The Lilac Wars was a series of conflicts from 1348 to 1443 that were waged between the House Silmuna, the Emperors of Anbennar and Grand Dukes of Dameria, and House Siloriel, rulers of the Kingdom of Lorent over succession of both the Lorentish and Anbennarian thrones. As the conflicts progressed the terms “Moon Party” for supporters of Dameria and “Rose Party” for supporters of Lorent would come about, though members of each party would switch sides throughout the war. The war was divided into four parts: the First Lilac War (1348 - 1375), the Second Lilac War (1381 - 1400), the Third Lilac War (1407-1421) and the Fourth Lilac War (1422-1443).
Name Origins
There have been many theorized reasons why the Lilac Wars is named as it was. One such reason was that the skies over Bigwheat, a province in the Small Country, was such a beautiful and purple-ish pink afternoon sky that the two clashing armies of Lorent and Anbennar stopped fighting for a moment to take in the view. Another reason was simply that the blue of Dameria and red of Lorent, when mixed together, made a shade of lilac.
History
Prelude
The event that immediately preceded the Lilac Wars was known as the Imperial Crisis, in which a divided electorate for the Empire of Anbennar put Riannón Silmuna on the Imperial throne at the age of 5 - due in part to her connection with the House of Silmuna, but primarily due to her immense magical potential. The Empire was soon divided over the fate of the child-empress: whether such a young girl should be allowed to rule, whether holding magical prowess as such an important factor could bring back the old magocracy of Anbennar, or whether the danger of a Silmuna hegemony over Cannor was worth it.
In the end, the Event of 1348 forced the abdication of the child-empress, in which she cast a magical mind-dominating spell across the city, before being slain by her own kinsman. The nobles were severely divided over the vote for the next Emperor, debating whether another Silmuna Emperor was the desired objective. During the debate, a small group was able to wrangle enough votes to elect a foreign ruler as the new Emperor of Anbennar: Reán V Siloriel, King of Lorent.
The Lilac Wars
The Lorentish Emperor was met with instant hostility from the other electors, as well as the other minor nobility within the Empire. The Lilac Wars soon began, with the first objective to oust the Lorentish Emperor Reán the White Fox.
In 1364, 17 years after the start of the First Lilac War, Reán died of old age and another imperial election was held, with the young and popular Grand Duke Vincen Silmuna becoming Emperor, despite the actions of Vincen's own sister Riannón years prior, it seemed the petty lords of Anbennar preferred an internal Silmuna hegemony over a Lorentish one. The two factions eventually settled peace and the young Vincen was wed to Reán's daughter Eilís Siloriel.
In 1381 the Lorentish throne suffered a succession crisis, in which the reigning Lorentish queen, Reánna III, died without trueborn children, placing her aunt, Vincen's wife Eilís, as heir to the throne and rightful queen of Lorent. Her half-brother Laurens, however, usurped the throne as Laurens IV and, in doing so, split Lorent in half.
With Eilís' claim and his backing as Emperor, Vincen declared war for his wife's rights on the Lorentish throne in the 23-year-long Second Lilac War. The war ended with a truce, as both sides grew weary of the war, along with the significant destruction in the Small Country nearly driving a Cannor-wide famine.
The Third Lilac War began in 1407, only 3 years after the previous war, with Vincen "the Old Owl" pushing his son Adénn's claim to the Lorentish throne once again. The war nearly came to a Silmuna victory, until Vincen's death in 1421 which caused a severe loss of power for the House of Silmuna.
The Fourth Lilac War continued right after Vincen's death, with the Silmuna family forcing a halt in the election process while Adénn Silmuna raced back home from the war. Upon arriving there, the night before the official elections, Adénn and his host were beset upon in the Battle of the Moon Council by hidden Lorentish forces and men under control of the Emperor-to-be, Lothane III síl Wex. Adénn and his forces survived and claimed victory, and despite suffering the loss of many of his powerful followers and own children, prepared for war against their former allies and Lorent.
The war was fought on two fronts, with Adénn and his Silmuna-loyalists fighting Lothane of Wex within Anbennar proper, and Adénn's allies in the Wine Lords fighting Lorent in its own soil. However, when the Wine Lords capitulated in 1441, Adénn faced a losing war and many of his former allies surrendered as well, in exchange for receiving lighter penalties than what would be served to him and his house. In 1442 the Isle of Damesear was invaded by a coalition of Lorentish and Wexonard forces. The end of the war was eerily reminiscent of the Imperial Crisis: Adénn sought refuge within the Imperial Palace where he was slain by his own kinsman, this time by Erlan of Wesdam, a distant cousin who had allied with Lorent rather than their kin in Dameria.
Aftermath
Both sides lost a considerable amount of wealth and power during the war. Lorent stands victorious, but now has to deal with the fate of the Wine Lords that had rebelled against it. The House of Silmuna was wiped to near extinction, with only a few such as Rogier Silmuna either missing or presumed dead. Emperor Lothane of Wex has also secured his rule by marrying the Eilísa Siloriel, sister of the Lorentish King Kylian VI.
Chronology
First Lilac War
- 1348: Start of the First Lilac War - The Lorentish King, Reán the White Fox, is elected with a close margin.
- 1348 to 1349: Imperial Blockade of Anbenncóst - The Imperial Fleet from Neckcliffe intercepts Reán's ship and prevents his coronation as Emperor of Anbennar.
- 1350 to 1351: Lorentish Invasion of West Dameshead - Reán, frustrated, invades the Western Dameshead and secures half of the imperial fleet stationed at Neckcliffe.
- Nov 1351: Battle of Anbenncóst Bay - The Lorentish Fleet, led by Adrahel síl Southroy, departs from the Bay of Wines and, combined with the captured Imperial Fleet, defeats the Neckcliffer blockade.
- Nov 1351: First Battle of Anbenncóst - The Lorentish army lands at the Damesear and defeats the imperial forces led by Grand Duke Aldres III Silmuna.
- Jan 1352: Reán Siloriel is crowned as Emperor of Anbennar, during this time all anti-Lorentish forces are pushed out of the Damesear.
- 1352 to 1359: Reán is Emperor only in name, and has limited influence in Anbennar, during this time he focuses on diplomacy to win allies in the mainland.
- 1360: Aldres III SIlmuna dies, his son Vincen Silmuna becomes Grand Duke at 17.
- 1360: Rout at Eargate - Vincen rallies his forces and invades the Damesear, but is defeated by the organized Lorentish forces.
- 1363: Lorentish Invasion of Anbennar - The Lorentish army lands at Istralore and Verne respectively, overwhelming the armies there and besieging the castles.
- 1365: The Grand Duke of Esmaria dies, dividing the region and sparking the Esmari Succession Crisis, with the two opposing factions being supported by Lorent and Dameria respectively.
- 1368: End of Damescrowner Wars with Vincen's aid, he sides with Damescrown and Gawed against Vertesk in return for their aid.
- 1372: Liberation of Damesear - Vincen, with the aid of Gawedi "mercenaries", liberates Damesear from Lorentish control.
- 1373: Battle of Módgate - Instead of liberating mainland Anbennar from Lorentish besiegers, Vincen meets up with Beepecker forces and liberates Wesdam. Surrounded by Lorentish forces, he makes a straight push into Lencenor.
- 1376: Reán the White Fox dies of old age, his successor, Kylian V Siloriel meets Vincen's army as he arrives to besiege Lorentainé, and offers peace and his sister, Eilís Siloriel's hand in marriage.
- 1376: Vincen Silmuna is elected as Emperor of Anbennar.
Second Lilac War
- 1378: Kylian V dies of sickness, his daughter Reánna III Siloriel becomes Queen.
- 1381: Reánna III dies without a heir, due to her husband, Delian síl Kyliande's rumoured impotency.
- 1381: Start of the Second Lilac War - Emperor Vincen the Old Owl pushes his son Adénn Silmuna's claim to the Lorentish throne, as per Lorent's absolute cognatic succession laws instituted by king Rewan II. The Lorentish court disagrees and crowns Laurens IV Siloriel as King instead, the half-brother of Eilís Siloriel.
- 1385: Burning of Bigwheat - Damerian forces chevauchée across the Small Country while most of the Lorentish forces are occupied in West Dameshead. This deals a heavy blow to many countries reliant on halfling grain, causing a small famine in rural parts of Lorent.
- 1394: Adénn Silmuna attends the Tourney of Enteben as mystery knight and wins, unhorsing both Laurens IV and Reánna III's bastard son Emil. He reveals himself and thanks the furious Laurens IV for his hospitality. Adénn, for his expertise in jousting, becomes known as Adénn Skylance.
- 1394: Pacification of Deranne - Laurens IV leads a force and leaves much of Deranne in flames, in retaliation to Adenn's efforts, who was married to Calassa of Deranne. This ruins Laurens' reputation.
- 1400: Roilsard and the Eastern Winebay secede from Lorent and join Anbennar
- 1404: Treaty of Beepeck - The weary sides end the war in a white peace, to prevent a Cannor-wide famine due to the widespread destruction in the Small Country, the major battlefield of the Second Lilac War.
Third Lilac War
- 1407: Start of the Third Lilac War - A two-sided invasion of Lorent from Deranne and the West Dameshead begins.
- 1409: Treachery at Wesdam - Wesdamerian forces betray Imperial forces resting at Wesdam and rout them, only a quarter of the army manages to flee back to Damesear through Neckcliffe. From then on much of West Dameshead is occupied by pro-Lorent forces while Deranne and the other Wine Lords fight Lorent.
- 1422: Emperor Vincen Silmuna dies of old age, leaving his son Adénn Skylance as Grand Duke of Dameria.
Fourth Lilac War
4th Lilac War Participants Blue - Moon Party, Red - Rose Party
- 1422: Battle of the Moon Council - Adénn Skylance rallies his noble lords before the imperial elections, but is betrayed by Lothane of Wex and over half of his former allies.
- 1422: Laurens IV Siloriel and Marion of Wesdam die of horrible sicknesses, allegedly for their orchestrating of the Battle of the Moon Council. Kylian VI succeeds his father to the Lorentish throne.
- 1430: Rubenaire defects to Lorent - after his father Rion IV síl Rubenaire's death, Vincen II defects to Lorent.
- 1439: Tired of fighting against Madelaire, Rubenaire, and Sorncóst, the Duchy of Deranne surrenders.
- 1443: Invasion of Damesear - Adénn and his last remaining loyalists make a final stand in Damesear, encroached on two sides by both Wexonard and Lorentish forces. Adénn and his followers make the last stand at the Imperial Palace in Anbenncóst is slain by his kinsman Erlan of Wesdam (who also died).