The Shadow War/Wardens' War

The Shadow War/Wardens' War – 3 A.E. to 14 A.E.

At the end of the Exodus it was noted that there was a delay between the portals on Earth closing, and the portals on Nemedia closing. It is now believed that this delay was caused by the actions of the goddess Morrigan.

Morrigan was the adult name of Medb, the goddess who betrayed her father, Crom, by aiding in his banishment (see Chapter 9: The Pantheon War). All that is known is that she altered the portal as it was closing, converting it into a portal into the Void, and somehow allowing Crom and the Shadows to escape.

The Shadows fled to the northern arctic pole of Nemedia, where they established a large mountain as their base. Later accounts of interviews with Wardens of Light indicate that within the mountain is a portal into an undiscovered plain of existence they referred to as the Shadowlands. Some wonder if the Shadows created it, or if they were already aware of its existence (See Appendix 7: The Shadowlands).

After several mysterious massacres at the northern-most villages in 3 A.E. the Wardens of Light discovered the Shadows and their hiding place. They launched a swift attack, charging into the Shadowlands to battle the Shadows. It is unknown why they chose not to summon the gods to their side. Some scholars wonder if they were in too much of a hurry. Others wonder if they thought they could handle the situation themselves. Still others believe that the Gods would have been unable to martial the various pantheons in time to utilize such a swift attack. My personal theory is that they discovered Morrigan's treachery, and feared that by warning the gods, Morrigan would have been given the opportunity to warn the Shadows.

In any event the battle lasted a matter of days. Some scholars have said that the Wardens were nearly destroyed in the Shadow War, their bodies, minds, and spirits nearly broken by the Shadows' ability to simultaneously attack physically, mentally and emotionally.

The Wardens were eventually able to defeat the Shadows. Unable to open a portal to the void from within the Shadowlands and afraid that any attempt to remove them would lead in an escape, the Wardens constructed a ziggurat and trapped the shadows within. They then placed the Warden Mathias to guard over the ziggurat.

The Wardens exposed Morrigan's treachery to the gods. She and her three half-god sons were banished into the Shadowlands.

The Unkindest Cut...

Updated August 16 2002
By Moderator/Group Owner Senidel - [email protected]