Malkin Rebellion

**The Malkin Rebellion** was a 499-500 AC civil war between the Malkin Margravate and the Crown forces of Suldura. Led by Margrave Caswell Malkin on one side and by Prince Bertram Tavore on the other, the war ended with the defeat of the Malkin forces and the execution of the Margrave of Malkin and his closest allies.

## Roots of the Conflict

### History of Malkin

Prior to 425 AC, the Malkin Margravate was the kingdom of Letharr. However, in 422 AC Elandoris Tavore and Cassius Falkenried began a campaign of conquest, unifying Suldura. The rulers of Blackmont, Hale, and Seaspire all surrendered, but King Daemon Letharr was unwilling to give up his throne, notwithstanding his defeat on the field and the fall of his castle to Elandoris and Cassius's siege. Upon the fall of Overlook Keep, Daemon Letharr was executed. Daemon's daughter Meshayle was married to General Danvar Malkin, and the general made the first Margrave of Malkin.

Although her father had been defeated, Meshayle Malkin never gave up her hopes of independence for her people or her thirst for vengeance against the Tavores. She and Danvar had two sons, Caswell and Horace, and Meshayle instilled these beliefs in them as well. Although Meshayle died in 493 AC, before her dreams could ever be realized, she had planted the seeds of the rebellion to come.

### The Raven

A few years after Meshayle's death, a new woman began to push Malkin towards rebellion. A brilliant alchemist and necromancer known as the Raven came into the employ of Margravine Adelaide Malkin and soon began working for the Margrave as well. Caswell prized her for her ability to extract information from even the most stalwart of prisoners.

Actually a half elf woman named Soralin Vorahl, the Raven was a skilled wizard, physician, and torturer from the Age of Legends and a member of the Ruby Order. Soralin used her work for the Malkins to begin mass manufacture of liquid pain and to begin to build an army of undead soldiers. Coordinating with the warlock Alys Tanner, Soralin also worked to foment instability throughout Suldura, subtly encouraging Caswell and Adelaide Malkin towards rebellion.

## The War

### Early Developments

The Malkin Rebellion began early in 499 AC with the seizure of crown vessels at the Kraken's Crest docks, the capture of royal tax collectors, and the hoisting of the flag of old Letharr above Overlook Keep in Kainen's Hollow. The crown responded quickly, placing King Artorin's younger brother Bertram in command of an army drawn from eastern Suldura and sending them south to wage war on the Malkins.

The situation became more complicated when the king received a call for aid from his cousin, Margrave Tiberius Falkenried. As the Tavore armies waged war in the south, a second army, the Silver Inquisition, had received backing from the tumultuous Corlester Gravate and was marching on Westmarch, the seat of the Margrave in the Falkenried Margravate. The Tavores could not expect reinforcements either from Falkenried or from Corlester, and Falkenried was left on its own as its most populous city fell under siege.

### Prisoners of War

Early in the war, it became clear that the conflict would not be waged according to traditional standards of engagement. Most notably, the Malkins showed no willingness to ransom or exchange noble prisoners of war. The typical custom would be that any nobleman who was captured or wounded on the battlefield would be briefly held captive but then released back to his army, either in exchange for a ransom paid in gold or as part of a prisoner exchange. While the Malkins took prisoners, however, they refused to even enter negotiations regarding those prisoners' return. Even when the Margrave's own niece, Elysande, was captured by crown forces, no negotiations were opened and no terms were offered.

Elysande's capture did provide one opportunity for the crown, however. As they had previously done during Sulduran Unification, the crown hoped to execute all male heirs to the margravate, making Elysande margravine. Prince Bertram and Queen Calliandra devised a plan to marry Elysande to King Artorin's first cousin, Elend Tavore, raising Elend to margrave. However, this plan was thrown into ruins when Elend unexpectedly married a commoner named Julia. In the ensuing altercation between Elend and Bertram, Elend struck his cousin, and was subsequently sent back to Crownport in disgrace.

### Falkenried's Arrival

In Crownport, however, Elend was among those recruited by the young dwarf nobleman Finnbjorn Cinderforge to help break the Silver Inquisition's siege of Westmarch. Along with General Kyrel Evander and the mercenary company the Cat's Claws, Finnbjorn and Elend returned to Westmarch and defeated General Arrindell's Inquisition, freeing up previously-occupied Falkenried forces. First, these forces rode with Finnbjorn to Nuramek where they helped the dwarf reclaim his ancestral home. After this, however, the Falkenried armies rode for Malkin.

Meanwhile, Margrave Tiberius Falkenried and his wife, Mayakara Guild Mistress Nilene Guinevra traveled to Seaspire Keep where they worked to mend the severed ties between the Mayakara and King Artorin that had occurred after the king had thrown his Mayakara advisor, Godfrey Belzamor, from the city. With the Margrave being the king's cousin and the Margravine holding a prominent role in the Mayakara, the two were uniquely capable of mending the divide. Additionally, the Siege of Westmarch had revealed the power of battlemagic and the capabilities of mixed unit tactics including Mayakara mages. Falkenried and Nilene were able to bring these new strategies to the Mayakara, helping to prepare a small army of mages who then traveled to Malkin to join the crown's forces.

### Raising of the Dead

As the tides of the war seemed that they might turn in the Crown's favor, the Malkin army released a horde of undead soldiers, drawn from both sides' dead. Not only did this swarm greatly bolster the Malkins' numbers, but any new soldier who fell now also rose to join the army of the dead. Although a skilled commander at conventional combat, Prince Bertram struggled to deal with this new strategic challenge. Even winning battles could have a detrimental effect for the Crown, as all casualties from both sides would add to the Malkins' strength.

At the same time, the Malkins brought their own battlemages to bear against the Mayakara. The Maelandrin family, an old house with a long sorcerous bloodline, took to the battlefield alongside Margrave Caswell's forces. Baron Torol Maelandrin and his daughters, Laila Irular and Navani Kalette, worked to counter the Mayakara's spells and frustrate their magical tactics.

Faced with this seemingly unwinnable war, Magravine Nilene wrote to Finnbjorn Cinderforge, asking once again for his assistance. "The dead return to the battlefield," she wrote, and called for aid from Nuramek.

### Nuramek Joins the Battle

With the help of his wife, Queen Valona Stonesong, Cinderforge persuaded the Ducal Council to send aid to the human forces, and an army of dwarves marched northward to join the Crown warcamp in Malkin.

Not only did the dwarven army bring new troops to the war, Cinderforge's involvement also sparked a new, much more effective, strategy. Utilizing mixed unit tactics that capitalized on the Crown's cavaliers and the Mayakara battlemages, the allied forces employed a "hit and run" strategy. Mages on horseback, protected by contingents of cavaliers, would launch fireballs at a group of undead and then retreat before the undead could retaliate. A group of druid scouts led by the mercenary Myth and the Mayakara Meena Rosleff kept the army appraised to the movement of the undead armies.

One by one, the fortified cities held by the Malkins fell. The sorcerers Laila Irular and Navani Kalette were both captured, stymieing the Malkins' battlemages. Finally, the war was turning in the Crown's favor. The Malkins pulled their forces in, concentrating their army in the field around Kainen's Hollow, and the Crown prepared to march on Overlook Keep for one final siege.

### Battle in the Pass

The Malkins had one final trick to try, however. As the Crown forces marched towards Kainen's Hollow, the army passed through a narrow pass. As the army's nobles and officers moved through the pass, an illusion dropped, revealing several crude caves in the ground. Undead poured from these caves while a new terror swept down from overhead: an undead dragon.

Although it posed a hard-fought fight, this battle was ultimately won by the Crown forces. At the end of the battle, there was another surprise. A young half elf medic serving under Nilene Guinevra refused to allow her wounds to be healed, attempting to flee from the battle. When she was waylaid, she turned to snow and melted.

## Aftermath

### Malkin's Defeat

Having won the battle in the pass, the Crown forces faced few obstacles to a total victory. The remainder of the Malkin forces were easily bested, and Overlook Keep, left with only a skeleton guard, was quickly captured. The Margrave and his family, as well as the Baron of Maelandrin and his family, were captured when the castle fell and put to trial.

For their treason against the crown, Margrave Caswell Malkin and Margravine Adelaide Malkin were executed, as were the margrave's brother and nephews. For his part in the rebellion, Baron Torol Maelandrin was also put to death. The baron's wife, his children, and his daughter's families were all exiled to Kithvonn, with the lone exception of his daughter Avieve who had taken on the name Velya Edrian and had fought alongside the Crown forces with the Mayakara.

### The Raven Unmasked

When Overlook Keep fell, a small group led by Finnbjorn Cinderforge ventured down into the castle's dungeons, the lair of the Raven. There, they confronted Soralin Vorahl, recognizing her as the half elf medic who had turned to snow after the battle (now revealed to be a clone).

Soralin attempted to bargain with the party; seeking, it seemed, only to continue her work, she was willing to parlay. However, the party faced her in combat instead. They were able to defeat her, but not before one of her clones slipped through a teleportation circle, transporting it to the Ebon Spire in Alberon's Waste.

### New Leadership

With Margrave Caswell Malkin and all of his male heirs executed, the margrave's niece Elysande inherited the margravate. Elend no longer being available for marriage, Elysande was instead married to Captain Everett Carroway, the brother of Prince Bertram's wife, Satine. Everett became the new Margrave of Malkin and assumed a seat in Overlook Keep.

Meanwhile, the Maelandrin house was also in need of new leadership. Magravine Nilene suggested that Velya Edrian drop her alias, reclaiming the name Avieve Maelandrin and assuming her bloodright role as Baroness of Drakehall. However, Velya elected to remain a titleless Mayakara and continue to adventure with Saladin instead. Therefore, on Finnbjorn Cinderforge's suggestion, the Maelandrin lands were ceded over to Nuramek, becoming part of the Var Kalduhr Duchy. Elend Tavore was seated in Drakehall and placed at the head of the new Tavore Barony of Nuramek, becoming the first human to hold lands and title in a dwarven city.

## Parties Involved

### Malkin Forces

* Margrave Caswell Malkin
* Margravine Adelaide Malkin
* Baron Torol Maelandrin
* Baroness Navani Kalette
* Baronetess Laila Irular
* Parval Maelandrin
* Vicomte Horas Malkin
* Captain Fain Malkin
* Captain Caswell Malkin II
* Soralin Vorahl

### Crown Forces

#### Tavore Army

* Prince Bertram Tavore
* Captain Everett Carroway
* Captain Gwenyth Westerreach
* Captain Jace Volier
* Captain Elend Tavore
* Prince Malthazar Tavore
* Keladry Harlan

#### Falkenried Army

* Margrave Tiberius Falkenried
* Owen Falkenried

#### Mayakara

* Mayakara Guild Master Revi Travand
* Mayakara Guild Mistress Nilene Guinevra
* Leonas Kestrel
* Damien Crane
* Ophelia Vankar
* Claudius Sartain
* Godfrey Belzamor
* Velya Edrian

#### Nuramekian Army

* Prince Finnbjorn Cinderforge
* Duke Bjermund Cinderforge
* Princess Eridred Stonesong
* Prince Torvald Stonesong
* Hypatia
* Saladin
* Astrid Bersk
* Captain Carrow Shaw
* Myth
* Juniper Arrindell
* Thadwin Bronzewright