Aarnieu Triangle Conflict

The Aarnieu Triangle Conflict was an ongoing series of sometimes violent disputes between Lathadun and Ordrish authorities and watermen in the waters of the Salian Sea and the headwaters of the Aarnieu Delta, beginning roughly in 1845 and continuing intermittently into the present day.

19th Century
In the mid-to-late 19th century, both Ordrey and Lathadu experienced rapid booms in population thanks to improved agricultural practices and increased industrialization. This led to an increase in fishing activity near the mouth of the Aarnieu Delta and in the Salian Sea from both nations, especially due to depleted stocks further north resulting from extensive Salian and Ordrish overfishing. The proximity and volume of Ordrish and Lathadun fishing fleets operating in the region in the mid 1800s is generally described as the start of the Aarnieu Triangle Conflict.

The first outbreak of violence related to the conflict is recorded to have occurred in 1853. In the winter of that year, authorities in the Ordrish city of Forbes passed an ordinance which outlawed dredging, while the Lathadun Federation allowed it until 1873. Following the ban, Lathadun oyster vessels venturing north into Ordrish water continued the practice of dredging, much to the disdain of the Ordrish. This culminated in an improvised fleet of Ordrish fishing vessels seeking out the offending Lathadun vessels. Offenders who were caught often had their catches seized, and many were beaten. Those who fled were pursued back into Lathadun waters; one Lathadun fishing vessel, the Mucvarrey, is reported to have been sunk after being rammed by an Ordrish vessel. However, the long and proud tradition of smuggling and hidden alcoves that existed in the Aarnieu Delta of that time meant that all but the slowest Lathadun vessels could easily withdraw with impunity away from these home-grown fleets.

Although tensions reduced to a simmer following the dredging conflicts, they did not subsist permanently. In the 1870s, Ordrey imposed license fees, seasonal limits, and other measures in its waters to prevent overharvesting and preserve fish and shellfish populations. However, the official border between Lathadun and Ordrish waters was ill-defined at the time, and many areas in which the new regulations were to be enforced had traditionally been fished by Lathaduns. The Ordrish expanded their enforcement capabilities in order to stamp out what they saw as illegal activity; the Lathaduns responded by operating out of marshy island hideouts and fishing at night to avoid detection. This led to their being labeled as "ápcimríath", or pirates. With the chaos of the Silent Years' final days in full swing, there were no major authorities of which to appeal on Lathadu's end. When enforcement vessels began night patrols, Lathadun fishermen responded by throwing bombs from their vessels at pursuing revenuers. Again, a small-scale war raged across the region, until the firm reestablishment of order in Lathadu under the regime of Carmac Kneale led to the establishment of a more modern system of quotas and conservation.

However, the issue of whose waters were whose persisted. Lathadu and Ordrey maintained overlapping claims over the waters and marshy isles of the delta, leading to occasional clashes. These clashes often ended in reprisals; an Ordrish crew of fisherman being detained would invariably lead to the torching of a Lathadun fishing camp in Ordrish-claimed waters.

20th Century
Such conflicts were an everyday part of life leading well into the 20th century, although they experienced a pause during the World Wars. Even during these, however, the effects of the Aarnieu Triangle Conflict lingered. For example, when Salian forces attempted an invasion of the Aarnieu Delta during the Second World War, Lathadun partisans used the same hidden fishing camps as hideouts between operations harassing Salian forces and supply lines. Following the resolution of the Third World War, Lathadu and Ordrey's diplomatic closeness led to a general thawing over these already minor border tensions. While not perfectly resolved, the border between Lathadun and Ordrish waters became more corporeal, with understandings all around of who could fish where and to what degree. This uneasy peace, however, was shattered in the late 20th century during the Ordrish Revolution.

As Ordrey began to dissolve into infighting between the forces of the Second Republic and Noyonist forces in 1975, Lathadu watched eagerly from the sidelines. While hopeful of a Noyonist victory due to their ideological proximity with Lathadu's own Radical Federalists, many saw a weakened Ordrey as an opportunity too good to pass up. With the country in a fully-fledged civil war, the presence of the Ordrish gendarme in the delta was minimal outside Forbes itself. Lathadun coast guard members, many disguising themselves as fishermen, sailed into the disputed middle-waters of their own volition. From there, they landed on many of the marshy islands and banks in the region, before disembarking and claiming the islands themselves. This in and of itself was not as aggressive as it may first seem; indeed, the vast majority of these islands did not even host permanent populations, and many of those that did had been partially or wholly evacuated due to the conflict.

The Lathadun government quietly announced its support of the sailors' actions and its claim of ownership over the islands and surrounding waters. The Ordrish government, already embroiled in revolution, could do little to rebuke them. To make matters worse, Gladomyr had acted much the same way to the north, except that the Myrish now occupied sizeable stretches of formerly Ordrish land. The Ordrish Revolution lasted two more years, into 1978 with the establishment of The Collective Commonwealth of Ordrey. Once internal order was restored, one of the government's first acts was to send littoral patrol vessels into the waters between Ordrey and Lathadu, so as to restore Ordrish claim over the islands and the old borders with them. In an incident now immortalized in the cultural continuum between the two nations, Lathadun fishermen on the island of Booaellan single-handedly repelled the onslaught of an Ordrish PT vessel. The fishermen, many of whom were inebriated in celebration of the annual Festival of the Moons celebrated across Lathadu, began pelting the vessel and its crew with food and drink. This included a great many roast chickens, which had been prepared for the feast.

The 1978 "Battle of Booaellan" quickly flooded the newsstands of both nations. Thankfully, cooler heads on both ends prevailed; the story was satirized heavily, and neither government was particularly concerned with upping the ante. With the consolidation of Ordrish and Lathadun naval forces in the region following a 2007 agreement between those nations, the likelihood of the issue turning to violence reduced even moreso. Today, the freedom of goods, labor, and people between both nation largely negates the conflicts of the past, but locals of both nations will proudly regale listeners with the tales of their ancestors from the Aarnieu Triangle Conflict.

Today
As the Battle of Booaellan slips further and further into the pages of history, citizens on both sides of the regional conflict have settled into a new, well-humored status quo. Indeed, annual festivals meant to recall the bravery of watermen of either nation are often celebrated in both. During the annual Lathadun Smuggler's Festival, enjoyed from Usghteyghoo to the sea, many reenact the fateful battle of legend by throwing roast chickens at floats built to look like boats, or indeed at boats crewed by mock Ordrish sailors. However, these parades (both with and without the chickens) can be observed in Ordrey at this time as well. Likewise, the practice of burning Lathadun boats in effigy was originally an Ordrish tradition, but has made its way to Lathadu.