Chapter 24: Sárat, Yad-Yamman and the Rise of Amman
So it came to be that the great horse nation of Sárat looked west and King Heral IV moved a great army against the Yad-Yamman. Their conquest was swift, for none could stand before the power of their great army, and many regions of the Yad-Yamman fell and were subjugated and their lot was hard, for the Sárations were harsh and treated them badly. But two great armies of the Yad-Yamman, from Yad-Mon and Yad-Uthet, came together in alliance and fought with Sárat in three great battles, which were called Garat Irid (War of the Three Battles) and which saw Sárat defeated and their armies forced to retreat, for fear of being cut off and their supplies severed.
And there was great rejoicing within the Yad-Yamman territories and Yad-Mon and Yad-Uthet gained great renown for their victory. But also did Yad-Mon see the strength of the horsed warriors of Sárat and looked to their own army for something alike. And to Yad-Mon was a great army built and alongside the men were placed horsed archers, who were called Fa-jeyp, and horsed infantry who were called Dal-jeyp, and they were a sight to behold and were fearsome foes upon the battlefield. It was also during this time that the power and renown of Yad-dur grew and their navy became mighty and they traded with all nations across Arrasia; north to Norvsond and south to Korom and Held and all around the Dyíthas Sea, to Magasoa and as far east as Istenpur and Eppen.
Also did Yad-dur trade with Sárat, which caused a great resentment in the Yad-Yamman, for Sárat was the enemy of their people and Yad-Mon called upon them to end this trade or face war. So war it was and the regions of the Yad-Yamman set their allegiances to Yad-Mon or Yad-dur and there was strife between the two sides, which was called the First Strife. But those with Yad-dur could not stand against the might of Yad-Mon, whose army was greater than that of all the others, and they defeated and subjugated those that were not allied with them and came to Aym-J'zeer, the great walled city of Yad-dur and called forth for them to fight. But they would not come out, for they were afraid, but the great army of Yad-Mon could not enter, for the walls kept them at bay. So a siege was set, but could not be maintained, for the power of the Yad-dur navy kept the city fed.
So it was that Yad-Mon sent forth their own navy, to blockade the city, but they met with the Yad-dur navy and were defeated and their ambitions thwarted and peace ensued. But the people of Yad-dur were humbled and humiliated for not fighting and for hiding in Aym-J'zeer, when their enemy called them out, and said they would not so again and thus built their army, so it might stand against those that would challenge them and the wealth of Yad-dur saw them build a great force.
Yad-Yarad and Yad-Mon did later go to war, over land, and the First Battle of Phat was fought. But the power of Yad-Mon was great and their army well drilled and their horsed warriors unmatched and the Yad-Yarad were destroyed and their lands subjugated and they were ruled with a terrible hand and were enslaved. So a new alliance was set against them, of Yad-dur, Yad-Uthet and Yad-Jamôn and the Second Strife of the Yad-Yamman began. Many vicious battles were fought and many perished and the alliance was strong, but the power of Yad-Mon could not be defeated and the Second Battle of Phat saw the allied forces defeated by the Fa-jeyp and Dal-jeyp of Yad-Mon. But such was the battle that the forces of Yad-Mon were greatly depleted and the Second Strife was over.
Peace thus covered the lands of the Yad-Yamman and all sides built their forces and defenses and knew there would be war yet between themselves. But these thoughts were put aside when King Ungord I, son of King Heral IV, invaded from the east, with an army greater than anything before seen in Arrasia. For Ungord I sought revenge for Sárat's defeat and looked to humiliate and conquer all those that had stood against his father. So this army of one hundred thousand marched through the regions of the Yad-Yamman, which fell to the might of this great foe, and all of Yad-Yamman looked done for.
But the Yad-Mon would not succumb and they sent a small army to face the might of Sárat and in Rashas Irid (the Battle of Many Battles) upon the Phat Downs, was a rearguard fought, where the few so slowed the progress of the many, that the forces of the Yad-Mon were mustered and they marched against their old foe alone, for no other would come to their aid. And those that died in Rashas Irid were given great esteem and the Yad-Mon took great pride in them, for the might of their soldiers was now known and their valor not to be denied, for all were killed upon that field of war.
So it was that the full army of Yad-Mon met with the massed forces of Sárat, who greatly outnumbered them and Harak Kal Irid (the Battle of Woe) ensued, in which there was great bloodshed and much horror. And for two days did the battle rage and never did it seem that one might beat the other. And here it was that the Fa-jeyp and Dal-jeyp now proved their might, for they made themselves the difference as the vast, immobile ranks of the Sárations proved mighty easy prey to the speed and swiftness of the horsed warriors. So it was that the great Sáration army was defeated and they were forced to halt their advance.
But King Ungord I was not deterred and put forth a second army to defeat his enemies in the west and in an armada of ships they set sail, where they might reinforce the great army that yet remained, despite their defeat. So it was that Yad-dur came to the aid of the Yad-Yamman and they sent out their navy to engage them and there was a great sea battle and the Sárations were defeated and their ships sunk and sent to the bottom of the waters and a great host of men went down with them and the hopes of King Ungord I ended. So began the great retreat of the Sáration army from the lands of Yad-Yamman, for they could not be supported so far from home. But the Yad-Mon made chase and fought a second great battle with their enemy, again defeating them. And a third battle was fought, but now the Yad-Mon stood alongside all of the Yad-Yamman in a great alliance, and the once mighty Sáration army was laid to waste and few were to make the return journey to Sárat.
So the regions lost to Sárat were retaken and the power of the dominant regions was all the greater and the Sárations were killed wherever they were found and their armies were rebuilt and a great alliance of all the Yad-Yamman was mustered and they took the war to Sárat and so began the Third Sárat War. And under the leadership of Xaraq II, the Yad-Mon forces proved the most decisive and the Sárations fell before them, for little remained of their army, and soon Sárat had fallen to the alliance and was forever smashed. But to Yad-Mon went the greater share of the land, for they had been swiftest and made most gains and now they were the greatest of the Yad-Yamman and they extended their cruel regime over a vast area.
But Xaraq II was not finished and he moved his forces against the other Yad-Yamman and captured all of Sárat by force and so began the Third Strife. All allied themselves against Xaraq II, but his power was great and they could not defeat him, for his army was now swelled with the ranks of the defeated. But still Yad-Mon could not match the navy of Yad-dur and their cities were blockaded and the seas closed to them and peace was forced upon them.
Yet it was that Xaraq II of Yad-Mon later declared all the lands of the Yad-Yamman to be under the single banner of the Yad-Mon and the Fourth Strife began. The armies of the Yad-Mon invaded those that would not bow before them and all of the Yad-Yamman fell and was enslaved, except Yad-dur, who now alone stood against the might of Yad-Mon. So it was that the army of Xaraq II made for the gates of Aym-J'zeer. But the armies of Yad-dur met them to their own advantage, outside of their city in a great bog where the Fa-jeyp and Dal-jeyp lost their advantage and were sunk into the mud and slowed and made cumbersome. And the army of Yad-Mon were exhausted from their wars and their number now filled with soldiers from lands enslaved, who were not loyal, and the arrows that fell upon them from the Yad-dur archers were murderous and their ranks were split. So it was in Aym-J'zeer Irid (the Battle of Aym-J'zeer) that the army of Yad-dur, heavily outnumbered, annihilated the grand Yad-Mon army of Xaraq II, who were like stones in the boggy fields, and the Yad-Mon suffered their greatest defeat.
So it was that Yad-dur now reversed their fortune and made good gains in territory, recapturing many lost lands, though soon Yad-Mon had re-mustered and defeated the Yad-dur in several battles and peace ensued between them. So were gone the regions of the Yad-Yamman and there remained only two, Yad-Mon and Yad-dur, who were enemies and the peace between them was short. Yad-Mon looked north and made war with the elves there, but things did not go as planned and the advance was slowed and the armies of Yad-Mon were assaulted by the elven archers who made their attacks and melted away into the forest. And soon the dwarves of Ilken also came against Yad-Mon, who had claimed their land as their own, and were now at war on two fronts, and neither went well for them.
Thus Yad-dur now made war upon Yad-Mon and the Fifth Strife began. And the Yad-Mon were taken unawares and their lands easily consumed for their armies were split on three fronts and all looked lost for them, for they were over-extended and their lines were weak. So it was that they called to Hakkan to aid them and that they would serve him and lay themselves down for him. For long had Hakkan looked to Arrasia, for he had watched the woes of men and his eye had been fixed upon Yad-Yamman and especially Yad-Mon. And in Herophet had he gathered a great army of men, who had long dwelt in his dungeons and were black of heart and mind and filled with hate. And he sent them under the banner of Yad-Mon, which he claimed as his own, to Arrasia through channels of his own making and they came against the forces of Yad-dur and destroyed them and all of Yad-dur was defeated and the city of Aym-J'zeer occupied and enslaved. And to the north, the elves were pushed deep into Hir'vassäl Eduth and the dwarven armies of Ilken defeated and driven back into their city, where the doors were closed to the outside world.
And so all of the lands of the Yad-Yamman were united under a single banner and Yad-Mon were victorious and the lands of Sárat consumed and enslaved and they called their new nation Amman and they gave their loyalty to Hakkan and were an evil and cruel nation who would know nothing but war and bloodshed and were the greatest nation on Arrasia. And Hakkan now had his place there and looked for mastery of all Arrasia and that all men would look to him as their master.