The War of Weak Kings

* Encrownment of Olivia Herrenhold as the queen of Hallengard
* Complete Lauch annexation of Aedwin
* Replacement of Ostari leadership
* Ostar becomes a sovereign duchy
* Removal of the nobility statuses of most Hale houses

**The War of Weak Kings** (Previously known as "The Second Hallengardian Civil War") was originally rebellion against The Kingdom of Hallengard, under the rule of the Glasco dynasty by the Old Brotherhood, it eventually grew into a war between nations once The Kingdom of Aedwin and The Kingdom of Lauchette joined the conflict.

## Origins of the conflict

Ajax Glasco was one of the most controversial kings of Hallengard. While many of his council supported his reign, others criticized him for his cruelty and close relations to Nikolas Simmons, claiming that he's turning Hallengard into an Aedwinian puppet. Numerous peasants were suppressed and often executed for this reason.

The hatred grew drastically after Ajax aided the Andophist Order and Ocelotte on their conquest against Aedwin. It didn't take long for the small folk to group up at the capital to call for his dethronement and the encrownment of a Herrenhold heir. These being, mostly poorly equipped farmers and bakers were quickly massacred by the Hallengardian guards. One of them, a peasant named Theodore managed to escape, spreading the word.

As a direct response to this event, the Old Brotherhood faction has formed, made up of Hallengardian peasants, lesser lords and nobles, many of whom being the direct descendants of the loyalists spared by Gorge Haberford. Ironically the elected queen, Olivia Herrenhold wasn't a founding member. She was born in exile, on the island of Latora, as the Herrenhold dynasty fled Hallengard after The Great Divide.

Shortly after the foundation, they sent a diplomat back to the capital, with a list of demands. By this time, Ajax was no longer ruling Hallengard, but instead, Sion Glasco had taken regency, who was willing to negotiate with them. However, unlike before, they didn't just demand the coronation of Olivia, but a complete replacement of Hallengard's officials, council and lordship, as well as reparations. Sion declined, and shortly after the Brotherhood declared war.

## The Battles

Although being outnumbered, the Brotherhood managed to capture some of the hills near Hallengard with the intention of setting up a camp, but they were skirmished and outnumbered by the Hallengardian soldiers. While having the upper hand, Sion' party had to retreat to Aedwin, after the regent has gotten critically wounded, not by a Brotherhood soldier, but instead an assassin, seeking revenge.

While in Aedwin, the Hallengardians met with King Vince Simmons and told him about the civil war their kingdom was now in. After some negotiations, he agreed to help them.

The reinforcements managed to set up a small camp and occupy the area, capturing numerous Hallengardian soldiers and bystanders alike. While they were somewhat fortified and ready to meet the remnants of the Hallengaridan army, they did not expect the Aedwinian army and faced defeat.

Upon hearing about Aedwin's entrance into the battle, the Lauch kingdom sent a diplomat to pressure Aedwin into withdrawal. King Vince Simmons agreed to the treaty and Aedwin momentarily withdrew from the war.

After learning about the southern kingdom, sworn to stay out of the war, the Old Brotherhood regained it's morale and organized a second offense. Not only did they retake their original camp, but they captured more territories all the way up to the capital. The soldiers stopped after spotting Aedwinian soldiers following them. A scout was sent down to talk and investigate to figure out why they were in the mountains. The Aedwinians didn't hesitate to kill him once he got too close, and another battle ensued.

While the Brotherhood put up more of a fight than previously, they were outnumbered and massacred. This marked Aedwin's rejoin into the war, breaking the signed treaty, pulling Lauchette into the opposite side.

The Lauch kingdom invited their ally, Ascad into the battle, which they accepted. Meanwhile the Lauch diplomats tried to convince the Grand Chief to allow them to use Ostar's port and remain neutral in the war, but to no avail, as Banthor claimed to be loyal to the Aedwinian crown, however a local rebel faction, called the Free Titans were willing to cooperate with the eastern kingdoms once they promised that Ostar would become independent if they win.

With the help of the Titans, the Lauch army occupied the island, preparing for their invasion of Aedwin. The combined Lauch-Ascadian forces arrived at a Brotherhood-controlled port of south Hallengard, and used the now nearly-empty battleship as a decoy, stalling time for the battle engineers to set up a trebuchet, as well a couple of catapults for the siege to begin. The defenders originally had the upper hand, but shortly after, a big portion of the Aedwinian army fled, the kingdom was conquered.

The Southern siege was followed by a Hallengardian counterpart; the Old Brotherhood wanted to ensure a swift victory, marching up north rapidly with the accompanied by Free Titans and Ascadians. Both of these factions were to originally take part in the previous siege, but after some encouragement from their Lauch allies, they decided to take part. Ironically enough Lauchette provided minimal support, mainly recruits.

The offensive was brought to a full halt once they reached cave's mouth, which turned into a choke point. Both sides suffered heavy casualties which eventually convinced the Ascadians to retreat, boosting the defenders' morale. Fearing to lose their position without the eastern support, the remaining Ostari and Brotherhood soldiers organized one final offensive, pushing a battering ram to Hallengard's gate. The invaders managed to break the gates open and temporarily capture the capital, but the victory was short lived as the now exhausted soldiers were no match to the Hallengardian reinforcements.

Although Sion's army managed to recapture the kingdom, after seeing the casualties and aftermaths of the battle, the Hallengardian king surrendered to Olivia, and the war came to an end.

## Aftermath

With Olivia's victory, House Herrenhold regained their leadership over the Kingdom of Hallengard. Meanwhile, in the south Lauchette annexed all the territory they held, being the entirety of their former settlement, with the exception of Ostar, which was now an independent duchy.

However the truce proved itself to be very unstable. Olivia went missing after a few years, and Sion regained his position as the king, the morale of the Brotherhood was too low to start another battle, and they had little reason to oppose Sion, who didn't retake any of their gains.