War of Plaines

The War of Plaines was a war between Estines and a desert nation called Jayya. The War of Plaines was the first of two wars fought during King Benedict's reign. Lucas Black, Robert Crispin, General Hopkins, and Major Colonel Raine all participated in the war.

Overview
Jayya was a country to the east of Estines and was known as a gateway to the world by many Estinians. Historically, the country's economy was based on gold and trade. As oil was discovered and became highly valuable, Jayya's economy thrived on the oil trade.

As the demand for oil increased, Jayya continued raising their prices and making it harder for outside countries to get their hands on. This angered many Estinians, who had demanded King Andrew do something. Benedict, a prince at the time, heard these demands and asked his General's Circle to prepare an attack.

The first battle was a sudden attack on Latara, the farthest west city within Jayya. Jayya, not prepared for this attack, lost the city within a week. This was the shortest battle of the war.

After about six years, half of all Jayyan territories were occupied by Estinian troops. The war's final battle occurred in the capital city of Hamas. It was built around a large oasis, with the Jayyan king living in a large mansion overlooking the water.

The battle lasted about six months, ending when the commander of the Jayyan army surrendered to Estines. They began writing the terms of the surrender the next day, including the entirety of Jayyan being under Estinian control and the Jayyan king continuing as a governor of the region. It was signed exactly one week after the battle.

Outcome
After the war, Jayya joined Estines as the thirty-first region of the country. It's the largest region in terms of size but in the bottom ten in terms of population.

The war caused King Benedict's, and in turn the entire monarchy's, popularity to skyrocket. Lucas Black stated he feared the war had secured the Pendragon's throne for the next fifty years.

Lucas also stated the main victims of the war were the Easterners, both the ones already living in Estines and the ones who lived in Jayya.

In an attempt to meld the region with Estines, King Benedict offered money and land to Estinians who would move. He also forcibly removed Jayyans from their home and spread them throughout the country. He forced intermarriage with the new, Estinian population and made worshipping any god besides Aroklans illegal in Jayya. These decisions, although likely uniting the country, took a great toll on the Jayyan population.

The new wave of Easterners living within Estinian cities also caused a large rise of violence and racism towards Easterners in Estines, who had previously lived relatively peacefully and comfortably. Allard recalled that he never faced any outward discrimination for being an Easterner in Estines until the War of Plaines, in which it became a daily occurrence. Rina Saburo is surprised to hear that, noting that she had faced violence nearly her whole life due to her race.