Lore:Second Era Wars

The following is a list of all known wars and conflicts during the Second Era. Most of these took place during the   (2E 430 – 2E 854).

Yashnag's Chiefdom vs. Western Skyrim
c. 2E 435 &mdash;  

There was a conflict between  's Chiefdom (an Orcish state in western Falkreath Hold) and the Nordic kingdom of Western Skyrim from c. 2E 435 to  . The conflict has no official name, and it is unclear when it started, but it began 'more than 30 years' before 2E 467 and must have started after the Sack of Orsinium and the Skyrim Schism in 2E 431. 

Durcorach

Major Battles
 's Conquest of Cyrodiil &mdash;  

Durcorach's Invasion of High Rock &mdash;  
Attack on the Bangkorai Garrison &mdash;  
Sack of Hallin's Stand &mdash;  
Sack of Evermore &mdash;  
Siege of Wayrest &mdash;  
Sack of Camlorn &mdash;  
Attack on Daggerfall &mdash;  

Ranser's War
thumb|King Emeric
  

King   of   had been courting Rayelle, daughter of King   of  , when he met and abruptly married Princess  , daughter of the Redguard King   of  . Ranser was deeply offended, and withdrew his diplomats from Wayrest, surreptitiously raising levies and hiring mercenaries in   over the course of a year.  Finally, in   of 2E 566, he swept down from the northern mountains, taking Emeric by surprise and nearly razing Wayrest immediately. Only the efforts of the king's personal guard saved the city, and forced a protracted siege.  Ranser's forces were insufficient to take the fortified city by storm, and so the siege dragged on as the tide of the war turned against him. Ranser's aggression was unpopular even among his own nobles, and several prominent houses of   withdrew their military support and sued for peace.  While internal stresses took their toll, the original   paid dividends, as  ,  , and   were compelled to come to Wayrest's aid.

Meanwhile, Emeric was cannily leveraging his diplomatic connections. His recent marriage ties with the Redguards summoned a fleet of fierce warriors across the  , while an offer to restore   brought the Orcs into the fray.  Under  , the old enemies of Shornhelm burned Ranser's holdings and were waiting to prevent the troops' retreat from the advancing Breton and Redguard forces. Caught between the hammer and anvil at Markwasten Moor, Ranser's army was utterly destroyed. Only a select few were able to escape with the king, who retreated to a tor overlooking the smoking ruins of Shornhelm, hoping to make a last stand.  Driven to desperation, Ranser turned to dark sorcery, but was murdered during the ritual by one of his own generals.  The Crown of Shornhelm went missing during the chaos, and that evil place has henceforth bore the name  . 

Second Akaviri Invasion
  

Also called the Liberation War by the  s.  A fleet originating from the  i nation of  , under the command of  , invaded northern   during the   of the Second Era. United by a common enemy, the Nords of Eastern Skyrim, the Dunmer of Morrowind and the Argonians of Black Marsh jointly defeated the Akaviri invaders and formed an unusual alliance, the Ebonheart Pact.

Major Battles

Battle of Windhelm or Sack of Windhelm, 7 Sun's Height – 7 Last Seed 2E 572:  For reasons unknown, the Akaviri fleet, although originating from the east, bypassed the eastern shores of   and  , instead landing near  , in the north of  .  Windhelm was taken by surprise and utterly sacked, resulting in the death of Queen   and her heir, Princess  , who both fell leading their troops,  known as the Blood Claws.  Nurnhilde's younger brothers reached Windhelm during the battle, but too late to prevent its sack:  Fildgor Strong-Prince at the head of his Stormfist Brigade,  Jorunn the Skald-Prince leading the "Pack of Bards".  The twin-brothers joined forces to repel the Akaviri invaders.  
thumb|500px| ,  , and   at the   near  , which led to the formation of the  .
''' ''', 2E 572: Jorunn then sought the aid of the reclusive  , who summoned the mythical Ash-King,  .  With the aid of Wulfharth, Jorunn rallied his troops and fortified  , expecting an imminent assault.  However, the invaders simply bypassed the city, passing into   in western  .  They were opposed by Dark Elf forces commanded by general Tanval of  , who staged a fighting retreat as the Akaviri slowly advanced towards eastern Stonefalls.  
:There, on a beach of the   just to the west of   that would later be named  ,   i troops under the command of the living god   met and held them, while Jorunn and Wulfharth (and allegedly the Stormfirst Brigade ) pursued the Akaviri force into a surprise pincer attack.  The fighting was fierce, but the Nord army was overextended, and victory seemed uncertain until an elite Argonian phalanx of   led by    reinforced the Dunmeri army, turning a stalemate into a slaughter.  With the aid of a tidal wave summoned by  , the Kamal were obliterated by the three unlikely allies.  
:This conflict united three races who had held great animosity towards each other for centuries, leading to the formation of the  .  The Dunmer freed the Argonian slaves in recognition of their crucial aid.  However, the Nords of Western Skyrim did not join the Ebonheart Pact, as they had not been affected by the Second Akaviri Invasion and thus saw no need for an alliance, were skeptical that a Nordic–Dunmeri–Argonian alliance could work given their historic emnity, and had also been at odds with their fellow Nords of Eastern Skyrim for a long time. 

'''Brothers' War''', 2E 572: As Jorunn the Skald-Prince returned home to Windhelm, a succession dispute arose between him and his twin-brother Fildgor Strong-Prince, who had jointly defeated the Akaviri invaders after the Sack of Windhelm in which their elder sister Queen Nurnhilde fell.   The brothers disagreed on who should succeed their sister and how to rule the land going forward, leading Jorunn to challenge Fildgor to single combat.   This long and fierce duel, known as the Brothers' War, was won by Jorunn, who exiled Fildgor and was crowned the Skald-King of Eastern Skyrim,   three weeks after the Battle of Vivec's Antlers. 

Varen's Rebellion
  -  

'''Varen's Rebellion''',    also known as the Colovian Revolt,   was a rebellion against Emperor   of the  . After he had legalized   worship throughout the  , Duke   of   marshaled the military forces of the   to depose him,  triggering a widespread rebellion in  .  Varen based his rebellion out of  , where he coordinated his troops as they liberated Cyrodiil's other cities to further weaken Leovic's control.  Meric Renmus pledged allegiance to Varen and was given the rank of general for his loyalty.  The rebellion claimed victory in  , when Varen's forces stormed the   and confronted Leovic's last legion in a bloody battle that razed the city's Market District.  Varen personally dispatched Leovic at the foot of the Ruby Throne before proclaiming himself emperor.  

Frostfall Coup
thumb|Euraxia Tharn during the Frostfall Coup
  

  entered   as the Empire's envoy following the start of  . Received at   as an emissary of the new emperor at the head of a large contingent of   mercenaries, Euraxia turned on her hosts and deposed   of Rimmen in the Frostfall Coup, slaughtering the royal family and establishing herself as queen.   From Rimmen Euraxia consolidated an iron grip over much of northern Elsweyr,  training siege weapons on her own capital to quell any signs of revolt from the local  .  Unbeknownst to Euraxia, however, Hemakar's daughter   survived the Frostfall Coup, and would ensure her eventual overthrow after the Usurper Queen's attempt to ally with   and his rage of   in  . 
 

Three Banners War
thumb|Three Banners War
   -    

In the years leading up to the Three Banners War, also called the Alliance War or the Great War,  a divided Tamriel had witnessed a series of conflicts and crises that had inspired the different nations of the land to band together into three distinct alliances: the greater   in  ,  the   in  ,  and the first   in  .   The competing ideologies of these alliances set them on a course for war; tensions between them were further exacerbated by the   and subsequent military aggression of the   under Empress Regent  . Each alliance saw the opportunity to overthrow the corrupt   regime and install their own emperor on the Ruby Throne, but also had to deal with the other two alliances. As the armies of the Covenant, Pact, and Dominion invaded Cyrodiil with the goal of capturing the  , they additionally launched attacks against each other. The war's ultimate outcome is unknown, but all three alliances, as well as the Empire of Cyrodiil, had ceased to exist by the ninth century of the  .

Major Battles
,  .  A notable three-way battle between Pact, Dominion, and Covenant forces at the contested and strategically important  . The Covenant defenders held out against two enemy armies, but ultimately the keep fell to a Dominion invasion force, after which the Dominion crowned a figurehead Emperor from among their warriors. 

The Tiber Wars
thumb|Tiber Septim
  -  

 
 
Notes
 

References