1241 RE-- The Matriarch and the Anti-Matriarch: Civil War in the Principalities
Date: 25 September, 1214 RE and onward.
Outcome: Division and unrest in the Principalities; Eastern Trempa in open rebellion.
In Luzerne City, the Declaration and Inauguration of Teora Kichernman as Matriarch Donia I of the Redwood Throne was met with great enthusiasm and joy by much of the populace, particularly those who were fond of the policies of the late Patriarch, Balduin II. Matriarch Donia's first act was to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Third Revelation in Marath Suvla, as witnessed by several of the faithful there, including Sister Ilyana of the Mendicants of Düren, Sister Evangeline of the Wardens of Marath Suvla, Accuser Frieda Solder of the Left Hand, and young Margaret of Marath Suvla, and as proclaimed by Brother Tobias Kindle. In addition, one of the followers of Dalmied Agio, Devout Ivan Barov, was blessed to receive the Revelation of the Throne as well, indicating for all time that the Servants of the Eternal Dawn, also known as the Light Under the Mountain, should not be abhorred more by the faithful of the Throne. Likewise the Returned, as one of their number, an ancient Tharician called Reveka Thallos, also saw the vision.
The Matriarch proclaimed a new era of Unity for the church as a whole, and removed from anathema the beliefs formerly called the Ehrenite Heresy: from the hour of her decree, no one shall more be prosecuted for casting a ritual, nor for belonging to a Totemic Cult, nor shall homunculi be destroyed out of hand, but subject to the laws and bounds of the Principalities of Verdien, and the Throne. While Writs of Bondage still stand, the way is much more open for Free Homunculi to exist without being slaughtered by the Left Hand.
Further, the views of Mathilde of Lucinea are once more a Heresy, and subject to the full prosecution and judgment of the Left Hand; Mathilde was to return to the custody of Maergin's Hold pending further pronouncement.
These announcements met with a more mixed response from the people of Luzerne City; some dancing in the streets, some reacting with violence and disbelief. Resinald Taresson has not yet commented on the matter; no response is expected from him, pending a Synod of the priests and Accusers of the Throne to discuss the ramifications of such a drastic policy shift, and how this changes the mandate of the Left Hand specifically.
The occasion was marred, however, by the news that Mathilde's transport to Maergin's Hold was hijacked - purportedly by her sympathizers, who had infiltrated her guard. Several Left Hand soldiers were killed, though Sir Johan Palo and others (PC 1, 2,+) stood their ground and killed many attackers as well. They were unable to prevent her escape, but gave chase all the way to the border of Eastern Trempa, where they were stopped by the Duke-Regent's armies, who permitted her entrance. Within a few days, the news of another Matriarch, or Anti-Matriarch, giving her name as Milena II, spread out from Eastern Trempa, with her headquarters in Marronberg, and Frederick Angvald named Prince-Bishop. This puts him and the Duchy of Eastern Trempa in open rebellion against the Principalities, though bolstered by several of Left Hand soldiers and Lucinean fighters, disgruntled by the proclamations of Donia I.
The Principalities are now in a state of civil war. The High Steward of Trayal has not declared one way or the other in support of Eastern Trempa or the Crown, though Western Trempa has come out wholeheartedly in support of the new Matriarch and her rule. The other governors of the Principalities, including Margravine Emily von Chamneberg of the Skattenmark, have also declared for Donia I, although she is most directly threatened by the army of Eastern Trempa. Indeed, rumors about Mathilde and Angvald trying to take Chamnenberg and the southern Skattenmark have already begun to spread.
This situation effectively shuts down any overland travel between Marath Suvla and the Hulder that would have to cross through Eastern Trempa, making the most direct route down through the Skattenmark to Chamneberg, or through Tarsikka to Revhely, and by ship the rest of the way, assuming Eastern Trempa doesn't try to run a blockade out of Drenberg. A more circuitous route, through Trayal and Western Trempa, is possible, unless Trayal eventually decides to align with Mathilde, which would cut off the Hulder and Western Trempa from the rest of the Principalities. Although the majority of the Principalities support the actions of the new, legitimate Matriarch, the would-be usurper and her supporters remain a dangerous bastion of unrest and xenophobia in their midst, and dealing with them will be a difficult challenge.