The Flores Uprising

The Flores Uprising (730KF-731KF) was a reactionary insurrection against the Kymurian Regency Government primarily consisting of Floresian royalists, conservatives and the more militant fragments of The Angelican Church, along with numerous other interest groups. The Floresian Uprising lasted for under a year before it was crushed by armies led by the Duke of Caxa.

## Background

The last king of the great Flores Dynasty, King Attin III, had instructed the Noble Council to select a new candidate for the throne, since he had been left heirless. Upon King Attin's death, Cyroth dominated proceedings. Although he was unacceptable to many Lords, he was the only candidate who commanded popular and military support, as well as the support of the more powerful southern and eastern Lords. Floresia feared that since they were so geographically dominated by Kymuria, their autonomy would be seriously degraded. Furthermore, there was the general feeling that the Floresian dynasty had the right to continue, since it's main problem was the overabundance of potential rulers rather than a lack.

The 'ruler' of Floresia at the time was Duke Tymon Flores, a serious contender for the throne in his own right. Despite being the heir presumptive of King Attin III, Kymurian lords had effectively ignored him, instead wishing for a 'native' Kymurian leader. Although he hailed from the semi-autonomous Ubrus Isles, Cyroth was considered preferable in this regard, especially since he was still a young man and came without any inter-dynastic rivals.

## The Uprising

Tymon spent the first months of 730 purchasing weapons and arms. Encouraged by recent Kymurian instability the Hokasan government promised to provide limited support. This comprised 700 volunteers from a Xiphron Brigade and two transport ships. After successfully attempting a large recruitment drive Duke Tymon Flores had managed to muster an army of 10,000 men and also a few pledges for future support from a portion of Kymuria's Eastern nobility. In a strong enough position to make a move, Tymon decided to seize the city of Villaflores.

Tymon entered Villaflores unopposed and the next day the pretender proclaimed himself King of Kymuria. Shortly thereafter, the only loyalist commander with a sizeable force in the area, Baron Damian Straka, mobilised and prepared to lay siege to Villaflores, hoping to nullify the mobility and tactical advantage Floresian units were famous for. However, Flores moved quickly and intercepted Straka near the village of Inkiel and early the next morning the Floresians handily scattered the Kymurian army in less than 30 minutes, mostly thanks to their elite cavalry squadrons. The rebellion was now given serious attention by Saffira, and four regiments of foot-soldiers were raised, along with two cavalry brigades. Following Tymon's success, the King in Hokasa sent further shipments of money and weapons and an official recognition of Duke Tymon's right to rule Kymuria.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Caxa was chosen as commander of the Kymurian army, which had mustered to some 20,000 troops. Following the battle of Inkiel, Tymon's army had swelled to some 14,000. Cyroth's own St. Bellacio Regiment set off with Caxa, commanded by Cyroth himself and Baron-Colonel Maitland.

Floresian forces began a full scale invasion of Eastern Kymuria, heading towards Krahull. Many noblemen assisted Tymon and often outright sided with him, thus making the invasion of Eastern Kymuria a considerable achievement. Morale was high and recruits from the rich countryside towns of Eastern Kymuria began organising themselves. Tymon's total force in the region swelled to well over 20,000 peasants and men-at-arms, though his key advantage remained his cavalry. Hokasan-supplied rocket artillery was used to defeat a loyalist army of 8,000 under Lord Bilesey at the Sacking of Tropford, thus opening the road to Krahull. Tymon's objective was to seize the port of Hokasa so that his army could receive a battery of Hokasan Screaming Mare heavy guns, which were powerful enough to bring down the Metropolitan Wall of Saffira, but could not be transported over land.

## Siege of Krahull and Battle of the Highway

As Caxa set out from Saffira to meet him, Tymon's forces arrived in high spirits at Krahull. To his surprise, the populace remained staunchly loyal to the Regency Government, and had organised a stalwart defence of their city, totalling some 9,000 defenders. Before he could consider storming the city, he received word of Caxa's army, which was rapidly making ground. Worryingly, as loyalist units reached towns that had previously cheered on and assisted the Floresians, they were just as helpful to Caxa as they had been to Tymon.

Tymon had an infantry and artillery contingent of 5000 men dig trenches and redoubts in front of Krahull before beginning a bombardment, then set out with the rest of his army and 4000 elite cavalrymen to fight Caxa.

The two armies met for the first time on a wide section of the Krahull Highway, flanked by several small paddocks and woodland. The ground was flat but muddy, owing to recent rainfall. Tymon's cavalry attempted to manoeuvre through the woodland, but had no reference or mapping for the terrain, and quickly became disoriented. The Kymurian infantry attacked first, using their new sparkmuskets to whittle down Tymon's ranks. The Floresian cavalry reappeared on the cusp of the western paddock and, without orders, attacked the Kymurian right flank. They successfully drove off the inexperienced Kymurian horse, but came under heavy sparkmusket and crossbow fire, thus forcing them to circle around to the rear of the Kymurian army, where they engaged the Kymurian mounted reserves, personally commanded by Caxa. Thinking that his horsemen had successfully outflanked the Kmyurian lines, Tymon led his infantry in a massed charge. It was bogged down by mud, and ultimately made little progress against the Kmyurians, who brought their pikemen to bear.

Tymon and most of his personal retinue escaped southwards while an estimated 1,500 survivors managed to assemble at Vallis' Barracks. Tymon Flores ordered them to disband, explaining his reasons in a letter of apology. Much to the disappointment of The Floresian Royalists, conservatives and orthodox branches of the Angelican church, Duke Tymon Flores fled Kymuria with his family and lived out the rest of his days in Anjuin.

## Effects

While the Flores family still remains a powerful noble family in Kymuria, Tymon's branch was completely disowned and was also stripped of all landed titles, a memorial was erected for both sides of the conflict in the cities of Villaflores and Saffira.

In modern day Kymuria the conflict is viewed differently by different groups of people, more liberal leaning men tend to view it as the final defeat of the Eastern noblemen's hegemony over Kymurian politics, men of a more conservative persuasion tend to view the event as the final "hurrah" of the old and traditional confederation Kymuria; both sides however view it as a national tragedy an and unnecessary cost to Kymuria.

It is also believed that ever since the rebellion began Cyroth almost immediately knew that the Southern Kymurian Lands (SKL) had to be dealt with in one way or another, this would of course eventually be a precursor to the much more brutal Great Eastern War.

Tactics and strategies used by the Floresians would later be studied, used and refined by Frenntolic forces who used a mixture of Floresian shock and awe tactics alongside various other doctrines to great effect during the Frenntolic rebellion.