The Great Rebellion
The Conflict
Prelude
For almost 2000 years the Kingdom of Man prospered under the leadership of House Highlander and the eight Old Blood Houses. Roughly around the year 7000 or so, four new families rose to prominence due to their accumulation of wealth and the development of artifice magic. These four families became what was know as the New Blood Houses, and were granted similar rank and power as the Old Blood Houses. However, the New Bloods this power was in name only and the New Blood Houses were treated with disdain and resentment by many of the Old Blood Houses and their Old Knightly Orders. Coincidently around this time the Holy Order that worshipped all Nine Deities began to go through a reformation and rebranded itself as the Holy Order of the Light and began to only worship the deity Lady Bellona Albion, and decried the worship of the other eight deities as heresy and blasphemy. The New Blood Houses and the Hierophant of the Holy Order of the Light began forming a secret alliance, the New Bloods began creating an army of artificial men and women known as "Warforged", and the new Holy Order of the Light began raising their army of Templars.
Deployment
The first battles of the Great Rebellion took place nearly simultaneously in The Imperial City, it was utter mayhem and near perfect coup. King Cole Highlander was murdered in his throne room along with guards at the hands of the New Blood's Warforged and the Holy Order of the Light's Templars helped deal with Old Bloods and their Knights. Once the King was confirmed dead and was communicated to the rest of the rebel armies, Templars and Warforged that were staged already in every major City in the Freelands swiftly deposed the Old Blood Houses and Old Knightly Orders. Cities were falling left and right before the Old Knightly Orders had even a chance to mount a defense. Within days the Cities were captured, within weeks entire Knightly Orders were eradicated, within months each Old Blood House was destroyed, and within a year the Kingdom of Man was no more.
Battlefield
The battlefields were mostly within city or castle walls, very little was on the open field. Both the Warforged and Templars would've a tougher time facing down the cavalries and standing armies of the Old Bloods and their Knightly Orders. The greatest advantage of the Templars and the Warforged were the element of surprise, how quickly they moved and communicated, and how they cut off communication between the Old Blood's and their Knights.
Conditions
The events of the Great Rebellion only last a year, four seasons only. True they faced all kinds of weather, but nothing extreme or out of the ordinary. The fact it began and ended so quickly was what was so terrifying to the Old Bloods and the Knights.
The Engagement
Almost all engagements were smaller scale skirmishes within Cities and such, tight controlled environments are what gave victory to the Templars and Warforged.
Outcome
The deposition of the several thousand year old monarchy was a sudden feat that changed the course of Freelands history. It allowed the New Bloods to fully control the economy and allowed several Guilds to flourish, without the bloated corruption of the Knightly Orders. The monarchy itself was replaced by a zealous religious oligarchy, the Holy Order of the Light, that began a new inquisition.
Aftermath
The fall of the Kingdom of Man was a terrible loss to many forms of literature, art, and history. When the Templars and Warforged were sacking and slaying the Old Bloods and Knights, they burned many ancient treasures. The Templars declared many such things as heresy, and sought their utter destruction. Some Warforged, supposedly, under secret orders collected and hid some of these treasures for their New Blood masters. All in all, much of what once was had been destroyed within a year.
Historical Significance
With the fall of the Kingdom of Man, many bits of history have been lost to time. The Templars and Warforged were thorough with their purging of history of the Freelands as a whole. Much of the magical knowledge of the Kingdom of Man lost and has been replaced by the artifice of the New Blood Houses.Legacy
The Great Rebellion destroyed a couple thousand year dynasty and Kingdom within a year, and began a new era of City Sates and religious intolerance. An era of both suspicion and fear, tensions with Elves and the like are greater now than they ever were during the Kingdom of Man. That and the Great Revolution took decades to complete, but the Great Rebellion last only a year; such a stark difference weighs heavily on the minds and thoughts of Scholars.
In Literature
Various books, scrolls, and tomes were burned by the thousands by the Templars and Warforged as they purging the Old Blood Houses and Knights. Very little has survived, but what has survived is as equally rare as it is illegal to possess. Any literature written about that year is heavily scrutinized by both the New Bloods and the Holy Order of the Light, and very edited.
Technological Advancement
The greatest edge the New Bloods had over the Old Bloods were various magical items and artifices, both cheap and efficient as compared to the ancient magicks used by the Old Bloods. The New Bloods furthermore equipped both the Templars and their Warforged with various firearms to combat the more primitive bows and crossbows in terms of ranged combat, that were twice as damaging and accurate.
Included under Conflict
Included Conflicts
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Urban
Start Date
8000
Ending Date
8000
Conflict Result
The Kingdom of Man fell, and the Freelands became a collection of somewhat vulnerable City States
Location
Belligerents
The Old Blood Houses & The Old Knightly Orders
The New Blood Houses & The Holy Order of the Light
Strength
The numbers of the Old Bloods and their Knights were far greater than that of the forces of both of the New Bloods and the Holy Order of the Light. But that meant nothing in when the element of surprise choked out the Old Bloods before they had a chance to mobilize.
The numbers of the Old Bloods and their Knights were far greater than that of the forces of both of the New Bloods and the Holy Order of the Light. But that meant nothing in when the element of surprise choked out the Old Bloods before they had a chance to mobilize.
Casualties
Hundreds of Old Knightly Orders were destroyed during the Great Rebellion, and the others fell apart or quickly became criminal organizations. The Old Blood Houses were wiped out, supposedly none of their blood or kin remain. The Templars and the Warforged casualties were never officially reported.
Hundreds of Old Knightly Orders were destroyed during the Great Rebellion, and the others fell apart or quickly became criminal organizations. The Old Blood Houses were wiped out, supposedly none of their blood or kin remain. The Templars and the Warforged casualties were never officially reported.
Objectives
The primary objective of the New Bloods was to topple the monarchy and establish themselves as an aristocracy, and the objective of the Holy Order of the Light was to spread the word of how all the other Deities were lesser than Lady Bellona Albion. They successful on all fronts.
The primary objective of the New Bloods was to topple the monarchy and establish themselves as an aristocracy, and the objective of the Holy Order of the Light was to spread the word of how all the other Deities were lesser than Lady Bellona Albion. They successful on all fronts.
Maps
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The Freelands, World Map
A general and fairly accurate World Map of the Freelands and major locations.
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