North War

*"Sometimes I wonder whether death and destruction in the War was really worth it. All of it over a petty load of ore. It makes me question the my own authority in the Iannocian government. I fear that the North War was, in reality, when the gods simply lost faith in us," Jerrard Frostskin, one of the three Iannocian Elders during the north war.*

Around the time that the Elves, Humans, and other races were beginning to inhabit Vestya, a war between two of Vestya's greatest cities was raging. Known as the bloodiest event in all of Vestyan history, this war was named the North War.

## History

### Growing Tensions

During the time that the "other races" (as the Amnians say) had begun traveling to Vestya, only several cities existed. There was Elendul, Iannocia, and Xilokiir. Upon discovery of a large plot of gold and coal deposit between Elendul and Iannocia, violent tensions erupted as the two cities begun to argue over who owned the unclaimed land. Eventually, a violent uproar of guerrilla warfare caught the attention of everyone in the island.

### The Ghurdeth Attacks

For a year, neither of the two cities had actually declared war on the other. This was until Elendul decided to attack on a small village called Ghurdeth outside Iannocia as a threat. They sent 50 soldiers to cause as much chaos as was possible. Not expecting an attack, the village only had a small amount of guards and were not prepared for such a horrid battle. The Elendul soldiers killed nearly everyone in the village, burned down houses, slayed farm animals, and trampled the few crops they had. In the end, over 800 were massacred. As you may have guessed, Iannocia did not take this lightly. They immediately began gathering their army and started a war that would last 30 years.

### The First Years

The first point in the war was a great battle on the edge of the Iannocian Plains. They called this battle the Battle of the Verge. Elendul's army had brought soldiers on horseback, along with the swordsmen they were so well known for. However, Iannocia had brought tamed wargs and military druids. In the end of the bloody battle, Iannocia came out victorious. Over the next 2 years, Iannocia continued to push Elendul's army back to their city. This was until Elendul put a counterattack into action to get Iannocia in their weak spot. They sent a section of their army around the eastern side of Thiamor Lake and attempted to flank the enemy.

### The Creation of Bevrimn

While the war was raging in the north of Vestya, arriving Dwarves in the southern tip of Vestya had heard about the valuable ores that could be mined from the island. Eventually, a Dwarven city emerged in the Bevrimn Springs around a large crater known to house valuable gems and metals.. Upon hearing that Vestya had a new city, Elendul offered half the gold that they were fighting for if the Dwarven city would help. Unable to resist the offer, Bevrimn sent their army to fight Iannocia.

### The Elearian Death March

The Iannocian soldiers that never made it back to Iannocia when Elendul put their counterattack into action were taken prisoner and interrogated. After interrogation, they were sent to walk across the 23 mile wide Elearian Wall. Anyone who became too tired to walk would be thrown over the edge to their death. Only 89 of the 212 Iannocian soldiers who were part of this death march survived. Some died of fatigue and some were thrown from the cliff.

### The Defeat of Iannocia

After a numerous amount of years of ongoing fighting and treachery, Elendul and Iannocia came to terms. Fearing a defeat, Iannocia offered a large amount of land in the Iannocian Plains if the war was put to a stop. Seeing an opportunity to gain more ore deposits, Elendul agreed.

## Battles of the North War

In chronological order:

* Skirmish of Velstadt
* The Battle of Renstald Mine
* The Battle of Wolvstadt
* The First Massicre of Ghurdeth
* The Second Massicre of Ghurdeth
* Battle at Trader's Pass
* The Battle of the Verge
* The First Battle at Hargavv's Stone
* The Condemning of Arms
* The Second Battle of Hargavv's Stone
* The Turn
* The Battle of Knuur
* The Massicre of Pinehold
* The Attack on Iannocia
* The Assassination of Jephal Frost

## Trivia

* Over 60,000 people were killed in the North War. 14,000 of them were civilians.
* Valianthe of Iannocia, one of the few remaining generals of Iannocia who were alive during the war, claims that the soldiers of Elendul would never take prisoners. If they did, it wasn't for good reason...