War of the Black Flag

The War of the Black Flag was a major war in Eldham fought between the Zamotz Union and the Pirate State of Barbossa. Tensions between the two countries began as Barbossan bandits and Zamotian bandit hunters clashed in several skirmishes on the island of Zamotz and Barbossa's mainland. After negotiations on August 6th failed, an assault on the Isle of Krakens was conducted by the Shirokanezan Anti-Bandit Force on August 8th, known as the Battle of the Kraken Isles.

Prelude
The Shirokanezan Anti-Bandit Force was founded during the Tesumasima, a time of political turmoil in the island of Zamotz. During this period, bandits were paid to kill natives on the island to prevent them from forming an army capable of resisting outside colonists, whom had colonial ambitions to take over the island. Shirokaneza, a city on the north-west of Zamotz, scraped a force large enough to kill individual bandits as they raided cities. Seeing their first victory at the city of Indusia, the Shirokanezans would slowly gain more numbers and equipment to counter-attack any further bandit raids on the island.

Eventually, the Anti-Bandit Force would begin its operations internationally. Although some Shirokanezans fought alongside Druk Yul in the Horse War, the Barbossan raid on Goldenvale was met with opposition from the Anti-Bandit Force, sparking the first skirmishes between the bandit hunters and pirates.

Skirmishes before August 6th
Although Shirokaneza was largely successful in its first encounter with Barbossa, killing the leader of the bandit group there, it would soon suffer a minor defeat. Two bandit hunters infiltrated the Isle of Krakens to kill several bandits located inside of the city, posing as tourists. Although they accomplished their objective, much of the city population assembled and surrounded the bandit hunters, killing them both.

The situation only worsened as Barbossa began conducting raids on the island of Zamotz, killing natives and the Queen of Shirokaneza in the struggle. Another pirate, Rockbrazil, attempted to kill builders on the island but was intercepted and killed. Controversy ensued as to whether he was affiliated with Barbossa, as the pirates denied sending him despite his residency in the Isle of Krakens.

The August 6th Meeting
After a Barbossan ally, the Empire of Aldovir, threatened to go to war with Shirokaneza, the two sides began diplomatic talks for a peaceful alternative to conflict. Although Aldovir eventually withdrew its threats to Shirokaneza, Barbossa stood its ground. Shirokaneza felt that their demands to Barbossa were justified, demanding the end of bandit harboring in cities such as the Isle of Krakens. Barbossa, on the other hand, believed that this was a demand too extreme, as they were a country founded by and largely populated by pirates. Ultimately, the Zamotz Union would send an ultimatum to Barbossa, doubling down on their demands and threatening war if Barbossa did not comply.

War
As Barbossa publicly declined the ultimatum minutes after it was sent, both sides began immediate preparations for war. There were still communications between the two main belligerents - discussions over the peace terms and location of the battle were all agreed upon by both sides.

Shirokanezan Preparations
The Anti-Bandit League was aware of Barbossa's wide connections across all of Eldham. Already believing themselves to have better equipment and experience in the field, the only issue would be the numbers advantage. Some Zamotians believed the battle could be won without any additional support, but mercenaries from the Empire of Aristios were hired to reduce the numerical disadvantage regardless. Three generals - ElKool, Hanzu, and Zayshi - worked together to coordinate the Anti-Bandit League in its entirety before and during the battle, whilst Inverse commanded the Aristian mercenaries. A small defense force was also left behind at Shirokaneza during the battle, to intercept any Barbossan raiders if needed.

Barbossan Preparations
Knowing that the Anti-Bandit League's individual soldiers could hold their own against some of the better trained soldiers of the realm, Barbossa sought to maximize its numerical advantage. Using its connections from abroad, the Pirate State was able to create a vast coalition of countries across Eldham. The cove within the city of the battle, the Isle of Krakens, saw gatherings between allied forces of various countries in the hours before the battle's official start. Commanders of each country were left with a general plan and with control of their respective armies, with no central chain of command.

Pre-Battle
The coalition forces, although partially centered at the cove, were scattered out across the city. The Stoneguard legion of men, which held positions on the wall, quickly fell under attack by Shirokanezan raiders, and were decimated early on. Other soldiers who strayed too far from the cove would also find themselves swarmed and killed, contributing to high early losses for the coalition without much damage being done to the Anti-Bandit Force. The early losses sustained ruined plans set forth by coalition leaders, and no backup plan had been coordinated beforehand.

Battle
Shirokaneza pushed into the city after taking over the walls, fighting small groups of soldiers that were still scattered in the city. As most soldiers from other countries did not have a way to break through the Barbossan barricades, many found themselves stuck and unable to rejoin their comrades, eventually being killed by the Shirokanezan force. Others would fall into holes dug by Shirokanezans and have no way out. Among these was Captain Leuxos, one of the highest ranking members of the Barbossan force, whom fell in with some of their own soldiers. The disappearance of the captain during the battle only added to the lack of coordination between the coalition forces.

Another major encounter took place on the bridge of the cove. Soldiers from Goldenvale and Uraka, numbering roughly 14 in total with most from Uraka, met the Zamotian force to block their passage to the other side. Most coalition members had withdrawn their men from this region, opting to provide support through bows or, in some cases, retreating altogether. This left the Uraka and Goldenvale men unreinforced whilst Zamotz's men continued piling up throughout the clash. Although the death toll on both sides from this encounter is in dispute, it ultimately ended in a defeat for the coalition, with the Zamotians pressing forwards and critically wounding the Imperator of Uraka, eliminating him from the battle.

The largest confrontation took place in the interior of the cove, at a waterfall flanked by small buildings. After briefly falling back to their headquarters to reequip themselves, one Shirokanezan still in the city dug a tunnel to gain access from the city of Saigon to the center of the coalition's headquarters. The Anti-Bandit Force quickly took control over the ground level of the region, with attempts by the coalition to retake it resulting in failure. Zamotian soldiers would also attempt to swim up the waterfall, with most attempts being botched by the coalition's archers. The few Zamotian soldiers that did make the journey up managed to damage the coalition army, but progress was quickly beginning to slow as their armor began to break.

The Anti-Bandit Force reequipped and remaneuvered once more, this time scaling the walls and eventually reaching the coalition force after weathering heavy archer fire. After more losses were taken by the coalition, both sides agreed to an armistice on the evening hours of August 8th.

Aftermath
The battle was largely viewed as a Zamotian victory on both sides. As part of the pre-negotiated peace terms, Barbossa no longer be a pirate state - rather, it would transform into a mercantile state that removes all bandits & pirates from its land, and would not engage in any conflicts with the Zamotz Union, directly or indirectly.

Globally, the perception of anti-bandit leagues began to shift. With a single anti-bandit league able to destroy a coalition led by bandits, the idea of fighting back bandits on a global scale began to gain traction. The Zamotz Union hailed the victory as a turning point in this regard, stating that:

Losses
The true death toll for both sides remains unknown, though it is widely accepted that the coalition suffered significantly higher losses than the Anti-Bandit Force. According to the plugin, only one Zamotian soldier died as opposed to 35 Barbossan soldiers. This figure underestimates the true death toll of both sides, as it only includes Zamotians killed by Barbossans, and Barbossans killed by Zamotians, which means that the kill & death toll of the remainder of Barbossa's coalition is not counted. Death messages on the chat logs in the Stoneworks Discord were counted to find 88 Coalition deaths and 3 Zamotian deaths. Moreover, there is an unknown civilian death toll, as reporters and neutral spectators would often be killed by soldiers unable to distinguish them from the enemy.

The Coalition sustained severe loss of equipment. Various sets of armor were taken or lost in the battle, and items of sentimental value also went missing amidst the chaos. The Isle of Krakens saw various parts of the city damaged by explosives, and Sarlican, the leader of Barbossa, had his house looted of its valuables.