Great Golden War

The Great Golden War, also referred to as Poo War or Great Western War, was a war between the Empire of Uldarash and Bardonia that lasted from to . The war was declared following the Bardonian Illegal Mining Incident, where Bardonia refused to pay a 100,000 coins fine for a gold mining incident in the mesa. It is considered the most impactful war in early Rathniri history.
== Declaration ==
The night preceding the war declaration, the Silver Coalition attempted to form a last-minute peace accord between Uldarash and Bardonia. This proved fruitless, however, as the representatives of both nations believed that any compromise would sully their honor. When talks closed, the Empire of Uldarash informed Bardonia of their preferred hour of declaration, but due to the small size of Bardonia, the war was delayed for several hours until members from both nations were available. The Silver Coalition also agreed to Uldarash's request to remain neutral on the condition that there would be no needless destruction of architecture in the warring cities.
Inspired by the tactics of Ardat Mosul in the Viper War, Uldarash founded a new town, called Siege Camp, and surrounded the entire town of Bardonia using a tactic known as a Dalatra's Ring. Additionally, in the early stages before the war, the highly secret Operation Carrot was proposed yet ultimately scrapped by Uldarashi leadership as it was decided as being "unreasonable and cruel."
Once a member of Bardonia was online, Uldarash declared war. In response, the Bardonian Senator Moyye created the town of Alcoholism just outside the walls of Siege Camp. Alcoholism then declared war on Sanctuary, to which Uldarash responded with a declaration on the Bardonian capital Dorasterrock from Great Barrier.
At 9 AM EST, the Vastallosi Alliance of Western Rathnir, which both Uldarash and Bardonia were observer states to, held a meeting in Carvay, making an ultimately unsuccessful last ditch effort to end hostilities between the two nations. The VAWR member nations unanimously agreed that they had to intervene in the conflict, considering that both nations were technically under their protection. After lengthy negotiations, all parties involved, including Bardonia and Uldarash, agreed that the VAWR would post peacekeepers in all the cities where war was declared in order to prevent needless destruction. The VAWR further agreed to intervene in the war on behalf of whichever nation was attacked by the other side.
== Preparations ==
=== Siege fortifications ===
Beginning at roughly 3:30 PM EST, the war officially began. While constructing a siege wall around the Bardonia, members of Uldarash attempted to fight off giant phantoms which circled above them. During the same night, Wurmbo trespassed onto Bardonian territory and stole three horses along with their armor, hiding them in a dirt pit behind the walls of Siege Camp.
Bardonia prepared their defenses for war the next day, deconstructing their town hall and turning it into an obsidian stronghold Starting at night, Uldarashi combatants found themselves suffering from insomnia, seeing as a plentiful amount of members forgot to sleep the night prior. However, an unnamed cat helped them in keeping away the phantoms throughout the night while each member slept one by one. Some called these phantoms the "Spirits of War", seeing as they were so plentiful at the start of the conflict.
File:The Poo Sign.png|Members of Bardonia pose in front of the first Poo Sign.
File:The 2nd Poo Sign.png|The second Poo Sign being burned by VAWR and Bardonia.
File:4th unofficial Poo Sign.png|A Poo Sign from the Stare.
During the construction of the siege wall around Bardonia on November 3, 2020, the Uldarashi architect Nybbles created the Poo Sign. While the sign was taken down the day after by Uldarash, Nybbles created another sign for the Bardonians to read out. Nybbles was then exiled from Uldarash for escalating tensions between the two countries, alongside other misdemeanors. Bardonia, however, claimed they loved the Poo Signs, proving Uldarash's initial caution of the war starting. During the initial calm stages of the war, several other members of Uldarash began to make their own Poo Signs, though other Uldarashi men would take them down soon after. Though few if any signs were made during the actual fighting, all of them were taken down.
On the side of Uldarash, around 15 warriors and volunteers from New-Interland were stationed on the wall for battle. Around 12 Bardonian and a few VAWR warriors, as well as volunteers from Escharien, the Silver Coalition and Vraelea were positioned on the roofs of Bardonia.
=== Staring war ===
Both Uldarash and Bardonia stood in a cold stare, to the point of which some referred to the war as "Staring War" and "Cold War." Neither side wanted to trigger the agreement of the VAWR, as VAWR support would pose a significant advantage in the conflict. To secure this support, both sides attempted to provoke each other into attacking. Several days were spent simply looking at each other as soldiers patrolled the wall, waiting for someone to attack. Some would occasionally start patrolling directly in front of the wall, which could have been perceived as a threat, yet no one acted on it. Civilians and combatants were instructed to document any proof of engagement from the other side before attacking.
Eventually, a few members of Uldarash, most notably the self-proclaimed "neutral fighter" AlolanVulpix, walked down into Bardonia and began fishing. Some neutral spectators tried to get the Uldarashi citizens away to prevent accidental conflict, yet most of them kept fishing. Soon enough, both sides were fishing to the point that some declared a fishing competition. Tensions had drastically lowered despite several attempts to stage an engagement from each side. One such attempt being made by Wurmbo, who stated that he was hit off the wall after he fell from it. This claim was later debunked.
In between this time, Wurmbo and WhiskeyKnight decided to marry. A ceremony with wedding music was held as the two rejoiced in marriage between Siege Camp and Bardonia's official territory below a dirt smiley face built by Keechoo. Both sides seemed to be content despite the war still ongoing.
Neither party attacked whatsoever, though the rogue yaykei, kept trying to stage engagements from Uldarash by attempting to kill members of both sides, including Dentro, the leader of Uldarash's southern capital Sanctuary. Nevertheless, attempts by lone individuals to stage a conflict continued throught this period. Cizeek, a mercenary fighting for Uldarash, attempted to get hit by a fishing rod in the Fishing Competition to stage an engagement. Hungry for a war, some Uldarashis argued that simply attacking Bardonia would not result in a world war and that no one would get involved, despite official statements to the contrary.
=== Escalating tensions ===
At night, several events of importance happened simultaneously. One member of Uldarash heard an arrow, which turned out to be a shot towards the ground by another Uldarashi citizen. When Keechoo asked where Moyye was, he simply responded to "look at the other side of the wall."
Despite this, it appeared the war would end soon. Some Uldarashi forces got a little too close to the city, to the point where some were even in Bardonia proper. MLGkiddoritofan was spotted going through some chests, defying orders by the Uldarashi command. Upon hearing several people moving towards him, he teleported away. Screenshots from neutral sources proved his thievery, and the VAWR peacekeeper Infinick confirmed the incident. Shortly afterwards, VAWR peacekeeper Essendor witnessed Prince Corvus of Uldarash running amok in Dorasterrock. He asked him to leave and subsequently to teleport in front of him. Corvus refused, since he was already far away and tensions quickly rose to the point where direct conflict seemed inevitable. 
==Warfare==
Soon enough, Uldarashi forces assumed battle formation as the they declared war while firing a volley of arrows at Bardonia. Due to Uldarash engaging first, as well as the theft of Bardonian items, the VAWR immediately sided with Bardonia and summoned their own forces for battle. Uldarash lead the charge directly into Bardonian territory and took hold of a partially ruined fortress obly 24 minutes before the war would end.
Bardonia had seen significant development to defend against the invading Uldarashi forces. The first defense an invader would come across would be a large wall of berry bushes planted to slow down and inflict damage on the attacking army. Next, a moat was set up in which the only direct entrance was through a bridge made entirely of lit campfires. Cobwebs were placed above the campfires to slow progression even further. The bridge itself was also protected by berry bushes, making alternative ways into the city better options for the attacking forces.
In the scenario that Uldarashi forces would breach the Bardonian walls and enter the city, bamboo was places to make it far more difficult to navigate and shoot arrows. Furthermore, the Bardonians were trained to to shoot through the bamboo accurately, allowing for guerilla attacks on the invading force. Uldarashi forces resorted to the bombing of the Bardonian defenses in an effort to clear their way past the wall.
=== Invasion into Bardonia ===
Seeing as the invasion over the moat would be near impossible, Timeken and two other Uldarashis went off to the other side of Bardonia, where there were no apparent player defenders. Bamboo and berry bushes were still plentiful and seemed impossible to break them. To create a breach, Timeken placed TNT and bombed into Bardonia, finally gaining an advantage in what would have otherwise been a stalemate. The bombing, however, revealed lava, causing more hazards to form around the breach. Several blocks of TNT were placed and a nether portal was broken before other Uldarashi soldiers were notified of the successful breach and rallied to mount an attack. With the sudden movement of forces, the Bardonians followed suit. A relentless arrow barrage from both sides persisted throughout the fight and many soldiers were lost to the fire. Soon, the Bardonian warriors BackToTheHub and Ezexus found an opening through the arrow barrage and ender-pearled directly into Uldarashi lines. This risky gambit proved hugely successful as they were able to cut down multiple Uldarashi warriors, opening the way for a Bardonian counter-attack.
Bardonia's Dandelion Temple and The Gnasty Garlic tavern were damaged by the bombing. The entire city was turned into a battlefield. As a result of the heavy bombings, a trench like formation was created. Uldarashi forces began to open fire on the defending Bardonians, since neither side had an accessible escape from the trench and were forced to fight to the death. This did not bode well for the Uldarashi army as they experienced significant losses. Many Uldarashi warriors were slain in the trench, losing all their fighting equipment, while Bardonia and their allies sustained comparatively minor damage. In a massive ravine now exposed by the trench, TwigsTwigs, an Uldarashi soldier equipped with powerful Netherite armor and said to possess god-like powers, made a last stand, holding off at least seven warriors before being overwhelmed by Bardonian forces.
=== Bardonian counterattack ===
The Bardonian army managed to push back the forces of Uldarash and the fighting continued near Siege Camp, where Bardonians reached the holding point of the wall. Tzseu of Bardonia used her magical trident, Shark Bait, to leap onto the Uldarashi siege wall, destroying critical Uldarashi respawn points to prevent them from returning to the battlefield. After conquering Siege Camp, a few Bardonians engaged in brief spawnkillings of Uldurashi troops, some of which pleaded for mercy. Loot from the Uldarashi army was buried and Uldarashi forces were significantly weakened, almost losing to attrition.
Sanctuary, the southern capital of the Uldarash, was a floating city that had loose involvement with the war. Due to the founding of Alcoholism by Moyye, he was able to invade. For this reason, Emperor Dentro and Keechoo, the Duke of Palovina ordered members of the Uldarashi army to defend Sanctuary, assuming Sanctuary would be well-guarded.
This sentiment was broken when one member of Uldarash visited Sanctuary and found the ziggurat completely deprived of its contents along with holes in the furnace room. While the city was unguarded, Moyye, OneEyedOthinus, 8jaaround and Lokki de Nuuk secretly raided Sanctuary, destroying and looting most of its chests, including highly valued blackstone. Apart from the theft, the architecture of the city remained largely intact.
== Aftermath ==
Bardonia's defenses as well as their combat skill prevailed against the Uldarashi aggression. Troops of Uldarash were continually pushed back until the end of the war. The territorial losses of Uldarash, the ensuing secession of Paloro and lack of significant damage dealt to Bardonia indicated a decisive win for Bardonia and their allies.
=== Treaty of the West ===
The Bardonians arguably committed war crimes against Uldarash after the surrender, continuing repeated executions of Uldarashi citizens. Notably such slaughters included spawn killing the Uldarashi in their beds and 8jaaroud killing Emperor Dentro, despite having officially surrendered. During negotiations, the Uldarashi proposed a peace deal that saw them not only giving up the vast majority of their mesa claim, but all their lands in Ummarnu as a whole, with the exception of Kaahiru island. This deal was eagerly accepted by Bardonia and the VAWR, both of whom did not want to impose a harsh peace due to a desire for future diplomatic relations. The former Uldarashi territory in the Ummarnu Mesa was turned into a public mining space where anyone from any nation could freely mine but no nation was permitted to colonize. This free mining zone was put under the protection of the VAWR to enforce those rules. This peace deal, known as the Treaty of the West, was negotiated and agreed upon at the Grizzly Bear Bar.
=== Effects on Bardonia ===
Bardonia quickly rebuilt after the war, seeing it a major success and annexing the remains of Siege Camp. Their defenses were collected and stored away in case Bardonia was ever attacked again, but the obsidian tower built in place of the original town hall was not deconstructed, remaining fortified and ready to shelter the Bardonians as it did before. In the long term, Bardonia beacame recognized as a great powers of Rathnir, following the Decline of the Old Guard, largely due to its military success which started in the successful defense and counterattack during the Great Golden War.
=== Effects on Uldarash ===
=== Government reforms ===
Uldarash saw a need for some sort of reform after their loss from the war. Though the idea of a governmental reform had been privately considered by many citizens prior to the war, it was voiced publicly following Uldarash's defeat. Most notably, Emperor WilusaWarrior of Uldarash, also the King of Talawa over Lukkawa and Lukka, officially stepped down the day after the war. A transition to a unified monarchy was put in place. While it seemed possible that Uldarash could transition to a constitutional monarchy or republic like its predecessor Paloro, this did not realize. Nevertheless, Dentro later granted his title of sole to the Regent Emperor WhiskeyKnight.
In the long term, Uldarash found itself consistently centralizing in hopes to keep its nation from collapsing and its citizens from turning inactive. This was moderately successful and although Uldarash's claims became now far more stretched out than before the war, no further borders conflicts arose in the aftermath of the war. Osudal briefely seceded from Uldarash and became an independent nation for a little over a month, before complications saw them return to Uldarash as a state.
=== Secession of Palovina ===
When the War was about to begin, Palovina stated its intolerance for Uldarashi engagement, noting that Uldarash would lose the war if their forces were to engage first. Furthermore, Palovina announced its secession from the empire in case of an Uldarashi offence. After the war, Palovinan leader Keechoo requested a minimum of $20,000 from the public to complete Palovinan secession.
After receiving what Keechoo stated to be "far more" than the requested amount, Palovina seceded the day after, stating it would reform the nation of Paloro between Palovina and Felsonsvhon. Paloro had already established their own claims, only to be met with even more land than desired. The two states maintained neutral relations. After declaring independence, Paloro had seen a notable growth in citizens despite their political situation and remained independent until joining Hearthstone Yuldai in .
== Gallery ==
Siege Camp.png|Siege Camp surrounding Bardonia.
Standoff_in_Bardonia.png|Standoff in Bardonia.
Souls_of_War.png|The flock of phantoms known as "The Spirits of War".
Fishing.png|The fishing contest preceeding the fighting.
Wedding.png|The "Wall's Marriage".
Uldarash_Invading_Bardonia.png|Uldarashi forces invading Bardonia.
Bamboo Bardonia.png|Bardonian forces firing arrows through the bamboo.
The Vastallos Alliance Soldiers.png|Soldiers from Carvay and Sironia fighting on the side of Bardonia.
Bombing of Bordania.png|Timeken bombing his way into Bardonia.
Trench Creation.png|Timeken bombing away the berries and bamboo, subsequently creating The Trench.
Uldarashi Trenches.png|Arrow fire whizzes by Uldarashi soldiers stuck in the trench in the center of Bardonia.
Sack of the Sanctuary.png|The Sacking of Sanctuary.
Uldarash.jpg|Uldarash Borders Prior to the Treaty of the West.
BorderV2.png|Uldarash Borders After the Treaty of the West.
New Paloro Borders.png|Borders of Paloro.
Category:Wars
Category:History
Category:Traveler's Era