Zornish Coup d'état

The Zornish Coup d'etat was an armed conflict that occurred in 44 AGW

## Participating Forces

Watchmen
HM. Vapiens (KIA)
Zornish Army (10,000)
Zornish Kingsguard (150)
Watchmen (>100)
 Order of the Eye
GM. Levis (WIA)
M. Katus

## Lead-up to the Attack

in 42 AGW, the Zornish military conducted an expedition deep into Igrar territory. 500 men, co-led by Lord Theseus Thema (the father of the Queen of Zorn) and General Orion Vermodum, and including army-captain Typus Vermodum. The expedition failed, with only Typus and four others returning badly wounded; at the loss of both Lord Thema and General Vermodum. When news of the expedition failed, the Zornish crown refused to release any details of the expedition, leading to riots breaking out in Mount Zorn and the new head of House Thema, Ners Thema, refusing an appointment as hand of the king to replace his father. Due to his bravery, Typus was promoted to Captain of the Kingsguard. Ners, meanwhile, was appointed General of the Armies of Zorn, a position which he accepted. However, the appointment to Hand of the King was filled by Caligus's son, Tiberius Orestilla, who was just 10 at the time, causing another wave of outrage to sweep Zorn. During this time, the Order of the Eye began to rise, led by Grand Magister Levis. Strengthened by the incompetence of the crown, the Order gained around 3,000 sworn brothers by the time of the coup. This rise did not go unnoticed, of course, as an increasingly paranoid Caligus ordered the Zornish army to withdraw from its other positions and make camp around the city in case Levis decided to try and take control of the citadel.

## The attack begins

In the evening of October of 44 AGW, Captain Typus departed his post, claiming that he felt unwell. Instead of heading home, however, Typus walked to the North Gate, meeting with several order of the eye members and speaking to the Commander of the City Watch. Half an hour later, the men of the city guard turned over their equipment and returned to their homes. Their places on the city walls were taken by 2,500 watchmen led by M. Katus, while the remaining 500 Order of the Eye watchmen marched on the Mountain Palace under Levis. Typus, meanwhile, rode out and met with Ners, informing him that the King had ordered the army to depart Mount Zorn and disband as the threat of the Order of the Eye had passed. Ners, having heard of watchmen marching on the palace, did not believe this order to be authentic, but had heard reports that the city watch had joined the Order. As such, Ners did not believe he had enough men to attack the city and rescue Valeria and instead withdrew to South Slope, the seat of house Thema. Typus then returned to the city wall, took a force of 500 men, and attacked the Theta Monastery, killing all watchmen present (entirely composed of those not loyal to Typus), including High Magister Vapiens

## Palace Raid

Typus quickly dispatched his men to assist in the raid of the palace on the mountain, which had begun twenty minutes prior. After being refused entry, the Order of the Eye battled the kingsguard up the long, winding steps of the palace, taking significant losses. However, they soon reached the top and breached the palace door with a battering ram. In the chaos, the Queen had sent her children (minus Blaine and Tiberius) out through a secret passage under the castle while Caligus sat conscious but unresponsive on his throne. Valeria was forced to flee with Blaine (but without Tiberius as the Order of the Eye slaughtered the kingsgaurd, eventually entering the throne room where HM. Levis fought in a melee against Tiberius. Tiberius ended up seriously wounding Levis and killing another Order of the Eye watchman before he was surprised and stabbed in the back by Levis. Meanwhile, Typus led a small detachment underneath the castle, first slaughtering Valeria's children who had been evacuated before the throne room fell, and then engaging in battle with a group of kingsgaurd in a storage room who awaited Queen Valeria. Valeria, in the meanwhile, was chased into that very room by Levis and his men, who had been tipped off by Typus to the secret entrance to the tunnels underground and killed the guards who escorted Valeria. Shortly after handing her last remaining child, Blaine, off to Vophos and Condit, Valeria met face to face with Typus, the lone survivor of the battle in the storage room. Typus explained his motives, then revealed that he had killed both Valeria's husband, Caligus, and their children before brutally murdering Valeria

## Effects

The Zornish coup had great effect on the politics of the Middle Continent. Typus declared himself Overseer of the Watchmen and Lord Commander of the Mount Zorn Citadel. With the presumed death of the Orestilla family in its entirety, Ners Thema was technically next in line to be king. He, however, fled into exile in Westwhich. Typus soon revealed his true nature as a ruler, more or less abandoning control over Zorn to reinforce the Mount Zorn Citadel and several key fortifications, such as the South Slope Fort. As such, Zornish cities such as Themoppo, East Bend, and Caligoppo fell into anarchy and came to resemble ghost towns. Mount Zorn saw extreme restrictions placed onto the everyday lives of its citizens, and all orcs, dark elves, half orcs and goblins were immediately expelled from the city. Blaine Taylor was re-located to Closter and the Party of Twelve was formed to protect her until she could take the throne.