Eden Wars

The Eden Wars were a series of conflicts between the Pinascimate Penal Authority and various penal convicts and freemen that took place between 7 PC and 16 PC, predominantly focused on the lands south of the Pinascimate Mountains, around Nashville, Jesus-Save-Our-Souls, and focused on the Eden Republic. The wars began after the Exodus of The Hundreds and coincided with the creation of the Pinascimate Detective Agency, commonly known as The Bastards. It led to the destruction of the Eden Republic, the near destruction of Jesus-Save-Our-Souls, and the dispersal of countless peoples into the territories of modern day Mediolama and Lawless. However, the Great Economic Depression prevented the PPA from fully occupying the area, and they would abandon the region a few years later, collapsing shortly after.

Causes

In 6 PC, Jesus-Save-Our-Souls was settled following the escape of several escapees from the Pinascimate Penal Authority's land. Shortly after, the city of Bonville was established on the southern shores of the Souls Lake. Within a few years, the modern day Big Basin and Cahir Plains became known as Eden, with its inhabitants known as Edenites. However, as their settlements spread, and more people arrived in the region, conflict with the Penal Authority began to brew.
News of this settlement reached the Penal Authority, who responded by sending their private corporate armies to bring back escaped prisoners. In 8 PC, these armies were unified under the banner of the Pinascimate Detective Agency, and sent to investigate and put down what they saw as 'Convict Uprisings'. In response to this, the towns and cities of Eden unified to create the Eden Republic. With the forming of an official state, an army soon followed, and the two sides were now engaged in war.

Belligerents

The conflict involved the Pinascimate Penal Authority and the Eden Republic. However, the PPA never recognised the Republic's legitimacy nor its independence, instead referring to them as the Edenite Uprising throughout the war. The Eden Republic was a ragtag group of farmers, miners, and their families who had carved out a free and happy life for themselves. While they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned, the Republic fought a brave and fierce guerrilla campaign to defend their families and lives.

History

Early War (7-9PC)

The start of the Eden Wars is recognised to be the founding of the Pinascimate Detective Agency, as following this numerous towns and settlements that had sprung up across Eden were soon being scouted, investigated, and roughed up. It began with suited people showing up investigating escaped penal convicts, and culminated in attacks and raids, intent on capturing people and taking them back over the Pinascimate Mountains and into penal land. In reponse, the Edenites came together to found the Eden Republic, with its capital in Bonville, considered to be the most secure and well defended city.
The Edenites had travelled across the Pinascimate Mountains via numerous passes and cuts. The most notable, Desperate Saddle, was home to a small Edenite settlement, known as Hope, that helped people navigate the treacherous landscape. Many of these routes went nowhere, and were almost impossible to navigate without a guide. In early 8 PC, Hope was completely destroyed by the Pinascimate Detective Agency, who earned the nickname Bastards that day. In addition, the construction of The Limes and other fortified outposts made the passes nigh impossible to get across, forcing settlers to find new ways to escape the PPA. This early period of the Eden Wars came to an end in 9 PC, as the PPA's superintendent, Eckhart Zannholt, was assassinated for his heavy handed and warish approach to diplomacy.

Attrition Period (10-13PC)

Following the death of Eckhart Zannholt, the Pinascimate Penal Authority changed tactics. Rather than invade and occupy the land, under Superintendent Pindall the PPA and the Bastards planned to starve the Eden Republic out, and force it to sue for peace. It saw increased raids on Eden land and property, as well as the destruction of countless farms and homesteads.
As raids by the Bastards became more brutal, the newly formed Republic was almost completely defenceless, save for the weapons and technology they received from the neighbouring República de Nevada. News of the Eden Wars spread fast, prompting various settlers and escapees to avoid the region, instead opting to settle further westwards in the lands of Lawless. With them, various Edenites who had been displaced travelled west to found the city of Nashville, which became an important trading link between Eden and Nevada, growing rapidly in a few short years. While settled Eden suffered, many people found a new way of living out in the uncharted wilds, away from the constant raids of the Bastards.
While the PPA under Pindall was eager to see Eden sue for peace and integrate itself into the Authority, the Bastards remained as brutal as ever, forcing ever more people out of Eden lands. By 13 PC, much of Eden now lay abandoned, ruined farms dotting the landscape, with many moving to the major cities of Bonville and Jesus-Save-Our-Souls for protection. As the cities grew, they found themselves unable to supply food, or arms, or really anything. It seemed as if the Bastards might just win this war, even with Pindall's death in 13 PC.

Final Phase (14-16PC)

Following the death of Pindall the previous year, under Finley Macaulay the PPA began a fresh assault against the Eden Republic. The Bastards were given increased funding and military arms, leading to the siege of Eden's capital, Bonville. Following a devastating siege, the city was burnt to the ground and completely destroyed, and the Eden Republic collapsed in December of 14 PC.
However, despite the Republic's collapse, the guerrilla war continued much the same. In that same year, the Great Economic Depresssion was felt throughout the entire Lordanian Cluster, and the PPA found itself struggling to fund its overstretched and incapable administration. In 15 PC, the Bastards failed to take Jesus-Save-Our-Souls, and were recalled back across the Pinascimate Mountains in 16 PC. This marked the end of large scale conflict between the PPA and the remnants of Eden, as the PPA was abolished in 18 PC.

Outcome

While the PPA was never able to bring Eden under its control, it struck a deadly blow to the Eden Republic following the destruction of Bonville. However, its people endured. The land had been severely depopulated and devastated, leaving it open to new colonisation from free peoples of the north and south. While the Edenites held on in Jesus-Save-Our-Souls, the land south of Souls Lake became home to a new people, the Terstánach, who resettled Bonville as their new capital, Linegal.
In Jesus-Save-Our-Souls, its people became the New Edenites, a vast majority of which now dominate the farmlands of the Big Basin. However, not every family adopted new traditions, and the old Edenites, now a minority in their own lands, cling onto their power and their faith. However, a few short years later, the lands of Eden would come under control of a new regime, the Tersten State.