War of Kings

Overview
The War of Kings was Spauria's first military conflict as an empire, and Nurn's first recorded military conflict against other humans. It was a battle for survival against the Five Kings of Nurn, who allied themselves with the Trollspine orcs, and sought to exterminate the Spauria for fear of it's rise to power. Amidst this three year conflict, a civil war also erupted in Nurn, as those loyal to honor and peace began to fight against their corrupt warlords.

Early Period
When Nurnian trade was suddenly cut off, the Spaurian's were suspicious, but could not have predicted the coming war. The main conflict began with orc tribes cutting through central Spauria, burning, pillaging, and planting Nurnian banners as they went. This effectively cut the Spaurian forces in half, separating north from south. Nurnian and Lizardfolk forces then moved in from the banks of the Yaga and it's river, so that both northern and southern Spauria were being pressured on two fronts. The Spaurians managed to hold their enemies at bay, but the cost was great, and without support from the opposite hemisphere, the War of Kings threatened to obliterate the young empire.

Nurnian Civil War
The people of Nurn tend to respect the dead even more than the living, and they revere their rulers as if they are gods on earth. Thus, when the Five Kings assassinated Lord Pyron-Mid, and began delving into forbidden lore of dark magic and necromancy, the Nurnian peoples burned with a cultural anger. A great rebellion began, with Nurnian's storming the city of Enrubu, calling to their long-dormant gods of war to aid them in their crusade. This resulted in thousands of Nurnian citizens being slain, with multitudes being raised again as undead, under the necromantic sway of the Five Kings. This horrifying and dishonorable act only fueled the rebellion, however, and the Five Kings were soon forced to flee to Djan in secret.

According to Spaurian accounts, as recorded in HISTORIA ANNORUM and other chronicles, before the Five's arrival to Djan, a venerable Nurnian priest had a vision in which he saw five dark riders descending on the city, and seizing Nurn's greatest and most dangerous treasure: the Tablets of Ruin. Thus he gathered all the high priests of the waterfront city to him, and together, through the ritual destroyed themselves, the priests scattered the Tablets to the Southern Seas, where they would never be found again until the stars were right. While Nurnian lore does not disagree with the story, the mythological event is placed much further back in their timeline, possibly even thousands of years.

Conclusion
With Nurn divided, and the Five Kings fleeing to the south, Spauria was able to fight back against their invaders. Without reinforcements or word from the Five, the Trollspine orcs quickly lost their sense of leadership and began fighting amongst themselves, allowing the Spaurian's to break the barrier between the north and south. At the same time, the Nurnian army saw many of it's company retreat to Nurn in rebellion against their dark leaders, and the lizardfolk did likewise for their own survival, seeing that the war was lost. Thus, the Spaurian Empire regained full control of it's lands, though their rangers would still have to deal with upset orc tribes for many decades to come.

In Nurn, crusaders had gathered in Enrubu, and were now marching southward to eradicate the Five Kings, who were now frantically amassing an army of undead to keep the rebellion at bay. With the Tablets of Ruin gone, the Five burrowed deeper into the dark arts, attempting to achieve immortal life and power for themselves. In the end, they chose to slay themselves as the Nurnian rebellion breached the city. The bodies of the Five Kings were entombed in traditional Nurnian burial grounds, now known as the Dead Sands; for after they had buried the Five, the bones that had lain still for centuries had begun to stir. Thus, for the fallen Pyron-Mid, a great pyramid was constructed of bloodstone, in which Pyron's body was laid, along with all of his greatest treasures.

Trivia
The tradition of entombing deceased kings within pyramids began with Pyron-Mid, and would continue for hundreds of years after his death, though Pyron's would forever remain the largest.

Though their research of dark lore and necromancy was no secret, the forbidden volumes through which the Five Kings achieved their powers were never found after their deaths.