| Great Tellurian War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Combatants | |||||||
| Union of the Northwest: | Grand Coalition: | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| High Chieftain Umajin† Duke Bloodfang |
High Guildmaster Loki Ethmorl Emperor Olwyt | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 21,000 (western theatres) 19,000 (eastern theatres) |
21,000 (western theatres) 26,000 (eastern theatres) | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 3,000 High Chieftain Umajin |
3,000
Alonso Fiassa (P.O.W.) | ||||||
The Great Tellurian War was fought between the Union of the Northwest and their allies in the Nightmare Bond, and the Grand Coalition in 364, after many years of tension.
Background[]
Relations between the Union of the Northwest (UN) and the Grand Coalition had been poor for years, and the events of the 350s did little to improve them, commencing with the conquests of Aloren and Nyroth by the Ignato Empire, followed by the assassination of the Blazing Avatar, and the invasion of the Heartwaste by Gunung, Guilder and Calorum.
High Chieftain Umajin of Crima rallied together the forces of the UN and negotiated an alliance with the recently formed Nightmare Bond, to confront the Grand Coalition directly. The western UN armies sought to march on Nyroth where many Ignato soldiers were still stationed after its conquest, but were unable to negotiate passage across the lands of Celero, where battle lines were drawn up.
The Nightmare Bond was an old alliance, though its full extent only became clear at the start of the war, and comprised Sympolemou, Eyrecradia, Sanctuary, and the Heartwaste. They sought to launch a combined assault on Zargrim, assisting local goblin rebels dissatisfied with rule from Hurosha following their recent occupation of the territory.
Sympolemou had previously been a member of the Grand Coalition, serving as a spy for the Nightmare Bond, and only made its allegiance clear at the outbreak of war. In an attempt to split the forces of Duke Bloodfang the Coalition launched an assault on Sympolemou under Alonso Fiassa of Guilder. The war would ultimately be fought on three fronts: the UN in Celero in the west, while the Nightmare Bond fought in the east.
Conflict[]
It is speculated that if the full power of the Nightmare Bond and the UN had come down on the Grand Coalition it would have crumbled, but Doge Tumberink met with representatives of Sanctuary to attempt and negotiate their neutrality. The Doge proved successful and Sanctuary withdrew from the Nightmare Bond, refusing to commit troops to the assault on Zargrim, a somewhat ironic twist noted by Coalition historians after Sympolemou's announcement of betrayal of the Grand Coalition with its declaration of war.
Before the battle in Celero, Lord Gareth Serendel of Lyradis, who had remained neutral, publicly burned himself to death in the middle of the field in an act of protest against the war. This did nothing to stop the ensuing battle, but may have had some effect on bringing it to a conclusion thereafter.
The battle in Celero was close, with the Coalition eventually emerging triumphant. From the Annals of the Great War:
- True to Olwyt’s words, soon the horizons in the north and south bore signs that were grim and hopeful. Grim for their contents, hopeful for their meaning, as the northern skies darkened with a thousand Gunung mantid cavalry, accompanied by four times more foot soldiers that stormed the Union forces from the side. To the south, Celerese ships landed on the beaches and begun fighting the Crimar troops that had landed there before them, sandwiching them between them and the main Coalition army. Few would be able to escape. When Thomar looked closer, he was surprised to also see the shrieking open maws of lizardfolk warriors, crying out a multitude of names for the sky and their nation as battle cries. “Scla’ca! Scla’ca!”
- The day ended with the armies pulling apart again, and Thomar discovered there was surprisingly little death despite the great amounts of bloodshed he had seen. Perhaps he’d simply been in the midst of it all, but he didn’t mind. He’d gotten away alive, unlike three Union soldiers.[1]
The most notable casualties were High Chieftain Umajin and his heir, who died on the field at Celero.
In Zargrim, the Nightmare Bond and their rebel allies were driven back, but with few casualties on either side. The Guilder attack on Sympolemou was soundly defeated, with all their troops killed or captured, and their commander Alonso Fiassa taken prisoner.
Aftermath[]
A summit, the Cantus Sai, was held in 366 in Sanctuary in an attempt to resolve the situation. The death of the Crimar leaders likely aided in the coming to a peace agreement. The resultant treaty would itself eventually prove a point of some conflict in years to follow, though by and large the enmity between Coalition and Union had reached its apex in the war and was set only to decline further.
With the death of High Chieftain Umajin and his heir, the government of Crima was taken over by Bordeux, and later Crima became a vassal of the Kingdom of Ashenia.
A great memorial was built on the battlefield of Celero, naming all the fallen. Celero remained a member of the Grand Coalition but established a policy of pacifism and neutrality over the ensuing years.
The Nightmare Bond did not survive the war. Sanctuary had already abandoned the alliance and native Eyrecradian government collapsed immediately following the conflict, leading to its being absorbed into the Razdissi Underpire. The Heartwaste was the subject of an international agreement committing it to neutrality, while Sympolemou largely withdrew from western affairs over the following decade.
The war led the Salterri Imperium to the far south to believe that the northern realms were divided and vulnerable, a belief which informed their foreign policy and culminated in their disastrous invasion of Hrathan-Tuor.