War of the Empires: Difference between revisions

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The '''War of the Empires''' was a continent-spanning conflict fought roughly '''300 cycles''' ago between the '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' and the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]] (SFK)'''. The war began after a prolonged period of diplomatic breakdown and border militarization and culminated in a ~~Directionlandic~~ counteroffensive that destroyed the Federation’s core and dissolved the SFK after '''eight cycles''' of fighting. It is widely remembered as the most devastating war of the recorded era on [[Mundus]].

The '''War of the Empires''' was a continent-spanning conflict fought roughly '''300 cycles''' ago between the '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' and the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]] (SFK)'''. The war began after a prolonged period of diplomatic breakdown and border militarization and culminated in a Directian counteroffensive that destroyed the Federation’s core and dissolved the SFK after '''eight cycles''' of fighting. It is widely remembered as the most devastating war of the recorded era on [[Mundus]].

== Background and prelude ==

=== Southern consolidation and the Kingsvalley ultimatum ===

In the south, the kingdoms of '''Jalbarra''' and '''Yaxton''' and the '''Grand Duchy of Greater Urq''' opened talks to federate—initially framed as a response to border disputes with '''Ruulran''' and years of pressure along Directionland’s southern marches. The process produced the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]]''', a centralized military coalition under a “King-Emperor.”

In the south, the kingdoms of '''Jalbarra''' and '''Yaxton''' and the '''Grand Duchy of Greater Urq''' opened talks to federate—initially framed as a response to border disputes with '''[[Ruulran]]''' and years of pressure along Directionland’s southern marches. The process produced the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]]''', a centralized military coalition under a “King-Emperor.”

Directionland was thrown into crisis when the Federation’s first missive to the Directian embassy in '''[[Jalbarra]]''' asserted a historic claim on '''[[Kingsvalley]]''' and demanded an immediate Directian military withdrawal from the border. A commonly cited paraphrase from the embassy file reads: <blockquote>''“Kingsvalley rests upon lands pledged to the Southern Crown; withdraw your banners and yield the valley, or we shall take what is owed.”'' </blockquote>In ~~Ironwood~~, the warning '''accelerated negotiations''' already underway among Directionland’s cities, duchies, and kingdoms. Less than a cycle later, financial backing from '''[[St. Stylinson]]''', '''[[Gandry]]''', '''[[Simonville]]''', and '''[[St. Niam]]''' helped finalize [[The Great Unification|the '''Great Unification''']], electing '''[[King Ethian IV]]''' as the first Emperor of Directionland and establishing a bicameral government.

Directionland was thrown into crisis when the Federation’s first missive to the Directian embassy in '''[[Jalbarra]]''' asserted a historic claim on '''[[Kingsvalley]]''' and demanded an immediate Directian military withdrawal from the border. A commonly cited paraphrase from the embassy file reads: <blockquote>''“Kingsvalley rests upon lands pledged to the Southern Crown; withdraw your banners and yield the valley, or we shall take what is owed.”'' </blockquote>In [[St. Stylinson]], the warning '''accelerated negotiations''' already underway among Directionland’s cities, duchies, and kingdoms. Less than a cycle later, financial backing from '''[[St. Stylinson]]''', '''[[Gandry]]''', '''[[Simonville]]''', and '''[[St. Niam]]''' helped finalize [[The Great Unification|the '''Great Unification''']], electing '''[[King Ethian IV]]''' as the first Emperor of Directionland and establishing a bicameral government.

=== A “cold war” on the marches ===

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== Occupation, devastation, and stalemate (Years 1–7) ==

[[File:St. Niam During The War of the Empires.png|thumb|St. Niam was hit hard during the war when SFK forces pushed through from occupied Grelian. St. Niam never fell, but experienced heavy losses.]]

Under SFK occupation, '''Gandry''' suffered systematic destruction and subsequent agricultural collapse. The burning of the '''Grand Sanctum of Alessa''' erased swathes of religious and civic memory—including the scaffolding scholars once used to group saints in '''Triads of Stewardship'''—and fueled a refugee wave that reshaped settlement patterns for generations. '''Raven’s Nest''', for example, remembers its founding as a wartime refuge bound to the cult of '''[[Saint Nerva]]'''. Across seven grinding cycles, neither side achieved a decisive breakthrough.

Under [[Southern Federation of Kingdoms|SFK]] occupation, '''[[Gandry]]''' suffered systematic destruction and subsequent agricultural collapse. The burning of the '''[[Grand Sanctum of Alessa]]''' erased swathes of religious and civic memory—including the scaffolding scholars once used to group saints in '''Triads of Stewardship'''—and fueled a refugee wave that reshaped settlement patterns for generations. '''[[Raven’s Nest]]''', for example, remembers its founding as a wartime refuge bound to the cult of '''[[Saint Nerva]]'''. Across seven grinding cycles, neither side achieved a decisive breakthrough.

== The Niamite breakthrough (Year 7) ==

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== Belligerents ==

* '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' — Centralized empire (capital '''Ironwood''') with a professional army and a growing engineering corps centered on '''[[St. Niam]]'''.

* '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' — Centralized empire (capital '''[[Ironwood]]''') with a professional army and a growing engineering corps centered on '''[[St. Niam]]'''.

* '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]]''' — Coalition ruled in wartime by '''[[King-Emperor Larsi]]'''.

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-The '''War of the Empires''' was a continent-spanning conflict fought roughly '''300 cycles''' ago between the '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' and the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]] (SFK)'''. The war began after a prolonged period of diplomatic breakdown and border militarization and culminated in a Directionlandic counteroffensive that destroyed the Federation’s core and dissolved the SFK after '''eight cycles''' of fighting. It is widely remembered as the most devastating war of the recorded era on [[Mundus]].
+The '''War of the Empires''' was a continent-spanning conflict fought roughly '''300 cycles''' ago between the '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' and the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]] (SFK)'''. The war began after a prolonged period of diplomatic breakdown and border militarization and culminated in a Directian counteroffensive that destroyed the Federation’s core and dissolved the SFK after '''eight cycles''' of fighting. It is widely remembered as the most devastating war of the recorded era on [[Mundus]].
 == Background and prelude ==
 === Southern consolidation and the Kingsvalley ultimatum ===
-In the south, the kingdoms of '''Jalbarra''' and '''Yaxton''' and the '''Grand Duchy of Greater Urq''' opened talks to federate—initially framed as a response to border disputes with '''Ruulran''' and years of pressure along Directionland’s southern marches. The process produced the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]]''', a centralized military coalition under a “King-Emperor.”
+In the south, the kingdoms of '''Jalbarra''' and '''Yaxton''' and the '''Grand Duchy of Greater Urq''' opened talks to federate—initially framed as a response to border disputes with '''[[Ruulran]]''' and years of pressure along Directionland’s southern marches. The process produced the '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]]''', a centralized military coalition under a “King-Emperor.”
-Directionland was thrown into crisis when the Federation’s first missive to the Directian embassy in '''[[Jalbarra]]''' asserted a historic claim on '''[[Kingsvalley]]''' and demanded an immediate Directian military withdrawal from the border. A commonly cited paraphrase from the embassy file reads: <blockquote>''“Kingsvalley rests upon lands pledged to the Southern Crown; withdraw your banners and yield the valley, or we shall take what is owed.”'' </blockquote>In Ironwood, the warning '''accelerated negotiations''' already underway among Directionland’s cities, duchies, and kingdoms. Less than a cycle later, financial backing from '''[[St. Stylinson]]''', '''[[Gandry]]''', '''[[Simonville]]''', and '''[[St. Niam]]''' helped finalize [[The Great Unification|the '''Great Unification''']], electing '''[[King Ethian IV]]''' as the first Emperor of Directionland and establishing a bicameral government.
+Directionland was thrown into crisis when the Federation’s first missive to the Directian embassy in '''[[Jalbarra]]''' asserted a historic claim on '''[[Kingsvalley]]''' and demanded an immediate Directian military withdrawal from the border. A commonly cited paraphrase from the embassy file reads: <blockquote>''“Kingsvalley rests upon lands pledged to the Southern Crown; withdraw your banners and yield the valley, or we shall take what is owed.”'' </blockquote>In [[St. Stylinson]], the warning '''accelerated negotiations''' already underway among Directionland’s cities, duchies, and kingdoms. Less than a cycle later, financial backing from '''[[St. Stylinson]]''', '''[[Gandry]]''', '''[[Simonville]]''', and '''[[St. Niam]]''' helped finalize [[The Great Unification|the '''Great Unification''']], electing '''[[King Ethian IV]]''' as the first Emperor of Directionland and establishing a bicameral government.
 === A “cold war” on the marches ===
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 == Occupation, devastation, and stalemate (Years 1–7) ==
 [[File:St. Niam During The War of the Empires.png|thumb|St. Niam was hit hard during the war when SFK forces pushed through from occupied Grelian. St. Niam never fell, but experienced heavy losses.]]
-Under SFK occupation, '''Gandry''' suffered systematic destruction and subsequent agricultural collapse. The burning of the '''Grand Sanctum of Alessa''' erased swathes of religious and civic memory—including the scaffolding scholars once used to group saints in '''Triads of Stewardship'''—and fueled a refugee wave that reshaped settlement patterns for generations. '''Raven’s Nest''', for example, remembers its founding as a wartime refuge bound to the cult of '''[[Saint Nerva]]'''. Across seven grinding cycles, neither side achieved a decisive breakthrough.
+Under [[Southern Federation of Kingdoms|SFK]] occupation, '''[[Gandry]]''' suffered systematic destruction and subsequent agricultural collapse. The burning of the '''[[Grand Sanctum of Alessa]]''' erased swathes of religious and civic memory—including the scaffolding scholars once used to group saints in '''Triads of Stewardship'''—and fueled a refugee wave that reshaped settlement patterns for generations. '''[[Raven’s Nest]]''', for example, remembers its founding as a wartime refuge bound to the cult of '''[[Saint Nerva]]'''. Across seven grinding cycles, neither side achieved a decisive breakthrough.
 == The Niamite breakthrough (Year 7) ==
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 == Belligerents ==
-* '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' — Centralized empire (capital '''Ironwood''') with a professional army and a growing engineering corps centered on '''[[St. Niam]]'''.
+* '''[[Directionland|United Empire of Directionland]]''' — Centralized empire (capital '''[[Ironwood]]''') with a professional army and a growing engineering corps centered on '''[[St. Niam]]'''.
 * '''[[Southern Federation of Kingdoms]]''' — Coalition ruled in wartime by '''[[King-Emperor Larsi]]'''.