The Rise of the Thraxan Empire
A series of conflicts which established The Thraxan Empire as the dominant human force on Bandoor, and on Timor as a whole.
Emperor Nero Thrax I was one of many kings on the continent of Bandoor, leading his small province of the world from the city of Nemi Port (now High Bastion). His ambition was great however, and through the influence of the elves he set out on a great conquest of the continent, in an effort to bring the humans of the world together into a great empire to rival the elves, dwarves and dragonborn who he so greatly envied.
The rise of the Thraxan empire was a series of conflicts and diplomatic missions spanning 58 years which brought about their dominance on the continent of Bandoor. It led directly into The Surdonian War, and the establishment of The Thraxan Empire.
The Conflict
Prelude
While the Thrax family were for some time the second strongest of all the great families of Bandoor, they found their power limited. Any meaningful collaboration or even military campaign required endless diplomacy and consent from the surrounding lords so as not to infringe on their interests. Lord Madovar Thrax, the father of Nero Thrax I, found this to be incredibly tedious and found that his families interests were not being advanced.
The elves across the water in Alvas, picked this oppertunity to introduce themselves to the young lord. They cultivated his ambition, and subtly offered their help in any future efforts.
Eventually, Madovar along with his closest friend and ally, the nearby Lord Grimfor Batur, approached the strongest lord in the continent - Lord Kelvin Lawrence - with a proposal of a united human republic in Bandoor.
The Grimfor and Madovar were rebuffed infront of Lord Lawrence's entire court, and were publically humiliated by the cocky old Lord. They turned away and returned to their homes, only to return one week later and quickly raze the city and execute Lord Lawrence himself. Thus began the rise of the Empire.
Deployment
Madovar Thrax began his conquest of the continent after the death of Lord Lawrence, with Grimfor Batur as his loyal right hand man. Over the following years, the two burned across the continent, and brought the other lords into line either through force, or diplomacy (with the threat of force overhanging it). The conquest overall took many years, and some managed to muster small amounts of resistance, but infighting among the other lords always limited it, when contrasted to the absolute rule and resultant unity of the forces of Madovar Thrax.
Battlefield
Battles raged across the continent, through the forests of the Bandoori coasts, to the frigid north, to the mountains to the south east. Towns were sacked and cities sieged. A grand navy was built and the islands around the continent were also brought into line, strengthening their grip on the seas.
The Engagement
One by one, each province and Lord was brought into line, one way or another, and Lord Grimfor Batur gladly fought in the name of Madovar Thrax.
Most of the conquest was limted to human civilisations. In a hugely controversial move, Madovar's nephew Bastor led an army into Korosk in an attempt to conquer the Dwarven lands, despite being expressly forbidden in doing so by both Madovar and the elves who were helping to advise him.
This invasion was summarily destroyed in a matter of days, with King Volshek Korosk leading a coalition of dwarves, gnomes and halflings and killing Bastor in single combat with ease. Envoys from the humans and elves travelled to Koyevo to make peace with the dwarves, but Volshek shrugged it off as 'a little scrap', much to the embarrassment of both the elves and humans.
Eventually, many of the annexed lands accepted their new overlords, and were happy to have their weak leaders replaced by the powerful new order. The empire grew as did its heroic generals. Lord Madovar's son, Nero Thrax (soon to become Emperor Nero Thrax I), became a general of much renown.
During an assault on Drem, the castle of Lord Astar in the south eastern mountains of Bandoor and the location of the continent's only magic school at the time, Lord Madovar was killed by the wizard Ponifor, who then used her immense power to repel the invasion. It was the only battle Madovar lost, and it cost him his life at the age of 67, in the year 1741, 21 years after his war started. His son would return the following year and successfully capture the city, but could not take his revenge when Ponifor was nowhere to be found.
Almost immediately, Nero Thrax was pronounced as his successor and the first Emperor, who finished his father's work over the course of the following years. Through his years in charge, Nero oversaw an increase in Elven support for the Empire. At the beginning of the war they took a strictly advisory role, but this escalated to providing arms and then in some small capacity, even actual troops.
Their conquest raged for 58 years, until the Imperial troops arrived at the sands of Surdo, the furthest southern province in Bandoor, ruled by Muhtan Amol. Here, the emperor's progress would be stopped, and the bloodiest part of their campaign would be fought. This small province itself would prove the hardest trial yet. This would be The Surdonian War.
Outcome
The new empire held most of the land in Bandoor, either by force or diplomacy, and all accepted Nero Thrax I as their new Emperor. The only human land left to conquer were Surdo, and the Western Peninsula. While the cocky new Emperor expected that these would fall as easily as the rest, this proved not to be the case.
So started The Surdonian War.
Conflict Type
Military Campaign
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
1720
Ending Date
1778
Conflict Result
Establishment of the Thraxan Empire, and the beginning of The Surdonian War
Location
Belligerents
Humans of Bandoor
Strength
Hundreds of thousands of troops spanning the continent of Bandoor, ever growing as land is annexed and the empire grows.
Hundreds of thousands of troops spanning the continent of Bandoor, made up of different 'tribal' forces accountable to their various leaders.
Casualties
Uncountable, over the course of the 58 year conquest many were lost.
Absolute, all were either annexed, or killed.
Objectives
A united human empire in Timor, one with the ability to unite the disparate human tribes and end their belligerent conflicts under a strong and absolute leaded, and to contend with the ancient elves, dragonborn and dwarves as a serious player in the world.
Individual lords retention of power and liberty.
Maps
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Timor
The world map of Timor, showing the main continents, and the world's major cities.
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