Blue Reachmen Wars of Independence

The **Blue Reachmen Wars of Independence** (1001 - 1024) was a conflict during the War of the Sorcerer-King fought between the Blue Reachmen states and the Kingdom of Adshaw who had been their overlord. The war saw early guerrilla warfare over a prolonged period of time marked by periods of relative peace and plotting behind closed doors. The result of the wars were the independence of the Western Reachmen from Adshaw in addition to the independence of the Old Alenic counties of Frostwall and Dinesck.

## History

### Prelude

In 979 the city-state of Vertesk was conquered by the Kingdom of Gawed, which eventually saw an invitation from Vertesk to Black Castanor to liberate the city. Black Castanor used this a pretence to invade the entirety of the Alenic Frontier, which led to the Kingdom of Adshaw who had been on-and-off rivals of Gawed to put aside their differences and join their Alenic brothers to defence of their homeland.

By this time Adshaw was the undisputed overlord of all the western Alenic Reach, which was dominated by the Blue Reachman culture who, despite their shared heritage of both Alenic and Gerudian peoples, did not take lightly to being subjugated by their southern Alenic brethren. This was exacerbated by the fact that most Reachmen relied on urban and mercantile trade between settlements and cities on the coast, whereas Adshaw was seen as a rural backwater lord from the Greatwoods.

Despite a strong initial resistance, Adshaw capitulated early on in the war after the Burning of Aldtempel by Venac the Arrogant, one of the acolytes of the Sorcerer-King. Pledging his forces under Black Castanor, King Tomar Adshaw became a critical part of Venac's campaign which eventually led to Gawed's surrender in 986.

### Start of the War

The defeat of two of the Sorcerer-King's acolytes by elves, first Iacob in 1000 by Garion the Wise and the assassination of Mafalda the Mad in 1001 by Taranath Seerslayer shook the authority of Black Castanor who was then embroiled in the Liberation of Lencenor against the League of Free Realms who had been bolstered by elven intervention.

In 1001 upon hearing this news the richest city of the Alenic Reach, Bayvic, declared independence, and was rumoured to be rallying the other Blue Reachmen cities to do the same. In response to this King Tomar pulled his forces out of Lencenor and returned to deal with the the Bayvicman uprising. After a short 1 year period Tomar manages to negotiate a treaty with Adshaw, which grants Bayvic independence so Tomar could focus his effort on the remaining Reachmen states, who were also close to rebellion.

### Adshaw Alone

The following years were tumultuous, and while Tomar managed to keep the rest of the Blue Reachmen states from rebelling, Tomar fell out of Venac and Black Castanor's good graces due to their withdrawal from the war. In 1013 after Venac's defeat in the Battle of Damesteeth, Venac executed King Tomar Adshaw and replaced him with his cousin Rylen Adshaw who promised to use Adshawman and Blue Reachmen armies in the upcoming Liberation of Gawed.

Rylen Adshaw greatly mismanaged the Reachmen states, reversing much of the progress made by Tomar in retaining peace, and following the Storming of Vertesk in 1014 and the death of Venac the Arrogant, Black Castanor's authority in Gawed and the Alenic Frontier quickly eroded and left Adshaw without any allies in the region.

Despite their allegiance to Black Castanor, Adshaw officially declared neutrality during the war though some Blue Reachmen mercenary companies and lesser Adshaw nobility joined the Free Realms in their advance into Escann proper.

### Postwar Conflict

While the War of the Sorcerer-King ended in 1020, the situation in Adshaw was still tense, and in 1020 Mayor Valdemar of Coldmarket, likely fearing retribution by Rylen Adshaw for his plotting, declared independence along with the states of Alencay, Envermark, Reachspier and Everwharf. In late 1020 Dinesck also joins the rebellion, burning the Adshawman deed to Dinesck.

In 1021, the garrison of Frostwall defects ousting Bertram Frostwall, who remained loyal to King Rylen, and installed Peter Goldeneyes, a member of the garrison, as the new count of Frostwall.

In 1024, King Rylen Adshaw attempts to ambush the leaders of the rebellion in Coldmarket however is ambushed by a combined Reachmen-Celmaldorian army. Rylen Adshaw is killed in the battle by an arrow, marking the end of the war and the collapse of the Kingdom of Adshaw itself.