Sarutobi-Hon War

### Outcome:

A truce being signed. Mutual respect seeing to cooperation between the Sarutobi and Hons, leading to the founding of the various Sarutobi settlements south of the Hon Heartlands.

 *"Brothers, fathers and kin would lock their shields together. The enemy would do so as well. The silence was something worse than the whistling of the arrows flying through the air. More dreadful than the songs that steel blades sing when hacking and swinging. The silence was the herald of what was to come. Death and glory."*

*- A passage from a surviving book about the Sarutobi-Hon war.*

The Sarutobi-Hon war was a conflict that happened with the fall of the old Sarutobi kingdom. When the old kingdom of the Sarutobi collapsed, a large portion of Sarutobi fled to the south. This brought them into the Hon Heartlands, where tensions started to rise and bring forth a conflict that would see the two clans bind their fate together.

## Intro

After the Hon migration, that predated the collapse of the Sarutobi kingdom of old, various Hon Houses had been founded. Vying for power in the region, they weren't friendly either towards outsiders. The reputation of raiders and marauders came from their rather aggressive diplomacy towards anybody that didn't belong to the same respective House. The large migration of the Sarutobi people didn't initiate a large conflict right away. Seeing that they shared a similar culture with that of the Hons, there was already some cooperation at first. But with the large numbers of Sarutobi that wanted to have their own sovereign faction, tensions started to rise between the Hon and Sarutobi.

## Start of the Conflict

The start of the conflict occurred when the Sarutobi leadership stated that they didn't want to become subjects of the Hons. While their kingdom of old had collapsed and they had fewer resources, they still had a good and large military to defend themselves as back up their demands. The Hon houses of Ecla and Dowhon saw this as a threat. While they attempted to treat with the Sarutobi, messengers were sent to the other Hon houses. Alarming them of the threat that could see them all being driven out of their claimed land. This wasn't a fast process, though. It took a lot of effort to convince the jarls of the other Hon houses what threat the Sarutobi represented for their own sovereignty. Eventually coerced, the Hon clan united for the first time against an 'outside' force.

The Sarutobi were told that they could attempt to settle in the valley between Ecla and Magnhild. Wary and hesitant at first, the region proved to be fertile and devoid of much natural threats. Temporarily setting up their camps as there wasn't a clear leadership among the Sarutobi, they were almost caught off guard by the approaching Hon forces. Approached from all sides by the Hons, the Sarutobi were quick to move to a more favourable ground and ready themselves to fight for their freedom. The advance of the Hons was slow as they wanted to intimidate the Sarutobi into submission. Unlike how they invaded and conquered the land from the previous owners, they desired to subjugate many of the Sarutobi and assimilate them into their own jarldoms.

This stance would lead to that the Hons were both cautious in approaching the Sarutobi opposition and were even quite eager to engage in diplomatic pursuits. Not that it would help anything as patience on both sides ran dry. Leading to the first battle between the Hons and Sarutobi. The fighting was hard and grim. Neither side seemed to be willing to give up. The Sarutobi had their desire of independence and the lives of their family at stake. The Hons their pride and price of seeing the Sarutobi becoming their subjects. While many brave warriors on both sides wouldn't see another day, the first battle became a draw between the two fighting sides.