Liberation War

The Liberation War was a momentous conflict fought between the United Socialist States of Eldham and the Imperial Archonate of Sylvania. The war formally began following a formal declaration of war from the USSE in the . However, the process of strategic actions against Sylvania began starting in the Summer of 281 TE with the liberation of Kazkaya, before resuming in the with the liberation of Astranza. The war ultimately ended in the after the liberation of Laria, with a decisive victory in favor of the USSE.
The war resulted in the USSE completely annexing the entirety of Kiurtrog, including the occupied historic city of Laria, in addition to occupied territory in Kolssonafell and the city of Kazkaya. All of these lands had been occupied by Sylvania and/or their allies, in some instances, for over a century. After an incredibly bloody war effort, the liberation of these lands brought tremendous celebrations across Serrona, and asserted the USSE's position as a superpower on the world stage. It also indirectly influenced the integration of Valreshiya and Shakumagu as states of the USSE.
It was one of the final, if not the very last, war to be fought and ended in Eldham prior to the freezing of the server. It was widely seen as an event of great national pride for the USSE, and is widely commemorated today by the diaspora of former USSE citizens and their ancestors across Abexilas.
===Prelude===
====Start of the Lethean Maldings====
The cause for the eventual hostilities of the Liberation War traced back to the start of what was called the Lethean Maldings, which began in the Autumn of 190 TE. At this point in history, the United Socialist States of Eldham (USSE) were at a remarkable height in power, having been a founding member—and arguably the single-most productive and powerful member—of the Eldhamite Union. This was a supranational organization or government which contained the USSE, Eleanor, Jorvheimr, and Asperia. Furthermore, the Eldhamite Union was a member of the Eldham Alliance, which contained the Vulperium, Sylvania, Scylding, and Velerin. This power bloc was widely viewed as the uncontested strongest military power on the face of Eldham at the time, however internal disputes within the USSE government would cause unprecedented chaos and one of the most consequential rifts in the history of the USSE.
An incredibly powerful politician in the USSE named Lethe of Laria—who had a prestigious position as the Commissioner of Security under the cabinet of Kato Leasian—would author the Treaty of the Union of the Red Sabres in the . This was the document which marked the eventual creation of the Eldhamite Union. Lethe of Laria would go on to eventually be a multi-term General Secretary of the USSE, and applauded the politician Bhutch Fielinya-Akataste as she was elected to the same position in 181 TE. During the duration of the Eldhamite Union, Lethe had grown strongly discontent with it and the USSE's allies and had erroneously informed Fielinya-Akataste that she had the right to leave the Union at any time she pleased. 
It is widely understood in retrospect that Bhutch also had a deeply misinformed understanding of USSE law and the Constitution, originally dawning from Portavel as opposed to being a USSE native; and that Lethe himself had a poor understanding of it as well, relying heavily on his Commissioner of Justice throughout his duration of time in power. It was with this misinformation that Bhutch declared in the Autumn of 190 TE, without the consultation of any members of the USSE government except for Lethe, that "a number of irreconcilable differences in opinion" had arisen and that she was pulling the USSE out of the Eldhamite Union. She promptly became the first—and the only—General Secretary of the USSE to ever be removed from office and a number of other criminal acts of treason were revealed resulting in charges being pressed against Lethe of Laria by the remainder of the USSE government.
This formed a massive internal controversy within the USSE, and for an extensive period of time Lethe would call in his close friends in private, including the likes of Kato Leasian, Sorray of Laria, Bhutch Fielinya-Akataste, Alainap, and a select few others. This amounted in a plan to overthrow the USSE leadership after Lethe lost his legal battle, and they called themselves the "Loyalists", announcing their plans in the Autumn of 194 TE, threatening secession if the USSE did not acquiesce to their demands. In an attempt to appease them, the General Secretary offered both Bhutch and Lethe complete pardons, and while this was accepted by Bhutch who became a neutral pariah in the public eye, Lethe refused it; citing that he felt the USSE was an unrighteous institution to begin with. As these individuals previously held high positions in the USSE, several of them, though primarily Lethe, were claim owners. Furthermore, these secessionists would fight in a bloody war assisted by Mars Exulte to concretely destroy the Eldhamite Union, which was successful and resulted in 97 casualties from the USSE People's Army and their allies. Ultimately, in the Winter of 197 TE, Lethe would use his role as the claim owner of Laria, to declare independence and form the Realm of Laria. From this point onward, the term "Loyalist" was abandoned, and though unused by the Larians themselves, those abroad and particularly in the USSE would use the term Lethean to refer to those who had betrayed the USSE. 
Brutal conflict unfolded and threats of war and annexations were made, though a temporary ceasefire was begrudgingly verbally agreed upon by both sides the same day Laria seceded. Before this was done however, Lethe and the Letheans would forcefully declare independence using their other claims such as Al-Bassad those in Kolssonafell, additionally forming the Free City of Manzig, which was seen as a way to demoralize the USSE as it was seen as the greatest prize of their victory in the Furry War.
Within a single month, the USSE had lost the entirety of Kolssonafell and Kiurtrog, and even Medtremar's region of Kaladinia had been bisected. The Letheans had even attempted to sponsor a failed secessionist movement in Adalor. In the aftermath of these losses, numerous people were displaced from metropolitan cities like Laria for being suspected communists or maintaining their USSE citizenship; Laria and Manzig immediately descended into military dictatorships despite initial promises of democracy. This was seen as a massive loss on the international stage and a deep wound to the USSE's stability. The USSE—then led by General Secretary Chelovek Serebra III—announced it was entering what it called Jatokoré io Démixohu in the ; the term meaning "era of isolation".
====Kelz the Spineless and the Liberation of Kazkaya====
While the USSE attempted to remain entirely isolated from international politics, this did not prevent outsiders from continuing to instigate terror and annexations of USSE territory. Outside of the USSE, the secessionist lands such as Laria had begun to become incredibly inactive. These were solely being kept alive as depots for PvP factions, such as the Hands. The USSE would eventually leave their isolation and begin quickly instituting economic reforms; becoming the first ever nation on Stoneworks to have a completely centralized economy, as per the economic programs of Rosa Ortangon. Furthermore, they would enter a "strategic vassalization" with Eleanor to off-put the danger placed on the USSE by the Letheans and PvP factions which now ran Laria in its entirety. This was not the first time the USSE would engage in this type of diplomatic strategy, though it would be the last. One quirk of this vassalization however would have drastic consequences which would catapult the USSE into the first stage of the Liberation War. That quirk being that Eleanor's leader—Kelz—was to own the city of Kazkaya as a claim safety mechanism, despite not officially being its mayor or even a USSE citizen.
While this remained successful for an extensive duration of time, decades in fact, it would ultimately come to crumble. Eleanor had turned into the nation of Iversteiya by this point, though Kelz remained leader. The cold war with the Letheans continued with minor arguments and skirmishes filling the void of conflict, but things would come to turn as Laria fell into such inactivity they gave themselves away to Sylvania; as did Manzig. This meant that all of the USSE's former territories were now occupied by Sylvania.
At this point, war had erupted between a massive military alliance called CATO which Iversteiya (and by extension, the USSE) was a part of and and a massive series of nations after the Ashtrokan-Wandenreich Empire attempted to go to war and annex Vuleria in a conflict called the Clone War. In a last minute maneuver to leave the USSE without allies and place them in conflict with the Letheans yet again who desired war, Kelz would forcefully devassalize the USSE and illegally give the capital city of Kazkaya to Sylvania in the Autumn of 274 TE. The USSE was quick to aid the Vulerian coalition against Iversteiya and the remainder of CATO, who were victorious, but they still did not have the capital back. Now, Sylvania had further occupied the near entirety of Kramenix, one of the USSE's states and the one which included Kazkaya. The near complete annexation of the USSE's South was incredibly catastrophic and mass evacuations were prepared.
This effectively ended the Sylvanian "cold war" and entered the USSE into a state of active aggression against Sylvania and the illegal occupation of their territory. The first target for liberation was unconditionally Kazkaya. Sylvania took on a foreign policy program trying to bait the USSE into outright declaring war before the USSE could adequately prepare for it, though the USSE repelled these attempts and decided on more devious means to liberate their lost lands. The USSE had trained numerous bandits and military officials to antagonize Sylvania, in particular, the Sylvanian capital of Noxwind saw bandit attacks every single day for weeks on end with numerous casualties and material losses. Additionally, the USSE radically prepared military armories and warehouses in every single city to prepare for possible war; an effort which was successful in great part due to the USSE's position as one of the world's single largest producers of war-related goods. Furthermore, the USSE entered adamant talks with the Sylvanian government who quickly began to turn against Kelz and the Sylvanians in charge of the occupation in Kazkaya and Laria.
Through the consistent pressure applied on Sylvania, eventually Sylvania buckled under the weight and acquiesced to the USSE's demands as it quickly became no longer beneficial nor profitable to continue the occupation of Kazkaya. With that, Kazkaya was liberated in the Summer of 281 TE and returned to the USSE. During this occupation, the city was renamed to "Letheskaya" and street and building names were changed to those of Lethean and Sylvanian nationalists. Additionally, several communist monuments were destroyed or vandalized during the occupation. This strategy was first adopted by Sylvania and their allies during their alleged acts of ethnic cleansing against the Morladronians. These attempts to erase the history of the USSE in Kazkaya were undone after the liberation of the city. Sylvania's actions would come to be remembered by the USSE and heavily informed how the USSE would handle the future liberation of cities. According to some, this is marked as the beginning of the Liberation War as the USSE's goals were moved from not only liberating the city of Kazkaya, but to liberating all of the USSE's lost territories; by force if necessary.
File:Mageriusannouncementkazkaya.png|Magerius Ukumari and Miril Gaboliver announcing the liberation of Kazkaya from the Supreme People's Assembly building in the city.
File:Kazkayaliberation.png|Miril Gaboliver reading a sign left at the Kazkaya Experience Factory after the city was liberated. The sign was from when the city was evacuated.
File:Fallensoldier.png|The Fallen Soldier Statue in Kazkaya. The previous statue was destroyed by the Sylvanian occupation; with a new one being rebuilt in its place following the liberation.
===Liberation of Kolssonafell===
====Liberation of Astranza====
With Kazkaya liberated, the USSE set its eyes to its other lost territories. At this point in history, the historic lands of Kolssonafell were partially divided, though much of it was under the control of a nation called Leiden; who in turn was part of Sylvania. This was likewise a largely inactive nation which was kept alive solely through its involvement in international wars. In particular, Leiden controlled the lands of Astranza, Nielsensbyian (including Kolssonafell City), and the Lavenderist Academy.
Looking for the weakest links and the most easy to break, the USSE determined Astranza would be the easiest solution. A number of the mayors in the occupied territories had little or no real allegiance to the nations they were under nor any love for the land they owned, and in some cases were willing to betray the nations they were under for money or gear; especially seeing as the USSE had clear attachments to the land despite the occupation. Neither gear or money were in short supply as the USSE maintained one of the world's single strongest economies.
In the , Astranza was officially liberated as the People's Army and government officials marched into the city and much of Kolssonafell was liberated with it. For the first time in months, the city saw a flourish of new activity. While technically the mayor of Astranza, LehRouge, had been in close contact with the USSE for an extensive period of time beforehand, the USSE knew it could not officially annex Astranza until Sylvania was vulnerable; now was the time. 
While the USSE had attempted to claim the lands of Nielsensbyian and the Lavenderist Academy with this, these attempts were only partially recognized by international cartographers; some of which had sympathies to the Sylvanians. In particular, the leaders of Leiden and Sylvania regained claim over the Lavenderist Academy and stated that the USSE would have to declare war in order to control the middle of Kolssonafell. Not falling for the warbait, the USSE yet again began a mission to achieve liberation of the area through secrecy as opposed to the chaos of outright war.
====Liberation of the Academy====
With incredible ease, in the , the USSE managed to regain control of the Academy claim. Under the nose of Sylvania, a USSE patriot by the name of Jens Kruse would discretely stay under the Academy's claim for over a year waiting for the perfect moment. Eventually, the time had come, and Kruse was able to annex the city and take ownership of it as a consequence of the inactivity of the claim's previous Sylvanian owners. With this, the city was liberated in its entirety and much of Kolssonafell was now free and part of the USSE once more. A large part of this liberation was planned by the USSE's People's Security Bureau (PSB) under the leadership of Director Jens Kruse as opposed to the national government. The PSB in its entirety were given the credit for the liberation by Magerius Ukumari. The day after the liberation, Jens Kruse was awarded one of his most prestigious medals, the Order of Krakhov, by the Commission of Justice.
After the liberation of the Academy, a group of six agents with the People's Security Bureau entered the Academy and torched the Sylvanian flags and banners as well as any other reference to the Lavenderist and Sylvanian occupations; of which there were numerous tokens. The USSE flag was hung once more from the Academy, and the symbols of the PSB and the USSE were hung. The Academy, which was previously a school for Lavenderists, a sect of socialists who aligned themselves with the Letheans, was then turned into a school to provide education on Xeroism and the history of the USSE. It was renamed to the Xeroist Academy.
File:Burningsylvanianflag.png|The Sylvanian and Academy flag at the top of the Academy being torched after its liberation by the PSB.
File:Liberationoftheacademy.png|Two leading members of the PSB standing in front of the Academy after the banners of the USSE had been hung from its entrance and the star of the PSB was adorned. This picture was taken the day of the liberation.
At this point, Sylvania was in a brutal war with Orithia, and while the USSE had not yet joined, the USSE actively aided Orithia through the use of the USSE mercenary group Lobster Gang. This could be seen at the Battle of Jurkoir, where USSE militants in Lobster Gang participated. The reason why the USSE refused to formally enter the war is because the war meta at the time heavily favored those on the defensive side of battle; and therefore neither Sylvania or the USSE wished to be the first to declare war, at least not until the perfect moment. The continued losses further humiliated Sylvania as they would lose battle to battle, further chipping away at Sylvania's already strenuous resources and giving way for the future liberation of the USSE's strongest prize in the Liberation War.
===Liberation of Kiurtrog===
====Formal Declaration of War====
With Kramenix and Kolssonafell liberated in its entirety, all that truly remained lied to the East; the land where the USSE had been founded and one of its greatest jewels: Kiurtrog, home to the city of Laria. Laria was renowned across the entire world for its beauty, and with the mechanics of war in Stoneworks, the USSE would have to barter a city of equal value or beauty as a war claim. The mayor Miril Gaboliver permitted the newly liberated city of Kazkaya to be used in the war.
The Fifth Supreme People's Assembly of the USSE voted unanimously in approval of going to war with Sylvania in the , though this decision would remain secret for numerous years until the nation was ready for war.
In the , Magerius Ukumari officially announced that the United Socialist States of Eldham would be entering into a state of war against Sylvania and a war ticket was accordingly opened. He stated the following: "The USSE's destiny ever since it’s renaissance was to overcome Sylvania and defeat the pathetic colonizers that plagued our continent for ages. The USSE government and Supreme People's Assembly have hereby decided to officially join our Orithian allies in their quest for freedom and justice in the world of Eldham."
Immediately after the war was announced, the primary architect of Laria, Sorray, demanded the complete destruction and demolition of the city. Several Sylvanians were tasked with destroying the city which was done very quickly. To this day, numerous former Larians and their descendants in Abexilas remember the names of the specific Sylvanians who destroyed their home and choose to never forget their name should revenge come one day. While many USSE patriots showed hesitation and forgiveness towards the Lethean Larians after the war ended—such forgiveness was extended to people like Kato Leasian—but Sorray was widely criticized and disliked as a consequence of her ordering the destruction of the city.
The Sylvanians were accused of weaponizing bans immediately prior to the war, by attempting to compile and collect evidence against the USSE and other combatants such as the Orithians, and than reporting it all at once to keep as many USSE soldiers from attending the battles in Laria as possible. The Sylvanian military are used illegal claim couping in the war with Orithia resulting in the temporary ban of several commanders, including Hxrry von Praestigia. The Sylvanians were also accused of benefiting from the 2023 Dupe Crisis, as the duping in question was done in Sylvanian-controlled Kiurtrog, though whether the Sylvanians still had active money from the crisis by time of the Liberation War is unknown.
====Battles for Laria====
The First Battle of Laria began in the Spring of 315 TE at 9:00 PM CET. Several mercenaries which offered to fight for the USSE ended up not attending last minute and allegedly supported Sylvania instead. Sylvania's commander Decorus Redfoo attempted to offer USSE allies money to fight for Sylvania, though the vast majority of these requests are believed to have been rejected by the USSE's allies. Additionally, several valuable USSE soldiers were unable to attend the First Battle because of the temporary bans against them for repeat killing.
In spite of this, the USSE was victorious and won the battle with 80-10 siege points, leading over Sylvania by 70 points. 150 siege points were required to take the city. In the aftermath of the First Battle, it was clear the defeat was incredibly demoralizing against Sylvania. One soldier is quoted as saying that Sylvania's "defense was near negligible" during the First Battle. Another soldier stated a very significant amount of Sylvania's defense was from mercenary factions, while most of the USSE's fighters were USSE citizens; with a fair amount of Orithians and a largely small number of mercenaries who offered help. The First Battle had roughly 45~ fighters for the USSE, the amount of Sylvanian fighters is unclear. The number of casualties in the First Battle seems to have also been unrecorded and lost to time.
The Second Battle of Laria began in the , the battle began at 6:00 PM EST, and the USSE soldiers began to gear up two hours prior in the city of Q. The USSE had roughly 50 fighters, and the number of Sylvanian fighters is unclear but likely less. The Sylvanians took 46 casualties, while the USSE also took harsh casualties at 38. Despite this, the USSE progressed and rampaged through the Sylvanian frontlines and defenses and despite the heavy casualties did not stop. With this, the Sylvanians were pushed back and almost all of them were killed in a massive line of deceased Sylvanian soldiers.
The USSE was victorious yet again with 120 siege points as opposed to the merely 20 Sylvanian points, with this the city of Laria was taken; ending the Liberation War and constituting the complete liberation of the city of Laria, and the entirety of Kiurtrog with it.
File:Peoplesarmyinlaria.png|Image of the USSE People's Army gathered in Laria after the Second Battle's victory. Image taken by Magerius Ukumari.
File:Peoplesarmyinlaria1.png|Image of the USSE People's Army gathered in Laria after the Second Battle's victory. Image taken by Magerius Ukumari.
The USSE declared its victory in the war shortly after the Second Battle of Laria in a speech given by General Secretary Wntryi Ukumari. Sylvania had been officially defeated and the war was ended. Celebrations were hosted across the USSE, namely in the city of Laria, but also across Eldham. 
===Aftermath===
====Reconstruction of Kazkaya====
After the war, Kazkaya received multiple griefs which were reversed. After this, Kazkaya had a massive rebuilding initiative led by Miril Gaboliver. Walls were built, nearly two dozen large structures were made, and infrastructure was reorganized and rebuilt.
This was one of the largest single building projects the USSE had undergone in its history, if not the largest. It was very common, particularly throughout 2023, for the USSE to undergo public access building projects to citizens that were large and collaborative. The largest ever planned was the Palace of the People project that was intended to be built in Medtremar, but was never constructed, making the Kazkaya Reconstruction the largest finished project in the history.
====Reconstruction of Laria====
After the war, Laria was left in great ruin. Using a Ring of Power instilled to her, Arika Ronango'O would use her magical powers to reverse the damage done to Laria to its state prior to the war. Though Eldham was frozen shortly after the war, some construction did take place after the war. Namely, old structures were named after patriots and heroes of the Liberation War, and monuments were made with dedication to the war heroes in question.
There are numerous anecdotes of USSE citizens, and particularly former Larians, entering the city after its reconstruction and liberation after the war and being brought to actual tears. Arika Ronango'O hosted a tour of the city shortly after the liberation where she shared memories and the history of various sites across the city. Banners of Laria and Sylvania were burned in mass in celebration; though the USSE People's Army did bring numerous Lethean artifacts, belongings, heads, and banners to Abexilas to be displayed in museums. Notably, a head of Lethe was burned in the middle of Laria's square in the New City borough. USSE soldiers engaged in public shaming of the Sylvanian occupiers, notably by burning heads as aforementioned but also by sending former occupiers photos of uniformed USSE soldiers sleeping in the occupiers' beds.
File:Lariaafterliberation.png|An image of Laria's skyline after its liberation and reconstruction as taken by Kedando Vet.
File:Lariaflagburning.png|The Larian flag burning just outside of the city at the historic Lo'Oix site of Trodé Yoxén. Numerous items belonging to Kato Leasian and Lethe of Laria were recovered here and displayed to the masses.
File:Mrnothinginbed.png|A soldier of the USSE People's Army sleeping in the bed of the Sylvanian occupier Nora; the image was sent to Sylvanians to antagonize them.
File:Ilonjinexo.jpg|Image of USSE Commissioner of Justice Ilon Jinéxo giving a speech at Laria Citizen's Hall, the courthouse where Lethe was first charged with crimes and where the Lethean Maldings began.
File:Joshyinlaria.png|A USSE Citizen looking at houses in Laria after the liberation before having a home allocated to them. Image taken by Leon Zopasku.
File:Uraboninlaria.png|Miril Gaboliver in the city of Laria after its liberation. The image was sent to the Sylvanians at which point Lethe of Laria - in more unkind and illegal words - told him to die.
File:Sorrayinlaria.png|Sorray of Laria walking through the streets of Laria following its liberation. She was escorted by the People's Army as she toured the city. Her home was allocated to a USSE soldier after the war and her belongings were later sent to Abexilas to be displayed in a museum.
File:Lariafromthesky.png|Aerial photograph of Laria taken from a USSE war zeppelin over the Sea of Lélo'é. Kazkaya can be seen to the far left of the photo in the distance, and in the background to the top you can also see the war fort of Kamieniec in the mountains.
====Home repatriation====
The Garen Toá Kiurtrog, led by Arika Ronango'O, in cooperation with the USSE and local Kiurtrogoix government worked on locating occupied homes and repatriating them to those that had been displaced by the Lethean coup of Laria. This included rigorous research after the reconstruction of Laria as over a dozen people were identified as refugees of the crisis; not all of whom could be reached quickly enough. Some of those that had their homes repatriated in Kiurtrog included Night Vonel, Claudius Linomavich, Ken Wolfdale, Chelovek Serebra III, Quintus Solokov, Divinus Vetavos, Arika Ronango'O, Buoyo Bear, Ren Serebra, and more. 
Remaining homes were then offered to commanders and soldiers in the People's Army who had fought in the Liberation War, and then to ordinary citizens. This overall process was called allocation. It is estimated less than 5% of people's belongings survived the period of Lethean occupation, though the vast majority of these belongings were destroyed within a month of the First Battle of Laria; meaning many of these occupied homes had been neglected for nearly a real world year before they were destroyed and the belongings within stolen. Those belongings that did survive were hidden; there are several anecdotes of people rediscovering their old belongings that were hidden underneath floorboards, in bushes, basements, and other locations. Some belongings were located in the homes of prominent Letheans; having been stolen by them. It is alleged that many stolen belongings were brought by the Sylvanian griefers to various locations including Noxwind, Aroforn, and Qadakh. 
====USSE Farewell Party====
After Laria was liberated, the final farewell party of the USSE was hosted in Laria before Eldham was frozen. It was at the city of Laria where Arika Ronango'O would use her Ring of Power to sacrifice and kill herself; opening sixteen portals across Eldham and Rathnir allowing people to escape Iristor's Comet and make their way to Abexilas. This was done shortly before the Farewell Party, and at the end of the Party, those who wished to make their way to Abexilas entered through a portal in Laria. 
Most of those that entered through the portal in Laria ended up in Rozakorra and Kejafros; namely in what would become Zilatra and Sentara. Roughly fifty people were in attendance in Laria in person, while numerous others made pilgrimage to Laria from across Serrona and Leifmyrr to make their way through the portal to Abexilas. In some cases, religious figures came to Laria to praise the sacrifice of Arika, who had freshly been declared a Saint by the Makerist Church. 
Category:Wars
Category:Eldham
Category:Traveler's Era
Category:USSE
Category:Sylvania
Category:History