Spires of Aeldrum

*Not to be confused with Aeldrum Spires.*

The **Spires of Aeldrum** Campaign took place within the Serene Duchy of Aeldrum from the year 395 A.U. to 399 A.U., when the 3rd Treaty of Korinth was signed.

The Spires of Aeldrum Campaign was run parallel with the Legacy War campaign, which covered the same historical material (namely the First Coalition War) but from the Fialta Imperium perspective.

## Background

The year is 395 A.U., and the 47th Serene Doge of Aeldrum, Selash Luvelath has died prematurely, seemingly of a cardiac event from overexertion. Moving quickly, Luvelath’s Conservative Party has nominated and secured the votes for a new interim Serene Doge to serve out Luvelath’s term, Count Leopold Orvhim, and Aeldrum stands at the cusp of his inauguration.

Already, the elite of Aeldrum have begun the next movement in the centuries-old waltz of Aeldman politics: elder statesmen, grand nobles and titans of industry vie, quietly and overtly, for control of the ponderous ship of state as it veers dangerously close to war and devastation. In this campaign, your characters will resolve who stands at the helm.

### State of the Duchy

The Serene Duchy of Aeldrum consists of Aeldrum and her eight core worlds, seventeen self-determined colonies, a dozen client states and a colonial or military presence on more than two hundred worlds. The Duchy has a registered population of some 200 million adult citizens (with about 25 million more citizens in the self-determined colonies and an estimated 10 million more not residing in sovereign territories with the right to send parliamentary delegates) and a population of 1.2-1.5 billion non-citizens across Aeldrum, the core and the colonies. Another quarter billion live in the Duchy’s client states. All told, the Duchy might hold sway over up to two billion lives. Aside from dubious claims by the Middle Kingdom to rule over all the billions of the former Celestial Confederation, only the Second Fialta Imperium might have more subjects, estimated at between 1.8 and 2.5 billion.

Aeldrum has few peers in cosmic geopolitics but many clients and subjects. The Duchy’s military capabilities are geared toward the administration and defense of its vast colonial holdings: a vast fleet, hordes of disposable infantry to occupy swathes of territory and elite, rapid-deployment units to perform punitive expeditions. In other words, a military designed to dominate many small, technologically inferior countries. The Fialta Imperium presents a terrifying exception to the typical foes of the Duchy: an industrializ(ing), vast empire with a stomach for war and the reserves of men and materiel to deny Aeldrum’s Dragoons a decisive victory. By some estimates, the Fialta Imperium is on the verge of overtaking Aeldrum in industrial output; while not able to match the prodigious volume of light craft that make up Aeldrum’s colonial fleets, the Fialta Imperium has already well exceeded the Duchy’s tonnage of capital ships. War with the Imperium is *the* great fear of most Aeldman foreign policy figures: costly, protracted and uncertain to be victorious.

## Summary

### Session 0

Violette de Bains is a political firebrand, using her oratory gifts and expert knowledge of the law to stage high impact protests that skirt the edge of criminality. The ardent desegregationist began her career with the Lodil Baths, giving rise to endless bath-related slogans. She organized a protest against the inauguration of Serene Doge Leopold M.E. Orvhim using a combination of dedicated professional demonstrators as the core of the protest and then drawing in thousands more from the streets of the Aeldrum Spire.

Unfortunately, while the event itself was animated and enthusiastic, its political impact appears to have been minimal: poor outreach and pamphlet distribution mean that while Violette is remembered in the Parliamentary District and surrounding levels of the Spire for her sudsy antics, relatively few people outside the original protest actually learned about her policies. Such grass-roots efforts have allowed Violette to build an enthusiastic party core, but they limit her appeal outside Aeldrum.

Nevertheless, the Aeldman Party boycott of the inauguration was large enough to make a noticeable gap in the seats of Parliament. Perhaps posterity will notice that state film records of the event seem to "skip" several seconds as they pan around the Parliamentary chamber, just as the camera comes on the empty seats of the Aeldman Party.

The broader-based Common Party took a different approach to protesting the new Serene Doge. With deeper pockets, a slick news organization and leadership in two of the Spires, the Common Party avoids associating with the rough-and-tumble protests of their Aeldman Party allies. And so, its leader, Doge Ulysses "Stubbs" Durant spoke at the 25th Anniversary Show of the Sergeant Peppers' Club Band
the Common Party did not boycott the Inauguration. However, while the Doge held court at a musical rally, his party whip, Marvin Eugen acted as his proxy in Parliament, giving a peremptory nod when the Parliament acknowledged the Serene Doge. The two senior Common Party figures, however, the Doges of Galthad and Estonne, used the rally as their platform, staking their claim against the Serene Doge as yet another out-of-touch aristocrat, perpetuating the injustices of Aeldrum's economic and social system.

While the populists agitated, the Serene Doge himself gave his inaugural speech. First assuring the assembly that he would honor the legacy of his predecessor, expressing his condolences to the Luvelath Family for its terrible loss, then turning to his first policy priority, the Fialta Imperium and its containment. While protestors spoke of domestic grievances, the Serene Doge described a Serene Duchy besieged from without
declaring to Parliament that he sought major new arms sales to the Shantine Empire, arming it against the Fialta Imperium. For the first time, however, the Serene Doge went further, declaring that he sought escalation measures should the Fialta intercept these arms shipments. He brushed up against the threat of war, and though he did not commit, he left the door open.

Hannon Mossag, present in Parliament in his capacity as a baron, made his headlines after the inauguration by staging a lavish post-inaugural soiree. As always, the soiree would take place in stages through time and space: deeper into the evening and the sprawling venue, events would become more debauched, reaching the bacchanalia for which the baron, etherics tycoon and media darling was renowned.

Meanwhile, deep inside Castle Lidenia, atop its highest tower, Count Homer (Mimir to those unfortunate enough to know his nature) received a visitor in the body of his chambermaid. An angelic being, calling on some longstanding debt of the poor woman, approach Mimir and spoke furiously to him of an empty tomb and a contract evaded. Its last words before its mortal frame was destroyed by Mimir's guards were to give the Count grim warning that the angel's host had thought to evade agreements too.

### Session 1

*This section is incomplete. You can help The Aeldrum Wiki by expanding it*.

### Session 2

With Count Homer as intermediary, the Serene Duchy sent 200,000 Fialta POWs to Sigvald the Cruel for "temporary" holding, while Sigvald sent 200,000 conscript soldiers under the command of Banshee the Blind to support the Aeldman war effort. As part of the transportation arrangement, 5 captured Fialta warships were stripped of their weapons and repurposed as heavy freighters. To nobody's surprise, those ships disappeared quietly from record and are now almost certainly re-gunned and part of the ATC's off-books fleet.

The Parliament passed a law instigated by the Serene Doge and Count Homer to establish a military research academy on Lidenia. This law included riders that severely limited disclosure of industrial secrets, including information on conditions in Guild workshops.

Doge Tiello "Brick" Augustine of Estonne surprised the public by attending the inauguration of the Academy and jointly proclaiming with Count Homer that the Academy would offer scholarships to all races and classes.

Using the special intelligence gathering powers awarded under the Industrial Secrets Amendment to the Academy Act, Dick Intrepid's newly constituted Industrial Secrets Agency (ISA) coordinated with the Aeldrum Dragoons to raid and expropriate large swathes of Valdosian bank holdings on Aeldrum, ostensibly to seize secret soul contracts that might pose a threat to national security

Doge Ulysses "Stubbs" Durant of Galthad refused to admit the Dragoons, leading to a tense standoff at the Galthad Spire. Stubbs' handling of the situation was contrasted with the restrained approach of Doge Tiello.

Serene Doge Leopold Orvihm, Dick Intrepid and Secretary Ildesh organized a major diplomatic convention on Korinth to official draft and sign the terms of the Aeldrum Coalition. The Coalition's founding document was a masterpiece of international diplomacy, laying out Aeldrum's foreign policy objectives as focused on trade rights over land ownership, establishing a primitive international mediation body to handle intra-Coalition disputes and articulating a doctrine of multilateral trade and freedom of navigation. Onlookers applauded the extraordinary document and were awed by a sumptuous signing ceremony, with ample media coverage. Banshee the Blind on behalf of the Kingdom of Sigvald became the first junior signatory to the Coalition.

In a stunning moment that shocked Aeldrum to its core, the Baroness Sivelna Morweld, wife of the Serene Doge, was struck dead by a bullet meant for her husband. Orvihm, mad with grief, is said to have retired to his temporary state rooms on Korinth to orchestrate brutal reprisals against any and all involved.

Dick Intrepid and General Donovan were both charged with security for the Korinth proceedings. Intrepid, apparently negligent in his duties, was linked to the assassination plot by certain military intelligence elements: he was killed by one of Donovan's subordinates, Aristom Eldeth, just as the assassination attempt on Leopold took place.

### Side Story: War Games

Korinth was a fairly brutal campaign: the final tally is 30,000 Aeldrum Dragoons killed or wounded beyond hope of recovery and 60,000 Parliamentary guard killed or maimed, with a further 30,000 lost ATC auxiliaries and the loss of some 6,000 Parliamentary and 2,000 ATC air and ethermen. Total casualties are thus 8,000 air/ether and 120,000 ground from Korinth alone, with perhaps 10-20% more lost in mop ups and elsewhere. That means that, counting the Dragoons' "reserve" division on Aeldrum, they've lost about a quarter of their fighting force, and the Guard has lost about 15% of its active force. The Dragoons took by far the worst of the casualties, proportionally.

Sigvald's fresh cannon fodder gives Aeldrum 200,000 men to feed into the enemy's guns. The Shantine Emperor has committed to raise 500,000 men. The Alusians are raising another 300,000 for the Front. But so far Aeldrum is bearing the worst of the fighting by far, in both blood and treasure.

The Fialta are almost certainly preparing a counter-offensive. Where they'll hit, however, is an open question. They could try to keep grinding you on Korinth, or to hit one of the "platform" worlds off the Korinth route that gives you a launchpoint into the Fialta Empire. They might also try going around Korinth to hit the Shantine or the Alusians. Korinth, though symbolic to the Shantine and of major strategic value, is not a particularly productive world, and the Fialta may decide to let Aeldrum have it and essentially pin their forces there.

If they can overwhelm the Coalition elsewhere (Aeldrum can also expect another 50,000 or so partisan volunteers to join up with the Coalition armies in Korinth and its hinterworlds), the Fialta have a million men at least in striking distance of the Korinth front and can keep bringing in more. With the Shantine and the Alusians on Aeldrum's side, the numbers look better and better for a matchup. But Aeldrum is still going to have to take the lead on major offensives and also to keep track of its allies to make sure they don't get taken out of the war by a lucky Fialta strike.

The problem is the same as before. Aeldrum has superior ships and commanders, but cannot spend limited ground troops idly on every little engagement, for that is how the Fialta will wear them down. They've bought time with the Nippon States to keep them out of the war, but that may be only temporary. A major opportunity is still available to open up new fronts against the Fialta, drawing their men away. The best candidates are the Thalranese Marches lords and the Orcish Directorate (but of course the Marcher Lords and the Directorate hate each other bitterly).

### Session 3

1. Serene Doge Leopold Orvihm makes a strong, unifying speech in the wake of his wife's death.
2. Homer of Lidenia gets tapped to become Secretary of the new Department of War
3. Violette de Bains makes a series of inflammatory accusations at rallies, claiming Homer of Lidenia is using Lidenia to funnel covert arms shipments and grey market goods, as well as presiding over the sale of POWs as slaves. She demands a full public audit of Lidenian shipping and an investigation of Homer for war crimes.
4. Serene Doge Leopold and the conservatives issue proposed legislation to censor public speech "which disparages the Aeldman military or the integrity of the office of the Serene Doge, degrades public discourse in a way which enables threats to national security, or rejects the war effort on politicized grounds". The Common Party is oddly silent, and Doge Augustine "Brick" of Estonne actively blocks de Bains's Aeldman party rhetoric from Common Party airwaves.
5. Brick begins positioning himself as the moderate progressive, strongly remonstrating the Aeldman party for its dangerous claims and its borderline treasonous veiled appeals to Aeldmen people to arm themselves.
6. Several warehouses on Lidenia go up in flame.
7. Violette stages another protest speech, declaring that she has an academic with evidence that he was detained by Count Homer while trying to uncover the truth. The academic in question approaches the podium and instead shoots Violette with an automatic pistol, killing her instantly. The assassin dies in a struggle with one of Violette's bodyguards, who only hears these words: "Lidenia sends his regards".

### Session 4

*This section is incomplete. You can help The Aeldrum Wiki by expanding it*.

### Session 5

*This section is incomplete. You can help The Aeldrum Wiki by expanding it*.

### Session 6

Key events:

* Aeldrum amends its constitution to give improved status to humans and other non-elves who serve in the army: Aeldrum cannot raise conscripts, but it taps successfully into a pool of hundreds of thousands of willing soldiers.
* Aeldrum reshuffles its cabinet: etherics tycoon Hannon Mossag and Doge Augustine Tiello join the Serene Doge's circle.
* Aeldrum pulls off a foreign policy coup and finally coordinates the Coalition to fight together.
* The Nipponese are attacked in Imperial Space on four fronts, and while the Nipponese manage to beat back an offensive and land at Genova, the Shantine and other Coalition forces successfully make and hold a landing on one of the Nippon Gates worlds. Thalranese efforts to blockade the Nipponese via Saldan are unsuccessful, and an ATC-Directorate fleet blockades the Gates via Mir'Thalran but fails to make landfall.
* Harwel looks almost lost until the arrival of the Aeldrum volunteer army reverses the course of battle and leads to a disastrous encirclement for the Fialta, resulting in more or less a return to the status quo but with heavy Fialta losses (and major loss of civilian life).
* Two assaults are launched on the key Fialta Imperium world of Firbahnk, one by Aeldrum and Alusia via Ahlam and another by the Thalranese via Tar'Thalran: neither assault successfully lands on Firbahnk, but both manage to blockade the world.
* Major losses of life on all sides: Fialta/Nipponese losses total an estimated 676K dead, 807.5K wounded or captured (1.48 million casualties). Coalition losses total an estimated 717K dead, 564.1K wounded or captured (1.28 million casualties). Civilian deaths/wounds/unaccounted across both sides are believed to exceed 920K. Total death toll of the war has now reached at least 2 million.

**Aeldrum Home Front:**

* Serene Doge Bareth Aefendt promises that there will be no conscriptions under his administration, agrees to meet with Aeldrum Militia to discuss grievances.
* Serene Doge Bareth creates the Aeldrum Department of Energy, directed by Baron Hannon Mossag, President of Mossag Etherics Corporation... the Department is not funded by Parliament but instead by the Office of the Serene Doge.
* Serene Doge Bareth Successfully passes a massive "War Volunteers Amendment" to the Aeldman Constitution with support from a coalition of the Reform Party, Popular Party, Conservative Party, and Industrial Party and creates a new Office of Social Affairs, headed by Doge Augustine "Brick" Tiello of Estonne Spire.
	+ The Amendment Makes the Following Provisions:
		- Any human who volunteers for a combat deployment and survives two tours, or one tour as an officer, will get the legal benefits of being a (non-high) elf.
		- Anyone of non-human, non-elvish race who volunteers for a combat deployment and survives three tours will be considered human. If that non-human person can get ten other members of their race to sign up with them, they will be considered for officer training and allowed to command a unit of their own race, and their tour requirements for benefits will be shortened to two.
		- Privileges due to service will be inheritable.
		- Parliament will create five slots to promote existing noble titles or create new baronies for aristocrats who serve with distinction.
		- Volunteers will be paid from the Parliamentary Budget and form the "Aeldrum Volunteer Army" (colloquially, Harwel's Heroes) under the Parliamentary Guard

The Aeldrum War Department is officially recognized as centralizing wartime command of all Aeldrum military assets under the Serene Doge of Aeldrum.

* + - The Aeldrum Trade Company's army is recognized as falling under the direction of the War Department in wartime, and it will conduct its own volunteer recruitment effort from the colonies, using an ATC-designed aptitude test.
		- Designated government offices will have the right of first recruitment for any volunteers showing exceptional aptitude: key offices will be the Academy of Lidenia, the War Department, the Aeldrum Department of National Resources, the Aeldrum Department of National Intelligence and the Department of Energy. The Serene Doge will determine the priority of recruitment for each office.
	+ The Conservative Party has to be arm-twisted to follow its leader... the act is unpopular with establishment conservatives but Orim-Spire loyalists and New Conservatives back the Serene Doge.
	+ The Industrial Party fully falls behind the act, driven by Marquise Vendrin and the human financier F. Mervodan.
	+ The Reform Party and Lidenia Political Machine vote unanimously for the act, and the Vanguard Party stays suspiciously quiet.
	+ The Common Party collapses under political rift between Doge Tiello and Doge Ulysses: Tiello takes half the Common Party and 60% of the Aeldman Party into a new "Progress Party" while Doge Ulysses takes the rest to form the radical "Workers Party of Aeldrum". The Progress Party forms a tacit coalition with Bareth's government to pass the amendment. The Workers Party votes against the Amendment and demands an immediate end to the war.
* The Cardinal of the Church of Idolmar on Aeldrum, Clotius Morweld, receives permission from the Serene Doge to form a volunteer hospital corps to support Aeldrum's military: 43,000 volunteers join the corps.
* Cardinal Morweld, under the auspices of the Serene Doge and the Coalition of Nations, raises an army of 40,000 Knights of Idolmar and Knights of Kirva to fight at Brumaire.
* Mass volunteer enrollment in the Aeldrum Volunteer Army (AVA) —: 420,000 humans, 210,000 elves/half-elves, 103,000 orcish/half-orc volunteers, 160,000 other non-humans/non-elves, 893,000 total volunteers from Aeldrum alone.

**Foreign Policy:**

* Lornav Ildesh (Aeldrum Sec. of State) concludes a memorandum of understanding between the Orcish Directorate and Thalranese Marches, recognizing 100,000 orcish troops in Celestial Space as "counting" for purposes of mutual armament and allowing the orcs, transported by ATC ships, to transit via Thalranese space (not landing on any Thalranese worlds) to attack the Nippon Gates.

**Korinth Theater:**

* No major action reported

**Harwel Theater:**

* Fialta Losses: 132K Dead, 196K Wounded or Captured (328K total casualties).
* Aeldrum Military Losses: 105K Dead, 60K Wounded or Captured (165K total casualties).
* Aeldrum Civilian Casualties: 84K Dead, 336K Wounded, Missing or Unaccounted For
* Fialta General "Bush" takes the city of New Estonne, threatening the second etheric gate at Harwell and overwhelming Aeldrum Parliamentary Guard Artillery positions -- Aeldrum Gen. Jack "Fatman" Boehmer loses an eye from shrapnel.
* General Bush seems poised to encircle the Estonne Gate, when a mass landing of "Harwel's Heroes" turns the tide: covered by Aeldrum Air Corps led by Dragoons Maj. Gen. "Grouchy" Vilnus, the volunteers make landfall and push into the heart of Bush's line.
* Parliamentary Guard General Barty Fitch encircles Bush: Fialta General Lindon tries to relieve Gen. Bush, fails to break through and abandons assault after massive losses — substantial share of Bush's forces forced to surrender as Bush retreats to suburbs of New Estonne.
* Bank Forces make measured gains and can support Gen. Lindon: stop their advance after encountering heavy Aeldman resistance.
* Serene Doge Bareth Aefendt visits the front to inspire the troops, pin medals and award officer commissions to volunteers: 99,000 Harwel citizens enlist in the AVA overnight.
* End State: Fialta seized but failed to hold the city of New Estonne: Fialta net gains are the suburbs of New Estonne and some rail depots seized by the Bank of Valdos. major Fialta losses after encirclement.

**Nippon Gates Theater:**

* Nipponese Losses: 329K dead, 376.5K wounded/captured.
* Coalition Losses: 348K dead, 317.3K wounded/captured.
* Civilian Losses at Genova and Nippon States estimated to exceed 200K.
* Nipponese intelligence learns of an assault by Orcish and ATC troops against the Gates passing through Saldanese space.
* Nipponese scouts observe mass Shantine mobilization on Brumaire and Genova.
* Nipponese corsairs skirmish with Thalranese ships at the Gates.
* Nipponese realize that they face an attack on four fronts against their Imperial-Side Gates.
* Shantine make strong gains in the ether via the Brumaire and Genova routes.
	+ Successful Shantine Landing at the Nippon Gates via Brumaire led by Idolmarite Knight-Captain Kryptos Kataremenos, who is said to take his counsel from an angel of Idolmar and to heal the wounded with his own blood.
		- Shantine/Coalition Losses: 11K dead, 1.1K wounded (naval); 61K dead, 36k wounded (ground)
		- Nipponese Losses: 21K dead, 21K wounded (naval); 61K dead, 25K wounded (ground)
	+ Brutal fighting at the Nippon Gates via Genova ends without Shantine landing, and Nipponese manage to press counteroffensive to Genova. Yakuza and Genovese partisans break Shantine defenses, and Nipponese land at Genova.
		- Shantine Losses: 22k dead, 13.2k wounded (naval); 125k dead, 125k wounded (ground)
		- Nipponese Losses: 7k dead, 13.5k wounded (naval); 155k dead, 233k wounded (ground)
* Aeldrum Trade Company ships make headway to Nippon Gates and establish a blocade, allowing ships carrying Orcish Directorate troops to arrive and attempt landfall. Multiple Orcish assaults are repelled, and a substantial orcish army is allowed to land in a brilliant trick by Daimyo Kashegimas of the Nipponese, who proceeds to encircle the orc army, set fire to the area and massacre any orc that flees the burning buildings. The ATC/Orcish landing is a costly failure that wipes out a majority of the ground complement of the invasion fleet, but the blockade is a success.
	+ ATC/Orcish Losses: 22k dead, 9k wounded (naval); 89k dead, 125k wounded/captured (ground)
	+ Nipponese Losses: 30k dead, 6k wounded/captured (naval); 38k dead, 70k wounded (ground)
* Thalranese corsairs fail to establish blockade of the Nippon Gates. In punitive action, Nipponese ships push the Thalranese past Saldan and corner the Thalranese corsairs for a decisive fleet action, but the Nipponese do not mount a counteroffensive
	+ Thalranese Losses: 18k dead, 8k wounded (naval)
	+ Nipponese Losses: 17k dead, 8k wounded (naval)
* End State: Nipponese fail to maintain full territorial integrity but repel assaults on two of four fronts and make counter-gains to threaten Bishant itself. Race may be on for Coalition to push via the Brumaire line into Nippon vs. Nipponese push on to Bishant. Shantine morale will be critical.

**Firhbank Theater:**

* Fialta Losses: 215K dead, 235K wounded/captured
* Coalition Losses: 264K dead, 186.8 wounded/captured
* Estimated civilian dead/wounded/unaccounted exceed 300K
* Aeldrum Navy and Alusian Navy jointly push back Fialta fleets from the border of Alusian planet Ahlam -- Coalition forces push to the Firhbank Gate, outpacing and outflanking the Fialta with minimal losses (but also allowing the Fialta to retreat in good order); disastrous landing efforts at Firhbank blunt the Coalition assault via Ahlam. No successful landing thanks to defense by General Frel'Tal the Butcher of Korinth, who orders his men to hold positions against brutal Coalition bombardment. Thousands of Fialta die, but the Coalition landing forces are swiftly overwhelmed by ground troops.
	+ Alusian Losses: 2k dead, 0.8k wounded (naval); 31k dead, 22k wounded/captured (ground)
	+ Aeldrum losses: 4k dead, 2k wounded (naval); 32k dead, 23k wounded/captured (ground)
	+ Fialta Losses:10k dead 11k wounded (naval); 64k dead, 20k wounded (ground)
* Thalranese forces push out from Tar'Thalran.
	+ Initial naval encounters favor the Imperium, with the lighter Thalranese craft chewed up by Imperial warships, until a Thalranese corsair captain leads a daring boarding action to take an Imperial warship, driving it into a collision path with another warship and thereby disabling both. Against all odds, the corsair captain, Lilliana Desrus, survives: her remaining crew name her Sied'Sade'Thalran, "Thalran's Bastard Daughter."
	+ The Fialta fleet between Tar'Thalran and Fihrbank is devastated and the Thalranese take two more warships as prizes. The Thalranese are less successful in their landing efforts: the first two waves are obliterated, until a suicidally heroic band of Thalranese drop troops takes a critical etheric power plant and blows it up. General Frel'Tal responds with customary brutality; without searchlights or communications, he bombs everything, including his own men, vowing that he will personally beat to death any officer who outlives his men.
	+ The implacable brutality of the Imperium's most horrific general meets the daring of the last free Fialta... and in the end it is Imperial gunnery and numbers that prevail. The Thalranese cannot make any lasting landing at Firhbank, but tens of thousands of men die in brutal melee, illumined only by roaring flak guns. (meta note: both sides had special abilities in play — the Thalranese can turn critical failures in suicidal heroism, and the Fialta under Frel'Tal can burn men to re-roll their command dice).
	+ Thalranese Losses: 52k dead, 26k wounded (naval); 141k dead, 113k wounded/captured (ground)
	+ Fialta Losses: 40k dead, 72k wounded or captured (naval); 101k dead, 132k wounded (ground)
* End State: Firhbank is blockaded on both sides by Aeldrum/Alusian and the Thalranese, but neither group has made any ground headway. Without relief from the Imperium, a blockaded Firhbank will fall eventually... if the Coalition has the appetite for it.

**Trans-Celestial Theater:**

* Fialta and Aeldrum intelligence learn that Nipponese forces in the Margravate of Tarim have stalled their advances under pressure at the Nippon Gates.
* No major military engagements: Margravate regains control of trade lanes, orcish auxiliaries fortify their positions. Skirmishes produce some casualties, estimated <10,000 per side.
* Rumors of uprisings by Petty Kings rebelling against Nippon States are unconfirmed.
* Troop movements by Aksai Chin and Middle Kingdom appear to threaten Nipponese but could take a long time to reach Nipponese assets.
* End State: Reduced pressure on Margravate, possibly allowing consolidation against Nipponese and reduced resource demands of Celestial operations on coalition forces. Pin Jump remains isolated from Harwel/Aeldrum by Fialta troops, but Nipponese threat reduced.

### Epilogue

The War of the Coalition ended on February 22nd, 399 A.U. with the signing of the 3rd Treaty of Korinth.

Aeldrum is triumphant, led by its Serene Doge, Bareth Aefendt. Almost immediately after signing the treaty, Bareth will return to Aeldrum to reassemble Parliament and win a constitutional amendment extending his term for another ten years. It seems that Aeldrum is on the verge of a technological and economic golden age driven by the likes of Rose Clintock, Hannon Mossag, Chella Nebai and Francis Mervodan, but perhaps not an especially democratic one.

Thanks to some last minute maneuvering, the Second Fialta Imperium did not collapse into civil war and was able to coalesce around Prince Bruscius as its new emperor. Though the Imperium survived, it will be much diminished for a time. Perhaps this smaller, leaner Imperium will be able to forge itself into a model nation. Octavo's stealth ships may yet carry the armies of General Cato to new glories. Prince Titus will have his hands full selling the new Imperium with what part of his time is not consumed by obsession with the Unnamed.

The seeds of new greatness, or perhaps a second calamitous war, are sown by the formation of the Fialta Confederacy. The Thalranese may rightly consider themselves to have achieved almost every one of their wargoals, except perhaps for the stinging slight of Aeldrum's annexation of Semal. Their leading role in the Confederacy may cut both ways: time will tell if opening themselves to the influence of the Bank of Valdos will lead to the Valdosian hegemony over the Fialta that has been the nightmare of so many.

The Orcish Directorate will proudly announce to all who listen that this treaty marks their ascension into the fellowship of great powers. Certainly, they will have a seat at the table in the future cosmic order.

The Shantine have won a moderate territorial gain but an enormous religious coup: it seems like that with Kirvan and Idolmarite preachers spilling into the new Fialta Confederacy, the next conflicts in the region will be wars of religion.

The Shantarans have won their state, but with the establishment of the Fialta Confederacy, they may not be able to exploit the divisions they hoped would be rampant in the postwar era. They will need to bide their time until the next great conflagration.

Alusia has affirmed itself as a secondary power, but it is not yet a cosmic power: its next moves may bring it into conflict with its Shantine cousins.

Sigvald is perhaps lucky to have escaped an Aeldman firing squad, and he remains the autocrat of his backwater kingdom.

Count Homer of Lidenia was undoubtedly the key to Aeldman victory, and while generous toward his memory, the Aeldrum history books will never quite encompass the extent of his role. They will certainly never record his final, ignoble end, handed over to the Bank of Valdos by one of his remaining agents for an 80 year old bounty.