Dvarish Expedition

The **Dvarish Expedition** was the conquest of Dvarish by Ructura under Andrew II Sholite. The invasion lasted 6 years, from 1027 to 1033.

## History

In 1025, Andrew II Sholite re-created the Ructuranian Empire. This would result in tensions beginning between states on the Kain Coast - with Dvarish being the leading state on the Kain Coast at the time. As a result, Andrew II would invade a Borean-affiliated state in 1026, resulting in the complete severing of relations between the two. In addition, attacks on Ructuranian ships near the Kain Coast increased, with the main nations responsible for the attacks being Dvarish and the Carolingian Empire.

As a result of this, in 1027 Andrew decided to invade Dvarish, assembling a fleet of 400 ships - 300 at Port Fys and 100 and New Żustham. It would take half a year before the fleet was completed and joined together at Port Fys; it would sail to Port Tyá, reaching its destination in 1028. It would later sail to Tálák, where the fleet would stay for 2 years; by 1030, the fleet comprised some 430 ships and roughly 20,000 soldiers.

In mid-1030, the fleet disembarked from Tálák to the Dvarishian city of Calabia. The journey would take another year. In early 1031, the King of Dvarish was warned about the oncoming Ructuranian fleet; however, he dismissed this as just rumors.

### Dvarish

In mid-1031, half of the fleet (the other half went to invade the Carolingian Empire), including some 10,000 soldiers and others recruited from Tálák, landed near the city of Calabia; by the next week, the city fell to the invaders. Upon hearing this, the King of Dvarish gathered some 5,000 soldiers and 10,000 peasants in order to meet the invading force before they could reach Kaiken, the Dvarish capital.

In November 1031, the two forces met at the city of Ágla; the battle would be a Ructuran victory, with only 100 dead to the Dvarish 3,000. Upon this happening, the King of Dvarish pledged allegiance to Andrew II, as did most regions of Dvarish (save South Bokea, the Grand Duchy of Griend and the Empire of Stchoflok). Around this time, the other invading force returned from the Carolingian Empire, giving Andrew II a force of roughly 15,000.

### Griend, South Bokea and Stchoflok

Following winter 1031/2, Andrew II set out to invade the Grand Duchy of Griend and the Empire of Stchoflok. While in Griend, he would be joined by some 1,000 members of the Bolejian tribe, located in the southeast corner of Griend. Eventually, the Cartez and Zeik tribes would join the alliance, resulting in a coalition comprising some 5,000 natives. They would take the capital of Griend, Alventia, by April 1032, resulting in the surrender of Griend's Grand Duke.

Following this, some 1,000 South Bokean rebels, which split off of Dvarish following the King's allegiance to Andrew II, would invade Dvarish, taking the cities of Kalyt and Velár in May. Forces underneath Zachary III Sholite, which numbered some 4,000 soldiers, would repel the rebels from Velár and besiege them in Kalyt by the end of the month; by the beginning of June, the rebel forces surrendered. Zachary's forces were divided into two; one part, under Zachary, would advance to the South Bokean capital of Ávlar, while the other, under Johann I Airmure, would go up north and seize the Bokean city of Kýś. The plan was completed by early September, resulting in the dissolution of the South Bokean rebellion. A truce was signed between Ructura and Bokea in late September.

In mid-September, Andrew's troops seized the Bokean city of Ýlka, using it as a staging point to invade Stchoflok. By winter 1033, the forces were outside the capital of Stchoflok and would begin to besiege the city; meanwhile, Zachary's forces would take several towns north of Kýś before being stopped by Bokean forces. In March 1023, the Emperor of Stchoflok would surrender to Andrew, resulting in the Treaty of Velár being signed between Stchoflok and Ructuran, which annexed the cities of Kystla and Eyé to Ructuranian-occupied Dvarish.

### Jeiken

In the spring of 1033, the State of Jeiken would invade Dvarish, taking the cities of Karzy and Jaylka before stopping. By May, Andrew's forces - numbering some 24,000, as Zachary's forces returned from South Bokea - were at the Jeiken-Dvarish border, taking back the city of Karzy in June. Andrew then split his forces into two: 10,000 under Zachary would advance to Jaylka and re-take it, advancing towards the Kain Coast, while 14,000 under Andrew would advance towards the Jeiken capital.

Zachary's force was met by 5,000 Jeiken soldiers at the city of Ebyś in June, located on the Dvarish side of the Jeiken-Dvarish border. The battle resulted in a Ructuran defeat, resulting in some 500 soldiers being killed and another 1,000 being captured. However, the Jeiken force was rerouted by Andrew's force and the two Ructuranian forces would meet at North Ebyś in July, some 10 miles east of the capital.

The Jeiken government promptly sued for peace, to which Andrew II agreed. A stalemate was called between the two in late August, which would exist until the Treaty of Kaiken.

### Treaty of Kaiken

In November 1033, the Treaty of Kaiken was signed between representatives from Ructuran, Dvarish, Griend, Stchoflok, Jeiken and Bokea. The Treaty resulted in the crown of Dvarish being transferred to Andrew II - making him King of Dvarish - while Griend had to expand the reservations of Ructuran's native allies and Stchoflok had some of their territory annexed; in addition, the two states being puppeted by Dvarish. As for Bokea, the cities of Kýś and Ýlka were formally annexed into Dvarish.

In addition, Stchoflok was "demoted" from an empire to an archduchy, with Noah II Airmure, Johann I Airmure's son, being created Archduke of Stchoflok.

## Impact

As a result of the Dvarish Expedition, Andrew II was crowned Andrew I, King of Dvarish, in 1034. With his power, he would appoint Johann I Airmure as Greater Kaiser of the Second Kihner Reich, located near Balticia on the southern part of the Kain Coast; he would be coronated in 1036.