Battle of the Void Expanse, Up to 533

The Battle of the Void Expanse, originally the Invasion of the Void, is the continuous naval campaign waged by The Empire of Five Kings against the Forces of the Holy Capital.

The Conflict

Prelude

The War of Five Kings drove a spike through the empire, one that was very easy to see and exploit. In truth, the Empire was on the verge of destruction should they have found an opponent of a more advanced technological standing. Instead, they were assaulted by the naval forces of the Holy Capital across the Void Sea. The morning before the first strike was met with a number of fishing and trading vessels going missing over the course of 24 hours. Naval sections were rallied and dispatched to handle the coming threat and dangers.

Deployment

530- Surprise attack of the Coasts.

On the Fourteenth Morning of the fourth month of 530, industry fisherman and traders were out and traveling along the Equinswade with little to no issue. A small detachment of the Naval forces had been deployed to help with search efforts for ships that had gone missing over the past three weeks. Each ship had been carrying a number of supplies that, when combined, gave the strategists in the E.F.K. and the R.I.N. an idea of what exactly would be coming. They deployed a number of vessels, largely using the current work-horse of the naval field: The Explorovestria-Class, with a few outfitted for actual sea combat using the connandes/broadsides of coastal defense. By noon, none of the ships that were deployed in the early hours of the morning had returned. Naval Command made inquests into the current state of the Arcanists on board the missing vessels, but were told that they were either dead or had had their Imperial Heritage Crystal removed. This was, in the lightest sense, not a good sign. Arcanists are considered the strongest of any navy personnel, this is, however, reliant on their talents for the magical arts being either physical or largely beneficial to the crew overall. Total ships sent on the investigation numbered between 10-14, (Records indicate that merchant vessels may have been commandeered to aid in building up the forces strength, though at the time it is currently unknown as to why they would have done this given they were unaware of the dangers.), by the evening light only one ship had returned, followed by a armada of strange flat ships bearing dozens of oarsmen each. The assault on the coastal waters was short, as it turned out that the naval defenses of the Empire were far superior to those of the Invading forces. They were able to repel the force after causing a significant amount of casualties.

After Math:

The strange attack on the Bonsu coasts were a surprise, to be sure, but one that the Empire had prepared for even if they hadn't known what the enemy would be. The natural defenses of the City locations, their serving guards, and the naval forces in the waters around each harbor, proved to be enough in combination to route the assaulting forces, but gave the Empire a False sense of security about their overall power.

530- Assault on the Jar-de-ve (Fort)

The Jar-de-ve was built in the late 400's as the threats of the navies and pirates began to grow further and further beyond the Empires Control. As the land defenses of the Empire had slowly been relegated to the R.A.F. (Royal Armed Forces) and the Sunbeueru of each region, naval defenses had been slowly loaded into the control of the R.I.N (Royal Imperial Navy) and other Sunbeueru forces operating ships along the Equinswade and the Enchanted Crossing. The Jar-De-Ve was the solution to the problem/question: How do you waste massive amounts of coin, material, and architectural engineers on a plot of land far removed from the Bonsu and Panwe Coasts. The Jar-De-Ve was built using a combination of Arcane Engineering and traditional construction techniques, designed to withstand naval assaults from all sides for several months without aid. With such a robust supply of granary, meal, wine, water, and abilities to actually grow their food, the fort was in a position to act as a secondary Operations Base should the Primary Capital fall to invading forces. So well designed was the fort, that engineers (of the non-arcane variety) claimed that the combination of techniques would be impregnable. This was false.
Several Weeks after the surprise assault on the Bonsu Coasts, Fort Jar-De-Ve was transitioning command between Two Rear Admirals (Lower Half), when a force appeared on the horizon. Stories from survivors claim that the Invaders launched attack after attack on the Fort, and some speculate that the attack on the fort was actually a preamble to the surprise assault, however the defenses proved to be far too much and they were forced to retry at a later date. With two officers in command, both technically in control of the Fort and its defending forces, lines began to show in the structure. Orders were given several times, and belayed more times than that. There was no rallying call for the soldiers and seaman other than the occasional magical siege blast that would splash onto the stone rooves of the buildings. The attacking forces found themselves stuck in a situation where their land for use was a constantly shifting floor of waves and storms, yet even with the sprawling degree of difficulty, the hubris of the Empire proved far too heavy to contain. Four weeks into the siege and the gates of Jar-De-Ve were opened in the night and the forces within slaughtered nearly to the man.

After Math:

In the aftermath of the assault and siege, Fort Jar-De-Ve was removed from the Empires control, however this wasn't something that the Admiralty was informed of until several weeks after the fact. Supplies to the Fort had been lacking the past few months, and letters of request had been made to the upper admiralty. Unfortunately, this meant that the newly controlled fort received four shipments of countless months worth of supplies before the transports were informed of the situation. However, this meant that the invading forces had access to four ships of Imperial Standardization and their codes/languages.

Capture of the Void Islands

The lands furthest from the Empires control, yet still considered within their range, are the Islands locally referred to as "The Black Spot". Pirate legend stated that the Black Spot was a death sentence on any who would bare it, similarly any ship that would travel within or around the islands had a high chance of never returning. Locals of the area were cannibals and savages, often times killing those that had tried to stop and trade. Ships would be broken up for nails or other metals that would be nearly impossible to create with the tribes current state of technology. With the Jar-De-Ve under the Control of the Void Invaders, there was little to no blockade that could defend against the sheer number of ships under the Invaders control. They were winning, if only by attrition, and as such found that prolonged engagements with well supplied ports would be problematic and an outright death sentence. It was assumed that they would make attacks on the Panwe and Bonsu Coasts as a way of gaining ground from which to launch attacks on the mainland and other cities further in. This was, however, not to come until much later in the war. Their first step after capturing the Fort and failing to land on the continent, was to establish locations from which to launch. This was done by capturing and subjugating the locals of the Void Islands. Information of this was not found until several years after the war had ended in 552, when a trading fleet arrived thinking that they could capture slaves or make easy trades for the local spices, instead they found themselves subject to the harsh whims of a new regime.

After Math:

With the Void Islands handily under the Control of the Invaders, and the Empire none the wiser, The Void Invaders were able to establish colonies that were well placed and better naturally defended. Slaves were taken from the locals and labor was removed as a soldiers duty, creating a new market in the trade of mortal lives. Unlike the Imperial Slaves, individuals that had willingly given themselves to the process as a way to avoid death, repayment, or prison while earning money to buy their freedom; slaves under the command of the Void Invaders were branded with a religious symbol of their deity and taken from their homes by force to work until dead.

531- 539 Steady Attacks on Imperial Trade Routes

Void islands and Jar-De-Ve under the control of the newly announced Holy Capital of the Void, as they would be called within the Empire, trade routes within the seas of the Empire were beginning to decline. The Navy of the Empire had been met with little resistance over the many years and found the pirates to be the only viable threat in the tri-waters (Enchanted Crossing, Equinswade, Void Expanse) around the Continents. Admiralty made arrangements to increase the defensive capabilities around the merchant fleets, and this was seen as the safest and only decision that could be made without upending the entire naval budget. Instead, all this managed to do was increase the time it took for the invaders to clear each fleet, and while air support of later generations would make similar schemes impracticable, the Holy Void Invaders were lucky in their arrival and timing. developments in the field of Ariel combat were being made, but the plans for airships had just been leaked out into the public and small versions were beginning to appear in the public mind space. Including the hands of the Invaders, however this was seen as a ruse/trap by the enemy, and its alleged that the commanding forces of the Holy Void ordered the plans burned and the engineers reassigned. Under the command of VADM Aniabusus Kenbu , the fourth and fifth fleets were able to strike a major victory against sections of the invading forces. Using a combination of ARC-Gewel teams and regular fleet tactics, captains were able to outmaneuver their opponents with little difficulty. Effectively snatching victory from the jaws of an overwhelming defeat.

Aftermath:

While VADM Aniabusus Kenbu was able to steal a victory from overwhelming forces, the losses of both sides were still considerable. The Empire of Five Kings had a superiority in their naval capabilities, with the attackers relying more on the usage of siege magics, but their ships took far longer to manufacture. The Void Invaders on the other hand, had little difficulty in reassmbling or creating new vessels. This also didn't include the ships that they managed to capture and refurbish for their use. By the time that the VADM had managed to direct the forces, a majority of the navy had been repositioned for support. This left the Panwe and Bonsu coasts relatively unprotected.

533 - Capture of the Bonsu/Panwe Coasts

With the naval forces diverted to help support the VADM of the Tri-waters, little attention was paid to the coastal waters around Bonsu and Panwe. The Void islands were located outside of the Hato/ Panwe Waters and were rarely considered during the early days of the battle. Little was known about their control and the naval forces were far too dedicated to striking back against the shots across their bow. This left the military in command of defenses along and around the port cities and villages. This wasn't the worst option available to the Empire, however the Military as a whole was far more concerned with the mining operations and the rebellions of the local tribes around the sites. The Imperial fronts were always a priority over the central areas. Pere were hired and brought to fill in gaps in the defensive lines, but the range of talent and training per pere was far too large to be an equivalence. Without a proper dedication of forces to the ports and the coasts, scouts and spies were able to infiltrate the area and gather information on the lacking defenses. This done, the Void Invaders made short work of section salong the coast and took control of the ports. 

Aftermath:

With the ports and cities captured and under the control of the growing Void invaders, the military began to make moves to mitigate the massive failure they had allowed under their watch. Sieges were launched against the settlements to break their lines, however these were hardly well fought as few wanted to be the commander ordering attacks on their own lands. 

Conflict Type

Military Campaign

Start Date

14th of Viltroda, 530

Ending Date

13th of Dracurast, 550

Conflict Result

The Empire of Five Kings emerged Victorious, however a warning was given of another attack. One that would be far larger and more dangerous.