The Great Grouse War

Belligerents	The Kingdom of Rothrän 	The Four Great Grouses
Allies 	The Kingdom of Puusa 	The Kanno-Janni Tribe
Forces 	Unknown (~12,000+) 	Unknown (~10,000+)
Losses 	Unknown (At least 3,000)	Unknown (At least 7,000)
Result 	Victory 	Defeat
Consequences	~ Annexation of the Four Great Grouses
~ Death of Usski, Jøgae of Puusa	~ The Betrayal of the Yanjari
~ The annexation of grouse territories
~ The Death of Jarkatajärva
== Overview ==
The Great Grouse war was a conflict fought in the Kärrosännæ from 322-328ABV between the tribal coalition known as The Four Great Grouses, led by a warrior princess named Jarkatajärva, and the Kingdom of Rothrän, led by Rejzamaziri, which for their part fought the war concurrently with The War For Torko's Cock.
While this was the first time direct conflict broke out between the belligerent parties, the seeds of the war were sown long before, during The Jamai War, as the Great Grouse Alliance was formed as a defensive measure due to perceived Rothränni aggression. However, despite that the alliance was primarily designed to be a deterrent, it would be the Four Great Grouses whom spilt the first blood.
Despite a series of setbacks, and a noble rebellion upon the island of Karkuterja (see The War For Torko's Cock), the Rothränni would ultimately crush the smaller coalition, thus annexing her territories.
== Prelude ==
In the years following the Jamai War, Rejzamaziri was keen to consolidate the kingdom's control of the region. However, far to the east, beyond the newly formed Great Grouse Coalition, a tribe known as the Rakimaroni had begun to rapidly expand. Knowing that the kingdom could eventually become a threat to Rothrän, Rejzamaziri decided it would be appropriate to intervene early, as his brother had during The Galáspatran War. 
As the Great Grouses were between Rothrän and the expanding Rakimaroni, Rejzamaziri knew that he would require their cooperation in order to effectively defeat his new enemies. Furthermore, the expansion of the Rakimaroni would ensure that the Four Great Grouses would be surrounded by much larger tribal kingdoms, and ultimately ensure their fall.
Thus, Rejzamaziri sent word to the Four Great Grouses to inform them of his intentions, and taking a small retinue of fifty men, travelled north, hoping to convince the Jøgae to assist the Rothränni in dealing with the Rakimaroni in return for a non-aggression pact between the Grouses and Rothrän. He thought that the negotiations would be easy enough, as the tribal coalition was formed to ward off the threat of the Rothränni invasion, and he was offering to not only ensure peace between their kingdoms, but eliminate the additional threat of the Rakimaroni, that it was a win-win situation for the Grouses, and to a lesser extend Rothrän, whom could eliminate an emergent threat and secure their northern borders, allowing for more aggressive expansion elsewhere.
This, however, would prove to be a miscalculation. As he entered Grouse territory, his retinue was ambushed and surrounded by several hundred warriors under the leadership of a Grouse warrior princess named Jarkatajärva. She revealed that she had apprehended the Jøgae's messengers as they had crossed the border, but claimed she would release them if the Jøgae "quietly became her prisoner". 
Realizing that Jarkatajärva would never allow him to speak with the Grouse leadership, Rejzamaziri refused. Thus, Jarkatajärva smashed her prisoner's skull with a bronze axe, splattering blood and brain matter over the brush.
Rejzamaziri ordered a break out, and while the Jøgae and his loyal retinue managed to escape, 38 good Rothränni men were killed in the onslaught. The Jøgae fled with due hast to the Rothrän capitol of Tuomvarji, and began to muster his forces for war.
Furious, Jarkatajärva ordered the heads of these men removed, and returned to the grouse capitol of Tuor-Turami. She claimed that Rejzamaziri had led a host of 4,000 men against the Grouse territories, and that she had successfully destroyed this Rothränni army before it could devastate their people. She urged that the Four Great Grouses muster their armies and wage war on Rothrän. Thus, as Jarkatajärva had defeated their enemies on the field of combat, the Jøgae of the Four Great Grouses assembled and elected Jarkatajärva as the overall commander of the Grouse forces. 
Thus the war had begun.
== Jarkatajärva's Offensive and the Battle of Kraja ==
Almost immediately following Rejzamaziri's return to Tuomvarji, hundreds of small skirmishes erupted along the northern border, as both Rejzamaziri and Jarkatajärva ordered their warriors to set traps within the forest, and ambush any advancing forces. 
These smaller skirmishes continued for some time, and as winter began to set upon the Kärrosännæ, the Rothränni began to suspect that they would not see large-scale conflict until the coming spring. However, this was when Jarkatajärva had decided to strike. 
In the winter of 322 ABV, the village of Aksumatujjo, located on Rothrän's northwestern coastline, was assaulted, and most of its inhabitants slaughtered. The Grouse forces left only four survivors - one adult, and three children - so that they could tell all of Rothrän the horrors their countrymen had endured.
When the survivors reached the halls of Tuomvarji, they spoke of the enemy commander - Arjull,  a red-haired bear-like man who wore a mask made from a moose skull, who while not capable of speech, made his commands with grunts and gestures. By his orders, his men had crushed the limbs of Aksumatujjo's citizens, and then hung them upside down, piercing their thighs and feet with wooden spikes, and leaving them to die in the winter cold.
Soon, survivors of another nearby village arrived to tell Rejzamaziri and the assembled Yægäi of similar atrocities, and each day Tuomvarji heard of another tragedy committed by Arjull and his grouse host.
This infuriated the Yægäi, for in Rothrän it was seen as cowardly and weak to purposely murder civilians during times of war, and thus the Grouses had cast aside their honour and dignity. Furious that these atrocities were being committed on their soil, Brägi Ujzamaji suggested that the Rothränni respond in kind.
Without warning, Rejzamaziri lashed out with the knife he used to cut food, almost slashing Brägi's throat but not saying a word. As Brägi turned silent, Rejzamaziri retracted the knife, and declared that the Rothränni were not butchers, but honourable men, and that if they were to discard their honour, they would fall directly into Jarkatajärva's trap.
Thus, Rejzamaziri sent his brother and heir, Majzari, with 2,000 additional warriors to reinforce the north, building palisades around exposed villages and ruthlessly hunting down roving bands of Grouse marauders. This effectively prevented Arjull from committing any further atrocities in the north-west.
However, Jarkatajärva had foreseen this, as she had sent Arjull to draw the Rothränni away from her true target. During the spring of 323 ABV, led a host of 3800 grouses towards the north-eastern town of Kraja, hoping to raise it to the ground and press further into Rothrän territory.
Yet Rejzamaziri had been expecting her. During the winter, he had secretly relocated his base to Kraja, and had begun to amass his forces there. Thus, as Jarkatajärva marched towards Kraja, Rejzamaziri forced them to battle on an open field, while several hundred Rothränni warriors ambushed the Grouse rearguards, preventing them from aiding the main army.
Realizing that she had been outwitted, Jarkatajärva vanished, fleeing with a small retinue into the woods as the superior Rothrän host crashed into the smaller Grouse army. Without their commander, the Grouse army broke into pieces, and over 1200 grouses were either killed or captured as one of the armies' rearguards were utterly destroyed.
This prompted Jarkatajärva to attempt a similar incursion to the northwest, in an attempt to separate Rejzamaziri and Majzari from one another, but this attack also broke into pieces, forcing Jarkatajärva and the surviving grouses to retreat back into grouse territory.
At this time, the Rothränni were keen to press their advantage, but were prevented from doing so due to the outbreak of The War for Torko's Cock. Thus, while her enemy was occupied, Jarkatajärva returned to Tuor-Turami to plot against her enemies.
== The Kidnapping of Ussajamølussipakasatri ==
With the forces of Rothrän holding strong upon their northern border, and her armies driven back into Grouse territory, Jarkatajärva sought ulterior means of gaining the upper hand against her opponents. While the Rothränni were busy bickering amongst themselves, she began to mobilize her forces, and while the Grouses were busy rebuilding their armies, she sat out with several good men on a secret mission to the Rothränni island of Karkuterja, to seize the prophet, Ussajamølussipakasatri, the embodiment of the Rothränni's Räöllan faith, in order to demoralize her foes.
The kidnapping occurred while Ussajamølussipakasatri near a cavern known as the Shrieking Hole, which the prophet had been in the process of exorcising. When the prophet did not return, a search party was assembled, which quickly located the prophet's murdered bodyguards, their throats slit and their bodies splayed out upon the earth. The prophet, however, had disappeared.
Two months later, Jarkatajärva marched through Tuor-Turami, the prophet in tow, a rope around his neck. Here, she paraded the symbol of Rothrän in front of her rallying forces, claiming that the gods themselves had now abandoned the Kingdom of Rothrän, as they had allowed the capture of the prophet, who could see the future by their graces. 
== The Battle of Mejaari and the Siege of Ruumala ==
Having successfully restored her army to its former glory, Jarkatajärva ordered a renewed offensive against her enemies upon the first snow of the winter of 324 ABV. Thus, two large armies led by Jarkatajärva marched towards the northern town of Ruumala. 
Arjull, Jarkatajärva's right hand man, led the first army immediately south towards Ruumala. However, his forces are primarily newly recruited, as Jarkatajärva has taken personal command of most of the Grouses' veteran troops. Thus, his advance through the woods is quite slow, and Arjull is losing over 200 warriors as he advances due to traps, falling trees, and hit and run ambushes by scattered Rothränni skirmishers. By the time he reaches the first villages, his host finds them abandoned, as the constant Rothränni harassment had bought time for their inhabitants to flee.
Now deeper into the territory of the Kingdom of Rothrän, Arjull's forces clashed with the Rothränni army on several occasions, though in each of these engagements they are forced to retreat, as the battle hardened Rothränni host is shown to be superior. Ultimately, the Rothränni fight their way through these scattered units and smaller armies and to Arjull's main force, forcing the Grouse army to battle upon the icy pond of Mejaari.
Majzari leads the Rothränni personally as they charge across the windswept pond and crash into the Grouse forces. Here, through the chaos, Majzari fights his way towards Arjull, and engages the hulking barbarian in one on one combat. After a brief exchange of blows, the heir to the Rothrän throne spears Arjull in the leg, allowing the Grouse commander to fall upon the ice. There, he is taking his whale-toothed spear and slamming its blade into Arjull's belly, twisting the spear-tip so as to slowly kill Jarkatajärva's right hand man. Thus, Majzari personally avenges the atrocities committed by Arjull. 
Following the death of their commander, the grouse army collapses. The battle of Mejaari is a decisive victory for the kingdom of Rothrän.
However, while Majzari had his hands full with Arjull and his army, Jarkatajärva led her 4,000 men around to the south of Ruumala, and sends her quickest cohorts to the west, where they occupy seven Rothränni villages. After two weeks of fighting, Jarkatajärva and her forces prepare for the siege of Ruumala. 
As her forces advance, Jarkatajärva rides back and forth before the town, demanding that Ruumala surrender before her or that she will burn it to the ground. She declares that only men who are armed may leave the town, while civilians who try to leave it will be flayed alive and nailed upside down to the trees.
The citizens of Ruumala, remembering the stories of the destruction wrought by Arjull, fear for their safety, and refuse to surrender to Jarkatajärva. Thus, Jarkatajärva is forced to lay siege to the town.
Meanwhile, having routed Arjull's forces, Majzari leads his army with due haste back towards Ruumala, intent on relieving Ruumala before Jarkatajärva is able to overcome its defenses.
What followed was a series of desperate skirmishes between Majzari's host and Grouse forces, with Majzari personally suffering an axe wound to the head. The heir is surviving, however, as his wound is treated via trepanation by one of his accompanying priests. 
Ultimately, the desperate Rothränni host succeeds in forcing Jarkatajärva from Ruumala, though they suffer heavy losses in doing so. As such, they are forced to call upon Puusan and mercenary reinforcements in order to hold Ruumala while Majzari recovered from his injuries within the town. Ruumala is ultimately secured during the winter of 328 ABV
== The Guardians of Ussajamølussipakasatri ==
While the battle of Ruumala began in the late 324 ABV, Rejzamaziri, infuriated by the kidnapping of the prophet, Ussajamølussipakasatri, secretly called upon the Yægäi once more, declaring that each of the Yøgäi should pick their best warrior, to meet with him in secret in Tuomvarji. 
The news of Ussajamølussipakasatri's kidnapping shook the assembled council, inciting a massive argument within the dining hall of the Jøgae, who's stone cold glare signified he was pondering what to do. After only a few minutes of frantic discourse had passed, Rejzamaziri Sarkatärji slammed his cutting knife into the wooden table with terrible force, immediately silencing the assembled Yægäi, whom immediately looked to the Jøgae for his declaration.
Thus Rejzamaziri Sarkatärji commanded that each of the assembled Yøgäi would summon, in secret, their most favoured warrior to the halls of Jøgae, and likewise issued summons for his own champion.
Having issued this command, the Jøgae declared that these 8 men, representatives of the great clans of the Ræøllän faith, would conduct a daring rescue operation, to liberate Ussajamølussipakasatri from his captors, and return the prophet to his rightful place upon the sacred isle. The men (And or women) would elect a leader from amongst themselves, and using stealth and deception infiltrate enemy territory. 
He declares that it is a dangerous mission indeed, worthy of the greatest of men, and that all who partake will be greatly compensated should they succeed, but stress that failure is not an option. 
Thus, eight warriors, seven men and one female, found themselves upon the steps of the great temple of Räöl, their Jøgae riding back and forth before them upon a black stallion, diligently inspecting the adventurers assembled before him. Eventually, the Jøgae brought his stallion around, and motioned for the warriors to climb the steps of the great temple.
Thus, Rejzamaziri led the eight warriors into the first circle of the great temple of Räöl, and there, before the waters sparkling in the torchlight, he declared their mission.
They, the greatest of their Yøgäi, were to be tasked with infiltrating the Grouse army by any means necessary. They would swear an oath before him, and before the very gods themselves, that they would not return to Rothrän unless they had the prophet in tow. He declared that upon this day, they would swear an oath to do so by any means necessary, even if it meant they would have to go against the central tenets Räölla of They would henceforth be known as the "Guardians of Ussajamølussipakasatri".
Thus, Hännopatri, brother of Javalhati and cousin of Rejzamaziri, was elected the leader of the Guardians, and in the darkness of night he led his party into the woods, in order to search for the camp of Jarkatajärva. Unfortunately, the camp was incredibly difficult to find, as Jarkatajärva took care only to travel whilst concealed, and frequently changed locations. Nevertheless, after three years, in the winter of 327ABV, three men managed to infiltrate Jarkatajärva's army. These three were Jarvi Ujzamaji, Börroni Atúravi and Bälki Kaimurroji. 
Initially distrusted and captured, these men earned some respect from the Grouse forces when they publicly denounced Rejzamaziri,  calling him "son of a bitch". In order to prove their loyalty, Jarkatajärva's officer, Pakko of House Värinen. forced spears into their hands, and demanded that they executed 18 Rothränni prisoners of war, which they guardians did without hesitation.
Next, Pakko assigns a few dozen Grouse warriors to, and orders them to lead raiding parties against the rear of Majzari's forces near Ruumala, and in doing so the guardians kill over 50 of their countrymen. Thus, Pakko decides that the guardians are trustworthy, and they are allowed to learn some of Jarkatajärva's plans.
However, the guardians are split up from one another, so that they would be within different hosts, and could not conspire against Jarkatajärva.
Eventually, Bälki Kaimurroji finds the prophet, Ussajamølussipakasatri, who had been transported to a base camp 33 km south-east of Jarkatajärva's main base. As Ussajamølussipakasatri is moved often, he realizes that he cannot wait for reinforcements from the other guardians, and immediately he abandons his post in order to keep watch over the prophet. When Ussaja is tied loose from the tree and carried north by Jarkatajärva's guard, Bälki, who has wrapped himself in bear-hide, ambushes Jarkatajärva's five men, killing three of them and injuring two, before grabbing the prophet and disappearing into the woods.
Unfortunately, Bälki himself was wounded in the fighting, and three days later he succumbs from his wounds. Alone, the prophet walks for three days and three nights, until he reaches Rothränni forces. It is revealed that the prophet was repeatedly raped by Jarkatajärva during his captivity, as she wished to bear his child, Jargyn, who, with the prophet's blood would conquer all of the north. It is unclear whether or not she succeeded in this endeavour. Nevertheless, he holds a prophecy for Jarkatajärva, which he had during his captivity - much to her fury.
"Prophet's blood a brew lethal, for which a war of kindred souls unleashed has been, and many more wars shall follow. A maiden so sweet, betrothed to the fruit of chief's loins. A heart black, a soul consumed by rage. Maid's bones left under the sun, a trail of blood. Teeth shall devour what teeth once built. You shall pay of your crimes, Jarkatajärva of House Ursumarje, for what you did to your own blood. You will be betrayed, just as you betrayed Märjata"
Upon learning of the prophet's escape, Jarkatajärva is furious, and thus arrests Jarvi and Börroni, demanding that they duel one another in a pit. The guardians, however, realizing that they have succeeded in their quest, refuse to fight for her, declaring that they have "spilled enough blood for the bitch". As revenge, Jarkatajärva has Börroni bound by the stripped, bound by the neck, and fed to her pet bear alive as a spectacle for her troops. Jarvi was subsequently castrated and had his liver exposed and his legs crushed, before being nailed on a tree to be picked to death by ravens.
Upon hearing of the success of his brethren, Hännopatri decides against re-joining the main army, and instead plots to bring about the end of Jarkatajärva.
== The Battle of Gräosanne and the betrayal of Aks Yanjari ==
While Majzari and his forces fought bitterly to defend the town of Ruumala from the Grouse incursion, Rejzamaziri was moving north in an attempt to encircle Jarkatajärva's force and attack them from the rear. However, Jarkatajärva had anticipated this, and called upon her allies from the far east - the Kanno-Janni, whom lead 3,000 warriors against Rejzamaziri's rearguard from the north-east. Over 1,000 Rothränni are dying in the ambush, and Rejzamaziri orders his army to retreat, taking up position on a stony ridge. This is the beginning of the three week Battle of Gräosanne.
The fighting here is more ruthless then any other battlefield in the war, as Rejzamaziri and his warriors fight tooth and nail to hold their ground against Grouse and Kanno-Janni forces, calling for reinforcements from their own allies. The fighting only intensifies when, having been driven from Ruumala, Jarkatajärva herself arrives to lead the assault on the ridge. 
A week into the battle, the Puusan army arrives from the west, having previously disembarked on Grouse territory, bolstering the beleaguered Rothränni. Usski, son of Muugin, and the Jøgae of Puusa, is leading his forces directly against Jarkatajärva, and the Puusans fight there way through the Grouse army Jarkatajärva personally cuts her way 
through to Usski, thus challenging the Jøgae to a duel. Here, Jarkatajärva slays Usski in direct combat, breaking his spear with her twin bronzed axes before burying one directly in the Puusan Jøgae's skull. This leads to a collapse of the Puusan counter offensive, and the Puusans are forced into a retreat up the ridge, covered by their Rothränni, whom simultaneously denied the Grouse and Kanno-Janni armies their advance.
The battle would continue like this for three weeks, with the Grouse and Kanno-Janni mounting repeated offensives against the Puusan-Rothränni forces upon the ridge, only to be repeatedly repelled.
But in the last three days of the battle, the tide would suddenly change. Enraged at the murder of his fellow guardians, Hännopatri had infiltrated the western Grouse army, near Rumaala, and sought an audience with general Aks Yanjari, whom he knew from coded messages sent by Jarvi and Börroni to have disliked Jarkatajärva. There, the guardian convinces Aks Yanjari that Jarkatajärva - not Rothrän - was the cause of the war and the suffering of his people, and Aks Yanjari decides to take matters into his own hands.
Without warning, the fighting on the Ruumalan front ceased, and Aks Yanjari's forces turned around and join the Rothränni under Majzari, and together the Grouse and Rothränni host marches with due haste east, trapping Jarkatajärva and her host against the ridge. Seeing this, Rejzamaziri orders the advance, and the Puusan-Rothränni 
forces charge down the ridge, slamming into Jarkatajärva's forces just as his brother and Aks Yanjari launched their own attack on their rear.
Enveloped and with nowhere to go, the Grouse and Kanno-Janni armies fight with bitter desperation, and intense carnage ensues. Over 3900 Grouses, and 2,100 Rothränni are killed as the battle devolves into a swirling chaotic melee. Jarkatajärva, realizing that she has been betrayed, uses the confusion to escape, fleeing the battlefield and leaving her army leaderless. Realizing that their own commander has abandoned them, the Grouse forces lose hope, and rather then be slaughtered to a man, they surrender to Rejzamaziri, and are taken as prisoners of war.
The Kanno-Janni, however, succeed in breaking out of the encirclement, and despite the betrayal of Jarkatajärva, fight for one additional week, as they held the belief that oaths are sacred, and must be kept, no matter what. Only when it is clear that Jarkatajärva has abandoned them completely do they decide to leave. Rejzamaziri, keen on ending the war, rather then aggravating them into fighting further, does not pursue.
== The Death of Jarkatajärva ==
Following the battle of Gräosanne, Rothränni scouts discover Jarkatajärva's broken corpse, lying within a pit-trap, her leg broken and half of her face and throat torn off by her pet bear, thus fulfilling Ussajamølussipakasatri's prophecy.
Ussajamølussipakasatri thus orders that the bear, which has developed a craving for man-flesh, be killed, and Jarkatajärva's corpse burnt, as the great skeletal serpent, Gaijin, had already brought her soul to be destroyed by the spirit warrior Sæjø. For the crimes she had committed, her corrupted Ræ (soul) would never be allowed to re-enter the Ræøl (stream of souls). Thus ended Jarkatajärva.
The prophet declared that when Jarkatajärva had been young, her cousin Märjata had been betrothed to a nobleman - Mähäzi - whom she herself had come to love. Enraged, Märjata had lured her cousin into the woods, and ordered her bear, which she had fed since she had found it abandoned as a cub, to devour her cousin, hoping that instead she might arrange a betrothal to Mähäzi. However, upon hearing of Märjata's death, Mähäzi swore an oath to avenge Märjata, and took it upon himself to find the bear. Yet upon seeing Jarkatajärva feeding the creature, he decided to fall upon his own spear. Thus, Jarkatajärva had been denied her prize.
== The Sack of Tuor-Turami and the End of the War ==
With the death of Jarkatajärva, Majzari, Rejzamaziri, and Aks Yanjari led their forces into grouse territory, encountering little resistance. Aks Yanjari, whom wishes to preserve the lives of his people, convinces most of the outlying grouse settlements in the east to surrender to Rejzamaziri without a fight. Those that refuse, however, are quickly overrun by the Rothränni, whom take their inhabitants as slaves.
The Grouse capitol of Tuor-Turami, however, refuses to yield to the Rothränni invaders, its citizens taking up arms to defend the settlement. The Rothränni are forced to sack the city, and the remaining Grouse forces, bitter about their defeat, decide to burn the capitol to the ground rather then see it in Rothränni hands. Thus, with the help of whale oil, Tuor-Turami is set alight, and the Rothränni are forced to abandon their prize, instead enslaving those Grouses who remained defiant.
With the rest of the Grouses surrendering, and Aks Yanjari's territory having already agreed to join Rothrän, Rejzamaziri declares that the war is over and invites the Puusans, Yanjari, and his own forces - all tired from half a decade of brutal fighting - to Tuomvarji, for a grand celebration.
== Aftermath ==
With their defeat, the grouse territories were officially annexed into the Kingdom of Rothrän, and the remnants of Tuor-Turami were given to Aks Yanjari as a reward for his actions, which preserved the lives of many Rothränni. The rest of the Grouse territory was divided amongst several other Rothränni provinces.
In the following years, the Rothränni capitol of Tuomvarji would grow into a city, the first of its kind within the Kärrosännæ.
However, the war had taken its toll of the Rothränni. It had been a long and gruelling campaign, and an unexpected one, at that. Rejzamaziri had initially approached the Grouses in order to stop the expansion of the Rakimaroni, and instead had found himself at war with the coalition. Thus, the kingdom of Rothrän had been unable to intervene, and 
the Rakimaroni had carved themselves out as a regional power while they had been otherwise engaged. Thus, the Rakimaroni had managed to establish themselves as the Rothrän's foremost rivals in the Kärrosännæ, and not long after the expansion of Tuomvarji, their capitol would also grow into a city. 
Thus Rothrän, while victorious, settled into an uneasy peace, knowing that the Great Grouse War was but a prelude for what was to come.Category:Wars
Category:Rothinji
Category:Rothränji