The War of the Nagarajya

When Hundaru of Telmun was assassinated in 2110, the empire he had built immediately began to fall apart - first in the Southern and Southwestern regions, and eventually in the Empire's heartland, the Southeastern Region. In 2345, the Naga of Saba rebelled against the Telmunic Empire and established the Nagarajya, which became the dominant power in the region over the next several centuries. Situated between the Kaphtor Islands to the north and the Telmun Islands to the south, the Nagarajya effectively split the remnants of the Telmunic Empire in two.

The Kaphtors, who had long since ceased to identify with the Empire, asserted their independence, with each of the phylai claiming its own territory and acting as an autonomous entity. This was the situation until 3245, when the Nagarajya launched an invasion, intent on conquering the Kaphtor Islands. This campaign marked the beginning of a series of conflicts over the next fifty years - what Kaphtori historians call Ὁ Πόλεμος τῶν Ναγαρῶν.

While clashes between the Nagarajya and the Kaphtors would recur periodically until the Malika conquered Saba in 3524, this first period of conflict was by far the most significant. It saw the formation of the Ἡ Καφτορικὴ Σύμπραξις, the birth of the Aethry species, and shaped the history of the Great Ring in ways that continue to this day.

The Invasion

Invading foreign territories is a tricky business in the Great Ring, as the invading force must always account for the gods of the islands, who will resist the slaughter of their worshippers. It requires careful preparation—either to strike so swiftly that the gods cannot respond, or to neutralize them beforehand through the use of Magic.

During the initial invasion of the Kaphtor Islands, the Nagarajya employed both tactics. In the previous century, two True Mages had hatched on Saba - an almost unheard-of event. It was this rare concentration of magical power that gave the Nagarajya the confidence to begin expanding, and they laid their plans with great care.

Their mages - whose true identities were so closely guarded that even today historians know them only as Khubbān and Yakchashm -spent decades researching the True Names of as many of the Numina of the Kaphtor Islands as possible. When the invasion was imminent, they bound those gods with their Magic, preventing them from interfering with the Nagarajya's forces.

The invasion was a resounding success. The Nagarajya captured and occupied the large islands of Íssa and Macris, swiftly taking control of the western half of the archipelago. Kaphtori refugees fled the occupied territories, with the majority congregating on Nisi, the largest island in the central Kaphtors.

There, the phylai quarreled - over what to do, whose fault it was, and a dozen ancient grievances besides. This bickering infuriated Thalameïdes, leader of the Aethrí Phylí and ruler of Nisi, who threatened to expel his quarrelsome guests and let them take their chances with the Naga. The threat silenced the other Kaphtori leaders and gave Thalameïdes the space to make his historic proposal: that all the phylai of the Kaphtori put aside their grievances and unite to repel the Nagarajya invaders.

The Kaphtori League

The alliance they formed was called the Ἡ Καφτορικὴ Σύμπραξις, or the Kaphtori League. The eastern islands joined forces with the refugees from the west and began to push back against the Nagarajya.

At first, the League met with little success - the Nagarajya were more numerous, better equipped, and had the mages Khubbān and Yakchashm fighting for them. The Kaphtori chose to focus on naval engagements, where their seafaring prowess could be most effective. For nearly two years, they harried the Nagarajya fleet, cutting supply lines and preventing reinforcements from arriving.

Meanwhile, they raided Naga outposts with the aid of Kaphtori still living in occupied territory. They poisoned the food and water the invaders relied on and worked to free the bound gods of the islands under Nagarajya control. Little by little, they forced the Naga to withdraw from the territory they had claimed, unable to maintain control over a hostile populace without steady supplies and reinforcements from the south.

When the mage Yakchashm was killed in a naval battle, the situation worsened for the invaders. Yakchashm's death freed several of the Kaphtori Numina, and the island of Macris was reclaimed by the Aon Phylí in the months that followed. Khubbān struggled to be everywhere at once, and Kaphtori forces retreated wherever the mage appeared - only to strike elsewhere when their attention shifted.

It took years, but the Kaphtori slowly drove the Nagarajya off their land and back to the sea.

The Ascent of the Aethry

By 3288 - forty-three years after their initial invasion - the Nagarajya had lost most of the territory they had originally conquered. The Kaphtori League patrolled the seas south of their islands, and Khubbān had vanished earlier that year, presumably dead. Yet the Nagarajya still possessed far greater numbers than the Kaphtori and remained unwilling to abandon their ambition of conquering the Kaphtor Islands.

That year, they launched a massive invasion force, intent on capturing the island at the very heart of the League: Nisi. The rulers of the Nagarajya believed that, by conquering Nisi, they could decapitate the League and turn the rulers of the phylai against one another. Then they would sweep across the archipelago and bring the decades-long war to a satisfactory end.

At first, the invasion appeared to be going well. The Nagarajya fleet evaded Kaphtori patrols by sailing far to the east, approaching Nisi from an unexpected angle. They landed at dawn, and Naga troops poured onto the beaches, overwhelming the surprised defenders and slaughtering all in their path. The people of the Aethrí Phylí fled before them, seeking refuge from the invaders. Many did not survive.

Iliana, daughter of Thalameïdes, ran towards the Temple of Ídhi. An Avatar of the god, she saw no hope unless Ídhi himself intervened. She prayed for aid while the Naga pursued - and her prayers were answered.

Iliana became the first of a new species: the Aethry. Enormous wings sprouted from her back, and she leapt into the air moments before the Naga could reach her. All around her, the people of the Aethrí Phylí took to the skies in a great flock. Iliana called her winged kin to the heights, rallying them at the Temple of Ídhi, high on the slopes of Óros Ídhi. There, Iliana - daughter of Thalameïdes and queen of the Aethry - planned her counterattack.

With transformation came knowledge. The Aethry understood flight instinctively and quickly turned it into a decisive advantage. They could move across the island faster than their enemies and strike from heights the Naga could not reach. More than that, the transformation had a profound psychological impact on the invaders. The Nagarajya troops saw a god intervening directly on behalf of his people and feared what Ídhi might do next.

Demoralized, the Nagarajya began to retreat from the airborne defenders - only to flee directly into the fleet of the Kaphtori League, summoned by signal fires lit by the Aethrí Phylí. In the battle that followed, the Nagarajya navy suffered its greatest defeat of the war - one from which they would never fully recover.

The Aftermath

Although the War of the Nagarajya continued for another seven years, the invaders never regained their footing. They lost what territories remained in their grasp and were ultimately forced back to the Sabaen Archipelago. Over the next two centuries, they would periodically attempt new invasions of the Kaphtors, but never in such numbers - or with such success - as their initial campaign.

Meanwhile, the continuing threat of the Nagarajya served as a unifying force for the League. Though primarily a military alliance, the Kaphtori League also helped suppress internal conflicts; few were willing to risk war among themselves, lest the Naga exploit their division. However, relations between the Aethry and the Human populations grew increasingly strained. The Kaphtori Aethry, as they now called themselves, came to believe they were destined for greater things than their land-bound cousins, and their growing aloofness soured relations between Nisi and the other islands.

In 3524, the Malika led an army drawn from across the region against the Nagarajya. She deployed both her troops and her Magic with devastating precision, ultimately overthrowing the Naga state and establishing the Malikate of Saba in its place. At first, this caused the League to stir once more, fearing that the Malika would soon turn her gaze northward - but she seemed content with her conquests and never sailed against the Kaphtor Islands.

With their great enemy vanquished, the Kaphtori League gradually unraveled. The growing detachment of the Aethry alienated many of their former allies, and old grievances resurfaced between phylai that had long coexisted in fragile harmony. Within a century of the Nagarajya's fall, the League had become a hollow shell. Though its agreements remained in theory, none of the phylai leaders still believed in the idea of a unified Kaphtori force.

In recent years, the rise of the Empire of Vlast to the north has led some to call for a revival of the ancient pact. Many believe that Vlast intends to conquer all within its reach - and the Kaphtors are among the Empire's closest neighbors. But so far, these calls for a restored League have led to no concrete action, and it remains unclear whether they ever will.