Long War
The Conflict
Prelude
The Long War was a culmination of quickly rising tensions between the Empire of Laran and the Akroni Confederacy, as Laran's man y expansionist Lati expanded outside the empire's traditional borders, as well as within. While Lati always enjoy humiliating and massacring their rivals, other Lati usually make for difficult prey, turning their attention to pastures filled with far more prey. Lati being what they are, in other words, everyone else. Such expansionist tendencies are how regions such as Orkan's Undershrine or the Veran Hills were brought into the Empire as regional territories, and how the Long War started.
The old Castle of Castelan's Ward--placed at the joining of the Aphes River and the Korus River--acted as the effective endpoint of Larani territory, the land beyond controlled by an ever-shifting litany of city-states and warlords. Lati in the days before Zamain had tried and failed to conquer the region, try as they might they continued to be caught in the petty squabbling and falling to coalitions that quickly dissolved once they died. Most had learned to avoid it, however, every few generations a Lati might come along and try again. With the relative stability--relative must be emphasized there--generations of Lati tended to last longer than in other parts of the empire, stretching the time between when the new and ambitious came to power to almost centuries.
The new factor in the mire of the Aphes Valley was Akroni influence, as they had begun to creep their hold over the states at the Valley's furthest edges. Many refused to join, maintaining their independence. That was up until a Lati by the name of Xoffe, the current ruler of Castelan Ward and "Guardian of the Lands Beyond" made a military venture out into the valley. What would have been a regional conflict, with a decade or two fo bloody fighting and a potential dismantling of one or two small states, turned into the bloodiest conflict waged on the face of Diyu, at the very least the bloodiest since Zamain's conflict.
The Baron of Uxcelesch appealed to the Akroni Confederacy for aid, promising to join and bring the Aphes Valley with them so long as they helped push out the Larani invaders. At the same time in Boqek, a new Imperator, Shokta of the House of Baden Hill, had taken the Larani throne, and seeking to legitimize their rule, mustered Lati from across the empire to bring their armies. While most would not engage until well after the conflict escalated, the Shokta marched forth with the Penad (Imperial) Guard--an elite Cohort made entirely of Lati--and reinforced Xoffe's armies during the siege of Uxcelesch. Akronis, which despite its Confederate nature was far more centralized, mustered forth an army of 20,000 to break the siege. The largely untested army of Xoffe was broken during the first day of fighting, but the Penad Guard fought to the last man, leaving only 1000 of the attackers remaining. Shokta themself were killed during the battle, and the new Imperator, Mecogt Kana, promised to blood Laran on this new great enemy. Thus the Long War, as it came to be known, began.
The Engagement
After the larger armies were mustered by both sides, with maybe 3% of all possible Larani armies in deployment--2 million soldiers--and 5% of all Akroni manpower having been conscripted--maybe 4 million, the Aphes Valley simply could not contain the armies. The Battle of Korin's Field resulted in the death of Mecogt Kana and the advancement of Akroni forces across the Aphes River. Castelan Ward was seized and would remain in Akroni control until its destruction in 967 YS, and the entire Plain of the Holy Sepulchre became a warzone. The Sotteran was not spared, as by 680 YS, both sides had managed to maneuver armies into the Nauld Caverns, a large "open" area of the Sotteran. It would change hands frequently, becoming one of the most famous battlegrounds of the war.
The Takniki Isthmus saw many incursions by Akroni armies, as while the state on the opposite side were not a part of the Akroni empire, they fell under its sphere of influence, and were willing to host Akroni armies, giving them military access. The Sea of Quon Wo saw an island hopping campaign that would last from 710 YS to 890 YS culminating in a stalemate as both sides ran out of wood and sailors.
The lands North of the High Peaks of Zhattar were not spared either. The Larani territories there had always had a great deal of autonomy, due to both the geographical and cultural distance form the heartlands. They fell quickly, seeing little aid until the reclamation campaigns of 830 YS. Despite this, Larani guerrillas would make life for the occupiers a living hell, as despite having an iron grip on the territory, the Akroni were unable to convert or subdue the populace.
The Aphes river, after its junction with the Korus River, became the natural point for most of the front lines. Running from the High Peaks down to a western hill range bordering the Sea of Quon Wo, successful generals would oft see their winnings returned to the river's borders as their successors lost what they had gained.
Outcome
In terms of territorial gains, Akronis won control over substantial parts of the Sotteran, largely seized from Larani tributaries rather than Laran itself. New states were formed out of the conquered territory and inducted into the Confederacy, where they promptly formed the Larani block. The initial representatives and governments were not Larani friendly, but after the occupying forces left, elections, coups, and revolutions saw several pro Larani governments installed, with Larani friendly representatives in Akronis' Houses of Government.
Larani in turn won some monetary concessions from Akronis in exchange for severing all of their tributary relations who bordered the territory taken by the confederacy. The original borders along the Aphes river were kept, however Laran was unofficially given free reign over whatever states might spring up in the Aphes Valley. Their lands north of the High Peaks were expanded, giving the Larani their first contact with the Northern BeiNar, which as the Akroni had hoped, immediately started raiding them.
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