Philips Revolt

Phillip's Revolt was a major civil war fought in Westreach from SA 298 to SA 301 between the Arloginian faction, led by King Ran I of Kinnofold, and the Haladrians, led by Staffhalder Philip Haladrian of Franchurst. Though officially the war was fought for custody over the ailing Emperor Sirius V, it was driven by both idealogical and religious strife within the Empire.

Background
The civil war effectively represented the culmination of several destabilizing trends in Westreachian politics that had been building as early as the Montagonid ascension. First, the inherent power struggle between the Crown and the Staffhalders, enabled by the feudal structure of the Empire, was a serious cause of the war. This idealogical conflict, over the question of the extent of the Emperor's authority over the Staffhalders, had convulsed the Emperor's court as early as SA 150, but only once had it spilled into open warfare: with the Diet War of SA 156, with resulted in the defeat of the rebel staffhalders but a preservation of the existing status quo. A key component of the rebels' and Philip Haladrian's ideologically was not only the expansion of the Staffhalders political autonomy at the expense of the Empire but the empowerment of the largely repressed peasant class through town councils, a principle that earned Philip wide support from the lower classes.

In order to broaden his support and galvanize his base, however, Philip was forced to also exploit the staunchly anti-Paleanist views of the majority of Westreachians, incorporating sectarian views into his revolutionary rhetoric. Paleanism, which rejected the excesses of the Armantist Church in favor of more literal applications of the Armantist religious code, had first emerged in Kinnofold in the SA 240s within the lower-class. However, after the First Paleanist War of SA 254 the religion was increasingly embraced by the Kinnofoldian nobility, who saw it as an opportunity to separate themselves from the long resented Empire. The conflict culminated in the Second Paleanist War of SA 173, which completed the sectional divide of the Empire: Kinnofold became fully Paleanist and under the control of King Ran I Arloginian, the leader of the Paleanist nobles, while Westreach remained largely Armantist and under the control of the Emperor. The national reconciliation began only two years later with the Accord of Haleston, in which Ran I accepted nominal vassal status, but retained effective political and religious autonomy, and betrothed his daughter Margot to Sirius V; their expected son would then eventually succeed both Sirius and Ran and reunify the Empire. The concessions made to the Paleanists, however, were widely resented by the Westreachian staffhalders and populace, who were openly hostile to the Queen and her faction, throwing rocks at her ship when it first arrived in the harbor of Harerok.

The political situation in Westreach continued to unravel when Staffhalder Philip Haladrian of Franchurst formed a small faction of reformists in the Imperial court. While Philip's faction initially posed little threat, the increasing rift between the Emperor and his Westreachian subjects induced Sirius V to further align himself with the Arloginians. Ran's allies were placed in prominent positions in the Imperial government and in SA 290 the Paleanist mystic Chartemaleus was, at the Queen's behest, proclaimed the Emperor's main advisor. Though the Emperor remained Armantist, by SA 290 the Imperial government and household was effectively dominated by Paleanists, with Sirius's second son Robyn even converting to the faith. Religious tensions in Westreach were inflamed and Philip's faction, now incorporating anti-Paleanist rhetoric, grew in strength, including by SA 295 the Staffhalders of Chambrante, the Rottfold, and, to a lesser extent, Kirkland and Langcaste. Philip also formed an inner circle of young retainers which included Isander Atakirk, the son of the Staffhalder of Kirkland, Paxter Clements, the brother of the Staffhalse of Fairmaiden, and Julian Saric, the son of prominent Marcher-lord Walter Saric. Sectarian strife escalated in frequency and scale, particularly in areas with large degrees of Paleanist conversion such as the Hearth and Trafehaken. In early SA 297 an Armantist mob stormed the Paleanist 'quarter' of Forcourt and killed up to three hundred Paleanists before the Staffhalder's fyrdmen reluctantly intervened. Further, the Galeish incursions into the Northern provinces further shook the Emperor's crumbling authority.

By SA 298 the situation had reached a breaking point. The Emperor began inviting Galeish bands across the Empire's borders to augment his armies and Philip, in preparation for war, repaired the hundreds of abandoned castles that covered Franchurst, creating an impregnable defensive couldron just miles south of the capital. Getting wind of the Emperor's plot to arrest them upon arriving at his annual court, the Haladrian staffhalders formed their own 'Imperial court' at Rottgut, rejecting the Emperor's as a puppet of the Arloginians. For an entire year this situation persisted, with two opposing courts claiming authority in the increasingly unstable Empire. The Emperor's position was further weakened when in late SA 298 the Berskin tribesmen who he had invited to the Marchlands revolted, defeating two Imperial armies and invading the Middefold, where they plundered many towns.

SA 298-299: Opening Moves
The Berskin onslaught finally galvanized Philip and his supporters into action. Hoping to assume custody over the Emperor, Philip issued a joint declaration with the Staffhalders of Chambrante and the Rottfold in November of SA 298 summoning him to the rebel court at Rottgut, which had been disbanded for the winter. Anticipating the Emperor's prompt refusal, Philip then gathered a small army and rode on Harerok, intercepting Sirius when he attempted to flee the capital with a small column of loyalists. The Emperor and his advisor Chartemaleus were captured, his supporters were scattered, and the rebels seized the center of government. Anti-Paleanist riots flared up across the country in the aftermath of Philip's seizure of power; Paleanist 'quarters' in cities like Franchurst and Burgain were overrun and some 5,000 Paleanists were killed in perhaps the worst outbreak of sectarian violence so far. The Queen fled to her father in Kinnofold, her faction, for the time, destroyed.

Having seized custody over the Emperor, Philip was able to legitimize his cause and briefly assume de facto control over the Empire. King Ran I and Queen Margot were branded rebels by royal degree and the Rottgut court was reconvened to prosecute members of the Queen's faction, developing a reputation for cruelty after overseeing the execution of Chartemaleus, Sirius's Paleanist advisor. Philip then pressured Sirius into issuing the Tower Decree, disinheriting his son Mathieu and declaring Philip his heir and regent. Despite this, Philip's grip on power remained tenuous, with many of the country's Staffhalders alienated by the Tower Decree and the Arloginians secure in their Kinnofoldian power-base.

The Arloginians quickly began mobilizing their forces to wrest back control over the government. Morgen Cleland, commander of the battered Army of the Frontier, was persuaded to abandon the campaign against the Berskins and march south in late April, joining Ran's son Magjon and some seven thousand Arloginian troops near Stromkrop. No sooner had the two armes joined near the fortress then Philip, leading an army cut-out from the fyrds of Franchurst and the foot militia of Harerok, marched north and attacked them at the Saltmarsh, resulting in the first large-scale battle of the war. The Haladrians were defeated in several hours of close fighting and Philip fled south with his army. The Imperials marched into Harerok only three weeks later, bloodlessly recapturing not only their seat of power but the Emperor himself, who had slipped out of Philip's custody in the chaos.

The Emperor and his Arloginian allies attempted to re-assert Imperial authority following these gains; the Tower Decree was repealed and Prince Mathieu was dispatched against the Berskins with an army comprising Cleland's former host and the fyrds of Harehald. The civil war, however, continued. Pursuing Philip into Franchurst, Magjon and his army quickly found himself contending with the extensive network of castles that covered the countryside; depleted by fighting and disease, they retired to Previs in late August, effectively ending the campaign for the year. Further, Prince Mathieu's northern expedition was destroyed in late July by an army of Berskins, an event which critically weakened the Emperor's reputation.

SA 300: Rebels Besieged
The civil war, which had seen little serious fighting before the Battle of Saltmarsh, now moved into a newer, bloodier phase. Aware that they lacked the numbers to face the Imperialists' in the field, the Haladrian rebels instead fortified themselves in Franchurst, resulting in a slow but devastating campaign of sieges and counter-sieges. After fighting stalled throughout the winter, the war regained it's tempo in SA 300 as Magjon lead a revitalized effort to breakthrough the rebel castle-line below Harerok. The Arloginians stormed Rosshall and marched on Franchurst but in a fierce battle in the city's suburbs were driven back. Magjon was wounded, a large number of his men were slain or captured, and fighting largely subsided for a time.

The war also widened beyond the Hearth as it became clear that Philip's rebellion was more then just a brief episode of unrest. Horace Flynn, son of the Staffhalder of the Rottfold, rallied his father's fyrds and led an army south in-support of Philip, but at Gearbard was intercepted and defeated by the army of Rylant Cailain, son of Staffhalder Euclid Cailain. The Rottfoldians, retiring relatively intact from the defeat, were pursued to Dunkeld, where they were then invested by the Rhugen in a protracted siege. Simultaneously, the main Rhugen army under Staffhalder Euclid invaded the Rottfold, where they laid waste to many towns and besieged Rottgut in late July. The riverlords, on the brink of defeat, were then rallied by Staffhalse Paxter Clements of Fairmaiden, who gathered their dispersed forces and in late November relieved the city, killing Euclid and mauling his host, which fell back on Harerok.

After several months of recovery, King Ran I of Kinnofold led an army of Arloginians and Trafehaken fyrdmen from Harerok and launched a fresh assault on Franchurst in September of SA 300. Some of the most intense fighting of the war ensued; a dozen towns were destroyed, the countryside was devastated, and, in late December, Franchurst was finally stormed in a fierce assault, with the town then being razed and the populace massacred. Philip was able to escape the disaster with his retainers, fleeing to Dunkeld, where a new rebel army was formed from the Cutmotte valley's fyrdmen, the rivermen who had been defeated at Gearbard, the remnants of Franchurst's fyrds and, soon, the Rhugens and Gailians who were besieging the city. Though the war continued, the rebellion, it's forces scattered and it's holdings either over-run or besieged, was now at it's lowest point.

SA 301: Turning Point
Although the rebellion was on the edge of defeat, the winter of SA 300-301 saw the political landscape shift decisively in Philip's favor. Succumbing to a number of diseases, Emperor Sirius V died in late December of SA 300, forcing the Arloginians, with Prince Mathieu in Berskin custody, to install Prince Robyn, a Paleanist, on the throne. Not only did this development result in the defection of Rylant Cailiain, now Staffhalder of the Rhuge with the death of Euclid late in the year, but it induced Grand Arch Jaryk to flee from Harerok and put his support behind Philip Haladrian, whose claim to the throne regained momentum. Further, under pressure from Philip, Jaryk declared a verwustung against the Arloginians, resulting in a sudden resurgence of anti-Paleanist pogroms as the peasantry, already in support of Philip, mobilized. The country was soon engulfed in sectarian violence; peasant militias known as the Remagude swept across the countryside, many cities saw riots, and thousands of Paleanists, fearing for their lives, fled to Kinnofold. Within a few months the country's burgeoning Paleanist minority, which had been central to the Arloginian war effort, had been wiped out.

The strategic situation had thus shifted in early SA 301. The Imperialist cause now found itself largely isolated in the Hearth, with the Imperial field army of Ran I in Franchurst and the Rhugens quartered in Harerok. Though Rylant Cailian, now Staffhalder of the Rhuge, had defected to Philip with his army, Euclid's brother Locke, who had assumed command of the field army following his death, remained nominally loyal to the Arloginians. The Arloginian situation became even more precarious in late June when the cautious Staffhalder Argin Attakirk of Kirkland, who had so-far withheld his support, declared his allegiance for Philip and began mobilizing his fyrds, numbering some 60,000 men, for a campaign. Hoping to destroy the rebels before the Kirklanders could fully mobolize, Ran I concentrated his forces and marched on Dunkeld, the rebel base, with an army some 24,000-strong. The rebel army, comprised of Rhugen, rivermen, Franchurstians and fyrdmen from the Cuttmotte valley, retreated from the city in the face of the Arloginian advance but were intercepted thirty miles west of the city at Horse Head Hill. Here the climactic battle of the war was fought. Although the outnumbered Haladrians were initially successful, driving back the Arloginian knights and retaining their formation in the face of sustained attack, by mid-day the battle had begun to turn against them. Just as the Haladrians began to break, however, Ran's Rhugen allies defected, charging into the Arloginian rear and reversing the tide of the battle. The Arloginians were slaughtered, both Ran I and his son Magjon were killed, and the Arloginian cause was crushed.

While fighting had begun with Philip's coup, the battle of Vademun represented the real start of open civil war, and the Staffhalders, many of whom had remained neutral in the turmoil, were now forced to align themselves. Besides his hald of Franchurst, Chambrante, led by Staffhalder Oris Tyter, and the Rottfold, led by Staffhalder Becker Flynn, all supported Philip Haladrian, alleging that the Arloginian intervention was a usurpation of Philip's inheritance as established by the Tower Decree. Staffhalder Galder Garland of Trafehaken and Staffhalder Euclid Cailian of the Rhuge declared for Emperor Sirius V and his household, as well as Lord-Warden Symon Jeryme, who was forced to in-order to receive a detachment of Imperial troops for his Army of the North. Staffhalder Walther Lancercost of Langcaste, fully committed to the war against the Berskins, and the ever-cautious Staffhalder Sander Atakirk of Kirkland remained neutral, although several of Sander's staffhalses did support Philip.

Ran I entered Harerok in July with five thousand Arloginians and quickly resumed the war, which entered a new more attritional phase. Magjon marched south from Harerok with an army of Arloginians and began a ruthless campaign to suppress the Franchurstians, sacking many towns and laying waste to large swathes of the countryside. In late August, the staffhalses and their fyrds were caught massing outside of Franchurst and destroyed by the Arloginians in a battle that largely ended their resistance; Philip's nephew Asper was installed as Staffhalder, Philip Haladrian fled the region, and the staffhalses, with the exception of Stormont of Hornwall, submitted. The hald of Chambrante remained in a state of revolt, however, and the war in the Hearth continued, now characterized by destructive raids and counter-raids which further ravaged the already war-torn Franchurstian countryside.

The Imperialists now shifted their focus to the Rottfold, one of the few remaining pockets of rebellion. After much anticipation the Rhugens invaded under their staffhalder Euclid Cailian, plundering the western Rottfold, defeating the staffhalses at Ostrung and laying siege to Rottgut. A month later King Ran I invaded along the Rottmotte with an army composed of Arloginians and Trafehaken fyrdmen; the Imperial troops of Morgen Cleland had been despatched north as part of the anti-Berskin expedition and were not included in this army. The lower valley was ravaged and Ran's host joined the Rhugen's besieging Rottgut, which, despite their overwhelming numerical superiority, they were unable to take. After numerous failed assaults an attritional and costly siege ensued, the rebel stronghold tenaciously held by the local levy and staffhalses.

SA 300 saw a continuation of the increasing stalemate. Fighting in the Hearth assumed an increasingly sectarian and asymmetrical nature, with bands of pro-Haladrian peasant insurgents attacking the occupying Arloginians, often with the aid of Staffhalder Tyter of Chambrante, who campaigned in the region with his fyrds for much of the year. In the Rottfold, the siege of Rottgut continued with little success, repeated attempts to bombard or starve the fortress into submission resulting in failures for the increasingly exhausted Imperials.

In an effort to break the worsening stalemate in the Hearth, Emperor Sirius V invited the Redhakens to invade Chambrante in late SA 300. Seeing the invitation as an opportunity plunder one of the richest halds, King Haldra rallied a fleet and raided the Chambrantian coast, plundering many towns before, with the hald's fyrdmen engaged in Franchurst, marching in-land and seizing Chambrante in a daring raid.

SA 301: Conclusion
Late SA 300, however, saw the political landscape shift decisively in favor of the Haladrians. Emperor Sirius V died of illness in SA 300, passing the throne to his second son Robyn, a Paleanist. Viewing a Paleanist Emperor as unacceptable, much of the Westreachian political establishment now shifted; Staffhalder Attakirk of Kirkland finally raised his fyrds and declared for Philip, Staffhalder Rylant of the Rhuge, his father dead, defected with his army and allowed the garrison of Rottgut to escape, and Grand Arch Jaryk, threatened by the Emperor's death, fled from Harerok and aligned himself with the Haladrians, declaring a sacred wind against the Arloginians. It was in this turmoil that Philip finally re-entered the country in early SA 301 with an army of Galeish mercenaries.