Pordinian War
Arising from a title dispute between the Exodite vassal king of Brent and a Pordinian lord, The Pordinian war was a 6 year affair that drew in Exodus-in-Prime, most of the Valen realms, and even the limited interference of the Palatines and the Runberi princes. Lasting from 502 to 508, the war ended inconclusively but caused great destruction in the Valen realms of Lemades and Pordinie.
The Conflict
Prelude
The nobility of the southern Khelish realms and the Valenies have long intermarried, and on occasion titles and lands have flowed back and forth between the realms when a fortuitous inheritance has presented itself. In recent decades, the Valen realms have largely sought to centralize, and the kings have become more powerful, and less reliant on the old nobility. Instead, the urban guilds have become ever more influential.
In this environment, the king of Pordinie was ill-amused to entertain such ideas as the King of Brent also having a title to the castle in Atagona. Instead, as the lord of Atagona perished without an heir, Alonzo II Hannelo claimed the lordship for the crown and bequathed it to one of his loyal allies. The King of Brent sought to force the issue, and was able to convince the Minister of Fin-Allan that the interests of their vassal kings were critical to the interests of the Exodite Empire in the Prime Material.
As the Exodite Army marched in support of the Brentan claim, the Pordinians called for aid.
Deployment
"I greatly erred in my judgment."
The conflict ballooned rapidly. The Valens in general saw the conflict as Exodite expansionism, and threw in with Pordinie. The Palatines soon interfered to deny the Palatin Sea to the elves and the Khelish, and the Runberi sought to hinder the Exodites by loaning money to the Valens for the procurement of mercenary bands. As the Exodites were prevented from advancing on Pordinie from the lake, the neighboring kingdom of Lemades became a battlefield. A Marching Horde soon got involved on the Pordinian side, swayed to the cause by Runberi coin.
The war began to drag out, with the Exodite army raiding the Lemadian countryside and besieging their cities on their way to Pordinie, but then getting pushed back by Valen armies and the Marching Horde, who even pushed the war into Brent. Meanwhile, Exodus' other vassals were reticent to offer much aid to an effort that they saw as primarily a vanity project by the king of Brent.
Outcome
Ginead ultimately realized that the coalition that had arrayed against their ambitions was too great to defeat quickly, and that the ambitions of the Brentan king were not in Exodus' interests to fulfill. The war had wrought great destruction on the countrysides of Brent, Lemades, and Pordinie, but ultimately no lands changed hands. The King of Brent was forced to formally renounce any claim to Atagona, and the war was ended.
Aftermath
The war was a blow to the Exodites, who spent substantial resources on a quagmire that led nowhere. The Valens were likewise damaged by the costs of war, and both Lemades and Pordinie ended up in heavy debts to the Runberi. The king of Brent also antagonized many of the other vassals of the Exodites, who saw the war as an imposition on them. It is even speculated that the Rovsan revolt started due to the Pordinian war, with the lords of the Rada believing Atrans was weak and distracted due to their involvement in the conflict.
Ginead Synnde himself gave up the Ministry of Fin-Allan soon after the war, having held the ministry for over 200 years. He was replaced by his protege Idella Layn, and many speculate that the blunder of the Pordinian war was what finally convinced Ginead that it was time to retire.
Really interesting article, I love all the different moving parts of the conflict. Makes it seem very real.