The First Word War

The Nite Qing quietly built up hordes of zombies in isolated locations and then set them loose upon the populace. Those killed by zombies became zombies themselves, spreading with frightening rapidity. These destructive waves were largely unanticipated by those in command of the forces opposing them for most of the conflict.   The Army of the Living responded defensively. Initial efforts to contain the zombies were unsuccessful, often simply resulting in greater strength for the undead. Literomancers were slightly more successful, but since they were limited in number, and lacked both temporal authority, and experience in military command and in the capabilities of their own powers, they were in no way as effective as they have been in subsequent Word Wars.

Significant theatres included the North American West, the European North, and the South Pacific, with the defining conflict taking place at Mumei Island and the Zafforza Trench.

The initial conflict broke out in Billings, Montana, the site of the Game of Tomes event. Sable Lapin, one of the literomancers attending, who was also reporting on the event as a writing competition for internet outlet the ASC News Network, reported her husband Erin Meles missing on November 2, 2020. Three days later, literomancers DaniAdventures and Serukis were also reported missing. Other citizens of the town began to disappear. Then the first Zombies were sighted.   The local sheriff's office attempted to bring in federal assistance, but even with video evidence provided by the literomancers, they were disbelieved. It was the general opinion of the CDC, and the FBI, that this was some kind of "publicity stunt," and the reports were ignored.   Commander DM Stretch, retired, of the SBS, was one of the literomancers on location, and he reported the situation to friends in the United States Navy. The Montana National Guard arrived in Billings and attempted to lock down the town under a classified state of quarantine, proceeding under the assumption that this was some kind of plague.   However, by then it was far too late. The Nite Qing had the ability to teleport, and he had already begun establishing bases of operations in arctic locations that were familiar to Erin Meles, who had been a Canadian Forces sniper and amateur biathlete. It is likely that they were chosen because not only were they more isolated, and less likely to be detected, but also because the Nite Qing had an affinity to the power of cold and ice.   Zombies overwhelmed the National Guard blockade on November 10, 2020, and raised them and a number of literomancers as undead. The surviving literomancers fled Billings and returned to their various homes to help prepare them against the disaster that was coming. They also attempted to get word out to the media through the unintentional coverage provided by Sable Lapin, ShyRedFox, Aydan Nightshade, Siobhan Chiroptera and the other ASC journalists on site at Billings, but this, too, was disbelieved.   In the meantime, the Nite Qing had already begun a number of guerilla assaults in various northern locations worldwide, with the goal of increasing his forces. Because there was no obvious pattern to these targets upon initial observation, they were therefore unpredictable. As a result, targets in Stewart and Terrace, BC, Canada, Haakonsvern Naval Base, Norway, and other locations were taken almost completely by surprise.   The US Forces did not officially inform their NATO allies of the situation until at least the 15th of November. By this time, zombies were endemic, and the Nite Qing had begun to assault major urban centers. He also turned his attentions on the other literomancers, since Tome Zombies could also raise zombies from the dead, and therefore, were extremely useful in building up his forces.   NATO militaries attempted to suppress the true nature of the threat in order to prevent panic, but media outlets began to get word out anyway, as the rapidly spreading zombie hordes became impossible to miss. So did the magical response of the literomancers, who had united in an attempt to combat the threat. Unfortunately, having no temporal authority, their counterattacks were usually limited to their immediate surroundings.   Sable Lapin recognized the pattern of the Nite Qing's initial targets, and attempted to coordinate with the Canadian Forces. When Parliament broke down, the equally confused and frightened military began to rally around her. Similar events transpired in Japan as Coffee Quills, an ancient literomancer of House Mollusca, coordinated with the Japanese Forces, and in Malaysia in coordination with House Avis under Cryssalia. They continued to coordinate with one another until Malaysia was overwhelmed on the 18th. World telecommunications broke down completely around the 20th of November.   Mass panic and civil unrest resulted in worldwide chaos. The binding chains of society collapsed under the strain. During this confusing and difficult to document period, a number of the worldwide heads of state simply disappeared. It is likely they were assassinated by the Nite Qing, although some theorize it had something to do with either the return of magic itself, or the Iron Tome.   The last land-bound bastion of defense, which had rallied around Sable Lapin, fell to the Undead Horde on November 24th, 2020, and the survivors fled to the Zafforza Trench, the traditional home of the hidden undersea culture of the Molluscans. There, they made their last stand against The Undead Horde. The isolated location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean made it impossible for most of the mass throng of zombies to attack, so combat was limited to magical exchanges, supported by a few living troops under the command of the literomancers.   The living literomancers were victorious when Coffee Quills claimed the Iron Tome from the Nite Qing, and wrote in its pages to Resurrect the dead.   However, as is now well documented, this victory had numerous unforseen consequences.

The consequences of writing in the Iron Tome were as disastrous as the initial events that had made it necessary. According to the literomancers who witnessed the event, the pages of the Iron Tome were already completely covered in text. In order to make room for Coffee Quills' missive, a considerable section of text had to be erased.   Significant portions of Earth's geography suddenly rearranged themselves. The most significant effect of this Restructuring, as it has since been named, was that most of the Eastern Seaboard of North America crashed into the ocean and sank. Coastlines and river estuaries also dramatically altered as a result, and new islands pushed themselves to the surface. Millions were killed, and millions more were never found.   Coffee Quills sealed the Iron Tome in a vault beneath the ocean, with the intention that it should never be used again. However, this effort failed when the Nite Qing, defeated but not destroyed, stole the Iron Tome from the vault sometime in autumn 2021, and delivered it into the hands of The Living Dead Girl, the second Night Monarch (see The Second Word War).

The old world order collapsed in the wake of the disaster, their failure to respond effectively to the threat, and the breakdown of essential infrastructure and supply chains. This was made worse by the disappearance of numerous heads of state, including the Royal Family of the Commonwealth and the President of the United States. Large populations believed the apocalypse had arrived, and many governments, particularly in North America and the South Pacific, lost legitimacy in the public consciousness.