Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

The Second Northern War lasted for two years. It could be said to be the battle of the century.

Obviously, Olivia’s Kaer Morhen had everything to gain from the conflict.

This was because she was in a good relationship with the Nilfgaardian Empire. Furthermore, Geralt and Cirilla had struck up a friendship with the Northern Kingdoms. This way, Kaer Morhen could remain wholly neutral and reap benefits from both sides without any fear of ramifications.

The Kings of this world, and that included Nilfgaard’s Emperor Emhyr, were completely underestimating the power when magic and science fused and got used as weapons!

As the ashes of war crackled away, historians of different nationalities naturally came up with differing accounts of it. The Nilfgaardians recorded the war like so –

“The Empire and the North crossed swords again in 1267 to 1268. Following an uprising of treacherous mages on Thanedd Island, Nilfgaard could not in its goodwill, sit idly by as the North allowed magical destruction to go rampant. The Imperial Army took Lyria at lightning speed where they were met with little resistance. After a short campaign, our forces marched into Rivia and Vengerberg [1], where they were received by jubilant crowds who wanted nothing more than peace and civilization. We then advanced into Aedirn.

King Demavend’s [2] attempt to stop the Golden Sun’s triumphant march failed, and his forces were routed to the Pontar Valley [3] and Dol Blathanna [4].

Queen Meve [5] attempted to wage guerrilla warfare via the use of bandits and outlaws, of which the North had ample supply.

In a display of typical Nordling treachery, King Henselt [6] signed a truce with the Empire behind his allies’ backs, resulting in Aedirn quickly being vassalize.

His Imperial Majesty, in an act of supreme benevolence, created an elven state in Dol Blathanna, raising a bulwark of tolerance against the abhorrent racist Nordlings.

King Foltest of Temeria attempted to initiate a truce with the Empire. Even so, this Nordling’s word proved to have as much value as snow melting in the fields of spring. The truce lasted a mere sixteen days before it was violated. Foltest’s stupidity led to the Slaughter of Brugge, followed by a number of bloody battles in the Yaruga Valley [7]. In the face of senseless and uncontrolled violence, the Imperial Army’s leadership took it upon itself to tamp the bloodshed and ordered a retreat to Sodden.

Sadly, Foltest’s greed meant that hostilities resumed with the coming of spring. It found its peak at the Battle of Brenna, where our heroic forces faced an allied Temerian-Redanian force. To this day, the North considers said battle a turning point in the war. There is no point in debating its ethics. Far more important is the fact that this battle saw the clashing of two approaches: an honorable one, presented by the Imperial Army’s leadership, and one of trickery and deception, conducted by the Nordlings.

His Imperial Majesty saw this as the final stage. The Northern armies employed scorched-earth tactics, caring not at all for the pain they inflicted on civilian populations. Disgusted and unwilling to take part in this type of war, Nilfgaard withdrew its armies to the south. The Nordlings then mistakenly saw this as an admission of defeat.

Via the Emperor’s mediation, an armistice was drawn up and eventually signed in Cintra, putting an end to the Second Northern War.”

The Northern Realms’ historians, however, recorded this war, stating that there was no clear winner, only two heavily wounded factions –

“Unlike the First War, no clear aggressor could be determined in this one. In early 1267, the kings of the North met at Hagge to plan the recapturing of Cintra. Foreseeing their intentions, Emperor var Emreis amassed a large expeditionary force to gather at the Temerian border. He then masterminded a series of events that left the North ripe for invasion – a mages’ revolt erupting on Thanedd Island, Redania descending into chaos after King Vizimir’s assassination. All Emhyr needed now was a pretext. He got it when Aedirnian soldiers supposedly attacked the Nilfgaardian frontier fortress known as Glevitzingen. Armed with this excuse, Nilfgaardian forces marched North, and thus began the second war.

In the war’s first phase, the imperial offensive quickly swept over the North. The empire’s army started off by occupying southern Lyria. Rivia was next to fall after a brief siege. Then came the Battle of Aldersberg [8], followed by Menno Coehoorn’s [9] march into Vengerberg. King Henselt of Kaedwen had seized this opportunity to cripple his neighbor and promptly signed a treaty with Nilfgaard, while sharing a partitioned Aedirn between the two of them. Opportunistic elves joined the empire’s cause and for their trouble gained an independent realm in Dol Blathanna. King Foltest was the next rat to scurry from the sinking ship, signing a truce with Nilfgaard and grabbing for himself a portion of western Aedirn. Abandoned by his allies and left with the rump of his kingdom, Demavend, ruler of Aedirn, fled to seek shelter in Redania.

The war’s first stage ended and its second stage began when Nilfgaard broke its truce with Temeria after a mere fortnight and two days. Its forces quickly filed into Brugge and Sodden. Soon, both lands were awash in blood. In short order, Emhyr occupied all of southern Temeria and decimated Foltest’s troops at Maribor [10]. The shrewd emperor then retreated to Sodden for the winter, where he prepared for a renewed offensive come spring.

No war in history had been host to such fierce battles as those waged during the great Temerian offensive. At least, the forces of the North were united, proved a worthy opponent and slowed the Nilfgaardian advance. This provided Emhyr’s internal enemies with an opening to set in motion a plot designed to depose him. Weakened by the infighting (known as the Conspiracy of Nobles), the myth of its invincibility shattered, Nilfgaard then saw its mightiest army routed by northern forces near Brenna. The tide of war had clearly turned.

Thus began the war’s fourth and final phase. The North staged a counter-offensive, forcing the Imperial Army into a slow and bloody retreat. It was only a matter of time before armistice talks began, temporary truce lines were drawn, and the war draws to a close. Delegates from all parties to the conflict convened in Cintra to draft a peace treaty and establish a new world order. On the 2nd of April, 1268, the Peace of Cintra was signed, bringing an end to the Second War against Nilfgaard.”

…

While the Northern Realms’ forces suffered heavy casualties, various riots started sprouting up in the Nilfgaardian Empire. Olivia suddenly announced herself as Empress Regnant of a country that she just founded. This came as a shock to everyone, as she had always laid low for the most of the war. At most, someone would mention something about the daughter of Emperor Emhyr amid graver news of death and tragedy. She set off with an army that would easily duke it out with a modern army, prepared to conquer the entire continent!

This was ridiculous. Even if the two forces were severely hurt and affected by the war, how could a small neutral force like Olivia hope to cause any ripples?

Once again, the reality blew everyone away!

Translation note:

[1] “Vengerberg” (范格堡) is the capital city of Aedirn and was once one of the richest and most populous metropolises (numbering six thousand inhabitants) in the Northern Kingdoms.

[2] “King Demavend” (国王德马维) was the king of Aedirn.

[3] “Pontar Valley” (庞塔尔谷) surrounds the river Pontar that cuts a swathe through the Continent, covering the territories of northern Aedirn, southern Kaedwen, southeastern Redania, and northeastern Temeria.

[4] “Dol Blanthanna” (多尔布雷坦纳) also known as the Valley of Flowers in Elder Speech, was a kingdom and now an allod to Aedirn.

[5] “Queen Maeve” (米薇女王) was a queen of Lyria and Rivia, known for her wisdom and beauty.

[6] “King Henselt” (亨赛特国王) was the king of Kaedwen, formally styled as His Majesty Henselt, King of Kaedwen, heir to the Dynasty of the Unicorn, Lord of Ard Carraigh, Archduke of Ban Ard, and vanquisher of Nilfgaard.

[7] “Yaruga Valley” (雅鲁加河谷) is the largest river in the Northern Kingdoms, beginning in the Blue Mountains and flowing westward all the way to the Great Sea.

[8] “Battle of Aldersberg” (艾德斯伯格的战事) took place after the invasion by Nilfgaard of Dol Angra. Talks between Nilfgaard and the north broke down and Queen Meve of Lyria and King Demavend of Aedirn decided to close the front.

[9] “Menno Coehoorn” (梅诺·寇赫伦) was a Nilfgaardian who served in the Imperial Army as Field Marshal.

[10] “Maribor” (马里波) is a principality and fiefdom of Temeria that lies south of its capital Vizima.