Zygrab Pass Border Incidents

The Zygrab Pass Border Incidents, often known as the War of Motekin's Hill, were a series of interactions between troops along the Hetland-Lavinia border from the end of the Second Leersog War to the start of the War in Lavinia in 530, typically between Syrvanian troops of the 1st Motor Rifles Battalion, sometimes accompanied by personnel of the Hettic Republican Army, and Lavinian troops of the XIV Mountain Guard Regiment. These interactions were non-hostile, generally consisting of fist-fights or various types of competitions held between the personnel of either side on a small gravel hill in Zygrab Pass.

As there were no markers indicating the border in the area, Syrvanian/Hettic and Lavinian personnel would use the small gravel hill as an observation point. The hill would be named "Motekin's Hill" after Lavinian Cpl. Andrey Motekin, who, in the first of the incidents, beat Syrvanian Sgt. Mivaszh Graczy in a fist-fight for control of the hill in early 528.

While relaying the story of the incidents in 562, Motekin stated that "they didn't really tell us where the lines were, so we had to draw them ourselves. We couldn't do that with our guns, since those were for war, so we did it with our fists instead. Then that got boring, so we found other ways."

History
According to witnesses, the inciting incident was the result of two patrols - one Syrvanian and one Lavinian - encountering each-other near the hill simultaneously. While no personnel from either side spoke the other's language, an exchange of shouts and taunts over distance eventually led to one of the Syrvanians, Sgt. Graczy, dropping his weapons and removing his uniform, approaching the Lavinian patrol while gesturing aggressively. One of the Lavinians, Cpl. Motekin, did similarly in turn. The two met at the top of the hill, while their respective squads gathered around the base. Motekin managed to knock Graczy off the hill, at which point the Syrvanians departed "leaving a trail of foreign epithets behind them".

A series of "rematches" would take place irregularly over the following two weeks, establishing the winner as the side which controlled the hill for that day. Although reprimands were issued in the wake of the first official reports, fights for the hill would continue with increasing regularity, and would eventually become organized as Syrvanian, Hettic, and Lavinian patrols would begin bringing interpreters. Later, patrols would arrange different types of contests such as foot-races, card games, and eating competitions to determine control of the hill for a given time.

The Zygrab Pass incidents would end just before the War in Lavinia in 530, when a Syrvanian cavalry horse broke a leg during an attempt at a bareback horse-riding competition for the hill, prompting battalion-level action to prevent further interactions. Lavinian Border Forces Command also delineated a buffer zone through the Zygrab Pass, which included the area around Motekin's Hill.