The First Righteous War

There was a reason the Immortal Kingdom had been so quiet for the last decades. After the death of King Rimantas in 54 E.D., the Sunset Invasions would begin to gradually peter out. When they came, they came smaller numbers, and when they returned, they returned with even smaller hauls. The Dryads continuously repelled the Dracon warriors, and as the gold began to disappear, they had to go to more and more exotic shores. In the years leading up to the 100s, small Dracon raiding parties would be spotted in the Nereid and Southern Sickle Seas, but they would be consistently defeated and forced to return back to Borealia.   Things were not much better on the homefront. The House iš Danauskas would be plagued with a myriad of incompetent rulers, tragic deaths, and child Kings. Indeed, when the Dwarven Armies would strike North in the year 233, the Immortal Kingdom was ruled by an 11-year-old King by the name of Kajetonas IV. His father, Kajetonas III, died several years ago of incest-related complications, and his then five-year-old son would be put on the throne. A council of scheming nobles, led by Zygis iš Sipavicius, would become his regent, and like many other regencies before them, they would actively undermine the institutions of the Immortal Kingdom.   As said before, they were not the first. For the past century, the Immortal Kingdom had faced turmoil. The nobility had long empowered themselves at the expense of state, lowering taxes, neglecting infrastructure, and causing famine to strike the land twice. Even the military, a prized piece of the Immortal Kingdom, had fallen into disuse. With no one to campaign against and no money in their coffers, the Army began to stagnate and fail. While no good Kings would rise to the Immortal Throne, a few semi-decent ones did, but when they tried to do anything, they could not. Nobles, both of ancient Dracon stock and of the new Tengu Flocks ran wild, doing as they pleased with little regard for the King. Even the Way Of The Traveling Gods, a once-mighty faith that demanded its followers march across the land in a quest to claim the world for the Trinity, fell to internal corruption as its Warrior-Priests began to enjoy a life of luxury built off the backs of the faithful. Even worse, the Tengu (especially the Flocks that ruled the Peninsulas) became increasingly infatuated with Trinitism, although the Immortal Kingdom could not put a stop to this heretical activity if it tried.   It can really be considered a mercy kill when the Mountain Emperor, Hethum II, would rally his massive Army in the year 233 E.D. Like his father before him, he was a proud Crusader of the Trinitist faith, and he saw it as an affront to the Gods that the Lizardmen of the North and their heretical faith was allowed domain over the continent that was rightfully his. Dwarves, Men, Centaurs, and Vampires would stream down the mountains of Chambad and Sakar, taking the sparse and undermanned Dracon watchtowers by surprise and decimating their forces.   The Army of the Immortal Kingdom struggled to mobilize its force due to the degradation of both infrastructure and the High Command, so it would be several months until they would meet in proper, open battle. This fateful day would be in Raysky of 233, three months after the first assaults on the Kingdom. A force made up of mostly Dwarves would meet a Dracon force of about equal size on an open field on the road to the large town of Cogaon upon the Nav Peninsula. Hoping to defeat the Dwarves quickly and stabilize the frontline, the Dracon Cavalry would charge the Dwarven flank, their Riding Mammoths trumpeting as the Dracons pressed them onwards. Fury turned to confusion as the Dwarves wheeled out large metal tubes. Then, this confusion turned to terror as explosions echoed across the field, heralding the flight of several stone balls towards the Mammoth cavalry. Unbeknownst to them, those Dracons had been the unwitting participants of the first-ever military usage of gunpowder (invented by the Goblins a century before, but only just discovered by the Sahulians, who immediately took to using it militarily). The Mammoths and their riders who had not been killed spooked and bucked, wheeling around into the Dracon Army itself. In the panic, many infantrymen were crushed, and many more were killed as the Dwarven soldiers advanced onto what organized troops remained, shattering their lines and sending them packing.   After the battle and a few more, the Tengu Flocks knew which side they were on. En masse, noble Tengus in areas the Montane Armies were advancing towards would declare not only their surrender and subservience to the Mountain Emperor, but their conversion to Trinitism. After all, Royal authority in the peninsulas had abated long ago, and they knew that if they converted, their continued presence in the land would be tolerated.   Hethum II's campaign would continue for many more years, with the Dracons suffering defeat after defeat. Only a century ago, the Dracons and their Army were the stuff of nightmares, with the Sunset Invasions being a fear in the hearts of every intelligent being. But now, corruption and greed had laid the once-great Immortal Kingdom low. There were some victories now and again, but it would all crumble down at Valkne Fortress.   During the reign of King Rimantas, Valkne Fortress was constructed almost right in the middle of the Rajv Peninsula. In those days, it was a mighty fort that kept order within the countryside, with many a bandit and rebellious peasant meeting their end to men coming out of Valkne Fortress. While it was still a major regional Army hub by the time of the First Righteous War, it had fallen into disrepair and became undermanned. Montane reconnaissance in the region (which was greatly assisted by the fact that the local Tengu Flock had turned) deduced this as well, and did even bother to ready themselves for a siege. Instead, they brought in massive cannons, a new design straight out of the workshops of Chambadzor.   When it was demanded they surrender, the Dracon garrison refused outright and sent the Dwarves a volley of fireballs. Laughing, the commander responded with a salvo of cannon fire that shook the fortress to its very core. Stone shifted and Dracons died, but they were undeterred. Arrow and fire alike were launched from Fort Valkne, even as the building began to crumble around them. Within hours, the once-great Valkne Fortress had completely collapsed into nothing but broken brick and dust upon the wind. Not one member of the garrison surrendered or fled as the fort broke around them, for while the nobility may have forgotten their warrior roots, the common soldier did not.   As news of the fall of Valkne Fortress reached the Regency in Sulaca, they knew that time was up. The entirety of the Nav and Rohil Peninsulas had been lost to the invaders, and it was certain they would lose the last half of the Rajv Peninsula to both foreigners and traitors if they persisted. After reluctantly deciding to cut their losses, the Immortal Kingdom would send an envoy to Chambadzor, asking for peace. The Empire of Great Mountains would be allowed to keep any territory they had captured in the war, as well as the Rajv Peninsula up to the Horn (a more loyal region due to its proximity to Borealia), but they must stop their advance. The Empire, which was growing tired of the four years of brutal war, agreed, but the Dwarves knew that they would be back in due time. As long as its heathen faith stained the world, the Immortal Kingdom could not be allowed too much time to rest.