The Imperial-Akshusian War
The Imperial-Akshusian war was a military conflict that lasted from 487 IA to 492 IA. The conflict was originally between the Ibrahimite kingdom and Mustarite exiles, but gradual escalation dragged the Gold Empire into the war on the side of the Ibrahimites, with most of Akshus' tribes standing against Imperial expansionism. The end result of the war was incorporation of Akshus as a province in the Gold Empire, ruled over by king Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin.
The Conflict
Prelude
In the years leading up to this conflict, king Ibrahim of Akshus had worked to achieve closer and closer diplomatic relationships with the Gold Empire.
In reaction to rumours that king Ibrahim was to give Akshus over to foreigners, Chief Dhamari Kale supported chief Musaykah Mukhtaar Mustar's claim to the throne of Upper Akshus. Supplied with warriors, mercenaries and spies, Musaykah snuck into Ælmesleóht on its most open day: the anniversary of Ibrahim and Esther's wedding and celebration of their future third child. They managed to outwit the taninite troops, who didn't suspect a thing, and took their chance. They attacked the festivites in great numbers, overwhelming the Taninites' defenses in their own city. During the festivites Ibrahim and Esther had been separated and now he fought valiantly to get to her side. Esther's guards had been overwhelmed, and she had grabbed a spear. The furious woman managed to hold back four of Musaykah's thugs with her spear, but she was shot through the gut by a bolt from Musaykah's crossbow. Ibrahim just managed to round a corner as he saw his wife pierced by bolts, before she dropped dead to the ground.
The wounded and unarmoured Ibrahim vowed vengeance, managing to get to his two sons and fleeing north with them. One of them, Ishmael, was saved by a mysterious genasi friend of Ibrahim's. War between the ibrahimites and mustarites was again a fact.
When the Gold Emperor heard the news, delivered by Ibrahim personally, a great rage overtook him. He blessed Ibrahim and his sons as the thirteenth noble family of the Gold-Empire, the house of Tanin, and bonded them with the dragons Nysqwen, Arxiros and Rhoyhtas. Ibrahim took the words "Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind" as his own. The Emperor quickly assembled an army, composed of Sceyan and Whiesian Royal Army regiments, his personal Dragon Legion and a contingent of the Devotion Legion, and joined Ibrahim on his quest to retake Ælmesleóht and punish the mustarites for attacking scions of the Gold Empire. Ibrahim and his sons, joined by Ibrahim's long-time friend duke Andreas "the Handsome" Ari, travelled ahead, wishing to quickly sate his bloodlust.
Deployment
In the beginning of the war, the mustarites held Ælmesleóht, which they sacked and damaged in the few months they controlled it. Most of the imperial forces came directly from Sceya, but the Whiesian regiments travelled through Toirecíud into Akshus and the Conquest Legion expedition came with the Imperial Navy, made a stop in A-Wacnian to gather the support of the Sea Elves, made landfall in Stillwater and then attacked the Black Marches.
As the war progressed, the tribes of Middle Akshus were brought into the war as well, along with the kaleite tribe and the githzherai. These made several warhosts in Middle Akshus, before they were pushed to the City of Towers and eventually even further south, into the Gith mountains.
As the war progressed, the tribes of Middle Akshus were brought into the war as well, along with the kaleite tribe and the githzherai. These made several warhosts in Middle Akshus, before they were pushed to the City of Towers and eventually even further south, into the Gith mountains.
Battlefield
Most of the war was fought in the deserts of Akshus, although there were also two great sieges: the sieges of Ælmesleóht and the City of Towers. The Conquest Legion expedition also fought in the Black Marches and the Gith mountains.
The Engagement
The Glassing
The first true battle in the war, Ibrahim, his two sons and duke Andreas Ari took their dragons south. They gathered a sizeable force of eamilites and taninites and followed king Musaykah to the Marid's Eye, where the rogue king had taken a sizeable portion of his warhost to subjugate the yeorites. They took their four dragons to the encampment of the army, north of the Marid's Eye, and they attacked it in the dead of night, leading a charge of fire and steel, dragons and horses. The mustarite warhost was sorely lacking in archers or artillery, so the mercenaries were slaughtered and burnt to a crisp, the fire burning so brightly that many of those who survived were blinded. After the glassing, Ibrahim and his warhost spent a couple of days looking for survivors, waiting for the Imperial army to come down, ready to lay siege to Ælmesleóht. A couple more survivors were hunted down by other ibrahimites and the whiesian cavalry, but many of those who became part of the resistance were "born" during the Glassing
The Siege of Ælmesleóht
The Siege of Ælmesleóht was a surprisingly quick affair, as Sceyan siegecraft broke the walls. The city itself fell mostly without fighting, as the citizens feared and hated their mustarite occupiers. The mustarites themselves, however, fought to the death as they knew they were dead men either way. The first wave of imperial forces took the walls and gates, and the second wave, consisting mostly of knights, took the fighting to the mustarites, slaughtering them all. Following the Siege it became clear that the kaleites had aligned themselves with the mustarites, and Ibrahim pressed for the Gold Empire to travel further south. The Emperor took stock of his army, and made sure that it was ready for the travel south through the desert and made sure that Ælmesleóht would be able to withstand a siege from the south.
The Battle of the Dunes
As the imperial army marched south, intending to conquer the city of towers, it was ambushed by the Akshusian Coalition. Warhosts from all the tribes of Akshus were part of the conflict, most of them clashing with the ibrahimite cavalry forces. This part of the battle was bloody, fierce and bitter, as both sides had once been on friendly terms but both sides had grudges to pay. The akshusian coalition was superior in number and knew the terrain better, but they were more accustomed to a hit-and-run style of guerilla warfare and had not yet acclimated themselves to the scale of war the now faced, unlike the Ibrahimite cavalry that had experience through two wars now against well-organized opponents. The akshusian coalition was disorganized and while individually fierce, they could not match the discipline and organization of the Ibrahimite forces. Another factor also put the battle decisively into the favor of the Ibrahimites: four dragons, which Ibrahim waited with commiting until the akshusians were stuck in and had no choice but to fight.
Whiesian cavalry also fought against the akshusians, but they were used to opponents they could easily overrun with their great mass and ferocity, and found the Akshusians faster and a slippery foe. The Whiesians risked running out of stamina in the fight, which would have been the deathblow to them, but Ibrahim convinced their commander to stay out of the fight and save their energy for a critical moment.
The kaleites and githzherai fought the yeorites, hoping to break them and overrun the imperial legions in the confusion. They were to be dissappointed however, as the yeorites held long enough for the legions and the Emperor himself to reinforce them, and the heavier whiesian cavalry, now reinvigorated, encircled the kaleites.
Many akshusians were killed that day, but most of the army managed to retreat as the githzherai sacrificed themselves to hold the line and let them flee. The Gold Empire had won its first major engagement against the akshusian coalition, and it had been a decisive victory. The surviving githzherai were imprisoned, but many of them managed to escape throughout the night and link up with the army with the aid of their psionic powers.
The Landing of the Conquest Legion
The Conquest Legion, under commander Allexander, landed in the Black Marches and linked up with their lizardfolk allies. With the aid of the lizardfolk they managed to conquer all the ahwarites with relative ease, as many would rather surrender than fight for their Kaleite overlords and moved to threaten the City of Towers.
The Crystal Battle
The warhost of the Akshusian Coalition moved to what they fought would be a safe position, a great camp just south of the glass desert. They had moved so far away that they would have time to regroup before the imperial infantry could catch up with them, and the Ibrahimite and whiesian cavalry were not great enough forces to defeat them on their own. They had however, not expected Ibrahim's cleverness and the tenacity of the knights. Ibrahim took the cavalry south of the camp and made a great show of being about to annihilate his enemies. The akshusians, understandably, prepared for war in that direction and expected a hard-fought victory, as they outnumbered their enemy by a sizeable margin, and they had learned to coordinate more after the Battle of the Dunes.
Then they heard the sound of armoured boots behind them. The Dragon and Devotion legions had marched through the Glass Desert's scolding warmth, an impossible feat, and were now coming down from the north. The akshusian warhost fractured, some of them only managing to escape again due to the sacrifice of the githzherai monks, holding off the knights long enough for them to flee into many smaller tribal warhosts. The akshusian coalition's army was at the end of its ropes and had almost been annihilated.
The Conquest of Middle Akshus
While the main forces of the Imperial Army made camp and tended to their wounded and gained new supplies, the Conquest of Middle Akshus began. There were several githzherai monasteries and tribal oases that needed to be conquered to ensure the army would not be attacked from behind. This task fell to the Ibrahimite and Whiesian cavalry while the Sceyans prepared for the siege of the kaleite capital, the City of Towers. It was during this conquest that the Akshusian Coalition came into its own, with bravery that was impressive but in the end foolish.
The akshusian desert tribes knew the terrain, knew where one could hide small enough warhosts and how to coordinate such warhosts over great stretches of the desert. The coalition moved like sand through the imperial fist, never being taken but leaving bloody cuts in the imperial hand. They attacked at night in small groups, raiding imperial foodstores and attacking Sceyan caravans, while provoking the Ibrahimites and Whiesians, who were not numerous enough to hold all the oases and monasteries but could not risk being spread too thinly, less Akshusian vengeance would come for them like a desert wind.
Many chieftains and akshusian heroes were made in those days, but ultimately it would not be enough. Ibrahim had no true interest in fighting the desert tribes and was annoyed with their continued resistance. He recommended to the Emperor that the Imperial Army speed to the City of Towers and take it, as it would give the Imperial army a defensible base of operations in the south, from where the Coalition's desert forces could not truly harm it. He was also convinced that the coalition would fall with the City of Towers. The Siege of the City of Towers
With its new destination chosen, the Imperial Army joined up with the Conquest Legion to lay siege to the City of Towers. Commander Allexander was here given command of the army, as the war seemed to be as good as over to the Gold-Emperor, and he had pressing matters of state in the north. Rather than wait long for the Sceyan siegeweapons to come south, which they might never do thanks to the Akshusian resistance, the Grand Commander had another idea. He sent a team of dwarf engineers with the protection of a few knights into the Azerheim-mountains to blow up a reservoar and cause the flooding of the city. The attack was timed perfectly, as many of the kaleite defenders were washed away and parts of the walls even broke. Allexander had no time for holding anything back, and sent his knights in first with support from Ibrahim and Andreas. The defenders of the City of Towers were completely annihilated by the knight charge, but chief Azamat managed to flee with his closest warriors, as githzherai protected him. With the City of Towers taken, the last phase of the war could begin. The surviving warriors of the siege were either conscripted into the ibrahimite warhost, or if they were kaleites they were sent to a new prison camp formed by the Red Order.
Conquest of the Gith mountains
With only the southern tip of Akshus left to conquer, Allexander thought the war would be over swiftly. He was to be dissappointed however, due to two factors. The gitzherai refused to give open battle, rather resorting to hit-and-run attacks on imperial fortifications and fighting out of defensive monastery-bunkers, and the non-legion portions of the imperial army proved to be unsuited to fighting in the cold climate of the Gith mountains against psionic enemies, which meant that he had to rely solely on his knights for the offensive portion of the war. So he decided on a new strategy, electing to spread the imperial army along the edge of the Gith mountains to keep the githzherai penned up in the mountains, and then slowly and methodically searching the mountains for bunkers and the Citadel. Over the course of several months, Grand Commander Allexander gathered forces in secret to attack the Citadel, summoning an airship and Conquest Knights of the Order of Thunderdrakes from Tveiharr.
All Hail the Storm
Ibrahim wished to pursue chief Azamat into the mountains after the siege of the City of Towers, but Allexander would not allow him, saying that he was too valuable to potentially waste dying to githzherai telekinetic weapons. So denied, Ibrahim decided to focus his ire on the kaleites he had captured, seeking out leadership among them and killing those he could find with links to the chieftain.
But Ibrahim, ever the statesman and warlord, knew that something had to be done to the resistance operating behind imperial lines if the war was ever to be won. So he travelled back into Middle Akshus to his own forces and the Whiesians, and took stock of the Conquest. He discovered that the Whiesians, and even a few of his own forces, had violated the sacred sanctity of the oases by drinking directly from them and displacing the people there in order to make space for their camps. Enraged at this violation of ancient akshusian rules of war, he sent the Whiesians back north, causing a political split with the Dynastos dynasty and he disciplined his own forces by having the perpetrators stripped of their horses and sent into the hands of the enemy, to beg them forgiveness, as was custom.
This move confused and frightened many, both enemies and allies, but it turned out to be the right move. The Ibrahimite army, understanding that lapses in discipline would not be tolerated, became an even more efficient fighting force, in dread and awe of the Dragon King who now commanded them, while the enemy tribes were thankful to the king that he honored their land in such a manner, especially when their new prisoners came with money to replace the crops they had destroyed. Several of these prisoners delivered messages from their king to the chieftains of the tribes, that Ibrahim would pay back two-fold anything the Whiesians had destroyed, and any lives that had been taken without provocation.
The akshusians are many things: honorable, honest and proud, but above anything else they are pragmatic. The desert maintains a fine balance between killing the idealists and the deceptive, as a fine balance is needed. When Ibrahim offered to pay them back, many wondered if perhaps a peaceful solution was not possible with the Dragon King. Some wished to continue fighting, especially those who had lost friends or family in the glassing, but many more were tired of killing their countrymen.
So when Ibrahim called the first albarlaman in Nomad's Rest in many years, many of the akshusian tribespeople came to hear him out, under the protection of the holy peace. There Ibrahim met them, and this was the first time many of them looked closely upon him. Now they were truly struck with fear and awe at this man they had once known, ascended to god-like dragonhood. The Akshusians still had their stories of the God-kings, and many of them were also marked by scales and wings, including Ibrahim's progenitor Tanin. The likeness, and the importance of it, struck many of the religious akshusians.
Ibrahim laid out to them the righteousness of his actions, how his house and home had been violated by curs and thieves in the night, and how the blood of his blood had been shed by arrows, a coward's weapon. He had fled, for he had feared the same for the rest of his blood, and the Dragon God had given him a chance at vengeance, as all born of the sands are entitled to.
He had claimed his vengeance during the glassing, as they were all guilty in part. But when he had discovered the treacherous hand of the Kaleites in this, he had continued his vengeance, for the kaleites are highriders and traitors to Akshus. He explained that he wept every time he had to kill his true countrymen, when he only desired the purple blood of the Kaleites upon his talons.
He would continue that war until the man truly responsible, Azamat Dhamari Kale, cursed be his name, was dead and his body a feast for crows. But he had other purposes as well. Ibrahim was of the line of Tanin via direct paternal blood, and through him he was a child of Alsahara, the god of fury, fire, life and battle. He was a direct descendant of the Godkings!
And could any deny this link, now that they looked upon him? Could any deny his golden scales, the holy fire that burned in his chest? A gift of the Dragongod perhaps, but only a gift of his birthright. Ibrahim would bring peace to Akshus, restore it to its former glory and make it a pious nation again, where brother would not kill brother and a person's property was safe. He would bring prosperity and safety to those who bent the knee and swore their fealty to him, by water and fire.
Those who refused he would do nothing to, provided that nothing was done unto him. But he would soon own the three most important ports out of Akshus, and anyone seeking to sell their wares there would find it difficult.
He gave the tribes a week to decide, but to consider their options carefully.
Ibrahim spent the next week politicking and making deals, alliances and promises, as he had done so many times in the past, but when the week was over he was undisputed king of Akshus. Godking, some even whispered.
But Ibrahim was something new: the first Dragonking.
The only tribe to resist his move, though some still whispered curses at him, were the Alzajites, the clergy-tribe who claimed that this was sacrilege. Besides, they had their own king of fire in secret.
Most of the tribes accepted Ibrahim as their new king, and agreed to fight alongside him against the Kaleites. As a symbol of their surrender, the chiefs of each tribe gave him their right-hand swords, which he broke and forged into a crown of victory.
Diplomatic victory
The first true battle in the war, Ibrahim, his two sons and duke Andreas Ari took their dragons south. They gathered a sizeable force of eamilites and taninites and followed king Musaykah to the Marid's Eye, where the rogue king had taken a sizeable portion of his warhost to subjugate the yeorites. They took their four dragons to the encampment of the army, north of the Marid's Eye, and they attacked it in the dead of night, leading a charge of fire and steel, dragons and horses. The mustarite warhost was sorely lacking in archers or artillery, so the mercenaries were slaughtered and burnt to a crisp, the fire burning so brightly that many of those who survived were blinded. After the glassing, Ibrahim and his warhost spent a couple of days looking for survivors, waiting for the Imperial army to come down, ready to lay siege to Ælmesleóht. A couple more survivors were hunted down by other ibrahimites and the whiesian cavalry, but many of those who became part of the resistance were "born" during the Glassing
The Siege of Ælmesleóht
The Siege of Ælmesleóht was a surprisingly quick affair, as Sceyan siegecraft broke the walls. The city itself fell mostly without fighting, as the citizens feared and hated their mustarite occupiers. The mustarites themselves, however, fought to the death as they knew they were dead men either way. The first wave of imperial forces took the walls and gates, and the second wave, consisting mostly of knights, took the fighting to the mustarites, slaughtering them all. Following the Siege it became clear that the kaleites had aligned themselves with the mustarites, and Ibrahim pressed for the Gold Empire to travel further south. The Emperor took stock of his army, and made sure that it was ready for the travel south through the desert and made sure that Ælmesleóht would be able to withstand a siege from the south.
The Battle of the Dunes
As the imperial army marched south, intending to conquer the city of towers, it was ambushed by the Akshusian Coalition. Warhosts from all the tribes of Akshus were part of the conflict, most of them clashing with the ibrahimite cavalry forces. This part of the battle was bloody, fierce and bitter, as both sides had once been on friendly terms but both sides had grudges to pay. The akshusian coalition was superior in number and knew the terrain better, but they were more accustomed to a hit-and-run style of guerilla warfare and had not yet acclimated themselves to the scale of war the now faced, unlike the Ibrahimite cavalry that had experience through two wars now against well-organized opponents. The akshusian coalition was disorganized and while individually fierce, they could not match the discipline and organization of the Ibrahimite forces. Another factor also put the battle decisively into the favor of the Ibrahimites: four dragons, which Ibrahim waited with commiting until the akshusians were stuck in and had no choice but to fight.
Whiesian cavalry also fought against the akshusians, but they were used to opponents they could easily overrun with their great mass and ferocity, and found the Akshusians faster and a slippery foe. The Whiesians risked running out of stamina in the fight, which would have been the deathblow to them, but Ibrahim convinced their commander to stay out of the fight and save their energy for a critical moment.
The kaleites and githzherai fought the yeorites, hoping to break them and overrun the imperial legions in the confusion. They were to be dissappointed however, as the yeorites held long enough for the legions and the Emperor himself to reinforce them, and the heavier whiesian cavalry, now reinvigorated, encircled the kaleites.
Many akshusians were killed that day, but most of the army managed to retreat as the githzherai sacrificed themselves to hold the line and let them flee. The Gold Empire had won its first major engagement against the akshusian coalition, and it had been a decisive victory. The surviving githzherai were imprisoned, but many of them managed to escape throughout the night and link up with the army with the aid of their psionic powers.
The Landing of the Conquest Legion
The Conquest Legion, under commander Allexander, landed in the Black Marches and linked up with their lizardfolk allies. With the aid of the lizardfolk they managed to conquer all the ahwarites with relative ease, as many would rather surrender than fight for their Kaleite overlords and moved to threaten the City of Towers.
The Crystal Battle
The warhost of the Akshusian Coalition moved to what they fought would be a safe position, a great camp just south of the glass desert. They had moved so far away that they would have time to regroup before the imperial infantry could catch up with them, and the Ibrahimite and whiesian cavalry were not great enough forces to defeat them on their own. They had however, not expected Ibrahim's cleverness and the tenacity of the knights. Ibrahim took the cavalry south of the camp and made a great show of being about to annihilate his enemies. The akshusians, understandably, prepared for war in that direction and expected a hard-fought victory, as they outnumbered their enemy by a sizeable margin, and they had learned to coordinate more after the Battle of the Dunes.
Then they heard the sound of armoured boots behind them. The Dragon and Devotion legions had marched through the Glass Desert's scolding warmth, an impossible feat, and were now coming down from the north. The akshusian warhost fractured, some of them only managing to escape again due to the sacrifice of the githzherai monks, holding off the knights long enough for them to flee into many smaller tribal warhosts. The akshusian coalition's army was at the end of its ropes and had almost been annihilated.
The Conquest of Middle Akshus
While the main forces of the Imperial Army made camp and tended to their wounded and gained new supplies, the Conquest of Middle Akshus began. There were several githzherai monasteries and tribal oases that needed to be conquered to ensure the army would not be attacked from behind. This task fell to the Ibrahimite and Whiesian cavalry while the Sceyans prepared for the siege of the kaleite capital, the City of Towers. It was during this conquest that the Akshusian Coalition came into its own, with bravery that was impressive but in the end foolish.
The akshusian desert tribes knew the terrain, knew where one could hide small enough warhosts and how to coordinate such warhosts over great stretches of the desert. The coalition moved like sand through the imperial fist, never being taken but leaving bloody cuts in the imperial hand. They attacked at night in small groups, raiding imperial foodstores and attacking Sceyan caravans, while provoking the Ibrahimites and Whiesians, who were not numerous enough to hold all the oases and monasteries but could not risk being spread too thinly, less Akshusian vengeance would come for them like a desert wind.
Many chieftains and akshusian heroes were made in those days, but ultimately it would not be enough. Ibrahim had no true interest in fighting the desert tribes and was annoyed with their continued resistance. He recommended to the Emperor that the Imperial Army speed to the City of Towers and take it, as it would give the Imperial army a defensible base of operations in the south, from where the Coalition's desert forces could not truly harm it. He was also convinced that the coalition would fall with the City of Towers. The Siege of the City of Towers
With its new destination chosen, the Imperial Army joined up with the Conquest Legion to lay siege to the City of Towers. Commander Allexander was here given command of the army, as the war seemed to be as good as over to the Gold-Emperor, and he had pressing matters of state in the north. Rather than wait long for the Sceyan siegeweapons to come south, which they might never do thanks to the Akshusian resistance, the Grand Commander had another idea. He sent a team of dwarf engineers with the protection of a few knights into the Azerheim-mountains to blow up a reservoar and cause the flooding of the city. The attack was timed perfectly, as many of the kaleite defenders were washed away and parts of the walls even broke. Allexander had no time for holding anything back, and sent his knights in first with support from Ibrahim and Andreas. The defenders of the City of Towers were completely annihilated by the knight charge, but chief Azamat managed to flee with his closest warriors, as githzherai protected him. With the City of Towers taken, the last phase of the war could begin. The surviving warriors of the siege were either conscripted into the ibrahimite warhost, or if they were kaleites they were sent to a new prison camp formed by the Red Order.
Conquest of the Gith mountains
With only the southern tip of Akshus left to conquer, Allexander thought the war would be over swiftly. He was to be dissappointed however, due to two factors. The gitzherai refused to give open battle, rather resorting to hit-and-run attacks on imperial fortifications and fighting out of defensive monastery-bunkers, and the non-legion portions of the imperial army proved to be unsuited to fighting in the cold climate of the Gith mountains against psionic enemies, which meant that he had to rely solely on his knights for the offensive portion of the war. So he decided on a new strategy, electing to spread the imperial army along the edge of the Gith mountains to keep the githzherai penned up in the mountains, and then slowly and methodically searching the mountains for bunkers and the Citadel. Over the course of several months, Grand Commander Allexander gathered forces in secret to attack the Citadel, summoning an airship and Conquest Knights of the Order of Thunderdrakes from Tveiharr.
All Hail the Storm
Ibrahim wished to pursue chief Azamat into the mountains after the siege of the City of Towers, but Allexander would not allow him, saying that he was too valuable to potentially waste dying to githzherai telekinetic weapons. So denied, Ibrahim decided to focus his ire on the kaleites he had captured, seeking out leadership among them and killing those he could find with links to the chieftain.
But Ibrahim, ever the statesman and warlord, knew that something had to be done to the resistance operating behind imperial lines if the war was ever to be won. So he travelled back into Middle Akshus to his own forces and the Whiesians, and took stock of the Conquest. He discovered that the Whiesians, and even a few of his own forces, had violated the sacred sanctity of the oases by drinking directly from them and displacing the people there in order to make space for their camps. Enraged at this violation of ancient akshusian rules of war, he sent the Whiesians back north, causing a political split with the Dynastos dynasty and he disciplined his own forces by having the perpetrators stripped of their horses and sent into the hands of the enemy, to beg them forgiveness, as was custom.
This move confused and frightened many, both enemies and allies, but it turned out to be the right move. The Ibrahimite army, understanding that lapses in discipline would not be tolerated, became an even more efficient fighting force, in dread and awe of the Dragon King who now commanded them, while the enemy tribes were thankful to the king that he honored their land in such a manner, especially when their new prisoners came with money to replace the crops they had destroyed. Several of these prisoners delivered messages from their king to the chieftains of the tribes, that Ibrahim would pay back two-fold anything the Whiesians had destroyed, and any lives that had been taken without provocation.
The akshusians are many things: honorable, honest and proud, but above anything else they are pragmatic. The desert maintains a fine balance between killing the idealists and the deceptive, as a fine balance is needed. When Ibrahim offered to pay them back, many wondered if perhaps a peaceful solution was not possible with the Dragon King. Some wished to continue fighting, especially those who had lost friends or family in the glassing, but many more were tired of killing their countrymen.
So when Ibrahim called the first albarlaman in Nomad's Rest in many years, many of the akshusian tribespeople came to hear him out, under the protection of the holy peace. There Ibrahim met them, and this was the first time many of them looked closely upon him. Now they were truly struck with fear and awe at this man they had once known, ascended to god-like dragonhood. The Akshusians still had their stories of the God-kings, and many of them were also marked by scales and wings, including Ibrahim's progenitor Tanin. The likeness, and the importance of it, struck many of the religious akshusians.
Ibrahim laid out to them the righteousness of his actions, how his house and home had been violated by curs and thieves in the night, and how the blood of his blood had been shed by arrows, a coward's weapon. He had fled, for he had feared the same for the rest of his blood, and the Dragon God had given him a chance at vengeance, as all born of the sands are entitled to.
He had claimed his vengeance during the glassing, as they were all guilty in part. But when he had discovered the treacherous hand of the Kaleites in this, he had continued his vengeance, for the kaleites are highriders and traitors to Akshus. He explained that he wept every time he had to kill his true countrymen, when he only desired the purple blood of the Kaleites upon his talons.
He would continue that war until the man truly responsible, Azamat Dhamari Kale, cursed be his name, was dead and his body a feast for crows. But he had other purposes as well. Ibrahim was of the line of Tanin via direct paternal blood, and through him he was a child of Alsahara, the god of fury, fire, life and battle. He was a direct descendant of the Godkings!
And could any deny this link, now that they looked upon him? Could any deny his golden scales, the holy fire that burned in his chest? A gift of the Dragongod perhaps, but only a gift of his birthright. Ibrahim would bring peace to Akshus, restore it to its former glory and make it a pious nation again, where brother would not kill brother and a person's property was safe. He would bring prosperity and safety to those who bent the knee and swore their fealty to him, by water and fire.
Those who refused he would do nothing to, provided that nothing was done unto him. But he would soon own the three most important ports out of Akshus, and anyone seeking to sell their wares there would find it difficult.
He gave the tribes a week to decide, but to consider their options carefully.
Ibrahim spent the next week politicking and making deals, alliances and promises, as he had done so many times in the past, but when the week was over he was undisputed king of Akshus. Godking, some even whispered.
But Ibrahim was something new: the first Dragonking.
The only tribe to resist his move, though some still whispered curses at him, were the Alzajites, the clergy-tribe who claimed that this was sacrilege. Besides, they had their own king of fire in secret.
Most of the tribes accepted Ibrahim as their new king, and agreed to fight alongside him against the Kaleites. As a symbol of their surrender, the chiefs of each tribe gave him their right-hand swords, which he broke and forged into a crown of victory.
Diplomatic victory
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
The 4th of Ioth, 487 Imperial Age
Ending Date
14th of Fire, 492 Imperial Age
Maps
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Akshus
Belligerents
Strength
Ibrahimites
The main force of the Gold Empire in Akshus are the ibrahimites, the local warriors aligned with king Ibrahim. The most important ones of these were the desert nomad warriors, who carried much of the fighting and instructed the whiesian cavalry in desert tactics. The other group of these were the yeorite infantrymen, who formed the bulk of the army on the march south to the City of Towers. The yeorites held against their mounted counterparts of the alzajites and ihtrakites during the Battle of the Dunes long enough for the Emperor and the Dragon Legion to surround them and completely rout them. The ibahimites also include Ibrahim and his sons, with their dragons. His two sons haven't been part of the war since the Siege of Ælmesleóht, but they used their dragons to brutal effect during the Glassing and the siege. Ibrahim himself commands his taninite cavalry from the back of Nysqwen, which he has done with great effect in every single engagement.
Sceyan Noble Levy
The Sceyans, with their penchant for siegecraft and close-quarters fighting, have made their mark on the war during the sieges and occupations of the two great cities of Akshus, but not so much elsewhere. It was Sceyan artillery that broke the walls of Ælmesleóht, Sceyan fireboats that broke through the watergates and Sceyan explosives that caused the flooding that allowed the empire to take the City of Towers. The Sceyans were left behind during the great desert marches, and serve under the Copper Church as occupation forces in the cities to keep the peace. The Sceyans have also sent the brother of their king, prince Andreas Ari, to support and advise Ibrahim. He and his dragon, Dremphathan, have mostly commanded the yeorites but have also fought alongside Ibrahim.
Whiesian Noble Levy
The cavalry of Whiesia were a great addition to the imperial army, as they were the only army with speed that could match the speed of the local akshusians. They have accredited themselves well in all the conflicts they were part of, which were just about all of them. They came to Ibrahim's assistance with hunting down mercenaries following the Glassing, they took the western Watergate during the Siege of Ælmesleóht, they harassed the flanks of and broke several tribes during the Battle of the Dunes and they were a part of Ibrahim's distraction force during the Battle of the Crystal. After the siege of the City of Towers, they were sent home. They were led by Polystratos and his dragon Epiacmir.
The Red Order
The Red Order didn't serve much in the early parts of the war, but professor Winter has travelled south with a group of eisenmensch and orc mercenaries from the Wasteland to gather intelligence on the nature of the Citadel and the psionic potential of the akshusians. The Red Order holds the eastern flanks against githzherai incursions and are working on ways to destroy the Citadel.
The Azerfolk
The Gold-Emperor's dwarf allies from Azerheim, the azerfolk aided in the siege of Ælmesleóht by supporting the Sceyans when they made their siege engines in the Azerheim forrest and took the Eastern Water gate. After this war they began making their home in Azerheim, and left the war as active combatants.
The Lizardfolk The Lizardfolk of the Black Marches had aligned themselves with the Gold Empire after meeting with Fader Peder and had converted to the faith of Aurathear Darastrix. When Commander Allexander of the Conquest Legion landed in the Black Marches, he quickly found that they were competent fighters and willing to ally with the empire. They served as guides and auxiliary forces to the Conquest Legion, and aided them in subjugating the ahwarites. They also fought during the siege of the City of Towers, and now they hold the western flank against the githzherai together with the Devotion Legion, and also protect ships and supply-lines running through the Black Marches.
The Devotion Legion
The knights of the Devotion Legion are mostly taken from the Sceyan fortress-monasteries, and they are led by Commander Johannes. They have been instrumental in virtually all the battles of the war and a lynchpin of imperial tactics and strategy in the region. They were responsible for the thickest fighting in both sieges and the taking of numerous githzherai monasteries. Wherever the line would falter, they came and held the line in the face of both akshusian cavalry and githzherai assaults. Their most impressive feat was during the Crystal Battle, where they marched through the Glass Desert to attack the akshusians in the rear.
The Conquest Legion
The Conquest Legion was the only group purposefully drawn for this war, as the Gold-Emperor recognized the opportunity for attacking Akshus from another flank. Commander Allexander took a group of knights and travelled to A-Wacnian with the Imperial Navy, where he took a number of Sea Elf ships as auxiliary as was promised. They landed in Stillwater, which welcomed them due to the efforts of Dragon Church missionaries and hatred towards the kaleites. Allexander then landed with his forces in the Black Marches, which he took with the aid of the local Lizardfolk. It was Allexander's idea of engineering a flooding that lead to the quick siege of the City of Towes, and today he commands the war-effort against the githzherai as Grand Commander Allexander. His Conquest Knights frequently attack into the Gith mountains, slowly but steadily burning the githzherai out of their bunkers and coming closer and closer to finding the citadel.
The Dragon Legion
The Dragon Legion is the Gold-Emperor's unit of bodyguard and his private army which he personally commands. The Gold-Emperor served as supreme commander during the beginning of the war, and it is by his strategy that the Empire have come very near final victory. His strategem allowed the empire to quickly and easily take Ælmesleóht, and his charisma won over several key allies. He also commanded the greatest battle of the war, the Battle of the Dunes, and ensured that what was supposed to be an ambush on a disorriented imperial force became a decisive imperial victory. His Dragon Legion also swung the tide of the Battle of the Dunes and were responsible for most kills of githzherai monks during the Crystal Battle.
The main force of the Gold Empire in Akshus are the ibrahimites, the local warriors aligned with king Ibrahim. The most important ones of these were the desert nomad warriors, who carried much of the fighting and instructed the whiesian cavalry in desert tactics. The other group of these were the yeorite infantrymen, who formed the bulk of the army on the march south to the City of Towers. The yeorites held against their mounted counterparts of the alzajites and ihtrakites during the Battle of the Dunes long enough for the Emperor and the Dragon Legion to surround them and completely rout them. The ibahimites also include Ibrahim and his sons, with their dragons. His two sons haven't been part of the war since the Siege of Ælmesleóht, but they used their dragons to brutal effect during the Glassing and the siege. Ibrahim himself commands his taninite cavalry from the back of Nysqwen, which he has done with great effect in every single engagement.
Sceyan Noble Levy
The Sceyans, with their penchant for siegecraft and close-quarters fighting, have made their mark on the war during the sieges and occupations of the two great cities of Akshus, but not so much elsewhere. It was Sceyan artillery that broke the walls of Ælmesleóht, Sceyan fireboats that broke through the watergates and Sceyan explosives that caused the flooding that allowed the empire to take the City of Towers. The Sceyans were left behind during the great desert marches, and serve under the Copper Church as occupation forces in the cities to keep the peace. The Sceyans have also sent the brother of their king, prince Andreas Ari, to support and advise Ibrahim. He and his dragon, Dremphathan, have mostly commanded the yeorites but have also fought alongside Ibrahim.
Whiesian Noble Levy
The cavalry of Whiesia were a great addition to the imperial army, as they were the only army with speed that could match the speed of the local akshusians. They have accredited themselves well in all the conflicts they were part of, which were just about all of them. They came to Ibrahim's assistance with hunting down mercenaries following the Glassing, they took the western Watergate during the Siege of Ælmesleóht, they harassed the flanks of and broke several tribes during the Battle of the Dunes and they were a part of Ibrahim's distraction force during the Battle of the Crystal. After the siege of the City of Towers, they were sent home. They were led by Polystratos and his dragon Epiacmir.
The Red Order
The Red Order didn't serve much in the early parts of the war, but professor Winter has travelled south with a group of eisenmensch and orc mercenaries from the Wasteland to gather intelligence on the nature of the Citadel and the psionic potential of the akshusians. The Red Order holds the eastern flanks against githzherai incursions and are working on ways to destroy the Citadel.
The Azerfolk
The Gold-Emperor's dwarf allies from Azerheim, the azerfolk aided in the siege of Ælmesleóht by supporting the Sceyans when they made their siege engines in the Azerheim forrest and took the Eastern Water gate. After this war they began making their home in Azerheim, and left the war as active combatants.
The Lizardfolk The Lizardfolk of the Black Marches had aligned themselves with the Gold Empire after meeting with Fader Peder and had converted to the faith of Aurathear Darastrix. When Commander Allexander of the Conquest Legion landed in the Black Marches, he quickly found that they were competent fighters and willing to ally with the empire. They served as guides and auxiliary forces to the Conquest Legion, and aided them in subjugating the ahwarites. They also fought during the siege of the City of Towers, and now they hold the western flank against the githzherai together with the Devotion Legion, and also protect ships and supply-lines running through the Black Marches.
The Devotion Legion
The knights of the Devotion Legion are mostly taken from the Sceyan fortress-monasteries, and they are led by Commander Johannes. They have been instrumental in virtually all the battles of the war and a lynchpin of imperial tactics and strategy in the region. They were responsible for the thickest fighting in both sieges and the taking of numerous githzherai monasteries. Wherever the line would falter, they came and held the line in the face of both akshusian cavalry and githzherai assaults. Their most impressive feat was during the Crystal Battle, where they marched through the Glass Desert to attack the akshusians in the rear.
The Conquest Legion
The Conquest Legion was the only group purposefully drawn for this war, as the Gold-Emperor recognized the opportunity for attacking Akshus from another flank. Commander Allexander took a group of knights and travelled to A-Wacnian with the Imperial Navy, where he took a number of Sea Elf ships as auxiliary as was promised. They landed in Stillwater, which welcomed them due to the efforts of Dragon Church missionaries and hatred towards the kaleites. Allexander then landed with his forces in the Black Marches, which he took with the aid of the local Lizardfolk. It was Allexander's idea of engineering a flooding that lead to the quick siege of the City of Towes, and today he commands the war-effort against the githzherai as Grand Commander Allexander. His Conquest Knights frequently attack into the Gith mountains, slowly but steadily burning the githzherai out of their bunkers and coming closer and closer to finding the citadel.
The Dragon Legion
The Dragon Legion is the Gold-Emperor's unit of bodyguard and his private army which he personally commands. The Gold-Emperor served as supreme commander during the beginning of the war, and it is by his strategy that the Empire have come very near final victory. His strategem allowed the empire to quickly and easily take Ælmesleóht, and his charisma won over several key allies. He also commanded the greatest battle of the war, the Battle of the Dunes, and ensured that what was supposed to be an ambush on a disorriented imperial force became a decisive imperial victory. His Dragon Legion also swung the tide of the Battle of the Dunes and were responsible for most kills of githzherai monks during the Crystal Battle.
Casualties
Objectives
In the start of the war, the Gold Empire intended to retake Upper Akshus for Ibrahim and finally incorporate it into the Empire. When it became clear that it was the kaleites who had supported the mustarite claim for Ælmesleóht, Ibrahim was filled with terrible anger and convinced the Emperor to send his army south to conquer the treacherous and dangerous kaleites. The Emperor agreed, and now the empire fights for total domination over Akshus.
Akshusian Coalition
Led by
Strength
Middle Akshusian Tribes
The Middle Akshusian tribes, with their warhosts of desert cavalry, formed the majority of the Akshusian Coalition's forces. Mercenaries from these tribes helped take Ælmesleóht in the start of the war, and they fought in both the Battle of the Dunes and the Crystal Battle, where they were defeated and spread to the winds. Today most of these have surrendered and joined the army of the Ibrahimites. Some however have fled and are now refugees in the Prophet's Gambit or Ælmesleóht, and a few now terrorize the countryside as bandits and terrorists.
The Kaleites
The most powerful akshusian tribe, the Kaleites, formed the core of the coalition's army. With their heavier cavalry and well-trained infantrymen they formed a static core the rest of the army could work around. They fought in the Battle of the Dunes, the Crystal Battle and the Siege of the City of Towers, and they were defeated at every turn, mostly by the superior imperial knights. Most of these surrendered to Grand Commander Allexander after the siege and were interred into prison camps under the Red Order. The kaleite king himself escaped into the Gith mountains with his most loyal warriors, where he now tries to organize the anti-imperial resistance.
The Githzherai Monks
The githzherai monks supported king Ibrahim in the start of the war, but once it became clear that he intended to conquer Akshus for the empire and depose the kaleites, they were honour-bound to aid the Akshusian Coalition. The monks in monasteries around Akshus quickly joined Akshusian warhosts and began travelling together. Their first big engagement was in the Battle of the Dunes, where they were the most terrifying foe of the empire, rivalling the knights in strength and prowess. They could not win the day single-handedly, and were pushed back. They also fought in the Crystal Battle, where they held the line long enough for many of the kaleites to flee. They also performed a similar role in the Siege of the City of Towers. Many of their monasteries were conquered by knights in lesser engagements, where the monks also proved their martial ability. Many of the monks were taken alive and are now held in cells in the City of Towers and in the prison camp of the Red Order. The githzherai are the only serious threat remaning in Akshus, as they still have many surviving monks in the gith mountains fighting a guerilla war against the empire and they have yet to commit the Citadel.
The Middle Akshusian tribes, with their warhosts of desert cavalry, formed the majority of the Akshusian Coalition's forces. Mercenaries from these tribes helped take Ælmesleóht in the start of the war, and they fought in both the Battle of the Dunes and the Crystal Battle, where they were defeated and spread to the winds. Today most of these have surrendered and joined the army of the Ibrahimites. Some however have fled and are now refugees in the Prophet's Gambit or Ælmesleóht, and a few now terrorize the countryside as bandits and terrorists.
The Kaleites
The most powerful akshusian tribe, the Kaleites, formed the core of the coalition's army. With their heavier cavalry and well-trained infantrymen they formed a static core the rest of the army could work around. They fought in the Battle of the Dunes, the Crystal Battle and the Siege of the City of Towers, and they were defeated at every turn, mostly by the superior imperial knights. Most of these surrendered to Grand Commander Allexander after the siege and were interred into prison camps under the Red Order. The kaleite king himself escaped into the Gith mountains with his most loyal warriors, where he now tries to organize the anti-imperial resistance.
The Githzherai Monks
The githzherai monks supported king Ibrahim in the start of the war, but once it became clear that he intended to conquer Akshus for the empire and depose the kaleites, they were honour-bound to aid the Akshusian Coalition. The monks in monasteries around Akshus quickly joined Akshusian warhosts and began travelling together. Their first big engagement was in the Battle of the Dunes, where they were the most terrifying foe of the empire, rivalling the knights in strength and prowess. They could not win the day single-handedly, and were pushed back. They also fought in the Crystal Battle, where they held the line long enough for many of the kaleites to flee. They also performed a similar role in the Siege of the City of Towers. Many of their monasteries were conquered by knights in lesser engagements, where the monks also proved their martial ability. Many of the monks were taken alive and are now held in cells in the City of Towers and in the prison camp of the Red Order. The githzherai are the only serious threat remaning in Akshus, as they still have many surviving monks in the gith mountains fighting a guerilla war against the empire and they have yet to commit the Citadel.
Casualties
Objectives
The Middle Akshusian tribes were given a casus belli when Ibrahim killed all their mercenary kin in the glassing, and when the Imperial invasion force travelled south to depose and conquer the kaleites, the king of the kaleites managed to convince the tribes to ally with him against the Gold Empire. Their objective was thus to repel the invasion and maintain their independence.
At this point in the war, however, such a hope seems far-fetched. The rebels who still fight continue on for their independence, but perhaps more so because they fear imperial judgement. The githzherai continue the struggle as they are bound by their promise to the akshusians, and have seen the atrocities commited by imperial hands.
At this point in the war, however, such a hope seems far-fetched. The rebels who still fight continue on for their independence, but perhaps more so because they fear imperial judgement. The githzherai continue the struggle as they are bound by their promise to the akshusians, and have seen the atrocities commited by imperial hands.
Strength
The Church of the Starchildren is a mysterious new faction that has entered the fray. Imperial records have no idea how many they are, but it seems likely that they are one of the rebel factions that have appeared. They display strange empowered psionic abilities and use advanced technology likely looted from old ilithid ruins. So far they have mostly been involved in raids upon yeorite settlements and the occasional attack in Ælmesleóht, but their powers mean that it would be unwise to ignore them.
Casualties
The Church of the Starchildren have lost several facilities and operatives to the efforts of Theowulf and the Owls, with their biggest losses being the loss of an underwater research base in Ælmesleóht and an excavation over an illithid storage facility for a Void Worm, but so far they have not lost any essential facilities to their operation.
Objectives
As far as we have been able to determine, they seek to upset imperial order and recruit disenfranchised aksusian refugees for their growing army. We must root them out quickly, before they grow too much in power.
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