The Unification Wars

Battle for the Final Kingdom (Not Mine)

### Result(s)

**Destruction of the Old Kingdoms*** Mercenary/Imperial Armies Destroy the Waring kingdoms individually
* Most of the Old Kingdoms are annexed by the Imperium Umbraum (except a few Monastic City-States)

**Formation of the Imperium Umbraum**

* Zeilia Florum Declares herself Holy Empress
* The Empress Establishes the Twelve Shadow Knights as Generals of her Armies
* Expands territory to cover most of the Continent.
* Ends the Perpetual Archaic Wars
* Purge of the Twelve
	+ The Empress Assassinates her own Friends/Fellow Imperial Founders out of paranoid thoughts of their Treason.
	+ The Empress orders Propaganda to tell the Knights die in Battle.
* The Age of Shadows Begins

## Participants

### Factions

**Zeilia's Mercenary Group** *(Early)** Mercenary Army

**The Imperium Umbraum** *(Late Early - Late)*

* Imperial Holy Armies

**The Old Archaic Kingdoms**

* The Various Archaic Armies

## Commanders and Leaders

### Leaders

**Holy Empress Zelia Florum*** Twelve Legendary Shadow Knights (†)
	+ Supreme Commander Ryu (†)

**Royalty of the Old Kingdoms** (†)

* Old Kings (†)
	+ King of the Final Kingdom (†)

## Casualties and Losses

### Losses

**Imperium Umbraum*** 100,000s
	+ 12 Shadow Knights

**Old Kingdoms**

* 1,000,000s

The **Unification Wars** or the **Wars of Enlightenment** were a series of back to back wars during the final years of the **Age of Anarchy.**

The **Age of Anarchy** was time of Endless war that lasted for centuries, that was until it was ended by **Zeilia Florum**, the **Empress of the Imperium Umbraum** and her comrades, the **Legendary Shadow Knights**.

## Prelude

As a young woman, Zelia wanted to fix the problems of the country she lived in, a country lusting for war. But the Nobility and Royals of her Kingdom wouldn’t listen to her nor her fellow citizens, they were fed off the money of war and such never sought its end. She began training in sword and hand to hand combat and talked negatively about the current way of life. But eventually, the King learned of her abilities and views of him. He banished and branded her, making her a stateless and homeless vagrant.

Starting a new life, she wanted to find people with the same ideals as her. She traveled the continent, meeting people and accepting various Mercenary jobs that would make use of her skills.. Some time in her mid twenties, she met a group of **twelve young skilled mercenaries**. She did some jobs with them, and even became infatuated with the group’s leader, **Ryu**. She became good friends with its members and she eventually realized they aligned with her ideology. They were all affect by the awful times they lived in, most of its members were either abandoned or their families were killed, leaving them alone as well. In a moment of desperation, she asked if they would help her change the world, they accepted and pledged themselves to helping her.

Zeilia, Twelve Mercenaries and a few hundred hired soldiers went back to her home kingdom and killed all the Royalty, Nobility, and local lords. They essentially took over the kingdom. The twelve Mercenaries called her a divine Angel and new future of peace. Zeilia declared that all kingdoms who don’t bow down to her new peace will be destroyed **unmercifully**. Her army traveled to the neighboring kingdoms and did the same, destroying castles and killing all the royalty inside them.

To regroup, Her army went back to its her now stable but unruled kingdom . Zeilia wanted to celebrate the new victories with a celibration. Surprising all those who attended her party, she declared herself the **Empress of the new Imperium Umbraum**, a New Empire of Peace and Tranquility. She seized absolute power across her new land, and later Knighted the Twelve Mercenaries to become the **Shadow Knights**, her most trusted commanders. She gave Ryu the Title of “**Lord First**” and the sequent numbers to the other eleven. The New Shadow Knights and the remaining members of the army swore their undying loyalty to her to create a vast and eternal Empire, the **Unification Wars** had begun.

## Wartime

The war itself lasted around **twenty years**, but the last three were the most important.

Around Four years into the war, Holy Empress Zelia Florum and Ryu were married.