The Dawn War

The Dawn War was a conflict involving the tribes of Sky Lake, the belligerents being the Avidyā and the Tribal Coalition of Malk, a great hunter turned leader, who united four tribes to the south of the Avidyā. While a relatively small conflict compared to the other Kingdoms and Empires, this war will determine the fate of the entire region or perhaps the entire continent and if the Avidyā will ever rise to power.
== The Dawn War Statistics ==
Belligerents	Avidyā 	Tribal Coalition of Malk
Strength 	~ 500 	~ 700 - 750
Losses 	~ 200 	~ 400 - 450
Outcome 	Ongoing	Ongoing
(Truthfully, the exact numbers are unknown, however these are current scholars best guesses based on the information available)
== Prelude ==
The Avidyān people have always dreamed of uniting all of the tribes surrounding Sky Lake and marching out into the world to establish itself as an Empire and a Global Superpower, able to demonstrate their military might to their foes and preach the word of the Lord, The Sun God, Avi. 
The hunter Malk, however, has halted these plans for the time being by uniting four tribes into a coalition. Malk was a strong and truthful hunter who was skilled in oratory. Said to have been raised by falcons in the woods, the legendary status surrounding him only furthers the influence he has on the surrounding tribal leaders. So much so that he was able to unite these tribes in order to hunt together. Their successful hunting methods meant that these tribes were thriving and growing at a rapid rate. 
At first, a hunting challenge was made with Malk. The goal was to lessen his reputation amongst the interior tribes and hopefully break the coalition apart by having Malk meet an unfortunate end while out hunting at the hands of our warriors. This did not go according to plan however, as Malk used a whistle made of bone and horn to lure elks to his trap rather than going out and finding an animal, leaving the Avidyān warriors both dumbfounded and angered. 
When this had failed, the next logical step taken by the Avidyāns was to find allies. The Avidyāns were able to reach out to 3 other tribes surrounding Malk's coalition. Malk clearly saw this as a major threat and sent his brother, Makash, to Avãsh, capital of the Avidyāns, to inform the them that any form of alliance with the surrounding tribes would mean war. Nonetheless, the Avidyāns pursued their alliance and war was met.
== The First Moves ==
At the beginning of the war, 256 men assembled for the Avidyā coalition against Malk. The only village which did not send all their warriors was Otza, to the east of Avãsh, who instead sent 48 of their men to found another settlement to the south, along the mountains. The first move was made by the Avidyāns when all of Malk's tribes were attacked at once in a simultaneous assualt made by all the Avidyān allies and the Avidyā themselves. 
To the west, the warband of Arga attacked the village of Tamzur, taking the village completely by surprise. Malk's warriors quickly fled, abandoning their people. Arga, however was an honorable leader, who forbade the ravaging of the women, instead opting to make a third of the women concubines to his best warriors.
To the South-West, Aran, brother of Arga, led his men towards Nosh, but heavy rains and fog made them get lost in the woods. They were surrounded by Makash's son Malosh, and decimated. They were forced to lead their men back to Aran's village of Artum, which was taken and razed. Aran himself had his head shattered by Malosh's flint axe, as he was ritually sacrificed. While this was a great loss, as one of the allies of the Avidyāns was completely decimated, this invoked the rage of Arga and his men who the army of Malk would come to fear in the later days of the war.
In the East, Thumbal led the Avidyan forces south, but Makash's army awaited them and laid in ambush, attacking the outliers. Thumbal decided to scatter a third of his forces to rout Makash's stone-slingers and spear throwers. When that happened, Makash attacked Thumbal's main force. A disorganised battle took form in the woods, and Thumbal challenged Makash to a duel. Makash and Thumbal both injured one another gravely. Thumbal's spine was crushed and he fell down, but managed to hurt Makash by sticking him with a wooden spear in his thigh. Makash was heavily stunned by the ant poison on the spear, and later on died in agony. His brother Malgash took over command, and pursued the force back to Sãdiya, which fell without resistance (On the map above, the settlement to the east is Sãdiya and the one to the west is Avãsh).. This too was a great blow to the Avidyāns as Sãdiya is the sister city to Avãsh. However, all was not lost as warriors of Sãdiya were regrouping in the woods, preparing for the retaking of the city.
== The Response ==
The Avidyāns expected a swift victory and were not looking forward to a drawn out war with Malk, the minimal gains made by the Avidyān coalition paled in comparison to the massive losses so far. An ally was decimated and a capital of the Avidyāns lost. In return, the settlement of Tamzur was captured by Arga. This took its toll on the Avidyāns morale and it was up to the leadership of Avãsh to rally the warriors and reclaim their lost hope.
Arga's warband was ordered to move east and capture the city abandoned by Makash during their march to Sãdiya, once captured they would move north to aid the city of Sãdiya. Meanwhile, spare warriors from Arga's village, angered by the razing of Artum to the south, will march towards the fallen settlement to confront the army of Malosh. While this was happening, the warriors of Avãsh were rallied and organized for the recapture of Sãdiya which was a top priority. The assault would includea land assault in cooperation with Arga's warband, as well as an attack by water. Since Sãdiya has no walls, Makash would have to spread his forces to defend the entire coastline and fight the oncoming warriors on land.
The Battle of Sãdiya lasted five months. The grueling battle was fought by nearly 1,000 warriors. This battle is well known for developing the custom of ritual duels to make individual warriors show off against one another. In the end, Makash was beaten and forced to retreat his forces into the woods to the south-east. The Avidyāns attempted to pursue the coward, but were pushed back by the retreating army in a forest ambush. However, the city of Sãdiya has been recaptured and the army of Malk is depleted and on the verge on collapse after two of his villages have been successfully attacked by Arga's warband.
== Consequences (So Far) ==
Even with the war still ongoing, their have been several consequences for the region as a result of the Dawn War:
* The Vediyans, a tribe to the west of Avãsh, near the mountains, emboldened by the Battle of Sãdiya and with Makash's army tied down, attacked the settlement of Tomaiyya. Unfortunately their warriors were entirely decimated. The Vediyans currently plead to be included in the Avidyān coalition as Makash and his last 300 warriors march towards the Vediyans, hoping to swiftly conquer the city. As this is being written, warriors of the Avidyān coalition move to aid the Vediyans and ambush Makash in what is seen as the final battle of the war.
* During Makash's occupation of Sãdiya, Makash's men impregnated many women and girls. Many in the community are angry, and claim that a lot of the women willingly spread their legs for the occupants. They argue that the children should be born and that the mothers then should be forced to drown them to be accepted, or to be rejected from the community. However, the leadership of the Avidyāns has come up with an equally interesting solution which involves the judgement of the Lord of the Avidyāns, the Sun God Avi. When the children are born, they will be left in the heat of the sun for 2 days and nights with no food or water or any contact with anyone. If the child dies, the mother will be executed for bearing a child of Makash, a weak coward. If the child lives, the mother may keep it. The children who survive Avi's gaze are clearly his chosen and will be raised to become elite warriors to guard our people in the future. This practice was extended to all Avidyān mothers who wished their children to participate in what is being called the Trials of Avi.
* A Grand Temple of Avi is being planned to be built in both Sãdiya and Avãsh. These temples are going to be the only places where the Trials of Avi may be perfomed.
* More tribes in the region are starting to band together, creating mini coalitions of their own to protect against the expansion of the more aggressive tribes such as the Avidyāns.
(The current state of Sky Lake as the Dawn War goes on, notice the many coalitions which have formed)
Category:History
Category:Wars
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