The Last Great War
In 1894, a period of extreme cold weather known as the Shiver gripped the world, severly cutting food production for a majority of northern nations. In response to the Shiver, Hale, Otherwhere and several other countries in the region established the Northern Economic Alliance through the signing of the Treaty of Salomere. This economic union created a brief period of prosperous international trade, boosting the wealth within this portion of the world to an extent unseen by such a vast, unified economic alliance since the time of the Ancient Fairen Empire.
Unfortunately, this period of prosperity ended on Mid Summer 12, 1898, when an Otherwhere naval vessel attacked and destroyed the HMS Brilliance -- A Halen merchant ship en route from Newfaire to deliver food supplies to nations within the Northern Economic Alliance. Within weeks, Otherwhere sailed to the western cliffs of The Verge and launced an amphibious military invasion of The Fairelands. Thus began the Second Great War.
Historians debate the exact cause of Otherwhere's aggression. Most believe Otherwhere invaded Hale to seize resources, specifically the fertile land of The Fairelands, as Otherwhere's food supply was wiped out in the early years of the Shiver. Alternatively, a small sect of Candela Obscura historians think there was another catalys for Otherwhere's aggression. They point to a single cargo manifest recovered from the wreckage of the HMS Brilliance that listed a dark gray stone structure containing a "specimen from D.S. #347." Unfortunately, the cargo manifest has since disappeared and is believed to be nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
Nevertheless, the economic treaty was broken, and Hale immediately rallied its forces to defend against the invasion. Though the primary focus of the attack was the country's breadbasket, The Fairelands, citizens from all over the country enlisted in the Halen Armed Forces (HAF).
The war lasted for six years, costing approximately 750,000 Halen lives. The deadly battles brought the front lines from the western coast of Hale right up to the edge of Newfaire. Productive harvests and other natural resources allowed the people of The Fairelands to sustain themselves throughout the grueling war. But it was a mixture of national pride, a resurgence of religious orthodoxy, and a fierce determination to reject tyranny that led citizens to sacrifice everything in the name of their loved ones, liberty, and the right to self-determination.
The discovery and harnessing of electricity, first in Newfaire and then across all of Hale, allowed the HAF to push back the colonizing forces of Otherwhere.
In the dead of night on Mid Autumn 13 1904, the Halen government deployed a highly classified experimental weapon, powered by volatile electricity, on the battlefields of Westwreck. The weapon generated a violent electrical storm that ravaged Otherwhere's forces as lightning bolts and wild electrical detonations rampaged across the battlefield. The next morning, citizens were horrified to find nothing but the charred skeletal remains of tens of thousands of Otherwhere's military forces scattered across the countryside. All of the Halen soldiers involved in this operation died in the event and there is no evidence to suggest the strange weapon survived the blast -- only rumors. Within 48 hours, Premier Mallingson received a telegram from the Prime Minister of Hale stating that Otherwhere signed an armistice to end the war. This operation is now known to the public as the Electric Event.
Following their victory, Newfaire, always a hub of immigration, suddenly flooded with war refugees, particularly those from the now-ravaged western countryside. Though the population boom was daunting for post-war infrastructure, the cultural adaptations born from this time transformed Newfaire into one of the most vibrant cities in Hale. In the three years following the war, the country has restored itself -- but like the wastes of Westwreck, tehe collective psyche is permanently chnaged. While some have adopted an electric, "live while you can" attitude, others desperately seek restitution for the loss of an entire generation to the forces of Otherwhere.
In an effort to raise spirits, encourage economic growth, and brand a reelection campaign, Premier Mallingson commemorated the lives lost and the brightening future by renaming this conflict to "the Last Great War." This now widely accepted title stands in direct opposition to the incrasing fear among Halen citizens that Otherwhere will develop electricity and sail across the sea to take the Fairelands with more modern combat weaponry. Still, the people of Hale are beginning to live less fearfully, travel more widely, and adapt to a world transformed by war, and tranformed yet again by peace.
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