War of the Lions

The War of the Lions (獅子戦役) was a civil war that took place in Erebonia from S.947 to S.952. It was fought by five princes all vying for the Erebonian throne, and it remains as the largest scale civil war in Erebonian history.
== Rising Tensions ==
In S.942, Lianne Sandlot started hearing a voice, whispering to her about her fate and a mission she had to fulfill. Before long, Roselia, Elder of the Hexen Clan, appeared before her and guided her to the sealing grounds of Lohengrin Castle. Together, they tackled a number of trials proving her fitting to become the Awakener to one of the seven Divine Knights: the Argent Knight, Argreion. Lianne, however, found its power too great and decided to seal it away in the basement grounds of Lohengrin Castle.
Prior to S. 946, Prince Dreichels had no claim to the throne due to his commoner mother and was shunned by the highborn princes. As a result, he chose to renounce all royal obligation to defect into the Nord Highlands, leaving his royal affairs to his closest confidant, Roland Vander. During his days leading up to emigration, Dreichels would visit his dying commoner mother, of whom left him a warning: "The blood flowing through you will not allow you to turn your back on the Empire's suffering." Despite this, Dreichels still went through with moving to the Nord Highlands in S. 946. Upon arrival, he was quickly accepted by the people. With his noble nature, he fit right in and lived peacefully among them for upwards of three years.
Emperor Valius V of the Erebonian Empire was said to have countless wives and concubines. As a result of this, he had many sons who would become eligible for the throne. Shortly following his death in S.947, Crown Prince Manfred was assassinated, and the fourth prince Orthros seized the capital by military coup d'état. Once in control, he declared himself the new emperor and began purging all those who dared to oppose him. The families of each noble prince, each having different mothers from prestigious families, supported each one for their claim to the throne. This led to a large scale civil war between multiple factions in which all five (four initially, sans Dreichels) brothers declared themselves to be the 73rd Emperor of Erebonia.
== Course of the War ==
To give himself the upper hand against the armies of his half-brothers, Orthros discovered and revived the Vermillion Divine Knight, Testa-Rossa that which had once been sealed away by Emperor Hector I underneath Heimdallr, following his reclamation of the capital from Zoro-Agruga, the Dark Dragon. This brought about a shift in the balance of power, as the only other active Divine Knight, Argreion, had yet to be employed by Lianne. With the Vermillion Knight and its unmatched strength under his control, Orthros decimated his greatest competition in one fell swoop, and the fifth prince, Gunnar, was defeated. 
It seemed inevitable that the armies of the remaining brothers would share the same fate, but it was at this pivotal point that the war took yet another surprising turn. This unexpected development came in the form of another Divine Knight: The Palatinate Knight. The famed champion was acquired by Lucius, the sixth and youngest of the feuding brothers. A mercenary in Lucius' employ piloted the knight on behalf of the sixth prince. With its aid, Lucius was poised to challenge Emperor Orthros.
At some point prior to or during the first half of the war, Lianne Sandlot became the commander of the Eisenritter. They operated from the Lohengrin Castle off the coast near Legram. They were a band of knights said to be able to charge across the battlefield like lightning, cutting down all in their path.
In the fall of S.949, Dreichels' childhood friend and confidant Roland Vander visits Dreichels in Nord. Roland's arrival signifies that the War of the Lions had worsened and that Erebonia was on the way to ruination. His mothers' words sprung to his mind, and decided he could no longer ignore the suffering in his homeland. Dreichels set about preparing to depart, but before he could finish he was met by several of the tall knights of Nord, their cross shaped spears in hand. They were also close friends of Dreichels, and they volunteered to accompany him and Roland, fearing the two alone would not stand a chance. The next morning, Dreichels departed the village with seventeen men under his command, the Highland Elder praying for their safety.
In S.949, the third prince, Dreichels Reise Arnor, entered the war along with 17 warriors from the Nord Highlands that considered Dreichels their friend, and Roland Vander, of whom trekked to Nord in order to warn him of the state of the Empire. 
Shortly after Dreichels and Roland Vander took up arms, they happened upon the remains of a burned town said to have been destroyed by the Gunnar Army, leaving its innocent inhabitants without homes or killed. Roland reported that it was intended to draw out enemy forces who were hiding within. The sight horrified Dreichels, and served as motivation to bring the war to an end as quickly as possible, preventing any further meaningless sacrifices.
The army of Lucius, bolstered by the power of Zector, the Palatinate Knight, were able to defeat the army of Albert in the Battle of Olbia, fought around the war's midpoint (est. S. 950). As a result of his victory and continued control of Zector, Lucius was poised to challenge Emperor Orthros for the throne. 
In the spring of S.950, just a half-year after Dreichels set out from Nord, Roland is killed in battle shielding his lord. 
Soon thereafter, Dreichels would meet the daughter of Count Sandlot of Legram, Lianne Sandlot. Lianne Sandlot met the wandering prince Dreichels Reise Arnor during a prolonged conflict in Legram, Erebonia, in S.950.. After recognizing each other as reliable and trustworthy, they pledged to fight together under a united banner. Her charismatic personality and peerless skills with the lance had earned her the leadership of a band of knights known as the Eisenritter and the moniker Lance Maiden. Despite their difference in upbringing, Dreichels and Lianne shared a concern for the innocent victims of the war and joined forces in order to bring an end to the bloodshed. With the Eisenritter bolstering Dreichels' ranks, their combined effort swept through one region after another. Together with the warrior of Nord and other volunteers they had inspired to their cause, Dreichels and Lianne liberate one town after another and successfully persuade Lucius, owner of the Zector, to join for their cause. Lucius's victory over Albert in the Battle of Olbia is cited as the reason for earning Dreichels's support. Despite their difference in upbringing, Dreichels and Lianne shared a concern for the innocent victims of the war and joined forces in order to bring an end to the bloodshed.
Meanwhile, Albert's defeat by Lucius forced him to regroup and soon thereafter form an alliance with Gunnar (of whom was also recently ousted by a Divine Knight, Emperor Orthros and his Testa-Rossa), seeing their combined armies and accumulation of Magic Knights to be their only remaining option. Their force was so large that it was thought to compensate for their lack of a Divine Knight. 
Roselia, the witch who had once guided Lianne to Argreion nearly a decade prior, guides Dreichels through a trial near Trista to become the Awakener of Valimar, the Ashen Divine Knight. 
Over time, Albert and Gunnar gained control over Magic Knights. From then on, their alliance proved a fruitful one; the other emperors, including Lucius (now allied to Dreichels), were held off until the war's final days. 
Orthros Reise Arnor, however, awakens the Vermillion Apocalypse from the cursed Testa-Rossa and annihilates the armies of Albert and Gunnar Reise Arnor as well as Zector in a swift battle. With it brought the Infernal Castle. At this point, all armies but those sworn to Dreichels and Orthros had been defeated.
On the first of July S.952, with the Ashen Knight in Dreichels's possession and the Argent Knight in Lianne's, along with their many aforementioned supporters, they marched on the capital for the final time, eventually making their way to the Infernal Castle at its center. Orthros felt pressured by the combined forces of Dreichels, Lianne, and Lucius; the warriors from the Nord Highlands, the Eisenritter under command of Lianne Sandlot and Shion Arseid, and the remnants of the Lucius Army (most notably his mercenary pilot of Zector, the Palatinate Knight). Emperor Orthros schemed to elevate the cursed Vermillion Knight to even greater power, and thus created the Vermillion Apocalypse. The demonic god emerged in Heimdallr alongside the Infernal Castle, decimating the approaching allied forces of Albert and Gunnar in one battle. Neither the Magic Knights of Albert and Gunnar nor even the Palatinate Knight under orders of Lucius could contend with such a foe and were felled. As the thousand-arm Knight decimated all who challenged Orthros, countless crimson spirit veins spread out from the Infernal Castle, stealing life force from the capital's citizens as well as those in the surrounding area.
On 4 July, S.952, Dreichels and Lianne infiltrate the Infernal Castle that spawned alongside the Vermillion Apocalypse and overpower the demonic god, ending the War of the Lions. Their victory came at a steep price, however: in an attempt to shield Dreichels from the Vermillion Apocalypse's attack, she was mortally wounded and dies soon after the battle. With her death, the line of Count Sandlot came to an end.
Three days after it appeared, the Infernal Castle vanished, signaling Dreichels's victory and the end of the war.
== Aftermath ==
As a result of the war, Dreichels became the 73rd Emperor of Erebonia. The bloodline of Orthros became the lords of House Cayenne, and Lianne Sandlot was to be promoted to the rank of Count. Shortly after the war, Lianne was said to have died mysteriously (from her wounds in the battle with Orthros). Valimar was sealed away in the Old Schoolhouse on the 24th of August, put to rest in the place he had originally found him.
While Lianne's death was a mystery to many, the truth behind the matter was that she had died during the battle against the Testa-Rossa. In the aftermath, once the cursed Knight was sealed anew, Roselia retrieved her body and brought it to the home of the Hexen Clan. After half a year of no decomposition, Lianne suddenly revived as an Immortal, as witnessed by Roselia and Shion Arseid, her second-in-command. Rather than returning to her duties, Lianne decided to leave Eryn and wander Zemuria. She left Shion Arseid in charge of Legram due to his courage and bravery in the war, raising him to the rank of viscount. The House Arseid began referring to themselves as 'S. Arseid' from that point forward in her honor. 
As is customary for any conflict involving the fragments of the Great Power, Roselia enacted the Hexen Clan's System, wiping the general populace's memory or knowledge regarding the Divine Knights and the Infernal Castle from the minds of the populace and their role in the war. Following the System's initiation, the common belief was that Lianne died under mysterious circumstances. There were theories that she was murdered or died from an illness. One of the accounts of St. Sandlot's death places it right around the end of August. Ever since her death, Legram holds an annual memorial service for St. Sandlot and the Arseid Family has taken up the responsibility to care and maintain Lohengrin Castle, although its use was limited thereafter prior to the war when Lianne's father, Count Sandlot, governed over it. 
Roland's bloodline continued to serve the royal family as their bodyguards after his death in the war. His duel wielding sword style fell out of favor, and his blades were lost to the rest of his bloodline until they were eventually rediscovered by his descendant Kurt Vander.
As 73rd Emperor, Dreichels dedicates himself to the reconstruction of post-war Erebonia with his befriended retainers yet regretted being away from his friends from the Nord or the witch. He marries Evelyn, the daughter of a lord marquis who had been moved by Dreichels's earnest dedication to his cause and supported him throughout the war, prior to his assassination. Empress Evelyn bore him two sons and two daughters. Apart from raising his own four children, he also raises the orphaned son of Roland Vander like a third son of his own. The Vander would go on to flourish primarily as a guardian and martial arts instructors as well as taking up the post of high military officer. Around the year S.974, Dreichels establishes the Thors Military Academy on the very place he had found, and returned, Valimar (now known as the Old Schoolhouse.
However, throughout his time as Emperor, there was a burden Dreichels carried he spoke of to no one. The curse-ridden Dreichels was followed around by the Ishmelga in its thoughtform, constantly beckoning Dreichels that he would be more befitting as its Awakener instead of Valimar's, which it describes as a "scrap of metal". Dreichels found Ishmelga repulsive compared to Valimar and decided to endure its torment, only to be reminded that Ishmelga would return if his soul were to transmigrate. The curse hid itself when Dreichels receives a surprise visit from Lianne Sandlot in S.994, who had revived soon after the war and not aged a day since Dreichels last saw her. Dreichels had heard rumours about her revival and called her cold-hearted for breaking their promise to live together, to which she replied she would have been unable to grant him his wish to have children. She immediately asks about the darkness that possessed him. It is unknown when exactly Dreichels passed away. His soul reincarnates as Giliath Osborne two centuries later.
A statue of Lianne and her two foremost commanders was erected in Legram in approximately S.1000 to honor St. Sandlot and the Eisenritter's achievements in the war. The knight kneeling on the lower right is the Shion Arseid.
Unbeknownst to the general populace, the modern noble line of the Cayenne dukedom descended not from the ducal line, but instead from the bastard blood of Orthros. Croire de Cayenne inferred that newly-crowned Emperor Dreichels deliberately buried the truth of House Cayenne's surviving lineage to avoid stoking further conflict amongst the deflated peerage after their fruitless supporting of the now-deceased noble princes Albert, Gunnar, and Lucius. Not only did this decision prevent the name Cayenne, Erebonia's oldest and most powerful duchy from being sullied, but also prevented any need for leadership turnover within the Lamare Province. The result was as intended on Dreichels's part; House Cayenne remained the nobility's (and thus, the Noble Alliance's during the October War) de-facto leader for two centuries to follow.
However, in the process, Dreichels's decision resulted in a quiet resentment and humiliation being sown in Orthros's descendants, culminating in Croire and the actions he took by claim of what was 'owed' to him and his Cayenne blood. This also informed his course of action directly. From the military occupation of Heimdallr, to reawakening of Infernal Castle and Vermillion Apocalypse, Croire replicated Orthros's methodology to the letter, hoping to realize his ancestor's dream in the process.
Over two hundred and fifty years after the war, Orthos's descendant Duke Croire de Cayenne formed the Noble Alliance in order to settle his family's grudge against the empire and the royal family. After creating the Panzer Soldats based on the Divine Knights, Croire and the Noble Alliance eventually overtook Erebonia and started the October War. After reaching Testa-Rossa and using Cedric Reise Arnor to pilot it, Cayenne was eventually stopped by Class VII and arrested by Dreichels's reincarnation Chancellor Giliath Osborne and the Ironbloods while Cedric was cursed by the Divine Knights and needed to recover. 
== Trivia ==
* The War of the Lions and Emperor Dreichels were first mentioned by Klaudia von Auslese in during a conversation with his descendant Olivert Reise Arnor.
Category:Events