Overview
The Internal Thalassai War began after Helena Hyperion returned to Thalassai in 4332 AX. In Chronasis, she destroyed the guarded record of her destruction of Malverand's history, then carried lies through the regions until Thalassai's self-governing territories turned on one another.
The Internal Thalassai War ravaged Thalassai for years, killing millions and burning cities across its regions. The devastation gave Helena the essence, orphans, and hardened survivors she used to create the army that later ended the Internal Thalassai War and formed the basis of modern Thalassai's legion hierarchy.
History & Origins
Helena's return to Thalassai began in Pyrenis, where she searched local libraries for surviving Malverand records. The regions had lost public records of Malverand and public Ozaith worship. Chronasis still kept the archon system, and Kairessa held the archon of time seat. Through Pyrrhus, who managed Chronasis's records and libraries, Helena gained access to the Palace of Time and became an architect and engineer in Kairessa's circle.
Chronasis preserved a single guarded book that recorded the destruction of Malverand's history. After Helena confessed to Pyrrhus that she had destroyed Malverand's history, he brought the matter to Kairessa. Kairessa, Pyrrhus, and Chronasis officials prepared a trap inside the Palace of Time. Helena killed the gathered defenders and officials, tortured Pyrrhus for the vault's location, killed Kairessa, drained essence from the dead, and destroyed the hidden book.
Leaving Chronasis, Helena falsely blamed Terranova for her attack inside the Palace of Time and Kairessa's death. She repeated versions of the lie across Thalassai's regions, changing the blamed territory as needed. Thalassai's regions were still largely self-governed and functioned as rival regional powers, so competition for Chronasis and uncertainty over the Palace of Time killings pushed them into the Internal Thalassai War.
The Internal Thalassai War spread through reprisals, attacks on cities, and regional military action. Helena followed the Internal Thalassai War's deadliest fronts, drained essence from the dead, killed anyone able to sense what she was doing, and escalated the violence whenever it faded. In Aetherion, she razed a small town by releasing a nearby lake over it, leaving Thalmyris to take the blame because of its water mages.
Helena used the devastation to recruit powerful survivors and orphans. She colored her hair black, built a settlement north of Chronasis, and trained the recruits for decades. When her army was ready, she named the strongest mages imperators and placed legati, centurions, and legions beneath them. She left the older archon title intact because of Orin and Khoradyn. Her army eventually won total victory across Thalassai and ended the Internal Thalassai War.
Aftermath
After victory, Helena refused to rule openly as the black-haired commander. She left Thalassai's leadership to her imperators and commanders and withdrew from public view during the depleted nation's rebuilding. Once common talk of the black-haired woman faded, she returned through Terranova, won a local governorship, and moved toward the Chronasis archon seat. By 4836 AX, she used the public identity Thalena Xenith, became archon of time, declared herself archon of Space and Time, and rebuilt the Palace of Time into Stella Aeterna.
The legions, imperators, legati, and centurions trace back to the army Helena created during the Internal Thalassai War. Thalena's later rule restored Thalassai with Chronasis at its center and concealed her lies, essence draining, recruitment drive, and staged atrocities.