The Sovereignty of the Sylderi
Following the death of King Hrovir III, Valeria was left with no direct heir. A moot was called to establish the new ruler and determine the future of the kingdom. The interests of each duchy in the kingdom were represented by their ruling houses, each duchy except for the Sylderan and Cilestian Duchies of the Sylderan elves. The kingdom's relationship with the Sylderan elves had always been tentative at best. The denizens of the great forest were viewed by many in the civilized North as borderline feral. Since their incorporation into the kingdom, the Sylderan elves had maintained an aloof posture, staunchly rejecting the Church of the Celestial Flame, though they had always at least paid lip service to their vassalage.
After much debate, and the near dissolution of the kingdom, the moot coronated the third cousin of King Hrovir III, Duke Harold of Valen, the new regent of Valeria. The claim of King Harold, a devout acolyte of the One True Faith, was pushed largely by the Church. Following the new king's ascendance, detachments of the royal diplomatic corps were dispatched throughout the realm to spread the word, and direct all vassals to travel to Arnas to swear fealty. Again, all great houses were represented... except for those of the Sylderan elves. The detachments tasked with the Sylderan and Cilestian missions had not been heard from since they crossed the Holdir River into the forest. Suspicions ran high in the court that the diplomats and their escorts met an untimely fate amongst the trees. Worse, several surveying parties had disappeared in recent weeks, and several outlying homesteads along the river were found to be deserted with signs of struggle.
After considering the issue, the council led by Kelrex Amon, Duke of Kedwin and Master of Whispers, chose to deploy a detachment of scouts to the realms of the wood elves to search for the missing diplomatic missions. Additionally, a spymaster from the court of Kedwin was dispatched from Arnas with orders to establish a network of informers in the wayward holdings. The resolution of the council was challenged by Duke Nordrejeep of Myr who believed the history of the wood elves coupled with the recent developments established more than enough cause to prepare for war. A second dissent was led by Alexander Videnruse, Duke of Haldir, who plead for a diplomatic solution, deducing that the prejudices against the elves, long engrained in the societal fabric of Valeria may be contributing to an irreparable rift in the kingdom.
Marshall Raithar, Lord Paramount of Military Affairs, angrily confronted King Harold arguing that a muted military response to such a grave threat would lend itself to a growing perception that Valeria had grown militarily impotent. Likewise, the morale of the citizens of rural frontier settlements along the River Haldir was negatively impacted as fears of elven raiding parties propagated from village to village and farm to farm. The swift action of Lord Videnruse, Duke of Haldir, in deploying companies of professional troops somewhat mitigated the fears of the peasantry who flocked to the larger settlements for protection.
The Kedwinian Spymaster departed from Arnas by boat along the River Vale on the 8th of Ready'reat, and is projected to make landfall four day's ride East of Valeguard Keep on the 16th. The detachment of scouts departed Arnas on the same day by ship, and so as not to draw attention to the Spymaster, will make landfall at Goulcrest on the 16th before riding to Ormskirk and crossing the Haldir there.
On the 16th of Ready'reat, the Spymater of Kedwin made landfall in the Sylveran realm. He quickly made contact with long established informants who worked as merchants in the area and learned that the Sylveran elves have been engaged in a brutal civil war since the death of King Hrovir. No information was learned concerning the missing diplomats, but the informants made clear the roads had not been safe for some time. The former leaders of the Sylveran and Cilestrian duchies were deposed and publicly executed along with many of their allies. Though the unfortunate dukes were not the most enthusiastic vassals to the Crown, the new rulers seem to actively despise the men of Valeria. The informants could offer little more information. The spymaster set to work deepening his networks and greasing palms.
On the 21st of Ready'reat, the search party attempted to cross the Haldir River into the realms of the Sylderi at the bridge near Goulcrest. They were met on the southern bank with a barricade. The captain of the royal retinue shouted to the wood elves guarding the barricade in protest to the obstruction, and shortly thereafter was met on the bridge by a messenger from the defenders. The envoy advised the search party to return from whence they came, and made clear that they were unwelcome. The captain produced documents declaring his royal mission and demanded passage. A fight broke out and a volley of arrows from the barricades sent the unprepared cavalrymen back across the bridge in haste. The party attempted several covert crossings of the river and each time were ambushed with arrows and javelins suffering considerable casualties considering the size of the force. They resolved to patrol the banks of the Haldir until further orders were issued from Arnas.
On the 23rd of Ready'reat, a message arrived in Arnas from the Sylderan realms:
"In the name of our Gods and of the dead generations from which we receive our ancient traditions of nationhood, Sylvera, through us, summons her children to her flag and strikes for her freedom.
Having organized and trained her manhood through her brave revolutionaries, the The Grey Cloaks, and through her open military organisations, the Sylderan Volunteers and the Cilestrian Army, having patiently perfected her discipline, having resolutely waited for the right moment to reveal itself, she now seizes that moment and supported by her exiled children in Valeria and by gallant allies across the mountains, but relying in the first on her own strength, she strikes in full confidence of victory.
We declare the right of the people of Syldera to the ownership of Syldera and Cilestia and to the unfettered control of their destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and crown has not extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of our people. In every generation the Sylveran people have asserted their right to freedom and sovereignty; six times during the past twelve hundred years they have asserted it in arms. Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Sylveran Realms as a Sovereign, Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades in arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.
The Sylderan Realms are entitled to, and hereby claim, the allegiance of every Sylveri dhuine and boireannach. Our new ruler, Piaras Catháin, guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the Moons equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which has divided a minority from the majority in the past.
Until our arms have brought the opportune moment for the establishment of a permanent Crown, representative of the whole people of the Moons, the Grey Cloaks, hereby installed as rulers of our woodland realms, will administer the civil and military affairs of the Realms in trust for the people. We place the cause of the Sylveri under the protection of the Gods, the spirits of the Wood that guide us, and our hallowed ancestors, Whose blessings we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the Sylveran Realms must, by its valour and discipline, and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the destiny to which it is called. We seek not war with the Men of Valeria, but we shirk not from it. Should the Crown refuse to recognize our right to independent rulership, the Sylderi hereby resolve to treat by way of martial force where our words have failed us."
We declare the right of the people of Syldera to the ownership of Syldera and Cilestia and to the unfettered control of their destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible. The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and crown has not extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of our people. In every generation the Sylveran people have asserted their right to freedom and sovereignty; six times during the past twelve hundred years they have asserted it in arms. Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Sylveran Realms as a Sovereign, Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades in arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations.
The Sylderan Realms are entitled to, and hereby claim, the allegiance of every Sylveri dhuine and boireannach. Our new ruler, Piaras Catháin, guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all the children of the Moons equally, and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien Government, which has divided a minority from the majority in the past.
Until our arms have brought the opportune moment for the establishment of a permanent Crown, representative of the whole people of the Moons, the Grey Cloaks, hereby installed as rulers of our woodland realms, will administer the civil and military affairs of the Realms in trust for the people. We place the cause of the Sylveri under the protection of the Gods, the spirits of the Wood that guide us, and our hallowed ancestors, Whose blessings we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, inhumanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the Sylveran Realms must, by its valour and discipline, and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the destiny to which it is called. We seek not war with the Men of Valeria, but we shirk not from it. Should the Crown refuse to recognize our right to independent rulership, the Sylderi hereby resolve to treat by way of martial force where our words have failed us."
The court immediately fell into uproar. The Kedwinian Spymaster had just sent word that he had secured a channel of communications with certain officials still loyal to the Crown in the realm of the wood elves. Some factions in the court, not least of which the Church immediately called for war against the flagrantly treasonous and heretical wood elves. Marshall Raithar appraised that the letter proved some ill fate had befallen the diplomatic missions, and further solved the mystery of the ongoing raids and banditry in Haldir. The declaration of the Sylderi held greater implications than the loss of two duchies, the rulers of the Cilsetian Realm maintained claims upon the holdings of Deathfall, Fallholt Keep, Falkirk, and Eastcliff, while the Silveran Realm maintained de jure claims on the holdings of Veznor, Hythe, Goulcrest, and Ormskirk. All of the said holdings were vassals to the Sylderi until the they were granted to their current ruling duchies in 22 CA by King Magnas I.
After an intense debate including veiled accusations of treason, the council, led by Lord Nordrejeep of Myr, openly rejected the independence of the wood elves. The royal army began to muster for war, and an armed expedition was prepared to travel to the Iron Hills and seek aid in the coming conflict. A proposal from Lord Videnruse of Haldir to seek an alliance with the Solderan Empire failed to sway the King. Morale was negatively impacted by the brewing civil war, but the impact was somewhat mitigated by the military response. Additional taxes were levied on the freemen and nobles to fund the war effort, which stifled wealth in the Kingdom. The Church was pleased with the response and mustered five hundred Knights of the Order of the Flame to aid the Crown.
Across the realm, but especially in the southern duchies, many populations of elves living within Valeria went on strike. In some holdings, the elves engaged in outright riots. The roads became unsafe as banditry exploded across The Iron Hills, Haldir, and Delebor. Many small villages were slaughtered in night time raids which the local populations have blamed on the elves. A group of partisan elves calling themselves the Gleòcan Glasa have claimed responsibility for a number of these attacks and issued demands to local lords. Chief amongst these demands is the "liberation" of all elves living in Valeria, and the return of Sylderi lands to Sylderi rule.
Shortly after the Crowns response reached the realms of the wood elves, large columns of troops crossed the Haldir River at the cities of Falkirk and Ormskirk and began preparing to lay siege. An even larger force crossed at Eastcliff and seemed poised to assault the settlement.
As the current situation unfolds, the council need not consider any additional action for the time being.
Discoveries:
- At about the same time as the suspicious and untimely death of King Hrovir, the realms of the wood elves were rocked by a bloody coup and plunged into a brutal civil war. The full cause of the schism are yet unknown, but the new rulers are rigid tradionalists who believe in restoring the culture of the Sylderi and despise the men of Valeria.
- On the 23rd of Ready'reat, after minor skirmishing broke out between the royal search party and wood elf partisans along the River Haldir, the Silderi formally declared their independence from Valeria.
Conflict Type
Political Debate
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