Third Nexus War

The 3rd Nexus War was the last of the major conflicts on Nexus before the signing of the Nexus Accords. The threat of the Dwarven March drove forces that were ancient enemies into fragile alliances. The necessities of war lead to independence movements extracting concessions from the off-sphere governments. Even with this fracturing of control, the inevitable dwarven advance forced the disparate forces to work together.

Prelude

Legacy of the 2nd Nexus Wars

The 2nd Nexus War ostensibly involved four factions — Baeon, Duranti, the Orcish Hordes, and the Val'a Elves — battling over territory on Nexus, the Nexus Pathways and colonies on Burning Sands, Broken Plains, Thousand Seas.

Founding the Truehold

In the lead up to the 3rd Nexus War a political movement spread through the Dwarves, unifying them under the banner of the Volkstahl. As this was occurring, Nexus Explorers discovered the Pathway to what would be known as Truehold, opening Dwarven markets for trade and cultural exchange. Part of the rise of the Truehold was in reaction to the changes this contact wrought. As part of the Volkstahl's rise, many individuals, families, and small groups of dwarves went into self-exile on Nexus and beyond, creating enclaves among the other cultures.

Taking the Pathway

Initially there was little warning of the Dwarven ambition. It began with the forcible conquest of the Pathways and closing of trade between Nexus and Truehold. This was not unprecedented as something similar had occurred on Burning Sands as Ibzzar'Yashen was founded to control trade and represent local interests. But the violence and severity of the cutoff was surprising. But trade with the Dwarves was not vital enough for the other Nexus Powers from pushing the issue. For nearly five years this was the status quo.

The Dwarven March

With Truehold trade cut off, the launch of the Dwarven March was undetected by the Nexus Powers. At first it was just an expansion of fortifications along the sparsely populated southern peninsula. But as they systematically expanded into the southern plain, destroying all they came across and fortifying the remains, the threat became clear. Even then, there wasn't a coordinated response to this aggression, the southern districts initially stood alone.

Fall of the Southern Plain

The inexorable march of the Truehold Dwarves continued unabated. The defenders were swept aside with ease as the dwarven war machine trundled onward. But those who fled were not pursued. The dwarves were methodically driving out the existing inhabitants of a territory, destroying the infrastructure, then raising a fort to secure it. What happened after that was unknown as the dwarven lines were impregnable.

Compact of Neighbors

The Southern Plain was a patchwork of Baeon, Duranti, and Orcish territories. As their territory was impinged they attempted to raise a force to defend against the oncoming dwarves without calling on their patron nations. Their precarious frontier autonomy would be ended if they called for assistance, so they decided to resist alone. While many called for a purely defensive response, the bold leaders who had carved their territories out of the wilderness decided to take a proactive stance. However, their attempts to attack the dwarven fortifications ended in disaster. As they were swept aside it was feared that the dwarves would speed their advance through the noe undefended territory. But they maintained their careful consistent expansion.

The Scramble to Respond

Standing Alone

With the destruction of the Compact of Neighbors, Nexus Powers had to respond. Each power raised their own armies and faced the dwarves on their own. While they were able to stall the dwarves in places, they were not able to push them back. Instead of pushing forwards, the dwarves isolated each army individually and drove them off, expanding their controlled territory.

The Compact of the First Coalition

With the failure of the efforts by the individual nations they came together to form a Coalition. With a coordinated battle front they reinforced a line of battle. Fixed armies supported by roving bands that moved to aid any point on the line under attack, were able to stall the dwarven advance. Until midwinter.

The dwarves had spent months undermining the Coalition lines, biding their time until their forces were in place, and stuck at once. Coalition forts collapsed and tunnels opened up within barracks with dwarves pouring out. By Last Frost, the Dwarven March had resumed.

The Long War

As the reality of what war with the Dwarves entailed settled in the Nexus Powers moved to a wartime stance. Refocusing their industry, bureaucracy, and trade to support the war effort they started making concessions to colonies and subjects to prevent disruptions. The front lines required constant support. Old taboos against Pacts and Wizardry fell away as magic seemed to be the only advantage the Nexus Powers had over the dwarves. The Nexus Universities were founded to train War Mages for the front lines, they codified and distributed a baseline of arcane knowledge.

The only saving grace of the Nexus Powers was the Dwarven March's thorough and cautious advance. It gave them years to marshal defenses and develop their capabilities. While they were able to little more than halt the Dwarven advance, they were able to buy time stalling their advance in places and slowing the overall march.

As the war progressed and armies were inevitably swept aside, new Coalitions were formed with new leadership. Though the Duranti took the leadership of the First Coalition, later Coalitions were led by Baeon commanders, Orcish Djarls, and leaders of the burgeoning Nexus Plantations. By the end of the war eight coalition armies had formed and been destroyed.

1st Coalition

Led by the Duranti Imperial Legions, they were able garner support from both the Baeon Holdings and the Duranti colonies. As well, they were able to attract limited Elven support. However, the outriders of the House of Sun did little against the Dwarven fortifications and it would be years before the Elves were at risk enough to join a coalition. As well, the disaster at Last Frost broke the coalition and sent them into retreat.

2nd Coalition

Again led by the Duranti Imperial Legions, leading just the forces native to Nexus they fought a holding action while diplomats sought greater support from the other Nexus Powers.

3rd Coalition

Replacing the exhausted Duranti Imperial Legion, the massive forces of the Baeon Lords Alliance took the lead in the war. As well, the Orcs were brought into the war, bringing their seeminingly inexahustable supply of Orc Iron and hordes of warriors. However, with the infighting among the Baeon lords, the coaltion ended in disaster of the largest Dwarven advance since the start of the war.

Second Compact of Neighbors

A desperate compact was created between the burgeoning Nexus Plantation Lords to hire mercenaries and more orcs to shore up the disastrous 3rd Coalition. While they were unsuccessful in stopping the Dwarven advance, it created and solidified the interconnected relationships that would eventually create the Nexus Plantation system

4th Coalition

The emerging Merchen Lords who were in charge of inter-Sphere logistics took the helm of the 4th coalition, bankrolling the hiring of mercenaries from across the "Civilized" lands of the Spheres. This was also notable as the last Coalition that included the Duranti Colonies, the last of which would declare independence and join the Nexus Plantation system by the end of the year. While the Duranti Imperial Legions and Baeon Lords Alliance were involved, most of their forces were made up of survivors of the 3rd Coalition.

5th Coalition

To reassert their dominance over the breakaway Duranti colonies, the Durnati Emperor dispatched twelve legions to Nexus. As part of taking control of the war, they disarmed the Merchen Lords, confiscating their forces and prosecuting many for war profiteering, breaking the back of their power. However they were not able to exert control over the Nexus Plantations who retained their independence by providing their growing militias.

Coalition of Enemies

Led by the Val'a Army, this coalition was concurrent with the 5th and 6th coalitions. As the Dwarven March closed a faction within the Elven Council that wanted to maintain access to Nexus and did not want a repeat of the loss of Val'Dorath, created a mercenary army from all the other combatants, including two Orcish hordes under the command of a Baeon mercenary general. A uneasy truce held as the Orcs and Elves were forced to work together, even as The Blood War raged on Darkwood. While it did not lead to a lessening of tensions, it did lead to relationships with human intercessors who could arrange for certain unofficial exchanges between the forces, such as the return of Soulstones captured when the Orcs pushed the Elves off Val'Dorath.

6th Coalition

Rallied by the Baeon lords, the 6th Coalition was able to hold the Dwarves in place for over a year. While the Duranti Empire only provided two legions, they did bring in Islander Irregulars, a seafaring force that was able to land troops into Dwarven occupied territories, strike their supply lines, and evacuate with minimal losses.

The Nexus Coalition

A culmination of the Compacts of Neigbors, the 7th Coalition was led by the Nexus Plantation Lords. With their support the Nexus Merchen Lords were able to reassert themselves and bring in the Altaimin Riders, who in coordination with the Islander Irregulars were able to strike deeper into Dwarven territory.

8th Coalition

Unable to reassert control but seeing the necessity of the defense and being too invested in it to stop without economic consequences, the Duranti Emperor and the Baeon High King continued to support the war effort. For two years — the longest the coalitions were able to trhought the war — they were able to stall the dwarven advance.

Legacy of the Godswar

Deep in the Wilds of Baeon a discovery was made that would change the trajectory of the war. Adventurers plumbing a Godswar Stronghold discovered an artifact of massive explosive potential. Subsequent investigations into the Strongholds records revealed only its triggering mechanism and a warning of its destructive power. The adventurers hatched a daring plan, the Dwarves only had access to Nexus through their Pathway to Truehold on the Southern Peninsula. Risking a deadly ocean journey, a small flotilla bypassed the occupied territory and was able to land the adventurers at the peninsula's tip. From there, with the assistance of Dwarven Exiles, they were able to smuggle the weapon to the Pathway. Before they were able to set the weapon and escape they were discovered. To prevent the capture of the weapon, they set it off, sacrificing themselves, destroying the Pathway

Aftermath

With the destruction of the Pathway to Truehold, the Dwarven advance stalled, but did not collapse. Initially. For two years they held the line, but cracks began to form and across the line they were pushed back. As soon as the front line began to crumble, the dwarves evacuated their forward forts, mining them with explosive contraptions to cover their retreat. They fell back to the Southern Peninsula where they dug in and prepared for a retaliatory attack that never came.

Exhausted from the long war and exuberant believing that the dwarves were destroyed, the 8th Coalition set about declaring their independence. It had been years since Baeon Kings or the Duranti Emperor had directed the war. Both had exhausted themselves during the war and had spent so much propping up the coalitions that when the leadership turned on them and pushed for independence, they didn't have the resources to prevent it. Dominated by the Unified Nexus Plantations and the Pathway Merchen Lords, the Coalition leadership set about creating the Nexus Accords to prevent their parent governments from reasserting control.