Author's note: The Prologue was originally written as a bit of an info dump. I decided that this info dump was unnecessary to the current plot of Kaz. I have moved the History of Klavan and Janaro to a new post that you can read at your leisure instead.

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The landlocked hills of Klavan are bordered by scorching desert to the north and east, while deadly swamps lie to the south. In contrast, the Republic of Janaro was bordered by a vast ocean to the west and north while sharing the same mountain range to the east and the swamp to the south. The only way between the two countries was a pass in the lengthy mountain range which the House of Zhakar now controls. The House of Klavan had been established by one of Janaro’s greatest generals, Venta Klavan. After a failed coup to dissolve the Janaroian Senate and raise himself as Emperor, Klavan took most of the Janaro Army’s elite soldiers and escaped to the vast plains just past what is now known simply as the Pass.

In response to this, of course, the Republic of absolutely furious. While popular opinion remained divided on whether or not Venta Klavan was right to try and take over, reasoning that perhaps the Senate which had long been corrupted should be at least reformed. However, being the mercantile naval superpower that it is, the Republic had massive amounts of gold that they used to hire mercenaries, upkeep a military force of nearly a million soldiers, and placate the commoners with monthly money. Most of these soldiers, however, were not actually professional land soldiers. The vast majority of them were trained as sailors and marines, able to offer the strongest protection to the huge trading vessels that brought an unimaginable amount of profit for the Republic.

Having enjoyed no major enemies since their conquest of a now forgotten people a millennium ago, the invasion of the nomadic tribes through the Pass shocked every person in Janaro 250 years ago. From the ashes of a nation unskilled at land warfare, a former bandit chief named Venta Klavan rose to prominence. He quickly persuaded a small army’s worth of men to follow him against the nomads. Following several decisive victories that slowed the progression of the invasion, Klavan’s criminal record was erased and he was given the position of Grand Marshal of Janaro. With the full backing of Janaro, Klavan mercilessly crushed the nomadic warlord’s army of mostly horsemen, pushed back the invaders, and invaded the Great Plains through the Pass. Like a snake with its head cut off, the nomads could no nothing but fight a losing battle. Their horseman were highly maneuverable, but their flint spears and arrows were no match for the iron-clad legions that Klavan commanded. After only four short years had passed since the initial invasion the plainsmen were conquered, and Klavan subsequently became the most beloved person in Janaro. Then a month passed, and Klavan became the most wanted person in Janaro after his failed coup.

The coup failed because the man assigned to assassinate the Chancellor of Janaro was not a spy, but simply a swordmaster. It was a twist of irony that the Chancellor who ordered the Janaroian Senate to forgive Venta Klavan of his crimes as a bandit lord was now subject to an amateur assassination. Decades of secret plotting and betrayals had honed the paranoia of every Janaroian Senator as sharp as a razor’s edge, especially that of the Chancellor’s. The “assassin” was promptly discovered, tortured, and the plan revealed. Venta Klavan rallied his personal guard, broke through the Janaro capital’s City Watch, and reunited with his forces on the other side of the riverbank across the city. Klavan’s army underwent a forced march until they escaped through the Pass. Having formerly subjugated the warring tribes of the plains, Klavan held great respect and honor in their eyes. The nomadic tribes pledged loyalty to Klavan once he sent them an ultimatum, which they accepted quickly knowing Klavan’s lack of patience and mercy.

The Janaroian Senate quickly conscripted a larger army primarily composed of new recruits and mercenaries, and sent them after Klavan through the Pass. Anticipating this, Klavan let the Janorian forces through the Pass. He then ambushed the newly formed force of 300,000 soldiers with his 100,000 elite infantryman supplemented with another 30,000 elite nomadic cavalry. The area of the Plains just outside of the pass saw quite possibly the most brutal battle in history up to that point. Outmaneuvering his opponent in the field, Klavan routed the Janaroian army then cut off their escape with another 15,000 infantry that he held in reserve. Faced with a total loss, the Janaroian commander surrendered, and pledged his loyalty and that of his remaining 150,000 men to Klavan.

Klavan promptly cut off the man’s head, and ordered his army to massacre the remainder of the Janaroian forces. The formerly dry plains outside of the Pass became thick with blood, so thick that a bloody river ran down the side of the hill where the battle ended. Klavan had the chance to counter-invade Janaro at this point, but his men were exhausted at near rioted after being forced to massacre their countrymen in cold blood. Klavan then announced that he was creating a new dynasty to rule what was once the Great Plains. He modelled his country’s government mostly like that of Janaro’s, but kept it in a constant state of military rule with Klavan himself as the Grand Marshal. In this case, the title of Grand Marshal and Emperor were one and the same, as only those worthy militarily of carrying on Klavan’s legacy could rule. With the Pass being of utmost importance to the survival of his new empire, Klavan assigned his most trusted lieutenant, the first Lord Zhakar, to guard the Pass at all costs. Iron was discovered in the hills in the middle of the plains, and Klavan made his capital

Meanwhile, the Republic of Janaro knew when they had been thrown a bone, but slowly rebuilt its strength over the next fifty years, never even thinking of peace with the new Empire of Klavan. Fifty years after Klavan’s massacre at the Pass, Janaro launched an invasion of Klavan, seeking to reconquer the land that was taken from them as well as punishing the Empire for the actions of Klavan. Anticipating that one day the Janaroian invasion would occur, Lord Zhakar kept his lands and the Pass in a strict rule with a garrison of 20,000 elite soldiers. These top infantryman were able to fend off the Janaroian forces for nearly 200 years. They were constantly reinforced as needed from the prestigious military academy at Klavan’s capital of Samara. As a matter of fact, it became recognized as an honor to be able to be sent to reinforce the Blood Citadel at the Pass, so there was no shortage of top recruits pining to be selected.

Ever since, the two great countries have been at war.