Northport War

The Northport War was the invasion of the Kingdom of Aurora by the New Dorasterrock Accords starting on June 22, 2022. It was the largest invasion in Rathnir and Eldham History, with over 200 combatants taking part in both battles. The invasion put into action Ganeff’s and the N.D.A’s goal of conquering Aurora and dividing it. Their ultimate goal was to instate Ganeff as the King of Aurora, while ceding significant territories to various N.D.A nations.

In the year leading up to the invasion, Ganeff and Aurora had become increasingly at odds, beginning with the end days of the Second Empire of Uldarash. Following the collapse of the Union of Haven on May 29, 2022, which Ganeff founded and led, Ganeff began planning an invasion of Aurora with his allies in the N.D.A. Over the course of the invasion, over 100 personnel of the N.D.A powers at each battle —the largest invasion force in the history of Rathnir and Eldham—invaded the Auroran city of Northport. The offensive marked a massive escalation of tensions in Haven, as the first military invasion of Havenite soil from foreign powers since the collapse of Uldarash.

The failure of the invasion reversed the success of the N.D.A, until then an alliance which dominated conflicts it had been involved in. Operationally, N.D.A forces achieved significant victories and occupied some of the most important areas of Northport and inflicted, as well as sustained, heavy casualties. Despite these early successes, the N.D.A offensive stalled in the Second Battle of Northport on the 7th of July, 2022, and the subsequent Auroran Savras counter-offensive pushed the N.D.A back. Both N.D.A and Auroran High Command anticipated a third battle, as neither side had reached the necessary threshold to secure the enemy’s city, However no such battle occurred, instead the N.D.A command saw significant infighting and a lack of supplies, leading to the collapse of war efforts and the exit of multiple nations from the alliance. The N.D.A’s diminished forces could no longer muster the support for an attack against Aurora, and subsequent attempts by remaining N.D.A members to retake the initiative and continue the invasion failed, which resulted in the N.D.A’s defeat.

Auroran victory was widely considered an upset, and lead to infighting and the eventual collapse of the N.D.A. Of the N.D.A nations directly participating in the war, the Imperium, and Viodoxa completely collapsed. Tortuga later lost the majority of its territory. Although none of these nations collapsed as a direct consequence of the war, their failure in the Northport War is widely attributed as one of the many causes.

On October 26th 2022, Ganeff, and Aurelian, King of Aurora personally agreed to peace. Officially ending hostilities.

History of Northport
Northport, originally a fishing hamlet, was founded in March of 2021 by Ganeff, his brother Lykich, and friend “Sixes”. The city was maintained and grew under Ganeff’s leadership throughout the next year, which saw moderate expansion of the town and significant growth of Northport’s population, leading to the city becoming Aurora’s second most populous city. As Ganeff began to grow further away from Auroran leadership during his time in leadership positions within the Second Empire of Uldarash, he became increasingly uninterested in maintaining his ownership of the city. This eventually led to Ganeff passing leadership to Sixes, and soon after his adopted son, Ward, in February of 2022. Just a month after this, Uldarash collapsed, leading to Ganeff’s exit from Aurora. After Ganeff's departure, Ward’s leadership of the town saw significant expansions and renovations in infrastructure and housing. This once again bolstered Northport’s population, making it an extremely prominent and valuable town in Aurora.

Fall of the Second Empire of Uldarash
In March 2022, Haven was thrown into a state of political turmoil following the collapse of the Second Empire of Uldarash. Multiple political disputes and disagreements amongst the successor states of the Second Empire were born out of previous disputes that had already existed within the former Uldarashi government. Prior to the collapse of Uldarash, Ganeff, the primary belligerent in the Northport War, had served as a Regent Emperor in Emperor Aurelian's absence. During this period, a series of disputes between Ganeffs and the Auroran government erupted over permanent ruler-ship and decisions that had been made under Ganeff's regency.

Following the the public announcement that the Second Empire of Uldarash had been officially dissolved, Ganeff and other prominent Uldarashi Government members from Eastern Haven organized the formation of the Union of Haven. The nation aimed to be the improved successor to Uldarash, as its government proclaimed their goals to reunite Haven under their newly formed Union, while righting the wrongs of the former Uldarashi government.

Armory dispute
In the initial days following the collapse, the armories and storage of the Uldarashi government were hastily seized by individual states which believed the stockpiles rightfully belonged to their governments. In particular, a dispute erupted between the Kingdom of Aurora, and the Union of Haven, which Ganeff now led over supplies from the Uldarashi Imperial Armory that Ganeff claimed Aurora had stolen. This dispute was escalated when the Second Golden Ring of haven was founded as a military and political alliance between Havenite States. The Union of Haven refused to enter the alliance when initially proposed due to the Imperial Armory dispute. Their demands stated that the supplies from the Armory were to distributed as agreed upon previously. This claim was denied as Golden Ring members stated that The Union of Haven and it's states had illegally seceded from the Second Empire, having not waited for the official vote to dissolve Uldarash to pass, forfeiting their right to the Imperial Armory. These disputes led to the Union of Haven aligning itself towards nations outside of Haven, as The Union became a founding member of New Dorasterrock Accords on April 3, 2022. The Union of Haven would later collapse as a result of inter-governmental disputes, however Ganeff personally maintained his relations with N.D.A leadership.

Kingsland dispute
The Pirate Dominion of Tortuga and the Kingdom of Aurora had been long standing allies since the early days of the Second Empire of Uldarash. Personal connections between the leadership of both nations had kept the alliance steady for around a year. The alliance quickly began unraveling however when the former Pirate Lord, Sexy, stepped down from his position, with Pirate Lord Ulifer succeeding him. Ulifer and Auroran leadership were not as close nor friendly with each other as his prior, resulting in strained relations. The alliance finally broke however in May 2022 when then Queen and second in command of Aurora, Aerith an Aurorii, became involved in a war against a key Tortugan Ally, Kingsland. This conflict was initiated by the Dread Fleet, a pirate and mercenary company, which Aerith was heavily involved in. Despite Auroran efforts to calm the situation, stating that Aurora had no official involvement, the damage had already been done, leading to Ulifer breaking off the alliance on May 29, 2022. Tortuga had already become closely aligned with various N.D.A member states, leading to Tortuga's entrance into the alliance in June.

Avium War
In May 2022, The Kingdom of Aurora became directly involved in the Avium War, against the nation of Lunaris. Prior to the war, Aurora had signed a military alliance with The Avium Federation. The bulk of the defending force was made up of soldiers fielded by the newly formed Vinovian Khanate. Vinovia had just a few weeks before gained a substantial plot of land within Central Haven leading to substantial worries of Vinovian expansion amongst old Havenite states, including Aurora. Due to both Aurora and Vinovia’s direct involvement in the Avium War, the bulk of the fighting within the conflict was between the Order of The Aurora and Vinovian armies. The Avium War was the first conflict The Order had fought in since the Uldarashi Civil War, which resulted in an inexperienced command in modern warfare doctrine using outdated tactics on the battlefield inevitably leading to an Auroran defeat in the first battle. Aurora anticipated a second battle, however the Avium Federation negotiated for peace shortly after, unbeknownst to the Auroans which were not included in negotiations. The conflict would nonetheless immediately set Aurora at odds with Vinovia, leading to their alignment to the N.D.A and involvement in the Northport War soon after.

N.D.A Invasion plans
Aurora's military reputation since the collapse of Uldarash had fallen significantly, due to the fact that Aurora had suffered a military defeat against the newly formed Vinovian Khanate in the Avium War just weeks prior, leaving the Order of The Aurora with a reputation of a waning power compared to that of the N.D.A Member State's armies which had seen success in conflicts across Rathnir.

Pirate Lord Ulifer and N.D.A leadership originally planned to invade the capital of Aurora, Fornost, using the rising tensions between Aurora and Tortuga over the Kingsland Dispute as one of the pretexts for the invasion. This was later changed, as Ganeff offered to personally lead the war with the justification of reclaiming Northport, the city he had founded, along with the N.D.A propping up a claim by Ganeff to the Auroran throne. This would allow the N.D.A to avoid risking their highest valued cities in an attack against Fornost, instead they planned to conquer Northport first and use it as the staging grounds for the invasion of Fornost. Auroran Command was well aware of this war becoming reality since the Kingsland Dispute, and as such made efforts to counter-act this and prepare their defenses. Further efforts were made once the N.D.A publicly announced their intentions to wage war.

Early plans were comprised of a simple structure. These were proposed by Ganeff after a series of leadership meetings within the N.D.A. The attacking N.D.A armies were to rally at Kaahiru, a city within the Ummarnu Mesa to the North of Aurora. Following their rally, the armies were to split off into three subsections. Two of which were to be comprised of the bulk of the N.D.A's infantry. These groups would engage the Auroran defenses from the East and West simultaneously, which would allow the third group to take advantage of the Auroran's preoccupation and capture key areas on the outskirts of Northport. Although these plans were agreed upon by N.D.A leadership which read them, the majority of leadership did not contribute to the war planning effort, leaving major gaps in planning, especially regarding where N.D.A armies would receive their resupply during the battle itself. Multiple N.D.A leaders admitted this, and although some attempts were made to solve the issue, they were ultimately left unresolved.

Throughout the planning phase prior to the invasion, the N.D.A made significant efforts to hire mercenaries from across Eldham and Rathnir. In particular, the mercenary group known as the "Dracks". Both the N.D.A and Auroran command made significant bidding efforts as well as personal outreach to attempt and convince the Dracks to support their respective side, and for a majority of the time period leading up to the battle, there was no decision on the Drack's end, leaving both sides unclear on which side they would fight for. As the first battle neared, the Dracks made a decision to fight on the Auroran side. This was in part caused by members of the N.D.A's command having personal disputes with the Dracks on Eldham. Aurora had also payed the Dracks well above market price for a mercenary group, further swaying them to the Auroran side. Although N.D.A command was disappointed, they remained dedicated to the war effort.

N.D.A preparations
Member states of the N.D.A had long been prepared for conflict, as each had been involved in their own respective conflicts not long ago, leading to each nation being prepared in modern war strategy. Vinovia in particular fought the Aurorans directly at the Avium War, which allowed them to prepare for Auroran tactics and anticipate potential Auroran manpower. The nation of Lunaris, led by Amaranthine Luon, had already amassed a significant armory in the months prior to the war, as well as significant wealth made from Lunaris owned merchant companies.

By the time the battle was just a few days away, the N.D.A had amassed over 160 Soldiers which could potentially attend the battle. N.D.A states made significant efforts to prepare their national armories, with multiple in N.D.A leadership claiming their nation had hundreds of sets prepared for the war. Scouting efforts in the days prior to the battle allowed the N.D.A to adjust their planning for the Auroran defenses, especially the large moat which had been dug around Northport. N.D.A leadership was largely surprised at the amount of progress that had been made by the Aurorans to prepare Northport for the siege, as the moat which surrounded the city which reached down to bedrock had been dug in two days. Nonetheless, N.D.A preparations continued strong, as their command remained confident in their ability to capture the city with relative ease.

Auroran preparations
The Order of the Aurora, the official military of Aurora had been amassing a large amount of wartime supplies since the Uldarashi Civil War. This growth was heightened under the expansion of the Auroran Logistics Corps under Hazel McSpiegel who coordinated the production of hundreds of wartime supply kits. Furthermore, the Order of the Aurora's combat corps were engaged in regular training and war simulations which allowed them to stay prepared for potential conflict. Significant amendments to Auroran War doctrine were made after the Avium War in order to bring the Order into the modern age of war strategies.

Aurora, having now had their nation thrown into full wartime efforts, rushed to prepare the defenses of the city. The initial total number of Auroran and allied soldiers that could potentially attend were estimated at around 170. The Auroran civilian populace contributed to the majority of wartime defense preparations, as civilian efforts dug the Northport Moat, and filled in the Northport Canals, making the city significantly harder to breach and capture. Auroran spying efforts allowed The Order of the Aurora to adjust their plans significantly to counter N.D.A preparations, as well as anticipate N.D.A strategies.

The Northport Moat was arguably the most important defensive preparation the Aurorans made. The Moat ranged from 10-30 blocks wide at some points, and surrounded the entire city. The moat was dug down to bedrock in every section, and the bottom was set with Dripstone Spikes which would instantly kill any soldier who was knocked or fell down the moat. The Aurorans correctly predicted and planned that by constructing the moat, any N.D.A attempts at breaching the city would at best completely fail, or at worst, take long enough to construct a bridge across that Auroran reinforcements would have time to arrive to support any defenders in the area if needed. Additionally, the Aurorans planned for small flanking forces to move around the outside of the city and knock besieging N.D.A forces into the moat, which would hopefully inflict significant casualties on the enemy. An additional strategy of defense employed by the Aurorans were known as "Scotch Barriers" named after the former Uldarashi Empress, ScotchKnight, who had employed the use of these barriers during an Undead invasion of the city of Sanctuary. These barriers, made up of primarily spruce wood were covered in trapdoors, fences, fence gates, and so on to make traversing and climbing over these barriers extremely difficult. Each of them were designed and constructed at key choke points and street entrances to deny entrance to invading forces. These barriers were deployed in a series of Barrier-Lines which served as defensive fallback lines for the Aurorans throughout the battle. The fallback lines were roughly designed in rings which slowly shrank and finally led all the way back to the center of the city. The final fallback barrier-line proved extremely useful in holding off the N.D.A attack for long enough to allow the Aurorans to secure and hold the Courthouse in both battles.

Vinovian Khanate
The Vinovian Khanate provided significant support for the N.D.A before and during the conflict. Then Khan of Vinovia, Ringo, promised to support the N.D.A with substantial numbers of fighters from Horde states across Rathnir. This was not made public by Vinovia at any point, as Vinovian leadership wanted to avoid public knowledge that they were involved in the conflict in any official capacity. At the first battle of Northport on June 28th, 2022, Vinovian leadership claimed that only two soldiers from The Horde were present at the battle, attending as mercenaries, further claiming to have inflicted dozens of casualties on the Auroran force. The Auroran Government disputes this casualty count, but neither claim can be verified. Auroran intelligence did however verify that the Vinovian Khan admitted in N.D.A meetings to sending forces from Horde states, –more so than the two claimed– to each battle. Vinovian leadership also contributed significantly to war preparations and plannings within N.D.A meetings.

U.S.S.E
The U.S.S.E, a nation in South East Eldham, became involved in the Northport War after being obligated to do so by the Soleannen Imperium, which had vassalized the nation just a month prior to the war's beginning.

(The extent of how much aid was provided by the U.S.S.E to N.D.A war efforts is currently unknown, however it is estimated to be low.)

Daelyria
The High Kingdom of Daelyria had been vassalized by Goon-Guard earlier in the year. As a result of Goon-Guard’s membership in the N.D.A in early April of 2022, Daelyria was obligated to become involved in the war.

(The extent of how much aid was provided by Daelyria to N.D.A war efforts is currently unknown, however it is estimated to be low.)

Varn Torum, The Rattican, Drak Yamar, Sylvania, Aristios, Mycorji, Qadakh, Hussaria
Each nation listed above, played an integral role on the Auroran side of the war. The collective efforts of these nations, spearheaded by Hasufel, utilizing his extensive network of alliances and personal connections, forged a coalition of Eldhamite states, garnering their support for the defense of Aurora.

The impact of this coalition bolstered the Auroran war effort to a remarkable extent. By rallying the Eldhamite nations, Hasufel ensured that the defense of Northport was successful. The invaluable addition of manpower provided by these nations played a crucial role in sustaining the prolonged defense of Northport during the full-scale battles.

The Northport War was the first conflict that both Raiyuna and Aurora had officially aided each other in, proving the alliance that is still held today between the two nations.

Drackar/"Dracks"
Drackar, unofficially known as “The Dracks” were an esteemed and highly coveted mercenary during the Northport War. Renowned for their exceptional performance on the battlefield, Drackar quickly rose to prominence as one of the most formidable and sought-after mercenary groups of its time. Drackar not only excelled in direct combat but also possessed a unique specialization in fortification and strategic city preparation. This specialized expertise made them especially sought after by Aurora. In the case of Northport, their contributions provided a significant addition to the defense preparation of the city.

Drackar, recognizing the significance of denying the enemy access to crucial and previously hard-to-defend areas, devised an array of small pits across the city, otherwise known as “Ganks,” or “Drack Pits” These defensive measures played a pivotal role in impeding the progress of N.D.A attackers, especially within the Courthouse, which had seen it’s basement transformed into a large array of these pits. The presence of Drackar's traps across Northport significantly slowed the N.D.A attackers, hindering their progress and inflicting significant casualties, forcing the assailants to proceed with caution, often diverting their attention away from primary objectives. Many of the N.D.A casualties in the battles were a result of N.D.A soldiers becoming trapped in these pits and killed by defending Aurorans.

First Battle of Northport
By the time of the First Battle of the War, the odds appeared to be stacked in the N.D.A's favor. Aurora had gathered their allies and paid for mercenaries to equalize the numbers, but remained outnumbered. Northport had also been extensively fortified, surrounded by a massive pit and covered in traps.

The battle started relatively slowly, as the N.D.A attempted to make their first breach. Robot and Ganeffs were the first to go up to the walls, supposedly to talk with the defenders. N.D.A plans, however, had been leaked to the Aurorans, stating that this was a diversion for an attack. When they arrived at the edge of the pit, they were pushed in by a defender who had pearled onto their side, killing them both. Several attempts were made at claiming areas outside of the walls, but extensive use of fireballs by the defenders stopped most of them from succeeding. The first major engagement came on the Southwest corner of the defensive wall. The area was highlighted by Aurorans as a weak spot in the defenses before the battle, as it was very easy to bridge to, but they didn't have enough time to fix it before the battle. The first group of attackers who breached the walls through this weak spot were repelled, but the second attempt successfully broke through into the market area of the city. This area saw the majority of the first full-scale engagements between Auroran and N.D.A forces. The attacking N.D.A held a significant advantage initially in the Market breach, as they heavily outnumbered the Auroran defenders there which had underestimated how large the breaching force was. Auroran reinforcements began arriving within a few minutes, although the casualties to the Auroran defensive corps in the Market already began to grow significantly.

Once the first breach had been made, the N.D.A began a slow process of clearing through Northport street by street, until the final fight of the battle occurred in and around the Northport town hall city center. The N.D.A succeeded in taking control of the roof of the building, but the Aurorans were in control of the lower sections of the town hall and surrounding city center by the end of the battle. This resulted in the battle ending indecisively. The N.D.A had retreated out of the city, leaving the Aurorans to reorganize and count their losses. Northport had been significantly destroyed as a result of the N.D.A attack.

Second Battle of Northport/Battle of Savras
By the time of the second battle, the strength of the N.D.A had waned significantly. Tortuga had exited the war, taking all of their fighters with them. All other nations remained, but each of them also provided less troops than before, as motivation to continue fighting dropped. Infighting within N.D.A command as well as a lack of supplies had contributed to their struggle to raise their armies.

The Aurorans, eager to not lose their homes, remained motivated; though they also had rallied less troops, they had lost a much smaller percentage overall. Once again, Sentinel Hasufel, with his connections to mercenaries and many alliances on Eldham contributed significantly in strengthening the Auroran defense forces.

This time the Aurorans decided to take the offensive as well as defending Northport, striking the enemy at Savras, the city which was being used to attack Northport. The Second and Third Auroran Corps made extensive use of hit-and-run tactics throughout the battle - arriving at Savras, killing the garrison, then retreating when the N.D.A's best soldiers arrived to fight them.

The defense of Northport itself was also successful, as the N.D.A struggled to get out of the breach they made in the wall. The N.D.A managed to inflict many casualties by pushing defending soldiers into the massive pit that surrounded the city, but it wasn't enough to substitute for their lack of progress in capturing the city. As the battle continued, the N.D.A's strength faltered, and eventually they were unable to send enough people to push the Aurorans out of Savras. By the end of the battle, the government building and cathedral of Savras were completely controlled by Aurorans, resulting in an undisputed Auroran victory. This would be the last military engagement of the Northport War.

Stalemate
The defeat at Savras caused major problems for the New Dorasterrock Accords. Another defeat along the lines of Savras would result in the complete loss of any town used in the war, which combined with the high requirements of a city capable of attacking Northport to make the potential risks of another battle exceedingly high. All nations involved wished to continue, but when all failed to provide a town the war entered into an official stalemate.

The remaining dedicated leadership of the N.D.A remained as committed as ever to the continuation of the war, with the Imperium going so far as to announce the dissolving of any treaties they had with nations who were not at war with Aurora. At the lower levels of the N.D.A's constituent nations, however, dissent was beginning to grow.

The I.A.U (Viodoxa) was the second nation to exit the war. Their own separate war with Paradise had ended in a crushing defeat which sent the Union into disarray. They were removed from the N.D.A, and shortly thereafter collapsed into the Autokratoria Sirradra and many other successor states. They were followed by the Soleannen Imperium, which would largely be annexed by Certaria following Bardonia's declaration of independence. Both Certaria and the new Bardonian government were friendly to Aurora, reversing Aurora's position on the world stage in only a few short weeks.

The war continued in official stalemate for almost five more months, however remaining former N.D.A nations that had not signed peace with Aurora did not consider themselves at war, or even hostile towards Aurora for that matter. On October 26th, 2022, King Aurelian an Aurorii, and Ganeff personally signed peace in a private meeting. No territories, nor reparations of any kind were exchanged, ending the war in a White Peace.

Aurora
The resulting victory for Aurora had a profound impact on Auroran history and culture, as the Northport War was considered the most consequential conflict Aurora had ever fought in, and led to the creation of the official Auroran Holiday, Northport Remembrance Day, and Victory Day, which is celebrated annually on the 28th of June and 7th of July respectively.

Furthermore, the conflict left a profound impact on the city of Northport itself, as much of Northport's infrastructure and buildings were destroyed by invading forces or deconstructed to make way for defensive fortifications during the war. The Northport Courthouse was entirely deconstructed after the conflict, and is now replaced by a candle memorial for the Aurorans which died during the Northport War. Additionally, most of the large defensive walls which were constructed and bolstered during the Northport War still remain in place, aside from the walls on the western and northern side. The Auroran Government also constructed the Northport Castle immediately following the conflict which had been planned to be built before the conflict but was delayed due to the war. The castle serves as a large fortification, as well as a public space for citizens, and living space for nobility.

As a result of the effort put forward by the general Auroran population during the conflict, much of the Auroran populace felt immense burnout and exhaustion after the war had ended. This resulted in a multiple-month period in which Aurora did not find itself involved in many major events globally or domestically, as well as a dramatic slow down of Auroran logistics production, and decrease in military activity domestically and abroad for around six to seven months.