The War

The Seven Systems have experienced conflict for as long as it's possible to remember – and, in all likelihood, they they fought wars before then too. Conflicts large and small, brief and drawn-out have occurred throughout all of recorded history, from the Selasi War of Independence to the Second Achelian-Kybele Trade War (which purportedly only lasted for two hours and thirty-seven minutes before Kybele surrendered).

However, none of them were as all-consuming as the war that broke out following the Ananke explosion. Initially a conflict between Selas and Eunomia, various civil wars, factional splits and treaties soon drew in the rest of the Seven Systems, with only Kybele remaining mostly removed. The death toll resulting from the conflict is estimated to be over a billion, though much of this number comes from civil conflict and disruptions to infrastructure rather than from direct interplanetary battles.

Theoretically still ongoing, this conflict has loomed so large in people's consciousnesses that it is known simply as this: The War.

For the twenty years leading up to the War, the Seven Systems had enjoyed an uneasy peace. A delicate set of treaties and trade routes kept the balance of power from tipping too far in any one direction, but only just. Recent conflicts, nationalistic pride and jealousy over resources have meant that a conflict has never been too far from breaking out onto the surface.

Following the attempted assassination of Princess Eusenia by a Selasi agent, Eunomia declared war on Selas. Before the invasion truly got off the ground, however, Selas itself exploded into civil war, followed by Briareos and then Eunomia itself. The first stage of the War set the stage for the rest of it: a confusing mess of death and destruction.

Key events from this period of the War include:

• 1262.51 King Oreteus dies of grief following the death of his younger daughter. Princess Acantha ascends to the throne and declares her brother, Prince Ilias, a traitor.
  • Ilias is stripped of his caste and family name.
• 1262.112 In the wake of the Eunomian proclamation of war, Selas splits into the factions which are pro-Eunomian reunification and those against it. This escalates to violence when the main Selasi government building is bombed, and the planet devolves into civil war.
• 1262.263The Briareon gerontocrats, seeing the events of the Ananke Conference as further proof that young people cannot be trusted, attempt a crackdown on the planet’s youth.
  • The planet’s youth react violently, plunging the planet into civil war.
• 1262.268 As Eunomia prepares to invade Selas, a large group of Visionaries and Casteless led by Ilias unite to condemn Acantha and the Champion-dominated government for abandoning the Eternal Order. Calling themselves the Restorers, they refuse to cooperate with the government, though remain nonviolent initially.
• 1263.08 Acantha attempts to ally with the Selasi re-unificationists to bolster her own position against the Restorers. She offers strategic experience in exchange for weapons technology, but the alliance is uneasy.
• 1263.45 Kedalion announces that they will honour their deal with Eunomia and provide military support as well as arms. They invade, taking out a Restorer stronghold.
  • Rumours suggest that Kedalion was gearing up for war even before the Eunomian secession. However, these rumours could not be properly substantiated.
• 1263.105 Eunomia finally lands its first troops on Selas. They appear to have some foreknowledge of Selasi strategy, but not enough to enable them to immediately destroy the planet.
  • Kybele pulls out of its mutual protection pact with Selas on the grounds that Selas has no leader or official government.
• 1263.240 Cheimeros breaks out in civil conflict between those looking for a more outward-facing society and those determined to be more isolated than ever.

With Eunomia getting involved in Selas, and Kedalion getting involved in Eunomia, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the Systems were drawn into a web of hostilities. As Briareos split into the ‘Dawn’ and ‘Dusk’ factions, lines of alliance were drawn between factions and the Systems fell into two main power blocs. On the one side, the Eunomian government and Selasi reunificationists allied with Kedalion, Achelia and the Dusk Briareons. On the other, the Selasi government and Dawn Briareons supported the Eunomian Restorers against the Eunomian government. They are supported by Kybele, who officially remain neutral. As Kedalion and Achelia invade Cheimeros, they are also technically on this side, but the other planets do not come to their aid.

• 1265.97 The Briareon conflict settles down into a civil war broadly between two opposing sides. The ‘Dawn’ Briarions support the old gerontocratic system. The ‘Dusk’ Briareons are in favour of a new, radical form of government.
  • The factions are so named for their positions within the twilight of their planet: the Dawn are located closer to the day side of the planet, while the Dusk are located closer to the night side. The fact that the factions are both close together and constantly moving makes any form of aerial strike incredibly difficult.
• 1269.117 Kedalion, attempting to break the Briareon monopoly on the food supply, offer support to the Dusk Briareons.
• 1269.150 Food supply secured, Kedalion mount a full-scale invasion of Cheimeros. The Cheimerans fight back, but have no real allies and a society already wracked by civil discontent.
  • Achelia piggyback on the Kedalion invasion, supporting their allies in the hope of gaining access to Cheimeros’s mineral wealth.
• 1270.053 There is a small friendly fire incident between Achelia and Kedalion near the Eunomian home planet. Despite the encouragement of the Eunomians to break the alliance between Kedalion and Achelia, Kedalion accepts the Achelians’ word that it was an accident and maintain their alliance.

* 1272.274 The alliance of Kedalion, Reunificationist Selas and Eunomia are able to gain an upper hand against the Restorers. However, this does not last due to a convergence of factors:

• A piece written by a member of the Restorer Council known as ‘Failing Light’ converts a number of people to the Restorer cause.
• A Champion general, Champion John, defected, bringing a large portion of the Champion caste over to the Restorers
• Dawn Briareos, in an attempt to gain an upper hand against the Kedalion and Dusk fighters on their own planet, offer aid to the restorer cause.
• 1274.00 The GSP are officially disbanded following an attempt to facilitate peace talks. They flee to Kybele, along with many Cheimerons escaping their own planet.
• 1274.177 The Eunomian government take over a GSP-run station, the Prometheus, for a top secret scientific project. The scientists currently onboard are politely removed from the field, and the station is moved a few miles to the left.
• 1276.310 In what is generally viewed as an opportunistic move rather than one directly related to the War, the Blue Carnation clan on Kybele make a power grab, starting a civil war on Kybele.

During this period, inter-planetary conflict continued to escalate. Eventually, the Eunomian government’s brutal strategies won the Eunomian Civil War, but the coalition had to cede Selas. By this point both planets were toxic wastelands and the loss was not considered too major. The conflict on Briareos continues, and while the Kybele climate remains stable its political situation is anything but. Cheimeros, Achelia and Kedalion are all under control of the Kedalion-Achelian coalition.

The events detailed below largely relate to the end of the war, however that is not to say that there was a lack of conflict in between these periods - rather, that the conflict was more of the same without any major changes to military strategy.

• 1277.111 The Kedalion invasion of Cheimeros is considered complete and Cheimeros is officially annexed. Those people who have not already fled are crammed into tiny settlements as the Achelians mine the planet for what resources remain and the surface is covered in factories.
• 1277.239 A round of negotiations are recorded between the Kedalion government and Klaycorp, acting on behalf of Achelia. Although the negotiations are secret, rumours suggest that Kedalion offered the Achelians some sort of corporate strategy opti, but were refused. Politely.
• 1278.183 In a final strike that takes out a number of Restorer leaders, including Prince Ilias, the Eunomians effectively crush the remains of the resistance. Those that can flee to Selas, bringing their knowledge and expertise to push back against the Eunomians there.
• 1279.03 The Dawn forces steal a major victory against the Dusk on Briareos with a mission that takes out Tyrant Johns. However, while the Dusk faction is mostly defeated the Kedalion war machine is still on their side, leading the Dawn Briareons into a slow war against both those Dusk fighters who remain and the Kedalion machines fighting for them.
• 1281.90 A group of Achelians, primarily associated with the Tungsten Roses, revolt against the Klaycorp control of Achelia. Carmell Bell, captain of the Astraios, leads a number of skirmishes against corporate control.
• 1281.126 The Blue Carnation are able to consolidate power on Kybele, but their authority remains under threat from the various factional interests at play.
• 1282.13 The Selasi Reunificationists, seeing that they are about to lose the war, release a secret bioweapon known as ‘Scratch’ onto their own planet, before the majority of them flee to Eunomia.
  • Those parts of Selas not otherwise obliterated are covered in a virulent red fungus, both deeply toxic and hallucinogenic and incredibly infectious. The Selasi remaining on the planet desperately search for shelter, but places that can be adequately sealed off against Scratch are hard to come by. The toxic wasteland caused by years of bombing turns out to be something of a blessing in disguise - even the fungus cannot pass some of the most toxic areas