The First Cambrecian War

This is an article on the History of Feyworld
Years: 805 NC to 815 NC
Age: The Third Age of Man
Continent: Duria
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The History of Neptaris
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The Imperial Conquest of Kamaros	The Rule of the Empire in Neptaris

The Triumvirate knew that its decision to support the dwarves of Derlos against Cambrecia was controversial and the Church, who was starting to establish strong ties with the Imperial Church Hierarchy, initially opposed them. To win the Church officials to their side, they agreed to pass an amendment that would turn over the civil judicial system of [Neptaris]] to the priesthood of Aridnus, God of Judgment. The offer of increased secular power won over many of the more moderate priests and they began oiling the political war engine from their pulpits. By 805 NC, the people were ready for war. In that year, war was officially declared at a surprise attack on Fort Pagulium in the foothills of the Cambrecian Mountains.

Aador Manx, Marshall of Arms from 800 NC to his death in 811 NC NC, led what would come to be known as the First Battle of Jormir Field. With 2000 soldiers and a handful of dwarven irregulars, he overcame the defenses of Fort Pagulium, which was manned with 600 Imperial soldiers, in three days. The Empire was taken by complete surprise and Marshall Manx pressed his advantage, taking no less than five significant supply depots in the first year of the war. The Imperial military commander, Legate Cyricus Isidorus of House Livius, scrambled to defend Cambrecia on two fronts. Meanwhile, Neptaran naval vessels began attacking any Imperial ship they could find, including merchant vessels. In 806 NC, Neptaran advances began to slow, with Marshall Manx only taking two minor outposts. Legate Cyricus and Marshall Manx began playing a cat and mouse game in the hills, with the Legate constantly outrunning the Marshall's more cumbersome army. Finally, in the early months of 807 NC, the Imperial fleet was brought to bear upon Neptaris. After the disastrous Battle of Nimble Point, the Imperial fleet sailed into Krios Bay and set up an unbreakable blockade.

The tide of the war on the mainland almost immediately shifted to an Imperial advantage. By the end of 807 NC, the Empire had taken back all but three of the forts that Neptaris had claimed. The dwarves continued to press on the northern frontiers of Cambrecia, but most agreed that Neptaris was doing most of the fighting by this point, and supplies were running low. In the winter of 808 NC, a plague struck the Cambrecian coast and the war engines of Cambrecia and Neptaris slowed to a crawl. Both sides pulled their forces back to easily defendable locations, leaving entire fortresses empty. Some historians point out that Marshall Manx should have taken the advantage at this point and taken those forts that the Empire left open, but he chose to winter his troops under the walls of Neptaris itself.

The next spring, new troops arrived to bolster the beleaguered Imperial Legion. Neptaris, unfortunately, did not have the manpower to generate effective reinforcements and they could not effectively press the attack. Instead of attacking Neptaris, however, Legate Valerius Lucius of House Gradivius (Cyricus had died of the plague during the winter) instead chose to attack the dwarves. With Imperial troops in their very valleys, the dwarves redoubled their efforts and held the Imperial army at a standstill. This gave Neptaris the time it needed to rebuild its army as well as establish secret shipyards in a hidden cove a day's ride south of the city. By 810 NC, Neptaris was again ready to attack the Empire.

The Imperial Legion was again taken by surprise when Marshall Manx met them on the field at the Second Battle of Jormir Field. Manx was again successful in taking Fort Pagulium and tried to press his advantage as he had done five years earlier. Unfortunately, Legate Valerius was aware of the Marshall's previous strategy and quickly pulled his men from the mountains to meet Manx in the field. As winter approached, the two armies had met twice with inconclusive results. Manx returned to Fort Pagulium to prepare for winter.

Legate Valerius, unaccustomed to Cambrecian winters, decided to set siege to Fort Pagulium and destroy the Neptaran army once and for all. By the spring of 811 NC, however, the mass of his army was still outside the walls of Fort Pagulium, sick and hungry from a particularly hard winter. They pulled back to lick their wounds and prepare another sortie. The Neptaran military was not without its problems, however. Mere days before the Empire lifted the siege of Fort Pagulium, Marshall Manx was struck by a stray catapult stone and died. The Triumvirate spent most of the season trying to vote for a new Marshall, but came to an impasse several times. Eventually, Marshall Greor Alcyon of House Markos was chosen to lead the Neptaran army and he departed to Fort Pagulium to prepare the army for the next season's battles. The loss of time was not lost on the Triumvirate, however. After the selection of Marshall Alcyon, they issued Addendum XXVII, which changed the name of the governing body to the Supreme Assembly and added two new members, in the hope that an increase in the number of voting members would result in a decrease in the number of deadlocks that they would have to work through.

Marshall Alcyon decided to use a more naval approach to defeating the Empire and ordered the construction of some thirty new warships by the end of 812 NC. He used his armies to harangue Imperial troops on the mainland, but always avoided a direct confrontation. In the spring of 813 NC, Marshall Alcyon's fleet began to sweep the Maroshan Sea for Imperial vessels and succeeded in sinking the vast majority of the Imperial fleet that entered those waters. The destruction of Imperial vessels in the Maroshan Sea had the affect he was looking for... the Legion on the mainland started to crumble without support or fresh troops from Zeth. For most of the fighting season of 815 NC, Marshall Alcyon met with success after success on the battlefield.

During the winter of 815 NC, however, five Imperial transports landed near Neptaris' secret shipyards. After marching for two days, they attacked the ill-defended port and burned it to the ground. The Legion wintered there, unnoticed for two months. When spring arrived, Legate Valerius and a group of handpicked soldiers moved south, past Neptaris, and met up with the now-garrisoned troops at Neptaris' secret port. The Imperial contingent moved northward as fresh warships from Paladinium (in present day Koramia) moved towards Krios Bay. The Imperial warships took the complacent Neptaran Navy by surprise, catching most of their ships in port when they arrived at Neptaris. The Empire again blockaded Krios Bay while the Legion set siege to Neptaris itself.

Marshall Alcyon was preparing for battle in the foothills of the Cambrecian Mountains when word arrived that Neptaris was besieged. He ran his troops to the ground, often travelling 40 miles in a day, in an attempt to relieve the city. Legate Valerius, however, knew of an Imperial sympathizer within Neptaris and sent an envoy into the city to speak with him secretly. The sympathizer, whose name is unrecorded, had a son in the guard who was willing to open the gates to the Imperial army. With Marshall Alcyon and his army only days from Neptaris, Imperial troops walked into the city and quickly forced the Supreme Assembly to surrender. The siege of Neptaris had only lasted two weeks. When Marshall Alcyon saw the Imperial standard flying over Neptaris, he threw himself on his sword.