The Emberwood Conflict

• 205 A.F., Emberforge deployed formal companies of axemen, supported by lightly armored infantry and siege engineers, under the banner of “securing trade routes.”
• The Vale mobilized warbands led by druids, treants, and animal folk militias.
• The first major engagements happened along the Gloaming Trail, a narrow woodland pass, where Vale forces used illusions and terrain to ambush Emberforge columns.

The conflict sprawled across:

• The Gloaming Trail (primary early clashes, known for its ghostly lights at dusk).
• Hearthfall Glen, where the first wisp bombs were successfully deployed, turning the tide of battle and breaking Emberforge’s center lines.
• Redroot Ridge, named after the blood that soaked into the trees; here Emberforge made their last major push before retreating.
  

The Emberwood Conflict was fought under a range of trying circumstances:

• Weather:
• The Lilted Vale’s forests are lush and rain-soaked. Frequent mists, sudden downpours, and fog banks made large-scale maneuvering difficult. The terrain often favored the Vale’s guerrilla tactics but turned Emberforge’s heavy supply wagons into mud-choked burdens.
• During the Blooming Rains (late spring), pollen clouds and enchanted floral spores also complicated visibility, sometimes igniting with stray fire spells, causing wild blazes.

Early Stages (203–208 A.F.)

• Emberforge began by occupying small logging outposts, clearing swaths of forest with new steam cutters. The Vale retaliated with localized raids, led by foxfolk scouts and dryad companions.
• The skirmishes were small but vicious, with Emberforge underestimating how quickly Vale druids could rally animals and forest spirits.

Mid-War Escalation (208–215 A.F.)

• Emberforge launched a major offensive called “The Ashmarch.” Thousands of soldiers advanced down the Gloaming Trail, building fortified timber camps to stage deeper attacks.
• The Vale responded by enlisting treants and awakening ancient groves. Battles became multi-layered, fought on the ground, in the canopy, and through hidden burrow networks.
• 215 A.F. marked a turning point when The Vale first field-tested stabilized wisp bombs at Hearthfall Glen. Emberforge columns shattered under sudden bursts of radiant explosions that blinded and panicked their beasts of burden.

Late War and Withdrawal (215–221 A.F.)

• Emberforge shifted tactics, sending elite warbands to hunt Vale leaders. This culminated in the Night of Crimson Roots, an attempted assassination of Archdruid Lysenna that failed spectacularly due to wisp traps and vinefolk defenders.
• Morale collapsed in Emberforge ranks. Guerilla strikes on their supply lines, combined with repeated losses and the wisp plague blight, forced Emberforge to retreat behind the mountain foothills by 219 A.F.
• Sporadic clashes continued until the Treaty of Hollow Roots in 221 A.F., where Emberforge formally ceded rights to the outer forests.

Disease:

Political Rebalancing

• Emberforge:
• The war’s costly failure shifted Emberforge politics dramatically. The once-dominant expansionist “Iron Pact” dissolved, replaced by more insular leaders who prioritized strengthening mountain defenses and developing deeper mines to avoid future reliance on Vale timber.
• Bitter veterans founded secret societies, like the Coal Thorn Order, to keep the dream of expansion alive. This would fuel later diplomatic tensions and smaller border raids.
• The Lilted Vale:
• The Vale solidified its reputation as a nearly unassailable natural fortress. Even neighboring realms began treating Vale druids and rangers with cautious respect.
• The Archdruidic circles grew in power, becoming the de facto governing bodies, with Lysenna Virellis' rise cementing a more unified leadership across the disparate glades.

• In the Vale, small shrines exist under ancient oaks where people honor the fallen spirits of the conflict.
• Emberforge holds “The Day of Soot”, an annual day of mourning and reflection.

• Vale folk still perform a traveling play called “The Shattered Root and the Ember Heart”, emphasizing the tragedy of misunderstanding and greed.
• Emberforge bards have a somber ballad, “Stone Weeps for Timber”, that regrets the war while defending their ancestors’ desperation.

• The Wisp Bomb: Created mid-war by druidic sages experimenting on captured wisp-light. Initially unstable, by the end it became a projectile contained in enchanted gourds or crystal canisters, which exploded into devastating flashes of radiant energy that could blind or incinerate.
• By 215 A.F., The Lilted Vale’s sages and Archdruid Lysenna’s circle had refined the wisp bomb enough to use it systematically. Specialized slingers and arrow casters launched them into Emberforge ranks, creating searing flashes that disrupted formations and scorched war machines. This shock-and-awe tactic forced Emberforge to reconsider mass advances, ultimately hastening the end of the war.