War of Ears

Taking place from 1761-1779PE this is the name historians have attached to the attempted elven genocide of this era.

In 1761PE Victor 'The Elfslayer' is crowned Emperor of Auria.

In 1761PE as soon as he is in power Emperor Viktor declares that the passivity of his father's years are done and that the elven insurgents on Imperial Land will be wiped out.

Many elves living in the Empire leave even before his crowning as his time as Prince had already given many signs that this would happen. As he pushes his Senate to enact laws controlling the movement of elves in the Empire this process accelerates. In the final days of the year Victor declares the 'ear bounty'. In short gold coins will be exchanged for elven ears at all military posts. This results in an outcry in some of the small elven communities still operating in the Empire.

1762PE: Elven ears begin to be turned in for bounties and elven communities are put under controlled watch and in two cases massacred. The community of Larindar escape mysteriously right from under the guard of a Black Protectoran unit.

1763PE: Several Bounty Hunters in Oakland Forest are killed. As this death toll mounts official guidance is given that people shoulod not go into the forests without adequate force and arms. By the end of the year the Emperor commemorates his the start of the bounty by declaring that all of the Oakland Forest as imperial land. The Green Protectoran are mobilized as an army and told to cleanse the forest.

1764: The Green Protectoran are voted increased financial backing and are diverted 90% of all imperial recruits making them the largest in terms of manpower in their entire history.

1764-1766PE: The Green Protectoran in their thousands pour into the forest and wipe out Elven settlements where ever they can. Elves flee to the north of the forest where they are technically in Alkan. Remaining elven settlements in the south are all razed except a few hidden Quinkorin bases. Elven death toll numbers in the thousands.

1767PE: The horselords of Alkan ride south and hit Aurian border settlements all along the Aurian/Alkan border. An entire Yellow Protectoran Legion is surrounded and destroyed to the last man as it attempts to defend one of the towns. The Emperor is furious but is dissuaded from ordering an invasion of Alkan by his counselors. Negotiations pause the war for a period.

1767PE: The Tarriks of Alkan led by Windwhisperer the Tarrik of the Shift of Gales, ably supported by Pearlsinwater his lady sorceress, meet with Imperial negotiators. The Empire raises grievances but is met by an unrepentant indifference. The Alkan state that the imperial army's presence in the southern forest of Alkan is a threat and a clear breach of accepted borders. The Emperor is forced to swallow his pride and his negotiators agree to an end of horselord hostilities by agreeing no Imperial military will stray on the Alkan side of the border. This forced agreement is hated by Viktor and his children. Though his son does nothing during his reign his son taught about the embarrassment of this agreement triggers the later attacks on Alkan. Eventually the Alkar would pay for this success with blood in the War of 1803PE.

1769PE: Only Bounty Hunters and similar freelancers are allowed into the northern forest to hunt as the army is blocked by the Plains Treaty amendment. Large scale conflicts drop dramatically but it gives rise to some powerful elite hunter-killer groups.

1770PE: The Blood Coin Bounty Hunters' guild is founded in Tor Honarik. It is the largest conglomeration of Bounty Hunters yet. THey become exceedingly wealthy by hunting the elves in the northern forest sanctuaries.

1770-1775PE: The genocide of the elven nations in the forest continues. The Quinkorin becomes increasingly extreme in their response. Some humans taken are brutalized and tortured before they are killed something elves had not been known to do in the past.

1774PE: The Battle of Oakhome. A concentration of Elven forces led by the Quinkorin attempt to take Oakhome. They are decisively defeated. The Rangers stationed in Oakhome are at lifetime highs in readiness, numbers and experience. The elves are driven from the field and as they were shown as the aggressors the Imperial Rangers used this battle as the reason to let lose with all they had. The legions supported by clerics and and wizards wrecked the elven battle lines and chased them down to extinction where ever they could. This is the last pitched battle fought between elves and humans in Oakland Forest.

1776PE: The turn of the tide. Two events take place in this year that resulted in future events which brought the war to an end. Firstly, a band of individuals called the Dawnrakers began to hunt down Bounty Hunter groups and kill them or truen them over to the elves. This group claimed it acted out of compassion and reason. Interestingly not one of the group was a pure blooded elf. One of the humans in the group was secretly the son of an important Aurian noble family had held a commission in the Red Protectoran. Using his contacts and the embarrassing defeats pressure was started in Auria to bring an end to the now-called 'War of Ears'.

The second event however was even more important. The Shrouded druids of Karritan came south in force and brought with them for the first time in known history the Shadeborn. Normally these groups did not operate beyond the borders of the great northern forest but the genocide in Oakland Forest apparently became enough. The humans were not ready for the fury and deadly savagery of these new elves. They began to systematically cleanse the forest of human life. Aurian's began to cower in their towns rather than displaying their previous arrogance.

1777PE: Due to the turn around and the influence of the Dawnrakers a new pro-peace faction takes root in Tor Honarik. They become focused on anti-Emperor rhetoric noting the death toll and the limited benefits this ongoing oppression of the elves had had. They are careful not to appear pro-elf as anti-elven sentiment had never been so high in the Empire. The crucial advantage they have is that the numbers backed them. The war was costing money and lives with little material gain: No land, no political capital, no treasures, very few slaves even. It had cost a lot much less since the Plain's Treaty but still thousands of humans dead, money draining out, trade being negatively affected a split political leadership... all of this was eroding the force behind those who wanted to see the genocide brought to its conclusion. Aurakas Milo argued for the abolition of the Ear-bounty and an official statement from the Senate and if possible the crown that Bounty Hunters operating outside of Aurian Borders did so without the approval of the Aurian government. Those such as Senadal Voech who argued on behalf on the Emperor's policies really struggled to out argue his points. In the end Voech had to use bitterness over those who had been lost and fear particularly the fear that if they stopped the elves would come for them in revenge.

The bounties did not stop and the new Bounty Hunter guilds were not disbanded. This was more down to the fear of the Shadeborn and personal will of the Emperor however. Popular support had come and gone. It was only a matter of time.

1778PE: Emperor Victor takes ill and his son, Vincent, though supportive of his father's policies starts to politically manoeuvre to get out of the elven genocide conflict. He distances himself from the Bounty Hunter Guilds and drops all funding from the Royal House even that being done in secret. He also meets with Aurakas Milo and negotiates with him a manner to extricate the crown without embarrassing his father. Fortunately the Plains Treaty had already forced the country to refrain from openly waging war on the elves. This allowed Vincent to preempt the inevitable fall out of ending the War of Ears. Though it is not officially ended until the repealing of the ear bounty mid way through 1779PE the War of Ears was all but over now.

1779PE: Victor the Elfslayer dies and is succeeded by his son Vincent. Vincent waits two seasons and then repeals the ear bounty officially ending the so-called 'War of ears'. It should be noted that Aurakas Milo an influential political figure who argued against the war and who gained significant political influence in the waning years was found, two years later, guilty of treason on unrelated charges and sentenced to death. it should also be noted that Vincent assigned Senedal Voech, a supporter of the war, as his Imperial Vizier.