Hundred Years' War
| Hundred Years' War | |||||||
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| File:Hundred-years-waratlas.jpg Castarcian woodcut illustrating the initial invasion of Parovea (1222AD) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Template:Country data Castarcia Empire of Castarcia |
 Brytene Template:Country data House Canillac Template:Country data House Gallagher Template:Country data Castarcia Lucite rebels | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Eleanor (1222-1223) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Valentina (1223-1236) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Lydia (1236-1256) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Hermione (1256-1286) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Henrietta (1286-1288) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Kathleen (1288-1300) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Kiara (1300-1303) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Louise (1303-1319) Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Christina (1319-1345) |
Queen Synnove I (1222-53) King Uhtred VI (1253-97) King Aelle I (1297-1304) Template:Country data Castarcia Princess Lucy (1229-1264) Template:Country data House Canillac Lord Scarfell (1304-1324) Template:Country data House Canillac Lord Tarrant(1324-1345) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Template:Country data Castarcia - Various |
and allies - Various | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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Template:Country data Castarcia 5,000-8,000 killed, 800-1,000 taken prisoner 2,000-3,000 civilians TOTAL: 7,000-12,000 |
1,800-3,000 killed Template:Country data Castarcia 500 killed, 100 prisoner Template:Country data House Canillac 400 killed, 100 prisoner Template:Country data House Gallagher 1,200-1,500 killed TOTAL: 4,100-5,600 | ||||||
The Hundred Years' War was a prolonged war between the Empire of Castarcia and the Kingdom of Brytene, as well as the independent territories of the House Canillac, that last for almost a century in the High Middle Ages.
The war saw the establishment of several Brytisc client-fiefdoms and territories in the Parovea region of Castarcia, assisted by the Castarcian House Gallagher. The last holdouts of House Canillac surrendered and swore fealty to the Empire of Castarcia in 1345, following a prolonged siege of Chateaux de Canillac.
Background
In the early 13th Century, Brytene was becoming overcrowded. To the west, the Kings of Dyflin were too powerful to contest, and the monarchy did not want to provoke an all-out war, and so adventurers from Brytene sailed abroad in search of new lands and conquests.
The Parovea region of the Empire of Castarcia was a tempting target. Remote, vulnerable to the coast, rich in resources and with several local families squabbling for control, it was a prime site for hungry young warlords to carve out their own territories and holdings.
The first landings
The first Brytisc ships arrived in the summer of 1222, prime campaigning season. Two of the most powerful local houses had been warring amongst themselves, and the levies of the area were in no state to resist the encroachment of the Brytisc attackers.
Led by Rollo of Canillac, the raiders of Brytene quickly stormed several local castles and villages, scattering or destroying local garrisons and raising the stag-banner of Brytene over much of Parovea.
The House Gallagher, one of the major houses in the area, chose to side with the invaders, lending troops and support to the Brytisc in return for assistance against loyalist Houses. Within a decade, Parovea was almost entirely under Brytisc control, with lordship over the area granted to the newly-formed House Canillac. Castarcians were relegated to second-tier positions and excluded from government, and there are accounts of atrocities committed by the Brytisc occupiers, with most reliable chroniclers estimating that 2-3,000 Castarcians were killed or executed within the first decade of Brytisc occupation.
Empress Eleanor, then-leader of the Empire of Castarcia, was tied down fighting a rebellion led by Princess Lucy, who was attempting to usurp the throne, and it was not until 1264 that the Empire managed to mount an effective response.
Battle of Highgarden
See also: Battle of Highgarden
The Castarcian army, whilst widely dispersed and feudal in nature, was both large and powerful. Empress Hermione spent the better part of a year marshalling a vast force in the hopes of trapping and destroying the Brytisc power in Parovea. The Brytisc army had small contingents of longbowmen, which made skirmishing with them dangerous, but they were primarily an army of infantry who excelled at siege warfare and raiding, and it was hoped that by catching them in the open the Castarcians could wipe out their strength and then reduce their castles one-by-one.
However, adverse weather conditions and the arrival of a contingent of Castarcian rebels, fleeing their defeat in the south, turned the tables on the attackers, allowing the Brytisc to inflict a defeat on the Castarcians and safely withdraw their army to fight another day.
Royal withdrawal
See also: Fall of Dyflin
In 1304AD, the warlords of Dyflin assaulted Nortymba, causing a great panic in Brytene as the nobles scrambled to face this new threat. Many of the bannermen in Parovea returned home, summoned by their lords or desperate to protect their homes, and the King officially handed lordship of the region over to House Canillac, making Lord Scarfell of Canillac the effective baron of Parovea.
The Brytisc armies never again returned in strength, having to deal with the Bahariyan invasion barely four decades later, leaving House Melton and its allies to face the Empire of Castarcia alone.
Decline
With Princess Lucy's rebellion and the few nostalgic 'Lucites' mostly suppressed, the Empire of Castarcia renewed its attempts to reclaim Parovea, mounting several abortive campaigns which came to unclear conclusions as the Brytisc refused to leave the safety of their fortresses.
However, a turning point came in the Siege of Castle Gallagher (1332), where forces led by Empress Christina managed to storm and sack the ancestral home of House Gallagher, stripping House Canillac of their last major native ally.
House Canillac lost several holdings over the intervening years as Empress Christina led a successful campaign to starve and blockade the towns and castles of Parovea one-by-one. Eventually, she laid siege to the Chateaux de Canillac itself, a vast fortification built by Lord Scarfell in 1307.
After a two-year siege, during which the castle repelled several assaults, news reached Lord Tarrant of the Bahariyan invasion. On the morning of the 9th March, running low on food and with injury and disease taking a heavy toll on his remaining garrison, Lord Tarrant rode out to offer fealty to Empress Christina.
Aftermath
The fall of Parovea went largely unnoticed in Brytene proper, although it did result in a minor influx to the islands as exiled members of House Gallagher and House Canillac fled the Castarcian victory, with their overseas lands and titles being seized by the Castarcian victors and distributed to the Empress' loyal vassals.