Second Uhekian Mage War

## The Second Uhekian Mage War

The Second Uhekian Mage War is an event that occured in **567PR**. It continues on from the previous mage war, with Hosmer surviving and now after revenge.

## Background

The anger surrounding the mages came from the old Uhekian council led by Hosmer. They were known to mismanage the nation, causing a fair amount of outrage. What pushed things further were the public executiions that came about in **447PR** and **449PR**.

Eventually, Solomon and his Templars began preperations for an uprising, hoping to place a new council in power, one that would care for the nation and the people.

In **450PR** this uprising occured, starting the First Uhekian Mage War.

After the defeat of Hosmer and his mages in the Battle of Raoul Peak, things had begun to change.

The perception of non-religious magic was that it was evil, causing it to be outlawed, the only mages that were allowed were visitors and guild members but even they were under heavy restrictions, enforced by the Aliquam guild.

When Solomon died peacefully in **494PR**, the people of Uhek no longer cared about the council, simply letting it be. This was because of the councils many successful reforms that actually increased the prosperity of the nation, increasing the size of the middle-class and improving the lives of the lower-class.

What was not known to Uhek though was that Hosmer had lived, using clone magic to survive his beheading at the hands of Solomon in the Battle of Raoul Peak. In an effort of revenge, Hosmer began building his wealth so he could eventually come with the head of an army and take back his power.

In **565PR**, Hosmer slowly began transporting some mercenaries into Uhek, including some mages as well. It was only in **567PR** did the council finally notice and brought a stop to it with their Naval forces. Unable to gather reinforcements until he took a port, Hosmer declared war, beginning the Second Uhekian Mage War.

Hearing the declaration, Adrian walked to the centre of Solomon Temple and grabbed his ancestors sword out of the ground.

## Sides

### Mages

The mages were under a different command structure than previous. This time, they were mercenaries. Skilled and experienced individuals in combat, alongside many others that Hosmer had persuaded to join the cause. Thus, a small council was made of 3 commanders; Hosmer, General Lindblad and Low-General Hansson. To help fighting multiple battles, it was split up into two armies, who were able to come together under a single command if need be.

#### Army 1

Army 1 was commanded by the most experienced officer, General Lindblad. He commanded 12,500 troops, the majority of it made up by the experienced mercenaries that he had served with before. Only 4,000 were made up of the persuaded cause, with differing levels of experience and ability, though there was a fair amount of mages.

#### Army 2

Army 2 was commanded by Low-General Hansson. He had served under Lindblad for over 10 years, learning how to command an army and even leading divisions into battle at times. He also had 4,000 of the persuaded cause, but had the more experienced of the group, making up for the slight difference in command quality between him and Lindblad, not that he took offence.

### Templars

The Templars were always ready for a battle, being a standing army at most times. The entire organisation had been reformed to act as the Uhekian army after the first war and was ready for a second. Since the navy was not exactly in many of the battles, the organisation and leadership was focused on the ground forces.

#### Leadership

They were commanded entirely by Grand General Adrian Solomon, a member of the current council. Below him was the commander of the ground forces, Templar Commander Audery Trevarthen. Both had ancestors from the previous battle, who lead the entire army and division 1 respectively. Under her the structure went like:

Ground Forces: General Robert Rikhill

Special Forces: General Uric Thorp

Cavalry: General Rhion Oliver

#### Organisation

To deal with the two seperate armies, Adrian Solomon did the same. He split his forces into two, with divisions in each that could be split further to harass the enemy. The 1st Battallion was led by Trevarthen and the 2nd Battallion was led by Robert Rikhill. Cavalry and archers were placed into each battallion, with special forces being a technical 3rd Battallion, but was much smaller.

## War

### Cardend Campaign

To start of the war, Hosmer had gathered his forces in the Cardend region. His first objective was to get a place with a port, so he could gather the rest of his soldiers still at sea, who were waiting to try and break through the blockade. This target was the town of Cardend.

#### Capture of Cardend

The capture of Cardend was quick and swift. The town's garrison could do nothing but surrender when they saw the might of a 15,000 strong force come over the hills and bear down on them. Many of the townsfolk got scared and ran away, fearing revenge from the mage. When Hosmer did reach and capture the town, the townsfolk fears became realised. Angry at the treatment of mages, he slaughtered many in the town, allowing his troops to loot it so he could pay off some debts.

Of the town of around 10,000, only 2,000 survived, many because they already left.

#### Cardend

*See: Battle of Cardend*

In Octavium **567PR**, Solomon and both Battallions marched to Cardend to hopefully stop the invasion in its tracks. They had yet to receive the information that 10,000 troops had broken through the blockade and had already reinforced Hosmer.

By the time he had received the important information, the battle had already commenced. It was one of the first battles that Hosmer and the mages had achieved for a long time, as they lost almost every one in the first war.

### Gartacan Campaign

With Cardend secured for a long time, Hosmer began building his fortifications in the town. Making it a proper headquarters. He also made sure to secure a steady supply of food to feed his mercenaries, which were stuck with him due to the naval blockade strengthening around Cardend.

A permanent teleportation circle was made, but was very costly to use due to all the interference from the Templars. Meaning it was only used by Hosmer in important circumstances, such as bringing in needed supplies.

Minor skirmishes happened, but the Templars now waited for Hosmer and his Mages to make their move, knowing that Cardend was now too fortified for them to attack.

With everything secure and his position held, Hosmer and his armies began marching out in Marcu **569PR**.

#### Everton

*See: Battle of Everton*

The Battle of Everton was a signficant battle on the way to Gartaca. The Templars made an effort to slow down and injure the Mage offensive. In the end, the battle can be seen as a draw, as the Templar group was defeated but managed to hurt the Mage advance.

#### Gartaca

*See: Battle of Gartaca*

The Battle of Gartaca was the most important battle in the Second Uhekian Mage War. Both sides knew this was the case going into it, preparing everything for it. The Templars were on the defensive for this battle, setting up on a hill nearby the city, giving them a favourable position. The outcome of the battle changed the momentum in favour of the Templars.

### Templar Counter-Offensive

With Hansson now taking control of what was left of both armies, he decided to avoid a direct confrontation with the Templars until he could re-assess his position. Solomon knew that this might be the case, sending a group of Templars under Nordlund to run hit-and-run tactics while he allowed the rest of his troops to rest and heal. This went on for some time, until Solomon gathered his troops and went out to meet Hansson.

Though Hansson would not fall for the ploy, instead moving around with the army, holding incredibly control over their supply lines to do such a feat. He was also buying time for further reinforcements, something Hosmer had promised him. Eventually, Hansson realised that he would not get them, instead choosing to stand and fight on an open plains.

#### Larton

*See: Battle of Larton*

The Battle of Larton is a unique battle, it can be seen as a Templar victory but was more of a stale-mate, with Hansson proving to be an adequate commander, likely because he was ignoring any suggestions by Hosmer. Eventually, the Mage army retreated, but had bought themselves more time for reinforcements to arrive.

#### Cardend II

*See: Battle of Cardend II*

The Battle of Cardend II was the final major conflict of the war, with only small skirmishes occuring afterwards with the retreating Mages.

## Aftermath

With the war finally over, the reputation of Mages was further cemented as evil in the nation of Uhek. It also built further trust in the Uhekian council, even with their anonymous nature, and the Templars.

When Solomon got back to the city of Gartaca, he called for 10 days of mourning as they placed the names of the Templars which had died in battle.

Hansson was also pardoned by Solomon, though required him to be recruited to the Templars instead.

Cardened was eventually rebuilt, allowing the survivors to return to their town, now with a small Templar garrison to ensure no mages came through.

With the death of Hosmer, the rest of the mercenaries he had purchased but remained outside of Uhek returned to their lives. Any mercenaries found within Uhek were given the chance to surrender or die, only serving a year of hard labour before being free to do what they wish.

Nordlund became Solomon's right-hand man, trusting him with the later position of Templar Commander when he decided to stand down. It was the first time since Edward Solomon took the position that neither a Solomon or Trevarthen had the command. Bringing in new times.