The Shadow War

The Shadow War, the longest conflict in known history. So long has it raged it has been speculated that it has existed at the birth of the universe itself. The age old conundrum, good verses evil. Something that has every sentient species arguing over since the dawn of time. What one considers good, another consider evil, and vice versa, constantly going back & forth. Even the dragons, one of the two first-born, continually argue over this. As for the inscrutable Star Spawn, no-one knows, not even their servants are sure.
From the earliest of times, before the rise of other sentient life the Shadow War has raged. Exactly why & how is hard to determine. According to unearthed carvings & rock art believed to have been found in Africa & Eurasia, the war started even before the Creation of our world. Ancient entities waged a war in the background, amongst each other, and with the dragons. It seems that all sides believed that they and they only are the ones destined to shape the Material Planes, whole worlds and stars being born or destroyed at their whim according to some of these ancient pictograms. When other intelligent life arose on worlds, and their gods too in the heavens, they chose sides. Realising they couldn't do it openly without attracting the attention of their enemies on a vast scale, a great many resorted to fighting from the shadows. Subterfuge, assassination, bribery, battles in faraway spots, these were just some of the tricks employed by every side.
Over epochs, this has become the norm especially when one empire rises, events seem to conspire to tear it down. Some when quietly over a space of time, fizzling out with nary a bang but a whimper. Others disappeared violently and swiftly as if the heavens & elements could not stand the empire any more, and rebelled against them. The older the empire, the more deep rooted it was, and more the chance of elements of it survives to this day. Many that do has had to adapt and hide from the majority of others, even in some cases, the majority of it's own species.
Many are attached to cults & religions, and help to get recruits this way. Most are fanatical, and will happily lay down their lives for their respective masters. A few aren't, believing whatever they want to believe but see the danger of the others. They know that if the wrong side wins, an ear of darkness shall befall all.
Both sides have been going back & forth for so long now, it is hard to truly categorise many as truly good or truly evil. Some are at the ends of the spectrum, though some are misguided, drawn from a specific species, or made up of a mix with differing takes on the core tenants of their belief. Recently, there has been an uptake of groups & factions. Many of the elder species have found ways to dominate the younger, whether deliberately or by accident. Sometimes they are completely unaware they are attracting followers to a specific cause. Other groups have been starting up whether in response to perceived threats, or drawn to our world by some other means. Sometimes some of these travel through portals to ours whilst dealing with problems on their own world, or seeking answers or aid.
In every case, the groups, cults & religions, and those factions that work for or against them, fight in the shadows. Only in the most extreme cases when it is weighed in their favour, or exposed in public, do the public become aware of them. Also, a few specialists or high ranking individuals know anything outside of them, and sooner or later do they have to choose a side. This I fear the most, as my own Order of St. Benedictus may be drawn into the conflict sooner than what we would be like.

Purpose

The general thoughts and overview of an underground war between good & evil by a Father Tossil, his personal notes.

"I know that writing. Made by Father Tossil. He is obviously trying to get his 'house' in order before being targeted by some of these we face regularly. Not going to be easy to defend him if he's still at that church of his. May be in that grand city but won't stop them."
Grimmaz Fyrwin talking in the Tower Tavern before the Battle of Aachen.

Type

Study, Historical

Medium

Papyrus

Location

Wien

Authors

• Priest Father Tossil

Signatories (Characters)

• Priest Father Tossil

Signatories (Organizations)

• Papacy