Terror March

In 1683, the last year of Apoxlins Sentence (1485 - 1683), a storied general returned home. He had long served the Ba'lith Empire. In the decades between his rotations to The Hells, he fought alongside the mortals of Ba'lith and any other looking for a general that had been trained by one of the best. Otherwordly beyond doubt, something forged by the gods, Raxcvillibus entered Ba'lith's capital seeking service. He was soon denied, and he knew why. He just needed to hear it from those that would one day feed his terrible blade. Rax's spy network, built over centuries, was spread far and deep. They learned that the Church of Coeus was behind the decision to cut-ties with one that had served the empire with loyalty and distinction. They feared his long exposure to Asmodeus would result in his seeking the emperor's sash.

For the next nine years, he prepared for war. The objective was to topple the Church of Coeus, those ruling the affairs of the Ba'lith Empire.

On 9 War March 1692, Raxcvillibus and his command staff, the Lix Tetrax, marshaled their forces for war. From Tas'dvr Mout, traversing the jungles of southern Ma'Ohari and entering Azrik they were a small yet very powerful force built up over two centuries. One of the more unusual elements were the Soul Annihilators, nineteen fire giants that suffered Drachlaz's labs, becoming death giants. Mercenary elements included a force of nearly ten thousand, cambion dwarves out of Smizerak, a Maleraunt mercenary regiment out of Kilth, and four Gol'hakh mercenary companies out of Goth-Dyvermoir.

In their march south, starting a phony war, Rax's army left ruin and devastation, attacking the frontier holds of the Torgilm Confederacy (1475 - 1719). North of the Marmarath Fortress, a Ba'lith army, one that Raxcvillibus had led in the past, switched sides. Together, they defeated a renegade army of the Torgilm Confederacy and then captured the great river bastion of Marmarath.

With a long history of serving Ba'lith, over three decades, Rax was able to divide the empire, with many units switching to the side of a legendary commander instrumental in training some of Ba'lith's best units.

In the Battle of Ezdynn, Rax's army seized the river crossing in a night attack. Inflicting heavy causalities, he let the Soul Annihilators run amok, harassing the retreating enemy as mortars on river barges rain shells on the battlefield. Losing confidence in their commanders and leaders, the next phase of Rax's war became known as the Coeus Civil War (1694 - 1697).