Claiming of the Unclaimed, the

The Unclaimed Lands was to be the Empire’s latest conquest - since the Unification and the Conflict of Isles, the Imperial borders have not grown in seven whole Reincarnations, and the Times of Thought had created many news ideas and beginning of dissent in the Empire’s more remote corners. Fortunately, the discovery of a new continent by the Bellower Qa’Yahlé provided the perfect opportunity for a land that was edging closer and closer and closer to civil war; a common goal. During previous Reincarnation, news of conquest and the riches they brought had always brought unity of purpose to the people of Leopolara, and so Leopold and those closest to him began to draft up the new campaign.
To the Empire, the Unclaimed Lands proffered two different prices; the more easily accessible archipelago, and the richer mainland. Given the lack of knowledge the Empire possessed of the area, it was decided to focus on the island first, and the mainland second, relying on similar tactics as they had used during the Conflict of the Isles. It proved a roaring success. The natives of the archipelago, the Voermenn, were essentially a peaceful people, and could do little as the Imperial war machine staked its claim. Almost overnight, they found themselves to be second class citizens in their own cities, shuffled into work camps to be put to use while their children were taken to learn Imperial culture. While historically, this sort of treatment was reserved to the Empire’s worst enemies, it had been decided that due to the distance between the archipelago and the Imperial Continent, the freedom of the Voermenn could not be risked - especially as some of their larger isles had access to spiral-towers that the Iridescents could use to shorten the journey, if given time and resources to complete their calculations. In many ways, the Claiming of the Unclaimed, as the campaign came to be called, showed proof of being the Empire’s most domineering conquest ever.
After spending the rest of the Reincarnation solidifying their hold of the archipelago, the next part of the campaign began, targeting three cities on the Unclaimed mainland: Yegg, Drah and Illje, large port towns with ready access to the continent proper. Through superior tactics and weaponry, both Yegg and Illje were claimed, while in Drah, the Empire met its first defeat… though it left them baffled. Only a handful of Imperials survived that battle and made their way back to the Imperial force, all badly burnt and reporting the same thing. They had won Drah, only to be trapped within the city as it sprung into flame around them, seemingly out of nowhere. The five soldiers had only just made their way to the docks and rowed away, as the docks exploded into flame behind them, and within the flames, they claimed to have seen a cowled figure with amber eyes. Naturally, they were branded delirious and battle-shocked, and the fire was assumed to have been either a careless mistake by the army or a carefully laid trap by the population. Nonetheless, the loss of manpower and the hit to morale caused by the soldiers' story ground the conquest to a halt, and it was decided to consolidate power in Yegg and Illje instead, both quickly renamed the Big Keg and Little Keg, respectively.
It was during this time that disaster came creeping. Reports of the loss of Drah inflamed the Imperial populus on the Continent, lamenting the loss of life and raging against the ineptitude of Irryck, the general in charge of that stage of the conquest. In the midst of this dissatisfaction, a sudden rumble began in the north, that a woman had appeared, claiming to be the true reincarnation of Leopold. Had such a claim been made at any other time, it would likely have been dismissed as a crazed rabble-rouser, yet with the current political climate and the heavy-handed tactics of the Imperial army on the archipelago and then its loss in Drah, there were those that was beginning to question the validity of the current reign. When it was then discovered that a significant number of Iridescents, there among the Matriarch herself and many of their magae, had gone over to the side of this New Leapold, the conquest was abandoned in all but name. Not only were there now too few of the magae loyal to the Emperor to make regular use of the spiral-tower, but there was now a very real threat of a second War of the Tributaries breaking out. Big and Little Keg were kept as well garrisoned as Leopolara could afford, as were some of the largest island-towns, but beyond that, the Empire withdrew.
Suddenly, the Unclaimed Land was left to its own device… and the Storm-Screamers saw their chance. Striking at the smaller settlements of the archipelago, the now-traitors freed the imprisoned Voermenn there and, with their help, brought the skeleton-crewed Imperial garrisons down. Those defeated were given a choice, to join with the rebels, or be set on a boat without oars and drift until they could make their way to Empire-loyal land. Already disillusioned, many took the deal gladly.
Today, Big and Little Keg remain loyal to the Empire, under the charge of Governor Irryck, as do a string of towns along the archipelago, firmly held to create a trade route back to the Continent. They have manage to establish a tentative peace with the people of the Unclaimed mainland, though the archipelago has turned completely against them, infested as it is with pirates seeking plunder and vengeance in equal amounts.

Conflict Type

Military Campaign