THE INDUSTRIAL WAR

1650

• Masdrin marries Guenwhyvar.
• Mistwood’s transformation: Open, multicultural, kind, strong—Drow and outsiders welcome.
• Masdrin becomes Lord High Protector of Mistwood, later of Emberstone (title change ~1655).
• Robin Emberstone rules: Founding father, wise, kind, credited for every national achievement.

Tech Context:

• Era is mid-to-late Victorian in tech/culture (1650), evolving rapidly toward early Edwardian / early mechanized by 1676. (A blend of IRL 1890-1930's)
• Emberstone’s innovations (Nightwing Armory) are driving modernization, but before the war the world is still mostly at “gun is gun, rifle is rifle” parity—true wonderweapons are rare.
• The original three belligerents are all first cousins, and also the three world powers. Emberstone is the outlier.

• Felderia:
  • Old world slaver state, human supremacist.
  • Powerful, militaristic, obsessed with tradition, ruled by the Bladeshard dynasty.
  • Sees Emberstone as “irrelevant backwater.”
• Reika:
  • Culturally rich, musical, progressive, “Tsarist Russia meets Persian royalty.”
  • Strong but not dominant, values honor and sovereignty.
• Rhi’Vahr:
  • Young nation, ex-Felderian colony.
  • Metis/indigenous hybrid politics, fiercely independent but insecure.
• Emberstone:
  • New city-state-turned-nation, rising under Robin and Masdrin’s leadership.
  • Diverse, pluralistic, open to all “who play by the rules.”
  • Exports best arms in the world but refuses to sell to Felderia.
  • Thought of as an upstart backwater, no real power.

• A Rhi’Vahr extremist assassinates a prominent Reikan noble.
• Not state-sanctioned—just a nationalist with an agenda.
• Sultan Niko Reik demands extradition; Rhi’Vahr’s Chief Thiago refuses, citing sovereignty.
• Reika declares war on Rhi’Vahr (“attack on the royal family is an attack on Reika itself”).

• No land border—the war is fought through naval landings, coastal raids, and sieges.
• Reika’s artillery/navy gives it the upper hand but not decisive victory.
• Emberstone (Masdrin) is “officially neutral” but quietly supplies Reika through black ops, submarines, and tech transfers (Barra D’aron involvement).
• Felderia is neutral, watching and waiting—“the vulture.”

• Rhi’Vahr calls on Felderia for help as Reika gains ground.
• Felderia enters the war, opening a two-front trench campaign against Reika along the Khozime River (“half as wide as Detroit River”—perfect for machine guns/artillery, hell to cross).
• Felderia devastates Reikan border towns—atrocities, scorched earth.
• Emberstone is still neutral in public, but Reika’s survival depends on Masdrin’s clandestine support: subs, weapons, and expertise.
• Reika holds both fronts, but barely.

• Felderia breaks through Khozime; Reika is on the verge of collapse.
• Reika officially requests Emberstone’s help.
• Masdrin issues a public ultimatum: “Felderia, withdraw from Reika or face total war.”
• Felderia refuses—pride, tradition, and the belief that Emberstone is still a non-entity, King Brynn literally laughs at Masdrin's ultimatum.
• Rhi’Vahr, seeing the writing on the wall, immediately surrenders (after Emberstone’s official entry, not before).
• Turns over the assassin.
• Accepts fair but steep reparations.
• Emberstone now enters the war openly.

• Masdrin launches a lightning offensive across the peninsula into Felderia.
• Not a WW2-style blitz—this is the last war where Paradonesis are used extensively in rear-echelon logistics, with trucks supplementing and quickly replacing them.
• REAF, The Barra D’aron, and DAM all move as one.
• Felderia is caught flat-footed, unable to respond to the speed and coordination.
• Masdrin’s “dinosaur cavalry” (Paradonesis), field radios, and ultra-modern light machine guns give a decisive advantage, as well as pick-em-up trucks turned into technicals.
• Felderian troops never even reach Emberstone’s borders.

• After the peninsula, the front spreads—REAF now plays “hold the line,” while The Barra D’aron becomes the world’s most feared trench raiders.
• Night infiltration, sabotage, spiking artillery and machine guns, terror tactics.
• Drow (especially Felynafay Drow) handle the “dirty jobs”—body disposal, psychological ops, “shock and awe.”
• Regular REAF troops mop up with far fewer casualties than if they’d gone in first.

• Felderian morale collapses:
  • Conscripts hate their own command; they know Emberstone doesn’t waste lives.
  • “Those backwater savages have giant dinosaurs—WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE EVEN FIGHTING?!”
  • Barra D’aron is seen as trench terrorists, and every Felderian is terrified of the next night raid.

• Masdrin’s army pushes right to the gates of Gatham (Felderian capital).
• Felderian lines break; Reika simply holds Khozime, never needing to invade.
• VF Day: Masdrin, with REAF, Barra D’aron, and DAM, leads a victorious parade through Gatham (billionaire/D’Lo Brown strut).
• Robin, still alive, claims victory for Emberstone—one last, great public act.

• Treaty: Felderia is forced to sign reparations favoring Reika, but is not crippled (“not Versailles”).
• Emberstone is now the world’s undisputed superpower—
  • Felderia humiliated, Reika respected but third place, Rhi’Vahr spared destruction by surrendering before open war.
• Emberstone uses DAM to help rebuild Rhi’Vahr and Reika, reinforcing its reputation as “builder as well as destroyer.”
• Paradonesis logistics units are phased out after this war—mechanization, motorcycles, and armored trucks become standard.

• REAF: The shield. Holds lines, takes/holds ground, regulars.
• The Barra D’aron: The sword. Elite, asymmetric, night-raiding, masters of terror and irregular ops.
• DAM: The anvil. Logistics, infrastructure, economics, and long-game power projection.

• Infantry:
  • Talon No. 2 Pump-Action Rifle in 6.9 Ember
  • Warden No. 1 Machine Pistol in .43 NAP
• Machine Guns:
  • Rex Family—ULMG (Belt-fed .43 NAP “trench broom”), LMG and MMG (Maxim-style), HMG (state secret), LMG-I (Lewis-style).
• Paradonesis:
  • Primarily logistics and morale roles, with some “Wojtek” style mascots and rare creative battlefield use by Marines. Large dinosaurs are easy targets so they're mostly kept deep behind friendly lines.
• Field Radios:
  • Bulky, short-range, but a key advantage.
  • Field Telephone

• Masdrin refuses “meat grinder” tactics—never sacrifices his own.
• Uses night raids, sabotage, and psychological warfare to break the enemy’s back before the “glory push.”
• Drow (especially Felynafay) handle the grisliest jobs—body disposal, logistics, and “trauma-inducing” tasks—so Emberstone’s regular troops don’t have to.
• Paradonesis are omnivorous: Graze, eat meat/carrion, and will consume enemy dead if not retrieved—handled discreetly, never advertised, managed mostly by Drow.
• Sharing rations bonds them to troops for life.
• Masdrin’s personal ethos: Fights on the front line, leads from the front, personally lethal, but sees protection as minimizing friendly casualties, not wasting lives for “heroics.”
• Victory is not about total destruction, but breaking the enemy’s will and imposing a new order.

• Robin’s legacy is preserved.
• Masdrin’s “Mistwood philosophy” becomes national: Open, tolerant, merit-based, but unyielding in defense of freedom and rights.
• Felderia never fully recovers—descends into instability, setting the stage for future wars.
• Reika and Rhi’Vahr thrive under Emberstone’s new order—DAM helps both rebuild.
• Emberstone is now the “world police,” enforcing peace, rebuilding nations, and shaping the postwar world.

• 1676 — Industrial War begins: Rhi’Vahr Radical assassinates Reikan noble; Reika declares war.
• 1677 — Felderia enters, opening Khozime River trench front.
• 1678–9 — Reika sees Felderia finally cross the Khozime; Emberstone delivers ultimatum, enters the war. Rhi’Vahr surrenders.
• 1679–80 — Masdrin’s blitz, trench warfare, and final parade in Gatham. VF Day.
• 1680+ — Reparations, world order reset; Emberstone becomes the new superpower.