Earldom of Gers

## General Information-

The Earldom of Gers is the domain of Earl Gers. After the death of Duke Tanulf during the Tanulf - Gaelis war, Earl Gers defected to the Duchy of Gaelis once Duchess Regina Tanulf succeeded her father.

After the Duchy of Tanulf was defeated in a pitched battle to Duke Gaelis, the Duchy and it's vassals military forces sustained heavy casualties and were forced to retreat back into Tanulf land. This defeat saw the death of Duke Tanulf leaving the Duchy in a precarious position since his successor, Duchess Regina Tanulf, was new to her position and an invasion from the Duchy of Gaelis was imminent,

With the impending invasion from the Duchy of Gaelis looming, Duke Clark Gaelis and Earl Gers negotiated terms which would see the duke's soldiers occupy the capital City of Terk unopposed and claim the Earl's treasury. This amount would be added to the Duke Gaelis's war chest and help fund his military campaign.

The plan was for the Earl to be absent from the capital City of Terk whilst the invasion was underway, thus the Earl would not be in violation of his oath to his liege lord, Duchess Regina Tanulf. If Duke Gaelis succeeded in the annexation of the Duchy of Tanulf, then it would have been likely that Earl Gers would retain his position as the Earl of Gers under the rule of Duke Clark Gaelis.

Before the invading army of Gaelis could reach the city of Terk, Duchess Regina Tanulf named Count Alexander Brit as a General of the Duchy of Tanulf and charged him with the task of holding of the Gaelis forces. The Duchess hired 2,000 mercenaries and put them under The Count's direct command who quick marched the mercenary companies to reinforce the capital city of Terk. The objective was not to defeat the Gaelis forces, but to hold them off for long enough that Duchess Tanulf could rally her forces against Duke Gaelis.

Upon arriving at Terk, Count Alexander Brit found that Earl Gers was absent from the city and concluded that the Earl had fled the Terk before the advancing Duke Gaelis's army reached the capital. This allowed Count Brit to take complete command of the city and made the appropriate preparations and precautions for the impending siege from the Gaelis forces.

A month and half after the beginning of the siege of Terk, Count Alexander Brit and his forces still held the city. The Gaelis army had initially tried to seize the city by force, using Trebuchets, Siege Towers, ladders and other implements which would allow them to scale the walls and establish a foothold in the city. Despite numerous attempts and committing a considerable force to this endeavor, they were unable to capture the city. The defenders had inevitably taken losses during these assaults, though they were significantly less that the enemy.

Ultimately, the Gaelis forces decided that continuing to assault the city was futile and the wiser course of action was to incircle the city so that it was unable to receive any supplies and starve out the occupants. Whilst maintaining the encirclement of Terk, the army of Gaelis proceeded to push further into the Duchy of Tanulf lands. This left the defenders of Terk isolated and only able to avoid surrendering outright for as long as their supplies allowed them to.

Duchess Regina Tanulf was able to get a message to Count Brit that she would be unable to relieve the forces of Terk before he and the occupants succumbed to starvation. She then outlined a plan which would see her forces push towards the city and attempt to establish a corridor, allowing the count and the residents of Terk to flee the city. Though many of the residents of Terk were able to safely evacuate the capital, Count Brit was forced to retreat back to the keep with a handful of citizens after his mount was killed during the evacuation.

A week following the evacuation, the Gaelis forces had taken the majority Terk with the defenders only able to retain control of the cities keep. Eventually, Count Brit raised a white flag atop the gatehouse and negotiated the surrender of the keep in exchange for the safety of all the cities remaining residents.

Before being escorted from Terk and with the city being pillaged by the forces of Gaelis, Count Brit was able to set alight a fire trap house which led to a depot full of accelerant. After an hour the entire city was engulfed in flames and was eventually raised to the ground. This event would become know as the "Blaze of Terk" which saw the death of roughly 10,000 Gaelis soldiers as well as seriously maiming the Duke who suffered 4th degree burns to the left side of his body and his face . This event would become a key turning point in the Tanulf - Gaelis war.