The Conflict
Prelude
The Roots of Rivalry
There have been long historical rivalries between Zerua and Esedeta, dating back to their massive wars from 1730 to 1805. That, of course, was centuries ago and was part of the failed
Keveket invasion of
Ekraht. Even after the
Maradians pulled back after 1805, Zerua and Esedeta continued squabbling over land, trade, and religion. This extended skirmishing ended in 1850, with a treaty of mutual respect and neutrality. All of that older conflict is recent enough to be remembered but far enough in the past to have some emotional distance. And, from 1850 to 1970, relations between Zerua and Esedeta thawed. And, from 1950 to 1970, that relationship actually held immense promise as trade between the two powers intensified.
More recent conflict between the two countries was not inevitable, but was the product of mutual distrust and elite assumptions of inevitable conflict. Over the 1900s, the Empire of Zerua used its soft power and corporate influence to create a diplomatic network on all sides of Esedeta to ensure that Esedeta did not engage in imperial expansion. These defensive pacts were interpreted as a form of Zeruan aggression towards Esedeta, and Esedeta bitterly resented being boxed in for decades. In 1970, Esedeta launched a series of coups and simultaneous attacks into surrounding minor kingdoms, to test the defense pacts and break Zeruan power. Zerua, which had not engaged in a major war in centuries, was caught completely off guard and lost the initial conflict. While Esedeta saw this brief and brutal war as establishing "equal power" between Zerua and Esedeta, Zerua interpreted the move as a declaration of intent for imperial expansion. And this wasn't entirely off the mark - Esedeta certainly did have plans to expand further Southward, even if they did not have ambitions for the Zeruan heartlands at that time. To the Zeruan elite, any major continental imperial expansions were a disturbance of the peace that demanded the intervention of the emperor.
The Prestige Wars
After the Esedetan victory in 1970, the Zeruan-Esedetan rivalry was back on. Esedeta began testing the waters towards imperial expansion, provoking more coalition-building by Zerua to contain them. In 1984, Esedeta attempted to break up the coalition through military force to allow a full-blown invasion of the Southwest - leading to the first serious war between the two countries. Zerua was prepared this time, and the conflict was horrifically bloody. Zerua was able to fight Esedeta to a standstill and no victor emerged from the conflict.
A brief peace emerged after the 1984 war, with some promise to it, but that was dashed by a new war over attempts to control petty kingdoms North of Esedeta in 1991. This second war was even bloodier, with a new focus on the Northern Zerua-Esedeta border. 1991 was another draw, but it completely re-oriented military and political strategy. There had been some unwillingness to fully smash the military capabilities of the two empires against each other before. Neither empire wanted to wage a war of occupation or annihilation against the other empire's core territory, but the 1991 war steadily escalated and shifted the battle lines towards such an outcome. The 1991 conflict ended before it could be taken to its ultimate conclusion, but both empires were left with a sense that the next war had to be a fight to break the other one's military power completely.
While pro-military factions seized power in both countries over the 1990s and 2000s, both states worked to play the 'long game' of weakening the other without breaking into full war. They sent in spies, funded rebellions, undermined each other's trade, and competed for allies among the lesser kingdoms. All the while, both empires built war infrastructure and hoarded resources to quickly articulate into armies when the time came.
Slouching Towards War
Over the 2010s, the rivalry between the two empires became more active once again. While the 2000s had seen skirmishes, the 2010s were a time of assassinations, brazen attacks through rebel proxies, and open trade embargoes. Zerua worked to de-escalate these conflicts, but not out of any desire for peace. Rather, the Zeruan
Emperor Sophan Eramzir knew that Esedeta was more vulnerable to slow wearing-down; while the trade war made
Kilusha nightmarishly expensive in Zerua, Zeruan blockades of Esedetan trade ships were deeply harming Esedeta's stability. Esedeta had intense religious and ethnic divisions that could be widened and mobilized to spark a civil war that Zerua could then intervene in - allowing the Zeruans to penetrate the rigorous Esedetan mountain defenses. The longer Zerua could drag this out, the more damage could be dealt.
Esedeta responded with increased aggression, particularly in the Kingdom of Bahskena. Bahskena was the most wealthy and prominent of the Zeruan-Esedetan border states, a kingdom with a sizable population and its own rich cultural traditions. Bahskena paid tribute to the Empire of Zerua, but was known for trying to be semi-neutral to Esedeta. Bahskenan royalty had helped draft the 1990's compromise that allowed Esedeta to move troops and merchants freely into the
Kingdom of Imilino (on the map as the small purple kingdom between Bahskena and Esedeta) as a full-neutral border kingdom. Over the 2010s, Esedeta increased its political and military influence in Imilino and began supporting land claims of Esedeta-aligned Iliminan lords into Bahskenan territory. These lords suddenly had immense military support in their petty land grabs, and very violent skirmishes ensued.
In 2016, a flurry of assassinations and coups in Imilino plunged the small kingdom into civil war, which led to an Esedetan invasion. Esedeta went further, sending war machines to Bahskena to expand their conquests into South Bahskena - in those contested lands. Horrific violence ensued, as the conflict simmered as a brutal proxy war for about two years.
In late 2018, Esedeta launched a full-scale invasion of Bahskena and Zerua mobilized to support the kingdom's monarchs. Both countries had been mobilizing along their borders since 2016, and the conflict soon escalated to the four other border kingdoms as well as the three mountain passes connected Esedeta and Zerua directly.
In late 2018/early 2019 as the conflict formally escalated into direct war between Zerua and Esedeta over who had claim to the continent, groups of aligned kingdoms were dragged into the war as well.
There are five main staging grounds of the war at crucial strategic junctions along the Zerua-Esedeta border. The most open and bloody is that of Bahskena on the west coast, as that area is the least easy to fortify and the most well-supplied by reinforcements. While Zerua has won the naval war there, the Esedetans have made steady progress with their war machines on land. The other four conflicts are a mix between fortified mountain valleys and stretches of hilly terrain that limit large-scale manuevering. While the hill armies there have had more limited direct engagement, both empires have turned to brutal skirmishing by groups of highly mobile auxiliaries. In the mountain passes, forces are entrenched in rows of layered fortifications and trenchworks - with both armies relying on artillery and war machines to try and punch through.
So far, the conflict is going about as expected: Esedeta has turned to elaborate war machines, while Zerua has mobilized its wealth and population to impede those machines with raw numbers and supplies. Both powers have been playing cat and mouse with their elite forces, while throwing masses of conscripts and mercenaries at each other. Esedeta made significant initial gains but has struggled to really punch through the borderlands into Zeruan territory, which is a scenario that (if all went according to plan) would ultimately favor Zerua in a long-term struggle. Esedeta's war machines are difficult to replace, especially under persistent blockade, and Zerua just has more numbers and a more stable bureaucracy for a war of attrition.
Both empires have substantial domestic problems that have hampered their ability to break the deadlock. Esedeta has faced internal rebellions along religious lines, as
The Great Daraka has called for the destruction of the Esedetan state. The Esedetan monarch, King Vermian I Meseled, has withdrawn himself from the war effort and allowed his generals and children to bicker. At the same time, the
Rot Plague and a series of unnatural hurricanes have struck Zerua, the prince of the
Vice-Kingdom of Mikena attempted a foolhardy rebellion with Esedetan support, and
Dorina the Spurned led a force of
Doom Paladins to harass Zeruan forces in
Makal.
While Zerua was better positioned at the start of this war, circumstances have shifted the balance of power towards Esedeta. While Esedetan forces have fumbled their military campaigns in a way that would have ordinarily cost them everything, the unique problems that have struck their enemies have emboldened them. Esedeta has also managed to make contact with agents of the
Empire of Runeva - an unlikely alliance with a distant power that would ordinarily harm Esedeta more than help, but promises to be quite potent given the mass chaos of the apocalypse.
Still, only time will tell what will come of this war.
Makar Mesaba has repeatedly called for peace talks, but a more focused diplomatic mission is likely necessary to realize that dream.
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