The Internal Thalassai War was a conflict among the five regions of Thalassai, deliberately instigated and prolonged by Helena. Millions died and cities burned before her own army conquered the regions and ended the fighting. That army established the command structure of the Thalassai Legions.
Causes
Thalassai's regions governed themselves largely independently and competed for resources. After returning in 4332 AX, Helena searched their libraries to confirm that her earlier destruction of Malverand's history had succeeded. In Chronasis, Pyrrhus, who managed its records and libraries, introduced her to Kairessa, the archon of time. She wanted control of Thalassai and gained a position as an architect and engineer in Kairessa's service.
Pyrrhus found a guarded book recording the destruction of Malverand's history. Helena confessed her part to him, but he and Kairessa prepared to capture her in the Palace of Time. She killed the assembled soldiers, mages and officials, mutilated Pyrrhus and killed Kairessa. She drained essence from the dead and destroyed the book in the palace vault.
Helena then went to Pyrenis and falsely blamed Terranova for the attack and Kairessa's death. She spread accusations through the other regions, changing the blamed territory. Chronasis's remaining officials blamed Aetherion, while the other regions competed to seize Chronasis and its resources.
The war
The fighting spread from the struggle for Chronasis to attacks on other cities. Terranova's farmlands burned, and Pyrenis ships destroyed Thalmyris's ports. Helena followed the deadliest fronts, draining Essence from the dead and killing anyone able to sense her actions.
When the conflict began to fade, she provoked further violence. In Aetherion, she released a nearby lake over a small town, drowning its population. Suspicion fell on Thalmyris and its water mages, renewing the fighting.
Unification and aftermath
Helena sought loyal followers among the strongest and most promising survivors, including young people orphaned by the war. She displayed her power to attract them and built a settlement in untouched wilderness north of Chronasis. With her hair dyed black to conceal her identity, she trained recruits for decades; her pupils began teaching others as the community grew.
She organized the army beneath imperators, legati and centurions, retaining the older title of archon. Her disciplined forces conquered Thalassai over the following years. She entrusted its leadership to her commanders and withdrew from public view while the depleted nation rebuilt.
After the black-haired commander faded from common memory, Helena returned through Terranova and was elected governor. From 4836 AX she campaigned openly as Thalena Xenith and later became archon of time in Chronasis. Her new public identity concealed her responsibility for the war.