Bloodhand Rebellion

The Bloodhand Rebellion was a conflict with mysterious origins, which began in the 2370's and consisted of two distinct phases. At the time, the power of the Zendylite Empire was at its zenith and the Bloodhand Vanguard was all but revered by the ethnic Zendylite population, so the order's apparent betrayal came as a complete shock.

The Conflict

Prelude

The first phase of the Rebellion began when Bloodhands stationed in a distant northern colony began slaughtering anyone they encountered who was not of their order.

Battlefield

Various

The Engagement

When the news reached Col Zendyl and the Sharrarch that elements of the Bloodhand Vanguard were rebelling in the far north, other Bloodhand legions began demanding the right to destroy the traitors; however, when these Bloodhands were sent to do so, they instead joined their brethren, magnifying the scope of the threat significantly. Upon learning of this, the Sharrarch countered by forbidding any further Bloodhand legions from fighting in the war, unless they did so as regular soldiers, dispersed into the Zendylite armies, and wielding ordinary weaponry. Though this was a cause for discontent among the remaining Vanguard, they acquiesed nonetheless, eager to prove their loyalty.

For nine years, the other armies of the Zendylite Empire ground down the rebellious Bloodhands in the north, while their brethren elsewhere in the Empire were kept under watch in an atmosphere of ever-growing suspicion. In 2380ATC, the last northern stronghold was defeated, though at the cost of the Empire having completely lost control of nearby Hrafnawyld.

The second phase of the Rebellion began when, in 2384ATC, the outgoing Sharrarch issued his final edict, in which he banned the use, posession, or making of Bloodsteel; in this same edict, he also formally dissolved the Bloodhand Vanguard. Though compensation was offered for their service to the Empire, as well as transfers to regular military formations, the loss of their unique identity and privilege led the remaining Bloodhands to rebel in hopes of forcing the Imperial administration to rescind the order. They failed, though it took five more years of further bloodshed and weakening of the Empire before the last Bloodhand fell.

Outcome

The military of the Zendylite Empire was severely weakened, both by the loss of the Bloodhand Vanguard itself, and by the damage and casualties the Bloodhands had inflicted.

Aftermath

The severe weakening of the Zendylite military led to many important outposts and colonies being left nearly defenseless on the outer fringes of the Empire, as the Imperial administration sought to redistribute those loyal troops it still had. This was keenly noted by many of their conquered populations, leading to a plague of uprisings and rebellions that saw the Empire lose, over the course of about 150 years, most of its foreign territorial possessions. In the present-day Empire, this period is commonly referred to as The Collapse.

Historical Significance

Legacy

The Bloodhand Rebellion irrevocably altered the structure of the Zendylite Empire, both by depriving it of its most feared military formation, and by precipitating The Collapse, which in turn led to the Fall of the Sharrarchy and the formation of the present-day Triarchy.

Mysterious Origins

To the present day, nobody in the Zendylite Empire knows why the Bloodhand Vanguard betrayed them, though several popular theories exist:

• Power, greed, and/or ambition- as the Rebellion began in the far Northlands of Abhagan, many have speculated that the sheer distance from the Empire's core territories may have led the Bloodhands stationed there to become greedy or ambitious, and seek to carve out their own kingdom(s).

  Alternate versions of this theory consider whether these Bloodhands might have become concerned they would not live to return to the Empire proper to collect on their bountiful retirement, or that they perhaps simply preferred the Northlands and decided to take their rewards of service as they chose.

• Foreign actors or propaganda- some have suggested that some kind of foreign action was at play, and that members of the Vanguard may have been persuaded by some outside entity either that their compensation was not as desirable as the Empire would have led them to believe, or that the Empire itself intended to abandon or betray them.

• Mysterious illness or madness- various fringe theories can be found about some unknown illness or condition that may have affected the Bloodhand Vanguard, causing them to fall into madness; these theories are mostly discounted as wild speculation, however.

Conflict Type

Rebellion

Start Date

2371ATC

Ending Date

2389ATC

Conflict Result

Dissolution and destruction of the Bloodhand Vanguard; Outlawing & Banning of Bloodsteel