Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/The War Of Vengeance/The Beard

Known as the War of Vengeance for rhe Coalition, the War of the Beard for the Protectorate, the War of the Ancients to outsiders, or simply the First Katsuragi-Coalition War, is a bloody five years, instigated by Malekith forces, waged between the Coalition and the Protectorate. The Dwarfs were led by their High King, Gotrek Starbreaker, the High Elves by the Phoenix King Caledor II, who fell in battle during the final climactic battle of the war.

The war left both races severely devastated; Phoenix King Caledor II was slain in single combat by High King Gotrek Starbreaker, and the crown of the Phoenix King was taken from his corpse by the High King as recompense for Caledor's murder of his son and future High King, Snorri Halfhand. Though the Coalition were originally victorious, the war left them dangerously weakened, and had suffered more losses when the Horde incursion that were soon to follow, leading to the death of Gotrek. Along with the death of their Phoenix King, the devastating defeats of the Protectorate by the Coalition and the following invasions led by the Voshkods had completely shattered the reputation of the Asur in the Protectorate eyes, leading to the disolving of the Asur nobility in favor of a council when the Erune and Katsuragi are seen as equals. With exceptions in the Durin Mountains and Ulthuan, the Coalition and Protectorate, once mighty and imperious, were thus reduced to shadows of their former glory, and much lingering resentment remains between the Coalition and the Protectorate.

In Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict, It serves as a background for the Karak Overlord Coalition and the Katsuragi Protectorate.

Background
Long ago, back when the Aquila was a colony and the Voshkod was just a large kingdom, the Protectorate had allied with many races; among them were the Coalition. Already a great civilization when they first made contact with the Asur, the combination of cultures increased the stature of both races. Trade between the nations flourished, Elven silk and steel were much valued by the Coalition, and Coalition armour, weaponry and alcohol became a common sight in Ulthuan. The fortress of Sith Rionnasc'namishathir was established at the mouth of what is now the (insert).

In the Age of Strife and the tragic civil war called the Sundering, the Phoenix King Caledor I steered the Protectorate through their time of turbulence, after the murder of the previous King Bel Shanaar by Malekith, the son of the first King Aenarion. However, as long as Malekith and his followers still lived there would be no peace. After his defeat at the Marches of Maledor and the exile of the Dark Elves to the cold land of Naggaroth, the Witch King hatched a plan, creating a spark that would become an inferno.

In the Year 1944 V.C., several Druchii raiding parties were dispatched in secret to the Durin Mountains with the intention of causing as much strife and unrest between the Protectorate and Coalition as possible. The Dark Elves achieved this by posing as Asur who were ambushing trading caravans, cheating merchants out of goods and razing several smaller settlements to the ground (the most notable of these being Zakbar Varf). This led to the tighter strictures on Dwarfen trade routes, harsher sanctions on Katsuragi trespassing into Coalition territory and ultimately the reckoning of many grudges against the Asur responsible.

The First Signs of War
High King Gotrek Starbreaker stalwartly tried to avert conflict, despite the Council wanting recompense by gold or blood. Unaware of the civil war that had just taken place within Ulthuan, due to the Elves', and by proxy the Katsuragi, refusal to speak of it, Starbreaker sent messengers to the Protectorate demanding to know the reason for the attacks and why the Phoenix King did little to resolve the crisis. The reply was immediate and uncompromising: if Gotrek wanted recompense he should come to the High Elf capital of Lothern, and beg for it, despite Yoshiro saying it was a bad idea. The Coalition were outraged, but Starbreaker attempted again to cool the temper of his Kings, and in 1945 V.C. sent his best ambassadors and Reckoners, led by Forek Grimbok, to Ulthuan to raise the issue with Caledor II (son of Caledor the Conqueror). When the envoy arrived many Elves realized how serious the claim was, the Phoenix King's advisors among them.

Caledor II, despite Yoshiro's advice, recklessly denied the charges against him and the Asur, and refused to even investigate the origin of the attacks. When Grimbok demanded once again that if the Protectorate could not discover who of their number was responsible for instigating the unrest then the Court themselves would be held accountable, Caledor became uncontrollably angry at Grimbok. Fearing for his reputation, Caledor ordered that Grimbok be shaved off his beard and expelled from Ulthuan, gravely insulting him, the Council and the whole Coalition by extension. Grimbok returned home, humiliated but with purpose. Starbreaker, upon learning the terrible truth, immediately ordered the forges and armouries to begin preparing for war. Grimbok himself later became a Slayer due to the shame the incident placed upon him.

Outbreak
After mustering for almost a year, Coalition throngs marched to war on the Protectorate, drawing troops from the far ends of the Coalitions realm. Ironbreakers marched with Assault Marines of the Blood Angels, Alin mages marched with Vinci riflemen. Upon hearing of the assault on Tor Alessi, Caledor was outraged and ordered his generals to send an enormous fleet to relieve the city. The force that left Ulthuan was truly huge, dwarfing any navy before or since, and though the Proteactorate leaders, especially Yoshiro, was worried that this would leave their lands undefended, Caledor was determined.

Protectorate and Coalition fought bitterly until in 1948 V.C. Caledor slew the Dwarf Prince Snorri Halfhand after Snorri challenged him to single combat. Being tired of slaughter, and wishing to reduce their losses, the Protectorate then retreated. Seeking revenge for his cousin’s death Morgrim Baugrim led the forces that pursued the Protectorate. For many years the Protectorate retreated until they decided to stand and fight at Oeragor (1949 V.C.). When the lines met, rivers of blood flowed and hundreds on each side lost their lives until Lord Imladrik, the prince commanding the main army, was slain in single combat by Morgrim and the Protectorate retreated once again, this time leaderless.

Morgrim was crowned a hero and he continued to capture through the Protectorate towns and cities across Cantha, notably razing the city Athe Maraya in 1949 V.C. The heroes Lord Salendor of Tor Achare and Brok Stonefist of Karak Azul, who had previously fought many great battles, eventually lost both their lives in the doomed city, crushed by the burning crumbling towers. The Coalition was quite unlike any foe the Protectorate had ever faced, refusing to give up even when doom or defeat was assured for them. The war became a stalemate, the mountain fortresses of the Dwarfs were unassailable and the Coalition laid siege to Tor Alessi thirteen times, but was unable to penetrate the city's walls. During all of this Tatsu had sent Shinobis and the Protectorate special forces in the hopes of finding and apprehending the dark elves, hoping that it would let them sue for peace with the Coalition.

The Battle of the Three Towers
In the year 1950 V.C., at the fourteenth and final siege of Tor Alessi (later called "The Battle of the Three Towers"), for over a hundred days Coalition siege engines attacked the city's mighty walls and when it proved fruitless, they instead focused upon destroying the finely constructed towers. Eventually, the Coalition gained entrance to the fortress and Gotrek finally confronted Caledor at the heart of the city, where the pair duelled for three days on end, not stopping or disengaging for a second. Finally, when Caledor began to tire, Starbreaker disarmed him, broke his sword with the Rune-axe of Grimnir, and cast the Phoenix King to his knees. Pleading for his life, Caledor swore to surrender and sued for peace; however, Starbreaker not only saw that the King did not intend to keep his oath if his life was spared, but he also knew mercy was not his to give, only justice, executing him on the spot. As a final recompense, demanded so many years ago, Starbreaker took the Phoenix Crown from Caledor's head and declared the war to be ended.

The remaining Asur briefly considered the impossible task of besieging Karaz-a-Karak in order to reclaim the Crown, though the Katsuragi had refused to follow them any further, but by this time Malekith's plan had come to fruition and the Voshkods had launched a titanic invasion of Ulthuan, invading in the hopes of taking their territory for when they eventually go to war that is the Great Voshkod-Aquilan War.

Aftermath
"I had already saw the signs when the mages show the Astartes death was done by magic only the Drukhari would use. I tried to tell that idiot of a king that we should reveal the sundering to our allies, but like every damned asur he refuse out of pigheaded pride, and chose to demand recompense despite us having technically started it and shave the envoy, despite knowing full well of the Coalitions culture, and like everyone at that time I had full faith they could salvage the situation. I should have stood my ground, realizing that despite their power and age the Asur are just as human as we are, or told the Coalition in secret, even if it had meant execution, for the chance that our relationship would be shattered like the Drukhari intended, and could have saved my father. But all I did was damage control, and a rather shitty job at that..."

-Prince Tatsu, staring at the bottom of a glass.

With her armies depleted from the war against the Coalition and caught in complete surprise by the Voshkod invasion, Ulthuan ordered that all their forces to retreat from the Durin to defend the homeland, but by the time they did the damage the Voshkod had already razed half of their cities.

The Coalition, though victorious, were left dangerously weakened, even more so considering that they were still recovering from the Horus Heresy when the war started. This weakening allowed the Horde to unleash a great catastrophe upon the Mountain Kingdoms in what is known by the Coalition as the Time of Woes.

Another Phoenix Crown was made to replace the first crown, which remained in the great treasure hoard of Karaz-a-Karak. The fortress of Sith Rionnasc'namishashir ("Star Gem of the Sea in Eltharin"), was flooded and dismantled brick by brick in 1951 V.C., marking the last result of the Betrayal between Protectorate and Coalition. Although some (mainly Elves) gainsay them, the Coalition claim to this day that they won the war. However the war cost both sides hundreds of thousands of lives along with cities, fortresses, mountains of treasure, and a powerful ally in each other. And only in recent years, thanks to the tireless effort of Tatsu, and Kamina after his death, and Giacomo, are both sides starting to mend bridges.