Crevarian-Ioni War

This war caused the deaths of millions, researchers say about 1.4 million people died in the war. Almost exactly half of those casualties are Ioni and the other half Crevarian. This war was the beginning of tensions between these two nations and the beginning of Ionia's fall from grace.

## Causation

As the Crevarians power grew and their kingdom became more established it gained the attention of the Ionian Kingdom. The Ionian kingdom sent a letter to the old Crevarian king. This letter was burned but historians were able to find the original letter before it had been written formally. It's translation to common reads:

> *As both our nations grow in strength and power during this new era I have a proposition for you. You bend the knee and take a vow to serve under me and we can create a united Inoniyas, or you can defy me and I will march onto your land with the might of my entire army and I will slaughter anyone who stands in my way. Man, woman, or child, all Crevarians will die if you choose this path. Choose wisely your grace, your livelihood depends on it.*
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The Crevarian king's reply only read three words: "I choose war." This was the official beginning of the war.

## Advantages

### Ionia

Ionia had recently ended slave labor due to the uprising of House Grundell which in turn has provided them with a fiercly loyal army under the leadership of the wardens of the Seventeen Isles. This combined with their military might that had been built originally to fend off dragons and one would think that they had the strongest army in the world during this time.

### Crevaria

Geographically Crevaria is a place very hard to reach. If one tries to march there you must go through the mountains where several tribesmen already live. Ionia lost several men trying to march through the Nipaneau Mountains because of the tribesmen and the treacherous conditions. As the Ioni tried to invade by sea they found that to prove difficult as well. Inoniyas has notoriously rocky coasts so docking on the Crevarian coastline would be nearly impossible. That combined with Crevaria's own powerful army and the war would be almost a near match.

## Technology

Ionia has never had a history in classical music but they are very innovative when it comes to instruments of war. During this era they utilized large vertical bronze horns called Dirges, derived from the old common word of a 'song for the dead.' It had a subtle 'S' shape and it was carved to look like a hydra, with an intimidating head sitting at the top and a long serpent tongue that flapped when air was blown through the horn. It had many purposes that including covering the approach of troops (as it's sound surrounded an area and one could not pinpoint it's origin), intimidation, and to communicate messages over long stretches of land. For a real life example of what the Dirge would've sounded like search up a Carnyx.

## Battles

The war began with Ionia separating it's army in three parts. They attempted to cross the mountains with a small group of men in order to try and sneak into Crevaria because they wouldn't know they were approaching if they went through the mountains. Next they sent a part of their eastern navy to the eastern coast in an attempt to slaughter towns people which was successful for a while until they were surrounded and forced to surrender. Next they sent the bulk of their forces under command of Lord Grundell to seize the capitol. This worked in weakening Crevaria's army by dividing it to deal with the three groups of Ionia's attack but Crevaria adapted more guerilla tactics to take the larger army.

### The Battle of Dusk's End

This battle earned its name from the dramatic and pivotal moment that changed Crevaria forever. It marked the fall of the old Crevarian king. As the sun descended on the horizon it casted it's fiery glow across the battlefield, the clash between the Crevarian and Ionian armies intensified. The air was thick with tension and anticipation as the two sides engaged in a fierce struggle for victory. As the battle raged on the sun sank lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the field. The Crevarian king, a symbol of power and authority, faced off against the formidable Ionian general. It was here that the Ionian General, who would die later at the hand of Raphael Astor, killed the old Crevarian king in honorable battle.

In the king's will it named Raphael Astor as his successor, as the old king never bore sons, so Raphael was coronated and he and his sons pledged to fight for Crevaria and win the war.

### Coward's Slaughter

A recounting from an advisor who was shortly killed afterwards.

> *"As the moon's pale light bathed the chamber, my eyes beheld a haunting sight. The Queen's lifeless body sprawled across the cold stone floor. She lay motionless and I could see on her chest a hydra, sloppily drawn, had been etched into her skin but the assailant had taken care to carve each scale of the creature into her flesh. It seemed to portray a message, that [the king's] treacherous path had led to her untimely demise. But it was not the cruel mark of the hydra alone that twisted my stomach with unease. For upon her delicate back, amidst the pool of blood, was etched one word "betrayer." Each letter was jagged with torn flesh, as if the blade had dulled. It seems the assailant had guaranteed her silence, stuffing a cloth, once white now soaked red, into her mouth so none could hear her screams. Her face was frozen, in eternal anguish, a face that bore witness to the torment she endured in her final moments. This pain that was frozen onto her beautiful features mingled with a look of profound sadness. In that shadowy chamber the Queen's life was extinguished, her soul stolen by a callous hand."*
>
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The new King, Raphael Astor, grieved for days. In these days Ionia was able to conquer and push forward in the war. Then the King began to push against them with a newfound anger in his veins. An account of a solider who had seen him on the battlefield describes him as a "man of fury" who moved at inhuman speeds, slaughtering men left and right. Ionia's biggest mistake in the war was sending in this unnamed assailant to murder the beloved wife of Raphael Astor. It's what led to their demise.

### Battle of Crimsontide

This is the battle where Crevarian forces were successful in repelling Ionia's final attack, where they tried to sail into the capitol and conquer it. Of course this failed, Crevaria rained arrows of fire onto the ships and the men who landed on the shores were slaughtered, mostly by the king who some say "drank enough blood that day to keep him full for 1,000 years." Ionian forces were in shambles and forced to retreat back to Ionia where the King of Ionia officially surrendered. They say that day the waters were red with the blood of Ioni men.

## Consequences

### Ionia

Ionia was in debt and their military was in shambles. While House Grundell was able to recover their navy and rebuild their ships the Ionian army never recovered from the war, as it had lasting effects on morale and supplies. The loss of this war also led to the Zhuk king's eventual overthrow as a small rebellion decided that a king who leads a nation into an unneeded war and loses is not fit to rule. Some agreed but overtime found the rule of House Cecil to be even worse, as the Cecil's were not even Abier in origin, what the majority of the nation's ethnicity was. The people in modern Ionia do not believe in the rulership of their king, they do not support his rule and so there is discord among the people and royalty. Ionia became a nation no longer respected by other big players of Anovar, this coupled with the Kerejaan Suya's rise in power and they would be unseated in a couple years after the end of the war.

### Crevaria

Crevaria was slow to recover from the war but the people's nationalism only strengthened after the war. They adored their new king for leading them into victory, their respect for vampires was formed and would last all 300 years of Raphael's rule. Crevaria became a force to be reckoned with, as many nations believed Crevaria would face defeat in this war.