Short description of the War
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History
- The beginning of the War
- Recent events
- Significant earlier events
- Destruction of the troll capital
- Destruction of Darthoridan
- Enslavement and release of the Ogres
- Forming of the Caldera Wasteland
The Reasons for War
The primary reason for the continuous War between Asgard and Utgard is a rather grim one. They fight not for honour, not for glory, but simply to utterly eradicate the other side. The hatred amongst the races is such that they live for the destruction of the other side. Both sides believe that Heimr would be a better place without the other side, there even exist cults that believe in myths claiming that a new world will come after the destruction of the other side.(1) These cults fuel the hatred among their followers and among others, believing with all their heart that they are doing a good thing for their side.
Of course, other reasons also exist for the war. Control is one of these reasons. Control of individuals, but also control of groups. Both Utgard and Asgard are nations formed out of necessity, races that were fighting each other turning towards a more powerful common foe. If the war were to stop, these nations might fall apart once more and earlier racial enmities might come up again. Keeping the War going at least means you know who your enemy is, and it means you can control those of your race whom otherwise would act against you. For example, it is unknown what the cults mentioned above would do if the war were to end. They might disappear, but they also might turn on everyone still alive.
With control comes power, another reason to keep the War going. Those in control are unlikely to give away that control easily. While not every individual in a place of power sits there because he desires that power, there are many that do and those do not easily give away such power. Should the War end, the control and with that their power also comes to an end.
Another reason is profit. Midgard , for one, wants to keep the war going because it keeps their economy running. Without the war, there would be no reason for such a large military industry in the three realms and Utgard and Asgard would have to depend less on Midgard's supplies, meaning Midgard's economy would collapse and with it the entire country. Midgard is of course not the only one to profit from the War. Merchants all over Heimr profit from the War to somewhat the same degree. As long as the War keeps going, there will be demand for war supplies like weapons and healing.
Other groups and individuals also have an interest in keeping the War going. Often also for simple reasons like those mentioned above, but some of the more powerful individuals and groups want to keep the War going for more esoteric reasons.
Hatred
While the races were not created with an inbred hatred for each other, the War has caused so much grief amongst the individual races that they now hate each other with a passion and will go at length to move against the other side. Over the course of time, many events have fueled this hatred, from the enslavement of the Ogres to the sacking of Darthoridan , each of the races has a multitude of stories about the vileness of the other side. These stories are taught from birth to the children, indoctrinating them with hatred for the other side. While not impossible, it is rare to find members of the warring races who do not loathe the other side. These individuals are usually brought up somewhere away from their native birthplace. They are usually shunned or pitied by other members of their race, those who have had a "proper" education.
How the war is fought
Waves
Over Land
- Magic and the war
Over Sea
- Sea battles
Logistics and Supply Lines
- Logistics for Asgard
- Logistics for Utgard
- Foraging
The Role of Midgard in the War
Midgard, as a neutral agent in the war, was formed from several human tribes in a response to the overwhelming force of Utgard and Asgard . Utgardian tribes reached the settlements of Midgard first, quickly put down any resistance and occupied the fledgling nation Midgard. At first Midgard started selling weapons to Utgard during this occupation at almost slave-rate prices, hoping the brutes would win the war fast and protect them from the strange and fear inspiring magic of Asgard . However, the magic of Asgard proved stronger than expected and Utgard was driven from human lands the next wave of attack. At that point Midgard would have been violently put down and cast into slavery as just another barbarian Utgardian race, but Midgard simply surrended to the occupying Asgardians, having lost all their defence against Utgard anyway and started fueling their side of the war... for a price again. This convinced Asgard that they where dealing with more than savages here and although the Elves and Fae considered humans to be misguided children, they put aside these matters for later worry as Utgard was still not defeated. The next wave send Asgard back home, and Midgard became Utgardian occupied land once more, repeating the cycle. Meanwhile Midgard slowly grew stronger and bolder, paying one side to protect them against the other, and selling military information, next to weapons and food to the enemy to regain funds. Still they where weak though and information weapons and food was more often confiscated or simply stolen from them than bought. Midgard was almost utterly destroyed several times during the beginnings of the war, before gaining enough footing and leverage to start actually gaining from the war.
Today, Midgard has grown large enough, with help of Human, Halfling , Gnome and other immigrants, to supply both Asgard and Utgard at the same time. The lands of Midgard now border the two other kingdoms and supply lines from Midgard are almost a constant.
The Weapon crafters Guild is the oldest and second most powerful of the guilds of Midgard and they have learned much from both Utgardian and Asgardian crafters. Now they craft weapons finely tuned to the wishes of these kingdoms and although most soldiers still favor "home-brewed" weaponry, Midgard supplies weapons cheaper and faster. Apart from weapons, Midgard also sometimes supplies food, shelter and entertainment for the passing armies.
Midgard no longer allows Utgard nor Asgard to actually occupy Midgardian lands, instead the kingdoms pay Midgard a hefty sum (but far less than what would cost them if they marched trough Midgard by force) to let their armies walk trough Midgard and arrive at the enemy border completely fresh and resupplied. This forces Both Utgard and Asgard to strategically choose their attack points. They could walk straight trough Midgard and avoid crossing the great rivers with their armies or slough trough the Lhengard, keeping their armies fresh and ready for battle, but it will cost them money.
Killing fields
Killing is a crime in Midgard, so in the earlier years of the war, Utgardian and Asgardian armies that would meet each other on Midgardian soil would either ignore each other or technically commit a crime by attacking each other. The later, of course, happened far more than the former, almost in all recorded historical encounters. Ofcourse no charges where ever made, no Midgardian guard house was stupid enough to try and arrest an entire army.
To legalize war in Midgard certain killing fields where appointed. To venture trough Midgard with an army, the army must pay Midgard a relative small price and take an appointed route trough these killing fields. Within these killing fields it is legal for any Utgardian soldier to kill any Asgardian soldier and visa versa. Any route trough Midgard takes any army trough at least four of these killing fields giving the enemy four windows of opportunities to ambush the army with an army of themselves.
Because lorekeepers and other fortune seekers on fast horses follow the armies on their trip trough Midgard and sell this information to the enemy, it is a rare occasion that armies stumble unto each other without at least one side knowing about the other it's approach. This results in pre-planned pitched battles on large open fields or any other environment that has been appointed as a killing "field".
Killing fields often switch locations to give the environment time to heal after a battle. Small proto-villages follow these killing fields around and sell goods and wares to passing armies.
Illegal killing, past the fields, still occurs frequently but if this is found out by Midgard a fine must be payed by the attacking army in the form of a higher price to march trough Midgard, next time.
The Role of Mercenaries in the War
Both Asgard and Utgard occasionally employ mercenaries to fight for them. Most of the time these mercenaries are based in Midgard, simply fighting for the highest bidder. Most of these mercenary groups either operate close to one of the two borders, or are permanently stationed near one of the killing fields.
These soldiers of fortune rarely actually fight, simply giving weight to the army to get the enemy to run or surrender is often enough. Ofcourse, true Asgardian don't surrender to Utgardians or visa versa, knowing they won't have to expect mercy. But surrendering to mercenaries often means being captured and ransomed or sold into slavery. Stories exist of individual soldiers actually running towards mercenaries and letting themselves get captured instead of facing the murderous true enemy, from whom they cannot expect mercy.
Sometimes mercenaries are paid to fight each other. More often than not, little actual combat happens, after manoeuvring and skirmishes make it clear who has the upper hand. But occasionally combat between mercenaries does happen and it is not unheard of for these sort of rivals to honour gentlemen agreements not to unnecessarily kill each other and to not claim any other condition but "go home", after a surrender. More often than not though, such competitors would rather kill each other when given the chance; granting themselves a stronger position on the mercenary market.
Religion in the War
Consequences of the War
War industry is everything
(1) See The Order of the Executioner , a Troll Death cult.