Aeldrin-Imperial Frontier Battles

The Aeldrin-Imperial Frontier Battles were an Imperial campaign that took place in the north-west of the Aelder Wood, in the late 2nd century IF, and which culminated in the annexation of the region of modern-day Volodaria into the Empire of Nara Tok. The battles were fought between the Redcloaks and the native Aeldrin, and were ultimately won after years of warfare decimated the Aeldrin's manpower. They ended after the signing of Volodar's Pact, and the formation of the Volodarian Dual-Exarchy.
By 170 IF, the Empire had successfully established colonies in Lucria and Selucia. However, the expansion of the Empire's southern colonies had somewhat stalled, thanks to continued hostility in the east, from the Hahgi of the Broken Spires, and from the wood elves in the east. Several tribes of Aeldrin in the western reaches of the Aelder Wood had taken to kidnapping and ambushing colonists who strayed too close to the woodland, in an attempt to discourage their tresspassing. From 170-178 IF, over a hundred Imperial citizens had been taken hostage, or else slain, by the guardians of the forest. One of those taken was the young Fragg Blaethwyn, who became a captive of the legendary Ai-Vala tribe.
By 179 IF, the townsmen of Selucia and its environs had formed a large militia, intended to drive away their attackers and establish sites within the forest. They gathered a force of five hundred fighting men and marched deep into the woods, arriving at the convergence of the Paliniq and the might Fajla river. Disaster struck, however, and while camped for the night they were ambushed by a coalition of Aeldrin tribes. Only thirty militiamen survived the assault, and successfully made it back to imperial lands. This event is known as the Slaughter at the Fajla Junction, and is the subject of several tragic poems and songs.
News of this catastrophe made its way north into the rich Heartland cities, and induced outrage among the nobility. As a means of re-establishing the Empire's power, then-Emperor Caiilus sent a force of nine thousand Redcloak soldiers to help protect the southern colonies, led by one of his greatest detractors, the Ipolian Inali Anganeux, a scion of the great House Anganeux. They arrived in 180 IF, officially beginning the Empire's military campaign in the south. Relegated to a post far from the political heart of the Empire, Inali set to establishing himself as the conqueror of the Aelder Woods, in part to help build his family's power and prestige.
However, the Ipolian was ill-prepared for the guerilla tactics of the Aeldrin. Several careless scouting missions were met by a series of ambushes and raids that resulted in the deaths of more than a hundred Imperial soldiers in just the first few months of imperial offensive. Nearly three hundred more died to Aeldrin ambushes over the course of the next few years. However, the Redcloaks pushed on relentlessly. The frontier inched forward bit by bit, the soldiers employing arson to clear the way forward, and building temporary forts across their borders with the forest. By 184 IF, the Imperials had advanced to the very banks of the Fajla, previously the site of their terrible defeat. In the face of such a threat, many more of the western Aeldrin were united, allowing them to build a much larger force than the Empire had ever previously fought. In the spring of 184 IF, the Aeldrin sought to strike Inali's forces another deathblow. A force of one thousand Aeldrin warriors - more than had ever been gathered before - marched on the fort of Bannon's Ford, and placed it under siege. Over the course of three days, the garrison of three hundred dwindled to just one hundred men, two hundred falling to Aeldrin arrows and spells. Hope had nearly been lost, before relief arrived in the early hours of the fourth day: a force of four hundred heavy cavalry, equipped with Ipolian desert horses. The Aeldrin were caught by surprise, having never faced down such a force before. The battle was fierce but short, the wood elves quickly succumbing to the imperial charge. Over five hundred Aeldrin warriors were killed in the fighting - a sizable portion of their fighting population, it was later discovered. The Battle at Bannon's Ford is an poem famed across the south.
The victory at Bannon's Ford proved a turning point in the war. For nine years, the Imperials continued to expand their offensive. The frontier advanced deep within the forest, reaching the western banks of the Anuri in 191 IF. While Aeldrin resistance proved fierce, and nearly two thousand Imperial soldiers are listed as casualties over the course of their offensive, many Aeldrin were also killed, which had a major effect on their overall population. In 193 IF, Inali sent a report claiming that the Woods would be fully annexed by the turn of the century.
However, Inali's campaign in the south had faded into irrelevance in the northern courts. The outbreak of the Second Cyrinese War  just two years after Inali's campaign began had placed immense pressure on the Empire's military, in terms of resources and manpower. Battles in Thragea and off the coast of Deletra drew far more attention among the nobility, many of whom were already working to gain the Emperor's favour, and earn prestige for their houses. Running out of resources, and slowly losing men, Inali was desperate to achieve victory and glory before his mission was completely overshadowed by victory in Cyrin. Yet, no better strategy could be developed in the face of the Aeldrin defences. 
The Aeldrin were in far worse shape, however. Significant defeats, especially at Bannon's Ford, had decimated their already small fighting population: it is suspected that the total Aeldrin population fell to a third of its original side during the course of the campaign. In 193IF, in the face of their extinction, the Aeldrin of the west and east called a great council of their leaders to discuss how they would deal with the Imperial threat, truly united for the first time since their migration. Debates and discussions continued over the course of several days. Surprisingly, it was a young chieftain named Volodar who dominated the council. Volodar was the leader of the Ai-Vala, a group of warriors who had earned reputations in defence of the western reaches. The Ai-Vala were also the captors of Fragg Blaethwyn, who they had been holding hostage for nearly two decades by this time. Volodar and Fragg had grown to be close companions during this period, and Fragg had shared with Volodar the true extent of the Empire's resources and manpower. In the face of so great a threat, Volodar came to the conclusion that the Aeldrin must concede defeat. He successfully convinced most of those gathered that the survival of their people demanded the death of their ancient Pact, and their annexation into the empire.
Volodar travelled into enemy lands, Fragg in tow, and successfully found audience with Inali. For several weeks, they brokered an amiable end to the conflict. The result of Volodar's Pact was the formation of the Dual-Exarchy of Volodaria which encompassed the last remnants of the Aelder Wood, and the Volodarin people (as they would come to be known).
The signing of this treaty is a controversial event in Volodarin history - for some it signals the tragic death of their rich heritage, for others the birth of something new. Regardless, the end of the Aeldrin-Imperial Frontier Battles mark the beginning of Volodaria's complicated history.