War of the Divide

Military action

The War of the Divide was the first in a series of massive conflicts between the coastal empires of Cethine and Otrin, sparked when Emperor Ubaid of the Nikar Empire attempted to open a trade route between his empire and the Free States of the Breakstone Coast in Cethine and had an entire fleet destroyed by the Highshield Empire.

In 3603, the prominent Emperor Ubaid of the Nikar Empire in Otrin had successfully negotiated a trade deal with the rapidly growing Free States of the Breakstone Coast in Cethine, a cluster of city-states with little interest in military power, preferring diplomacy and trade. By Rainfell that year, Ubaid had sent a massive fleet of ships across to the main city of the Free States, the city of Chimesong. The fleet consisted of twenty massive ships, carrying Sauri beasts never before seen in Cethine, spices and cloths.   The journey did not go as planned. The envoy had unwittingly passed through the sea territory of the Highshield Kingdom, knowing not of the strongly defined territorial boundaries of Cethine. Mistaking the ships for warships, the Highshields immediately fired upon the envoy, scattering the fleet and downing all but four ships. Two ships managed to return to Nikar land, warning Ubaid of the military action.   Ubaid was furious- he began the coastal invasion of the Free States, ignoring their cries of innocence, before learning the truth of who had downed his ships, moving on to assault the Highshields but apologising to the Free States. But by now, the Free States was beyond forgiving Ubaid. Both the Highshields and Free States had networks of alliances, which soon came into play, repelling Ubaid's assaults.   Seeking military help, Ubaid convinced the empires of Sikaan, Beret and Kovor of the inherent risk of the enemy kingdoms. Seizing the oppurtunity, The four Otrini empires launching an enormous coastal assault on the Free States. The attackers had a force of over a hundred thousand, inside over a hundred warships, with legions of sauri cavalry, both land and air based. The assault managed to destroy the Free States, plundering all their riches.   Other Otrin empires were inspired by this invasion and began separate assaults on small Cethine kingdoms. This rapid rise in cross-ocean attacks caused the formation of a short-lived alliance, the Cethine Coastal Alliance, to fight the Otrini invaders. This is when the true war began.   The war raged 57 years, with unknown casualties (estimated over five million), but a lasting and devastating political effect that lasted well throughout the Era of Seas, though faded as Otrin became occupied with the tension growing with Iaron, which would eventually become the War of Razing.