The War of Scars was a war across Xalmyrra begun by Kaldramir, a Keldaran commander who knew that the region repeated in cycles. His campaign burned much of Xalmyrra. Arcanis ended the fighting by descending over the armies on an astragon and forcing them to stop.
Aftermath
The war took place more than a hundred years before Eira's journey. It led to the founding of Xalmyrra's tournament tradition: the first tournament brought the nations together to test their strongest mages. Later tournaments continued that purpose and helped prepare mages to face the darkness.
The Eleven Stories of Old and other scattered histories preserved fragments of the war and Arcanis's intervention. Arcanis pinned the armies in place and proclaimed that it was not the time for war. The memory of the devastation remained a warning when later rulers considered fighting one another.
The War of Scars was a conflict across Xalmyrra begun by Kaldramir Kaldaros, supreme general of Keldara, after he learned that the region's history repeated in cycles. His campaign killed millions and destroyed cities and villages. Arcanis ended the fighting by descending over the armies on an astragon and pinning them to the ground.
Previous Xalmyrran Cycle
Belanor told Kaldramir about the cycles, the storms enclosing Xalmyrra, the darkness and the world beyond. Kaldramir then launched a campaign that spread across the continent. Armies from Keldara, Soltheris, Erenmyr and Teryndal fought in the open fields, while towns burned and the land was devastated.
Thalena had been living in Erenmyr. To stop the war and establish the legend of Arcanis, she mounted Glin in his astragon form and flew high above the battlefield. She drew power from the distant stars, descended in a blaze of light and forced the soldiers and mages to the ground. Her proclamation that it was not the time for war brought the fighting to an end. The act spread through Xalmyrra as the legend of Arcanis.
Final Xalmyrran Cycle
When Thalena crossed into the final cycle, Belanor did not approach Kaldramir and the war did not begin. Thalena went to Kaldramir herself and told him about the cycles, preserving the sequence of events she needed to follow. War broke out again, and she mourned the destruction she had caused.
She again rode Glin into the great battle and released a gravity wave that pressed the armies down, ending the war. She also rewrote The Eleven Stories of Old so that its accounts would be present for Eira to find.
Legacy
The war led to the founding of Xalmyrra's tournament tradition more than a hundred years before Eira's journey. The first tournament brought the nations together to test their strongest mages; later tournaments continued that purpose and helped prepare mages to face the darkness.
Fragments of the war and Arcanis's intervention survived in The Eleven Stories of Old and other scattered histories. The memory of the devastation remained a warning when later rulers considered war against one another.