 The Pincer region, home to Quin's island fortress, Paradise. | |
| Beginning | End |
|---|---|
| Approx 149 Fifth Age | 169 Fifth Age/1 Sixth Age |
| Place | |
| Wushanko Isles | |
| Outcome | |
| Quin is assassinated after holding the east to ransom for years | |
| Battles | |
| Destruction of Shattered Beams, Attempt at Assassination by the Death Lotus, Assassination of Quin | |
| Combatants | |
| Hubbub, Ling, Zu Zu, Shuma, Pirates of Tattanogi, the Portmaster's crew | Discord, Zu Zu, Hundreds of sea monsters, Death Lotus assassins |
| Commanders | |
| John Strum, the Portmaster, Duncan | Quin |
| Casualties | |
| Lily, Citizens of Shattered Beams, John Strum, Shuma, tens of thousands of others | Quin, many sea monsters, Death Lotus assassins |
| Concurrent war | |
| Hyu-Ji conflicts | |
| Previous war | |
| N/A | |
| Next war | |
| N/A | |
The Quin Conflicts were a series of battles and conflicts in the late Fifth Age that came about as a result of the seasinger Quin obtaining and using the Elder Horn to control all the sea monsters of the Wushanko Isles, demanding that she be worshipped as a goddess.[1]
Prelude
Not much is known about Quin's activities prior to the war, but eventually she learned of a young woman known as Zu Zu, at the time a soothsayer. Zu Zu grew up on the island of Aloft Dagger, an island of soothsayers, who taught her. However, her abilities soon began to outmatch theirs, which scared them, and the soothsayers began to keep her isolated and only feed her little.[2]
Upon hearing of Zu Zu, Quin demanded her release, and took her into her employ, training her as an Occultist, powerful soothsayers who hadn't been in Wushanko for decades, who sacrificed more than small animals. Quin gave Zu Zu the remit to sacrifice anything she desired, including humans[3]. Quin and Zu Zu soon became very close[4].
Eventually, through unknown means, Quin was able to obtain a powerful horn, one of twelve artefacts created by the Elder Gods to aid them in creating worlds.[5]
The War with Quin
Controlling the sea monsters
In approximately 149 of the Fifth Age[6], using her newly acquired Elder Artefact, Quin started enhancing her already potent seasinger abilities, now possessing the ability to command all of the sea monsters in Wushanko at once from afar[7]. While the majority of them had previously been passive, with the horn she was able to make them attack any passing ship in Wushanko while she was safely inside Paradise, which she never left[8].
Using her new abilities to her advantage, she proclaimed herself to be a goddess, or the "Khan of the Sea"[9], and demanded the citizens of Wushanko worship her as such. However, despite the leverage Quin had, as the easterners mostly perceive worship of gods as silly, they refused her demands[10], starting a conflict later described as "an all-out war between the sea and land"[11], which cost the lives of tens of thousands. As a result of the war, contact between Wushanko and the Western Lands was cut off, and John Strum - portmaster of a private dock in the Asgarnian Port Sarim - sent a fleet of ships to report what happened. Only a few of these ships returned, returning with stories of "huge sea monsters; hydras, huge flying turtles, whales the size of islands that ate only men's skulls"[12][13]. One of the thousands that died as a result of Quin's actions was a captain known as Lily, whom was romantically involved with John Strum, and on learning of her death, he spiraled into depression, his port soon falling into disrepair[14] due to the lack of trade with Wushanko.
Hubbub, the Khan of Shattered Beams and nemesis of Shuma.
Quin's sea monsters continued to attack ships and settlements. One such settlement was known as Shattered Beams. A whale known as Shuma had regularly raided the island for fish [15], and one day, Shuma became trapped in a cave network. Hubbub, khan of the island, travelled there with best his whalers[16], and they were able to deafen her[17] by stabbing a spear deep into her skull. Many of the whalers died in this battle, and it cost Hubbub his leg[18]. Meanwhile, as Hubbub wasn't there to defend it, Sea monsters controlled by Quin tore down the city, drowning his people[19]. By the time Hubbub returned, the city was completely destroyed, leaving only one survivor. Hubbub later witnessed another attack on a village, with an assortment of sea monsters led by Discord - one of Quin's bodyguards, who rode an albino narwhal - being responsible for the attack[20]. Hubbub confronted Discord about the attack, and he quickly revealed that Quin was responsible, using "an ancient horn" to wake and control all the sea monsters at once[21].
Quin was eventually victorious in the war, but at a great cost, as the numbers of sea monsters she controlled were greatly reduced[22]. The decrease in sea monsters meant that contact between the west and east resumed once more.
Attempt at Assassination by the Death Lotus
Ling, the assassin sent to kill Quin.
As a result of the war, many of the ruling Khans of Wushanko wished Quin dead, and petitioned an order of assassins known as "the Death Lotus" to assassinate Quin, although due to a fear of failing and evoking Quin's wrath, they refused, no matter how much they were offered[23].
In approximately year 167, Hubbub, seeking revenge for the death of his people, offered more wealth than all the other Khans of Wushanko combined, and as a result the Death Lotus finally agreed to kill Quin[24].
The leader of the Death Lotus, Baby Tooth, chose his student for the job: a sixteen-year old Assassin known as Ling, who was the one of the best of her craft[25]. They smuggled Ling to Paradise via a merchant ship, and she was able to enter the palace and position herself in the rafters near Quin's chambers. There, she waited, and eventually Quin appeared, with Zu Zu as her only bodyguard. Ling quickly threw a dart at Quin, but Zu Zu sensed her presence and used her staff to deflect the dart. Ling fired again, but this time Zu Zu used a spell to make fire burn Ling's face, and the dart missed[26]. Zu Zu then called for the guards, forcing Ling to flee through a window. Ling was then forced to leave the Death Lotus, and became an exile after she escaped having both her hands cut off by Baby Tooth's son, Wu[27].
Soon after, Quin recruited the Death Lotus assassins to guard her island, making reaching her even more difficult from then on[28].
Quin's Search for Immortality
Zu Zu, Quin's occultist.
As a result of the attempted assassination, Quin became paranoid about further attempts on her life being taken, and became obsessed with immortality[29], desiring to live forever.
She put her occultist Zu Zu in charge of the project, giving her everything she needed to help her research it. Eventually, Zu Zu was able to discover a method to achieve immortality, sacrificing a family of sea monsters (in this case Shuma's family[30]), and twisting their intestines in a spiral[31]. She focused the ritual on herself and gained immortality. However, while she was testing her new-found immortality, she realised that nobody should have such a power, as nobody would ever be able to stop them[32], and realised that Quin had become paranoid and genocidal, and thus no longer desired to serve her.
To escape Quin, she seduced a visiting khan known as Oroshu - who had 200 wives - and made him promise to get her off the island in exchange for her hand in marriage. Oroshu smuggled her out on his leisure barge, and Zu Zu was able to escape him by using a pin in her corset to pick a lock[33].
Attempt to retrieve Zu Zu and kill Ling
In the years since, Quin repeatedly tried to capture Zu Zu and return her to Paradise so she could learn the secret of immortality from her, and tasked Discord with capturing her. Discord eventually found Zu Zu while she was seeking a body for a ritual to reverse her immortality, but he was unsuccessful in capturing her.
Later, Oroshu ran into Zu Zu while she was seeking some blood for the ritual, and he once again demanded that Zu Zu marry her, and took the items for the ritual that Zu Zu had collected from her. Zu Zu quickly devised a plan to retrieve them, and wrote a letter to Oroshu promising that the wedding would be that day if he made it a big occasion and invited all the Khans and seasingers[34]. As such, Oroshu sent an invite to Quin, who sent some lackies to collect Zu Zu, while the soothsayers, who despised occultists, sent forces of their own[35]. Zu Zu had the Portmaster take advantage of the resulting chaos, and their crew was able to retrieve the ingredients for the ritual - which Oroshu had planned to give as wedding gifts - and rescue her[36].
Zu Zu's ritual ultimately proved unsuccessful, and she retained her immortality[37]. Out of options, Zu Zu decided to attempt to end her life by throwing herself down The Hole in the World, a bottomless pit in The Pincers[38]. However, while there, Discord once again made an appearance, still wanting her captured[39]. The Portmaster was able to retrieve Zu Zu before Discord captured her, once again foiling Quin's plans.
Quin, wishing for revenge on the one who tried to assassinate her, also bribed the informer and friend of Ling, Kirau, by threatening to level his village of Tattanogi and kill his family, friends and crew if he did not set a trap to kill Ling[40]. As a result, Kirau claimed that Baby Tooth was visiting the training camps of Tokoko, knowing that Ling would go there to kill him, when he had actually laid a trap to kill her there[41]. Due to the assistance of the Portmaster, the trap was unsuccessful, and Ling was able to escape. When she discovered Kirau's betrayal, she reluctantly killed him[42].
The Assassination of Quin
Portmaster John Strum
Shortly after Quin's failed attempts to capture Ling and Zu Zu and Hubbub preventing Shuma from destroying New Heritage, John Strum - now merely a partner at his old port, now being run by the Portmaster who had been helping the trio - called Hubbub, Zu Zu, Ling and the portmaster to his office. Once they had arrived, he revealed that he had been listening to their stories and filling the gaps by reading their journals[43], and realised that their stories all overlapped, and that they all had an enemy in Quin. Thinking that it wasn't a mere coincidence that they had all come to the same port, he proposed that a higher power was telling them to kill Quin[44].
He then revealed that he had a plan to kill Quin, one that would get through Quin's sea monsters, assassins and traps[45]. The Portmaster quickly agreed to the plan after seeing it, as did Hubbub, Ling and Zu Zu. The first part of John's plan was to send Hubbub to recruit Shuma - who Hubbub had learnt to talk to and became friends with - as Shuma's deafness meant she was immune to Quin's seasinger abilities[46]. After Hubbub visited Shuma in her home in the Glittercaves, she quickly agreed to the plan, wishing revenge on the one responsible for the death of her family[47].
The next part of the plan was to recruit Kirau's pirate crew, who had been killing Quin's sea monsters in an attempt to keep Quin isolated on Paradise[48]. Both the Portmaster and John proposed that Ling be the one to recruit them, claiming that they would forgive her, as Quin was the one they were truly angry with. Although Hubbub and Zu Zu wanted to go too, John ensured that only Ling went, and she was successful in both gaining their forgiveness and recruiting them for the mission. John Strum himself also insisted that he physically take part in the mission, seeking revenge for the death of Lily[49]. Although initially disallowing it, the portmaster eventually allowed him to go.
The final stage of the plan was reaching the island itself, infiltrating the palace and finally killing Quin. After explaining his plan, John, Ling, Zu Zu, Hubbub, the pirates and Zu Zu set off to the island to execute it. To get past the sea monsters and onto the island, the ships of Kirau's crew were tied to Shuma's tail[50], and Shuma, being ridden by Hubbub, acted as a battering ram, breaking through the sea monsters around the island, turning before reaching the island while Hubbub disconnected the ships, sending them speeding towards the island[51]. Shuma and Hubbub then battled the monsters around the island, while the ships ran aground, destroying the assassin shacks at the shore. Kirau's pirates, Ling and John Strum[52] then emerged from the ships and battled the assassins, who were at a disadvantage due to the daylight and not having anywhere to hide[53]. Finally, Zu Zu simply walked through the fight up to Quin's palace, taking advantage of her knowledge of the area and her immortality making her immune to Quin's traps[54], and then fought Quin, easily killing her due to her lack of combat ability, before proceeding to cut out her heart and put it on a stick[55].
Although the assassination was ultimately successful, it was at a cost. John Strum died in combat with the Assassins, although he himself had no intention of surviving, wishing to end his life fighting Quin[56]. In addition to John, Shuma died from her wounds while she was being escorted back to the Glittercaves by Kirau's crew[57]. Nevertheless, despite their losses, Hubbub, Ling and Zu Zu were extremely happy with their success, quickly making plans for what they were going to do next, with Ling planning to set up an assassin guild of her own to rival the Death Lotus[58], Zu Zu wishing to find some eligible bachelors in the west[59], and Hubbub wishing to give the portmaster a hug[60].