The Horned War

When Nerath the Godhead was killed by his nephew, there were no plans for succession in place. Nerath himself had no true born children, although there were a fair number of bastards scattered about the Empire.



There were two primary factions that arose. One supported Vzon'liuur to become Empress, the other did not. Support from Vzon'liuur came almost exclusively from the Drow-Tiefling families and households. They loved their Empress and the power she brought to the Drow here on the surface.



While the other faction was more numerous in their disdain for Vzon'liuur, they had no clear choice. Duke Calledeon, who presided as lord over the Greenlands was one of the more powerful claimants, as was Lord Beyyer of Port Regal and Lord Tryal of Benka.



Within the week, all four major claimants, as well as dozens of lesser lords who were misguided enough to think they had a chance of obtaining the throne, or were smart enough to curry favors from the more powerful nobles, had descended upon the capital.



For the next fifty years, armies raged across the Empire, as lord after lord fought and died for the Ruby Throne of Nerath. It was just after the Battle of Siren's Echo that a newcomer stepped into the field. He was distantly related to the Szerk family, or so he claimed, and wielded amazing powers with fire. Lizzal the Pyromancer, a wizard who's power base was somewhere in the wilderness of the High Plains, marched forth with elementals at his command and hordes of humanoids to do his bidding.



It took him some time, but eventually, he gathered enough support from other Imperial nobles to march on the capital and finally end the civil war. The Ruby Throne, was his.