First Clayistria-Clayistan War

- Foundation of the Kingdom of Clayistan

The First Clayistria-Clayistan War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Clayistria and various duchies which would later become the Kingdom of Clayistan. It lasted from 12 ASB to 16 ASB, and resulted in the formation of the Kingdom of Clayistan.

## Causes and Pre-war Events

On M1-01 1 ASB, the Kingdom of Clayistria was restored by Ivan III, following the Vassal War which pushed back the Empire of Shale. On M7-04 7 ASB the Kingdom of Clayistria launched an invasion of the duchies of North Vetchinia and Jianshore, and successfully subdued the duchies on M8-30 7 ASB and M9-23 7 ASB respectively.

## Course of War

On M6-27 of 12 ASB, the Kingdom of Clayistria invaded the duchies of Iron Lake and Eastpike.

### Invasion of Iron Lake

Much like in the invasions of 7 ASB, the Duke of Iron Lake, Ebony Basil, appealed to his fellow dukes to send aid, but they declined, and merely condemned the invasion. On M6-30 12 ASB, Basil received a scout's report detailing that Clayistria's forces were only large enough to capture the Duchy of Iron Lake if none of their forces in other duchies were deployed.

Thus, Basil recalled his forces from overseas to defend the capital. On M7-24 of 12 ASB, Basil ordered his forces to march against Clayistria in alliance with the Duchy of Eastpike. This marked the beginning of the war, and helped to strengthen the relationship between the duchies.

### Invasion of Eastpike

The situation in the Duchy of Eastpike was similar to that of Iron Lake: Clayistria invaded from the south, and the Duke, Ethan Gilbert, concentrated his forces from Greater Elmhurst to march against Clayistria. The combined forces of Eastpike and Iron Lake pushed Clayistrian forces back over pre-war lines of control [when?].

### Involvement of Vooncharia and Terracotta

On M8-03 12 ASB, the Duchy of Vooncharia joined the war and began sending forces to support the Duchy of Iron Lake. Five days later, the Duchy of Terracotta also pledged its support of Iron Lake. On M2-10 13 ASB, all eight independent duchies of the Clayistan mainland were united against Clayistria.

### Formation of the Unified Clayistan Army

Around the start of 14 ASB, the progress of the Clayistan armies had slowed down, primarily due to a lack of unity amongst the various forces: the forces were loyal only to their respective dukes, not to each other or to any sense of alliance between them. Thus, the dukes of the independent duchies of Clayistan met at a conference in Jarnvattan on M4-04 14 ASB. On M4-12, the conference concluded, resulting in the formation of the Unified Clayistan Army (UCA) with Ebony Basil as its commander-in-chief and other dukes as its field marshals.

## Aftermath

On M1-22 16 ASB, the independent duchies and the Kingdom of Clayistria negotiated a ceasefire, putting an end to the war. This raised the question of how to divide the land that was occupied by the UCA, now that the war was over. After months of debate, the dukes came to an agreement on M5-28 16 ASB, splitting the UCA into two halves: the first would continue to serve as a military force for the whole of the Clayistan region, whereas the second would be further split into seven. Two sevenths were given to the Duchy of Iron Lake, and five sevenths were given to the other duchies except for the Duchy of Eastpike.

### Formation of the Kingdom of Clayistan

The eight independent duchies, having been united through the war and having shared an army, formally united with the M5-28 agreement, forming the Kingdom of Clayistan with Ebony Basil as the first King of Clayistan. Basil chose the regnal name Argilla I after the Estuarian Emperor who created the position of Native Governor. As part of the unification, the duchies became constituent regions of the Kingdom of Clayistan, with their respective dukes serving as regional governors.