Annexation of C'thardjia

Locations relevant to the operation

## Overview

The Annexation of C'thardjia was an operation conducted by the Grenthyx Dynasty that would incorporate C'thardjia into the Chaestlands as a part of the ongoing Uprootings conflict. In 202 AG, with the bulk of the C'thardji force in the Capital, the Duchy was left practically unprotected. Following the Refortification of Truvenscia, C'thardjia was left vulnerable and was subsequently invaded by the Dynasty. Upon the successful capture of Ch'caselle, led by the cunning General Seiį, C'thardjia was annexed by King Barren. However, unbeknownst to the Dynasty during this, Sir Ch'vallio was negotiating with the Ori Islands for assistance in defending C'thardjia. The Ori were close allies of Ch'clan and so accepted the call to fight. The combined efforts of the C'thardji and the Ori were able to catch the Dynasty off balance and swiftly drove Seiį's forces out of C'thardjia. This marked the end of the short lived Annexation and the Ori Islands' entry into the Uprootings.

## Timeline

### Securing Truvenscia

Desperate to make some gains after losing the Capital, King Barren Grenthyx ordered a swift refortification of Truvenscia, once a Loyalist Duchy turned neutral. The operation, led by General Seiį, was successful and resulted in the capture of Hollyard Hold and the execution of Tommas Hollyard. Shortly prior to their victory, Sir Bo-Hyuk of Duchess Ch'mazi's Noble Guard, was beginning to fear the Dynasty would move into the underdefended C'thardjia after securing Truvenscia. Bo-Hyuk spoke with fomer Duchess Ch'matria, the Regent in Mazi's stead of his suspicions and she agreed precautions should be made. While she ordered a defence of Lovesung, the northernmost seat in C'thardjia, Bo-Hyuk sent word to his brother in law, Ch'vallio. He requested that he sail to Ori Sao in his stead to request aid from Ori Sao. Bo-Hyuk was the son of the Ori Viceroy Nang Ji-Jung, Vallio was once his ward and was now married to his daughter, Yin. Vallio believed it very unlikely but if the Ori could provide support to the C'thardji then the balance in the war would be shifted in their favour and so he agreed to meet with the Viceroy. Just before Vallio and Yin's departure, the Knight ordered his humble guard to join the defence at Lovesung. His estate would likely fall to the Dynasty but Vallio knew that no competent C'thardji soldiers could go to waste.

### Arrival at Lovesung

Just as Bo-Hyuk had feared, on the 16th of March, the Dynasty marched into C'thardjia. Finding their first target, the Aurelle Esate, abandoned, General Seiį realised his hopes of surprising the C'thardji were lost. Furious, Seiį set fire to the estate and marched on towards Lovesung.

As Seiį's forces neared Lovesung, the Regia Wy'varri commanded all forces to retreat to Ch'caselle. This action came as a surprise to all those surrounding her but she insisted the approaching army was too large to tackle. Varri suggested their only hope was for the entire collective of soldiers in C'thardjia to make a stand at Ch'caselle. Though her men understood where she was coming from, they could make no sense of her other desire to remain at Lovesung as the rest of them fled. Despite their concerns they followed suit and left for Ch'caselle.

Upon Seiį's arrival, he was met personally by Varri. Alone with the General and his fellow Rovi companion (known only as The Shadowy Delegate), she revealed herself as one of the secret informants for the Dynasty. The Regia was horrified by the appearance and general presence made by the two but persevered to explain her plot. After hearing of the atrocities of the Battle for the Capital, Varri had lost all faith in her Duchess and despised her allies within the Fellowship. Varri now longed to serve the Dynasty and provided Seiį with information for a swift victory. Whilst most C'thardji were preparing for the defence of Ch'caselle, their Regent, Ch'matria had actually left for her personal home of Alosso within Cemdalla. If Seiį were to sneak into the city he could capture Matria and use her to secure a complete surrender of the C'thardji forces. Seiį and the Delegate were intrigued by Varri's plan and set forth putting it into action.

Lastly, just before leaving, Varri told the Rovi of an informant imprisoned in the Vivita Dungeons. She suggested approaching him about joining their host as he could prove valuable in navigating C'thardjia in secret. She admitted she would join them herself but wished to avoid being revealed as a traitor just yet.

### Siege of Ch'caselle

Unaware of Varri's plot, the C'thardji at Ch'caselle, led by Bo-Hyuk, prepared to defend the castle against a siege. As expected, Seiį's host arrived outside Vivita and quickly advanced through the city. Reaching the castle walls, the Dynasty began setting up for a siege. Before leaving for Alosso, Seiį entered the Vivita Dungeons to find Varco, a former member of Mazi's guard. At first Varco was struck with fear by Seiį's demeanour but upon the arrival of the even more horrifying Shadowy Delegate the young man observed a great power emanating from the being - a power that left him both petrified and intrigued. After hearing what the pair were offering him, he accepted and so the trio moved with a small force of soldiers towards Cemdalla.

### Capture of the Alosso Estate

As the Dynasty forces remained outside Ch'caselle, Varco led Seiį's small company to Cemdalla. The group were able to enter the city with ease, finding it scarcely defended. Abandoning their need for stealth, Seiį and his soldiers barged into the Alosso Estate, breaking through what little defences it had and captured the unassuming Ch'matria.

Word was sent to Ch'caselle of Matria's capture that demanded the C'thardji surrender or else the former Duchess would be killed. Sir Bo-Hyuk responded asking for a parley to be arranged outside Cemdalla where they would discuss terms. He asked that a small collective from Mazi's council would be allowed to leave Vivita to meet his delegate personally. Seiį agreed and kept close to Matria as he waited in order to avoid any surprise attacks. Sir Manven, Sir Tr'willum and his daughter Cyllia travelled to Cemdalla guarded by Bo-Hyuk and fellow knight Ta'rica. Once there, the C'thardji awaited the Delegate as the two knights snuck into the city to rescue Matria.

Finding the Estate unguarded the two knights feared they had entered into a trap. Their worries were confirmed when they entered the dining room and were met with Seiį looming over Matria seated at the end of the table. Surrounding them were half a dozen guards including the traitor Varco. Following a heated exchange between the guards and Seiį, a skirmish broke out. The C'thardji dispatched the guards with ease and so Seiį placed Varco in care of Matria and engaged the C'thardji. The Rovi warrior proved his worth as he disarmed and knocked out Bo-Hyuk and found himself duelling the young Rica alone. Seiį was able to kill Rica but failed to notice the Ori regain consciousness and sneak up on Varco. Bo-Hyuk managed to escape with Matria before Seiį caught on and fled the Estate. Realising something was afoot, the delegate abandoned his negotiations to ride for the Estate but ended up allowing the remaining C'thardji to escape too.

Both Seiį and the Delegate admitted they had mishandled this operation and lost a valuable asset in Matria. However ultimately it made little difference. Returning to Vivita, the Dynasty armies were at last ordered to attack Ch'caselle. Without their leaders, the C'thardji did not last long and after significant casualties, they finally surrendered. With the capture of Ch'clan's ruling seat, Seiį sent word to the King of their victory in C'thardjia. The remaining C'thardji were last spotted fleeing to Alyna'lacio and were no longer considered a threat - especially not one that permitted fighting through the jungles of the Tress Peninsula.

With C'thardjia captured, King Barren officially annexed the Duchy, hoping to draw Fellowship attention away from invading the Chaestlands.

### Negotiations in the Ori Islands

Over the course of the Annexation, Vallio and Yin had met with Viceroy Ji-Jung who had a strong desire to help C'thardjia. Since the Battle on the Strip, Ji-Jung had long wished to help in some manner but was a loyal subject of King Kyu-Ok. The Ori Islands, like the rest of the known world was very aware of the war in the Continent but could not afford to get involved. Because of this, the Viceroy could not send his armies or provide aid of any sort without permission from the King.

And so Vallio's next meeting was with King Kyu-Ok. The King had a keen strategic mind, owing to his service as a battle commander. With this he was initially sceptical and didn’t want to expend their men because of how valuable protection against Kisaya has proved in the past. Ji-Jung then pleaded with the King on a personal level. He suggested that their close ties to the Fellowship aligned kingdom won’t go unnoticed if the dynasty should win, and that it is the right thing to do to help their friends in this situation. Despite his tactical mindset Kyu-Ok was also a morally motivated man and a good friend of Ji-Jung. After much deliberation the King accepted and gave the Viceroy complete control over his own military.

### Retaking C'thardjia

The Ori quickly prepared their forces and set sail for the Continent. On the 5th of May the Ori landed on the shores of C'thardjia and marched to Vivita with the forces Ch'matria had gathered while in hiding. The newfound high moral across the C'thardji combined with the fresh Ori armies led by General Nang Bo-Chul caught the Dynasty completely off balance. General Seiį attempted to hold his ground, even facing Bo-Chul directly in a brief skirmish, but was forced to retreat. The retaking of Ch'caselle put an end to Barren's short lived Annexation and C'thardjia was once again free. As the retreating army passed Lovesung, Wy'varri left with the Dynasty, joining Varco in pledging loyalty to them, and travelled with Seiį's host north into Truvenscia.

Not only had the Fellowship made another decisive win, they now had the support of the Kingdom of the Ori Islands and their armies. With the combined forces from the north and south the Fellowship could liberate Truvenscia and push the Dynasty back into the Chaestlands. The war was far from over but a Fellowship victory now seemed all but guaranteed.