Read volume I of this series here. Read volume III of this series here.
The River Wars crippled the Kingdom of Erila and prevented its expansion beyond the Cris for at least a century. However, the conflict also tipped the balance of the Twin Kingdoms in Ardonn’s favour.
Because most of the fighting was happening in the southern regions, the Kingdom of Aedonn, her vassals and clients, and her allies suffered most of the war’s expense. The population of Aedonn, the Borderland kingdoms, and many others from that part of the region declined significantly. Starvation became common, disease was rampant, and banditry plagued the countryside.
Ardonn, however, lost very little by comparison. Furthermore, in the years following the River Wars the southern kingdoms were forced to import goods from the north, greatly benefiting Ardish landowners, craftsmen, and merchants. Along with the plunder of war and the Erilan tribute, the Lords of Ardonn found their coffers overflowing.
To make matters worse for Aedonn the kingdom lost its king, Elwulf Wolfsbane, in the final battle of the River Wars. He was succeeded by his young daughter, Aelda, who proved to be a vindictive tyrant and wholly ineffective ruler. At a time when Aedonn desperately needed the guidance of a wise and industrious monarch, it found itself squashed beneath the boot of an uncaring and whimsical adolescent.
Conversely, Ardonn’s king used the years after the war — and his newly won wealth and prestige — to strengthen his kingdom. Forts which for centuries had been falling into ruin were repaired, roads were repaved, and bridges of wood were replaced with those of stone. He built alliances and fostered relationships with wealthy and powerful people both within and without his realm. There were whispers throughout the land of the Exiles that King Edgar of Ardonn had the makings of a High King, at least in the north.
That made some nervous — especially those, like Queen Aelda, who clung jealously to power and privilege. King Edgar died tragically in a hunting accident (or so it is said) in 818, three years after the conclusion of the River Wars. His son, a young prince named Carol who had already earned his spurs in the River Wars, was elected by the Lords of Ardonn to take his place.
The newly crowned Carol had little time to celebrate his kingship, however, as mere days after his coronation Queen Aelda called on those sworn to her and declared war, hoping to halt Ardonn’s ascendancy and put her northern allies at ease.
Aelda thought that Carol, being young, would thus be weak. She mistakenly failed to make that assessment of herself. Aedonn’s capital, Oldford, was swiftly besieged after Aelda’s armies failed to halt Carol’s march south. During the siege, Aelda called upon the armies of Beglen, a kingdom to Ardonn’s east, for her husband Godheart was its ruler. He came to his wife’s aid, bringing most of his warriors.
Yet it was a ruse — Carol kept most of his army hidden in Everlynn Forest, and the moment Godheart departed Beglen, Carol marched on his kingdom. The armies of Beglen encountered only a small force of Ardishmen outside Oldford, which promptly retreated. The siege of Oldford was relieved, but the lands of Beglen were ravaged and its city sacked.
Carol garrisoned Beglen, and once again Godheart and Aelda took the bait. They marched from Oldford with their combined forces to take back the city of Beglen, knowing a recently sacked city could not be held for long, but Carol never planned to suffer a siege. When Aedonn and Beglen’s armies were a few days away, Carol abandoned the city and rode to meet his foes.
Exhausted from their long march from Oldford, the Aedish-Beglener army was decimated. It was less a battle and more a slaughter. Those who survived retreated to Oldford, but there were too few of them to defend Aedonn’s capital, and after a short, second siege Oldford fell to Carol’s troops. After only two years of war, Aelda surrendered.
Yet Carol was wise enough to know that the war had exhausted his kingdom as well, and he could not sustain an annexation of any significant territories. In the peace treaty, he demanded only a small tribute, shaved off some of the lands on the edges of Beglen and Aedonn to reward his warriors and buffer his kingdom, and took Aelda’s eldest son (named Godheart after his father) hostage.
The battles fought between Ardonn, Aedonn, and Beglen in those years came to be known as the Coronation War, for they were regarded as tests of the quality of the Twin Monarchs newly crowned.
Read volume V of this series here.