Zerenda's Conquest

Zerenda's Conquest describes a military campaign consisting of a succession of conflicts on Ivendarean that were united in the goal of Zerenda gaining the power and dominance over the Ivendarean Nation at the time.

The Conflict

Prelude

Pivotal for the start of this conflict was the political tension in a country Ivendarea had no close connection to, apart from occasional trading and explorers traveling to and from there: Astairus.
Astairus, situated on the continent Atrana, was at the time considered a true superpower, growing larger and larger by overthrowing neighboring nations and making them its vassals - whether they wanted it or not. With its political power grew the restlessness and instability of the nation, but the ruler at the time, king Nadera, Zerenda's father, didn't take the situation seriously. With dreams of expanding his realm beyond the boundaries of Atrana, and three children that could not all succeed him on his throne, he sent the youngest, Zerenda, on a mission to prove himself. The goal was to conquer the prospering nation of Ivendarea, which had for centuries been known as truly a cradle of life. What had prevented other conquerors, and even many explorers from getting to the remote peninsula, were the deadly oceans and their storms and depths surrounding it.
Zerenda was not liked by his father for his continuous disobedience, and so the ageing king though, even if his son died during this journey he still had two more favoured children to one day ascend him.
Zerenda knew of this plan and made his own: to not turn Ivendarea into yet another of his father's colonies but in fact, seize it for himself. Knowing that the political unrest in Astairus would sooner or later lead to a bloody rebellion this was the perfect chance to get away from it all before hell broke loose. He was confident, almost arrogant in his abilities to succeed on this mission, ignoring the hundreds upon hundreds sunken ships he passed on the way to Ivendarea's eastern shores.

Historical Significance

Zerenda's ships and a military force of 4,000 warriors - not counting civilian workers that had traveled along or those who followed in the months afterwards - landed on Ivendarea's eastern shores on the 21st of Erras of the year 8444 of the Era of Enlightenment.
They had already been spotted from afar by scholars of Beldran, being the settlement closest to where the Assadin ships landed. The Fervis of Beldran sent a group of ambassadors to welcome the travelers at the shore and question their motives for arriving here with such a large amount of men.
Recognizing the ship as of Assadin origin, the flag as of Astairus, it was assumed at the time that the visitors were refugees - the Kitu had arrived in large numbers in Ivendarea as well, after all, fleeing from their homeland.
Zerenda dealth with the ambassadors swiftly, then ordered his soldiers to storm the city of Beldran. A centre of learning and culture, the city was neither prepared for an attack of such scale, neither could it withstand. It fell within days during the Massacre of Beldran, marking the beginning of Zerenda's Conquest of Ivendarea.
Iovana Fannyel heard of the bloody battle, ordering the remaining cities to be tremendously cautious and prepare for the worst. He sent a message to Zerenda, ordering him to seize any further fighting and settle this peacefully. Not a single Ivendarean at the time knew about Zerenda's motives, and Fannyel hoped to end the conflict before it further escalated. Upon arriving in Canwyl and actually speaking to the Iovana, Zerenda drew his sword yet again, slaying the Nyr's ruler after a hard fight. He officially declared to have seized the throne, Canwyl conquered over the course of the next months, and in the end, when Fannyels remaining generals surrendered to prevent further bloodshed, they were slain as well.
Both the massacre and Beldran and the conquering of Canwyl took place over the course of a year. When news reached his father in Astairus that Zerenda had declared himself king, he was brandished a traitor and his siblings were ordered to bring him back for a trial. King Nadera's other son and daughter refused this though, instead plotting to kill their father, which eventually started the long-brewing civil war that led to the fall of Astairus.
Zerenda spent seven years in Canwyl, the remote capital, but him taking over power didn't cause as much as an impact as he would have hoped. Beldran slowly began to recover, while Saratheas, Maan Ganyr, Westpoint and Panthil remained relatively unfazed by the change of leadership, looking up to Iovana Brestine who had officially succeeded her father and became a symbol of hope in the south.
Sick and tired of freezing in the north and being not a king, more the mayor of a small city, and worst of all, not taken seriously, Zerenda planned to march to Saratheas. The central city should become the new Ivendarea's capital, and from there he could much more easily keep the other cities in check and, should their rulers disobey him, let consequences follow. The siege of Saratheas lasted many months and culminated in the Cleansing of Saratheas, a brutal slaughter of the temple's priest and resistance that had assembled behind the city walls.
With the conquering of Saratheas Zerenda not only seized the throne a second time, establishing his dominance, an era of unrest and civil war followed, the only bastion that remained largely untouched from his influences being Maan Garth.
Zerenda's life of conquest finally came to an end when Iovana Brestine began to send letters to him, urging that they found a solution for the sheer never-ending conflicts together. Zerenda signing Brestine's Peace Treaty on the 24th Suthon 63 of the Era of the Assadin Crown marks the end of the unrest.

Included Conflicts

• Cleansing of Saratheas

Conflict Type

Military Campaign

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

21st Erras 8444 EE/ -535 AC

Ending Date

24th Suthon 63 AC

Location

Ivendarean Mainland