INTERREGNUM VOL. II: THE SINNERS' WAR

[Xarkly 17299]

 

Previous Volumes

Volume I: The Novellen Twilight

 

Recommended listening (loop - very good mix)

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Interregnum.

‘Between Empires’.

 

A period when Humanity - and, consequently, all Descendantkind - are without a dominant hegemon. It is a time of chaos, of disunity, and of fracture. Yet, despite that, it is my belief that times of interregnum are a vital aspect of Humanity. A necessary contrast upon the Tapestry of Man. 

 

Without doubt, Humanity stands at its zenith when the Tribes of Horen are united under a common banner. But, as our mortal bodies age, so too do our empires wither with the passing of time. The feats of glory in which empires were forged fade, replaced with disillusions of what an empire should be, but is not; the memories of proud heroes worthy of service are supplanted with slothful inheritors; and once-mighty armies of united Tribes are reduced to parades, incapable of withstanding common marauders. 

 

This is, however, a natural thing.

 

Were it not for the harshness of winter, we would be strangers to the bliss of summer. So too is the same true of the rise and fall of Humanity’s great empires. It is only in the chaos of disunity that we, as a people, rediscover the calling of a greater cause, of Exalted Horen’s unified kingdom, and accept that great deeds can only be accomplished through Humanity’s collective strength. 

 

In the 19th century, the Holy Orenian Empire (the 8th Empire) fell. The Interregnum that followed was one in which Humanity languished for nearly 200 years, until the reformation of the Empire of Man.

 

I am Arrolt the Orphan, and this is the tale of how that interregnum began, endured, and ended.

 

This is the Chronicle of the Great Interregnum.

 

---

 

 

 

This is Interrengum: Volume II.

 

Volume I explored the ‘Novellen Twilight’, the period in which the Holy Orenian Empire declined and gave way to the period of chaos and disunity we know as the Great Interregnum. In Volume I, I submitted that the Interregnum actually began when the Holy Orenian Emperor Joseph II and Empress Anne I issued the Edict of Separation, releasing the Kingdom of Haense as a vassal, and thereby ending the unification of most Tribes of Horen under a united hegemon. 

 

The preceding Volume also chronicled the turbulent period of the 1800s, including the Aster Revolution and the Michaelite Schism, which served as the incendiary prelude to the Sinners’ War -- the largest (and longest) conflict to be waged by Descendants since the War of the Two Emperors (over 130 years earlier). 

 

This Volume of Interregnum will record the events of the Sinners’ War; while I posit that the Great Interregnum had begun in 1786 with the Edict of Separation, it was not until the Sinners’ War that its consequences were truly felt.

 

 

 

‘The Siege of Southbridge’, Sofiya vas Ruthern KML (@Siren)

c. 1868

 

In the spring of 1853, an army crossed the southern border of the Holy Orenian Empire.

 

Styling itself as the ‘Tripartite Accord’, this coalition army of the Kingdom of Haense, Dwarves of Urguan, and the Kingdom of Norland was one of the largest fielded in centuries, numbering a colossal total of 16,200 troops. Despite its title, however, the Accord featured to other instrumental factions that would go on to play a coloured role in the unfolding Sinners’ War, and much of the Great Interregnum beyond that: the first was Ferrymen Band, an elite cadre of skirmishers led by Captain Banjo (later known as Basil Mareno) who traced their descent from the Begrudged Alliance (the previous anti-imperial coalition, which had almost shattered Oren under Emperor Peter III in 1778), and once again leapt at the chance to fight imperial Oren (and get paid for it).

 

The second faction were the Hounds of Blackvale, a mercenary company in the service of Grand King Ulfric Frostbeard of Urguan. While they enjoyed less notoriety than the Ferrymen Band, the Hounds of Blackvale would slowly rise to prominence throughout the rest of the Great Interregnum. Today, they are known as the House van Aert. 

 

While the Tripartite Accord marched in 1853, it ought be noted that the Sinners’ War itself started slightly before this. Since the ascension of Emperor Philip III and Empress Anastasia I to the Orenian throne after the Aster Revolution in 1849, they had traded barbs and threats with Grand King Ulfric Frostbeard, who had been waging a small-scale war against Emperor Philip II, who had been overthrown by his grandson Philip III in the Aster Revolution. 

 

These ‘barbs’ took the form of raids, occurring from 1849-1853. They were largely minor, conducted primarily by Dwarven warriors, Ferrymen, and Hounds, against the Imperial State Army (which remained widely in disarray since the Aster Revolution). While the Dwarves and mercenaries triumphed in the majority of these raids, the Orenians scored one crucial demoralising victory in 1849 when they stormed the Dwarven capital - Kal’Darakaan - in the early hours of the morning and successfully captured Grand King Ulfric himself. The Dwarven King was brought before Philip III in the Orenian capital of Providence, but, instead of being killed or ransomed, the Orenians shaved the Grand King’s beard - a disrespect of no equal in Dwarven culture - and released him. 

 

These raids were ultimately trifling ripples in the wake of events to come.

In early 1854, the Southbridge offensive began. 

 

____________________________

 

“One would not think that a place called ‘Jarad’s Tavern’ would be the site of a tactical raid between the Tripartite Accord and the Holy Orenian Empire during the Sinners’ War.

 

One would be correct;

because it was not the site of ‘a’ raid, but many.”

 

On the Southbridge Offensive,

Memoirs of Lord Palatine Eirik Baruch, c. 1871

____________________________

 

The Orenian response to the march of the Tripartite Accord was both startled, and eager.

 

Startled, because the coalition had taken a somewhat surprising form. While the Kingdom of Haense had indicated from the outset of the Dwarven-Orenian tensions that it was bonded to the Dwarves of Urguan through a defensive treaty, many Orenians had not expected to Haeseni to actually honour that obligation, a belief for which there were three main reasons: (i) Haense and Oren were both Human, Canonist nations, and it therefore seemed impalatable that one would support pagan non-Humans in an attack on the other; (ii) while relations between Haense and Oren had not been warm prior to the Aster Revolution, the two nations enjoyed a shared history, with many shared cultural facets and blood connections; and (iii) Haense had, throughout its history, earned a reputation as a thoroughly unreliable ally - they had abandoned their allies before in the War of the Two Emperors and the Burning of Ves, and so many opined that Urguan would suffer the same fair-weather friendship. 

 

In the lead-up to the Sinners’ War, King Sigismund III of Haense had attempted to sit on the fence. Unlike Grand King Ulfric, he harboured no desire to wage a war against Oren, but he had been soured towards Philip III and Anastasia I by their rhetoric of ‘united Mankind’ in San Luciano when they sparked their Aster Revolution, and ultimately considered his hand to be forced by the Orenian-orchestrated (and ill-fated) coup of the Canonist Church in the Michaelite Schism, which led to the first of Philip III and Anastasia I’s excommunications (with the second being a controversial letter that alleged Anastasia I had hired a Dragonkin assassin to slay Philip III’s father, Philip Aurelian).

 

To boot, Oren found itself diplomatically isolated by 1854. The Tripartite Accord’s raw prowess was sufficient to scare any minor nations from aiding Oren, and the Principality of Savoy - who had been instrumental in actually putting Philip III and Anastasia I on the Orenian throne - had asserted their independence from Oren in the aftermath of the Michaelite Schism, and Prince Olivier II sent no troops to support Oren’s defence against the Accord. The sole ally Oren managed to secure was an Orcish warband, that of ‘Warboss Fishbref’. 

 

While startled, however, there was an undeniable eagerness smouldering within Oren, too. Finally, the four-year long question of whether Haense was friend or foe had been answered, and the need for eggshell diplomacy had ended. Oren could finally channel the momentum and patriotism Philip III and Anastasia I had resurrected in their Aster Revolution, and define itself as the world’s reigning hegemon once again in battle.

 

As the Tripartite Accord’s army of 16,200 marched, the Orenian mobilised their own defensive force of 9,000. 

____________________________

 

“General var Ruthern,

 

After the Terce bell this morning, the Southbridge garrison reported outpost signal-fires being lit on the southern road to Eastfleet. I sent out a unit of outrider scouts, who returned shortly before the Sext bell, in the company of most troops positioned in the Eastfleet outposts.

 

The Tripartite Accord has crossed Eastfleet, and now marches along the Providence Road. The outriders report that their vanguard numbers some 5,000-strong, and they fly the banners of Hanseti-Ruska, Urguan, and Norland. They will reach Southbridge by nightfall.

 

My lord; I beseech you to send aid.”

 

Report of Percival Varrow,

ISA Officer, Orenian Southern Command, c. 1852

____________________________

 

The stage of their reckoning was to be Southbridge.

The southern Orenian borderfort.

 

Southbridge was certainly not the Holy Orenian Empire’s choice of battlefield, however. After all, when Emperor Philip III had issued his demands to the Dwarves in 1849, it had been anticipated that the Orenians would be marching into Urguan on the offensive, and not defending their own lands. Whether due to the Kingdom of Haense’s fence-sitting forcing the Emperor to move cautiously, or turmoil in the Orenian court after the Michaelite Schism, the result was the same: the Tripartite Accord seized the advantage, and marched first.

 

In the new year of 1854, the Tripartite Accord army of 16,200 had assembled at the coastal cliffs of Eastfleet, Oren’s shared border with Urguan. This army - the largest of its kind to assemble in over a century - was placed under the field command of Ailred var Ruthern, a Haeseni duke, alongside Captain Banjo of the Ferrymen Band. Both men were extremely competent field commanders, and so, with a mass of Haeseni, Dwarven, and Norlander warriors supplemented by the elite Ferrymen and Hounds of Blackvale, the Tripartite Accord army that that marched on southern Oren was, by any estimation, an utterly terrifying foe. 

 

Although on the back-foot, the Orenians were not deterred. Even while Orenian remained in some domestic disarray (as the Aster Revolution had uprooted most imperial institutions), their response was not lackluster. The Orenian army of 9,000 that marched in response to the Tripartite Accord was still the largest force a singular nation on the continent could produce, and its command was afforded to General Erik var Ruthern (a level-headed veteran who had only sworn fealty to Philip III after the Aster Revolution; incidentally, Erik var Ruthern was also a distant relation of his opposing commander, Ailred var Ruthern), and the silver-tongued Olivier Renault. 

 

The fort of Southbridge was the bottle-neck which protected the heartlands of Oren from southern incursion, but it was ill-suited for this task. While the fort had undergone some hasty fortification at the onset of the war, it was too small to adequately garrison the 9,000-strong Orenian army, and it was anticipated it would fare poorly under sustained fire from siege engines. Consequently, the Orenians briefly contested the Accord’s advance through the slopes of Eastfleet in the hopes of instead drawing a defensive frontier in the natural hills, but they were quickly forced to dispense with this endeavour; with only 9,000 troops to contest 16,200 invaders, they had no choice but to garrison Southbridge. Worse, Dwarven naval ships had begun to sail up the continent’s eastern coast towards Southbridge; even if the Orenians had established a position in Eastfleet, the Dwarven ships risked flanking them. 

 

So it was that on the morning of the 10th of the Sun’s Smile of 1854, both armies were in position.

A warhorn boomed from the Tripartite siege camps, and the Battle of Southbridge began. 

 

____________________________

 

“From the slopes of Vidaus, a chill wind blew

West it wound, ‘cross frozen ground,

And o’er Haense it blew.

 

The wind told tales of a shark on a hill,

A knight and lord, who wed the sword,

And whose talent was to kill.”

 

Excerpt from the ‘Song of Steelheart’,

a Haeseni ballad in commemoration of Ailred ‘Steelheart’ var Ruthern

____________________________

 

From the sea, Dwarven ships unleashed volleys of trebuchet-stones and cannonballs at Southbridge.

 

It must be borne in mind that Humanity had not seen a war of this scale since the War of the Two Emperors, over 130 years ago. In that time, Descendant technology had inevitably evolved; blackpowder cannons (once secretive Dwarven technology) had become common-place, and advances in traditional engineering had developed new models of trebuchets that proved devastating. Most fortresses were not built with these advancements in mind. This was, of course, to Oren’s disadvantage -- they were the ones in the small fort. 

 

Fate did not favour the Holy Orenian Empire that day.

 

In the first minutes of the battle, one of the Orenian blackpowder cannons exploded, killing its crew and sowing havoc on the ramparts of Southbridge, which allowed the Tripartite Accord to shell the fortress with very little resistance. By three hours after dawn, Southbridge’s curtain walls had collapsed, and the fort's cramped conditions led to unexpected casualties to falling rubble. In the face of such disadvantage, Oren had one strategy: Olivier Renault and Manfred of Arichsdorf, a prominent Orenian vassal, had led flanking squads from the fort to destroy the Accord siege engines from behind, but they were thwarted by Ferrymen and Blackvale reserves. At five hours after dawn, Ailred var Ruthern commanded the main army to storm the crumbling keep with ladders and ropes. 

 

By one hour after noon, the Tripartite Accord had complete control of Southbridge - or what was left of it. Decisively defeated, the Orenians managed a scattered retreat north to Providence, where they regrouped under General Anastasios Basrid, who was later joined by the bulk of the surviving Orenians with General Erik var Ruthern.

 

While it is my contention that the Great Interregnum had begun decades ago - with the signing of the Edict of Separation in 1786 - it was only with the Battle of Southbridge that this became blazingly apparent to the world. The Tribes of Horen had not only fractured, but now waged war against one another. Many of the Tripartite Accord surmised that this would be a short war; their army was larger and better skilled than the Orenian one, and Philip III and Anastasia I had been sapped of their morale after their crushing loss at Southbridge.

 

Of course, they were wrong.

The Sinners’ War had only just begun. 

 

---

 

The fall of Southbridge carved a hole in Orenian defenses, allowing Tripartite raiders to ransack estates as close to a day away from the imperial capital.

 

It did not take long for the fruits of the Tripartite’s victory to sour.

 

Less than one day after their victory, as the stones of Southbridge still smouldered, their field commander - Duke Ailred var Ruthern - was slain by an Orenian survivor while urinating into the sea. While a great loss, this alone was hardly fatal to the titanic coalition; the poison that would sunder it had a slower onset. In the aftermath of Southbridge, the Tripartite leaders debated whether they ought to press their advantage and march north (they were not far from the imperial capital of Providence), or consolidate the conquered environs of Southbridge. Barring the capital itself, this southern region was the most important Orenian territory, as the road from Eastfleet was the central route into Oren. 

 

These discussions quickly hit a snag when grievances sparked between Grand King Ulfric Frostbeard and both the Ferrymen Band and the Hounds of Blackvale. Both Captain Banjo and Gaspard van Aert (captain of the Hounds) had come to dislike the Dwarven king; they felt he lacked an affinity for warfare and blamed him for a number of the war’s early blunders (such as their defeat at Cape Whitcombe in 1851, where Dwarven raiders had attempted to land a ship in Providence and fared disastrously). To boot, they claimed that he had reneged on some of the payments promised to both bands, a sentiment which did not sit well at all when the Dwarves were reaping the rewards of their work. 

 

When it became apparent this tension was bubbling to a boil after Southbridge (a fact that Tripartite leaders kept hidden from the main army), King Sigismund III attempted to reconcile the Grand King with Captain Banjo and Gaspard, but, even after the mercenaries received their full funds, relations were tense. In light of that, King Sigismund III urged Grand King Ulfric to end the war there and then (before Oren became aware of their predicament) and consolidate their new holdings in Southbridge. 

 

But Oren did become aware.

 

While their army was ultimately smaller than the Tripartite Accord, Philip III and Anastasia I had the organisational advantage of being the sole leaders of all of it (unlike the Tripartite Accord’s three monarchs). 

 

They could move and act decisively.

And, in 1855, that is what they did. 

____________________________

 

“Petra, my love;

 

We may return home sooner than expected. Your royal brother has confided in me that the Orenian Emperor seeks to buy back conquered Southbridge. Whoever heard of such a thing?

 

I suppose it makes sense, and I would be glad to see it.

I am not built for this southern heat, and I miss you most dearly.”

 

Excerpt of a letter from Yvo Mondblume 

to Princess Petra Emma of Haense, co. 1855

____________________________

 

The Orenian counterattack began with the carrot, and not the stick.

Philip III and Anastasia I opened up two fronts of diplomacy in 1855-1856.

 

The first was with the Tripartite Accord, primarily through King Sigismund III. Philip III and Anastasia I offered to buy back Southbridge from the Accord, a proposition that Sigismund III found very agreeable. The Haeseni King had grown deeply concerned that the growing cracks in the Accord would be exploited by Oren (as they in fact were) and lead to its collapse; the prospect of returning home from a short war with a hefty ransom and being able to claim victory over Oren was, by contrast, very appealing. 

 

The second front of diplomacy was with the dissenters within the Accord - the Ferrymen Band and the Hounds of Blackvale. There are few surviving records of this negotiation (a covert affair), but one can readily imagine the gist -- the Orenians sought to buy these mercenaries to their side. They succeeded: in 1855, the Ferrymen Band announced their defection to the Holy Orenian Empire, swayed by only a relatively modest sum, but also the granting of territory within Oren (and, no doubt, to spite Grand King Ulfric). 

 

Humanity found itself on tenterhooks; while the Ferrymen Band was a great loss to the Tripartite Accord, a great gain for Oren, it was not yet apparent whether it would give Oren the edge it needed to defeat the Accord in battle. Spurred the defection, King Sigismund III urged his Dwarven allies to accept the Orenian offer to buy back Southbridge, but Grand King Ulfric hesitated; he had already promised the lands to one of his Human vassals (the House de Joannes), and, with the Hounds of Blackvale still encamped with the Accord, he remained confident they held the military advantage. 

 

He was wrong. 

 

Later in 1856, the Hounds of Blackvale followed the Ferrymen Band in defecting to the Holy Orenian Empire, and swore service to Philip III and Anastasia I in exchange for several titles of imperial importance, among them that of ‘Renatus’, as the House van Aert claimed descent from the Pertinaxi Emperors of the 7th Empire. With the Tripartite Accord robbed of two of its three military advantages (the third being its size), Oren withdrew from negotiations.

 

It no longer needed to buy back Southbridge.

It could take it. 

____________________________

 

“Grand King Ulfric,

 

The good Gaspard van Aert has again beseeched me to press our advantage, and attack deeper into the Orenian heartland. I know you are inclined to agree with him.

 

But know that while our army is stronger, we are built on weaker foundations. If we misstep, especially now that the Ferrymen have absconded, our walls may give way.”

 

Excerpt from letters between King Sigismund III of Haense

and Grand King Ulfric of Urguan, c. 1855

____________________________

 

While the monarchs of the Tripartite Accord reeled from the loss of both mercenary corps, Philip III and Anastasia I seized their advantage.

 

The Orenian army, with renewed vigour, remobilised at Providence under General Erik var Ruthern (who, it is understood, was not overly pleased to continue the war). What the Orenians had lacked in strategy was now shored by the addition of Captain Banjo and Gaspard van Aert to their war council, and in 1857 an Orenian army of 14,200 set out to reclaim southern Oren. 

 

Meanwhile, the Tripartite Accord appeared resolute - from the outside, at least. Their army was still massive, and their morale remained high after the Orenian’s crushing defeat at Southbridge. While the common Accord soldier may have thought the Orenian counterattack was foolish, the same sentiment did not hold true in the Accord’s war council; with Ailred var Ruthern dead (a bitter stroke of misfortune, now) and Captain Banjo and Gaspard van Aert now fighting against them, the Accord desperately lacked accomplished commanders. 

 

Despite that, the Accord fared better than they hoped at the beginning of this second phase. As they had before the Southbridge offensive, the Ferrymen Band and Hounds of Blackvale spearheaded raids that aimed to undermine the Accord’s morale, but, after they were defeated at Stone Tower, Kal’Darakaan, and Karosgrad throughout 1855-1857, they had actually instilled confidence in the Accord that they could withstand the Orenian counterattack. By 1857, Orenian raids had yielded one victory (also at Stone Tower). 

 

When the Orenian army arrived on the banks of the Lower Petra in late 1857, their army of 14,200, led by General Erik var Ruthern, Captain Banjo, and Gaspard van Aert, found themselves facing a Tripartite host of 17,100, now led by the Haeseni Marshal Johann Barclay, Levian’Tol Grandaxe of Urguan, and Maxim Attenlund (a Haeseni hedgeknight). 

 

With both sides gaining victories in preliminary raids, no one could say who truly held the advantage. 

And then the fighting started. 

____________________________

 

“Second Storming of Kal’Darakaan (1856 A.H.) - Victory;

Second Battle of Stone Tower (1856 A.H.) - Defeat;

Third Battle of Stone Tower (1857 A.H.) - Victory;

Battle of Karosgrad (1857 A.H.) - Victory;

Battle of Haverfeldt (1859 A.H.) - Defeat.”

 

Excerpt of ‘raid battles’ fought in the Haverlock Defensive,

the Black Banner (Haeseni Military History), c. 1877

____________________________

 

The Battle of Lower Petra was fought on a bright autumn morning in 1857.

The Tripartite Accord was soundly defeated.

 

The main Orenian and Accord armies faced off in the field, but, by four hours after noon, the Orenian formations began encircling the Accord after the Accord cavalry of Maxim Attenlund overextended and was annihilated by Ferrymen skirmishers. One hour before dusk, the Tripartite Accord retreated south before the Ferrymen and Hounds of Blackvale could circle around their slaughtered cavalry to pincer Levian’Tol Grandaxe and Johann Barclay against Erik var Ruthern.

 

What morale the Tripartite Accord had cobbled together after the preluding skirmishes at Kal’Darakaan, Stone Tower, and Karosgrad went up like smoke. A small comfort was the fact that the House de Joannes had, after the Battle of Southbridge, very quickly erected the fortified town of Haverlock on the ruins of Southbridge, from which some Tripartite Accord commanders hoped they could withstand the coming Orenian army, but this was in vain. The Orenian army swelled after their victory, having triumphed at Lower Petra with a smaller army, and numbered 14,600 by the time they reached Haverlock. By contrast, the Tripartite Accord’s army had, through desertions and casualties, shrunk to 12,800. 

 

On the rainy morning of 1860, after a few months of regrouping and sieging, Emperor Philip III ordered his army to take Haverlock, and the two sides exchanged artillery fire; Oren hoped to blow a hole through Haverlock’s walls, while the Accord hoped to secure victory by destroying the Orenian siege engines before they suffered a breach.

 

Instead of destroying the Orenian trebuchets, a misfired cannonball from Haverlock flattened the Hounds of Blackvale’s command tent, killing Gaspard van Aert. Despite this initial advantage, Orenian artillery bore a hole through Haverlock’s northern wall at four hours before noon. Levian’Tol Grandaxe and Frederick de Joannes, in command of the Accord defence, ordered their troops to withdraw to Haverlock’s inner bailey, but they were too slow; Captain Banjo led the Orenian vanguard through the breach, and promptly overwhelmed Haverlock.

 

It was not even noon when the Tripartite Accord were forced to abandon Haverlock and retreat with what troops could be salvaged.

 

The shattered Accord army scrambled south.

They were forced to abandon what they had conquered in southern Oren.

 

---

 

 

‘The Volley of Eastfleet’, Sofiya vas Ruthern KML (@Siren)

c. 1872

 

After their victory at Haverlock, Emperor Philip III and Empress Anastasia I had accomplished what they had promised in the Aster Revolution -- to restore Oren to prominence.

 

Now, with the might of the Tripartite Accord broken, the fate of Humanity seemed to rest firmly in Orenian hands once more. At their command, Philip III and Anastasia I now possessed every conceivable advantage: their army had grown larger, they held the loyalty of the continent’s best commanders (namely through the Ferrymen Band and the Hounds of Blackvale), and they enjoyed soaring morale. In exchange for their defection from the Tripartite Accord, Philip III had the Hounds of Blackvale that he would annex their namesake fort of Blackvale within Urguan (which lay in the regions known as the ‘Waystone’ Territories), and now he stood poised to do exactly that.

 

Yet, despite this, the Sinners’ War stalled after the Battle of Haverlock for almost six years.

 

Since 1849, the Holy Orenian Empire had been the epicentre of a maelstrom of events, and so the Orenian victory at Haverlock and the Tripartite Accord’s retreat afforded Philip III and Anastasia I something they had sorely lacked until now: breathing room. 

 

More enticing than continuing the war was to finally devote their attention to domestic affairs, which was sorely needed. The Aster Revolution had undone most facets of Orenian government, and while Philip III’s court had slowly begun to rebuild its institutions of government, this had always been a secondary affair in the face of war. Morale and momentum had fuelled the Orenians until now, but it was evident this could not last forever -- if Philip III was to invade Urguan, he would need to formalize his armies, establish supply lines, and shore-up the Orenian chain of command. 

 

And so, from 1860 to 1866, Oren turned its attention inwards, suspending its planned annexation of the Waystones temporarily. 

____________________________

 

“Lord van Aert,

 

To you, We entrust the defence of the reclaimed Lower Petra riverland. We do not expect the Tripartite Accord to rear their heads and attack; instead, We bid unto you the task of drafting plans by which Our armies might march into the Underrealm and lay claim to your family seat.

 

We intend to honour Our pact with your late lord father.”

 

Excerpt from orders left by Emperor Philip III

to Willem van Aert, c. 1862

____________________________

 

Upon returning from war, the first priority of the court of Philip III and Anastasia I was cementing their new order at home.

 

Overall, the duo enjoyed enormous support from their subjects (especially after the Battle of Haverlock), but their path to power - from the assassination of Philip Aurelian, the Michaelite Schism, and their ongoing excommunications - left them with no shortage of enemies in their own garden. 

 

One of their most vocal opponents was Princess Charlotte Augusta, the widow of Philip Aurelian (and ergo the Emperor’s mother-in-law) who had fled from Providence to her family estates of Woldzmir in northern Oren after the Aster Revolution. Princess Charlotte initially attempted to broker peace between Oren and the Tripartite Accord, but later declared her own claim to the imperial throne. However, the Accord ultimately declined to commit to installing her as Empress in the event of their victory over Oren, and Princess Charlotte became the subject of vicious mockery in Philip III and Anastasia I’s courts. 

 

While fruitless, her efforts were certainly not unfelt; after Woldzmir and Princess Charlotte’s daughter - Moliana Tuvyic - fell under increasing threat from the imperial court at Providence, Moliana - through a magic ritual that would earn her the moniker of ‘the Witch of Dobrov’ - teleported the entirety of Woldzmir Castle into the Kingdom of Haense, and swore fealty to King Sigismund III, an act which incensed the Orenian nobility.

 

A more pressing threat against Philip III and Anastasia I was posed by the House of Alstion, a former imperial dynasty (tracing descent from Emperor Alexander II) who saw the Sinners’ War as a chance to reclaim the imperial throne, and, in their eyes, set it to rights. Charles Alstion - who would much later become King of Aaun - and a small band of retainers had aided the Tripartite Accord at Southbridge and Haverlock, but, similar to the plight of Charlotte Augusta, failed to convince King Sigismund III to commit to placing him on the imperial throne. It must be recalled that the Tripartite Accord was, by 1855, decisively losing the war. 

 

While Charles Alstion had fomented some support within Oren, a traitor from his retinue revealed the conspiracy to Philip III, which spelled the end of the Alstion endeavours and, in turn, the end of any organised dissent within Oren. There still lay a shadow of turmoil of a different sort brewing in Oren, however - factionalism within the imperial court, namely around the Emperor’s own children - Prince Peter, and the younger Prince Frederick. Both were ambitious young men, both had starkly different visions for Oren, and both coveted the imperial throne. 

 

For now, though, the Holy Orenian Empire enjoyed a blissful half-decade.

Were it not for the Eastfleet campaign, that bliss may have endured to this very day.

 

____________________________

 

“Lord Tuvyic,

 

It is with great regret that I must inform you that when I woke to begin my patrol of Woldzmir this eve, the Castle had, most regrettably, completely vanished.”

 

Report from Captain Igor Revitt,

to Fyodor Tuvyic, c. 1855

____________________________

 

The Holy Orenian Empire from 1860-1866 was practically unrecognisable from a decade prior.

 

Providence boomed as an imperial capital, now under the stewardship of reinvigorated ministries of Philip III and Anastasia I’s court. For the first time since the Edict of Separation in 1768, there was even a prominent vassal beyond the capital in the form of Arichsdorf, whose militias became a cornerstone of the Orenian army (with the other two being the main imperial forces under Erik var Ruthern, and the mercenary corps of the Ferrymen Band and the Hounds of Blackvale). 

 

While the sun shone on Oren, the same, naturally, could not be said for the Tripartite Accord. 

 

In the Kingdom of Haense, King Sigismund III faced renewed efforts from Oren - chiefly helmed by Olivier Renault - to cede from the war. Diplomatic envoys assured the Haeseni court that the Dwarves of Urguan (and more particularly the fort of Blackvale) was Oren’s only remaining interest in the war, but Haense remained deeply sceptical. While there were vocal critics of Sigismund III who advocated leaving the Dwarves of Urguan to their own misfortune, this was tempered by the begrudging belief that Philip III and Anastasia I could not be trusted not to renege on their assurances. Orenian diplomacy also suffered from some self-sabotage; Manfred of Arichsdorf, Oren’s premier vassal, had contrarily sworn to Prince Karl Sigmar of Haense that the Empire would certainly attack and subjugate Haense in due course.

 

In Urguan, Grand King Ulfric Frostbeard faced even greater pressure. Not only was Oren preparing to annex a large portion of strategically-important Urguani territory, but many in the Tripartite Accord blamed the Grand King for disenfranchising the Hounds of Blackvale and the Ferrymen Band throughout and in the aftermath of the Southbridge offensive. Consequently, Grand King Ulfric initiated negotiations with Emperor Philip III throughout 1861-1863, but they eventually proved fruitless: for Philip III, it was non-negotiable that the lands of Blackvale within Urguan were annexed, and for Grand King Ulfric, it was non-negotiable that this territory remained in Urguani control. Worse, the Grand King fell into dire straits at home when he rebuked his vassals - Clan Ireheart - for their aggressions against the independent township of Du Loc in the south. 

 

When Providence finally began to mobilise troops in late 1864, Grand King Ulfric resigned himself to the fact that he had little means of resisting their assault. He reopened negotiations with the intent of ceding to the demands of Philip III and Anastasia I. Fate, however, had one more verse to play in the Sinners’ War.

 

In 1864, Ulfric Frostbeard abruptly abdicated as Grand King of Urguan.

In his place, Bakir Ireheart was swiftly elected to the throne. 

____________________________

 

“Lady mother,

 

Today I had the honour of meeting the new Dwarven king. As Ser Viktor and I visited our garrison at the Northern Waystone Outpost, Bakir Ireheart stumbled through the gates, alone and drunk, and presented the severed head of an Orenian captain before he collapsed in a stupor.

 

I had never met a finer Dwarf in my life.”

 

Excerpt of a letter from Prince Karl Sigmar

to his mother, Queen Emma of Haense, c. 1865 

____________________________

 

If Ulfric Frostbeard had been the sun, then Bakir Ireheart was the moon -- such were their differences as Grand Kings.

 

As the elder of the Dwarven Clan Ireheart, Bakir was a distinguished warrior whose calling lay with battle; he had very little interest in, and, indeed, very little affinity for, governance. Yet the Dwarves of Urguan found themselves in a state of war, and it was on that premise that Bakir Ireheart was enticed to seek the throne for himself. The prevailing belief is that in the aftermath of the Ireheart-Du Loc controversy, Ulfric Frostbeard had been convinced to step down and, upon his ascension, Grand King Bakir Ireheart boldly proclaimed he would beat back any Orenian incursion into Urguan.

 

Compared to the previous five years, in which Emperor Philip III and Empress Anastasia I had ample time and control to set their designs in motion, events suddenly began to spiral rapidly. 

 

Grand King Bakir’s coronation brought with it a second-wind to the Tripartite Accord. In the Kingdom of Haense, the court of King Sigismund III had grown disenthused with their defensive commitment to the Dwarves, but - wearied by war - they saw a much more palatable ally in Grand King Bakir, and the same was true for King Ragnvald Eirikson of Norland (who largely played a passive role Tripartite politics). 

 

More important than Grand King Bakir’s relationship with his allies, however, was with his ‘enemies’. Grand King Bakir had been a stalwart ally and compatriot of Captain Banjo both during and prior to the Southbridge offensive, and, now that he was on the Dwarven throne, the Ferrymen Band considered their grievances with Urguan settled and declared that they would once again support the Tripartite Accord in 1864. The Hounds of Blackvale, however, were steadfastly committed to Oren. 

 

Oren, naturally, did not sit idle, and in 1864 Philip III declared the ‘Final Offensive’, through which he endeavoured to annex the Waystones (wherein lay the fortress of Blackvale) from Urguan. Much in the same way that Southbridge had sat on a critical road for Oren, the loss of the Waystones for Urguan would strangle their own main roads; Grand King Bakir simply could not afford to lose it.

 

As both the Tripartite Accord and Holy Orenian Empire set to rallying their full forces once again for what would serve as the climax of the Sinners’ War, Oren suffered a further upset when the Principality of Savoy, once their closest allies, joined the Tripartite Accord in 1865 following an Orenian-sponsored coup of Prince Lucien de Savoie , who had succeeded Prince Olivier II and was seen as an even greater wildcard within Providence. Prince Lucien's allegiances became cemented after the Disgrace at Arischdorf, where the Aurelian Brotherhood, a band of Orenian freeriders, while under truce with Manfred of Arichsdorf. The Savoyards were not the only last-comers to the Sinners’ War, either, and later that same year, Grand King Bakir successfully secured the aid of the Elves of Nevaehlen, effectively turning the Sinners’ War into a continental-wide one.

 

In the new year of 1866, two massive armies mobilised.

11,600 Orenian attackers. 18,100 Tripartite defenders.

____________________________

 

“A recorded 29,700 troops fought at the Battle of Eastfleet.

 

To our understanding, this is the third largest-ever battle in Humanity’s history. The second largest was the fateful Siege of Helena of 1716, in which 40,000 soldiers (17,500 Renatians against 22,500 Orenians) fought. The single largest was, of course, the Battle of the Goldfields.

 

Never have we again come close to the 65,000 soldiers as we did in the Goldfields.”

 

Historical notations of Rhys var Ruthern,

compiled in the Black Banner, c. 1877 

____________________________

 

In 1866, the two armies met at Eastfleet, the coastal borderlands between the Holy Orenian Empire and Urguan.

 

11,600 troops mustered from a single nation was still a testament to Oren’s raw strength, but it was now facing a coalition of five enemy nations - now that Savoy and Nevaehlen had joined the frey - who were further bolstered by distinguished commanders in Captain Banjo of the Ferrymen Band, Grand King Bakir himself, Prince Lucien of Savoy, and Ser Grigori Vyronov and Ser Viktor Baruch, the champions of King Sigismund III’s court, with 18,100 troops at their back. 

 

Emperor Philip III, despite some calls from within his council, was not dissuaded. Together with General Anastasios Basrid and Willem van Aert, he led the Orenian army south to Eastfleet. On the evening of the 5th of the Sun’s Smile 1866, the Orenians encamped themselves on the north side of Eastfleet’s bay, and the Tripartite encamped on the south. The timing of this clash was not random; the hills and narrow roads of Eastfleet made for difficult terrain, but a High Elven astrologer - whose name appears to have been recorded, but spelled horrendously incorrectly by a Haeseni scribe as ‘Solulu’su’sumu’ - wrote to the Tripartite, disclosing that there was to be an anomalously low-tide from the 4th-10th of the Sun’s Smile of 1866, which would see the tide recede so far out that armies could fight on the shore. The Tripartite concocted a plan to charge the Orenians across this low tide, but another learned High Elf - one who likely bore a grudge against Haense for their machinations in the Silver War nearly 30 years earlier - had already brought the low-tide to Philip III’s attention, and the Orenians fashioned a similar plan.

 

And so, on the 6th of the Sun’s Smile 1866, the Orenian army of 11,600 clashed with the Tripartite host of 18,100 in the low-tide, and the Battle of Eastfleet unfolded*. 

 

Arrows rained from the hills as the opposing infantry clashed in the shallows of the bay, while cavalry forces manoeuvered along the fringes of the battlefield to establish pincering formations. Although the Orenians had secured victory when outnumbered before at the Battle of Lower Petra, their stratagems at Eastfleet were all firmly checked by Captain Banjo’s command, and, slowly, the superior numbers of the Tripartite Accord simply whittled down the Orenian army.

 

By one hour after noon, the Orenian central command under Philip III and General Basrid received distress signals from their front-lines under Willem van Aert. With their forces spread thin across the bay, Philip III resolved to lead reserves to Willem’s aid and stoke Orenian morale, and sent messengers with commands for the Emperor’s two sons - Prince Peter, and Prince Frederick - to join him with reinforcements. The princes, however, did not answer the call. After a scout reported movements in the eastern foothills which Philip III incorrectly assumed to be his sons riding to his aid, he led his sortie into the Haeseni frontlines. While they pressed deep towards King Sigismund III’s camp, their charge was ground to a halt by the King’s knights of the Marian Retinue, who entrapped the Emperor’s forces while Dwarven soldiers encircled them.

 

Shortly before three hours after noon, urgent reports reached General Basrid in the Orenian main camp: Kronk Ireheart, marshal of the Dwarven forces, had critically wounded Emperor Philip III with a warhammer.

 

By four hours after noon, Willem van Aert’s lines were strained to breaking-point under attacks by Grigori Vyronov and Lucien de Savoie’s vanguard, and news of the Emperor’s injuries had sown discord and panic through the Orenian ranks. 

 

At nearly three hours before dusk, General Basrid sounded a full retreat.

The Holy Orenian Empire had been defeated.

____________________________

 

*Some historical accounts claim that the Battle of Eastfleet was a naval conflict, fought aboard ships, but this appears to be an invention by later scholars.

 

There remains concrete records - most notable that of the Eastfleet harbourmaster - that the low-tide of 1866 left entire ships stranded on the bay, and that the two armies found in shin-deep shallow water. 

 

 

---

 

 

New Providence,

c. 1870

 

 

The consequences of the Battle of Eastfleet were many, and profound.

 

While Eastfleet was the climax and final battle of the Sinners’ War, the War itself was not yet over. In the aftermath of Eastfleet, both armies retreated into their respective territories; the triumphant Tripartite garrisoned themselves in the Urguani borderlands to deter any further Orenian attacks, but none ever came. Though the wounded Emperor Philip III survived Eastfleet, the dream of annexing Blackvale from Urguan did not. 

 

By 1866, the Holy Orenian Empire had been at war with the Tripartite Accord for 16 years, and while the interlude between Haverlock and Eastfleet had been an essential reprieve for Oren, the defeat at Eastfleet made it starkly apparent that the Orenian people had tired of war. In any case, the sheer cost of funding and assembling another invasion force made the prospect a relative impossibility. To compound that impossibility, Grand King Bakir Ireheart had begun to construct a new and enormous ‘grudge-fort’ in the Waystones, diminishing Orenian prospects of annexing the territory even more. 

 

Fearing that the Accord would launch a counterattack into Southbridge again, Emperor Philip III recovered from his injuries at Southbridge (rebuilt and refortified since its reconquest after the Battle of Haverlock). From Southbridge, Philip III took personal command of what remained of the Orenian forces; after dismissing General Anastasios Basrid, he disbanded the Imperial State Army, and reformed it as the ‘Imperial Legion’, of which he appointed himself general.

 

Every vestige of remaining Orenian strength was channelled into the Lower Petra, and while a number of raiding campaigns ensued in the region (and in the Grenz), the Accord made no move to counterattack (contrary to Grand King Bakir Ireheart’s best efforts). Emperor Philip III buried himself in the duties on a field commander, aiding Willem van Aert in the defence of Lower Petra and Manfred of Arichsdorf in the Grenz against raiders, and left one of his cabinet councillors - his treasurer, Henry Penton - to broach negotiations with the Tripartite Accord. 

 

While King Sigismund III came to the table on behalf of the Accord, the peace process would be a long and tedious one.

 

____________________________

 

“Something had most assuredly changed in his Imperial Majesty since he sustained injury at Eastfleet.

 

As if it were a point of pride, he declared he would not set fit in Providence until our lands were secure. It was before the entire gathering of ISA officers that he revoked General Basrid of his rank on account of his orders to retreat from Eastfleet, and that he himself would lead the new Imperial Legion to glory.

 

I am unsure if I ought to be in awe, or concerned.”

 

Musings of Sergeant Harlowe of Cathalon,

Imperial Legion chronicler, c. 1861

____________________________

 

While Emperor Philip III saw to the defence of his borderlands, Empress Anastasia I tended to their hearth in Providence.

 

The machinations of the imperial throne had grown deeply unpopular, a stark swing compared to the prevailing morale that followed their victory at Haverlock seven years earlier. Even Philip III and Anastasia I’s own children - Prince Peter and Prince Frederick - had become obstructionist to their parents’ aims; for instance, it was only after his father threatened him with imprisonment that Prince Frederick marshalled his personal troops at Southbridge to aid in the defence, and both brothers had been accused of varying degrees of insubordination during the Battle of Eastfleet. Empress Anastasia I tenuously held the peace in the capital, while Philip III tried to hold the borders beyond it.

 

Ironically, it was an incident in Providence itself that robbed the Emperor and Empress of what prestige remained.

 

In an event dubbed the Providence Tea Party, Captain Banjo’s Ferrymen infiltrated the imperial palace in Providence, and scaled to the roof undetected with ropes and grapples. There, they lay in wait, until a feast was held after Philip III returned from a victory against raiders in Arichsdorf (which marked the first time the Emperor had returned to Providence since his defeat at Eastfleet). The celebrations were short-lived; Captain Banjo’s skirmishers smashed through the palace windows, abseiling down into defenceless crowds of courtiers.

 

Amongst those captured were Prince Frederick, and Emperor Philip III himself. 

 

Prince Frederick was delivered to the Kingdom of Haense, where he was released by King Sigismund III both as a token of goodwill, and as recompense for Frederick intervening to save the life of Sigismund III’s marshal, Johann Barclay, who was captured at the Disgrace of Arichsdorf. 

 

Philip III, on the other hand, was delivered to the Ferrymen Band’s fortress in Urguan.

There, he was tortured for six days.

____________________________

 

The Lords Justinian and Adolphus of Susa consider three theories as to why Prince Peter and Prince Frederick did not answer their father’s call for reinforcements during the Battle of Eastfleet. One is that Prince Peter’s supporters waylaid Prince Frederick’s soldiers; the second is that Prince Frederick waylaid Prince Peter.

 

The third is that they both ignored the call, and hoped that when the battle ended, the imperial throne would be free for one of them to take.

 

Author’s note.

____________________________

 

Grand King Bakir Ireheart was not known for his mercy.

Ergo, it was out of honour that he ordered Philip III’s release.

 

17 years prior, Philip III had ordered the release of the captured Grand King Ulfric Frostbeard after a daring Orenian raid on the Dwarven capital of Kal’Darakaan at the very start of the war, and so Grand King Bakir evidently felt he had to show similar ‘courtesy’ - a term used loosely, given Philip III was severely maimed during his captivity (which the Dwarves compared to have considered equivalent to Philip III’s shaving of Grand King Ulfric’s beard during his capture). The trend of monarchs attempting to slaughter one another would not come to prominence until much later, during the Covenant War. 

 

A broken Emperor Philip III was found wandering alone and treated for his injuries in Du Loc in 1867, where he had his maimed hand and eye replaced with mechanical ones. When he returned to Providence later this year, he formally renounced any notion of waging further war against the Tripartite Accord, and authorised Henry Penton to conclude a peace with King Sigismund III and his son, Prince Karl Sigmar (by now, the three had bickered over terms for months).

 

The Peace of Eastfleet was concluded in 1868, and with it came the end of one of the longest wars in Human history (totalling nineteen years).  

 

The peace treaty marked the defeat of the Holy Orenian Empire, and, as reparations, they ceded multiple border regions to the Dwarves of Urguan and the Kingdom of Haense, none of which were particular integral, barring Upper Grenz (which was ceded to Haense). All sides were relieved to see the end of the Sinners’ War; the only side who was not war-weary were Grand King Bakir’s Dwarves, but they were content with their gains from the peace treaty. Fate would soon oblige the Grand King’s bloodlust in any case.

 

But peace could not undo what had been set in motion.

 

For the first time in over a century, the bonds of Humanity had been forsaken. It had been one thing to watch the decline of Oren’s influence over the reign of Philip II, and quite another to see it decisively smashed in Philip III’s. In the absence of a clear hegemon, the way was paved for actors - big and small, benign and malevolent - to set in motion their own designs for Humanity.

 

A cornerstone of the Kingdom of Haense’s opposition to Oren was sparked by fear that Philip III and Anastasia I would attempt to forcibly unite Humanity once more, and, so detestable was that prospect that Haense had committed itself to the aid of the Dwarves of Urguan, the historical nemesis of Humanity. 

 

From where we sit, two hundred years later, it is a difficult to thing to fathom what drove the Haeseni to stand against Oren so stalwartly: bitterness that flowed from the suicide of King Sigismund II, so long ago? Or newfound pride in their own strength? Or, perhaps the sundering of Humanity’s unity was of Oren’s making; had Philip III never deigned to utter those words - ‘united Humanity’ - or abstained from pursuing war against the Dwarves, perhaps that unity could have indeed come in time. 

 

Naturally, the fault lies with both, for the Empire of old had grown withered and rotted.

Only through interregnum could these lessons of pride be unlearned.

 

And now a great one was well and truly upon them.

 

---

 

This concludes Interregnum: Volume II.

 

Volume III shall chronicle the outbreak of the Brothers’ War between Prince Frederick and Peter Novellen in the chaos that submerged Oren following the deaths of their parents, Emperor Philip III and Empress Anastasia I.

 

---

 

[Lasombruh 612]

"God damn that wretched niece of mine." An ancient crow grimaced at the memory of his stolen home and all of his priceless art within which was taken with it.

[Terry 2680]

Somewhere, refusing to die, sat that old Grand King, Ulfric Frostbeard. Time had yet to dull his senses, nor render him unable, and as he broke the seal on the letter that lay within his grasps, from a friend of yore, did his eyes move to a copy of that accompanying and ever-updating Chronicle.

 

Ulfric's eyes scanned each page, glanced upon every paragraph, and read every word. Such events were, obviously, almost two centuries ago now, but the dwarf could remember what he needed to, and what he could not remember wholly, could be refreshed from what he read. So as the dwarf read he'd give his occasional nods, slight furrows and then on, but ultimately it was spot on. 

 

The old Frostbeard was surprised, but that surprise was eclipsed by the gratification he felt, for whoever took the time to put it to paper. That whoever took the time to study and write all of what was written so far, knew what they were doing. Of course, there were other internal and smaller things at the time that never made it to light, but he no longer cared. What happened in the past was the past, and this was not a chronicle focused on the Grand Kingdom of Urguan, but the whole of Mankind itself during that time.

 

So as Ulfric finished his read he'd close the Chronicle, awaiting the next Volume, whether it involved him or not. And as he crawled into the bed, for yet another full night's rest in what was a long and enduring life, he'd take a few moments to stare to the ceiling in thought.

 

Ulfric wished he could change a lot of what happened then, as any old ruler might do, for he obviously knew better now than he did all those years ago, but in the end they were correct. He was not the Grand King the Tripartite needed then, but in the end they all won regardless. And to him, that was what mattered.

 

He still despised the Holy Orenian Empire, though. That was a grudge that could never be stricken out.

[Nectorist 12869]

Contained within a world that sees no beginning, nor end, the soul-mirror of Philip III watches the procession of his great army from the balcony of the Aster Palace. Years of war had worn down his body, and- according the to Empress- his mind. He allayed these thoughts, banished them to the recess of his conscious.

 

He has suffered six wounds. Two at Southbridge. One upon the Kahan Sea. One at Jarad’s Tavern. One at the fields of Haverlock. One within Haverlock. 

 

Many close and far from him had perished as a consequence of his ambitions. His chosen-father, Olivier. Gaspard van Aert, his triumvir-son. His own father, grandfather, aunt, uncles, and many more. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of the Tripartite and his own Empire. 

 

Defeats, those he bore responsibility for and those he did not, were almost worse. At Sutica they had been embarrassed, as during the Separation. Under the reign of his namesake, the Empire had become a laughingstock. Southbridge, his own mistake, had nearly cost him his life, clipping the white wings of promise that he had soared with.

 

One last victory would make it all worth it.  

 

As the soul-mirror of the Emperor rose before the cheering crowds of his subjects, he raised a hand to the Lord above. By his will alone, the next phase on the road towards Providence had begun. It would be he who would thrash the dwarves, unite man, and restore the totality of Orenia in one fell swoop.

 

That evening, the dream looped again, and Philip Amadeus awoke to his daughter’s voice calling him for breakfast. 

[GMRO 6186]

Karl Sigmar reminisced on the good ol' days fondly from his early days at the coup of Savoy to the garden party capture. "Where'd the time go?"

[MRCHENN 4741]

Spoiler

As someone who got to play during this period its really cool to see a narrative piece from such a pivotal period that determined the status quo rivalries. Keep it up +1

 

[Lortime 1153]

Spoiler

I feel like wars were cooler back then.. guys, are our wars boring? 

 

[Olox_ 4318]

Spoiler

Posts like this help me recollect long lost memories and go back in time for at least a short while. RP did feel different back then. Thank you for another banger post, Xarkly.

 

[Jihnyny 5233]

Spoiler

#iwasthere this is awesome