Fall of the Flying Eagle Banner
The Tokgok tribes of the plains to the northwest of the Ingan Empire were unified under the banner of the Flying Eagle (Askre). However, from the very beginning, the state had been plagued by internal strife due to the shifting factions of the constituent tribes, the dynamic succession order, and the individual ambitions of the Askre clan members. The eventual fall of the Flying Eagle banner to Ingan dominion began with internal feuding within the Tokgok tribes which the Ingan Empire capitalized upon with the twin weapons of diplomacy and warfare. Initially participating via aid and diplomacy aimed to elongate and intensify the civil war, the Ingan Empire proceeded to launch a western campaign against the weakened and divided Tokgok tribes. As a consequence of the Ingan conquest, the Ingan Empire was able to open a protected land trade route to the west and expand Ingan cultural influence.
Civil War of the Askre Ke-Ni Generation
The official title of the conflict was the Civil War of the Askre Ke-Ni Generation, but later the entire affair was simply entitled the Fall of the Flying Eagle Banner.
In the 'Nro Decree on the Successor of Ketapa, Askre'nro Ketapa rejected his nephew Askre'she Ni'etu as the heir and instead tried to name Askre'she Nilu, another nephew and who had a commoner mother, as the next successor on his deathbed, flying in the face of all established rules and traditions surrounding the succession of the title of Tokgok 'nro.
Civil war quickly broke out over the succession. The Uheran Valley, as a sacred place, was a taboo place for violence, so both sides mutually agreed to vacate the capital. Nilop, the only legitimate son of Askre'nro Ketapa, was left in the capital to oversee his father's funeral and mourning rites as an agreed-upon neutral party and temporarily govern the city. As his father had not been the first son and he had plenty of older cousins, Nilop was not raised to ever expect the 'nro title. As a result, he was known to be a stoic but mild and content character, trustworthy as a neutral party uninterested in power struggles. Previously, he had served competently if unremarkably for some time as a lesser 'she under the command of his more capable cousin, Nilu, but spent most of his time in the capital.
Etu (Moon) Faction
Although Ni'etu had the more legitimate claim, his controversial political stances sympathetic to the Ingan Empire eroded his support to a core group of leaders who shared his beliefs. There were also many who did not care for Ni'etu himself, but worried deeply about the legitimacy and stability of succession, therefore offering weaker support or neutrality towards Ni'etu's faction. Ni'etu's supporters included many powerful nobles who saw him as the safer bet to maintain the status quo; they believed his policies were not so non-negotiable, and bound to mellow out once he was actually in power. All three major noble clans from the time of Askre'nro Bulah's reign backed Ni'etu at the beginning of the civil war. Lu (Lantern) Faction
There were early skirmishes between small scouting forces as both factions scrambled to organize themselves, sway regional leaders, and evaluate each other's positions. While Ni'etu prioritized the eastern regions, who had the most to benefit from a closer relationship with the Ingan Empire, Nilu headed west towards the territory he was most familiar with. Nilu's core faction constituents were loyalists to Askre'nro Ketapa and other leaders who were fundamentally opposed to Ni'etu's succession. When Askre'she Keju of the west agreed to support Nilu's claim, the civil war finally began in earnest – with the western half of the banner and a few sympathizers in the capital, Nilu had an even playing field against Ni'etu and the major nobles of the capital and the east. The military forces Keju had supplied in his support began marching east under the command of Nilu himself and Keju's younger brother, Askre'she Kekam. Ni'etu had three things working in his favor that granted him the upper hand: 1) borrowed legitimacy: firstly from Ketapa's decree, and secondly by declaring a posthumous ennoblement of his late mother in an attempt to legitimize himself as a successor; 2) his charismatic ability to appeal to the common people, promising a new chapter in a golden era that would shake up the status quo to elevate the lower classes based on merit; and critically at this stage in the war, 3) his military talent. In a major battle that threatened to be the definitive turning-of-the-tides moment, Nilu defeated a major part of Ni'etu's forces just outside the Uheran Valley, allowing Nilu to occupy the surrounding area and gaining morale for possession of the sacred site. Although Ni'etu's remaining forces continued to put up a fight, Nilu's continued advance eastward seemed inevitable.Ingan Involvement
Unbeknownst to Nilu and even to Ni'etu's allies in the capital, Ni'etu's travel eastwards was not only to rally the eastern regions to his faction. When he heard wind that Keju would not maintain neutrality, Ni'etu finalized his intention to seek the support of the Ingan Empire. The implications of this can not be understated: seeking foreign intervention in an internal conflict in this manner was equivalent to allowing foreign powers to interfere with and influence the domestic affairs of the state from thence onward. If the banner was not vassalized immediately after, it would only be a matter of time; this course of action would instantly distance what domestic support Ni'etu had. Therefore, it was kept a secret limited only to Ni'etu's closest circle of strategists.
However, Nilu's advance had outpaced Ni'etu's expectations, and when Nilu won the Battle of Uheran Valley, he also captured many high-level officials and seized the documents they hadn't managed to destroy. Included in these documents was fragments of a partially destroyed secret letter from Ni'etu intended for a person in the capital who was a secret member of Ni'etu's closest circle, under the code name Moonstone. This letter revealed his plans in the east. For two days, Nilu's faction did not act on this knowledge as they themselves struggled to believe Ni'etu would do what they considered betraying the entire banner to a foreign power. Eventually, pragmatism overtook their disbelief and they began to rapidly spread word of this to undermine Ni'etu's support.
Of course, the Etu faction was even less able to believe their leader would take such a drastic and unhonorable course of action. However, the evidence was convincing – Ni'etu was not on the frontlines leading his forces, but in an unknown location somewhere in the east, and it was too severe a claim for the Lu faction to fake without evidence. Of the three major noble clans, the Shuste and Yepi began to put brakes on their support, withdrawing their men and sending envoys eastward demanding an explanation from Ni'etu. The least influential of the three, the Muhta, continued to fight against Nilu, but by themselves weren't able to make much of a difference.
However, none of this would matter, as the Ingan Empire, which had been eying its neighbor's civil war as it unfolded, had agreed to take Ni'etu under its wing. Claiming to have no suitable marriageable princesses, the Ingan Emperor instead granted the daughter of a western Ingan duke as Ni'etu's wife to seal the alliance. With Ni'etu and other Tokgok guides who understood the geography and the culture, the Ingan forces were able to safely traverse the Eastern Tokgok Pass, and once inside swept across the plains. With ample supplies, reinforcements, and the Ingan Emperor willing to invest in western expansion, the Uheran Valley and the eastern half of the banner was occupied within three years, and officially vassalized within five.
Ni'etu died in the second year of the war in a resurgence of the old epidemic that had plagued Askre'nro Bulah's early reign two generations ago, leaving his younger brother, Nichu, to be the new 'nro installed by the Ingan Empire. His Ingan wife, who was pregnant at the time, had a son who would later be Askre'nro Yunu. The same year, Nilu died as his father did, of an infected arrow wound in the shoulder. Keju attempted to claim the 'nro title for himself and was was able to defend the western half well enough that they reached a temporary peace, with the Ingan Empire desiring to consolidate their holdings and avoid overstretching their supply lines. However, the Flying Eagle Banner was only delaying its end – within Keju's lifetime, the Ingan Empire launched a second campaign that absorbed the western half of the Plains of the Pass into their dominion.
Civil War of the Askre Ke-Ni Generation
The official title of the conflict was the Civil War of the Askre Ke-Ni Generation, but later the entire affair was simply entitled the Fall of the Flying Eagle Banner.
In the 'Nro Decree on the Successor of Ketapa, Askre'nro Ketapa rejected his nephew Askre'she Ni'etu as the heir and instead tried to name Askre'she Nilu, another nephew and who had a commoner mother, as the next successor on his deathbed, flying in the face of all established rules and traditions surrounding the succession of the title of Tokgok 'nro.
Civil war quickly broke out over the succession. The Uheran Valley, as a sacred place, was a taboo place for violence, so both sides mutually agreed to vacate the capital. Nilop, the only legitimate son of Askre'nro Ketapa, was left in the capital to oversee his father's funeral and mourning rites as an agreed-upon neutral party and temporarily govern the city. As his father had not been the first son and he had plenty of older cousins, Nilop was not raised to ever expect the 'nro title. As a result, he was known to be a stoic but mild and content character, trustworthy as a neutral party uninterested in power struggles. Previously, he had served competently if unremarkably for some time as a lesser 'she under the command of his more capable cousin, Nilu, but spent most of his time in the capital.
Etu (Moon) Faction
Although Ni'etu had the more legitimate claim, his controversial political stances sympathetic to the Ingan Empire eroded his support to a core group of leaders who shared his beliefs. There were also many who did not care for Ni'etu himself, but worried deeply about the legitimacy and stability of succession, therefore offering weaker support or neutrality towards Ni'etu's faction. Ni'etu's supporters included many powerful nobles who saw him as the safer bet to maintain the status quo; they believed his policies were not so non-negotiable, and bound to mellow out once he was actually in power. All three major noble clans from the time of Askre'nro Bulah's reign backed Ni'etu at the beginning of the civil war. Lu (Lantern) Faction
There were early skirmishes between small scouting forces as both factions scrambled to organize themselves, sway regional leaders, and evaluate each other's positions. While Ni'etu prioritized the eastern regions, who had the most to benefit from a closer relationship with the Ingan Empire, Nilu headed west towards the territory he was most familiar with. Nilu's core faction constituents were loyalists to Askre'nro Ketapa and other leaders who were fundamentally opposed to Ni'etu's succession. When Askre'she Keju of the west agreed to support Nilu's claim, the civil war finally began in earnest – with the western half of the banner and a few sympathizers in the capital, Nilu had an even playing field against Ni'etu and the major nobles of the capital and the east. The military forces Keju had supplied in his support began marching east under the command of Nilu himself and Keju's younger brother, Askre'she Kekam. Ni'etu had three things working in his favor that granted him the upper hand: 1) borrowed legitimacy: firstly from Ketapa's decree, and secondly by declaring a posthumous ennoblement of his late mother in an attempt to legitimize himself as a successor; 2) his charismatic ability to appeal to the common people, promising a new chapter in a golden era that would shake up the status quo to elevate the lower classes based on merit; and critically at this stage in the war, 3) his military talent. In a major battle that threatened to be the definitive turning-of-the-tides moment, Nilu defeated a major part of Ni'etu's forces just outside the Uheran Valley, allowing Nilu to occupy the surrounding area and gaining morale for possession of the sacred site. Although Ni'etu's remaining forces continued to put up a fight, Nilu's continued advance eastward seemed inevitable.
Ingan Involvement
Unbeknownst to Nilu and even to Ni'etu's allies in the capital, Ni'etu's travel eastwards was not only to rally the eastern regions to his faction. When he heard wind that Keju would not maintain neutrality, Ni'etu finalized his intention to seek the support of the Ingan Empire. The implications of this can not be understated: seeking foreign intervention in an internal conflict in this manner was equivalent to allowing foreign powers to interfere with and influence the domestic affairs of the state from thence onward. If the banner was not vassalized immediately after, it would only be a matter of time; this course of action would instantly distance what domestic support Ni'etu had. Therefore, it was kept a secret limited only to Ni'etu's closest circle of strategists.
However, Nilu's advance had outpaced Ni'etu's expectations, and when Nilu won the Battle of Uheran Valley, he also captured many high-level officials and seized the documents they hadn't managed to destroy. Included in these documents was fragments of a partially destroyed secret letter from Ni'etu intended for a person in the capital who was a secret member of Ni'etu's closest circle, under the code name Moonstone. This letter revealed his plans in the east. For two days, Nilu's faction did not act on this knowledge as they themselves struggled to believe Ni'etu would do what they considered betraying the entire banner to a foreign power. Eventually, pragmatism overtook their disbelief and they began to rapidly spread word of this to undermine Ni'etu's support.
Of course, the Etu faction was even less able to believe their leader would take such a drastic and unhonorable course of action. However, the evidence was convincing – Ni'etu was not on the frontlines leading his forces, but in an unknown location somewhere in the east, and it was too severe a claim for the Lu faction to fake without evidence. Of the three major noble clans, the Shuste and Yepi began to put brakes on their support, withdrawing their men and sending envoys eastward demanding an explanation from Ni'etu. The least influential of the three, the Muhta, continued to fight against Nilu, but by themselves weren't able to make much of a difference.
However, none of this would matter, as the Ingan Empire, which had been eying its neighbor's civil war as it unfolded, had agreed to take Ni'etu under its wing. Claiming to have no suitable marriageable princesses, the Ingan Emperor instead granted the daughter of a western Ingan duke as Ni'etu's wife to seal the alliance. With Ni'etu and other Tokgok guides who understood the geography and the culture, the Ingan forces were able to safely traverse the Eastern Tokgok Pass, and once inside swept across the plains. With ample supplies, reinforcements, and the Ingan Emperor willing to invest in western expansion, the Uheran Valley and the eastern half of the banner was occupied within three years, and officially vassalized within five.
Aftermath
Ni'etu died in the second year of the war in a resurgence of the old epidemic that had plagued Askre'nro Bulah's early reign two generations ago, leaving his younger brother, Nichu, to be the new 'nro installed by the Ingan Empire. His Ingan wife, who was pregnant at the time, had a son who would later be Askre'nro Yunu. The same year, Nilu died as his father did, of an infected arrow wound in the shoulder. Keju attempted to claim the 'nro title for himself and was was able to defend the western half well enough that they reached a temporary peace, with the Ingan Empire desiring to consolidate their holdings and avoid overstretching their supply lines. However, the Flying Eagle Banner was only delaying its end – within Keju's lifetime, the Ingan Empire launched a second campaign that absorbed the western half of the Plains of the Pass into their dominion.
Belligerents
Strength
Initially, the Shuste, Yepi, and Muhta clans. By the end, mostly the Ingan Empire.
Major support from Askre'she Keju.
Casualties
Objectives
Enthroning Ni'etu as 'nro.
Enthroning Nilu as 'nro.
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