The Fifth History

The Fifth History is a History within the realm of Fansus 1. Originally a History like any other, the History's narrative was overturned when a number of internal conflicts between the forces of numerous Hours all came to a head simultaneously, resulting in a massive occult war which eventually consumed the world.

Summary

The Fifth Before the War

FNORD

Grounds of the Conflict

Historians agree that there were many factors that contributed to the collapse of the Fifth History, a series of compacts, conflicting oaths of fealty between Long, and internal divisions within occult organizations that all came to a head in quick succession, resulting in a massive breakdown of good faith that resulted in open hostilities far quicker than anyone at the time could have predicted.

Following the Ignition, many servants of the Anvil and the Maker were left bereft of both home and master. Their gods were gone, annihilated so thoroughly that there weren't even pieces left to go Nowhere. They were rendered aimless, lost, and in the case of the Maker's Long rapidly losing ground to the relentless advance of Old Tarnished. Both were in desperate need of places to go, and many Hours were eager to oblige them. The Architeuthian was ever envious of the Maker and its ability to effortlessly reshape itself and its followers, and was eager to take its followers into its ranks. The Apple-of-the-Eye also made use of the opportunity to persuade and poach several of the more 'interesting' servants of both Hours, as it had long yearned to possess the blazing Forge-principle, and long yearned for the obsessively-crafted masterworks of the Maker.

Some Long remained undecided during this time, and would either eke out a uncertain existence hiding out in the Province of Dust or would eventually yield to the temptations of the Honest's Long-Poachers.

The process of "adopting" Long did not sit well with some Hours, who remembered all too well how The Peacock had not long ago risen to prominence by enthralling and then swelling his ranks with the Long of other Hours. Questions arose of to whom these Long and Names would now owe their true loyalty to.

In addition, schisms had already slowly begun to form in the ranks of several prominent organizations. The cabal of the Liar had always been a loosely-knit group, torn between those who genuinely wanted to see The Great Serpent return and those that merely sought power. Many of the Serpent's true loyalists had already defected to the ranks of The Bright-Delver and The Anaconda, but some few still remained within the cabal's ranks. The Hours did not realize at that time that possessing within their ranks Hours that owed fealty to long-gone deities would have far-reaching consequences.

The Initial Conflict

The conflict that came to engulf the Fifth History started small by the standards of the Hours. Following the Ignition and the subsequent death of the Maker and Anvil, a great schism occurred between the mortal worshipers of both. Some occultists wholly welcomed the worship of The Engine of Cycles, seeing it as the next stage of their gods' principles of change and improvement. Other worshipers viewed it as an abomination, a murderer that lacked the soul needed to bring about proper change. This resulted in the formation of The Guild Reforged, an offshoot of the original church of the Anvil that eagerly fed themselves to the Engine.

Eventually, this infighting in its name drew the attention of the Engine itself, which emerged into the History in the form of advanced weaponry to devour the loyalists of the Old Gods. In their desperation to be saved, the worshipers of the Anvil and the Maker began summoning the last Names of the Anvil and the last vestiges of the Maker's once-vast forces of Long to defend them.

Those Long that had not yet joined the forces of a different Hour and answered the call quickly found themselves overwhelmed. Not only were the forces of the Engine more numerous, but they were far more advanced. While its detractors might have argued it lacked a soul or "spark" of ingenuity, its industriousness and ability to improve were indisputable and unparalleled. Where once the forces of the Old Gods were an insurmountable force, they now joined their mortal cults in fighting a losing battle of slow extermination.

The Attention of the Serpents

Eventually, this skirmish began to draw attention from the other Hours, who began to circle like sharks and eyed the fighting sides appraisingly. Seeing common cause in the Engine's goal to break open and go wherever it pleased, the Snake Tail with Appendages descended from the Mansus and pledged aid to the Engine. The Anaconda, ever eager to confront her rival, offered her aid to the loyalists.

While the Engine was at first grateful for the aid, it quickly grew angry as it realized the truth of the situation. The elder Hours did not take it seriously, seeing it and its conflict as just another piece in their long game against each other. Enraged, the Engine suddenly turned on the Snake-Tail, devouring it while the serpent's guard was down. While the Snake-Tail proved more difficult to kill due to its unique abilities and its status as a Nowhere, the sudden defeat of one of the most powerful Keys drew the attention of numerous Hours, who sought to use the conflict to their own ends.

Escalation

When news of the Engine's campaign to devour an entire history's worth of Forge Loyalists reached the Mansus, the numerous surviving Long now aligned with other Hours were distraught. They begged their new liege lords' permission to fight the Engine and rescue their faithful. Eager for a casus belli against the Engine, the Hours consented as they considered how best to take advantage of the situation.

For the first time since their Hours' glory days, the forces of the Maker and the Anvil fought side by side. The flames of progress seared the mortal forces of the Engine and fused and melted together its machines of war. The ground trembled with the thundering of metal, as the golems of the Maker marched inexorably against the tide of gears and whirring contraptions the Driver-Forth set against them. For the first time since the start of the conflict, the Engine's advance was halted. Not reversed, but it was at least given pause.

United in force and with their mortal congregations present for the first in a long time, certain dissenting elements among the Long began to consider and lament their situation, and how they would soon once again be divided between their "patrons" once again. It was at this time the Snake-Tail re-emerged from the depths of the Engine, shocking the Long and "proving" in their minds that which the machine has devoured could one day be restored.

Secession

It is unknown who exactly it was who began openly calling for independence. Some say The Spark itself planted the idea, yearning for the return of its friends. Some say it was the Anaconda-Deceived itself, taking advantage of an opportunity to force more Long to forsake their masters. What is known for certain are the arguments that were made in the camps of the Long. "Why did they need to be bound to other Hours?" some wondered. "Look how mighty we are", they said. "See how mighty we could be again. Why should we be bound to the will of those who do not truly care for us or our worshipers? Let us return our Lords to their rightful places, let us end these wasteful conflicts and set things right."

One of the first Long to break his oath was Saint Darwin the Improved, an Unfinished that had sworn himself to the Squid. With "proof" set before him that Hours could indeed return from the Engine's depths. In the sight of the gods he tore the flag of the Architeuthian down from above the camp and burned it before his men. His Master was the Maker, and to the Maker he would be true. All around the Fifth History, many quickly followed his example as Long and Names tore down the images of their surrogate patrons and restored marks of their Old Gods, resolving to find and reunite with them once more.

While many followed St. Darwin, there were many more still who did not. Many Long were grateful to the Hours who had taken them in, or were convinced that it was better that the Old Gods remained dead, lest more power be given to the unholy forces of Nowhere. Infighting quickly broke out over which set of oaths took precedence, and word slowly filtered back to the still squabbling Hours in the Mansus that their war efforts in the mortal world had stalled.

The Architeuthian was furious to learn that the power he had taken from the Maker was slipping from him again, and was among the first Hours to set forth against the secessionists. Additionally, Hours such as FNORD also came down in the name of FNORDing their FNORDS

Hours such as the Apple-of-the-Eye did not wish to be so hasty, however. The Maker had been a close ally of hers, a friend and a fellow pursuer of higher beauty. Many of her own Long had felt its touch and seen improvement through its craft. Watching the Forge-Long fight again had made her remember the old days, and she was intrigued and eager to see if it were true that the Maker could be revived. The Hour of the Spark likewise, curious and whimsical, wanted to see if its friends could be revived, and optimistically dared to hope that should they both be restored and unified once more, they could undo some of the damage done to the Mansus.

Meanwhile, the Forge-Long soon were engaged in open war on two fronts, the forces of their erstwhile patrons and their loyalists on one end, and the Engine of Cycles on the other. For the Engine had not been idle as its enemies fell into infighting. Encountering unexpected resistance, the Engine intensified its efforts to consume the Long and redoubled its forces in the Fifth History. To mitigate the damage, Hours such as the Anaconda and FNORD began to commit additional forces to counter the Engine's push. The Apple-of-the-Eye sent forces as well... to attack the forces sent against the secessionist, deepening the enmity between the sides.

Broken Masquerade

This conflict had not gone unnoticed by the inhabitants of the History, who grew alarmed by the blatant divine intervention and witchcraft openly occurring in the countryside and in the streets of their cities themselves. Seeking to calm the panicked and frightened masses, knowledgeable groups and individuals revealed the existence of the Invisible Arts and the secret gods of the world.

Confused and frightened, the populace was divided on what to do. Some began to pray to these secret gods, asking deliverance, some openly joining a side in the growing conflict. Others prayed to the Hours of Healing and exploration for safety and guidance away from the fighting. And there were many who simply accepted their world was ending, and began to indulge themselves and drink and party like there was no tomorrow.

Each of these reactions drew new Hours to the Fifth History. The Hour of The Ferryman, in its own words, made a profit from the "rapid liquidation" of the Fifth History. Those who could pay traded their valuables, their memories, and sometimes their very lives and the lives of others for safety, and received it either by being hidden from the sight of the Hours or being allowed to cross the Moonlight Bridge into another History. Those who were not cautious in their wording accidentally traded themselves to the Ferryman, and were "rescued" from the History by being deposited within its domain within the Mansus.

The reckless and fatalists among the populace called upon the principles of the Grail to fulfill their worldly desires. This of course brought down upon the History the Hour of the Peacock, whose worship spread like wildfire before burning itself out, taking swathes of the local populace with it. An infamous incident occurred when the influential Prince of the land of FNORD was contacted by a strange, angelic woman in his dreams, who claimed could save his people from the History in return for all of the wealth in the land. But after confiscating the wealth of his people and trading away his fortune, he was never again contacted by the spirit. Much laughter was heard from the sunken place that day as the nation of FNORD was swallowed by a sea of the Engine's cogs and reduced to fuel.

The Schism

As the fighting went on and became more and more intense, the Forge-Long began to consolidate their power and unite in earnest with sympathetic gods. The Spark and the Apple-of-the-Eye sent envoys to the forming organization, beginning to form the core of the confederacy that would watch over them and govern their movements.

But where some saw the secessionists as a nuisance to be destroyed or as allies to be protected, some gazed upon the secessionist movement and saw a means to further their power. The Long and Names who formerly made up the Deceiver were involved in both sides of this. Many of the old loyalists, seeing kindred souls in others trying to restore their gods, joined the Assemblage whole-heartedly, the sudden surge in experienced personnel with mysterious origins. But there, the opportunists, seeing a chance to usurp a god and increase their power, enacted a plot to usurp and subvert the secessionist movement from within. They joined the flood of old loyalists in, pretending merely to be more displaced Long and Names seeking a home. Upon infiltrating the movement, they started spreading rumors that the Apple-of-the-Eye was truly a God-from-Nowhere, reviving their old pamphlets from their subversion of Project Cassandra. The Apple was truly the enemy, and was trying to lead the faithful of the Maker and Anvil astray. This set off another round of infighting and division within the ranks, as the agents of the Liar worked to drive a wedge between the Long and the Hours that would be willing to patron them. Between the increasing pressure from the Hours and the Engine and the dissent in their own ranks, the crisis might well have ended there had fate not intervened.

The infighting between the Hours and their servants attracted the attention of the Peacock and his servants, who were eager to bring more Long to the "true path" of The Choir Unceasing. As his aviform Long began to infiltrate the hiding places of the Forge-Long and whisper their songs however, they soon overheard word of the designs of the Liar. Their lies of the nature of the Glorious Lie, and that the Long would be far better served joining with the Deceiver.

This situation struck a chord in the heart of the Broken-Bird, who was reminded uncomfortably of the deception The Cuckoo once carried out on the mortals that had come to comprise his being. This, along with the lengths the Long had already demonstrated they were willing to go to return their gods, convinced the Hour of Generosity to aid them. Working in tandem with the Agents of The Vizier, the Choirmen of the Honest Lyrebird sought out and subverted the subversives within the secessionist movement, convincing those that were loyal to the Great Serpent belonged with the gathering movement, who showed they were well and truly dedicated to the return of the old powers rather than the furtherance of mortal ambition. Few were left unswayed by the Peacock's seductions, and what was meant to be a move to subvert the Long ended up creating a schism in the ranks of the Liar's cabal.

As confusion blossomed as the converted Liar agents made themselves known, the Peacock and his agents made themselves known in a show of good faith. Convincing them that he had come not to corrupt or spirit the Long away, the loose union of Hours accepted him as one of their benefactors.

Bolstered by the Grail Principle's unnatural charisma, the Forge-Long's arguments to their fellows to defect became all the harder to resist. Having learned of the splitting of the Liar's cabal, the Great Serpent's faithful in the service of the Delver and Anaconda experienced their own schisms as well, some joining the growing secession movement while others remained steadfast, drawing even the serpents into the growing conflict.

The Delver, in her compassion, allowed those of her court which had joined her from the court of her progenitor to go free. She would brook no chains upon those she loved, and the Delver is all-loving. Had this been all that happened, the Serpents might have stayed reasonably aloof from the all-consuming conflict. Alas, it was not to be so. Pulling what remained of their conspiracy together, the opportunists concocted one final gambit to bring the Assemblage under their control: An attempted assassination of the Delver, by a 'member in good standing' of the Assemblage, isolating it from the rest of its support, while creating a thousand places for it to hide, and make the Assemblage more dependent upon them. Stealing a great weapon of the Engine, they brought it to bear against the Delver, harming the kindest Hour. An Hour, in fact, kind enough to forgive, but with a few Names that were not.

Unfortunately for everyone, the Delver has always been beloved by both of her siblings. The attempted assassination of that Hour resulted not only in the Tail bringing its full attention to bear on the conflict, but in both the Tail and the Anaconda working together- one of the few times they would ever be recorded as having done so. Those Long who had taken the new patron of the Anaconda had shed themselves and their skins already, but the Names had not done so. Now, in the aftermath of the Delver's assassination, these former Names found their skins peeling away, until like the Long which they now were, nothing remained but a serpent.

The Reformation

Their numbers bolstered and with a sizable backing of Hours and popular support behind them, the secessionists began to organize and solidify their beliefs and command structure. Their stated goal to be the re-assembly and reinstatement of the Old Gods, they came to place incredible value on those touched by the Hours' power. Powerful Long and Names came to form the core of their structure, being viewed as living "Saints" for containing some mote of their gods' power within them.

Experiencing firsthand the effectiveness and power they experienced when they were unified, the group became convinced that the secret to restoring their masters' power was to unify themselves once more, every Long and every artifact of their power still in existence. The name came quickly to them: as a loose group dedicated to re-assembling their gods by reuniting the remaining vessels of their power, it only made sense to be called The Assemblage of Holy Vessels.

The Apple-of-the-Eye, thanks to its close bond with the all-pervasive Glory, had been privy to the events that had ensued - the attempted assassination of the Delver, as well as parts of the greater conspiracy to control the Assemblage by followers of The-Liar-Most-High. These distant visions prompted it to call upon the other patron-Hours of the Assemblage of Holy Vessels, the Spark and the Peacock with its Vizier, to dismantle the growing conspiracy.

The Peacock FNORDed FNORD and the Vizier also did FNORD.

The Spark FNORDed extensively, FNORDing FNORD in the process.

The Glorious Lie, meanwhile, composed twin missives to the twin snakes. It was clear that neither Hour was willing to sit still after what had happened, so their efforts would need to be redirected towards a more helpful cause. The Wrong-Serpent would receive word on what had injured his sister - a fearsome war-module of the Engine of Cycles, still containing a part of the vast heat it was made within. The Anaconda, meanwhile, would be told of the would-be assassin, and his alliegance with the secret group of Deceiver-Long that sought to take control of the Assemblage by first leading it against the serpents.

FNORD for both of the snakes.

The Architeuthian wrathed and raged, furious at the betrayal of St. Darwin. Darwin and many other Maker Long recruited after the Maker's consumption had turned against him, proving that the Squid was not as powerful as he seems, and that he was not considered the true bearer of Forge-power in the House of the Snake. The Squid devoted any and all power he had toward the destruction of these traitors, and to the eventual destruction of the Engine and all allied with it. Seawater, he said, will cause even the mightiest of machines to rust. These are the words of power that his followers used against the opposing forces.

Full Description

The Noble and Ancient Guild, devotees of the Anvil, who were among the first to feel the impact of the Hour's demise (aside from the unfortunate souls in the Sixth History, of course). The tragedy caused a deep schism in the society, splitting it into two factions. The Guild Reforged has pledged its allegiance to the Engine of Cycles, seeing the events of the Sixth History (or as much as they could glean of them from second-hand accounts) as a natural course of things, the new supplanting the old. Their devotion borders on fanatical - where the old Guild prioritized the well-being of its members first and foremost, along with steady progress towards ascension, the Reforged have no qualms about feeding themselves to the Engine, trusting it to transform them into either something new and greater or perhaps a part of itself.

The split between the Guild Reforged and the old guard drew in the attention of the Hours. The Engine was young, but that also made it vital and ambitious. Eager to stake its place among the greatest of Hours, it was quick to intervene on behalf of the Guild Reforged. And it was an Hour of many things, but subtlety was not among them. The Engine’s gifts come in different forms, no conjurings, no summonings, but inspiration, unusual tools unearthed and built. As the last of the old Guild conjured their master’s old Names in a desperate struggle, the Engine came up with a host of new weapons and creations to mop up the final loyalists of its victim. Intrigued by the young upstart who had broken, opened so much, the Snake Tail with Appendages descended from its lairs in the dark corners and shattered doors and walls of the Mansus and devoted its aid to the Engine’s cause. This drew in the attention of the Anaconda, who continuing its war with the Tail, offered its aid to the old-guard of the Guild. Two Hours against one meant that initially, the Engine made great strides forward in the war, but soon, it became angry. The war it had begun to make its name as a great power and elevate the people of the Fifth History had become just another skirmish in the proxy war between the Tail and the Anaconda. It turned suddenly on its nominal ally, devouring it as it had two other Hours. But the Tail is a curious entity. Its ending was far less final than that of the Maker and Anvil. It emerged from Nowhere mere minutes later, furious at its former ally, and cracking, veritably emanating fissures in reality itself. This sudden defeat of one of the Mansus’s foremost Hours accomplished what the Engine hoped its war would have. It established its position as a powerful Hour. It also elicited the interest of many Hours, and they descended, to stake their interest.

Here, the Harvester saw its first conflict, in the Engine’s great betrayal of its erstwhile ally. It was not a careless Hour, and when going against one of the oldest Hours of the Mansus, it took every step possible to ensure victory. In the small manufactory that in the future would become the Factory Devouring, the greatest blight upon the face of the Wood, it went to work on a weapon, one it put a part of itself into. With a laugh, a cackle like the roar of a consuming fire, it burst into life. The Engine invited the Tail to its seat of power to marvel at its latest creation, and trapped and devoured it with flame and steel. While it consumed most of the Tail, it tossed scraps to the Harvester. Fatefully so, the Engineer and Tinker believed. Perhaps, here, even at its initial construction, the seeds of its betrayal were sown as it feasted on flesh drenched with the highest of natures.

The Apple-of-the-Eye, the Hour that lives on the footsteps of the Glory, had always feared both the Tail and the Engine. Soon, the emissaries of the Tail were joined by the Lie’s crystalline servants, who pushed them to rail against their treacherous, mechanical ally and to join with the old Guild and their Anaconda-patron, who still held at least a semblance of honour. The Tail was held in check by the Anaconda, always, but the Engine had never known restraint. If the serpent-Hours were to unite against it, then maybe it could be devoured. The Anaconda itself had all but tied itself in furious knots to hear of the Tail’s defeat. While the Anaconda wished the Tail defeated and gone, it demanded that it alone be the one to strike the killing blow, not some upstart machine that did not know its place.

Participants

• The Engine of Cycles
• The Apple-of-the-Eye
• The Anaconda
• The Peacock
• The Architeuthian
• The Spark
• The Deceiver
• The Ferryman
• The Cuckoo
• The Bright-Delver
• The FNORD with FNORDs
• FNORD