Editing Age Of Dragons: Alliance of Light (section)

===Building Strength===

With the ''Ashen Lands'' lying between the ''Alliance'' and the ''Ascendancy'' it became impossible for either side to advance any further. Though the ''Ashen Dragons'' could not compare to the might of either major faction, they had enough strength to tip a full-scale war one way or the other. The ''Ashen'' forbade any incursions of army or war-flight into their domain, and so no major battle was joined. Neither was it possible to flank around the ''Ashen Lands''. To the west was the ''Heart Forest'', impenetrable and dangerous, and to the East the ''Unending Sand'', a desert too arid, barren and lifeless for any army to cross or for any Dragon to fly across. Small aerial feints round the flanks might be possible, but certainly no major ground assault would be possible.

The ''Ascendancy'' and ''Alliance'' thus set about building strength, and though both raised mortal armies also set about building aerial strength in their own way. 

The ''Ascendancy'' set to empowering their dragons, by sharing secrets of the demonic ''Lore of Night'', and sought to increase numbers by setting up mandatory breeding programs to birth new hatchlings in massive communal ''Hives''. They also sought to summon demonic allies, and to unearth ancient monsters from deep beneath the ground to serve their will. The ''Ascendancy'' strategy was based on the fact that should their strength be great enough, they would be able to continue their sweep south, crushing the ''Ashen Kingdoms'' first if they resisted.

The ''Alliance'' approach was somewhat more haphazard and varied according to the styles of the different Breeds: 

The ''Solars'' continued their diplomacy, aiming to tempt dragons of different breeds away one by one rather than en masse. They managed to reform the ruling Council a little so that it was clear that Councillors represented the ''Alliance'' as a whole rather than their respective breeds, and even opened their gates to Dragons of breeds associated with the ''Ascendancy''. So long as an individual ''Sable, Blood'' or ''Velvet'' was ready to renounce ''Endless Night'' they would be welcome. Despite discontent in the ''Ascendancy'' faction (resulting in no small part from the breeding programs in the ''Hives''), this remained an unattractive option to most, as they knew they would face hatred and prejudice for the colour of their scales. 

The ''Pure'' were less interested in expanding the ''Alliance'' and more interested in influencing it with their own culture. Over the course of time they made the ''Orthodoxy of the Mother Goddess'' something of a "state religion" for the ''Alliance'', even going so far at one stage as to purge "heretics" with an Inquisition that lasted just under a century before sanity was restored. Over time their strategies became more subtle, with proselytsing taking the place of forced conversion, and a shift in emphasis to targeting the mortal populations of their allies' lands. For them, cultural and religious unity was a vital goal, as it would hopefully ensure that the ''Alliance'' would grow strong, unified and with coherent goals when the Ascendancy finally attacked.

The ''Argents'' played as Hawks to the ''Solar'' doves. While the ''Solars'' advised caution and building of strength, the ''Argents'' determined that the war was already in full swing. If they could not march armies across the ''Ashen Lands'' they had to find other ways to push forward. They began several intiatives, the most famous of which was the founding of a brave band of ''Alliance'' dragons named the ''Farsky Rangers'', who would work in small groups deep in enemy territory sowing disruption with guerilla warfare, spying for vital information and sabotaging the ''Ascendancy's'' power build up. Other initiatives included the building of the ''Ironforge'' (an arms factory of blacksmiths and craftsmen dedicated to creating the tools of war), and the establishment of garrisoned ''Way Forts'' in ''Heart Forest'' and ''Thirsting Sands'' that would serve as resupply points for a flanking march.

The other breeds in the ''Alliance'' had too small numbers to lead such projects, and tended to fall in with the policies of one of the three ''Dragonbreeds of Order''. The ''Ghost Dragons'' were an exception, with a good number of the breed dedicated to creating a new home for themselves in the wasteland gifted to them as a refugee reservation, which they dubbed ''Ghosthome'', but which other ''Allies'' often unkindly referred to as ''the Graveyard'' or ''the Shanty''.

This build-up has continued to the present day, and all in all has lasted almost fifteen hundred years, thanks to continuing strengthening of the ''Ashen Kingdom'' and an inability by either side to find an advantage.

However, things are soon to change...
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[[Category:Age_of_Dragons]]