Lore:The War of Betony (Newgate)

The history of the  , if told in its entirety, would horrify readers more than the most gruesome legend of the  . In comparison to the wars of the first and second era, our most recent appeal to arms, the War of Betony pales. The   lasted from   until   without a pause. A thousand years later, the Thrassian Plague coupled with the War of Righteousness slayed over half the population of the Iliac Bay. And yet, the War of Betony fascinates us, and not just because of its immediacy.

Ironically, Lord   of   was seeking peace when he asked for  's protection on the Isle of Betony. The island had long been  , but as the piracy in the Bay increased, Mogref truly realized Betony's vulnerability. King   agreed to be Betony's liege, on advice of many, including his archpriest of Kynareth, Lord Vanech. While Betony is a prosperous fishing island and well-placed strategically, the vassalage of Betony was primarily an act of charity. Lysandus knew that if someone did not help Betony, it would fall to the pirates, if not to someone worse.

Unfortunately, King   of   did not agree. Citing a two hundred year old contract, obliquely if not illegally written to suggest that Betony was a traditional holding of the Kingdom of Sentinel, Camaron declared war. The majority of his advisors, being warlords in a traditionally bellicose country, supported their king in this. The Chief Counselor, a woman called  , foresaw death and defeat in the war, but her wisdom was stifled and she was banished from court. Camaron should have listened to her.

A few   of the War of Betony went to Sentinel, but the major battles were all won by Daggerfall. King Lysandus, his heir Prince  , and the general of the
army Lord   were fine leaders and warriors as well, and the Battle of the Bluffs and the   both went to Daggerfall.

The war might have been won with one more victory, but for an unusual domestic incident in King Lysandus' court. The king's mother, the dowager queen  , had been uneasy about the war since its beginning, but she now began to have visions of cataclysm. She saw the death of her beloved son should the war continue. Ebullient by his success, King Lysandus refused to listen to her fears until Nulfaga left court. Lysandus then realized how certain she was about his impending death. He began to actively negotiate a peace treaty with Sentinel, using the neutral lordship of Reich Gradkeep as facilitator.

The Treaty of Reich Gradkeep was never to be. King Camaron was initially civil, as the losing side of a war is often civil, but when he realized that the proposed treaty would have included a formal declaration that the kingdoms of Sentinel and Daggerfall would share Betony, he flew into a rage. With no thought for the protocol of attacking a neutral peaceable lordship, Camaron order his army to riot through Reich Gradkeep. First the halls of the palace, and then the streets of the   ran red with blood. It was only with the support of the Daggerfall army that the chaos was brought under relative control. The Sentinel army fled to the  , and the Daggerfall army chased them as far as the   before making camp.

One week later, after each had a chance to send for reinforcements and plan their strategies, the armies met in the field that separated them, the flowering meadowland called  . In the heat of the clash, an unnatural fog spread over the field, blinding all combatants. When the mist finally lifted, King Lysandus' body was found, his throat pierced by an unmarked arrow.

Daggerfall did not waste any time in mourning; young prince Gothryd, who had shown great bravery in battle and was very popular among the troops, was crowned King of Daggerfall just behind the battle lines, and he ordered the army onward. Perhaps it was the sight of the brave young warrior turned king appearing on the battlefield in full regalia that inspired the Daggerfall army, perhaps the battle would have turned regardless, Sentinel began to panic. King Gothryd met King Camaron before the  s had retreated, and the two monarchs fought. Both were excellent warriors, but Gothryd was a more skillful swordsman, and Camaron fell that day. Lord   of Sentinel formally surrendered to Daggerfall, giving up all rights to Betony officially. He later   suicide on the ship back to Sentinel.

Peace was a difficult process for the cities and towns on both sides of the Iliac Bay. As part of the formal peace treaty, King Gothryd asked for the hand of Princess  , only daughter of the late King Camaron and the Queen Regent  . The request was intended to restore friendship between the kingdoms, and it was partially successful though many in the royal court of Sentinel viewed the princess as more a prisoner of war than a bond to Daggerfall.

The only surviving member of the ruling family of Reich Gradkeep was a sickly infant, so the councilors of state appealed to Lord  , a cousin of Lord Graddock, to rule the lordship in regency. Lord Flyte accepted, and his strong, almost dictatorial style was just what Reich Gradkeep needed to restore order after the bloody Treaty of Reich Gradkeep. His subjects were grateful that when the infant heir died, they not only elevated his wife Doryanna and him from regents to rulers, they agreed to rename the lordship in his honor. Reich Gradkeep became  , named after his ancestral home.

The horrors of the War of Betony still live on, even in Anticlere. Whether Daggerfall and Sentinel will be able to use the marriage of King Gothryd and Princess Aubk-i as a symbol of peace rather than discord is something that only the future can show.

-- 14 Suns Dawn