The Eternal War is Rahmavir's struggle against Abraxas and the Oracles for the source within the Plains of Eternity. Rahmavir sought its power, while Abraxas and his followers guarded it. The Malverand Empire aided Rahmavir for many years, but its forces repeatedly lost ground.
Malverand's intervention
Rahmavir requested assistance during Barachiel's reign. Thamrielle led Malverand's forces there, with Phariel as her second-in-command. Abraxas killed Phariel and forced Thamrielle to flee. The other guardians agreed to recall her, leaving her to settle in Blackcrag.
Thamrielle described Rahmavir as defending itself against aggression. Sephara gave a different account: Rahmavir had first tried to seize the source, causing the Oracles to fight back. Their prophecies initially identified Rahmavir's invaders as the feared outsiders, but continued warning them after that faction was defeated.
Myrravel and the continuing conflict
According to Aurelia, Myrravel had remained neutral until Rahmavir's losses made its queen fear an attack on her own kingdom. She sent Aurelia to Abraxas as an offering for peace. Aurelia took one of his spells and fled, helping Rahmavir recover.
The struggle over the source continued while Ozaith and Ulzathir prepared to besiege the plains from another direction. Control of the source remained an objective for the nations surrounding it.
The Eternal War was Rahmavir's struggle against Abraxas and the Oracles of Eternity for the source within the Plains of Eternity. The conflict lasted through repeated failed attacks and long intervals between them. Rahmavir eventually defeated the Oracles with help from Raphael, Eliona and Azarion, gaining access to Zarephon and the source beneath it.
Malverand's intervention
Rahmavir requested aid against Abraxas during Barachiel's reign. In 1221 BX, troops from the Malverand Empire were serving there under orders to defend Rahmavir while the empire investigated the plains. Thamrielle commanded these forces. Fighting was intermittent, and Malverand initially kept its involvement limited.
Thamrielle killed an envoy sent by Abraxas to warn Barachiel of a destroyer prophecy. A century later, after Barachiel had disappeared, she joined a Rahmavir attack. Abraxas killed her second-in-command, Phariel, in retaliation for the envoy's death, while she escaped. Malverand eventually withdrew, and its former military base was abandoned.
The Oracles' defenses
Myrravel also pursued the source, coordinating an attack with Rahmavir and enlisting Ulzathir's aid. The armies planned to approach from different sides and converge near the River of Eternity. Only their strongest mages could attempt the march through the hostile plains.
Abraxas held invading armies trapped for centuries or displaced them through rifts. This made the conflict appear endless from outside. The Oracles guarded the source under prophecies warning of outsiders who would abuse its power.
Thamrielle later entered Zarephon and took an essence core that she believed was the source. Abraxas had planted it to lead him to Thalion during the Thalion-Abraxas War. Her possession of that object did not amount to capturing the source.
Rahmavir's victory
The ancient Abraxas vanished, and his successors lacked his strength. With Raphael, Eliona and Azarion, Rahmavir defeated the Oracles and claimed access to their city and knowledge.
The victory did not make the source easy to investigate. It lay beneath a deep lake inside Zarephon's mountain. Eliona could not reach its depths unaided; Azarion managed the descent, but the overwhelming essence obscured what lay beyond. The guardians also studied the ancient murals, seeking the strange magic that the strongest ordinary mages could not master.
The Eternal War was Rahmavir's long struggle against the Oracles of Eternity for control of the source in the Plains of Eternity. The expanding plains forced Rahmavir to abandon border cities, and the nation sought to stop their advance. Repeated invasions failed until Raphael, Eliona and Azarion helped its strongest mages capture Zarephon, the Oracles' city.
Causes and strategy
Diplomacy among Rahmavir, Myrravel and the Oracles broke down when the Oracles refused to regulate the source, insisting that their duty was to guard it. Rahmavir attacked, but its army vanished. Intermittent negotiations and skirmishes followed as Rahmavir tested the defenses and raised mages for another assault.
The plains' dense, volatile essence restricted who could survive there. Strong adult mages needed to acclimatize, while people with very little essence and children born within the plains could also endure it. Rahmavir cultivated these populations to produce stronger mages. The old route through Zarephon became unsafe, and a road was built around the plains instead.
Earlier campaigns
The Malverand Empire sent troops after Rahmavir requested help against Abraxas. In 1221 BX, Barachiel restricted their mission to defense until he understood the plains. Thamrielle commanded the expedition. She killed an envoy sent by Abraxas to warn Barachiel of a destroyer prophecy. A century later, after Barachiel had disappeared, she joined a Rahmavir attack. Abraxas killed her second-in-command, Phariel, in retaliation for the envoy's death, while she escaped. Malverand eventually withdrew its forces.
Myrravel also sought the source, enlisting Ulzathir's help for an attack from another direction. Alistair joined Rahmavir's side with his agents. The attackers planned to converge on Zarephon from three directions, but Abraxas's defenses trapped forces in distorted time. Alistair blinked out of the failed attack and learned that nearly two centuries had passed. Abraxas also displaced invading armies through rifts rather than killing everyone he defeated.
During the separate Thalion-Abraxas War, Thamrielle took an essence core from Zarephon, believing it was the source. Abraxas had planted it to lead him to Thalion. Taking that object gave her no control over the source's flow.
Capture of Zarephon
Raphael led Rahmavir's strongest mages into the plains with Eliona, Azarion and Alistair's embedded agents. The ancient Abraxas was absent. The Oracles were defeated, including the weaker successor bearing his title, while the city and most civilians were left unharmed.
Rahmavir opened a direct route to Zarephon and incorporated former Oracles into its population. Their teaching and the spells inscribed on the city's murals gave Rahmavir access to origin magic. This produced narrow abilities in compatible users, rather than giving every victorious mage the Oracles' powers.
The source and later destruction
The source lay beneath the lake inside Zarephon's mountain. Capturing the city did not make reaching it easy: the first man to descend was crushed by the immense gravity. Attempts to remove the cave's inscribed spells made them disintegrate, prompting Raphael to forbid interference there. The source was a breach to another Valrindor, and Rahmavir sought to control or close its flow.
Later, Eira, Kaelion and Xarion entered the lake to attempt a closure. Alistair secretly placed foreign devices in the cave and struck them with a concealed cosmic beam to kill the descending group. The resulting explosion destroyed Zarephon, its murals and the cave's spellwork. The city's destruction occurred before the Valrindor Council was established; it did not itself confirm that the source had been closed.