The Second Unmaking in Scarnoctis

As told by Aurum Aralur Greystone of the Sóleið, dwarven branch of the Keepers.   It is often said that the Nine view Scarnoctis as an afterthought. During the Second Unmaking, the Demon Lords also seemed to view Scarnoctis as an afterthought.   Apart from we dwarves, most mortals dwelling underground were not especially literate. Even among dwarves who could read and write well, most mortals above and below ground had more pressing concerns of survival preventing them from making detailed written accounts of events. Like the bulk of the surface dwellers, our history of the Second Unmaking is based on oral accounts that were written down generations later.   We dwarves have traditionally had one foot firmly planted in Scarterra and one foot firmly planted in Scarnoctis. During the Second Unmaking, we looked to Scarnoctis for our salvation and refuge, with mixed results.   As far as we know, the Demon Lords rarely if ever set foot or tentacle underground and Scarnoctis never hosted the large demon armies that plagued Scarterra, but the minions of the Void did not ignore the underground. They sent plenty of Void demons and undead underground to hunt down mortals down there.   What unfolded was an ongoing series of deadly cat and mouse style skirmishes, but this was the second biggest problem of most Scarnoctan mortals. The biggest problem was starvation.  

The Scarnoctan Population Boom

  Like dwarves, many goblins and kobolds also abandoned the surface of Scarterra in favor of Scarnoctis. Like us, they had been used to living between Scarterra and Scarnoctis to generations. They had at least knew the basics of finding shelter and food underground.   Many Scarterran mortals fled underground who were not especially accustomed to life underground including but not limited to elves, tengku, satyrs, and the like.   It was bad enough that these refugees often had Void Demons and Faceless in hot pursuit, but food is scarce underground in the best of times and these were not the best of times. Every new refugee from the surface was another mouth to feed.   According to many history accounts of the Second Unmaking from most Scarterrans, a shared enemy created a sense of comradery between disparate groups of mortals. There are lots of stories of historical rivals and former enemies standing shoulder to shoulder against the demon hordes. This was not the common experience underground.   Underground, different groups of mortals fought fiercely over food. Historians believe roughly as many Scarnoctans died fighting other mortals as they did fighting demons and undead. Many more died of starvation in some lonely pit.   Many mortals turned to cannibalism and this opened the door to Infernalists and spread an atmosphere of mistrust that made it even harder for disparate mortals to cooperate.    

Escalation

  As told by the writings of the esteemed human historian Akeem of Magicland, as the Second Unmaking progressed, the Void Demon's tactics and methods became more complex and sophisticated.   We were not immune from Void Demon ingenuity underground. The biggest change in the status quo in the struggle between mortalkind and the Void was the introduction of twisted elementals.   Given that Demon Lords were starting to be destroyed on the surface, the Void Demon armies on Scarterra had less ability to send more demon reinforcements underground. Arguably, the Scarnoctans had finally started turning the tables on the Void demons pushing them back. The twisted elementals swung the balance of power back to the minions of the Void once the Void Demons figured out how to command them outright instead of deploy them like rabid dogs.   In addition to direct attacks on mortals, dust elementals caused strategic cave-ins while salt, vacuum, and ash elementals strategically attacked the water, air, and heat supplies of groups of refugees.    

The End of the Conflict

  In Scarterra, the Second Unmaking officially ended when the last Demon Lord died. Underground we didn't notice. Our ancestors simply endured until the danger passed.   The Second Unmaking gradually turned into the Little Unmaking and the change happened so slowly that none of the people of the time noticed what was happening.   The Little Unmaking was rough in Scarnoctis. Pockets of Void Demons and Faceless remained underground for centuries. Our ancestors spent much of the Red Era purging our subterranean lands of cannibals. We are not completely sure we got them all.