The Three Factions War

Already ravaged by the Severance War, the third century ends in the bloody twilight of a new conflict, called the Three Factions War. For many years, three of the five existing Factions engaged in a fierce struggle for influence within the corridors of the Asterion. What began as mere political maneuvers turned into open warfare among the rivals.

An Yzmir Phonomancer named Peredur Zan became the personal advisor to Basileus Manssur. The mage had a controversial reputation, and many voices were raised against this appointment. Over the years, the Initiate gained significant influence, openly undermining the other Factions, and many came to see Manssur as a tyrant, a new Ayxas. An Ordis Templar named Affan Cathal decided to take matters into his own hands. With the help of a few sympathizers, he assassinated Zan in the palace corridors before fleeing far from the capital. In response to this affront, the Yzmir demanded that the Basileus imprison the Ordis officials stationed in Asterion who were deemed complicit and turn Cathal over to them. Manssur deployed his personal guard, taking the Ordis diplomats and politicians hostage.

But this only fanned the flames of dissent. The Ordis Monolith, for the first time since its creation, left Arkaster to position itself above Caecaster. There, the Ordis enlisted numerous troops within the regional forces, aiming to march on Arkaster. Cathal, after months in hiding, appeared before the Ordis Tetrarchy to plead his case. He had evidence that Zan used his magic and voice to bewitch the Basileus.

Meanwhile, Manssur, faced with this betrayal, called upon the Bravos Fyrds to assemble. He made them the official army of the Protectorate, compensating for the Aegis's defection. Although the Bravos were far from pleased, they accepted this charge. After months of skirmishes, a massive Bravos army was dispatched to confront the dissident forces and capture the fugitive Templar. The Ordis opposed them with their own armed forces, and a battle erupted, far larger than any that had come before.

The Ordis soldiers, despite their martial prowess, lost ground inch by inch against the combined forces of the Bravos and the Yzmir. Seeing his brothers and sisters-in-arms in a dire situation, Cathal decided to surrender for an armistice to be signed. But during the negotiation, Peredur's daughter, Perjin Zan, in a fit of rage, executed Cathal without warning, as well as the Bravos General Kelia Mordad, who tried to intervene. The Bravos turned on her, riddling her with arrows. But the damage had already been done.

News of this tragedy quickly reached the capital, and the Bravos encircled the Kadigir and the Asterion. Manssur became a hostage of the Bravos, and he was forced to decree that the Yzmir and the Ordis had become enemies of the nation. The Mages barricaded themselves within their Bastion, raising nearly impenetrable magical defenses, while the fyrds seized the capital to take control.

The Yzmir Initiates did not remain idle. Some Mage lodges carried out precise strikes across Arkaster, discreetly eliminating Bravos leaders. From Caecaster, the Ordis assembled a massive host to besiege the capital and seize control of all Asgartha. Their demands were clear: the Bravos needed to release the prisoners and withdraw from the Asterion, and the Yzmir had to surrender. Each of the three Factions believed their position was justified, their grievances legitimate.

And all prepared for the final assault. The Yzmir stood on the heights of the Kadigir; the Bravos defended the walls of the Asterion; and the Ordis, from the island of Nisan, established regiments that landed on its northern coast. The three Factions were united for what would be a battle for the future of Asgartha, each ready to eradicate the others for what they believed was the good of humanity.

But as the troops mobilized, they were stunned to see a fourth force converging on Arkaster. The nine Lyra City-States advanced through the mists of the Muir Concordia, taking advantage of the drained lagoon to cross from the Anthea peninsula. This event, later called the March of the Sahankas, was a spectacular sight. It was the one and only time that all the Lyra Clans stood united.

They were led by Chiara Caceres, a young skald. But she had been vested with the authority of the nine Matriarchs, the leaders of the Lyra caravans. She was their voice, and they all spoke through her. Under her guidance, all the Lyra sang the Song of One. Through this collective melody, the Lyra enraptured the combatants, mesmerizing everyone present. Thanks to this serenade, hostility, resentment, rage—all negative emotions—were swept from the minds, banished from the battlefield.

All the soldiers then lowered their weapons, bewildered and dazed. When the Song's last notes faded, Chiara approached the leaders of the three Factions. She spoke with them for many hours, reasoning with them. She revealed that in the Kiragata Wetlands, a creature was emerging, born of bitterness and resentment; a monster that, if given the chance to hatch, would bring ruin and devastation to the entire Peninsula.

Indeed, the Muna had been alerted to the emergence of an abomination, a singularity within the Mana network they called the Skein. Those who had come to investigate found a vile, enormous cocoon. Inside, a Leviathan of pure malice and hatred was growing. The Muna, with the help of Kaibara, had tried to contain its growth, but they couldn't make it disappear.

War's atrocities—death, terror, vengeance, cruelty—all this poison, all this venom, was the sustenance that fed the monster's growth. That’s why the Muna asked Chiara for help, to go in their name and seek support to fight against this evil that, if unchecked, would consume them all. The skald went to every Clan, pleading the case to each Matriarch. And against all odds, she succeeded in rallying the Clans, uniting them, even though they usually lived separately from one another.

If the three Factions continued to tear each other apart, then the Black Leviathan would rise. Chiara begged them to end the conflict, to lay down their arms and heal their wounds; to rebuild bridges instead of burning them. She implored them to unite once more, to fight against the abomination instead of feeding it. Persuaded by her eloquence and determination, the Faction leaders agreed to a truce, at least long enough to verify her claims.

Champions from all four Factions journeyed to the Black Leviathan's gestation site, plunging into marshes that had become putrid under its influence. They found the Leviathan, still in its nymph state, having just emerged from its chrysalis. Joining forces with the surviving Muna, the champions battled the creature, and in a last-ditch effort, managed to defeat it, saving Asgartha in the process. Unfortunately, despite this victory, all the accumulated darkness had tainted the place with a malevolent aura. Though peace was restored, the area remained cursed.

All the Muna present swore to watch over this place, to prevent its evil from spreading, and to cleanse it of its curse. Even today, the Fagn, as it was called, remains an island of darkness, ever ready, at the slightest opportunity, to consume everything surrounding it.