Rebel Prince Zhincis

Prince Zhincis in 146 AW

***“**We face overwhelming forces and will most likely die today. Those who wish to flee and go home to their families may do so. The rest of you are with me! Let's try to make it a good battle for the history books.**”***
— Prince Zhincis before the Battle of Sosotau

**Rebel Prince Zhincis** or **Prince Zhincis of Toscov**, born **Zhincis iz Toscov**, later changing his name to **Zhincis iz Arkhalesk**, nicknamed **Zhincis the Sick**, was a Toscovish prince who acted as the Prince of Arkhalesk from 156 AW until his death in 173 AW.

Prince Zhincis was one of the princes who rebelled against Ludimik II in the War of the Fifteen Princes, initially serving under his brother Durkrin until his death in 150 AW at the Fourth Battle of Machayya, after which Zhincis became the leader of the Rebel Princes. From 153 AW onwards, Zhincis was the only remaining prince who opposed the Empire.

Ultimately, after a devastating blow at the Battle of Sosotau, negotiations began between the Empire and Zhincis, who proved impossible to dislodge. A ceasefire and an eventual treaty ended the War of the Fifteen Princes, with Zhincis being pardoned and granted the Principality of Arkhalesk for peace.

A final controversy arose when the chronically ill Zhincis began to near his death. Unmarried and without children, he wished to adopt a lowborn orphan named Vera as his daughter in 171 AW. Ultimately, Ludimik II shot down the proposal and forbade the adoption. In response, Zhincis founded the cadet House iz Arkhalesk in direct defiance against the Emperor's wishes, adopting Vera as his daughter and heir anyway. He ultimately died in 173 AW from complications around his health.

## Biography

### Early Life

The third son of Crown Prince Budimiv, Zhincis nearly died in infancy. Narrowly surviving, it was revealed that he had an extremely underdeveloped immune system, causing him to be ill for most of his life, sometimes even being bedridden as a result.

Zhincis, often lacking the ability to go outside and do many physical abilities, instead spent much time learning from dusty old tomes and scrolls. He taught himself to read and write and took a particular fascination with the strategies of the Human general Veric the Llendan during the Third Human Rebellion and Divine War.

While he lacked the ability to physically put up much of a fight, Zhincis grew into an expert tactician and commander to make up for it. None of Toscov's established generals or lords ever beat Zhincis at wargames. Ultimately, it was decided to grant him a position in Toscov's court, where Zhincis became quartermaster, tasked with organizing supplies and transportation for all of Toscov's military.

In 140 AW, with the Sixth Plague of Ihyll hitting Toscov, supply lines broke down across the Empire as the Krighal Taresh terrorized the countryside. This made Zhincis' task as quartermaster largely obsolete, as communications with other cities became either unreliable or completely impossible. Instead, Zhincis began supplying the Anti-Krighal Watchmen as well as his father Budimiv's personal expeditions against the Krighal.

In 143 AW, two of Zhincis' younger siblings, Woldar and Zivura, turned into Krighal Vitna. Budimiv exiled his two children for treason, stripping them of their titles. While Zivura fled, Woldar began a guerilla conflict, further hurting supply lines around Toscov. In 145 AW, Woldar and his group of Krighal attacked and killed Budimiv I in an ambush. The crown passed to his eldest son, Ludimik, who immediately had Zhincis fired for "occupying a position long obsolete."

### War of the Fifteen Princes

Upon being dismissed by Ludimik II, Zhincis traveled to his older brother Durkrin's holding: the city of Analym. Analym, a relatively prosperous trading city before the outbreak of the Sixth Plague, provided Durkrin with the funds to raise his own army. Together, the two brothers agreed that Ludimik II would be disastrous for the Empire's long-term stability. Durkrin funded the creation of a new army, while Zhincis would act as the strategist behind the rebellion.

Ultimately, the pair of brothers marched on Toscov, launching a failed coup attempt on the city before being driven back, being forced into a siege. Durkrin and Zhincis had sparked the War of the Fifteen Princes in 146 AW. Ultimately, the siege was lifted by Prince Deslov, with Durkrin and Zhincis being forced back to Analym.

From Analym, Zhincis began assembling his own Warband, to act independently from Durkrin if necessary. While Zhincis was in charge of strategy, he needed someone to lead from the front. The man for the job was ultimately one Eubomir Kiriasanenko, a relatively unknown cavalry captain up until that point. However, the pair would prove to be next to unbeatable on the battlefield.

Zhincis linked up with Durkrin once more in early 147 AW, defeating Prince Deslov and later capturing him. The two brothers split up, with Durkrin going to attack Toscov a second time, while Zhincis focused on defeating Prince Gradimr at Kolomansk. Near the end of the year, the sick prince solidified his status as the most dangerous Rebel Prince to be faced on the battlefield.

Despite the occasional skirmish, the next few years were relatively uneventful for Zhincis, as he devoted all his time to expanding and further improving his Warband. Zhincis' Warband ultimately became the most dangerous of all fifteen that were raised, becoming an elite force to rival even the Imperial Guard. Besides that, he briefly took some time to relieve the Siege of Tikhdovo, defeating Gradimr a second time and forcing him to flee back to his stronghold at Machayya.

As the war dragged on, Zhincis knew that the longer the war lasted, the worse the odds became for the Rebellion, as the Imperial Princes had access to far more manpower in the long term. Ultimately, Zhincis convinced Durkrin and Borklaw that a short yet decisive capture of Toscov was the only way to victory. However, Prince Gradimr's Machayya was an obstacle that had to be overcome to besiege Toscov in the first place. The three princes set out, gathering their forces south of Machayya. Meanwhile, the Empire reinforced the city.

When the Fourth Battle of Machayya broke out in 150 AW, six princes were involved, making it the largest battle of the conflict by far. Ultimately, two princes would die, one of which was Durkrin, before Zhincis retreated. The battle was ultimately considered an Imperial victory, but extreme losses on both sides killed all momentum of the conflict, as both sides desperately tried to reorganize.

The Fourth Battle of Machayya made Zhincis the new leader of the Rebel Princes, as he was the only one left. The only person he considered an ally, Free Prince Borklaw, would be soundly defeated time and time again, ultimately dying in 152 AW. However, Zhincis would prove to be a much harder enemy to defeat. At Idagol's Pass, Zhincis ambushed and killed Prince Gradimr despite extreme blizzards in the area in late 150 AW.

He would spend the next two years in hiding, roaming around with his Warband and reorganizing the forces of the Rebel Princes. Ultimately, he would be forced into battle by Ludimik II and Deslov at Pyadazhan, a battle which Zhincis would lose. Pyadazhan symbolized the hopelessness of the conflict, and Zhincis opted to abandon all lands west of the Kinzovan Mountains, capturing the namesake city of Kinzova and making it his new base of operations. Yet, as Imperial forces followed him, he abandoned Kinzova, desperately marching northeast to Arkhalesk. After a short siege, he would take the city, and ultimately defeated the pursuing Deslov at the Battle of Novolabik. Finally, Zhincis had some breathing room, taking Kinzova a second time as the war settled into a stalemate from 153 AW onwards, with fighting largely being isolated around Iruluk Pass.

Deslov and Ludimik II gathered their forces one last time and launched a series of battles to dislodge Zhincis and his forces from Kinzova. Despite Imperial victories at Mizhachevsk, Chipalevsk, and Prokhov Pass, Zhincis would set a trap at the small village of Sosotau. When the Imperial vanguard captured the settlement, Zhincis launched his ambush, ultimately dealing a devastating blow against Deslov and Ludimik in a battle often attributed as his masterpiece.

In the wake of Sosotau, losses on both sides were extremely heavy. Furthermore, Prince Deslov was recalled and sent to deal with Krighal under Zsemyon Surikolsky around Kovka, far away from the Kinzovan Mountains. The fighting between Ludimik and Zhincis continued, as negotiations began behind the scenes. Ultimately, with the war going nowhere, the two settled on an uneasy truce in 156 AW. Not long after, Zhincis would be pardoned and made the Prince of Arkhalesk, formally ending the War of the Fifteen Princes.

### After the War of the Fifteen Princes

When the war ended, many of the more fanatic fighters were disappointed or outright outraged with the conclusion. The forces of Prince Zhincis were no exception, and many viewed him as a turncoat who sold out the rebellion. Most notably, Zhincis' right hand, Eubomir Kiriasanenko, revolted against the prince, deserting alongside a good portion of the rebel army.

Zhincis was forced to deal with Kiriasanenko's Rebellion for the next few years, before finally cornering his former friend at the Battle of Saavartovsk, defeating the rebellion in 159 AW, and finally bringing stability to his Principality of Arkhalesk. Zhincis would spend the next decade desperately trying to recover what was left of the Principality's economy to little avail, as the Empire began to descend into an economic crisis. Ultimately, the prince would give up entirely, mostly staying in Rolym Castle, rarely leaving it.

His health began catching up with him from 170 AW onwards, at which point the prince was almost permanently bedridden. Unmarried and with no children, he wanted to adopt one of the servants at the castle, Vera. A peasant and an orphan to boot, the adoption request was almost immediately denied by Ludimik II. Upon receiving the news, Zhincis broke away from House iz Toscov entirely, founding his own cadet House iz Arkhalesk, and adopting the girl anyway, sparking outrage back in the capital.

Ultimately, he died in 173 AW, with Vera taking the throne against the Emperor's wishes.

## Career

* Golden Empire of Toscov
	+ Prince (117-173 AW)
	+ Quartermaster of Toscov (135-145 AW)
	+ Rebel Prince (146-156 AW)
	+ Prince of Arkhalesk (156-173 AW)

## Military Career

* War of the Fifteen Princes
	+ Siege of Toscov - Defeat
	+ Battle of Zheledar - Victory
	+ Battle of Kolomansk - Victory
	+ Siege of Tikhdovo - Victory
	+ Fourth Battle of Machayya - Defeat
	+ Battle of Idagol's Pass - Victory
	+ Battle of Pyadazhan - Defeat
	+ Siege of Arkhalesk - Victory
	+ Battle of Novolabik - Victory
	+ First Battle of Iruluk Pass - Stalemate
	+ Battle of Sosotau - Victory
	+ Second Battle of Iruluk Pass - Stalemate
	+ Third Battle of Iruluk Pass - Stalemate
	+ Fourth Battle of Iruluk Pass - Stalemate
* Kiriasanenko's Rebellion
	+ Battle of Arkhalesk - Victory
	+ Battle of Khasagorsk - Victory
	+ Battle of Saavartovsk - Victory

## Awards

*Main Article: List of Awards*

* ~~Service Medal - Golden Empire of Toscov~~ (revoked posthumously)
* ~~Order of Ludimik II - Golden Empire of Toscov~~ (revoked posthumously)
* Founders Medal - Kingdom of Avateaux (awarded posthumously)

## Personality

Zhincis, despite his illness, was a noteworthy character nonetheless. Fiercely independent, he pushed his body to the absolute limits and would often collapse in the middle of the battlefield, only to get back up right after. However, as he aged, the War of the Fifteen Princes notoriously changed his outlook on life. Later in life, he was extremely grim and most likely suffered from depression with seemingly nothing being able to so much as earn a smile from the man.

## Relationships

* Vera - My adopted daughter, Vera, was just a maid not too long ago. Yet, I sensed something in her that reminded me of Radchava... of Lubomia. A longing for greatness. I have no doubt she'll do fine as a Princess.
* Prince Deslov - My younger brother and my greatest enemy. Deslov and I aren't on speaking terms anymore but I wish we were. In truth, I do miss him.

* Ludimik II - I have nothing good to say about Ludimik. Nobody does.