Second West March War

Keep in mind that the editor is in the GMT timezone, hence the times stated in this article are all in GMT.

The Second West March War, also known as the Fourth Ryzani-Bardonian War or the Great Northern War was a conflict between the United Crowns of Syltör (previously the Second Aurlûnoren-Ryzani Empire & backed by the West Lands Alliance) & the Dandelist Empire of Bardonia. The war was the longest in Rathnir history, lasting longer than twice the length of the prior record holder, the Uldarashi Civil War (which lasted 2 months & 3 days).

The war came after what appeared to be months of the improving of relations between Ryzan (later Aurlûnor-Ryzan) & Bardonia following the fall of the Fourth Empire of Bardonia. The declaration of war by Andreas 'The Dark Prophet' ended exactly 6 months of peace in Syltör, and reinvigorated the continent's lack of trust in Bardonia.

Build Up To The Conflict & Declarations of War
Historically, the nations of Bardonia & Ryzan had been almost persistently at odds with each other, whether that be by directly fighting/dissolving each other or fighting on the wider political stage. However, a change of tides was seen after the fall of the Fourth Empire of Bardonia, wherein the new Kingdom of Bardonia began improving relations with the Ryvenate of Ryzan. The reason for this is unclear, but it helped to maintain the peace in Syltör, even after Bardonia dissolved and reassembled.

Following a not-so-brief stint as a core member of the Imperium, Bardonia underwent a renaissance from which the population was finally raised above pre-4th Empire levels and their impact on Rathnir was greatly increased once again through events organised by the government (Uni in particular). However, a rapid expansion of Bardonia was once again seen, first through the vassalisation of Chance, and then the defection of Coltmaere from the Imperium to Bardonia, all taking place over the course of 2-3 days. This understandably worried the nations of Syltör about what was to come, yet what was to come also did not surprise many.

At 3:58 AM GMT, on the 9th August 2022, Andreas issued an official declaration of war on Aurlûnor-Ryzan on behalf of Bardonia, stating that  'the dandelions have guided him to Aurlûnor-Ryzan' , and  'Let the Second West March War Begin'.

Responses
The Temple Territories of Lûnatwa were the first to respond to the declaration at 04:12 AM, announcing their support for Aurlûnor-Ryzan, while referencing Bardonia's deceptive nature and that they  'have always been the ones to have been against their own word'.

The Assoti Era of Farthorn were next to respond at 04:31 AM, stating their allegiance to Aurlûnor-Ryzan, providing a statement on the repeating cycle that Bardonia wishes to continue, and how  'it will end the same if we do nothing'.

The Uldarashi Enclave (Alokhrad) responded at 04:49 AM, expressing their support for Aurlûnor-Ryzan as an honouring of the West Lands Alliance.

Orbitville expressed their support for Bardonia at 05:00 AM, expressing that Ryzan is in fact 'quite cringe'.

Chancellor Nori of the Aurlûnoren half of the union published an official statement at 05:02 AM, referencing that Aurlûnor-Ryzan sticking together in this war was  'righting the wrong we made' and established that the union would not dissolve in the fact of conflict under any circumstances.

At 05:18 AM, Ararin declared support for Bardonia, wishing to rid Syltör of the 'Aurlûnor-Ryzani menace'.

At 05:22 AM, Petra Ariti of the Aurlûnoren-Ryzani Department of External Affairs published a scathing denouncement of Bardonia, stating that they are 'oath-breakers', and threatening that 'if they wish to remain a shell of their former self, so be it'.

The Unitary State of Chance published their official declaration of support for Bardonia at 05:23 AM, stating that despite good relations with Aurlûnor-Ryzan, they have an agreement to uphold with Bardonia as a vassal state.

Finally, at 07:04 AM, Tsarina-Velereth Shan Tossovich Leyla-Earcala published an official statement, saying that the war declaration was 'no surprise to the system in Syltör' and that they are not afraid of 'a ghost of an empire'.

The United East Haven Republic followed up said statement at 12:00 PM by declaring support for and deploying troops to Aurlûnor-Ryzan on the behalf of the West Lands Alliance and the Commonwealth of Haven.

At 3:29 PM, Hearthstone Yuldai declared its support for Aurlûnor-Ryzan. Stating that if the dandelions are truly guiding Bardonia then "they are doing so in the hopes of being trampled" and firmly asserted their desire to fight by Aurlûnor-Ryzan as "brothers of the west"

At 04:09 PM, Aegeus Cyperus Glynrel-Lelya-Earcala sent an international missive from the Third Ombrian Republic, declaring support for their allies in Aurlûnor-Ryzan, and declaring war on Bardonia.

Shortly after their allies in Ombria at 04:51 PM, the Dragonate of Dracade also declared their support for Aurlûnor-Ryzan, putting them into conflict for the first time in decades.

Preparations
The Second Aurlunoren-Ryzani Empire heavily fortified it's border with Bardonia, while Bardonia re-enacted Code Decapod, both countries were already in General Mobilization state, with the ARE being in a state of emergency. Defences, mostly concerning a large trench, were constructed in Carthya City.

Raid on Carthya
Around the time of the initial declaration, Bardonian skirmishers raided Carthya City. While it is unclear what exactly happened or how many people were involved on either side, it is known that the Bardonians withdrew after attacking soldiers and residents of the city alike, with both sides sustaining moderate casualties.

Raid on Lobopolis
The Raid on Lobopolis was held on the evening of August 10th. A small gathering of citizens and foreign soldiers gathered at Carthya and launched a raid across Bardonia. The raid was initially aimed at New Dorasterrock, however the raiders found the city empty, and instead began to search for other towns to attack, eventually resulting in a skirmish in Lobopolis. The WLA army and its associates initially held the advantage, however one of the attackers was trapped after teleporting to the town; this bogged down the attacking WLA forces, who lost organization attempting to free their comrade and quickly were surrounded by Bardonian reinforcements and took heavy casualties. Whilst the raid was an undeniable loss for the WLA, its commanders and soldiers took it as a lesson on how to truly engage the Bardonians on their own turf.

Skirmish in Tossagrad
After the Raid on Lobopolis the WLA forces withdrew to Tossagrad, where they were reinforced by a small contingent of the Dual-Crown Military. A small Bardonian force moved to pursue the WLA forces and entered Tossagrad, but was forced to retreat after suffering casualties from the Dual-Crown reinforcements.

Raised Tensions
Despite the white peace on the 13th August, tensions between Bardonia & Aurlûnor-Ryzan were still high. Both sides partook on opposite sides in other wars across Rathnir, including in Vastallos & Cymru.

Formation of the United Crowns of Syltör & Expansion of Bardonia
Following the ceasefire, the Siorvat of Escharia underwent civil war & later collapse, with Bardonia making massive gains in the eastern frontier, with the Kingdom of Nieden claiming the historic Escharian city of Lileanen, the southwest coast of Nieden & the Imperial Remnants of Andorn as a vassal of Bardonia.

In 987 ACA, Aurlûnor-Ryzan accepted Lennox & Credia as a combined third member state of the union, With this, it was deemed a name change was in order, hence the United Crowns of Syltör was formed as a confederation of semi-sovereign states. The UCS would expand following the collapse of Alda & later during the second stage of the war.

'Second Stage' - 03-31/10/22 (990-997 ACA)
Full Article: 990 ACA Counteroffensive

Siege of Tossagrad
Bardonia marched on Tossagrad on October 10th, however following around 2 hours of fighting, Bardonia had been thoroughly pushed away from the city & back into their own territory. The swift victory that they had hoped for was now much further out of reach, as superior financial & military strategy meant that the UCS and their allies were now allowed to go on the offensive.

Siege of New Dorasterrock
The UCS began their counteroffensive on October 23rd, with the first battle to take the city resulting in a hotly contested UCS victory, mainly thanks to the extra assistance of Velerin & Shirokaneza. However, before the second battle for the city, Bardonia announced that they would become a vassal of Velerin, resulting in them switching sides and fighting for Bardonia during the second battle. Nonetheless, the battle was still declared a UCS victory by a narrow margin. Bardonia retained the city nonetheless in a decision by the admin team that received massive backlash.

No War November
The existence of No War November prolonged the war by another month of no combat between the 1st-30th November 2022, and gave both time to prepare for the potential of a third stage after the month was out. The 990 ACA Counteroffensive conducted by the UCS & its allies was declared a huge success, and after the collapse of Velerin & the abdication of Crezyman, those with power who disliked Bardonia's trajectory at the time began to defect.

Republican Secession in Bardonia
The mayor of New Dorasterrock following the siege was chosen to be Wren B. Isambard, a close ally of Crezyman who could handle the city while he stepped away from most of his public offices. Shortly afterwards, Wren announced the secession of most of Western Bardonia from the empire, as a democratic force calling for reform & closer ties to the UCS. They called themselves the Republic of Bardonia, which was seen by many as a spit in the face & a defacing of the reputation that the Republics held. The central government declared the secession as illegitimate, merely a puppet state with the backing of the UCS. Over the course of November & early December, more provinces would secede from Bardonia, including Port Solanaria, which turned out to be a ploy to undermine the republican effort.

At this time, Coltmaere & the Escharian Realm also departed from the empire, however through peaceful terms.

Issues within the UCS & the Alliance
It was also during No War November that parts of the UCS' alliance began to fall away, as they became gradually uninterested or annoyed by the continuation of the war. Mars Exulte, which the UCS was a member of, disbanded during this time, and the collapse of the Imperial Federation of Uldarash left the UCS with the territories of Alda & Hearthstone Yuldai, with not much experience in running territories this far away & in that region. They continued to support republican rebels within Bardonia, something that politicians like Vlodomir Mečnik saw as highly hypocritical as the law courts & Duma had been suspended for over 20 years at that point.

During this time, a conditional surrender of Bardonia was discussed between the two sides, however ultimately went nowhere after the Bardonians pulled out, claiming that the UCS 'asked for too much' and wished to commit cultural genocide against the Bardonian people.

Siege of Bardonia
The UCS announced that following a proposition for peace on the 6th December 2022, the Bardonians accepted but couldn't give over the Bardonia discord. And as a result they would be attacking Dorasterrock, Prata & Lobopolis at the same time on the 12th December from Carthya, Tossagrad & Sanctuary. The involvement of Sanctuary as an attacking city brought the Horde into the fold, consisting of Vivonia, Lorent & Askonia (who was already supporting Bardonia), who declared support for Bardonia the same day. Despite initial incredible success in the first battle, the subsequent two battle were losses for the UCS, with the first due to the overconfidence of the Phoenixian Imperium and the thought that Bardonia was on its ends. For the final battle, Bardonia returned with a vengeance and were able to defeat the UCS and gain control over two of Phoenixian Imperium cities Carthya and Tossagrad while the famous city of Sanctuary went to Vinovia. These victories were followed by the gradual reconstruction of Bardonian morale & its border integrity, as the Republican secessionists & other movements rejoined Bardonia over the span of a week.

It took a surprisingly long time for both sides to attempt peace talks, and although seemingly going well at first, they quickly broke down due to an unwillingness from both sides to negotiate over Tossagrad and Carthya, with this only being aggravated by Bardonia's attempts to destabilize the UCS from the inside. Peace talks would continue after the continuation of the war was confirmed, but would still achieve very little. It was during this time that the Ryzani Imperial Federation & the Ryzani Worker's Union would attempt to secede/conquer the Ryzani sections of the Pheonixian Imperium.

Battle of Slouttawa & the Treaty of Playistan
Following the failed peace talks, the UCS would seek to continue the war. hoping to win a victory against Carthya from Slouttawa. However due to multiple large logistical failures, only a small number of UCS soldiers and mercenaries were able to attend the battle, and although they achieved initial success, they were unable to deal with the overwhelming numbers of Bardonia and their allies, and were overcome. Peace talks were once again initiated after the battle, with the Bardonians pushing for the borders of the original Republic of Bardonia (October-November 2020) & then their expansions into Tossagrad. This would exclude the cities of Tonton & Orenia. However, following an agreement to the original treaty. Bardonia would push their claims further & would later put Lhumar under threat of war if the new treaty with much harsher terms was not agreed to. While the following few days of talks are not public knowledge, the treaty was made public & the war ended on January 22nd 2023, almost 5 & a half months after it began.

Aftermath
Many people seem to divide the war up into two stages, the 'West March War' (covering the First & Second Stage) & the 'East March War' (covering the Second Interlude & Third Stage). The inner divisions of the war are, in themselves, divisive, and some consider the war to have ended as early on as September 2022, while others claim that it ended at the beginning of No War November. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the events that occurred during & after No War November changed the war significantly. It gave both sides time to prepare & create new strategies for taking on the war. The contempary audience of the war saw it as one of the biggest comebacks in Stoneworks history, with Bardonia going from losing half of its territory to insurgents to controlling half of Ryzan's pre-war territory & reducing the Pheonixian Imperium to dust. Others claim that the war in itself was filled with biases towards both sides at certain points, and that the war was decided from the beginning, with little to back up said statements.

The fall of the Pheonixian Imperium ended over a year of the relative balance of power in Syltor, with many seeing the return of Bardonia in 2023 as a return to the old world order, with backing from new friends such as the Horde. Following the end of the war, the former lands of the Pheonixian Imperium would be relatively unstable, with the final borders & governments not set in stone. The Horde came into ownership of roughly 50% of Haven & 60% of Syltor over the course of a month, with many seeing this as an indicator of things to come. The events that occurred during the war have led rise to many new nations & conflicts outside of the continent that would not have occurred without the circumstances the war put into place. The war left most nations involved on the verge of bankruptcy.