Numiran Warfare

Ancient to Modern Battle in Prythwyn & Alterra

War in Numira has changed durastically over the centuries, ranging all the way from phalanx formations to pike & shot. Some things have stayed the same, most notably the use of obexatite and magic. Military technology progresses at nearly the same speed as arcane advancements, driving the two against each other upon countless battlefields. More commonly, however, they fight side-by-side. Obexatite, a metal that projects an anti-magic field, is also prevalent during most wars in Numira.

Due to the massive lack of any sort of recorded history during the First Era, scholars only have information about warfare dating back to the beggining of the Second Era. As of 1649, the last major war was 24 years, and military tactics have advanced much since then. It is only a matter of time before these new tactics are tested out on the field of battle.

First Orcish Wars (2-163 SE)

At first, the dwarven legion couldn't fathom the possibility of a fast and aggressive military force. Dwarves tended to hold the line with massive shields, clunky armor, and iron axes. It took almost two decades of on-and-off fighting to finally teach the traditionalist dwarves how to fight their conquering rivals.

The invention of dwarven steel in 20SE significantly boosted the quality of their weapons and armor. Combined with the new metal phalanx tactics of the younger generals, the orcs and goblins stood no chance. They were forced out of the north and into central Prythwyn where humans lived.

During the Orcish Wars, tactics were almost completely thrown to the side as massive hordes of raiders conquered human towns and countryside. Orcs and goblins charged headfirst at lines of ill-equipped militiamen wielding bronze spears and axes. The defending side often used poorly understood magic to even the playing field, but even it did little against the brutish invader.

The elves and lizards of the south did not have to worry about marauding hordes, but they weren't without opposition. The kobolds native to the bogs and jungles of Prythwyn engaged in fierce guerilla warfare against unprotected elven villages, crippling their early economy. The elves soon adopted these guerilla tactics as their own, but soon expanded on them with the use of druidry and spellcasting. The kobolds were eventually pushed back into the bogs and funneled into human territory.

The Wild Hunt (163-209SE)

Imagine a war where every blade of grass, every leaf, every woodland animal, and every beast is trying to kill you. That's what the Wild Hunt was like, a pure unbridled yet natural hell. It reminds me a lot of the current fight against the Wildfolk in Alterra.

— Frorik Nightingale, Explorer of the New World

The Wild Hunt was the first major war in Prythwyn's Second Era. The elven aggressors used advanced tactics instead of one massive line of soldiers. They typically had a group of infantry followed by archers and skirmishers, all while shock troops harass the enemy flanks. This especially impacted the dwarven legion, as they had never considered reinforcing their flanks.

Quibbo and amphi tactics were bizzare and mostly innefficient due to their lack of military experience. Amphi footsoldiers charged in with maces in small wave-attacks while the quibbo fired off minor spells in the back lines. The elves, however, were prepared for this. They used obexatite standards to shrug off all of the magic-based attacks while the poorly armored amphi were butched by arrows.

Human strategies had evolved greatly during their war with the orcs, granting them a decent amount of combat experience against the elves. The Serenithian army used sarissas, 20 foot long pikes capable of devastating enemy charges. In the meantime, cavalry attacked the enemy ranks from behind to push them towards the pikes. It was a nearly unstoppable strategy in an open field or city street.

Without Archipelagan arcane tactics, the Wild Hunt would have ended in a matter of a few years. The experienced spellcasters of the Archipelago did extensive testing on obexatite, eventually discovering how far it's effect stretches. This gave them several opportunities to work around it, vaporizing any human soldiers outside of the anti-magic field. Meanwhile, their skirmishers harassed the infantry within the field.

The last years of the war were mainly comprised of battles between the dwarves and elves. Dwarven tactics comprised mostly of forming an impenetrable shield wall of dwarves in extremely heavy armor, proving to be the direct counter against elven ranged attacks. Ultimately, the Wild Hunt showed the continent that war was always evolving, and that no nation was safe without brilliant tactics.

The War of Two Sisters (702-731SE)

The War of Two Sisters was a peculiar war, as it was one of the few in which gods directly took part in. Gloria, the pantheon's goddess of victory and glory, fielded a Serenithian army against Chktari's diverse militia. The war was brutal and savage, showcasing little military strategy. New weapons of war were poorly understood yet used extensively.

Gloria's Serenith was equipped with round shields, axes, and dwarven-made steel swords. These marauders were effective at pillaging and spreading fear into their enemies, but lacked any sort of advanced formation. Archers were nearly nonexistant in the Serenithian army, as they were briefly replaced by javelin and axe-throwing shock infantry.

Chktari, goddess of defeat, had but an inexperienced militia by her side. Nevertheless, her brilliant leadership won her many battles (despite her domain). Her soldiers used axes to rip through the opposing shields and used spears to slaughter Gloria's celebrated cavalry. Ultimately, the war cost both sides thousands of lives and ended in a stalemate.

The Peasant Risings (1161-1174SE)

The Peasant Risings were a consecutive series of revolutions and insurrections in a number of human kingdoms. Despite it's seeming normalcy, the war was a pivotal point in military history. The Serenithian and Middle Kingdom armies had heavy and powerful plate armor, perfected longbows, thought-out tactics, and massive greatswords. Yet still, the rebels had a trick up their sleeve.

Shortly before the rising, Valleyhome had invented and mass-produced the first ever firearm: the powerful matchlock musket. Throughout the war they provided muskets for the peasants, allowing them to take out an armored knight in just one shot with barely any training. The war lasted only a little over a decade, resulting in a popular victory. Serenith was forced to abolish knighthood and pass minor reforms within their legislation.

Cyraneed-Autumnian Border Conflict (1458-1460SE)

By the 1400s, nearly every sovereign nation used flintlock muskets as their primary weapon. In the year 1458, the Cyraneed Empire waged war with Autumnia over a territorial dispute. This war was considered one of the first "modern wars" in Prythwyn. Magic had also been advancing at the same speed as technology, however, giving spellcasters a larger role in conflict.

The Cyraneed army was using more arcane tactics during their brief war with Autumnia, opting for a large force of druids and sorcerors. Some of their wildshapes were too small to hit with an innacurate musket, flying or leaping right into enemy lines before shifting again into something more powerful. It wasn't thought possible, but a nation finally found a direct counter to firearms. While the druids fought hand-to-hand with enemy gunners, Cyraneed sorcerors provided covering fire with spells of their own.

Autumnian tactics varied a lot during the two years of fighting. They first tried to use muskets, but these were incredibly inneffective. They were forced to supplement their gunners with pikeman and halberdiers, which is now known as the infamous "pike and shot" formation. A square of soldiers with polearms as on both sides of a square of musketeers, covering both their flanks and preventing wildshaped druids from getting to close. This proved to be one of the greatest strategic advancements of the renaissance-adjacent time period and is still used today.

The Great Numiran War (1601-1625SE)

The Great Numiran War; the bloodiest war in recorded history. Centuries of newly developed magic, technology, and tactics all led up to that very moment. The Serenithian Empire demanded for Autumnia to repeal their Secular Act, but they refused. Serenith then launched a massive incursion into Autumnian territory.

The first battle of the war was a siege of Quilport, the capital of the Autumnian League. Prior to this battle, sieges were conducted via catapults, trebuchets, and siege towers. This time around, however, Serenith utilized a new form of artillery called a great bombard. The 570 pound cannonballs ripped through the massive stone walls of the port city, forcing the defenders to sally out and desperately attack. The Serenithians were caught by surprised and pushed back, but the celebrated King Autumnwood of Autumnia sacrificed his life for victory.

The quibbo and amphi, still isolated on Udiva ever since their failed attack centuries ago, were caught by surprise when the Cyraneed Empire invaded them by sea. Elven mages provided water-breathing spells to the invading soldiers, allowing them to traverse the sea floor until they arrived at the island. At first there was no real resistance while the Cyraneed troops slaughtered entire towns of civillians, but they eventually bit back after two months of bloodshed. Quibbo mages easily thwarted their Cyraneed equivalents while countless amphi charged at the already broken ranks. No Cyraneed soldiers were spared.

The Siege of Serenith was another turning point in the war. Unexpectedly, the typically neutral Valleyhome Republic began sieging Serenith, capital of the Serenithian Empire. The gates were easily breached by minotaur battering rams while satyr spellcasters provided them arcane enhancements. The town guard fired cannons from the walls but were quickly overrun by great eagle cavalry, decimating the defenders' morale. Half of the city would be taken by Valleyhome, but they were eventually pushed back by the royal guard.

In 1614 the Serenithian army launched a massive counter-offensive against their encroaching foes. Combining both firearms and cavalry, Serenith fielded heavily-armored horse riders armed with pistols, which were capable of taking land with lightning speed. Meanwhile the paladins and footsoldiers cleaned up after the pistoliers, typcially slaughtering and pillaging every town they came across. Great atrocities were committed against the people of Autumnia Forest.

Eventually the Autumnians came to the aid of their fallen families, fighting great yet bloody battles in the forests and fields. These battles often contained constant hellfire from mages, with limbs and organs flying across the battlefield while brutal hand-to-hand combat insued. Serenithian bombards fired from the hilltops alongside spellcasters, while autumnian musketeers tried in vain to kill them from afar. This series of clashes would be some of the most brutal and traumatizing events in recorded history. Most of the soldiers taking part came home broken and entirely different to their old selves.

Naval warfare was far less brutal during the Great Numiran War, but it still had tragedies of its own. Autumnian folk heroes like Captain Ogroc Seafury beat back the Serenithian navy despite being both outnumbered and outgunned. They always attacked while going against the wind so that they could turn around an flee to prevent losing ships during a defeat, exponentially increasing the survival rate of Autumnian ships. Eventually the Serenithian navy was entirely crippled, and by 1625 they came to the piece tables due to the Archipelago Republics' mediation.

Modern Times (1648SE-Present)

No major wars have taken place since the early 1600s, and most competition between the nations has revolved around the economic and territorial value of the New World. Many veterans still remember the traumatizing war in Prythwyn, yet many of the now colonial governments have once again been preparing to go to war with one another. Massive navies are fielded under every nation's flag while expertly trained marines and footsoldiers have been arming themselves once again. It seems that it is only a matter of time before the next war breaks out.

You'd think the kings and queens of the world would have learned their lessons after what the hell happened a few decades back. All they had to do was sit on their thrones and read what happened, while vets like us were slaughtered like cattle. I can't ever forget the horrors those mages inflicted upon us..

— Sean West

by ggtfim

by Nathan Rosario