The Command

The Command
The flag of the Great Command, depicting a Lion (Right), Boar (Bottom) and Wolf (Left) as representatives of the three respective commands.
Politics
Ruler Title	Grand Marshal
Notable Ruler(s)	Moguwon Wolfborn Jonozuke Lionborn Faiko Boarborn
Society
Ethnic Groups	Hobgoblin, Azepyanunin, Kintonan, Ikaniwagain
Religion(s)	Godlost
History
Major Events	Invasion of Shamakhad Great Insubordination
Established	1392

The Command, or The Great Command when referring to the central command, was a hobgoblin nation originating from the Jade Mines. It was a Halessi powerhouse with its core in Shamakhad. At its height, it ruled over much of Rahen and Yanshen through its various stratocratic commands. They were a major player in modern Halessi and military history with its widely considered brilliant campaigns and constant expansion over Haless. It has led to the downfall of various empires such as the Raj, the Xia, and more.

Creation of The Command

Command System

Between 1136-1392 came the emergence of the Command system, a complete upending of the old social system in favor of a new purely stratocratic system. Drawing from experiences with the mage crisis, threatening orcish migrations in the caves, and the Jaherian Empire, it was concluded that military strength is the only thing that mattered. They decided that in order to resist the threats that constantly seemed to crash down on the hobgoblins, they must take the observations of the Way of the Godlost to the inevitable conclusion - unity by strength, unity by family, unity by discipline, and unity by order.

It would be in the 1300s that the various tribes would become various commands, and those various commands would become 3 major commands, the Lion, Boar, and Wolf. In 1392 it was decided amongst these three commands to confederate under The Great Command, to stop killing each other and start fighting alongside each other, leading them to the 1431 invasion of Shamakhad by their second and new Grand Marshal, Moguwon Wolfborn. With the conquest of Sir in 1435, the Command would formally be known as an empire.

Sir Rebellion

Starting in 1445, the nobles of the recently conquered Sir, who had escaped to the remaining Ruin Kingdoms, began a rebellion against the Command occupation. With support from Bianfang and the Ruin Kingdoms, the people of Sir were well armed and initially quite successful. From Sir south the rebellion cast out the hobgoblins, lasting until the three Command kikun rallied together. Exercising an iron fist, the stability of the Command would be shown concrete by their quick and brutal crushing of the rebels. In just a year they reclaimed all lands beyond Sir and in 1447 that fell too. From then on, the Command had hobgoblin governors and full military occupation of the land to ensure no repetition of the event. With the Ruin Kingdoms' resources spent in failure, they would need years to recover that which they lost in their support of the rebellion.

Rise of the Command

Xianjie Campaign

The Xianjie Campaign, also known as the Xiadao Campaign, took place imminently after the end of the Sir Rebellion. With the Commands marching together and Bloodsong providing support, the Wulin were taken by surprise and Fengzhaobu fell quickly. Though the Xiaken provided resistance at Shanyutian, their lack of coordination as an army caused their downfall. With what would be the largest battle of the campaign over, Moguwon turned his attention to sieging Liusibao in 1450. It took two years to break the fortress with large enough siege engines, allowing Moguwon to proclaim himself the rightful leader of the Xiaken by martial victory. The north submitted, but the south turned to nearly a decade of guerilla warfare empowered by their individual abilities. It wouldn't truly be until 1461 that Xianjie was firmly under hobgoblin rule though the Command would declare victory in 1452. Had Bianfang intervened there may have been trouble but they were preoccupied with their own invasion of Jinqiu and were not able to finish in time to aid Xianjie.

Shamakhad Campaign

Starting 1459 and seeking to secure the Shamakhad front, the forces of the Command and the Thunderfists began their invasion with an assault on Khadisrapur. The invasion began with the Boar marshal splitting their forces in half, one half blocking reinforcements from Rajnadhaga while the other half attacked to Parraj. At the same time, the Lion Marshal laid siege to Tilathi and Kamapar, all falling to the Command's invasion within the year. With the secure of Khaddisrapur, the Boar and Wolf Command joined their forces to destroy any resistance from Rajnadhaga while the Lion invaded Sarnavan. However, much to the surprise of the Lion Marshal, the seeming Lotus Court of the Raja issued a demand for ordering them to retreat or face war. Unwilling to leave the flank of the other two Commands vulnerable, the Lion Marshal relented and retreated their forces from Sarnavan and leaving behind a sizable garrison in Kamapar and Tilathi before rejoining the other commands and invading Rajnadhaga. By 1463, the combined Command forces laid siege to the Sharaja and Sarnihanpur with Sharaja falling in 1464 and Sarnihanpur not falling until the construction great ramp of Sarnihanpur finished in 1465. The ramp allowed the Command to climb the walls and finally break the city in 1465. By 1466 all of Shamakhad outside of Tiltaghar and Sarnavan were under the Command’s control. With the fall of Khadisrapur, Rajnadhaga and Parraj refugees flee south into Sarnavan or further into the Raj.

Reconstruction

Following nearly half a century of conquest and the land ravened by war, the newly selected Grand Marshal Jonozuke Lionborn began the process of redistributing the newly conquered lands between the three Commands in order to maintain the fragile balance of power. With his position secured and the process of redistribution on the way, Jonozuke began formalizing the succession by creating a process by which the position of Grand Marshal would rotate between Wolf, Lion and Boar Commands respectively. Now stabilized, the Command would begin the process of rebuilding and reorganizing the conquered lands by building new homes and fortifications, streamlining administration, chaining mages and putting down any rebellions they encountered. Hundreds of thousands of Hobgoblins began emerging and migrating to the surface, a process that didn't conclude until well into the 16th century. Towards the end of the Reconstruction, the first Wuhyun began to appear, humans who adopted Hobgoblin customs and languages for various reasons. By 1505, the Lion command officially moved its headquarters to Khanamohri and by the end of the period, the hobgoblin population Shamakhad swelled to create a new generation of soldiers.

Subjugation of Azjakuma

In 1489, the Hobgoblins demanded the subjugation of the Oni of Azjakuma in order to secure their supply of Korashi. Believing they could hold out the Hobgoblin assault, the Oni refused their demands, resulting in the invasion of the Ogre lands. The Command forces were quickly able to lay siege to the capital of Chumijemoya after defeating the Oni guardians of the hills and besieging remaining Shigrii. On the verge of defeat, the Oni submitted to become a slave state in 1492 while they bide their time for revenge.

War for Dhujat

First Dhujat War

Occurring between 1507 and 1508, the First Dhujat War centered around the Command's invasion of the northeastern Raj. The invasion began with an attack into Pordhatti and advanced in three columns corresponding to each of the three Commands. As the column led by the Lion Command advanced, they had to cross Elephant Gorge, a river running through a steep walled canyon just narrow enough to cross with mobile bridges. On the other side sat the hopelessly outnumbered defenders of Pordhatti who made their stand in the high cliffs of the canyon and the river below. For three days, the Pordhatti army held their ground, using the terrain to minimize the Hobgoblin numerical and tactical advantage. However, the tide would shift on the fourth day following a near suicidal charge of the Bloodsong orc who charged across the gorge to break the human lines and sending them into disarray. Though nearly a quarter of the Bloodsong orcs died in the assault, the capture of the gorge allowed for the Command troops to safely cross and soon after the rest of the Senaptiate fell as well. With little in their way, the Hobgoblins quickly captured Sarnavan and Tiltaghar, resulting in the Command gaining control over northern Dhujat and Ghavanaaj. The capture of the northeast gave the Command control over the Oracle of Tughayasa which was quickly reorganized and the mages running it being chained for use in war only going forward.

Sarisung Campaign

With Sarisung flanked on two sides, the Command launched an assault on the formerly great city in 1510. They were engaged in a brutal street to street fighting following the quick destruction of the city's crumbling walls. The fall of the city came swift as the unorganized gangs running the city failed to put up any real front of resistance against the hobgoblin onslaught. By 1511, the city had fallen to the Command but it would take many more years to finally rid the city of the gangs and many decades to repair the nearly completely destroyed city.

The Tiger and Elephant

Following the First Dhujat War and the Sarisung campaign, the Command found itself with large amounts of land newly conquered from the Raj. To better administer the new lands, the Great Command decided to establish the Tiger Command as a subsidiary of the Lion Command to administer the region. By 1515, As more and more Hobgoblins began to migrate into middle Rahen, it was decided that the now largely hobgoblin city of Rayahatimana would serve as the new command's war camp. Soon, the Tiger Command would be granted all lands in middle Rahen to govern except for Sarisung which would continue to be directly administered by the three central Commands.

In effort to better integrate the lands of Xianjie, the Central Command would establish the Elephant Command centered in Zhaoyun. The decision to establish a more localized rule had previously been seen as unnecessary by the central Command as the land was planned to be directly integrated into the Hobgoblin heartland. However, due to the continuing insurgent activity from local monks as well as the relative unattractiveness of the region for Hobgoblin settlement, it was decided that more autonomy and local representation would allow better and quicker pacification and integration. As such in 1518, the Elephant Command was created and was to serve as a subsidiary of the Wolf Command

Bianfang Campaign

In response to their advance into the Raj being halted, the Command turned their sights east towards the rich lands of the Yan. In 1521, the Command struck, pushing east but being halted by stiff resistance from Hubao and Bianfang. After a three year long siege, the Command captured subdued all of Hubao, securing for them control over the surrounding hills and allowing them to focus their full force eastward. The war would see years of intense fighting as the Command, previously unmatched on the battlefield, met the well organized armies of Bianfang in combat. Although the armies of Bianfang fought long and well, the numbers and superior discipline of the Command ultimately won out and after nine years of intense resource allocation and brutal fighting, the entire western Yan fell to the Command. The near century of war left the region devastated and depopulated as massive amounts of those living there fled east to the coastal Yan states still independent.

Second Dhujat War

Preoccupied in the east, the revitalized Raj under Hemantsen invaded, seeking to secure eastern Dhujat from the Hobgoblins. Unable to mount a resistance and initially outnumbered, the hobgoblins were forced to retreat, allowing the Raj to secure the Eastern Ghavanaaj people and advance north of Kharunyana. However, fearing a renewed offensive from the eastern Jaddari, the Raja decided to halt his advance to secure a favorable position against the Command. Although still holding the Tiger war camp and Northern Dhujat, the Tiger Command saw a significant hit in the war and their position within the Great Command greatly diminished.

Third Dhujat War

Indignant from their first major defeat, the Command rallied its now available troops from the Yan for a surprise attack against the Raj. In 1535, the Command launched their invasion, managing to make gains in the undefended plains of eastern Ghavanaaj but failed to capture many of the fortifications captured by the Raj in the Second Dhujat War. With the momentum of the Command slowed, the Raja rallied his forces and launched a counterattack against the invading Hobgoblins. The fighting of the Third Dhujat War saw significantly more bloodshed than the previous two wars as both sides fought each other with larger armies in hard fought battle after hard fought battle. However, the Command, still weary from the costly Yan campaign and the establishment of the Dragon Command, was unable to continue matching the Raj in the field. The lack of resources, along with strong strategic maneuvering from the Sen forced to retreat from eastern Ghavanaaj, western Sarisung and reduced their Dhujat territory to only a small chunk north of the Tiger war camp by 1539. The 1535 Offensive was an unmitigated disaster for the Command, further diminishing the Tiger Command and costing them already diminished resources.

A New Command

The Dragon and Rebuilding

In an effort to better prepare for the Yanszin invasion, the Grand Command officially established the Dragon Command in the lands conquered along the Yan. The Dragon Command was to serve as a subsidiary to the Boar Command and in 1540, the city of Chaztin was determined to be the war camp for the new Command. The Dragon Command would mark the third and final subcommand ever to be established and would be among the last standing by the 19th century.

The next thirty years would mark a period of relative peace for the Command outside of several minor conflicts in Yanshin. During this time the Command would skirmish with several of its neighbors including Azkare and Sempherong that never escalated out of lack of interest and fear of another costly war. The period marked the final Hobgoblin migrations out of the Serpantspine, allowing for the creation of the Jade March and a explosive growth in Hobgoblin populations across Rahen. Production of food around this period saw a significant upswing as the use of orc slavery increased the productivity of formerly war torn lands across the realm. By the 1561, the rebuilding of eastern Sarisung completed, turning the city from a war smolder into a center for logistics for the Command.

Korashi Chains

As the Command grew ever larger and larger, so too did the population of mages inside the realm that needed to be chained. In need of further production of Korashi chains, the Hobgoblins seized the libraries Shinukhorchi in Azjakuma and tortured the Oni present there for the secrets needed to produce the necessary chains. With the secret secured, the Hobgoblins began pouring recourses into optimizing and mass producing the chains resulting in workshops across Sir dedicated to their production. To accommodate the ever-growing need for black damestar, the mines of Jianxusi saw a massive expansion that wouldn't stop until 1560 when supply stabilized and the Great Chain Forge of Sir finished. The Command's domination of mages continued to expand as the Great Command established the Office for the Regulation of Volatile Resources in 1609 to better manage and control Rahen's magic population. The final expansion of their magical control came in 1645 with the pikoyhun method of production which allowed for chains to be created that better controlled mages while also requiring less Korashi to do so.

Yanszin Campaign

Using siege techniques and knowledge obtained from the capture of Bianfang, the newly founded Dragon Command launched their invasion of Yanszin with the full support of the central command. Through the use of the Yanhe river fleet, the Dragon Command swiftly captured the cities along the river and quickly collapsing the Yanszin league. The newly captured universities in Yanzhong and Yangcheng became a vital source of knowledge on engineering, both for military and civilian use.

Jiangdu Wars

Between the late 1550s and the early 1590s, the Dragon Command engaged in a serious of minor war with the Shuvüüsh who had prior captured the regions of Lanjinhui and Jiangdu. The efforts of the Dragon Command became limited by the mass diversion of resources to the ongoing Dhujat war preventing many further incursions past the 1570s. In the early years of the war, the command encountered significant trouble dealing with the Shuvüüsh bird riders on the open plains that were the center of much of the fighting. However, by the 1590s, advancements in firearm technology and military tactics allowed the Command to secure the entire southern bank of the Yanhe river.

The Jade March

In 1557, following the final migrations of Hobgoblins out of the Serpantspine mountains, the Jade March was officially formed as a unified goblin slave state under the Command. The process of goblin unification had taken decades following the Hobgoblin invasion of Shamakhad. The central command spent nearly a century to drive the Blackfoot and Stolen Gem clans to abandon their rivalry and blend together, eventually forming what became know as Marcher Goblins. As the goblins took over the running of the eastern serpantspine, the amount of metal, especially mithril, saw a dramatic surge as extraction from mines increased.

Great Dhujat Wars

Setting Stage

While the Command rebuilt and licked its wounds after the disastrous Third Dhujat War, the Harimraj would find itself at war again, this time to the west with the Jaddari Empire. Previously weakened by the Command, the Raj would suffer defeat after defeat until finally dissolving in 1562 and falling under Jadd rule. Sensing instability, the Command began amassing its forces in the south which worried the overextended Jaddari and the Bhuvauri. By 1571, the states of the Jadd, the Bhuvauri and the Vanrahar would sign a joint defensive alliance, all the while the Command continued amassing its ever growing forces along their Dhujat border.

Great Dhujat War

With its forces amassed, the Command launched a massive invasion southwards into Ghavanaaj, Dhujat, and Rakhadesh. The campaign began with a slow and methodical march south and before long the Command occupied the whole of the Lands of the Elephant before laying Siege to Khiraspid in 1578. The siege continued for two years before the combined forces of the triple alliance met to relieve the siege in 1580 in the famous Charge of Phoenix and Tiger and marked the further extend of Hobgoblin advance into Dhujat. The war continued for another 12 years, and ended with Dhujagir under the Command but their armies pushed back from Endhuvi and Keyattordha, and Babhagama becoming independent. By the end of the war, many began to believe that the leader of the High Command between the 1540s and 1570s had been overly cautious because, despite the campaign being overall a massive Hobgoblin gain, the Command was unable to fully capitalize on the instability following the breakup of the Raj.

Nonetheless, the Command achieved massive gains in the war including the fracturing of the triple alliance and the capture of much of Dhujat. The newly acquired lands in the region finally allowed the previously mauled tiger Command to expand, finally putting it on par with the other subcommands of the empire.

Watering of Rahen

Taking its name from the massive amount of troops who died over the region, the Watering of Rahen saw nearly a century of low intensity fighting across the Jadd-Hobgoblin front in Dhujat. The first few decades of fighting would see some minor Hobgoblins losses but as the Command consolidated its hold in the Yan, the Hobgoblin soon began pushing the Jaddari back into western Ghavanaa before stalling. The largest reason for the stall of the Command forces by the Jadd came in its Bhuvauri and Vanrahar allies who only intervened when the Hobgoblins cross the original border set up by the Great Dhujat War. The result meant that neither side made any significant gains as whenever the Jadd would muster to push the Command back, their lack of garrisons and resupply meant that any gains made quickly fell back under Hobgoblin rule. During this time, the Rhakadhesh and Eastern Dhujat border between the two would become one of the most fortified places in all of Haless as plains lack of natural defenses led both sides to constructing fortifications to protect their people. It was on these plains that the warg riders of the Command met the riders of the Jaddari in battle after battle for little result. During the later periods of the watering, the Command would make several attempts to take the porcelain cities but the Triple Alliance would always manage to resupply the cities and push back the besieging armies. By 1700, the borders only slightly deviated from the Great Dhujat War with the Jadd Empire making minor gains in western Ghavanaaj and the Command making minor gains in eastern Ghavanaaj and Southern Rahen.

Conflict in Yanshen

First War of Yansheni Liberation

During the Great Dhujat War, the remaining independent states of the Yan, including the Shuvüüsh, signed the Tianlou Concord to protect against further Hobgoblin aggression. By 1613 however, seeing the Command in a weakened position from ongoing war with the Jadd, the Concord, with exception of Zyujyut invaded Command controlled lands in the Yan. The accord made some initial gains, capturing Jiangdu and pushing up to Yangcheng and Zhitzhao, but by 1614 the Dragon Command began to push back. Employing recently developed artillery, the Command inflicted some devastating defeats on the Concord and managing to retake Jiangdu by the end of the year. From their base in Jiangdu, the Dragon Command finally forced the Shuvüüsh out of the plain surrounding Balrijin and conquering the region over the course of the next five years.

Receiving reinforcements from the other Commands, the Dragon Command would march upon and lay siege to Tianlou in 1617. Learning from their defeats earlier on in the war, the Concord would hold onto Tianlou in the face of Command artillery before counterattacking towards the Hobgoblin forces in Shengdao. The Hobgoblin siege of Tianlou broke down as the Concord forces smashed into the Command's exposed flank, forcing the besieging forces to make a costly retreat at the risk of total encirclement. The war would come to an end with the Command being pushed back to Jiangdu, losing all territories east of the Tianhu lake but also with the secure of north east Jiangdu and Balrijin.

Tianlou Campaign/War of Yansheni Dominion

In 1646, the Command invaded the Yanshen Concord by driving towards and besieging Tianlou by 1650. However, constant attack and the threat of once again being encircled forced the Hobgoblins to withdraw and instead concentrate their attacks to capturing and devastating the Concord countryside. By 1655, the Concord troops were exhausted which allowed the Command to once again lay siege to Tianlou as well as sending a force to lay siege to Feiten to prevent them from supporting Tianlou. With supplies dwindling and its garrison greatly depleted, the defenders of Tianlou were unable to withstand the Hobgoblin assault and by 1658, the city fell to the Command.

The war with the Concord continued for another four brutal years with the Command slowly pushing the Concord out of the northern Yan but being unable to push any further due to logistical difficulties. In 1662, the Concord and Command made peace with the secure of Tianlou and the crippling of the Concord as an alliance.

Dragon’s Peace

The securing of Tianlou and therefore all of the Yanhe, the Command and Dragon Command finally began their efforts to fully pacify and integrate the lands of Yanshen. During this time, the Oni were granted stewardship of all the temples across Haless and began breaking into the hearts of the complex's to corrupt the spirits inside. However, the Oni encountered only middling success in this endeavor as those left undamaged from the centuries of war proved too difficult to break into and corrupt. Throughout their eastern territories, the Command began the process of spread the Hobgoblin language in earnest as a way of improving administration and encouraging the assimilation process.

During the next fifty years of peace, the Dragon Command began experimenting with artificery and naval warfare on their now pacified coast in Yanshen. With few wars to fight on the home front, the Dragon Command began pouring large amounts of resources into rebuilding Tianlou, reinforcing its defenses with minor artifice improve. The years of peace allowed the Dragon Command to prosper and greatly increase its power relative to the other Command; however, the Central Command gave little representation to the eastern Command and the roots of the Great Insubordination began to fester.

Halessi Gommo

Having arrived in Haless back in 1580 the Gommo had already established itself in Feiten by 1661. With the dust now settled over the Yan, the Gommo was granted permission to set up a branch in 1667 with the opening of the Tianlou office. The treaty signed between the Gommo and the Command established an agreement to share research but because of the vague wording of the document, the Command and Gommo would frequently come to disagree over several matters, including the 1675 invention of the Korashi drill.

The agreement between the Gommo and Command would last a whole ten years before the Dragon Command demanded access to Gommo research. The Gommo branch, seeing their as a severe breach of their agreement refused their demand, resulting in the Dragon Command seizing the Gommo office in Tianlou. The Dragon Command's decision led the other Commands to also seize and expel the Gommo offices such as those in Sarisung and Jilin. The souring of relations between the Gommo and the Command allowed the eunuchs of Tianlou to secretly began cooperating with the Gommo, trading Gommo funding and support for a eunuch rebellion in exchange for access to the city's temple for research purposes.

Decline of The Command

Fourth Dhujat War

Sensing weakness in the Jadd, the Command would launch a 1701 invasion to capture Khiraspid, Keyadortha and Sempherong to secure their dominion over the Kharunyana. However, the Jaddari would manage to rally their forces enough to break the sieges the Command set up in their territory and forced the war into the same grind that pervaded the wars of the 17th century. Unfortunately for the Command, the invasion of Sempherong would bring in Azkare and Lot Dekhang which forced the Hobgoblins to stretch their forces into Xianjie as well as the Jadd front in Dhujat. In 1706, the Dragon Command was forced to pull their support from the war to deal with the Great Yan Uprising and by 1712, the war ended in stalemate and the loss of a significant Dhujat defensive position.

Great Yan Uprising

With the Command's focus and resources in Dhujat, the scheming eunachs of Tianlou coordinated what would later become known as the Bloodless Coup of Tianlou. Beginning with the poisoning of the high command of the garrison, the eunuchs acted quickly with the help of loyal guards and militia to oust the complacent Hobgoblin garrison. The bewildered garrison was quickly captured or ousted while force of river admirals escaped the city to gather a retaliatory force. By 1706, the Dragon Command returned with a force but failed to capture the newly fortified city and was forced to retreat out of a lack of manpower.

Second Yansheni Liberation War

Chaos followed the Hobgoblin's retreat for as they retreated, they found themselves harassed and harried by rebels incited in concordance with support from Tianlou. The Dragon Command mustered what it could to respond to the uprisings, but by the time reinforcements reached the garrisons of the eastern Yan, the hobgoblin's front in the region had already shattered and resurgent Concord forces had already arrived to support the rebels. Starting in 1707, the resurgent Concord declared a second war for Yan liberation and began driving further into hobgoblin held lands in the eastern Yan. With a formal declaration of war, the central Command finally sent over reinforcements and supplies east but support was limited by the ongoing Fourth Dhujat War and the drain the war out west was already putting on manpower and supply lines.

By the beginning of 1711 had been driven out of the northern plains by the Shuuvuush and the Tianlou, along with support from Feiten and Yinquan, had began pushing up along the Yanhe. Unable to stop the onslaught, the Concord pushed the way up to the Tianhu river and Jiangdu before the Dragon Command could muster a force to hold the line by the summer of 1715. The war would continue for another three brutal years with neither side able to make any lasting gains. With the fatigue of war mounting on both sides, fighting slowly died down until by winter of 1718 fighting ceased entirely with the border set at Jiangdu.

Dhenbasana Campaign

Seizing upon the chaos of the Dieoderan in the Jaddari, the Command launch a 1725 invasion of Southern Rahen and Dhenijansar. With Jaddari resources divided, the Command managed to push far into Nahana Jadd and even managing to besiege Dhenijansar due to the unwillingness of the Jadd allies to aid them. However, in 1730, the Nahana Jaddari made enough concession to the Vanrahar and Bhuvauri to obtain their aid against the Hobgoblin invasion followed soon after by Ghankhedeni. This coalition of nations rallied their forces and managed to repel the Command from Dhenijansar and back over the Dhenbhasa by winter 1732. With the Command on the retreat, the porcelain cities joined the coalition and invaded Dhujagir and Dhujat to cut off the hobgoblin forces in Southern Rahen. The new foes on the flanks forced Command generals to pull back to avoid encirclement which prevented significant losses despite the efforts of the coalition. From their new strengthened position, the Command would strike the porcelain cities and reoccupy parts of Dhujat and Dhujagir that had been occupied. In 1735, the Command would once again lay siege to the porcelain cities with Keyadortha. However, with the situation in Yanshen growing ever dire and pressure from the Dragon Command, the Command would make peace for their marginal gains and move to support the Dragon Command in the Third Yansheni Liberation War.

Third Yansheni Liberation War

Seeing the Command caught up in another intense war with the Jaddari, the Tianlou Concord launched a surprise invasion of the Dragon Command in spring 1734. Despite having made fortified the border with the Yan states, the Dragon Command faired now match against the large modern invading force and was into near full retreat. Invading from both sides of the Yanhe, the Concord cut off Jiangdu and laid siege to Yangcheng by 1736. The Shuuvuush invaded the north and quickly invaded from the north and supported a Goldscale rebellion which soon forced the Dragon Command out of the Beikling Hills. However, by fall 1737, the Concord found their advance stalling as they were forced to besiege the well fortified positions in Jiangdu and Yangcheng before any further advance could be sustained. The Siege of Jiangdu proved a grueling affair, the city proving too well defended to be captured in an assault which forced the Concord into a five year long siege of the city. In that time, the Command managed to supply the city via water until summer 1735 when the Concord navy met the Yan fleet in numerous battles and managed to sink a large number of battleships and supply convoys bound for Jiangdu. By 1739, the city neared stavation and with the prospect of resupply or relief out of the picture, the city surrendered to the Concord forces.

With the imminent fall of Jiangdu in sight, by 1738 the situation in Yanshen became dire enough for the Dragon Command to successfully negotiate with the central Command to make peace with the Nahana Jadda and send the Ninyu Kikun east to support the battered front. In case of a surprise attack in the west, it was decided that the Tiger and Elephant Command would stay in position respond to any potential invasions. Despite making great haste, the forces of the Central Command were unable to reach Jiangdu in time to prevent the city's fall which greatly upset the battered Dragon Command. By winter 1739, the front lines had finally stabilized enough for the Hobgoblins to begin making counterattack around Yangcheng and back up the Yan. In a complete surprise to Concord forces, the Whuyuh population of Jiangdu, with the support of Command spies, launch a massive rebellion against the cities garrison. Not expecting resistance from the human population they were supposedly liberating, the Concord was thrown into chaos which allowed the Command to retake the city with the help of Command friendly rebels.

The recapture of Jiangdu collapsed the Concord lines, allowing the Command continue pushing down the Yanhe and surrounding plains with little resistance. Hobgoblin forces quickly retook Balrijin, Lake Tianhu, and Shengdao and the Concord forces desperatly tried to reorganized their scrambled forces until by 1744 the Command pushed the alliance all the way back to Tianlou. However, as Hobgoblins began preparing for a siege of the city, the Concord forces met them at the Battle of Tianlou's Gate and, with near perfect intelligence, assassinated the Dragon Marshal before launching a full assault on the Hobgoblins. Their commander now dead and caught in a surprise attack, the remaining Hobgoblin forces quickly retreated to Jiangdu to regroup and chose Noriko Dragonborn as the new Dragon Marshal.

In a change in strategy, the hobgoblin forces marched north across the hills and plains of northern Yan and into Shuuvuush to sever the bird riders from their support allies and secure their Yanhe supply lines. With their lines secured, the Command swept south towards Tianlou but encountered fierce resistance from Concord forces which required them to slow their advance towards the Concord's heart. The heavy fighting drained both sides as the offensives on both sides wore down manpower and supplies of the already drained nations. By 1750, fighting began to cease and by 1751, both sides entered into a peace talks in Shengdao. However, as peace talk began to conclude, the final temple in Tianlou had its wards destroyed, unleashing the Rending of Realms onto Haless. With the leaders of the Dragon Command and Concord in chaos, Yinquan, undamaged by the rending, launched an attack on both the Command and their former Yan allies in the Concord. Yinquan captured the leaders of all those at the peace talks except Noriko who, with the protection of her bodyguard, managed to flee the city in the chaos. Unable to organize their forces in the chaos, Yinquan would invade the Dragon Command with the power of the spirits at their side.

Plans for Future Expansion

The Command planned to expand further. This, however, would necessitate the creation of at least three additional vassal states, which were provided for in plans drafted by the Wolf Command.

• Dragon Command:
• Elephant Command:
• Tiger Command:

Politics

The Command was a stratocracy, in which political power devolved to those who could demonstrate great military ability and skilled generalship. Politics within the Command were typically dominated by three factions, namely the Wolf Command, the Boar Command, and the Lion Command, which were also represented on the Command's flag. Each faction handled a different facet of military operations, with the Wolf Command handling logistics, planning and strategy, the Boar Command handling the rank-and-file and vanguard, and the Lion Command handling generalship, rhetoric and leadership.

Military

The military of the Command was one of the most feared forces in Haless due to their emphasis on organization and strict operational unity.

Religion

In contrast to the shamanism of the goblin cults, the hobgoblins embraced a creed known as the Godlost.

Legacy

The wars of the Command led to the existence of a significant minority of hobgoblins and orcs in Rahen.

For Rephrasing (I guess)

At the 1444 start date, it has 2 goblin vassals, Blackstep and Stolen Gem, in addition to 2 orcish vassals, Thunderfist and Bloodsong.