Alderian Rebellion

The breaking of chains, and the founding of The Free Cities of Alderun

After the peak of the Triumvirate Battles, Kapesh was left weak from the war with The Maul Bearer and his army. Most of the kingdoms resources were allocated to the coast of The Narrow Sea defending its borders against Gethsemane.

This left South Kapesh without much of its normal defenses. Distant from the conflicts in the north east, a young Half-Orc man named Eirmond was born. Son of a prostitute, Eirmond was forced to watch the mistreatment of his mother and many others his whole life. When his mother was killed by an enraged human customer, he decided to begin a rebellion of his own. A campaign that would earn him the name Eirmond the Brave.

Eirmond the Brave and many other Off-Human slaves, primarily Orcs, took Ka’thoor with great bloodshed. Despite the losses, it was the first time rebels had taken a city in Kapesh. Rumors spread quickly, and another rebellion was sparked in Hanen. After much fighting, and aid from rebels in Ka’thoor, Hanen was taken as well.

Human nobility were executed, but the lower class human population was largely spared by Eirmond’s mercy. These individuals were given a choice, aid the rebellion or face exile. Many resisted and some chose exile, but a sizeable group decided to stay and fight alongside rebels.

Deepspell was the next strategic foothold to take, it was a difficult city to seize, especially with the aid of Kerketh Academy and their mages. It is likely the city never would have fallen, if not for a group of open minded students led by Alex Laro-Rissan, a charismatic noblemen’s son who began a movement to stop the mages of the academy from fighting the rebels. Some say it was an act of honor, while others believe it was done in defiance of his parentage. Eventually it broke out into infighting within the academy. Ultimately rebels prevailed and the border between north and south Kapesh was secured.

It was at this time, the city of Holocene surrendered without prompt. The city and their nobles were kept safe and it became one of the rebels cities. This annexed the southern half of the region off from north Kapesh.

Rails and Zessgorn were taken soon after. Zessgorn notably by a group of slaves already within the city. This only left Tenzentak. Unfortunately, this was when Kapesh began making headway with their counter-attack. Ka’thoor was retaken, and the human forces then moved on to Hanen.

Remarkably, Hanen held out against 3 major attacks by Kapesh with no support, and almost no resources. This one in a million chance forced Kapesh to retreat to Ka’thoor. They were ambushed by the forces of Holocene during this retreat, and Hanen was secured once again.

The rebels eventually retook Ka’thoor, and all attention was turned on Tenzentak. The city’s rough outskirts and defensible position made it for a long drawn out battle. It wasn’t until a well trained group of Tabaxi rebels scaled the edge of the cliffs that overlook The Grand Nothing in great numbers and broke the outer walls defenses from the inside. In this victory the rebels took south Kapesh in its entirety.

After Tenzentak was taken by rebels, Kapesh attempted to retake Ka’thoor and Deepspell, but were unsuccessful. The region was in a state of chaos, but had a hopeful air to it.

Eirmond and representatives from the cities met in Rails to establish a new government. The Alderian Council was formed for this purpose. A group of representatives, one from each of the cities, to serve the purpose of maintaining each city, and upholding the laws and values. The region was renamed The Free Cities of Alderun, Alderun meaning hope in Orcish.

Kapesh did not recognize them as a kingdom for many years, but eventually caved to political and military pressures.