Froturnish Civil War (809 AEKE)

The Froturnish Civil War was a civil war fought in 809 AEKE in the Kingdom of Froturn between the supporters of King Cael'mus the Lean and his opposition, composed of conservative nobility and clergy suspicious of the influence of Ta'ael Myrth'nddare in the royal court.

King Cael'mus himself died shortly before the civil war would be concluded, but the victors of the conflict would lead Froturn for the next eight years under policies he conducted during his reign.

Background
King Cael'mus the Lean assumed the throne of Froturn in 691 AEKE. He spent his early years of his reign solidifying his power, which he started by behaving like the Senate and the nobility expected him to. By the 730's, he began exchanging more and more letters with Queen Cairi of Dragoc, and although the two haven't even met personally until much later, there were gossips flying out that the two monarchs having an affair, which was utterly untrue.

In the late 760's or early 770's, Wood Elvens from Dragoc became frequent visitors to cities of Froturn and even Druids begun to sparsely appear, thought to be looking for spreading their spiritualism among their High Elven kin. Rather than forcing them to return to Dragoc - or letting the Inquisition have their way with them - the King instead gave them protection. While this act of his did not cause outright outrage, it still definitely stirred up some controversy and made many in Froturn raise their eyebrows. To this gesture, King Caelmus began receiving more and more gifts from Queen Cairi, especially cider and fruity liqueur, which the king has grown very fond of. The two monarchs have eventually met in person, and began meeting more and more often.

From the 780's, a number of Wood Elves began making permanent appearances in the royal court of Froturn, much to the frustration of the native elite. Many of these were aforementioned druids, greatly alerting the local clergy. Among them would arrive Ta'ael Myrth'nddare, the niece of King Caelmus himself, formerly sent to be raised and educated in Dragoc. A talented sorceress and bureaocrat, she has found herself in a high court position rather soon. While the king was fond of this talented relative of his, the nobility and clergy were more than suspicious of her Wood Elven demeanor. To the Titanist clergy, she was the symbol of everything they considered wrong with Cael'mus's regime - growing Wood Elven influence, tolerance towards a foreign religion taking away believers right from their very noses, increased centralization, and the list went on. The King, who at the time was already tormented by a degenerative sickness, did not give the same amount support to the Church of Titanius as his predecessors did, and the conservative elite called him out on this more than once, much to his anger. As the Senate lost a great deal of influence to the King, another injury was added to the list of things they hated about King Cael'mus and Ta'ael Myrth'nddare: tyranny, or at least, what they perceived as tyranny. Even his own relatives began calling him out on his way of governance.

King Cael'mus began growing more and more paranoid about the possibility of a conspiracy against him, which contributed to further decline of his health. His worries eventually became a reality, when solid proof of people of position opposed to his rule meeting in secret was presented to him by the state intelligence. He immediately began arresting the conspirators, many of whom started fleeing to Etrand or Artaburro to seek refuge.

The opposition led by the Hierophant eventually sent a letter to King Calhoun I of Etrand and Grandmaster Gaius Frostang of the Knights of the Blood Red Light, asking for immediate military assistance against a regime that have strayed away from the path of Titanius. Gaius Frostang promised his support for the cause, and Crown Prince Bryant - the oldest son of King Calhoun - also jumped on the bandwagon with his father's blessing. So did the Froturnish Civil War began, which would have a lasting impact on the fate of the two kingdoms.

Etrandish intervention
The Kingdom of Etrand interfered in the civil war - King Calhoun sent a thousand-strong Etrandish army, led by Crown Prince Bryant and Grandmaster Gaius Frostrang. 150 of those troops were Knights, the rest of the army mainly being crossbowmen, archers and spearmen.

This, combined with the 1 750 rebel troops, made up a total of 2 750 soldiers, opposing a loyalist army of 2 500.

Battle of Ancestors Field
The Battle of Ancestors Field was fought near site that Fathred the Great engaged with and defeated the High Elven army during the First Froturnish-Etrandish War in 1136-1135 BEKE.

On day one, the Etrandish army led by Crown Prince Bryant and Grandmaster Gaius Frostang have already met with the formations of the rebel army, which was prepared to defend against the loyalist forces.

On day two, a bloody battle began after the arrival of Sim'vara's forces. Despite their valiance, the Knights of the Blood Red Light ended up overwhelmed by the more disciplined and experienced veteran High Elven legionaries. A good deal of the rebels dropped their weapons, while those who were on horseback routed together with the heavy cavalry that accompanied Bryant, straight into the forest of pikes and arrows in the middle of the night. The crown prince and his company fought heroically, breaking through the shield wall and escaping back to the East, while the rest of the army either fought to the last man or surrendered.

Conclusion and aftermath
After the Battle of Ancestors Field, King Calhoun of Etrand sent a letter to King Cael'mus of Froturn, apologizing for his son's "unauthorized actions" and reassuring the King of his friendship.

The High Elves never believed in the concept of blood revenge, compared to the humans, fraternity was an unfathomably strong bond for them, which compelled the victory to forgive the conspirators for their actions, including those who went into self-exile.

Not too long after the Civil War before concluded, King Cael'mus died. Since his son Ivahó was too young to rule, the consuls Ta'ael Myrth'nddare and Sim'vara became the de facto rulers of Froturn, concluding the Civil War and exercising their power until 818. An era of reforms came, the army being further augmented by permanent soldiers, while the number of levies was reduced.

The de jure monopoly of Titanists on power was abolished by a "royal edict" - one which would be revoked, de facto in 818, de jure in 822 - which enabled greater freedoms of religious practice. The sewer systems of the cities were repaired, the unused lands north of the capital got filled with vegetable and fruit orchards, where most workers were hirelings from Etrand working for money - the fruits of their labour were collected and counted by officers hired by the Senate. Despite the relative stability during those 9 years, a lot of senators were still bitter about the de facto plutocracy that was ran by the Consuls Sim'vara and Ta'ael and their inner circles.

This is why, in 815, opposing High Elven traditions, the people demanded that the King be crowned at an age that was considered adult for humans. In response, the royal bodyguard, to the orders of Sim'vara - most likely with the agreement of Ta'ael and other members of the elite - placed the King under a "more serious protection" - most likely house arrest. Three years later, in 818, the population of the capital city once again flamed up in revolt, in support of a coup that would end up deposing the inner circle, all "in the name of the king".

Sim'vara would commit suicide, while Ta'ael would voluntarily go into exile. The edict of 809 that curbed church influence and gave more freedoms for people to choose their faith got de facto revoked in 818, although the revocation wouldn't be made official until 822.

Despite the fears of religious persecution, the government proclaimed, that while it would not tolerate foreign religions further snatching away believers from the Church of Titanius, they would still guarantee the safety and religious freedom for those who have been already practising a foreign faith before 822, or those who migrated from a foreign land, like Wood Elves.