Lozarian Succession Wars
The Tridenser King had ruled Lozar for more than a thousand years and most had assumed that he would reign for a thousand more. Although Lozar was greatly reduced due to the loss of it's capital city and it's king, Lozar was still one of the most powerful nations in the world. It was a crossroads for trade routes from the east to the southwestern continent and from the southern islands to the frosty north. The lords and petty nobles of Lozar aligned themselves into different factions and the resultant conflict came to be known as the Lozarian Succession Wars.
Dozens of factions arose seemingly overnight, but the four strongest eventually absorbed and/or conquered the others. These four factions were led by four warriors who fought in the Lichwars: Lord Vasilius, Baron Meinke, Duke Redoak and Sir Borland. Lord Vasilius was a paladin and General of the Northern Armies. Of the four, he was clearly the greatest hero and almost everyone agreed that he was destined for the throne. He had the support of Chagroth, his brothers and the mages of Wizard's Peak. Baron Meinke was a general of the Eastern Armies and he was responsible for closing the Taris River Borders once the Lich Kings armies had advanced on Kirinal. He was in charge of the bulk of Lozar's remaining armed forces. However, he was willing to cede the crown to Vasilius. Duke Redoak was a highly placed officer in the Lozarian Navy and he had the support of Lozar's merchants and tradesmen. Through the Navy's efforts, trade had still gone on throughout the Lichwars and the Merchant Guilds were ready to support a Navy man. Redoak believed that the crown belonged to him by right of blood. He could claim distant kinship to King T'kor. Finally, there was Sir Borland, a paladin of small repute who was a champion of the peasantry. He spent the early years of the Lichwars as a corporal on the front lines. He lost his left arm in the decimation of his regiment and was released from his duties.
The Role of Chagroth Durinhelm
After a thousand years of rule beneath the Tridenser King, dozens of factions arose to seek the throne. Of the four lords who eventually became the forerunners for the crown, Lord Vasilius, Baron Meinke, Duke Redoak and Sir Borland, Chagroth supported Lord Vasilius. When it became clear that the paladin, Lord Vasilus would be the next King of Lozar, Duke Redoak secretly sent assassins to dispatch his rival.
As he journeyed to New Kirinal, formerly Taristrae, to be crowned, Lord Vasilius and his retinue were slaughtered. Chagroth's younger brothers, the paladin Lioquar and the ranger Kire, were Vasilus' personal bodyguards. They were the last to be cut down before Vasilius himself was put to the sword. The only person to survive was Kire, he was left for dead beneath the bodies of his brother and his lord.
Durinhelms' Revenge
Chagroth, suspecting foul play when Vasilius did not arrive in New Kirinal, began searching for his brothers and found them three days after the attack. He revived Kire and together they buried the bodies of Vasilius, his followers and their brother Lioquar. Kneeling on his brothers grave, Kire vowed vengeance on his brother's killers.
When Vasilius failed to arrive in New Kirinal for his coronation, Redoak declared himself king and was immediately contested on that fact by Meinke and Borland and Vasilius' supporters. When Chagroth arrived and announced Vasilius' assassination, fighting broke out on the streets of Kirinal between Redoak's forces and those of Meinke and Borland. Thus, began the Lozarian Succession Wars. The year was 3006.
Chagroth Withdraws
Chagroth refused to take sides during the Succsession Wars. None of the remaining claimants to the throne was clearly better than the others to Chagroth. The Lichwars had already taken his wife, his sister and his father. The opening battle of the Succession Wars had taken his brother. Instead, Chagroth forbade any troops from entering his domain, the Duchy of Silver Range, and he focused on rebuilding roads and towns ravaged during the Lichwars and minimizing the damage caused by the Succession Wars. There were some who urged Chagroth to seek the crown for himself and end the conflict, but he always refused.
In 3008, Meinke was killed in battle and only Borland was left to fight Redoak. Redoak and his wealthy patrons had begun hiring mercenaries, including some humanoid troops, and the Lozarian populace began to turn against him. Unfortunately, Redoak's better equipped and more numberous forces looked as if they were going to beat Borland's smaller force of Lozarian nationals.
Chagroth Re-Enters
Eventually, Borland went to Wizard's Peak to meet with Chagroth. He won Chagroth over to his side with proof that Redoak had engineered the assassination of Vasilius. Kire, who had suspected Redoak, finally had the proof he needed and began making preparations of his own.
With the mages of Wizard's Peak University on his side, Borland began winning more battles and the remnants of Meinke's and Vasilius' forces joined him. However, the war finally came to an end with a whimper instead of a bang. Kire snuck into Redoak's tent on the anniversary of his brother's death in the year 3009 and killed Redoak in his sleep.[/p
]He discovered the plans for Vasilius' death among Redoak's belongings and spent the next few months tracking and killing everyone who had participated in the attack, including the planners and the assassins themselves. In doing so, Kire gave up his status as a ranger and as a Knight of the Tridenser. After his final revenge killing, he was last seen on a boat to the tropical nation of Andin in the southeast.
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