The War of Three Duchies

118-471 SE

The war of the Three Duchies was a war between the Duchy of Silverhaven, the Duchy of Trinia, and the Duchy of Ironstorm. These Duchies were formed in 546, 578 and 583 EA respectively. In 599 EA, the three duchies entered a time of peace with the formation of long-term trade agreements between their nations. The roots of this war lie in the civil war after the fall of the Kingdom of Maimah’Ladna. These three duchies were formed in the wake of a true order, and united the realm of Maimah’Ladna beneath them.  In 536 EA, the largest and oldest of the three duchies was formed. House Silverhaven, a surviving vassal to House Grannon, united three of the largest eastern counties of Maimah’Ladna underneath their rule. These counties were ruled by; Silverhaven itself, House De Fiand, and House Talbot. Silverhaven quickly formed a powerful standing army, and began expanding westward to wrest control of the rest of Maimah’Ladna. This led to an exodus of houses who fled this militant expansion, many of whom fled across the sea to the south. In 543 EA, several of these houses colonized the Ironstorm Archipelago to the south of the Peninsula. By 562 EA, Silverhaven had expanded to encompass much of the Trinion Grasslands, and had Houses Veltheim, Darknestle, Ashrook, Tredegar, Cregor, Baltus, Farrus Levinson and Brudenelle under its sphere of influence. At this point, Silverhaven began to cease expansion, beginning to consolidate its gains.

 In response to this rapid expansion, House Trinia called upon its rivals in the Trinion Grasslands, asking for an alliance between the houses to combat Silverhaven expansion into their lands. There had been no peace in the Trinion grasslands since the fall of the Kingdom of Maimah’Ladna, but now there was a brokered agreement. In 578 EA, House Trinia took command of the Duchy of Trinia, along with Houses Lambrick, De Beaumont, Blackwood, Beleckor, De Vere, Vosrell and Sicillus.

 In 583, many of those houses who fled to the Ironstorm Archipelago united together. They formed the Duchy of Ironstorm, a unification of all the lesser houses into a single greater one, of House Ironstorm. This was only possible due to the weakness they all possessed after the forced exile. However, three more houses quickly declared for the Duchy of Ironstorm. Dravus, Mallister and Briante were houses both from the mainland, three of the many houses on the southern coast of the Maimah Peninsula.

 Despite their beginnings in inherent conflict, the three Duchies quickly found a relative peace between themselves that would last for many centuries. Silverhaven expansion did not resume for this time period, and there was a peace brought on with the three duchies now controlling the majority of the peninsula, though there were many areas under the control of individual houses who swore no fealty to a greater house. In 599, the three duchies forged long-term trade agreements, showing the desire for peace amongst the three.

 In 84 SE, tensions began to rise between the three duchies. House Baltus seceded from the Duchy of Silverhaven, joining with the Duchy of Trinia. Following this, there was a period of political instability in Silverhaven, as there was shown to be a weakness in the regime that commanded the Duchy, and the militarism that had sustained it since its inception. With the secession of Baltus, Silverhaven’s present Duke Timorrus was placed under great scrutiny by many of Silverhaven’s supporters. In 91 SE, Duke Timorrus was assassinated at a feast in Silverhaven’s keep.

 Duke Timorrus was replaced by his eldest son, Pendrick Silverhaven. This instilled a new era in which Silverhaven militarism was reinforced again, leading to many border skirmishes between the three Duchies. Ironstorm ships began raiding the coastline of Silverhaven territory. This was only made worse with the first great daemon gate incursion in 102 SE, which led to a partial attack on Maimah’Ladna. This daemon attack led to further tension and conflict in Maimah’Ladna.

 In 112 SE, House Farrus of the southern Maimah coast declared for House Ironstorm, abandoning House Silverhaven. With the loss of another major house, Silverhaven entirely abandoned their peace with the other two duchies. House Silverhaven prepared for war, calling their men to arms and constructing machines to shatter keep walls.

 In 116 SE, House Silverhaven surrounded and demanded fealty of House Sicillus, a vassal to House Trinia. House Trinia lacked a significant response, and House Sicillus, under threat of destruction, surrendered to House Silverhaven. Following this, Silverhaven began a campaign of terror against the Duchy of Trinia, launching raids against villages, and attacks on supply lines with small forces.

 In 118 SE, House Silverhaven launched a full out assault against the other two Duchies. Forces from Silverhaven and its vassals laid siege to Houses Blackwood and Beleckor of the Duchy of Trinia. At the same time, they assaulted House Mallister, the greatest vassal house of Ironstorm, and its strongest tie to the mainland. This was not long unanswered. Within the year, both Trinia and Ironstorm had declared war on Silverhaven.

 The response by House Trinia upon declaring war was much more swift than that of House Ironstorm. Houses Trinia, De Vere, and Vosrell quickly rode to the aid of House Blackwood, in an attempt to lift the siege by Silverhaven forces there. At the same time, Houses Lambrick and De Beaumont rode to House Beleckor to lift the siege. The siege of Castle Blackwood was lifted in 124 SE, and the siege of House Beleckor was lifted in 125 SE. Throughout this period, House Baltus moved on House Sicillus, formerly of the Duchy of Trinia, now a vassal to Silverhaven. This led to the Battle of the Blue Fork in 131 SE, a massive battle between Baltus and Sicillus that led to a decisive victory for the Duchy of Trinia, and House Sicillus being retaken.

 With the lands of the Duchy of Trinia now secure, and Silverhaven forces reeling from the string of victories by the smaller Duchy, Silverhaven turned its attention towards the Duchy of Ironstorm, leaving behind House Ashrook to head the overseeing of defenses in Trinia. 142 SE saw the beginning of the siege of Castle Ashrook, as the forces of Trinia broke through Silverhaven lines to reach the westernmost towns and fortresses of the Duchy.

 As House Silverhaven moved its forces south the meet Ironstorm, the siege of Castle Mallister was gaining little ground, as the port fortress kept a steady stream of supplies from smuggling. House Silverhaven dispatched its navy to attack the fleet of House Ironstorm in an attempt to cripple Mallister’s supply lines. In 157 SE the first major naval confrontation of the war occurred, now known as the Battle of the Red Sails. In this battle, both fleets suffered incredible casualties, and neither side accomplished their aims. Supplies kept trickling through to Castle Mallister, and the Silverhaven navy continued harassing the supply line.

 With the failure of a naval assault, House Silverhaven left behind House Talbot to oversee the continued siege of Castle Mallister. Silverhaven then moved its forces on, to a landlocked castle of House Ironstorm. The siege of Castle Dravus began in 189 SE. In 221 SE, the luck of House Silverhaven turned. The Duchy of Trinia retreated from Silverhaven land, and the siege of Castle Ashrook ceased. This led to Silverhaven preparing a new invasion of Trinia, but moreover sending many of their forces south to deal with Ironstorm more fully. In 235 SE, House Dravus was utterly destroyed. The siege ended with the gates of Castle Dravus being brought down. However, every member of the house was killed by Silverhaven forces.

 This led to a retreat of the forces of Ironstorm from much of the land they had claimed on the mainland. Ironstorm forces retreated to the three castles of the houses on the mainland still loyal to Ironstorm. The siege of House Mallister continued as a stalemate, with no ground being gained by either side. Silverhaven also moved south, beginning to siege of Castle Briante in 263 SE. House Ironstorm continued its tactic of naval harassment, while supplying its vassals across the sea.

 The majority of the SIlverhaven forces, however, moved to attack Trinia again. Two diversionary sieges went out, beginning the sieges of Castle Vosrell, and Castle Baltus in 265 and 266 SE respectively. This was only a diversion from the spearhead of the Silverhaven assault, which brought there forces to the gates of Castle Lambrick, one of the most powerful houses in support of House Trinia. The siege of Castle Lambrick began in 272 SE.

 Most of these sieges went awry. Silverhaven underestimated the power of House Lambrick, whose forces alone repelled the entirety of the Silverhaven attack, ending the siege of Castle Lambrick in 283 SE. House Baltus was quickly supported by further parts of the military of Trinia. In 291 SE the siege of House Baltus was ended. However, in 303 SE, House Vosrell was destroyed in the same way House Dravus had been. The gates of the castle were breached, leading to every member of the House being killed by Silverhaven forces.

<p class="MsoNormal"> House Trinia then began its great offensive. Spurred on by the recent failures of House Silverhaven, as well as the utter destruction of House Vosrell, the vassals of House Trinia began a massive series of attacks against Silverhaven forces in 332 SE. Castles Cregor, De Fiand, Talbot, Veltheim and Brudenelle were all sieged by forces under House Trinia. This went well for a time, and House Brudenelle surrendered to House Trinia in 341 SE.

<p class="MsoNormal"> In 355 SE, House Ironstorm took a far more active role in the war. They laid siege to House Delroy, Van Gilliard, and Belethor, three neutral houses on the Ironstorm coast. In 562, 563 and 566 SE respectively, these three houses all came under control of House Ironstorm. In 372 SE, House Ironstorm claimed the entire southern coast of Maimah’Ladna, and all the houses along it.

<p class="MsoNormal"> In 381 SE, House Ironstorm, Silverhaven, and Trinia met in a massive naval confrontation. Ironstorm had recently claimed the entire southern coast, an enormous expansion Silverhaven could not let pass. Equally, House Trinia had recently claimed some territory on the southern coast, in the form of House Brudenelle. Silverhaven forces remained sieging Brian

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<p class="MsoNormal"> The battle began with Silverhaven sending the bulk of its navy south in an effort to end the supply line once and for all to Briante and Mallister, to crush the two houses and end the bid of Ironstorm to claim the south coast. At the same time, Trinia sent its own navy south to support House Brudenelle against the Ironstorm navy, which was moving to strike, in an effort to claim one of the last standing houses on the south coast.

<p class="MsoNormal"> All of the houses suffered massive casualties, though the Silverhaven and Trinia navies both pulled back from the regions following a serious blow. Trinia lost almost the entirety of its navy. Ironstorm won the battle, quickly laying claim to House Brudenelle on the south coast in 384 SE, and relieving House Mallister, and House Briante from Silverhaven assault in 385 SE.

<p class="MsoNormal"> House Trinia never recovered from the battle, and the heir to the Duchy was killed in the battle of the Ironstorm Coast. In 389 SE the forces of Trinia sieging castles De Fiand and Talbot were crushed utterly by a flanking maneuver by Silverhaven forces. Trinia abandoned the sieges at Veltheim and Cregor immediately.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Before forces from Trinia could return, they were cut off by an assault from the south by forces of House Ironstorm, ending in the destruction of the remaining forces in 390 SE. When the Duke of House Trinia was assassinated in 396 SE, the duchy collapsed in numerous uprisings. Without a leader, and following the series of defeats, none of the Houses maintained the alliance.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Following this, there were a series of attempts by Ironstorm and Silverhaven to take control of several houses in the former Duchy of Trinia. None of these succeeded, as every attempt was thwarted by the other. In 428 SE these attempts ceased, and Ironstorm and Silverhaven focused their respective military might against eachother in an enormous land campaign. This culminated in 434 SE, in the Battle of the Red Grasslands.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The battle of the Red Grasslands was the largest military confrontation in the history of Maimah’Ladna, with each side fielding almost their entire military, each at around 25000 men.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The battle was indecisive, but led to a retreat of the forces of House Ironstorm from the region. House Belethor was also utterly destroyed, its leader and his two heirs killed in the battle. This resulted in the stepping down of House Ironstorm from leadership of the Duchy of Ironstorm. House Ironstorm had lost the least men in the battle, as they did not field many men in the actual combat for the war. In its place, by popular ruling, House Mallister took over the Duchy of Ironstorm in 437 SE. The leadership in House Ironstorm was weak at the time, with an 8 year old heir now ruling the throne.

<p class="MsoNormal"> With the instability in the Duchy of Ironstorm, and with the recent losses on both other sides, House Lambrick took the opportunity to reunite the houses of Trinia. In the name of the Duchy of Trinion, House Lambrick took over the houses of the old Duchy through force and diplomacy, which in 442 SE led to the complete reuniting of the old Duchy.

<p class="MsoNormal"> House Silverhaven prepared new plans for an assault against the other two Duchies, both weak from the political upheaval. However, before this could come to pass, House Ashrook withdrew its support from the Duchy of Silverhaven in 468 SE. House Ashrook had one of the largest forces in any of the Duchies, and this was a massive blow to the Duchy of Silverhaven. Following this, many houses in Silverhaven also withdrew support from the war, claiming it had gone on without success for too long.

<p class="MsoNormal"> In 471 SE, House Silverhaven, House Mallister, and House Lambrick met to discuss terms to a peace treaty. This was quickly agreed upon, ending the war of the three duchies, and paving the way for the Maimah’Ladna Hedgemony.