"Let it be known that the sea itself broke before Lituura did." - Admiral Kuintis, ~1420 BC

Something Wicked This Way Comes

The skies were a murky grey, almost brown in their hue as the onset of the war began. It was as if the gods themselves knew that a clash of climactic proportions was about to be had. From the shores of the western Mediterranean, the Haraac called upon their allies: the Moiran peoples. Chief Miko answered the call to war against Lituura, and assembled his men for war with promises of pay and loot from the Haraac. They loaded themselves onto their trade ships, and set sail for distant lands - unknowningly moving ahead of the main invasion force.

This came as some great surprise to the Lituurans as they began to hear reports of a sizeable navy coming from the west, and with many men seen aboard. With some deliberation, the Lituurans readied themselves, and brought their navy to bear under Admiral Kuintis, an experienced man of the sea.

Chief Miko looked to the horizon, squinting up at the horizon. The clouds in the distance looked... odd. One of his men to the right nursed his knee, rubbing it with one hand as he rowed with the other. Miko stepped from the bow, walked over, and smacked him aside the head. "Row, boy." The younger man flinched, and took back to his rowing. "I'm sorry sir, it's just that my knee, whenever the weather-"

"Do I sound like I care?" Miko scoffed. "I said row. That's what you do. You're an oarsman. So row the damn oar." He pointed towards the horizon, in the general direction of Lituura. "I keep my promises, and I promised the Haracc we'd do battle alongside them. Understood?"

"Y-yes, sir." (-4/20 and a nat 1 roll: critical failure)

Admiral Kuintis licked his index finger, and pointed it skyward, and waited. He shook his head. "Foul winds blow from the east. Signal the navy to turn back, we have to get back to shore immediately." Kuintis motioned to the man beside him on his galley, who started waiving at the galleys ahead of him.

For a few moments, there was nothing. And after a while, there was still... nothing. "Sir, they aren't looking behind them. They're not-!"

"Then pull back to shore and motion everyone behind us." Kuintis grunted angrily. "Damned fools! Take in your surroundings! Idiots, the lot of them..." (-1/20, significant failure)

The seas turned dark, and rain began to fall about both navies. Within a matter of less than an hour, they found themselves caught within a fierce tempest. The Moiran navy caught the worst of it, and most of their forces fell to the elements. A not-insignificant portion of the Lituuran navy did so as well. As Chief Miko made it to the northern island of the Haraac with barely half of his crew remaining from the fierce storm that blew in, he found himself landing just at sunset. Turning to face the horizon, he told the man from earlier, "I.... I fucking hate purple."

Mercenaries Galore

From the Asegon, trained warriors readied themselves and set sail to the west. They landed in the Lituuran homeland, and made themselves available to the Lituurans, who took them and employed them in the defense of the western shores. From the Bagaroki Turfet, horsemen and a number of galleys took to the southern coast of Lituura - right at the end of the peninsula - and began harassing the coast, landing there and trying to rend control from Lituura. Lituura, for their part, sent a small contingency to defend against possible incursion. The cavalry sent to attack Lituura charged (8) against the defenders, and routed them (4). No further action was taken in the southern theater, or by the Bagaroki Turfet / Asegon.

The Battle of the Galleys

"It was here that the Mediteranian came undone upon us, and we caused it to do so. It was here that the defeat of Lituura was both assured and averted. It was here that we won and lost. Let it be known that the sea itself broke before Lituura did. The gods alone can tell what happened here, for I see nothing but destruction." - Admiral Kuintis of Lituura, on the Battle of the Galleys.

"Let none tell you anything other than this: We came and saw victory. The rest is meaningless. Gods damned the sea and we did defy it. That is a victory in and of itself." - Marrak of Marsem, on the same

A hundred and fifty galleys. A hundred and fifty, each. Evenly numbered, and evenly matched. Galleys on both sides, sails alike, and rows galore. Men clamored for war, and war did come to them.

They would wish it had not.

After the rough seas of the earlier season that wrecked the Moiran passage, Marrack of Marsem was hesitant to venture forth, to say the least - but the rewards of victory called out to him. To think that all of Lituura stood his for the taking was simply too much for him to let go of. Waiting for the worst of it to pass, he called upon his navy and his peoples: they would sail and row to war. "That braggart Cherro better uphold his end of the bargain. We are men of the sea, not of the land. I'll see him undone if he cannot do what is his portion to do..."

"... That was not the main invasion force." Admiral Kuintis shook his head. "They came from the northwest, not due west. Haraac hail from the islands, not the shores, and it is the Haraac who wish us conquered. This was some other force."

"Aye, sir." His aide nodded. "Should we ready the fleet once again?"

"Immediately."

Both sides waited for the worst of the storm to pass, and ventured out with their respective navies. After sighting each other, both did the same: They called for a tight formation, and began rowing for ramming speed. Over fifty galleys on each side rammed into the initial line of battle, creating almost a string of islands made of galleys, wrecked into each other and tangled atop. Boat-to-boat fighting carried out throughout the day, into the night, and into the next day as the remaining galleys circled the central formation and skirmished amongst themselves with bow and arrow.

Storms reappeared overhead, though not nearly in the severity of the former. The sea dashed itself against the combatants, and saw both sides suffer casualties to it. Regardless, both sides were evenly matched (19 vs 19), and very committed to their tasks. A near-stalemate was at hand, before the Haraac began to outnumber the Lituurans. Though it is unclear the specifics of how this happened, as both sides were evenly matched on the waters, it is thought that the Haraac use of helmets and bronze weaponry trumped the Lituuran use of close-combat stone weapons.

As the battle raged, some say that Kuintis and Marrak did battle with each other personally, as Marrak rammed Kuintis's ship, and Kuintis's men were forced to board Marrak's and try to take it over or sink on their own. Their own personal battle raged before a Lituuran galley pulled alongside the two, and threw to the side of Marrak's galley a number of hooks on rope, and capsized the boat, separating both forces from each other and rejoining their own men on separate boats of their own factions, though this may be simply a matter of myth.

The Lituuran forces numbered barely some 20 galleys as they retreated back to the mainland (8). Marrak elected to regroup with his forces momentarily before giving chase with around 40 of his own (6, slower and do not catch up), and with the remainder of the invasion force under Warlord Cherro launching from the islands in trade ships unfit for combat. The remainder of the navy pulled back after the landing and maintained a defensive line along the coast of their islands, as the Lituurans were beaten to the point of being unable to resist on the open ocean.

Cherro's Folly

Warlord Cherro elected to establish himself at the Bay of Naples, so that nobody could reach him at his back as he made his way up the beachhead. However, this would work against him - the narrow strip of land would be easy to control the defenses of. Lituurans and their Asegon mercenaries formed up in dense formations to repel the invaders. Haraac units charged with ferocious warcries born and bread from centuries of warrior culture, thrusting themselves upon the enemy in waves (12-2 due to naval invasion and loss of expected mercenaries). The Lituuran forces nearly broke before them (9), before the mercenaries of Asegon formed up in the center, holding steady their ground as the Haraac nearly impaled themselves en masse upon the spears of the Asegon ( 3 to base roll, 1 from defending naval invasion).

The men of Asegon stood heroic and triumphant as the battle lines reformed around them, gradually pushing back the Haraac invaders into the sea. Though Cherro lead his men on the beaches, it is unsure in the direct aftermath if he was killed in the battle or if he escaped to the boats.

An Attempt Was Made

The Toutsi have entered the war as well, hoping to catch the Haraac off guard! Scouts know of the severe thrashing (14) that the Haraac took in the Battle of the Galleys, and aim to take advantage of the situation. Though their boats are not as well equipped for war as their opponents, they set off to invade the northern isle of the Haraac!

Dead set not to be handed defeat like Cherro, Warlord Marrak set his fleet to intercept the invading force. Through perhaps sheer luck - or simply through ingrained maritime culture and experience - the Haraac (12-6 due to severe casualties) are able to repulse the would-be invaders (3 1 to surprise and scouting), though do little other than route them. The Toutsi, it would seem, have lost nothing but simply time and momentum... for now

RESULTS

Minor (albeit heroic) Victory: Asegon

Average Victory: Bagaroki Turfet

Major Victory: Nil

Minor Defeat: Moiran, Toutsi

Average Defeat: Haraac and Lituura - Both sides have significantly, significantly diminished naval capacity for the turn after this war took place in. This should be reflected in any wars that they get involved in this upcoming turn.

Major Defeat: Nil

List your demands in the comments. This was super fun to mod, thank you all. If any of the in-character comments do not fit in line with your wishes, feel free to let me know the proposed changes, I did my best to read up on their characters with the information you sent me.