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The Dawn War

Lore of Dungeons and Dragons

By Luke PartridgePublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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A great Primordial on Abeir-Toril during the Dawn War. Image from reddit.com

The Dawn War covers two eras of history of Abeir-Toril known as the Blue Age and the Shadow Epoch.

The Dawn War began when the mad God Tharizdun[1] marshalled the Primordials against the other Gods in a bid for universal domination after he’d been corrupted by entities knowns as Obyrinths[2]. Once Tharizdun was imprisoned in the Abyss, the Primordials were led by a Tanar’ri[3] known as Miska the Wolf-Spider. A Primordial known as Nehushta created the fortress of Glaur on Abeir-Toril to serve as one of their main fronts in the war.

Even with their disagreements, Selûne and Shar both moved to protect the newly born worlds against the Primordial threat. Some Gods were created out of this conflict, while others were summoned from other universes that had also been ravaged by war, so they could give aid to the twin deities against this new enemy.

The dragon God Io, who fought against the Primordial, Erek-Hus. Image from weasyl.com

One of the most notable and equally violent battles during the Dawn War was between the dragon God, Io and a Primordial by the name of Erek-Hus, the King of Terror. Io, in his ill-advised arrogance, faced off against the Primordial alone, only to be cleaved in two by Erek-Hus’s adamantine axe[4]. It is said that this created the two dragon Gods, Bahamut and Tiamat, born from the two halves of Io. For the first – and only – time, they joined forces and fought against Erek-Hus, eventually killing the Primordial before turning on each other. Only after Tiamat fled the battle with Bahamut, did the two dragon Gods aid the other deities in the war, although they preferred to work alone. Some dragonborn believe that their race was born from that battle, that they were created out of the blood of the dragon God, Io.

During the long, drawn out conflict of the Dawn War, the Goddess, Auril[5] killed the Primordial, Dur-Baagal. Auril was the Goddess of Winter and has been seen as being synonymous with the Queen of Air and Darkness. After the battle, the throne room of Auril’s Winter’s Hall – known as the Lyceum – was crafted from the still beating heart of Dur-Baagal. While this was going on, the Primordial, Rorn, unable to control his temper, killed many of the Gods and Primordials alike, earning the enmity of both factions.

Dendar the Night Serpent, Primordial and swallower of the sun. Image from pinterest.com

The Blue Age marked the time of Abeir-Toril’s history where life on the planet resided in a single, vast ocean. It was during this time while the Gods and Primordials' fight raged on, one of the Primordials, Dendar the Night Serpent, devoured the sun – Selûne’s most favoured creation. A feat that even her twin sister Shar couldn’t accomplish. The temperature of Abeir-Toril dropped and most life on the planet became extinct. This marked the progression into the era known as the Shadow Epoch.

With the planet being plunged into darkness and most of the life inhabiting the planet going extinct, this didn’t stop the war between the Gods and Primordials. According to the Sarrukh[6] they believed that during this time the Gods were led by Ouroboros[7], the World Serpent in many epic battles against the opposition. Most of these battles ended in a stalemate, neither side being able to best the other. It wasn’t until a Primordial known as Ubtao[8] made a deal with them that things changed. For a portion of the land they were fighting over, Ubtao would aid the Gods against the other Primordials. In doing so, many of Ubtao’s former allies were either killed or imprisoned. With the war concluded, another sun was created, giving light to a new era known as the Days of Thunder. This would be the first era where history would be dated.

[1] pronounced, thar-IZ-dun

[2] Demons that predated even the Gods. They live in the Abyss, and it is said that even looking upon one would send a mortal insane. They could be liken to H.P. Lovecraft's eldritch horrors e.g Cthulu

[3] pronounced, tah-NAHR-ree. These were the predominant subcategory of Demons that lived in the Abyss. Created as slaves by the Obyrinth. Most of the know Demon Lords are Tanar'ri.

[4] considered one of the strongest material in the Forgotten Realms.

[5] pronounce, AW-ril

[6] one of the original creator races

[7] pronounced, OR-ro-BOR-us

[8] pronounced, oob-TAY-oh

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About the Creator

Luke Partridge

A writer and published author with a love for all things nerdy.

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