The Shifter Wars

I, Akaron Corvus, First Knight of the Realm and Loremaster, under the auspices of Most Glorious Wraith, present the history of the Shifter Wars, of which our lady is the only survivor. Unlike the works on the vales denizens, this work shall consist primarily of essays being as precious few documents survive.

The Shifter Wars were fought 90 AW until 170 AW. It was a terrible conflict, with dire consequences for both parties involved. It led to the eradication of the entire shifter population and the near eradication of the ancient vampyres.

Wraith has always been the mistress of the Vale, and in those ancient days the vampyres were seen almost as an aristocracy by some, including the charismatic and brutal chieftain of the shifters, one Menos. The shifters saw themselves at the very least physically equal to the vampyres, and resented the near instinctual deference most Valians showed any vampyre, and in 90 AW the Shifters declared war on Wraith's rule. Naturally, the other vampyres came to aid their leader and the war began in earnest.

Menos, for reasons we of the current era will never know, started this war with little to no popular support, save that of the other Shifters. Wraith forbade any of the denizens of the Vale to fight by her side, save the vampyres, so the rest of the population was relegated to logistical support. It is my opinion that this ruling may not have sit well with many Valians of warrior race, as evidenced by one of the precious few scraps of documentation we have for the time, in which an unknown Valian voices their desire to be allowed to fight, but there is no record of any true dissension so such a view must remain purely speculative.

At the onset of the war there were only eight vampyres to fourteen shifters. While not a drastic numerical difference at first, the shifters had a major advantage in their ability to procreate. Vampyres, of course, are physically equipped to participate in sexual congress, but are sterile in the traditional sense. New vampyres may of course be turned, but doing so is a major taboo as it has been outlawed by Wraith. Shifters have no such restrictions, and were able to very simply outbreed the vampyres. By wars end forty-three shifters had entered the vale and been slain in battle, along with two vampyres who entered the vale and had been won over to the shifters side before Wraith could get to them. One other vampyre, by the name of Corin, entered the Vale during this time, and fought alongside Wraith until his untimely death c. 170 AW, when he was ambushed and slain. By wars end only Wraith and a male named Banilon survived, though Banilon died shortly after, mysteriously. To this day, Valians are wary of shifters, though Wraith in her great beneficence, always allows them the chance to live peacefully.

I remember that as a child, I grew up amidst fear and darkness. My parents would tell me of happier times but I only believed it to be a fairytale meant to give me hope.
All I had ever known was the war and to tell the truth, I wished more than anything that I could fight! That I could help the Vampires to be rid of the Shapeshifter menace that stalked the night.
But since the beginning of the war, Wraith's decree has held; that no vampire shall turn another, no matter what.
Its true that the Shifters are slowly lessening in numbers but truth to tell, so are the vampires. With Wraith's decree preventing them from replenishing their ranks and their inability to concieve, the vampires of the Vale are slowly dying.

-excerpted from a journal found in the sand, author unknown.

Nothing is known of the writer of this journal, which has been reliably dated through magickal means to the time of the Shifter War. It clearly shows the concern felt by many as to the future of the Valian vampyres as well as the desire that many must have held to be allowed to fight for the Vale. This journal is perhaps the only document remaining from the period, and must serve as our primary source, along with the words of Wraith, the sole survivor of that turbulent time.