Sarzin Conflict

The Blunder of Broken Bonds

Upon the desolate plain, cometh the foreign horde. Blood spilt in vain; they run back to their Lord. Why were they here, in the service of the other? For us 'tis a grim year, brother against brother.

— Count Gawin of Pessen

The Sarzin Conflict, also later known as the Great Blunder or the Divorce, was a conflict fought in 1540-1542 between the Peasants' Republic of Aussel and the Aristocratic Republic of Rueken over the Sarzin region of Aussel. The military conflict also involved the forces of Count Gawin Aue of Pessen who felt an obligation to defend his fellow Hillenists against the pagan Ualish mercenaries that the Chancellor of Rueken, Kilas ven Leiberge-Kattel, had hired.

Prelude

Relations between the two ethnically Ruekish states of Aussel and Rueken had been strained ever since the serfs had defied their landlords and defeated their former overlords in the Ausselian War of Independence. Several statesmen in Aussel and the majority of the Hillenist nobles in Rueken had seeked to repair the bond between their kindred people. Progress was being made, but that all changed with the death of Chancellor Karl ven Mierholz of Rueken.

Sarzin Conflict

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The previously tolerant and peaceful leader of the aristocratic republic was succeeded by Kilas ven Leiberge-Kattel, the Duke of Nordhei. The young and charismatic statesman won over the hearts and minds of the majority of the councillors with promises to reclaim lost territories.
He spoke truthfully about what Rueken had been through, but unlike many of those who had ruled before him, he offered viable solutions and showed a strong passion for restoring the country to greatness. Kilas III made it clear that under his rule the Hillenistic dream would never become reality.

Every step we take is for the restoration of our country, yet for centuries we've been stumbling backwards. Our coffers may be filled, our people prosperous, but all that we have lost still haunts us.

— Duke Kilas of Nordhei, 1539 AA

Included Conflicts

• Battle of Neittinge
• Battle of Netter
• Battle of Teuholz
• Battle of the Lipsig Hills
• Nordhei Uprising

Conflict Type

War

Start Date

Tlealēlcpēh 26, 1540 AA

Ending Date

Tlealēlcpēh 27, 1542 AA

Conflict Result

Ausselian victory

Belligerents

Aussel

County of Pessen

Rükenland
Ualish mercenaries

Leaders

Cilie Vehlow

Franzek Bech

Jekel Kantz

Gawin Aue

Kilas III
Takai Ha Alar

Strength

1530 total

1170 Ausselians

• Royal Guard
• Sarzin militia
• Lipsig Defense Force

360 Pessenians

• Aue retinue

1720 total

720 Rükish

• Nordhei Army

1000 Ualish

• Takai Band

Casualties

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