The Chardon-Dunmar War

The Chardon-Dunmar War describes a long-simmering conflict culminating in a brief open war between the Chardonian Empire and Dunmar during the reign of Nayan Karnas. While the roots of the conflict trace to Chardonian economic and diplomatic pressure on Nayan Karnas in the DR 1740s, the Chardon-Dunmar war itself began with Chardonian intervention on behalf of Nayan Karnas during the Sibling War. The conflict escalated into open interstate war after the Pandemonium Incursion in Chardon, though major fighting ended abruptly when Marius Cusico surrendered under the influence of Kenzo and the Crown of Purity. Formal negotiations between Karnas, Sura, and Mitus Verina Auratan established a treaty that divided Dunmar between Nayan Sura and Nayan Karnas while establishing Darba as a free port under suzerainty of the Chardonian Empire.

In the aftermath of the Chardon-Dunmar War, as news concerning the death of Fausto and the defeat of Apollyon reached Chardon, it became clear that the war itself, dating back to the original Chardonian meddling in Dunmari affairs, was largely orchestrated behind the scenes by Fausto using mind-control magic, in order to further Apollyon’s plot to free himself from imprisonment in Drankor and return to power.

Background

While the Society of the Open Scroll privately sent adventurers and artifact collectors acting independently into Dunmar as early as DR 1743, it was not until the end of the Illorian Wars and the ascension of Mitus Verina Auratan to Magistros in DR 1746 that trade negotiations between Chardonian representatives and Nayan Karnas began in earnest. On May 28, 1747 DR, the Nayahar Articles established the formal right of Chardonian scholarly societies to extract and return artifacts found on Dunmari land to Chardon; it is conventional to date the beginning of the Chardon-Dunmar War to the signing of these articles. While it later became clear that Fausto and the The Cleansed were the driving force behind these agreements, they were initially perceived by Mitus Verina Auratan’s allies as a necessary compromise to solidify support for Mitus’ rule among the Hetaeri Magica. As part of these negotiations, Chardon agreed to supply magical and military aid to Nayan Karnas.

By late DR 1747, several major Society of the Open Scroll expeditions were ongoing in Dunmar, including several that were secretly missions of The Cleansed. Around this time, the first Chardonian troops began arriving in Dunmar as well, including a major garrison at Tokra consisting of mageguards and elite soldiers serving alongside Dunmari troops loyal to Karnas. Given that Karnas was already unpopular in central and eastern Dunmar, these forces were seen as a provocation by many Dunmari.

Sura’s Return and the Sibling War

On Jun 08, 1748 DR, Nayan Sura was freed by the Dunmar Fellowship from eight years of imprisonment at Agata Dustmother’s hand in the Mirror of Soul Trapping. Soon after her return, she began to draw dissidents unhappy with the state of Dunmari rule to her. Tensions rose as Sura gathered support in Eastern Dunmar, with many in Sura’s orbit, led by Havdar, seeing Chardonian presence in Dunmari land as foreign meddling, while Karnas’ allies described it as necessary protection against magical threats and instability on Dunmar’s borders.

Sura’s return gradually transformed that tension into civil war. Tentative negotiations failed to bring a breakthrough, amidst Karnas’ paranoia arising from suspicion of Agata’s meddling, and Havdar’s paranoia arising from the influence of a cursed sword from Agata’s treasure hoard, unwittingly gifted to him by the Dunmar Fellowship. On Dec 14, 1748 DR, Sura’s forces defeated Karnas’s forces and allied Chardonian troops at the Battle of Tokra; Havdar then rode west to Songara to prepare the Myraeni Gap against Chardonian reprisals.

Through early DR 1749, negotiations between Sura and Karnas slowly improved. Abha and the Dunmar Fellowship acted as mediators, leading to the two Dunmari armies standing down. But in Chardon, Fausto and The Cleansed, through their control over the Hetaeri Magica, pushed for aggressive action against Sura. Mitus Verina Auratan saw little profit in war with Dunmar, though, so while tensions remained high, no active fighting occurred.

Outbreak of Open War

On May 01, 1749 DR, doppelgangers of Delwath and Kenzo, acting under Apollyon’s design and in coordination with Fausto and The Cleansed, used the Pandemonium Scroll to open a rift in Kylos Market in Chardon. The attack killed many people and threw the city into panic. Fausto used the confusion to accuse Dunmar and the Dunmar Fellowship, presenting the attack as a Dunmari act of terror.

The Magistros, still reluctant to engage in open war, first pursued formal redress. Chardon sent Articles of Redress demanding Dunmar admit guilt, pay restitution, and surrender those accused of planning the attack. Havdar, speaking for Sura at Songara, denied Dunmari responsibility and blamed dark magic. Chardon treated the answer as refusal.

On May 10, 1749 DR, Chardon formally declared war. Marius Cusico was appointed supreme commander of the Chardonian Legion, while Fausto took personal command of the elite Seventh Guard, “Arcana.” Emilia Vetella was appointed admiral for the naval campaign, with the Magistros sailing with the fleet.

Chardon’s war plan had two arms. Marius Cusico and the land forces would cross the Myraeni Gap toward Songara and Tokra, supported by the mageguard under Fausto, while the navy would strike Darba and cut Karnas’s southern power base away from the rest of Dunmar. Chardonian troops mobilized for war on May 10, 1749 DR, moving towards Songara. By May 22, 1749 DR, the Chardonian forces had reached Songara and engaged in some initial skirmishes. That evening, chalyte shadow assassins, later revealed to be under Fausto’s control, snuck into Dunmari camps, causing panic and chaos, before speeding east to harass Tokra.

Sustained assault began on May 24, 1749 DR, with a devastating strike by war wizards, but on the same day, the Dunmar Fellowship defeated Fausto and took control of the Crown of Purity. Under Kenzo’s control, Marius Cusico abruptly called a halt to hostilities and ordered a withdrawal, though a smaller body of wizards and soldiers refused his command and fled. This led to chaos on the Songara border, but ended large scale hostilities almost before they began. As the land forces began a disorderly retreat, with large contingents breaking off and declaring allegiance to The Cleansed, Sura and Havdar contained the fallout on the border, while Drikod and stoneborn allies aided Tokra against the shadow assassins. The naval war continued long enough to force a separate crisis. On May 25, 1749 DR, the Chardonian navy won a major victory outside Darba, the Magistros entered the city, and Karnas had sued for peace.

Settlement and Ramifications

The war’s formal settlement came on Jul 25, 1749 DR, with a peace treaty between the Chardonian Empire, Nayan Sura, and Nayan Karnas. The peace treaty recognized the political division of Dunmar between Sura and Karnas, with Sura holding the north and center, while Karnas retained a southern realm around the Nayan Floodplains. Darba was ceded as a free port under Chardonian suzerainty; Chardon paid a generous transfer fee, and the Darban temple administration retained local authority over Dunmari civic affairs.

The treaty ended the open war, but not its consequences. In Chardon, Fausto’s fall and the exposure of the Cleansed shattered the Hetaeri Magica’s political position and helped ignite the Eightfold Flame uprising against the chalyte trade. In Dunmar, the war settled the immediate threat of Chardonian conquest but confirmed the division of the realm that the Sibling War had already made unavoidable. With the reopening of chalyte mines in the Chataan Mountains, Darba is poised to become a major Chardonian port for chalyte transshipment, further solidifying its departure from the Dunmari orbit.

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