Decades of Devastation

The **Decades of Devastation** was a period of prolonged and intense political instability and warfare in the region of Bahar. It led to the collapse of two of the three elven states in the region, with Re'uyel being taken over by human rebels and Baharkand being reduced to a rump state centered on Eduz-Wez. Among the conflicts which took place during the period was the Baharkandi-Birsartanšesi War.

While historians disagree on when the Decades of Devastation began and ended, a plurality consider it to have begun in 1418 with the Re'uyeli Succession War. A minority considers it to have begun in 1413 with the Years of Dryness, while others consider it to have begun with the human uprisings or the Goblin Exodus. The Decades of Devastation are generally considered to have ended in 1454 with the signing of the Peace of [PLACEHOLDER] between the Bahari republics and the goblin clan of Marblehead.

## Years of Dryness (1413-1418)

Whilst they are not always seen as part of the Decades of Devastation the years of recurring dryness and crop failures did their part in weakening the region in its upcoming struggles. They led to farmers becoming bankrupt and strengthening the power of the nobility. This also reduced tax income while at the same time, kings were forced to buy grain from abroad to prevent food riots. In neglected regions lots of peasants and people dependent on them were forced into crime to feed their families. Incompetent responses also decreased trust in the elven monarchs.

## The Dynastic Wars (1418 - 1423)

### The Re'uyeli Succession War (1418)

It all started when king Kalinael of Re'uyel died in a carriage accident. Then according to the Sun Elf system of tanistry, the countries most powerful nobles convened to elect a new king out of Kalinael's dynasty. Normally such affairs were peacefully settled (or at least in Re'uyel). But, not only had his brother and most obvious candidate also died in the accident, king Kalinael had also lived by 'divide and rule' and had encouraged factionalism and infighting amongst the nobility, who now were at each others throats. Then the race began between his half-brother (a bastard son of his father) and his cousin. Another candidate was Seluzia, a half-sister of Kalinael and queen of Baharkand by marriage, she was generously supplied with bribes by her husband who saw this as an opportunity to place Re'uyel firmly in his sphere of influence. The half-brother ended up winning with a slight plurality (it is unknown whether it was because he was more popular or better at cheating), but as he practically promised to favour one of the noble cliques, the other clique claimed he was an illegitimate candidate being a bastard (they also accused him of vote-rigging) and rose up to support his cousins claim to the throne starting a civil war.

### The Baharkandi intervention (1418-1419)

With his wife, Seluzia, being a half-sister of Kalinael, king Kaltan III Eletarzuir of Baharkand saw her claim just as legitimate as the other contenders to the throne and proceeded to invade Re'uyel to place her on its throne. Already divided and weakening by infighting the Re'uyeli armies were brushed aside by the military of Baharkand, on their road the invading army found a fort build upon the ruins of the mighty citadel Azka-szel-Azka, designed to withstand a siege for months the fort nonetheless fell within a mere week due to treason. (an adjutant of its commander was a childhood friend of Seluzia, who was secretly contacted by her and promised a promotion in exchange for sabotaging the forts defences.)

Then when king Kaltan was nearing the city of Re'uyel, he received terrible news: king Arantir of Birsartanšes had declared war on him, claiming to reunify the legacy of their ancestor Amarien. By the time he had received the news, the vanguard of the Birsartanšesi army had already set foot in his homeland. He hunted down as quickly as possible the other contenders and installed his wife in Re'uyel, so he could leave to defend his homeland, within the season.

### The Re'uyeli Revolution (1419-1420)

Despite most of the Baharkandi military, including nearly all its mages, returning to their country, Seluzia's hold on her birth country initially appeared mostly secure, as most of the countries high nobility was either defeated on the battlefield, appeased with various titles and promises or cowed into submission. However, this neglected the lower nobility: the failure of the former government to properly respond to the famines left the human common folk with a lot of resentment, whilst the lower nobility (who felt sidelined by the new Baharkandi advisors) was disgruntled with its lack of power and feared that Baharkand would treat their country as simply a source of income. Those two classes made common cause and joined together in a 'monster alliance' against Seluzia.

The first uprisings took place in the east. In the beginning the regime assumed that it was but a loosely organized rebellion of 'peasants and plebeians', whilst they were mostly correct in the latter, they were wrong in the first as the few veteran-officers and nobles who joined the rebellion were sufficient to turn it into more then a mere mob. Using their knowledge of the local terrain and their enemies underestimation of them, the rebel forces managed to lure the Baharkandi forces into a guerilla war in the cities, negating their advantages in cavalry and archery. As word of this defeat spread, more uprisings broke out in the rest of the country (though most of them were but excuses to seize land from elvish landlords) and the lower nobility threw its entire weight behind the rebellion.

Eventually the capital was found abandoned by the Queen. Seluzia and the garrison had already given up holding into the place and had evacuated themselves with sky platforms (chariot-like flying vehicles piloted by a mage).

Then in a boat of anti-monarchism and taking example on the various Bulwari republics that existed, a republic was proclaimed. As the lower nobility and officers had already entrenched itself into a position of leadership over the rebellion it would be a nobles republic but one where martial valor was valued, leading to the denomination of "officers' Republic". The Republic would seek peace with Seluzia but was still facing several internal problems, as the Decades of Devastation had provoked a religious upheaval in their area among the Sun Cultists and the Crathanorian cities in the Northwest felt sidelined by the new regime.

### The Baharkandi-Birsartanšesi War (1419-1423)

In the east of the region a massive struggle was ongoing, whilst the amount of elvish nobles and human auxiliaries didn't match those of the Lilac Wars, both sides made use of mages and sky platforms (the smaller military versions having only enough place for two mages beyond the pilot).

It could best be described as a pendulum war, whenever one side was finally winning something happened which allowed the other side to make a comeback. First Birsartanšes was winning and even reached Baharkand's capital, but then Kaltan returned from Re'uyel with his armies relieving the siege of Aqatbar. Then Baharkand had the upper hand, after the peace in the West, allowed it to strip its western border of troops and launch a counter-invasion. At the start this invasion the Baharkandi forces were making great gains but they outran their supply lines and ended up routed at the battle of Habqez in 1422.

Eventually the war took its toll on both sides manpower reserves. First they countered this by drafting every human commoner into their armies and then they made deal with the bandit groups that plagued the area. It turned out to be a mistake, because it strenghtened the bandit bands, some having become officers in their own right and the human population at large decided that if they had to fight they might just as well fight for themselves, instead of their overlords, and revolted.

The two elven kingdoms were then forced to make peace in order to focus on the rebellions.

## The Great Rebellion (1423-1436)

The Great Rebellion was the name given by elven scholars to the general uprising of the Bahari populations against their rule and which forced the two Amarienzuir branches to come to an unlikely alliance.

The bandit groups that had become mercenaries began to carve fiefs in the region, creating a new feudal order with them at the top ; meanwhile, several peasant communes massacred the nobles who had taxed them in the name of the elven Kings who had been badly advised in their palaces. Even more dangerous was the threat of Old Sun Cultists, who had steadily been amassing power in the Harpy Hills and felt confident enough to show their faith in the open. As the elves were a much larger presence in East Bahar then in Re'uyel, they managed to stem the early tide and suppressed uprisings in their capitals and on the coast. But actually reconquering the outlying rebel territories proved a more difficult task, as the rebels bands quickly organized themselves and were joined by disillusioned ex-officers and nobles.

The early Great Rebellion, usually understood to begin with the peace between Kaltan III and Arantir in 1423 until the alliance between Dartaxes szal Forramaz and the leader of the Green Helmets in 1428. During these 5 years, chaos reigned in Bahar as several leaders rose and failed, while both Kaltan and Arantir were forced into a difficult guerilla war against various rebel groups. The biggest threat was the rebellion of Dartaxes, former general of Arantir and arguably the mind behind the victory at Habqez in 1422. Contrary to many other rebels he set out to right wrongs in the provinces he held under his control and always claimed to still be a vassal of Birsartanses, while in practice ruling as an independent ruler. Under his rule, every bandit that refused to join his army was hanged, and peasants could take back lands from any landowner who opposed Dartaxes. The general thus began to get the support of the masses and the various powers in the area. In 1428, he met Harum szal-Harumanz, commander of the Kuzak fortress and the Green Helmets sect. While no one knows the exact terms of the meeting, Dartaxes proclaimed himself Akal and claimed the old realm of Baharšes.

By 1428, the Great Rebellion had become the Dartaxâgerdim rebellion and from his seat in Akal-Uak, Dartaxes set out in a campaign against both elven realms which was generally successful although the alliance with the Green Helmets had rallied the clergy of the Cult against the rebellion. It is to be noted that at this point, Dartaxes had not yet converted officially even though the Old Sun sects histories claim the contrary. Nonetheless, preparations for the sieges of Birsartansbar and Aqatbar were well on their way in 1435 when the Greesheep goblins poured out of the Dwarovar, diverting the army who was advancing in the South. In Baharkand, the Dartaxian army also met with defeat in Nisabat against the Marblehead goblins who then went on to conquer Aqatbar. Pressed with enemies on all fronts, Arantir having retaken the town of Habqez, Dartaxes made peace with Arantir I, securing his holdings for the time being as the first independent Human king in Bahar since the Jaherian conquest.

## The Crathanori secession war (1427-1430)

Western Bahar was not pacified either. There had already been tensions between the trading cities in the province of Crathanor and the new republican regime in Re'uyel which stemmed from both political (the noble-poor western regions found they were underrepresented in the government) and cultural reasons (in the west most of the population weren't Baharis but descendants of colonists from Busilar and Eborthil, settled there by Jexis and her successors to repopulate a devastated region). So when the new regime proceeded to place most of the tax burden on them, this was poorly received by the western merchant elite who started agitating for independence. The situation held for nearly a decade when the new republic received an ultimatum from the Crathanorian cities. Under the slogan of 'no representation without taxation' they demanded that in exchange for the privilege of controlling the government the nobles should pay their 'fair share' of the tax rise. After this was coldly rejected the western provinces declared independence.

The first part of the secession war turned out to be a rather anti-climatic conflict as the Crathanori were neither numerous or militarized, whilst their Bahari counterparts had barely started with rebuilding the army. The secessionist lacked the strength to kick the easterners out of their country and the Re'uyeli had not enough soldiers (which weren't peasants who cared more about their hometown then the idea of an united Re'uyel) to start sieging the rebelling cities. In the second year of the war, the Crathanori were joined by the dwarves from Ovdal Tūngr, who still bore a grudge to their old enemies of Re'uyel, who had built their strength and wealth on Ovdal-Tungr's back. Just when victory looked imminent, the news of two hordes of goblins coming from Ourdia arrived, forcing all parties to divert all their attention into defending against the goblins. The effectiveness of this defense was debatable as all three countries lost some territory.

## The Goblin Exodus (1430-1439)

### Initial Invasion (1430-1435)

Indirectly the blame for the Goblin Invasion can be laid to the Dookanson, before he went to the west, he, after unifying the orcish hordes, launched an expedition to the south against the goblin clans who were driven to the worst land by the orcs. (Whilst the Dookanson didn't articulate the reasons for this invasion more clear then "TO TURN ALL GOBLINS INTO OUR GRUNTS", it is generally assumed he did so to secure his flanks before going west, to harden his troops and of course to capture slaves.)

As Korgus led his armies to siege Khugdihr his hold over southern territories lessened, allowing some goblins to free themselves and flee west, away from the orcs.

The Exodus horde split due to internal conflicts over leadership in various groups, first the western and southern tribes. Southern group took a slower path through the caves and eventually split again - into a tribe of Thieving Arrow, who chose to stay in Dwarovar and another group, who chose to keep going towards the surface.

The western group followed the Dwarovrod towards the surface, splitting too into southern and western groups. The southern group reached the surface earliest through Shazstundihr and took up the name Marblehead. The western group exited later through Orlghelovar and descended upon Ourdia.

The war with Ourdia was mostly unsuccessful, with goblins failing to take the Castanorian fortress and being attacked from the east by a forest goblin tribe of Oubligschild. The group was forced to separate, with the ones going by sea calling themselves Landshark and the one going along mountain passes calling itself Mountainhugger. The two groups joined together and attacked the warring Bahari states of Reuyel, Crathanor and Ovdal-Tûngr, displacing and killing humans, elves and dwarves alike from the lands they took. The invasion caused the three Bahari states to make peace and focus on fighting back the goblins.

The Greysheep tribe exited last in 1435 and had an easy time securing lands for itself from already collapsing Baharkand/Azka-Evran. Securing hilly regions of the northern Bulwar the goblins adopted a somewhat pastoral living, raiding and kidnapping a number of sheep from nearby Gelkalis people.

Despite the exodus goblin numbers being severely depleted during the early Bulwari wars the Exodus was considered victorious, with 4 goblin states emerging in Bahar. Moreover, more goblins kept coming from the Serpentspine, especially following the death of Korgus and the collapse of his empire.

### The Fall of Aqatbar (1439)

Marble Head had raided and pillaged nearby Bahari lands, fighting numerous bandits and small human mercenary bands after they had come out from Shazstundihr. Eventually, they encountered Green Helmets who were advancing onto Aqatbar but managed to beat them and decided to go on the offensive towards the south and the fledging Baharkandi kingdom. The tribe was led by the goblin Idrarseff, who believed the only way to secure a place for goblins in Bahar is by breaking elven authority and human spirit. While he was leading the armies, his brother Perzuk was left to deal with the conquered lands. Perzuk became interested in local human customs and traditions and believed that goblins could learn from them.

Meanwhile, Idrarseff sieged and led the assault on the fortress of Aqatbar, conquering it in 1439. Following the city seizure, Goblins captured the Eletarzuir family and executed Kaltan III, his wife Selusia and their heirs Elriandor and Amarien. By taking the old capital, they had effectively split Baharkand in two. The city was then proclaimed to be the capital of the tribe and a staging place for the next goblin invasions into Bahar. The attempt at taking the fortress of Azka-Evran where Deggarion, bastard of Kaltan had taken shelter were unsuccessful

The western part of Baharkand, separated from its king was thought to be lost. However, as the coast was attacked by goblins a certain human officer took charge of the remaining armies. A local human noble named Irran managed to fight and even reconquer some of the lost lands. Unfortunately, his armies were at their limit and the idea of reconquering Aqatbar was left for later. Irran was seen as a hero both by elves and humans alike in Baharkand especially after he decided to contact Deggarion of Azka-Evran and swear fealty to him. Irran’s loyalty was rewarded and he keeps ruling over coastal Baharkand in 1444.

## The Last Decade of Devastation (1444-1454)

### The Našra Reclamation War (1448-1454)

The peace of 1436 was seen by both Dartaxes and the new queen of Birsartanseš, Keladora I, as a ceasefire with both camps preparing for the next war. Following her couping her father Arantir, Keladora engaged on a series of reforms aimed at removing corrupt and inept officers and statesmen. These were successful, with a younger blood rising through the ranks and the Royal Army changing its traditional tactics whom Dartaxes knew. She could also count on a special detachment of Jaherian Examplars, who had grown more numerous in the area following the official conversion of Dartaxes to the Old Sun sect of the Green Helmets. Meanwhile, Dartaxes could also count on his Sebhuliam elite forces, which were rumored to fight to the death and whose ranks had been steadily increasing along with a renewed magi force, led by the young Kisar szal-Faszil, from the Mašnish tribe of the same name.. In 1448, both felt confident enough to break down diplomacy and renew war

The fights all occurred along the Našra plain, where both had their capitals. The advance of the Birsartanšesi army was met with several undecided skirmishes until they arrived at the capital of the rebel akalate, Akal-Uak. There the Green and Pink banners fought for 2 days. Flying platforms were struck down by the the Human magi, while the elven cavalry could not manage to pierce the Green Helmets formation. Eventually, the Birsartanšesi forces slowly but surely took the upper hand, and the victory was secured by the treason of Talimaz szel-Forramaz, the nephew of Dartaxes. His forces hailed the Pink Phoenix banner and in the confusion struck down Kisar, leading to a complete rout as the elven mages could fire at will. The Sebhuliam, true to their faith, never surrendered and were killed to the last man. For this act, Talimaz secured a position in the Birsartanšesi army, which he would lose following the Examination Reforms.

Dartaxes fled to the mountains of Kuzak where he would hide. Determined to end the war once and for all, Keladora sent her army to siege the walls of Kuzak. For 3 years, the siege endured, thanks notably to an unexpected alliance with the Harpy Queendom who was attacking the Birsartanšesi vassal of Gelkalis, and provided the fortress valuable supplies. The spent Birsartanšesi forces were ordered to leave the mountains in 1454 following news from the fall of Deggarion. While no peace treaty was concluded, after 1454, both Dartaxes and Keladora stopped hostilities and focused on their realms.

### The fall of Deggarion (1449-1453)

After the fall of Aqatbar, the bastard son of Kaltan III, Deggarion had gathered the remaining forces of the Kingdom in the fortress of Azka Evran. Profiting from the instability in Marblehead and the Našra war, he struck against the Goblins of Greysheep, securing his Eastern border. After hearing of the divisions between the two Goblin brothers of Aqatbar, Idrarseff and Perzuk, and the civil war that it had provoked, Deggarion marched towards Aqatbar. To his surprise, his spies had not heard of the coup of Perzuk, which had reunified the forces of the clan and increased his own forces with human auxiliaries : Deggarion arrived at Aqatbar to see a weak and exhausted goblin force ; he met with a large mixed army which confused its own troops and left him no possibility of retreat. Chronicles tell of the bravery of Deggarion and his men, but in the end it did not matter for his army was slaughtered and his realm annexed by the Marblehead goblins.

### The Proclamation of Aqatbar and the League of Four (1450-1454)

The goblin invasion left west Bahar in an unstable disposition. While the republics managed to stop the goblin momentum, none could afford to push them further. The three sides (Crathanor and Ovdal Tûngr, Re’uyel, and the goblin clans) knew that starting a large-scale offensive against one side would leave them vulnerable to attack by the remaining one, creating a deadlock. The resolution came in late 1450 with the outbreak of the civil war in Marblehead. Emboldened by the fact the most powerful of the goblin clan would not be able to intervene, the three republics officially broke peace between them and started to prepare a joint attack on the Mountainhugger and Landshark clans. The preparations were slow however, hindered by the lingering animosities of the past decades. The offensive was finally launched in the spring of 1452, just one day before Deggarion’s fall at Aqatbar. Despite an initial success at Akrad-Til, the unfortunate timing gave the goblin clan bosses an opportunity to flee to the now more stable Marblehead, in hope of convincing Perzuk to help them.

This marked the first time all the clan bosses would meet in the same place since the goblin exodus started. Never the type to let such an opportunity pass, Perzuk used his craftiness and position of strength to trigger the events of the Proclamation of Aqatbar and the unification of the clans under Marblehead. Pledging to become the protector of all the goblins of Bahar, he marched his troops west to rescue what was left of Mountainhugger and Landshark. The quickness of the intervention surprised the republican armies, which saw them badly defeated at the battle of Kaproya and forced to retreat to the fortress of Azka-szel-Azka. However, once behind the great walls of the ancient stronghold and reinforced by Ourdi troops, the bahari were able to hold multiple assaults with relative ease. As a prolonged siege became the only possible course of action to make the fortress fall, Perzuk realised that he wouldn’t have the quick war he hoped for, despite his vastly superior numbers. With the flames of the civil war barely extinguished and suffering from a naval blockade by the republics, the clan boss decided to not prolong the war and opened peace talks with his exhausted opponents. The goblins would keep control over the lands previously held by the Mountainhugger clan, Ourdia and Crathanor would keep control over the land previously held by the Landsharks, and all goblins were allowed safe passage through west Bahar until they reached Marblehead. Perzuk considered his pledge fulfilled, while the Bahari states officialised their alliance into the Naqtazka (or league of Azka).

## Resolution and Consequences

This is generally taken as the endpoint of the Decades of Devastation, as Eastern Bahar was consolidated under the realms of Marblehead and Birsartanses, which were both exhausted by wars and unwilling to fight each other. In a controversial decision, Keladora abandoned her claim to the kingdom of Baharkand in exchange for peace and the promise of the goblins to let her army pass into Gelkalis. While the Gelkari expedition (1456-1458) was an utter disaster, with barely a hundred soldiers coming back from the Harpy Hills, the Celdaro-Perzuk accord allowed peace to flourish in Eastern Bahar. Dartaxâgerdim would endure in the mountains of Kuzak, thanks to its unlikely alliance with the Harpy Queendom. The siege of Kuzak in 1484 ended the kingdom but they were seen by now as a mere nuisance and not a true threat by that time. Meanwhile, the precarious Naqtazka managed to hold their ground, until the later formation of the Overclan and the Betrayal of Re’uyel.