Hapsburg
Banned
The year 830 of the Imperial Calendar was a dark time for the western lands. The Orcs had mobilized their entire hordes into a full-scale war, adopting tactics and discipline the likes of which had not been seen in centuries to brutal effect. By 830, they had overran most of Balendor, Eldorei, Lilhadorei, Lithuar, Athuasua, and Suatha. The human kingdoms to the south had mostly held off complete collapse, but the years of being cut off from their capital had sown discord among the Ripanians; with the capital under siege and surrounded by Orcish armies, the Ripanian nobles held a patchwork stronghold in the southern Athua Valley. Tolossia, previously a strong kingdom, was bisected by the orcish attacks, seeking to cut them off from their eastern allies. The eastern quarter was occupied by the Etusans, ostensibly to enable better defense against the Orcs but the occupation was not without its depredations on the local populace. To the west, the Orcs threatened the highly urbanized lake region where lay the capitals of the Balendrian and Doreian kings, constantly raiding but not fully prepared to lay siege to such powerful cities. Their northeastern horde had surprised everyone, however, by reorienting themselves first as mountaineering attackers, crossing the high peaks of the West Mountains to invade Vilyafana, and then adapting again to the riparian wetlands with dismounted, bushwhacking tactics.
Further west, the elven Kingdom of Eldunari played its own political games, staying neutral in the Orcish crisis and instead focusing on a series of conflicts with its southern neighbors. A brushfire war between two human tribal kingdoms, Baia and Alam, acted as a pretext for Eldun intervention, which in turn prompted a response by the allies of the invaded Baia. The well-drilled army of Eldunari ran roughshod over their opponents initially, but the Baia surprisingly held out in a brave defense of their core region. The Eldun army attempted a different strategy, effecting a naval invasion of the nearby isles and then a landing on the eastern shore of [insert elven state here], advancing close to their capital. The war stalled by 830 into a stalemate, with both sides conducting raids for attrition, pillaging the countryside, but never really holding any additional territory for any length of time. The Eldunari royal council became tired of the grueling, expensive conflict with little gain; their sons and daughters were highly likely to die in battle, and the economic crisis caused by most of Eldunari's trade being severed war severely impacting stability. The Orcs to the north were increasingly viewed as a serious threat, as they advanced upon the Dorei estuary.
Little did they know, the following year would be a watershed in the entire conflict.
Further west, the elven Kingdom of Eldunari played its own political games, staying neutral in the Orcish crisis and instead focusing on a series of conflicts with its southern neighbors. A brushfire war between two human tribal kingdoms, Baia and Alam, acted as a pretext for Eldun intervention, which in turn prompted a response by the allies of the invaded Baia. The well-drilled army of Eldunari ran roughshod over their opponents initially, but the Baia surprisingly held out in a brave defense of their core region. The Eldun army attempted a different strategy, effecting a naval invasion of the nearby isles and then a landing on the eastern shore of [insert elven state here], advancing close to their capital. The war stalled by 830 into a stalemate, with both sides conducting raids for attrition, pillaging the countryside, but never really holding any additional territory for any length of time. The Eldunari royal council became tired of the grueling, expensive conflict with little gain; their sons and daughters were highly likely to die in battle, and the economic crisis caused by most of Eldunari's trade being severed war severely impacting stability. The Orcs to the north were increasingly viewed as a serious threat, as they advanced upon the Dorei estuary.
Little did they know, the following year would be a watershed in the entire conflict.
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