Old Grehk/War of the Nine Realms
The Northern War is an ongoing conflict pitting the Western Alliance of Heen, Hetland, Old Grehk and Sint against the eastern confederation of Avalon, Bara'Khur, Fronen and Thalmarkin. So far the war has been largely fought in two theatres; the initial Grehk front (broadly encompassing the lands between Pomatim, Xerus and Yipinalke) and the Southern front (broadly encompassing the area surrounding Dyomoque) where the war spread after the entry of Hetland.
Origins
"I'm not sure if you know the source of the war that Old Grehk is embroiled in. Fronen declared war on us because they wanted our lands, some of which they successfully took. This war has been ongoing for some time.
Recent history though, Old Grehk's allies demanded Old Grehk sign peace with Fronen and attack Sint. This was Thalmarkin, Melhed, Bara K'hur and Avalon (who claimed to be neutral between Fronen and OG, and allied to both at the time). Old Grehk decided that the wrongs of Sint were in the past and would prefer to deal with the daimon incursion in Fronen, represented by the Blood Cult. Our allies repeated their desire to war Sint and threatened if we did not agree with them, they would war us as well.
At this point our King stepped down and Old Grehk went to election with two candidates of opposing viewpoints. The Duke of Vozzessdor, who insisted we war Sint with our allies and the Duchess of Ossmat (myself) who insisted our diplomacy should not be dictated under threat of war. I won, and the Duke subsequently switched his allegiance to Fronen. Thalmarkin, Bara K'hur and Avalon declared war on us after that."
- Queen Skye Uceek, 1st October 2009
Major Battles
Sack of Ossmat
The opening engagement of the Northern War. Armies from Fronen, Thalmarkin and Avalon overran Old Grehk's defences and sacked the capital city of Ossmat for over a week. Eventually the combination of relief forces from Sint and Heen and battles with the surviving Old Grehk forces forced the eastern armies into retreat. Amidst the chaos, monsters and undead sprung up in the rural areas surrounding Ossmat; ironically this benefited Old Grehk as they hindered the movement of the easterners.
Whilst the Army of Old Grehk was raiding Xerus, Thalmarkin and Fronen stormed the stronghold Vatrona and defeated the Garrison. The easterners attempted unsuccessfully to induce the population to change their allegiance, whilst Old Grehk and Sint massed in Kell. When the Western Alliance marched to relieve the seige, the ensuring battle was bloody; ten nobles suffered wounds including King Piru Petteri Cosula of Thalmarkin (who was gravely injured) and High Marshal Askarn Iltaran of Old Grehk. At the end of the battle the Western Alliance held the field; barely one in nine easterner soldiers escaped unharmed.
Choosing to bypass the walls of Vatrona this time, Thalmarkin and Fronen struck into the rural county of Gemke. Unfortunately, three hundred Fronenese soldiers were left behind in Rolbury; a combined Old Grehk and Sint Army fell upon these stragglers and destroyed them. Despite having destroyed nearly a third of the enemy army at Rolbury, the Western allies were outnumbered when they followed on to Gemke. Vastly superior numbers of archers and a calm wind won the day though. King Piru Petteri Cosula of Thalmarkin was again wounded.
Seeking to relieve pressure on the Southern front, Avalon moved through Bara'Khur's lands and then struck east towards Heen's lands in force. The Army of Old Grehk followed the Avalon troops and united with Sint and Heen forces to confront the enemy in Tor. In an ironic inversion of the Battle of Gemke the Western armies found themselves without archers; but luckily the weather did not favour Avalon. Both sides took heavy casualties, with Pontifex Benton Aelradir of Sint amongst the wounded. Avalon's archers were left in control of the battleground, but with the rest of the army badly damaged they had little choice but to turn homewards the next day.
With the Sintian armies still recovering from the Chase to Tor, Thalmarkin and Fronen attacked the stronghold of Vatrona for a second time. Despite outnumbering the defenders twofold, a lack of siege engines would prove fatal. Repeatedly the Fronenese infantry was thrown back from the walls. Only one company managed to gain a foothold on the ramparts, but even they were eventually overwhelmed. Although High Marshal Askarn Iltaran was badly wounded, the Army of Old Grehk inflicted seven hundred casualties, while suffering only two hundred and fifty of their own.
