First Uhekian Mage War

The First Uhekian Mage War is an event that occured in **450PR**, continuing on for 2 years until the eventual Templar victory.

## Background

When Uhek was founded it was an oligarchy made up of Mages and merchants running the country. It became quickly apparent that even with all the effort to unify the island, the council had very little knowledge on how to manage a nation. Hostility grew with the continued mismanagement of the nation, with mages having an unfair advantage from their influence in the council.

By **401PR** the unrest and distrust of mages almost grew into a civil uprising, though the council managed to stop it by adding some regulation to the mages.

This was in the form of a check and balance system, creating an anti-magic organisation with specialised individuals adept in fighting mages. This was called the Templar Order.

In **442PR** Uhek continued to be mismanaged by the council, letting the templars gather influence and more distrust in mages. This caused the council to become stricter and harsher in response, using their mages to enforce this while removing power from the templars.

**447PR** is when things began to explode. After some templars were seen insulting mages, a small scuffle occured between the two groups. In response, the council arrested the two templars and executed them. Immediately after the execution the crowd went into a riot, requiring the council members to quickly retreat to a safe location in Hosmer College.

The rest of the year involved the council ignoring the unrest.

**449PR** saw another execution from the Mages. In the dead of night, a group of people came together which included Bishops from the Novus Church, some Templars, Merchants and even influential members from the common folk came together to discuss the situation regarding the council. This meeting was scryed upon by the mages, who took the opportunity to arrest all the members and later publically execute them. The execution was the nail in the coffin for the mages reputation as things turned fully hostile.

## Prelude

After the public execution in **449PR**, Templar Commander Edward Solomon began the secret planning of an uprising. Creating a new council of members, they discussed in code as preperations were made.

By **450PR** the Templar numbers had swelled, showing the success of Solomon's recruiting efforts amongst the Regional people and the current reputation of the mages. The rest of the council was focused on creating distractions for the Uhek council, creating small conflicts or further hurting the reputation for mages. All while funding and equipping the Templars outside of the council budget.

In Caesan **450PR**, things came to a head. Not wishing to risk discovery, Solomon and his Templars declared a surprise war on the Uhekian Council and Mages. This came with a night-time raid on Hosmer College.

## Organisation

### Templars

The Templars were under the direct leadership of Commander Solomon, though below him the Templars were split into 3 seperate divisions. Later in the war came a detachment of non-Templar forces, united by their hatred of mages and gathered and equipped by the other Solomon council members.

#### Division 1

Division 1 was commanded by decorated General Oswyn Trevarthen. It was the most experienced of forces in the war, with Trevarthen being Solomon's second-in-command for the army. He commanded around 4,000 soldiers.

They included a detachment of special forces, consisting of Monks and Infilitrators, similar to the current Modern-Day Uhekian Army.

#### Division 2

Division 2 consisted of Templars from the order in Sheland. Not a large group, they were commanded by General Helen Rowe, a smart commander who was very devout to the Novus religion.

She commanded 2,000 Templars.

#### Division 3

Division 3 consisted of Templars gathered from the regional area. They were a very inexperienced group, including having a relatively experienced commander in General James Engel. Commander Solomon worked closely with this division before he had to focus his attention elsewhere.

They consisted of 1,500 Templars.

#### Division 4

Division 4 was a division created by the Solomon Council members. Not directly templars, they were mostly made of the old Uhekian Military members, including veterans and mercenaries. They were commanded by General Carter Ravenwood, who was chosen by Solomon for being the most experienced in non-Templar warfare.

This division consisted of 3,000 soldiers.

### Mages

The mages consisted of the current Uhekian Army, also known as the Council's Sword, along with the mages from Hosmer College. They were commanded by Allican Hosmer, the Archmage at the College and leader of the Council.

They split their army into two different forces, mixing it between mages and general forces.

#### Quince Force

The Quince Force consisted of 4,000 soldiers and was commanded by General Adrian Quince, an experienced commander who had helped deal with the uprisings in the past. He was known for his safe and defensive tactics, making it a very dangerous force to fight.

#### Bernard Force

The Bernard Force was led by Mage Torilda Bernard, which caused some controversy amongst the ranks. This was not because she was a female but more a mage, as they believed that in times of battle, it was military commanders that were useful. She commanded 4,000 soldiers.

## Military Campaign

### Willmer Estate Skirmish

The Willmer Estate Skirmish was the first skirmish in the First Uhekian Mage War, excluding the Hosmer College raid, occuring in July 23 **450PR**. It happened between the Quince Force and Division 1, after Division 1 was able to successfuly discover the location of the mages within Gartaca and attack them. The combat quickly became a mess, with Division 1 surrounding the estate and the Quince Force charging to get out of it. Eventually, General Quince saw the momentum of his charge change, and sacrificed a portion of his troops in order to retreat through another gate and smash through the Division 1 units garrisoning there.

#### Casualties

Quince Force: 440 Dead, 200 captured.

Division 1: 110 Dead, 300 Wounded.

#### Aftermath

Solomon ensured that this was classed as a victory for the Templars, who had managed to kill and capture a sizeable portion of the force. Hosmer on the other end also classed it as a victory, managing to escape an encirclement without heavy casualties.

### Abandonment of Gartaca

Further skirmishes and minor battles continued to occur in the city of Gartaca, with the Templars finding and fighting the Quince Force.

Losing troops and influence over the city, with many of the citizens sick of the mages already and now seeing constant conflict, Hosmer made a difficult decision. Rather than remain in a city where they hold the disadvantage, he would take the chance to escape with his forces to Sheland.

Solomon had expected this may occur and made sure to send Division 3 to protect the gates of the city while Division 1 was ordered to guard the teleportation circles in the city.

Eventually in Asunak 10 **451PR**, the Quince Force made a break for the teleportation circles. Even with the preperations, Division 1 was overcome by the fire power that the mages had, Hosmer himself even entering the battle. The fighting got so rough that General Trevarthen's headquarters were attacked, forcing him to strike down 3 soldiers personally before calling his forces to back off.

#### Casualties

Quince Force: 380 Dead, 600 Wounded.

Division 1: 360 Dead, 800 Wounded.

#### Aftermath

Solomon was able to claim the capital city of Gartaca, enforcing his rightful claim to the battle. With the mages leaving, it angered the populace enough for another division to be added to the Templars, Division 4.

Hosmer saw it as a tactical victory, able to escape the city and regroup his forces, giving him the ability to focus.

### Siege of Sheland

*See: Siege of Sheland*
The Siege of Sheland is a significant event in the war, costing the lives of many and changing the nation as one would know it. It was this that truly put the victory in the Templars hands.

### Battle of Raoul Peak

*See: Battle of Raoul Peak*

The Battle of Raoul Peak is the final conflict in the war, where the Mages made their last stand against the Templar forces. It can also be seen as Uhek breaking free of the control of the Mages who had treated them so horribly.

## Aftermath

After the war, Solomon and the Templars influence and power skyrocketed, with most of the nation supporting their cause. This was helped by Solomon's theatrics, such as when he entered the city of Gartaca and placed his sword in the centre of the Templar facility, officially ending the war.

What else changed was the perception of non-religious magic, now being seen as evil and chaotic. The mages not in the war were either forced to leave the country or captured if they stayed too long, being imprisoned for life or hung for their crimes.

With no council now leading the nation, Solomon used his popularity to create his own.

The hatred, fear and outlaw of mages was what caused them to hide and rebel during the Second Uhekian Mage War.