Starstreak Valley
In Ellesma, during the War of Tranquility, the elves and Ignians battled side-by-side to defeat the invading Everians. The battles were going well enough, and the Ellesman's were gaining upper hands all across the large landscape, almost completely pushing the Everian's out.
However, as soon as the fabled archer Savihri joined the Everian forces, the tides turned for the worst.
The Ignians decided to hold their ground in Starstreak valley. Not only did they have the upper-ground, but they knew the land and had superior numbers.
The elves thought that their numbers would be better off in other locations, pulling their forces out, cutting Starstreak's numbers by half.
Even with their superior numbers evaporated, the Ignians didn't know that Savihri had joined with the Everians. The elves didn't either, but after the Ignian commander was killed, and the troops were thrown into disarray, getting both captured and killed, the Ellesman forces were split down the middle, the Ignians feeling that the elves knew that this would happen, and the elves felt that the Ignians should have heeded their advice.
The two sides were at odds in the middle of a war, and the Everians abused that fact. They cleaved into Ellesma, gaining strong footholds in holds being held by mixtures of Ignians and elves. Up until Savihri snapped, Everia had the clear upper hand in the war.
Sadly for Everia, the troops were forced to pull out when the archer began murdering Everians and Ellesmans alike.
The feud between the elves and Ignians continues even to this day, with racial tension strong enough to slice with a dagger. This was simply the spark that ignited previous conflicts and feuds, and burns ever brighter by the day.
However, as soon as the fabled archer Savihri joined the Everian forces, the tides turned for the worst.
The Ignians decided to hold their ground in Starstreak valley. Not only did they have the upper-ground, but they knew the land and had superior numbers.
The elves thought that their numbers would be better off in other locations, pulling their forces out, cutting Starstreak's numbers by half.
Even with their superior numbers evaporated, the Ignians didn't know that Savihri had joined with the Everians. The elves didn't either, but after the Ignian commander was killed, and the troops were thrown into disarray, getting both captured and killed, the Ellesman forces were split down the middle, the Ignians feeling that the elves knew that this would happen, and the elves felt that the Ignians should have heeded their advice.
The two sides were at odds in the middle of a war, and the Everians abused that fact. They cleaved into Ellesma, gaining strong footholds in holds being held by mixtures of Ignians and elves. Up until Savihri snapped, Everia had the clear upper hand in the war.
Sadly for Everia, the troops were forced to pull out when the archer began murdering Everians and Ellesmans alike.
The feud between the elves and Ignians continues even to this day, with racial tension strong enough to slice with a dagger. This was simply the spark that ignited previous conflicts and feuds, and burns ever brighter by the day.
Melting Snow
The Frost Queens were once a powerful race, some 500 to 600 years ago, with armies of witches and mages spanning the upper and lowermost reaches of Ellesma, their sheer power and numbers threatening to encroach over the entire continent. Even the elves, superior over the other races in the continent, were overpowered by the sheer majesty of the Frost Queens.
Lord Fuen, king of the Ignians, soon realized that all of Ellesma would be one massive tundra if the Frost Queens got their way, considering that the Ignian's Torch of Life was already waning in the approaching cold, a mere wisp some nights, rarely ever a conflagration of beauty, like it was so gallantly before.
He knew what would be best, and set his people into action. The Frost Queens had been initiating a mostly peaceful takeover, mostly using diplomacy and prpaganda to gain the land they conquered; but with the borders of Tedrailia (the old northern Frost Queen's domain) closing in on the edges of Tempiya and Burstain, Lord Fuen couldn't sit back and watch Ellesma be conquered any longer.
The Ignians refused to release any of their land over to the Frost Queens, and vice versa. Even the usual matter-settling humans couldn't keep the peace to this conflict any longer, one side had to come out the victor.
The Frost Queens struck first, with quick and ruthless guerrilla tactics, they easily sabotaged and dismantled almost the entirety of the Ignian barricades, sending the majority of them into turmoil and disarray. They froze the ground they conquered, simply to be brazen and mock the still recovering Ignians.
The Frost Queens only marched ever forward. The Ignians didn't want to lose their precious-few soldiers, so they kept in a backwards march even while at war with the new frozen scourge, the Frost Queens.
The Ignian forces under Fuen were battered and bruised, but still mostly intact, luckily.
Lord Fuen's wife, Lady Tythia, soon joined the war, aiding her husband with the artillery of the Ignian armies. They were fighting a two-front war, however, cornered by Frost Queens coming from both the north and south.
For the first time in Ellesman history, the elves stayed away from the wars, only becoming involved to keep both sides from harming the elven forests.
The war waged even further, both sides involved in the war controlling massive tracts of land. Those mere 500 years ago, some 80% of Ellesma was dominated by the Ignians and Frost Queens, and both sides were involved in a feverish war, trying to tear the other apart from the ground up.
The Frost Queens continued to secure their grip and reign over the Ignians, conjuring hailstorms and blizzards wherever they went, destroying farmland with permafrost, and whipping through houses and walls alike with vicious frigid gales and furies.
The war was looking grim for Lord Fuen and Lady Tythia. They had lost more than half their land, their army was weak, and the Torch of Life was already dwindling down to mere coals on the coldest nights. They were going to die out before the war was even done, and they had barely even made a dent in the Frost Queen army.
While, yes, the Ignians were disciplined and well-rehearsed in the art of war, the Frost Queens were not only ruthless, but cunning. Every chance they got to dig their icicle fingers into the ribcage of the Ignian defense, they did it. They rushed through valleys, sending storms and frost down them like bowling alleys; they screeched down mountains like birds of prey; they conjured walls of frost when things were looking even slightly in favor of the Ignian's, effectively cutting off any chances the Ignians might have had.
So, they prayed. Every night and every day, the majority of the Ignian population prayed, and they promised everything to merely come out of this war alive. As many wars go, Zhou heard their plea, and decided to perform one of his rare acts of benevolence.
He stooped down from the heavens, rekindling the Torch of Life into a massive blaze of glory, sending heat and energy rushing through the Ignian armies. With their inner flames restored, the Ignians struck out with a vicious fury.
They not only melted the Frost Queen's snow away, but they scorched entire countrysides, they burnt and brazed all the land the Frost Queen's stole, pushing them back with a fever.
With such a sudden shift in tides, not a soul knew where the war was headed, but for every Ignian that fell on the battlefield, some dozen Frost Queens were killed in their honor. But it wasn't honor, it was exactly as Zhou was, pure bloodshed.
Even after the Frost Queens surrendered, the Ignians wouldn't allow something like this to happen again, and simply wiped out the southern Frost Queens, allowing the elves to take the land, which would inherently lead to the War of the Moons.
Even to this day, the Frost Queens resent the Ignians, their entire race was pushed to the brink of extinction, and then pushed even closer to the edge, out of a mere grudge.
The Ignians feel as though they are the victims, after Zhou's fire ran out, they were subject to lust for either blood or flesh, usually the later, the gods demeaning the entire race into seduction-prone lackeys to everyone around them.
Lord Fuen, king of the Ignians, soon realized that all of Ellesma would be one massive tundra if the Frost Queens got their way, considering that the Ignian's Torch of Life was already waning in the approaching cold, a mere wisp some nights, rarely ever a conflagration of beauty, like it was so gallantly before.
He knew what would be best, and set his people into action. The Frost Queens had been initiating a mostly peaceful takeover, mostly using diplomacy and prpaganda to gain the land they conquered; but with the borders of Tedrailia (the old northern Frost Queen's domain) closing in on the edges of Tempiya and Burstain, Lord Fuen couldn't sit back and watch Ellesma be conquered any longer.
The Ignians refused to release any of their land over to the Frost Queens, and vice versa. Even the usual matter-settling humans couldn't keep the peace to this conflict any longer, one side had to come out the victor.
The Frost Queens struck first, with quick and ruthless guerrilla tactics, they easily sabotaged and dismantled almost the entirety of the Ignian barricades, sending the majority of them into turmoil and disarray. They froze the ground they conquered, simply to be brazen and mock the still recovering Ignians.
The Frost Queens only marched ever forward. The Ignians didn't want to lose their precious-few soldiers, so they kept in a backwards march even while at war with the new frozen scourge, the Frost Queens.
The Ignian forces under Fuen were battered and bruised, but still mostly intact, luckily.
Lord Fuen's wife, Lady Tythia, soon joined the war, aiding her husband with the artillery of the Ignian armies. They were fighting a two-front war, however, cornered by Frost Queens coming from both the north and south.
For the first time in Ellesman history, the elves stayed away from the wars, only becoming involved to keep both sides from harming the elven forests.
The war waged even further, both sides involved in the war controlling massive tracts of land. Those mere 500 years ago, some 80% of Ellesma was dominated by the Ignians and Frost Queens, and both sides were involved in a feverish war, trying to tear the other apart from the ground up.
The Frost Queens continued to secure their grip and reign over the Ignians, conjuring hailstorms and blizzards wherever they went, destroying farmland with permafrost, and whipping through houses and walls alike with vicious frigid gales and furies.
The war was looking grim for Lord Fuen and Lady Tythia. They had lost more than half their land, their army was weak, and the Torch of Life was already dwindling down to mere coals on the coldest nights. They were going to die out before the war was even done, and they had barely even made a dent in the Frost Queen army.
While, yes, the Ignians were disciplined and well-rehearsed in the art of war, the Frost Queens were not only ruthless, but cunning. Every chance they got to dig their icicle fingers into the ribcage of the Ignian defense, they did it. They rushed through valleys, sending storms and frost down them like bowling alleys; they screeched down mountains like birds of prey; they conjured walls of frost when things were looking even slightly in favor of the Ignian's, effectively cutting off any chances the Ignians might have had.
So, they prayed. Every night and every day, the majority of the Ignian population prayed, and they promised everything to merely come out of this war alive. As many wars go, Zhou heard their plea, and decided to perform one of his rare acts of benevolence.
He stooped down from the heavens, rekindling the Torch of Life into a massive blaze of glory, sending heat and energy rushing through the Ignian armies. With their inner flames restored, the Ignians struck out with a vicious fury.
They not only melted the Frost Queen's snow away, but they scorched entire countrysides, they burnt and brazed all the land the Frost Queen's stole, pushing them back with a fever.
With such a sudden shift in tides, not a soul knew where the war was headed, but for every Ignian that fell on the battlefield, some dozen Frost Queens were killed in their honor. But it wasn't honor, it was exactly as Zhou was, pure bloodshed.
Even after the Frost Queens surrendered, the Ignians wouldn't allow something like this to happen again, and simply wiped out the southern Frost Queens, allowing the elves to take the land, which would inherently lead to the War of the Moons.
Even to this day, the Frost Queens resent the Ignians, their entire race was pushed to the brink of extinction, and then pushed even closer to the edge, out of a mere grudge.
The Ignians feel as though they are the victims, after Zhou's fire ran out, they were subject to lust for either blood or flesh, usually the later, the gods demeaning the entire race into seduction-prone lackeys to everyone around them.