The demon invasion of 1099A demonic attack, thought to be unleashed by the Vloz'ress, devastated Raveran fifteen years ago. A two-pronged attack; one group unleashed demons into the marketplace, in an uncanny simulation of the Nidraa'chal tactics used back in Chel'el'Sussoloth fifteen years before, and creating a massive panic among the commoners. The other group attacked the Kyorl'solenurn outpost of Inlulk'lar, and the Judicator in charge of the outpost made some decisions in the heat of the battle which caused a massive outrage as the death toll increased. She was eventually deposed and confined to a cell somewhere in the depths of the outpost.
The Illhar'dro defense was successful, however, both in preventing a massive slaughter happening in their own front yard, and in calming the panicked masses. Unfortunately for the city itself, the panic and the fighting within the city caused a destruction the likes of which Raveran had never seen. It took them more than a week just to clear the market place of bodies. And a month on, buildings were still being rebuilt, trade only just beginning to recover as caravans came in.
After Inlulk'lar was secure, and the former Judicator Rath'alza deposed, the surviving Kyorl'solenurn split into three groups , one going into the city to cleanse it, and the two others heading for Vloz'Raveran intent on a bloody revenge, one group lead by warden Kyori and her templar, Tar'lyn. Together, the two groups slaughtered the Vloz'ress and their hangers-on, but the mines collapsed, trapping some kyorls and many of the Vloz'ress workers and demons within. The Kyorl'solenurn regrouped, having taken losses on their own, and cleansed the ruins. After they had demolished what was left of Vloz'Raveran, they made their way back, although some couldn't help but look over their shoulders and wonder what could be going on in the darkness beyond the collapsed mine entrance.
Because the city was hit badly by the demonic attack, and because the Kyorl'solenurn and Illhar'dro of Raveran had grown much closer after this ordeal, tainted became considered outlaws in the city of Raveran, and there were control posts at all entrances to the city, manned by both Illhar'dro and Kyorl'solenurn. The Kyorl'solenurn ran patrols throughout the city, going as far as breaking and entering into people's houses to kill any tainted they might find. Outcries against this practice became few after the more radical Kyorl'solenurn started killing those they deemed "corrupt" as well as the tainted.
Despite all this, most citizens seemed happy to be alive, and with the number of tainted in the city approaching zero unfortunate episodes with the Kyorl'solenurn extremists became rare, eventually ceasing altogether.
Overall, the effect was a major population loss, and increased control of the city by the clans present, in particular the Kyorl'solenurn and Illhar'dro. The local clans, in particular the Vir'reska and Qin'dalasque, remained vigilant in the defense of their homelands, but not so much the city itself. The Sarghress, represented by the Yurun'hiir house, kept tight control of their own section, wary of the Kyorl'solenurn, to whom it seemed balance was shifting. The Illhar'dro remained in control of the city.
The next six years were peaceful, giving the people of Raveran time to recover. But the times were about to change.
The Illhar'dro ExodusRaveran has always been a rather peaceful hub, even despite its connections to the conflict-riddled city of Chel'el'Sussoloth, even despite the demon invasion that once threatened the city. And this is almost exclusively due to the Illhar'dro influence. The clan ruled Raveran from its very beginning, policing its streets and its clans, overseeing its citizens and its trade. Raveran would be nothing without the Illhar'dro.
The shock which spread across all of Raveran when the Illhar'dro suddenly announced their leaving was only matched by the despair of the Ravenite-born as the decision wasn't their own. The Val'Illhar'dro were going "home" - an empty word for those who had been born and lived for centuries in Raveran, for those many Ravenites who had never even seen Nuqrah'shareh before. But they obeyed dutifully, as did Illhar'dro everywhere.
The Illhar'dro exodus left behind a Raveran whose heart had been torn out - there was a great void created in the city's very soul that to this day has not truly been filled. The Kyorl'solenurn and Vir'reska were best positioned, but neither clan managed to take over. The Kyorl'solenurn continued expanding their patrols, where the Vir'reska began seizing Illhar'dro land. Neither would be good for the city, as time passed.
Preserving the PeaceThe resulting conflicts over the council's leader position prompted the minor clans and guilds to for once stand together, demanding in an unprecedented action that someone was chosen who belonged to no clan; someone who would keep Raveran's interests at heart, not the interests of the purity-obsessed Kyorl'solenurn or the aggressive Vir'reska.
The Minor seats gained support from the Sullisin'rune, Ailee'khevlani and Deme'dichi seats, followed by support from the Sarghress who were still a strong force in the city at the time, and thus the decision was made. Sa'inne Edega, the guildmaster of the powerful Farmer's guild, would lead the council and try to pull Raveran back together.
She had her work cut out for her, but the guildmaster successfully brought the Kyorl'solenurn-Vir'reska conflict to a standstill. Unfortunately, the peace did not last.
Vir'reska Expansion Link to fulltextThe Vir'reska had been building up their forces in secret, expecting the Illhar'dro exodus after hearing rumours of the Illhar'dro leaving Chel'el'Sussoloth. Not long after the Great clan had left its holdings, while the council were still arguing about who would take over the position of leadership, the Vir'reska made their move on the Illhar'dro fortress.
No one was expecting this bold move, nor were they expecting the Vir'reska to hold on to their claim for long. The Kyorl'solenurn probed their defenses, highly interested in finding out what their strongest competitors were up to, only to be rebuffed by a sizable group of armed Vir'reska. But dealing with the conflicts within the council was more important than who held on to the abandoned Illhar'dro fortress. Thus the clan was able to take and hold the ancient building without opposition. And not long after the council situation was resolved, other events would completely draw Raveran's attentions elsewhere. Suddenly, no one could care less about who occupied the fortress of the clan who left them to their fates.
The Second Demon Invasion Link to fulltextWith memories of the first demon invasion still fresh in their minds, the people of Raveran had long tolerated the Kyorl'solenurn's oppression - because it was tempered by the Illhar'dro's influence over the city.
With the Illhar'dro gone, Kyorl'solenurn patrols became more prominent, more aggressive. They would venture further into the city, being ever vigilant on their search for impurity and corruption. Paranoid forces within the Kyorl'solenurn believed that Raveran, in the absence of the Illhar'dro security, would soon become a cesspit of corruption. Sadly the Justicar appointed to lead the Raveran section after the previous one was beheaded for their failures of the first demon invasion, was too fanatical to see just how badly their ceaseless incursions into Raveran were affecting its populace.
And deep within the ruins of Vloz'Raveran, something stirred.
Just like the last time, everyone blamed the Vloz'ress for what happened next. What other demon cultists would be interested in Vloz'Raveran and what lay within? The second demon invasion had all the trademarks of a desperate, furious revenge. But when the army of demons poured out of Vloz'Raveran, breaking through the gates of Raveran and consuming or tainting everyone they could get to, there was no time to point fingers and lay blame.
The Kyorl'solenurn proved themselves time and again in the battles, fighting with a courage born of complete faith in their actions. And the other clans of the city put their differences aside, joining the battle on the side of the Kyorl'solenurn to turn the tide back and rescue the city.
But when it was over, the Kyorl'solenurn did not stop.
Fall of the Qin'dalasqueThe Qin'dalasque's modus operandi worked against them during the second demon invasion. Their velkyn personas had one major weakness; they were a part of the crowd. The big, vulnerable crowd.
When the demon hordes burst into Raveran, the Qin'dalasque were right there, and they were at their weakest possible point. They had no time to rally, no allies to call upon who were not fighting for their own survival elsewhere, and no time to strip out of their personas, break cover and fight. In the panicking mass of commoners, the Qin'dalasque could only try to survive, to reach safer ground.
Unfortunately, their 'safer ground' was no longer safe. Having attracted many desperate commoners, the Qin'dalasque home was being overrun by the desperate, by the tainted, and by those whose lives were about to end in the birth of new demons.
It was a complete massacre, and the Kyorl'solenurn troops arriving at the scene did not change this. So much blood flowed across the steps that the district would smell of iron for weeks to come.
When the dust settled, the fortress of the Qin'dalasque was a broken ruin, and the clan had been dealt a mortal blow. Many of the survivors were tainted, much of their leadership dead or missing. As far as the people of Raveran knew, the Qin'dalasque were gone, and Kyorl'solenurn hands were covered in their blood.
Only a few knew the truth: Some untainted Qin'dalasque took refuge with the Vir'reska, the others began establishing the Raveran underground which would soon become a thorn in the Kyorl'solenurn's side, and later would welcome the Vloz'ress into the city.
Kyorl'solenurn TransgressionsThe city had calmed down, all the demons were dead, the nether gates were closed, and one of Raveran's remaining big players had been eradicated. The Kyorl'solenurn had brought additional districts under their "protection", but the recent battle had awakened something terrible in the Kyorl'solenurn hearts.
Since they had failed to locate any Vloz'ress presence in the city, they did not know who to blame. The sinners who had brought this destruction upon the city which the Kyorl'solenurn increasingly thought of as theirs, had to be found and executed.
And there were still tainted in the city. Many had survived, escaping through sheer luck or persistence. They could not be allowed to live. To many Kyorl'solenurn it was a question of mercy - granting them a death while they were still themselves.
The tainted did not view this the same way, nor did their families. The number of corrupted in the city of Raveran grew exponentially, and the need for forceful action increased with it.
For months, the Kyorl'solenurn would break down doors, terrorize whole families, transgressing on the territories of all the other clans in their hunt for the cause of the demon invasion, and for those who had become tainted. Never noticing how public opinion of the Kyorl'solenurn - which for some time had been incredibly high - sunk for each day.
Factions within the Kyorl'solenurn began to break apart, disagreeing about what they were doing to the city, some feeling the need to moderate their fellow Kyorls so that they would still be able to find support within the city. Others caring for nothing but purging the city's corruption.
This inward struggle was ended abruptly, by the death of an innocent.
Council of TearsJust as the Kyorl Transgressions reached their height, with daily executions happening all over Raveran, Council leader Sa'inne Edega called for the Council to gather, in the hope of ending this catastrophic turmoil.
The city was suffering, and although she had only been leader of the Council for a few years Sa'inne had a good hope of solving the situation. Several of the Major seats had voiced their support for her in private, and would support her openly when the time came.
What none had expected, was for the Kyorl'solenurn to arrive in force to the Council, two of their Judicators openly fighting over the Kyorl'solenurn seat - one of the two even demanding the Council Leader seat for herself.
Shocked, the Major seats watched as the Kyorl'solenurn drew weapons - some ready to draw the council's blood, others placing themselves in the way. Every representative of the clans were corrupted, one Judicator claimed, to have allowed the ones guilty of the demon invasion to avoid capture for so long.
Council leader Sa'inne stepped forward to intervene, bravely standing up for the city and its people. Asking for peace, for the safety of her people - those commoners who made up the bulk of the city's population - and for the clans.
That powerful, yet tender voice, filled with concern and hope, was cut short by the sound of a sword through the air, and the splatter of blood on stone. Followed by a long silence.
Realizing their acts were unforgivable, the Kyorl'solenurn delegations retreated from the Council, leaving behind them the stunned major seats, and the minor seats whose anger was just beginning to rise. As the major seats gathered around the dead Sa'inne, some already discussing who would replace her, the minor seats silently began to leave.
The Bazaar Riots summary by Pitdragon.
Link to fulltextThe result of the series of unfortunate events that began with the Second Demon Invasion was a Val'Raveran that was filled with mistrust. Refugees from Chel'el'sussoloth's growing conflicts were passing through Val'Raveran to Nuqrah'shareh, with many refugees stopping in Raveran and spreading news and rumors of the battles they left behind. But mostly, the people distrusted their former protectors, the Kyorl'solenurn, and now felt a growing animosity for the Vir'reska because, for all their posturing and land-grabs, they had done nothing to stop the crimes of the Kyorl'solenurn on the people, signaling that they were not the true dominant minor clan of the city to its denizens.
The pressure hit a limit one day in the normally neutral Bazaar. Two merchant groups got into a quarrel that could not be quelled, and soon their anger spread like wildfire throughout the populace. Riots began, merchants and residents alike fought amongst themselves over any slight, perceived or real, trapping others as gangs began to form. The Sullissin'rune became trapped in their own compound, and no attempt by the Vir'reska could quiet the crowd – deaths at their hands only made things worse. Further, when the Kyorl'solenurn attempted to step in after a brief silence following the Council of Tears, the violence increased as people trampled each other to escape those they felt would “cleanse” them. Soon, the tide turned on the Kyorl'solenurn, and it was Templars that were running from mobs of angry civilians who saw too many of their own die at the hands of the “Grey-Skins.” The Kyorl'solenurn barricaded themselves inside Inlulk'lar as protestors chanted at their gates, “Remember the Council of Tears!”
The Vir'reska cordoned off the Bazaar and were content to let the fires burn out, and many clans and guilds were at first willing to watch the Vir'reska fail in order to take advantage of this meltdown themselves. But the Twin Illhars of the Ailee'Khevlani soon realized that the situation could not continue, or their own clan could be put in jeopardy as the tide of opinion could turn against all clans and no amount of neutrality would save them. They made a plan to quell the riots, and enlisted the aid of two other clans: the rising bankers of the Deme'dichi, and the sell-sword break-off of the Black Sun, the Aqrab'Akkar. The Ailee'khevlani further petitioned the Vir'reska, who agreed to continue watch around the Bazaar to keep the riots from spreading and allowing the other three to disperse the crowds within.
Over half a moon after the first blows, the Ailee'Khevlani coalition pushed past the Vir'reska barricades and subdued the gangs that had formed in the conflict, using tactics that would soon bring the populace to their side by avoiding killing when possible and reaching out to those that had been trapped by the events. Curfews were put in place to help quell the violence further and the Ailee'Khevlani set up a command district near the trapped Sullissin'rune Delegation. From there, they arranged patrols of Ailee, Aqrab and Vir'reska troops and, with the help of the Deme'dichi, arbitrated over various grievances from property destruction and aided merchants and civilians in rebuilding. This process would take two moons before order was satisfactorily restored.
These goodwill efforts gained the Ailee'Khevlani a permanent place in the Bazaar, to patrol and handle appropriate punishment for disturbing the peace from this base. They gained some of the best merchants and trade outposts from Chelian clans in this region over time. Further, when the next Council met, even as a leader was still not decided the Ailee'Khevlani brought the Aqrab'Akkar into the Council and their coalition pressed to turn the city's attention to renewed trade relations with other cities, mostly the resource-hungry Chel, as simply awaiting a return to Illhar'dro prosperity could not be relied on.
Soon, Val'Raveran began to settle into a new routine and, despite the tensions the various clans and outposts would have with each other, the people began to feel a little better about the future for once.
Return of the Illhar'droThe return of the city's true rulers was as sudden as their departure. Though there is no true night time in a city where the sun never rises, it was still in the dead hours when much of the city's populace is asleep that the Illhar'dro, accompanied by groups of their allies, the Balvhakara and Jie'yen, and followed by a small contigent of independent Duskians, arrived in force at the city's main gates. Before the defenders could do much more than raise their weapons, the Illhar'dro had already seized the gates. With the ease that comes from centuries of experience, the former Illhar'dro gate guards simply returned to their duties as if no time had passed at all.
A stream of Illhar'dro flowed through the city, gathering information, scouting out their old haunts.. and shockingly being rebuffed at the site of their old fortress by Vir'reska troops. Even as the main bulk of the Illhar'dro forces entered the city, scouts were returning with information about recent happenings and it quickly became clear that they had to avoid bloodshed at all cost. If they were to reclaim their fortress by force of arms, they would do irrepairable damage to their image, which had already suffered greatly due to their absence.
For the mainly Raveran-born forces, this was a serious blow to their morale, but they were assured it would only be temporary. They would return to the home they had always known, even if it took a century. In the meantime, the Illhar'dro settled on the former Qin'dalasque lands, constructing a large fortress to house their clan and its allies. Word of their return spread like wildfire once the forces had coalesced on that spot, and the people of Raveran reacted with shock; some with elation that their rulers had returned to restore Raveran to its former glory, and others with thinly veiled anger at how they could return and simply expect to continue as they had for ages.
The Council gathered on the very next day, those who had been working behind the scenes to place themselves as the new Council Leader feeling a sudden need to settle this question before it was too late. In the time since Sa'inne's death the Council had not been able to agree on a replacement, perhaps partly because things worked fine as they were. And now, as the clans found out when they entered the large meeting room, it was much too late.
In the Council Leader's seat sat the woman who had served for the past century in that very position, flanked by Balvhakara and Jie'yen aides, greeting them with a welcoming smile. Duskian troops watched silently from their positions, having taken it upon themselves to be neutral guardians of the Council. The minor seats buzzed with discussion, while the major seats assessed the situation, some quickly declaring themselves for the Illhar'dro in order to thwart competitors or gain favorable attention from the true rulers of Raveran. But the support which sealed the Illhar'dro's return to power in Raveran did not come from the major seats.
Turning to the minor seats in an unprecedented move, Eis'ilena Val'Illhar'dro, Council Leader of Val'Raveran and perhaps the best known and most respected Raveran-born Illhar'dro in existence, asked them if they would accept her return to the position. She couldn't undo what had been done, but promised to dedicate herself to Raveran and its people once more.
Of the minor seats only a few were skeptical, the majority rising from their seats to stand for her without a word. The return of the Illhar'dro, they hoped, would finally return Raveran to its glory days. Some smiled, others looked up past the major seats to Eis'ilena with relief readily visible on their features. To this display of near-unanimous unity, the major seats could do nothing but stand as well, acquiescing to the Illhar'dro's return to power or risk turning the entire city against themselves.
For better or for worse, the Illhar'dro were home, and the city enjoyed a time of peace - as peaceful as any drow city could be. While conflicts still simmered under the surface, sometimes bursting into the streets in a short flash of violence, life returned to as close to normal as it would ever be. Changed, fractured and remade, Raveran was whole once more.
