War of the Bloody Vigil

**The War of the Bloody Vigil** was a conflict that started with the insurrection of the November Brotherhood against The Jade House of Lords in CE 875 and ended in CE 878 with the Treaty of Asipolis. It was fought in Kasmir between members of the November Brotherhood, the Jade House of Lords, the Republic of Cyravest, the House of Darcedon, and the Papetral Pontifect. The war resulted in the relocation of those of Jade descent, the growth in Darcedon's power, a ramping up of the Grimshaw, and the full stop of the Jade House of Lords from expanding outside of Cisteria.

## The Bloody Vigil

### Background

The House of Darcedon held much of *Cedonia* and refused to marry outside of the Draco-Adonis houses native to Kasmir; this raised issues with plans by the Jade House of Lords to acquire lands in realms of humans and grow past the "hard line" between Tethryndor and Kasmir. The House of Marques, despite its animosity toward their fraternal House of Darcedon, at this time did not engage in open conflict with their cousins.

Only recently had control of Laconia been up in the air. Mere decades earlier, rule of the province was firmly in the hands of William III, a Jade-blood Cyravine merchant who married into power and legitimized himself through conquest, much to the despair of a rebellious Kasmir. After the death of William III in CE 863, Laconia had no official ruling house, though the distinction appeared to be in the court of the House of Marques. Kasmir was reliant on agriculture and sparse trade from Cascadia and Gantelusia. On the other hand, Acharon was growing wealthy thanks to silver mines in Laconia and a variety of spices, salt, and dyes produced in *Madelia*.

One of the Marques lords, Dias Marques, was to be wed to Darcedon scion Maria del Asipolis. This union would have been one of several that would potentially rekindle reconciliation between the two estranged houses. However, weeks before the wedding on 7 April CE 875, Maria del Asipolis went missing, and a search conducted across Kasmir led to no knowledge of her whereabouts. Diviners at the time suggested foul play, but the hopeful nobility held candlelight vigils across Kasmir and Acharon in order to show solidarity and potentially lead to her being found.

Much to the chagrin of Darcedon and the Marques family, in October CE 875 Dias Marques wed the Jade woman Tarima of Cyravest, daughter of William III. If a succession scheme was indeed present, then the House of Marques would lose valuable marches along the border of *Brumadoria* to the Jade House of Lords. Dias Marques was disinherited and deposed from his crown, further deteriorating relations between the three factions: the House of Marques, the House of Darcedon, and the Jade House of Lords. The High Pontiff sent a letter to Dias Marques explaining that the Papet "supports [his] lawful marriage and disavows attempts to harry [his] pursuit of just rule and a proper lineage." Dias Marques held onto his fiefs in Lakecrest, not returning them to his family.

The Papet's involvement at this stage was surprising, but served two purposes: the High Pontiff wanted to de-escalate potential war in this region, understanding that such a conflict had already entrenched Prace in conflict for over a century. He was also heavily influenced by the Niocletians, who were interested in ensuring that the "hard line" between Laconia and Cisteria was not crossed. Such an event could lead to their own involvement down the line if the Jade House of Lords attempted to marry their own kin.

### Vigil in Pelgenthum

On 1 November CE 875, a vigil for Maria del Asipolis was held in the village of Pelgenthum a few miles from Asipolis near Lakecrest. The vigils attracted few attendees in the waning months since Dias Marques' marriage, but nonetheless there were hopes that the heir would be returned. Crown Prince Alexander III was also one to attend these vigils, and many villages maintained the candlelight vigils in their cathedrals during the week in the hopes that a passing prince may stop and attend.

The events that follow are recorded by the bishop Cassio, who was in attendance on that morning. He remained in his chambers that morning, and kept a strict eye on time as it passed moment to moment. Cassio's logs are the only record of what happened that day, though it has been verified by participants as being truthful.

### Aftermath

Because of this single chain of events, a general revolt spread across Kasmir and led to the massacre of four thousand Jade-blood civilians, even those with no noble claim nor any connection to Cisteria, over the course of the next six weeks. This general distrust of elven individuals was already high due to their increasing immigration in response to economic weakness across central Prace. An estimated one in five Jade-blood people in Kasmir were slaughtered in this time.

The Pontifect had bishops withdraw from Kasmir, establishing that the region had become unsafe and alleged it was undergoing civil war. Acharon and Kasmir came to blows with knights of Marques and Darcedon leading peasant armies into battle near Lakecrest. At this time, the House of Marques wanted the return of Dias Marques. In contrast, the House of Darcedon wanted recompense for the destruction of Asipolis and Pelgenthum.

## Darcedon and Marques

Soon after the Bloody Vigil itself, most of Kasmir turned to the House of Darcedon to deliver them from Jade domination. At this time, many Darcedon knights formed the November Brotherhood to organize and execute the genocide of elves in Kasmir. Though their participation was clandestine, the bodies of Jade-blood individuals in the streets were dragged to nearby creeks and largely ignored by "blue-sleeve" militias, believed to be a necessary evil.

The House of Marques struggled to retaliate in Lakecrest and ceded its marches to Darcedon. A blossoming "silver road" between Cascadia and Laconia had made Darcedon quite diverse in military tactics, though most of Kasmir still relied on agriculture and left it open to economic fealty to the rich silver mines of Acharon. Despite its poor economic standing, Darcedon was generally unable to borrow currency from anyone but the Papet, whom they despised. Thus, they were forced to muster a professional army instead of a mercenary army - an act which would reinvigorate warfare across the Old World.

The Crown Prince of Darcedon, Alexander III, was mentally unwell since the unanticipated death of his wife. Arturio the Revenant served as marshal of the realm, though at this time he relegated most duties to his lieutenant Raginar the Rone, father of Tersing the Rone.

Five months after the Bloody Vigil, on 30 April, Cyravest landed in Kasmir in support of the House of Marques and the Jade House of Lords. The Delphan, Benedict Telfini, started to besiege Asipolis. Darcedonian shock troops, along with a number of Stavian hussars and Rones from *Sardonia*, met them in the field six miles west of Asipolis. In the Battle of Asipolis, Telfini was forced to evacuate and lifted the siege two months after it had begun.

Darcedon pressed their advantage and by February of CE 878 had weathered away most of the lowlands of Acharon. The King of Acharon, Alfonso IV, perhaps feeling desperate,
sent letters to Raginar the Rone demanding they resolve the conflict by personal
combat. Raginar the Rone accepted and Alfonso IV returned to Acharon to arrange
the duel. Both kings chose six knights to settle matters of places and
dates. A duel was scheduled for 1 June in Coyote. A hundred knights would accompany each side and the High Pontiff was petitioned to adjudicate the contest. Despite repeated letters throughout the two year stalemate, the High Pontiff did not so much as dignify the request with a response, leaving the contest inconclusive.

## Hostilities de-escalate

### Relocation of the Jade-blood population

Recognizing the impending genocide in Laconia as a whole, given the desperation of the King of Acharon and the growing threat of Darcedon's military, the High Pontiff bestowed Tyrrhos - an island to which he had little credible claim and which had no consolidated rule - to Alexander III in CE 880. The *motu proprio* or irrevocable bequest was done to resolve the war diplomatically. The intent was to offer Darcedon lands, economic security, and occupy their military, as well as provide a new homeland for the Jade-blood residents who were now fearing for their safety in Kasmir.

Alexander III was thus far unresponsive. On behalf of her father, then-six-year-old Bianca del Oroba spoke on her father's behalf and accepted the island as a fief, *Medea*. However, conferring with the court, it was clear that relocating some thousands of people to unihabited swamps, hostile forests, and a war-torn nation was a prospect not worth considering. Wishes conferred by Alexander III, who wanted to withdraw from the Pontifect entirely, were proposed; a deal was struck between the Mandolins and Merovia to borrow massive reserves of pure gold from both noble houses in exchange for taking on the Jade residents and relocating them safely, on request of the Pontiff. Despite its obtuse nature, Tyrrhos still appeared to be a valuable asset to Darcedon in this time.

### End of the war

The gold, taken on low interest, was stored in Virgin's Rock for a time until a deal was proposed to the House of Marques: silver bars at low interest in exchange for peace. The King of Acharon agreed enthusiastically, and the High Pontiff decreed that Tyrrhos thus belonged to Darcedon, and for Cyravest to renounce all claims. The merchant republic failed to uphold their end of the agreement, but Darcedon nonetheless acquired the vast sums of silver from the House of Marques.

The silver and gold were reforged into electrum reeds, and a summary payment of some 20 tons of electrum reeds were delivered to the Palace of Dragons in Prace. At this point, Darcedon lifted itself from its massive debt to the Papet; it was no longer beholden to their decrees nor their rulings. Flabbergasted, the High Pontiff had no choice but to accept - and conflict between the elves and Darcedon would boil for the next decade until the War of the Dragons.