Northern Alliance (Abar War)

> *Not to be confused with the Alliance of Northern Nations*
>
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The **Northern Alliance** was a military coalition that served as one of the primary combatants in the First Abar War, in opposition to the Kadeean Empire. It consisted of the Balooun Empire, the Galakevalan Union, the Hanik Confederation, Tumasn and Kiygreen. The official capital city of the alliance was Gorn.

## History

The term “Northern Alliance” had been invented by Kadeeans in the late 6th century to describe the perceived unity of the Afbarkeean nations north of the Lantoo. In its extreme form, it referred to a purported international conspiracy that sought to destroy Kadee and its political influence. This extreme interpretation had steadily grown in popularity in the decades leading up to the First Abar War, and Balooun politicians began to see the value of exploiting this fear. They set about improving relations with the other northern countries so as to play up the image of the alliance fantasy. In 790, the Northern Alliance became a reality. It was commonly referred to as *the alliance*, and its subjects as *allies*. After the war, a*llies* continued to be used as a slang term for citizens of these countries, and eventually developed the xenophobic connotation that all allies are alike.

In 790:42, the Balooun Empire and the Galakevalan Union officially formed a military alliance. Later that year, in 790:70, the Hanik Confederation officially joined this alliance, although there was already an existing alliance between their nation and Oozin and Trertu. Tumasn joined the alliance in 792:47. The Balooun Prime Minister, Den-Juroo, played a central role in organising this alliance. The Balooun Empire also sent many diplomats to Tunguu (as well as Harb in 794) to negotiate an alliance, but this never happened.

The question of which city would serve as the capital of the Northern Alliance was a critical issue of debate over the course of early decade: 79. Gorn and Braad were the two primary candidates. The Baloouns argued that Braad should be the capital because it was closer to the battlefront. However, other politicians pointed out that this also meant it was also more at risk of being conquered. Eventually, the Baloouns reluctantly agreed to Gorn being the capital of the Alliance.

In 791, a Balooun naval base was built on the island of Pacharn in the Xem Sea.

### Antebellum assembly

In 794, there was an assembly of the leaders of the Northern Alliance in Gorn, in which they settled some logistics of their contract. Crucially, it was decided that certain important major decisions that needed to be made by the alliance would be voted on by the rulers of the four core member states of the alliance (excluding Kiygreen). The voter for the Hanik Confederation was the Prime Minister. In the case of a tied vote, the Glaanen would be asked to resolve the tie. In addition, it was agreed that a military council would be established to lead the allied war effort. The number of members that each state had in the council was proportional to size of the armies they were prepared to contribute.

Another key issue was how occupied territories were to be governed. It was eventually decided that the local ruler would be allowed to continue to govern – provided that they swore allegiance to the Glaan-San Church – under the supervision of a council of five regents appointed by each of the four main governments of the alliance and the Glaan-San Church. The Glaan regent was usually also the archbishop of the territory. If the local ruler refused to swear allegiance to the Church, the regency council would elect a temporary replacement.

One issue faced by the Alliance was the lack of a common goal. The Baloouns wanted to prioritise the expansion into Huuleeon and Salanas/Dramispa for strategic purposes, while the other powers cared more about inflicting as much damage on the Lantoo as possible for the sake of retribution.

There were also some representatives of the four Leshavil that existed in the Hanik Confederation at the time (Gorn, Kompango, Eleekonos, Vilma) with whom the representatives of the Northern Alliance negotiated a loan with which to finance the war.