The Astral Empire: History (part 2)

With the destruction of the Heavenly City's sphere, the Abh and illithids were both shaken: the illithids in fear, the Abh in horror. Many of the Abh leaders had been destroyed in the blast. However, others rose up to take their place — whether to see to it that the sacrifice of their kin was not in vain, or because they saw the opportunity to secure for themselves power and wealth, history cannot be trusted to have recorded.

The Abh-Illithid war was a relatively short affair, as illithid wars go. The Abh's asteroidal primary base of support, while small, remained untouched by the blast. Contrariwise, upon learning of the fate of the Heavenly City, many illithids in crystal spheres simply gathered whatever they could and fled to parts unknown, leaving behind a power vacuum swiftly filled by the Abh. The remaining illithids lacked the coordination and resources to form a strong counteroffense, and were besieged and destroyed one by one.

(The early Abh government was thus military rule, falling into place in the tyranny-shaped hole left by the illithids. This largely persists to the modern day: military service is expected of all nobility, and required to inherit or be granted a demesne. While the Abh themselves have no particular alignment leaning, their government is (in 3e terms) very much LE.)