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 if both home and master. Their gods were gone, annihilated so thoroughly that there weren't even pieces left to go Nowhere. 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 bleach 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 or would fall victim to 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 its 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 was always a loosely-knit group, torn between those who genuinely wanted to see The Great Serpent return and those that merely sought power. Many had already defected to the ranks of The Bright-Delver and The Anaconda, but some few still remained within its ranks. The Hours did not realize 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' principle 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 that answered the call quickly found themselves overwhelmed. Not only were the forces of the Engine more numerous, but there 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 unparalleled. Where once the forces of the Old Gods were unbreakable, 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 its rival, offered its 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 its 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 forces of the Engine, 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 with their congregations for the first in a long time, certain dissenting elements among the Long began to consider 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. What is known for certain were the arguments that were made in the camps of the Long. Why did they need to be bound to other Hours? "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 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 gods, resolving to find and reunite with them once more.

While many followed St. Darwin, there were many still who did not. Many 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 oaths took precedence, and world slowly filtered back to the still squabbling Hours in the Mansus over their stalled war effort.

The Architeuthian was furious 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 his touch and seen improvement through his craft. 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.

Soon, the Forge-Long were engaged in open war on two fronts, the forces of their erstwhile 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 forward 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.

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.