| Category | Wars |
| Period | 1292 - 1312 |
| Theater | Astral Sea |
| Belligerents | Har'kish |
On 14 Temporal 1292, the Har'kish Empire erupted into a violent civil war. At the time, the empire had amassed hundreds of holdings across the Astral Sea and a dozen worlds. For centuries prior, they had waged war against the illithids and githzerai, ultimately defeating and nearly eradicating them for miles beyond their borders, ushering in a prolonged period of peace. However, this era revealed cracks in the empire's moral foundation, with a lack of political and religious freedoms. Some also sought to abandon the militaristic tradition of sending their youth to crèches - institutions that trained children in the ways of war, while neglecting other areas of study. The civil war was a battle between the traditionalists, intent on preserving the military state and its monotheistic institutions, and the separatists, who desired sweeping reforms within the empire.
The Har'kish Civil War wrought devastation across nearly every Har'kish holding in the Astral Sea. The two factions employed the same ruthless tactics used against their former adversaries, the illithids and the githzerai, in their brutal attacks. Many locations were reduced to rubble by bombardments from the Eye of Gith. This catastrophic conflict also severely weakened the empire, leaving it vulnerable to other hostile forces of the Astral Sea, including their longstanding enemies.
The conclusion of the civil war resulted in a schism. Two factions of githyanki emerged from this event - those determined to uphold the theocratic traditions of the githyanki, and those seeking a path granting greater political freedom. The latter group became known simply as the Separatists, while the Vla'akith CLVII loyalists were referred to as the Theocrats. The Separatists chose to worship whichever deity they deemed suitable for their goals, with most placing their faith in the war god Ares. Most of the Separatists departed the Astral Sea, seeking refuge in the ancient Zeymah'kein bastion Vith Niigol on the world Bal-Kriav.