Lonktar's invasion of the Coral Islands

In 883 A.F.R., Lonktar Lhaki, then a powerful Rekovan prince, invaded the Coral Islands to become the Coral King, one of his greatest goals.

## Background

### Liberation of the Coral Islands

The princedoms of the Coral Islands were founded shortly after a Rekovan king, Jemdo Azba liberated the Coral Islands from the declining Ravenfielder Empire in 512 A.F.R. Jemdo was unable to unify the Coral Islands and the princedoms soon all declared independence.

### The Coral King

These independent states still pledged allegiance to the Coral King, who was at this point only a ceremonial figure. The King however, was given the task of mediating disputes between the numerous princedoms and limiting the scale of wars, to prevent the wars that destroyed the Ravenfielder Empire from destroying the Coral Islands as well.

### The King's electoral process

Upon the Coral King's death, a council was formed from all the princedoms to elect a new king. Any candidates for king had to have a position of high nobility and couldn't be one of the ruling princes, to prevent any power grabbing. The new king was elected by the princes' vote, the candidate receiving the most votes becoming the new Coral King.

### Prince Jerak and the first unification of the Corals

Lonktar Lhaki wasn't first in trying to unify the Coral Islands. Between 751 and 753 A.F.R., Prince Jerak Agzar conquered the Coral Islands and unified the princedoms into one kingdom, declaring himself ruler of the Coral Islands. His new kingdom faced serious resistance and would collapse immediately after his death in 779 A.F.R.

### Death of the Coral King and civil war

The electoral process for electing a new Coral King worked well until 867 A.F.R., when the Coral King at the time, Akhor Ragar, died without any candidates to replace him. The Coral Islands erupted into civil war among all the princedoms, killing two million people, one third of the Coral Islands population, and decimating the armies of all princedoms. By 883 A.F.R., they were able to levy only 50,000 soldiers in total, compared to 200,000 in 867 A.F.R.

## The invasion

### Preparations

Lonktar gathered soldiers and equipment from his owned territories for almost a year before the invasion, totaling 5,800 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, 200 ships and 10 trebuchets, which would become a powerful tool for sieging the Coral Islands' well fortified cities.

His plan was to take the westernmost island, uninhabited for almost 200 years, and use it as a base for invading the rest of the Coral Islands, then eliminate the princedoms in the weakest spots. Two weeks before the invasion, the plan was given the blessing of the Rekovan king (Kaleva II Ha'arn at the time), and 6,000 soldiers boarded the ships and left for the Coral Islands. 800 soldiers remained to defend Lonktar's holdings in Rekov.

## Aftermath

After the takeover of the Main Island, Lonktar Lhaki was immediately recognized by almost all of the princedoms as the undisputed Coral King and absolute ruler of the Coral Islands.

The Belegar and the three southernmost princedoms (Nekares, Malsi and Korga) continued a fierce resistance against Lonktar's rule, but massively outnumbered, their forces dwindled rapidly.

Resistance to Lonktar's rule continued into 886 A.F.R. and even beyond, but only in small, increasingly scattered groups. In 887 A.F.R., Lonktar Lhaki founded Ilar Gheo, made from merging several towns in its area. In 1735, it was a city rivaling even Ravenfield and Le Carte for population, size and economic power.