The Tunnel War

Background

The origins of the Tunnel War can be traced back to even before the foundation of the Royal Hexagon. All nations of West Varzzen had suffered during the War of the Eight-Legged Terror. The aftermath of the war left the region in ruins, with countless lives lost and the surviving nations struggling to rebuild amidst the chaos. Even countries further away from the desert, like the Detrinian Empire, had been targets of insurgents. They too had burned houses and ruined farms.

However, hope emerged with the formation of the Royal Hexagon Alliance, which brought stability and the promise of prosperity to the war-weary nations. In just a few decades, everything lost in the war had been rebuilt, and the nations could grow beyond what they had been before the War of the Eight-Legged Terror. The War and its horrors began to turn from memory to legend, particularly among the shorter-lived races.

Dark Ambition

Necrites are among those shorter-lived races. By the time the Royal Hexagon celebrated its 300th anniversary, no living necrite had lived during the War of the Eight-Legged Terror. The horrors of the war had been forgotten, and all that remained were legends of glorious victories.

The Tyrant of Detrin, Harko Ironfang, harbored a burning ambition. Peace offered no satisfaction to his bloodthirsty and power-hungry nature. He longed for the glorious victories of the past, like the legendary necrites a hundred years ago had. Only one thing could satisfy this need: the conquest of all Varzzen.

Harko's plan was simple: during the peace, Cavana had dug countless tunnels across the entire Royal Hexagon. Caravans transporting people and goods were constantly moving through them. If he could control those tunnels, he could attack any place in the Hexagon he wanted, and to prevent his enemies from moving troops or supplies to counter him. If he took over Cavana, he'd control the entire continent. The promises of wealth, power and unending glory enticed the necrites, driving them to rally behind Harko’s banner.

The White Flood

On a peaceful day in 313 AH, the hill city of Krith saw something no-one could believe at first: a horde of Necrites so large that they seemed to fill the entire land. Before anyone could understand why they were there, the horde crashed into the city like a white flood. In a swift and relentless assault,the necrites tore through the city’s defenses, their savagery leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. They were hacking and biting their way through everything in their path, no matter if it was walls or residents of the city. The first battle of the Tunnel War was so swift that nobody could flee it to warn others of Detrin's treachery. This was yet another advantage for the necrites: they had taken Krith with almost no casualties. They could repeat the feat on their next target.

The White Flood crashed underground, taking tunnel after tunnel, victory after victory. Any caravans, outposts and villages they encountered were pillaged for anything that would fuel their advance. The White Flood seemed unstoppable.

However, their advance was eventually noticed. Concerned by the growing number of missing caravans and silent settlements, Cavana dispatched troops to investigate. Their grim findings confirmed the worst fears- the Hexagon was under attack - and the aggressors were none other than their own necrite brethren. This information quickly spread to the rest of the Hexagon, and both Auroma and Rusterov prepared for war. And unlike Formicoids, the vespoids and the beetles would fight over land.

Harko could not afford to let his troops get trapped underground, so he sent them to Auroma and Rusterov as well. Much like in their conquest of Cavana, the necrites quickly overwhelmed the borders of the two nations, pushing deeper into their territories. It seemed that even together, the three nations could not stop the Detrinian Empire.

Stalemate

After a year of victories, the White Flood had spread further, covered more land - and thinned. No longer could necrites overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers. And the soldiers were now far from home: transporting enough food for them was a problem, even if they could hunt local animals and fell the trees around them for additional supplies. At the same time, forces of the Hexagon adapted to the necrite threat, and had time to fortify their positions. The advance grinded to a halt, and sieges began all over the frontlines.

For four years, the frontlines of the war remained stagnant. Neither side wanted to assault a fortified position, and neither side would run out of food. And over land, poor weather conditions discourage attacks even further.

Eventually, in 318 AH, Harko grew desperate to break the stalemate. He withdrew troops from Auroma and Rusterov to finally break the defenses of Cavana. The White Flood crashed into Cavana's defenses, and the ensuing battle was fierce and bloody, with heavy casualties on both sides.Miraculously Cavana’s defenses held - barely.

Reconquest

While the necrites were preoccupied with their assault on Cavana, a determined captain of the Auroman forces named Brighid seized the opportunity to strike back. Sensing weakness in a depleted necrite outpost near her position, she devised a daring plan: under the cover of a stormy night, a squadron of wasps would silently fly on top of the outpost's walls and take out the sentries. They would then open the gates, so that more heavily armed bumbles could get in. The rest of the lightly-armed troops would move on the walls, turning the outpost's defenses against the bewildered necrites, while the heavy troops would cut down any who threatened to ascend to the walls or flee.

Her plan was a spectacular success: the necrite outpost was hers, and for the first time, the necrites were the ones on the run. Emboldened by their success, Brighid took more troops and pressed deeper into necrite territory, severing their supply lines. What followed was a series of sieges where outpost after outpost was forced to surrender to the Auroman forces. While Harko tried to reinforce the Auroman front, it was too little, too late. A year later, even Rusterov started to take back their land.

Vengeance

By 320 AH, the necrites had been driven from the lands of Auroma, Cavana and Rusterov. But Hexagon forces weren't stopping: they could not risk another necrite attack. They had to ensure that the Detrinian Empire would no longer be a threat. For the first time, the war moved to Detrin's soil. Siege after siege followed as the Hexagon forces methodically captured and occupied the remaining settlements of the crumbling empire.

In 321 AH, the siege of Throne of Power began. The city, already deprived of resources and cut off from reinforcements, faced a determined and united Hexagon force. The siege was grueling and marked by fierce resistance from the remaining Detrinian forces. However, the relentless assault and strategic brilliance of the Hexagon commanders ultimately prevailed.. After months of relentless fighting, the Hexagon forces breached the city’s defenses and stormed the Throne of Power. Harko had one last chance to break out: he amassed his remaining troops into one last assault. Harko fought with unmatched ferocity and desperation, but he was ultimately overwhelmed by the combined might of his enemies. However, during the final assault, the queen of Auroma, Elizabeth IV, was mortally wounded and later died of her injuries. Moreover, in the chaos of the battle, Artak Steelmane managed to grab the Jaws of Katisan and smuggle them out of the capital, and eventually into Fort Saltguard.

With the capital taken over, the threat of The Detrinian Empire was squashed. All that was left to do was to take over the rest of Sweetwood to prevent any retaliatory attacks. The final resisting city fell over to Hexagon forces in 322 AH.

Aftermath

The Royal Hexagon was horrified that the next war was not started by an outsider like the Arachs, but one of their own. the Detrinian Empire was found solely guilty of starting the war, and was voted out of the Hexagon unanimously. The Hexagon wanted to never repeat the bloody Tunnel War, and took actions to prevent any further necrite aggression.

Firstly, Cavana got back all the territory they had lost, along with some new land near the borders. Secondly, the Royal Hexagon annexed the fertile land of Sweetwood, as well as the Empire's capital, Throne of Power. Ultimate authority was given to Brighid, now a general, in thanks for her instrumental role in winning the war. She would be given ample troops to maintain peace - through force, if necessary. Due to the size and wealth of Sweetwood, it was turned into a new queendom, Aciaroma, with Brighid as its first queen.

Any necrite unhappy with the current state of affairs was free to flee to the Detrinian Empire's current territory, now consisting only of the poor Salt Coast. Many took the opportunity, many didn't, but all cursed Harko Ironfang and his ambition and greed - and weakness for losing the war he started.

However, the true winner of the war was the Theocracy of the Wurm. In the chaos of the war, they had ample time to conquer enough land to become a true nation. They were also able to send their agents to all over Hexagon to build secret sanctuaries and grow cults to one day strike back. The disagreements between the nations of the Royal Hexagon now form cracks in the alliance, cracks that the Theocracy seeks to widen at every opportunity. And with the attention of the Hexagon turned inwards, the Theocracy can easily operate unnoticed.