The Great Unification War

 Written by Snake Rhodes & Edited by Fellow Community Members 

Note: This Article will be updated as the War Develops.

Context
The Graal Military community since early 2016 had been engulfed in a "Dark Age" or slump; with very few interesting ideas or innovative ways of thinking being invited into the community. This Dark Age, however, wasn't destroying the community outright until the "Allies" function was removed causing a second huge migration to Ol'West. Things seemed desperate to many, and the outcome while yet to be seen was presumed to be the end of the Military subgenre in Classic.

Maveria under Choco Bites* in the late Dark Age became mostly unopposed, soaking up a majority of the community that had still not fled to Ol'West. On the other side of the spectrum, The Aurean Empire under Kevlar Vaughn became widely successful for a time with many Immigrants from Classic establishing themselves in with the Aurean citizenry. Also in the fray was the declining Sarovian Empire; still not recovered from The Sarovian Civil War two months prior. There were other Nation States at the time such as Oxeria and Kiev, but these guilds in particular will play a major factor in the conflict to come.

A More Perfect Union
In late July Auel* started to do infrequent visits to the Train Station to talk to fellow Militants and answer any questions they may have. During those visits, he said he thought about reviving the community and making another State in August. Most, however, didn't take these claims seriously as Auel's previous statements hinted that The Free States was the final evolution of Auel's overall vision.

August came and no positive variation in circumstance came. Sarovia's Dominions were basically dissolved, Aurea continued perfecting their economy and developing a heightened society, Oxeria was slowly being absorbed into the Maverian Republic, Kiev continued to be purged of members by the towering community and Maveria, and old gens continued to retire. Zye, a former Sarovian and current Adjutant General in The Unified State summed it up best: ''"We are extinct. We are but remnants of the past and all its glory." ''

Mid-August came and Auel appeared once more in all his glory, this time inviting people to the new Sate's Pre-launch. For the next four days, Auel arranged assemblies and would explain the flaws and errors in The previous generations of State's philosophy and basic structure for the guild in general. The Assemblies after vigorous debate decided on a Parliment made up of only The Council of Generals; with Auel having most of the centralized power.

On the 13th of August Auel announced that the end of The Dark Age, the revision of the war system, the Unification of the Community by force, and offering New Gens the opportunity to carve out their own legacy. The room erupted into happy ramblings and mindless Auel praise for 6 minutes before a patrol of Delta was issued by Lieutenant General, Craig. Though, the patrol itself would be the marking for a potential militarized conflict not seen since The Second War of Paranoia or The Great War.

The Battle of Delta
At 12:48 AM a patrol of Delta was underway with about 16 Statie Soldiers present. At first; it was a mundane patrol like any other- but then a Sarovian Colonel acting as an assumed Scout appeared. Then, Lieutenant General, Craig uttered the famous line:"I do not care; as when there's one Sarovian there's bound to be another" when chastised by Captain, Snake and his peers about being so suspicious of the lone assailant''. ''Craig was seemingly spot on in his prediction as Sarovian troops started piling up on the border of Delta, Colonels reportedly warning their counterparts over Discord of the impending battle.

A standoff occurred for two minutes between the Sarovian Militia and First State Legion, with one Sarovian Colonel begging for Sate Commanders to hold off an attack before their main force arrived. The Sarovians charged and started fighting tooth and nail for ground; ultimately relying on traitorous Maverian soldiers for backup. The fighting abruptly stopped and the standoff continued with military figures from every major Graal server spectating the battle. A meeting was called in Craig's Guild house and it was decided to make a withdrawal from Delta. At worst, the fighting was inconclusive as the battle served no tactical or strategic advantage for either side. At best, it was an unofficial raid caused by a Sarovian Prince's Ego.  

 Battle Outcome: 
 * Inconclusive

The Western Campaign
It was the 15th of August, a day after the debacle at Delta Island. The War council bickers back and forth about whether to continue warfare against their adversaries or discard their vision of Unification of the community. Some Generals proposed that The Unified State should cease on hostilities and that making enemies wasn't the conventional method the Union should undergo to expand. Though many, and in the end a large majority, sought to see Auel's Imperialistic philosophy through until the end.

On 6:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, The Maverian Armed Forces marched into Delta Island to continue the campaign of the day before. What ensued was a medium length battle, lasting 4-5 hours, between Sarovian soldiers and Maverian soldiers along with Nation States under her Influence. The Maverian Armed Forces (17-19) demanded backup from The State to uphold the devised alliance conceived by Craig and Gustavus. Soon, The State's Brigadier General rallied The State's First Legion (~16) and a strategy was suggested by Inspector General, Zaza. He proposed attacking York, but in the end, MoD was decided to be invaded to help split the front and ease Maveria's job at Delta Island.

About 13 soldiers marched into to Mod; being greeted by Veteran Sarovians conducting Guerilla warfare, forcing Auel's men to route or constantly reform their lines. Soon, The First Legion redeployed in the heart of Mod, Constantine's men hot on their trail.

The Saro-Brazilians crashed into State lines and fought fiercely in defense of their crown; perhaps even harder than the famed Aurean Gunslingers out West. This was because New Sarovia was one of the first English speaking guilds to truly accept them into their culture; ultimately indoctrinating a majority of their native player base. If New Sarovia was to fall; most Brazilians would be outcasted out of the community.

Infantryman to Infantryman, Leader to Leader, and Grit to Grit, this was the Creed of both sides throughout this battle as Graalians forced themselves into the heat of battle for hours on end to be able to have the glorious right to scream "We are Victorious". But what about the Non-Soldiers that fought to protect their individual ideologies and ultimately helped both sides survive as long as they did? They were Sparrers, PK'ers, Noobs, Farmers, Socialites, even the average AFK Roleplayer. A notable one of these peoples was a gal' named Cindy. In the heat of battle, she waved an American flag and uttered "GO STATES" and was almost automatically murdered by a Sarovian Flag Bearer. Many officers in The Legion's Core found her inspirational and began talking about her; with some Generals and officers even bearing her head and claiming they're not fighting for Auel; but rather Cindy. After the battle, she became the personification of The Unified State's War effort, with propaganda with her face on it becoming common around Recruitment stations.

Sarovian ranks seemed to become more and more bolstered as the hours ticked away, whilst State's numbers decreased. Not even Captain, Snake's Cavalry charge on behalf of a Brigadier General was enough to fully flush out the Saro-Brazilian lines. The war seemed to be all but lost; but for some reason, the Legion continued mowing down the endless hordes waving the "Orange, White, and blue". When people retrospect the battle they say it was a struggle of attrition; as the competing Armies would not be competing for land but rather who can hold out the longest; a game of preservation more than stratagem, if you will.

 Battle Outcome: 
 * State Defeat
 * Maverian Defeat
 * Sarovian Victory

Anything But Quiet on The Western Front...
On the 15th of August the geopolitical landscape on which the Great Unification War was fought changed significantly. The Republic of Maveria began to supply soldiers to further The State’s Agenda, New Sarovian Statesmen managed to gather The Nation States of Kiev and Oxeria under their influence and push forth a new Armada reform, and The State continued to pursue Militarised action against The Sarovian Empire.

At 6:42 PM Eastern Standard time Maverian garrisons quartered in Delta were surprised attacked by The Saro-Brazilian Corps. The Maverians held the Region with what little time to consolidate they had. After 15 minutes Maverian officials sent out requests for aid to State officers. This request was answered as small Units of The 1st Legion trickled into Delta; with soon the entire Army being committed to the battle. At first; it seemed Maveria and The Staties were actually succeeding in repulsing Sarovia’s invasion attempt, however, Maverian scouts reported that the bulk of The Sarovian Army was actually attacking Destiny and that this was actually a Proxy battle.

To stop Constantine’s Blitzkrieg Maverian Riflemen under Generalship of Ian Clovis washed up on the beaches of Destiny Stables; being met by Brazilian bowmen already clumped up on the shore. Meanwhile, in Delta, State soldiers started to get split between too many territories with too few soldiers (16 men) and decided to shift their strategy to concentrate their forces at Delta whilst Maveria keeps applying pressure at Destiny.

In a matter of 25 minutes, the Sarovian offensive in the South West was routed to Delta Island thanks in large part to Maverian Infantrymen. In Delta, New Sarovia fought to the bitter end for the cause of their Empire to the point where if it no for Maveria State soldiers could’ve been repulsed off their own land.

After 2 hours The 1st Legion was withdrawn and The Council of Generals settled on blacklisting The NSE for a short time before revoking it due to the high anti-nullification sentiment in the Officer Aristocracy. Though, what saved the campaign was Maveria’s loyal Infantrymen maintaining the fight even after The State’s withdraw from the area.

At 8:30 PM est due to the aforementioned anti-nullification sentiment, State soldiers were sent back into the Fray, fighting an all-night stalemate until 2:50 Am est. Inspector General Zaza, weary of further strife, made an unauthorized deal with the Constantine into fundamentally surrendering The Unified State holdings into joint ownership of The NSE. This action affronted soldiers to the point where a large majority wanted Zaza publicly executed. Thanks in part to this disturbance the War Council was dispersed with the acting General and Lt. General taking over as the acting body of Government.

 Battle Outcome: 
 * Ceasefire
 * Sarovian Joint ownership of claimed Unified State lands

Sarovian Dawn
In a matter of weeks The Unified State deteriorated due to a subjectively awful reformation forced upon the guild by Vulnus. This lead to what was almost the complete take over of the Second Sarovian Empire under Emperor, Marty.