Armada Wars

Callos

Brecorian Empire

Concord of Draedis

Daasc

Ordelios

Third Hegemony of Rochau

Sren

The Armada Wars were series of harsh conflicts ended four years ago along the vast majority of the Ivuldi Archipelagoes spawned from several escalating trade disputes that drew several nations into open warfare, including the Concord. Conflicts begun in the islands found their way closer and closer to home for many nations, as fighting spread from the Archipelagoes to the mainland of Ordelios, the Sea of Berich and even reached the Murchai Chain of Rochau.

Since the Treaty of Maluna a tenuous peace has kept on the islands, and espionage has become the primary mode of conflict for the involved nations. In the four years since the end trade has resumed, and travel is no longer restricted between signatories. Several nations are disgruntled by the power the Rochau Hegemony now unilaterally holds in Ordelios, and many rebuild their fleets in anticipation of possible renewed conflict.

## Pre-War

In 1412, a trade dispute over the sugar cane tariffs of Daasqian sugar cane brought into Callos boils over as Callosian ships burn the plantations on Sulvost. Listed as an accident by Callosian government, the Daasqian government saw it as Callosian aggression and ordered a seizure of all Callosian ships in Daasqian ports. One ship the *Qoldromus*, attempted to flee this lockdown, but Daasqian naval forces sunk the ship in order to prevent its escape.

Early on the Callosian military began an assault on Daasqian territory, first as an effort to free their captive countrymen, but continuing on as a war of expansion as early skirmishes had primarily Callosian victories. Then Callosian forces landed at Sulvost, the same island that had sparked the war. Marines from Callos landed in the undefended port town of Lovria, but found it abandoned. As they began to celebrate their victory a salvo of artillery from the mountains ripped into the city devastating their troops and forcing them to retreat. Callosian ships sped to the shore to evacuate their troops, then the Daasqian fleet arrived pinning them against the rocky shore they battered the Callosian force from both sides ripping it apart. This marked the first bloody battle of the war seeing more than five thousand lives lost.

## War

During the initial months of the war each country, with their own story of unprovoked aggression, rallied their allies and initiated their mutual defense pacts demanding support in the conflict. While most had expected the conflagration to burn itself out in a few weeks, the inferno of war only grew as time went on, and the brutal battle at Sulvost showed the world that this was full scale war.

The first to become involved were the Ordelun, the Consortium of Ordelios sent ships north to ally with the Daasqian fleets and quell the Callosian advance. With the aid of Ordelios, the Daasqian forces began to push into Callosian territory almost entirely removing them from the Ivuldi Archipelagoes.

Callos had not been idle though and had by the beginning of 1413 managed to bring the Concord of Draedis and Brecorian Empire into the war. Brecoria fulfilling a mutual defense pact signed in 1394 and Draedis agreeing to join due to concerns over Ordelian dominance over the Ivuld Ocean. Realizing their advantage of land based material the countries prepared a large invasion force at Lashwind Isle, and set off towards mainland Ordelios.

Now the war had reached Ordelian territory reaching beyond the the Ivuldi Archipelagoes. In response the Ordelun government sent missives to the Third Hegemony of Rochau demanding they involve themselves in the war, as required by the Writ of Independence signed in 1378 assuring that Rochau would maintain the independence of Ordelios from any foreign power.

While Rochau prepared for a counter-offensive another faction became involved. Srenith ships sent to provide medical and food supplies to Ordelios were captured by Callosian allied forces, who had garnered at this time the title the Berich Accord, and pressed into service with the Accorded Navy. Sren had benefited from a neutral relation with the Accord and Ordelios forces until this point, trading non-military supplies to both parties. Sren condemned Concord and Brechorian forces for this, but made no military response.

When Rochau entered the war the Berich Accord has already made landfall on Ordelios. Accorded forces had take three major ports on the northwestern part of the continent and continued their advance deeper and deeper while the navy spread northward securing their supply line island by island. The Hegemony arrived, but rather than focus their efforts on the Ordelian front they instead joined Daasqian forces on the offensive heading towards Callos. The Hegemony and Daasqian forces who had now, in conjunction with Ordelios been named the Defiance of Ivuld blockaded the major ports of Callos and systematically destroyed anchorages, ammo dumps and airstrips on the shorelines before culminating in an occupation of the Callosian Capital, Istmere in 1414.

This position held for two years. Accorded forces slowly pushed against the Ordelian forces, gaining inches day by day, but never breaking their lines completely, as much of the terrain was to difficult for their heavy armor to be utilized. The Keel Corridor was held so men and supplies could arrive, and they took the majority of the northern shores, but could not push deeper into the mountains without heavy losses. The Defiance of Ivuld held the Callosian capital of Istmere, but realized any large army it tried to land would likely be intercepted by Accorded forces in the Berich Sea.

Then, ships began disappearing, supply ships, scouts, even small convoys were lost in the Keel Corridor. Patrols were increased, convoys were armed, but still on misty days or dark nights ships would vanish wreckage always to follow. At first the obvious solution, raiders, patrols were doubled. Then a ship in the middle of a convoy exploded with no warning. Next saboteurs were to blame, ship security was heightened, ammo and engine rooms secured. Still the attacks continued. Finally after three months of unexplained losses the culprit was revealed. After an explosion off their port bow, the Dradirian warship *Nacris,* fearing a minefield, fled into the shallows around a small unnamed island. In the dark of night they narrowly avoided the shoals, but their pursuer was not so lucky. Upon impacting the reef a Srenish U-boat was forced to surface, and as the crew attempted to flee the *Nacris* turned their weapons against them and managed to incapacitate the ship and tow its wreckage back to Lashwind Isle.

These losses would not go unnoticed by the Defiance of Ivuld, and as security tightened and forces were redirected to the Corridor, Rochau saw their opportunity to land forces en masse on the shore of Callos. Invasion began, already softened by bombardment, many ports fell quickly to their onslaught. Where before the Rochau occupation had been seen as a way to dissuade continued assault, political sentiment shifted to view them as overly aggressive especially in Virola. In particular the Kingdom of Niferos, a long time ally of Ordelios and Callos saw this as an overzealous attempt at expansion, and a detriment to the stability of the Ivuldi Archipelagoes.

Virotian governments sought peace in the Ivuld Ocean seeking treaties and stability to resume trade with Ordelios and Validon. However the joining of the war by the Srenins and the Defiance's new campaign in Callos left the Accorded in a difficult position to bargain. Most diplomatic channels fell short as the Hegemony's demands were too steep for the Berich Accord to accept.

Finally Niferos joined the war, not for a campaign, but only for a single assault. A Netch fleet sailed south to the Murchai Chain of Rochau and destroyed every iron mine and steel foundry on the islands, devastating the Rochau capacity for ship production. While the Rochau remained in a strong strategic position, the logistics of the war were no longer in their favor. Within a few years the gross output of the Accorded war infrastructure would overtake the Rochau's deployed forces, despite the addition of Srenish forces to the Defiance of Ivuld.

With defeat on the distant horizon, and the cost of war ever present, the powers at be were final willing to talk. Meeting on the small Ivuldi island of Maluna, a treaty was drafted and signed in 1417. Powers agreed to end their occupation of the islands of Callos and Ordelios. They Established safe passage and unrestricted travel for signatories within the Ivuldi Archipelagoes. With Callos in such a weak bargaining position they were forced to cede the majority of their island territory to the Defiance of Ivuld in order to appease the Daasqian representatives. The Accord demanded a permanent port on Ordelios with no trade restrictions, and no tariffs paid by incoming ships.

## Post-War

The members of the Berich Accord's goals shifted splitting the Accord into its disparate countries over time. They expected that the Ivuldi Archipelagoes would fracture as it always had into several small shifting spheres of influence. This would not be the case and as the Defiance of Ivuld dissolved itself, a new alignment of power in the Archipelagoes was shown. Rochau had claimed the majority of the islands ceded by Callos adding them to their Hegemony, and the Archipelagoes had formed a more permanent alliance under the guidance of Ordelios called The Unified Ordelian Isles. So rather than the dozens of trade partners that had formerly been now their were only two factions within Ivuld that they could deal with.

In this era, trade has flourished, relations between Brecoria and Draedis have improved drastically, and the unification of the isles has made the minutia of brokering deals and managing sanctions and laws much simpler. This has also greatly strengthened the economic power of the isles, where once they competed for trade partners, now they managed their products and prices as a group, seeking to grow the coffers of all the member states. This coupled with the scarcity during the war pushed the products of the Unified Isles, and the new territory of the Third Hegemony of Rochau to premium prices.

Tensions remain high between the islands and Validon, and the border between Draedis and Sren has become quite strict. Diplomatic factions attempt to curtail one another's rising powers through economic sanction, espionage and propaganda. While each repair and replace their military force in anticipation of further conflict, be it on Sulvost once more, or on some other distant shore.