Antaeran War (on-TEAR-an)

From the ashes of their arrogance, we shall forge a tempest of vengeance that shall shatter their kingdoms!"

The Antaeran War was a brutal, long, bloody war between the Antaeran Empire and their loyalists versus an alliance of many different peoples from Hrúmaî. Thousands were killed in the course of the many battles, and the continent of Iave would never be the same after its beastly events were concluded. To understand exactly how such a monumental conflict took place, you must first understand the whys.

Animosity

By the turn of the 6th millennium, The Antaeran Empire controlled almost all of Iave, leading to a ludicrously powerful state that had access to almost every resource imaginable. For some protectorates of the Empire, this was a prosperous relationship in which the Empire provided protection, order, education, and infrastructure in exchange for taxes, resource tithes, and occasional appropriations. However, for most, their relationship was of oppressor and oppressed. Religious freedoms were stripped, valuable resources were confiscated, and culture was erased.
Over the course of their rule, Antaer put down multiple rebellions of varying strengths with relative ease. One paticularly notorious 'war' was that between Antaer and
Tensions between the Antaerans and their vassals continued to simmer, but no one people could hope to take on the arcane supplemented might of the elven empire. So, for a time, they remained patient, enduring atrocities and oppression, waiting for a chance to exact justice or, if they couldn't manage that, at least revenge.

The League of Perfidy

In secret, a group of prominent Hrúmaîan scholars began to untangle to mysteries of magic by their own means. They invented wizardry and covertly began creating basic spells meant for everything from communication to mass destruction. This process mostly took place in Dusere, the Hrúmaîan province furthest from the territory (and watchful eyes) of the Antaerans.
The League of Perfidy took every precaution imaginable, learning from the mistakes of various other failed attempts at secrecy. For example, each of them wore clothing laced with kaldisarn chain, which is known to disrupt weaker surveillance spells.

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The First Victory

The simmering rebellion could not afford to fight the Empire itself with the meager resources and support they had at their disposal. So, instead of taking on the full might of an Antaeran city, they first chose one of their most staunch supporters.
A group of mages from what would soon be known as Dusere snuck their way into the tunnels hidden beneath the king's castle and began a spell they knew they would not survive. After hours of work, they completed a powerful ritual, and a colossal crack in the earth began to split open. Within moments, countless structures were destroyed, and the entire keep fell into the chasm. Hundreds, including the king and innocent servants, were killed in the issuing chaos. This caught the attention of not only the Emperor but the other vassals that had refused to commit to the cause just yet.


















I have an attack in mind in which they destroy the Royal Palace of Dusere with the Antaeran leadership inside (along with their own king and countless innocent civilians) using the aforementioned self destruction. They are zealots with an intense hatred for the Antaerans, not the "good guys" history will eventually portray them as.
The Empire at this time is on an extermination campaign versus the Kingdoms of Trienn in response to a poorly planned attack on their shores. It is going well (this same region will be known by outsiders as the Shattered Kingdoms after the war for a reason), and the empire called upon their protectorate states to wage the war against Dusere in their stead.
This goes poorly for Dusere and their western shore is taken and blockaded by the neighboring kingdom of Larendar. Effectively choking the country of food since their lands make for poor farms. Still, this was somewhat prepared for, and the wizards use their newfound abilities to continue the insurgency covertly (because I wanted guerilla wizards and more stealth spells, fight me).
Touhm, the breadbasket of the continent and the source of most of the Antaeran’s wealth, do not answer this call. They remain neutral and refuse to attack their neighboring country. They promise not to take actions against or for either side. The head general, against the wishes of the Emperor, burns the Touhmish crown jewel city of Zenith threatening to do the same to the rest of the country. This move backfires spectacularly, and Touhm bankrolls Duseran arcane research while drafting a percentage of their absurdly massive population (think China level numbers).
This finally kicks the rest of the Antaeran protectorates into gear as they realize they might actually have a chance.
Still figuring the rest out.

Conflict Type

War