It was in the third year of his reign that the war began. The story of its beginning is muddled beyond recognition, but it is generally believed that it was not Handan’s fault.
Three hypothesis exist: the first, and most widely held among the Meron, is that Etana attempted to invade Korba, and when Meron intervened, the attack was turned on them. The second, held by the Korbeth, is that Meron refused to come into the fight, that the Korbeth held off the Etanans for some time before the Etanans gave up and focused their attention on Meron, their old enemy. The third, the Etanan perspective, is that Korba reneged on a trade agreement, Etana sent ships to negotiate, and Meron attacked them in their weak moment.
The truth will never be known. However, Handan carried his people through twenty-three years of conflict, through situations ranging from hostages to minor trade squabbles to pirating to outright battle.
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