The Galáspatran War

Beligerents 	Coalition of the Kärrosännæ	
Murrjadi
Army sizes 	~7,000 	~4,000
Losses 	~5,800 	~3,800
Result 	Victory 	Defeat
Consequences	Annexation of some Murrjadan territory by the coalition
Accession of northern tribes into the Kingdom Of Rothrän	The fall of the mercenary king, GaláspatriThe return of prince Ruudi
The loss of Murrjadan territory
The rejection of Doriyan culture
== Prelude ==
At some point in the early 260's ABV, Pelir I Varedi, Wérgóm of the Kingdom of the Gates, initiated his invasion of the Doriyan kingdom of Melcheezor, thus beginning the fourth Doriyan-Vidstossi war. After initial victories in the plains the war became a battle of attrition once the Vidstossi hosts reached highlands, which the Doriyans proved more then capable of defending. However due to its size and influence the Kingdom of the Gates was able to replace the men it lost with great ease while the armies of Melcheezor became depleted, eventually forced to rely on teenage boys and old men to fill their ever dwindling hosts.
The war continued for nearly two decades and by the early 280's the armies of Melcheezor were more desperate for manpower then they had ever been. Presumably desperate for soldiers, the King of Melcheezor looked to the stars for guidance. Doriyans are xenophobic at the best of times, but the armies of Melcheezor were at a breaking point and knowing they would be unable to hold the Vidstossi much longer, the young king sent messengers to the north, seeking to draw warriors from the various tribes of the Kärrosännæ. His call was answered.
Drawn by their love of adventure and promises of fame and fortune, thousands of Rothinji warriors poured into Melcheezor to do battle with the Vidstossi hosts, bolstering the depleted Doriyan forces. While ultimately the war had already been lost, these warriors were influential in preventing any further annexation of Melcheezor and several more prominent Rothinji made a name for themselves during the conflict. One of these men was Galáspatri, a young adventurer from the tribe of Murrjadi.
Though his exact feats are unknown, Galáspatri proved himself to be a fearsome marksman and warrior. His fame was such that even the king of Melcheezor took a personal interest. He became literate in the Doryi language and religion, and read the great epics of Doriya and Vidstos. He was awarded gold, men and concubines by the Doryi, and was given the command of a host of 4000 northern men at the end of the war. The conflict having ended, Galáspatri turned his attention to the Kärrosännæ.
== The Mercenary King ==
Around the year 290 ABV, Galáspatri returned to his homeland, thus demanding the hand of the daughter of the lord of Murrjadi, but Kálazt - as the lord was named - denied him thrice. Galáspatri was furious - he had earned the respect of the king of Melcheezor, only to be denied by his own king? Thus he began to plot against Kálazt.
Galáspatri was a patient man, and even though he could easily have crushed the small tribe with the forces at his disposal he decided to wait. Seeing an opportunity, Galáspatri laid ambush to the wedding procession of the girl, killing her entire entourage and then proceeding to take her as her own. Once again he decided to bide his time and with the girl as his prize he went into hiding, thus fathering three sons with her. Seven years later (~297 ABV), he raised an ambush upon Jalós, the main settlement of the Murrjadi. His experienced forces easily overwhelmed the outnumbered defenders. Overrunning the settlement, he cut off the head of Kálazt and took his crown, which was made of 333 sparrow skeletons. Thus he proclaimed himself king of Murrjadi. But he was not done yet.To cement his rule, Galáspatri assembled all the old and respected families of his new dominion in a huge wooden hall, built for them, where they could feast and drink. He then asked them about their genealogies, and how old they were as families. They told that they had ruled these lands since time immemorial. Unbeknownst to his guests, Galáspatri ordered his men to seal the hall and burn the men with their families alive. Having slaughtered all those who could oppose him, he set their thralls free, and awarded land to the warriors following him. Galáspatri installed laws, and imported knowledge and weapons from Doriya. While his people feared him, they also started to appreciate how rich and bountiful his kingdom grew under him.
His rule established, Galáspatri began invading his neighbours. His small but efficient army wore leather armour in Doryi style, wielding long spears, as well as Vidstos style helmets. Unlike the warriors of the north, they fought in formations, and in the woods they brought nets reminiscent of fishing nets as weapons against their adversaries. With 4000 warriors at his disposal he crushed the nearby tribes with ease and by 304 ABV, four tribes had already succumbed to his forces. He was without a doubt the biggest threat the Kärrosännæ had ever faced.
== The Coalition Of Kärrosännæ ==
With 4000 disciplined warriors slaughtering their way across the southern Kärrosännæ, nearby Rothinji tribes began to fear for their own territory - and rightly so. Galáspatri fielded a force much larger then any one tribe could hope to muster, professional soldiers unlike anything the north had ever seen. The Rothinji knew that if Galáspatri was not stopped soon then his kingdom would grow to a point where they would no longer be able to oppose him at all.
Thus Rojkazamidatri, the young Jøgæ of the Kingdom Of Rothrän took matters into his own hands, before Galáspatri's forces became a risk to his own kingdom. In secret, the Jøgæ called a war council, inviting the Jøgæ of Puusa (Also known as Sappa), the Kuvari and finally the Hannothorinji, who had already managed to repel a small expeditionary force of from the city of Galáspatra. The four Jøgæ would meet in Puusa.
For a full day the Jøgæ debated and it was clear that while the Jøgæ were willing to cooperate with one another, they did not trust one another very much. Eventually Muugin the Crazy was persuaded to allow the coalition to assemble their forces in Puusa. Karjalazi the Fat, however, fearing that the full weight of the enemies' forces would fall upon his kingdom, demanded that aid be dispatched to the Hannothorinji at once. To this Rojkazamidatri and Suoliztri (of the Kuvari) agreed. Realizing that time was of the essence, the Jøgæ began to assemble their forces in Puusa. By far the largest of the four kingdoms, Rothrän commited 3000 men, accounting for half of the allied forces. 
Thus with a combined army of 6000 men, the The Coalition Of Kärrosännæ was formed. 
== The Galáspatran War ==
Hostilities are opened in following year (~305 ABV) when Galáspatri sent a force rumored to be 2000 men strong towards the Hannothorinji, just as Karjalazi the Fat had predicted. Having witnessed the proficiency of the doriyan host before, Karjalazi suggested that coalition forces take no chances. Thus, he and Muugin the Crazy led a force of 2000 men to fight the enemy with the intention of luring them into an ambush, where Rojkazamidatri and Suoliztri would be lying in wait with the rest of coalition forces. 
But something was wrong. Immediately as the confrontation began Karjalazi began to notice that the enemy was weak, and indeed even his own force of 2000 men was more then enough to slaughter them entirely. It was revealed that Galáspatri had sent a diversionary force of less then 1500 men, 1000 of which were farmers without experience on the battlefield. Had the mercenary king predicted the trap?
It was quickly revealed that Galáspatri, having expected a trap in the lands of the Hannothorinji, had instead decided to invade northwest, and sacked the Rothinji tribes of Kazi and Marjana (as well as several smaller tribes along the way). These tribes bordered both the Kuvari and the Kingdom Of Rothrän itself, and fearing Galáspatri's next move, Rojkazamidatri decides to take the initiative and the coalition army invades Murrjadi itself, intent on forcing Galáspatri to abandon his conquest of the north-west and return in order to save his kingdom. Now fearing for his own kingdom, Galáspatri rushes south to intercept the coalition forces before they reached the city of Galáspatra.
Having predicted this turn of events, Rojkazamidatri ambushes the Galáspatrans upon their return. Yet Galáspatri had also predicted the ambush, and coalition forces are in turn ambushed by Galáspatri's rearguard. Thus the battle of Murrsän began. Fought in mid-winter, it was largest battle ever fought in the Kärrosännæ, with nearly 7000 men partaking.
The battle itself was utter chaos, the coalition forces surrounded by their enemies, who's formations proved more then effective at keeping it that way. The snow was melting in the red, stained by the blood of countless warriors as the coalition forces struggled to break free of their encirclement. It was then that Galáspatri came upon Rojkazamidatri and surrounded by the dead and the dying the two kings fought for dominance. Rojkazamidatri was ill-equipped, his spear easily shattered by the bronze axe wielded by Galáspatri, but he would not back down from the fight, drawing his copper dagger and attacking the mercenary king with renewed vigour. Ultimately it was not enough - while Rojkazamidatri wounded the mercenary king, stabbing him in the thigh, Galáspatri grabbed his hand and used his bronze axe to cut off Rojkazamidatri's arm and then proceeded to smack the flat side of the bloody axe into Rojkazamidatri's head, again and again and again, crushing the Rothrän king's nose and teeth and making him drown in his own blood. But during the duel coalition forces had managed to break out of the encirclement, and Karjalazi the fat manages to assemble their remaining forces and withdraw. Thus the battle of Murrsän was a victory for Galáspatri. who returned to the city of Galáspatra to celebrate the near-annihilation of coalition forces.
Unbeknownst to the mercenary king, a force of 1200 men assembled under the leadership of Rejzamaziri in the dead of night, each swearing to avenge the loss of their fallen kin, as Rejzamaziri swore to avenge the death of his brother Rojkazamidatri. These men shadowed Galáspatri and his forces all the way to Galáspatra, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Then, as Galáspatri and his men were enjoying the feast, having eaten and drank their fill of beer, Rejzamaziri attacked the city of Galáspatra with burning arrows, igniting fires throughout the city - as well as Galáspatri's fury.
With the celebrations of his glorious victories so rudely interrupted, Galáspatri assembled 3,000 men to crush the smaller Rothränji force and cement his authority in the region for good, chasing Rejzamaziri and his men into the dense forests before eventually overtaking and engaging them at the battle of lake Jakul.
However, Rejzamaziri had foreseen this, and had strategically ordered his men to make holes in the ice as they retreated over the lake ahead of the Doriyan host. Several hundred Rothinji hid in the forests around the lake, whilst the remainder of Rejzamaziri's forces awaited the Doriyan host on the other side, serving as bait.
Thus, when Galáspatri finally caught up to his quarry, and saw the footprints in the snow at the shores of the lake, he judged it to be strong enough to hold his host, and ordered them to march across Lake Jakul so that they could defeat their enemies once and for all. It was not until the host was nearly halfway across the lake that the ice beneath them began to collapse, entire regiments of Doriyan soldiers disappearing beneath the ice, the armour which had proved so advantageous against the Rothinji hosts dragging them to a watery grave. Out of 3000 men, less then a thousand made it across the lake to join battle with Rejzamaziri's host. Panicked and with their formations in tatters, the Doriyan army was easily surrounded and butchered by the men of the north. 
Galáspatri's body was never discovered, and Rejzamaziri thus presumed him to be dead. He would later reappear in Melcheezor to lead the Doriyans against the Kingdom of the Gates. 
 
Having defeated his nemesis, Rejzamaziri sacked the city of Galáspatra, thus ending the war and securing victory for the coalition forces. 
== Aftermath ==
The Coalition of the Kärrosännæ was officially disbanded and a great deal of territory, including all of the tribes Murrjadi had conquered under Galáspatri, were ceded to various parties of the war. Prince Ruudi - the true heir to Murrjadi - returned in order to claim his throne, and the kingdom rejected further doriyan influence, as despite the wealth it brought, many of its people had suffered under the rule of Galáspatri. 
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Rothrän, which was too far away to realistically control any Murrjadan territory, negotiated the accession of nearby tribes whom had been sacked by Galáspatri during the beginning of the war, thus expanding its territory considerably.
The war would ultimately shape the geopolitics of the region for some time. In destroying the city of Galáspatra, Rejzamaziri had brought about the destruction of the Kingdom of Rothrän's greatest rival in the north. His victory had established itself as a regional power, and would lay the foundations for the future expansion of the kingdom seen throughout his rule.
The events that transpired during the war were also thought to be crucial in leading to War of the Mad King, and served to destabilize the region for the better part of several decades, as the Rothinji tribes within the Kärrosännæ became increasingly war-like and aggressive.Category:Rothinji
Category:History
Category:Wars
Category:Doriya