- "Called the War of Betony, it was an internecine struggle between the Kingdom of Daggerfall and the Kingdom of Sentinel."
- ―The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall User's Guide[src]
The War for Betony, also called the Betony War,[1] was fought between the Iliac Bay kingdoms of Daggerfall and Sentinel from 3E 402 until 3E 404.[1][2] The war was ended when Daggerfall won a decisive victory during the Battle of Cryngaine Field.[2]
History[]
The War of Betony was fought over the region of Betony in High Rock. Betony was a small island, with nothing more than a small fishing village at the edge of the Abecean Sea. Due to its location and lack of defense, the island, once independent, began to face risks of invasions from pirates. As a result, the island became a vassalage of Daggerfall. While many Bretons in Daggerfall held this to be primarily act of charity,[3] King Camaron stated that Betony belonged to Sentinel, citing a claim from over 200 years ago.[4]
Several members of both courts urged their leaders not to enter into a war. In Daggerfall, the court sorceress Medora, and Nulfaga, the king's mother and a renowned mystic and necromancer herself, both foretold doom for Lysandus and Daggerfall if he warred with Sentinel. King Camaron was warned against the battle by his chief counselor, a woman called The Oracle, who foresaw death and defeat in the war, but she was banished from the court.[4] Eventually, Sentinel declared war on Daggerfall.[3] Daggerfall won all of the major battles throughout the war, including the Battle of the Bluffs and the Siege of Craghold.
Battles[]
Battle of the Bluffs[]
The first conflict of the war, the Battle of the Bluffs took place off the Daggerfall Bluffs. The sea battle was one of the many victories for the Kingdom of Daggerfall, and it was one of the battles which gave Lord Bridwell his current position as a member of the Court of Daggerfall and the leader of the Knights of the Dragon during the Warp in the West."[3][5]
Battle of the Glenpoint Foothills[]
The next large-scale battle on the Glenpoint Foothills north of Daggerfall also went to Daggerfall; the Sentinel Warlord K'avar received his disfiguring injury from a fireball cast by a Dark Elf mercenary nightblade.[5]
Siege of Craghold[]
The Bretons on the Isle of Craghold were under siege by the forces of Sentinel for several days and a crowd of survivors were hidden away in ruins of the castle before being liberated by Lord Bridwell. The battle went to Daggerfall.[6]
Riot in Reich Gradkeep[]
Eventually, Lord Graddock, ruler of Reich Gradkeep, acted as conciliator between Sentinel and Daggerfall, and convinced both monarchs to meet and make a peace treaty at Reich Gradkeep. The ill-fated Treaty of Gradkeep began civilly. However, as the treaty was about to be signed, Camaron became outraged and ordered his troops to riot within the city, starting the Riot in Reich Gradkeep. Daggerfall historians claim that Camaron "realized that the proposed treaty would have included a formal declaration that the kingdoms of Sentinel and Daggerfall would share Betony, and he flew into a rage,"[3] however, Sentinel historians state that the treaty had been purposefully miswritten by Daggerfall in attempt to trick Camaron into signing a contract different.[4] The entire city of Reich Gradkeep erupted into a bloodbath, with the entire royal family of the city dying, except for one sickly infant, who later died. Lord Auberon Flyte, a cousin of Lord Graddock, took control of the city after the riot, and renamed it Anticlere, in honor of the deceased royal family.[3][4]
Battle of Cryngaine Field[]
As the riot began to die out, Camaron's army left the city, fleeing to Yeorth Burrowland, with Daggerfall's army pursuing them all the way to Ravennian Forest before making camp.[3] A week later, the two armies met and battled at Battle of Cryngaine Field, the last battle of the war. Prior to the start of the battle, King Lysandus decided that he was going to send in an impersonator to fake his death, so that he could leave his reign of king to go to Medora, who had been banished from the court, and spend the rest of his life with her in ambiguity.[3][4]
After the battle had gotten started and underway, Skakmat, who under Nulfaga's orders, being sent from the courts to try to prevent Lysandus' death as she had foreseen, created a fog that flooded over the battlefield. As the fog died out, it was discovered that Lysandus' impersonator had been shot either in the heart[1] or in the throat[3][4], and was dead.
Immediately following his death, Gothryd, Lysandus' son, was immediately crowned king behind the battle lines. As Gothryd fought, the battle's tide began to turn, which panicked Sentinel's army. As the army prepared to flee, Gothryd found Camaron on the battlefield, and dueled him. In the end, Gothryd defeated Camaron, killing him; Sentinel historians acclaim this to Camaron being tired from endless warfare, despite being a better warrior,[4] while Daggerfall historians state that the victory was due to Gothryd being a more skillful swordsman.[3]
As a result of the death of Camaron, one of his officers, Lord Oresme, formally surrendered Sentinel to Daggerfall. On the way back to the capital, Oresme committed suicide.[3] One of the main components of the treaty between the two citystates was the marriage of Aubk'i to King Gothryd, in an attempt to relax tensions and try to restore friendship between them. However, many members of the royal courts of Sentinel viewed the princess as more a prisoner of war than a royal marriage to Daggerfall.
Meanwhile, leaving to Tamarilyne Point, Lysandus and Woodborne were discussing the king's retirement as a group of Minat orcs meet the group, which are allied to Woodborne. Woodborne uses the orcs as an excuse to leave the group, and then after they are some ways away, commands the orcs to go kill Lysandus, who do so, and bury the body in a silver casket in a catacomb near Tamarilyne Point. This murder after the Battle of Cryngaine Field directly leads to the events that start The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.[1]
Trivia[]
- The War of Betony is mentioned multiple times in Jokes, mentioning jokes such as "'What is the thinnest book in the world?' 'Redguard Heroes of the War of Betony.'"
- In 3E 427 many of the corpses from the war are still around various battle sites, and are sometimes used by necromancers.[7]
- While almost all accounts mention the end of the war with the death of both kings, A History of Daggerfall mentions that the "The recent War of Betony was typical of Iliac Bay warfare: sincere, frighteningly violent, and peaceably resolved."[8]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Daggerfall Chronicles
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall User's Guide
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Newgate's War of Betony
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Fav'te's War of Betony
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Daggerfall Chronicles
- ↑ Jokes
- ↑ Corpse Preparation v I
- ↑ A History of Daggerfall