A bloody series of conflicts as a result of one man's decline into mental instability, the Redbeer Rebellion was the nearly three month long campaign in which Imperator
King Gareth Helmar IV and his men rose up against the tyranny of
Jiorr Dragonsbane and took control of the city of
Nadhorod, the completion of which resulted in Dragonsbane's death and Helmar's rise to kingship.
Prelude
Dragonsbane's descent into madness
Following the multiple devastating losses his forces suffered during his foolishly managed campaign in the winter of 1616,
King Jiorr Dragonsbane, his fragile mental state already greatly deteriorated from the death of his daughter, went stark raving mad. Because of this madness, he began to see enemies hidden in the shadows, around every corner. Obscene and otherwise ridiculous orders were issued, however anyone who dare to speak any degree of ill towards him was accused of being a traitor, and was sentenced to a public and immediate execution.
All around the kingdom people noticed this change in atmosphere, Those in the capital feared their king and, when possible, they kept their distance from him; All wishing to keep him from raising his ire against them. This continued for a season and more. He demanded daily executions from his
Kingsmen, something that they reluctantly followed along with.
Some of these in actually were likely guilty of nothing more than maybe a disapproving glance at the king, but they were to be executed nonetheless. While early on the Kingsmen were happy to oblige (the maddening king was quite generous with his purse to those who found malcontents that had been "conspiring" against him), the majority weren't happy to be killing innocent citizens of the city.
A beast, unleashed
Eventually, Dragonsbane started to suspect some of the members of the Kingsmen were also some of the malcontents, and as such turned to a person he knew he could trust; the treacherous beast of a man
Brynmor Calgory, the organization's cruel leader. Calgory, however, is known more commonly by his nickname; The Skinner.
Details don't seem entirely necessary, but Calgory went above and beyond when it came to torturing and killing those the king deemed worthy to die. As his nickname suggests, he was particularly partial to skinning his victims, and he wasn't quick about it either. He liked to start with the back; it gave him a nice flat area to work with. He'd then force his victims to lay on their skinned backs, with a salve that burned, but also kept them from becoming infected. This salve didn't lessen the pain, however; It was simply a deliberate effort to extend the enjoyment he received from torturing those he saw fit, most of whom were innocent civilians.
Calgory cleaned house within the Kingsmen, killing no less than ten of his own men. This, in Jiorr's eyes, solidified his loyalty to the crown, and he knew he could trust Calgory to knew what needed to be done. He set him loose like a rbid dog upon the peoples of the
Nadhorod Basin, ripping and tearing, biting and killing wherever he went. It didn't matter if they were Jiorr's subjects or not. It didn't even matter if they were guity of transpiring against the crown or not. The cage had been opened, and, unfortunately, it wouldn't be closed any time soon.
The birth of the rebellion
The emotions of the populace finally stopped bubbling and turned into a full roiling boil on the 3rd day of the 5th month of the year 1617 AS. Imperator
Gareth Helmar IV received a missive marked with the king’s seal. It stated that the entirety of the city of
Sivel was corrupted, and had to be culled in order to release the realm from its taint and traitorous behavior. Surrounded not only by his own men, but a rather large group of Kingsmen as well, he knew that he had to be careful. One misstep, and it was all over. The decision was made. Helmar disobeyed the orders, upturned the table he was sitting at, and grabbed his maul that was always by his side. He and his men slaughtered the contingent of Kingsmen in the Great Hall of the Frothing Flagon just outside Sivel; The Redbeer Rebellion was born.
While the resistance at the outset was great, the initial campaign didn’t take long; it took only two weeks to take control of the
capital. Unfortunately, while they had control of the capital and the surrounding area, the keep withstood the siege from Helmar's for nearly 3 months. Not surprised by this outcome, the attacking forces celebrated the total victory.
Upon entering the keep, the victors were surprised to discover no one around. the Gates were opened, and doors were left unlocked, with no one around on post. Though this was odd, Helmar still hadn't suspected that there was any ploy afoot. Aside from the last half year, the king had always been an honest and trustworthy man by him.
When Helmar and his men entered the throne room, they saw the king, as they expected, still sitting on his throne. However, the acrid stench of
Galflame revealed the mad king's treachery; Jiorr knocked a brazier over into a purplish black liquid that pooled around his throne as Helmar and his men ran from the room, trying to distance themselves as much as possible from what they knew was about to happen. The resulting explosion destroyed the majority of the keep, and badly wounded the Imperator’s left leg as a rock that fell from the smashed his leg.
In the months preceding the rebellion, King Jiorr Dragonsbane had been slowly losing his mind. He was regularly imprisoning friends and family for the smallest of perceived sleights to him or his rule, and often enough these were misunderstandings that in his delusion he was unable to interpret correctly. The conflict finally game to a boiling point when the Imperator,
Gareth Helmar IV received an order from his king saying that he and his men were to wipe the settlement of
Sivel off of the map. According to him, the entire town needed to be purged for their discontent and ill wishes towards the king. Having been stationed in this town, Helmar knew this wasn't the case, and began to plot against the king, ironically making the king's fears come true. When the Kingsmen
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