Ethain Civil War

Following the reigns of Elion and his father Zarix the Ethain kingdom had expanded to be more than twice its previous size. Yet, due to the fast-paced subjugations and attempts at assimilation, there was tension in the kingdom. Then, when Elion died and his succession was questioned, it is not surprising that the kingdom showed signs of an impending fracture. Following Elion the king was to be his son Fexurok. Yet from somewhere rumors circulated that Fexurok was, like his father before, born of incest. It was said that Fexurok was born from Elion's sister, Alijah, with the palace somehow having been deceived by Elion's wife's child being switched soon after birth. This claimed "true son" arose in Furanke, where it was claimed that he was taken soon after Elion's wife's death. Seeing where sides were being drawn, Fexurok drew up his army and prepared for war. Yet it was not just this upstart royal claimant that he had to deal with. Aside from the entirety of the kingdom's western half splitting from the crown, many of the noble families in central and northern Etha, wielding the last vestiges of their power, rose up supporting a distant relative of Fexurok for the kingdom. "Royal Etha" had now shrunk substantially. His domain was limited to Ethaine and the eastern territories, though even Teroshi had rebelled and expelled the Ethain garrisons upon hearing news of the occurrences in the north. Although the situation did not look good, and Fexurok had shown a lack of heart following the developments, the king was spurred to action, largely by his sister's words. He quickly moved northwards to defeat the weaker nobles while they were still mustering together. He saw preliminary success in central Etha, taking several of the remaining castles there in rapid succession. The nobles and their candidate were forced farther and farther north, not being allotted any reprieve from the king. Shortly after his campaign started, the nobles capitulated, turning the claimant over to Fexurok to be executed. Fortunately, the threat in the west had been troubled by loyal garrisons which had prohibited his operations. He had yet to advance into Provune after nearly a year of hostilities. Less than fortunate for Fexurok, however, was the seeming refusal of Kuzaklem to follow royal orders. It had been over a century since it was conquered by the Ethains and it seemed now that the rulers were going native. The current governors claimed descent from Wellexrim, one of Sezzlic's companions, and it seemed more and more likely that they considered themselves kings rather than governors. Fexurok had desired them to attack his enemies in their south, but their failure to do so warned him that their loyalty, too, was low. Among the latest threat to appear was yet another Toruck incursion. They had, after the civil war had begun, started to prod up north to see the situation. Seeing that Teroshi was rebelling from the Ethains they once again set their sites upon it. With little time for rest, Fexurok set about moving west, leaving the rebellious Teroshi to their deserved fates. Months passed on the wide and open plains of Furanke without a conflict. Fexurok set about devastating the lands of any and all that had turned against him. Within a few months of this, the Furanke landholders seemed to have forced their candidate to protect their lands. Doing so, though, sealed his fate. Soon after the Ethain victory the king executed the pretender. He further executed any disloyal Furanke landholders that had joined the cause, establishing a system of appointed governorships. Turning his attention back east to finally reclaim Teroshi, he found that much of the region had resisted the Toruck invasion and had lost huge amounts of their population to either genocide or slavery. Arriving in Teroshi, the king once again saw off the Toruck and re-subjugated Teroshi. This time he ended any illusion of a temporary Ethain presence. The cities were organized into administrative sectors akin to Furanke. By 1220 the whole situation had ended with a royalist victory. Yet now the king had turned his sights back south, not towards the Toruck, but towards Kuzaklem. Upon demanding a reaffirmation of loyalty the king got a meager response of lip-service, which was fully disregarded when the governor, a few years later, declared himself king of Kuzaklem. This was not something that the king could let stand, and so he dispatched a force to capture the rebellious governor. The endeavor was, ultimately, a failure, as the invasion was repulsed and limped back to Etha. Forced to acknowledge this breach of loyalty and the independence of Kuzaklem, the king turned inwards. Many of the nobles who had joined the rebellion were executed and their houses stripped of their titles and lands. This left very few noble houses left in Etha, a notable survivor being the king of Aroenda who, as always, was loyal to the Ethain king. In fact, the Aroendese kingship enjoyed many privileges due to their loyalty and the nature of their kingdom being one that submitted to the Ethain king willingly. The bureaucracy in Etha was expanded greatly, now fully usurping the role of the nobility for raising soldiers and taxes.