The War of Two Cities

The War of Two Cities was a short war which lasted from BV 271 until BV 268. It occurred when a trade deal between the city-states of Pithyos and Selona in Gleigos was broken.

The Conflict

Prelude

In the winter of BV 272, negotiations began between Pithyos and Selona. Pithyos, a city-state located in the resource-rich but soil-poor Falpool Peaks, needed an additional supply of food after a particularly bad harvest had left its citizens in a dangerous position and with too much time before the growing season. Selona, on the other hand, located at the edge of Selome Forest, had an abundance of food harvested from the Kannea Flatlands but a very small supply of useful metals. Both city-states were in a position to bargain, but Pithyos was worse off as time was not on the side of its hungry folk. This left it at a slight disadvantage in the bargains. As such, the deal that was eventually struck gave Pithyos enough food to survive until the growing season, but gave Selona more metal and supplies than was probably fair.

The city-states also agreed to continue trade between themselvesfor the next twenty years, and to seal the bargain, the king of Pithyos agreed to send his daughter, Myrine, to Selona to wed the prince of Selona, Azeus. The union would symbolize the union of the two city-states and, in time, could have even led to the establishment of the first kingdom of unified cities that Gleigos had seen. Unfortunately for the two kings, they had not foreseen what happened next.

Upon hearing the news of their arranged marriage, Myrine had sent a letter to Azeus, declaring that she did not want to wed him and would not be travelling to Selone to seal the union. Azeus wrote back, agreeing that he also did not want to marry Myrine, and would not consent to the marriage. Independently, both Myrine and Azeus gathered their personal guards and escaped their homes under cover of darkness on the 23rd of First Summer in BV 271. When their disappearances were discovered the next morning, both kings assumed the other had stolen their child, and the two city-states went to war.

Deployment

Both Selona and Pithyos stand on the banks of the Caleus River, and as such each deployed among their numbers a small fleet of Gleigan warships designed for travel in the shallower waters of the river. Each ship was crewed by onescore soldiers, trained and ready for an invasion of the enemy's city. The kings also sent around one thousand foot soldiers, cavalry, and a few siege units with the intent of launching a full-scale attack on the other's city and laying siege until their stolen child was returned.

What neither king expected was that the other had done the same thing and had the same plans. The armies met between the two cities, somewhere in the Pithyean Wilds, and the war began.

Battlefield

The Pithyean Wilds are a temperate rainforest to the west of the Falpool Peaks. They are dense and tangled, and difficult to traverse. The only way through between Selona and Pithyos, especially for those on horseback or for large vehicles, is a single road, known as the Long Road, which cuts a clear path along the banks of the Caleus from east to west. Around the point where the Marsica River branches away from the Caleus, the armies of the two kings met.

Conditions

The Pithyean Wilds are damp and humid, and made for a very uncomfortable fighting ground. Most of the foot soldiers went through the trees, which are covered in vines and have twisted, tangled roots that could trip one if one isn't careful. The ground is damp, covered in leaf litter, and rather muddy in places. Some of the bushes and trees in the Wilds are also spiny and covered in thorny barbs, which make tripping an even greater hazard.

It rains very often in the Wilds, and most mornings are damp and foggy, reducing visibility to, in the worst cases, only a few inches in front of one's face.

The Engagement

Because of the difficult conditions in the Wilds, once the siege units and ships had been exhausted, retired, or destroyed, the war quickly turned into a guerrilla war, where smaller troops would travel on foot to conduct raids on the scattered camps throughout the forest. Each side had a main camp much farther back from the front lines, and every section of soldiers set up its own camp somewhere in the Wilds. Groups of around fifteen to twenty soldiers at a time would move through the tangled trees and attack nearby enemy camps or other travelling units, hoping to push the enemy back even a little bit. Both sides, however, were quickly and firmly dug in, so the battle lines never moved more than a few hundred feet at most.

In Third Autumn of BV 268, after just over three years of this fighting, something happened to end the war suddenly and in relative peace. Myrine and Azeus reappeared, going to each of their fathers and begging them to stop the war. As it turned out, both Myine and Azeus had fled to the city-state of Lakkasia to the south, and had coincidentally met one another without realizing who the other was. They had formed a fast friendship and eventually learned of the other's identity. They had been hearing about the war for some time and after realizing their fathers were never going to stop, decided to return and convince them themselves.

Upon seeing the evidence of their children's safety right in front of them, the kings agreed to a ceasefire and negotiations began to end the war.

Outcome

The kings met at an outpost between the two city-states and negotiated with one another for peace. As before, both were on equal footing, but this time they were aware of the consequences of an arranged marriage between their children. Eventually, the original twenty-year deal was agreed upon, with the stipulation that neither would raise arms against the other.

Aftermath

Azeus and Myrine remained close friends while their fathers reigned, and even after the kings' deaths, when both were crowned the monarchs of their city-states, they maintained a firm alliance. The trade deal was renewed several times over, and both city-states saw a long period of growth and abundance. This alliance was so firm that during the War of Crisel, the city-states made a joint decision to fight together in the war alongside Pelanes, albeit with the intention of ending the war entirely.

Conflict Type

War

Start Date

24th of First Summer, BV 271

Ending Date

5th of First Winter, BV 268

Conflict Result

Both city-states agreed to a ceasefire