Auctorate War
Introduction
The Auctorate War was a conflict resultant from the souring of relations between the Sarzola Auctorates? and Serkosian Auctorates?, and the subsequent involvement of their closely related factions. The conflict began in 16,743 and formally concluded in 16,793 with the Auctoral Peace. Despite this, the end of the war is more often considered 16,864 due to the extent of the petty war? which ensued soon after. The war in and of itself is rather comparably unremarkable, but the conflict is notable because its cause stems directly from the events of the First Corpse War?, and the outcome of the conflict is directly tied to the Second Corpse War?.
Rollover & Prelude
The Rollover is the name commonly given to the portion of the Hunt? for Serkos Game? which took place after the closure of the First Corpse War. The Rollover is one of the biggest reasons for the beginning of the Auctorate War, although it would also eventually run parallel to the conflict before its end in 16,762.
During the First Corpse War, the Sarzola Regime? had attacked many states, most importantly Caelum Prima? and the Gyolos-Aeylri Imperium?. The Regime was given heavy support from the Sarzola Auctorates, as they revered Sarzaroth? as their Auctoral Patron?. This support was later extended during the Corpse Brigade?, when these Auctorates would begin supporting the expurgation of the Serkos Game, who had caused the state to become a nigh-unmitigated disaster in the name of Serkos. This caused the first major wave with the Serkosian Auctorates, who had, during the Gyolos Subwar?, entered a secret series of agreements with the Serkos Game as a result of their intent to bolster unity amongst the many Serkosian Legacies?. The Serkosian Auctorates conspired to harbor any fugitive Serkos Game members who remained during the Rollover.
During the Gyolos Subwar, Khava?, a core member of the Serkos Game had fled after the dispute between them and Hyperio? over the goal of the group. Due to Khava being a Nocoros Anomaly?, this change in Hyperio's philosophy was not welcomed kindly and it would cause an influence mutation? that made Khava far more aggressive. Khava would mount an army of Arqala Chimera? from the Ogoros Legion? and Citadel?, which they would use to attack the Serkos Game headquarters in the March on Ataleins?. Serkos Game would be forced to move to Svos? as a result of their headquarters being practically displayed to the whole cosmos, but Khava would eventually make amends with the faction, as with the news that Hyperio had died, they no longer had any bone to pick with the faction. They once more began to work for the faction, while simultaneously operating with the Corpse Brigade in order to avenge Hyperio.
Following the involvement of Arcopeiro?, Khava and many of their subordinates, alongside many of their comrades from both Corpse Brigade and Serkos Game, had been ineffectually banished to Nilstrahl?. Khava managed to unite all the banished forces and returned quietly to Deep Space in the Low Deadspace?. Here they marched to Svos, where they met with the very few remaining members of Serkos Game who were planning to make for Cadartagola? in the Serkosian Auctorates. Khava decided to move to the Serkosian Auctorates alongside these members of Serkos Game.
During the preparation to transport all forces to the Auctorates, word was communicated to all the incoming entities that Zqaloph? of the Serkosian Auctorates had launched an assault on the Sarzola Auctorates for their attempt to support the Sarzola Regime in their efforts to purge Serkos Game and their extended Legacies. This spark, the Raid of Argeara?, would officially begin the conflict. Shortly after, Khava's forces would arrive and lie in wait until the Battle of Cadartagola?.
As the conflict was mounting, before the Raid of Argeara, both Tyrus? and Tartaroth? wanted to extend their support to the Sarzola Auctorates in case of attack, as they felt it was only right due to their continual support during the First Corpse War. Despite this, Sarzaroth would not hear it, as he was far too concerned with the internal state of affairs and the Hunt to let his subordinates mount forces against another enemy. Sarzaroth would eventually compromise and only allow Tyrus and Tartaroth to aid the Auctorates personally, not willing to risk use of any Freeterror Divisions?.
Progression
Lord Plan
As mentioned before, the war began after the Raid of Argeara. Zqaloph would hire Kylomon? mercenaries to aid in this war, giving the illusion of dependency upon mercenary forces. This was the lead in to the Lord Plan?, a plan of attack used against the Sarzola Auctorates to reel them into a hopeless fight against multiple parties. With this strategy unbeknownst to the Sarzola Auctorates, they responded in 16,746 in the Battle of Rolcola? where the Serkosian forces once more held back, this time in order to gauge the strength of the Sarzola forces, as well as to get them drunk on victory. Tyrus and Tartaroth made their first appearances at this battle, plowing through helpless mountains of Serkosian forces.
The tide of the war would switch in 16,749, at the Battle of Cadartagola, when Zqaloph began to slowly reveal their trump cards, starting with the members of Citadel. Despite their even matching with Tyrus and Tartaroth, there were more members of Citadel than there were Freeterrors there. This meant a rather swift defeat for the Sarzola forces.
At the ensuing conflict in the Battle of Greneara?, Serkosian forces were yet again matched, as the Sarzola Auctorates were now more privy to the firepower of the Serkosian Auctorates. This was a pyrrhic victory for the Sarzola forces, and the pendulum-like shifting of victory would continue in the Battle of Dukeston?, when the Serkosian Auctorates shocked the whole political stage by unleashing a flood of Corpse Brigade forces into the struggle. However, there was little the Sarzola Auctorates could do to impede this force, and at the following battle, the Battle of Kikadon?, Serkos Game would further dogpile onto the Sarzola Regime. By now the Lord Plan seemed to be in its final stages, that was until in 16,753, with the passing of the Hacke Doctrine? by the Sarzola Regime.
Regime Involvement
In 16,753, the Hacke Doctrine was passed. This doctrine stated that the Sarzola Regime would be aiding the Sarzola Auctorates with its full backing until Serkos Game had been purged from the opposition. The motivation behind this was the involvement of Serkos Game in Kikadon?. Sarzaroth was entirely interested in closing the Hunt, as the only remaining weakness to his empire was the terror caused by Serkos Game. When word was spread that Serkos Game was now in the Auctorate War, that was all he needed to hear to join in. After the creation and passing of the doctrine, the state began to mount a force and organize the state for war. This took two whole pulses?, which showed the slowing of the Sarzola Regime by this point. In 16,755 the Sarzola Regime entered the conflict for real, deploying forces into the Sarzola Auctorates.
Until 16,762 the Sarzola Regime was entirely involved in the war, but had a habit of entirely ignoring their allied forces and the majority of the enemy forces, exclusively targeting Serkos Game. In 16,762 the Hunt closed, and the Regime pulled out. From here the Sarzola Auctorate forces severely declined in performance, and they returned to their losing streak.
Pure Closure
The Sarzola Auctorates became extremely unpopular as they lost more and more, with Ohmod Ideaos?, leader of the Sarzola Auctorates, even narrowly avoiding an assassination attempt in 16,774. Finally, after even Tyrus and Tartaroth pulled out of the war, the Battle of Botamoa? commenced, and shortly after that Ideaos surrendered.
The Auctoral Peace, the doctrine designed to end the war, was crafted in 16,793, directly after the battle in Botamoa?. The conference included delegates from the Serkosian Auctorates, Sarzola Auctorates, Sarzola Regime, Citadel, Ogoros Legion, surviving Corpse Brigade members, and representatives from Kylomon territory within the Sarzola Regime. Notably, the three surviving Serkos Game members, Wroqalyons?, Undallia?, and Khava, were not present. This was likely to give the illusion of complete extinction of the faction.
Petty War
One of the more notable circumstances of the Auctorate War was the size and scale of the petty war, which not only ran longer than the pure war, but also at some points nearly triggered an eruption into a further pure war conflict.
The first of these moments came in 16,804 in the Skirmish of Uynhur?, when Kylomon mercenaries were seen fighting regionally active conglomerates. Due to Uynhur?'s proximity to Greneara, a major stronghold for the Sarzola Auctorates, they went into a panic, assuming it to be another Serkosian raid. This resulted in the Convene of 16,806?, where the Auctoral Peace was reaffirmed and conflict was avoided. Nevertheless, this scare stirred further conflict and it is assumed this cycle of scares and convenes is what elongated the petty war.
Uynhur was followed by a series of similar skirmishes and their convenes. The most major of these was the Skirmish of Yrendor? in 16,817 and the subsequent Convene of 16,817?, the Skirmish of Terngau? in 16,833 and Skirmish of Quaguara? in 16,835, followed by the Convene of 16,836?, and finally the Skirmish of Botamoa? in 16,860, when at the Convene of 16,862? both sides were far too sick of having convenes to care, and declared all conflicts claiming to be related to the pure war to be void of merit?.
Many conflicts had begun just before this convene was held, so they were technically not void of merit, the last of these legitimate petty conflicts fizzled out in 16,864, concluding the petty war and the totality of the Auctorate War.
Aftermath
The implications of the war were limited but they helped contribute to the grand chaos of the Second Corpse War. The Auctoral Peace represented a loosely defined truce between the Auctoral factions, and as such it was only a matter of time before it's eventual termination.
The Auctorate War is considered the reason for the Serkosian Auctorates decision to act as an honorary Nicora force in the later portion of the Second Corpse War, which was made directly after the termination of the Auctoral Peace in 17,454 (At the outbreak of the Theos Subwar?).
The war also caused a large crackdown on Principian? mercenary efforts, due to the instigation of multiple conflicts by Kylomon mercenaries in the ensuing petty war.
Lastly, it is often attributed as one of the many reasons for the Sarzola Regime's collapse, which was delayed to the end of the Corpse Wars by sheer necessity of a united front.