War of Blood and Death

The War of Blood and Death is the name given to a fictitious representation in culture to a real historical series of battles which took place roughly five millennia ago in what is now known as the Great Plains. Due to there being no recorded true name for the conflict, (as almost all traces of the two empires that fought during this war were purged from the history books by successive civilisations,) the War of Blood and Death both refers to the caricature of the war in romantic art, and to the real-life historical conflict.

In ancient times, there were two great empires in the Great Plains, the far more ancient empire of the East Great Plains, and the newer but no-less deadly empire of the West Great Plains. The two fought for many years for supremacy, being the greatest superpowers in Engelain, until one destroyed the other, or else they crippled each other irreversibly. Irregardless, the result was that all neighbouring kingdoms swarmed upon them and destroyed the remnants of each. The two empires were so greatly feared that their cities were torched to the ground, their great works destroyed, all aspects of their history, their culture, even their very names were wiped out altogether.

Although recent archaeological evidence has given light on this ancient war, until these ruins were identified for what they were the war was remembered only in paintings. The most famous one, which is in fact entitled the War of Blood and Death, is now believed to be an artistic interpretation of the warring of these ancient empires. On the left hand side of the scrawling landscape piece, a torrent of demons, imps, fiends, succubi and incubi, hellhounds and hellbats are charging out in an endless wave, whilst coming to meet them on the right is an army of skeletal warriors, unending, unwavering, fearless in the face of damnation. The picture had stumped many for centuries, some believing it to be the internal conflict of man, others a telling of the treacherous nature of the dark arts, but with the discovery of the ancient battle grounds and the remnants of cities, it is now believed that the painting depicts the battle of the Great Plains Empires.

The War of Blood and Death painting currently resides in the Museum of Magical Artefacts, in Copperdale, Selathon.