There was never a moment when the harsh, unforgiving sun didn't shine its rays over the Plegian Desert. There was never a break from the gushing winds that spewed sand and grime on a person when they ask for shade or fresh air.
For anyone who traveled here in this environment, it was a grueling experience that only most can imagine. It may not be the same with merchants or those native to Plegia, as they are by now used to these conditions, but for others it is a whole different story. Anyone who have crossed through the terrain can tell you how important it is to be prepared and be constantly hydrated, as it could mean certain death to those who are unprepared.
Unfortuneatly, it seems the Ylissean Army failed to heed their warnings, and this was only one of many mistakes made in the war.
This began shortly after the Exalt of Ylisse had declared war on Plegia, claiming that it was his duty to expand the influence and religion of Naga, while punishing those who worship the Fell Dragon, Grima. Although questionable, it was met with little to no objections among the nobility and commoners alike.
Many soldiers were mobilized and sent west, with the strong conviction of fighting for the Exalt and for Naga, and soon many accounts of bravery and heroism have been told throughout the land, causing many more to join their ranks in the army. With their high morale and even higher numbers, the Ylisseans were able to drive the Plegian Army deep into their own territory, and soon they gained enough ground to reach Plegia Castle within the first few months of the war.
At this point many had assumed that the Plegians would surrender by the end of the year, but fate proved otherwise.
With how much territory the Ylisseans had gained, only a small portion of it was actually suitable for their needs, and only a number of towns and villages were captured were considered strategically important during the initial months of the only that, but due to the desperate need of soldiers to sent to the western front, the majority of Ylissean troops were undertrained and under equipped, and as Plegian resistance was extremely high, it also resulted in many casualties.
To make matters worse, rumors began to circulate around Ylisse about the army. Many of these tales talked of the razing of villages as well as the slaughtering of many civilians who were not active in the fighting. This caused many of the people of Ylisse to protest against the war. Soldiers who were not in the front lines heard these rumors, and many began to desert their post or even caused insubordination among their superiors.
This, along with the high casualties and unpopularity of the war, had the Ylissean Army weakened to the point where they were forced to halt their advances on the enemy. With their supply lines stretched thin and vulnerable to raids, reinforcements and supplies would take weeks before they arrive.
For the Plegians, it was more than enough time as they were able to launch a counteroffensive against the Ylisseans. With the previous confusion and weakening of its army, the Ylisseans began losing territory as quickly as they gained as Plegian forces pushed them back with renowned vigor, and soon they were already within the desert, with the border of both nations in their sights.
At this point, the Ylisseans had dug in, and soon enough it became more or less of a stalemate as neither Ylisse nor Plegia was able to conduct a significant attack that would break through it. The stalemate lasted for several years, with both sides accumulating as much as thousands of casualties, and with little to no ground gained whatsoever.
In order to escape the horrible reality of war, many refugees had fled from Ylissean-occupied Plegia and headed north to Regna Ferox, hoping to improve their way of life. This in turn enraged the Exalt, and accused the ruling Kahn of being sympathizers of the enemy, which soon lead to closing diplomatic relations and trading with Ylisse.
With each year that passed by, many Ylisseans at home began to blame the Exalt for bringing ruin to their land, as while the haildom hasn't necessarily collapsed, its military and economy was being crippled due to the war. When the people have heard of the news of Regna Ferox, as well as the rumors from the western front, riots broke out throughout Ylisse and many were demanding a stop to the war, threatening to overthrow him if he did not comply.
As the problems raged on in Ylisse, it was a whole different matter in Plegia.
As Plegia was a nation whose official religion involved the worship of the Fell Dragon, many had assumed that they would be the ones to instigate a war and make the first move. It came as a big shock to everyone when the news of the invasion of Plegia came to the Plegians knew that such a war was imminent, they neglected to organize any defensive plan should such situation arise, because many had assumed, especially those of high command, that the Ylisseans were too religious or pacifistic to even consider an unprovoked attack on its neighbor.
They would soon suffer the consequences of said neglect when the Ylisseans began occupying much of their territory. During the invasion, the Plegian King had called a decree for conscription, calling all able bodied men to fight for their homeland. This increased the number of Plegians, and at its peak had outnumbered the Ylissean Army by over half. Unfortunately, many of its men were severely under-trained and had never seen battle, much like Ylisse, and it would prove disastrous during the upcoming months. Unlike the Ylisseans however, their economy was relatively better than Ylisse, and were able to afford much needed equipment and supplies, which in turn might have saved them from being overwhelmed by the enemy.
Nevertheless, it would not be until the decisive battle of the Plegian Capital that the Ylissean advance was halted.
While they failed to come up with a defensive strategy during the invasion of Plegia, the Plegians quickly drafted and made final the Major Plegian Counteroffensive Plan, which began shorlty after their narrow victory at the capitol. The Plegians knew that while Ylissean forces had taken much territory, they did not have much knowledge of its lands and deserts. They also knew that with having conquered so much land in a single amount of time, their numbers had decreased significantly and their supply lines were stretched thin, leaving them undefended and vulnerable to attack.
The plan called for the fortification of several strategic points along the front lines in order to prevent the Ylisseans from launching another attack, while its remaining forces regrouped at the capitol, where they will act as the spearhead to break through enemy lines, while fliers and dark mages would flank them and disrupt their supply lines. Among the confusion, they would encircle the Ylissean forces, where they would completely annihilate them.
The initial phase went much more smoothly than they would have ever hoped, and soon the Plegians were able to break through and push them back east. This provided a boost of morale with the Plegian troops, and heavy resistance became common along the front lines. This forced the Ylisseans to begin a 'scorched earth' policy, in order to prevent the Plegians from receiving aid from villagers.
During the initial months of the war, many of the villages and towns were either passed by or otherwise ignored by the Ylisseans to the account of not being of strategic importance or that they were not contributing to the war effort. This changed after the counteroffensive took effect. Not wanting the Plegians to have an advantage over them, they began destroying crops and houses as well as killing livestock. Many villagers were forced to flee from their homes and those who refused or otherwise went against the Ylisseans were quickly cut down.
It was when the rumors began and the Grimleal, who were the actual governing force in Plegia, had twisted them to their liking, and many began to believe them.
Not wanting to face the wrath of the Ylissean Army, many Plegian refugees left their homes and went north, taking only what they could. The trek up north was a grueling experience, and many had died. They travelled through rugged and war torn terrain, suffered raids from brigands and thieves, attack from beasts and animals, and the ever constant threat of disease and mother nature was inevitable. Even then, many were able to reach the neighboring land of Regna Ferox.
Regna Ferox had declared its neutrality at the beginning of the war, claiming that they had no reason nor any interest in becoming involved in their war, but still held trading agreements for both Ylisse and Plegia. Other than that, there was little to no involvement whatsoever with both sides during the war, and had turned down several offers from both sides, urging them to join their side.
That only changed, however, when the Plegian counteroffensive began. More specifically, when the refugees began arriving to Regna Ferox. At first they denied entrance, as they believed that it would be a violation of its neutrality, but when they heard of the rumors of the front lines as well as the news of the 'scorched earth' policy implemented by Ylisse, they were appalled, and decided to accept them into their land. The Exalt was not happy with the decision and demanded that they would get rid of the refugees. The ruling Kahn refused and warned the Exalt not to do anything that would prevent them from coming to their country, as they are not actively fighting in the war.
This enraged the Exalt and began accusing the Kahn of secretly siding with the Plegians and being friendly with the enemy. The Kahn did not tolerate it, and decided to cut all ties and trading agreements with Ylisse. They still continued to trade with Plegia in the meantime, as they had no problem with them at the moment.
About six years has passed since the start of the war, and for about half the time the Ylisseans managed to control almost all of Plegia before their advance was stopped. From there, the Plegians retreated, regrouped and launched a major counteroffensive that slowly pushed the Ylisseans back, to at which point they had retreated all the way back to the Plegian Desert, where they had initially started, and where they had dug in.
Now both sides have reached a stalemate across the Plegian Desert, and neither are able to overpower the other. Apart from a number of small skirmishes, no significant move has been made, as soldiers from both sides have exhausted themselves to fight any further.
They don't have the will to fight, but neither do they have the will to surrender. Now the war has turned more into a waiting game, and the loser would have to have to abide by the winner. The winner would do nothing but lick its wounds.
Fortunately for the players, as well as the group of spectators in between, the game would be over soon. Much sooner than they think.
Hello Hello! Kalbern here!
First of all i would like to say that this is my first fanfic ever, and i would really appreciate it if you would give me some advice and/or any corrections regarding the story or otherwise. What you like or dont like, any grammar mistakes, all that stuff would help me alot in the near future. Also, as i dont really have time on my hands at the moment, this would be updated on a monthly basis at best, so i apologize for any inconvenience or if you were hoping to have this updated much sooner.
Im very happy to be starting something as exciting as this, and i look forward to share more of this with you! Thank you for taking the time to read this, and i hope you will enjoy this as much as i am writing it.
Untill next time!
P.S: Fire Emblem belongs to Nintendo and to their respective owners. I dont know if i would get in trouble if i didnt mention that, so here we go just in case!
Update 4/4/2018: Just fixed some VERY obvious errors, god im so embarassed. Anyways, this was kind of rushed a bit, so i apologize if it seemed a bit confusing. Let me know if there are other corrections to make here.