The Third Throne War

Though the Third Throne War came to a close just a year ago, its effects are still felt across Aledir. Many of the eastern provinces were devastated, and it took a toll on the entire population of the country. The draft meant that many of Aledir’s citizens came back to civilian life with the scars of war, whether physical or psychological. However, the Throne War also enabled the invention of the firearm, and ushered in an industrial revolution for the nation.

Before The War
Aledir was far less technologically inclined before the Throne War. While the steam engine was perfected and used for trains, the railroad system was only beginning to be implemented. Horse and carriage was still the most effective means of transportation. Firearms were being developed, but no one had created one capable of piercing armour effectively. Bows and Crossbows were still the typical weapon for archer contingents in the military.

The Beginning
The war began suddenly in the eastern provinces. Hordes of undead began pouring out of the Wildlands and began attacking border towns, burning them to ash and raising any casualties. They were backed by necromancers and warriors loyal to Geldor from a nation beyond the Wildlands not known to Aledir. This was found out later during a naval mission along the northern coast of Aledir and the Wildlands.

With the hordes of the dead not stopping, the Regular Army was sent to deal with them. However, the army found themselves outmatched by the undead due to the undead’s natural resistance to standard weapons. This kept going for 18 months, as the undead slowly crept forward to the west. A draft was instituted 6 months into the war by the Senate, forced by the Crown and Church. This helped slow the assault, but not halt it altogether.

The Turning Point
By the time they hit the province Malanar is situated in, Ferian Arms, a small company researching firearms, had a breakthrough. Joseph Ferian, a Wolfen, managed to unlock the key to piercing armour with firearms and was able to reproduce it in a timely fashion. With this, the Crown ordered the manufacture of a number of these, and training for new soldiers, in order to test them in battle.

Not only were the undead hordes halted and turned back by the new weapons, many of the Geldonite warriors, fully clad in plate armour, were stopped in their tracks. With the realization of the power of this weapon, the Crown ordered the mass manufacture of rifles and pistols as quickly as possible. This lead to the rise of the Ferian Arms Company as the lead producer of firearms in Aledir.

With the forces of Geldor unable to keep up, the Geldonites retreated back east. As they fled, however, they let their Power Zones unmaintained, thus turning them into Wild Zones. The majority of these Wild Zones are aspected to Necromancy, there are other Wild Zone types left in Geldor’s wake.

The Bad
While Aledir won the war just two years after it started, there was a steep cost attached to it. The eastern provinces were left in ruins, its civilian population was displaced, and many solders, drafted or not, were scarred by war.

The eastern provinces produced a lot of the nation’s agriculture and commodities were overrun by undead. While many fields were not destroyed, many of the structures of small towns and villages were destroyed. Many military buildings and the provincial capitals, however, were captured instead of being razed, being utilized by the Geldonite forces. The last months of the war were spent reclaiming these areas.

The civilian population was eventually concentrated in the western provinces after fleeing from their homes. Many land owners came back to find ashes. While the farms were re-established quickly, towns are still being rebuilt across Aledir. The border towns and surrounding lands have not been reclaimed yet.

The soldiers in the war were affected the most, especially those that were drafted or volunteered. Due to the lack of magical or spiritual resources, many could not be resurrected. Worse still, many came back with severed limbs or other permanent injuries that left many returning soldiers unable to return to their previous occupations.

The Good
There are upsides to winning a war. With the firearm being so successful, Aledir’s Government has been funding research into other technologies, especially steam technology. This has created factory jobs were none previously existed, as well as several breakthroughs in technology.

With so many soldiers losing limbs in the war, research began on alternatives to having limbs regenerated via magic. A company called Clockworks, Inc. found a way to create fully-functional mechanical limbs that could be attached easily to the body with a magic ritual. This ritual caused the body to think the new limb was the old limb, while also using far less resources than regrowing the whole arm. The Crown, along with the Church and Senate, approved a bill which gave soldiers who lost limbs in the war new mechanical limbs free of charge for their service. There is a long waiting list, but there are former soldiers now sporting mechanical limbs who can now go back to work.

The rebuilding efforts across Aledir have attracted many workers, and with the winning of the war, its citizens have a re-invigorated sense of national pride. Many workers who were once farmers are now helping with the rebuilding and re-structuring of Aledir’s infrastructure, which includes a rail system for both passengers and freight. It will take some time to get it all built, but once it is, it will usher in a new era of prosperity for all of Aledir.

Unanswered Questions
During and after the war, there were many questions about how and why the war happened in the first place. How the forces of Geldor able to form an army of that size without anyone noticing? How were they able to get so many necromancers when the ability to use magic is so rare in humans? And where are they now? There is much speculation, but for now these questions will have to be answered later. The government of Aledir is now concentrating on the rebuilding of their nation, and once that is complete, they can then investigate all of the mysteries of The Third Throne War.