The Ironwood War

"How quickly Astora descended into the violent business of their motherland. They quickly learned that anything worth building, needs to be built on blood. Whether that be your own, or your enemy's" - Carst Kolvin, Atmoran Historian
The Ironwood War was a massive conflict that raged throughout Astora for 50 years starting in AoR 398. It was fought between the newly founded country of Astora, the Dwarves of Marklund, and the ancient Ironwood Kingdom of Eldar Folk. The war would be fought by humans, dwarves, and elves in various theatres and settings, including open fields, water, and mountains.
The war was instigated by the Ironwood Kingdom in AoR 398, as the elven realm launched a pre-emptive attack on Vinheim, Astora's capital. The Ironwood Kingdom felt conflict was inevitable, as Astora had continually pushed it's borders closer to the Ironwood Forest. The fighting would continue for 50 years, with multiple massive land battles and heavy casualties for both sides. Marklund, Vinguard, Vinmaw and Arnad-Ang would see large-scale engagements.
By AoR 448, the war would come to a close with the completion of Operation Torchwood, a major Astoran military operation. Arnad-Ang, along with large portions of the Ironwood Forest, would burn. Galvaden, The Iron-King, would not surrender, instead choosing to burn alive in his citadel. The Ironwood Kingdom and the complete Ironwood Forest would quickly be annexed by Astora, with all the land and it's peoples becoming part of the young country. With the annexation complete, Astora now stood as Naneth's largest country in terms of both land area and population.

Origins of the War

In AoR 268, settlers from Atmora arrived from across Royal's Bay and quickly settled the city of Vinheim on the crossing of the Glade River. From here, Astora would be founded, a new country and a new chance for those that had grown tired of Atmora's constant focus on warfare. Being on relative and early good terms with Marklund and the Ironwood Kingdom, Astora spread exponentially across the landmass over the next century. In AoR 318, Marklund would officially join Astora, making the Ironwood Kingdom the only city-state left in the area.
By AoR 390, Astora would encompass the lands to the north and south of The Ironwood Forest and it's Kingdom. Astora would make several peaceful attempts to have the Ironwood Kingdom join the country, though to no avail. Instead, conditions between the two realms would begin to deteriorate, with Astora growing more powerful by the year, and the elves' refusal to join. Feeling war was inevitable, Galvaden, the Iron King, ordered a pre-emptive strike on Vinheim, the Ironwood Kingdom looking to cripple Astora before it had time to fully mobilize for a war. The attack would fail, and the Ironwood would be forced to retreat. The Ironwood War had begun in AoR 398.

Events

Strike on Vinheim

The pre-emptive strike on Vinheim would happen on the 21st of Sun's Song in AoR 398, just as dusk began to fall. Ironwood forces quickly arrived outside Vinheim's walls, and began to pepper the walls with arrows and hooks. The goal was to sack the city before any type of reinforcements could arrive. Once inside, The Council of Nine would be the primary target, as without leadership, Astora would likely devolve into chaos. However, Vinheim's dwarven-made walls held firm, and would continue to hold back the elven tide for several nights. The cities massive walls were built high and firm, giving even a small garrison the defense it needed against the much larger opponent.
Without the means to quickly scale the walls without having ropes cut, The Ironwood forces began to waver. They had no means of knocking through the stone, as speed and surprise had been the main components of the attack. After 4 days, large amounts of reinforcements from Vinguard had punched through to the city, successfully breaking the siege. The elves would quickly retreat back to the forest, knowing that open war was now upon them.

The Vilmyr Theatre - Battle of Marklund

By AoR 400, the Ironwood's forces had begun a large-scale raiding campaign in the area of the Vilmyr Plains. The goal was to destabilize the region, specifically the larger cities such as Marklund and Vinguard that sat close to the forest's borders. During this time, the elves would learn of Wave Echo Cave and the location of The Spell Forge. The Spell Forge had become vital to Astora's northern campaign against the Ironwood, giving the humans and dwarves access to magical weapons for use against the woodland realm.
In AoR 408, The Battle of Marklund would commence. The Ironwood committed a large force towards attacking the dwarven city, this time bringing appropriate weapons for use against high stone walls. Most notably, the Ironwood was aided by Treants of the forest, massive tree-like creatures able to hurl rocks and damage infrastructure. Though the Ironwood would commit to attempting to take the city, the battle actually held a secret secondary objective for the elves. While the main battle raged, a smaller force of Ironwood elves made their way into the Vilmyr Mountains, attempting to locate Wave Echo Cave.
They were successful, and quickly launched an attack on The Spell Forge. Because of the location's secret nature, defenses of the Forge itself were limited to a small dwarven garrison and wizards of Veth Monra. The ensuing battle took place inside the caverns beneath the Vilmyr Mountains, and ended in a massive cave-in, likely perpetrated by blasts of magic. The Spell Forge was lost to Astora. The Ironwood would fail to take Marklund, though had succeeded in it's secondary goal of cutting the humans off from magical weapons.
After the victory at Marklund, Astora began to initiate it's own objectives in the Vilmyr region, namely attempting to create footholds in the region in which to venture into the Ironwood from. Due to the dangerous nature of the missions, only elite members of Astora's military were allowed to undertake objectives towards destabilizing elven supply lines within the forest itself. Venturing into the Ironwood was extremly risky, and even with the help of Astora's best, the undertakings were rarely successful. Regardless, Astoran forces are successful enough to appease Astora's top brass, who in AoR 412, would approve a plan to infiltrate the Ironwood Forest via the Glade River.

Battle on The Glade

With Astora ready to push for Arnad-Ang and several of the Ironwood's inner-most strongholds, a plan to enter the forest via the Glade River was enacted. The operation hinged on secrecy, meaning that Astora could not make a scene by massing an army. Instead, a smaller, but elite force, was gathered on ships at the opening of the Glade River to Solo Lake. These ships would enter the Ironwood via the water, then dismount at a location known to be the closest to Arnad-Ang. Astora's advanced scouts reported little resistance, if any, and the operation went underway.
However, the operation would quickly fail, and it's objectives would rapidly change. As the first ships continued down the Glade River, they were ambushed at the site of Eldath's Embrace. Eldath's Embrace was a settlement built on the edge of the Glade, previously hidden by nature magic from the eyes of Astora's scouts. A large-scale naval and land battle erupted in the heart of the Ironwood, the largest the forest would see until the end of the war. Though surprised by the early attack, Astoran forces managed to capture Eldath's Embrace, turning the elven village into an Astoran foothold.
Astora would continue to hold Eldath's Embrace, though they'd face many attempts to re-take the settlement. With the constant pressure of attack and the difficulty of travel to the area, operations were mostly unable to launch from Eldath's Embrace. The settlement was abandoned by Astora, only a year after capture.

The Battle of Vinguard

The Ironwood Kingdom was starting to feel intense pressure on all areas surrounding the forest. For the first time, the elves had found themselves on the defensive, having to constantly defend points of entry into the Ironwood. Knowing that without change, losing the war was a certainty. This pushed Galvaden to order a full-scale invasion on Vinguard, Astora's military hub of operations. Taking the city would be a massive blow to Astora's power in the area, though it would be no small feat to do so. For Vinguard was heavily guarded, with a massive garrison manning the walls and patrols scouting the perimeter at all times. Knowing a sneak attack would almost certainly fail, The Ironwood massed a huge force, the largest seen thus far in the war. In AoR 418, in the waning days of Vespura's Eve, the Ironwood moved to annihilate Vinguard.
Though known as Astora's Military HQ, Vinguard did not have the defenses of Marklund or Vinheim. Instead, the walls were built of lumber from the Ironwood as a quick alternative to securing the city. Construction had been underway to convert the walls to stone, though it's establishment had been thoroughly interrupted by Ironwood raids on supply lines. Therefore, holding the walls against the Ironwood would be an impossibility and was seen as a last resort. Instead, Astora met the elves in open combat, among the rolling hills and tree-filled groves outside Vinguard. The early advantage went to the Ironwood, as the humans could not hope to meet the elves' ferocity in battle amongst their native grounds. The loss of life for both sides was massive, though Astora began to find themselves faltering and eventually called for a retreat back behind Vanguard's walls.
The battle seemed lost to Astora, as Vinguard's walls began to burn and crumble under the weight of the Ironwood's barrage. Though the Ironwood had the advantage in strength and numbers by this point, Astora would pull through on the strength of it's allies. For on the eve of defeat, once again, Astora would be saved by the timely intervention of Marklund and it's dwarfs. Arriving from the west, a battalion of dwarven infantry, led by Thaddeus Amberfoot, smashed into the ranks of the Ironwood, using fresh troops and dwarven-made weapons against the battle weary elves. Seeing this unfold, Astora would push beyond the walls, pinching the elves between two forces. This advantage quickly crushed the morale of the Ironwood, sending most of it's troops fleeing into the forest. Those that did not flee were killed to the last. Astora had won the day, though had seen massive casualties.
Many point to the Battle of Vinguard as the beginning of the end for the Ironwood's chances in the war. No longer did they have the strength in numbers to match against Astora in any form of open combat. Though the loss of the war was certain to many, Galvaden had become crazed at the failure of his forces at Vinguard. Instead of drawing back into the forest or even seeking peace, the Iron-King pushed his forces onwards.

The Vinmaw Massacre

In what is primarily thought as a last ditch effort, or perhaps a campaign of vengeance, Galvaden ordered his remaining forces to attack and burn Vinmaw, Astora's largest agricultural centre. It was a move that almost all of the Ironwood's generals disagreed with, but it mattered little. Galvaden could not be reasoned with, and as the Voice of the Guardians to his people, they had to obey.
The Ironwood amassed what strength they could and marched upon Vinmaw in AoR 422. They would see travel outside the Ironwood Forest before reaching their target, meaning that Astora would see the attack coming. This would prove critical, as Astora amassed a large force of cavalry upon the open fields of The Gold Plains.
As soon as Ironwood forces were sighted, mounted Astorans rushed the lines, easily punching through the tired and broken elves. The Ironwood Kingdom would not even reach the outer limits of Vinmaw, before the main force had been totally decimated, run down by Astoran chariots and cavalry. This would force the elves back into the forest for good, and the event would go down in infamy as a total massacre.

A Change of Tactics

It was now clear, even to Galvaden in his crazed state, that the broad war had been lost. The Ironwood now lay as a broken shadow of it's former glory, with most elves now fully pulled back to Arnad-Ang. Though even still, the Ironwood would not surrender, for to do so would mean the total loss of the last bastion of elfdom on Naneth. It was something Galvaden could not allow. A change of tactics was needed, something to pull Astora into a war of attrition, rather than open combat.
For even though the elven forces were greatly diminished, Astora could still not hope to enter the Ironwood proper, or even find the hidden city of Arnad-Ang. Headed by Sundumar Araleth and his "Talons", the elves began to wage guerilla warfare on Astora. They used hit and run tactics, burning rather than capturing, and always sticking to the shadow of the forest. This would case Astora nothing but grief, effectively turning supply runs and caravan trips into risky gambles upon any road close to the Ironwood.
In AoR 438, this would all come to a head with the capture and execution of Lieutenant-Colonel Fulton Escher of the Astoran military. One of Astora's top military minds, Escher had been inspecting perimeter troops near Vinguard when he was captured, tortured, and subsequently executed. This was a move by the Ironwood to attempt to dissuade Astoran forces from monitoring the forest's perimeter. However, this would backfire on the elves, as the event only served to infuriate Astora's top brass. This led to the first drafts of Operation Torchwood.

Operation Torchwood

By AoR 438, the first plans for Operation Torchwood would begin to be drafted. The plan would be drafted, rejected, re-drafted and rejected again several times over the next decade. But by AoR 446, the main objectives of the plan would be confirmed.
In a surprising gamble, Astora lifted the majority of their forces off the perimeter of The Ironwood, hoping to lure the Ironwood Kingdom into a false sense of security. Completely broken, the elves were just desperate enough to take the bait. Over the next two years, the elves would relax their constant watch on the forest's borders, instead withdrawing inward, looking to rebuild infrastructure and morale. But in return, this blinded the Ironwood to the slowly amassing Astoran force in Vinguard. The gamble had paid off, and by AoR 448, Operation Torchwood was launched.
On the 1st of Redfall, AoR 448, Operation Torchwood began. A tremendous force of Astoran infantry and dwarven war-machines entered the Ironwood Forest from Vinguard, hacking and burning all in their path. Elven settlements were not spared, and any elves that failed to flee were used as forced guides to direct the main force towards Arnad-Ang. The operation would last for over two weeks before Arnad-Ang was reached, this period of time becoming known to the elves as the "Eventide of Anguish"
With Arnad-Ang uncovered, the elves pleaded with Galvaden for surrender, though even still, the Iron-King would not bend. He fled to his citadel in the highest branch of Arnad-Ang, ordering his forces to fight til the end. Astoran forces would oblige, and moved to burn the elven woodland-city, turning it's exquisite glory into mountains of ash. Elven civilians were not to be harmed, rather captured and directed outside the forest. However, in the Ironwood's last stand, many innocents would be caught in the crossfire.
Led by Sundumar's Talons, the remaining forces of the Ironwood Kingdom fought valiantly, though in the end, would be vanquished, either killed or scattered to the trees. In Operation Torchwood's final moments, Galvaden's Citadel was lit aflame, and the Iron-King would burn alive in the inferno. So ended the Ironwood War, on the 15th of Redfall, AoR 448.

Aftermath

Annexation of The Ironwood

In the days directly after the end of the war, The Council of Nine confirmed that the Ironwood Forest, complete with it's lands and Kingdoms, would be totally annexed by Astora. The elves of the former Ironwood Kingdom would be granted citizenship in Astora, equal to any human, dwarf or other. Many elves accepted this olive branch by the Astoran Council, using it as a new lease on life. Many choose to leave the Ironwood completely, and migrated to larger cities like Vinheim or Haven. As a show of good faith, two members of The Council of Nine vacated their positions, allowing Ironwood elves to fill the vacant spots in the Pale Palace.
Of course, many elves could not bring themselves to join the country that had obliterated their former home and instead moved towards Meridian. Elves choosing this path were not hindered in any way by the Astoran government and were eagerly welcomed by their Sun-kin of the south.

Rise of the Remnants

The Ironwood War did not end without serious consequence, as many of the Ironwood's faithful could not bear to see their beloved forest in the hands of Astorans. This led to the creation of The Remnants, an illegal group of elves that swore to continue the fight against human interests in the area. It was made up primarily by leftover military forces from the Ironwood Kingdom, and many believe Sundumar Araleth to be their leader. They would begin to hit back at Astoran military outposts, supply lines, personnel and other operations, striking in the name of the Ironwood and their destroyed capital pf Arnad-Ang.
The group was constantly on the move, adopting the same tactics used late in the war by the Ironwood. Because of the group's relatively small size and lack of a home base, Astora found great difficulty in combatting them, and would soon admit that this group would likely be able to operate un-harassed to an extent, the country's only hope laying in a possible mistake from the Remnants, one that could possibly lead to the capture of Sundumar.

The Ironwood War

Date: AoR 398 - AoR 448
Place: Middle-Southern Astora
Outcome:

• Annexation of the Ironwood Kingdom by Astora
• Destruction of Arnad-Ang
• Death of Iron-King Galvaden
• Astora becomes largest country on Naneth

Combatants

Ironwood Kingdom: Unknown Numbers

• Elves of Arnad-Ang
• Ironwood Settlements
• Feyhest

Astora: Approx 10,000

• Astoran Settlers
• Marklund Dwarves

Commanders

Ironwood Kingdom:

• Galvaden, The Iron-King (Deceased)
• Sundumar Araleth
• Aymon Zumjor (Unknown)

Astora:

• The Council of Nine
• Thaddeus Amberfoot
• Fulton Escher (Deceased)

Casualties

Ironwood Kingdom: 

• Massive Losses to the Ironwood Kingdom
• Burning of Arnad-Ang
• Annexation of the Ironwood Kingdom, remaining Elves join Astora

Astora:

• Heavy Losses