The F-G Rebellion

Few conflicts in Draconia's history have ever manifested into full-blown world conflict. Most small issues are resolved by the region's respective Overlord before they can reach a boiling point. But one conflict that was not resolved became one of the deadliest and costly military affairs to ever be recorded, such that its impact is still felt even two millennia after its end. The political climate, societal issues and unrelenting military focus are a result of the splitting of the draconic factions from the rebellion.

The Conflict

Prelude

Currently, only two types of dragons exist in Draconia: chromatic and metallic. But, before the rebellion, two other types also existed alongside them: ferrous and gemstone. Tensions between the draconic types was always commonplace. The chromatics disliked the metallics and vice versa. The ferrous envied the metallics and the metallics feared the gems. Despite these tensions, the four types established their borders and lived in an uneasy peace. While their ideals may not always have aligned, they did their best to create a stable environment where they could work together for a society that would appease them all.

The tensions escalated when the gem dragons began to annex territory from the chromatics. At first the annexations were small and overlooked, or outright given to them by chromatic leaders. But as time went on, they began to take more territory. The ferrous faction followed soon after, stealing land and towns from their metallic brethren. Despite warnings to cease their theft, the two factions proceeded on with more declarations of ownership. When the metallics and chromatics stationed garrisons of military units in response, the gem dragons used their psionic powers to wipe their minds into vegetative states or outright banished them to foreign planes with no way home. The hostilities continued, becoming worse and worse, but never leading to outright war. There was hope from the civilian spheres of all sides that the conflicts would wane and die out, and that peace would return.
A special meeting was called in place of the second semi-annual meeting at Quirin Umer to discuss peace talks and approach a diplomatic solution. As the leaders of the chromatics and metallics waited for their compatriots to arrive, they were ambushed. The leaders of the ferrous used their variant breath weapons to weaken the opposition, while the gems used their psionics to wipe the intelligence of their leaders. The Overlords were left brain-dead and incapable of fending for themselves, leaving them as easy prey for the attackers to finish off. A special election was held in response to elect new Overlords and all-out war was declared in retaliation.

Deployment

Both factions mobilized immediately upon the declaration of war. The F-G's settled a majority of their forces in northern Metallan and southern Chromaticos, while the C-M's maintained their strong positions in the opposite sides. Forces from Briggs journeyed south to reinforce the chromatic headquarters in Alezar, then to mobilize further south into Ruxan to meet the conflict at the Uzambwe and Zalesh borders. On Metallan, the metallic forces from the gold capital were enough to repel the attackers and hold them at bay until they received reinforcements from the brass nation. The bronze military was met with resistance along the coastline, as the ferrous dragons that had control over north Metallan foresaw their pincer attack and managed to repel them.

As casualties mounted over the course of the first year, deployments became much more hit-and-run on the F-G side, while the C-M's used their lasting numbers to push forward and seize territory back.

We hit the ground running as fast as we could. As soon as our carriages opened up we were in the thick of it. If you weren't running you were dead in seconds. Those Ferrous bastards used our own coast against us and we were powerless against it.

— Metallan soldier

Battlefield

The center of Chromaticos served as the main battleground for most of the fighting on the western front. Gem soldiers made it as far as where Latebras currently stands but had to fight tooth and nail to gain any traction or territory. The small towns that littered the plains of Ruxan became war-torn villages, ravished and destroyed in the wake of fighting. Virdio was a central battleground as well. A majority of the Council members were unable to exit from the capital and thus trapped there, under constant assault by gem forces. As the war progressed and the combatants began to lose ground, the battlefields pushed south into Zalesh and Uzambwe. The fighting took a turn for the worse there, as the F-G soldiers had not trained to fight in the conditions of arid desert or humid swamp.

On the eastern front, a majority of the fighting took place on the border of the gold and silver territories, as well as along the coastline. The ferrous dragons wanted to conquer their rivals in the metallics, and so sought to establish control over their territories first. Despite some initial success, their advancements along the coasts were pushed back after months of fighting as the bronze army began to use their amphibious nature against the ferrous forces. Eventually they were beaten back to the silver capital.

Conditions

Conditions were not a problem during the early parts of the war. Most of the fighting was conducted on neutral territory where rain was the most annoying weather effect to take place. As the F-G's were slowly beaten back into their territory, however, they were pushed into foreign territory that they had not planned to fight in. On Chromaticos, the deserts and swamps were their undoing. The intense heat of Uzambwe caused rampant heat stroke that incapacitated numbers of their soldiers. This, combined with the desert sinkholes, flash floods and cave systems that held hostile creatures, led to the undoing of the forces in that region. While in Zalesh, the marshes and swamps sucked many unknowing soldier to their death in the murky waters below. If it wasn't drowning, then the diseases present in the swamp killed them. Bugs and parasites inhabited the region aplenty, running amok in camps that lacked a consistent supply of fresh water. They were unaware of how to repel the bugs of the swamp as well, leading to some cases of soldiers being exsanguinated by giant mosquitoes or other blood-sucking animals like leeches.

They came out of the fog like flies. All we heard was the incessant buzzing. Then screaming. Ever hear a man's screams drown out as his entire blood supply gets sucked out of him? Their flesh sucks in and becomes tight. Any nick would split 'em open.

These problems were not an issue for the chromatic forces. As Uzambwe and Zalesh began to be liberated, the black and blue armies that had been held hostage were freed. With their home knowledge of their regions, this information was used to push the former attackers into corners that they couldn't escape from. Any survivors were taken prisoner, interrogated for any knowledge they might have on battle plans or garrison positions and summarily executed.
On Metallan, the coastal conditions initially favored the attacking FG forces. The bronze army, caught off guard by the sudden blitz against their pincer attack, did not utilize their home-field terrain advantage until months into the war. Once they came to their senses, they began to flood their coastal towns and create pitfalls within the sandy terrain. This helped to destroy fortifications and weaken deployments of troops. The pitfalls were additionally trapped with species of antlions that could survive in coastal environments. Troops unaware of the pitfalls that were unlucky enough to land in one with one of these insects were subject to an excruciatingly painful death.

The Engagement

The battles between the two forces were gory, violent messes. The combination of close-quarters combat involving above-average strength races, combined with the devastating capabilities of the dragon's breath weapons, often left devasted battlefields of carnage. During the beginning stages, both forces often met head-on, attacking without tactics or thought. They relied upon their brute strength to try and outlast one another in a battle of endurance. While this went well at first for the FG armies, the success didn't last for long. Their enemies realized that they could use tactics to outsmart them and outmaneuver them. When they began utilizing strategical deployments and terrain to their best effect, the tide of the war began to swing in their favor.

Draconian Civil War Battle by StaticStar1 via Midjourney

Battles became less bloody as a result of the shifting momentum. While the FG's suffered numerous casualties as they lost territory, the CM's did not match their death output. As the war began to enter its conclusion, the FG's insisted on fighting it out to the very end. Diplomatic talks to negotiate a surrender were foregone, the leaders refusing to even attend the meetings for discussion. Instead, they barricaded themselves into their last bastions. The final battles took place inside the capital of Uzambwe and the Copper capital on their respective continents. Both battles were carnivals of slaughter, as the FG's could barely mount any defense to the forces that surrounded them.

Outcome

After the war was resolved, a number of ramifications and consequences followed for the FG forces. First, was the dismissal of all political power for offending races. Without their say in any political matters, even the ones regarding the rest of their punishments, the ferrous and gem dragons were now amongst the lesser races. The leaders of their faction were also executed for their acts of treason. While the ferrous Overlords were subject to the punishment, the gem Overlords managed to use their psionic powers to escape from the plane with a number of their surviving citizens. Though the escape was unplanned, it benefitted the victors in the long run.

They used the news to enforce stricter laws on the populace, under the guise of maintaining strength and invasion deterrence. These laws set the humanoid population further into slavery and military indoctrination, setting the stage for their status to come for millennia. The escape was also used to justify the genocide of any humanoids or dragon-likes that had allied with the FG faction. The supporters were rounded up and publicly executed as a means to deter any potential hope of a second rebellion in the future. The damage that had been done to the continent was already staggering enough, and they hoped to snuff out any flame that would ignite again.

Aftermath

The dragon-like races of Draconia live in glory to this day over their victory against the FG's. To them, it is a crowning achievement of their superiority, one that hails them as the greatest groups alive. They often refer to it as what makes them better than humanoids. In their minds, they fully believe that had humans or any other kind of humanoid race been in control of the military, that the ferrous and gem dragons would be in control of the world. The only thing stopping them from heaving this belief in the face of lesser races is etiquette. Most of the populace do not like to speak of this war and remind themselves of its grave causalities, consequences or circumstances.

For humans and other humanoids, this war was what caused their current fate. The extreme slavery they live through every day in almost every region of Chromaticos stems from this war and its resulting laws. Their lack of political power, autonomy over their own bodies, even Ralbas's laws that further increased their plight. It all comes from the aftermath of the war. Thankfully, most nations across Chromaticos are beginning to lessen the effects of these laws after two millennia.

by StaticStar1 via Midjourney

Conflict Type

Rebellion

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

513 EoD

Ending Date

515 EoD

Conflict Result

Overwhelming defeat for the Ferrous-Gem Revolutionists.

Belligerents

Ferrous-Gem Revolutionists (FG)

Led by

• Sardior, Master of Gems

Chromatic-Metallic Defense (CM)

• Briggs
• Council of Dragons
• Ruxan

Strength

• Ten Dragon Overlords (Amethyst, Crystal, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz, Chromium, Cobalt, Nickel, Steel and Tungsten)
• ~75,000 armed military and ~35,000 civilian supporters
• Hundreds of dragons aging from 10-750~ years old
• Unknown amount of demonic and fiendish cambions from other planes

• Ten Dragon Overlords (Black, Blue, Green, Red, White, Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold and Silver)
• ~150,000 military soldiers, along with ~50,000 civilian forces
• Significantly more dragon power than opposers, both in number and age range

Casualties

• Ferrous Overlords killed or executed.
• Entire military force wiped out, along with majority of their civilian supporters
• Genocide of the non-overlord dragons.
• Cambions banished or forced into servitude

• Previous council of Overlords was wiped out. Replacement Overlords suffered two casualties in the Blue and Silver Overlords.
• 45,000 casualties due to wounds, 20,000 deaths from accidental causes, disease or other causes.
• Severe dwindling of dragon numbers. Majority of older age ranges are eliminated, leaving younger generations (Young adult and below) as the majority.

Objectives

1. Weaken the hold of the C-M control over Draconia
2. Establish new borders and laws
3. Usurp control over society
4. Enslave the C-M denizens under a new order.

1. Defend against and push back the attacking forces
2. Remove political power from the FG Revolutionists
3. Maintain order over the continents

Maps

• 

  Ruxan Regional Map

  A regional map that highlights the entirety of the Ruxan region.

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