Elvish Civil War

Summary

The Elvish Civil War was a war between the Drow elves and the surface elves. The war lasted from 237AC to 252AC. Conflict between these two factions has existed for millennia, though the drow elves mostly hid during the Age of Chaos, providing a temporary pause in the conflict (see Corellon for more details). The war was dubbed the Elvish Civil War by High Elven historians who still considered the drow to be brethren of the surface elves, a sentiment not shared by the Drow. Put simply, this war was a long-term assault initiated by the drow who wished to completely eradicate all surface elves. There were countless casualties over the course of the Elvish Civil War, but the united surface elves were ultimately victorious in 252AC. Victory was attributed to the masterful strategic planning of now King Feanor Elothil .

The War

In its infancy, the Elvish Lands were not united under the banners of Elothil or Solaris . The Elvish Lands existed in the form of many small settlements of high elves and wood elves as well as the scholarly institution of Lunar Academy. Without clear leadership, the elves were left disorganized and defenceless against drow raids. For 3 years, small settlements were massacred at random, with the source of the carnage remaining a complete mystery.

Eventually, the surface elves united against the drow. This event is known as The Arming, a holiday that is now celebrated in the Elvish Lands. On this day (Rhaan 12th 240AC), elves armed themselves for the first time and readied for battle. The Arming gave rise to the six noble Houses that lead Elothil today, The Battlemasters . The mages of Lunar Academy also joined the fight, along with their leader and founder Ailith Lunar who died in the war.

Once the surface elves united and started to effectively defend themselves from the guerilla warface tactics, the drow changed their approach to attrition warfare. Knowing that their enemies would never delve into the deadly Underdark , the drow would send scouts and spies to the surface to confirm whether conditions were right for an attack. Attacks varied in frequency significantly, with some ta place days after the previous, and some happening years later. This style of combat heavily favored the drow; they could wait for an opportune moment to strike while residing in the safety of the Underdark, meanwhile the surface elves would soon grow tired and paranoid over many years. Resources became scarce and morale weakened in the last years of the war, forcing the hand of now King Feanor Elothil .

In order to end the war, the most prominent and powerful noble drow houses would need to be severely incapacitated, to the point where they would no longer consider attacking the surface. The now King achieved this almost impossible feat by using the drows strengths against them. Firstly, he knew that the drow felt safe and in control in the Underdark. This meant that they would never expect a direct attack. Of course, a large scale assault on the drow city of Quarvalsharess was not an option. A covert strike against some of the drows most notable figures, however, was entirely possible. To achieve this, the King organized a three part plan.

Phase 1: Infiltration

Ailith Lunar and Thasriel Thasriel travelled to the Underdark, located the city of Quarvalsharess and relayed information to King Feanor Elothil .

Phase 2: Bait

The Battlemasters and their armies orchestrated a fake expedition to the Underdark. The idea was to lead the drow to setup a large scale ambush, leaving their city and more importantly their leadership largely undefended. This worked perfectly, the drow knew that the surface elves might be desperate enough to try such a foolish endeavour, and their scouts reported the expedition immediately. Once Thasriel Thasriel and Ailith Lunar confirmed that the majority of the drow army had left, they moved in to strike.

Phase 3: Attack

While the drow travelled from the Middledark to the Upperdark where the Underdark Entrance is located, Thasriel Thasriel and Ailith Lunar attacked the unsuspecting noble houses. They managed to kill many priestesses of Lolth, as well as two matron mothers. Unfortunately, Ailith sacrificed herself to provide an escape route for Thasriel, who barely managed to survive the return journey.

Fallout

The ensuing fallout was as expected; once the drow army understood that they had been tricked and that there was no army to ambush, they breached the surface in anger and were promptly defeated by an ambush led by King Feanor Elothil . The surviving drow retreated to Quarvalsharess to find the city in a state of panic and chaos as all citizens had been ordered to search for assassins from the surface. In the ensuing chaos, some of the weakened noble houses were utterly destroyed by ambitious drow that seized this golden opportunity. A massive political power shift has been taking place in the city of Quarvalsharess ever since. Additionally, this event has proven to be enough of a distraction that the drow have forgotten about their conflict with the surface elves, as they now spend their time plotting against each other.

The city of Elothil was founded shortly after the end of the war, to provide a permanent strategic location for the bulk of the Elvish army. The city of Solaris was also founded after the civil war. It served as a gathering place for the surviving elvish settlements that decided to band together around the highly respected Lunar Academy and The Olithir .