Centhariite Wars

The Centhariite Wars, commonly known as the Elven Wars or the First War of the Fifth Age, were a series of bloody conflicts between the Elven Centharii Dominions and the declining human Empires of Aldera and Ibbathis at the dawn of the Fifth Age. Though the elves of the far-flung island Dominions had long mistrusted and distanced themselves from Men and their constant wars, the cataclysmic events of the Fourth Age Collapse convinced the Centharii that Men could not rule themselves and required Elven guidance to prevent another catastrophe on the scale of the Collapse. The Dominions unanimously agreed to bring about the destruction of what remained of Edos' Thousand-Year Empire; while Anderia had shattered into dozens of tiny successor kingdoms, Ibbathis and Aldera had weathered the Collapse and remained strong, if considerably weakened. In Sethuria, meanwhile, the ripples of Anderia's folly had reached even the Great Quai, which was reduced to a shadow of its former self while Irerium, Ranui and Eazolon rose to replace it as the major powers of Ireria. All of these bickering nations of Men, largely turned inward as they struggled to survive and fought amongst themselves, were unprepared for the massed Centharii assault that would come in the sixth year after the Collapse ended and the Fifth Age began. Elven fleets sailing in perfect formation from Centharion caught the ships of their opponents by complete surprise, sinking warships and merchant vessels indiscriminately as they took control of the Sea of Cenovia. The armies of the Dominions advanced, marching from their small coastal strongholds in Letsharu and Eazolon, and landing in Kalir, Mytos, and even the northern wastes of Alarask. From the Irerian Sea to Centharion itself, no lands of men were safe from the wrath of the Lightwalkers. In the first years of the War, the Centharii Dominions ran rampant over their foes, conquering vast swathes of land in northern Ireria, eastern Ibbathis and southeastern Aldera. At sea, Men were helpless to oppose the Elven mariners, whose command of the ocean far exceeded their own. Even those lands that did not suffer large-scale invasions were subject to raiding and looting, while some nations such as Anoquai and Canmeryos allowed Elvish influence within their governments to avert the threat of war. The humans of the lands conquered by the Dominions were made subject to the Elves; while some lands saw little change under Elven rule, others bore witness to unimaginable cruelty against a population viewed as inferior and responsible for the events of the Collapse. As the fighting raged on, however, it began to take its toll on the Centharii. While the Dominions were by far the largest and most populous stronghold of Elvendom remaining in the known world, even they were few in number compared to the ever-growing ranks of mankind. The war began to grind to a standstill, with Centharii forces unable to stretch their lines any further and human armies unable to push the invaders back. This war of attrition would continue for decades, with constant fighting occurring all over the East but little changing on the front lines. Finally, in the fourth century of the Fifth Age, the legions of Alderan Kalir were able to turn the tide of the conflict against the embattled Centharii. With a century of brutal occupation fueling their drive for vengeance, the men of Kalir first drove the Centharii back, then forced their battered armies off the peninsula altogether. By this time, Centharii leadership had shifted several times, and the new councilors of the Dominions had become wary of the mountains of Elven dead the Wars had inflicted upon their already-stagnant population. While Centharii troops still controlled huge swathes of former Ibbathis and Eazolon, they too had begun to be forced backwards inch by inch. Finally, in 5A 354, the Centharii Dominions signed the Treaty of Naar with Aldera and Ibbathis. While the Dominions had not achieved their initial goal of the Great Empires' complete destruction, the Treaty inflicted deep wounds upon the two realms of men nonetheless. It stipulated that the Elves would retain control of the coastal lands they had conquered at the outset of the war, that Kalir would be granted independence from Aldera, and that Sidissa and Diosina would be formed as independent buffer states between Ibbathis and the Dominions' presence on the mainland. While the war between Elves and Men had ended on Adovias, it left intractable scars on all the lands and peoples involved. Aldera would never recover Kalir, and soon lost its grip on Naar as well, while its ongoing conflicts against secessionists in the West continued to bleed it slowly. Ibbathis entered a period of sharp decline following the end of the Wars, submerged in near-constant civil war for the following centuries as Saros, Sidissa, Acthen, and the Diosi and Myrmen hordes fought to tear apart the ailing Empire. The Centharii Dominions, while in theory the victors of the Wars, had been decimated by their efforts and now found themselves stretched thin as they attempted to maintain control over their unruly colonies, much of which they would lose bit by bit over the ensuing centuries.