Danoran Mountain Campaign

This campaign was waged by the forces of the growing Aurian Empire against the Danoran Mountain Clans to bring the area under imperial rule. It lasted from 674-675PE.

## Origin

362-366PE: Auria made military alliances with Kolaran in addition to its previous trade alliances. This led to the first conflicts between Imperial Military and the mountain clans. With the Protectorans defending Kolaran's interests.

445-449PE: The Ridge Warriors, one of the mountain clans supports Tatrak in the Third Commerce Wars. Near the end the precursors to the Blue Protectoran found the Ridge Warriors main hold and raised it to the ground slaughtering all they found there. Many of the other southern clans were also weakened as the Aurians could not tell them apart from the Ridge Warriors.

505-507PE: The Wargak Invasion is turned back by Aurian forces forging them and Kolaran even closer together.

525PE: Kolaran officially joined the Aurian Empire leaving the Danoran Mountains inside the Empire's border. From then on clansmen and Aurian civilians and military would clash regularly. The Aurians seeing the clansmen as trouble makers, savages and bandits. Over the next century tensions would continue to rise until the campaign itself became inevitable.

668PE: Emperor Peter II formalises his mediation work between the wizards, clerics and military in the Lakeside Accords. These formalised the rules governing these powerful auxiliaries and their interactions as well as their accountability to the state. It was only through this new clarity that Masterton was later able to design his revolutionary strategy in the Danoran Mountain Campaign.

670-674PE: Keele Masterton takes up residence in Kolaran to plan 'Soaring Sword' a masterful campaign strategy for bringing the Danoran Mountains into the Empire proper. As a precursor to the campaign itself he met with civilian leaders in Kolaran, representatives of the Sapphire Wizards' Guild and members of the Church of Celer. In these strategy meetings he explained his overall plan and negotiated the involvement of these specialist auxiliaries. It was in these that the suggestions of using a spy network and rogue clansmen would also be discussed and added to Soaring Sword. This preparation proved to be crucial to the campaign's success.

## Events

674PE: Without official declaration the Blue Protectoran activate the campaign plan 'Soaring Sword' designed by their Grand Admiral Keele Masterton. On Darksgift a day feared and celebrated by the Mountain Clans the first attacks took place. The strategy was completely left to Masterton. The Marshal of the Empire and the Emperor staying well out of the day-to-day running of the conflict. Masterton struck into the mountains with decisive and bold strokes taking significant sized forces often entire legion groups and supporting them with extensive civilian support trains. The Blue Legions 40 through 60 saw the most action.

674PE Mid-Lifsal - The Protectoran forces split and struck out for the clan holds. Shore Watchers were the first to meet with the invaders in force. Spies placed in the mountains revealed their main ambush and the location of their main holds. Some of the clansmen defectors working with the Protectorans acted as guides and infiltrators. After the Protectorans broke the Shore Watchers main combat force they fled into the higher mountains is dispersed groups. Eschewing the tactics of the Mountain Clans surrounded the holds of the Shore Watchers and then stormed them in large numbers.

Other defeats for minor clans left large amounts of unaligned clansmen to flee to the major clan holds. The legions gained in confidence and pushed harder and harder. Many Shore Watchers fled to the south.

674PE End of Lifsal - As the clansmen organised better and better they fought back with increasing skill and ferocity.

674PE Mid-Sunsal - While pursuing Howling Phantoms through Windy Pass the 52nd and 53rd Legions were counterattacked and destroyed as viable military forces in a crushing ambush. The Phantom's had grown their forces using remnants from previously defeated clans and the legions were mislead in thinking they had left most of their forces back to defend their main holds. Thinking he had routed the active army the Seamark gave full chase. Once within the pass clansmen emerged from both sides and rained arrows, rocks and magic down on the legions massacring the boxed in infantry. Then the fleeing forces of the supposedly broken Phantom's army reformed joined by new hidden units and ran back into the suddenly trapped and bloodied pursuers. It was one of two massive defeats in an otherwise exemplary campaign. This defeat prolonged the war by at least half a year as it made Masterton far more cautious.

674PE Early Bresal - The Blue Protectoran finally take the Phantom's hold and in revenge for the Windy Pass ambush Masterton lets his forces decimate it. They raze the buildings to the ground and the killing and pillage were more violent and brutal than previously seen.

674PE Bresal - The legions had further successes against Spine Nesters and the remnants of the defeated clans. Towards the end of the season, Darkspeak erupted and though records are silent on the subject there is speculation that the Protectorans confronted the Darkspeaker Clan. No one officially fought at Darkspeak however and the records remain silent on the subject other than the eruption.

674PE Fallsal - the push for the Nest. The legions used reinforcements to push further into the mountains to follow up their previous victories. The Spine Nesters however put off all pitched fights retreating to their lofty retreat. As the Blues surrounded the Nest they waited for three weeks to plan their assualt. Finally at Fallsal end as the temperatures began to drop Masterton tried to storm the Nest. It was a catastrophic defeat for Masterton costing well over a thousand lives in the three days of bloody fighting. Still the legions did not break the seige they only accepted they couldn't storm the peek.

674-675PE - The Blues were held throughout the cold month of Icesal but their cohesive approach use of clerics, wizards and very well planned logistics the army was able to get enough resources to keep an effective siege until the better weather arrived in 675PE. The snows melted and the additional reinforcements that were levied for the war effort arrived. Then Masterton's siege forced them into a crazed desperate strike using a summoned demon. Masterton though was ready and used wizards and clerics to protect his forces and inflict a crushing defeat on the Spine Nester forces. Then he led a second storming action that broke into the Nest with magical support leading to a crushing victory over the Spine Nesters.

675PE Lifesal- The forces push down to the High Ridge fighting the whole way. Masterton used clerics and wizards with every unit and started working with a larger number of smaller forces. Victories piled up as the now veteran forces of the Masterton used the mountain fighting skills they gained over the last year. Their momentum could not be stopped and they bore down on the Hold of High Ridge. Many of the 56th Legion including several of their Captains were originally Ridge Warriors, Mountain Clansmen from the previously destroyed clan of the same name. This legion were especially influential in winning the fights along High Ridge their ancestral home.

The final breaking of the Sunset Rising and the Shore Watchers happened in a battle later called the 'Longest Day of Blood' on High Ridge. This day was incredibly extreme and led to the 56th Ridge Warriors breaking the Sunset Rising's elite line at sunset. They slew the clan's Grand and his son swore loyalty to the Empire.

It essentially ended the war.

## Aftermath

Most of the clans were forced to at least officially assign themselves as Aurian. Some continued to live wild in the mountains most of those especially Shore Watchers and Hollow Phantoms deny that they are Aurian's at all. Alternatively those such as the Spine Nesters and Sunset Rising still live in their old holds, which are now Aurian towns with them as accepted citizens.

The Thellow Greys barely fought in the war and their hunting grounds were little affected. Able to see the impact of the war on their fellows they accepted the strictures and reassignment to Aurian quickest. It is also of historical record that the Thellow Grey clansman Longsparrow Switch, who worked as a scout and deep spy for the imperials. He was decorated as a war hero and given significant accolades and honours after the war. His clan is now the mosy populous of all the Mountain Clans.

The Darkspeaker Clan never officially swore to the Empire but at the same time they have never asserted their independence either. Though Darkspeak remains in impoerial lands no one wise tries to climb its jagged sides.

675PE: The town Dardon Point was founded (it was previously an independent fishing village) as an auxiliary port to Kolaran. It was now no longer under threat from Shore Watcher raids.

676-685PE: The Empire absorbed the mountain clans into its citizenship.