The War



CRISIS: Abrogail Thrune II, Infernal Majestrix and Queen of Cheliax has made diplomatic inroads toward an economic and military relationship with Thuvia, via negotiations with Queen Zamere of Lamasara. These negotiations could lead to an alliance between Thuvia and Cheliax, and would make Cheliax the premiere force in the Inner Sea.

During the final days of their negotiations, an assassination attempt is made on both Abrogail and Zamere. Abrogail is wounded, but Zamere is slain, with the assassins seemingly being members of the Red Mantis. It is known that the Red Mantis assassins do not target the rightful rulers of nations, and so the assassins must have been in disguise, but that leaves their true identities in doubt.

As Cheliax and Thuvia accuse neighboring Rahadoum of orchestrating the assassination, Rahadoum in turn calls its allies – Andoran and Taldor – to honor past treaties and come to their aid if war begins. Representatives from Cheliax, Thuvia, and their allies meet representatives from Andoran, Taldor, and Rahadoum in Absalom in order to try and get to the bottom of the assassination, work out peace, and avert a war across two continents.

As the peace talks fail, Taldor secures its southern border with Qadira and Cheliax makes attempts to broker a military alliance. However, Qadira and other nations on the Obari Ocean declare their neutrality, forming The Obari Pact and vowing to defend any of their nations that is attacked. This confines the war to the Inner Sea.

With Cheliax and its allies forming The Imperial Ascendency, and Andoran and its allies forming the Coalition of Nations, the battle lines are quickly drawn when the Imperial Ascendency begins its invasion of Rahadoum. However, the main conflicts occur on the waters of the Inner Sea, and along Andoran’s border with Cheliax and Isger. Like the Western Front of World War One, this area quickly devolves into a deadly stalemate of bloody magical trench warfare.

Other fronts of the war are in Nirmathas and the River Kingdoms. Cheliax, Nidal, and Molthune have long sought to re-absorb Nirmathas and this is their chance. Unfortunately, the fledgling nation is so isolated from its allies that it faces a losing battle. To the east, the River Kingdoms have long been the site of proxy wars between vying city-states, backed by the likes of Cheliax and Andoran. However, with open war declared, those proxy wars have lead to full and direct combat for ultimate control over the River Kingdoms. Using Molthune’s navy – the largest in the region, on Lake Encharthan – the Imperial Ascendancy sails forces along the Glass River between Razmiran and Kyonin, into the western River Kingdoms.