"Wars are not won with battles, they are won with intelligence and peace." - Sir Isaac Jones
The War of Africa, which began on February 19, 1821, quickly earned its place as one of the most gruesome conflicts of that time. The very first night saw a horrific massacre: 20,000 African soldiers cut down by a chilling, self-proclaimed religious cult known as "The Surge."
This terrifying movement was born in 1792, founded by Hugo the Great and his mere five initial followers. Hugo, a notorious 16-year-old criminal, carried a history of 20 murders and 10 robberies. Yet, by 1800, his cult had exploded to an estimated 45,000 believers—a number representing almost a quarter of the entire African army at that time. Their combat prowess was legendary; equipped with poisonous swords and mounted on horses wearing light armour, they vastly outmatched the African army, who fought with conventional swords, daggers, and horses lacking any protection.
The Surge unveiled their true horror in 1820 with their first significant attack on a village. What they termed "liberation" was, in fact, the slaughter of every single resident. With their ranks now at a staggering 120,000, they were a force to be reckoned with. Faced with this burgeoning threat, the African Army, commanded by the resilient Renard the Warrior, rapidly expanded its numbers to 400,000 through a sweeping conscription drive.
With the African Commander, Renard, growing increasingly worried, he started formulating desperate plans to eliminate them. The initial years of the war, spanning from 1821 to roughly 1835, were a brutal grind. The Surge, fuelled by fanaticism and their terrifying, unpredictable tactics, repeatedly decimated African forces. Renard suffered several crushing defeats, his attempts to counter their poisonous blades and zeal proving costly. He learned, through horrific trial and error, that conventional warfare was insufficient against an enemy who welcomed death and showed no mercy. The African armies were forced to adapt, developing new anti-toxin remedies and training specialized units to counter the Surge’s mounted shock troops, slowly but painstakingly eroding their initial advantages.
The middle phase of the war, from 1836 to 1860, saw the conflict descend into a bloody stalemate. The Surge, while still formidable, began to lose its rapid growth, their expansion checked by the now hardened and tactically superior African forces. Key victories, such as the Battle of the Crimson Plains in 1845, where Renard finally managed to outmaneuver a major Surge detachment, began to turn the tide. Yet, Hugo the Great remained elusive, his charisma seemingly undiminished, continuing to inspire his followers even as their numbers dwindled from battle. The war became less about grand campaigns and more about brutal, localized skirmishes, each village, each waterhole, a fiercely contested prize. Generations grew up knowing nothing but the constant shadow of the Surge, their lives defined by conflict and survival.
The final decade of the war, leading to 1871, saw The Surge pushed into an increasingly desperate defensive. Their once vast territories shrank, their poisonous swords became less of a terrifying novelty and more of a desperate measure against an enemy that had found its resilience. In 1868, after a relentless three-year campaign, Renard’s forces cornered Hugo the Great in the desolate Ashfall Mountains. The final confrontation was short and brutal. Hugo, now an ancient, gaunt figure, fought with the same feral intensity he had shown as a teenager, but his power was broken. He was finally cut down by Renard himself, ending the reign of terror he had cultivated for over seven decades.
The death of Hugo the Great did not immediately end the war; scattered pockets of fanatical Surge believers continued to fight for another three years, convinced of his resurrection. But without their prophet, their cohesion fractured, their poisonous zeal turning to desperate, uncoordinated acts of violence. By February 19, 1871, exactly fifty years after the first massacre, the last significant Surge stronghold fell. Africa was left scarred and weary, but victorious. The war had reshaped the continent, forging new alliances and leaving an indelible mark on its people, but The Surge, and the monstrous ambition of Hugo the Great, was finally extinguished.
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