- "We launched the Netherwars upon his rivals, and for a time it seemed we would crush them. But Kortifex is a cruel master. Loyalty is something he neither feels nor inspires. As I watched his enemies unify into a joint resistance, I knew he could never truly succeed. When I joined them and we toppled his throne, Kortifex swore vengeance. He sees the human Von List as the means to that end. There are those in the Dark Aether who would still support his return. But most would do anything to help us stop him here."
- — Norticus the Conqueror
The Netherwars were a series of conflicts within the Dark Aether waged by Kortifex the Deathless in a bid to crush his rivals and conquer the Dark Aether for himself. Splitting the Dark Aether between the Elder Gods who supported and opposed Kortifex, the Anti-Kortifex Resistance would come to claim victory, overthrowing Kortifex.
History[]
Conquest[]
Norticus the Conqueror was, at one point, the Special Commander of the Night Legions, and was so feared within the Dark Aether that his enemies would throw their weapons down and beg for mercy at the mere mention of his name. With Norticus as the general of Kortifex's armies, the two waged the Netherwars against Kortifex's many rivals.
A notable conquest included that of the Wilds of the Dark Aether, where Kortifex ordered the extermination of a hermit clan that resided within. The clan would become all but extinct thanks to the work of Kortifex's armies and his Sisters of Agony who razed the Wilds to the ground. The only survivor of the clan was Vercanna, who would come to be known as "The Last". Unknowingly, the extermination of her clan allowed Vercanna to absorb the life-energy of her people, making her nigh-immortal.
Kortifex would be initially successful, until a Resistance against Kortifex and his forces formed, which grew larger and larger as the days passed. Notable members included that of Saraxis the Shadow, a former member of the Sisters of Agony, Bellekar the Warlock, and Vercanna. Inviktor the Destroyer would later join after fleeing the Battle of Obsidian Ridge. The tide soon shifted in their favor with Norticus defecting to the resistance, due to Kortifex's cruelty and the looming inevitability of his defeat. Those who stood against Kortifex eventually managed to depose him by trapping him in his Scepter, stripping him of his rank as "Lord of the Dark Aether". After this, Kortifex would swear revenge against his rivals and seek to return to his former glory.
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