“If one only reads the depictions from the history books, sometimes they might be fooled into thinking of wars as things that kept going until one side or the other was vanquished in its entirety, because those were the sorts of wars that get written about most often.

In actuality, most wars were much smaller conflicts, often halted once one side gained enough of an advantage over the other to force a compromise that was advantageous to them. Wars of extermination were rare, and only took place when great hatred already set root.” - From “History of Warfare, Past to Present”, by Manuela Elioch, circa 379 FP.

The year that followed was a peaceful one for the three former border duchies of Posuin, as well as the mercenaries they employed. Nestor’s offensive campaign successfully earned the goal they aimed for, as pledges of non-aggression came from both Kolitschei and Lovia-Hosberg within that period of time, ensuring a relative peace between the regions at least for the next few years.

Down in the south, Dvergarder’s forces achieved similar success against the Bostvan forces they neighbored, and forced their opponent to similarly sue for peace. With the treaties signed, the border duchies withdrew their forces and breathed a sigh of relief, though at the same time they never allowed their guard to slacken.

Their opposition – both from the Central faction and the Royal faction – were split amongst themselves. The northern assault had exposed the fraying seams of the alliance of convenience between the centrals, as the forces at Gestis and Oleynuos had simply watched while their neighbors were under assault, giving various excuses as to why they failed to render aid in time.

Because of the divide, Duke Emil Bostvan of the Royal faction couldn’t help but to pay close attention to his erstwhile allies to the north, as the divide showed how unreliable they were. The peace treaties half of the Central duchies signed with the border faction further worried him, as it opened the possibility that those duchies might choose to work together against him in the future.

The three-way standoff continued with none of the forces involved possessing enough power to force their will on the other two, because should any one of them attempt to do so, the other two powers would most likely band together to resist them. That suited the border faction just fine, as they merely wished to keep to their lands without being bothered.

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Over the year, several mercenary companies working for the border faction faced the end of their contract period. Some signed on for more, serving as additional garrison forces for their employers. Others chose to leave, as the region was clearly heading towards a prolonged period for peace, and they wished to look for more lucrative employment in regions with more conflict.

Yet others chose to leave because they needed time to rest and recuperate from the losses they suffered while working in Posuin. The Silver Eagles was one such company. While the amount of casualties they took overall was quite heavy, it was not the main reason for their decision. Rather, it was the divide that happened within their ranks that forced them to such a decision.

Ser Guillaume du Riffons was injured during the battle that took place when the forces from Algenverr clashed with those of Lovia-Hosberg during Nestor’s campaign. The battle had been a small one, with the forces of Lovia-Hosberg withdrawing in defeat after losing barely a thousand men. There were some casualties on the Algenverrian side as well, however, and the old knight had the misfortune to be one of them.

While the injury he suffered was by no means crippling – especially with the aid rendered by the healers that took care of him upon the expedition’s return – it made the old mercenary captain decide that he was perhaps no longer suitable for the battlefield. As such, he stepped down from his position and handed the company over to his children.

That was where the divide happened.

His two children had opposing opinions on where to take the company next, and each had their own supporters. They almost came to blows several times until the retired old man scolded both of his children and told them to just go on their own paths if they could not see eye to eye. No mercenary company could afford having more than one leader, as contradicting commands would easily spell disaster in the battlefield.

As a result, half of the Silver Eagles – who renamed themselves the Silver Falcons – followed the lead of Guillaume’s younger daughter Wilhelmina, mostly composed of the company’s infantry contingent, and headed to Knallzog to refill their number and recuperate. The other half – who called themselves the White Eagles – under the lead of Michel, the elder son, chose to head towards the Clangeddin empire where they sought after more lucrative contracts. With him was the majority of the company’s vaunted cavalry.

Of the other companies, the Janissaries extended their contract, taking up garrison duty in Algenverr, as the duchy had to divert a significant amount of their manpower to house and look after their influx of new citizens. As such, the usage of mercenaries to bolster their defenses and hunt down the bandit plague that sprouted up after any war was practically mandatory.

Similarly, the Hellraisers signed an extended contract with Dvergarder. Since the vast majority of the Hellraisers were dwarves who lived many times longer than humans, their idea of short-term contracts also differed, and as such Duke Sandoval Utghwes secured their services for another decade, where the experienced combat engineers would build new fortifications that further bolstered the defenses of the duchy.

The Free Lances on the other hand, bid their farewell to Duke Nestor – freshly instated as Duke after his mother chose to step down just a couple months before – late in the next year. Reinhardt chose to end the contract to rest and recuperate, but at the same time promised the young Duke that his Company would be back if they saw further unrest developing in the region.

It was an amicable parting, more like friends seeing each other off, rather than an employer sending off their employee.