War of Conquest

The War of Conquest was a military conflict around the formation of Rasyvias, between the exiles of Ivicharros and the Lake People who currently inhabited the area. It last just under a year and a half, culminating in the Siege of Rosemar, the only instance in which Rosemar has been conquered.

Arriving in Higashi, the exiles of Ivicharros, led by P'hensor, found that the settlements around the Camel's Bay had been struggling not to be conquered by their nearby enemies, who wished to exterminate them, and were glad of protectors, easily subjugated. After fortifying the Bay, they advanced further into the mainland, claiming the open land between the Bay and the Eye of the Marsh as their own without much resistance from the few inhabitants, and beginning the War of Conquest. While P'hensor has planned strike the less civilized enemy before they could organize themselves, he had not realized that, uncivilized though they were, they were militaristic and as such had a well-organized army. The Lake People, as P'hensor and his men termed them, were highly offended by the taking of the lands that they had formerly held, and struck with force before P'hensor could move further inland. When the invaders discovered that the advance force they had sent to force the Lake People back and gain the resources of the Eye of the Marsh had been defeated, they sent a second force, made primarily of Rhyioji magic-users, to win a presumably easy victory. While the Lake People's force had only a single magic user, far inferior to those of the Rhyioji, the Lake People carried with them a secret weapon that forced the invaders to retreat back towards the Bay. This weapon was the strange creatures of the Lake People, their war-beasts since time out of mind, which were quite unlike the other creatures found in Higashi. Strange beasts like bears but with reptilian builds, and tough, lizard-like skin, as well as beings like leopards with the buils of lizards, and copper-colored scales in place of fur, and great wingless birds with hair and vicious beaks. The most fearsome trait of these creatures was not their appearance, nor was it their not-insignificant value in combat. It was the fact that they were resistant, to varying degrees, to magic. The invading army was forced to send warriors with extreme skill to kill the beasts, as well as some few powerful magic users who could affect them. They were able to break through and conquer the Eye, where most of the creatures which the Lake People had domesticated were corralled, making the further conquest easier. The war was far from finished, however, and raged on with many valiant battles, and losses for both sides, until the invaders gained the upper hand, and the Lake People marshaled all of their forces into a vast army at their greatest castle and new capital. The invaders marched upon it, and the culmination of the war took place at the Siege of Rosemar.