Plagatéan Invasion of Najer

The Plagatéan Invasion of Najer was a series of conflicts that occurred due to a number of factors, including the Great Plagatéan Famine and the Western Rebellion of Najer.

Background
The involvement of Plagatéa in Najer began with the time period known in Najer as the "Western Rebellion" or the "Era of Conspiracy." An upstart mayor called Goldwyn Silkov had settled in Najer and began campaigning for governmental reform, claiming that the government was corrupt and incompetent. He started slow, drawing attention to and emphasizing the failings of the government in public forums, but soon escalated to calling for the removal of various government members and the complete restructuring of Najer's government.

Unbeknownst to the government at first, he was also beginning to gather a clique of dissidents whom he desired to support him in a bid for the office of Emir of Najer, as well as to feed him intelligence regarding the inside state of Najer. Through frequent meetings and constant persuasion, he managed to recruit the commandant of the Najer Armed Services, Susahnbash Sidel (Yunuseg12), as well as recruit a corrupt officer, Kesgeb Pain (Princeofpain913), who was friends with Susahnbash. Goldwyn also gained the support of several other mayors within Najer, including the Glade Elves of Aethelweald. During this time, Goldwyn also managed to place his own people in positions of power, including control of Sikkari Isle and Dualfin Isle, both low-population settlements nearby his own home.

As he increased in power and influence, the government of Najer became aware of his intentions and began to counteract his efforts. This included sowing mistrust in his inner circle, countering his reforms and proposals, and counter-intelligence and -diplomacy to deprive Silkov of potential allies. Once the Emir, Asdrubal Hanno-faj niv Bacri (O_Alentejano), became aware of the complicity of Susahnbash in the rebellion, as the latter had shared classified government documents with Goldwyn, the situation became much more serious as the possibility of military conflict became a reality.

Through a series of political maneuvers, both Susahnbash and his corrupt lieutenant Kesgeb were forced out of military service, with both being banished for tangentially related actions at a later point.

With his main 'threat' of military backing gone, Goldwyn switched tactics, and contacted the number two authority in the nation, the Caliph: Alsham Hirudo-faj niv Talvos (Hirudo6). He attempted to sway Alsham to his side, the same way as he had the others, but being aware of Goldwyn's tricks and true intentions, Alsham did not agree to anything. Instead, he persuaded Goldwyn to agree to talks with Emir Asdrubal. The talks went roughly; neither side was willing to truly compromise on any of their core arguments, and so the first meeting ended with everyone dissatisfied. Goldwyn retreated to his own domain, the town of Silkovia, which was located in the far west of Najer, and did not contact either of the two again.

Shortly after this, Emir Asdrubal was assassinated by an unknown assailant. Many believed it to be the work of the wicked Silkovs, but no proof was ever found linking them with the assassination, despite much searching. Alsham became the next Emir, and he concluded the reforms with little objection from Goldwyn or any of the other Silkovs. He even made Goldwyn governor of the newly created province that encompassed his home region, in a hopeful attempt to pacify the rebel. Alsham and the rest of the government were exhausted, having spent large sums of both money and energy to keep Goldwyn from tearing Najer apart. It seemed to have worked, for a time, but several years later, in a public scandal, Kesgeb Pain, the former associate of Goldwyn, was discovered to be requesting for various mercenary groups to aid Goldwyn in warring Najer for independence of his province. Emir Alsham immediately launched a full investigation in secret. Meanwhile, Goldwyn Silkov emerged from his town for the first time in years to beg Alsham that he had nothing to do with Pain's request. Due to the results of his investigation, Alsham knew this was in fact a lie, but kept silent about this fact, reassuring Goldwyn that it was alright. Goldwyn then laid low for several years, until a fateful day at the national meeting of 119 AB.

During the event, at which Goldwyn planned to publicly challenge the Emir, a malevolent entity appeared and shat out the turd of all turds, a giant black sphere, then asked for someone to be chosen to enter it. An ally of Goldwyn, Leoni, was chosen to enter the sphere, and disappeared, only to shortly reappear and proclaim that turd was in fact a gift from the gods of the Seraphist religion, and ordered all-non Silkovians to convert. She was met with cries of derision from the crowd, and after some arguing, everyone dispersed out of boredom. Around this time, Plagatea was experiencing a great famine, and ordered their clans to gather wheat. In addition, to feed their undead emperor, they needed souls. Negotiators from Najer visited them, offering both an abundance of wheat and free reign over the souls of Silkovia in exchange for military support. A deal was eventually reached, and Plagatean ships began to depart in anticipation of the coming conflict.

Invigorated by the "Black Moon" as it was known, Goldwyn accelerated his secret plans for independence by meeting with several other military groups to share his plans for independence. However, these plans were leaked back to the government, and Alsham confronted Goldwyn, revealing that they had gained the support of Plagatea for the expulsion of the Silkovians. The Emir ordered Goldwyn to leave, along with all his people, or face war. Goldwyn was distraught, asking for more time to consider. However, instead he furiously penned an open letter, which asked for some other nation to intervene and declare war on Najer. Before he could send it out, however, he was promptly slain by his subordinates, who realized that senseless war would help nobody, slew him.

Negotiations for the fate of Silkov's allies were then undertaken by a number of other parties, involving a number of parties, and it was eventually decided that, with Goldwyn gone, the rest of the Silkovians would be permitted to stay. The Najer expected the Plagateans to leave, and fully refueled and restocked their ships for the trouble of sailing over. However, the Plagateans were not content to leave without a prize, and so instead launched a raid on Najer as they departed.

Blindsided and under-equipped, Najer was not able to respond before the Plagateans retreated back to Plagos.

Raiding Period
For the next several years, various Plagatean clans sent raiding parties to harvest souls as well as capture wheat storages and other supplies. Their efforts were primarily focused on Ajek Point, a prosperous trading city, and various nomadic settlements just along the coasts. The Najer Navy managed to repel some of the raids, but the Plagateans continued to probe their defenses when they could.

The raiders initially avoided the cities of the Order of the Red Quarterstaff, as they were unsure of their strength, in addition to the fact that Order ships were able to keep a constant vigil over their much smaller territory. Accordingly, the Plagateans began to gather intelligence on the Order, its strength, and its operations.

Eventually, they discovered there was a slight disconnect in communications between the Order and the rest of Najer. The Plagatean high government decided to take advantage of this fact, planning an assault on the Order's capital of Campus Ordo, which would then allow them to strike at the national capital of Nahrayn.

Battle of Makkari Peninsula
In 133 AB, Plagatean and Lunari ships launched to strike at Campus Ordo. Their arrival was obscured by heavy rain, allowing them to get nearly in view of the shoreline before the Order was aware of the assault. The Order scrambled their fleet, meeting them almost right off the coast. The Plagosi fighters were quick to board their enemies ships, negating their ability to fight long-distance, which was their strength. Forced to fight hand-to-hand, many Order members perished, and many of their ships were sunk.

The combined Plagosi forces soon landed in Campus Ordo, occupying the city. After a few hours rest, their leaders reckoned that they could march on the capital sooner than expected, given the short time and minimal effort it took for them to land. That same day, the entire force advanced on Nahrayn, which was directly south of Ordo, not bothering to fully secure the city beyond guards to look after their ships.

After a brief march, the invaders arrived at Nahrayn. They were met with a white flag of surrender- their resources drained and their notice short, a defense could not be adequately mounted, nor could they evacuate the innocent civilian populace. Rather than risking mass destruction and death, the government decided to swallow their pride and submit to the Plagosi.

After some negotiations, Najer agreed to join the Greater Plagosi Empire, a union of Plagatea and Lunaris that had formed some years earlier. This marked the end of the war, and the annexation of Najer into the Empire in 137 AB, though they retained at least an internal sovereignty.

Aftermath
Under the banner of Greater Plagos, Najer actually experienced a marked recovery, able to improve and rebuild what had been neglected during the previous decades of fear and turmoil. Both the population and economy experienced resurgences, and further true reforms took place.

Najer would regain its full independence in 150 AB thanks to the efforts of Jakkev Alsham-faj niv Talvos and Jalim Habbei Mofasha.