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 [[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.

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 [[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.
+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]]'''.