The Hemlock Veldt Disaster
Disaster / Destruction
The Hemlock Veldt Disaster was the culmination of a short but brutal series of wars between a group of Hecath Queens, most notably the heroic Raggedy Azra, and the cruel, ambitious Lichlord Vierix Euphraxia. The Lichlord sought to subdue the Hecath by unleashing an occult contagion on their lands which would drive the local spirits berserk; though Raggedy Azra was unable to stop the necessary ritual, she was able to "detonate" it early, saving untold thousands but resulting in the death of both demigods.
One of the few Hecath Queens who understood the threat of these new, relatively hairless humanoids, Raggedy Azra would come to blows with the nearby Nireauan fief of Lochthwain, the domain of Vierix Euphraxia. The Ashen was the main driving force behind the Nireauan wars with the Hecath, and was even prepared to conduct her own campaign if the Empire was unwilling: the Lichlord was convinced the alien time magic of the Hecath was the key to the creation of the fabled Philosopher's Stone. Since the Hecath would not share their magic voluntarily, she would take the knowledge by force.
Raggedy Azra learned of Euphraxia's plan to bring a Hecath island continent to its knees by way of a virulent arcane contagion, which spreads violent insanity through the local spirit population, to whom the Hecath were sensitive. The resulting chaos would distract and weaken the Saprolings enough for conquest.
Azra confronted the Euphraxian Guard directly in a god-clash that features strongly in some Material mythologies to this day. Unable to kill the Lichlord or disrupt the ritual casting in time, Azra was forced to do the next best thing: she used time magic to accelerate the ritual, causing it to "detonate" locally instead of traveling the distance to the Hecath lands. As it took place in the relatively empty plains of the Hemlock Veldt, the damage was minimal, but nonetheless both Raggedy Azra and Euphraxia perished in the disaster. The Ashen's phylactery couldn't save her: the frenzied spirits tore her ghost apart before it could return to her sanctum.
