The Great Magic War

This epic event took place over 500 years ago. On one side was a powerful wizard named Auryk, also known as the Black Czar, who ruled the country of Rubellonsk and whose stronghold was in the peaks of the Obsidian Mountains. On the other side was the region of Eksaer, which was at first a group of small states, but which came together for mutual defense. The war lasted for nearly fifty years, and it resulted in the desolation of nearly the entire region.

Although there had been small border skirmishes for several years, the war began in earnest in 286 LC. At that time, the rulers of the various states within Eksaer came together to form an alliance. Representatives from some twenty states to form a council, which was informally known as the Unity Chain. In the fall of that year, Auryk launched an attack which was an escalation from his earlier failed raids into Eksaer. In the hopes of terrorizing the Eksaerians, he unleashed powerful magics against the city of Ellis in the southern part of the region, where the Unity Chain was meeting, killing all of its members. The ploy failed, as the strike steeled the resolve of the inhabitants of Eksaer, and they fought vigoursly to maintain their ground. Still, Auryk had great power behind him, and slowly he pushed his forces forward through the region, driving the now-unified Eksaerian army back toward Willhiness

The tide finally turned against Auryk when the city of Drev, seeing the threat to the borders of Willhiness, joined with the forces of Eksaer for self-preservation. While the combined forces won, however, it was at a heavy price, as the massive amount of magics expended and exchanged during the final battle of the war was responsible for the creation of the Barrens around what is now the main city of the region, Imor.