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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 of both home and master. Their gods were gone, annihilated so thoroughly that there weren't even pieces left to go Nowhere. AimlessThey 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 bleach 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 fall victim 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 its 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 was 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 its 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' principle 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 that and answered the call quickly found themselves overwhelmed. Not only were the forces of the Engine more numerous, but there 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 unbreakablean 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 its her rival, offered its 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 its 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 were 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 historyFifth History, many quickly followed his example as Long and Names tore down the images of their surrogate patrons and restored marks of their godsOld 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 world word slowly filtered back to the still squabbling Hours in the Mansus over that their war efforts in the mortal world had stalled war effort.
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 his its touch and seen improvement through his its craft. She 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.
===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 cabal of the Deceiver, that surreptitious group of liars and opportunists enacted a plot to usurp and subvert the secessionist movement from within. Upon infiltrating the movement, they started spreading rumors that the Apple-of-the-Eye was truly a God-from-Blood. 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 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]].
==Full Description==
[[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 FNORD with FNORDs
FNORD
[[Category:Histories]][[Category:Fansus I]]