The Unending War

This is the result of the enquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, so that great and marvellous deeds displayed by the Court of Empyrean not be forgotten in time, including what was the cause of their Unending War with the Court of Hearts and the reasoning behind their disappearance. The Coronary Fae say that the Empyreans were the cause of the dispute. These (they say) overstepped their bounds, claiming entire Realms for their Empyrean Network that had not belonged to them. But the Empyreans do not tell the same story. They say that these Realms were gifted by kin, and they never laid claim to them. For my part, I shall not say that this or that story is true, but I shall identify the one who I know did the Empyreans unjust deeds, and thus proceed with my history.

Before the Unending War, the Empyrean Network was free: for the kin and Lesser Fae which used it did not subjugate the Sites of Power. Now Oizys and those that belonged to her sought to seize control of the Network in the following way. Realms of Gloom had always granted the Coronaries increased strength, so Oizys dictated that their siege begin in the Hollowed Moor. She commanded Bound armies to strike and positioned prized Sentinels at the entrance to deplete Empyrean troops. Thus she took possession of the Hollowed Moor, but she could not claim it entirely due to the Automatons. The Automatons, in service to their creators, fought the Coronary Fae with diligence until the Sentinels were defeated and reinforcements arrived. From then on, the war was waged with Empyrean against Coronary and Automaton against Bound.

At the turn of the first millennium (AD), the Empyrean disappeared, the facts of which are disputed. The Court of Hearts say they were the victors and that this signalled the end of the Unending War. But Nomadic Sage scholars have found no text that corroborates this. It is their belief that the Empyreans discovered a means to ascend to the Demiurge and have not been seen since. After the Empyrean ascension, the Coronary Fae subjugated the Empyrean Network. They abandoned the Hollowed Moor, but left the Bound. In the same way, the Automatons remained, tasked to eliminate their Coronary foe. The Unending War continues to this day. The Automatons fight as they did centuries ago, choosing rather to serve their absent rulers than till the barren deserts. The Hollowed Moor, in turn, lies devastated, forever wracked with war.