The Yezic Wars

The Yezic Wars were a series of conflicts between Ayira and the Yezic tribesmen during the Glorious Age. It is disputed whether or not there were 7 or 8 of these conflicts (one of the wars was technically a continuation of another that had technically never ended). During the wars, the Yezic unified under a single ruler and attempted an invasion of Ayira, to gain control of the rich farmlands Ayira had. Each of these invasions ended in failure, and each time the Yezic were pushed back into the Zabic Desert.

The First Yezic War began in 963 BSW and ended in 961 BSW. During this war, an unnamed commander of the Yezic attempted to conquer Shoral and settle his people there. However, this soon ended in disaster, at the Battle of the Norlan. The Ayirians stood, clearly victorious.

It might have been this hubris that led to the near total collapse of the Ayirian army during the Second Yezic War. In 932 BSW, Alad Sirana, commander of the Yezic forces, led his army into Ayira to conquer the Norlan River, and to settle his people in it. He quickly razed Aeshan to the ground, and marched north. At the Battle of Shoral, Sirana overran the defenses and captured the city. Desperate to save his nation, King Ric II sent word to Eacil for aid. The Eacilians answered his call, and 15,000 Eacilian soldiers marched east.

Meanwhile, Sirana led his forces after the king, who fled to Lan'ai. A siege of the city, lasting a year, ensued. The population of the city starved, with almost a quarter dying of hunger alone. Finally, the Eacilians arrived a year later, and lifted the siege. With this, the Ayirians counterattacked and retook Shoral. Finally, at the Battle of Aeshan, Alad Sirana was slain by a stray arrow, and the Yezic retreated back into the desert.

The Third Yezic War was over almost as soon as it began. A Yezic force led by Jira Gasih was crushed outside the gates of Shoral in 899 BSW. This is where the dispute comes in, as Gasih survived the battle, went back to the Zabic Desert, and immediately began gathering new supporters. In 894 BSW, he returned with a fresh army, and decided to aim for a different target- the northern woodlands. He attacked Lan'ai first, quickly subduing it. However, unlike previous invasions, he forbade his soldiers from looting, raping, or burning anything- and punished offenders severely. After taking Lan'ai, Gasih led his forces west. However, the king of Ayira had once again sent word to Eacil, and once again the Eacilians accepted their request for support. At the Battle of the Ithin Road, Gasih was defeated and forced back to Lan'ai. He held out there for a few months, but he was eventually forced to abandon the city and return to his homeland, where he died soon after. This was the end of either the Third or Fourth Yezic War, depending one one's point of view.

To make things easier, the last Yezic War will be called the Fourth. For another hundred years, Ayira lived in peace, while the Yezic slowly built up their forces and readied for an assault on the nation. Finally, in 767 BSW, the Yezic had built up their forces, and a direct descendant of Alad Sirana, named Ikil Sirana, took control of the army. Ikil, like his ancestor, won great victories against Ayira, taking Lan'ai and Shoral by the end of 766 BSW. He then decided to skip over Aeshan and attack Kaer. The Battle of Kaer, however, was a complete disaster for Ikil, as 30,000 Eacilian soldiers had arrived to reimburse the defenders. Ikil was forced back to Shoral, where he was attacked by the Ayirian forces, led by King Vic Sithis. However, Sithis was slain in the battle, and the Yezic forces were victorious. With both sides no longer being able to attack, they fell into an uneasy peace. This lasted until 760 BSW, when Ikil was poisoned by an Ayirian assassin. With this, the remaining Yezic troops silently abandoned their holdings along the Norlan, and Ayirian troops rushed in behind them to reclaim their land. The Fifth Yezic War resulted in another victory for the Ayirians.

The Sixth Yezic War was a relatively short affair. In 701 BSW, a Yezic force attempted to capture Shoral, like they had done before. However, King Dace Sithis led them into a trap along the Norland River, nearby the city, and the Yezic forces were slaughtered at the Massacre of Shoral. Not a single Yezic soldier made it back to the desert to report their utter defeat, and another invasion did not come for another 200 years.

Both Ayira and the Yezic prepared for the next war, with Ayira building up defenses along the border of their territory and securing a constant reinforcement of Eacilian soldiers, and the Yezic increasing their numbers once more. In 554 BSW, a woman by the name of Yana (her last name was lost to history) led the Yezic on another mission to conquer Ayira. She first assaulted Shoral, taking it by the end of the year. The king was killed, but seeing as his family was in Lan'ai, they survived. Next, she set her sights on the city of Ai'tor. For half a year, her forces marched north to Ai'tor, being hampered all along the way by Ayirian guerillas. Finally, in 553 BSW, she reached Ai'tor. Laying siege to the city, the defenders surrendered after a month, and the city was hers. However, during that time, the Ayirians had struck back, reconquering Shoral, and were now marching to Ai'tor. Yana, seeing that she would be encircled by the Ayirians and approaching Eacilians, led her army in a breakout, and marched east to conquer Lan'ai. However, she lost control of all of her previous holdings, and in 550 BSW, she led her army back to the Zabic Desert. She would never return.

The final Yezic War, the Eighth (or Seventh), was a short and bloody affair, being led by Rai Tena'l. In 449 BSW, he led his soldiers against Lan'ai, hoping to complete an encirclement of Shoral and crush them in-between. However, the Battle of Lan'ai destroyed over half of his army, and although he took the city, he realized he could not hold it. After sacking it, he marched east and sacked Garik, and then marched back into the Zabic Desert, where he was probably murdered by his soldiers.

The Yezic Wars left a deep scar on the people of Ayira, and although they won every war, hundreds of thousands had to die in order for victory to be achieved. This also led to a bitter enmity between the Yzic and Ayirians, and this continues to plague both groups to this day.