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{{Info history
{{Info Wars
|image          = noimg.png
|name = Chrysant War
|name            = Chrysant War
|test = Conflict in Hadarian Archipelago
|eventname      = Chrysant War
|image = Chrissywar.png
|datesandtimes  = March 286 AC - April 291 AC
|years =  
|location        = [[Hadar]]
286 AC - 291 AC
|peopleinvolved  = [[Regalian Empire]], [[Essa Empire]]
|participants =  
* Regalian Empire
* Essa Empire
|status =  
* Collapse of the Essa Empire
* Regalian Occupation of the Chrysant Kingdoms
* End of the Regalian Pessimism
|}}
|}}
The fall of the [[Essa Empire]], more commonly referred to as the Chrysant War, was a five-year conflict between the Essa Empire and the [[Regalian Empire]], at the end of the [[Regalian Pessimism]]. The war is called the Chrysant War in Regalia as Regalians have always associated the [[Hadar Archipelago]] with the [[Chrysant Flower]], one that only grows on the southern continent, and that became a symbol of victory afterward. The war started with Regalian fleets invading the Essa Empire in the spring of 286 AC whith fighting lasting until the autumn of 291 AC. The war is more commonly remembered by [[Alorians]] for the destruction of the [[Allar’s]] second homeland, the establishment of Ailor colonies in the far south and the mass genocide of the [[Slizzar]] that followed the official end of the war.  
The Chrysant War, or the Regalian-Essa War, was a conflict between 286 AC and 291 AC between the Regalian Empire and the Essa Empire. At the start of the war, the Essa Empire, comprised of Slizzar and Allar, was one of the three major powers in the central geo-political power game along with the Regalian Empire and the Songaskian Masaya, as the Neo-Allorn Empire was not yet reformed. After years of Regalian provocation, and mounting political unrest among its military factions, the Emperor was forced to agree to invade the Essa Empire, which occurred with full force. The war was not fought bitterly but easily, with many of Hadar's military forces folding to Regalia's military superiority. With steel and cannons, Allar alchemy and more conventional projectile weapons were no match, and the war turned less into a formal war and more into a rampage where Regalian fleets burned city after city to get to the capital. The Essa Empire completely cracked under military pressure and was destroyed in the process, with Regalian establishing many de-militarized subject kingdoms. Regalia's victory over the Essa Empire was used as propaganda to end the Regalian Pessimism and re-establish Regalia's pre-eminence, though in the modern day, this conflict is largely remembered for just being genocidal mania among the rabid jingoist and pro-war factions of Regalian society, and many soldiers who fought in the war look back on it in shame. Tens of thousands of Allar died from starvation and destruction, and Hadar was seriously damaged and unable to resist an invasion from the south many years later, while many Slizzar also took revenge for their destruction by assassinating many Regalian nobles and retreating to their impregnable city.


==Background==
==Prelude==
Starting in the late 260s, Regalia suffered a prolonged period of economic and moral declines, today referred to as the [[Regalian Pessimism]]. This period of two decades was dominated by a severe decrease in nationalist sentiment among Regalians, as well as the decline of the momentum of the [[Unionist]] faith. A series of corrupt Chancellors and weak Emperors had brought the Empire into a steady decline since the high days of Chancellor [[Vladimir Kade’s]] tenure. Politics and military decisions were largely overseen by the [[Regalian Senate]], a bloated and corrupt body most came to rapidly dislike. The noble families themselves were severely politically fractured. Even the [[Kades]] weren’t on steady footing, only standing at a small minority in the Senate due to the rampant rise of the [[Iron Bulwark]], a group lead by the heads of House [[Medavinci]] and [[Sangiovese]]. The Iron Bulwark more aggressively voiced their desire to wage holy wars on the lesser [[Races]], believing the fervor for war would bring an end to the Regalian Pessimism and herald in a new era of hegemony. Despite Regalia’s considerable wealth and power, her actual political power in Aloria was not that much larger than its contemporaries, the [[Songaskian Masaya]], and further south, the [[Sendrassian Empire]]. Eventually, the Emperor and Arch-Chancellor acceded, and the plan to wage war with external states was approved.  
In the decade following the Red Uprising, the Regalian Senate went from an institution designed to check the powers of the Dukes and Emperor into a corrupt organization of warring political factions that failed to pass any meaningful legislation. The result was a stagnant Regalian Empire that could not guide itself out of the downturn that was the Regalian Pessimism. While an economic depression was ultimately avoided, a lack of growth and innovations led to a general flatlining of the Empire’s potential. The military conquered no new states new project works were started or completed, and at the top of it all, the Senate was bogged down in endless debates and factionalization. Eventually, three notable political blocs materialized in the Regalian Senate: the Red Faction which desired a weaker constitutional monarchy, the Dragon Faction which promoted intellectual advancement, and the Iron Bulwark which desired a return to military campaigning. While it would only take two of the three factions to end gridlock in the Senate, ideological differences kept a coalition from forming.


==History==
This political deadlock ended in 286 AC when the Iron Bulwark proposed to invade the Essa Empire over disputed border claims following the end of the Dunden War. The vote was expected to fail, as similar proposals had died in debate. However, the Dragon Faction surprised everyone by voting in favor alongside the Iron Bulwark, creating the necessary majority needed to pass the proposal. While some of the Reds initially protested the results of the vote, their political whips forced them to concede to the will of the Senate, as their entire platform was derived from the legitimacy of the intuition. With the proposal passed, Emperor Justinian II gave the call to arms, and soon hundreds of warships began to sail south to Hadar.
===Choosing a Target===
In [[Hadaria]], the Essa Empire had just recently been formed by [[Empress Miko Missa]], a Slizzar who had managed to charm the most powerful Digmaan into helping unite the various Chrysant Kingdoms into one large political entity. This nation was rapidly growing in geo-political power, as well as in military means, thanks to this unification, particularly focusing on smaller naval vessels carrying Allar troops, ultimately combining alchemical knowledge with Slizzar cunning. Empress Miko Missa began to build up this military force for an invasion of her own. Miko Missa’s goal was to invade the Sendrassian Empire to the south of Hadaria in order to help start the the restoration of the Allarian homeland they had been forced to leave over two centuries ago. It has never been determined whether Empress Miko Missa had any designs beyond [[Sendras]] to invade other nations. The Regalians, acting on the information of military buildup and on the aggressive urgings of the Iron Bulwark, chose to invade the Essa Empire, as the Sendrassian Empire was too far away and the Songaskian Masaya was in a period of thriving power. The fleet set sail for Hadaria without the Essans even knowing, the invasion having been made without a declaration of war to maintain the element of surprise and the momentum.  
===The Fall of Osstissa===
Osstissa was the northernmost Chrysant Kingdom (or member state of the Essa Empire) and the one to bear the invasion at full force. The majority of the Regalian battle fleets descended on the coastlines of the smaller state, shelling cities and temples to complete ruin and destruction. The tactic chosen for the war by the Iron Bulwark had been one of annihilation and repopulation, the idea being to eradicate the Naylar population and resettle the lands with Regalian citizens. Within a week, the Kingdom of Osstissa was utterly eradicated, save for some citizens escaping into the jungles or by fishing boats; all cities were razed to the ground, and thousands of Allar and Slizzar died in the opening of the war. Empress Miko Missa was caught by surprise and attempted to mediate with Regalia in order to save her Empire from utter destruction. During this time of peace, the Senate refused to allow official attacks on Chrysant Kingdoms, resulting in many small unaffiliated settlements of Naylar being brutally purged and Allar troops skirmishing with the Regalian Navy in an attempt to fight back. By the spring of 287 AC, a truce was close to being reached between the Essa Empire and the Regalian Empire as the [[Dragons Faction]] and the [[Red Faction]] in the Senate were in favor of such a deal. Yet the Iron Bulwark remained adamant that the only acceptable victory would be that of complete surrender. Ultimately, it was Empress Miko Missa who retracted the branch of peace first, enraged by reports from her Chief Digmaan of these massacres and the destruction of Nessrassian Temples. It is also likely that her Slizzar spies in the Regalian Empire were telling her of the atrocities being committed against both Races, and how the Iron Bulwark was likely to force a conflict anyway. The terms from the Regalians were also extremely harsh, and so the war continued in a much more dramatic fashion.
===The Fall of Uesston, Allossa, and Ssesollosa===
The short period after the collapse of peace negotiations saw the loss of Uesston, Allossa and Ssesollosa, at the hands of the Regalian forces. Similar tactics as had been used against Osstissa took place, though more direct resistance was offered by Allossa and Ssesollosa. Uesston had their capital located on an island and so the Imperial Navy surrounded and blockaded them into submission. In Allossa, the final point of major resistance, only a single attack was attempted against their mountain ridge capital before the Regalians employed another blockade, unable to bombard the clouded city. Ultimately, the capital of [[Barazzt]] surrendered itself when its Cro-Allar leader saw he was not going to get reinforcements. Ssesollosa, on the western coastline of Turmen, put up far more of a fight. Several back and forth battles were fought over the capital, though it ultimately fell to the Regalians.  


The enormous success of the Regalian Empire in their blazing campaign can be chalked up more to the failures of the Essa Empire. Their navy was made up of new, but mostly rudimentary ships armed with bows and arrows, being no match for Regalian cannons and ships that were years ahead in technology, despite many of them being almost a decade old themselves due to the stagnation of the Regalian Empire. Allar chemicals, while often devastating when deployed, were limited due to the complex methods of their creation. In addition, Regalian cannonballs could easily ignite and destroy vessels carrying the biological weapons into battle. On land, despite the huge size of the Essan military, the Cro-Allar commanders often surrendered without a single battle being fought, in the hopes it would save the people considering the devastation Regalian bombardment could inflict. The Slizzar leadership were slowly considered dark manipulators as Slizzar officers, priests, and advisors melted away when the Allar needed them most, mainly due to their intrinsical survival of the fittest nature. Ultimately, this would have dire consequences for the Slizzar, but back then, Regalia returned to Hadar proper to begin their final campaign.
==Experience==
===The Final Campaign===
====Among Soldiers====
Regalia’s victory had been assured early on in the war and much of the outcome of the battles validated that prediction. Back in Regalia, the war had indeed done what the Iron Bulwark had hoped. The Regalian Pessimism came to an end and was replaced by nationalist fervor for the war effort. Mothers gladly sent their sons off to war in the fleet, the victors returning with crowds cheering. The economy went back into overdrive as mining output increased every year, resulting in more employment and rising earnings among the artisans and craftsmen. Meanwhile, the Essa Empire was close to collapse. Regalia had carved a wide sea of destruction and often eradication, as the main fleet moved to the east before swinging back to the south of the island chain, to the Essa Empire’s capital of Fessa Huallo. The capital was situated on the southern border of the Essa Empire and was one of the closest Allar settlements to Sendras. Various Chrysant Kingdoms in the region which had not yet been attacked already started to surrender to the Regalians while others declared neutrality to try and escape the onslaught. This did nothing to deter the Regalians from sending rear fleets their way to subjugate these groups, though it can be argued it saved many Allar lives when compared to the alternative. By that time, in the minds of most Allar, the Slizzar had brought about this apocalypse, resulting in many attacks on the Slizzar populations in Allar and Regalian held territories.  
In the army, the typical soldier was either a feudal levy called to service by their overlord or a mercenary taking on a contract put up by the State. As Hadar was a vast tropical archipelago, soldiers would often jump from island to island as they pushed further south towards the Essa capital. This often saw an initial bombardment by naval warships, followed by an amphibious landing by mercenaries, with the regular army landing after a beachhead was established. Following the landing, soldiers marched towards the nearest settlement, where they were often ambushed by Allar fighters. Despite the element of surprise and territorial knowledge favoring the Essa defenders, Regalian armaments far outclassed those of the Allar, leading to few casualties within the army. Most casualties usually came from alchemical burns or tropical disease, with the injured being carried back to the beach before being placed on hospital ships destined back to Corontium.


The final battle of the Chrysant War was to be the Battle of Fessa Huallo, where the Regalians thought Empress Miko Missa was gathering a large fleet to strike back at Regalia. In truth, however, Empress Miko Missa was gathering a fleet to evacuate the city, loading the people onto as many civilian ships and fishing boats as she could find. When the Regalians arrived, they opened fire on the ships which they thought were warships. The ships did indeed return fire, as many of the ships had soldiers on them, in the hopes of sailing south and establishing a new base of operations on the north shores of Sendras or west, to the city of [[Ssasrakand]]. There were hundreds of ships in the harbors of Fessa Huallo and only forty Regalians warships strafing the horizon to open gunfire on the smaller vessels. Between the screams of terror and drowning Allar and Slizzar alike as harsh chemicals lashed their bodies, a few Allar war vessels raced forward to try and save their people by acting as a distraction for the civilian ships to get away, but to no avail. The ships were quickly dispatched and the slaughter continued. In an act of utter desperation, Empress Miko Missa used an ancient and unique [[Magic]] to summon [[Deep Sea Serpents]], Slizzar gods made flesh, to the surface to aid their people. Four of these creatures surfaced near the battle and immediately descended on the Regalian war vessels. The first warship to shatter was the [[Calemberger]] Adler, followed by the [[Anglian]] Empress Crown and the [[Girobaldin]] Battaglia Girobalda and Claro Elessa. The sudden panic in the Regalian fleet caused the rear admirals to realign their ships around the Emperor’s flagship Julianus der Grosse and the Kade warship the Laridae II. The wall had no effect, as the largest of the snakes burst out from the sea below the Laridae II, ripping it in two and causing a huge gunpowder explosion that ironically enough also killed the sea snake itself. The Regalian war vessels started shooting at random around themselves, somehow managing to kill the two smaller snakes before the last one broke straight through the Calemberger Köning Frislau and the [[Vixhallian]] Sacre Vert, but fell short when the Imperial flagship opened a full 120 cannon barrage on the beast.  
In the navy, the typical sailor had far fewer hardships than their army equivalents, as their function during the war was to provide logistical and artillery support to the army’s movements on each island. Ships often rotated between providing reconnaissance and delivering messages between commanders, with very few naval battles taking place due to the Essa Navy being virtually nonexistent. The greatest threat posed by the Allar were aquatic saboteurs that would plant alchemical explosives to the bottom of ships, causing them to take on water after detonation. However, such attacks were rare in practice, as the military often retaliated by completely wiping out the closest village to their positions, forcing the Allar to try other strategies.


Only after the battle did Regalia fully realize they had destroyed a civilian fleet, a fact that was later well hidden from the Regalian population and quietly sanctified as a holy act of purging. When Regalian troops entered Fessa Huallo, Empress Miko Missa was promptly arrested (despite the attempts to save her) and she was beheaded on the spot at the top of one of the Slizzar temples by an Imperial Guard. The remaining inhabitants of Fesso Hualla were summarily executed, civilian or military, and the city was torched to the ground. In the aftermath of this, whatever Cro-Allar remained, either captured by Regalia or operating their own states out in wider Hadaria, were summoned to meet with the representatives of the Regalian Empire on the island later known as Caernoth, where a peace deal was brokered by the two peoples. However, the Slizzar were not present. Having lost the war, and seeing that their experiment in opening themselves to the outside world had failed, those within the bounds of the former Essa Empire fled back to their holy city of Ssasrakand. Many were killed or abandoned by their Allar bodyguards and servants on the way there, but once within the city, they believed themselves to be safe. Unfortunately, this was not the case. As no Slizzar had accepted the peace treaty between their peoples, the Regalian Empire sought to enact a further devastation on the Slizzar people. They would not just rob them of their empress, but also of their greatest and oldest city. The bombardment was long and the fight horrific but in the end, the Regalian Empire was unable to fully breach the city, the inner wall around the great pyramid and other buildings at the city’s core remaining strong (if not a bit shaken) by the withering fire pelted down upon it. The Empire turned away, and the Chrysant War formally came to an end.
====Among Officers====
Within the army and navy, the experiences of the officers were roughly the same. While directing their units in battle was an obvious duty, managing logistics was by far the greatest challenge faced by these individuals. At the start of the campaign, the nature of island hopping meant that supplies were often delivered late, or to an island that had already been vacated, leaving officers to make do with the limited supplies they had or take drastic actions to speed up their campaigns. Many believe that the sheer amount of damage inflicted in Essa villages was due to a lack of supplies available to conduct extended operations, forcing officers to burn everything to the ground so they could conserve as many resources as they had delivered. While logistical challenges subsided as the war progressed, many officers continued to torch settlements due to it being the fastest way of completing their objectives, despite the carnage it left in the military’s wake. Knights also participated in the Chrysant War, though their numbers were fewer than in previous conflicts, as the nature of island hopping and marching through dense jungles limited the capabilities of these individuals.


==Effects==
====Among Command====
One of the big events that Regalia did not foresee resulting from their attempt to destroy the city of Ssasrakand was the revenge of the Slizzar on Regalia. Deadly and simultaneously, Slizzar killers descended on the noble houses of Regalia when they were celebrating their victory, killing many nobles of both sexes, all ages and regardless of whether they contributed to the war or not. Overnight, Regalia lost a sizable chunk of its nobility and it is said to this day that nearly every family lost someone important, including the Kades and the Ivrae de Sanges. Despite this loss, however, the fire of Regalian nationalism had been rekindled and the state’s aggressive foreign policy was back in full swing. The political implications in Regalia turned against the Iron Bulwark, however, as the events of the war spelled an end to the bad reputation the Kade family was suffering from. Within a year following the war, the Kade family would gain ground in the Imperial Senate until it had enough power to disband it with the consent of the Emperor, thus officially bringing an end to the Regalian Pessimism in the eyes of many. In contrast, to the Allar the Chrysant War was both destruction and a wake-up call. The Soor-Rassa-Allar, which was ultimately held captive by Regalia for their political power, worked hard to show the Empire the value of the Allar as allies. Ultimately, this would come to succeed, and the Cro-Allar became unique as the only form of legal non-Ailor nobility.  
Like their officers, commanders also had to handle challenges with logistics, though the rapid progress made by the Regalians against the Essa Empire saw many initial plans thrown away and rewritten to account for these developments. The Chrysant War was also the first conflict that saw island hopping as the primary strategy, leading to many new tactics developed by commanders at the moment that differed from the conventional battles they were more accustomed to. Similarly, the conflict saw the army and navy working together closer than they ever had before, with both admirals and generals meeting in the same command tents and ship quarters to provide their recent experiences regarding the war. Never before had both branches of the Regalian Military worked so closely together, which created a greater appreciation of the work each side did to aid the other.


Their homeland, however, remained in ruins for decades as Regalian bombardment had deeply scarred the land while in the water, chemical pollutants from sunken Essan boats killed or corrupted certain wildlife. The majority of the Allar states that were left either remained under Cro-Allar leadership or were directly made governorates of Regalia, like the city of [[Uesston]]. For the Slizzar, the war marked the lowest point in their history ever and proved to them that openness to the outside world was highly destructive. Most now view the Allar as a traitorous Race for turning on their masters and many more deeply hate the Regalian Empire for obvious reasons. In the aftermath of their great culling of the Regalian nobility, an event rarely discussed in the Regalian Empire as it is seen as a cataclysmic failure in national security and thus as an embarrassment, all Slizzar within the Regalian Empire returned to the city of Ssasrakand. Thishad the effect of suddenly opening the region up to new Slizzar, who moved in and replaced their now compromised brethren. Thus, things have slowly begun to return to normal, though these scars between Races will heal only if given the proper time.
==End & Aftermath==
The Chrysant War culminated in the Siege of Fessa Huallo, the capital of the Essa Empire. Despite being the decisive battle of the conflict, the actual siege was much the same as previous battles, with very little resistance made by the Allar and the Slizzar against the Regalians. After several coastal bombardments, the army made their landing, sacking the city and taking control of the capital. No treaty was signed with the Essa Empire, as their Empress could not be found, believed to have fled with other Slizzar back to Sarakand. As a result of this, the Regalian Military declared the Essa Empire to be dissolved, and placed several Admirals in charge of various successor kingdoms, creating a demilitarized zone in Hadaria.
 
When news of the victory reached the Regalian Capital, patriotic fervor reached a new height that had not been seen since the reign of Emperor Allestrain I. Using the emotions of the Empire to their advantage, the Dragon Faction proposed a return of the Emperor’s absolute authority, which was immediately supported by the Iron Bulwark, which was caught up in the celebrations to consider the ramifications of this vote once it passed. With his absolute authority restored, Emperor Justinian II declared the dissolution of the Regalian Senate and restored the office of the Chancellor to its proper position. After roughly 30 years of corruption and stagnancy, the Regalian Pessimism ended with the fall of the institution that propagated it.
 
Despite the victory and end of the Pessimism, not every outcome of the Chrysant War was a cheerful one. In an act of revenge for the destruction of their empire, numerous Slizzar infiltrated the courts of Regalia’s military and political houses who were instrumental in carrying out the conflict. Simultaneously across the Regalian Empire, these Slizzar assailants descended on these families when they were celebrating the victory, assassinating many nobles in the process. Overnight, many prominent noble houses lost someone important, leaving them the final casualties of the Chrysant War.
 
==Review==
Presently, the Chrysant War is looked on with mixed feelings, due to both the immediate and long-term effects of the conflict. While the war did lead to the ending of the Regalian Pessimism and the dissolution of the Senate, it saw the assassinations of several great military and political minds as revenge for the carnage inflicted on the Essa Empire. Many veterans feel a sense of guilt for what they did to the Allar especially, since the latter has grown from being the most oppressed to one of the most revered peoples in the Regalian Empire within the span of a few decades. Finally, the war demonstrated the consequences of blindly seeking conflict with no care for the damage caused, as the long-term effects of the military destruction of Hadaria have led to numerous invasions from Sendras in recent history, which the descendants of Chrysant War veterans now have to deal with.


==Trivia==
*The Sendrassian Empire shortly considered invading Hadar at the same time as Regalia, though when Regalia was clearly winning, the [[Void Worshipping]] group backed down to conserve their power.
*To this day it is still not known how Empress Miko Missa managed to summon the Deep Sea Serpents. Whatever Magic she used has been lost with her death and those of her direct cult followers, all of whom were Slizzar. Some have taken to assume the Magic was Void-based, as Izu-Allar dislike using such Magics, and oddly none of them were allowed into her cult despite their magical abilities.
*Many question how the invasion of the Essa Empire even took place considering how many Slizzar were within the Regalian Empire who likely would have warned their homeland of the attack. The most popular theory is that the hostile and secretive xenophobia of those noble families involved in much of the planning for the opening wave of attack prevented Slizzar operatives from understanding the true scale of the event until it was too late.
{{History}}
{{History}}
{{Accreditation
{{Accreditation
|Artists =  
|Artists = MonMarty
|Writers = MonMarty, HydraLana
|Writers = MonMarty, FireFan96
|Processors = WaterDruppel
|Processors = MantaRey
}}
}}
[[category:History]] [[category:Recent History]]
[[category:Regalian Wars]]

Latest revision as of 21:21, 20 October 2024


Chrysant War
Conflict in Hadarian Archipelago
Years286 AC - 291 AC
Participants
  • Regalian Empire
  • Essa Empire
Status
  • Collapse of the Essa Empire
  • Regalian Occupation of the Chrysant Kingdoms
  • End of the Regalian Pessimism

The Chrysant War, or the Regalian-Essa War, was a conflict between 286 AC and 291 AC between the Regalian Empire and the Essa Empire. At the start of the war, the Essa Empire, comprised of Slizzar and Allar, was one of the three major powers in the central geo-political power game along with the Regalian Empire and the Songaskian Masaya, as the Neo-Allorn Empire was not yet reformed. After years of Regalian provocation, and mounting political unrest among its military factions, the Emperor was forced to agree to invade the Essa Empire, which occurred with full force. The war was not fought bitterly but easily, with many of Hadar's military forces folding to Regalia's military superiority. With steel and cannons, Allar alchemy and more conventional projectile weapons were no match, and the war turned less into a formal war and more into a rampage where Regalian fleets burned city after city to get to the capital. The Essa Empire completely cracked under military pressure and was destroyed in the process, with Regalian establishing many de-militarized subject kingdoms. Regalia's victory over the Essa Empire was used as propaganda to end the Regalian Pessimism and re-establish Regalia's pre-eminence, though in the modern day, this conflict is largely remembered for just being genocidal mania among the rabid jingoist and pro-war factions of Regalian society, and many soldiers who fought in the war look back on it in shame. Tens of thousands of Allar died from starvation and destruction, and Hadar was seriously damaged and unable to resist an invasion from the south many years later, while many Slizzar also took revenge for their destruction by assassinating many Regalian nobles and retreating to their impregnable city.

Prelude

In the decade following the Red Uprising, the Regalian Senate went from an institution designed to check the powers of the Dukes and Emperor into a corrupt organization of warring political factions that failed to pass any meaningful legislation. The result was a stagnant Regalian Empire that could not guide itself out of the downturn that was the Regalian Pessimism. While an economic depression was ultimately avoided, a lack of growth and innovations led to a general flatlining of the Empire’s potential. The military conquered no new states new project works were started or completed, and at the top of it all, the Senate was bogged down in endless debates and factionalization. Eventually, three notable political blocs materialized in the Regalian Senate: the Red Faction which desired a weaker constitutional monarchy, the Dragon Faction which promoted intellectual advancement, and the Iron Bulwark which desired a return to military campaigning. While it would only take two of the three factions to end gridlock in the Senate, ideological differences kept a coalition from forming.

This political deadlock ended in 286 AC when the Iron Bulwark proposed to invade the Essa Empire over disputed border claims following the end of the Dunden War. The vote was expected to fail, as similar proposals had died in debate. However, the Dragon Faction surprised everyone by voting in favor alongside the Iron Bulwark, creating the necessary majority needed to pass the proposal. While some of the Reds initially protested the results of the vote, their political whips forced them to concede to the will of the Senate, as their entire platform was derived from the legitimacy of the intuition. With the proposal passed, Emperor Justinian II gave the call to arms, and soon hundreds of warships began to sail south to Hadar.

Experience

Among Soldiers

In the army, the typical soldier was either a feudal levy called to service by their overlord or a mercenary taking on a contract put up by the State. As Hadar was a vast tropical archipelago, soldiers would often jump from island to island as they pushed further south towards the Essa capital. This often saw an initial bombardment by naval warships, followed by an amphibious landing by mercenaries, with the regular army landing after a beachhead was established. Following the landing, soldiers marched towards the nearest settlement, where they were often ambushed by Allar fighters. Despite the element of surprise and territorial knowledge favoring the Essa defenders, Regalian armaments far outclassed those of the Allar, leading to few casualties within the army. Most casualties usually came from alchemical burns or tropical disease, with the injured being carried back to the beach before being placed on hospital ships destined back to Corontium.

In the navy, the typical sailor had far fewer hardships than their army equivalents, as their function during the war was to provide logistical and artillery support to the army’s movements on each island. Ships often rotated between providing reconnaissance and delivering messages between commanders, with very few naval battles taking place due to the Essa Navy being virtually nonexistent. The greatest threat posed by the Allar were aquatic saboteurs that would plant alchemical explosives to the bottom of ships, causing them to take on water after detonation. However, such attacks were rare in practice, as the military often retaliated by completely wiping out the closest village to their positions, forcing the Allar to try other strategies.

Among Officers

Within the army and navy, the experiences of the officers were roughly the same. While directing their units in battle was an obvious duty, managing logistics was by far the greatest challenge faced by these individuals. At the start of the campaign, the nature of island hopping meant that supplies were often delivered late, or to an island that had already been vacated, leaving officers to make do with the limited supplies they had or take drastic actions to speed up their campaigns. Many believe that the sheer amount of damage inflicted in Essa villages was due to a lack of supplies available to conduct extended operations, forcing officers to burn everything to the ground so they could conserve as many resources as they had delivered. While logistical challenges subsided as the war progressed, many officers continued to torch settlements due to it being the fastest way of completing their objectives, despite the carnage it left in the military’s wake. Knights also participated in the Chrysant War, though their numbers were fewer than in previous conflicts, as the nature of island hopping and marching through dense jungles limited the capabilities of these individuals.

Among Command

Like their officers, commanders also had to handle challenges with logistics, though the rapid progress made by the Regalians against the Essa Empire saw many initial plans thrown away and rewritten to account for these developments. The Chrysant War was also the first conflict that saw island hopping as the primary strategy, leading to many new tactics developed by commanders at the moment that differed from the conventional battles they were more accustomed to. Similarly, the conflict saw the army and navy working together closer than they ever had before, with both admirals and generals meeting in the same command tents and ship quarters to provide their recent experiences regarding the war. Never before had both branches of the Regalian Military worked so closely together, which created a greater appreciation of the work each side did to aid the other.

End & Aftermath

The Chrysant War culminated in the Siege of Fessa Huallo, the capital of the Essa Empire. Despite being the decisive battle of the conflict, the actual siege was much the same as previous battles, with very little resistance made by the Allar and the Slizzar against the Regalians. After several coastal bombardments, the army made their landing, sacking the city and taking control of the capital. No treaty was signed with the Essa Empire, as their Empress could not be found, believed to have fled with other Slizzar back to Sarakand. As a result of this, the Regalian Military declared the Essa Empire to be dissolved, and placed several Admirals in charge of various successor kingdoms, creating a demilitarized zone in Hadaria.

When news of the victory reached the Regalian Capital, patriotic fervor reached a new height that had not been seen since the reign of Emperor Allestrain I. Using the emotions of the Empire to their advantage, the Dragon Faction proposed a return of the Emperor’s absolute authority, which was immediately supported by the Iron Bulwark, which was caught up in the celebrations to consider the ramifications of this vote once it passed. With his absolute authority restored, Emperor Justinian II declared the dissolution of the Regalian Senate and restored the office of the Chancellor to its proper position. After roughly 30 years of corruption and stagnancy, the Regalian Pessimism ended with the fall of the institution that propagated it.

Despite the victory and end of the Pessimism, not every outcome of the Chrysant War was a cheerful one. In an act of revenge for the destruction of their empire, numerous Slizzar infiltrated the courts of Regalia’s military and political houses who were instrumental in carrying out the conflict. Simultaneously across the Regalian Empire, these Slizzar assailants descended on these families when they were celebrating the victory, assassinating many nobles in the process. Overnight, many prominent noble houses lost someone important, leaving them the final casualties of the Chrysant War.

Review

Presently, the Chrysant War is looked on with mixed feelings, due to both the immediate and long-term effects of the conflict. While the war did lead to the ending of the Regalian Pessimism and the dissolution of the Senate, it saw the assassinations of several great military and political minds as revenge for the carnage inflicted on the Essa Empire. Many veterans feel a sense of guilt for what they did to the Allar especially, since the latter has grown from being the most oppressed to one of the most revered peoples in the Regalian Empire within the span of a few decades. Finally, the war demonstrated the consequences of blindly seeking conflict with no care for the damage caused, as the long-term effects of the military destruction of Hadaria have led to numerous invasions from Sendras in recent history, which the descendants of Chrysant War veterans now have to deal with.


Accreditation
WritersMonMarty, FireFan96
ArtistsMonMarty
ProcessorsMantaRey
Last EditorFirefan96 on 10/20/2024.

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