Lotso Unification Wars

*For the mirror universe counterpart, see Lotso Unification (mirror).*

The **Wars of Unification** were conflicts on Solaris, starting from around -50 AY, which led to the creation of the Lotso Empire and the destruction of the pre-unification states. It was a major contributor to Emperor Tarmin's rise to power.

## Background (before -50)

For millennia the Lotsos in the south have roamed around as nomads, a sharp contrast to the settled peoples of the north. Southern nomads would occasionally raid northern lands for their riches, but the north, for their part, were unable to put up a unified resistance.

Around -300 AY, the great conqueror "Lanertam" emerged from the south. Through effective diplomacy and conquest, he played the southern tribes against each other until they were no match against his armies. Thus did the northerners dub him "The Great Terrorizer." Despite his victories in the South, however, Lanertam was only able to reach as far north Kekar Pass, in the equator, before dying to an antimatter explosion. His Goghulid Kingdom (Great Goghul) would influence southern politics for the next few centuries.

By -55, events turned against the north's favor. The last King of Gul, last of the great northern rulers to resist the Goghulids, died. The Goghulids achieved their first victory in 200 years, conquering Transkekar and Western Caspania. Sensing a power vacuum, Jewekar of Suntar declared himself king, against the will of the people. Alarmed by this development, the council of elders convened to nominate Tarmin as pretender. Thus began the Suntarid Civil War.

A brilliant strategist, Tarmin emerged from shadowy beginnings in the early days of myth and legend. The oldest of the elders, he first served as high advisor to the King of Gul, and was beloved by the people for his wiseness and strength of spirit. His conquests were not born of thirst for blood, or fulfillment of ambition, but motivated for the safety and prosperity of his people. He saw in his people where his predecessors had failed, and quickly organized a great "Army to Pacify the South."

## Lotso Unification (-50 -- 10)

A battle of important note is the XVII Battle of the Western wastes (-48), where Tarmin, with an army of barely 5000, faced against a Southern Lotso army of 300,000. Tarmin patiently waited for his enemies to draw near. His advisors clamored for him to obliterate them with a hydrogen bomb, but Tarmin refused. "The ends definitely do not justify the means" he was reported to have said. He walked out to the enemy army and started to give a speech which historians still laud as one of the greatest works of rhetoric ever created. In the end, half of the enemy army deserted, and in barely 2 kliks, routed the Goghulids. King Lotsman XI was also slain, marking the beginning of decline for the Great Goghul.

In -47, Tarmin marched into Jewekar's capital, and it surrendered without a fight, so awed were the inhabitants at Tarmin's great character. In a cowardly act of defiance, Jewekar committed suicide in -46, and his last holdouts surrendered. Tarmin had completely unified the North.

In -29, Tarmin reached the Kekar Pass and proclaimed himself "Protector of the South." He established the Taifnan ("Protectorate General to Pacify the South") and set out to save the remnants of the southern nations from the tyranny of the Great Goghul. During this period the Kingdom of Gul and the various southern tribes operated in an informal alliance. Tarmin continued to subjugate the South, carving out small realms for defected generals.

However, Tarmin's generous policies were challenged in -12, the start of the Great Twelve Wars in which the Southern administrators rose against what they perceived to be unfair treatment in favor of Northern Lotsos. In response, Tarmin sent one of his best generals, Tertermak, to handle negotiations. Tertermak, a warmonger by heart (being himself from a southern tribe) proceeded to massacre all resistance to his armies, including extortion and torture to the ringleaders. While he had subdued the revolt, Tarmin was so appalled by Tertermak's methods that he publicly humiliated and demoted him, sentencing Tertermak to a life of exile in the frozen Southern Wastes. Tarmin then conducted a systematic purge of all corrupt elements within his society, which lasted for the next 10 years.

In 0, Tarmin's forces conquered the Goghul capital after a prolonged 16-month siege, because Tarmin himself refused to use any more violent and quick tactic to bring them to heel. In the large central pagoda, Tarmin declared himself "Emperor of all the Lotsos," the first to take up that title unlike the "Kings" of the past. This symbolized a great change in the ideology of the Lotsos, who now saw themselves as a single, unified species rather than use local identities.

With his new title came the issue of succession. The old Kings of Gul had used standard agnatic primogeniture, but Tarmin thought this practice crude and unfair. Besides, he did not have any relatives to which to pass his title on succession. Therefore, Tarmin completely transformed the state. The office of emperor was to be elected; an elected council of officials would check his power. This way only the best Lotsos would be representative to the species, and democratize society.

Tarmin's wars against the Goghuls would conclude in 7, with the death of the last king, Tarmann III. Emissaries sent to the island Unitar Lotsos returned with diplomatic success, and eventually the last independent tribe became an autonomous polity under the empire in 10 AY.

## Effects

While now a distant memory, the Wars of Unification provided the basis for a united Lotso species, and formed the backbone for greater technological and societal advances to come.

## Trivia

* Ancient Lotso sources describe the Southern tribes as "barbarians," but modern historiography has deemed the term too archaic and has instead referred to them as "tribes."
* These wars were the only wars the Lotsos fought in which Lotsos fought and killed each other.