21.17 The total conquest/victory over major cities.

One of the most significant differences between the consequences of warfare and the fall-out from a combat between two individuals is the extent and permanence of harm done to the defeated, the scale of spoils afforded to the victor, and - for some as important as any material wealth - the indelible mark made on the ever unfolding history of the land. Although treaties and divine negotiators tend to involve themselves in aiding peace settlements long before anything so serious as a complete annihilation of one party is countenanced, the theory remains that if a victorious group was so inclined they could chase down and slay every last defender, besiege, raze to the ground and plunder every construction, all the opponent's wealth, possessions, commodities and artifacts; burn down and pillage, to an irretrievable extent, the homeland of the defeated foe.

Guilds could be closed down, academies destroyed, city councils and ministries rendered homeless and impotent... whole cities can be made vassals to the victor; the possibilities and stakes of War are near-limitless and should cause even the most staunch of warmongerer to reflect a moment on the spectrum of outcomes - victory to defeat - merciful occupation to sadistic conquest - futures unknown. Warfare, even more so than the divine ordination, can have the mightiest impact on the land and thus there are many commands/orders to deal with the process of conquest, plunder and reordering enemy soil freshly laid bare and undefended.

This section details the occupation and conquest of a major city. See HELP OCCUPATION and HELP CONQUEST for details on occupation/conquest of towns and villages within one's sphere of influence: an entirely less momentous event though extremely important in its own right. See HELP RECONSTRUCTION for information on the period following a conquest - should the invaded city or guild survive the conflagration and be left in a position to rebuild.

War cannot continue forever. Eventually the battlefield actions are over and the victorious legions may mount an invasion against the loser's home sphere of influence (see HELP INFLUENCE). The victor may not stop at seizing enemy's sphere but instead press on to the very homeland of their opponent. This is likely to precipitate the most emotionally-charged conflict in Avalon: a full-scale invasion versus the final defence of one's homeland. Consequences for both sides are enormous. Invasions are costly in terms of equipment and life, likely to face well-prepared defensive positions, and always a uniting force to bring peoples together to protect their homeland.

The successful execution of an invasion comes in various stages: firstly breaking through the outer defences (fortified gatehouses, siegetower and troop lines, trench positions, etc) to penetrate into the homeland proper; secondly the routing of the defending armies to leave the homeland unprotected; thirdly the besieging of homeland constructions, buildings, leftover positions etc; fourthly the plundering of the undefended homeland locations; fifthly the razing (or destruction) of defenceless, plundered locations across the entire homeland. Finally, the undisputed occupation of all key positions in the homeland (city milestones, gatehouses and subjegation of the royal palace and council chambers). Alongside this occupation the invader spreads its sphere of influence across the invaded territory until such a point as the sphere covers it totally.

Thus, the invader has destroyed all defending armies, all defensive fortifications/positions, besieged/plundered/razed all applicable constructions (holy locations, i.e. divinely marked, are exempt) and spread an undisputed, undefeated sphere of influence to raise the invader's flag in every location of the defeated land. This leads to the denouement: CONQUEST. Fortfied siegetowers are erected at the milestones of the conquered city, outside of all remaining permanent buildings and - last of all - in the palace and council chamber. Each siegetower then raises aloft the flag of the conquering force and to all of Avalon: DECLARE OCCUPATION.

One full Avalon year must pass with the occupying armies and their siegetowers in tact, their flags of conquest raised in full and open declaration of glorious conuest. If this criteria is satisfied the noble leader of the invading forces may stand before the monarch of the occupied city and type: DEMAND SUPPLICATION. The monarch, if they have no-one to call upon, will supplicate before the conquerer opening the door to the ultimate act: the conquering leader stands at the public central milestone, the foundingstone, and issues the fateful comand: DECLARE CONQUEST.

At this point the conquerer must make epoch-making choices: specifically, whether to impose total conquest or to allow the conquered city to continue in some modified or subservient form. See HELP REGENCY for one of the options available to a victorious power, to impose a form of interim government on the occupied major city without the necessity of its complete destruction.

Perhaps the conquerer is not so lenient. In which case DECLARE ERADICATION is the command; typed by the conquering leaders - it being necessary for each to assent - to impose total conquest. Should this historical declaration be made, the destiny of the conquered land will be sealed: it will cease to exist as an independent entity. Its locations will become a permanent part of the conquerer. Its citizens will be absorbed by the conquerer. Newborns will cease. Its institutions will be defunct, replaced by those of the conquering forces. Its history will have come to an end.