Garnet Skull Rebellion

The Garnet Skull Rebellion was a civil war that divided the Kingdom of Alterac. Prince Edward Perenolde II returned to Alterac, claiming his younger brother's throne but having become the leader of the Garnet Skull Company, a mercenary organization that captured him in the Second Alteraci-Stromic War. However, King Arthur Perenolde I was able to repel the invaders with the aid of the King Menethil and secure his throne.

Prelude
During the Second Alteraci-Stromic War, Prince Edward Perenolde II was captured by a mercenary company known as the Garnet Skull Company that had been hired by the Kingdom of Stromgarde. The Garnet Skull Company, led by a nefarious Dwarf known only as 'Garnet Eye' for his missing left eye replaced with a garnet, kept the Prince in their custody throughout the war. Even after the Garnet Skull Company ended their support of the Kingdom of Stromgarde they kept the prisoner, who had been presumed dead.

After the Garnet Skull Company withdrew from the Arathi Highlands, they returned to the South Seas where they went under contract with a Goblin drilling company in the region. The Alteraci Prince became a slave of Garnet Eye, humiliating him. However one night, after drugging the Garnet Eye, Prince Edward II slew him and his officers. The Garnet Skull Company surrendered to him, heralding them his new ruler.

Yet after years of imprisonment and slavery, the Prince developed stockholm syndrome and replaced Garnet Eye, ending up being a crueler leader. The Prince received word of his father's death and younger brother's coronation and determined that the throne had been stolen from him. The Garnet Skull Company then spent a few rebuilding the numbers preparing for an invasion of the Kingdom of Alterac.

Meanwhile, following the death of King Fitzroy Perenolde I, his second son, Arthur Perenolde I succeeded him as he was thought to be the only living son. During the four years of his reign prior to the Garnet Skull Rebellion, Arthur set to restoring Alterac to as it was under his grandfather, King Gerald Perenolde II's reign but planning to be a stronger monarch. He abolished the more nationalistic laws set by his father and shifted Alterac's focus as a military power back to trade.

Invasion of Alterac
The Garnet Skull Company, led by Prince Edward Perenolde II sailed through the Baradin Sea in the late summer of 376 K.A, entering the claimed waters of the Kingdom of Alterac off the coast of the Hillsbrad Foothills.

Interception at Sea
As the Garnet Skull Company entered Alteraci waters, their presence was immediately noted by the Alterac Navy which dispatched almost their entire force from Herring Rock to stop the fifty warships sailing towards their shores. However, the Alteraci were badly outnumbered and much of the Alteraci Navy sunk that day.

Landing at Southshore
With the Alterac Navy defeated, the Garnet Skull Company sailed towards Southshore, the largest port of the Kingdom of Alterac. As the ships grew closer, attempts to avert them with cannon fire failed and the Garnet Skull Company lost few ships, whose inhabitants reached ashore regardless. The local garrison surrendered once the Garnet Skull Company docked.

Following his capture of Southshore, Edward Perenolde II turned the bustling port town into his base of operations for his Invasion of Alterac. Next, Edward Perenolde II dispatched his trusted advisers to 'liberate' the countryside of the 'False King's rule.' Bands of mercenaries roamed the Hillsbrad Foothills, attacking all Alteraci garrisons. Taking Eastpoint Tower and Azurelode Mine.

Summit at Tarren Mill
Word of the return of the presumed dead Prince quickly spread throughout the land after Southshore. King Arthur Perenolde I prepared his armies to ride out and drive away the Garnet Skull Company, claiming the Prince to be an imposter. The Mercenary-Prince as he was called, wrote to his younger brother announcing his return and demanding the throne be returned to him. The two agreed to meet at Tarren Mill, each with their armies at their back to negotiate.

The two brothers met in Tarren Mill, the Alteraci host holding the heavily fortified Southern Gate which led to the Alterac Mountains and the Garnet Skull Company just south of the small town. The two brothers who had not seen one another in a decade, yet remained bitterly opposed. Edward Perenolde II had been changed from a gallant, promising Prince to a cruel mercenary, covered with scars. No peace came out of this summit, both accusing the other of having no claim to the throne.

Battle at the Mouth
After the failed Summit at Tarren Mill, the Garnet Skull Company charged towards the Mouth of the Mountains, an immense wall that blocked the South Pass of the Alterac Mountains. King Arthur Perenolde I, knowing that if the Garnet Skull Company entered the heartland, he would be placed at a great disadvantage, refused to allow the mercenaries to pass.

The Alteraci host, numbering a mere six thousand, manned the wall as the eight thousand mercenaries began to siege the enormous wall, attempting to breach it. Worried about a siege, King Arthur I opened the gates as they approached, allowing the bulk of his forces to sit before the gates. The mercenaries charge broke beneath the wall, while the horsemen and foot soldiers battled it out beneath the wall, archers rained arrows and ballista bolts from above. The battle raged on for over a day before the Edward Perenolde II ordered the retreat, determining he had lost too much. Both armies lost most of their forces, leaving it the bloodiest battle of the war.

Treason of the Nobility
Returning to Southshore, Edward Perenolde II wrote to numerous lords and ladies of Alterac requesting their support. Many responded with emphatic declines but several agreed to assist the Rebel Prince in exchange for increased power. Among these were the Duke of Durnholde and Count of Strahnbrad, key geographical locations who would be also provide significant support to his cause.

Violence stopped for several months, as winter covered the land, but the war continued. The Duke of Durnholde and Count of Strahnbrad kept their treason secret from King Arthur I for as long as they could. They conspired with the Mercenary-Prince to attempt an assassination of the King and then march into Alterac City through the Eastern Pass, occupying it with the Duke's large army once spring came. They also printed numerous articles, spreading them throughout the kingdom, winning a portion of the common folk to their cause. They claimed the throne was Edward's by right, as the firstborn whereas the Crown rebutted that Edward had become a criminal and was not worthy.

March on Alterac City
As winter passed, the Eastern Pass became navigable once more, allowing for the scheme to begin. King Arthur I was charged by a mob of peasants on his way back from a Liturgy in the Alterac Chapel. The mob overpowered his Royal Guard and the assassins planted in the crowd were able to stab King Arthur I in the stomach once as well as shoot a crossbow bolt through his right hand. Injured, King Arthur I stumbled away, escaping his demise after reinforcements arrived. The Riot in the Capital as it was known, sent the kingdom into a state of fear. Reports came stating the King had survived his wounds and was merely in recovering, but he had not been seen publicly since the event. Rumor spread he had been killed.

This proved to be the perfect time to strike, the Duke's forces entered through the Eastern Pass without hinderance and and entered Alterac City with ease, overpowering the one thousand men stationed there. As they began to siege the Keep, Edward Perenolde II crowned himself King of Alterac.

However, as the sun rose the next day, five thousand Lordaeronian soldiers stormed into Alterac City, liberating the city from the rebels rule. King Arthur Perenolde I emerged, hailed as the true king, despite having lost his right hand, where a steel hand dyed white now stood. However, the salvation from Lordaeron came at a costly price. King Arthur I betrothed King Menethil's daughter and ceded all lands beyond Lordamere Lake back to the Kingdom of Lordaeron, which his father had won in the War of Frozen Stone.

The Hunt
Edward Perenolde II had evaded capture, as had his his co-conspirators, the Duke of Durnholde and the Count of Strahnbrad after the Lordaeronian's liberated Alterac City. As the Lordaeronian forces returned home, King Arthur I set about capturing the rebels and bringing them to justice, despite being crippled himself. The small Alteraci forces easily overwhelmed the County of Strahnbrad, replacing its lord with a more loyal one before moving on to Durnholde

Siege of Durnholde
It was discovered that Edward Perenolde II had taken refuge in Durnholde Keep while attempting to gain new allies. King Arthur Perenolde I led his forces to Durnholde Keep, besieging it for three days before the Duke surrenders.

Following the capture of Edward Perenolde II and the Duke of Durnholde, they are transported to Alterac City, to await a trial. King Arthur experiences several victories in liberating the rest of the Hillsbrad Foothills from rebel control.

Aftermath
Edward Perenolde II and the Duke of Durnholde are found guilty in court and publicly beheaded by King Arthur I. The Duchy of Durnholde was gifted to the House of Karlsburg, an Alteraci noble House with historic loyalty to the House of Perenolde. However, the Garnet Skull Rebellion leaves a deep scar on Alterac that takes years to recover from.