Fall of House Braelea

Historical Overivew

Background

House Braelea had ruled the Blossom Fields for over four hundred years, since their founder, Laurent of the Hedge, was assigned the territory by the first ruler of The Vinelands, Visalis Vintner. With Laurent's founding story, which even featured a coveted visit from Vestria, giving the house so much legitimacy, they had few issues controlling their vassals, save one.
House Semillon, based just south from the Braelea seat of Surlee, was disproportionately wealthy given their size. While they produced and profited from wine like many others, their main source of income was the Free Company. This mercenary group not only provided the house with one of the few standing armies of the early Age of Rule, but brought in significant income by participating in conflicts across the Vinelands and Vestral Downs. This put House Semillon in an easy position to strike at Surlee.
While the Semillons had the means to take on House Braelea alone, they would have had a tough time getting past their vassals, and with their poor reputation as up-jumped sellswords, had little chance of converting them to allies. Instead, House Semillon sought to simply ensure their neutrality, and did so by promising changes to wine production laws, a web of informal loans through precursors to the Bank of Anhara, and general threats.

Siege of Surlee

Battle of Bercer Hill

Even with their military might and diplomacy, the Semillons would still be in for a difficult fight, and engaged beforehand in negotiations with loosely-allied smugglers in what is now the neighborhood of West Arm. The Semillon agents carried on talks in the area until hours before the attack, according to chronicler Guy d'Aimonne, working from contemporary sources.

"The forces of the Semillon mercenary company breached the city defenses along the road running north into the Arm. The messenger told me this was aided by the residents of the neighborhood, but his distress must be affecting him as I cannot believe any besides smugglers would do such a thing." - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

With the help of the local smugglers, the Semillon companies were able to break through hastily constructed defenses leading up what was later known as Bercer Hill, a large, partially fortified hill on the southern outskirts of the city. With only a short notice about the Free Company's march north, as Caer Semillon was so close to Surlee, the defense of the southern portion of the city fell to House Aimonne.
Longtime Braelea vassals, House Aimonne was an ancient house, with ties to families even as illustrious as House Thewisy. From their home at the Buttery of Aimonne, the foremost hillfort guarding the valesides, they were responsible for the defenses of the area immediately around the city. Unable to hold the hill with his limited force coming under attack from both the Free Company and the local smugglers, the Lord Aimonne was forced to retreat. His forces split, with one portion falling back north further into Oldtowne, and the other, led by himself, being forced east towards the Buttery.

Fall of Oldtowne

Oldtowne was, at that time, a seperate village made up of merchants, traders, and laborers focused around the exportation of wine and other goods from within the Blossom Fields. As such, it was rife with Semillon-allied smugglers, and its growing population had expanded it to right up against the walls of Surlee. Half of the city's defenders were forced back within the city walls, but were unable to shut the gate behind them, losing Oldtowne and the entrance to the city.

"While most of the initial resistance was in the valiant defense of Oldtowne, those living in Surlee were laid waste to at the base of the castle hill. My messenger tells me the streets were choked with ash, and nearly unnavigable with a glut of bodies." - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

From the gate, Semillon forces moved into the rest of the city, taking it as the sun came up on the morning of the 7th of Lorun. The fighting was heaviest around the base of Terracetop, the main hill of the city, where the first Braelea castle was constructed. Here, the most loyal and noble of the Braelea subjects resided, with knights and even some wealthy merchants arming themselves and fighting individually or in small groups in the streets.
It was to no avail, the neighborhood fell and the Semillon forces had surrounded the southern portion of Terracetop.

Massacre of House Aimonne

As the city fell, the Lord Aimonne himself, his eldest son, and half of his contingent had been forced back to the Buttery of Aimonne, their hillfort, taking many losses along the way. The entire family died in the defense of the keep, save an uncle, Guy d'Aimonne, who was a monk at Surlee Rock, and would go on to escape south to Somae to chronicle the history of the period.

"Word has come from Surlee Rock that House Braelea has fallen. I suspect I am the last Aimonne, and the order will send me into the Eastmarches for my own safety" - Guy d'Aimonne, Chronicles of Guy d'Aimonne

The Lord Aimonne was said to have been killed in the initial attack on the keep and beheaded, his head to later adorn the entrance to Terracetop. Lady Aimonne and her children died fighting within the keep itself.

Storming of Terracetop

Terracetop was at that time fully defended by a warren of brambles and hedges, the fabled garden of Mirielle. While a beautiful sight, and a source of legend across the region, it also acted as a labyrinthine defense for the Braelea castle. After probing it a few times and losing their scouting parties, the Semillons eventually decided to settle in for a siege.
However, the northern half of the hill, outside of the city walls, led down into the Horseshoe Vale. Here was a village of winemakers, farmers, and peasants, a typical valeside town. It was loyal to the Braeleas, and as such made a siege difficult as it allowed the resupply of the castle. To get around this, the Semillon forces decided to speed things up by leading a daring raid, scaling the most rocky portion of the hill, and sneaking into the castle.
This allowed the Semillon raiding party to navigate down the hill, rather than up it, enabling them to follow Braelea markings through the hedges and lead the rest of the Free Company up the hill. With the writing on the wall, the Braelea family was smuggled down into the valeside and helped to escape south by the people of Horseshoe Vale, beginning the Raymontale. The Semillons would never forgive the Vale, which would remain a source of Braelea loyalism in the coming centuries.

Aftermath

With Surlee lost, the Braeleas fled south to their cadet branch, House Braehill at Surlee Rock, a fortress protecting the crucial Timber River on the border with the Eastmarches. Following the siege of Surlee Rock, they fled further still to their cousins in Somae, the seat of the Great House Thewisy, and the Braelean Hedge Wars began.

"Not even bothering to pull the banner of Salis down, the Semillon men took an axe to the poles atop the Southern Gate, leaving their own colors the tallest." - The Whistling Observer

The Hedge Wars would see the Semillons cement their place as the lords of the Blossom Fields, while inflaming tensions with the valesides. This tension would boil over once again after the Fall of House Salis saw the Semillons take over all of the Vinelands, elevating themselves to Great House status.

Included Conflicts

• Braelean Hedge Wars

Conflict Type

Siege

Start Date

6th of Lorun, 450AR

Ending Date

8th of Lorun, 450AR

Conflict Result

The Braelean Hedge Wars

Location

Surlee