The Unification War

The Unification War, also known as the War of Isarian Conquest, the Final Invasion, the Century War, the Great War, and the Aurosan War, was the single largest war in Aurosan history. Fought between the Isarian Empire and its client states, and a coalition of nations including the Brier Commonwealth, the Kingdom of Puris, the Republic of Adran, and numerous others, the Unification War was the last major armed conflict to be fought on the Aurosan continent.

## Prelude

### Unification of the Tribes of Isar

The defining event of recent Aurosean history was the formation of the Isarian Empire. The Isarian people spent many centuries as a collection of disharmonious tribes and clans, lead by various warlords who each had their own agendas. Many delved into the depths of dark magic, willing to sacrifice anything in pursuit of power. These spells wrought havoc and destruction on the Isarian people, and many other nations watched in horror as it seemed the Isar had brought about their own demise. In their darkest hour, one visionary rose above all else, unifying the people against the warlords and calling for their execution. This visionary, whose name has been lost to history, was praised as the saviour of Isar, and crowned Emperor of the newly-consolidated Isarian Empire.

Chief among the priorities of his mandate, the first Emperor decreed that the practice of any and all magic, dark or otherwise, was forbidden. The vast majority of the Isarian people were in favour of this change, the resulting cataclysms brought on by the warlords still a fresh and painful memory. Centuries passed, and though the Emperors changed, hatred for magic and magic-users only grew stronger. As a result, the Isarian Empire became the most technologically advanced nation on the continent. The other side effect of this policy manifested in increasing hostility to their neighboring states; most of the nations across the continent had banned the practice of dark magic during the Isarian cataclysms, but the vast majority of them still practiced magic in general. The Isarian people, buying into increasingly radical ideas regarding magic, began calling for foreign intervention in the interest of eradicating the wretched practice from the face of the continent.

### Escalation of Tensions

The first wars were small-scale, but decisive, resulting in rapid expansion of the Isarian Empire. Many other nations looked on with worry, while others turned a blind eye, but for the Isarians, these first few conflicts informed their foreign policy for the foreseeable future. The Isarians made further conquests, catching the eyes of many nations that were previously unconcerned with Isarian aggression. The first defensive pacts were signed, alliances formed in the hopes of keeping the Isarians in check. Their conquests continued, however, targeted specifically at nations that did not have any allies.

While their original goal had been to put an end to magic use across the continent, the upper echelons of Isaria society were secretly motivated by a desire for conquest and the spoils of war. Government propaganda saturated the Empire and its growing collection of client states, designed and intended to keep the masses in an outrage regarding magic use.

After several centuries of on-and-off warfare, the Isarian Empire controlled over half of Aurosa, leaving the remaining nations in an increasingly alarming position. In an effort to deter Isarian aggression, an unprecedented alliance was formed, comprised of most of the remaining free nations. First to sign the pact were the Republic of Adran and Brier Commonwealth, and the rest of the nations, including the Kingdoms of Moaria, Triua, Hanaer, Puris, Darmis, Vitela, Sanua, Ulgira, the Cortoan Union, and the Solernan Republic. The only nations to decline an invitation to the alliance were Goreto, Svetsi, and Hiavna--who all argued that a military alliance would only provoke conflict--and the enigmatic and isolationist Imperium of Jira, who did not even bother to send a reply at all.

## The War

### The Early Battles

For a time, there was peace across the continent, but in reality this period of respite was marked by unrivaled mobilisation within the Isarian Empire. Contrary to the beliefs of the nonaligned countries, neutrality would not save them from the coming bloodshed. At the dawn of a new century, Isaria declared war on each of the neutral nations, excluding the Imperium of Jira. Goreto, Svetsi, and Hiavna were all welcomed into the alliance as the rest of the continent declared war on the Isarian Empire, and allied troops surged into Isar territory entirely unopposed in what was at the time the largest ground invasion in history. Their ‘surprise’ attack was expected, however. Across the continent, the allied vanguard suddenly found themselves outflanked, beset on all sides by Isarian forces. The first battles were disastrous for the allies, and these crushing defeats served to highlight Isarian technological prowess. Everywhere on the front lines, allied javelineers and crossbowman were faced with weapons the likes of which they’d never seen before. Instead of swords or axes, Isarian infantry were equipped with muskets and bayonets; rather than catapults and trebuchets, allied fortifications were overcome by relentless salvos of cannon balls.

In spite of these disadvantages, allied troops fought courageously, heavily reliant on their offensive spells to equalize the odds. As months dragged on into years, several allied nations, the Adran Republic chief among them, began an intensive study of captured Isarian equipment, hoping to reverse-engineer their technology so as to turn the tide. These efforts catapulted allied understanding of science, and soon allied troops were trading in their crossbows for arquebus’ and muskets of their own.

### Technological Advancements and the Mid War

It was believed that the inventions reverse-engineered from Isarian technology would tip the scales of the war, and the proud Kingdom of Puris, among others, launched the first allied offensives since the start of the war. The outcome was far worse than they could have imagined.

Allied commanders had wrongly assumed that Isarian innovation would slow as they focused their efforts on the war; in reality, the conflict had only increased the rate of Isaria's advancement. Purisian arquebusiers came face-to-face with Isarian riflemen, and the revolutionary new clips and bolt-action features of the improved Isarian arsenal left over half a million Purisians dead. Seemingly random explosions plagued the retreating survivors, a result of the new Isarian artillery guns that had replaced their aging cannons, and this battle repeated itself all along the front. Most of the allied high command were unable to adapt their tactics for these new developments, leading to even further casualties. Many soldiers on the front opted to take matters into their own hands, retreating from their trenches to set up ambushes. These guerrilla tactics proved vital in holding the front line, as they disrupted Isarian supply lines, allowed for the capture of additional Isarian equipment, and were far less costly to perform. Allied command began to rely on them, but once again the Isarian spirit of innovation gave them their solution.

### The Advent of Aerial Warfare

When bullets and bombs first rained down from the sky, many allied soldiers were left shocked and terrified. Some claimed that Isaria had turned even the birds against them, but it was soon discovered that these flying machines, dubbed Airplanes by the Isarian military, were merely their latest technological marvel. With no way to counter these raids from the sky, allied forces were forced to abandon their positions and flee to areas that offered better cover.

With conventional means of warfare rendered untenable, allied command finally adapted their doctrines, fully embracing the hit-and-run strategies that had so far slowed the Isar hordes. Striking from forests and subterranean caves, allied troops desperately fought back against their aggressors, performing surprisingly well even with their enormous handicaps. Isarian command was forced to temporarily halt their advance, lest any of their divisions fall victim to encirclements as the allies had at the start of the war. With both sides erecting defenses, it seemed that they had finally reached a stalemate. The allied armies used this time to up their conscription, while scientists completed production of the first allied rifles and revolver sidearms. Time was not on their side, however.

### Isarian Mechanization and the Late War

The first Isarian tanks were sighted on the Moaria front, but these reports were dismissed as nothing but hallucinations brought on by battle fatigue. The renewed Isarian offensive proved them to be anything but illusions. Supported by improved fighter planes and ‘dive bombers’, Isarian tanks stormed allied defenses from one side of the continent to the other, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties within the first month. Only the most advanced allied cannons could not hope to penetrate their metal armour, and while fire spells proved effective at ambushing careless tank crews, allied troops at large were forced into a demoralizing retreat. Reports from the front made light of fire spell ambushes, specifically of the effectiveness of sneaking up to enemy tanks and casting flames into their crew cabins or engines, and the remaining generals and field marshals put out orders to ramp up their guerrilla warfare. Few, if any allied units had the chance to act upon these orders, however. Unbeknownst to the allies, Isaria had deployed two additional developments alongside their tanks: radio communication, and radar scanning.

Allied units that had for decades been able to quickly strike at Isarian formations and supply convoys before fading back into the woods were easily tracked back to their hideouts, and with the improved coordination afforded them by their radios, Isarian forces were able to converge upon each hideout before new orders could be relayed to the besieged allied soldiers. Radar scans also proved to be the end of the allied air program, as the first allied airplanes were destroyed before they could even take off, victims of ruthless bombing runs launched at their newly-discovered airbases.

### Capitulation a Century in the Making

With their only viable tactic rendered useless, allied forces crumbled. Most nations capitulated, helpless to resist the military might of Isaria any longer. Only the Brier Commonwealth, protected by the indomitable Chorus River that ran across nearly their entire border, was able to hold out, and refugees fled to what was being called the last bastion of freedom on the continent. Though tens of millions had perished, the Emperor was left unsatisfied. If Isaria were to declare victory in this war, it had to be total.

Gathering their forces, the Isarians launched a brutal assault against the Briers, sacrificing tens of thousands of men to capture the bridges and shallows that would allow the bulk of their forces to cross into Commonwealth lands. Though it was perhaps the most costly action of the war for Isaria, it was a victory nonetheless. With their river line collapsed, and cutting-edge Isarian warships launching bombardments of their shores on the opposite side of their territory, the Brier Commonwealth surrendered, putting an end to a war that had lasted for a century.

## Post-War Conditions

With the allies crushed, the Isarian Empire carved up their newly-acquired lands, annexing several nations entirely, and creating Commissariats out of the rest. It was declared across the Empire and it’s domain that the ‘Unification War,’ as the Isarians called it, was over. The ambition of the Isarian people to put a stop to the use of magic on their continent had finally been achieved, or at least would have been if not for the resistance.

Springing up from the newly-conquered lands, rebel cells plagued Isarian occupation forces, striking wherever they could to undermine their rule.

The continent of Aurosa is preparing to transition into a new century. The Greater Isarian Empire reigns with an iron fist, imposing its laws and culture onto a beaten assortment of subjects. Anyone who is found practicing magic is executed, and parents that are unwilling to send their children to be indoctrinated in Isarian schools are jailed. Though rebel cells continue to operate in multiple conquered nations, even combined they stand little chance of affecting real change, and both them and their supporters are ruthlessly hunted by both the Isarian military and secret police. Those who venture out to sea seeking the aid of the Imperium of Jira never return, and with no other explored landmasses, hope that Isaria can be defeated is quickly fading all across Aurosa.