Three weeks after the second Imperial assault, the Sovereign League's guerrilla campaign began with a coordinated strike against three Imperial supply convoys simultaneously.
Elion led the western operation personally. Intelligence from Rashid had identified a major supply line—merchant ships carrying weapons and provisions from Imperial ports to the newly occupied Emirates. The convoys traveled predictable routes with minimal protection, never expecting attack far from conflict zones.
"Twenty shadow soldiers, myself, Kael, and Senna," Elion reviewed the team. "We hit fast, take what we need, sink what we can't carry, and disappear before reinforcements arrive."
They intercepted the convoy at night, three ships sailing through dark waters. Shadow soldiers swam beneath the vessels while Elion's boat approached under false merchant colors.
"Imperial supply convoy, this is independent trader Wave Dancer," Kael called across the water. "We're experiencing engine trouble. Can you spare a mechanic?"
The lead supply ship slowed, suspicious but not alarmed. These were supply vessels, not warships—they weren't prepared for combat.
That was their fatal mistake.
Shadow soldiers erupted from the water, swarming onto the ships. Sailors scrambled for weapons but were overwhelmed within minutes. Elion boarded the lead vessel, his sword cutting through minimal resistance.
"Secure the cargo," he commanded. "Take weapons, medicine, food. Anything useful."
The operation took fifteen minutes. They transferred valuable supplies to their own ship, then shadow soldiers punched holes in the convoy's hulls below the waterline. The three supply ships began sinking slowly.
"Any survivors will reach shore," Elion told his crew. "We're not murderers. But the Empire needs to know their supply lines aren't safe."
They vanished into the night, leaving wreckage and confused survivors behind.
Similar operations played out across the region. Kira's forces struck northern supply routes, using ice magic to freeze ships in place while stripping them of cargo. Yuki's jungle fighters ambushed overland convoys attempting to navigate eastern territories. Rashid, operating from the Sanctuary, led raids deep into the occupied Emirates targeting weapons depots and communication facilities.
The Empire's response was immediate and furious. They increased convoy protection, established patrol routes, and hunted for the raiders. But the Sovereign League had the advantage of knowing Imperial tactics—Rashid and Senna had both served in the Imperial military and understood their procedures intimately.
"They're reactive," Rashid explained during a strategy session. "Imperial military doctrine is all about overwhelming force applied to known threats. They're not good at adapting to asymmetric warfare."
"How long before they adapt?" Elion asked.
"Months, maybe. Imperial bureaucracy is slow. By the time they develop new doctrines, we'll have shifted tactics again."
The raids continued throughout the month. The League wasn't trying to win battles—they were trying to make Imperial operations expensive and difficult. Every destroyed convoy meant resources that didn't reach the front. Every disrupted communication line meant coordination failures. Every successful raid meant Imperial commanders looking over their shoulders.
But success came with costs. During a raid on an Imperial weapons depot, Kael's team was ambushed by a concealed quick-response force. Three shadow soldiers were destroyed, and Kael took a crossbow bolt to the shoulder before they could escape.
"They're learning," Kael said through gritted teeth as Helena treated his wound. "That wasn't standard garrison. They'd prepared a trap specifically for raiders."
"Then we get more creative," Elion said. "They expect us to hit supply lines and depots. What if we target something unexpected?"
"Like what?"
"Propaganda. We've been fighting military targets. What if we fight for hearts and minds instead?"
The idea evolved into Operation Truth-Teller. Instead of raiding supplies, they would infiltrate Imperial territories and spread accurate information about what the Empire was really doing—the Purity Laws, the destroyed settlements, the thousands killed or displaced.
"People in Imperial heartland don't know the truth," Mira said, developing the plan. "They're told the League are dangerous radicals threatening civilization. If we can show them reality—refugees fleeing oppression, communities fighting for survival—it changes the narrative."
They recruited former Imperial citizens living in the settlements, people with connections and knowledge of their former homes. Taught them to move unseen, to share information without getting caught, to plant seeds of doubt about Imperial propaganda.
The Truth-Tellers infiltrated Imperial cities and towns. They spoke in markets, taverns, and gathering places. They shared stories of refugees who'd fled the Purity Laws, of families torn apart by Imperial policies, of System Bearers building communities instead of threatening them.
At first, the impact seemed minimal. But slowly, reports began trickling back—resistance movements in Imperial provinces, soldiers deserting, merchants refusing to supply military operations. The Truth-Tellers were working, corroding Imperial authority from within.
The Empire noticed. Two months into the guerrilla campaign, they executed twelve people accused of spreading sedition. Public executions, meant to terrify others into silence.
It backfired spectacularly.
News of the executions spread quickly, carried by the same Truth-Teller network the Empire was trying to suppress. People who'd been uncertain about the League suddenly saw clear evidence of Imperial brutality. Recruitment to the resistance movements increased. More soldiers deserted. Even some Imperial nobility began quietly questioning whether the war against the System Bearers was justified.
"We're winning the information war," Mira reported. "Not the military war—the Empire is still vastly stronger. But the war for legitimacy, for moral authority? That, we're winning."
"It won't stop them from attacking us," Garrick warned. "Tyrants don't surrender just because people start questioning them."
"No, but it limits their options. They can't use maximum force if they're trying to maintain legitimacy. They can't treat us as simple rebels if significant parts of their population sympathize with us." Elion studied the intelligence reports. "We're forcing them to fight with one hand tied behind their back."
Three months into the guerrilla campaign, Lord Castor Meridian arrived at Shadowhaven again. This time, he came alone, in a small boat flying neutral colors.
"I must be getting soft in my old age," he said when Elion met him at the docks. "Coming here without an army to back me up. But we need to talk."
They met in private—just Elion, Mira, and the Imperial envoy.
"Your guerrilla campaign is effective," Meridian began bluntly. "Supply disruptions, communication breakdowns, propaganda undermining Imperial authority. The Emperor is... displeased."
"Good," Elion said.
"But also impressed. You've demonstrated that the League can't be defeated through conventional military means. Every assault just proves your resilience. Every crackdown creates more sympathy for your cause." Meridian leaned forward. "So the Emperor has authorized me to offer something unprecedented—a negotiated settlement."
Elion's eyebrows rose. "The Empire wants to negotiate? After two major assaults?"
"The Empire wants to end an expensive conflict that's becoming politically problematic. You've made yourselves too costly to destroy, at least not without sacrificing resources needed elsewhere." Meridian produced a document. "The offer: The Empire recognizes the Sovereign League as an autonomous region. Not independent, but not directly controlled. You govern yourselves, we don't interfere in your internal affairs, but you acknowledge nominal Imperial sovereignty. Think of it as... a special administrative status."
"What does the Empire get?" Mira asked.
"Face-saving. They don't have to admit defeat or recognize full independence. They can tell their population that the rebellious territories were brought back into the fold through wise governance rather than military force. And they get your agreement to stop the guerrilla operations and propaganda campaigns."
It was tempting. A path to end the conflict without more bloodshed, to secure protection for the settlements. But it was also a trap—accepting nominal Imperial sovereignty meant they could never be truly free.
"We need to discuss this with the League," Elion said.
"Of course. You have two weeks. But know that this is likely the best offer you'll receive. Reject it, and the Empire commits to total war. They'll redirect resources from other fronts, pull in allied kingdoms, throw everything at you. You've survived two assaults. You won't survive the third."
After Meridian departed, Elion called emergency League communication. The three System Bearers and Rashid gathered virtually to debate the offer.
"It's a trap," Kira said immediately. "Accepting nominal sovereignty means they control our future. Autonomous today, directly administered tomorrow."
"But it ends the war," Yuki countered. "Saves lives, gives us space to build. We could use years of peace to grow stronger."
"Or we could use those years to become comfortable, complacent, and then they absorb us when we're not looking," Rashid argued. "I accepted a version of this in the Emirates. Look how that turned out."
The debate continued for hours. Arguments flew back and forth—pragmatism versus principle, survival versus freedom, short-term peace versus long-term independence.
Finally, Elion called for a vote. Not just System Bearers, but all settlement populations. Everyone affected by the decision got a say.
The voting took a week. The results were closer than anyone expected:
Accept nominal sovereignty: 2,847 votes
Reject and continue resistance: 3,156 votes
Abstain/Uncertain: 421 votes
The people had chosen. By a narrow margin, they preferred continued resistance to compromise sovereignty.
"We reject the offer," Elion told Meridian when he returned. "The Sovereign League will remain fully independent. We're willing to negotiate trade agreements, non-aggression pacts, diplomatic recognition. But we won't accept any form of Imperial sovereignty, even nominal."
Meridian nodded slowly, as if he'd expected this answer. "Then the Empire will respond accordingly. The third assault is already being planned. It will make the previous two look like skirmishes."
"We'll be ready."
"I hope so. Because this time, the Emperor isn't interested in occupying your settlements. He's interested in erasing them. Making an example so complete that no other region ever considers defection." Meridian stood to leave. "I've grown to respect you, Baron Crestfall. That's why I'm telling you this—evacuate your civilians. Get them somewhere safe. Because what's coming won't distinguish between fighters and families."
The message was clear: the Empire was done with limited warfare. The next assault would be genocidal.
After Meridian left, Elion stood alone on the docks, watching the horizon. They'd won the guerrilla campaign, forced Imperial negotiation, proven their resilience.
And now they faced extinction