Nordish Rebellion

The **Nordish Rebellion** was an uprising in Nordain against the Maudesian Empire during the second half of the Eighth Age. Ultimately, the rebellion was successful, resulting in the country's liberation from its Maudesian overlords, and the restoration of the Kaulden line to the throne.

## Background

Nordain was invaded by Maudet in **8A24** by Emperor Guillaunt, also known as the "Mad Emperor". The conquest was successful and completed by **8A44** as a number of Nordish nobles conspired with the Maudesian invaders in return for power and privileged places in the new regime. For the next several decades, Maudet held Nordain as one of its provinces, extorting harsh taxes from the populace to support the Empire, and denying both the nobility and the common folk their ancient rights.

Control was maintained through a combination of brutal punishments inflicted on the populace for defiance, the presence of both Nordish collaborators who aided the occupiers out of greed and fear, and the legions of chevaliers sent by the Empire to crush any resistance. This became particularly evident during the reign of the sadistic and mercurial usurper King Alain, whose utter contempt for his subjects led to a constant atmosphere of royally-enforced terror and persecution.

## Bersnal Kaulden's years of leadership

After the death of Bersnal Kaulden's father, King Arnedrin Kaulden, Bersnal failed to unite the nobility behind him and eventually the whole country was fully taken over by **8A44,** which earned him the epithet "the Defeated". Bersnal continued fighting the Maudesian occupation, however, the resistance was scattered and disorganized. This was partly due to a lack of charisma on Bersnal's part and because of the belief among the Nordish nobility that the country was fully lost.

## Naranna Kaulden's years of leadership

Full-scale insurrection began in the years when Bersnal's daughter, Naranna Kaulden, commonly known as the "Rebel Queen", assumed leadership. Her first act as leader of the rebellion was to raid an Maudesian armory in Rissing. Outnumbered and backed with only limited support, the rebellion focused mostly on small-scale hit-and-run attacks, hoping to stay alive as long as possible while they attempted to gather support from the rest of Nordain.

Naranna, unlike her father, was charismatic and inspired her men and the rebellion. She was also daring; she willingly allowed herself to be captured by Baron Terund Argander, knowing that Terund's conscience would get the better of him. Instead of handing Naranna over to the Maudesians, the Baron eventually sent his family to the safety of the Freemarks and joined her cause. Terund became commander of the rebel forces and proved himself an effective but conservative leader.

Naranna met her end when she was lured out by promises of assistance against the Maudesians, and slain by Thane Arnnolf and several other disloyal nobles, leaving her untested young son Prince Baylor to assume command. Naranna was assassinated in **8A96**.

## Baylor Kaulden's years of leadership

### Battle of Northron Hills

When Baylor and the rebel Ornand of Croftdale had arrived at the rebel camp after fleeing from the loyalist's forces who had attacked Gareth of Croftdale's bandit camp, hunting for Baylor in the wake of his mother's assassination, Baylor was told that the rebel camp would soon be attacked and caught between two separate armies of the usurper, one from the north and one from the south.

It was suggested that Baylor would slip away with only a handful of men, while the rebel army itself would stay and fight; and likely be destroyed. However, Baylor refused, and the outlaw Ornand made a suggestion which would save both Baylor and the rebels. Ornand would impersonate Baylor and flee to the north, straight past one of the armies to draw it off, enabling the rebels to fight and defeat the other without risk of encirclement.

While the rebels fought the southern army, along with Baylor, Rowan, daughter of Baron Terund Argander, took her men on horseback to reinforce Ornand, killing the Maudesian commander, Alain's cousin Hugo, and routing the second army. The plan worked, and the rebel army had lived to fight another day, which surprised King Alain and his advisor Barrault.

#### Aftermath

However, the losses that the rebel forces sustained were also heavy. In the upcoming months, the rebels tried to regain their power by hiding in the remote corners of the country while Baylor travelled around the country to inspire the rebellion once more, since few believed that Baylor was capable of liberating the country, especially since even his brilliant mother failed to do so. Baylor in his travels met Cleric Bronach in Droskyn Hold. Who joined Baylor's cause along with his men. However, the Nordish Institute of Magic declined to aid him, desiring to maintain neutrality.

### Battle of White River

While the southern army was searching for Prince Baylor, the northern army, led by Thane Angus Bittred of the Narrow Sea, moved to counter the two new regiments of chevaliers crossing the Nordish border before they stormed the Hinterlands. Angus took the northern army to block the narrow valley of White River. However, the rebel army arrived only shortly ahead just of the Maudesians, and only had time to put up hasty fortifications. The Maudesians outnumbered them two to one. For two days, the northern rebel army narrowly held back the Maudesians advance before finally ordering a retreat. Thane Bittred was killed during the final flight. Only fifty of the initial army of a thousand escaped the valley alive.

### First Battle of Dhunne

After two more years of making alliances with nobles and replenishing its numbers, in **8A98** the rebel army attacked Dhunne, which had recently been given to one of Alain's cousins. The militia offered little resistance, but the true fight was yet to come. An elven messenger, Amarille, informed Baylor that Baron Byron Rander and his forces, which were used as a distraction, would soon be defeated, and an army of King Alain's forces was on its way to Dhunne. Unable to defeat this new Maudesian host in pitched battle, thanks to the losses sustained in taking the town, the rebels elected to conceal themselves in Dhunne and ambush the Maudesians in its narrow confines once they arrived. The Maudesians were defeated and withdrew, but Baylor was wounded. After the battle, Ornand was promoted to Commander, subordinate to Baron Terund Argander.

Several mages from an Maudesian Institute of Magic participated in the battle too. However, as several of them were lost in this battle, the Maudesian mages ceased supporting King Alain's war effort afterward.

### Battle of South Hill

Upon hearing that South Hill was the location of a large amount of money intended as pay for the chevaliers, the rebel army resolved to attack South Hill. Without the resources to pay and equip the chevaliers, who composed the true backbone of the Maudesian occupation, Baylor reasoned that Alain's army would begin to crumble, leaving the usurper defenseless. However, this was a trap in which the army was led into by Amarille. Some time before the battle began, Alain changed his mind from having Baylor delivered to him, to letting him die in the battle. Half of the rebel army, including Baron Terund, was killed.

#### Aftermath

The forces that remained fled back to Dhunne and the King's forces soon surrounded the Umbradal Forest, preventing the rebels' escape. However, Baylor, Ornand, and Rowan survived and with the help of Amarille, reached Dhunne via the Underways. Along the way they made new allies, the Legion of the Dead, who saved them from death at the hands of fiends, during their time in the Underways. Baylor and Amarille convinced the dwarves to return to the surface with them and resist the Maudesian occupation in exchange for the chance to win glory and redemption in battle.

### Second Battle of Dhunne

The rebel army, seeing their prince alive, considered it a miracle from the Watcher which gave them a boost in morale in the coming battle. The rebels were also assisted by a regiment of the Legion of the Dead. In the ensuing battle, the Maudesian army experienced tremendous losses but was able to force the rebels into retreat. Half of the chevalier force was slain by the Legionnaires. However, as the Maudesian loyalist army entered Dhunne and before they could regroup to pursue the fleeing rebels, a riot erupted as Dhunne's townfolk rose up and overwhelmed the Maudesian lines, killing Commander Thebaut, among others. This created confusion in the Maudesian camp which Baylor took advantage of as he ordered his retreating forces to turn back to Dhunne. Caught between the rioting townsfolk and the rebel counterattack, Alain's forces were defeated and abandoned Dhunne to the rebels.

#### Aftermath

Word of Baylor's survival reached Alain and the rumor that the prince had been raised from the dead by the Watcher himself started spreading throughout the rest of Nordain. Riots began in Erencliffe, prompting its Baron to ask for assistance from King Alain, while the rest of the Thaneholds could not send their troops to suppress the riots for fear of their own lands rebelling against them. In response, Alain attempted to crush support for the rebellion by demanding that his underlings exact brutal reprisals on anyone suspected of sympathising with the rebels, and ordered that Cleric Bronach tell the people that Baylor was a demon impostor. However, this backfired spectacularly; the new wave of Maudesian brutality only incited further insurrection from the Nordishfolk, and caused Bronach to flee Dersoden and proclaim Baylor the true heir to the throne and Alain a dangerous tyrant. Alain also ordered Barrault to send word to the Imperial court, demanding fresh troops to aid him. Emperor Maxence dispatched two legions of chevaliers to assist which combined with the forces already in Nordain would, according to Barrault, be more than sufficient to deal with the rebellion. However, Maxence also warned Alain that his patience with his cousin's inability to resolve the matter had run out, and this was the last support he was prepared to give Alain to deal with the insurrection.

Amarille was slain by Baylor shortly after she severed all ties with Barrault. Thane Arnnolf and the other nobles who had betrayed Queen Naranna were also killed shortly afterwards, when Maric invited them to a Bannorn Chantry under the pretense of forming an alliance; when they came, Maric had them all killed.

### Battle of Tolamir River

A High dragon rampaged west of the White Spine before the battle of Tolamir River which was considered to be an ill Omen for Maudet.

The Battle of Tolamir River occurred in **8A99** and was a pivotal battle during the Nordish rebellion. Two legions of chevaliers crossing the Talomir River were ambushed and killed by rebels and Legionnaires of the Dead led by Ornand, who then claimed the Maudesian commander's armor as his own. At least a full legion of the Empire's finest warriors perished, and the significant loss of both life and treasure was enough to convince the Maudesian Emperor Maxence to abandon his support of Alain as he saw little point in squandering so many resources to secure what had become an ungovernable and rebellious province. The dwarven regiment was also lost in the fight, as well as its leader, Gremmir.

At the same time, Prince Baylor infiltrated King Alain's camp and, using the instructions that Amarille had given to him, found and killed King Alain's most effective advisor, the mage Barrault.

## Aftermath

Even after the victory at the Tolamir River, it took several more years until Nordain was fully freed. Finally, after a long and bloody siege, Dersoden fell to the rebels, and King Alain and the remnants of his court fled and barricaded themselves inside Fort Volantus. Baylor challenged Alain to a duel and killed him in single combat, ending his rule and the Maudesian occupation in **9A00**. The Nordish rebels had won their independence, but diplomatic relations were not resumed until the accession of Empress Aurianne I to the Maudesian throne and peace was officially made between Maudet and Nordain in **9A20**. Even in the years after, the shadow of Alain's rule, and the occupation in general, had a profound influence on Nordish society and politics. Nearly every sitting noble is either a veteran of the rebellion, or a descendant of one.