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The fall of the Essa Empire, more commonly referred to as the Chrysant War, was a five year lasting conflict between the Essa Empire and the Regalian Empire at the height of the age of Regalian Pessimism. The war is called the Chrysant War in Regalia, as Regalians have always associated the Hadar lands with the Chrysant, a flower that only grows on the continent became a symbol of victory afterwards. The war started with Regalian fleets invading the Essa Empire in the spring of 286 AC, lasting until the autumn of 291 AC. The war is more commonly remembered by Alorians for the utter destruction of the Allar homelands, along with the utter genocide of the Slizzar race.
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| Date: March 286 AC - April 291 AC | ||
| Location: Hadar, Western Teled Methen | ||
| Result: Treaties of the Snake Bend, South Pass: Partition of the Essa Empire, genocide of the Slizzar, Establishment of Regalian states in Hadar. | ||
| Belligerents: Regalian Empire (Daenshore Governate, Lusits Kingdom) versus the Essa Empire (Chrysant Kingdoms) | ||
| Commanders: Emperor Justinian II of Regalia, Moriarty Kade of Regalia, Heinrich von Blutterbach of Regalia, Empress Miko Missa of Essa, General Ossil Sslinda of Essa, General Tssarr Essko of Essa, General Pssal Esslo of Essa |
Background
From the late 270’s, Regalia was suffering a prolonged period 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 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’s tenure. Meanwhile in Hadar, the Essa Empire had just been formed by Empress Miko Missa, a Slizzar who had managed to charm the Allar realms into merging into one large political entity. This empire was rapidly growing in geo-political power as well as in military means. The Regalian Pessimism gave rise to extreme-right aggressive nationalism that spoke out in favor of a holy war, or an aggressive expansion of the Empire to bring the focus away from civil unrest and back on the military power of the Empire.
Prelude
Before its dissolution in the year 301 AC, the Regalian Senate still dictated a large part of the political and military decisions within the Regalian Empire. The noble families themselves were severely politically fractured, even the Kades only standing at a small minority in the senate due to the rampant rise of the Iron Bulwark, the nationalist military faction. At the lead of the Medavinci and Sangiovese families, 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 Qadir Empire and the Essa Empire, and further south, the Empire of Sendras. Eventually, the Emperor and Arch-Chancellor acceded and the plan to wage war with external states was approved. In Hadar meanwhile, the Naylar started building a vast military apparatus, mostly focussed around smaller naval vessels and Allar troops combining alchemical knowledge and gasses with Slizzar agility and precision. Unbeknownst to the Regalians, Empress Miko Missa had been building up a military force for invasion of her own, though not as that which the Regalians suspected to have aimed at them. Miko Missa’s goals were in fact to invade the Empire of Sendras, the realm of the Mu-Allar to the south of Hadar which had thrown the Allar out of their homeland many years before. It has never been determined whether Empress Miko Missa had any designs beyond Sendras to invade other Empires. The Regalians chose to invade The Essa Empire, as the Empire of Sendras was too far away and the Qadir Empire was fairly dormant. The fleet set sail for Hadar without the Naylar even knowing, the invasion having been made without as much of a declaration of war to maintain the element of surprise and the momentum.
Emperor Justinian moves on Osstissa
Osstissa was the northernmost Chrysant State (or member state of the Essa Empire) 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 populations and resettle the lands with Regalian citizens. The kingdom of Osstissa was utterly eradicated, save for some citizens escaping into the jungles or by fishing boat; 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 in order to save the Empire from utter destruction. Attempts were made to bring forth a truce in the spring of 287 AC between the Essa Empire and the Regalian Empire. The Dragons faction and the Red faction in the senate were in favor of a truce, yet the Iron Bulwark remained convinced that the only acceptable victory would be that of a complete surrender. Empress Miko Missa refused to utterly surrender to the mercy of the Regalians, and so the war continued in a much more dramatic fashion.
The Fall of Uesston, Allossa and Ssesollosa
The short period after the fall of Osstissa saw the loss of Uesston, Allossa, and Ssesollosa at the hands of the Regalian forces. Similar tactics had been observed as had been used against Osstissa, though more direct resistance was offered by Allossa and Ssesollosa. Several back and forth battles were fought over the capitals of these states, though their fall was inevitable. The Naylar navy was made up of mostly rudimentary ships armed with bow and arrow. They were no match for Regalian cannons and ships that were years ahead in technology. The fall of Uesston was less of a destruction, even less so of an actual demise. The state of Uesston was a single city on a tiny island that was surrounded by Regalian vessels. The admiral of the fleet, however, had orders from higher hand not to eradicate the city, and so Uesston remained in Regalian control until the end of the war with not a single casualty from the city. Despite the relative size of the Essian military, many of the local commanders often surrendered without a single battle being fought in the hopes it would save the people. The Slizzar leadership had not yet fully converted the Allar mindset to one that thought war was acceptable, and so the mostly docile Allar race proved to be a weak foe for the Regalian war aimed mindset.
The Final Campaign
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 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 in overdrive as mining output increased every year, resulting in more employment and rising earnings among the artisans and craftsmen. The Essa Empire meanwhile was close to collapse. Regalia was carving a path of destruction and eradication as the main fleet moved south to the capital of Fessa Huallo. The capital was situated on the southern border of the Essa Empire on the opposite end of the sea separating Hadar and Sendras. Various states on the east and west ends of the Essa Empire already started to secede from the Empire, proclaiming their independence once more under Allar rule. This did nothing to deter the Regalians from sending rear fleets their way to subjugate them, though it can be argued it saved many Allar lives as these states often quickly surrendered. In a way, the Regalians spread the idea among the Allar that the Slizzar had brought about this apocalypse, resulting in many attacks on the Slizzar populations in Allar and Regalian held territories.
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. 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, 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, to no avail. The ships were quickly dispatched and the slaughter continued. In an act of utter desperation, Empress Miko Missa used ancient forgotten magics to summon the Sea Serpents, their gods made flesh to the surface to aid their people. Four snakes 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 re-align 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 snake itself. The Regalian war vessels started shooting at random around themselves, somehow managing to kill 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.
Only after the battle did Regalia fully realize they had destroyed a civilian fleet, a fact that was both well hidden from the Regalian population and sanctified as a holy act of purging. When Regalia entered Fessa Huallo, Empress Miko Missa was promptly arrested and beheaded on the spot at the top of one of the Slizzar temples. The remaining inhabitants of Fesso Hualla were summarily executed, civilian or military, and the city was torched to the ground. There wasn’t much left of a unity to negotiate with after the war. Various states had broken away from the Essa Empire and went to war with each other over what little land was still left that wasn’t seriously damaged by Regalia. The lands directly controlled by Regalia were cleaned of any Slizzar or Allar presence, resulting in an influx of Regalian citizens and establishment of several Regalia controlled Naylar states. Reprisals against Slizzar became common across the Aloria and it was estimated that eight out of ten Slizzar died in the years following the Chrysant War.
Aftermath
One of the big events that Regalia did not foresee was the ultimate revenge of the Slizzar on Regalia. As deadly as simultaneous, Slizzar killers descended on the noble houses of Regalia when they were celebrating their victory, killing as many of the nobles as they could. Overnight, Regalia would lose a sizeable chunk of its nobility. It is said to this day that nearly every family lost someone important. Some earls died, some dukes. Princes of the Imperial family, children and wives, sons and fathers. 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 actually turned against the Iron Bulwark however, as the events of the war spelled an end to the bad reputation the Kade family was suffering this war. Following the years after the war, the Kade family would continue to gain ground in the Imperial senate until it had enough power to disband it with the consent of the Emperor. In Hadar meanwhile, many Allar fled across the world to escape the collapsing ecosystems of Hadar. The Mekkett had surfaced from the jungles, inhabiting the ruins of the former Allar cities. Maiars had come to the surface in order to escape the imbalance of the ecosystem underwater due to the Sea Serpents surfacing. The majority of the states that were left all suffered overpopulation and famine every year, causing continued chaos and wars among the Allar. The Slizzar went mostly into hiding, favoring a more hidden role in societies across the world and staying out of the spotlight.
Trivia
- The holiest place for the Slizzar, Ssasrakand, was destroyed by the Allar and with the power of magics and alchemy, sunken into the ocean at the end of the war.
- The amount of Slizzar killed by Allar actually strongly outweighs those felled by the hand of the Regalians, as Slizzar often avoided Regalian invasions wherever they happened, abandoning their Allar allies.
- The Mu-Allar shortly considered invading Hadar at the same time as Regalia, though when Regalia was clearly winning, the Mu-Allar backed down to conserve their own power.
- To this day it is still not known how Empress Miko Missa managed to summon the Sea Serpents. Whatever magic she used has been lost with her death and those of her direct cult followers.
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