Information
Conflict Type Imperial War of Succession & Continental Fragmentation Epoch / Date 702 IA – Present (Active, currently 721 IA) Belligerents The Holy Seat (Rehobath Ylestos), The Northern Citadel (Emperor Skluud Ne’Klosh), The Dynastic Loyals (Empress Lasha Itomas), & Rebel Provincial Coalitions External Threats Cyclopean Vanguard, Barbarian hordes & Coyles of Ophid Grasslands Colonies, Pirates of Koerdian Primary Theaters Middle Kingdoms, Tarldet Plains, Upper Kighfalton, Vequerrel Woodlands, Bay of Ptolus, Sea of Scarlet Waters
⚔️ Overview: The Shattered Lion-Guarded Throne
For over seven centuries, the Western Empire reigned as the undisputed colossus of human civilization on Eraedal. Governed from the gilded spires of Caer Itom, the Lion-Guarded Throne enforced imperial order, subjugated non-human populations through institutionalized slavery, and maintained continental dominance through vast legions and naval supremacy.
That millennium of unchallenged hegemony shattered catastrophically in 702 IA. A sudden, devastating invasion spearheaded by the Cyclopean Vanguard—a terrifying coalition of Cyclopes, Coyle hordes, and barbarian raiders sweeping down from the Ophid Grasslands Colonies—overran and sacked Caer Itom.
In the horrifying power vacuum that followed, the centralized imperial bureaucracy fractured into bloody chaos. Three distinct claimants declared themselves the true inheritor of the Lion-Guarded Throne, sparking the Three-way Civil War that has engulfed the continent for nineteen years.
👑 The Three Claimants & Their Thrones
┌───────────────────────────────┐
│ The Three Claimants to │
│ The Lion-Guarded Throne │
└──────────────┬────────────────┘
│
┌───────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐
│ The Holy Seat │ │ The Northern Warlord │ │ The Dynastic Heiress │
│ • Holy Emperor Rehobath │ │ • Emperor Skluud │ │ • Empress Lasha Itomas │
│ Ylestos │ │ Ne'Klosh │ │ • Seat: Caer Glaverius │
│ • Seat: Ptolus │ │ • Seat: Caer Kurgas │ │ (Yin-Sloth Periphery) │
│ • Backing: Imperial │ │ (Upper Kighfalton) │ │ • Backing: Dynastic │
│ Church of Aroden, │ │ • Backing: Frontier │ │ Aristocracy, Southern │
│ Oceanside, Zealots │ │ Legions, Warlords │ │ Planters, Slavers │
└─────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────┘
1. The Holy Seat — Holy Emperor Rehobath Ylestos
- Claim & Ideology: The Prince of the Church of Aroden, Kirian, had maintained a holy see in the coastal city of Ptolus since 682 IA. When Caer Itom fell, his father, High Prelate Rehobath, fled east to join him. Rehobath declared that the sack of the ancient capital was the divine wrath of Aroden against a corrupt, blasphemous nobility. Consecrating himself as Holy Emperor, Rehobath proclaimed Ptolus to be the Holy Capital of the Western Empire.
- Power Base: The fervent faithful of the Church of Aroden, the devout agrarian nobility of Oceanside, and pious knights across the realm.
- Strategic Reality: Rehobath holds tremendous religious authority, but his political control within Ptolus is severely contested by secular Commissar Igor Urnst at Dalenguard and the pragmatic merchant patricians of the Council of Coin.
2. The Iron Sentinel — Emperor Skluud Ne’Klosh
- Claim & Ideology: Entrenched within the formidable mountain fortress of Caer Kurgas in Upper Kighfalton, General Skluud Ne’Klosh declared himself Emperor in 704 IA on the grounds of military necessity. He argues that imperial legitimacy belongs to whoever has the martial might to defend the realm’s borders from monstrous destruction.
- Power Base: The veteran northern border legions, garrison commanders, and provincial warlords.
- Strategic Reality: Ne’Klosh stands as the military bulwark actively stalling the advance of the Cyclopean Vanguard and Coyle marauders. To sustain his defensive war, he reopened financial and military subsidies to the Vequerrel Woodlands and what remains of the northern frontier outposts.
3. The Dynastic Heiress — Empress Lasha Itomas
- Claim & Ideology: Operating from Caer Glaverius on the Yin-Sloth Periphery, Empress Lasha Itomas is the direct dynastic scion of the imperial house that held Caer Itom for generations. She denounces Rehobath as a treacherous zealot and Ne’Klosh as an illiterate military usurper.
- Power Base: The ancient aristocratic families, the southern slave-holding nobility, and naval fleets patrolling the southern trade lanes.
- Strategic Reality: Deeply entrenched in the opulent, slave-reliant plantations bordering the Yin-Sloth Jungles, Lasha’s forces possess immense wealth and mercenary backing, but are geographically distant from the heartland and constantly threatened by southern jungle horrors.
🗺️ The Fractured Fronts & Regional Theaters
The Civil War is not fought on a single front, but across a constellation of interconnected crises:
┌───────────────────────┐
│ Cyclopean Vanguard & │
│ Coyle Hordes │
└───────────┬───────────┘
▼
┌─────────────────────┐
│ Upper Kighfalton │
│ (Ne'Klosh Bastion) │
└──────────┬──────────┘
│
┌───────────────────────┼───────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐
│ Middle Kingdoms │ │ Tarldet Plains │
│ (Open Rebellion & │◄───────────────────────►│ (House Wenglid & │
│ Anarchy) │ │ Slave Emancipation)│
└─────────────────────┘ └──────────┬──────────┘
│ │
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐
│ Yin-Sloth Periphery │ │ PTOLUS │
│ (Empress Lasha & │ │ (Holy Capital & │
│ Slave Plantations) │ │ Bay of Ptolus) │
└─────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘
- The Anarchy of the Middle Kingdoms: The fertile, populous central breadbasket of the Empire has collapsed into complete insurrection. Local barons and petty warlords have renounced all three claimants, fortifying their manors and plundering passing trade caravans.
- The Tarldet Plains Emancipation Front: Severed from western grain and supply routes by the Middle Kingdoms rebellion, House Wenglid took the radical step of abolishing slavery across their domain. By granting instant freedom to any enslaved Orc or Goblin who signs a 5-year military contract, Wenglid created a massive shock army to protect the eastern frontier and push back against border incursions.
- The Monster Shield of the Old Kingdom Frontier: With imperial funding and reinforcements diverted to the civil war, the legendary stone garrisons guarding the mountains against the monstrous horrors of the fallen Old Kingdom are reduced to starving skeleton crews, terrified that the dormant fiends and orc hordes will breach the passes.
- The Faerie War in the Vequerrel Woodlands: Isolated from central authority, imperial lumber syndicates in Vequerrel face an intensifying guerrilla war against vengeful fey, treants, and ancient forest spirits determined to wipe humanity from the woods.
⚓ Maritime Repercussions: Inland Sea & Scarlet Waters
The civil war has profoundly reshaped the naval corridors of Eraedal:
- The Bay of Ptolus: Serving as the maritime lifeline for Holy Emperor Rehobath’s faction, the bay swarms with privateers, supply barques from Oceanside, and merchant galleys from Bizantium and the Eastern Territory. Commissar Urnst’s naval patrol keeps the harbor secure from opportunistic pirate flotillas.
- The Sea of Scarlet Waters: Southern shipping routes connecting the Western Empire to the Baalgor Wastelands, the Timiro Kingdom, and the Floenry Isles are plagued by rogue corsairs, mercenary blockade-runners, and the treacherous alchemical hazards of the Scarlet Waters. Empress Lasha’s privateers actively contest these waters against northern blockade vessels.
- The Pirates of Koerdian: Exploiting the collapse of unified imperial naval policing, the raiders of the Koerdian Mountains have expanded their raiding radius, striking coastal settlements and grain barges across the western littoral.
📜 The Current State (721 IA)
Nineteen years after the fall of Caer Itom, the Western Empire remains frozen in a brutal war of attrition:
- None of the three claimants possesses the decisive strength to crush the other two.
- Meanwhile, the true existential perils of Eraedal—the rising chaos cults serving the imprisoned Galchutt / Old Ones beneath Ptolus, the monster hordes along the Old Kingdom Frontier, and the expanding giant kingdoms of Mount Nimro—gather strength in the shadows of humanity’s folly.