Long War

The Long War (219-263 ME) was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the Anrel Isles, between the allied city-states of the Northern League (now the kingdoms of Trésard and Sensatard), and the Kingdom of Narette. It is often bitterly called the Orphans' War, since it went on so long it was fought by two generations of people whose own parents had been killed in the war.

The war lasted more than four decades, killing almost two thirds of the population in bloodshed, hunger and disease. It laid waste to much of the islands through environmental devastation, leaving hundreds of ruined towns and settlements, and large areas of arable reclaimed by viridplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigVirid

Referring to the Virid Kingdom of flora and fauna, toxic to human life. forest. The war destroyed the three greatest and most advanced cities of the period, Teranen, Rasia and Beyan.

The war caused massive depopulation, not only through direct fighting but by collapse in farming and food supply. Fields were burned and abandoned, allowing virid forest to consume large areas of the islands. Its legacy is a huge physical and psychological scar on the islands.

The four decades of war were followed by two centuries of hostile isolation known as the Hard Peace. The nations have long since resumed cordial relations, though there is still uneasiness and rivalry particularly in the border region.

Prior to the 1st century ME Anrelplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigAnrel Isles

Anrel [ANN-rel], or the Anrel Isles, is the most northerly island group in the Natorn Archipelago. It consists of three major islands and numerous smaller ones. The largest, colloquially if infrequently called Mainland, is divided between the kingdoms of Trésard and Narette. The island was a network of city states generally living in peace with only occasional rivalries. The north and south of Mainland Anrel were traditionally divided by the River Kethel, but when the sea level lowered during the Little Ice Age, this region dried out and was ripe for exploitation as new arable land. The rush for settlers to seize this new land, and disputes about who owned it, were a great cause of tension.

Secondly, Narette/Anrette had united under the Kings of Himéath to create a relatively strong centralised kingdom on the Ania Plateau, who rapidly pressed their claim.

The northern city states were all nominally independent, but under significant influence from the Magisteriate of Rasia. The Magisteriate were officially the ruling body of the Rasian Academy, the pre-eminent body of magicplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigMagic

In common terms, magic is the art of producing a desired outcome through occult means. Various arts are described as magical, from common street illusionists, village herbalists, and rituals for the intercession of deities. However, true magic is the art and science of elemental mastery, harnessing elemental creatures and instructing them to perform simple or complex tasks. and learning in the isles. They educated all the scholars, physicians and advisers to every town and city in Anrasard. After a royal scandal, Narette accused the Magisteriate of spying and using magic to manipulate and control the whole of Anrel. This aroused a wave of hatred and outrage against anyone in Narette associated with Rasia, and the expulsion and murder of magicians. The north were outraged by this but largely impotent.

The conflict, compounded by fires, famine and plague that accompanied it killed more than 60% of the population of Anrel, leaving a landscape scattered with ruins. With the burning of the great Library at Rasia, some of the most important works of early history, art and science were forever lost.

The Hard Peace developed when the two sides had fought each other to a standstill, with what forces remained building dykes along what is now the modern border. No peace treaty was officially signed, but as time passed both sides took time to rebuild, with only occasional skirmishes at sea and on the border.

During the Hard Peace, the two new nations spent significant resources manning and maintaining the border defences, being still in a state of war. The Treaty of Thátum drew an official conclusion to the war, establishing an official border, and a demilitarised zone between the two, meaning no new settlements, roads or fortifications. The treaty has ended since then, though some settlements have developed in the zone over time.