​The conquest of Soyofàn had sent waves throughout the former lands of Tozàn: the Alááfin was powerful again. Soyofàn was the wealthiest and most powerful land among the lands that used to be loyal to the Alááfin and now that land had been conquered by the Alááfin. To the closer neighbours of the Alááshu, this meant that their independence was now in peril. Alááfin Nyanché had shown that she was able and willing to conquer back Tozàn, so many independent rulers now feared her.

To the east of Uwára the Yasàwi Egwáré ruled, Count-Inspector of Lesàìre. He controlled a city and the lands around it, but only half of the historical Lesàfàn, the Lesi weren't all his to command. His lands were desired by Alááfin Nyanché to strengthen her eastern border, so she sent a number of sirichéché, her hallowed corpse of diplomats, to meet with Egwáré. Her emissaries came bearing expensive gifts but they were not allowed to meet Egwáré. Nyanché took that act as a grave insult and she sent the Ójètè Ubèmè eastwards, Akávò Iosu's slave soldiers of the Orange Banner.

Iosu marched his army up to the walls of Lesàìre and made his army exercise. The Orange Banner started drilling and marching around the city, instilling fear into the hearts of the soldiers inside, who knew well that they were not as disciplined. Egwáré caved in to Iosu's pressure and surrendered the city. Iosu entered unopposed and he arrested Egwáré on suspicion of treason, a really flimsy charge since he was practically completely independent from the Alááshu. His case became an example for all other rulers in the lands of Tozàn, because when he was publicly quarted by camels in Uwára, all would-be enemies of Alááfin Nyanché knew that they could be tried on the same grounds.

Moshònì, who called himself Oba of Diwiya, ruled over a small area north of Uwára. He figured an annexation would come eventually, so he raised his army and began conquering the surrounding country in the name of the Alááfin. When Nyanché heard of this she ordered Akávò Ekuwài to take the Wégwa Ubèmè, the Yellow Banner, and capture Moshònì on the same grounds as Egwáré. Who was he to misuse her name? When Ekuwài met him, however, he fell to his knees and swore fealty to the Alááfin. He was spared.

Ekuwài then commanded the Yellow Banner westwards in the direction of Karou. That province was historically known for its opposition of Obibo rule, but over the centuries the Obibo and Karo locals had fused into a new culture with little animosity towards the "main" Obibo groups. Karou was divided and its main eastern cities, Ozùgha and Fashali, were held by two weak ladies with little in the way of a land beyond their cities. The rest of the province was carved up into tiny lord- and ladyships, all claiming lands sometimes stretching to a whole kingdom, often not bigger than couple of villages. The Yellow Banner directly challenged the lady of Ozùgha, Gadùyì, but she did not back down and her small band of soldiers was utterly destroyed by Ekuwài.

After he had occupied Ozùgha, Ekuwài sent messengers to every local ruler in Karou or at least the marginally bigger ones, summoning them to Ozùgha to swear fealty to the Alááfin and hand over their land. The messengers also told the rulers about Moshònì and Egwáré, so they knew what could happen. However, only a small number of lords and ladies came to pledge their allegiance, because most of them thought Karou was too big and divided for Ekuwài to conquer. The ones that came mostly sought protection from their rivals. Ekuwài sent them home and told them to come to Fashali, which is where he went.

He pushed further west to Fashali and torched every lordship on the way. Though he followed a road, some say his path was easier to trace by following the ashes. At Fashali, he surrounded the city and demanded its surrender. The locals refused so he had catapults tear down the enemy walls and then led the charge inside himself, slaughtering the majority of the resistance. After that, he decreed a new summons to Fashali and called upon every local ruler to elect an obanà, a vassal-king amongst themselves. His messengers also presented to the locals the option of collectively voting against annexation, in which case Ekuwài would leave Karou in peace.

This time, almost all rulers showed up, or in some cases their most important representative. Ekuwài gave them quarters in Fashali and surrounded them with his men at all times, so the Yellow Banner would ensure no one was to depart before the meeting was over. In the days leading up to the public forum, he had his men follow the more influential rulers and those who publicly orated against Tozàn were picked off and roughed up by his men. With this strategy there were few left who openly opposed Ekuwài and it brought him a favourable situation on the day of the public forum. Instead of starting with the option to vote against annexation, Ekuwài proposed to scrap that vote completely and he asked people to raise protestations if they had any. Due to his aggressive campaign against enemies, no one had the guts to speak out. He then proposed not to elect an obanà but return Karou to Tozàn as a hùchashu, an imperial province. Intimidated by the Yellow Banner, a majority voted in favour. Those who voted against did not make it through the night.

Ekuwài then told all the remaining nobles that whoever desired the title of Hùcha of Karou could meet with the Alááfin, because she would be the one appointing the official. Meanwhile, he himself led the Yellow Banner throughout the province to pacify the land and stop anyone from avenging their relatives he killed. In that fashion, Karou returned to the Alááshu's authority in the thirty-fifth year of Alááfin Nyanché.

Map

East: Lesàìre
West: Diwiya and Karou