War of the South Lake

The War of the South Lake is a conflict currently taking place around the Trade Lake. It was instigated by Lacrive and Scanbrough (the Allies) and the Dalforean League.

## Background

There has been tension as to sovereignty of the southern shore of the lake since before the Great Gap. Lacrive, ethnically unique from the rest of the southern shore, sought dominion over more land as a solution to the problem of its rapidly expanding upper class. More land meant more gifts of titles to appease powerful lords, who otherwise would overthrow the ruling family.

Scanbrough, the other aggressor, simply seeks conquest for the sake of conquest. It boasts powerful horsemen but few opportunities to wet their blades. As such, Scanbroughan diplomats picked up on the restlessness of Lacrivian noblemen and proposed a partition: the southern shore would be split between the two, with Lacrive claiming the western shore and Scanbrough the east. It was agreed to deal with Gabrainn and Faramond first to gain a shared border.

## Declaration of War

There was no formal declaration; Lacrivian heavy infantry under the Cont de Roumur moved into Gabrainn under the cover of darkness on the 11th of August 762, quickly taking the towns of Lough and Galdare and placing the capital of Kingheda under siege.

At the same time Scanbroughan horsemen attacked Faramond, encountering minimal resistance in Goldenleaf, Fallholt and Windmere. They lacked the resources to challenge the Faramondian capital of Faramond Keep, however, so the Scanbroughan general, Riding Man Fowke, left a small detachment of light horse to guard the city while the main force headed west.

Kingheda fell after a short siege and the garrison was allowed to march out bearing flags and arms. Fortunately, the royal family of Gabrainn had been in neighbouring Dunfleasel as part of a hunting trip, thwarting Lacrivian plans. The rest of Gabrainn fell easily, with the men-at-arms of the attacked country either going to ground in the eastern hills, or heading south to rally to the king. The former were joined by Faramondian forces in a similar situation. This impromptu force was led by Garth Goscelin, a former captain of the Faramondian royal guard.

Lacrivian and Scanbroughan forces met at Slidon in eastern Gabrainn and, with Fowke assuming seniority, it was decided to head south after the Gabrain royal family, while three thousand under the Lacrivian Cont Bellevue were directed to Faramond Keep. While neither Faramond nor Gabrainn were allied to any but each other, Dunfleasel was part of the long-reaching Dalforean League. This is a point ignored by Fowke, who reasoned that if Dunfleasel fell fast enough then there would be no messenger to alert the league.

## Involvement of the League

Allied forces marched across the Dunn border at Packmoor in late October 762 and headed south to the city of Armel. The detachment sent to deal with Limebridge in the north was unexpectedly annihilated by Garth Goscelin's forces that happened upon them on their way to relieve Faramond Keep.

The Count of Welldale, John Havocke, had been expecting an invasion, and crossed the Lacrivian border in early November 762 and laid siege to the fortress of Mont-Sarmans. This action has lately been called Havocke's Folly, as the entire action was fraught with bad luck and misfortune. Havocke was pulled back in January 763, having made no significant gains.

Goscelin continued north and handily drove away Bellevue's forces at the Second Battle of Faramond Keep on 24th March 763. From here, several ships were launched to head for the Dalforean coast and alert the League. The citizens of Faramond Keep were evacuated from the central castle and Faramondian forces began to retake surrounding towns.

Dunfleasel, having had prior warning of Lacrivian aggression, had already begun to militarise and the Dunn army, led by King Aostin Hercourét and accompanied by King Fionbarr of Gabrainn, met Lacrive and Scanbrough in battle at the gates of Armel. It was a crushing defeat and Fionbarr was killed, but marked the true beginning of League involvement in the war.

By mid-April, the envoys had reached Delfar and the League was summoned. Dunfleasel was fully occupied, its king in exile in Faramond Keep along with the heir apparent of Gabrainn and several thousand men. But from here, the league prepared.

## Raising the Armies

At the beginning of June 763, Cyng Ceolhelm of Talor began to raise the warbands and gather the Fyrdmen. This took a little over a month, culminating in around ten thousand men raised. Most marched to Dalfore to join the primary force, though two warbands raised in Fiscwicke with access to longships began to raid and harass the Scanbroughan coast.

During the same time, the levies of Kafetra and Vadya were raised and sent south to Dalfore, numbering twenty-five thousand in total and in varying states of readiness. These were joined by a professional force of five thousand Harnese soldiers and thirty thousand Dalforean men-at-arms.

Though not officially part of the League, Satï and Ulgard were outraged at the aggression of Scanbrough, their cultural sibling. They both sent large fleets of longships to join the Talorian naval warbands and put a serious strain on the coast of Scanbrough. All this was accomplished by the start of September 763.

## Current Position

As of now, the beginning of 764, the armies of the League, led by Ceolhelm, have crossed the Merkata river and are marching on the fortress of Rolimar in central Lacrive. The allied armies, in response, have fully withdrawn from Dunfleasel and are marching to meet them in battle. This is expected to occur in several months.