The Fire Wars

The Z'hratian Engineering Coalition  has, throughout history, developed a reputation for being careless and unethical inventors. On occasion, leaders have been found shirking basic safety regulations, testing inventions on guildless civilians, and often installing prototypes instead of final products so they can hurry to finish their "boring" infrastructure tasks.
Prior to the Treaty of 241st Street, one of the primary responsibilities of the Sentinels of Thunder was to serve as disaster relief, putting out fires and pulling people out of collapsed apartment buildings. As such, this put them greatly at odds with the ZEC.
The Fire Wars are a series of twenty small-scale armed conflicts between these two guilds, each of which was kicked off by some sort of mass tragedy. This period only ended due to the Serpentine War in 2493, when both guilds had to band together and face a greater threat to Z'hrat.
Only in recent years has it been uncovered that the source of most of these incidents was actually Brimstone's League of Visual and Performing Artists, who found the resulting conflicts both "funny" and "politically convenient." No formal apology has ever been issued by any of the parties involved.

The Conflict

Prelude

Most of these battles began with some kind of fiery explosion, although two were kicked off by structural collapses, five by massive fires thought to have been caused by poor wiring, and one by a flood due to a waterline break.

Deployment

Each incident saw the Sentinels deployed as aid and damage control; however, during the first incident, the Sentinels decided to retaliate for the explosion in the city, even though this was outside their jurisdiction. Due to what was perceived as an unjust overreaction, the ZEC would then deploy their own "shock troops" (the ZEC's guards, armed with lightning cannons) and any engineers looking to test new weaponry.

Battlefield

These conflicts took place at and near the incident sites, most of which were within First or Fifth District. Both sides acted very carefully to prevent further civilian casualties.

Outcome

• The Sentinels provide disaster relief to guildless civilians.
• ZEC casualties slowed down the rebuilding process after each conflict.
• The creation of the ZEC's Arms and Armor R&D Department, which accelerated the development of new defense technology.
• Many people in the region now could buy, or build their own, handheld lightning cannon. This caused even further resentment from the Sentinels, who are also responsible for policing and peacekeeping.

Aftermath

• The Treaty of 241st Street removed disaster relief from the Sentinels' list of duties, and instead mandated that each guild provide their own firefighters and disaster relief agencies to their neighborhood. Also, each ZEC neighborhood is required to have twice as many firefighters as the other guilds' neighborhoods.
• The Treaty also outlawed lightning cannons for the guildless, and for guilded noncombatants.
• Most of the people involved or affected by the Fire Wars have since died, but even to this day, elderly and conservative members of both groups tend to strongly dislike the other group.

Conflict Type

Skirmish

Battlefield Type

Urban

Start Date

1001

Ending Date

2300

Belligerents

The Sentinels of Thunder

Led by

Strength

• larger numbers
• better training, more combat experience
• skilled leaders

Casualties

Objectives

• Put out any fires and provide disaster relief.
• Crush any ZEC counteroffensive.

The Z'hratian Engineering Coalition

Led by

Strength

• desperate self-defense
• better technology

Casualties

Objectives

• Force the Sentinels to retreat from the neighborhood.

Brimstone's League of Performing Artists

Led by

Strength

• stealth

Casualties

Objectives

• lol, lmao