully simple, but unforeseen reality which complicated Acolitus’ lofty ambitions. He would have to work just a bit harder to gain anything.
Beyond the calculations of Ácolitus, the initiation of the Wandering era unleashed an unprecedented torrent of Eshanic activity into Qadal. Numerous Ebal’eshan who dwelt in Vorydal perceived opportunities to cross the Gismyr and Zolrassus. Without Aebaster or Corgastor to halt them, the surviving Alor’eshan were either too weak, like the Ezontach, or indifferent to the expansion, such as Mesian. At first, this increase in Eshanic activity manifested in significant yet infrequent. In Everos, Dyap, who was created from the power of Qazun as an assistant, arrived in the province of Eroyther. Her precense was immediately perceived as a threat and local forces took action against the invader. All manner of olûndari assault was rendered futile, however, and Dyap settled herself alongside the tributaries of the river Lornesse to establish her innocent domain. In neighboring Othos, the vaunted Third Son of Lyseros Pyrgos, named Syrgus, returned to Eurobia after 2,000 years to restore his nation’s tarnished legacy. This wrought tremendous chaos in that place but introduced yet more outstanding elements of this era.
Between 3468 and 3469, Othos became the frontier of Eshanic activity in this chaotic Wandering age. Syrgus Pyrgos, surviving child of Lyseros Pyrgos of Eurobia, arrived upon the continent’s eastern shores of thousands of absent years. His objective was to restore the domain of his long-dead father after its apparent centuries of decline and ruination.
“Who is responsible for death? A race with nothing or race with everything? Who can be blamed when anger comes to blows?
Death is not our purpose. War is not our purpose. We desire to make good on a promise, ancient as Esha, that Eshan are creators and the world their canvas. This was why Acolitus raised his arm to labor, so peace might reign forever.
This promise was long ago violated, when the few and strong took the canvas for themselves and left nothing for the rest. They created war by dishonoring the promise, and they have known the time of payment would come in time. The First Feud left our hearts bitter and yearning for the Second.
I say little more here, for brevity is the characteristic of justice. One deprived cannot with honor accept humiliation forever. We shall claim our share of the canvas in peace if allowed, or fight if forced by the institutions and agents of injustice.”Yaalon’s Declaration
Apology of the Yaalari - 3469
With the spectacular death of Xhaldarius and his judges against the tide of Ebal’eshanic invaders, the boundaries which separated Qadal and Voryndal were shattered. Who now stood to defend Qadal against those who might arrive next? Mesian, the two enduring Ezontach, and Ácolitus himself? These ones, tenuously aligned, were meant to be arrayed against hundreds of enraged, motived Ebal’eshan? The Eshanic prospects were dire. Elsewhere on this half, certain olundi powers rejected the Eshan altogether or sought heroes among themselves to defend against the Ebal’eshanic tide. Chief among them to mention here was Syrgus Pyrgos- Third Son of Lyseros Pyrgos who founded the Eurobian domain some 2000 years prior. He was himself a product of Eshanic intervention, having been lost in Voryndal and protected and preserved by an Eshan named Zelai. She waited for centuries, keeping him there for the ideal moment, then returned him back after the death of Aebaster to “reclaim” Eurobia for himself (and Zelai’s Eshanic friends and dynasty). Most went according to plan, save that Syrgus himself was embittered by the Eshanic chaos he learned about back in Qadal. He vowed to be different rather than just a slave. He took back Eurobia but rejected the Eshan- defeating the Yaalari at Magyeloros, ousting the Judges of Acolitus from Othos, and sending away Zelai’s Eshanic allies. He kept Eurobia for himself as an olundi master and many others were embolded by his success. This was the nature of Qadal in this first stage of the Second Feud, making a united front impossible to compose.
Decades passed thereafter, offering Qadal precious time to comprehend the great changes and great conquerors which towered high. Yet not all was well. Shortly after the year 3520, Mesian, one among the few surviving Alor’eshan, perceived new ripples of activity in distant Voryndal. Warriors were gathering and Eshanic power was illuminated through the proximity of deities so close in space. Perhaps this was some honorable gathering of peace and love between siblings? It could not be certain. Those present there utilized their great power to shroud Eshanic sight upon their meeting. With so many Eshanic active, this shield endured for longer than Mesian could afford to wait. She feared another Eshanic invasion, yet of greater scale than any previous. In contending with this threat, Mesian recalled modes of power which were created centuries ago. These were artifacts of significant potency, being imbued with fragments of Esheryne to amplify Eshanic powers normally granted.
Centuries ago, they were crafted to assist the Elivas during their years of peril against Aemar neighbors. Now she desired to gather allies and olûndari supporters to wield such items in protection of the Greater Half. Beginning with the faithful Elivas, she spoke down to select individuals, offering them positions and boons as her servants, and thereafter she sought the support of other olûndi as well. Daorhu, Etayen, and Aemar, being children of the Alor’eshan, were considered foremost. Axodraharik, Tarphry, Gressar, Yrd, and others were ignored. In these ways Mesian gathered a fair cohort of followers over the next decades. It was a slow process, but everything was meant to be done without garnering the attention of the invading Ebal’eshan who might be spying. Yet, Mesian and olûndi could not oppose such enemies alone. Eshanic assistance was required, and thus she searched for allies.
Mesian’s attention fell first upon the Younger Ezontach, being Otaoradu and Yada, who survived the terrible slaughter of Zarthum and now reigned over the Daorhu without challenge. They were the other survivors of the Alor’eshanic heritage. Their might was well respected on both halves of Esha, sufficient to perhaps dissuade the Ebal’eshanic invaders from interloping. Mesian thus reached to them as Eshan do- mind to mind and revealed her observations and concerns to them. One might have believed alliance to be the obvious route, but that was not the mind of the Ezontach. Indeed, even so far back as the First Feud the concept of alliance with other Eshan was distasteful to them. They denied Mesian. Contending with any interlopers alone was preferable to weaving another series of destructive alliances which caused the extreme imbalance between Qadal and Voryndal originally. Better said, to act against the flow of the world was to dam a river whose course is unknown. It has too often lead to more evil than good, perhaps this is what Debaortu and Nahu would have said, if they still lived, and perhaps now was the time for the Ezontach youth to take some last wisdom from their elders.
Without the assistance of Otaoradu and Yada, the defenses of Qadal were fractured to near impotence. What Eshanic power might stand against the Ebal’eshan tide? Mesian considered her options and fell upon a strange ally- Ullum. He was himself Ebal’eshan who infiltrated the Greater Half many millenia prior and hid from Mesian, Atûn, and Aebaster’s sight. Yet, Ullum was wise, indeed famous for such wisdom as was impartial and ever-pragmatic in its nature. Despite coming here unannounced and undesired, he managed to create for himself a following among the Aemar of Gisuvollos and ruled them with an even hand. These people were content and loved their master. This had been proven over the centuries, when Aebastodmar explorers from Everos came to Gisuvollos to settle. The Anivollon of Ullum, as they were named, did not abandon their master but waged a skilled war against the Everosar, causing much annoyance and anger to Aebaster. Mesian too remembered these stories, and such tenacious loyalty would be required to endure the immeasurable hardships that were to come with a Second Feud. She approached him humbly, and Ullum agreed to friendship.
The lingering fears of Mesian were realized around 3551, 100 years after the death of Corgastor and terror of Zarthum. Those stirrings in Voryndal were now so significant that ignoring them was impossible, and the masses of Ebal’eshan and their races no longer hid themselves in eternal fear.
This was just the beginning- the continued advance of Voryndayen races and the following struggles lasted for the next 10 years or longer.
In the midst of this chaos, with the defenses of Mesian and Ullum failing, the famous Ezontach emerged from their longer period of passive observation. Yet, it was not in the manner expected. No, the Ezontach had been deeply considering everything which Mesian had presented them not too long ago. Rather than ignore it completely, they pondered that their part was to be in a new Eshanic order, and now, when things were looking dire, Otaoradu and Yada emerged to make their part known.