Iris Rebellion

The Iris Rebellion was a conflict in the Kingdom of Vern between the loyalists of the Old Aberator Dynasty, and rebels led by the crown prince. It consisted of one armed conflict within the capital City of Vern.

Prior Conflict

Although the rebellion formally constituted of one battle within the city, conflict had been brewing in the city for a decade. Starting in 2790, students at the Vernish Institute began assembling in protest of the current king. At first, Elias Wissen took swift action against them in the form of academic retribution. As the protests continued, however, Elias found himself torn between supporting his students and the king. The events of the Student's Massacre cemented his ire for the king, committing the country down the path towards rebellion.

Combatants

Loyalists

Headed by Cessatio Aberator, then King of Vern, the loyalists remained alongside the Old Aberator Dynasty. At that time, the kingdom was governed by the Feudal Council which consisted of the current crowned member of the Aberator Dynasty and seven aristocratic representatives, descended from the same feudal lords who had surrendered to the first king of Vern, Rex Aberator, centuries ago.
In the events leading to the rebellion, the Feudal Council had split in support for the crown. Four of the noble houses remained loyal to Cesastio--the Agenis, Kokusho, Humboldt, and Schwerin houses. These members of the council were backed by the majority of the aristocracy, the Royal Guard, and the Spellweavers' Circle.

Aristocracy

Noble bloodlines traced their heritage back to the feudal lords that dominated Vern before the first king Rex Aberator unified the kingdom and founded his dynasty. In those early years, a certain degree of noblesse oblige ensured that the former feudal lords provided support to their constituents. These responsibilities disappeared over the years as nobles moved from their feudal estates to fabulously constructed manors within the Royal Quarter of Vern. When times became tough, the common people of Vern no longer had the ear of their lord or lady.
Five hundred years of unquestioned authority over the populace of Vern had corrupted the ruling nobility. Positions of power within the limited bureaucracy of Vern were doled out as political favors, and combined with open bribery between nobles, this ensured that the aristocracy remained in full control of the city and the kingdom. Any supports offered to the lower and middle classes had rotted away long ago.

Royal Guard

The corruption of the nobility was manifest in the Royal Guard. After all the noble houses of Vern relocated themselves to the Royal Quarter of the capital, they expanded the royal family's personal guards into a professional peacekeeping force separated from the rest of the city's guard. The Royal Guard went from protecting the crowned ruler--a mostly ceremonial role--to organizing patrols through the Royal Quarter. Then, in order to prosecute peasants who offended nobles, the guard expanded their authority into the city at large. This growth clearly required new equipment and more numbers, so the guard requisitioned more weapons and recruited more people. The power of the guard grew.
The aristocracy fanned the flames of corruption within the ranks when the nobles decided to due away with an independent force of tax collectors, choosing instead to rely on the Royal Guard. Now, this highly armed and well-trained force patrolled the streets at large, demanding payments from the lower and middle class. Shortly thereafter the Feudal Council decided to overhaul the tax system, transforming what was formerly a flat tax into a complex, opaque system of discounts and brackets. The system was far too complex for the peasantry to understand--a fact upon which the Royal Guard capitalized. Eschewing any semblance of accuracy, guardspeople began to charge whatever they wished, and so the Royal Guard's treasury grew in pace with the Crown Treasury.
For many civilians, events came to a head after the latest failed counter-crusade against the Ilosian Theocracy. Not only had the kingdom failed yet again to maintain a foothold in the Agon Desert to the south, the desert people had united into two countries of their own. In an effort to mobilize for true war against his southern neighbors, Cessatio and the Feudal Council raised taxes to unbearable levels.

Spellweavers' Circle

Due to the Curse of Fealty, Archmage Thadrys Penumbrel of the Circle had no choice but to side with the Loyalists. It was not until after the coup, when the rebels released the Iris Report, that Thadrys's far more sinister personal goals were known.
The importance of Thadrys's unwilling support cannot be understated. As an elf, her prolonged lifespan was one of the greatest weapons at her disposal. She was appointed Archmage by Rex Aberator himself. She was the magical titan who slew Moroldraso and browbeat the feudal lords of Vern into submission. At that time Thadrys was the most powerful mage in the kingdom--if not the world--and she had spent the last 500 years using the Circle's resources to supplement her abilities. Over these years, Thadrys had single-handedly ended entire wars, terrified the northern barbarians into submission, and served as a final arbiter of the crown's law.
However, the rest of the Spellweavers' Circle was split between supporting the old dynasty and the rebels. While the vast majority of senior leadership remained loyal to the crown, most students wanted to join the cause. Thadrys and the senior leadership created strictures against supporting the rebels, but the boldest students and most outspoken faculty worked around them.

Rebels

Cornelius Aberator, son of Cessatio and crown prince of the Aberator Dynasty, found allies in three of the outspoken families sitting on the Feudal Council--the Goldspine, Melandris, and Barrowes families. With their backing, Cornelius rallied forces consisting of the lower and middle classes, as well as the city guard. However, Cornelius also had a few key allies in the Tackless--which at the time was the largest criminal organization in the City of Vern.

Lower and Middle Classes of Vern

Chafing under centuries of noble abuse, the two largest classes of Vernish people quickly rallied around Cornelius. The lower class of Vern consists of unskilled laborers such as the boatswains of the Dreifluse River, farmhands from the surrounding lands, and manufacturers from workshops. These hardy people provided invaluable support to Cornelius, acting as informants, smugglers, and militia as needed. However, the middle class of landowners, merchants, and skilled craftsmen were more difficult to rally. Many felt that they had too much to risk in rebellion, preferring to suffer the known abuses of the nobles as opposed to the unknown trials of the future.

Covert Operatives

Using their allies in both the Tackless and the Vernish Institute, the rebels were able to amass an impressive cache of weapons without detection by the Royal Guard. However, recruiting the Tackless was not without consequence. Many members joined the Tackless as a chance to provide for their families or get rich. Rebellion was too idealistic for them. Once the rebellion was completed, the formerly unified criminal family splintered into factions, thus ending the reign of the most powerful organizer of crime and leaving a power vacuum in Vern.

Superior Tactics

During the battle of the capitol city, the City Guard bolstered the outnumbered and outclassed civilian forces. Wielding a handful of low-quality armaments that were smuggled into the city by the Tackless, together they somehow subverted the Royal Guard. Rebel success hinged on the leadership and tactical genius of Cragma Flikt. Formerly a City Guard captain, her innate charisma rallied the rebels when their cause seemed lost. She worked with the civilians to orchestrate a riot in the farmlands outside of Vern, which drew the majority of the Royal Guard--and their weapons--outside the city. Once removed, most of the Royal Guard had no choice but to storm the city gates, where the City Guard had set up fortifications. Any remaining royal forces were engaged in battle within the Royal Quarter.

Overwhelming Sorcery

The strongest asset of the Old Aberator Dynasty was the Curse of Fealty that had been sworn by the Archmage of the Spellweavers' Circle, Thadrys Penumbrel. Her immense might ended many rebellions and entire wars of antiquity. Cornelius knew that a successful rebellion would hinge upon overpowering Thadrys.
He found an unlikely ally in Lyndis Zelandrosel, an Elven scholar who had lived in seclusion for nearly two centuries. Lyndis devoted much of her life to studying the magics involved in the Curse of Fealty, studies which granted her the ability to imprison the Curse within an Isocrystal after she defeated Thadrys in a duel. Magic ricochet off their wards and crashed into the walls of the Royal Quarter causing heavy damage.

Aftermath

The battle for Vern lasted less than one day. When Thadrys was defeated, any power that Cessatio held over the city vanished immediately. Once Cornelius and his forces captured the palace, they were shocked to find Cessatio had committed suicide.
After a short pause to mourn his father, Cornelius assembled a new government. The bureaucratic infrastructure of the city and the kingdom was swiftly revamped with the following goals. First, the burden of taxes should rest upon the shoulders of those who can afford to contribute. The tax system was reworked into an approachable, egalitarian system with brackets based on wealth. Second, the power to lead the people should be free for those who would use it for good. The absolute monarchy gave way to a more fair system of government. As opposed to the royal family making all decisions, the city and kingdom were led by a group of leaders known as the Iris Council.
Many civil positions in the city were opened to the general public, and many aristocratic appointees were ousted. The most powerful noble-owned monopolies on manufacturing were broken, and many mines and farms were seized from the most powerful of families. These lands and resources were then made available for purchase by the general public, with all proceeds funding the broad reform happening across the kingdom.
Given the coercion that the Curse of Fealty placed upon the Spellweavers' Circle, no official recourse was sought against the organization. The Circle was reformed, but all of these changes came from within. Many of its changes mirrored that of the kingdom at large, with the totalitarian authority of the Archmage replaced by the High Council of deans and a term-limited Archmage.
However, while clearing Thadrys's personal effects from his quarters, the Circle stumbled upon her personal notes. After cracking her cypher they learned how truly evil Thadrys had become. She had worked for centuries creating a phylactery which was a couple decades from completion. She intended to sacrifice the Royal Family and hundreds of others to become a Lich. In an effort to increase transparency between the New Aberator Dynasty and the people, the Spellweavers' Circle, Cornelius, and Lyndis worked together and released the Iris Report which disclosed Thadrys's sinister goals to the public.

Conflict Type

Battle

Start Date

8 (Il) Life's Reign, 2800

Ending Date

8 (Il) Life's Reign, 2800