War with the Roughlands

Military: War

Taking the empire by surprise, the kingdom of the Roughlands crosses the empire's borders and attacks the region of Aynvale in the northern hold and moves into the plains in the Plainlands. Still prepared and determined to fend off an elven invasion, the empire sends a quarter of their invasion reserves and divides them between the two fronts with the war against the Roughlands hold/kingdom. Most of the force is sent up north where there is a greater population and more valuable resources in immediate danger, while a smaller force is sent to protect the fields near Pleasant in the Plainlands. Fortunately for the empire, in both fronts the armies on either side are nearly equally matched, however Pleasant is under siege before the reinforcements arrive, and Aynvale is under occupation by the Roughlands army by the time they arrive in the region. Brutal fighting happens in the towns and behind enemy lines on both fronts for four long months until Aynvale is finally liberated and the invading army pushed back to the jungles and forests between Faywyn and Clearwater. Both sides sit in a standstill for the months to come. In the south, the siege is finally broken in Pleasant a month later, and the invading army is forcefully pushed back over the plains over the coming weeks, at a great cost to both sides. More reserve forces meant for the elven invasion are sent to the Plainlands to fortify the beaten army. They eventually force the Roughlands army back to Waterford, but the reserve army does not push further and besiege the city. Broken and battered by the months of fighting, both sides hold an informal truce as neither side makes any major offensives against the other. Six months later, the imperial army marches upon Faywyn, taking it with ease hoping to disrupt enemy supplies and allow their ships a small port to transport soldiers to other fields. Then the northern army bolsters their numbers and marches toward Clearwater to the north, engaging in a long and costly siege that lasts six months, with several attempted attacks from sea and land, all of which fail and almost always wipe out any force that attempts the suicide charges. Taking note, the southern army leaves a portion of their forces to siege the capital city of Waterford from afar, instead opting to take the bulk of their forces and capture the settlements of Mossgrove Camp and Greenwich to the capital's western flank. From here, they can build and repair ships and transport troops to the numerous islands in the center of the kingdom, almost completely encircling the Roughlands.
  While the siege of Clearwater is still ongoing, the empire sends a fleet of ships to bypass the city and it's defenses and own ships and instead enter the _______ to begin 'island hoping' and capturing establishments as they go from the north while the southern army does so from the south. This works to great effect as while the Roughlands kingdom does have numerous ships, they were unprepared for both the full might of the empire striking back at their own settlements and capital not just with their determined and underestimated ground forced, but it's powerful navy which it vastly underestimated. After a year of a brutal campaign in the Roughlands, a truce is requested upon the empire, and a message is delivered to the king of the Roughlands kingdom. The letter was elegant, but short and to the point: Join the Thirewyn empire like the other kingdoms before you, or face the same fate as the Reach in a prior war. Complete destruction. After a tense week of standoffs from both sides, the commander of the imperial army was invited to the castle in Waterford. Legend has it that not only did the commander decline, but replied with something along the lines of, "You can show it to me when you give me the tour of my new home." After a few days, just before the commander was determined to order his attack, the Roughlands kingdom royal guard, dressed in flamboyant colors, came out in a pack to meet them. In the middle stood the king. After his safety was ensured as the commander personally went into the 'no man's land' alone and confronted the king, they went back to the commander's personal quarters, only joined by two soldiers of either side, and discussed an end to the war and a treaty. The terms as laid out by the empire: Surrender, and you will be annexed into the empire, with the full benefits of doing so for your people. You will keep your position as the hold ruler, and a social system will be installed over the course of the next ten years to meet the requirements of a hold's governmental system. Comply with these demands, or return to your castle and prepare for your cities to be raised to the ground. After several hours, the king and commander walked out from the tent. The king drew his sword, and handed it to the imperial commander in surrender. The war was officially declared to be over, and the imperial army outside of Clearwater was let in and occupied the city once the king's delegation arrived to confirm the news. While the central islands still had to be fought for and occupied by force, as well as the scattered desert outposts and villages, within a year to the end of the war the fighting was over and the war completely finished. The Roughlands, as it would be called, became the fifth hold within the empire. With this news and now being completely surrounded, the Reach begins peace talks with the empire to ensure that their homeland would not be invaded and destroyed once again.