There are some discrepancies in the Sendings of Darkness. Specifically, whether the Empyrean Shadow War is the second or third Sending.
Aerfalle's Letter (2000)
In Aerfalle's Letter, Aerfalle wrote, "The Second Sending came, and the world reeled." She goes on to describe events of the Empyrean Shadow War, including the Battle of Ayn Tayan. This text was written in July 2000.
In the Reign of Terror Teaser Part 3, Aerfalle said, "We had thought Amauxi fallen during the second sending. Had His Eternal Splendor seen so far into the future to hide him even then? And what of the sacrifices made while the outlanders did our bidding without coaxing? Had he foreseen the end of the fourth sending at their hand?" This text was written in October 2003.
Pack Bael'Zharon (2004)
In the Pack Bael'Zharon text, the Council of Sages wrote, "...Ilservian returned, transformed by some dark power into Bael'Zharon the Hopeslayer. This was called the Third Sending of Darkness." This text was written in November 2004.
Analysis
We have two contradicting statements: That the Empyrean Shadow War is the second Sending, or that it is the third Sending. We can evaluate the authenticity of of each statement on a few criteria:
- The in-universe sources of the statements.
- The number of sources for each statement.
- The date each statement was released.
- The overall impact on the timeline.
On the first criteria, the Empyrean War being the second Sending has more authenticity: Aerfalle's Letter and her statements in the teaser are both primary sources. The description of the pack doll was written by Isparian scholars and is a secondary source.
On the second criteria, the Empyrean War being the second Sending again has more authenticity: we have two sources stating that it was second Sending, while we only have one source stating it is the third.
On the third criteria, the Empyrean War being the third Sending has more authenticity: It was released the latest, and could have been an attempt at retcon.
On the forth criteria, the Empyrean War being the second Sending again has more authenticity: while both versions may seem to have the same amount of impact. If the war is the second Sending, and we already know that the Isparian Shadow War is the fourth Sending, then logically, the third Sending had to occur between them - and that is an era we have a good deal of information on.
Conclusion
It is the opinion of the editor that the Empyrean Shadow War is the second Sending, for the following reasons:
- It comes from a primary source, Aerfalle, who lived through the Empyrean Shadow War.
- It helps us construct a more complete timeline.
- We cannot be certain if the pack doll text was an intentional attempt at retcon or simply a mistake.