The Halberon Uprising of 404/6 was a successful rebellion by Duke Heremmer Halberon against the corrupt Orsini Dynasty of Erindar.
Heremmer was eventually victorious, defeating the loyalist forces at the Battle of Crittendon in 423/6. The uprising led to the overthrow of the kingdom of Erindar, and the installation of the Halberon Dynasty under King Heremmer in 423/6.
ORIGINS
In ther year 392/6, things began to change for the worse for the people of Erindar, when King Eduard Orsini assumed the Ivory Throne after the sudden death of his father; King Eradan II.
King Eradan II had been a kind and fair ruler; but sadly, his eldest son Eduard was nothing like him. Eduard was brash, spoiled, and petulant; he was quick to anger and lashed out at both nobles and officials at court over any perceived slight.
Under King Eduard, the Orsini monarchy of Erindar became completely corrupt, rife with rampant political favoritism. This corruption began soon after Eduard's coronation, when he began a series of political programs that favored certain, sycophantic Vassal Lords at the expense of others.
It soon became a 'tradition' that nobles who ingratiated themselves to the monarchy were richly rewarded, while those who did not were heavily taxed; some even had their lands seized by royal decree.
As king, Eduard simply took whatever he wanted, without any regard for justice. By the year 404/6, King Eduard had consolidated his power and surrounded himself with greedy, self-serving nobles.
One of these nobles in the king's inner circle was Duke Avery Trask of the Duchy of Daggerford. Avery had long desired the rich, lands of the neighboring Duchy of Herrondale, and with his new, close relationship with the new King, he saw his chance.
In the year 404/6, based on a false accusations of disloyalty, leveled by Avery Trask, King Eduard ordered the Halberon family lands seized, and given over to the Duchy of Daggerford.
Eduard also ordered Duke Harkon Halberon to appear at court to appeal for clemency. During the royal audience, where both Avery and Harkon argued their positions before the king, Duke Harkon exposed the falsity of the charges against him and by doing so, humiliated King Eduard before the entire court.
King Eduard then flew into a rage, and immediately ordered Duke Harkon arrested for treason. The next morning, despite pleas for mercy from his family and other noble houses; Harkon was executed on the grounds of the Cordova Palace.
The King further ordered all remaining Halberon lands seized and ordered the arrest of Harkon's only son Heremmer.
After his father's execution, Heremmer was turned into a fugitive with a Royal Warrant signed for his arrest. Soldiers from both the Royal Court and the Duchy of Relford invaded the Herrondale lands, killing and burning indiscriminately in an attempt to flush out the young noble and his band of rebel followers.
OPEN REBELLION
King Eduard's soldiers soon rode into Herrondale, along with the forces of Duke Avery. The Halberon castle was burnt and young Heremmer forced to go into hiding. Many locals were murdered and the lands of Herrondale occupied.
But fiercely loyal peasants kept the young duke safely hidden. Even as a boy, Heremmer inspired others with his courage and leadership.
He soon began a rebellion, when he and a group of rebels killed a dozen of the King's soldiers who were raiding a local village where he had been hiding.
From there, it became open war, with a growing rebel army fighting against the occupying forces of Duke Avery. In 411/6, Duke Avery was killed by Heremmer in the battle of Cosgrove, and the forces of Relford were defeated.
THE WAR WIDENS
After the Battle of Cosgrove, several noble families openly declared allegiance to Heremmer and sought to overthrow the Monarchy.
The first was the Duke of Haranshire, who had no love for King Eduard and was appalled by the tyranny of his court.
King Eduard mobilized his armies and moved to crush the rebellion; he even hired ruthless Amari mercenaries called the Steelfist Regiment to crush the rebellion.
Over the next four years, a series of a dozen battles were fought between the rebels and loyalists, culminating in 415/6 at the Battle of Demerest; where King Eduard himself was killed (legends say by his own men!).
But the war wasn't over, Eduard's son Estris II then took the throne and continued the war. Estris was very young, and was not a capable military commander.
Over the next year, Estris ordered his vassals to attack enemy held territory. There were several major engagements; called the Battles of Taybridge, Baywater, Marsden, and Greenhollow.
Three of these battles resulted in a loyalist defeat. Soon the rebel army began to advance on the capital city of Chelstad. As the loyalist army encamped on the fields of Crittendon, the rebel army attacked them; gaining complete surprise.
The loyalists were soundly defeated and King Estris was killed. Shortly thereafter, the remaining loyalists surrendered.
AFTERMATH
With the overthrow of the Orsini Dynasty, the Halberon Dynasty came to power. The Cordova Palace was renamed Castle Halberon, for the old one had been burnt by the loyalists early in the rebellion. King Heremmer was crowned and sat on the Ivory Throne until the year 460/6.
Even after King Heremmer took the throne, he remained bitter toward the many vassals who had remained loyal to House Orsini.
In the two years following his final victory, he ordered hundreds of formerly loyalist vassals and their families exiled from his kingdom, seized their estates and granted new titles to his own vassal lords.
By the year 426/6, nearly a third of the former nobility of Erindar had been banished. These exile nobles moved east into the the lands of Amar and, together with King Rodrik, formed a new kingdom of their own; Ammarind.