| Category | Wars |
| Period | 1943 LE - 1968 LE |
| Theater | Ráglauth |
| Belligerents | eight illithid city-states of Ráglauth |
The Flayers Wars arose from the deteriorating quality and quantity of humanoid populace available to the eight illithid city-states of Ráglauth. By 1943 LE, the city-states of this moon had reigned supreme for a millennium. They commanded dominion over the majority of all humanoids on Ráglauth. For the illithids of Ráglauth, these humanoids, or thrall, served two primary functions - as sustenance and as the caretakers of their grandiose cities.
In 1943 LE, the Thrall Minister of Penumbra convened a meeting of all the other Thrall Ministers from the seven city-states at the Convening Ruin, a neutral location. There, they addressed the issue of their declining thrall populations and the century-long deterioration of thrall health. The Thrall Minister of Penumbra initiated the discussion.
The thrall population in all our cities is dwindling in health and numbers. Without a new population of thralls to breed from, ours will continue down this path of diminished cognitive abilities and declining litters. Our Thinker Creed has arrived at the most evident solution - to endure, we must acquire the thralls of the other city-states. I perceive that some of you are already aware of this necessity.
Shussgo, Thrall Minister of Penumbra, excerpt from his book - "There Can Only Be One"
Later that day, the city-state of Penumbra initiated what would become known as the Flayer Wars, launching a surprise attack on their closest rival. The conflict endured for 25 years, with the defeated thrall populations being absorbed into the victors' ranks each time a city was conquered. The conquered illithids were often shown little mercy. When Penumbra captured cities, they not only seized the thrall populace, but also imprisoned the elder brains. If there was a paramount rule or law in mind flayer culture, it was that elder brains were sacrosanct, and that even if the surrounding city fell into ruin, the elder brain must be left unharmed. Ordinarily, an elder brain could easily evade capture by withdrawing its body into the Astral Sea. However, this avenue of escape was blocked by Penumbra's War Creed. Utilizing arcane magic of thrall creation, they imposed a Travel Impenetrability Ward that sealed off the area. The elder brains were then imprisoned within devices crafted from the crystalline innards of a still-living Primordial. These devices, a product of Penumbra's Creation Creed, would ultimately become the illithids' salvation. These Silver Mirrors enabled the newly formed Suellk Empire to plan invasions of other worlds, supplying their forces with goods and soldiers by passing through these mirrors.
The Silver Mirrors enabled the illithids to forgo raiding for sustenance and instead focus on establishing a base on another world, which they supplied through the use of the Silver Mirrors. This strategy was precisely what they implemented during the First Suellk Invasion and the Second Suellk Invasion.
Admiral Hullbreaker, Giff professor from the Girderhead Institute of War, - "The Suellk Invasions"
