The Byzantium-Coalition War

Written by Snake Rhodes

Short Summary
The Northeastern War, The Byzantium-Sarovia War, or the Byzantium-Coalition War, was an unofficial continuation of The Great War between the Allies and Coalition. The War saw Byzantium and Nation States under her influence face off with New Sarovia to preserve the liberty of the community and to topple the Sarovian monopoly on military guilds.

Prelude to War
In the months of 2017, The resistance against The Sarovian Empire was critically high as the ashes from the community-wide War was still smoldering in the minds of most. But with every debacle, there's always a, for lack of a better word, "intransigence" that attempts to halt the grueling machine of change. And the fall of Azlam, would be that intransigence.

Azlam, and even earlier The Aurean Empire, was always a conglomerate of different loyalist factions that were bound together by a sort of fealty depending on the leaders of said factions. But, like all systems of governance, once a cog is missing from the machine it no longer works. And that is exactly what happened with Azlam.

Peter and Fyre were disgruntled with Azrael's policy on New Sarovia, and Fyre specifically warned Azrael that him and his loyalists would resign from their positions in Azlam if Azrael didn't disband his neutral attitude towards New Sarovia. This warning that was mostly perceived as an empty threat was ignored, and Azlam fell within two weeks as Fyre and his Loyalists left and formed Byzantium whilst Peter formed Astoria (Later known as Astorreich).

Fyre's first Byzantium was short-lived and died due to a personal conflict with Azrael. Fyre's Loyalist sought refuge in many different guilds, with some like Snake making their own guild. However, Byzantium was remade a day later and sought a very new initiative: '''Destroy The New Sarovian Empire & Defend the Liberty of Graalians everywhere. '''

The War of Words
Before any real exchange of swords or arrows took place, there were one instead of words. With some     Noteworthy documents coming from both Fyre and Constantine. Fyre's responses in no particular order:
 * https://newsaroviagraal.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/message-to-fyre.pdf
 *  https://newsaroviagraal.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/the-byzantium-papers-2.pdf (Post Battle)
 * https://newsaroviagraal.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/speech-by-the-emperor-september-18th/
 * https://novabyzantium.wordpress.com/2017/09/20/statement-to-sarovian-soldiers-and-officers/
 * https://novabyzantium.wordpress.com/2017/12/04/standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants/
 * https://novabyzantium.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/the-sarovian-cancer-gfx/
 * https://novabyzantium.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/the-great-byzantine-sarovian-war/
 * https://novabyzantium.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/the-beginning-of-the-end-message-to-the-community/

Author's Retrospective on The War
The Byzantium-Coalition War,  at the time,  was thought to have held no real significance. But truth be told, it did depict the widening gap between community and Sarovian creeds and values and how, if not stopped, could cause the irreversible fracturing of the core ideas which originally made up the Golden Age and Silver Age of Graal Militaries.

The Guild Kick of Sarovia
Somewhere around ~September 13-14, a Byzantium citizen named Christian conducted an Independent mass kick of a Sarovian Regiment. Surprisingly, Fyre publically praised Christian and repeatedly thanked him. This event is monumental as it reinvigorated the use of mass kicking, with some nations dubbing it "Nuke (s)".

The Battle of Graal City
On the 15th of September, an Army of about ~13 Byzantium Citizens and ~16 Sarovian soldiers clashed in Dozers. The Byzantium soldiers under the command of Paw Vivre, Lance, and Evan, stood their ground against the Sarovian Elites and proved The Byzantium fighting force was not only loyal but a competent fighting force. Unfortunately, the Sarovians quantity and dedication to the whim of Constantine ultimately decided the battle in a victory for the Vasa Crown.

Autokrator, Fyre Xavi conceded defeat due to the "Two-man Rule" and continued mustering sufficient men and enforcing a slew of new training reforms.

The Battle of Yorktown
On the 23rd of September, Yorktown began a'stirring as Byzantium invaders ride in on Horseback, being met in mear minutes by the fumbling mess known as the average Sarovian Infantryman. The Horsemen dismounted and engaged themselves in a bloody but relatively short engagement. The once triumphant Byzantium invaders now slowly but surely became swamped by Sarovian Light Infantry trickling into the province. Little by little the invaders gave as The inexperienced Sarovian Infantrymen fought tooth and nail to provide in the common defense of their territory. Eventually, after countless attempts to rally themselves, the Byzantium Invaders were driven out of York with Sarovian Lancers hot on their tail. The once proudly owned core of Byzantium was lost in two Sarovian campaigns.

The Battle of Snowtown
Fyre's once-proud Armada was in full route with officers frantically directing their soldiers to Snow Town for a defensive battle. The Byzantium Army gathered up in clumps by the railroad tracks and made their stand against pursuing Sarovian Cavalry. With nowhere to run, the Army fought for hours on end, almost instantly forcing the Sarovians on the brink of full-on route. Back and forth the battle went until the Byzantium Swordsmen finally made a huge dent in Sarovia's not only moral, but line. The Sarovian Army begrudgingly left the field, with some relocating to Destiny to partake in the small skirmish.

The Skirmishes of Dead Wood & Destiny
The skirmishes themselves are largely known to be the most irrelevant part of the conflict, as when you boil them both down it was essentially small-scale guerilla tactics between Provincial Militias. In essence, Sarovian Lancers made quick work of the Byzantium Light Infantry and Raiding Parties and routed them off to either Yorktown or Snow.

The Second Battle of Yorktown
Soon, most of Byzantium's forces were concentrated in Yorktown, Sarovian Lancers and Light Infantrymen hot on their toes. The invader's position themselves in The PK Area, bear in mind they only number about ~11-12. Constantine's detachments trapped Fyre's Army. Chaos begins to fill York as the bodies of both sides littered the province. Fyre's Swordsmen and officers fought until the bitter end, with some desperately screeching "Byzantium Victory" in the hopes they'll find the solace.

Byzantium Cavalry is the first to route after hours of combat, and soon, The Swordsmen and Heavy Infantry follow. The defeated Army flees to the recently quartered province of Snowtown and finally hunkers down. The Byzantium Army pursues no further campaigns against New Sarovia after the battle.

Peace Delegation & End of Conflict
On the ~24th of September, a delegation of Major, Naomi and a Sarovian Infantryman met Fyre and seven of his Byzantium soldiers. What ensued was back and forth debate with no clear outcome, but the delegation signaled the end of the short war as Sarovia seemingly lost its stomach for war.

Severe Ramifications
The end of the Byzantium-Coalition War ended perhaps as quickly as it came. But its ramifications would take its toll on the community. Byzantium's Creed of specifically; Liberty and Law is what inspired later Insurrections against The Sarovian Crown such as The PAS Rebellion and The Sarovian Civil War. Byzantium also played a critical role in reinvigorating the community with anti-Sarovian sentiment. But both these ramifiacations wouldn't be felt until late 2017 to early 2018.