Frostlands War

The Frostlands War was the first ever public conflict in the First Era after the establishment of the High King and his rule over the Riverlands, which began the official record of time. The Frostlands Conflict, and everything that led up to it, took up the majority of the first year of the First Era. And while many notable figures fell during the events that led up to the war, the war itself recorded 0 casualties, simply because it never actually happened.

### History

In order to really understand the reason behind the Frostlands Conflict, one must know of all the events that transpired right after the High King election, leading up to the eventual war that never happened.

#### Turtle Titan of Aquos

An individual by the name of Turtle Titan, King of Aquos, played a substantial role leading up to the High King election as he was used by others, via means of manipulation, in spreading false rumors and propaganda to sway the election towards one side or the other. Turtle publicly declared to the newly crowned High King that while he congratulates him on becoming the first ever High King, bestowing gifts upon him, Aquos shall not partake in any wars pertaining the Riverlands unless Aquos is under direct threat of that said war, *"in which case we will attack the one who draws us into said war with such ferocity that he will wish he had never been brought into that kingdom to which he belongs"* - further indicating that *"any and all loot from said war will be brought to Aquos and Aquos alone, where it will be kept in a treasury, never to be touched by an outsider, not even the High King."* From these words, one can assume that while Turtle acknowledged the High King and his rule, he was not his biggest fan - which proved to be correct in the following weeks, as Turtle continued to be a thorn in the High King's side, speaking up his mind to others who were against Sir Davos (DaviDustin) becoming the High King of the Riverlands, slowly gathering more and more friends.

The thing is, Turtle did not like High King David for a reason. He did not like the fact that one man was allowed to have as much power as David did, holding multiple godly relics, gifted to him through the True Believer trials of Gamagin. He believed that anyone wielding such power can only use it for evil, and that sooner or later, that day would come. And surely, it did.

#### The Turtle Incident

##### State Secrets

On the outskirts of Epheria, on one of the lone stone islands in the Northern Sea, High King David was discussing private Thoronor matters with his subject - Mon\_key. The meeting was to discuss future plans to strengthen alliances between Epheria and Thoronor, by making the nation of Gantrick create a neutral outpost for both nations - a place where they could all meet and spend time. The reason why this meeting was private, is because to an outsider, it could seem like Thoronor were planning to take over Gantrick in order to get closer to Epheria and have a mega alliance. So to avoid the spread of misinformation, David decided to discuss this with Mon\_key somewhere where no one ever goes. The thing is, for some bizarre reason, Turtle Titan of Aquos was roaming around that same region for a while, and upon seeing the meeting taking place, decided to eavesdrop on the conversation. And upon being discovered by High King David, Turtle chose to flee, using his coveted Elytra. David, being an owner of multiple Elytras, always kept one on him and was able to catch up to Turtle on the floating Mushway island. Instead of being aggressive about it (as now Turtle knew viable, private Thoronor plans, which he could use to launch an entire rumor mill about the High King and his true intentions), he told Turtle to stop sneaking around and to mind his own business, after which he flew away. At this point, Turtle decided to publicly mock the High King, telling him that he *"likes to snoop around"* and that there is nothing he can do to stop him.

This public mockery rightfully infuriated the High King, which saw him chase Turtle, with the Crimson Blade in hand, all the way to the ancient Aquos Main vaults, where Turtle hid. Multiple people tried to calm David and stop him from pursuing Turtle, but he brushed everyone aside, even resorting to violence, as he smelled blood in the water, and he needed his hunger satisfied - which would only be achieved with Turtle, dead. And after a while, when he realized that he had no way to get to Turtle, the High King calmed down, and issued a bounty on Turtle's head, labeling him as "Kill On Sight" if he sets foot inside the Riverlands ever again.

##### Declaration of War

As tensions subsided over the next few weeks, Turtle continuously entered the Riverlands on multiple occasions to do whatever he wanted, getting 0 repercussions as he was continuing to sneak around, as he claimed he loved doing. Seeing as his threats and bounties taught Turtle nothing, the High King decided to take matters into his own hands and attempt to drag Turtle onto Riverlands soil whenever he was on the border using a fishing rod, in order to allow his subjects to attack him. Knowing that they would not actually be able to kill Turtle, as he was right on the border and could easily step off of Riverlands territory and stop anyone from being able to attack him, David was hoping this would teach Turtle a lesson by scaring him a bit. And when that did not work, David decided to beat Turtle at his own game, by taunting and provoking Turtle instead - showing up to Aquos Main, with no armor, flaunting the Crimson Blade in Turtle's face daring him to attack him - as Turtle held David at gunpoint, pointing his maxed out bow with Instant Harming II arrows at David. And the closer David got to Turtle, the more nervous and anxious Turtle got, with his fingers accidentally slipping, making him lose grip of his bow, shooting a harming 2 arrow at David. Fortunately, David was anticipating the shot and was able to quickly dodge the arrow, but was surprised at Turtle's audacity of throwing away his entire kingdom under the bus by attacking the High King and possibly instigating a war between the Riverlands and Aquos.

At this point, David thought that his taunts and provocations agitated Turtle enough, and he decided it was time for him to leave. As he turned his back on Turtle and began making his way towards the exit, Turtle shot a second Instant Harming II arrow, now willingly, at David, hitting him in the back. And while that arrow did not kill David, it was more than enough for him to renounce Turtle's bounty, as he declared the Riverlands to be at a state of war - against Aquos, with the culmination of this war only concluding if and when Turtle Titan is no longer the leader of Aquos.

##### Plans To Overthrow The High King

The thing is, while his bounty was still live, Turtle conspired with nations and individuals who were against David becoming the High King, planning to overthrow the High King, getting his relics taken from him by any means necessary and having them locked away somewhere where no one can get them, as Turtle still wholeheartedly believed that no one should be allowed to wield that much power. Turtle gathered allies from Samarium, Tenebris, Darenthar and a few others unknown private parties who agreed to help him and support him in carrying out this plan. There was one big problem with it all however. Aquos has been universally recognized as the nation of peace, a nation who tries its best to stay away from all conflict, and will work as hard as it needs to preserve and achieve peace without resorting to violence. This was also why so many people started joining Aquos, as they saw it as a great and progressive nation, making them feel safe and protected from any and all conflict. Turtle's devious plan went against everything Aquos stood for, as by doing what he did, he risked endangering his entire kingdom by bringing war, chaos, violence and destruction to his nation's front door, and being the King of Aquos did not help his case either.

Unfortunately for Turtle, his ambition and not so private conspiracy talks reached the ears of one RetroHeat of Epheria, who was a very loyal subject of the High King. Thanks to Retro's amazing investigative skills, he was able to gather all the information regarding Turtle's devious plans and promised to share them with the world. In his promise, he did mention what it was about, and it caught the attention of almost all the nations, Aquos included, as Aquos' main advisor, the king's right hand man ZachZero, was apparently left completely in the dark in terms of all of this. He felt absolutely betrayed by his own king, just like he felt that Turtle betrayed all of Aquos. And he was not the only one who thought that.

##### The Pride of Aquos

Everyone agreed to meet at the Pride of Aquos, the biggest ship in Drevhall that was resting peacefully in the Aquosian waters just north of Aquos main. There, ZachZero, Aquos' main advisor, would apprehend Turtle and question him in the presence of other nations, along with the High King of the Riverlands himself. While Turtle gained himself a few allies in return: Heracronite, who would stand by Turtle as his main protector, and Mon\_key of Thoronor, acting as his main spy.

Turtle immediately attempted defending himself and his actions, claiming that the attack on David was because he provoked Turtle and he threatened him, while David's chase of Turtle, after the whole eavesdropping situation, was entirely unprovoked. However, Zach did not care for any of it. He was more interested in hearing Turtle admit to his conspiracies and plans, where Zach was left completely in the dark. And with Turtle resorting to silence, Retro presented his book of information that he collected on Turtle and prompted Zach to read it out loud for everyone present to hear. Which he did, revealing Turtle's devious plans to the whole world, in which he explicitly mentioned that Turtle's main plan is to kill David and hide the Crimson Blade. Zach, distraught and perplexed, demanded an explanation from Turtle as to why he would drag an entire nation built on peace into his devious plans, and why he never discussed this with his main advisor - to which Turtle simply replied *"I thought I did."* This enraged Zach, claiming that he would have never agreed to this. Turtle followed by saying that the Crimson Blade is too powerful, and the reason why he wants it gone is because *"David abused the sword in the past, using it on other people, himself included"* - referring to the time when David attacked Turtle and Thunder, back when they were both members of Uzacan, over a disagreement. David's argument to this was that it was an honest mistake, which he then redeemed himself for by bringing Turtle to Thoronor on the same day of the incident and supplied him with better gear than he previously had. Zach continued to express his distress and disbelief by proclaiming to Turtle that Aquos was supposed to be a nation of peace and that he would have never even joined it if it was otherwise, only to be interrupted by David, where he mentioned that Aquos was never truly a nation of peace, and on the first week of it existing as a nation, it almost went to war with Laputria over one of the Southern Mushroom Islands in the Sea of Ice, which was prevented and avoided solely because High King David stood up for Turtle and Aquos, prohibiting Laputria from taking action. The Laputrians present on the ship at the time confirmed this, claiming that they were going to go to war with Aquos and completely obliterate them. David was the only reason they didn't.

That's when everyone put Turtle on the spot. Zach said enough is enough, Turtle needs to speak up and explain himself, as well as provide a solution as to how all of this can be resolved. Zach said he had one incase Turtle didn't, and so did David. They both wanted Turtle to acknowledge his wrongdoings and step down as the King of Aquos voluntarily, on his own accord, so that someone else, with better leadership skills, can lead Aquos into the great future of peace and prosperity, with Turtle by his side as he was the one who founded the nation after all. Turtle however, had other plans.

He proclaimed that he was pushed to it by David, after he allowed himself to *"overextend his power into a region in which he had no jurisdiction",* referring to the time when David chased Turtle back to Aquos after Turtle publicly mocked the High King - to which David argued that Turtle did the exact same thing when he came to the outskirts of Epheria to eavesdrop on the private conversation between David and Mon\_key. David continued by saying that most wars between kingdoms start because one king disrespects the other, instead, David opted for a solution which will minimize casualties and prevent a full on war, by putting a bounty on Turtle only inside the Riverlands, which he even offered to Turtle to pay off. Instead, Turtle conspired and still tried to turn others against him to ultimately kill the High King.

Finally, Turtle was put on the spot by Zach one more time, asking him if he still wants to remain the ruler of Aquos, to which he said yes. In response, Zach said that if that's the case, he can no longer be his advisor, and he no longer believes that he has a place in Aquos because this is not the nation of peace which he believed it was when he first joined it. David added, that Turtle was offered many solutions - never stepping foot in the Riverlands ever again, paying off his bounty or stepping down as the King of Aquos, but he did none of those and instead chose to openly attack the High King of the Riverlands. And as such, all bounties were off, with David proclaiming that there is no reality in which Turtle remains the King of Aquos and avoids a full on war.

Then finally, Turtle cracked. He acknowledged how he alienated his people, the people of Aquos, for which he was deeply sorry, claiming that it wasn't right to do so by the people who put their trust in him. It isn't fair for them to be dragged into the mess that he created. He pulled up the Aquos shield, the shield that was meant to represent peace and unity of a nation of people outside the Riverlands where individuals could coexist in harmony, and he threw it on the ship's deck, saying his final goodbye as he bore his elytra and flew into the night. But he did not fly far.

##### The Crimson Turtle

Turtle knew that with everything laid out, all his plans put to light and all his secrets revealed, his undercover spy, Mon\_key, was no longer safe. He followed Mon\_key back to Thoronor where he watched him get publicly executed for his treason. Distraught, Turtle fled the scene. The thing is however, Mon\_key was not really executed. This was all a well executed acting performance by everyone included, to make Turtle believe that his spy was now dead and that he was all alone. Prior to this, Mon\_key met with David and informed him of everything, and offered to be a double agent, to which the fake public execution was suggested. Turtle was lost, angry, sad and confused, overwhelmed with emotions over the fact that he lost the one thing he cared for the most - Aquos. And on the following day, he decided to carry out his revenge plan - killing Retro, the one who brought his secret devious plans to light, the one who brought the king to his knees, humiliating him and humbling him. He agreed to meet with Fluffy, the lady of Epheria in Epheria, to ask her where he could find Retro. Unfortunately for him, he became too reliant on his coveted Elytra, which he used to fly across the Riverlands to get to Epheria, passing by Thoronor, where he was spotted in the skies by the High King himself.

High King David followed Turtle from a distance, landing in the branches of the Tree of Wisdom. He waited for the perfect moment when Turtle was distracted and in deep conversation with Fluffy. And when that moment came, David drank an invisibility potion, snuck up behind Turtle, and sliced him up with the Crimson Blade, successfully assassinating him.

### The Frostlands Incident

#### Birth of the Frostlands

Following the death of his character - "Turtle Titan, the King of Aquos" - Turtle was reborn as a new character, one that would no longer be associated with Aquos and would travel to a new continent to start his new life there. That said continent was located to the south east of the Riverlands, across the Sea of Ice in which Aquos was based. And after spending a short time exploring it, Turtle decided to call it the "Frostlands", as in the middle of the continent, there was a large snowy mountain range which Turtle believed would span across the whole continent, never actually travelling past them.

Amongst Turtle's old friends, there were still some that wanted to remain loyal to him, based on their mutual dislike of the High King of the Riverlands. And while Turtle's new character had nothing to do with his past life anymore, his old friends still supported his rebellious nature and decided to join him in the Frostlands, starting a new nation. Just like the continent, the nation was called "Frostlands", and it consisted of Turtle, two Samarium defectors - Heracronite and illumniEclipse - and Mon\_key, who was sent by High King David to the Frostlands as a spy, to make sure that everything there stays in order, and if something was to go amiss, David would be the first one to learn of it.

The first few weeks were spent on developing a new capital in the Frostlands, the city of Soleis, in the province of Sunce. Quickly becoming an architectural marvel, it attracted many curious visitors who wanted to experience the beauty of Soleis. Thanks to the influx of tourists, the Frostlands continent was explored further down south, revealing that it was never really a frozen wasteland, but instead, a luscious, green valley full of canyons with naturally formed rivers flowing through them.

#### The Fall of Kitrov

While members of the Frostlands seemed to stay occupied with developing their new nation in their new continent, not everything was as smooth as it seemed on the surface. Turtle's old friends turned Frostlanders, Hera and Illu, were trying to revive the rebellion that Turtle Titan of Aquos had started but never got the chance to finish. Their motivation was further fueled by the means in which High King David handled the assassination of their friend, Turtle, and what he did with his belongings. David now had all of Turtle's old gear, including his Elytra - the Elytra that the Frostlanders believed to rightfully belong to them. And while Turtle's new character had no connection to any of that, they persuaded him and convinced him to follow their ideologies just like his old character did. And so, they came up with a plan - an ambush, an assassination, just like David did to Turtle, they would do onto him in revenge - disguising this ambush as a peaceful meeting between the High King of the Riverlands and the Counts of the Frostlands to discuss political stances and alliances. The meeting was set to take place on neutral grounds - Aquos Main, which now lay abandoned.

As the meeting time approached, High King David, accompanied by the Knights of the Withered Rose, was greeted by all 4 members of the Frostlands, including his spy Mon\_key, who had informed David of the Frostlanders' plan. David, wanting to give the Frostlanders the benefit of the doubt, remained vigilant in the meeting, having a totem in his hand and a teleport request ready if things went south.

The meeting seemed to go well, as both parties appeared to be on the same page. Seeing as things were going well, most of the Knights were dismissed, with only Bringiton2003 remaining by David's side. Suddenly, the demeanor changed entirely. Heracronite decided to cut the meeting short, and brought up the topic of the Elytra which he believed rightfully belonged to the Frostlands. Before David could even reply, illumniEclipse circled David and blocked the exit. Turtle backed away into the ancient Aquos vault, while illu began attacking the High King who was seated in his chair. Being prepared for this moment thanks to his spy Mon\_key, High King David teleported out of Aquos main onto safety, leaving behind Bringiton who fell to the hands of the Frostlanders, defending his Chapter Master and his High King. Publicly announcing that this was the biggest mistake that they have ever made, High King David pulled out Turtle's Elytra out of his storage and threw it into the fires of his smelter, destroying all of the Frostlanders' plans - since if there is no Elytra, they got nothing to fight for. But he did not stop there.

High King David proceeded to fly all the way to the jewel of the Frostlands, Soleis, and burn their infamous hanging bridges as a symbolic message - destroying any possibilities of any relationships or alliances that could have happened between the two continents. The Frostlands nation was publicly labeled as a terrorist state, and the declaration of war followed suit.

The thing is, Bringiton2003 was Kitrov's main leader. Due to the fact that this was now officially a time of war, any vulnerability can be exploited, especially one where a nation is leaderless. To avoid this, High King David quickly used his power as the Chapter Master of the Knights of the Withered Rose to turn Kitrov into Wakkland territory, officially making it fall under the protection of the Knights of the Withered Rose.

### The Frostlands War

#### The Lead Up

Upon the announcement of the declaration of war, the war itself was given a set time, place, terms and conditions.

High King David publicly declared that the Frostlands are at war with him, and therefore are at war with all of the Riverlands, asking if anyone would join him in the fight against this terrorist organization. People quickly began picking sides, with the majority siding with the Riverlands.

Unfortunately for the Frostlands, while most nations outside the Riverlands supported them and their goals, they were too afraid to join in on the fight in person and settled for only supplying the Frostlands with gear and materials.

With the war day approaching, the Frostlands did most of the preparations as they were the ones on the defensive side of things. The entirety of Soleis was trapped with many different contraptions, along with the bridges and the flower fields across the ravine. In the meantime, the Riverlands army began settling behind the northern tower overlooking Soleis, setting up their camps there. Some even built a statue of the High King right in front of the camps looking towards Soleis as an attempt at an intimidation tactic. During the prep days, a few Riverlands scouts were able to sneak past the Soleis defenses and investigate the traps, which consisted of multiple pressure plate potion dispensers, TNT air drops, and even freshly constructed cannons that would shoot explosives, reaching all the way across the ravine into the flower fields. On the opposition, the Riverlands army planned to construct cannons of their own and hide them amongst the farm fields across the ravine. They would use those cannons to destroy the Frostlands traps and open the doors of Soleis for an attack. And while the Riverlands would attack the Frostlanders from the front, Mon\_key would betray his nation and launch a surprise attack on the Frostlanders from the back.

#### War Day

Everything was set for the war to begin, with both sides being overly prepared for the battle. However, the war never actually ended up happening. The Frostlanders felt that something was off, call it intuition or whatever you'd like, but the proud Frostlanders who were so ready to fight the Riverlands, even while outnumbered 3 to 1, suddenly backed away from the fight, and officially surrendered. High King David and his soldiers were called by the Frostlanders to the Soleis bridges to announce this declaration of defeat in person, which they did. They put down their arms, fulfilled the conditions of victory, announced the desolation of the Frostlands Nation and declared the Riverlands victorious. Thus, marking the official, incredibly anticlimactic end of the Frostlands War - a war that never happened.