A Military History of the Eternal Empire

0 (Tzalin)

Ghoras takes Tzalmir by surprise, slaughters all the Tzalins, and declares himself in charge. He is fought by the palace guard, the Tzalin militia (not large), and lots of volunteers from other countries, but his own army, commanded by Del Akkat, is more than sufficient to hold the country.

23 (Gal Sidar)

After the current King of Gal Sidar died, Ghoras and Del Akkat led Tzalin's army in a year long siege against the Summer People of Gal Sidar. The newly crowned King is escorted to Tzalmir after being defeated, and is bile-wormed. The farmers of Gal Sidar didn't believe the claims about what the bile-worm actually did, and the king of Gal Sidar inadvertently kills himself by sending assassin squads after Ghoras. Ghoras didn't approve. Ghoras's guard did their job, and the assassins were killed/captured. After interrogation of several of the would-be assassins, the king of Gal Sidar becomes suddenly dead and Ghoras decides it would be better to personally rule in Gal Sidar.

44 (Hengmir)

The newly crowned King of Hengmir, having argued often with his late father about the merits of attacking Ghoras, launches an attack against Tzalin. Del Akkat throws his army at Hengmir and overwhelms the country despite its technological superiority. Hengmir is taken within a year. Ghoras retains control of Hengmir.

58 (Pirtos)

Seizing an opportunity, Ghoras attacks Pirtos at a time when its King is old and feeble. Pirtos rallies around its King and holds Ghoras off for more than 6 years, but Ghoras eventually wins and puts the royal family to death. (Too good at fighting, they were.)

68 (Neffik)

Preferring to rebuild his army, Ghoras goes against his own wishes and attacks Neffik when the King of the Touched Men passes on. Div Akkat and Ghoras both had their inventiveness taxed heavily during this battle, fighting beings who could change shape, fighting thought-stealers, fighting beings out of nightmares. Ghoras paid heavily for Neffik, and Akkat paid with his life.

89 (Dalos)

Ghoras, spending a generation to recoup his losses, increase his army, and train young Thel Akkat, takes advantage of the untimely death of Dalos's King. Using technology from Hengmir and soldiers from the 5 kingdoms, Ghoras slowly but surely, defeats Dalos. The Men of Valor were brought forth with a drop of blood, and sent off in an ocean of it. They fought to the death.

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213 (Rhi Miles)

After watching Ghoras consolidate his hold on the Ring Kingdoms for over a hundred years, Rhi Miles puts up a token fight and offers a truce within a week. Ghoras accepts the surrender of Rhi Miles and allows its King to act as Ghoras's Regent.

228 (Zothlin)

A poor country, Zothlin decides to send its Council Leader to Tzalin before Ghoras starts mucking up the place.

229 (Morn Valan)

Ghoras sends his entire army into the attack on Morn Valan, and is rewarded with a quick road to the capital. The King and Queen are caught, preparing to flee into the Dark Forest to rule from exile. When Akkat brought the King and Queen to Tzalin, Ghoras frowned and called lightning down on the Queen. Since then, no Queen of Morn Valan has ever been bile-wormed.

231 (Loulan)

In a tremendous series of lucky circumstances (unlucky, if you were from Loulan), Akkat sweeps through Loulan, despite the best efforts of its home defenders. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong for Gival Akkat. Ghoras demotes the King of Loulan to Governor after he has been bile-wormed.

233 (Rianne)

Immediately following the King of Loulan's change of profession, the VineLord of Rianne makes a touching speech about how the people of Rianne would gladly lay down their lives in defense of the vines, but that the grapes would be trampled, and the blood of the vines was more important than their own. Ghoras agrees whole-heartedly with the VineLord and bile-worms him on the spot.

237 (Misambokia)

The sixth notch on the belt of Gival Akkat, actually gave him a bit of trouble. They fought well, but were overwhelmed. It did teach Akkat some humility, though. The King of Misambokia is executed and replaced by someone of Ghoras's choosing. The replacement was bile-wormed.

239-247 (Aris)

Aris, apparently having gathered together some rebels from conquered lands puts up an amazing fight, holding Gival Akkat away from its capital for over 8 years. When Akkat was through with Aris, there wasn't much left but its people.

241 (Leblin)

Realizing that Aris could take a while to fall, Akkat splits his army, giving control of the other half to his son, Duval. Duval recreates his father's siege of Loulan and sweeps through in nine months. Many rebels fled to the Darnelles and Aris.

243 (Tavat Mien)

Tavat Mien gracefully puts out the white flag when Duval shows up at the border. Duval Akkat and army march on towards Syndic.

244 (Syndic)

The Syndeche use nonnigs and travel to Tzalin to speak with Ghoras. They offer a treaty, which they have written down on 132 pieces of parchment (The fine print took up much of the document, and it took Ghoras and his best advisors well over a year to glean a meaning from the treaty) decreeing that Syndic would now, and forever be, a loyal subject-land of Ghoras. Ghoras directed Duval Akkat to take Granite Holt and to assure an access to the sea during this waiting period. Duval did not like leaving Syndic behind him, untamed, but felt assured that he could devastate it if it became an issue. Ghoras finally became tired of the treaty and turned it to ash one day. He bile-wormed the entire Syndeche and sent them back.

245 (Granite Holt)

Duval loses half of his army overnight in Granite Holt to an unknown. This enrages him and the remainder of his army, and they kill anything that moves, no longer concerned with civilized behavior. It takes fourteen months to reach the Sea of Storms, but Duval finally accomplishes his goal. The only other mysterious thing that happened was at the Donjon. Akkat sent several troops down to see what and who it held. They didn't come up. He sent more. Same result. After losing contact with more than 300 soldiers, Duval Akkat gives up on the mysteries of the Donjon. Ghoras sets up a regent in Granite Holt.

247 (Dvelinhurzt)

Having been enclosed on two sides by Akkat's army, Dvelinhurzt drafts all eligible men into the army, releases prisoners to fight, and sends large quantities of would-be-soldiers to defend its borders. Unbeknownst to the general public, only the lower-class draftees were sent with the ex-convicts to the border to be slaughtered. Dvelinhurzt surrenders after its fodder is used up.

249 (Aris (again))

Having closed two more sides on Aris, Duval Akkat joins up with his ailing father and Aris is defeated with the help and support of both armies. Unfortunately, Gival Akkat has a coronary on the battlefield just prior to the taking of the Royal Palace.

267 (Alkynia)

Ghoras spends a while strengthening and rebuilding the army that Gival Akkat (and son) had used up. Duval is killed by a fever, and his sister, Anaiya, leads Ghoras's army into Alkynia on the eve of a holy day, catching Alkynia off guard. Anaiya Akkat surges through to the capital in less than a week, and Alkynia becomes a member of the Eternal Empire.

278 (the Vath)

Feeling a surge of pride for himself, Ghoras decides that he will take the Vath personally. He selects 500 elite soldiers and mages to accompany him. His followers needn't have come. Ghoras leaves them at the border between Alkynia and the Vath, and opens a gate to the capital with his nonnig. Through the gate he steps, and pulls down the castle about him, he does. Only a younger daughter of the Royal line survives, and she is bile-wormed and sent back to the Vath to rule.

318 (Ald Miles)

Ghoras spends 40 years upgrading the road system in his eternal empire in order to facilitate quicker travel for the army. Ald Miles, having sweated for nearly a century about when Ghoras would confront them, sweats no longer. Its King has died, and his son is only six years old. Perfect Opportunity. Ghoras leads his army, teaching Athor Akkat the ways of warfare. The war is extended for three years, mostly due to Ghoras, the ever-patient teacher.

325 (Lower Darnelles)

Once again waiting for the ruler of the land to die before devouring the country, Ghoras invades during the mourning period for Queen Namia. The populace wanted no war during their grief and readily gave their surrender. Large numbers of rebels were disappointed with this and moved to Upper Darnelles to plan.

327 (Upper Darnelles)

Angry at not having caught the rebels, Ghoras orders Mil Akkat to take Upper Darnelles and capture or kill the rebels. Mil sends scouts into Upper Darnelles, but they return with no information. There doesn't appear to be a government, per se, in Upper Darnelles. The towns and villages keep to themselves. There doesn't appear to be any rebel settlement. Mil invades anyway, and sweeps through without doing much damage, leaving towns as they were. At the edge of the Nonnig Forest, the army runs into a large pack of rebels. Mil had his army flank them, and then waited out the night, planning to attack at daylight. At the break of dawn, the rebels were gone. All of them. It is speculated that nonnigs are involved in this, but no one is sure. GlassCastle is investigated, but no way in is determined. Ghoras himself comes to look at it, but cannot determine anything.

330 (Mudwallow)

Mil leads his army downriver to Mudwallow, deciding that access to the endless sea would benefit Tzalin. Mudwallow opens her arms and invites Ghoras in, fearing the alternative.

335 (Plains of Volan)

Perhaps one of the more interesting battles, the Plains of Volan presented a unique problem to Mil. Small flowers, called poppies, grew in great abundance along the border. Unfortunately, the poppy dust was sopoforic to Mil's army. Not good. He spent a half a year implementing a plan to simultaneously burn the fields, but to his chagrin, the dust wasn't harmed, and the burning merely spread the dust to a greater distance. The burning didn't reach far into the borders. Finally, Mil appealed to Ghoras, and Ghoras provided a plague of locusts that ate the poppies. Mil made sure that the land would stay fallow by sowing it with salt. Once past the border defense, Mil had no problems in conquering the Plains.

342 (Asaen)

Following a change of command after Mil developed a lung problem, Bredt Akkat (ever cautious Bredt) leads Ghoras's army in a slow conquest of Asaen. Not much fighting actually occurred, but it took Bredt 4 years to secure Asaen and invite the Chancellor to Tzalin.

350 (Thearos)

Thearos surrenders, not seeing terribly much purpose in fighting, and not really caring who rules them. At least, not caring enough to allow anyone to get killed. Lord General Bredt Akkat dies of a plauge at this time, and the armies are left in the capable hands of Captain Feld until Akkat's son, Jean (age 3) can lead the armies.

353 (Sabat)

Feld resupplies and heads into Sabat. The army is met by suicide squads of priests. Feld leads the army onward, taking the lead and killing many of the crazed priests. Soon they began to meet organized resistance, but by that time, the damage had been done. Ghoras's army began to fall apart, not wishing to follow Feld, not trusting others to lead them safely. Sabat remains free of the eternal empire. For a while.

373 (Sabat (again))

Bredt Akkat's only son, Jean, now 23, returns to Sabat with a small portion of Ghoras's army. No priests were to be harmed. Captured, yes, but not harmed. Having overcome this obstacle, Jean finally conquers Sabat in 375.

376 (Soren)

Jean marches into Soren and meets scattered resistance, mostly very amateur and uncoordinated. A governor is installed in six months.

380 (Gosseg Run)

Jean pushes through Gosseg Run, destroying every port and every city on the north bank of the Gosseg River. He then meets with the Sifter's Council and they decide together that it would be in the best interests of all parties involved if the rest of Gosseg Run were to join the Eternal Empire. The Sifter's Council Chairman goes to Tzalin, is bile-wormed, and requests help to rebuild the important ports along the north bank, or else many, many orders for chemicals would go undelivered. Jean's army is enlisted to help rebuild.

387 (Arivale)

Arivale puts up moderate resistance, but Jean is relentless and secures Arivale by 392.

394 (Pavane)

Following the death of the current Rider's Horse, Ghoras and Jean Akkat go to Pavane alone. Ghoras conjures a phantom steed and expresses his interest in the race. He is readily granted a place, and no one points out that a non-corporeal horse is a violation of the rules. Ghoras wins by three lengths and summons lightning to kill all the other Horses save the second place horse. He informs the gathered crowd that Ghoras would allow the runner up (Jeh Ket) the privilege of serving in Ghoras's place provided that he (and his horse) were bile-wormed. A low muttering gathered throughout the crowd as everyone began to realize what had just taken place. The other (now horseless) Riders gathered about Jeh Ket and conferred. Jeh Ket (and horse) accompanied Ghoras and Akkat back to Tzalin, where bile worms were inserted.

396 (Little Hengmir)

surrenders.

397 (Ro Palis)

Ro Palis sends an ambassador to Tzalin, and a treaty (surrender) is drawn up with Ghoras's Advisor.

401 (Grey Forest)

Upon hearing that the Grey Forest's Duke had died, Jean Akkat leads his men into the woods. What resistance they met was fierce, but very scattered. The new Duke was invited to Tzalin to be bile-wormed, though this process has to be repeated a number of times.

405 (Arbyt of Triel)

The Five Listeners of the Arbyter arrive in Tzalin and surrender their land to Ghoras. Upon being asked why they have surrendered, the Listeners reply that it is the Arbyter's will.

423 (Cezco)

Ghoras attends the Queen's challenge and interrupts the single combat by slaying both combatants.

448 (Aravy)

In what looked to be the most bloody of all the conquests, Molar Akkat finds himself squared off against a very determined foe along the border of Dvelinhurtz-the Vath and Aravy. After several months of fierce battle, Aravy Warlord Logoset offers a parley in which a duel is commenced. Molar Akkat slays the Warlord and Aravy pledges allegience to Akkat.

464 (Gri-Ennis)

Facing a very elite force of fighters with the best weapons ever created, Molar Akkat leads Ghoras's army and the newly conquered Aravians into a fierce, but short-lived battle. Ghoras insists on a short battle and orders Akkat to kill all prisoners to speed the end of the war. Gri-Ennis falters at this disregard for life and surrenders soon after the killings begin.

472 (Sioden)

Ghoras, Jenril Akkat and a small squad of guards travel to Sioden to demand an immediate surrender. After consulting for less than two hours, the king (in conjunction with the Ammon Sages) decides to accept the offer of surrender and keep the knowledge of the world safe from battle.

491 (Cliffsfall)

The Ladysblood runs thick and red. Cliffsfall is decimated. While the citizens of Cliffsfall may be good mercenaries, they do not form a good army.

521 (Xaban)

Xaban pulls off many of Akkat's troops by sending its warships north against the Empire. Even with so many of his troops defending against the seaborne Xaban, the Ladysblood runs red before Xaban falls to superior forces.

553 (Pdallar)

Battlemages, no matter how powerful, will always cede to a tidal wave of oppposition. So it was during the battle for Pdallar. Elapsed time: 1 month. Casualty ratio: 500 soldiers to 1 battlemage.

554 (Regros)

After witnessing the battle for Pdallar, the Duke of Regros decides to bide his time and assets and surrenders to Akkat. It is widely believed that Duke Regros intends to attack the empire at a more opportune moment.

571 (Belid)

Belid resists on a town-by-town basis. No widespread defense is offered, but the point defenses used against Akkat prove effective for a short time. The Kingsland does indeed breed true heroes.

580 (Vendilon)

Akkat attacks Vendilon with caution, fearing that the occurences of the Wars of Ambition would repeat themselves, but they do not. (At least, not on a large scale.) Vendilon falls after two years subjective time.

603 (Ithyra)

The Red Duke uses his army with formidable skill, but ends with Ghoras's anger. Akkat stations many, many soldiers in Ithyra to maintain the dearly won peace.

607 (Tri-hien Alliance)

An war alliance formed between Grivllos, Mounch, and Mooris, Trihien presents a formidable defense for Akkat to brave. This combined defense sorely taxes Ghoras's army, alread depleted by the peace-keeping in Ithyra. Tri-hien holds the Empire away for nearly 20 years.

611 (Regros (again))

Seizing the moment, the Duke of Regros gathers his troops and helps support the Tri-hien alliance under the urgings of Ithyra's Red Duke. Regros isn't terribly effective, but is an unwanted pain during a trying time. Ghoras and Akkat now face unrest in two countries as well as war with three.

611 (Ithyra (again))

After four years of chafing under Ghoras's yoke, the Red Duke finds a way to take advantage of the situation and lashes out at Ghoras's standing army. Akkat is forced to spread his troops even more thinly to quell the unrest in Ithyra.

625 (Tri-hien Alliance (and friends))

Finally, with the help of his brother, sons and nephews, Lord General Akkat succeeds in taking (and retaking) the land under the Tri-hien Alliance, Regros and Ithyra. The Red Duke and his entire line are forcibly quitted from the land at the hand of Akkat.

654 (Ngth)

Having begun its preparations in 642, the Church soldiers are ready to meet Kar Akkat. The Church Knights of the order of Shagras plagued Akkat's army with various uses of magic that caused chaos among the soldiers. Facing tens of thousands of fanatical zealots, Akkat is forced to fall back to Vendilon after six months. Fearing Ghoras's reprisal, Kar Akkat commits suicide and leaves the army under leadership of his daughter, Dire. When Ghoras arrives, Dire informs him of the situation. Ghoras asks Dire's advice, and Dire suggests that only the gods could help. Ghoras seems amused by this and thanks her. Two weeks later, the Council of Bishops of sent a welcoming party to Dire's army in Vendilon.

682 (Femlir)

Ghoras decides to play the game of houses in Femlir and succeeds in putting his own man into the position of Lord Regent. After disposing of the next three kings, Femlir realizes that it is, indeed, a member of the Eternal Empire.

761 (Blacklock)

Having wondered when, when, when will the attack come, Duke Blacklock finally surrenders to Ghoras in Tzalin. During the years the Blacklock had been waiting, Ghoras improved roadways and strengthened his hold on the empire.

800 (Mosk, Greater and Lesser)

Greater Mosk petitions Ghoras to join the Eternal Empire. Mosk had always had good relations with Tzalin, and the Transition is the quickest (and easiest) of all member states.

825 (Kranoj)

Kranoj falls easily, putting up only token resistance. The king travels to Tzalmir to be bile-wormed, and wakes in the morning to find his crown on his hat-stand, saving Ghoras the trouble of having to find the current member of the Thieves' Guild that has it.

834 (Senliat)

Not particularly wanting to lose significant numbers of its citizens in a non-offering setting, Senliat puts up a white flag when Akkat musters his troops.

875 (Hviviveros)

After informing the Hviviveros in no uncertain terms that he would not, in fact, become a baker, Akkat sweeps through the country and installs a Regent for Ghoras.

960 (Isles of Verne)

Rimve Akkat is sent with the Empire's fleet to take the Isles of Verne. Most of the fleet, and many, many troops were lost in the conquest of the Isles, but bile-wormed regents were able to maintain martial law after the end of the seven year battle.

970 (Kerrak)

Feeling assured that he could now take on the Mountains of Kraerkorag, Rimve Akkat declares war on Kerrak. But, the Mountains (and the Kerraks) proved to be more than he had hoped for, and the war still lasts. Rimve managed to take the Northern half of Kerrak, and even keep it peaceful in 980, and a Governor was appointed. Rimve Akkat was killed by a rebel force in 981. His son, Devrim Akkat continued to fight against Kerrak, and had the country under martial law by 997. It is still under martial law.