The Second Righteous War

For almost twenty years, the Empire of Great Mountains was content to allow the Immortal Kingdom peace. However, this peace was a lie. The nobles of Borealia breathed easy, content that their lands were not harmed, and engaged in even more corruption than before. High taxes were put on the people, who began to resent the nobles for both the defeat on the continent and their oppression. Unbeknownst to the nobles, secure in their countryside castles, the returning soldiers had lost faith in the Way Of The Traveling Gods and brought back something more appetizing: the Cult Of The Trinity.   While the nobles of the Immortal Kingdom continued to fill their coffers, the Empire of Great Mountains was not idle. In the time between the First and Second Righteous wars, a great fleet was built up. Hundreds of ships were constructed, more than enough needed to ferry a force of soldiers over the Borealian Channel and into the heartland of the Kingdom.   Just that very thing would occur in 274 E.D. While a smaller force was sent to the Horn of the Rajv Peninsula, and another to the Sickle Islands, a large fighting force would land on the coast of Borealia in the Spring. Word was soon spread of the invading army, and the panicking nobles rushed to assemble a fighting force strong enough to repel the invaders. This was not like the war forty years ago, this was a war for the very existence of the Immortal Kingdom. Despite the growing hatred of the nobility who ruled them, the Dracons loved their land and were bound to their duty by the Ancient Way, a social code by which all Dracons abide.   While their landing was virtually unopposed, the Montane Army would soon be harassed by Dracon forces. In the Spring and Summer, they would advance smoothly, taking a few losses but no major defeats. This would change come the Winter of 274. This is a time now known as the "Long Winter". Unluckily for them, the invading army would be caught near the Židinio Mountains and would be forced to spent the winter in the highlands. The year's winter was a particularly cold one, and food was beginning to run scarce. The Dracons, snug in their castles and homes, were able to inflict major casualties on the soldiers of the Mountain Emperor, but it would not be enough to turn the tide.   As soon as the snow began to melt, the invading Army took to the road again. To replenish their stocks, looting parties ravaged the countryside, taking everything that was nailed down. Interestingly, the Order Of The Acolytes Of The Holy Martyr (pictured above) would join some of these looters in their quests, although their main goal was to convert the Dracons within captured territory. As stated before, at the time of the Second Righteous War, many Dracons had converted. They were all too happy to support their fellow Trinitists and served an invaluable role within the Army. Before now, not many foreigners had visited Borealia at length, and as such detailed maps of the island were scarce. However, with the support of native scouts and guides, the invasion was sped up in the Spring and Summer of 275.   Admittedly, the war ended without much fanfare. In early 277, the Montane Army would reach the great city of Sulaca and prepare for a siege. Massive cannons were brought up the front, and just as the first salvo was about to fire, a white flag was raised over the city. King Kajetonas IV, now well into adulthood but still a puppet of the nobility, had surrendered. And so it was that the Immortal Kingdom proved to not be as immortal as believed, and in the treaty, the Kingdom was destroyed. In fact, the nobility was as well, with the Dwarves dividing the land up into several, small Commandries run by Dracon military commanders and/or lesser nobles that had converted into the Cult of the Trinity and had proved themselves loyal to the Mountain Emperor in Chambadzor. A unified Dracon state would not arise until decades later with the foundation of the March of Lievonija. Immediately, banditry would plague the isolated region, and although the Commandries (with Imperial support) would actively attempt to improve the neglected infrastructure and taxation system, banditry and wide-spread poverty would persist well into the Early Steam Age. Interestingly, the Ogre Tribes (who were de jure apart of the Immortal Kingdom) would be completely ignored by the Dwarves, and although they were the victims of a few mission trips, their self-inflicted isolation from the world would remain unchallenged.