Before one can assess the Shadows War, a complex background has to be touched upon. The Shadows War stems from hundreds of years of fighting. Perhaps the earliest can be traced back to the Elemental War in 1409, caused by the chaining of the elements. Since then, war and peace have switched places numerous times, from the drowning of Hy-brasyl to the unfortunate formation of the League of Darkness and creation of the Pact of Anaman. With the Pact of Anaman in place, the realm of Chadul was free and the dubhaimid were at liberty to roam the land of Temuair in search of the lost civilization Aosda.
In the year Danaan 2421, a man by the name of Tenes became a leader out of the rubble left from the war between Danaan and Chadul. Tenes began his power with the formation of Loures and eventually in 2435 he and six other lords and one creature formed the League of Darkness. Egged on by Chadul, they created the Pact of Anaman with him, allowing the 8 lords a thousand year life span in trade for the freedom of the dubhaimid. However, greed got the best of the lords and less than 200 years later in the year 2601, the League split, leaving 10 separate kingdoms. Tenes though remained in power of the land.
In 2868 in the port city of Abel, a young soldier was training. His name was Ainmeal and he was one of the strongest soldiers the world had ever seen. At the age of 19, he had achieved more power than men achieve in their lifetimes. Spurred on by his worship of Danaan, Ainmeal set out to challenge Tenes in 2871 and destroy the Pact of Anaman, the very thing that caused Temuair pain. Ainmeal, as powerful as he was, was just not strong enough. Ainmeal was defeated in his first battles with Tenes and imposed a self-exile on himself to Suomi until 2878.
However, Tenes left himself weak with the construction of the castle at Loures. Tenes built a castle so grand, he was on the border of debt. Seizing this opportunity, Ainmeal brought himself back from exile and created a new army. After years of planning and funding, Ainmeal attacked a much weaker army under the control of Tenes in 2903. The battle raged on for many years with Ainmeal defeating Tenes in 2921 and ending the League of Darkness.
Unfortunately, the actions taken by Tenes and the League of Darkness were irreversible. Death still escaped the realm of Chadul, with war and hatred present everywhere. Ainmeal eventually died and his son took control of Loures. Sadly more of the same occurred. Battles between the dubhaimid and mortals were frequent. The dubhaimid grew more and more each day. Yet in 3031, the tides turned with the election of Ealagad. This shaman-priestess known as the "Steel Swan" fully utilized the power of Loures. Using her political clout she convinced the nine other kings of Temuair to ally with her, thus making her and her allies stronger than the dubhaimid. The kingdoms that once doomed Temuair, now gave hope to a new beginning.
In the year 3058, the Shadows War began, pitting the land of Temuair against the realm of Chadul. Under the unification of Ealagad, the land of Temuair had far more power, but still the dubhaimid would not go down without a fight. The arrival of the seven almost angelic creatures from Aosda touched off the war.
In Danaan 3072, Piet fell quickly to the darkness.
As writings show, not much fighting took place in the fall of Piet.
However, casualties were high. The dubhaimid used madness as a weapon
in the war. Madness was far more powerful than any sword, axe, or
arrow. As shown in the diary of Vincent d'Alkirk translated by Dartinian
Lestor we can see a babbling man who was a shell of his former self.
As horrible as the writings show it to be, Vincent's madness was far worse.
As the diary of Linoa Numea says:
"[The man] was walking down the streets, blood pouring from his eyes.
Oh, his eyes, his eyes! He clawed out his very own eyes, screaming
not of
the pain he caused himself, but of the beast that was within his head."
The dubhaimid were a horrible breed, relentless and heartless.
And as powerful as Temuair was, the dubhaimid could call on even more power.
Madness spread throughout the land, claiming life after life. Thousands died with half as many wounded. Yet Ealagad fought on with the help of the seven spirits from Aosda. However, progress was achieved in Danaan 3113 with the actions of Deoch. Deoch was the Chadul god of debauchery. The in 3113, Deoch switched sides of the war. Deoch fell in love with Danaan, so much so that after she sacrifices herself many years after the war, he continues her work. Deoch may have done two things to turn the war towards our side. First, he destroyed the moral of the dubhaimid. No longer did they have one of their gods to worship, thus their fighting spirit fell drastically. Second, though not necessarily true, Deoch may have give the world of Temuair the element of light.
Light was the one weapon that could beat the dubhaimid. More powerful than their madness, light was a vital tool in ending the Shadows War. Two theories have arisen as to the source: Deoch or the Rucesion wizards. When thought about, each one makes sense. Wizards are crafty researchers. Given enough time and circumstance, they would be able to come upon a new element. A gift from Deoch makes sense because of who he is. Deoch was originally a member of the darkness who is now in complete love with Danaan, He would know the one secret to the defeat of the dubhaimid. But whether Rucesion found it or it was a gift from Deoch, it doesn't matter. What matters is that light was the one final weapon in breaking the dubhaimid. With light now gracing the streets of the major cities, the dubhaimid were driven off back into the realm of Chadul. And with that the Shadows War ended.