Trinity War
The Trinity War was, without a doubt, the biggest failure of Covenant rule on Arilia. Petty infighting by a trio of unpoliced, untouchable god like figures resulted in the death of near a million people when the tally was done. Half of these lives were lost in a single careless moment.
While the Covenant has solved so many of society's woes, such as hunger and plague, this war reminded us that we never had a choice in the matter. We are like a goldfish in a bowl, the giant face staring down at us from the Highlord's citadel could end us all on a whim.
'Feast, Famine, and Fire: A History of the Rustbucket' by Dr Merideth Fisk, Chair of History at Terminal City University
The Conflict
Prelude
A series of resource disputes along the border of the Southern Praerie and the Western Valley had broken out into a series of small skirmishes. This was not unheard of, and was part of a pattern of almost playful competition between the baronies. This changed with the assassination of Lady Eurale, beloved of Baron Taurus. Evidence pointed to insurgents backed by the Engineer. Although she denied the charges, Taurus was engulfed with grief and ordered an all out assault on Goldfield, the capital of the West. Seeing an opportunity, forces from the Northern Barrens, lead by Alabaster, began seizing key mines along the Scratchback Rim.
Deployment
The Engineer was a legendary military strategist. Rumor had it that she was not Covenant born, but rather had been recruited due to her military and technological genius. Her army consisted largely of highly mobile tanks and dirigibles, and an array of unique smart weapons capable of wrecking havok on enemy formations. Babbage also possessed a unique tool in her arsenal, a Covenant Citadel. These had never been deployed against other Covenant, and as such enemy leaders did not expect to see it used here.
Taurus had been employing mandatory conscription for quite a while, citing the Meta Uprising as reason enough for maintaing a large standing army. This was not restricted to his own Barony, and recruiters were often seen speaking to out of work youths in nearby territories. This had resulted in an army more than three times the size of the other Baronies, even though it was one that was fairly green for lack of real combat.
Alabaster was mainly known as a Covenant socialite who fell from grace in the Highlord's court. She did not have a standing army of any note. No record remains on how she was able to seize the territory she did early in the war, nor how she was able to effectively hold her own against strategists such as the Engineer.
Battlefield
The Rustbucket is notable in that there is a large amount of featureless territory to fight in, with only a few primary targets such as Homestead or Goldfield. The long stretches of rail between the capital cities of the Baronies became the focus of combat, with forces trying to seize key stations without damaging the system itself. Inevitably, these battles led them to Prosperity City, which had originally been the capital of the Principality despite the Prince, Albion, operating mostly out of Port Lane.
Conditions
An extremely hot summer exhasturbated the situation on all fronts. Dehydration and heatstroke were common amongst the troops on all sides.
Grass fires were common, and entire crops were lost creating a resource shortage. Huge portions of the northern timber were lost to fire, and what remained died of mysterious causes.
The Engagement
After holding off both the South and the North for almost a year, a series of strategic victories by the Engineer decimated all aggression from the North. It is believed that these battles were won through deployment of superweapons which resulted in the Wasteland between the two Baronies.
The scale of this attrocity seemed to not raise the ire of Prince Albion. Taurus, seeing the Western warmachine turning it's full force against him, took advantage of the Prince's apathy and moved on Prosperity City. Control of the main rail terminals and ports would allow for complete economic domination of the region.
The Engineer, expecting this move, used her forces to corral the Southern legions onto the Prosperity Peninsula. She then deployed her Citadel and demanded the unconditional surrender of the Taurus' forces. The Baron was completely outmaneuvered
The traditional Covenant surrender ceremony was interrupted by a third party attack and a melee between the Barons and their lieutenants errupted. Taurus was badly burned during this combat, and was said to have gruesomely dismembered the Engineer.
As both parties retreated bloody and battered, unknown events caused the Citadel to fall. As it came apart, the energy within obliterated both armies and killed more than five hundred thousands. All of Prosperity City, and the land underneath it was, was disintegrated. The shockwave flattened buildings for hundreds of kilometers around that.
Outcome
The fall of the Citadel not only killed half a million residents of Prosperity City, but also decimated the armies of the Western Valley and the Southern Praerie. The blast created a permanent unstable region known as the Prosperity Dirth, comprised of strange energies hostile to both complex matter and living beings.
Scientists theorize that the explosion could have destroyed the entire region, and perhaps the planet, were it not for the intervention of the metabeing Tectonic. Tectonic somehow managed to deescalate the blast and end the chain reaction, sacrificing his own life in the process.
Albion, Covenant Prince of Prosperity, issued an immediate edict to halt all hostilities. In effect, the battle lines as they were drawn became permanent borders for the warring states.
Aftermath
Albion stated publically that he was ashamed and horrified by the actions of his people. In reparations, he granted independance to what remained of Prosperity, to be known as Terminal City, barring entrance by Covenant.
This was a singular event, known as the Trinity Eidict, and created a city state unlike any other in Covenant ruled Aralia. It is still unknown why Albion's authority was instantly accepted, and why there appeared to be no dissent amongst the Covenant in the years that followed.
Historical Significance
Technological Advancement
Albion allowed many of the contractors involved in reconstruction access to specialized Convenant factories and materials. This created an economic boom for the city.
Many have noted that this technology, and the associated benefits, appeared to have only been truly accessible to the upper class. The contrast of the Aerie vs The Stacks is often cited during these arguments.
Cover Art:
Apocalypse, 1903 by Albert Goodwin
Apocalypse, 1903 by Albert Goodwin
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
24 AE
Ending Date
25 AE
Location
Comments