War of Ash and Light

The War of Ash and Light refers to the conflict between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty in 835-836 P.D.

Background
Virtually from the moment of its founding in 539 PD, the Dwendalian Empire sought to expand itself by absorbing or conquering its neighbors in Western Wynandir. Inevitably, its continued expansion brought it up against the neighboring Kryn Dynasty. Although the Ashkeeper Peaks formed a natural boundary between the two, the Kryn viewed the continuous expansion by the Empire with suspicion, while the Empire saw the Kryn as bestial remnants of a land devastated by the Calamity. Tensions grew between the two countries, with continuing skirmishes and sometimes open battles occurring starting around 815 PD. In approximately 822-823, a battle was fought near Nogvurot in which many soldiers on both sides were killed.

In the past few years, two of the precious Luxon Beacons of the Dynasty had disappeared and resurfaced within the Empire. The Kryn believed they had been stolen, while in reality they had been given to the Empire by a traitor within their own government, Shadowhand Essek Thelyss. This exacerbated tensions between the two countries, and the Kryn eventually sent in two infiltrators in an unsuccessful attempt to recover at least one of the beacons.

Martinet Ludinus Da'leth listed the reasons for the tensions as: the Kryn belief in the Luxon, Kryn missionaries recently found in Nogvurot, skirmishes along the border and the Kryn capture and torture of Empire spies, rising numbers of Xhorhasian creatures crossing into the Empire, general mistrust of goblinoids, and a growing suspicion that the Kryn coveted the comparatively richer Empire lands.

On 3 Fessuran 835 PD, the simmering tensions boiled over into full-fledged war with a Kryn attack on the Ashguard Garrison in the Ashguard Mountains near the Brokenveil Marsh in which over a thousand Empire soldiers were killed. In response, King Bertrand Dwendal formally declared war.

The war was outwardly declared over on the eleventh of Unnidilar, after completing successful negotiations between the two nations.(also see the Wildemount calendar for reference)