Komui Phoenix

Komui Phoenix was a Rohelian nobleman and master blacksmith, who served as the Marshal of Moonburg before the fall of Rohel, the Quartermaster of Elkinir's military in it's early days, Marshal of Elkinir, Grand Marshal of Ecclesia during the Ecclesian-Kartek War, and Co-Owner of Blackthorn Arms. Komui Phoenix served in the United Rohel Army during the Rohel-Kartek war, and had the position of a military leader since the Moonburg council elections following the Moonburg Independence Raid, to the end of the Ecclesian-Kartek War. He served as adviser on the Grand Council of Grand Castell, and later founded the Blackthorn Arms company with his brother. He was the co-founder of House Phoenix along with his brother Tito, who have played an important part in Rohelian politics since the house's inception.

Early Life
Komui Phoenix (born just "Komui") was born in the village of Constans in the far eastern reaches of Sparwood to a Kostucan father and a Tatsuhoshan mother, his mother dying shortly after childbirth. Five years later, his brother Tito would be born to a different mother, a Burgamerian fleeing Palaris. Komui spent his early days on his parents' farm, assisting his father with his blacksmith work. He received a formal education by Soleannen missionaries, being amongst the more studious in his class, along with his brother.

By age 18, Komui was a full apprentice of his father, and was in the process of becoming a master blacksmith. When he was 19, a band of horseback raiders attacked his village and razed it to the ground, killing most of the inhabitants, including his parents. Komui and Tito were among some of the only survivors. For years the two bounced from village to village doing odd jobs before parting ways.

Early Days
In the year 103 TE, When he was 25, Komui found his way into Rathnir. When visiting a tavern in Maldun, a hooded man with a strange accent convinced him to come join him and his people in a city called "Moonburg", in the nation of Rohel. Being promised a free home and food, Komui took the man up on his offer. The hooded man turned out to be the Duke of Moonburg, Omara Daydream. When arriving, he was first met by Carrot Daydream, Omara's daughter and at-the-time Spymaster of Moonburg, who would be the first to show him around the city. Komui would then meet with the city's Steward, Stefanano, who would give him a house. He would come to learn in these first days that the ruling council of Moonburg was democratically elected by the populace, and anyone could ascend to the Council's ranks, not just nobles. With such great opportunity present, Komui sent ravens out to the many friends he made in the far reaches on his travels, including his brother Tito, and invited them to the city. Nearly a dozen people answered the call, and before long a tight-knit clique had formed in Moonburg around the two brothers. Most of them, including Komui, would join the Moonburg Town Guard.

Kartek Integration and the Kartek-Frosmyre War
Less than a few months (in game) after arriving, the nation of Rohel was reintegrated into the Kartek Caliphate, under Caliph First. Tito and Komui were still too new to the country to have any allegiances one way or the other, so they welcomed Kartek with open arms. When Kartek's reformation was met with an immediate declaration of war by the Frosmyrian syndicate, the brothers' support for Kartek deepened, as they thought it was unfair that Kartek was being denied its right to exist due to past transgressions. All of this would change when Caliph First announced his plans to invade the Grand Union of Solea-Audal, at the time the largest nation in Rathnir, with the intention of colonizing Suderen in Nieden. Komui thought the decision was suicidal, and that Kartek's resources would be better spent on the war with Frosmyre. When he asked how Kartek could win such a war on two fronts, he was met with vague insistence that victory was assured. When voicing his criticism, he was shouted down as being a defeatist. It was here that Tito and Komui's perception of Kartek for the first time became negative.

The Independence Raid
In the Spring of 106 TE [24th of November, 2021], early in the morning, a meeting of the Moonburg Town Guard convened. The Marshal, Manji Thornrose, was ill, and in his stead First Lieutenant Nico Nagaheart lead the meeting. In attendance included Tito, Komui, Senator, and Stefanano. Here, Nico informed the guard that Rohel was planning on declaring its independence from Kartek within hours. The guard were struck with simultaneous surprise and relief, since now they could be excluded from both of Kartek's wars. However, Komui brought up to the guard his worry that this action would cause great anger within Kartek's ranks, and that it was sure to be met with a retaliatory action. The guard was then put on high alert, and Komui, dazed by the prospect that violence could be coming to his home yet again, began planting berry bushes outside the eastern gate as a rushed defense. When asked by Carrot Daydream why he was planting them, he replied "I don't know. We have to do something. They're coming for us."

Philomena Auros who was on watch at the western gate spotted movement in the fort of Shwaize, now a Kartek stronghold. Bopra, at the time an advisor to the Duke, rang the bell signalling an attack, and urged the citizenry of Moonburg to stay inside and lock their doors. Instead, Komui urged his companions to dawn their armor, pick up their weapons, and prepare to fight. Komui then took command of the guard, or ordered them to the western wall. The first arrows were fired, and the raid on Moonburg began.

Initially the skirmish was between the Moonburg Town Guard and the Arxellan garrison in Shwaize, but soon reinforcements on both sides began to arrive. Kartek sent only one man: Norsk Hone. He single-handedly kept the entirety of the town guard at bay, and his fierce fighting ability would come to haunt Komui for many years. As the guard did their best to fight Norsk, reinforcements from Thalasii arrived, escalating the conflict further. To make matters more confusing, Kelz, then leader of the Frosmyrian syndicate, arrived, and began killing people on both sides of the skirmish, her might rivaling that of Norsk's. After most of the town guard was decimated, Norsk fled the city, to which the people of Moonburg interpreted as victory. Very little gear was lost in the conflict, and from the perspective of Komui and the town guard, the raid was a symbolic victory for Rohel's independence. After the raid, Duke Daydream held a meeting in town hall congratulating the fighters for their bravery. The following day, Moonburg's Marshal Manji Thornrose, so impressed with Komui's leadership abilities, would tell him in confidence that he wished Komui to be the new Marshal, and that he would step down from his position so that Komui could run unopposed. This would begin Komui's career as a councilor of Moonburg.

Marshal of Moonburg
After being elected Marshal, Komui set out to fulfill his campaign promises of reorganizing the town guard, hosting regular training sessions, and keeping the guard supplied. Komui quickly discovered that the town guard's armory was nearly empty, and the guard relied entirely on individual citizens supplying their own weapons and armor. To rectify this, Komui and Tito began fishing in the Moonburg swamp for discarded enchanted books. Komui's skill as a blacksmith proved useful in solving the town guard's supply issue, as day and night Komui would spend his time manufacturing weapons and armor for the guard. Though having never been much of a fighter, he was not nearly as effective at training the guard's troops, or organizing them. While the old Marshal gave Komui the job due to his ability to command troops in the heat of battle, his fighting ability was severely lacking.

The town guard's barren armory lead Komui to inquire more deeply about the economic state of Moonburg as a whole. Him and Tito would go on to discover that the Duchy's treasury was nearly empty, and its economy non-existent. On top of this, the towns infrastructure was incredibly poor, many buildings were abandoned, and the city's space was not being used efficiently. Instead of addressing any of these problems, the Steward began work on expanding the city to the south, nearly doubling its size, despite the fact there were still many abandoned buildings not being used.

Both Tito and Komui deemed the situation so bad that they began working together on economic reforms, and a total overhaul on the city's real estate and infrastructure. The plan was called "The Apollo Program", and it would consume most of the brothers' time, especially once Tito was made Treasurer of Moonburg, a brand new council position only created due to the brothers' insistence on splitting off the Steward's economic duties into a separate council position. The Apollo Program would cause internal disagreements during its implementation due to the scope of the changes being made, as well as miscommunication between House Phoenix and the rest of the Council. The Apollo Program would never be fully implemented due to the Kartek-Rohel war, but it's legacy would be felt when many of the proposed changes would later be implemented in Ironthorn.

Founding of House Phoenix
Per royal decree of King Vashonn Thornrose, any citizen of Rohel could found a noble house if they met certain criteria; one of them was being a councilor. Komui decided to jump at the opportunity, and after much deliberation, Tito and Komui settled on the house name "Phoenix", symbolic of the two brothers' rise after the destruction of their old home, their house motto being "First from the ashes". The rising notoriety of House Phoenix would draw the attention and paranoia of Duke Omara Daydream, who viewed them as possible competition to his own house, House Daydream.

Relationship with Omara Daydream
Komui's opinion of the Duke was originally quite positive. Although he largely blamed Moonburg's sorry economic state on Omara's lack of leadership, as long as Omara allowed House Phoenix to enact the Apollo Program, Komui was able to look passed it. More over, Komui ultimately believed that the Duke's heart was in the right place, and that he still cared about Moonburg first and foremost. A turning point in the relations between the Phoenix brothers and Duke Omara came when Omara requested House Phoenix pledge loyalty to House Daydream. The brothers outright refused, and were insulted by the notion that their loyalty was in question. Moreover, the brothers believed that their loyalty should be to Moonburg itself, and not the royal house. As Omara became more withdrawn as sickness began to take him, the relationship continued to sour, as Komui believed that the Duke was shirking his royal duties, including not showing up to meetings, focusing more on his house than ducal matters, and a general lack of communication with the council. This souring relationship would reach its fever pitch during the Kartek-Rohel war.

The Craftmas Festival
In the Winter of 113 TE [December, 2021], Komui suggested to the Chancellor at the time, Nico Nagaheart, to hold a festival celebrating the Craftist holiday of Craftmas, a celebration of the winter solstice. Gifts were exchanged, drinks shared, and songs sung. What was notable about it was the presence of members of Kartek's leadership, including Barend Kramer. At this point tensions were still high between the Rohelians and Kartek, as Kartek members had recently come to taunt the citizen's of Moonburg weeks prior. However, at the festival both people's were able to spend time together as brothers, and not enemies. Friendly games of competition were played, and prizes were handed out, including one prize handed to Barend himself. It was this festival that gave Komui hope that perhaps Kartek and Rohel could live together peacefully.

The Libra Incident
When a small group of farmers in the eastern parts of Rohel declared their independence and claimed large swathes of Maldun and Osdrok as there's, also known as the Libra Incident, Komui's disappointment was immeasurable. Libra's leader claimed that the local Duke had prevented them from farming the land as they pleased, and used this as justification to declare their independence. The Duke claimed that most of Libra's land was abandoned and poorly maintained, and so he took it upon himself to rejuvenate the region. The King offered to mediate the situation, but Libra's leader refused. Immediately, Komui knew that a group this small (in game, it was literally one person) wouldn't have declared independence if they did not have the backing of an outside force, and their was only one likely candidate: Kartek. It was clear that peace would not prevail as he hoped. Envisioning that Kartek would use this opportunity to invade, he immediately began preparing for war. Komui drafted the War Measures Act, and had it passed into law by unanimous vote of the Council and the Duke, that gave the government sweeping emergency powers in the case of war. Tito and Komui also began an ambitious Nether mining campaign to raise funds to support the war effort. All of House Phoenix and its associates were mobilized, with people either fishing, mining, fortifying the city, or gathering supplies. Komui would begin to go nights without sleep, as he toiled day and night preparing Moonburg for the inevitable war that was to come.

As a last ditch attempt, Komui went to the King and begged him to bring Kartek back to the negotiating table.

Declaration of War
In the year 115 TE [December 30th, 2021], the newly crowned "God Emperor" of Kartek declared war on Rohel, using the Libra incident as their casus belli. All of Komui's fears had been realized; Kartek's first target would be Moonburg. As an emergency measure, Komui drafted and passed the 'Total Mobilization Act', which officially conscripted all able bodied members of Moonburg into the new United Rohel Army. While continuing to participate in the emergency mining campaign, Komui, with help of Senator, began making large scale arms deals with merchants to supply the Army for the upcoming battle. At the same time, he managed the incoming donations from various foreign contributors, as well as organize foreign volunteers into the Allied forces.

The Battle of Viodoxa
In the year 116 [January 2nd, 2022], as a result of the King of Rohel's attempt to acquire allies for the war, Komui and the URA found themselves fighting on the side of Hazel's forces during the Battle of Viodoxa. Due to unfortunate scheduling, on the same day, Komui would take his long time lover, Iaera, to be his wedded wife. As soon as the wedding celebrations drew to a close, the members of the URA dawned their armor, sheathed their swords, and headed for Viodoxa.

The URA, lead by Grand Marshal Lucas DeGamers, was placed by the Viodoxans in a tower containing the Viodoxan Army's potion supplies. Immediately, Komui noticed that the tower would be impossible to defend, as there were no openings for them to fire arrows through. He brought the matter up to the Grand Marshal, who agreed, and so, minutes before the battle commenced, the tower was hastily converted into an archer's sentry tower. After the Vidoxan army was massacred (which the Rohelians were not aware of), the Archonal Union forces descended upon them.

The URA rained down hell on the Union forces, keeping them at bay as they built makeshift cover. Eventually, Union forces closed the distance and made it to the tower, stabbing their swords through the slits of the walls. Unable to enter, they resorted to using dynamite to blast their way in, but the Rohelians rebuilt the walls just as quickly as they destroyed them. The violent chaos persisted for (in game) hours, until eventually, the Union forces made their way in, and the Rohelians were forced to surrender the tower. Loic's forces, impressed by the display of Rohelians, spared them execution, and instead stripped them of their gear before sending them on their way.

After the battle, Commander Ryou Bakura of Viodoxa personally congratulated the Rohelians for their bravery during the battle, as (unbeknownst to them until this point) they held out longer than the rest of the Viodoxan Army. He assured them that their actions would forever be remembered.

Eve of the Battle
With Loic now assisting Kartek in the war on Rohel, and Aldovir now declaring their military support as well, the walls began to close around Rohel, and Komui. He and the rest of URA worked tirelessly laying traps for the invaders, and delivering valuables out of the city. It was clear to him that the war was unwinnable, but he remained determined to put up a fight.

As the hour drew nearer, claims of Rohel's 'toxicity' floated around Rathnir, as Kartek used the claim as further reason to invade. Most of the evidence of this 'toxicity' lead back to the the Duke of Moonburg, Omara, who, among other things, levied numerous insults against Kartek's people, and placed their citizens on a "Kill on Sight" list. To prove that, while the claims were indeed true, that Rohel was willing to take action against its toxic people, King Vashonn ordered Omara Daydream to step down as Duke. When Omara refused, Komui approached him in his chambers to attempt to convince him.

By this point, Omara's illness had kept him sequestered in his royal residence. He had failed to make comment when Kartek declared war, and rarely if ever made communication with the outside world, with the exception of organizing elections, which baffled most, considering the emergency situation Moonburg was in. Komui spent hours arguing with Omara, pleading with him to abdicate as a show of good faith; after all, the Duke had abstained from governing since he became bedridden. No matter how Komui approached the argument, he was each time met with flat refusal.

Komui left enraged, and later would petition to the King that the Duke be removed by force. However, with the battle fast approaching, Vashonn refused, both fearful that the move would shake faith in Rohel internationally, and believing that Omara was owed the chance to serve as Duke one last time. Begrudgingly, Komui capitulated on the matter. The night before the battle, he did not sleep, instead opting to finish the defenses, and running the last valuables out of the city.

Seeing the coming battle as hopelessly unwinnable, Komui hatched a last ditch plan. He went to the King and gave his proposal. It was to rig the base of the defensive tower, Fort Artemis, with a huge amount of explosives, and detonate it once the tower fell. The resulting explosion would have likely destroyed a huge part of the central city. To his surprise, the King accepted. Komui remarked, "I'm glad you're as crazy as I am my lord." The King responded, "Komui, I'm bats**t insane."

The Battle of Moonburg
In the Spring of 117 TE [January 7th 2022], on the morning of the battle, Komui was barely awake. Grand Marshal Lucas, seeing him in such a state, ordered Komui to sleep, at least for a few hours. He begrudgingly accepted, and 3 hours later awoke from his slumber. Still groggy, and his nerves flared as the battle drew nearer, Komui did his best to help the Grand Marshal organize the URA and its allies. Lucas and Komui held up in Fort Artemis with the archers, while Ferro lead the ground forces, among which was Komui's brother Tito.

With his senses finally with him again somewhat, Komui made a difficult decision. At the last moment, he decided to abort the plan to blow up the city, and hurriedly moved the dynamite away to a safe location, believing that one day it may prove more useful.

Mere hours before the battle, an emissary representing the Crimson Blades would arrive at the gates of Moonburg, offering the services of the mercenaries. Originally, Komui had refused paying any mercenaries to defend the city, as he did not trust people who fought only for gold. However, with his judgment clouded by both his nerves and sleep deprivation, and his advisors pressuring him to bring in more troops, Komui accepted the offer, paying a sum of $40,000 dollars per "elite" mercenary to attend. The total would end up costing Rohel $400,000. According to his ground team after the battle, the Crimson Blades proved useless, barely putting up a fight despite their claims they could "match Ulfaeng". Ever since, Komui has vowed to get a refund.

As the battle commenced, legions of soldiers poured in through the gates. The archers in Fort Artemis fired volley after volley of poison tipped arrows, keeping the endless horde at bay. In a miraculous turn of events, before reaching the tower, a torrential rain poured on the city, soaking the matches of the enemy and preventing them from lighting the fuses of their dynamite. As the archers of Fort Artemis rained fire on those below, Komui watched as the ground team bravely smashed into the enemy's ranks, despite being severely out numbered. After losing sight of them, Komui, seeing Kartek forces gathering outside the tower, triggered a pitfall trap underneath them, only to watch in horror as the ground team, retreating from pursuing enemy forces, ran straight into it.

As the ground team fought their way out of the pit, Komui slashed at the soldiers who had gotten to the tower's walls. For (in game) hours he and the rest of Fort Artemis' troops slashed and shot at the soldiers attempting to enter the tower, but eventually Kartek forces managed to enter. In the melee that followed, Komui was severely wounded, being knocked unconscious, and losing his eye in the process.

When he awoke, the enemy were nowhere to be seen, but Moonburg was in ruins. The enemy had fallen back to regroup and lick their wounds. Only a handful of survivors remained of the initial force, and most of the URA's equipment had been spent. During the battle, the URA had also lost Hanako Miyajima, who was kidnapped by Barend after the ground team was defeated. Moonburg remained in Rohelian hands, but the situation was still dire.

Aftermath of the Battle
After the battle, the God Emperor of Kartek declared his intention to fight a second battle for the city. At the same time, the Fourth Empire of Bardonia declared their support for Kartek, Lunaris dissolved their Mutual Defense Pact with Rohel, and Mudrok abandoned the allied forces. Only Ecclesia remained steadfast in defending Rohel. While originally the plan had been to fight until the last patch of soil was lost, with now a fourth empire at their gates, most of their equipment lost, their forces exhausted, and now with Grand Marshal Lucas' resignation, Komui and Tito went to the King and made their opinion clear: the war was lost, and it was time to evacuate.

After the battle, Omara Daydream passed away from illness, with his last wish to name Bob Daydream the new Duke of Moonburg. The news hit Komui hard. Their last conversation was filled with anger and hatred, but with the weight of the war now lifted from his shoulders, he found himself inundated with regret. Regret that he was never granted one last chance to apologize, to thank Omara for bringing him to Moonburg in the first place, and giving him a home. With the hurried evacuation, he never even had the chance to recover the Duke's body, his last image of Omara's face in his head being one of anger, pain, sadness, and regret.

Though Bob had been made Duke, it was a role he had never prepared for, nor expected. Believing Bob to be too inexperienced to lead Moonburg, even in its final day, Komui proposed a regency council be granted governing power over Moonburg. The Council, including Bob, unanimously agreed, and the Council of Moonburg was granted governing power over the duchy.

With the war clearly lost, Komui was filled with a deep relief, and for the first time since it had began, he had a full night's sleep.

Exodus
After much deliberation, King Vashonn declared his intention to take up Ecclesia's offer of land and local autonomy under their protection.

As the first and final act of the Regency Council, Komui proposed that Hanako, now married to Barend, be made Duchess of Moonburg, to which the Council voted in unanimous agreement. In the decree announcing Hanako's new role as Duchess, Komui had written "Hanako Daydream", however, Hanako insisted that she would be using her maiden name, Miyajima, instead. With Hanako being the only real successor to lead house Daydream, her renouncing of the name effectively brought the royal house to an end. Komui remarked, "So this is how House Daydream ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper".

With a handful of Rohelians opting to stay, most of the Rohelians began the long march south to Ecclesia, through the hills of Fjelheim, the snowy wastes of Frosmyre, all the way to the old damp forests of what would come to be known as Elkinir.

Ironthorn
At the site of where the Rohelians had been promised land was a small ghost town known as Ironthorn. After paying the mayor for the land and tearing down the old buildings, the question of what the name of their new town should be was brought up. Komui suggested keeping the name Ironthorn, the name itself, by virtue of serendipity, lending well to Rohel's rose motif: the iron thorn of a rose. Though the name was meant to be temporary, as time went on, it stuck.

Komui would go on to be appointed Quartermaster of the Black Thorns, the then name of Ironthorn's military, and would dedicate himself to military logistics. At the same time, he assisted the other members in constructing the new city.

Baptism and Admission into the Janissaries
In the Spring of 121 TE [January 23rd, 2022], Komui, along with most of the Rohelians, was ceremoniously baptized by Pontius Kasper in the waters of the Cave of Light, and converted to the Ambrion religion. He was given the Ambrion name Xūjāf, meaning killer, and admitted into the Janissaries, a military order made up of new converts.

Under Kasper, Komui trained relentlessly, both filled with anger at Kartek for taking from him his home, and anger at himself for his own weakness. Kasper would beat him relentlessly with his sparring sword, but with each beating Komui's fighting ability improved. Under the tutelage of Kasper and the Clergymen, Komui would make it his mission to improve his fighting ability, so next time he could fight alongside his brother on the front lines.

Pilgrimage to the East
In the Fall of 131 TE, ten years after the exodus, Komui Phoenix, believing that Elkinir had been built up to the point where it could stand a chance against the inevitable conflict between Ecclesia and Kartek, resigned from his position of Marshal of Elkinir. To many it came as shock, but for Komui it had been a long time coming. In his farewell address, he stated that he had been planning his departure for some time, but had held off until he believed that Elkinir would be left in good hands. His reasoning had been his desire to embark on a journey to the east, back to his homeland, to spread the word of Ambrose, though others speculate that he had been facing fatigue from the constant preparations and politicking. Not much is known about Komui's pilgrimage to the eastern reaches, except that he founded an Ambrion monastery upon the ruins of his old village, where a dedicated sect of monks practice their faith to this day.

Message from the West
In the Spring of 137 TE [March 28th, 2022], only six years after leaving for his pilgrimage, Komui received a message from his brother, Tito Phoenix, informing him that the Empire of Kartek had declared war on Ecclesia. The reasoning detailed was nearly identical to that of the Rohel-Kartek War; Kartek had supported a rebelling territory, in this case the Republic of Heimstadt, and had declared their intention of exterminating the Ecclesians under the pretense of protecting the people of Heimstadt. It was the war Komui knew had been coming for a long time. Komui bid farewell to the monastery, gathered his things, and rode west, back to Sparwood.

Return to Ecclesia
When Komui arrived at Alerre, he found the Pontius sulking upon his throne. Kasper informed him about the situation: Kartek was now part of a much larger alliance, spanning half of Rathnir, and an untold number of legions would descend upon the city in the coming months. The outlook was hopeless. Kasper intended to fight a single battle for the city, a last stand to prove the courage of the Ecclesian people, and then in the aftermath, gather Ecclesia's valuable and head for another continent, abandoning Ecclesia to Kartek. God Emperor Choochie had already been informed of Kasper's intentions, who was more than willing to oblige the Pontius. It would have been a repeat of the Kartek-Rohel War. Komui rejected this idea as preposterous, refusing to abandon another homeland to invaders. Komui had already incessantly planned for this war during his tenure as Marshal of Elkinir, and was ready and willing to implement it. He told Kasper, "You intend to give these monsters an easy victory? Each time they invade they break the spirit of the defenders and have them run on their own accord. Will you run too, Pontius? Great Warrior King and leader of his Janissaries? If not, I will follow you until my dying breath." It was enough to rouse Kasper out of his depression, and emboldened his spirit. Together, they decided that Ecclesia would fight until the very last square inch of land, just as they had intended to during the days of Old Rohel.

With the new course decided, Komui sent an emissary to the God Emperor baring a single message: "The surrender is canceled. We will fight to the last man."

Among the first of his declarations upon his return was seizing power over the province of Elkinir, to which the King of the Rohellian's acquiesced. Upon his ascension, Komui reformed the Elkinir militia into the Order of the Eternal Thorn, a paramilitary organization dedicated to using all means necessary to halt the Kartek invasion. At the time, knowing that they were greatly outnumbered, Komui thought that this organization could serve as a guerilla insurgency, should the major cities fall into Kartek hands.

His second act was to drill the members of the Ecclesian army into trained warriors. For the first time in the nation's history, regular exercises were carried out by the army, including mock battles at the sites of Alerre and Ironthorn.

Other than this, Komui, Tito, and associates worked tirelessly within the forges of Blackthorn, fashioning sets of armor, weapons, and potions for the coming battle.

Preparing for the Battle of Alerre
With rigorous training, large stores of equipment--much of it stockpiled from well before the start of the invasion--and an army numbering over forty soldiers, battle plans were drawn up by the Ecclesian General Staff. Generals Ferro and Willister both supported a conventional approach to the defense, while Komui and Tito supported an unconventional approach, which lead to many heated disagreements between the two camps. The main issues identified were an imbalance of manpower and experience compared to the enemy. While Komui and Tito argued that conventional battle would be suicide, especially against the most prolific mercenary organization at the time, Ulfaeng, Ferro and Willister insisted that the training exercises had paid off, and that even if outright victory was unlikely, it was important that the people saw that Ecclesia was willing to stand its ground and fight in the field. It was the latter argument that swung Pontius Kaper to the conventional defense camp, as he believed that it would be impossible to acquire more allies if Ecclesia was not seen as a conventional fighting force. Optimistic sentiment had also been fueled by the defection of Vosokograd to Ecclesia.

Komui, who felt slighted by this decision, decided to clandestinely take the forces of the Order of the Thorn to plan a behind-the-lines guerilla operation in order to split the attention of the enemy and raid their supplies. The operation, titled "Operation JUGGERNAUT", was meant to be carried out by the order's finest soldiers. Jamestown, the base of attack for the enemy, would be struck in the north by the vanguard team drawing away troops from the south of the city where the supplies were located. Then, a team of two, comprised of both Komui and Tito, would under the cloak of invisibility infiltrate the supply cache and blow it up with explosives. Komui hoped that even if the coming battle was doomed to failure, this would at least be a spit in the eye they could deliver to Kartek.

The Massacre of Alerre
Before the battle, Komui gathered the Vanguard team at Ironthorn. However, while going over the briefing, Ferro and Willister discovered the operation. They demanded that the troops being used be immediately transferred to their command and sent to the cathedral, where the army was making its stand. On top of this, they demanded more supplies be sent to the front for the battle. After initial resistance, the General Staff came to a compromise; the elite troops would be sent to Alerre, and in return two conscripts would be provided for the operation.

As the battle began, the Vanguard team set forth to Jamestown, with the conscripts acting as bait in the north and Komui and Tito sneaking in through the south. On their way to the town however, a runner came to the team bearing bad news: Kartek had broken through the defensive line and encircled the cathedral, most of the forty soldiers had been killed or routed. Still, the Vanguard team marched on, hoping to win at least a conciliation prize from this disaster. However, when reaching the supply cache, the dynamite the team had been carrying turned out to be duds, and the operation was aborted.

When the team returned to Ironthorn, Komui became aware of the scope of the disaster. As soon as the battle began, the lines had been broken and the army sent into complete disarray. Most were slaughtered, while the enemy suffered only a single fatality. The vast majority of the supplies provided were either destroyed or looted. The whole ordeal lasted less than five minutes. It had not been just a devastating defeat, but perhaps the most devastating in Sparwood's history, as even the Battle of Moonburg was not such a lopsided defeat, a point that Komui hammered hard to the General Staff.

When meeting with the survivors, Tito and Komui spotted Willister and Ferro in a fierce argument in front of the soldiers as to who was to blame for the debacle. It was Tito, who stepped between the two and broke up the argument, exclaiming "Tear each other part, but not in front of what men we have left!" Tito had feared that open disagreement between the General Staff in front of the troops would shake their faith in the war effort, and lead to defections. While Kartek had left the city to resupply for a second attack, what was left of Alerre was battered and broken.

Aftermath
The General Staff was faced with a serious problem following the disaster: maintaining morale among the troops. There was no way to spin the battle as a success, it was plain to see that it had been a decisive defeat, and that if every battle went the same way, the war would soon be over. Komui knew that the most important resource of this war would be morale, and so hope would have to be given to the people that war effort could continue, even in the face of such a humiliating defeat. Thus, he presented his plan to the General Staff: a counter attack. This had been a part of Komui's war strategy that he had developed during his time as Elkinir's Marshal. The idea was, that if Ecclesia could attack lesser towns of the Kartek Empire while they were busy resupplying, they could buy valuable time to rebuild defenses, while at the same time keeping the enemy army off balance. In theory, they could keep up the struggle for years, but more details would need to be worked out. In the meantime though, the troops needed to hear from their leaders.

A gathering was held, and the Phoenix brothers addressed the troops.

Komui addressed the crowd with a thunderous bravado:

"The battle went as well as expected. Kartek had the numbers and the gear, and many of our people died. Any yet we still own the city. Despite all of their talk and postering, despite killing most of us in the opening phase of the battle, Kartek FAILED, yet again. Their hope is that this display will demoralize us, that it will make us surrender. That is not happening. Instead, WE'RE GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE. If they want to fight this war, they'll have to bleed for it on their own territory. We shall be attacking the city of Kranga, the personal fiefdom of the perfidious General Ich, a long time member of the Kartek leadership. Let him seethe as we raze his pitiful mud huts to the ground. This crusade only ends when their empire is dead and buried. AMBROS VULT, AVE ECCLESIA."

After him, Tito addressed them more solemnly, but just as resolute:

''"I will not lie, today was hard. Kartek came at us with everything they had. EVERYTHING. They came at us with the best of Rathnir and Eldham. The strongest soldiers from two continents rained down on our great city of Alerre yet...they could not take it. The city remains in the hands of our great Pontius Kasper, and right this moment the officers are convening to discuss our counter attack. The truth is the leaders of Kartek are celebrating and excitedly awaiting a surrender that WE WILL NOT GIVE THEM! Here Ecclesia, and her allies, remain the last great hope for freedom in Sparwood, we remain the last bastion that stands in the way of Kartek imperialism and expansionism. I know first hand, all they conquer turns to dust, communities die, cities lie in decay and ruin. They have made no secret of their intentions to wipe each of us out so that they may eliminate the Ecclesian nation and people who they despise so deeply. So I say to you this, find resolve in the knowledge that you fought today, and will continue to fight, as the brave few who have the courage to man your post and stand against the hoard. So scream it loud: IT ISN'T OVER YET!"''

The speeches were met with rousing applause from the troops, and for the time, the morale had been restored.

Preparing For Kranga
Kranga had been the personal holding of General Ich, a long time diehard Kartek loyalist, who hated Ecclesians only a tenth as much as he had hated Rohelians. This made the city a valuable symbolic target for Ecclesia. However, it was clear that fighting a conventional battle for the city would be disastrous, as was proven at Alerre. By this point of the war, after fierce petitioning from Komui and Tito, and facing the reality that was the Massacre at Alerre, Pontius Kasper was swung to the unconventional tactics camp. Kranga would be a testing ground for those theories, as capturing the town would most likely be impossible with such lopsided numbers favoring the enemy. Thus, a plan was formed.

The attackers would sortie from the Ecclesian town of Ussertia, at least on paper. In reality, Komui and the General Staff knew that Kartek would in all likelihood attack Ussertia before they had a chance to sally out. Thus, it was decided to use Ussertia as bait. The defenders their would hold up in a defensive fort, only equipped with low-quality armor made to look high-quality with low level or useless enchantments. The would use standard bows and arrows to try and keep the enemy at bay for as long as they could. In the meantime, a group of soldiers cloaked with invisibility potions would sneak into Kranga from the air, combining potions of levitation and slow falling, and bomb the enemies supplies. It was a rehash of Operation: JUGGERNAUT, but this time with the full support of the Pontius and General Staff. The purpose of the battle was to test the effectiveness of this technique, rather than to capture the city of Kranga. However, while the plan here was to test this new Guerilla Warfare's offensive effectiveness, Komui had much greater plans to use it defensively. And so, Ecclesia began producing and stockpiling potions of invisibility, levitation, and slow falling, in vast numbers.

The Battle of Kranga
The Battle of Kranga proceeded as expected. Within moments Kartek's forces descended upon Ussertia. The defenders, numbering no more than a dozen, were quickly overwhelmed by the attacking forces. However, unlike at Alerre, the attackers found that there was good quality loot to be found. The armor worn by the defenders was entirely useless, as were their weapons, and no potions could be found. This lead to bickering amongst the multi-national force, many coming from half-way across Rathnir, as they were promised loot by Kartek as a form of payment for their services. Many deserted the battlefield, feeling as though the battle was a waste of their time. Concurrently, a mysterious force constantly harassed the attackers with dynamite and bombs as they tried to fortify their position, only leading to more frustration.

Meanwhile, the guerilla force lead by Komui and Tito leapt into action. With Kranga now totally undefended, it was the perfect time to strike. The force landed in Kranga invisible completely undetected, and quickly spotted what appeared to be chests full of supplies. However, they spotted something else as well: Hanako Miyajima. The last time Komui had seen her, he had named her the Duchess of Moonburg, hoping that she would bring some prosperity to the land under Kartek rule. Instead, Hanako became a staunch Kartek loyalist following the war, and let Kartek turn the once bustling city into an industrial nightmare, tearing down nearly all of the old landmarks, including Komui's own house, and constructing a vile temple to the evil god Caligo. To Komui, Hanako was the greatest traitor to the Rohelian people, but even then, with their limited supplies, Komui knew they could not hope to defeat her in battle. As she strolled around the walls of the town upon her horse, dawned in the most fashionable armor, Komui's brother had an idea. While Hanako could not be killed, her prized horse was another matter. However, Tito feared what the repercussions would be of killing the Duchess of Lothric's (Lothric being Moonburg's new name) horse. Komui immediately turned to Tito and gave the order: "Kill that horse".

In a flash, an arrow was lodged into the horse's eye, and Hanako fell to the ground. Enraged, she sounded the alarm, and seconds later, Komui detonated explosives on top of the towns supplies, before escpaing outside the walls. What insued was a chaotic battle, with Kartek's forces unsure where the enemy was swinging blindly at the air infront of them, at times catching a shimmer in the light and stabbing into an unarmored guerilla soldier. Soon all of the troops in Ussertia were called back, and with Komui satisfied with the outcome, the Ecclesian forces retreated.

Both sides ended up back where they started, with Ussertia left a total ruin, Kranga worse for wear, and most of Kartek's allies gone to return home. The battle was over, and for the first time in the war, despite it technically being a defeat, the Ecclesians felt victorious. Nothing of value had been lost, but important strides toward victory had been gained.

Kranga's Aftermath
In the aftermath, due to the poor equipment of the troops at Ussertia, Kartek and it's allies believed that all Ecclesia's valuable equipment had been spent at the Massacre of Alerre. This idea was particularly pushed by Hanako, enraged at the assassination of her steed, who claimed that Ecclesia had nothing left to fight with, hence their dirty tactics behind enemy lines. However, this narrative created an issue among Kartek's allies. From the allies perspective, there was no longer cause to participate. If Ecclesia's stocks had been depleted, then there was no loot to be gained, and more over, Kartek should be more than equipped to deal with Ecclesia themself. Thus, going forward, Kartek would have to rely upon their own strength, which created a problem. The war had already been going on for years (almost a month IRL) as it took so much time just organizing the levies into fighting shape for battles, and so far all that Kartek had to show for it was the loss of a city, Vosokograd, to the enemy, after its leader, a longtime friend of Ferro, defected to Ecclesia. There were still many battles on the horizon if Kartek wished to take Ecclesia, and despite their defeats, the Ecclesian morale was the highest it had ever been. Realistically, it could be decades before every city was captured. However, this had been Komui's plan from the beginning.

Long before the war had begun, Komui had roughly calculated how long it would take to seige and capture every city in Ecclesia based off of how long it took to take Moonburg, and arrived at a staggering conclusion: it would take more than 50 years. This was why Kartek had always opted for pitched decisive battles to break the morale of their enemies, and then force them into surrendering their lands. This meant that strategy had to revolve around keeping morale high enough to continue the fight, while also draining the enemy's morale and enthusiasm, all while suffering defeat after defeat, and after the Battle of Kranga, Komui finally saw a path to make that a reality.

Guerilla Warfare
By now, the unconventional tactics camp had won over the rest of the General Staff, and Komui had been given the reigns to decide Ecclesia's grand strategy for the war. Komui unveiled his plan before the General Staff: rather than engage the enemy in armor with swords, it would be from the air, invisible, and with dynamite. By now, Komui had uncovered a hard truth; it simply wasn't possible to train a levy to the level of expertise that the great mercenary companies had. Many of them had trained for decades, knowing no other life than war and battle. This meant Komui had to find a way to make his forces useful, by implementing a tactic that required very little skill to implement, at least comparatively.