The Successor Revolt

= Location = The Successor Revolt was fought all over the territory of the Empire; primarily, however, the campaign was fought by Juleel’s main contingent, carving a path from Demaret to Estary, and gathering support (or removing support from his father as he went).

= History = Maartel Artus was always a weak willed emperor; easily swayed by senior members of royal and noble court, insecure to a fault, prone to fits of intense rage. These issues, fostered by the traumatic nature of his ascendency to the throne, were only compounded by the Great Madness, which inflamed his human first and isolationist positions. By comparison, his son, Juleel Artus, was in many ways his father’s opposite: calm where his father raged, composed where his father frayed at the edges, and resilient where his father crumbled.

Maartel’s negligence towards properly running the Empire stretched towards the care of his son. Cordelia Artus nee Traube, the heiress to a noble house from Demaret and mother of Juleel, encouraged him to visit the various cities and settlements that made up the Empire, encouraging the people to know their future emperor (setting a precedent her granddaughter, Frenosta, would later follow). Juleel followed his mother’s advice, and visited multiple different cities throughout the Empire of his own accord. This helped Juleel in forming relationships with several of his peers throughout the territory, forming personal friendships and alliances with several of the younger nobles and former royals.

While the relationship between father and son was always strained, things finally hit a boiling point when Maartel orchestrated the Grand Exorcism: the forced relocation of every single person of cambion blood in the Empire out of its borders. Cordelia and Juleel fled from Estary the night it went into effect, traveling to Cordelia’s home of Demaret. From there, surrounded by his maternal family members, Juleel realized he had to gather as many forces as he could to stop his father.

Using magic to quickly hop around the Empire (an advantage the hardline orthodox Old Guard refused to dabble in), Juleel managed to gather the support of several cities, with even the older members of nobility throwing their lot in with the Successors, as Juleel’s faction had started to call themselves. This included reaching out to the storm-scarred of Laal Entheas, and marrying Damwain Taranau, the future Storm Mantle of Laal Entheas, incorporating it into the territory of the Empire. With his forces organized and directed at Estary, Juleel officially declared war on his father, and began his year long march to the capital from Demaret to remove him from the throne.

During this campaign, Juleel matured rapidly, growing into the wise and practical king that would begin to mend the Empire’s wounds. His temperance, tactics, and intelligence managed to sway several of the Great Families that were on the fence between father and son; it was said to see Juleel at the head of his army was to see Enerin’s blessing made manifest. That isn’t to say that everything went smoothly, however; the Walharts of Valheim were vehement supporters/puppet masters of Maartel, and fought tooth and nail to prevent Juleel from breaching the capital.

As the main column of Juleel approached, several allied columns, led by allied nobles, also made their way to Estary, eventually surrounding the capital. The people of Estary fought to open the gates for the crusading prince, overwhelming the small contingent of soldiers still loyal to Maartel. Juleel entered the city with a large group of bodyguards, but they managed to enter the throne room unmolested. It was there that Maartel, wearing ill fitting armor and carrying a sword he could barely lift, attempted to kill his son in single combat. No word of what the duel was like has escaped the lips of either Juleel nor his companions, but the Juleel that left the throne room, his blade still wet with his father’s blood, was not the same man that entered.

= Causes = Any discussion of the causes of the Successor Revolt have to revolve around the persistent human-first rhetoric that runs rampant in the Empire. Despite the fact the Empire was only forged with dwarven and human hands working together, many of the upper crust of the Empire consist of pure human lines. Elven communities like Laal Entheas and Caelfall, as well as predominantly halfling settlements like Demaret, are pushed to the side, their importance to the Empire downplayed. This extends to citizens of partial human descent: cambions are often the targets of religious persecution, despite the fact that cambions are no more inclined to aligning with fiendish forces than anyone else. Archons are also looked upon with suspicion, albeit not to the degree that cambions are.

To that end, the Grand Exorcism wasn’t really a surprise to those that had been keeping their eyes open. What was surprising is that someone in power actually decided to do something about it.

Speaking on the micro scale, Maartel Artus was widely seen as a stooge by those outside of Estaran politics. When his son, in many respects a model monarch and adherent of Enerin, arrived, for many it was a no brainer of who to support.

= Aftermath = Considering the wide support Juleel had accrued, he managed to settle into the role of Emperor with little issue. Many of the Great Families had already pledged support to him, and as such were more than willing to publicly recommit to the Empire and it’s ruler. Some families, like the Walharts, were far less willing, however; the hatred the Walhart family held for the Artus family reignited after their stooge, Maartel, was deposed.

Cordelia stayed in Demaret, pleased to remain out of Estaran politics as long as she lived. She also officially nullified her marriage to Maartel, and later remarried. As of 1,283 she is still alive, enjoying her twilight years with a glass of wine every night.

Laal Entheas was fully brought into the Empire, and Juleel’s marriage to Damwain helped usher in a tentative age of magic acceptance, which was capped off by Vanparin Vortstell, a mage of the Vental Arcanum, being offered a position on the Everglade Council. In addition, Damwain eventually gave birth to Frenosta Artus, who is shaping up to become a great Empress in her own right.