The Treaty of Efflis
The Treaty of Efflis signalled the end of the Interregional War of 1149. In that year, a multi-region conflict had erupted, leading to many brutal battles amongst the Regions. By the end of the year, over 14.000 casualties had fallen across Adhonaglamar. The history of that war is told elsewhere. (The Four Regions of Adhonaglamar are Rohsk, Ithlor, Naeron and Llyn.)
During the war, even though they still fought armed conflicts between them, two Regions maintained diplomatic relations with the hope of finding a peaceful way to end the fighting. Rohsk and Ithlor had always had a special relationship. That shared history allowed them to pursue a diplomatic resolution together.
It is important to note that in the War each Region fought for itself and its own interests. There were no alliances with other Regions, no switching sides. This greatly complicated the matter of finding a resolution to the conflict. But Ithlor and Rohsk managed to carve out the groundwork of an agreement, after which they wanted to extend its scope to the other two Regions.
Together they sent out diplomats and negotiators, knowing they took a huge risk. There was always a chance the envoys would be killed, but they hoped that sending a joint delegation would pique the interest of the Regions, which it did. The other two Regions agreed to send their own delegations to a neutral location in order to negotiate the terms of a truce.
The location they chose was Efflis. A small village near a large lake, right in the middle of Adhonaglamar. It had not been scarred by the fighting, always having been recognized as neutral (and unimportant) ground. In the history of Adhonaglamar Efflis had never been claimed as belonging to this or that Region, it having little strategic importance. The village was small, lacked valuable resources and was mostly inhabited by peaceful rural villagers that kept to themselves. While peculiar, its special status offered the perfect location for the negotiations.
For four days the envoys hammered out the terms for peace, while all across Adhonaglamar a tense ceasefire had temporarily ended the fighting. The fact Ithlor and Rohsk had seemed to take the lead together initially caused some distress amongst the other two Regions. They feared both were forming an alliance and were worried they'd quickly become outnumbered on the battlefield. Yet the diplomats from Rohsk managed to convince the envoys of Naeron and Llyn that this was not the case, that they just sought a peaceful resolution to the fighting, agreed upon by all four Regions independently.
On the fourth day, the final details were ironed out and all parties confirmed their support of the treaty. It was overall a balanced agreement, leading to no loss of land for any Region, with compensations to be paid by each Region to the others, based on the damage and destruction wrought during the many battles of the War.
The envoys agreed to bring the terms to their rulers (who weren't present in Efflis themselves, as it was deemed too great a risk during the negotiations). Even though they had been kept in the loop by their diplomats and agreed with the terms of the treaty, the formalities of such negotiations required them to officially be asked for their approval. This also gave them the opportunity to present the terms to their subjects, generating internal support for them. The envoys agreed that within three weeks they would return, accompanied by their rules to formally ratify the treaty.
And so, on the 23rd of December 1149, the four rulers, not having been brought together in over a century, all came down to Efflis. The Monarch of Naeron, the Grand Duke of Rohsk, the Empress of Llyn and the Patriarch of Ithlor met in a farmer's hut that had been cleared for the occasion (the farmer being well compensated for his troubles). There, with a goose feather that was locally 'sourced', the four rulers signed the Treaty of Efflis, bringing peace to Adhonaglamar after a year of war.
During the war, even though they still fought armed conflicts between them, two Regions maintained diplomatic relations with the hope of finding a peaceful way to end the fighting. Rohsk and Ithlor had always had a special relationship. That shared history allowed them to pursue a diplomatic resolution together.
It is important to note that in the War each Region fought for itself and its own interests. There were no alliances with other Regions, no switching sides. This greatly complicated the matter of finding a resolution to the conflict. But Ithlor and Rohsk managed to carve out the groundwork of an agreement, after which they wanted to extend its scope to the other two Regions.
Together they sent out diplomats and negotiators, knowing they took a huge risk. There was always a chance the envoys would be killed, but they hoped that sending a joint delegation would pique the interest of the Regions, which it did. The other two Regions agreed to send their own delegations to a neutral location in order to negotiate the terms of a truce.
The location they chose was Efflis. A small village near a large lake, right in the middle of Adhonaglamar. It had not been scarred by the fighting, always having been recognized as neutral (and unimportant) ground. In the history of Adhonaglamar Efflis had never been claimed as belonging to this or that Region, it having little strategic importance. The village was small, lacked valuable resources and was mostly inhabited by peaceful rural villagers that kept to themselves. While peculiar, its special status offered the perfect location for the negotiations.
For four days the envoys hammered out the terms for peace, while all across Adhonaglamar a tense ceasefire had temporarily ended the fighting. The fact Ithlor and Rohsk had seemed to take the lead together initially caused some distress amongst the other two Regions. They feared both were forming an alliance and were worried they'd quickly become outnumbered on the battlefield. Yet the diplomats from Rohsk managed to convince the envoys of Naeron and Llyn that this was not the case, that they just sought a peaceful resolution to the fighting, agreed upon by all four Regions independently.
On the fourth day, the final details were ironed out and all parties confirmed their support of the treaty. It was overall a balanced agreement, leading to no loss of land for any Region, with compensations to be paid by each Region to the others, based on the damage and destruction wrought during the many battles of the War.
The envoys agreed to bring the terms to their rulers (who weren't present in Efflis themselves, as it was deemed too great a risk during the negotiations). Even though they had been kept in the loop by their diplomats and agreed with the terms of the treaty, the formalities of such negotiations required them to officially be asked for their approval. This also gave them the opportunity to present the terms to their subjects, generating internal support for them. The envoys agreed that within three weeks they would return, accompanied by their rules to formally ratify the treaty.
And so, on the 23rd of December 1149, the four rulers, not having been brought together in over a century, all came down to Efflis. The Monarch of Naeron, the Grand Duke of Rohsk, the Empress of Llyn and the Patriarch of Ithlor met in a farmer's hut that had been cleared for the occasion (the farmer being well compensated for his troubles). There, with a goose feather that was locally 'sourced', the four rulers signed the Treaty of Efflis, bringing peace to Adhonaglamar after a year of war.
Type
Treaty, Diplomatic
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Locally 'sourced'. Hahahaha. I like that the treaty was signed by all four regions and that it brought an end to the war.