War of the Ancestral Grudge

The **War of the Ancestral Grudge** (2Y 303-4Y 216) began following the secession of Lord Pigeon0888 from the Iron Freeholds. This secession can be correlated to the eventual decline of the Freeholds.  His leaving the Freeholds prompted the Lord of Blackstone to declare a reclamation war to maintain territorial claim over the Stoneborn’s ancestral land of Ironhold. Soon after, Pigeon0888 would seek refuge among the protection of the Lavarian Federation who declared any act of aggression against Pigeon0888 an act of war. The Stoneborn refused to be dissuaded by Lavaria’s threat. They pressed on with the war, vowing to reclaim their lands. Lavaria, seeking support from their allies, petitioned the Salibbid Caliphate to enter the war in support of Pigeon0888.

## The Road to War

*"We will fight until our sacred grudges are settled” - **Kroyek**, 3Y 11*

The seeds of war were planted long before the coming of the second year when the infamous “Hotcock” would stir trouble in the world of Aurora by destroying landmarks throughout Aurora. It started mostly innocent, namely with the construction of deepslate penis monuments outside the gates of Blackstone. However small, the Stoneborn never forget wrongs committed upon their people, and thus a grudge was born. Kroyek, seeking to find a culprit, accepted Pigeon0888’s request to open an investigation into the matter. Pigeon0888’s findings ultimately concluded that Max\_Lubo was responsible. These allegations would later prove to be a false ploy instigated by Pigeon0888 in an attempt to develop animosity between the world leaders.

Tensions would further escalate and come to a peak when on 2Y 303 Pigeon0888 declared his independence from the Iron Freeholds. This act angered the Stoneborn resulting in yet another grudge. In an attempt to maintain ancient territorial claim over the oldest city in Aurora, Kroyek of Blackstone declared open war against Ironhold. Secretly, Pigeon0888 had sought council with Viscount Max\_Lubo of the Lavarian Federation and sued for protection against the Freeholds, citing abuse of powers by his previous overlord. The Viscount accepted, and proceed to call upon the banner of the Caliphate of Salibbid who answered as per previous diplomatic agreements. The two factions joined the war siding with Pigeon0888. This set the stage for the first war in Aurora.

## Arms Race

With war declared and the stage set, the belligerents entered into a period of preparation. Although small skirmishes were common along the Silver Road, combat was not the initial focus of either side. The Lavarian Federation aided Pigeon0888 in fortifying Ironhold in preparation for the coming siege while the Caliphate of Salibbid gathered important resources and enchantments for war supplies. Meanwhile, the Moot of the Freeholds commissioned MessyMiner of Navia and Bupid of Mersonia to build the armaments of the Throng. Navia took economic advantage of both sides, buying stocks of Iron from the Lavarian Federation to create the gear and equipment that the Iron Freeholds would purchase.

## Pigeon0888's Death

*“Wanna know something? I am Hotcock” - **Pigeon0888**, 3Y 17*

The untimely death of Pigeon0888 and the reveal of the infamous Hotcock changed the course of the war.  In a fit of madness, Pigeon0888, chief instigator of the war, destroyed the Silver Road memorial and defiled Blackstone by use of fire. He revealed himself as the man behind “Hotcock” and went on to destroy buildings all across Aurora. He was quickly disposed of before he could do much permanent damage. On 3Y 17, Pigeon0888 was executed by the dwarves of the Freeholds’ Throng. His death created many problems for the Freeholds’ opposition. For one, the death of Pigeon0888 questioned the legality behind Lavaria’s occupation of Ironhold. Without Pigeon0888, Max\_Lubo’s claim to Ironhold was nonexistent. Although a treaty was discussed, the Iron Freeholds would press on as Lavaria refused to relinquish their occupation of Ironholdr. The death of Pigeon0888, while untimely, resulted in the settling of three grudges from the Grudgening.

## Operation Whiskers

Operation Whiskers was a classified saboteur campaign that took place deep within Lavarian territory. It was conducted by the explosive ordinance brigade of dwarven mountaineer Rhubadaiah. The target was to disrupt Lavarian supply lines by planting tripwire bombs along the Silver Road near Mer Karak. While no casualties occurred, the campaign proved an annoyance to Lavarian soldiers as they were forced to fill in holes after the explosives went off. In some cases, Lavaria had found a few of the traps acquiring all the planted TNT. The Operation began on 4Y 62 and lasted until the signing of the Treaty of Mer Karak. During the operation, when asked what they were up to, the men of the explosive ordinance brigade would respond simply by saying “classified”.

## The Treaty of Mer Karak

The Treaty of Mer Karak was the document to end the war of the Ancestral Grudge. Leaders from both sides met at Mer Karak. There they listed their demands. The Iron Freeholds would maintain its ancestral claim over Ironhold under the terms that it would respect Lavaria’s claim over the Dyad in central Sword’s Edge and in addition would supply Mer Karak with the dirt necessary to fix damaged portions of the Silver Road. Kroyek, Grudgebearer of the Grudgening, would also be required to settle the Ancestral Grudges against Lavaria.

## Aftermath

The end of Aurora’s first conflict solidified once questioned borders. Ironhold would be returned to the Iron Freeholds with TheDustWizard being named its Warden. The Freeholds would respect Lavaria’s northern claim to the Dyad.  Within but a few years the Freeholds and Lavaria would resume trading, yet their relationship would never progress beyond uneasy suspicion. That suspicion gave rise to the Iron Banner and isolationism as the King Under the Mountain feared the rise of new conflicts.