Elder Wars
The Elder Wars began shortly, in relative terms, after the Great Silence that followed the disappearance of Dynara and Magnora. Though it was sensed first by Dracnoris, a Primal God who was spared the indignity of becoming one of the Soulless, He opted to remain silent about the disturbances in the Void. He knew, better than the others, that the Heralds of Magnora could not be stopped no matter how prepared the Elder Gods wanted to believe They were.
A Disturbance in the Void
Xyl, a Thinker in the Fifth Circle was the first to bring together His siblings and colleagues to discuss the movement of the Soulless across the Void. Xyl brought the concerns of the FIfth Circle to a meeting of the Firsts and it was decided, though not without some controversy, that a majority of the First Circle would venture out into the Void to meet the Heralds in peace. In an attempt to learn more about the Heralds, the Firsts tasked Xyl, Tae, and Bollikin with finding Dracnoris and seeking His advice, as He had a close bond with one of the Soulless, Draxbaylock the Black.
Awakening the Dragon God took a great amount of time, patience, and effort, though. In the meantime, the Firsts sent out their diplomatic envoys. Back in the cave where Dracnoris slumbered, Tae and Bollikin passed the time by creating the rockeaters, which inadvertently became the very thing that would bring Dracnoris out of hibernation. As Xyl explained Their purpose for waking Him, Dracnoris suddenly took flight, furious that the Firsts were attempting to meet the Heralds in peace. He understood better than anyone that the nature of the Soulless was simple - to destroy and consume all that They encountered.
The Verses of Magnora
During the same time period in which Xyl and Tae attempted to awaken Dracnoris, another contingent of Elders were sent to consult with another Primal God, Keph of a Thousand Eyes. Shikari and Viravain, sibling-mates, volunteered to track Keph down and brought Mugowumpois and Tauro with Them. They traveled deep within the Undervault and found Keph in a meeting with the Fates, and She did not wish to be disturbed. Tauro stood His ground, though, which earned Him the favour of Keph and She decided to humour Him with what She knew of the Heralds. In addition to information about the Heralds, Keph relayed many predictions of the future to Mugowumpois, which She recorded in what would be known as the Verses of Magnora.
The Diplomatic Mission Begins
On the day of the diplomatic mission to the Void, approximately 365 members of the First Circle gathered and ventured out in a formation developed by the Second Circle, the Finger of Fate. It consisted of six rings of Elders, the outer ring containing 100 Gods, the next ring containing 75 Gods, and so on and so forth until Amberle floated alone. Because of Their bond, Meridian and Amberle could share with those left in Xyl's observatory a view of the proceedings in the Void.
The Heralds first seemed to view the Gods with curiosity, and then amusement. That quickly turned violent, though, and the Heralds struck out at the Finger of Fate in an attempt to attack Amberle. The formation held, protecting Amberle, but the Heralds' intent was clear to most: peace was not wanted. Members of the Second Circle pled with Amberle to consider the Daath sequence, also known as the Breaker of the Cosmos, but She wished to give peace one more try. At that very moment, Dracnoris arrived outside the observatory and with haste, shattered the walls so that He could speak directly to those gathered there. He commanded the Gods to abort the mission, revealing to Them that the Soulless only had one imperative: to destroy.
It was too late. The Soulless, having watched the Finger of Fate in action, now understood how to counter it. They viciously and mercilessly slaughtered Amberle and the rest of the Firsts protecting Her. A psychic backlash caused by the Soulless and the death of Amberle struck Meridian and incapacitated Him, and left the surviving Elders blind to the rest of the Soulless' devastating attack on the Firsts.
The Elder Gods Prepare for War
Almost every single Elder, regardless of Circle affiliation, volunteered to act as a Warrior in what would be regarded as the first official battle of the Elder Wars. 23 formations, each led by a Warrior of the Second Circle, went into battle, flanked by the Dragon God Dracnoris, who acted as His own military force.
The Gods' initial plan was to surround the Soulless and initiate the Daath sequence, but the Soulless, who seemed even stronger than before, did not stay in one place and instead split up and attacked the Gods in a variety of ways. At the onset of the encounter, Dracnoris confronted His Sister, Draxbaylock the Black, and ultimately defeated Her. He was wounded, though, and returned to the First World to recover. As the battle raged, the Gods were able to position Themselves in a way that allowed the Daath sequence to begin, but Kethuru the Mighty trapped Clangorum, Morgfyre, and Oovanti in the center of the battlefield, right where the Daath sequence was set to climax.
Orlachmar bravely threw Himself at Kethuru and managed to save Morgfyre and Clangorum, but Oovanti and His formation were lost in the Daath. Though the Gods had won this battle and destroyed the Soulless, they also lost over 3000 of Their number. The survivors returned to Lusternia to recover, but peace would not last.
A Soulless Revelation, and the Return of Illith
Xyl and the Fifth Circle soon brought together the surviving Elders to discuss a grave matter: out in the Void, at the site where so many Gods had died and the Soulless were exterminated, another disturbance was sensed. The Soulless, in fact, were not dead, and were instead larger and stronger. The Fifth Circle theorized that, because Dynara and Magnora disappeared before the Great Silence, the forces of creation and destruction were not present in the realm either. This meant that nothing was truly created nor destroyed, including the Gods.
Somehow, the Soulless had been reborn and were feasting on the divine essence of those Gods lost in the first battle of the Elder Wars. Not only that, but the Soulless were once again on the move, headed for the First World. Meridian, having been hardened by the loss of His sister-mate Amberle, quickly commanded the Gods to form defenses around Lusternia.
The Leviathan, Illith, was already one of the strongest Soulless before the first battle, but She was now even more powerful. She succeeded in breaking through the barriers that kept out the other Soulless, but She immediately dove deep below the oceans and burrowed through the core of the world. The Gods quickly realized that She was headed for a confrontation with Keph the Many-Eyed, and a truly devastating battle raged on for more than 100 days. In the end, Illith was severed in two and fled to the Void, but Keph died within the Undervault.
On the surface, Orlachmar tried in vain to finish off Illith, but She lashed out at Him and bit Him into two pieces, just as She had been cleaved in twain. It was clear that Orlachmar would not survive this attack, but Fain and a Fifth Circle Coterie soon appeared with a possible solution.
Fain's Elixir and the Agony of Undeath
What was left of Orlachmar's body was taken to the Gladdyn Forest, where the Gods opened a portal to the Ethereal Plane so that They could venture to the Fields of the Maeve, where the Hamadhi had constructed healing mounds long ago. Lantra the White attempted to heal the dying Elder, but He had already lost so much of His essence that it was considered fruitless.
The members of Fain's Fifth Circle Coterie gathered - Thax, Raezon, Gheasia, Mugowumpois, Mililiki, Yomoigu, and Oshterel - and brought with them a viscous elixir of emerald fire. They poured it down Orlachmar's throat and a terrible transformation followed. The Gods' skin turned grey, His body was regrown with larger muscles and thicker skin, His hair fell out, and His nails and lips turned black. His teeth were sharper and shaped like tusks, and His eyes glowed emerald green. He was, undoubtedly, the first being to become undead.
The Coterie had developed a way to draw power from the same source that the Soulless harnessed - the excoroperdito force rather than the immanidivinus force. Orlachmar was distant and brooding and over time became violent and unhinged. In His moments of lucidity He begged the Gods to end His suffering.
After the devastating battle in the Void, only 10 of the Firsts remained - Fain, Meridian, Olm, Eventru, Aslarn, Shairim, Czixi, Dalthea, Zvoltz and Auginorus.