Sack of Highdrilian
| Sack of Highdrilian | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gates of Highdrilian Palace after the Sack | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Aikthudr'zhur |
 Kingdom of Cryria | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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King Håkan of House Ny'thudr'zhan |
Rear-Admiral Geraldine Tarva | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
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Ny'Sænuri Clans Local militia |
Norsian Sea Squadron | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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2,800 soldiers 4 artillery pieces 1 shore battery 1 improvised gunboat 2 steam launches |
150 Naval Infantry 900 Foreign Legionnaires 1 Kraskne-class coastal battleship 1 Bränna-class unprotected cruiser 3 Mielka-class gunboats | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
500+ combatants killed 4 artillery pieces destroyed 1 shore battery destroyed 1 improvised gunboat sunk 2 steam launches sunk 400 - 1,000 civilian deaths 1,500+ wounded | 60 killed or injured | ||||||
The Sack of Highdrilian, also known in Aikthudr'zhur as The Desecration, was undertaken by the Kingdom of Cryria on 15 - 16 August, 1887, in the Aikkian capital of Highdrilian. The sack took place over two days and was the bloodiest incident in the 150-year long Cryrian presence in Aikthudr'zhur.
Background
First Treaty of Highdrilian
The Kingdom of Aikthudr'zhur is a small, mountainous state in northern Novaris. Throughout the second millennium, it has been visited by Cryrian vessels which often stopped at the capital city of Highdrilian on their way in and out of the Norsian Sea. While contacts have been recorded as early as the 10th-century, Cryrian involvement in Aikkian affairs began in earnest nearly eight hundred years later with the founding of the Norsian Concern. This venture began as a conglomerate of Cryrian merchants operating within the Norsian Sea, who quickly became Aikthudr'zhur's primary point of access to foreign markets due to the Kingdom's own lack of shipbuilding expertise and the local predominance of the Cryrian Navy. The Concern went on to gain considerable influence in the Kingdom through the construction and purchase of port infrastructure in Highdrilian and Evalrod as well as the backing of the Cryrian government in Leidenstad.
In 1776, the Aikkian population was devastated by a plague outbreak which decimated the royal family. The subsequent political dysfunction undermined the legitimacy of the House of Ny'thudr'zhan, while the plague's arrival on foreign vessels created an atmosphere of mistrust and xenophobia among the Aikkian population. This resulted in the Evralrod Uprising which sought to displace the newly enshrined Queen Aiuevoupu in favor of her isolationist half-brother, Prince Hiro. The rebellion quickly became a source of worry for the Norsian Concern as it threatened to upend their investments.
The Concern moved to secure the services of Cryrian mercenaries led by Captain Ottilia Syren, a Talveri naval officer turned privateer. Under pressure from both the Uprising as the Concern, Aiuevoupu agreed to accept Syren's forces on Aikkian soil to put down the rebellion. The Uprising was crushed after Syren's fleet bombarded Evralrod and seized the city. The Captain later presented the Queen with Hiro's head.
The Norsian Concern was further authorized by the Cryrian government to negotiate the First Treaty of Highdrilian. The Treaty effectively granted the Concern near-total extraterritoriality and perpetual control over port enclaves in the Kingdom in exchange for its financial support during the Uprising. The Treaty quickly became a source of outrage in the Aikkian court as it effectively granted the Concern a monopoly over the Kingdom's trade. However, the fiercest detractors were among the Ny'Sænuri clans and were discounted due to their failure to support the Queen's cause against the rebellion, and heavy Cryrian pressure ensured the signing of the Treaty.
The Theft
By the late 19th-century, the Norsian Concern had become firmly entrenched within Aikthudr'zhur's political and economic system. The Concern's port concessions allowed it to effectively dictate Aikkian imports and exports, and the appointed Governor-General of these territories often wielded power that exceeded even that of the Gloaming Throne. Aikkian economic development was stunted by Cryrian profiteering, and the nation was made incapable of harnessing its own resources or escaping Cryrian dominance. The capital itself was home to a Cryrian military detachment and served as a port of call for passing naval vessels. The completion of the Highdrilian - Ctarost Railway in 1867 meanwhile extended the Concern's influence into the mountainous interior, where it established several mining and lumber operations.
The successful construction of the railway drew the attention of the government in Leidenstad, which itself was spearheading the development of a nationwide road and rail network. These efforts were hindered by the Kingdom's fragmented geography, particularly in the Älmarkii Highlands, where rail transport was vital for the mining industry which fueled the Cryrian industrial revolution, but also dangerous and difficult work for laborers. The Cryrian government had turned to outside regions under its influence to acquire low-cost workers who would pose a minimal burden to the state. Among the chief priorities of the Norsian Concern was to ensure Leidenstad's continued political and military commitment to its position in Aikthudr'zhur, and as such it was quick to offer its Aikkian workforce which already had experience in similar lines of work under similar conditions, albeit on a far smaller scale.
Initially, Aikkian workers were raised on a voluntary basis. This yielded comparatively low numbers as most of the railway workers had been farmers seeking employment outside of the harvest season, and were as such disinclined to travel to Cryria for assignments that might last multiple consecutive years. However, the Concern's recruitment drive dovetailed with an unrelated legislation pressed onto the Aikkian court by lobbyists in Leidenstad, which lifted trade restrictions on Cryrian agricultural products. Cheap foodstuffs soon began flooding into Aikkian markets and undermined local farmers, who had already been impacted by a series of poor harvests.
The Concern saw an opportunity to impress the Cryrian government, expand its landholdings in the Aikkian interior, and increase the Aikkian government's dependance on Cryrian industrialists. In 1870, the Norsian Concern heavily subsidized Cryrian agricultural imports into Aikthudr'zhur. Smaller local farmers, already on the brink, were financially crushed by this move. Many were forced to surrender or sell their lands for a pittance and accept low-paying positions which would see them sent to labor under harsh conditions in Cryria. Larger aristocratic landholders became heavily indebted to the Concern in order to remain afloat, thus ensuring that they remained beholden to Cryrian interests, and the decimation of the agricultural workforce turned Aikthudr'zhur into a food importer dependent upon Leidenstad long after the Concern ended its subsidies.
The removal of so many Aikkians under exploitative contracts and the economic damage dealt to rural areas caused severe social and economic dislocation within the Aikkian interior, particularly as food prices began to rise again and Cryrian merchants dictated their terms with minimal local competition. This transfer of wealth, power, and people impacted every level of Aikkian society and was simply referred to as "The Theft."
Interior Campaign
1885 marked the retirement year of longtime Governor-General Krister Kraskne. During his twenty-year reign, Krister had transformed the Norsian Concern and extended its power from a handful of coastal enclaves throughout the entirety of Aikthudr'zhur. The nation's transportation network was entirely owned by the Concern, and the lands of small, independent farmers had been taken over and reorganized into larger plantations which produced the black tea that had become highly popular in Cryria at the time. The Highdrilian - Ctarost Railway, meanwhile, brought the entire country under Cryrian influence and turned it into a regional bastion for Leidenstad while offering a land route to the Varentine League. The Railway's construction came with the establishment of a series of fortresses to guard critical mountain chokepoints, which drew the ire of local Ny'Sænuri clans.
With the Aikkian court and aristocracy now firmly in hand, the curtailment of these clans became the Concern's new priority. To that end, Kraskne was replaced by Melker Öberg, a former Naval Infantry officer who had overseen the Cryrian response during the 1871 Lielsta Rising. His success in crushing Elven unrest in the Cryrian Highlands made him an attractive candidate for the Concern, as did his close friendship with King Albert of Cryria. Öberg's appointment also marked a shift in the position of the Governor-General, which had historically acted as an appointed civilian administrator separate from the Cryrian military presence. Öberg commanded a great deal of personal respect within the Cryrian Navy, and he treated his appointment as something closer to a military command at the head of an occupying force. Öberg was far less inclined to respect the nominal independence of the Aikkian authorities, a fact which would later lead to considerable friction.