War of Perenolde

The War of Perenolde is known as the bloodiest and last of Alterac's civil wars. Besides being one of the longest wars in recorded history, the War of Perenolde saw the deaths of several monarchs and the installment of a new dynasty for a short time.

Prelude
Under the reign of Queen Julia Perenolde, the Kingdom of Alterac began to suffer. The Queen had always spent a great deal on various celebrations, however this was overlooked due to the prosperity of the time. However, when a famine struck the kingdom, her spending habits did not change. Instead of focusing on the shortage of food amongst the common people, Queen Julia Perenolde continued to wine and dine on the finest of delicacies, expensively and publicly. This caused many to be disgruntled with the Crown.

In the midst of this crisis, a man by the name of Harlan Perenolde appeared. Claiming to be a descendent of the Ralph Perenolde, the eldest son of revered King Nicholas Perenolde I, who had one day disappeared without a trace. Harlan Perenolde asserted that his son had the best claim to the throne. His wife, Chloe Perenolde was the alleged descendent of a bastard of King Baldric Perenolde who is known to have been created during his tenure of Governor of Alterac's South Sea colonies. Together they had a son named Ivan Perenolde III, only an infant but they asserted that his more pure Alteraci blood made him more fit for rule than the incumbent Queen Julia Perenolde and her heir, Prince Thomas Perenolde.

Mustering of Forces
Harlan Perenolde announced his claim from his island fortress in South Seas, known as Amber Isle, through a written letter sent throughout the Kingdom of Alterac and to each of the monarchies of the other six kingdoms. Denouncing Queen Julia Perenolde as a 'tyrant of foreign blood' and Prince Thomas Perenolde as 'the spawn of a foreign tyrant', Harlan Perenolde petitioned for support in any way possible.

His open letter at first garnered only a few supporters, though very powerful. Only one noble of Alterac responded to the letter, agreeing to support his claim, Lord Herring of Herring Rock, who was among the most fervent of advocates for the Crown to be predominantly Alteraci. Another powerful supporter was King Randal Trollbane who lent him an enormous sum of gold to muster forces but withheld initial military support.

With the Stromic's gold, Harlan Perenolde contracted numerous powerful mercenary companies to his cause, putting them beneath one banner as the Gold Host.

Capture of Southshore
With the Gold Host, Harlan Perenolde sailed to Herring Rock where he took over the Alteraci Navy Shipyard and the bulk of the Alteraci Navy itself. From there, they sailed to Southshore with an enormous fleet and besieged the city from sea, easily defeating its meager defenses before sailing into its harbor and storming the large port town.

Battle of the Fingers
Leaving Southshore under Lord Herring's rule, Harlan Perenolde then marched through the Hillsbrad Foothills approaching the South Pass Gate. The site of many battles, the mercenary Gold Host prepared to march on the Gate Wall. A difficult feat, but it had been accomplished before. Yet as they approached, scouts reported the Finger Barons had been mobilized. The march ahead was extremely difficult, with forces firing upon them from both sides before their forces attempted to end them before they even reached the Gate by using a pincher tactic.

However, even that could not stop the Gold Host which was so large that reinforcements were eventually able to push back the forces of the Finger Barons and continue the march.

Siege the South Gate
The day after the Battle of the Fingers, the Gold Host continued their march, sustaining heavy casualties and prepared to siege the South Gate. They began the siege, which lasted three days until the defenders were eventually ordered to retreat by the Queen. The Gold Host finally pushed past the South Gate, making camp there for several days before gearing up for an assault on Alterac City.

Assault on Alterac City
Using the same strategy as many successful invaders before, Harlan Perenolde had successfully reached the walls of Alterac City, his Gold Host still a substantial force, despite having taken heavy losses. He launched an assault on the city, defended by his rival, Queen Julia Perenolde herself. Harlan Perenolde successfully took the capital city, capturing the Queen before executing her.

Despite this ruthlessness, the common people welcomed Harlan Perenolde and even assisted in his assault. Queen Julia's son and heir, Prince Thomas Perenolde had fled under the protection of his uncle, Stuart Perenolde, to Strahnbrad. Within three days, both Harlan and Thomas Perenolde were crowned King of Alterac. In the past, kings had been displaced from the capital and later retaken it, resulting in only a few nobility flocking to King Harlan Perenolde's side.

Battle of the Mountains
Hoping to solidify his claim as King, Harlan Perenolde prepared to take Strahnbrad. However the loyalist forces under the command of Regent-Lord Stuart Perenolde clashed with them halfway, resulting in a massive battle spanning up and down the road between Alterac City and Strahnbrad lasting a week. Both forces pushed up and down, nearly overtaking the other until reinforcements arrived. Eventually, after sustaining too many casualties, the Gold Host retreated and deserted King Harlan Perenolde. With only of what remained of the nobility's forces, King Harlan Perenolde retreated back to Alterac City.

Winter
As both armies recovered from their heavy casualties, winter soon came upon the Alterac Mountains, preventing either from marching large armies. Throughout the winter, there were minor skirmishes within the lands between Alterac City and Strahnbrad. However, Lord Herring did launch several sea expeditions, taking Purgation Isle and Gull Isle for King Harlan Perenolde.

Struggle in the Heartland
Once spring came to the Alterac Mountains, the war resumed. For a whole year, a series of small conflicts occurred as both forces fought over every noble in the region known as the Heartland. The young King Thomas Perenolde visiting nobility to ensure their support whereas King Harlan Perenolde visited them to attempt to win over theirs. Regent-Lord Stuart Perenolde led his nephews forces in the field.

Struggle for the Highland
The Highland is known as the long flat region within the Alterac Mountains between Alterac City and Strahnbrad. Divided between numerous counts including Lord Lothrington, Lord Gerrant and a branch of the powerful House of Karlsburg. Throughout the second year of the war, the King Thomas and King Harlan's forces competed throughout the region for support. Lord Gerrant had sided with King Harlan, whereas Lord Karlsburg remained loyal. The Lothrington's were originally loyal but were slaughtered by King Harlan's forces, sending his lands into a fierce struggle. Minor nobility under each domain regularly limboed between each side, many defecting back and forth depending on who held the advantage.

Reclamation of the South Gate
At the end of the second season of the war, loyalist forces recaptured the South Gate Pass under Finger Baron Snowcroft's command. This disrupted the flow of supplies between King Harlans footholds at Southshore and Alterac City. Unable to spare forces from the Highlands, the remaining mercenaries at Southshore were dispatched to retake the Pass. However, this attempt failed and both the Eastern and Southern Gates were controlled by Loyalist forces once winter came.

Treachery and New Allies
Though the Struggle in the Highlands came to a stalemate once the snows set in, the second winter of the war was much more productive than the first. Both armies had received heavy casualties and their numbers were dwindling.

Seeking reinforcements, King Harlan Perenolde sought out the aid of King Randal Trollbane, offering to cede him all of Alterac's territories and islands in exchange for securing his rule. King Randal Trollbane accepted and promised his assistance as they devised a strategy for the next year. King Harlan Perenolde also gained the support of more nobility, adding to his own numbers and detracting from King Thomas's.

Loyalist Retreat
Once the snows thawed, the war resumed. With the support more nobility, King Harlan successfully completed his campaign through the Highlands, pushing back Regent-Lord Stuart Perenolde to Strahnbrad.

March on Strahnbrad and Capturing of Durnholde
After achieving dominance in the Alterac Mountains, King Harlan Perenolde moved to end the war within the third year through coordination with King Randal Trollbane. Their strategy began with the Stromics taking Thoradin's Wall, which they accomplished with relative ease. This advance resulted in Lord Karlsburg mustering his forces at Durnholde Keep, preparing for a Stromic invasion from the east.

With the Karlsburg forces gone, King Harlan Perenolde marched on Strahnbrad, launching an assault on the town. Though Regent-Lord Stuart Perenolde led the defense valiantly, Strahnbrad began to fall. As the Regent lord prepared to retreat and escape with King Thomas Perenolde, King Harlan's forces stormed into the town hall, where the King was being protected. Stuart Perenolde, realizing his nephew's fate retreated with what few men remained, destroying the East Pass Gate, blocking their retreat to Durnholde Keep.

Yet, when Stuart Perenolde came within sight of Durnholde Keep, they saw the Stromic banner flying above. King Randal Trollbane had pushed past Thoradin's Wall, defeated Karlsburg forces and taken Durnholde Keep, blocking their retreat.

Years of Intermission
With no true place to take shelter, now self-coronated, King Stuart Perenolde had no place to take shelter in the Kingdom of Alterac. King Harlan Perenolde declared Stuart Perenolde a fugitive and enemy of the crown, offering a bounty to any who provided evidence of his death. The war was over by most accounts, most of the nobility swore fealty to King Harlan Perenolde. The Bishop of Alterac heralded King Harlan as a more faithful King than his predecessors, dismissing King Thomas's murder as an unfortunate accident. King Harlan also diverted much of the treasury towards the wellbeing of the common people, leading many nobility who still held quiet loyalties to Stuart Perenolde that it was because he was a commoner himself.

Meanwhile, King Stuart took refuge in the eastern Alterac Mountains, leading raids on enemy forces. However, after five years in hiding there, he was found and captured. However after crossing the Thondroril River to take him to Alterac City, the Backwoods King as he was known, somehow escaped enemy capture. He reportedly fled to the border territory between Alterac and Lordaeron past the south banks of Andorhal and north of the Alterac Mountains.

From here, King Stuart conducted more raids on King Harlan's forces and later sought out King Menethil. King Stuart and King Menethil agreed to meet in this border territory to negotiate terms of an alliance. King Menethil snuck into the lands in secret, both men meeting one another, plainly dressed and in disguise. Numerous meetings occurred as King Menethil went back and forth to consult his advisors. Eventually, an alliance was created. In exchange for the military support of the Kingdom of Lordaeron to restore the Alteraci monarchy, the Kingdom of Lordaeron would be ceded that very border territory and King Stuart would marry Princess Emilia Menethil.

The War Resumes
After nearly a decade long headhunt for King Stuart Perenolde, he at last returned to the public eye. Leading the Lordaeronian army which marched from Andorhal with the intent on reclaiming his kingdom. King Stuart's forces easily pushed pass the Alteraci border and continued marching for the Eastern Pass. When word of his return spread through the Kingdom of Alterac, many of the nobility defected back to the proper king, though the commoner's viewed him as a foreign invader.

Battle at the East Pass Gate
With reinforcements from defected nobles, King Stuart's forces now greatly outnumbered King Harlan's. Fearing defeat, King Harlan requested the support of King Randal Trollbane once more who agreed to return and also issued the order that none of his soldiers may surrender. His troops were loyal to him, King Stuart took several days to push past the East Pass Gate but eventually succeeded.

Upon his entrance into the Alterac Mountains, the Count of Strahnbrad surrendered without a fight and swore fealty to him. With this victory, King Stuart continued his march to Alterac City.

Siege of Alterac City
Upon his arrival, King Stuart began a siege of Alterac City, attempting to enter the city. As the tide began to shift against him, King Harlan realized his eventual defeat and had his son, Ivan III sent away before the incoming forces of King Stuart reached Alterac City.

Last Winter
The Siege of Alterac City carried on through the winter, the war continuing through the winter. Meanwhile, Prince Ivan III fled to the Kingdom of Stromgarde where he remained on the front lines with King Randal Trollbane as they prepared to mobilize. However, the winter did not deter them and they marched through the snows, arriving at Durnholde Keep, which remained under King Harlan's control as he kept the entire Karlsburg family imprisoned in Alterac City.

Storming of Alterac City
The Siege of Alterac eventually ended as King Stuart stormed the city as the snows began to thaw, restoring his control to the city. King Harlan and Queen Chloe Perenolde both fell during the battle, their corpses were thrown into the mass grave with the rest of their soldiers. However, the common people were not only unhappy with his return, the foreign occupation of Lordaeronians nearly caused protest. As a result, King Stuart Perenolde left the city in the control of the now freed Lord Karlsburg and departed to deal with the invading Stromic forces.

Battle of Durnholde Keep
Leading the Lordaeronian forces, King Stuart Perenolde swiftly rode to Durnholde Keep to expel the Stromic invaders. Upon hearing the news of King Harlan's defeat, King Randal Trollbane retreated leaving the few loyal Alteraci nobility to defend King Ivan III at Durnholde Keep. Upon King Stuart's arrival, the boy-king surrendered.

Treaty of Durnholde
With Ivan Perenolde II's surrender, King Stuart Perenolde invited King Randal Trollbane and King Menethil to Durnholde Keep for a summit to discuss terms to the end of the war. It was agreed that King Stuart and King Menethil's terms for an alliance still stood, that Ivan would renounce his Perenolde name and be taken as a ward of King Randal Trollbane, and that the Stromics would pay reparations to the Kingdom of Alterac.

Aftermath
Following the Treaty of Durnholde and an end to the war, Stuart Perenolde solidified his claim as king. Many of the nobility, most notably, Lord Herring were put on trial for treason and executed. Lord Karlsburg ceded the Duchy of Durnholde to the Crown, deciding to return to the Highlands and being unable to rule over such large lands. The commoners were at first distrustful of King Stuart but later came to docility after proving he had more reasonable spending habits than his sister, despite his strict enforcement of policy and marriage to a foreigner.