Years of Ash

The Years of Ash was an epochal event in the history of Nevarra, occurring about a century ago. It was a time period marked by the rise of nihilism amongst central and western Nevarrans as a great famine plagued their lands but few with the power to do anything about it, did. It eventually culminated in an assassination of the national senate leader, a mob burning cities, and the creation of a new religious sect amongst the Chantry.
The effects of this time period are still present and unfolding in Nevarran culture today.

Background

Lead Up

The season preceding all of this was one marked by unusually heavy rains and storming along the central strip of Nevarra, ranging from the Minanter River all the way to the Blasted Hills. This led to extensive flooding in these regions, the desolation of most of the region's summer and autumn harvests, and ultimately the beginning of mass starvation for those in the area.
This coincided with a period where the National Senate had been trying to make wide-sweeping changes to keep up with the shifting concerns of the Nevarran people, especially as the laws and economic policies that were still in place hadn't seen big modifications in the approximately 300 years since Nevarra became its own nation. To combat this famine, the National Senate suspended agricultural taxation on the region and gave incentives to those importing food into the region. Unfortunately, these efforts proved to be inconsequential and many who were affected by the famine began believing that their government was actively choosing not to help them in any substantial way.

Instigating Event

While the scope of the famine started to become more apparent, an election was finishing up which saw the shifting of national senate seats and the rise of wealthy politicians with a laissez-faire economic approach. On the morning the newly appointed Senate-Imperator Otto Van Markham was to give an inaugural address, he was instead attacked while enroute. From the crowd of on-lookers, one young man hurled an explosive at the caravan Otto was being escorted by. The detonation ended up consuming Otto's coach in flames and by the time others were able to get him out, he had already died of respiratory arrest and lung damage.
The young man, later identified as Felix Bothmar and a resident of a small village flooded during this time, was jumped on by the onlooking crowd and eventually detained. His final words were accusations that Otto was working with others in the aristocracy to sweep the famine issues under the rug in an attempt to create a more homogenous, city-centric people. The truth of this was never validated and this young man was never heard from again.

Conflict

Shortly after the assassination of the Senate Imperator, Bothmar became somewhat of an icon amongst those being affected by the famine. His final words were enough to breed anger amongst these people and to sow the seeds that outsiders were trying to destroy their ways of life. However, these people had little in the way of fighting a revolution while they were starving so instead many found themselves becoming incredibly nihilistic — the world was against them and there wasn't a thing they could do.
It's unclear how, but eventually this nihilistic movement turned to violence as they began mobilizing into a nomadic "cult", ransacking larger towns and cities. This continued on for the better part of eight months.
During this time, a prominent figure eventually climbed through the chaos: a woman who the "cult" would later refer to as Saint Anastasia of Eirenstad. Anastasia was a Nevarran who claimed to be in spiritual communion with one of Andraste's saints that was forgotten to time. Her influence ended up pushing the roving group away from nihilism and more towards spiritual purity, specifically with the idea that the common man was on the trajectory of straying away from the Maker. She upheld the belief that the world was made by the Maker as it was, and to deface it with the touch of grand civilization and opulence was to sin. The most egregious of these sins were the grandiose churches built in the Maker's name.
What most would mark as the end of the Years was when an emaciated Anastasia alit herself on the steps of the national senate. Such a powerful display shook public discourse about the famine and the government's reception to it. Within 4 days, the national senate heard over 90 scholarly testimonies on what to do about the famine and wrote policies to begin fixing the situation.
Within a few months, the famine was mostly ended and the farmlands were no longer blighted by the effects the flood had years prior.

Lingering Effects

Religious Disagreements

Anastasia's influence is still noticeable today on the religious beliefs and practices of some central Nevarrans. Because of her, a minor schism occurred amongst the Nevarran Chantry — a rare event which has only happened a few times in the Chantry's long history.
The major issue was two fold:

1. Whether to add Anastasia's spiritual writings as a new addition to the Chant of Light, as the Canticle of Rectification.
2. Whether to canonize Anastasia as a saint.

No consensus could be reached and eventually the Divine shut down all discourse on the matter, leaving centrals Nevarrans to have to define their own beliefs. Fortunately for them, their beliefs were close enough to that of the original Chantry and they were no longer violent so the Chantry allowed them to defect as their own sect. Within central Nevarra now, cities are rare and many live honest, simplistic lives off of the land. Those who practice within this sect are referred to as part of the "Pure Clergy", though traditional Nevarran Chantry believers speak of them with disregard.

Cultural Animosity

The policies used to end the famine came at the cost of those living in Nevarra's large cities, particularly those in the south. It took several years for everything to balance out, but during that time city-folk were charged much higher taxes and were seeing an overall decrease in quality of life. This eventually came to an end and passed into memory, but even now there lingers a rivalry between southern Nevarrans and central Nevarrans due to the handling of the whole situation.

Disarmament

Due to their actions, the national senate put severe restrictions on the capability for central Nevarrans to mobilize any sort of armed forces. This has left the region relatively at the mercy of those with power, often brigands and highwaymen in those areas too far from larger cities or off the path of major thoroughfares. As a result, some towns and villages have sought the help of roaming, armed individuals to deal with these sorts of issues — often with offerings of money or local favor. These outsiders are referred to as verantwortungs, or sometimes just as trappers. No two trappers are the same, all fighting with different styles and taking on such a dangerous role for different reasons.
All of this had ledpeople from this region to generally be a bit more protective of what is their's and distrustful of outsiders.

Downturn of Van Markham Dynasty

Due to the poor handling of this whole situation while one of their own sat as Senate-Imperator, the Van Markham family began to lose public support and some would credit their failure during this era as the main reason one of their own no longer holds the position.

A mural titled "Saint Anastasia, the Cinder" found in a small village's Chantry just outside Perendale.

Symbol of the "Pure Clergy", using similar but slightly different symbolism than the Chantry.