War for Silva

The **War for Silva** is an ancient struggle between Emperor Aeneas Augustus and the leaders of Silva from 99-100 A.E..

## Prelude

The young emperor, who was crowned in 96 A.E. at the age of nineteen after the death of his uncle Androcles, had always had a passion for travelling. Aeneas tried to focus on simply ruling for some years, but his quitting finally arrived in 99 A.E., when his desire to own even more lands overcame him. He did not simply desired to travel, he wanted to claim the lands he visited. He was an emperor, a conqueror, like his forefather Aurelius before him. So, he sent word to all his lords and ladies across the realm: gather all your soldiers and armies and send them to the Capital, the Empire of the Gryphon will sail south, and another continent will be conquered and added to the realm.

## War

### **Trouble at Sea**

He finally gathered all men during the spring of 99, and Aeneas led the entire fleet, all at once. His goal was the famous harbour of Tajiri on the coast of Silva, an exotic and rich city known throughout all the mapped world. Letters had already been sent to all corners of the southern continent, demanding their surrender. Aeneas told them doom would come for their cities, their men, their lives, if they did not renounce all claim to their lands and titles. These letters, however, were all ignored and no responses were received. Aeneas supposed he just had to do it the hard way. The journey was not too far, but the seas were rough and spring storms were common. The emperor lost nearly a hundred ships and thousands of men at sea, but his confidence still peaked, as his strength still floated around 80.000.

### **Landing at Tajiri**

After passing the Claw and claiming those men as well, Aeneas Augustus finally reached the port, where he found little resistance. Governor Kharaz-Mo-Yan seemed unprepared, but Aeneas had expected this. The Silvae were seen as fat barbarians and unskilled warriors in Scaeptre and Arena, so it did not come as a surprise. The soldiers broke down the walls and the governor was held hostage. Almost all of the Tajiri men were butchered by the Scaeptre men, and Aeneas' army still remained at a solid 77.000.

### **First Surrender**

After the High-Emperor had held the city for months without any opposition, the first letters from other parts of Silva were reveived. The Goldrock Isles did not have any hope in their sultan anymore, and the southwestern plains said they left them no choice. From Al-Rah and the royal palace came nothing yet, though, so Aeneas sent his own letter. The sultan was commanded to travel to Tajiri and meet the emperor in an isolated meeting to discuss the future of his realm. Furthermore, Aeneas sent 20.000 men to the eastern town of Wad'h with his Lord-Admiral and another 25.000 to the capital with his Lord-General. This kept 32.000 garrisoned at Tajiri, where Aeneas' power only grew and grew. No word came from Sultan Jubhal.

### **Battle at Wad'h**

The Lord-Admiral landed at the town with 400 ships, and it was set to the torch and taken quite easily as well. They did offer more resistance than Tajiri, and help from nearby villages, who entered the frame later, made it harder still. A little over 10.000 men survived the battle and remained outside the town. Aeneas' conquest seemed to be going very smoothly so far. The Lord-Admiral at Wad'h let his men reave and pillage throughout the lands, causing havoc and anger in western Silva. This was followed by the sackings of many mountainous palaces, where rich and powerful noblemen were murdered.

### **Beginning of the End**

The Lord-General marched his army of 25.000 along the Cotton Road, followed by the Jungle Road where he turned left. They marched for weeks through the dense forests and in very humid and hot weather. Some soldiers succumbed to the weather and it is said that others grew mad or were taken by indigenous tribes. They edged around the side of the Sultanic Mountains to avoid any royal hosts and made for the capital, Al-Rah. They sacked villages and claimed lands as they passed them, but no real opposition encountered them yet. They arrived at the capital in the beginning of 100 A.E., and the Lord-General celebrated the first century of the High-Emperors in the name of Aeneas Augustus before the walls of Al-Rah. This turned out to be a foolish decision, as they had underestimated the power of Silva beforehand, and thousands of soldiers ambushed them in the night as they all feasted and got drunk. The siege was broken and Silva had the upper hand. This was all worsened, when the Royal Army of Silva fell upon them from the mountains and closed the Scaeptarians in. The Lord-General lost his life that day, and Sultan Jubhal claimed his place at Al-Rah, where he would commence the plans to keep his continent.

### **Aeneas' Bold Plans**

The news of the death of 25.000 of his men infuriated Aeneas, so he figured his plans needed to change. After hearing about the utter defeat of his Lord-General, the emperor commanded half of the men at Wad'h to return to him at Tajiri, for the small town did not need many men to hold it, and he would need men to hold Tajiri. This brought his numbers to about 40.000 at the port. His next, and very bold plan was to sail to Al-Rah and take the head of the person who kept this 'mess of a continent' together, Sultan Jubhal. Thus they left Tajiri unmanned and sailed to the capital with their entire strength.

### **The Second Battle of Al-Rah**

Aeneas landed at a fishing port and easily led his forces through. He killed all messengers and destroyed all letters, so nobody would be warned about their coming.