Scæþing Punitive War

Scæþing Punitive War
Part of PrikPack v16
The Magical Empire looking for Kjolt947's air raid siren
Date: Dec 19, 2022 (Year 8) Location: Islands of Scæþing and the Magical Empire. Result: Negotiated peace Territory changes: No changes
Combatants
Magical Empire with aid of mercenaries from Radhan	Scæþing
Commanders
Wikaros, bcfoss	Kjolt947, jusipat
Casualties
~2 deaths	~4 deaths

The Scæþing Punitive War was a conflict between the Scæþing Empire and the Magical Empire, which began when Kjolt947 declared war on Wikaros after multiple instances of his base being vandalized. The conflict then escalated and the rest of the Scæþing faction joined Kjolt, whilst Wikaros sought military aid in the form of the occultist mercenary bcfoss.

Beginning of the War

The declaration of war by Kjolt947 was done while the co-belligerents were still in a ship being driven by Cflip_, it was decided that as soon as Cflip_ deposited his passengers, being Wikaros and his hired sword bcfoss; that they would be declared war on by the entire Scæþing faction.

Scæþing Opening Moves

The Scæþing Empire at the time was not particularly prepared for a war on this scale, and security on the island and the great Scæþing Fortress were severely lacking. As Scæþing was expecting to be playing defensive at the onset of the war, jusipat ordered that Kjolt947 and Cflip_ stay to defend the Scæþing Fortress while he constructed a ramshackle forward-operating-base on the southern shore of the yet-named Midway Island.

Magical Kingdom Opening Moves

Following the declaration of war, Wikaros immediately hired out the mercenary bcfoss. Both disembarked at the Magical Kingdom, but bcfoss quickly visited Radhan to secure weapons and armor, and also to hide the valuables and population of Lûl deep within the crypts. A defensive palisade was erected surrounding Lûl, but active defense of the island was not even considered. Coincidentally, a Scæþing led attack on Radhan was never considered either.

The Magical Kingdom at the time was not very prepared for war. Returning to Magical Isle, bcfoss surveyed the defenses of the main fortress complex and found them lacking. The keep of the fortress was on the north eastern corner of an unfinished curtain wall, which extended southwards and eastwards but had not yet walled off the western flank. Both bcfoss and Wikaros agreed to pull back defenses to the keep; Windows on it's first floor would later be bricked up, and indefensible farms and stables in the surrounding fields were scorched.

Concerning strategy, there was a difference of opinion among the Magical Kingdom forces. Learning that the Magical Kingdom possessed few valuables worth protecting, bcfoss suggested an offensive strategy targeting Scæþing in order to indirectly protect the home islands by tying up enemy forces. By his estimation, jusipat and the rest of Scæþing would adopt a defensive mindset at first, further supporting an offensive strategy. Wikaros nevertheless chose to invest fully in the defense of the Magical Kingdom, though he gave bcfoss a free hand to scout the surrounding waters, mostly for defensive and reconnaissance reasons but also in anticipation of a possible reaving expedition to Scæþing.

jusipat's intentions for building the forward-operating-base were sound, and he successfully intercepted bcfoss on his first patrol circuit. This event handed the initiative towards the Scæþing side as it became apparent to the Scæþings that Wikaros, commanding the allied Magic Empire forces, had no stomach for offensive operations. This would be further highlighted as jusipat began reconnaissance/harrassing attacks on the Magical Empire's island which pinned Magical Kingdom forces.

Siege of Magical Fortress

Magical Fortress during the siege, taken from the roof of the keep. Note the state of the curtain wall.

Having repulsed the Magical Kingdoms scouting expedition, jusipat solidified Scæþing initiative by landing on the southern coast of the Magical Isle.

Magical Kingdom forces remained oblivious to the incursion for some time afterwards. Eventually, the glint of enchanted armor at the southern treeline was noticed by bcfoss and the fortress was put on high alert. Secrecy blown, jusipat became more aggressive and descended into the scorched farmland to the east of the fortress, dodging many arrows to the frustration of the defenders.

Made aware of a defensive liability, bcfoss sallied forth from the keep and cut down a swath of trees growing right up to the southern section of the curtain wall. Covered by the archery of Wikaros, jusipat was unable to effectively harry bcfoss during this event, though both forces came close to one another in the charred farmland. Still outside the walls, the mercenary built another defensive palisade around the plateau on which the keep had been built. Eastern defenses somewhat cohesive, both defenders and harrassing forces shifted conflict to the western side of the keep where the curtain wall was wholly unfinished. This state of affairs continued for at least two nights.

Looping around to the east, jusipat made an abortive assualt on the eastern gate, but his proximity to Magical Kingdom archers made the endeavor risky and a hail of arrows forced him back from the walls. Sometime before this Wikaros had realized the hollow curtain walls might provide shelter to besiegers and ordered them to be put aflame, transforming them into a barren corridor devoid of cover, well within sight of the keep's archers. Whether jusipat knew this or not is irrelevant, as he evacuated the island soon after the failed assault.

Manoeuvering

Believing strongly that the initiative had to be retaken, bcfoss embarked immediately and sailed west for Midway, hoping to catch jusipat unawares at his forward outpost. What he found instead was a ring of packed gravel surrounding a crude spire. The outpost contained nothing of value and appeared to be a decoy, so a disappointed bcfoss retreated into the wilderness of Midway. It was from this vantage point that he caught sight of an invasion force headed for the Magical Kingdom. After informing Wikaros of their composition (jusipat and Kjolt947), bcfoss elected to continue onwards to Scæþing.

The Magical fortress was again besieged. Meanwhile, the mercenary force sailed past the fortress of Fin Ley and was immediately greeted by the keening of sirens. Landing at the industrial district, bcfoss made directly for Kjolt947's house and tore down some bricks from the pinnacle and continued southward, sacking Scæþing farmland thoroughly before embarking again and returning to the Magical Isle. Excluding the farmland, the damage was largely superficial; it was nevertheless a complete success, as the besieged Magical fortress was relieved of besiegers when Scæþing forces rushed homeward.

It is possible that this account of bcfoss's reaving expedition may be a conflation of two separate expeditons, consisting of an initial expedition that merely sailed past Fin Ley, and a later expedition whose path bisected the island. Either way they both avoided Fort Fin Ley and were largely diversionary in nature.

Both forces crossed within sight of one another as they returned to their respective homes, though only bcfoss noticed this fact.

Late Phase

jusipat flying the first plane over Magical Island for the attempted bombing run.

Cflip_ built the first plane, which jusipat flew over the enemy's island in a failed bombing run. A well placed bow shot by Wikaros managed to down the aircraft, which crashed fatally into the ocean nearby. Articles taken from jusipat's corpse in the crash were seen as valuable heirlooms by both Wikaros and bcfoss.

Cflip_ and Kjolt947 spent time guarding the fortress on the main Scæþing island, however bcfoss was able to make his ultimate incursion into Scæþing, this time targeting Fin Ley. Taking an overland route across the east of the island, bcfoss breached the walls and managed to take precious valuables from the inside of the castle without being noticed. For the remainder of the war Scæþing forces remained completely oblivious to this fact.

Final Assault

jusipat and Kjolt947 launched a combined assault on the Magical Fortress while bcfoss was reaving abroad. Emerging from the southern forest, Wikaros attempted futilely to stall the Scæþing advance with arrows while bcfoss rushed back to the island. During this advance the forest was set alight by Kjolt947. Landing to the southwest, bcfoss rushed past the burning forest and arrived at Magical Fortress just as the Scæþings reached the walls of the keep. A general melee broke out among the defenders and besiegers, during which jusipat was slain by bcfoss and Wikaros was slain by Kjolt947. Despite a volley of crossbow bolts, Kjolt947 managed to close distance with bcfoss and after a protracted duel cut him down, bringing an end to the battle proper. Despite this victory Kjolt947 was forced to retreat soon after when reinforcements emerged from the keep, so all loot was effectively ceded to the Magical Kingdom.

Due to the nature of the battle, both sides came out believing they had won where it mattered. Mobilizing the entirety of the Scæþing Empire, jusipat set out once again for the Magical Kingdom. It was during their journey that Wikaros made overtures of peace, which the Scæþings somewhat suspicously received at the Magical Fortress.

Peace Terms

The outcome of this war is debated, both sides claim to have been victorious while also taking heavy losses. The Scæþing faction were on their way for a final assault on the enemy's island when they were approached with a peace settlement. The peace negotiations were done inside the fortress keep on the Magical Empire's island, there was therefore planning done on the Scæþing side to destroy the opposing nations beds should negotiations fall apart, the beds so happened to be right in front of them; threats of this nature were made when Wikaros asserted certain peace conditions. Realizing their precarious situation and the Scæþings utter lack of scruples, bcfoss promptly hurled himself into the night and made a beeline for Scæþing proper, intent on razing the island should violence erupt at the peace negotiations.

It was at this time that Scæþing discovered bcfoss had stolen numerous posessions from the faction, and they negotiated without realizing the Magical Empire retained many of these valuables. A peace was ultimately signed, and while Scæþing did manage to get some posessions back, they ulitmately came out of the war with a net loss in materiel. Despite some difficulties, Wikaros did manage to pay his mercenary expenses at a considerable profit due to war loot.

Following the successful negotiations, Kjolt947 planted an air raid siren in the ground at the Magical Empire's island to the dismay of everyone involved. Cflip_ and jusipat returned home, leaving Kjolt947 to find the now lost siren and to remove it. Wikaros and bcfoss threatened war against Kjolt947 should he fail to remove the incredibly annoying siren, and the rest of the Scæþing faction stated that they would not help in the case of another war. Following this incident, Scæþing systematically destroyed Kjolt947's siren collection in solidarity with the Magical Empire.

Effects of the War

During the war, the first settlement on Midway was established as a temporary forward operating base by jusipat. Further expansion of this settlement following the war as each party following this war recognised its strategic utility as a "midway point" between the two empires. This eventually led to the two empires' continual escalation of claiming the island which would cause the devastating Massacre on Midway that wiped out both nations.