Apart from having a lot more nobles than Melhed, Thalmarkin also had a superior geographic strategic position. Walled regions like Lastfell and Qual were impenetrable, especially considering the active and good player base Thal's had. I am not sure which Thal's region you expect Melhed could've attacked, for Thal had borders in only two above mentioned regions, both filled with militia and easily reinforced by active mobile army. The only way Melhed could've dictated the war was amphibious landing, which Melhed tried, but if Melhed was to employ the all-out-attack strategy over the sea this would then open up the entire Melhedian hinterlands. And this is where number of nobles mattered again, for Thal could always easily spread out Melhed's limited numbers. Melhed never had a chance in the longterm, which is why I found it pointless to have Levon continuing exhausting myself (it was really tense with both time and planning, took more time than I had to invest) in a war that never could have been won for the above mentioned reasons. The war provided much interest though and the aftermath of the War of Ice and Sun is sure to have similar results.
Vore= Deathtrap
Qual=Deathtrap
Lastfell= Deathtrap
Every time attack on these regions were announced, Kalixta said "NO" or "hmm...interesting...(stays silent and hopes the suicidal idea goes away." Vore was too far, even if we somehow managed to take it before huge militias were raised to stop us, we would have left all our lands horribly open for too little return. Of course, we would also have to get through Qual, a 2-3 turn trip with enemy defenses and militia on the other end and a full army not far off. Not to mention the prospect of a return trip. The Melite army would have had to return to Agyr anyway, and if the Thal's caught them retreating from the mountain, it would have been a bad time. Finally lastfell. Attacking lastfell would be dumb for too many reasons.
The only viable option for assault that Kalixta ever saw were naval ones, forcing Thal Armies to defend their own coastlines rather than attack our regions, but I severely underestimated the really fast travel times the Thals had through their own badland regions, thinking we would have time to consolidate when we saw Thal reprisals coming, but Solari moved a lot faster than expected and cleaned House. Even so, she was ready to continue the naval attack strategy, but then the Thals decided to press in, forcing her to instead redirect and protect the homeland instead of her massive intended raid (the whole army was already in the Mouth of Agyr and Queen Maya had actually already landed). From that point on, offensive action became impossible as Melhed was hemorrhaging nobles and CS. That the Thals chose to use two armies instead of one was a bit of a godsend, while it lasted. One army we could handle. Even defeated, we always forced them home to refit. Suffices to say that did not last long, culminating in the crushing example of the Slaughter at Bil Havil. The call had went out days prior to rally in Bil Havil and prepare to defend it. Only 8k CS showed up to do so, which should give some pretty smashing insight into what was going on within Melhed at the time.
Before that happened though, Kalixta had an idea: Why not let Fronen have Llongrel, Tepmona, and Bil Havil? Thus cutting off Thal means of invasion by land via diplomacy? She was convinced that if that happened, the Thal offensive would be stopped in its tracks and she could again focus on naval raids, which she was certain that even ThalMarkin did not have the gold or manpower to adequately defend or reciprocate. She was calling for it, loudly, but it did not happen in time.
There were also some definite leadership issues. I'll be the first to admit that I am not nearly as experienced as my Thalmarkin counterparts were, and that was certainly apparent throughout the war. Thalmarkin had the benefit of being mentally prepared for war with Melhed. On the other hand, the idea of war with Thalmarkin had been mostly academic for us. Plans were not in place, and with the recent rebellion, leadership certainly was not cemented. We went through a slew of Generals, Kalixta bearing the burden of shame for being the one to lose the war. Kalixta and Maya were always butting heads after Maya became Queen. Not jealousy mind you, but the delegation of authority. Maya was always sending out orders that countermanded Kalixta's intentions. I am not saying some of those orders were not spot on, I think one was at least, but the rest caused setbacks.
Of course, Thalmarkin having near 50 active nobles made a difference. I am certainly not
faulting them for it, but I am looking forward to seeing ideas on how I could truly have
fought them effectively, too.
And every moment those aforementioned regions were out of Fronen control; Kalixta could feel the shadow of the Thalmarkin juggernaught bearing down on her. Pressured to deliver results, sometimes she had no choice but to follow the Queen's lead. In private, however, she generally raised a !@#$ storm, leading to estrangement between the two alpha-minded women. Frankly, despite the fact that she loves Maya like a kid sister, Kalixta did/does feel Maya was an opportunist, whether she believes her own con or not, and apparently she wasn't alone. It tore Melhed apart from within, especially when the terms of the treaty were laid down and culminating in the sudden and ill-advised rebellion. But the war was over at that point and therefore have no bearing on this topic. Finally, believe it or not, there were financial issues. Kalixta sponsored all the active armies and saw to it each night had enough gold out of her own personal accounts. I really don't know how much other nobles put forward, but Kalixta spent at least 5k helping other nobles refit every week, leaving her with barely enough for herself. She had to keep asking Yeux for money, and when asked why Agyr did not have a harbor to facilitate Dragonstrike, well, the only person that ever gave
her money was Yeux.
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