The War in Heaven (concept)
The War in Heaven was the brutal near-1000 years of conflict between the Wardenites and Ritualists from 296 IS with the rise of The First Warden to 1237 IS with the fall of the last independent Ritualist ruler. While the war contained dozens of various sides of many different faiths that would rise and fall on behalf of one of the sides (or both or neither), the main conflict always surrounded the warlords of the Ritualist and Wardenite faiths.
The war was extremely bitter and brought widespread devastation to Sarradon. While the continent had several high points during the midst of the conflict, it was always soon ended by a continuation of warfare. The use of Self-Replicating Blood Magic by the competing Qurati and the Almadi Magi Cabals led to seemingly the end of Sarradonian prosperity, wiping out 80% of the Magi population and millions otherwise.
The 'war' (which was actually dozens of smaller conflicts over the time period), began to end with the arrival of Agionist, Chevalien and Aversarian merchants and mercenaries from Greater Aversaria in 1144 IS. The northerners initially opened up several trade posts and brought new life to a continent still recovering from the destruction of Self-Replicating Blood Magic. Initially, they simply bought more and more land, but then began greatly expanding their reach by outright taking land from the Sarradonians. The war officially ended in 1233 IS with the Siege of Qarmuz, the last free castle of the Ritualist faith in Sarradon. While the following (and partially concurrent) Saints War is sometimes considered a continuation of the war, most Sarradonian scholars see it as a separate and new conflict.