The War of Whispers is a name given to the war fought between The Radiant Empire and Paelite on one side, against the spirits and seafolk of The Whispering Straights, over the access to the seas and trade routes between the two nations of land-bound humans and fey.
Background
For many centuries, Imperial and Paelite merchants would cross the straights to be sold on the other side. The Imperials primarily traded in spices, gemstones, and precious metals, while the Paelite offered exotic fruits and textiles.
During the rule of Emperor Odranen I, on a mid-spring day in the year 877 D.H., an unknown cloaked figure appeared in several different port towns on the Empire's eastern shore, by the Whispering Straights. Reportedly, the figure materialized in each town just as the sun was setting over the horizon, delivered a proclamation, then vanished in a puff of briny mist. The message it delivered was:
Mortals of the ever-burning lands, I am Qaekhama, guardian of the Pass of
the Stars,
and I speak for my kin in the forests beyond.
Cease you intrusion onto
the waters under the sky. Your kind is not born of the sea, and you have no
place there.
After this day, any human who dares set foot, oar, or sail
on my domain, their life shall be forfeit.
The next day, a massive storm struck the Empire's eastern shore, a hurricane that tore roofs from houses and trees from their roots. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 people died in this first storm, as entire villages were reduced to rubble. Additionally, reports claim that the storm swept across the Whispering Straights, sinking every ship that was en route between the Empire and the Paelite lands to the east.