Main > Compendia > History > Shattered Age > The War of Erasure

Overview

The War of Erasure (Commontongue), also An Diothu (Feytongue \ˈdihu\ for unmaking), is named for its cosmological consequences: the destruction of a Strange philosophical framework. Lore about the war is rare and incomplete. The Fey, who were the participants in the conflict, uniformly refuse to discuss it. Information typically comes from fragmented histories written by Fey Court Orisons, who are close to Fey, but lack the apparent prohibition on the topic.

Timeline

The War of Erasure began in the late Shattered Age, c. NIR 1100. A Bleak Court called The Court of Circumstance, with suspected aid from The Three, began a new form of philosophical conflict with The Soft Court. The King Who Never Was, through a style of conflict structured around allegorical storytelling, was able to demonstrate to The Queen of Measureless Mercy that abundance without conditional costs is meaningless. This stripped the Queen of her power and dissolved the Court, which would later reform into The Gilded Court (what you take) and The Barren Court (what you sacrifice), c. NIR 1300.

Not long after, c. NIR 1250, The Court of Circumstance waged a similar conflict against The Night Court. The King Who Never Was demonstrated the paradox that if proximity is where meaning is found, then all meaning is coincidental.

Next, c. NIR 1325, The Court of Circumstance turned its aggression to The Court of Alignment. The King Who Never was attempted to demonstrate that harmony is a condition of orientation and action, making it too ephemeral to find meaning within without embracing circumstance. This should have stripped Lolth of power and dissolved her Court, just as it had each time before. But Lolth was an even older pupil of The Three, with more clever mind and a stronger will to survive than The King Who Never Was could have guessed. She did not engage in allegorical debate, instead she accepted the premise, and used the philosophical strength of the attack as a weapon. She demonstrated that conditions can be enforced (orientation as dominance) and states can be deserved (action as punishment).

In so doing, c. NIR 1350, Lolth didn't just survive dissolution, she weaponized it. The result was not just the dissolution of The Court of Circumstance, it was the erasure of the Strange Essence it was pursuing (Condition). The King Who Never Was created a way to unravel a Strange philosophical premise - he was unmade by the negation of an entire line of Strange inquiry. Not only was The Court of Circumstance gone, there was no Fey Court able to pursue meaning as a Conditional State.

This maneuver empowered Lolth in unexpected ways, as well. She was able to simultaneously rule two Fey Courts: The Bleeding Court, seeking meaning through punishment, and The Court of Genuflection, seeking meaning through dominance and submission. No other Strange God, before or since, wielded two sources of Strange Power at the same time, making her likely the most powerful Strange God in existence.

Causes

Discusses the context that led to the incitement of the event.

Major Events

Fall of Abundance

c. NIR 1100. The King Who Never Was and his Court of Circumstance disprove the philosophies of The Merciful Queen and her Soft Court. This led to the formation of The Gilded Court and the Barren Court c. NIR 1300.

Fall of Presence

c. 1250. The King Who Never Was and his Court of Circumstance disprove the philosophies of Her Imminence and her Night Court.

The Fall of Alignment

c. 1325. The King Who Never Was and his Court of Circumstance attempt to disprove the philosophies of Lolth and her Court of Genuflection. However, Lolth was stronger of will and more clever than The Merciful Queen and Her Imminence.

Circumstance Forgotten

c. 1350. Lolth was able to turn the philosophical destruction game around on The King Who Never Was and not only disprove his philosophy, but the entire Strange Essence that he was exploring.

Consequences

The consequences of this war are vast in Arcadia, though not well understood by Integral scholars. Most Integral scholars believe that this was simply some sort of civil war based on a philosophical dispute between Arcadians that fractured their society. However, the real consequences were far more metaphysical. First, two Courts were dissolved and would later be replaced by migrant personalities from Pelithos, ushering in a new generation of Fey Gods. Second, and far more profound, Lolth split every Strange Essence into a Bleak and Bright inflection, including herself. This doubled the number of Fey Courts, and bestowed upon Lolth twin personalities and twice as much power as any other Fey God.