War of the Two Ferries
| War of the Two Ferries | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Fymona |
 Isles of Velar | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Nemmar the Tall Todoriq of Meharz Qiëos of Meharz Sidhil of Insai |
 Udreth the Brash Basil II Laiysar of RasigDiriezh of Forit Prince of Zynaxen | ||||||
The War of the Two Ferries (1219-1223; Trellinese: Fyruz Rekhemin Rhai) was a war of the early thirteenth century which drew in most of the major powers in the northeast Sea of Velar. It began as a dispute over river traffic between the princes of Meharz and Rasig, dependencies of the Grand Duchy of Ja'ekha and the Kingdom of the Nersa, respectively. The dispute quickly escalated into violence, and when the two parties failed to settle their differences either diplomatically or militarily their overlords entered the dispute. Both sides called on their allies but failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion as the fighting dragged on. The end of the war saw a return to the status quo ante bellum for the major powers involved, though Meharz and Rasig had come to an agreement on their initial dispute in 1221 and exited the conflict.
The ferries
In the early thirteenth century, the only way to cross the Flotir south of Asketon was to use ferries, as a hurricane had destroyed the Fords of Flotir in 1196. The ford did not recover naturally until 1245. During this period, travellers on the great east-west roads had to use one of two ferries: that owned by the princes of Meharz, or one further north owned by the princes of Rasig. The south bank of the river, including Meharz and its territories, were vassals of the Grand Duchy of Ja'ekha, while north of the river, including Rasig, was mostly the domain of the Kingdom of the Nersa.
The late 1210s saw intermittent tensions over the use of ferries. On several occasions, foreign travellers into one territory would be refused the right to disembark from the other principality's ferry. At other times, an additional toll was charged on disembarkation, as though they had used the other ferry. Both sides engaged in this practice, usually authorised by local commanders.
In late 1219, Prince Laiysar of Rasig explicitly forbade travellers through his lands to use the ferry across to Meharz. Prince Todoriq of Meharz retaliated by levying a substantial toll on travellers wishing to use the Rasigan ferry. Infuriated, a band of Rasigan soldiers attacked the Meharzi ferry at night on 16 November, but it pushed off into the river before they could set fire to it and archers on the ferry shot at them, forcing them to flee the scene. Four days later, horsemen from Meharz raided the Rasigan camp at their pier on the south bank and arrested two of the ferrymen.
Representatives of Prince Laiysar arrived at court at Meharz on 27 December to protest the attack on their camp. After hearing their complaints, Todoriq agreed to send envoys to Rasig to negotiate a settlement. He despatched three riders northward, by way of the Meharzi ferry. On arriving on the north bank they were arrested by a Rasigan patrol for defying the ban on use of that ferry. The Meharzi ferrymen returned to Prince Todoriq with the news, and he sent another rider by way of the Rasigan ferry with a formal declaration of war.
The war
Initial engagements
Neither Meharz nor Rasig possessed the manpower for a prolonged war, but their princes had traded enough insults that their honour demanded such a conflict. A number of minor engagements, such as the Battle at Rúhan's Bridge in early February, saw little success by either side. On 23 February, Prince Todoriq's brother Qiëos met Prince Laiysar in battle at Fyuiyri. Although the battle went in Qiëos' favour, his poorly disciplined army broke into a rout when Laiysar led his household retinue in a charge. Fortunately for Qiëos, as neither army had standardised devices on their shields, the rout among his troops extended to the Rasigan army which fled the field.
This battle made it clear to Laiysar that he could not win the war unassisted. He turned to his cousin Diriezh, Duke of Forit, who pledged "thirty good horse and as many foot as he could muster". Diriezh also enlisted the support of the rulers of Zynaxen, and together with these allies Laiysar led a large army across the Flotir. On 10 March they met a larger force commanded by Marquis Sidhil of Insai, who had also been called on by Prince Todoriq to turn the tide of the war. Diriezh felt intimidated and outmatched, and ordered his army to withdraw to the river. They were pursued by Sidhil, who trapped them against the river near the Rasigan ferry. Both sides encamped for the night, expecting battle in the morning. During the night, the Zynaxenese quietly deserted by ferry, leaving the Rasigans and Foriti heavily outnumbered. Laiysar and Diriezh rode to Sidhil's camp in the morning, prepared to surrender, but learned that their opponent had been overcome by dysentery and was unable to fight. Embarrassed, Sidhil withdrew to the town of Surum, while the remaining Nersikan princes withdrew across the river to reconsider their options.
Invocation of the overlords
As Sidhil recovered from dysentery, the Nersikan princes knew they could not defeat the larger Insaian army, and while it remained in Surum they considered any foray across the river too perilous to chance. Laiysar and Diriezh conferred with their commanders for a new plan but otherwise spent the best part of the week inactive. On 17 March they received a messenger from the Zynaxese prince, who to their surprise revealed that he had gone to Konoros and petitioned King Udreth to defend the honour of his vassals. More surprising still was that Udreth had agreed not merely to send troops under the royal banner but to lead an army across the Flotir in person.
A series of skirmishes on both banks of the Flotir generally went in Meharz's favour between 20 and 25 March, and on 27 March Sidhil led his army unopposed across the river near Surum. Udreth's army, meanwhile, reached the Meharzi ferry further north and commandeered it, beginning to cross the river over the next few days. On 30 March, with his forces split across both banks, Udreth received word of Sidhil's approach from the south. Outnumbered and trapped against the river, he sent envoys to stall the Insaian army while he quickly recalled his troops. On receiving Udreth's envoys, Sidhil reportedly took one by the shoulders and turned him around, pushing him back towards the Nersikan camp, before continuing his march. The battle was brief. Sidhil's vanguard collided forcefully with Udreth's battle line and pushed the Nersikan royal army back to the Flotir, inflicting heavy casualties before the Zynaxenese returned and forced the Insaians to withdraw.
The episode was a humiliation for Udreth, and several vassals were conspicuously absent from his court on his return. Sidhil seized the Nersikan camp and entrenched himself, sending raiding parties as far west as Gatan on the Flotir delta. Laiysar fended off a raid on Rasig on 5 April, and Todoriq of Meharz was carried off the battlefield with a leg wound. He returned to Surum to recover while Qiëos commanded the Meharzi troops across the river.
Development into a regional war
Results
- Meharz and Rasig bow out early
- Treaty ends in status quo but this does not mean it is without serious consequences
The scale of the conflict forced the Kingdom of Velar to divert much of its power for the war and away from its outermost territories. The economic slowdown in the region, and the breakdown of royal authority in parts of the Isles of Velar, led to a bloom in piracy that would take decades to stamp out. During this time, sea trade and coastal settlements throughout the eastern Sea of Velar were greatly menaced, and many medieval writers reported the widespread fear of piracy that had not been felt for over a century.