Skolian War of Succession

Political event

The Skolian War of Succession was an internal war in Skolia caused by Alberich Mossforge's untimely death and the resulting lack of a chosen heir to the throne. His two children each headed an army against the other, and Oflij's eventual interference ended the war and resulted in the creation of North and South Skolia.

This eleven-year war began when the head of the House of Mossforge, Alberich Mossforge, died suddenly on the 32nd of first spring after being thrown from a horse. Because it was the tradition for a monarch to name his or her successor before death, and Alberich had not done so, his son Dietrich and daughter Raina both argued that they deserved to succeed their father. Raina was the first to make a move towards war, having hired [redacted] on the 5th of second spring to assassinate her brother. [redacted] was unsuccessful, leading Dietrich to begin gathering people from the guard and from Skolia’ military forces who supported his bid for the throne. Raina did the same, and soon the tensions had risen to unprecedented levels. Eventually, the 18th of second spring, the day after a failed attempt at compromise by royal advisor [redacted] on the Feast of Ceria, the storm finally broke and a full-scale war began. For years the war raged, with both sides sustaining heavy losses. Raina moved her forces to the south and set up headquarters as far from the front lines as possible, an encampment which eventually grew into the city known today as Silvercross. Meanwhile, Dietrich moved into the well-established port city of Westport. To the north, past the Araumorndin, the kingdom of Oflij looked on with apprehension, knowing that any move they made could put themselves in danger, but also that the war meant that fewer and fewer supplies and food were being transported to Kjarra and other towns, which relied on these to survive. Finally, on the 17th of third autumn in AV 1291, Oflij sent forces over the mountains to intervene. At this point, Dietrich’s forces had pushed Raina’s forces southward out of Starhaven and past the east-west segment of the Emerald River. Both sides were feeling the effects of extended war, losing their will to continue among dwindling numbers and increased losses. Dietrich and Raina, however, were stubborn and both refused to give up. Then, Oflij’s army arrived in Starhaven. They quickly overpowered the tired Skolians and sent emissaries to Westport and Silvercross to escort the siblings back to the capital and form some kind of peace. With both Raina and Dietrich in Silvercross, the king of Oflij, Gunnar Jomarsson, was able to negotiate terms between the two. Under the new peace treaty, Skolia would be split into North and South Skolia since each sibling adamantly refused to allow the other to claim the throne for themselves. The border would be situated along the east-west segment of the Emerald River and continue across the Eastern Plains to the coast of the Jade Sea. Raina was to rule over South Skolia and Dietrich over North Skolia. Neither would be allowed to fight one another to increase their kingdom’s territory for at least a century, and to do so even beyond this would provoke Oflij to intervene once more. Additionally, the two kingdoms were to provide a set amount of food per year to Oflij for eleven years, to make up for every year of the war. The peace treaty was officially signed on the 15th of first spring, AV 1292.