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The War of Betony
By Vulper Newgate
The history of the Iliac Bay, if told in its entirety, would horrify
readers more than the most gruesome legend of the Underking. In comparison
to the wars of the first and second era, our most recent appeal to
arms, the War of Betony pales. The Siege of Orsinium lasted from
1E 950 until 1E 980 without a pause. A thousand years later, the
Thrassian Plague coupled with the War of Righteousness slayed over
half the population of the Iliac Bay. And yet, the War of Betony
fascinates us, and not just because of its immediacy.
Ironically, Lord Mogref of Betony was seeking peace when he asked
for Daggerfall's protection on the Isle of Betony. The island had
long been independant, but as the piracy in the Bay increased, Mogref
truly realized Betony's vulnerability. King Lysandus agreed to be
Betony's liege, on advice of many, including his archpriest of Kynareth,
Lord Vanech. While Betony is a prosperous fishing island and well-placed
strategically, the vassalage of Betony was primarily an act of charity.
Lysandus knew that if someone did not help Betony, it would fall
to the pirates, if not to someone worse.
Unfortunately, King Camaron of Sentinel did not agree. Citing a two
hundred year old contract, obliquely if not illegally written to
suggest that Betony was a "traditional holding" of the Kingdom of
Sentinel, Camaron declared war. The majority of his advisors, being
warlords in a traditionally bellicose country, supported their king
in this. The Chief Counselor, a woman called The Oracle, foresaw
death and defeat in the war, but her wisdom was stifled and she was
banished from court. Camaron should have listened to her.
A few scrimages of the War of Betony went to Sentinel, but the major
battles were all won by Daggerfall. King Lysandus, his heir Prince
Gothryd, and the general of the army Lord Bridwell were fine leaders
and warriors as well, and the Battle of the Bluffs and the Siege
of Craghold both went to Daggerfall.
The war might have been won with one more victory, but for an unusual
domestic incident in King Lysandus' court. The king's mother, the
dowager queen Nulfaga, had been uneasy about the war since its beginning,
but she now began to have visions of cataclysm. She saw the death
of her beloved son should the war continue. Ebullient by his success,
King Lysandus refused to listen to her fears until Nulfaga left court.
Lysandus then realized how certain she was about his impending death.
He began to actively negotiate a peace treaty with Sentinel, using
the neutral lordship of Reich Gradkeep as facilitator.
The Treaty of Reich Gradkeep was never to be. King Camaron was initially
civil, as the losing side of a war is often civil, but when he realized
that the proposed treaty would have included a formal declaration
that the kingdoms of Sentinel and Daggerfall would share Betony,
he flew into a rage. With no thought for the protocol of attacking
a neutral peaceable lordship, Camaron order his army to riot through
Reich Gradkeep. First the halls of the palace, and then the streets
of the capitol ran red with blood. It was only with the support of
the Daggerfall army that the chaos was brought under relative control.
The Sentinel army fled to the Yeorth Burrowland, and the Daggerfall
army chased them as far as the Ravennian Forest before making camp.
One week later, after each had a chance to send for reinforcements
and plan their strategies, the armies met in the field that separated
them, the flowering meadowland called Cryngaine Field. In the heat
of the clash, an unnatural fog spread over the field, blinding all
combatants. When the mist finally lifted, King Lysandus' body was
found, his throat pierced by an unmarked arrow.
Daggerfall did not waste any time in mourning; young prince Gothryd,
who had shown great bravery in battle and was very popular among
the troops, was crowned King of Daggerfall just behind the battle
lines, and he ordered the army onward. Perhaps it was the sight of
the brave young warrior turned king appearing on the battlefield
in full regalia that inspired the Daggerfall army, perhaps the battle
would have turned regardless, Sentinel began to panic. King Gothryd
met King Camaron before the Redguards had retreated, and the two
monarchs fought. Both were excellent warriors, but Gothryd was a
more skillful swordsman, and Camaron fell that day. Lord Oresme of
Sentinel formally surrendered to Daggerfall, giving up all rights
to Betony officially. He later commited suicide on the ship back
to Sentinel.
Peace was a difficult process for the cities and towns on both sides
of the Iliac Bay. As part of the formal peace treaty, King Gothryd
asked for the hand of Princess Aubk-i, only daughter of the late
King Camaron and the Queen Regent Akorithi. The request was intended
to restore friendship between the kingdoms, and it was partially
successful though many in the royal court of Sentinel viewed the
princess as more a prisoner of war than a bond to Daggerfall.
The only surviving member of the ruling family of Reich Gradkeep
was a sickly infant, so the councilors of state appealed to Lord
Auberon Flyte, a cousin of Lord Graddock, to rule the lordship in
regency. Lord Flyte accepted, and his strong, almost dictatorial
style was just what Reich Gradkeep needed to restore order after
the bloody Treaty of Reich Gradkeep. His subjects were grateful that
when the infant heir died, they not only elevated his wife Doryanna
and him from regents to rulers, they agreed to rename the lordship
in his honor. Reich Gradkeep became Anticlere, named after his ancestral
home.
The horrors of the War of Betony still live on, even in Anticlere.
Whether Daggerfall and Sentinel will be able to use the marriage
of King Gothryd and Princess Aubk-i as a symbol of peace rather than
discord is something that only the future can show.
-- 14 Suns Dawn 3E 404
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