The Bovine Debacle

A fight over a bull

The Bovine Debacle was a two day dispute over the ownership of a Seruic bull that took place in 5286 EA. Though the inciting incident seemed trivial, the resulting conflict was bloody and vicious.

The Spark

Located in the north of Serukis, the villages of Sweetshire and Greypond are two miles apart, but fall under the lordships of two different Low Lords. Whilst the villages had a good relationship, especially in regards to trade. However, the two noble families - led by Low Lord Teague and Low Lord Cresley - had a contentious relationship going back several decades due to a broken marriage contract.
One spring morning, two farmers - one from Sweetshire and one from Greypond - were doing their daily check of their fences. As they shared a boundary, they often found themselves checking the last fence together and had cultivated quite the friendship over the years. On this morning, a hole was discovered in their shared fence. Grazing nonchalantly in the field was a Seruic bull. Neither farmer recognised this bull, and neither of them owned herds of cattle, so this development was rather baffling.
After some discussion, the farmers agreed to talk to their respective village leaders about the problem of the bull. In Seruic law, all Seruic cattle are owned by the Lord of the land, who delegates ownership to the Low Lords who then allow farmers to herd them. In this case, the bull was undisputedly the property of Lord Wake, but no one was sure if Low Lord Frederic Teague or Low Lord Adam Cresley were responsible for him.
The village leaders advised taking the issue to the Low Lords themselves. Of course, both Low Lords claimed ownership of the bull, who had, by this point, been corralled into a small pen at the edge of the farmers' land.

The First Day

Upon learning the identity of their rival, both Low Lords sent a detachment of armed men to lay claim to the bull. Low Lord Teague's men arrived first and were in the process of restraining the bull when Low Lord Cresley's men showed up. Unwilling for the situation to devolve into violence, an uneasy stand-off began.
After several hours, when it was clear neither side would back down, messengers were dispatched to each of the Low Lords for instructions on what to do next.
As night began to fall, both Low Lords rode out with a larger group of armed men and set up camps in the fields of the farmers who had brought the bull to their attention in the first place.

The Second Day

At dawn, the two Low Lords rode to the fence to meet with each other. Terse, unfriendly words were exchanged, with neither man willing to concede. With no peaceful resolution in sight, battle was, in their eyes, the only answer.
The farmers were ordered to take down the fence between the two fields. Without much other option, they obeyed.
What followed was a short, bloody battle, which ended when both sides realised that both Low Lords had been slain early on in the fight. Perhaps ironically, the bull had also been killed during the chaos, though some historians believe that this was a deliberate act by disgruntled soldiers.

Repercussions

Both the heirs for the Low Lords were too young to take over their fathers' lordships. In the end, their mothers - acting as regents - ended up meeting to talk over what had happened in the castle of Lord Thomas Wake. It was agreed that feud had been the main cause of their husbands' deaths. Lord Wake oversaw a betrothal contract drawn up between the young Teague heir and a Cresley daughter.
The two families were also made to pay Lord Wake the cost of the dead bull.

by ulleo

Date

5286 EA

Length

Two days