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In 712 BP the counties of Ystria, Vilinia, Odinland, Gardmoor and Klerengard in Dascunya and all the counties of Uestadenia, began a rebellion against the Liliani Empire. The counties of Devrognia, Okenham and Angialda remained loyal to the Empire of Liliana and fought against the rebel counties.
By 700 BP, the rebel counties were victorious and proclaimed the Kingdoms of Dascunya and the Kingdom of Uestadenia. The counties of Angialda and Devrognia could not be conquered by the Dascunyan royal army, and, after the collapse of Liliani rule, proclaimed the Kingdom of Ancalda under King Richard I of Ancalda.
William the Wise, of the Gardmoor dynasty was crowned the King of the Dascunyan Kingdoms or Dascunyan Empire, a union of five Dascunyan Kingdoms, Ystria, Vilinia, Odinland, Gardmoor and Klerengard.
Background[]
After nearly 1000 years of rule in Dascunya, the Liliani Empire had seen fit to elevate a number of Dascunyan families to high nobility, to rule the lands in the name of the Emperor.
During the reign of Emperor Curias II, the Liliani Empire suffered a decline in power with uprisings occurring all over the Empire. In 713 BP, a culmination of poor crop yields and higher tax demands saw dissent in the southern lands of the Empire. Local rulers were demanded to quell the peasant uprisings, however the nobles across Dascagnium, Uestadagnium and Samuelonia were suffering alongside the peasants under Liliani rule.
In Febuary 712 BP, with starvation and suffering at a critical point, the counts of Dascagnium and Uestagnium held an emergency council meeting in Drekan. Vincent Bentyne-Mallis, the Senator of Dascagnium and Uestagnium demanded that his Counts round up peasant dissenters and execute them to set an example to would be revolters. The council ended with great quarrels and violence was only narrowly avoided, with many Counts demanding Bentyne-Mallis be removed from office.
Four weeks later, Senator Bentyne-Mallis ordered the arrest of 37 Counts. Sixteen of those listed for arrest were detained in Drekan at a smaller council meeting, whilst the remainder of the list were ordered to present themselves to Drekan immediately.
By May 712 BP, 32 of the listed Counts were held in jail in Drekan, whilst the remaining 5 went into hiding. A week long trial was held in which the five judges found all 37 Counts guilty of treason to the Empire. Bentyne-Mallis' overall aim was to rid his lands of outspoken nobles and demanded that the judges find all 37 guilty. Of the 37 Counts, eleven (including the 5 Counts in hiding) were sentenced to death, fourteen were sentenced to life in prison and the remaining twelve were sentenced to exile. All 37 were to have their lands and titles revoked.
The day after the trial Count Albert Gardmoor of Gardmoor along with Count Edmund Trystyfer, Count Vernon Klerengard, Count Edward Freemont and Count Kevan Vinter were executed by beheading in Empire Square, Drekan. The heads were mounted on spikes on the city walls and the bodies dispatched to their families.
Bentyne-Mallis dispatched letters to the families of all 37 Counts ordering them to attend the capital and denounce there treasonous kinsmen.
Outbreak of disorder[]
The executions failed to have the desired effect and rebel armies were mobilised all over the territories. A small detachment of 500 troops dispatched to Tarynthia in the county of Gardmoor, to arrest the sons of Count Albert Gardmoor, were ambushed and killed. Conrad Gardmoor, the eldest son of Albert, assumed control of those who remained loyal and dispatched the heads of the dead soldiers back to the capital in a grim declaration of war against Bentyne-Mallis.
In response to this, Senator Bentyne-Mallis dispatched an army of 5000 men to quell the Gardmorian rebels. Conrad Gardmoor rallied his own army, with around 7000 men answering the call from across Dascunya. The Battle of Egmont Mills took place on the 18th of November 712 BP, with the rebel forces completely annialating the Liliani army.
Word of the victory spread across the lands with nobles and peasants alike flocking to join with Conrad Gardmoor. Before the end of the year Conrad's forces won a further to victories in Emborwood and Kleicester. Meanwhile a second rebel army under Count Hugo Grymburn of Zorriaga from Uestadenia began taking cities in Uestadenia.
Bentyne-Mallis now facing outright rebellion call for arms from every Count and dispatched pleas for reinforcements from across the Liliani Empire. The northern Dascunyan counties of Devrognia, Okenham and Angialda pledged their allegiance to Bentyne-Mallis and sent forces to Drekan. However only 10,000 troops were sent by Emperor Curias II, who was unable to spare any further forces due to other conflicts around the Empire.
The Counts' War had set sparked revolt across the southern lands of the Empire with a further rebellion erupting in Samuelonia. Whilst the Emperor was only able to dispatch 10,000 troops, this gave Bentyne-Mallis a healthy force numbering nearly 40,000. Whilst the two rebel armies of Dascugnium and Uestadegnium numbered around 60,000, the vast majority of those were untrained, unskilled and poorly equipped peasants.
The Dascunyan Liliani forces earned their first victory in March 711 BP at the Battle of Danheim. Conrad Gardmoor had split his army in two, sending half to Riverhorn under the command of Francis Klerengard and the other half under his command to Danheim. Victories at Danheim and Riverhorn would have given the rebels a huge advantage, however protracted sieges at both cities took a toll on both armies. Whilst Conrad was besieging Danheim, the main army of Liliani-Dascunya arrived. Conrad's army was out numbered, out skilled and out manoeuvred and soundly defeated. Conrad was injured on the battlefield but managed to escape. The Gardmorian army fled Danheim and unsuccessfully attempted to regroup.
Around 5000 men along with Conrad and his brother Albert had fallen back to the small town of Copdenmere in the eastern county of High Venatine. Conrad hoped to regroup and face the Liliani army in battle once more at Copdenmere on favourable terrain, but riders dispatched to the remainders of his forces ordering to regroup were captured by Liliani forces. The Liliani forces under the command of Gwynden Oscurt surrounded the the rebel forces in Copdenmere and called for their surrender. Outnumbered by over 3:1 Conrad chose to fight, knowing surrender would see him executed. The rebels attempted to break the Liliani defences during the night and escape to safety however only a few hundred managed to escape with many cut down. The following morning General Oscurt ordered an attack on the remaining rebel forces. Conrad Gardmoor was once again wounded, whilst his brother Albert was killed in battle.
Conrad and around 300 rebel prisoners were taken back to Drekan. Bentyne-Mallis ordered the execution of all the prisoners, except Conrad, who he decided to keep prisoner.
The siege of Riverhorn had also failed and the Klerengardian forces were forced to fall back. The rebels in Uestadegnium were having more success with a number of victories over depleted Liliani local garrisons. The Dascunyan rebels spent the remainder of the year regrouping under the command of Count Francis Klerengard.
Southern campaign[]
Between 711 to 708 BP the focus of the war turned to the southern lands of Dascunya, with Count Francis klerengard looking to hold lands and link up with the Uestadenian forces. Fighting around the Odinland and Ystria lands saw a number of bloody and costly battles.
Liliani rivival[]
Having suffered a number of defeats Bentyne-Mallis received further reinforcements. 20,000 Liliani troops were dispatched from Samuelonia and the campaign to retake Uestadenia began in 707 BP.
Samuelonian campaign[]
In 704 BP, King Omar V of Samuelonia marched north with an army numbering around 40,000 to support the rebel counts in Dascagnium and Uestadagnium.