Aederik's Revoultion

Aederik's Revoultion - also known as False King's War or the Rape War by some historians - was a military conflict within the Kingdom of Etrand that took place during the reign of King Bryant I of Etrand.

Background
In 718, King Calder I of Etrand died while his wife was pregnant - his only daughter, Mythela took the throne, but her succession was contested by Calder's, which led to the Etrandish Succession War of 718}, which ultimately ended with Mythela de jure keepign her throne, while de facto political power would go to her new husband Bryant, who was one of the main leaders of the loyalist forces during the aforementioned civil war.

It is generally believed that Calder's wife miscarried, never delivering a living boy - however, that didn't stop random claimants to the throne from popping up, claiming to be Calder's lost son. One such claimant was Aederik, who accused King Bryant of being a "usurper", demanding the throne and promising to start a peasant rebellion when his demands were met with laughter.

Before this event drought has decimated crops for two years in many regions and food became scarce. Many peasants blamed Bryant for this as he was trying his best to provide the cities with required nourishment. They hoped that if Aederik has grown up as one of them then he would enact new laws in their favour later on. This was further exacerbated by the recently enacted Anti-Rape Laws, which completely outlawed the cultivation of rapeseed - the king's enforcers were, at times rather overzealous, with widespread accusations of burning down rapeseed-fields and refusing to compensate the peasants for their financial losses. One such previously wealthy peasant was Ghéri Myrnáld, who was acutely affected by the king's policies, and after suffering physical abuse at the hands of royal enforcers for publicly insulting the king for his "anti-rapeseed hysteria", he decided to use the remainder of his wealth to finance Aederik's peasant rebellion.

Conflict
In the end, however, Aederik's rebellion was doomed to failure. Despite their bravery and determination, the peasants were no match for the well-trained and well-equipped soldiers of the Etrandish military - Aederik's peasant army was decisively defeated at the Battle of Mitrid Plains, and the rebellion was brutally suppressed. Aederik himself disappeared without a trace, while Ghéri Myrnáld was captured and executed.

Aftermarth
While the king ultimately made several concessions to the peasantry - such as repealing the Anti-Rape Laws, re-legalizing the cultivation of rapeseed - he still punished those who participated in the rebellion: peasants were returned to their villages by force and those who participated were forced to permanently settle there for the next twenty years as a means of punishment - many were forced to to work on the newly established ricefields near the rivers, as part of Bryant's campaign to popularize rice cultivation in Etrand. Aederik's body was never recovered from the battlefield which gave birth to many rumours of his survival and contiuned ambition of taking the throne. It took decades for these stories to die out but Aederik still remained a hero in many peasant's eyes.

The "Rape War" had a lasting impact on the Kingdom of Etrand, as it served as a reminder of the power of the common people, and the dangers of ignoring their grievances. It also led to a series of reforms and concessions by the royal government, which sought to placate the disgruntled peasantry and prevent future revolts.