The Great Western War

Dameusian forces attempt to advance through the winter of 474EH

**The Lucleau-Dameusia
Alliance**
Kingdom of Lucleau
 Kingdom of Dameusia
 Republic of Tae-Osh
Asmori Rolarius Faction

The Western Great War is perhaps the single most important conflict of the Era of the Hydra, as the ramifications are still being felt nearly a century and a half later. The war crippled many of the preindustrial economies of the west and as such forced innovation and technological enhancements at a rate that was considerably beyond what happens today.

## Background

Throughout the 5th century of the Era of the Hydra, tensions between many of the powers in the western regions of Skorea had steadily escalated due to the new age brought on by the development of Arcane based technologies. The invention of the first Markite refinery by Oliven Cleroe in 423EH brought about the fastest technical advancement in history, and over the next 50 years the search for the raw material of Markite became feverish by many of the nations who had access to the technology necessary to make use of it. However, three major powers realised the enormous implications of refined Markite before any others; the Edranar Empire, and the Kingdoms of Lucleau and Dameusia.

The first firearm was around a century old by the time arcane technologies were starting to be thought of, and by the beginning of the 5th century had completely phased out conventional fighting methods of previous eras in large scale engagements. With standardised construction methods which were now available in the new age of manufacturing, it had become increasingly easy to arm men with the ranged ability to kill and fight at an even footing with Mages and other spellcasters at a scale never before seen. Markite Tech both increased the power and use of magic, and decreased it at an astonishing rate. With this, tensions between uneasy neighbour began to head toward open war at a scale not seen since the end of the last era.

## National Positions over the 5th century

### The Edranar Empire

In 470 the Edranar Empire was a long way from the super power it is today, with small colonial ambitions and a smaller population than its rivals, despite a greater land area and as such appeared to be in a relatively weak position compared to its rivals. For one, despite seeing the advantages of the new technologies that came with the creation of refined Markite, many of the powerful noble houses that dominate the politics of the Empire were actively resisting the use of such technologies due to the paranoia about the implications of them and on issues such as the response of the Divines. This meant that a number of the more current technologies were still unavailable for the Edranar military and as such their Navy was quite inadequate compared to other nations' designs. Furthermore, the Empire was still recovering from a fairly significant civil war in 462EH known as the “Ascension Crisis” which had nearly ripped apart the noble alliance and disintegrated the Empire as a whole. The “Ascendent Crisis” led to an unexpected branch of House Famira to ascend to the Throne and Queen Alexandra III was still relatively inexperienced in matters of state.

However, despite this apparent weakness Edranar still had the most professional military, both in the Imperial and Noble Armies, on the continent and Edranar’s extremely militaristic culture meant that it was well equipped and well organised. Furthermore the nation’s High Command had been anticipating an inevitable conflict with its southern rivals and were fully prepared for an extended conflict both at home and abroad. Moreover, Queen Alexandra herself, who in reality was exceptionally brilliant and ruthless, had feigned much of her naïveté to ascend to the throne and was fully prepared to use a major military conflict to secure her position as monarch.

### The Kingdom of Lucleau

Lucleau was easily the most powerful of the core trio of powers at the outset of hostilities, with both the most advanced industrial base as well as a large population loyal to its military ambitions. However this obvious strength hid a significant internal issue inside the kingdom, as much of its highly independent and ambitious aristocracy were seeking independence for their regions of influence. This desire for independence increased over the years leading up to the war, with increased civil disturbances which were ignored by the Monarch at the time who was more concerned in consolidating his “Personal Union” with Dameusia. By the middle of 466EH the provinces of Othar and Zarm had actively declared their desires for independence and a small scale civil war was brewing in the regions around the borders of these provinces. Within a year, the Republic of Aflani had declared their support for separatist causes, escalating tensions between close neighbours.

### The Kingdom of Dameusia

By the middle of 5th century of the Era of the Hydra, Dameusia was in a vulnerable position despite all the power it had gained in a century of conquest and colonialism. Dameusia was a foremost military and economic power with extensive influence across Skorea, but most nations were unaware that its central politics had completely collapsed and was only functioning by the grace of the current Crown Minister Lord David Duront, now know by most Dameusians as Duront the betrayer, an ageing aristocrat who was the only person able to hold the system together. The problem was that much of the Royal Family had been ravaged by inbreeding and honour duels, to the point there wasn’t all that much left beyond the current monarch, King Rupert IV who died without an heir in 459EH. It fell to Duront, now in his late 80s to organise a future for his ailing nation, and the future he found was by seeking assistance from the enormous royal court of Lucleau. Unwilling to cause a major civil war by giving the “Azure Throne” to any noble houses inside Dameusia, it made sense to seek support from the current ally of the land which was Lucleau. Duront’s final act as Crown Minister was putting Lucleau into a Personal Union. The impact of this one decision is still being felt today, but it is known by the time the Great Western War broke out, Dameusia was firmly on the side of Lucleau and was looking for an enemy to cement the alliance in its people’s eyes.

### Republic of Aflani

Aflani in the prelude to the outbreak of the war found itself in a challenging position. Surrounded on all sides by an increasingly advanced and ambitious neighbour in Lucleau, its representatives tried to maintain the peace for more than a century but by the mid 5th century it was clear that maintaining peace alone would be impossible. As such, it forged a strong alliance with Edranar to guarantee its position and assist it in the case of all out war, and then strove to arm the most advanced military in the world to protect its borders. Due to its small size, relying on numbers was never an option in the matter of defence so it used its vast wealth to enhance its military with all manner of equipment. One such success was the creation of “Markite Forged Steel” which allowed armour to survive impacts from the developments in firearm technology. This technology and the fortress line known as the “Doors of Olaxia” gave the small nation a fighting chance against its opponents.

When independence movements began to break out in Lucleau, Aflani took the chance to weaken its fearsome neighbour by arming and funding a number of groups and noble houses. While it knew the moment Lucleau learnt of these acts, war would become inevitable in the short term, delaying it in the long term would only guarantee their defeat and as such the Aflani government were willing to take the gamble.

### The Second Kingdom of Asmor

Still arguably the most powerful state on the continent in the mid 5th century, the Magisterium of Asmor saw themselves as above the petty squabbles of their former provinces and were more interested in their ancestral games of manipulation. This meant that the ancient nation effectively ignored the advance of technology and even felt that tools such as firearms were wholly inferior to what had been used by their ancestors. The hope of a new and reformed Asmor at the beginning of the Era had effectively died and been swallowed up by traditions and bureaucracy that enforced that status quo. This decayed system was unable to change and by the time conflicts between the other powers escalated Asmor was being divided into 3 main factions who each had entirely different visions for the nation.

#### The Royal Faction

The monarch of Asmor by 470EH, King Rellior XI, had been on the throne on the throne almost 30 years and the only notable thing that had happened in his reign is the complete failure of the central Asmori leadership to engage with any of its neighbour states. Known to have been an exceptionally powerful magister, Rellior spent most of his reign with various forms of entertainment in his opulent palace in Talmira, ignoring the discontentment of many of the powerful members of the Arcane Aristocracy. However despite this apparent incompetence, he still held the loyalty of around a third of the lords of the nation through bribes and titles, so when the Great Western War finally broke out the Royal Faction spent much of their effort on trying to avoid conflict with the other lands and putting down the other factions for the return to status quo.

#### The Thulius Faction

Over the last century in the lead up the the war, House Thulius had become increasingly discontent with the manner in which Asmor was being ruled and came to the conclusion that a change in rulership was the only way for the great land of Asmor could remain the power it deserved to be. Using subterfuge and force they gathered allies from across the vast kingdom, sometimes using such blatant methods that if the monarchy had paid the slightest attention they’d have noticed, leading them to eventually ally with the aristocracy of Edranar and with the aid of House Rosencull declared a formal alliance in 467EH. Lord Cato Thulius, the leader of the House over the war, was fully aware that Asmor would be forced to pick some kind of side in the war that seemed inevitable and was willing to back the Imperial League as the possible victor.

#### The Rolarius Faction

Information regarding the leadership of House Rolarius is considered sketchy at best in this era, but its known that they built a strong alliance with many smaller territorial lords purely in opposition to House Thulius’ ambitions and were willing to do anything to prevent their claim of the throne. While this would appear to make them allies to the crown, it became clear that any raising of troops was an act of rebellion against King Rellior forcing the Rolarius lords to ally with the Alliance to support their endeavours.

### The Free Cities

A possible war was a terrifying concept for the Free Cities as by their very position there was enormous risk to both their people and their economy. They declared their neutrality very early on in 461EH to prevent any possible implications that they would support one faction over another and prepared for the inevitable problems that would occur in the form of subterfuge or banditry.