Ijhier War

Summary
A conflict between the newly-independent Zarodom of Ijhier and the Caugos Confederacy and their respective allies broke out when the Empai offered Ijhier land to the confederacy in order to occupy Zarod Alexales Malae and prevent his assistance in the Cellian Civil War.

The First Year
The war began when Velos Amari of the Cellian Empire invited the Caugos Confederacy to occupy parts of the Ijhier cost in an effort to prevent the Zarodom of Ijhier from participating in the Cellian Civil War. A nominal negotiation took place between diplomats from Caugos, but Seachief Dar'os had already given his blessing for the Warchief to occupy Darnomin Bankaluma. When the negotiations ultimately failed, the Warchief moved in and took control of the city and besieged Darkep Loro.

Battle of Ijhier Bay
Although the loyalty of the Ijhier army was questionable so soon after succession, the Crimson Sails under Arcen Sunny Big-eye Commodore Man were loyal. However, Alexales knew that he did not have the funds and material to keep the sizable Crimson Sails operational for long, so he ordered them to head north and cause as much havoc as possible during the winter. Then, it was hoped, they could attack in coordination in 1936. As the fleet sailed north, they were sighted by several Caugi ships and word went out to gather and defend the newly-acquired Darnomin Bankaluma.

The Crimson Sails consisted of roughly a hundred galleys, biremes, and triremes. They were fast in short bursts and would mainly fight by ramming or boarding enemy vessels. In contrast, the Caugi had a similar number of ships ranging from sailing carves to multiple-leveled galleons and fireships. They were faster on the high seas and fought with more projectile weapons. They two fleets kept their distance until bad weather forced the short-keeled Crimson Sails to shelter in Ijhier Bay. The subsequent battle saw high losses on both sides and no decisive winter, but it meant the Caugi were in firm control of Darnomin Bankaluma.

Moving Inland
Pressing their advantage, the Warchief gathered the Caugi army further inland and secured the entire Alfar River, laying siege to a number of smaller castles. They prepared to rebuild their ships and sent expeditions into the Emerald Vale to ensure the Alfar were pacified.

Reclaiming Morata
Concurrent with the Ijhier War's outbreak, contact was re-established between the Alfar inside the city of Nolaria deep in Alyoza's Vale. With the help of some of those exiled from Werex Bankasorabeau, the Nolarians were able to kill Alyoza and return the vale to a state of habitability. Other expeditions in the Emerald Vale were able to cleanse the merrin weed from the land and destroy the shard of the Adamant that was causing the volcanic eruptions in Feba Rise. During this process, the Nolarians discovered an Iridian settlement around the historic town of Lemiria. With the assistance of a Tokai warband, the Iridians were killed or driven out.

Uniting the Towns
With inner Morata free by mid 1936, Supreme Commissar Sollum set her sights on unifying the towns of Morata once again. The first contact was made with Shadow Lodge, but it was not long before they drew the attention of the Caugos Confederacy. The Moratans set out to liberate Lekin Lodge and the castle there which was held by Ijhier soldiers but besieged by Iridians. Using magic to infiltrate the castle and provide supplies, the two united armies were able to quite decisively drive off the Iridians, who retreated across the Alfar Mountains.

With contact with Ijhier, the Moratans spent the winter building up a new army and reaching out to Osiria to form an alliance. Peace talks were held between Morata and the Caugos Confederacy, but ultimately neither side would trust the the other and Morata remained committing to fighting alongside Osiria and Ijhier.

Conclusion and Aftermath
In the spring of 1937, a united Moratan-Ijhier-Tokai-Vasten army made their way towards Mia pass and encountered a renewed Confederate army. The battle saw the first wedge be driven between the alliance of Morata and Ijhier when Supreme Commissar Sollum retreated from a cavalry charge and left the Ijhier rear open. At high cost, the alliance won the battle and was able to push into the Vara Valley unopposed.

In Vara, the alliance retook the towns around South Lodge and laid siege to the local castles that the Iridians had fled into. During the sieges there was mass displacement of the locals and the Ijhier soldiers enslaved many thousands of men to be sent back to the Daria peninsula.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Sails, having rebuilt, blockaded the western coast of Morata. With success in the war against its many enemies unlikely, the Seachief sued for peace.

Treaty of Mia
Negotiations were difficult as both Ijhier and Morata sought strict terms.

Ijhier demanded monetary compensation, enslavement of Iridian men, free access of its merchants to Caugos port towns, and the construction of new ships for the Ijhier navy to replace the ones sunk in the Battle of Ijhier Bay. Morata demanded the displacement of all Iridian humans from both the Vara valley and the Emerald Valley, a process which led to mass starvation and death of the locals. The seachief accepted the terms at great reluctance.

The Alliance Ends
With the war over, it became clear that Zarod Alexales' vision for the future was a unified Morata under his leadership. When Morata refused to accept this, Alexales in turn imposed a blockade on Morata, seeking to recoup the costs of fighting to free Morata through tariffs.

Morata and Osiria would unite together shortly after the war's end, but their unification was the first of a long struggle to rebuild their country under a state of near-anarchy. Despite their success, several of the Moratans would themselves choose to leave, looking to build a better life elsewhere.