War of Vengeance

The War of Vengeance (1508-1624) was a war between Brookshire - Brookshire's Barony of Elwynn in particular - and Yardistan which took place in the First Babkhan Era of Elwynn. The war ended in a decisive victory for Elwynn which by the end of the war had been split off Brookshire and raised to Duchy-status by Kaiser Yarad I in recognition of its valor in the war. The fighting phase of the war ended in 1509 but the Antyans refused to conclude a general peace and thus hostilities were not formally concluded until a visiting descendant of the House of Bukolos offered a cessation of hostilities on behalf of the Island of Benacia.

Background

At the time of Elwynn's demotion in the Year 1488 from Duchy to Barony its elite consisted of haughty and snobby corrupted Elfinshi.

The Elfinshi (with their Menelmacari and Hyperborean allies) had a vested interest in keeping the Elw indentured. Shireroth (and its Duchy of Elwynn) was a fully feudalist society. Ravishing the women of a lord was a legal punishment for certain crimes (only women until the "equal ravishing rights" debate took place).

The Elfinshi had their idyllic Soloralist concept of what life should be. Nature should be unspoilt. Seeing how monstrous Menelmacar had become after industrialization, Elwynn couldn't possible endure the same fate. It had to be protected. For that reason, the Elfinshi decided to make Elwynn a "reserve" built on tradition and the five quintessentialist truths. The environment would be catered for, things would be peaceful and beautiful. Everyone would sit in the tree tops and sing every day.

For the Elfinshi elite, at least, who lived in a clueless bubble of luxury and extravaganza.

The native peoples, at this time mainly the Elw, toiled. They were a nomadic people, prior to the Shirerithian invasion. The Elfinshi indentured the Elw, and made them work in agriculture, in construction and so on. And as modern technology was denied, work was very heavy and very hard. These backbreaking, dangerous and slave-like conditions only fueled resentment from Elw to Elfinshi. Many Elw people died, of course, as a natural result of being subjected to the living conditions attendant upon serfdom.

After Elwynn's demotion to a barony, the alliance between Hyperboreans and Elfinshi had broken down. Mari Greenwood and the upper echelons of the Elfinshi elite left for Delvenus. Violence broke out. Elw people demanded freedom. As Mari Greenwood, for reasons unknown, left the baronial throne to Ardashir, the Babkhans who did arrive were hailed as heroes and liberators. Especially as they brought technology with them.

That the ‎‎Elfinshi genocide then actually did occur within two or three months from demotion was not too surprising, given the chaos, the resentment, and the will for the new regime to get the people on its side.

War

Battle of Vijayanagra

Main article: Battle of Vijayanagra.

The Battle of Vijayanagra was a pivotal battle during the days of the War of Vengeance which ultimately determined the outcome of that war, and it was a decisive Elwynnese victory.

The battle took place just outside the city of Vijayanagra between an Elwynnese army - of which the core was formed by the battle-hardened retinue of Huskarls of Count Harald of Araxion - and the Crusaders of Apollo, the Antyan invasion force, which was led by Radru Umbarcotumo, a half-elf paladin. The Antyans were thrown back into the sea and slaughtered, and their fleet was largely sank.

The Antyan army broke down after Radru Umbarcotumo was - during one desperate final charge on the Elwynnese shieldwall upon evenfall, which in the hours before had withstood wave after wave of fierce Antyan attacks - slain in single combat by Count Harald after the latter had cut a bloody path through the former's elite guard of paladins. Radru Umbarcotumo's head was sent by Count Harald to Amir Ardashir Osmani of the Militia and Police of Elwynn as a trophy. It is said that Radru Umbarcotumo's head is to this very day kept in a trophy room in the Palace of One Thousand Columns.

As a direct result of the battle the tables of the war were turned and from that instance on Elwynn had the upper hand. The aforesaid caused support for Yardistan to go up in smoke - with their allies withdrawing one after the other - while other (foreign) powers rallied en masse to Elwynn's cause, ultimately forcing Yardistan to make a for them unfavourable peace with Elwynn since the Lands of the Two Sacred Rivers could negotiate from a position of strength.