The War of Unification

The meeting room was dimly lit, and each figure around the table was cloaked and hooded, with the exception of the one at the head. The King of Nasse had insisted on the structure; with the identities of any specific person around the table being unknown, he had felt that it would result in more honest counsel. He unrolled a piece of parchment, setting it on the table in front of him, and spoke softly.
"Gentlemen. Ladies. The results are a resounding success." The parchment detailed the results of a weapons test. "A mobile power-wagon with a mounted launcher has no effective counter. Walls are destroyed, infantry rout, and cavalry shie away. There is no counter."
He placed a hand on the table. "Whispers have arrived and it seems as though our developments have not gone unnoticed. A coalition army is assembling across the western border. At the first camp, five thousand skirmishers, a thousand heavy infantry, and five hundred shock cavalry. What we have immediately available to deploy against them; two thousand heavy infantry, two hundred fifty light skirmisher cavalry, and at this moment," he paused, "ten power wagons."
"The choice, in my mind, is simple. We will conquer the world, or be conquered in turn. There will be no more equivocation. We must decide our history, today."
The King turned his back to the room. "Nevertheless, I intend to abide by the decision of my council. Should any here be opposed to war, let them leave the room. Should a majority do so, I will abdicate immediately, and my counsellors may appoint a new king in my place to ensure the safety of Nasse."
He waited a moment, then turned. Nobody had moved. "Then it is settled. Let us begin."
-Transcript, "The Last Council of Nasse, 627"

The Conflict

Prelude

The King of Nasse had always held a level of ambition regarding his place in the world; scornful of the indolence of the nobility across Saibh and deeply skilled and learned, there was no question on if he would enter conflict, but when. The tipping point occurred in the year 610 upon the invention of Power. The military applications of Power took another few years to construct, and at that point the intent of Nasse to destabilize the continent was clear to all other nations.

Deployment

A coalition of neighboring kingdoms had assembled a joint military force outside the Nasse borders; unaware of the speed of deployment of the new power-wagons, they were caught by surprise by a hit-and-run force launching deadly free spinning flywheels into the encampment and unprepared for the followup attack. With the enemy force decimated, the King of Nasse quickly conquered his neighbors, imposing firm but fair rule on the conquered territories.

Outcome

With rival kingdoms rapidly surrendering or falling to the onslaught of power-wagons and powered siege engines, the conquest of the continent was assured. Less assured was the ability of the ambitious King of Nasse to actually govern the territories of his new and unwilling subjects, but he proved an able peacemaker; the rapid deployment of Power, the quick repair of war damage and payouts for the families of the war dead, and the sustained economic investment Nasse made in its subject territories quickly won over most of the peoples of the territories. Within a year of the complete conquest of the continent, the King of Nasse was crowned the First Princeps of Etoile.

Aftermath

The cultural unification of the continent was slower in coming, but within fifty years, most of the new generations of citizenry considered themselves Etoilean, as opposed to their former state identities. The relative benevolence of the Princeps and his successors ushered in a technological and cultural golden age for Etoile over the next century.

Conflict Type

Military Campaign

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

627

Ending Date

630

Conflict Result

The Founding of Etoile

Location

Saibh

Belligerents

Kingdom of Nasse

• Principality of Etoile

The Anti-Nasse Coalition

Strength

Starting: Roughly five thousand infantry and cavalry, ten power-wagons
Ending: Nearly two hundred thousand infantry, fifteen divisions of power-wagon cavalry, ten divisions of powered siege

Starting: Over twenty thousand infantry, one thousand cavalry
In total: Nearly a million total troops at one point opposed Nasse

Casualties

Less than a thousand

Estimated up to eighty thousand in total

Objectives

The conquest of the continent, the establishment of a unified empire

The suppression of Nasse; the defense of national borders against the Nasse conquest forces