Feeling stronger than ever, Miles could only help but smile after receiving the news of the defeat of Taskal and the weakening of the Void. Eagerly he continued to write, wishing to complete his account before venturing back into the fray.
Predictably, the information that exists on such an occurrence are questionable in the extreme. To control, much less ritualize, such an immense and unstable form of magic as necessary to tear open a veil large enough for a Void infestation seems near impossible at best. Even the most magically adept minds among the Juka have shown only an intermediate understanding of magic and by certain accounts, several Warlords outlawed its study altogether. However my research had led me to believe that in at least one instance, when the Juka were at the height of their power, and when peace with the Meer thrived, they had mastered magic to such a degree as to begin a very extensive summoning and experimentation process using Void creatures, which I detail elsewhere. The recent incursion into our lands along with my brief but torturous capture have only further confirmed my fears.
Several other notable accounts have attempted to describe what brought about the extinction of the Juka (or rather their rescue by the Harbinger) and the withdrawal of the Meer, with varying degrees of success. Many point to the inevitable war that arose between these two master races of Ilshenar. And in the aftermath of such a cataclysmic event, the entire world was overturned. Entire races were wiped out, while many, in their fear, retreated to the deep places in the earth or sought haven with the dogmatic and powerful but ultimately neutral orders of Celestians (or Ethereal Warriors, as they are commonly referred to as). Mountains rose and fell when the tide of war shifted, such was the power wielded by both sides. Rivers broke their banks, swollen with Meer and Juka blood. By account, this was the war to end all wars, when the heavens would fall and the ever destructive gears of conflict would consume all. Of course I do not deny that a war took place, as significant evidence definitely supports it, but rather what I question is the scale and magnitude of such a war and the means about which it was ended.
I believe it was not the machinations of the Juka or the extremists among the Meer that heightened the war and destroyed the face of Ilshenar. Not the razing of cities or the innumerable deaths in battle that battered sentient life into exile. It was the Void.
Predictably, the information that exists on such an occurrence are questionable in the extreme. To control, much less ritualize, such an immense and unstable form of magic as necessary to tear open a veil large enough for a Void infestation seems near impossible at best. Even the most magically adept minds among the Juka have shown only an intermediate understanding of magic and by certain accounts, several Warlords outlawed its study altogether. However my research had led me to believe that in at least one instance, when the Juka were at the height of their power, and when peace with the Meer thrived, they had mastered magic to such a degree as to begin a very extensive summoning and experimentation process using Void creatures, which I detail elsewhere. The recent incursion into our lands along with my brief but torturous capture have only further confirmed my fears.
Several other notable accounts have attempted to describe what brought about the extinction of the Juka (or rather their rescue by the Harbinger) and the withdrawal of the Meer, with varying degrees of success. Many point to the inevitable war that arose between these two master races of Ilshenar. And in the aftermath of such a cataclysmic event, the entire world was overturned. Entire races were wiped out, while many, in their fear, retreated to the deep places in the earth or sought haven with the dogmatic and powerful but ultimately neutral orders of Celestians (or Ethereal Warriors, as they are commonly referred to as). Mountains rose and fell when the tide of war shifted, such was the power wielded by both sides. Rivers broke their banks, swollen with Meer and Juka blood. By account, this was the war to end all wars, when the heavens would fall and the ever destructive gears of conflict would consume all. Of course I do not deny that a war took place, as significant evidence definitely supports it, but rather what I question is the scale and magnitude of such a war and the means about which it was ended.
I believe it was not the machinations of the Juka or the extremists among the Meer that heightened the war and destroyed the face of Ilshenar. Not the razing of cities or the innumerable deaths in battle that battered sentient life into exile. It was the Void.