Ardenian War of Independence

Ardenian War of Independence
Event Information
Date	35–30 years prior to the current year (Radiant Calendar)
Duration	2 years of preparation, 3 years of full assault
Location	Region of Ardenia
Result	Decisive Ardenian and Albion victory Dissolution of Rodinian vassalage over Ardenia Establishment of the Independent Kingdom of Ardenia Signing of the Treaty of Telmar Ardenia acquires 65% of regional Lumite mines
Belligerents
Ardenian Revolutionaries Albion Empire	Holy Empire of Rodinia
Key Figures
- General Sigismer - Paladin Boudica	- Unknown Rodinian Officers

The Ardenian War of Independence was a major military conflict fought roughly 35 to 30 years prior to the current conflict in Ardenia. The war resulted in the secession of Ardenia from the vassalage of the Holy Empire of Rodinia and the establishment of the sovereign Kingdom of Ardenia.

While the war successfully secured the nation's independence and vast economic wealth, the strategic concessions made to the Albion Empire to win the conflict sowed the political division that would eventually trigger the Ardenian Civil War two decades later.

Background

For generations, Ardenia existed as a heavily exploited vassal state under the dominion of the Holy Empire of Rodinia. The catalyst for rebellion occurred during the Second Radiant War, when the Holy League failed in its crusade to recapture the Holy Lands from the Undying Empire. This catastrophic military defeat severely weakened Rodinia's domestic authority, military reserves, and political hold over its territories.

Seeing an opening, General Sigismer—an elite Alemannian commander serving the Holy Empire who had married Maria, the daughter of Ardenia's local vassal ruling family, resolved to break Ardenia free from imperial control. To secure the necessary military support, Sigismer lobbied the Albion Empire. In exchange for Albion's intervention, Sigismer promised to supply them with cheap raw Lumite. Albion agreed to the terms, forming a strategic alliance to dismantle Rodinian influence in the west.

Course of the War

With Albion's military backing, the war of secession erupted across Ardenia. The conflict was exceptionally brutal, lasting for three years as the remaining Rodinian garrisons and loyalist factions fought to maintain control over the territory's lucrative resource nodes.

Sigismer's revolutionary forces were bolstered significantly by the involvement of Boudica, a prominent Albion noblewoman and elite Paladin who fought alongside Sigismer to coordinate joint Ardenian-Albion military operations. Together, their combined forces successfully overwhelmed Rodinia's armies.

The Treaty of Telmar

The war formally concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Telmar. The treaty established the following terms:

• The formal recognition of the sovereign and independent Kingdom of Ardenia, with Sigismer crowned as its founding King.
• The transfer of 65% of the region's rich Lumite mines from the Holy Empire of Rodinia to the new Ardenian crown.

Aftermath and Legacy

To cement the strategic alliance and fulfill Sigismer's diplomatic commitments to Albion, a marriage was arranged between King Sigismer and the Albion Paladin, Boudica Gaderia Victoria. Despite Sigismer's previous marriage to Maria (the mother of Crown Prince Finlay), Boudica was elevated as the "Queen" of the realm.

While this marriage secured Ardenia's immediate borders against Rodinian retaliation, it created a severe succession crisis. Finlay, the son of the Ardenian noblewoman Maria, found his position threatened by the political leverage of Queen Boudica and her subsequent daughter, Princess Adreana. This domestic tension acted as the foundational seed for the Ardenian Civil War which erupted 12 to 10 years prior to the current events.

See Also

• Ardenian Civil War
• Treaty of Telmar
• Albion Empire
• Holy Empire of Rodinia