Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/The Civil War

Background
(basically, the archipelagos (author here inserts their preferred name) were vassals that were conquered sometime around 1950s V.C. during the Elsword Empire rise. And were mostly fine, if chafing under their laws, until a significant point in a war where thousands of their conscripted people were forced to make a suicidal charge. That and those who fell in that charge not being noted for their actions was the final straw, leading to the archipelagoes rebelling, starting the civil war.

A Flood of Violence
By (insert date) V.C., things had been going poorly for the secret police, who were on the verge of defeat. Just as the rebels seemed poised on the tip of victory, however, the Empire has received they're distress signal. Now, it intervened directly, under the pretext of destroying the rebellion.

With the Empire warring with Voshkods, the Empire could only send out its Royal Guards and Experimental Division when they launched the mammoth Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. Both divisions streamed across the ocean in huge numbers, in a massive pincer movement that aimed to encircle and destroy the rebel forces in Manchuria island, sweeping in from east and west and overwhelming any rebel presence in a brutal and swift campaign lasting a few weeks against poorly led and poorly equipped forces. In short order, Manchuria was under Empire control, and a valuable breathing space had been bought for the secret police.

The Empire were far from done. As the Empire forces swept across the rest of the archipelagos, engaging rebel forces in battle where (insert general) starving army of illiterate peasants was comprehensively defeated in lopsided engagements, and securing large swathes of territory. The besieged rebels were beaten back by the combined Empire and secret police forces, many of its divisions destroyed or forced to surrender. The tide had been turned against them, with the Empire forces reclaiming territory for the secret police, who themselves increasingly grew in strength, even as the rebels struggled with the onslaught of the Empire forces.

Relief for the rebels finally came in (insert date) V.C. On the orders of Leang, the Royal Guards and Experimental Division withdrew from the archipelagos in order to reinforce the beleaguered Empire forces in the (insert something) theatre, leaving the secret police and rebels to fight it out amongst themselves. The rebels had managed somehow managed to hold off the combined Royal Guards and Experimental Division onslaught, primarily due to the difficulty of advancing a primarily land-based army in an archipelago with such poor infrastructure but such large territory; which did more to slow down the Empire's advance than the rebels ever did, but at considerable cost. The Empire had given time for the secret police to consolidate their gains, and now the balance of power had shifted.

A Dragon Awakened
With the Empire's withdrawal, both the Experimental division and Royal guards are reassigned to fight in the larger war, leaving a small detachment to help the secret police. Using the five years during which they policed the archipelagos, the Empire was able to build up its strength even as that of the rebels was torn down. While the Empire had now focused on the larger war, they had left the secret police with substantial quantities of military equipment, in addition to large swathes of territory. The war seemed to have shifted in favor of the Empire.

However, in spite of the fact that they were disadvantaged in terms of military hardware, numbers, and territory, the rebels had a trump card of their own. Four years of war with the Empire had brutalized their forces, true, but it had also honed their tactics and skills and left those who had survived the stronger for it; the rebels that the Empire now faced were experienced and grizzled soldiers, ready and willing to dig in for brutal defensive warfare against their opponent; the corruption, inefficiency and internal conflict that had previously plagued the rebels save for at the very highest level had been weeded out over those four years; the rebels were much weaker, but at the same time much stronger. As soon as their own war had come to an end, they began going underground, using whatever they can to rebuild in secret and readying themselves for when the Empire strikes again. And renaming themselves the Corona Rebellion, named after an island whose citizens held out an empire siege for four, bloody, months, before using a stolen dirty bomb to make sure they had the last laugh.

Rise of the People
With the aim of crushing the weakened rebels once and for all, (insert suitable general) launched a massive offensive against archipelagos in (insert date) V.C. Initial gains by the Empire were rapidly made, as the forces of the Empire overran the countryside and captured several towns before meeting major resistance from the rebels.

However, the Empire was in for a rude shock when they attempted to capture several Corona-controlled cities. Attempted assaults by Empire forces to take the cities were forced back repeatedly by the Corona, heavily relying on defensive tactics, mining areas the enemy was expected to be passing through, setting up barricades and ambushes to funnel Empire troops into selected kill zones, placing ambushes in strategic points and making use of other tactics.

By the end of (insert date) V.C. the Empire had suffered major setbacks in trying to take the Corona-controlled cities. Despite their advantages in numbers and equipment, the tactics and experience of the Corona forces allowed them to decimate Empire forces larger than them. Though the Empire succeeded in capturing several cities, the victories were largely pyrrhic, with an immense price in blood paid for victory. However even as they took losses the sheer population of their empire meant that losses were easily replenished, whereas the loss of a rebel meant one less soldier manning the bunkers, not to mention that the Empire had industrial plants that can easily replenish ammunition spent and equipment losses, while the Corona were always understocked and had to resort to looting equipment in the aftermath of a battle if possible. Meaning that, in time, the Empire will outlast them, whether by logistics or by numbers, with many Corona soldiers knowing that in the end, it's not of will they lose but when, unless a miracle comes. But even so, they chose to dig in, wanting to die standing, with a defiant yell, then kneeling on the chopping block and waiting for the executioner's blade.

War of Attrition
By (insert date) V.C., Corona had lost half of the islands they controlled, and as their numbers thinned the Empire's number remained ceaseless. And now they had managed to gather all four divisions, and are now set on ending this rebellion.

Battle-hardened Corona forces clashed with masses of Empire conscripts, resulting in staggering casualties for both sides. However, Corona knew they were stalling the inevitable. while they were able to inflict heavy losses to the Empire they would still lose territory, or even an island, while the Empire easily brought in new conscripts to replenish losses while the Corona was forced to use dwindling manpower. But as their territory shrank they were able to reinforce what islands they had left. Stubbornly digging in even as the Empire began demanding they surrender, making sure that every territory the Empire took will be paid in blood and slag.

The Empire themselves were smart enough to adapt to rebel tactics, concentrating firepower at weak points in the rebel lines in order to achieve a breakthrough and then using their mechanized forces to surge through such gaps and penetrate deep behind the enemy lines. The Corona responded by further improving and reinforcing their fortifications and defenses and utilizing what's left of their mechanized divisions to quickly plug such gaps.

Gift from the Heaven
After half a decade of unrelenting conflict, the Elsword-Corona Civil War came to its final conclusion, in an unexpected victory for the Corona, who became the Celestial VIceroyalty of Corona. The Corona had gained what they wanted; the power to fight the Empire on equal footing and used it. Perhaps it was a good thing, as it finally put a stop to the war, and in particular the unspeakable horror of the last five years.

For during one starry night, three meteors came crashing down into rebel territory.

The three meteors had just so happened to land within Corona territory. And, desperate for any advantage they can gain, the Corona had sent science teams, alongside escorts, to uncover these meteors for any information. And though they suffered some losses at first, mainly from not knowing how to contain the strange crystals and the ensuing mutations, once they were able to crack open what it was the tides had turned.

The Iron Cage
With their discovery of Amber, followed by their newly created technologies, the Corona began making stronger defenses. But knew that even with their new tools that the Empire outnumbers them, they needed a way to decimate their forces in one, swift, strike, preferably taking out their veterans.

Thus came the Iron Cage, one of the Empire's first out of many humiliating defeats in the war, and the signal of the turning tides.

It started rather simple. Having deciphered the Empire codes beforehand, and switching out to new communication equipment thank to Amber, the Corona sent a message that was intercepted by the Empire, saying that all of their generals will be meeting in a specially built fortress to discuss ways to win the war, knowing that the Empire would send everything they have to destroy it.

To enact this plan, the Corona constructed what they called the Eternal Fortress on an island, a defensive trap that was specifically designed to bog down a ground assault by the Empire and let them inflict overwhelming casualties on their foe. The Fortress consisted of over 32 square kilometers (20 miles) of hardened bunkers, towers, minefields, trenches, razor wire, tank traps, redoubts, and a system of complex underground tunnels. At the center of the Eternal Fortress' defenses lay a massive command bunker that was, however, intended to serve only as a decoy and had no actual tactical or strategic value.

Upon discovering that the rebel generals, not to mention almost all of their forces, had taken refuge within the Eternal Fortress, the Empire sent the Royal forces, Experimental division, and Royal guards to destroy this fortress.

Against the advice of some generals who believe that it was too coincidental for the Corona to congregate at a fortress near them, the three divisions launched their attack. Even worse, the assault was launched without extensive planning and preparations. The attack began with a shoreline and aerial bombardment of the island by the Nuclear division.

However, the Corona had easily anticipated the tactic and took cover in the Eternal Fortress' extensive underground system of bunkers and remained unaffected by the ferocity of the bombardment. The Corona then activated remote anti-air missile silos a sizable distance away from the Fortress, forcing the Empire to commit their ground forces against them in a precipitous amphibious landing and ground assault if they did not want to see their fleet chewed up by the island ground emplacements. As the Empire approached the island shore, the Corona then fired a special missile that produced a powerful radio static in the atmosphere that disrupted radio communications between the Empire's ground forces and the Empire fleet and airforce. This tactic eliminated any chance of effective air or naval support for the ground assault, a key advantage for the defenders.

The Empire approached the Eternal Fortress' outer perimeter in a massive front with all three divisions. Overseeing the battlefield from a heavily fortified command tower, the rebel generals directed the course of the rebel's defense. The Empire was immediately met by the unyielding and multi-layered nature of the Corona's defenses. With the aid of their anti-tank thermal cannons and minefields, the Corona neutralized the Empire's armor assets and pinned down their infantry units.

The Empire, despite suffering very high casualties, eventually managed to break through the Eternal Fortress' outer perimeter, only to discover less resistance than expected within the Fortress' lines. Unknown to the Empire, the Corona had withdrawn portions of their forces to entice the Empire into assaulting the defenders' positions and taking additional casualties.

This allowed the Corona to control the movements of the Empire, driving them into carefully planned traps and kill zones. Through the skillful use of these tactics, the Corona was slowly able to break apart the tactical organization of the Empire, scattering them by squad and company across the Eternal Fortress' prepared defenses where they could not concentrate their force. And after an hour passed since the battle started, the Empire had been reduced to fighting a series of individual engagements, against turrets that fire beams of metal melting heat and soldiers in powered armor, that could not hope to penetrate the Corona's layered defenses.

The battle lasted for two more hours. The surviving Empire's ammunition was almost completely expended and they chose to fight in hand-to-hand combat in half-flooded trenches using only their combat knives or bare hands, realizing they fell for a trap and are now desperately fighting out while they dug into the mud and used the corpses of their fallen brethren for cover.

If it weren't for the intervention of the nuclear division, whose role in the war was limited since the Empire didn't want the islands irradiated, forcing the Corona to retreat the Empire's three (in)famous divisions would have been slaughtered to the last. And out of the fifty-thousand forces, consisting of three divisions including the Zhu Rong, Suan Ni, and Guan yu, only ten thousand soldiers made it out alive. Of the survivors, these included general Kwai, Fai, and Leang and soldiers Lunalu, Karok, and Evie, of which the Iron Cage remained a defining moment that influenced their actions, as both soldiers and generals, in the coming years.

By the end of the battle, both the Experimental division and the Royal guards has lost 80% of their forces many of which were veterans, forcing them out of the war, with only the Royal forces, having only lost 30% of their forces consisting of conscripts, and the Nuclear division, the only division not sent into the Iron Cage, being the only ones able to continue fighting.

Thus came a humiliating defeat for the Empire that would pave the way for the formation of the Viceroyalty. As for the Corona forces they were celebrating their first major victory and avenging their fallen brothers and sisters from the first war with the decimation of the Experimental division and Royal guards.

As for the fortress, it still stands today, as both a testament to the Viceroyalty's defensive prowess and a beacon of shame for the Empire, with rumors that the souls of Empire soldiers are still trapped within, with the fortress wails being the soldier spirit begging to be let out.

Ending the War, Day of Black Sun
In the aftermath of the Iron Cage the Corona, who now christened themselves as the Celestial Viceroyalty of Corona, began to go on the offensive. Corona forces would first let the Empire forces thin their ranks out in repeated assaults; once the Empire forces had been sufficiently exhausted from the attacks, the Corona would then push forward, forcing back the thinned-out Luresian forces before digging in to secure their territorial gains.

And as the Empire watched as their grip over the archipelagos slip they gave the green light. And soon nuclear missiles, whether from the silos or by the Nuclear Division, began bombarding Corona-owned territories.

During this time Corona began rapidly finding a way to counter their nuclear missile.

(rest of lore will be inserted at some point)

Aftermath and Partial Induction to the Destroyers
With the armistice signed a tense ceasefire came on both sides. And the newly formed viceroyalty of Corona realized something. They need to leave Gaiaterra, but until then they need allies.

Despite their mastery of defensive warfare, they knew full well that if the Empire struck again with their allies they would lose, even if they would give each faction a bloody nose as they fell, and with the advent of chaos cults, a tense cold war teetering to total war, and an alien invasion. They deemed Gaiaterra too dangerous to live and intend to make a grand exodus to planet lightyears away founded by satellites, while also crippling the other superpowers as a final middle finger. But in order to commit their plan they needed more advanced technology from other nations, such as Andora's cryo-tech and Protectorate Nanotechnology. And destroy, or at least cripple, the neighboring space stations, mainly the ADI Philidelphia, Voshkod Mir, and Thunderbird 5, which may try to stop them. And until then they needed allies and came upon two choices.

Joined the protectors, of which their hated foe the Empire is in, or join the destroyers, who oppose the Empire. The choice was rather simple.

In exchange for protection and allies, the Viceroyalty will give the Destroyers their research in Amber, of course, they give out what is already known and purposely withheld their more interesting research.

It should also be noted that the Viceroyalty relation to the Destroyers is only an alliance of convenience, with relationship being professional and cold at the best of times, and barely tolerating each other otherwise. As the Viceroyalty has only joined for protection, and tried their best to stay out of its politics, and the Destroyers only inducted them to take their Amber, which the Viceroyalty know all too well but have no choice. And in most engagements they worked with the Destroyers being mainly as defending key areas or being the rearguard, an action they don’t mind, while operations led by them sees their allies as a resource they can use, to some extent, often leading to high casualties for their Destroyer ally with little losses for the Viceroyalty. And it’s noted that in some battles the Viceroyalty had either refused to come to the aid of a Destroyer's call for help to even abandoning them in battle, reasoning ranging from not wanting to waste lives in what they think is a losing battle to simply not caring. And is safe to say the Destroyers returned their actions in kind.

Not to mention that while on paper the Corona is aligned with the Destroyers, in practice the Corona is a neutral, isolationist, PMC, willing to work with anyone, except the Empire, in exchange for money, data to further their Amber research, and/or beating up the Empire. And once their plan comes to fruition they will leave, crippling every other nations in a combination of making sure they won't stop them and as revenge, though they are debating whether to give their allies their Amber research, barring space travel, in gratitude or just scorching them along with the Empire.

Once the alliance was established the Viceroyalty now set their sights on the Andorans, with most of their operations now fighting against the Republic, particularly against the White Tundra. This is due to the Viceroyalty realizing that, in order to further advance their research in Amber, they must steal the Republic's cryo technology. Thus the Viceroyalty became particularly ferocious, rivalling the ferocity when fighting the Empire, whenever they fought against the Republic, especially if its against White Tundra, with any Republic commanders facing them being ordered to destroy any data of their cryo technology if they lose against them.