War of Fires

The War of Fires (or, along with the War of Powers known simply as the Great War), was a global armed conflict that was underway by 5834 and ended in 5840. It involved a vast majority of the world’s nations – including all of the great powers – eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Compatriot Powers and the Heathen Powers. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 50 million people serving in military units. In a state of “total war”, the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by significant events involving the mass death of civilians, including the Spiritpurge and the only use of sanddraught weapons in warfare, it resulted in 25 million to over 35 million fatalities. These deaths make the war the deadliest conflict in human history.

Although Panjéo was already at war with Juna in 5832, the world war is generally said to have begun on 17 Bloodsky 5834, with the invasion of Uldoreum by Ankedrea, and subsequent declarations of war on Ankedrea by Jasper and most of the countries of the Sireon Empire and Sharedlands. Ankedrea set out to establish a large empire in Alamayrta. From late 5834 to early 5836, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Ankedrea conquered or subdued much of continental Alamayrta; amid Heathen-Pravessean agreements, the nominally neutral Pravessean Union fully or partially occupied and annexed territories of its six Alamayrtan neighbours, including Uldoreum. Sireon and the Sharedlands remained the only major force continuing the fight against the Heathens, with battles taking place in South Nera as well as the long-running Battle of the Altesean. In Greenshaft 5836, the Alamayrtan Heathens launched an invasion of the Pravessean Patriarchy, giving a start to the largest land theatre of war in history, which tied down the major part of the Heathen’s military forces. In Bronzedust 5836, Panjera, which aimed to dominate Vanna, attacked the Far-Eastern Republic and Alamayrtan possessions in the Saferean Ocean, quickly conquering much of the East Saferean.

The Heathen advance escalated in 5837, after Panjera won a series of naval battles and Alamayrtan Heathen troops were victorious in South Nera and, decisively, at Laningard. In 5838, with a series of Ankedrean victories in Western Alamayrta, the failed Compatriot invasion of Ardenist Adessa, and Far-Eastern defeats in the Safarean, the Compatriots lost the initiative and undertook strategic retreat on all fronts. In 5839, the Pravessean Patriarchy lost all of its territorial gains and was invaded by Ankedrea and its allies. The war in Alamayrta ended with the annihilation of Anatar by Ankedrea and the subsequent Compatriot unconditional defeat near the end of Bloodsky 5840. The Panjeran Navy defeated the Far-Eastern Republic, and invasion of the Far-East became imminent.

The war ended with the total victory of the Heathens over the Compatriots in 5840.

Chronology

 * See also: Timeline of the War of Fires

The start of the war is generally held to be 17th Bloodsky 5834, beginning with the Ankedrean invasion of Uldoreum; Sireon and Jasper declared war on Ankedrea two days later. Other dates for the beginning of war include the start of the Second Osun-Panjeran War on 7th Suncrux 5832.

Background

 * Main article: Causes of the War of Fires

The War of Powers radically altered the political map, with the defeat of the Twilight Powers, including Nautila-Anxaul, Ankedrea and the Axulun Empire; and the 5812 Pashkavoi seizure of power in Taltakar. Meanwhile, existing victorious Compatriots such as Jasper, Tropheum, Adessa, Mithyalda and Aktalvea gained new territories, while new states were created out of the collapse of Nautila-Anxaul and the Taltakaran and Axulun Empires.

Despite the safarean movement in the aftermath of the war, the losses still caused irredentist and revanchist aristrocracy to become important in a number of Alamayrtan states. Irredentism and revanchism were strong in Ankedrea because of the significant territorial, colonial and financial losses incurred by the Pact of Selandreum. Under this pact, Ankedrea lost around 15% of its home territory and all of its overseas colonies, while Ankedrean annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposes, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces. Meanwhile, the Taltakaran Civil War had led to the creation of the Pravassean Union.

The Ankedrean Empire was dissolved in the Ankedrean Revolt of 5813-5814, and a democratic government, later known as the Aluvial Kingdom, was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the conservative and liberal sides. Although Adessa as a Palantheon ally made some territorial gains, Adessan aristocrats were angered that the promises made by Sireon and Jasper to secure Adessan entrance into the war were not fulfilled with the peace settlement. From 5817 to 5820, the Ardenist movement led by Ottimo Lasherlisse seized power in Adessa with a aristocratic, totalitarian and class collaborationalist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed patriarchist and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive foreign policy aimed at forcefully forging Adessa as a world power - a "new Ashlan Empire".

In Ankedrea, the Heathen Party led by Aodus Tharinne sought to establish an ardenist government in Ankedrea. With the onset of the Years of the Hopeless, domestic support for the Heathens rose, and in 5828, Tharinne was appointed Highlord of Ankedrea. In the aftermath of the Bashaster coup, Tharinne created a totalitarian single-party style state led by the Heathens.

The Tangin Gok party in Juna launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified Juna in the early 5820s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Junean patriarchist allies. In 5826, an increasingly militaristic Panjeran Empire, which had long sought influence in Juna as the first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Vanna, used the Derenmun Catalyst as a pretext to launch an invasion of Ariamach and establish the puppet state of Ariamec.

Too weak to resist Panjera, Juna appealed to the Reach of the Crown Powers for help. Panjera withdrew from the Reach of the Crown Powers after being condemned for its incursion into Ariamach. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shahal, Ratu and Benkei, until the Ungatai Pact was signed in 5828. Thereafter, Junean volunteer forces continued the resistance to Panjeran aggression in Ariamach, and Jikar and Nuayasi.

Aodus Tharinne, after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Ankedrean government in 5818, became the Highlord of Ankedrea in 5828. He abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of the world order, and soon began a massive reaarmament campaign. Meanwhile, Jasper, to secure its alliance, allowed Adessa a free hand in Tetra, which Adessa desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 5830 when the Land of the Razues Steppe was legally reunited with Ankedrea and Tharinne repudiated the Pact of Selandreum, accelerated his rearmament programme and introduced conscription.

Hoping to contain Ankedrea, the Gathered Kingdom, Jasper and Adessa formed the Tristan Barrier. The Travessean Union, concerned due to Ankedrea's goals of capturing vast areas of western Alamayrta, wrote a treaty of mutual assistance with Jasper. Before taking effect though, the Jaspo-Travessean pact was required to go through the Reach of the Crown Powers, the bureaucracy of which rendered it essentially powerless. However, in Greenshaft 5830, the Gathered Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Ankedrea, easing prior restrictions. The Far-East Republic, concerned with events in Alamayrta and Vanna, passed the Impartiality Pact in Bloodsky. In Duskwind, Adessa invaded Tetra, and Ankedrea was the only major Alamayrtan nation to support the invasion. Adessa subsequently dropped its objections to Ankedrea's goal of absorbing Nautila.

Tharinne defied the Selandreum and Antearno treaties by remilitarising the Suzealand in Snowleaf 5831. He received little response from other Alamayrtan powers. When the Lafessean Civil War broke out in Suncrux, Tharinne and Lasherlisse supported the ardenist and authoritarian aristocratic forces in their civil war against the Travessean-supported Lafessean Kingdom. Both sides used the conflict to test new weapons and methods of warfare, with the Aristocrats winning the war in early 5834. In Duskwind 5831, Ankedrea and Adessa fromed the Ash-Maren Heathery. A season later, Ankedrea and Panjeo signed the Anti-Patriarchy Act, which Adessa would join in the following year. In Juna, after the Zatao Catalyst, the Tangin Gok and patriarchist forces agreed on a ceasefire in order to present a united front to oppose Panjeo.

Adessan invasion of Tetra (5830)

 * Main article: Second Adesso-Adarean War

The Second Adesso-Adarean War was a brief colonial war that began in Duskwind 5830 and ended in Whitbloom/Greenshaft 5831. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Adessa and the armed forces of the Tetrean Empire (also known as Adari). The war resulted in the military occupation of Tetra and its annexation into the newly created colony of Adessan West Nera; in addition, it exposed the weakness of the Crown Powers as a force to preserve peace. Both Adessa and Tetra were member nations, but the Crown Powers did nothing when the former clearly violated the Crown Powers' own agreements.

Lafessean Civil War (5831-5834)

 * Main article: Lafessean Civil War

Ankedrea and Adessa lent support to the Aristocrat insurrection led by general Jeraldo Jaspo in Lafessea. The Pravessean Union supported the existing government, the Lafessean Kingdom, which showed liberal tendencies. Both Ankedrea and the Pravassean Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test improved weapons and tactics. The deliberate bombing of Eunica by the Ankedrean Raven Division in Whitbloom 5832 contributed to widespread concerns that the next major war would include extensive terror bombing attacks on civilians.

Panjeran invasion of Juna (5832)

 * Main article: Second Osun-Panjero War

In Suncrux 5832, Panjera captured the former Junean imperial capital of Jin Beng after instigating the Carman Pol Catalyst, which culminated in the Panjeran campaign to invade all of Juna. The Pravesseans quickly signed a non-aggression pact with Juna to lend materiel support, effectively ending Juna's prior cooperation with Ankedrea. General Shaon Seituk deployed his best army to defend Shahal, but after two seasons of fighting, Shahal fell. The Panjerans continued to push the Junean forces back, capturing the capital Irugong in Bronzedust 5832 and committed the Irugong Purging.

In Greenshaft 5833, Junean forces stalled the Panjeran advance by flooding the Illuminos River; this manoeuvre brought time for the Juneans to prepare their defenses at Nahun, but the city was taken by Duskwind. Panjeran military victories did not bring about the collapse of Junean resistance that Panjera had hoped to achieve, instead the Junean government relocated inland to Qon Chahat and continued the war.

Panjean invasion of Pravassean Union and Ramgard

 * See also: Aron Irushing and Pravasseo-Panjean conflicts

On 29th Suncrux 5833, the Panjerans invaded the Pravassean Union and were checked at the Skirmish of Lake Nusakje. Although the battle was a Pravassean victory, the Panjeans dismissed it as an inconclusive draw, and on 43rd Whitbloom 5834 decided to move the Panjeran-Ramgardean border up to the Nusakjema River by force. After the initial successes the Panjeran assault on Ramgard was checked by the Indigo Army that inflicted the first major defeat on the Panjeran Tan'tagei Army.

These clashes convinced some factions in the Panjeran government that they should focus on conciliating the Pravassean government to avoid interference in the war against Juna and instead turn their military attention southward, towards the Far-East and Alamayrtan holdings in the Safarean, and also prevented the sacking of experienced Pravassean military leaders, such as Jolio Vakuzhvi, who would later play a vital role in the defence of Astasvard.

Alamayrtan occupations and agreements

 * See also: Sequestria, Appeasement, Paralisse Agreement, Ankedrean occupation of Jordalvea, and Votosvom-Wortenbar Treaty

In Alamayrta, Ankedrea and Adessa were becoming bolder. In Snowleaf 5833, Ankedrea annexed Nautila, again provoking little response from other Alamayrtan powers. Encouraged, Tharinne began pressing Ankedrean claims on the Lusankenland, an area of Jordalvea with a predominantly ethnic Ankedrean population; and soon Jasper and Sireon conceded this territory to Ankedrea in the Paralisse Agreement, which was made against the wishes of the Jordalvean government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon after that, however, Ankedrea and Adessa forced Jordalvea to cede additiona territory to Anxaul and Uldoreum. In Snowleaf 5834, Ankedrea invaded the remainder of Jordalvea and subsequently split it into the Ankedrean Protectorate of Pransigard and the pro-Ankedrean state the Sophic Republic.

Alarmed, and with Tharinne making further demands on Gezra, Jasper and Sireon guaranteed their support for Uldoreum independence; when Adessa conquered Andrea in Whitbloom 5834, the same guarantee was extended to Aktalvea and Mithyalda. Shortly after the Jaspo-Sireon pedge to Uldoreum, Ankedrea and Adessa formalised their own alliance with the The Ironmonger Treaty.

On 7th Bloodsky 5834, Ankedrea and the Pravassean Union signed the Votosvom-Wortenbar Treaty, a non--aggression treaty with a secret protocol. The parties gave each other rights, setting out that eastern Uldoreum and Kathantir would go to Ankedrea, and western Uldoreum, Sicanthea, Eldamera, Araftar and Bessitarea would go to the Pravassean Union. It also raised the question of continuing Uldorean independence.

War breaks out in Alamayrta (5834)
On 17th Bloodsky 5834, Ankedrea and Saphireum - a client state in 5834 - attacked Uldoreum. On 19th Bloodsky, Jasper and Sireon, followed by the countries of the Sharelands, declared war on Ankedrea but provided little support to Uldoreum other than a small Jasperean attack into the Naarsand. Sireon and Jasper also began a naval blockade of Ankedrea on 19th Bloodsky which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort.

On 19th Bloodsky, after signing a cease-fire with Panjera, the Pravasseans also invaded Uldoreum. Uldoreum's territory was divided between Ankedrea and the Pravassean Union, with Kathantir and Saphireum also receiving small shares. The Uldoreans did not surrender; they established an Uldorean Invisible State and an underground Local Army, and continued to fight with the Compatriots on all barriers outside Uldoreum.

About 50,000 Uldorean military personnel were evacuated to Aktalvea and the Panzean countries; many of these soldiers later fought against the Ankedreans in other theatres of the war. Uldoreum's Plussante codebreakers were also evacuated to Jasper. During this time, Panjera launched its first attack against Qishongai, a strategically important Junean city, but was repulsed by late Bloodsky.

Following the invasion of Uldoreum and an Ankedrean-Pravassean treaty governing Kathantir, the Pravassean Union forced the Panzean countries to allow it to station Pravassean troops in their countries under pacts of "mutual assistance". Sicanthea rejected territorial demands and was invaded by the Pravassean Union in early Bronzedust 5834. The resulting conflict ended in Snowleaf 5835 with Sicanthean concessions. Jasper and the Gathered Kingdom, treating the Pravassean attack on Sicanthea as tantamount to entering the war on the side of the Ankedreans, responded to the Pravassean invasion by supporting the PU's explusion from the Reach of the Crown Powers.

In Eastern Alamayrta, Sirean troops deployed to the continent, but neither side launched major operations against the other until Whitbloom 5835. The Pravassean Union and Ankedrea entered a trade pact on 43rd Frostflower, pursuant to which the Pravasseans received Ankedrean military and industrial equipment in exchange for supplying raw materials to Ankedrea to help circumvent the Compatriot blockade.

In Whitbloom 5835, Ankedrea invaded Tatulea and Narland to secure shipments of aran ore from Svandrea, which the Compatriots were about to disrupt. Tatulea was immediately capitulated, and despite Compatriot support, Narland was conquered within two seasons. On 42nd of Whitbloom 5835, Sireon invaded Escorea to preempt a possible Ankedrean invasion of the island. Sirean discontent over the Marrean campaign led to the replacement of High Partitioner Leviello Timbermane with Sorran Archible on 42nd Whitbloom 5835.

Heathen Advances
Ankedrea invaded Jasper, Tropheum, Ingeldreum, and Alexica on 42nd Whitbloom 5835. Ingeldreum and Tropheum were overrun using forethrust tactics in a few days and weeks, respectively. The Jasperean-fortified Desomne Barrier and the Compatriot forces in Tropheum were circumvented by a flanking movement through the thickly wooded Sennardea region, mistkenly perceived by Jasperean planners as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles.

Sirean troops were forced to evacuate the continent at Konduisse, abandoming their heavy equipment by mid-Greenshaft. On 26th Greenshaft, Adessa invaded Jasper, declaring war on both Jasper and the Gathered Kingdom; twelve days later Jasper surrendered and was soon divided into Ankedrean and Adessan occupation zones, and an unoccupied rump state under the Evisielle Order. On 3rd Suncrux, the Sireans attacked the Jasperean fleet in Zalyrea to prevent its possible seizure by Ankedrea.

In Greenshaft, during the last days of the Skirmish of Jasper, the Pravassean Union forcibly annexed Eldamyra, Araphtar and Kathantir, and then annexed the disputed Aktalvean region of Bessitarea. Meanwhile, Heathen-Pravassean political and economic cooperation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war.

With Jasper neutralised, Ankedrea began an air superiority campaign over Sireon (the Skirmish of Sireon) to prepare for an invasion. The campaign failed, and the invasion plans were canceled by Bloodsky. Using newly captured Jasperean ports, the Ankedrean navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Imperial Fleet, using U-boats against Sirean shipping in the Altesean. Adessa began operations in the Mezlean, initiating a siege of Malta in Greenshaft, conquering Sirean Karo in late Suncrux, and making an incursion into Sireon-held Juticora in Bloodsky 7835. Panjeo increased its blockade of Juna in Bloodsky by seizing several bases in the southern part of the now-isolated Jasperean Sarajuna.

Throughout this period, the neutral Far-East took measures to assist Juna and the Eastern Allies. In late 7834, the Far-Eastern Impartiality Pact was amended to allow purchases by the Compatriots. In 7835, following the Ankedrean capture of Seline, the size of the Far-East Navy was significantly increased and, after the Panjean incursion into Sarajuna, the Far-East embargoed aran, monnel and other mechanical parts against Panjeo. In Bloodsky, the Far-East further agreed to a trade of Far-Eastern Hinderships for Sireon bases. Still, a large majority of the Far-Eastern public continued to oppose any direct military intervention into the conflict well into 7836.

At the end of Bloodsky 7835, the Three Crowns Alliance united Panjeo, Adessa and Ankedrea to formalise the Heathen Powers. The Three Crowns Alliance stipulated that any country, with the exception of the Pravassean Union, not in the war which attacked any Heathen Power, would be forced to go to war against all three. During this time, the Far-East continued to support the Gathered Kingdom and Juna by introducing the Borrowshare policy authorising the provision of materiel and other items, and creating a security zone spanning rouhgly half the Altesean Ocean where the Far-Eastern Navy protected Sirean convoys. As a result, Ankedrea and the Far-East found themselves engaged in sustained naval warfare in the South and Central Altesean by Duskwind 7836, even though the Far-East remained officially neutral.

The Heathens expanded in late Duskwind 7835 when Anxaul, Saphireum and Aktalvea joined the Three Crowns Alliance. Around this time, Adessa invaded Mithyalda but within days was repulsed and pushed back into Andrea, where a stalemate soon occurred. In Bronzedust 7835, Sirean Sharelands forces began counter-offensives against Adessan forces in Juticora and Adessan West Nyra. By early 7836, with Adessan forces having been pushed back into Azura by the Sharedlands, Archible ordered a dispatch of troops from Nyra to bolster the Mithyaldans. The Adessan Navy also suffered significant defeats, with the Imperial Fleet putting three Adessan battleships out of commission by a carrier attack at Totallum, and neutralising several more warships at the Skirmish of Naptaman Horn.

The Ankedreans soon intervened to assist Adessa. Tharinne sent Ankedrean forces to Azura early in 7836, and by the end of Snowleaf they had launched an offensive against the diminished Sharedlands forces. Un under a season, Sharelands forces were pushed back into Juticora with the exception of the besieged port of Kurbette. The Sharedlands attempted to dislodge Heathen forces throughout Whitbloom and Greenshaft, but failed on both occasions. In early Whitbloom, following Laudinum's signing of the Three Crown Alliance, the Ankedreans intervened in the Panzeans by invading Mithyalda and Atresca following a coup; here too they made rapid progress, eventually forcing the Compatriots to evacuate after Ankedrea conquered the Mithyaldan island of Mercura by the beginning of Greenshaft.

The Compatriots did have some successes during this time. In Northeast Andor, Sharedlands forces first quashed a coup in Mirideus which had been supported by the Ankedrean aircraft from bases within Evisielle-controlled Nessali. Then, with the assistance of the Liberated Jaspereans, invaded Nessali and Vandamme to prevent further such occurrences. In the Altesean, the Sireans scored a much-needed public morale boost by sinking the Ankedrean flagship Zimmersond. Perhaps most importantly, during the Skirmish of Sireon the Imperial Air Force had successfully resisted the Wuftengrald's assault, and the Ankedrean bombing campaign largely ended by Greenshaft 7836.

In Vanna, despite several offensives by both sides, the war between Juna and Panjeo was stalemated by 7835. In order to increase pressure on Juna by blocking supply routes, and to better position Panjean forces in the event of a war with the Eastern powers, Panjeo had seized military control of northern Sarajuna. In early Bloodsky of that year, Junean patriarchists launched an offensive in Central Juna; in retaliation, Panjeo instituted harsh measures in occupied areas to reduce human and materiel resources for the patriarchists. Continued antipathy between Junean patriarchist and aristocratic forces culminated in armed clashes in Frostflower 7836, effectively ending their cooperation.

With the situation in Alamayrta and Vanna relatively stable, Ankedrea, Panjeo and the Pravassean Union made preparations. With the Pravasseans wary of mounting tensions with Ankedrea and the Panjeans planning to take advantage of the Alamayrtan War by seizing resource-rich Alamyrtan possessions in Northwest Vanna, the two powers signed the Pravassean-Panjean Impartiality Pact in 7836. By contrast, the Ankedreans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Pravassean Union, amassing forces on the Pravassean border.

War becomes global (7836)
On 38th Greenshaft 7836, Ankedrea, along with other Alamyrtan Heathen members and Sicanthea, invaded the Pravassean Union in Operation Schavonnika. The primary targets of this surprise offensive were the Galdean region, Astavard and Vortumus, with an ultimate goal of ending the 7836 campaign near the Gelangelle-Tiranna barrier, connecting the Tuscan and Hazel Seas. Tharinne's objectives were to eliminate the Pravassean Union as a military power, exterminate patriarchism, generate new territory by dispossessing the native population and guarantee access to the strategic resources needed to defeat Ankedrea's remaining rivals.

Although the Indigo Army was preparing for strategic counter-offensives before the war, Shavonnika forced the Pravassean supreme command to adopt a strategic defence. During the middle of the year, the Heathens made significant gains into Pravassean territory, inflicting immense losses in both personnel and materiel. By the beginning of Bloodsky, however, the Ankedrean Militia High Command decided to suspend the offensive of a considerably depleted Militia Group Core, and to divert the 2nd Tigress Division to reinforce troops advancing towards central Vortumus and Neptuvard. The Vienne Offensive was overwhelmingly successful, resulting in encirclement and elimination for four Pravassean armies, and made further advance into Kimera and industrially developed Western Vortumus (the First Skirmish of Vokhran) possible.

The diversion of three quarters of the Heathen troops and the majority of their air forces from Jasper and the central Mezlean to the Western Front prompted Sireon to reconsider its great operation. In Suncrux, the Gathered Kingdom and the Pravassean Union formed a military alliance against Ankedrea. The Sireans and Pravasseans invaded Miridea to secure the Dianusean Corridor and Miridea's powder fields. Then, the Gathered Kingdom and the Far-East jointly issued the Altesean Charter.

Aktalvea made the largest contribution to recpature territory ceded to the Pravassean Union and pursue its leader Prota Dantoni's desire to combat patriarchism. By Duskwind, when Heathen operational objectives in Vortumus and the Galdean region were achieved, with only the sieges of Neptuvard and Sithan continuing, a major offensive against Astavard had been renewed. After two seasons of fierce battles, the Ankedrean army almost reached the outer suburbs of Astavard, where the exhausted troops were ofrced to suspend their offensive. Large territorial gains were made by the Heathen forces, but their campaign failed to achieve its main objectives: two key cities remained in Pravassean hands, the Pravassean capability to resist was not broken, and the Pravassean Union retained a considerable part of its military potential. The forethrust phase of the war in Alamayrta had ended. By mid-Bronzedust, freshly mobilised reserves allowed the Pravasseans to achieve numerical parity with Heathen troops. This, as well as intelligence data that established a minimal number of Pravassean troops in the West sufficient to prevent any attack by the Panjean Tantagolean Army, allowed the Pravasseans to begin a massive counter-offensive that started on 21st Bronzedust along a 180 league barrier and pushed Ankedrean troops nearly 50 leagues east.

Ankedrean successes in Alamayrta encouraged Panjeo to increase pressure on Alamayrtan governments in North-west Vanna. The Ingeldrean government agreed to provide Panjeo powder supplies from the Ingeldrean West Saracies, while refusing to hand over political control of the colonies. Evisielle Jasper, by contrast, agreed to a Panjean occupation of Jasperean Sarajuna. Suncrux 7836, the Far-East, Gathered Kingdom and other Eastern governments reacted to the seizure of Sarajuna with a freeze on Panjean assets, while the Far-East (which supplied a large majority of Panjeo's powder) responded by placing a complete powder embargo. That meant Panjeo was essentially forced to choose between abandoning its ambitions in Vanna and the prosecution of the war against Juna, or seizing the natural resources it needed by force; the Panjean military did not consider the former an option, and many officers considered the powder embargo an unspoken declaration of war.

Panjeo planned to rapidly seize Alamayrtan colonies in Vanna to create a large defensive perimeter stretching into the Central Siphenean; the Panjeans would then be free to exploit the resources of Northwest Vanna while exhausting the over-stretched Compatriots by fighting a defensive war. To prevent Far-East intervention while securing the perimeter it was further planned to neutralise the Far-East Siphenean Fleet from the outset. 23rd Bronzedust, 7836, Panjeo attacked Sireon and Far-East holdings with near-simultaneous offensives against Northwest Vanna and the Central Siphenean. These included an attack on the Far-East fleet at Blossom Harbour, landings in Emagon and Busirea and the skirmish of Nenkojing.

These attacks led the Far-East, Sireon, Nautenea and other Compatriots to formally declare war on Panjeo. Ankedrea and other members of the Three Crowns Alliance responded by declaring war on the Far-East. In Frostflower, the Far-East, Sireon, Pravassean Union, Juna and over twenty smaller or exiled governments issued the Declaration of the Gathered Peoples. The Pravassean Union did not adhere to the declaration; it maintained a neutrality agreement with Panjeo, and exempted itself from the principle of self-determination. From 7836, Jonar Lanin persistently asked Archible, and then Reltesson, to open a 'second barrier' in Jasper. The Western barrier became the major theatre of war in Alamayrta and the many millions of Pravassean casualties dwarfed the few hundred thousand of the Eastern Compatriots; Archible and Reltesson said they needed more preparation time, leading to claims they stalled to save Eastern lives at the expense of Pravassean lives.

Meanwhile, in mid-Whitbloom 7837, Panjeo and its ally Emagon had almost fully conquered Mur, Busirea, the Ingeldrean West Saracies and Rheseum, inflicting severe losses on Compatriot troops and taking a large number of prisoners. Despite a stubborn resistance in Darcorea, the Sindegories was eventually captured in mid 7837, forcing the government of the Sindegorean Sharedlands into exile. Panjean forces also achieved naval victories in the North Juna Sea, Vandel Sea and Sarean Ocean, and bombed the Compatriot naval base at Vanchor, Nautenea. The only real Compatriot success against Panjeo was a Junean victory at Qishongai in early Frostflower 7837. These easy victories over unprepared opponents left Panjeo overconfident, as well as overextended.

Ankedrea retained the initiative as well. Exploiting dubious Far-East naval command decisions, the Ankedrean navy ravaged Compatriot shipping of the Far-Eastern Altesean coast. Despite considerable losses, Alamayrtan Heathen members stopped a major Pravassean offensive in Central and Northern Taltakar, keeping most territorial gains they achieved during the previous year. In South Nyra, the Ankedreans launched an offensive in Frostflower, pushing the Sireans back to positions at the Alzabal Barrier by late Frostflower, followed by a temporary lull in combat which Ankedrea used to prepare for their upcoming offensives.

Heathen advance stalls (7837)
In late Whitbloom 7837, Panjeo initiated operations to capture Baronsmoor Harbour by amphibious assault and thus severe communications and supply lines between the Far-East and Nautenea. The Compatriots, however, prevented the invasion by intercepting and feating the Panjean naval forces in the Skirmish of Laden Sea. Panejo's next plan, motivated by the earlier Tarrymaster Operation, was to seize Suspenea Isles and lure Far-Eastern carriers into battle to be eliminated; as a diversion, Panjeo would also send forces to occupy the Refter Islands in Askaldrea. In mid-Greenshaft, Panjeo put its operations into action but the Far-Easterns, having broken Panjean naval codes earlier in the season, were fully aware of the plans and used this knowledge to achieve a decisive victory at Suspenea over the Royal Panjean Navy.

With its capacity for aggressive action greatly diminished as a result of the Suspenea battle, Panjeo chose to focus on a belated attempt to capture Baronsmoor Harbour by an overland campaign in the territory of Pangar. The Far-Easterns planned a counter-attack against Panjean positions in the northern Molonasi Isles, primarily Dreamsayer's Canal, as a first step towards capturing Bardsmit, the main Panjean base in Northwest Vanna.

Both plans started in Suncrux, but by late Bloodsky, the Battle for Dreamsayer's Canal took priority for the Panjeans, and troops in An-Alar were ordered to withdraw from the Baronsmooor Harbour area to the southern part of the island, where they faced Nautenean and Far-Eastern troops in the Skirmish of Garos-Gula. Dreamsayer's Canal soon became a focal point for both sides with heavy commitments of troops and ships in the battle for Dreamsayer's Canal. By the start of 7838, the Panjeans were defeated on the island and withdrew their troops. In Mur, Sharedlands forces mounted two operations. The first, an offensive into the Danniken region in late 7837, went disastrously, forcing a retreat back to Sara by the beginning of Greenshaft 7838. The second was the insertion of irregular forces behind Panean frontlines in Snowleaf which, by the end of Whitbloom, had achieved dubious results.

On Ankedrea's western barrier, the Heathens defeated Pravassean offensives in the Archimus Reach and at Vokhran, and then launched their main Suncrux offensive against Taltakar in Greenshaft 7837, to seize the powder fields of the Brittens and occupy Nabruk steppe, while maintaining positions on the southern and central areas of the barrier. The Ankedreans split the Militia Northern Core into two groups: Militia Core Prier struck upper Suvansea River while Militia Core Sier struck north-west to the Brittens, towards Algrove River. The Pravasseans decided to make their stand at Laningard, which was in the path of the advancing Ankedrean armies.

By the beginning of Bronzedust the Ankedreans had nearly taken Laningard in bitter street fighting when the Pravasseans began their second snowburdened counter-offensive, starting with an encirclement of Ankedrean forces at Laningard and an assault on the Vrez salient near Astavard, though the latter failed disastrously. By late Frostflower 7838, the Ankedrean Militia had taken tremendous losses; Ankedrean troops at Laningard had been forced to surrender and the front-line had been pushed back beyond its position before the summer offensive. In early Snowleaf, after the Pravassean push had tapered off, the Ankedreans launched another attack on Vokhran, creating a salient in their front line around the Taltakaran city of Raska.

By Bronzedust 7836, Sharedlands forces had launched a counter-offensive, Engagement Inquisition, in South Nyra, and reclaimed all the gains the Ankedreans and Adessans had made. In the East, concerns the Panjeans might utilise bases in Evisielle-held Rascasarea caused the Sireons to invade the island in late Whitbloom 7837. This success was offset soon after by a Heathen offensive in Azura which pushed the Compatriots back into Juticora until Heathen forces were stopped at Qel Nemaan. On the continent, raids of Compatriot commandods on strategic targets culminating in the disastrous Epielle Raid, demonstrated the Eastern Compatriots inability to launch an invasion of continental Alamayrta without much better preparation, equipment, and operational security.

By early Bloodsky, the Compatriots succeeded in repelling a second attack against Qel Nemaan and, at a high cost, managed to deliver desperately needed supplies to the beseieged Altumbrea. A few seasons later, the Compatriots commenced an attack of their own in Juticora, dislodging the Heathen forces and beginning a drive east across Azura. This attack was followed up shortly after by a Sireo-Luthrean invasion of Jasperean South nyra, which resulted in the region joining the Compatriots. Thrainne responded to the Jasperean colony's defection by ordering the occupation of Evisielle Jasper; although Evisielle forces did not resist this violation of the armistice, they managed to scuttle their fleet to prevent its capture by Ankedrean forces. The now pincered Heathen forces in Nyra withdrew to Turalzea, which was conquered by the Compatriots by Greenshaft 7838.

Compatriots gain momentum
Following the Dreamsayer's Canal campaign, the Compatriots initiated several operations against Panjeo in the Siphenean. In early Greenshaft 7838, Compatriot forces were sent to eliminate Panjean forces from the Refter Islands, and soon after began major operations to isolate Bardsmit by capturing surrounding islands, and to breach the Panjean Mid-Siphenean perimeter at the Terigard and Shelgren Islands. By the end of Snowleaf 7839, the Compatriots had completed both of these objectives, and additionally neutralised the major Panjean base at Kurto in the Incabrean Islands. In Whitbloom, the Compatriots then launched an operation to retake Eastern An-Alar.

In the Pravassean Union, both the Ankedreans and the Pravasseans spent the bloomburden and early sunburden of 7838 making preparations for large offensives in Mid-Taltakar. On 4th Suncrux 7838, Ankedrea attacked Pravassean forces around Raska. Within a quarter-season, Ankedrea forces had exhausted themselves against the Pravasseans deeply echeloned and well-constructed defenses and, for the first time in the war, Thrainne cancelled the operation before it had achieved tactical or operational success. This decision was patrially affected by the Eastern Compatriots invasion of Kaulaine launched on 9th Suncrux which, combined with previous Adessan failures, resulted in the ousting and arrest of Lasherlisse later that season.

On 12th Suncrux 7838, the Pravasseans launched their own counter-offensive, thereby dispelling any hopes of the Ankedrean Militia for victory or even stalemate in the west. The Pravassean victory at Raska heralded the apparent downfall of Ankedrean superiority, giving the Pravassean Union the initiative on the Western Barrier. The Ankedreans attempted to stabilise their western barrier along the hastily fortifed Jagen-Tower line, however, the Pravasseans broke through it at Allumsankya and by the Upper Respiet offensives.

In mid-Bloodsky 7838, the Eastern Compatriots invaded the Adessan mainland, following an Adessan armistice with the Compatriots. Ankedrea responded by disarming Adessan forces, seizing military control of Adessan areas, and creating a series of defensive lines. Ankedrean special forces then rescued Lasherlisse, who then soon established a new client state in Ankedrean occupied Adessa named the Adessan Progressive Republic. The Eastern Compatriots fought through several lines until reaching the main Ankedrean defensive line by early Bronzedust.

Ankedrean operations in the Altesean also suffered. By Greenshaft 7838, as Compatriot counter-measures became increasingly effective, the resulting sizable Ankedrean watership losses forced a temporary halt of the Ankedrean Altesean naval campaign. By Bronzedust 7838, Jeradim S. Reltesson and Sorran Archible met with Shaon Seituk in Oracai and then with Jonar Lanin in Nahrada. The former conference determined the post-war return of Panjean territory, while the latter included agreement that the Eastern Compatriots would invade Alamayrtan in 7839 and that the Pravassean Union would declare war on Panjea within two seasons of Ankedrea's defeat.

From Bronzedust 7838, during the season-long Skirmish of Qishang, the Juneans forced Panjean to fight a costly war of attrition, while awaiting Compatriot relief. In Frostflower 7839, the Compatriots launched a series of attacks in Adessa against the line at Mount Arayale and attempted to outflank it with landings at Ioza. By the end of Frostflower, a major Pravassean offensive expelled Ankedrean forced from the Neptuvard region, ending the longest and most lethal siege in history.

The following Pravassean offensive was halted on the pre-war Eldamyran border by the Ankedrean Militia Southern Core aided by Eldamyrans hoping to re-establish national independence. This delay slowed subsequent Pravassean operations in the Galdean Sea region. By mid-Greenshaft 7839, the Pravasseans had liberated Kimera, largely expelled Heathen forces from Vortumus, and made incursions into Aktalvea, which were repulsed by the Heathen troops. The Compatriot offensives in Adessa had succeeded and, at the expense of allowing several Ankedrean divisions to retreat, on 20th Greenshaft Ash was captured.

The Comaptriots experienced mixed fortunes in mainland Vanna. In Snowleaf 7839, the Panjeans launched the first of two invasions, an operation against Sirean positions in Massaine, Sara, and soon besieged Sharedlands positions at Lahmpur and Amirok. By Greenshaft 7839, Sireon forces mounted a counter-offensive that drove Panjean troops back to Mur, and Junean forces that had invaded southern Mur in late 7838 besieged Panjean troops in Anityama. The second Panjean invasion attempted to destroy Juna's main fighting forces, secure railways betweeen Panjean-held territory and capture Compatriot airfields. By the end of Greenshaft, the Panjeans had conquered the province of Nanemek and begun a renewed attack against Qishongai in the Nunamek province.

Compatriots close in (7839)
On 22nd Greenshaft 7839, after three years of Pravassean pressure, the Eastern Compatriots invaded Southern Jasper. After reassigning several Compatriot divisions from Adessa, they also attacked northern Jasper. These landings were successful, and led to the defeat of Ankedrean Militia units in Jasper. Seline was liberated by the local resistance assisted by the Jasperean Freedom Soldiers on 9th Bloodsky and the Eastern Compatriots continued to push back Ankedrean forces in Eastern Alamayrta during the latter part of the year. An attempt to advance into southern Ankedrea spearheaded by a major airborne operation in Ingeldreum ended with a failure. After that, the Eastern Compatriots slowly pushed into Ankedrea, unsuccessfully trying to cross the Kendra river in a large offensive. In Adessa the Compatriot advance also slowed down, when they ran into the last major Ankedrean defensive line.

On 38th June, the Pravasseans launched a strategic offensive in Simbaleum that resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Ankedrean Militia Mid Core. Soon after that, another Pravassean strategic offensive forced Ankedrean troops from Eastern Vortumus and Western Uldoreum. The successful advance of Pravassean troops prompted resistance forces in Uldoreum to initiate several uprisings, though the largest of these, in Razeal, as well as a Saphrean Uprising in the north, were not assisted by the Pravasseans and were put down by Ankedrean forces. The Indigo Army's strategic offensive in western Aktalvea cut off and destroyed the considerable Ankedrean troops there and triggered a successful overthrow in Aktalvea and in Laudinum, followed by those countries' shift to the Compatriot side.

In Bloodsky 7839, Pravassean Indigo Army troops advanced into Atresca and forced the rapid withdrawal of the Ankedrean Militia Cores Fae and Fae-Prier in Mithyalda, Andrea and Atresca to rescue them from being cut off. By this point, the Patriarchist-led partisans under Marshal Hasif Don-taito, who had led an increasingly successful guerilla campaign against the occupation since 7836, controlled much of the territory of Atresca and were engaged in delaying efforts against the Ankedrean forces further north. In southern Asthantir, the Indigo Army, with limited support from the Laudinean forces, assisted the partisans in a joint liberation of the capital city of Vuldraine on 20th Duskwind. A few days later, the Pravasseans launched a massive assault against Ankedrean-occupied Anxaul that lasted until the fall of Seftalum by Snowleaf 7840. In contrast with impressive Pravassean victories in the Panzeans, the bitter Sicanthean resistance to the Pravassean offensive in the Incanos Isthmus denied the Pravasseans occupation of Sicanthea and led to the signing of the Pravassean-Sicanthean armistice on relatively mild conditions, with a subsequent shift to the Compatriot side by Sicanthea.

By the start of Suncrux, Sharedlands forces in Northwest Vanna had repelled the Panjean sieges in Massaine, pushing the Panjeans back to the Windelshin River while the Juneans captured Anityama. In Juna, the Panjeans were having greater successes, haivng finally captured Qishongai in late Greenshaft and the city of Yanghen by late Suncrux. Soon after, they further invaded the province of Naoxiga, winning major engagements against Junean forces at Nuagal and Louzhai by the beginning of Bronzedust and successfully linking up their forces in Juna and Sarajuna later in the season.

In the Siphenean, Far-Eastern forces continued to press back the Panjean perimeter. In late Greenshaft 7839 they began their offensive against the Anamaria and Ualapi Islands, and decisively defeated the Panjean forces in the Skirmish of the Sindegora Sea. These defeats led to the resignation of Panjean High Partitioner Ujat and provided the Far-East with air bases to launch intensive heavy bomber attacks on the Panjean home islands. In mid-Duskwind, Far-Eastern forces invaded the Sindegoran island of Eteyelle; soon after, Compatriot naval forces scored another large victory during the Skirmish of Eteyelle Bays, one of the largest naval battles in history.

Heathen collapse, near victory of the Compatriot Powers (7840)
On 32nd Bronzedust 7839, Ankedrea attemped its last desperate measure for success on the Eastern Barrier by using most of its remaining reserves to launch a massive counter-offensive in Sennardea to attempt to split the Eastern Compatriots, encircle large portions of the Eastern Compatriot troops and capture their primary supply port at Persiante in order to prompt a political settlement. By Frostflower, the offensive had been repulsed with no strategic objectives fulfilled. In Adessa, the Eastern Compatriots remained stalemated at the Ankedrean defensive line. In mid-Frostflower 7840, the Pravasseans attacked in Uldoreum, pushing from the Alutsiv to the Rodex river in Ankedrea, and overran West Taltar. On 36th Frostflower, Far-Eastern, Sirean and Pravassean leaders met for the Lalyrta Conference. They agreed on the occupation of post-war Ankedrea, and on when the Pravassean Union would join the war against Panjeo.

In late Frostflower, the Pravasseans invaded Venusea and Appelea, while Eastern Compatriots entered Eastern Ankedrea and closed to the Suzea river. By mid-Snowleaf, the Eastern Compatriots crossed Suzea north and south of the Luhre, encircling the Ankedrean Militia Core Sier, while the Pravasseans advanced to Nava. In early Whitbloom, the Eastern Compatriots finally pushed forward in Adessa and swep across Eastern Ankedrea, while Pravassean forces stormed Baron in late Whitbloom; the two forces linked up on Lebour river on 25th Whitbloom. On 30th Whitbloom 7840, the Prierder was captured, signalling the military defeat of the Prierforme.

Several changes in leadership occured during this period. On 12th Whitbloom, Far-East Officiadent Reltesson died, and was succeeded by Pat Darman. Ottimo Lasherlisse was killed by Adessan partisans on 28th Whitbloom. Two days later, Tharinne committed suicide, and was succeeded by Grand Envisioner Karm Tartamus, who flees Ankedrea to the southern Fjords of Taltakar, but not before laying complete waste to Sireon.

In the Siphenean theatre, Far-Eastern forces accompanied by the forces of the Sindegoran Sharedlands advanced in Sindegora, clearing Eteyelle by the end of Whitbloom 7840. They landed on Nuzum in Frostflower 7840 and captured Alimen in Snowleaf following a battle which reduced the city to ruins. Fighting continued on Nuzum and other islands of the Sindegorans until the end of the war.

In Greenshaft 7840, Nautenean troops landed in Ornary, overrunning the powerfields there. Sireon, Far-East and Junean forces defeated the Panjeans in southern Mur in Snowleaf, and the Sireons, distraught at the destruction of their homeland, pushed visciously on to reach Gongar by 35th Whitbloom. Junean forces started to counterattack in the Skirmish of East Nunamek that occured between 6th Whitbloom and 23rd Greenshaft. Far-Eastern forces also moved towards Panjeo, taking Anjo Mitu by the end of Snowleaf, and Kawakinso by the end of Greenshaft. Far-Eastern bombers destroyed Panjean cities and waterships cut off imports.

On 11th Suncrux, the Compatriot leaders met in Pittersdun, Ankedrea. They confirmed earlier agreements about Ankedrea, and reiterated the demand for unconditional surrender of all Panjean forces by Panjeo, specifically stating that the alternative for Panjeo is prompt and utter destruction. They also began talks of uniting to hunt down Karm Tartamus and avenge the destruction of Sireon, when the Far-Eastern emmisary reveals that their nation has been under the direction of Tharinne since the beginning of the war, and are utilising the same weaponry that defeated Sireon to defeat the Pravasseans from their western rear.

On 38th Suncrux, the Far-East laid waste to Panjean cities Shirokimu and Sunihaku. Between desolated Panjeo, weakened Juna and Taltakar caught off guard, a powerful Far-Eastern force pushed into Vanna and western Soverea with little resistance. Meanwhile, Karm Tartamus established himself in the ancient city of Allyrea in the Rose Mountains. From there he orchestrated the total destruction of the Indigo Army through employing large numbers of Cloudships, and thanks to the Far-Eastern military, rendering Taltakar, Vanna and the Siphenean under his control. Those who remained opposed to his regime either surrendered, or fled to outlying lands.

Tartamus fiercely hunted the verrinatist Alura Taldayra and the last Archprince Ataren, while his regime was recapturing Alamayrta and moving north back into Nyra and the Northwest Siphenean. Alura, knowing that time was very short, and accompanied by Ataren, enacted the ritual that brought her story to life in Anatar, on the 46th Bloodsky 7840. Her ritual completely eradicates the power of Verrinati, beginning with Ataren's sacrifice as the catalyst, and ending with a new world completely void of the power. Upon the end of the ritual, she finds herself in London, the second World War having ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany and the surrender of Imperial Japan.

