| War of Summer Conflagration |
| Date |
RY318 Ascending Fire |
| Location |
Marika’s Domain/Halta |
| Result |
Near-total victory for the Fair Folk |
|
| Belligerents |
| Linowa |
Fair Folk |
| Commanders |
| Summer Conflagration |
Marika |
| Strength |
15,000+ Linowan warriors
200 war canoes
1 Dragonblooded |
16,000+ Fae hobgoblins
30+ Fae cataphractoi |
| Casualties and losses |
14,964 Linowan warriors
191 war canoes
1 Dragonblooded |
1,000+ Fae hobgoblins
3+ Fae cataphractoi
22+ Haltans (based on scalps brought back by Linowan survivors) |
|
Buildup
The War of Summer Conflagration, by most definitions not a war but a battle, occurred in the Fire Season of RY318, initiated by the Linowan Dragonblooded war chief Summer Conflagration. An aspect of Fire, Conflagration faced some discrimination amongst the Dragonblooded of Linowa, who typically leaned to aspects of Wood and Water… after all, fire is the great enemy of deciduous woods, clearing them while leaving hardier conifers to survive and then take full control. Yet, he was charismatic and a fierce warrior, even without the fiery Blessing of the Dragons, and rare amongst male Linowan Dragonbloods eschewed marriage into the Royal Clan in order to form a warband.
It had been 38 years since the last major battle with Halta, which had birthed the Fields of Woe, but the Linowan people had proven resilient, and recovery from the losses had been proceeding quickly. Raids during that time had become infrequent, leaders cautious, but there was an eagerness amongst the population to return to war with the tree-buggerers, sentiments into which Summer Conflagration was able to tap. The Fire aspect declared that he would lead a great invasion of the coniferous forests to wipe out the Haltans, and when he returned victorious he would wed the Linowan Queen and rule the whole Northeast at her side. Over the course of barely over a year, his war band grew to massive size, counting over fifteen thousand warriors and two hundred canoes, though few Dragonbloods and few boat clan shamans were drawn to his cause.
In Halta, the political and military situation had also been changing. While both sides had suffered equally massive losses in RY280, the nature of tree-dwelling society meant recovery would occur at a slower pace than amongst the Linowan. Worried over their prospects in the inevitable war to come, the Haltans had met with the Fair Folk dwelling below them and given up the surface in the Treaty of High Order and Wild Roots in RY281.
Due to the lack of raids and underdeveloped intelligence networks of those early times, neither Haltans nor the Linowan were aware of developments in the other.
Initial Assault
Summer Conflagration’s war band mustered in Lake Sanazala and proceeded up the River of Golden Branches , planning to assault the heart of Halta. As they moved amongst the conifers, there was great fear amongst Haltan scouts, who noted the size of the horde and began to make evacuation plans. A few minor skirmishes broke out between river boats and branchpaths, with the Haltans falling back and a number of Linowan claiming green scalps.
The force advanced further, and came across a group of Fair Folk. Summer Conflagration ordered the attack, personally slaying the noble leading them and directing his troops to incinerate the rest.
Fae Counterattack
A few days later, the Linowan went ashore from their boats once more, with intent of chopping branchpath-supporting redwoods to cut some of the routes out of Chanta. As they did so, they were set upon by a massive horde of Fair Folk, numbering many thousands. The casualties amongst the Fair Folk are unknown, but amongst the Linowan they were nearly total, only a few managed to regain their canoes and survive the flight downriver back to Linowa. The last survivor reported that Summer Conflagration refused to flee, a blazing pillar of flame surrounded by Fae nobles and the bodies of his warriors as their canoe passed out of sight.
Aftermath
The loss of Summer Conflagration and his mass of warriors was a major setback for the Linowan, but the population was not deterred from its hatred of the Haltans. Indeed, tales of the tree-buggerers’ alliance with the Fair Folk, monstrous enemies of all Creation, strengthened their belief that their side was righteous and true. Raids continued to be launched against Halta, though on a much smaller scale, and hatred of the Fair Folk started a trend amongst Linowan warriors of carrying axes of iron that could cut Fae, tree, and Haltan in equal measure.
Amongst the Haltans, any doubts about the Treaty of High Order and Wild Roots were dispelled by the victory of the Fae over the Linowan, Haltan society looking upon the Fair Folk not as a simmering threat but a potential ally. This relationship would grow over the years to come.
On both sides, intelligence failures prompted dedication of time and resources into developing systems for espionage to track the movements of their foe and sabotage key elements before a large invasion could be launched. The high casualties of this and the battle of the Fields of Woe also pushed back thoughts of major military invasions, both Halta and Linowa limiting themselves to raiding and small engagements from this point until the War with the Bull.
