Quote from: Excerpt from "The Carapace War: A Defining Moment" by Ravadel Blacktongue
...the Carapace War, also known as the Chuul Conflict, the Siege of the Shell, and, by the Northern Tribes, as the Llagè Llanmè (Sea War), was an invasion of the coastal Imperial heartland by Chuulish and Skum forces that lasted from 356EY to 361 EY. The conflict officially began with the Sacking of Uttracar on the 12th day of Red-Sun.1 However, the first "acts of war," if they can be called such, began late in 349EY with the sinking of Imperial merchant ships Bounty II, Sons of Tezzerat, and Sea-Mule and the then-unexplained disappearance of the nine colonies on the Clove Isles in 350EY.2 The conflicted ended with the destruction of the Chuulish "mother-isle," a floating abomination of sinew and shell thrice the size of the Imperial capital of Tezzerat. A party of adventurers is credited with the feat, rumored to have detonated a pre-Imperial artifact deep within the bowels of the mother-isle, simultaneously destroying themselves and ending the Chuul Wars.
During the conflict, the Empire faced seemingly insurmountable odds, as the lowliest Chuulish foot-soldier was a match for no less than ten men. Imperial cannon, bolt, pike, and shot was next to useless against the hardened shells of the invaders, although they were effective against the Skum thralls that often formed their first line of attack. The Empire lost hundreds of miles of coastline and suffered the sacking of five major cities: Uttracar, Parett, Collina, Panttan, and Passero - and the obliteration of more than 125 towns and villages. Conservative estimates put the Empire's losses at 285,000 soldiers and more than 2 million civilians. The rotted husks of Chuul still clutter the coast and lay piled in massive heaps outside of surviving cities, the half-burnt cairns of monsters.
While the Empire was ultimately victorious, the conflict dramatically weakened the Empire and caused intense civil unrest. The late Emporer Ugo IX was a brilliant military commander and, even among his more ardent detractors, is credited with resisting the Chuulish swarms until the conflict could be ended through unconventional means. However, he is also remembered as a cruel despot, often placing the soldiers of the Hinterland Provinces3 on the front line, expecting, and even hoping, they would perish against waves of Chuul and Skum. While Ugo IX lived to see the destruction of the mother-isle, he was killed by Hinterland separatists in a bombing of the Imperial Palace at Tezzerat three days later on the 30th day of Blue-Flower, 361.
After his death, the Empire splintered, with the Hinterland Provinces, rechristened the Eastern Confederation, in open revolt and dozens of politically- and religiously-charged insurgents striking from within. The remnants of the Chuulish swarm still raid and terrorize the southern coasts, not knowing, or not caring, that they were defeated. The Skum thralls, freed from the control of the mother-isle, surrendered to Imperial forces. Those few not executed out-right were placed in camps and filthy tenements, leading to terrorist acts by Skum "freedom fighters" against the tattered remains of the Empire. Further more, the Northern Tribes (Ffanmi Nan Zzòn Nò), long kept in check by Imperial border forts, now empty and unmanned, have begun to head south, intent on claiming a land once their own.4
But, perhaps most dire, there have been credible rumors of a...
1. See Belkor Sull's A Bath of Blood and Brine: the Obliteration of Uttracar.
2. See Sohana Iluua's A Military History of the Hepatic Sea; 200EY to the Present, esp. pages 1213-1487.
3. The Hinterland Provinces had long been a thorn in the side of the Emperors, beginning with Ugo II in 246EY, and many saw Ugo IX's flippant use of their troops as a way to de-fang the rebellious eastern territories of the Empire.
4. See Olwin Tarn's somewhat antiquated Driving out the Drivel: The Foundation of the Empire and the Defeat of the Dirty Tribes.
Fantastic writing with a rich, evocative setting and plot. I just have one request (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/13/02/33/130233ed3ea90c04e47967b7897e4387.jpg).
Rumors of a... of a... of a WHAT?!
Leehtz is such a tease.
It's actually a collaborative worldbuilding forum game... :D.
Really? I had hoped/thought it was a continuation of his previous work (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php/topic,209687.msg217797.html#msg217797), due to shared geographic features/names. Cardeem and the Hepatic Isles are amazing.