The Ikran Adventure

By the 1960’s, the countries of the world had fully recovered from the Great War, which was now more like an upsetting memory than a global conflict. The Kingdom of Komnen had grown powerful, being uncontested by its neighbors or foreign rivals. It was in this time that the Komnen began to assert its control over Yandia, spreading its influence and inheriting a new doctrine known to the world as Komnen Sovereignty.

 This concept, often unheard of and unaccepted in most other countries, was the beleif that wherever Komnen people set their feet was Kingdom soil. Though a ridiculous concept it spread throughout the continent, most prominently in military centers. Nations like Ghuong Zhu, Ling Shuon, and Acuria were still burning with hatred for the Komnen and its poor treatment of them, so such brash and unregulated philosophy was not welcome in those places. However, the country of Ikran, on the western tip of Yandi became the first victim to fall to Kingdom imperialism.

Ikran had provided troops and weapons to Ghuong Zhu during the war, and was the site of many naval battles during the Great War. Its thick forested hills and rich, life growing valleys were a main source of foodstuffs for much of Yandia, and the Ling Shuon islands. Ikran was the lead exporter of spices as well, which sold well on the continental market. At first glance, it would appear that Ikran held no serious resources which would attract the attention of the Komnen, however there was more than just fruits and vegetables in Ikran. Beneath the hills, archeological expeditions discovered massive deposits of compressed oil, left over from millions of year ago. Strangely, much of the oil was contained in odd rock formations, and further examination lead many excavators to believe, that ancient Incan cities had once been constructed in northern Ikran.

Komnen still held onto the belief, that the Incan empire was a barbaric and anarchistic state, which they had inherited and turned into a powerful nation. The finding of Incan ruins in Ikran was not particularly exciting news to the government, but the discovery of mass deposits of oil was of great interest to them and many other countries in the area. Unlike the other nations interested in acquiring Ikran reserves of oil however, Komnen had a believable façade that they could hide behind to acquire this precious resource. The Komnen government announced that as the sole inheritors of the Incan Empire, the ruins, and the ground upon which they stood, was official Kingdom land. Ikran of course, was outraged at this notion, and refused passing over the appropriate rights to the Kingdom, an action which quickly prompted the General’s Army.

The General’s Army had at this time period, developed primitive helicopter transports, and were able to quickly and with great precision lead an entire division of helicopter-borne troops into the highlands of Ikran. The Ikran army however was backed up by its continental allies who had agreed to defend their territorial sovereignty. The massive invasion by Komnen was quickly stymied when large numbers of guerilla fighters took a heavy toll of the invaders. The Komnen’s better equipment and larger numbers seemed to be negligible in the face of determined resistance, revealing the discrepancies and inefficiencies that plagued the over-confident General’s Army.

Over the next five years, the Komnen would play cat and mouse with Ikran fighters, eventually gaining control over the main oil bearing areas,  even leaving some Incan artifacts completely unguarded. They suffered staggering due to lack of coordination, discipline and low morale of troops.

Eventually the Komnen hold on the hills became tenuous. The guerrillas had been slowly picking away at Komnen barricades and hastily erected defenses.  Areas of the line were being broken at key locations with hostile intent and then the gaps were widened when Ikran and Hads Zhu soldiers poured in to shock assault the surprised defenders. The King at the time was appalled when he heard that the hills were one by one falling out of their hands. The trouble didn’t stop there; an even larger battle was being fought back in Komnen. The masses were beginning to pick up on the corruption that was inherent in the General’s Army, and began wearying of the long list of casualties brought home. Riots and anti-war protests were frequent and unusually large for a population subjugated to propaganda for most of their lives. There were even full scale uprisings, which the Office of Komnen Military Intelligence quickly suppressed.

Eventually the General’s Army, wounded and infuriated, was reluctantly pulled out of Ikran. The reasons were never fully revealed to the public, but it was obvious that the Ikran nation was not going to relinquish its sovereign ground. This war revealed the inefficiencies of the General’s Army dramatic fashion, but perhaps more importantly, revealed the contempt and corruption of the Komnen Monarchy.