War had broken out!
After ten years of peace, the evil gods finally could no longer restrain their ambitions and began waging war against one another in a frenzy.
Malar, God of the Hunt, was the first to launch a campaign against Bhaal.
After the Ancient Era, Bhaal had arranged for his Bhaalspawn to serve as vessels for his resurrection. Then, while Cyric was descending into madness, Bhaal reclaimed the Murder Divine Office.
However, even after reclaiming his Divine Office, Bhaal did not ascend to godhood. He remained a Demigod, constantly spreading his faith across the Prime Material Plane and using that to increase his influence there.
He hoped to gather enough faith to return to the peak of his power all at once.
In this state, Bhaal naturally drew Malar's attention.
No matter how much faith Bhaal had accumulated, the resurrected Bhaal was still only a Demigod. He was vastly outmatched by Malar, who possessed Weak Divine Power.
Bhaal could only overcome that disparity by ascending to godhood, but Malar gave him no chance.
Since Malar held a Divine Office in the same domain, the moment he sensed Bhaal trying to ascend, he would do everything in his power to interfere.
Still, it would have been difficult for Malar to stop Bhaal alone.
But in the process, Malar brought Cyric into the fray.
For Cyric, getting revenge on Bhaal for taking his Authority was an exhilarating prospect.
So, beset by Malar and Cyric, Bhaal lost nearly half his Divinity. In the end, he fled in a sorry state to the Bottomless Abyss, hiding somewhere on one of its layers.
Malar, meanwhile, became the God of Murder and the Hunt, ascending to Intermediate Divine Power.
Seeing Malar's success, the evil gods could no longer sit still.
The great war began