Fifteen Years War

The Fifteen Years War was a conflict fought across the Kingdom of Osteria, and ended in the dissolution of the Osterik Protectorate. It encompassed far-reaching spats between the Empire of Aridea and Dynasty of Kuhir. The war began with King Reginald II's violation of the Triumvirate Concordat, and his excommunication at the hands of Exarch Palitzch. Soon, however, the vulnerable Osterik hegemony was targeted by a continental secession from Osteria's suzerains, as well as a coup perpetrated by King Leonhard I. Before the war, Osteria had been a world power whose colonies spanned oceans—after, it was relegated to the confines of Brivaea, never again to dominate its Varilean neighbors. The war also resulted in a colonial vacuum filled eagerly by the new Empire of Aridea, and thus marks the rise of the Belgravian colonial powers.

Factions

 * The royalists—backing King Reginald II, occupying most of Lagrica, Duke Moritz Kratochwill, and Jeremias Scholer.
 * The unitarians—led by a junta between Duke Marwin Prestor, Duke Reinhold von Leitner and the Haselhorst Conclave, backing Prince Leonhard as claimant.
 * The secessionists—led by a coalition between suzerains Archduke Gaspard de Villepin, Tsar Nicolae Ioannes-Cretu and Earl Ordmaer Ironfist.

Prelude
A feud boiled between the conclave, Primate Guldenstadt and the king—nominally over their refusals of a royal divorce. Reginald was presumed infertile, which severely threatened his legitimacy as king; he shifted the blame onto Godelieve de Villepin, his wife and daughter of Archduke Gaspard. In a flurry of events (the most important being Reginald falsely believing his mistress was pregnant) Reginald led the Third Versau Diet to strike at the conclave's influence in Versau—and then went through with the illegal divorce. When the already ailing Guldenstadt made arrangements to go to Haselhorst and petition for retaliation, the king had him detained, where he abruptly died. This provoked the diet to denounce the court, and place the head of his guard on trial. When the exarch issued a denunciation of the king's court, he fearfully shut the trial down and meant to dissolve the third assembly—prompting the betrayal of Theophilus Drach, commander of the city garrison, who exposed his aims. Civil unrest had grown loud, demonstrably backed by the city guard under Nicolas von Leitner. The diet became derisive of the king. But the events weren't exactly poised for war—not until a fanatic member of the Vicarist Order made an attempt on Duke Kratochwill's life.

The king blamed the conclave for the attempt, and left the diet an ultimatum; voluntarily dissolve, or be dissolved. A royal regiment was called to Versau to secure the city from dissenters within—precipitating Duke Reinhold von Leitner to issue a command to Germund the Boar, placing a host within striking distance of Lautha. For some time, neither side acted—the king was blockaded within the royal castle by the garrison, the diet within Versau by the royal regiment. Finally, Exarch Palitzch made a rousing speech in Antand, escorted by Duke Marwin Prestor, declaring that Reginald II had intentionally violated the Triumvirate Concordat, and aimed to dissolve both the conclave and the diet—thus, was excommunicate, and had no right to be king. The royal host put Versau under siege; Drach, however, failed to prevent the king's escape from the city.

Conflict
While the diet was gridlocked in fervent, panicked debate, Archduke Dietrich Gauss-Waldau, courted by Etranites a potential claimant against the king, was dying. The Leitner host, led by Germund, launched a campaign through Lautha, while Kratochwill called the Lagrican banners from Gorlosen. Though both the unitarians and royalists dispatched envoys for Auvergon and Urivona, most suzerains stayed put and watched things unfold. Silum, on the other hand, declared for Exarch Palitzch, and assembled a naval blockade in the Solvan channel. Reginald II, who assumed control of the minute royal host outside Versau, was forced to retreat in the First Siege of Versau, as Duke Prestor reinforced the city. Eckhardt the Younger challenged Germund's forces, but decisively lost (and was killed in) the Battle of Kleehof. At this point, heavy Carranite raiding poured into Lautha, holding Germund down in the region while a Doravean fleet, let by Dragomir Nistore, blasted through the Meridian blockade and bombarded the Lagrican coast after the Battle of Dragomir's Jam. Prince Leonhard joined Palitzch's escort into Versau, where he was raised as the new king to contest Reginald II—Leonhard's son, Adalger Greenhorn, entered the command of Nicolas von Leitner, who moved north with a host to help secure Lautha, while Duke Kratochwill continued to dodge Prestor in central Lagrica. At last, Archduke Gaspard made his intentions known; alarmingly, however, it was in a joint-coalition with Archduke Nicolae of Doravea and Earl Ordmaer, both of whom had