[i](continued from above)[/i] The Nobruen King, faithful to his friend, Rezoaroh, continued to offer him as many supplies he could spare and the Shazolo champion accepted Dotrenon's offers graciously, indebted to the lord's generosity. All seemed well in Drelemor, despite the circumstances beyond their borders, and the King was feeling optimistic about his people's allegiances regarding the Great War, but one unfortunate day, Dotrenon was brought news on treacherous activity outside of his city. His eldest son, Deonu, the heir to the throne, was witnessed smuggling Helathran armor and weapons out of the city and delivering them to Vokkeba caravans. Utterly shocked and skeptical with his son's betrayal, Dotrenon called for him and asked the young man about the account himself. To his surprise, Deonu answered candidly, revealing that he didn't agree with his father. He thought that the Shazolo were secretly corrupt and fork-tongued and the divided, hostile disputes in Mazhedra were only proof of their true intentions. He said the Vokkeba had suffered enough in the Shograreth Desert and should occupy the heartland of Aezathra, for the Shazolo were far more dangerous as its inhabitants than the Vokkeba would be if they received what they wanted. And the War would end if the Vokkeba would be given what they desired. Brokenhearted and confused, the King was pressured by the nobles to execute his treacherous child. Refusing such an act, Dotrenon decided to first try to plea with his eldest son to reconsider his loyalties, but the young prince disappeared, as did a disturbing host of Nobruen smiths and soldiers, as well as stock of Helathra ore and arms. After Deonu's betrayal and self-exile became aware to the public, the elderly King Dotrenon, incapable of even stepping on a battlefield, had no choice but to enforce his son's execution, and laid the difficult burden on his second son, Beonu. Deonu, intended to be the next heir, had been taught the secret that Nobruen kings passed on from generation to generation. The Royal Key of Inscription was only to be known of by a special few, and revealed to even fewer, and with the technique known by Deonu the Traitor, the Vokkeba could most definitely become far more deadly than they already were. Never before had the Nobruen Kings needed to eliminate a bearer of such secrets, but this became Beonu's charge. Because of the Nobruen defectors joining the Vokkeba lines, the kingdoms knew how much more difficult the Great War would become. And as for Dotrenon, he dreaded horribly what would happen if the Royal Inscription was used by his son. In order to bring the Great War to a rapid and less bloody close, Dotrenon ordered his military to aid the Shazolo on the fields of battle. To the south, Deonu joined forces with the Vokkeba captain, Gezor. And in the north, Beonu accompanied Rezoaroh. Two mighty armies of hardened, grizzled men and massive, towering Nobruen stood against each other, marches like thunder and blades clashing like lightning. Just as he feared, Dotrenon's son used the Key of Inscription and the Vokkeba army had become even stronger. Only the Nobruen King understood what the implications were. As much as he didn't want to, he decided to use the Key of Inscription to aid the Shazolo and his kinsmen. An act of treason that would forever tarnish his family's name and strip them of their nobility. The newly acquired strength the northern army received came with the desire to finish the War with one last battle to decide the fate of their peoples. Messengers were sent to the Vokkeba camps, and Gezor accepted the challenge. Both armies gathered every able man available and met in the heart of the Atheosha Prairie, on the night of the Storm of Ahdelor. The heavens wept with a torrent and cried with thunderclaps under the black veil of twilight. Both gigantic militant shadows charged, every man knowing in their hearts that the final battle of the Great War had arrived. Flesh met flesh, steel met steel. And steel met flesh more than the former. All night, both armies fought like mad, desperate for life and country. Fate would have it that the commanders clashed with each other. In the midst of the bloody chaos, Beonu met his elder brother, Deonu, and the Shazolo Rezoaroh met Gezor, the Vokkeba leader. A furious battle was fought. Few were able to witness every strike that was thrown, but history tells that there had never been a more astonishing fight. For hours they contended with each other, and their subordinates, respectful of the pride that was at stake, stayed clear. Stories tell that the steel roared like a ferocious beast and the rain that fell on the men hissed like angry serpents. That night, they say enough blood was spilled to fill Roshedom Lake. Finally, the terrifying battle between the captains came to a close. Beonu succeeded in slaying his traitorous brother, but grieved and wept over his corpse until the following dawn. And Rezoaroh defeated Gezor, who refused to lose the battle still breathing, and was struck down ruthlessly, for Rezoaroh had no other choice but to give his worthy opponent a warrior's death. Then the light of morning finally broke over the mountains to the east. Leaderless, and suffering heavy casualties, the Vokkeba and their allies surrendered against their pride. The Battle of Atheosha had ended, and with it, the Great War concluded as well. Had it been any other war, the victors would have likely cheered and celebrated when it finished. Chroniclers wouldn't have declared it an era of its own if it hadn't been so wrought with death and destruction; the Age of Strife was the shortest of Aezathra's ages, but there was never a soul to live during or after it who would deny that it was the most bloody and grief stricken era. The battlefield of Atheosha was eerily quiet and still. Even Aezathra was sorrowful, for not a single draft of wind blew through those hills, clouds lingered, and no creature disturbed a single blade of grass. Like a virus, the silence caused by the battle's horrors followed the victors and their prisoners of war back to the northern kingdoms. Unless necessary, not even the captains of the battle spoke during their journey back. When they arrived, the dismay of the battle could easily be seen in the warriors' eyes, especially for the Nobruen, for many clashed with their close kinsmen. With the surviving remnants of the Vokkeba army and Nobruen defectors captive, the northern kingdoms had to decide on what to do with them. Although some wanted to condemn their enemies as a whole, Rezoaroh convinced the Shazolo Elders to send the Nobruen traitors to the courts in Drelemor. They were reluctant, but now as the nemeses of the Vokkeba, they were charged with passing their sentence. Coming to a judgment proved arduous, as the Elders and military leaders couldn't agree on the punishment. For nearly forty days, debates and disputes dragged on. "Execute all of them," some said, for they were responsible for the suffering of thousands. But some of the wiser individuals were against this, Rezoaroh of which, was one. He could see the defeat in the eyes of the Vokkeba and knew better than many that enough blood had been shed over the many years of the Great War on both sides. Rezoaroh was treated with derision by many of his seniors and peers. They called him many things. Fool. Bastard. Sympathizer. Traitor. All of which he tried to ignore, but was pained by deeply. Some of the more open-minded and considerate men of the courts agreed with Rezoaroh, and against the wishes of many of the Elders, a heavily armed Ehzakol company escorted the Vokkeba survivors to the base of the Athrogmak Mountains, allowing them to return to Orebbar, their home in the Shograreth Desert. They never heard of the Vokkeba again, but for those who decided to spare the them, they were never spared from the attacks of the kinsmen who desired execution. There had never been a closer ruling, but its outcomes at home would outlive every man, woman, and child that lived then and for many years after. The Vokkeba didn't succeed in taking the northern lands for their own. But the kingdoms of the north could hardly be called victors themselves. The Ethashi were finally freed from their captors and regained their homeland, but having expected an earlier rescue from the Shazolo and Nobruen, the Ethashi held strong resentment toward the "selfish people who had abandoned them". The Nobruen found King Dotrenon guilty of using the Key of Inscription. Although used with good intentions, his house, including his son and future descendents were stripped of their nobility and forced to scrape a living amongst the commoners. With that, relations with the Shazolo were cut off. The Nobruen traitors who were apologetic served an extensive sentence in prison before being released; for those who still despised their kinsmen were banished to Romoru, where they most assuredly found their agonizing deaths with haste. In Mazhedra, civil unrest erupted. Hatred had taken hold of the people. Elders abhorred Elders for their rulings. Mourning families abhorred soldiers for not killing all of the Vokkeba. And so they turned away from each other. Various senior Elders and military figures began to abandon Mazhedra, people who agreed with their ideals following them into the Haledra Forest. Over a few short years, Mazhedra, a reminder of the Great War and the unrest that followed within the city, had been emptied of every living soul. The other Shazolo cities followed suit, for the detestation was not exclusive to Mazhedra. [i](continued below)[/i]