Book 1: Volume 2

The Rise and Fall§0 §0of the Falaxian Empire §0 §0Book 1: The Ylandóan War§0 §0Volume 2: The Invasion §0 §0The Ylandóans take a a city, and the Falaxians struggle to fight back, while discontent brews among the Ylandóans back home.

Copyright 2015 blockhead1110§0 §0 §0All rights reserved.§0 §0 §0No publisher shall reproduce this material by electronic or mechanical means without the explicit permission of the author. §0 §0 §0MCBN: 1102938901928

Chapter I§0 §030 explosive launchers were soon wheeled to the recently constructed Ylandóan base. The Ylandóans plotted to claim the city of Kasimov. The city itself was one of the last cities on the Falaxian continent to be taken by the Empire, and

was allowed a large degree of autonomy. Despite being a part of the Falaxian Empire, the people from the towns surrounding it and the islands colonized were called Kasimovan. Officially, it was a part of the Empire, but it was in many ways a different

nation entirely. §0 §0 §0The Ylandóans committed 40,000 troops to the taking of the city, out of 70,000 troops total. Their lines would be streched thin, but luckily for them the Falaxian army was still a disorganized mess.

Soon, the Falaxians heard news of the plan through rumors and analyzing troop movements, but none of the tribal leaders in the area wanted to do a strike, worried about leaving their little town unprotected. The 8000-strong garrison would face the army

alone.§0 §0 §0Soon, the Ylandóans came. The walls were strong, but the explosives soon reduced them to rubble. After that, the Ylandóans came rushing in, and the garrison desparately tried to defeat them, but they were overwhelmed quickly.

When there were only 3000 left, they surrendered, taking 9000 Ylandóans down with them. The Ylandóans soon started expanding throughout the area.§0 §0 §0The Siege of Kasimov was a disaster. There were up to 20,000 men in the area able to come to defend the

city, but none of the tribal leaders wanted to help defend, scared of leaving their cities undefended.§0 §0 §0After this disaster, Theodosiy's advisors pressured him into reorganizing the military, with Dalan, the main General, coming up with the new plan

establishing formal ranks, and making the army under control of the top generals, rather than the tribal leaders. The tribal leaders themselves were invited to join as officers, but most of them clung to the traditional ways, and refused.

They were soon demoted to common soldiers, and the soldiers usually voted for who they wanted to be their officers, as the army could not be made entirely of the lowest rank.§0 §0 §0These changes took two weeks to take effect, but the army was

finally a single fighting force by then.

Chapter II§0 §0The Falaxians formed a cohesive defense force. With Kasimov now lost, their central base was now Melchior, a large city in the central region.§0 §0Several relatively minor victories were won, and the Falaxians had hope for victory.

Still, things were bad, as the ring was gradually being pushed back, supplies were low, and the Falaxian fleet was all but exhausted, while the Ylandóans received more reinforcements and supplies every week. The Ylandóan archers were deadly on the field,

and their infantry were heavily-armored, and the Falaxians were suffering from a shortage of good officers and generals ever since the tribal leaders left.§0 §0 §0There was still hope left. Some of the towns revolted against their Ylandóan captors,

and a network of Falaxian resistance fighters were causing the Ylandóans great harm. Still, as the reinforcements flowed, the Falaxians were pushed back. The Ylandóans pushed a good deal beyond Kasimov, until they controlled a fourth of the Falaxian

Empire, and were gaining more every day.§0 §0 §0Soon, a large force of Ylandóan soldiers were planning to break a point in the line, allowing the others to go through, and cut a swath through Falaxian territory and head straight for the capital.

The loss of the capital would mean the loss of the Falaxian will to fight, and the Ylandóans knew this. Soon a force of 18,000 soldiers swifty captured a small fort with no shots being fired, and the Falaxians sent what they could to intercept the force.

The Ylandóans had a total of 90,000 men now, as the war effort escalated and more were brought to the mainland, while the Falaxians were able to get 60,000 troops rallied to the defense so far, with more joining the fight, plus resistance fighers in

occupied territory.§0 §0 §0The Falaxians rallied together only 12,000 troops to intercept. No other soldiers were available, as they were needed desparately to hold the line. Just another thousand could enable the line to be broken in another place.

The Ylandóans advanced, capturing two towns along the way, until the Falaxians met them. The two armies approached each other on an open plain with the Ylandóans occupying a large hill.§0 §0 §0The two armies didn't attack until the afternoon.

The Ylandóans had the high ground, and soon started trying to provoke the Falaxians into attacking them. Still, the Falaxians would not get in range.§0 §0The Ylandóans were grouped in a normal line, with archers in back, while the Falaxians had one central

force, and two other ones on the outside. §0 §0 §0The Ylandóans approached, and starting firing, demonstrating their advanced range. The Falaxians soon realized that they would be the ones forced to charge.

The three forces joined together, and approached the Ylandóan force head-on, taking fire in the process. The Falaxian stretched their line thin, and flanked them, while returning the fire. The Ylandóans arched their line in response.

The Falaxians approached close enough to where most of their soldiers were on the hill, and edged toward their enemies slowly. Soon afterwards, they ordered all of their archer forces to concentrate on one single group of Ylandóan soldiers.

The Ylandóan regiment soon took heavy fire, and as the Ylandóans preferred thick lines, they moved in. As the Ylandóans moved to replace the unit being lost, the Falaxians widened their line, until they finally struck at the right moment to flank.

The corner of the right arch was thick, but it was flanked, and took heavy casualties. Some soldiers were to flank the flankers themselves, but as they did so the Falaxians did an all-out charge. Having so many coordinated troop movements in order to have

a thick line resistant to charge backfired, as more units were still replacing the one unit damaged, and the Falaxians charged the Ylandóans, dealing heavy damage. The Ylandóan line was not holding, and morale was faltering, and the Ylandóans retreated.

Casualties were heavy on both sides. If the Ylandóans had held their ground, they would have defeated the charging Falaxians. Of the 18,000 Ylandóans, 7000 were casualties.§0 §0Of the 12,000 Falaxian soldiers, 6500 were casualties, a very high number.

The Falaxians continued to fight when half of them were taken down. They knew that the fate of their Empire rested in their swords, and they fought extraordinarily well.§0 §0 §0The Ylandóan invasion force was then criticized as being too small.

The Ylandóan Generals argued that sending only 18,000 on such an important mission was foolish, and that more soldiers needed to be committed. After all, Kasimov was taken with more men than that. The Ylandóans knew that a large victory was needed to

secure victory in the war. They began planning another attack, and after a few days of debating and strategy, they toasted their plans, and celebrated the near end of the war.

Chapter III§0 §0The news of the invasion force being routed gave the Falaxians hope. The line held, and more men joined the fight day by day. Meanwhile, the Ylandóan Queen was frusturated with this defeat. She increased taxes in order to send more

troops and supplies. This move was controversial, but more men came. Over the next few months, new troops arrived, and the war steadily became bigger for both sides, until up to 130,000 Falaxians were in the field and 160,000 Ylandóans were attacking.

The Ylandóan Empire had twice the population the Falaxian Empire did, but the Falaxians had more men volunteering to join, as invading an enemy territory was a much less nobler cause than defending your homeland.§0 §0 §0The Ylandóans kept pushing, but

the Falaxians held them back bravely. However, both sides were taking heavy casualties. §0 §0 §0The Ylandóan Queen, while mostly popular in the past, was facing increasing anger at the high taxes, with some poor people even starving. Still, she resolved to

continue the war. §0 §0 §0The Ylandóan plan to do another large invasion was soon close to being completed. The invasion force was hoping to break through, and then take Melchior, one of the most important cities in the Empire, after holding and being

supplied with more reinforcements. §0 §0 §0A large force of 50,000 was assembled. The Ylandóans stopped advancing, knowing that the Falaxians would not do a counter-attack, due to several spies working in Falaxian territory.

The Falaxians thought that the Ylandóans were pulling back and regrouping, and they did so themselves. However, the invasion force soon came.§0 §0 §0At first it destroyed a fort with a 3000-strong garrison, and took out a few armies of similar size in the area.

Their number was reduced to 44,000, but they continued on, until they finally circled Melchior.§0 §0 §0Melchior itself was a grand city, the most populated in the Empire, and a very important hub for trade and culture. It was known as the heart of the

Empire. The loss of Melchior would crush morale in the Empire, and also take out an extremely important military base.§0 §0 §0The 44,000 soldiers waited outside the walls, and the 15,000-strong garrison soon started rationing food early.

The Falaxians tried to rally an early defense force, but the 44,000 Ylandóans attacked the 20,000 near Melchior that was awaiting more reinforcements. The Ylandóans drove them away, killing 6000 of them and losing 4500. As the siege continued another

half a year, more troops arrived, until the First Siege of Melchior continued, while the Falaxians were starting to have trouble holding the line.§0 §0 §0The Falaxians were starting to buckle under the increased pressure, and they needed a victory.

Ylandóan troops started to go on their way to Melchior to reinforce the troops there. Still, the increased taxes angered the civillians a great deal, and soon talks of dissention became common. A radical few even planned to overthrow the throne.

The Falaxians needed a victory more than ever, and they soon thought of a plan: Gather together all the naval ships they could possibly spare, and launch attacks on three major Ylandóan ports and drydocks.§0 §0The loss of these would be sure to help the war

effort considerably.§0 §0 §0The rebels were gaining popularity, but the Ylandóans were looking like they were about to win the war. The Falaxians rested all their hopes on their fleet, while the Ylandóans surrounded Melchior with 63,000 men.

The Falaxians were to take the war to the waves if they wanted any hope of living, and they were soon planning to do just that.