The First Anscha Campaign

In the very instant gold was discovered in the Anscha Isles all doubt as to whether or not the islands would be annexed into Atmor quickly faded. The questions that now came to mind were questions such as “how” and “when”. There was no doubt that a strong military presence would have to be established there not only to prevent any native insurgency but also to prevent other foreign and domestic entities from obtaining control of the region and its resources. If the mining conglomerate learned of the Isles existence and of the resources therein, which they undoubtedly eventually would, conflict for control of the islands would be certain to follow. If the Atmoran Trade Syndicate could manage to quietly occupy the Isles and establish a military presence then the Northern Mining Conglomerate would lose its monopoly of the production of gold in Atmor and its territories. However, if the Conglomerate were to somehow become privy to the existence of Anscha and its resources, the political and economic power struggle that would ensue could potentially shake the foundations of the nation itself.

Preparations for the campaign were made in absolute secrecy, even the High Chancellor of that time was not aware of the discovery of Anscha much less the nature of its value. The aim of the campaign was essentially to evaluate in depth the value of each island and to establish control over the entire archipelago. As grand a goal as this was, it was far from impossible, the majority of the natives had evidently lived in nearly absolute peace for several generations and it could be reasonably inferred that if the Kayyi Adannu sa Wahlu was defeated and the artifact which was symbolic of their rule was taken, that the people themselves would either diverge into more manageable factions or wholly surrender. Any resistance that the islanders could muster would certainly be comprised of inexperienced hunters, farmers, and fisherman fighting with less than ideal arms. It was decided that the first military forces would be split into three groups, one to protect mining operations on Iba’ Roshi (the southwestern most island in the chain and home to both the Red Fin Tribe and the Grey Hand Tribe), One to take the small island of Jara off the southern tip of Iba’ Ahntur for use in staging operations on the primary island, and one to begin conquest of Iba’ Ahntur itself. The preparations for the initial campaign took the better part of a decade to make, no expense was spared with concern to the secrecy of the endeavor. The first fleet consisted of 85 ships with many more soon to follow. Most were merchant ships outfitted for war in secrecy but a few were refurbished warships, privately owned Vazkug vessels, cargo ships and **** ships.

Time and Topography were enemies of utmost concern. Any prospective strategy for the task of conquering these islands would rely heavily on speed. Not even the cheapest vazkug would charge less than two Grokkar (silver pieces worth a sixth of a gold Herkir)a day with any special troops costing several times more. Most of the resources of the islands could not effectively be sold without revealing the existence of Anscha and therefore no substantial profit could be turned until the Trade Syndicate’s control over the islands was cemented enough to contend with possible Mining Conglomerate attempts at forcibly acquiring their assets. This essentially meant that wealth could be stockpiled in a sense and preparations made for its sale, but any gains could not be converted to actual currency until the main island was successfully conquered, and therefore until that time the venture would be a source only of cost and not capital. The other chief concern, Topography, would be more difficult obstacle to combat. Only two islands in the archipelago had been mapped to any appreciable degree, the rest only had their perimeters explored at best. Very little of Iba’ Ahntur was explored and even less was known of islands like Iba’ Oswadja and Mehdgo, as those islands did not appear volcanic and therefore were presumed less profitable. To compensate for this a team of expert cartographers would be escorted by any of the five rangers that were hired to join the campaign.

Six months after their arrival in the archipelago the islands of Jara and Iba’ Roshi had been successfully conquered and fortified, and still not one ounce of gold had been found on the islands. Atmoran forces had learned the location of the city in which the Kayyi Adannu sa Wahlu dwelled, that it lay northwest of Mt. Wahziri, and had already began their advance toward it. A handful of remarkable tactical victories had already been achieved on the main island yet despite these promising achievements, the campaign had not gone quite as planned. It quickly became apparent that crucial pieces of information were nothing more than worthless (and costly) half truths. Were the islanders lacking modern steel weapons? Mostly. Were their weapons ineffective? Sometimes. Had the main island not seen any major conflict for several generations? In a way. Was this due solely to the deification of Ahntur and his possession of an immensely powerful weapon of some sort? Not entirely. The Mist Demon tribe’s resistance was expected to be comprised of farmers and hunters armed with ineffective weaponry, which they were not. Though it was true that steelcraft was an unknown skill to the islanders, they were adept at crafting arms from most anything and it seemed that some of those “less-than-ideal” weapons were capable of inflicting terrible wounds. Bone weapons were quite prevalent among them, being both light and sturdy, arrows and javelins were often tipped with a single venomous stingray barb. These barbed projectiles were capable of inflicting incredibly painful wounds on any exposed flesh even without a venomous agent, the toxin itself was often fatal but took days at a time to kill. When said toxin enters a wound the resulting pain is crippling and it is recorded to have driven victims to suicide. This was but one of many primitive weapons which the islanders made opportunistic use of. Blades of copper, bronze, and flint were not uncommon among them and were generally well made though largely ineffective against steel arms and armor, though an odd free obsidian was also a popular choice for bladed weaponry. Weapons varied widely in quality from crude to incredibly ornate, and were often sharpened to an edge so fine the vazkug favored them for razors rather than tools of war. After the first few contacts the natives stopped fighting in the open where they would invariably be defeated and opted instead to set traps along pathways and ambush small clusters of troops. The traps proved to be a constant and deadly hindrance to the invading forces, pitfall traps as well as dead-drop traps were staggeringly effective against the more heavily armored Vazkug whose added weight served to increase the efficacy of such traps. Red Fin Tribe auxiliaries were tasked with identifying and disarming or otherwise clearing these obstacles for advancing forces, although the auxiliaries were quite often killed immediately upon leaving fortified positions or being exposed by Vazkug formations. Although any member, former member, or affiliate of the atmoran military is quite familiar with the use of unconventional tactics against enemy forces, it was readily decided that those present much preferred utilizing said techniques on their opponents rather than having it used on them.

Contrary to the information initially provided to Atmoran forces, the Mist Demons most certainly did have martial forces at their disposal. Although Ahntur had managed to secure relative peace on the primary islands, he was evidently smart enough to know that peace would die along with him unless he made plans to aid the defense of said peace for future generations. In his lifetime he had ordered the design and construction of numerous fortified cities and locations throughout the island, oversaw the creation of a military guard designed to both defend tribal lands and to protect the laws and order therein. One of his crowning achievements was the creation of an academy for the training of military personnel, taught by the best warriors of the tribe in each generation. Students and Teachers were fervently encouraged to compete constantly in order to hone and perfect their arts. Ahntur personally conducted the training of his own descendants until his ****, teaching them his own unique skills to be passed down through the generations, thus providing The House Of Eternal Paragons with a distinct edge over other Mist Demon warriors in combat. These preemptive measures served to not only deter would be raiders, but also to quell internal insurrections within the tribe. Handfuls of these forces had already been encountered by Atmoran forces and they proved to be more formidable opponents than the average native, though severely lacking in leadership and coordination. It became evident to the field marshals that although the academy was capable of formally training acceptable warriors, it was only capable of training less than acceptable field tacticians. After several crushing victories for Atmoran Forces, the House of Eternal Paragons responded with a more aggressive counteroffensive, launching wave after wave of night raids against fortified camps. Under cover of darkness the native combatants would scale vazkug battlements and abduct or kill as many atmorans as they could. Attacking at night effectively prevented the invasion forces from fielding armored troops and cavalry, forcing them to fight in conditions which were most unfavorable to the more heavily outfitted atmorans. The utter chaos of these nocturnal assaults significantly reduced the efficacy of most ranged troops, with the exception of the rangers. Before the morning sun began to rise, the Mist Demons would begin gathering their dead and carrying them away amidst the clamor of combat. When at last the morning shone upon the island, the raiders had all but disappeared, often leaving no bodies at all behind for their losses to be counted. With no way to estimate enemy losses, the greener ranks of the vazkug likened the engagements to fighting ghosts. It was later learned that the atmorans **** during these raids were given as whores for the males of the Kayyi Adannu, a fact which was arguably more detrimental to atmoran morale than the raids themselves were. After nearly three months of slowed progress, atmoran forces had pressed almost to the northern end of the Sarakif Mountains, where they encountered their first heavily fortified city on Iba’Ahntur. The stone walled stronghold of Amarkaad defends a wide pass between two ridges of hills running from the southwest to the northeast toward the mountains. The use of fire arrow volleys proved fruitless against this city, as every structure inside the walls was crafted of stone and every roof constructed of quarried slate. A battering ram was fashioned and eventually enabled the vazkug to successfully breach the city. Among the native defenders of the hold was a Kayyi Adannu warrior called a “Shibo-Se” or “third rank tiger”. During the battle the Shibo-Se engaged a Lieutenant Class Vazkug and, to the surprise of every atmoran present, managed to fend off the Lieutenant Class sellsword briefly before being abruptly slain by a ranger arrow through his skull. At length native forces were routed and fled the city as best they could. This victory, even as it boosted atmoran morale, triggered a strong response from the Kayyi Adannu sa Wahlu. A roughly estimated **** of 6,000 natives gathered north of the city within the month, their ranks bolstered with reinforcements from the allied Storm Wind and Sand Snake tribes. At this time there were nearly 10,000 Vazkug present throughout the entire archipelago, nearly half of which were divided amongst a number of occupied fortifications. Instead of besieging the city, the Mist Demon Army camped a few miles north laying in wait for the inevitable advance of the atmoran armies from the stronghold.

When the atmorans resumed their advance they were met with unexpectedly fierce resistance. From within a complex system of caves that ran along the eastern side of the road north they rushed forth, attacking suddenly and quickly retreating back into the shelter of the caves. As one wave would retreat another would charge from a separate cave in a different direction thus alternating constantly between charging and retreating. The natives made industrious use of loose stones and fallen logs nearby, rolling them down the hillsides beneath the caves to crush any vazkug who rushed after them. Ranged counterattacks were impaired significantly by these tactics as it was most unwieldy to coordinate fire, the pathway between the hillocks was hardly spacious, this in conjunction with the constant hit and run tactics of the natives all but negated the effective use of volley fire. The sudden development of coordinated Mist Demon resistance marked a turning point in the campaign as the northern advance was halted forcing the atmoran troops to retreat to Amarkaad. A total of approximately 2,000 reinforcements were requested from throughout controlled Iba’ Ahntur and Jara, to support the northern advance although not all requests were answered. During the nearly two months spent on mustering troops, all five of the atmoran rangers active in the first campaign were tasked with scouting the surrounding area for any advantageous positions or information. Reconnaissance indicated that there was a larger **** of islanders waiting in the north sending troops to rotate stations with those in the caves. Furthermore the natives had begun fortification of hilltop positions on the side of the road opposite the caves. With this information in mind a plan was devised to break the islanders control over the northern road. A detachment of around 1000 cavalry guided by a ranger were to circle west on the narrow path around the foothills and cut off the main mist demon forces from those gathered in the caves. The remaining rangers along with 100 light foot soldiers were tasked with clearing the unfinished hilltop fortalices of enemy personnel to allow atmoran archers and arbalists to take the elevated positions unmolested. Once this was accomplished ranged troops would support the advance of the remaining **** (some 4,000 estimated) thus renewing the battle with clear advantages over their opponent in position, range, and numbers. Perhaps it would have been so, had the mission to take the hilltops succeeded. Of the four rangers that were sent to take the hilltop objectives only two returned, of the 100 soldiers sent to assist them not one remained. According to the survivors the troops arrived at the first position without incident and found it unoccupied, only a handful of enemies occupied the second position and it was cleared with little effort. However a superior number of troops issued from the third position and hastened to engage the ranger led forces and retake the second position. The ranger in command sounded the horn to retreat but found themselves ambushed at the first position by a group of Kayyi Adannu warriors led by a man with a sword that “burned with a black fire that produces no light”. With the larger **** closing in, the rangers focused on the warriors in front of them as best they could but in the chaos of the ambush the warrior with the burning blade broke through the formation and slew the 1st star ranger nearest to him. One of the surviving rangers remarked that the fire from the blade actually ignited the rangers scale mail itself causing it to erupt with dark flames where the sword had struck, and it is worth noting that the veracity of this claim was not questioned as to openly doubt the certitude of a ranger would be tantamount to suicide. A second ranger engaged him but was cut down moments later with a single decisive cut to the back of the neck, leaving the wound aflame with the anomalous fire. As the formation collapsed the two remaining rangers narrowly escaped over the palisade and tumbled down the western side of the hill, suffering a few broken ribs between them in the process, before evading the enemy pursuit and returning to Amarkaad. After giving this report both of the rangers forthwith informed the paymaster that the price for their services were thenceforth doubled. This singular action alone altered the course of the campaign entire. When the ranger that was sent to guide the cavalry returned with her soldiers and heard of the defeat, she too doubled her rate. Upon learning of this, the captain class vazkug demanded greater pay as well, citing the sudden increase in danger as the reason for their suddenly increased cost. Soon every foreign woman on Iba’Ahntur was demanding increased fees, which the Atmoran Trade Syndicate was afraid to deny lest a horde of disgruntled sailors and cartographers decide to sell their knowledge of the archipelago to the Northern Mining Conglomerate. The Syndicate’s funds for the endeavor were now expended leaving behind only the shadow of a now doubtful victory.

Nearly a year had passed at this point with not one speck of gold recovered, although rich deposits of silver and copper ores had been struck it was not enough. One person after another was interrogated if not tortured and yet no islander would expose the source of their hidden gold no matter the method of extraction applied upon them. With costs multiplying daily and no tangible progress being made, the campaign quickly lost the good faith (and therefore the continued funding) of its Atmoran Trade Syndicate investors. All of the funds raised for the campaign had been exhausted by the end of the ninth month of the campaign, leaving the past three months worth of expenses to be covered directly from the coffers of the syndicate itself. Rather than reveal the existence of the Anscha Islands and risk losing them to the advantage of the Northern Mining Conglomerate, the Syndicate decided to withdraw their forces from the main island but to leave some personnel on Jara and Iba’ Roshi and to pay a small fee to every participant in the campaign for their silence. Thus ended the first Anscha Campaign.