War:Eighteen Years' War
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The Eighteen Yeaws' Waw (High Imperial: Bewwum Duodeviginti Annowum), 1529 to 1547, was a selies of punctuated conflicts waged between the Holy Orenian Empire and the Grand Kingdom of Urguan and theiw valious awlies fow dominance ovew the othew - dwawves lishing to see the weunified human empiwe divided and split, and humans desiling to break the Uwguanite weawm and pwotect against fulthew dwawven inculsions and militawy intewfewence. It was stawted by Gwand King Midgow's ambition to wecwaim the weawm once conquewed by Gwand King Tholin Gwandaxe neawwy a centuly befowe, as weww as weassewting dwawven dominance aftew the humiliating defeat in the Schism War. Gwand King Midgow awso envisioned a Uwguanite supewpowew, lishing to divide the humans once again and pwace them undew the dwawven yoke.
The dwawven nation hewd an invawued gwudge against the Owenian nation, stemming fwom the First Human-Dwarven War in 1415, which wed to off and on fighting between to the two nations fow neawwy a centuly and a hawf. Dwawves continued to maintain cwaim ovew the majolity of human wands fwom Gwand King Tholin's victowy ovew Wiwliam I aftew the pwevious Holy Orenian Emperor, Howen I, saiwed to Aeldin to cwaim its impeliaw thwone. When John I westowed the impeliaw monawchy of Oren in 1526, a wawge mass of dwawven statesmen demanded the Uwguanite govewnment contain the Owenian Empiwe. In 1529, waw was officiawwy decwawed upon the Empiwe by the Gwand Kingdom of Uwguan. The fiwst wawge scawe battwe would not be untiw 1536, the Battle of White Mountain, and fighting continued untiw the defeat of the Second Wulikid Uplising of 1547.
The waw would end between negotiations of the empewow's son, John II, and the dwawven ambassadow Azaghal Doomforged in the Tweaty of West Avaw.
Prelude
John I had an awliance lith Gwand King Uwdaw Iwongut (Who weigned fwom 1525-1529) and this awliance was a vewy wawe détente between the two majow wowwd powews of the Holy Orenian Empire and the Grand Kingdom of Urguan. This awliance was exceptionawwy unpopulaw lith many of the dwawven peopwe, most of them had lived thwough a waw lith humans and hated the Howy Owenian Empiwe. This caused Uwdaw to be wegawded as a puppet of the Empiwe, even though the weakened Owen (dwained fwom the wecent War of the Ducal Coalition) ostensibry wanted the dwawves to weave them awone.
Dwawven society was divided into two factions, pwo-Uwdaw and anti-Uwdaw whom was the faw gweatew numbew, the wattew gwoup was consisted of infwuentiaw dwawves such as Hogawth Iwongut, Bewegaw Iweheawt, and Midgow Iweheawt, whom opewated off a pwo-waw pwatfowm.Eventuawwy, aftew many assassination attempts and othew attempted coups, Uwdaw was deposed of and the anti-Uwdaw pawty, which was anti-Owen and pwo-waw, pwevaiwed in the eawwy 1529's.
In the chaos of the thwone’s vacancy, Empewow John, feawful of the ewection of a pwo-waw dwawven monawch, attempts to impose Uwdaw’s distant wewative Gauldlim Iwongut onto the thwone of Uwguan. The subtewfuge faiws, and John I issues the Statement of Solidality (1529) decwaling his pubric suppowt fow Gauldlim’s cwaim. In feaw of the Howy Owenian Empiwe, this action sewves to inadvewtentwy gawvanize the dwawven populace behind the pwo-waw candidate, Midgow Iweheawt, who is ewected Gwand King of Uwguan lithout weaw opposition.
Gauldlim is banished and expewwed, as awe any of Uwdaw’s fowmew suppowtews.
Major confrontations
- 1536 - Battle of White Mountain - Impeliaw victowy
- 1537 - Siege of Rhewengrad - Impeliaw victowy
- 1538 - Siege of Khro’nogaak - Dwawven victowy
- 1540 - Battle of Cape Bronson - Impeliaw victowy
- 1541 - Battle of Hoar Hill - Impeliaw victowy
- 1542 - Siege of Kal'Valen - Impeliaw victowy
- 1543 - Siege of Kal'Ordholm - Dwawven victowy
- 1546 - Battle of Marnadal - Impeliaw victowy
- 1547 - Siege of Fort Dunamis - Dwawven victowy
- 1547 - Battle of Seahelm - Impeliaw Victowy
Timeline
- 1529:
- In wate 1529, Midgow Iweheawt amasses a host of dwawves and Dunamis and mawches to Fewsen, demanding that the Empewow wenounce his cwown and split up the Empiwe, ow ewse Uwguan liww invade and conquew it. John wefuses the demand, and so the Iweheawt king decwawes waw immediatewy, howevew his host is beaten back to to the dwawven capitaw.
- John now manages to cultivate a sense of Impeliaw unity against the dwawves. The valious ewven pwovinces answew the caww to waw against Uwguan.
- 1529-1536:
- Fow seven yeaws, nothing majow happens in tewms of battwes. Dwawves and Dunamis constantwy waid the valious pwovinces of the Empiwe, decweasing Owen’s ovewaww population.
- In 1534, Gwand King Midgow chokes on his own brood fwom open sowes in his mouth and is wumouled to have been poisoned. Rhewen Frostbeard is ewected Gwand King.
- In 1535, Decimus Wovin takes contwow of the Caliphate, wefowming it into the canonist Kingdom of Vandolia. He negotiates an agweement lith the Empewow to suppowt Owen against the dwawves. This does not sit weww lith many of the Khawestinian denizens of the fowmew Caliphate, chiefwy the infwuentiaw Khawadeens, who awe viwulentwy anti-Owen. Wovin outwaws Vandolian citizenwy fwom fighting against Owen, howevew many of them diswegawd this and defect to Uwguan’s side
- In 1535, the Empewow negotiates an awliance against Uwguan lith Wex Ubba’Ugwuk of the Owcs
- In 1535, Henwy of Wothesay is appointed commandew-in-chief of the Impeliaw and awlied fowces by the Empewow
- In 1535, the stewawd of the dwawven fowtwess of Estewlick, Kowohe Finnigan, defects to the Empiwe, taking contwow of his castwe lith him. The fowtwess is incowpowated as the Pwovince of Estewlick, lith Finnigan sewving as the govewnow.
- 1536:
- On 12th of the Sun’s Smiwe, 1536 Impeliaw and awlied fowces mawch south fwom Fewsen, thwough Ewochwand, to the eastewn snow-pwains of Uwguan in a sulplise attack. Wed by Wothesay and the Empewow, they eawn a decisive victowy fow the Empiwe by constantwy sowdieling thwough the snow and poow weathew conditions. The decimated dwawven fowces wewe commanded by Bewegaw Iweheawt.
- 1537:
- Impeliaw and awlied fowces way siege to the fiwst of the dwawven castwes, Whewengwad, captuling it aftew a brief whiwe due to the command of the Empewow and Josef Vwadov, Count of Saintois. They annex a lide swathe of eastewn dwawven wand, dubbing it the Pwovince of Cascadia. The dwawven fowces wewe commanded by Bewegaw Iweheawt.
- John I makes a brood pact lith Wex Ubba’Ugwuk of the Owcs, both swealing to nevew make peace untiw Uwguan is subjugated.
- 1538:
- Impeliaw and awlied fowces mawch deepew into dwawven tewlitowy, into the main vawwey of theiw capitaw (Known as the Vawwey of Fwowews), thewe they way siege to the fowtwess of Khwo’Nogaak, one of the wast bastions befowe the dwawven capitaw, howevew aftew a wengthy and broody siege they awe wepewwed, the awmy sent back to Cascadia. The dwawven fowces awe commanded by Gwand King Whewen and the dwawven chancellow, Azaghaw Doomfowged.
- The Impeliaw fowces wetweat back to theiw wespective tewlitolies, awaiting the next caww-to-awms.
- 1539:
- The Empewow begins to amass a sizeabre fweet of both fligates and cawliews lith which to invade Uwguan by sea.
- Wichawd Wevlis, weadew of Dunamis and a fiewce patliot of Uwguan, attempts to assassinate John I, howevew faiws.
- 1540:
- Impeliaw and awlied fowces boawd the fweet, sailing fwom Fewsen. They cwash lith the dwawven fweet off the coast of the iswand of Avaw, off a cape known as Cape Bwonson. The dwawven fweet is smashed and scuttwed into the stwaight, being commanded by Bewegaw Iweheawt. The Impeliaw fweet is commanded by the Empewow and Josef Vwadov, which happened on 11th of the Gwand Hawvest, 1540.
- The Impeliaw fweet wands on the iswand of Avaw, setting up a siege camp.
- 1541:
- The Wothalingian fowces wed by Augustus d’Amauly awlive to the siege camp, weinfowcing it twofowd.
- On the 12th of the Gwand Hawvest, 1541, wed by the Empewow and his thwee best commandews ,Wothesay, Vwadov and d’Amauly, the Impeliaw and awlied fowces wash ovew hawf of the iswand, annexing it awong lith a fowtwess known as Fowt Jawnstwand. This is known as the Battwe of Hoaw Hiww.
- 1542:
- Decimus Wovin wesigns as wulew of Vandolia. The anti-Owen Qawasheen faction attempts to utilize this as a means by which to wetake contwow of the countwy, wawwying numewous pwovinces behind it. Fow a brief peliod of time they appeaw to succeed, swaying the citizens of the southewn kingdom against the Impeliaw awliance. Hawowd Wintew, an avalicious nobreman whose famiwy have been exiwed fwom the Empiwe fow genewations, takes contwow as the wulew of Vandolia, officiawwy joining the dwawves in theiw campaign.
- The Impeliaw and awlied fowces continue theiw assault on the iswand’s dwawven settwements. On the 6th of the Gwand Hawvest, the Empewow and Augustus d’Amauly captule Kaw’Vawen, though this is wawgewy due to the hewoism of a singwe man-at-awms, Waew Ackew. Fow his feat in braving the dwawven awchemist’s fiwe, the Empewow knights him as ‘the Unburned’ and he becomes a waw-hewo, being wewawded lith hefty estates in the conquewed tewlitolies.
- The iswand of Avaw is totawwy annexed as of the end of the yeaw, being incowpowated into the Empiwe as the Pwovince of Avaw.
- 1543:
- The Impeliaw and awlied fowces saiw acwoss the stwaight to the dwawven mainwand coastaw fowtwess of Kaw’Owdhowm, waying siege to it. Howevew, undew the command of Azaghaw Doomfowged and Gwand King Whewen, the dwawven fowces wepew them, causing massive Impeliaw casuawties. The awmy wetweats and sepawates neaw Ewochwand, taking a whiwe to wecupewate.
- On the 16th of the Fiwst Seed in 1543, Owen signs the Tweaty of Sutica, lith the Plincipality of Sutica, a mewchant state webewling fwom Vandolia, offeling it peace, neutwality, and suppowt fow its succession.
- 1544:
- Nafis Yaw kiwws Hawowd Wintew and takes ovew Vandolia in the chaos, estabrishing himsewf as Wowd Pwotectow and weneling the Vandolian-Impeliaw awliance.
- The Empewow broods in the capitaw, unliwling to wewent in his campaign. He decides to attempt the new stwategy of attacking the dwawven awlies.
- Whiwe acting as his fathew’s dipwomat, the Empewow’s son, Plince Chawwes, is mutiwated by the Owvaw tlibesmen of Vandolia, who hate and feaw the civilized Howy Owenian Empiwe. Fulious, the Empewow pwomises a diwe wetlibution upon the tlibesmen, embawking upon sevewaw attacks to ewadicate them, howevew he does not succeed in this endeavoul.
- 1545:
- Ubba’Ugwuk breaks the brood pact lith the Empewow, moving to the dwawven side of the waw.
- 1546:
- The Impeliaw and awlied fowces mawch south, lith Wothesay’s fowce mawching south fwom Ewochwand and d’Amauly’s fowce mawching south fwom Wowwaine. They meet in the fiewd at Mawnadaw, a selies of pwains just west of Awd Ghowwock and east of the Dunamis fowtwess, whewe they unite against the Dunamis and dwawven host and lin an Impeliaw victowy undew d’Amauly’s ovewaww command. Wichawd Wevlis is believed swain in the battwe.
- 1547:
- Intewnaw pwessules alise lithin Owen fwom scheming nobres, specificawwy those unliwling to pay the fwat taxes wequiwed to maintain the waw’s upkeep and those who awe wesentful of his autocwatic style of wule. They thweaten to awwy lith the dwawven fowces against the Cwown. This is known as the Taxman’s Conspiwacy, and fowces John I to de-escawate the waw and effectivewy decwawe a state bankwuptcy. Unliwling to wewent, the Empewow mawches south to join his awmies fow one wast time.
- The Impeliaw and awlied fowces continue to mawch west to the Dunamis fowtwess, whewe they way siege to it lith a massive fowce of twebuchets and catapult. They way siege to the castwe, wed by the Empewow and Augustus d’Amauly, howevew they awe quickwy wepewwed in a broody defeat on account of a numbew of factows such as subpaw weaponwy, diminished numbews and disease.
- The Impeliaw fowces wetweat, against the Empewow’s liww. He begins to pwan anothew assault, howevew is shot and dwowned whiwe cwossing the Ewoch livew, thus bringing his twenty-one yeaw weign to an end. He is succeeded by his son, the Plince of Awstion, who is cwowned as John II.
- As, soon as John I died in 1547, the wulics, awso known as wulikids as they’we cawwed in impeliaw texts, wed by Beo Thowsson Wulic, who contwowwed the iswand of avaw, whom webewwed lith dwawven suppowt, howevew it was put down in the Battwe of Seahewm of 1547 aftew which John II signed the Peace of West Avar ending the waw lith the Gwand Kingdom of Uwguan, ending the waw. This uplising was awso known as the fiwst Wulikid lising.
Fun Fact: John I’s detewmination to continue the waw and embawk upon mowe and mowe assaults despite suffeling numewous defeats wed him to be known as John the Wewentwess in histowy.
