Antiochus and the War of the Isles

Pelagius II passed away at the end of the year 98 of the Third Era. It was during the festival of North Winds Prayer and so the coronation of his son was postponed slightly in order to not disrupt the festivities. So early in the year 99 Antiochus was crowned and retained his name. Antiochus was known throughout the Imperial City and most major cities across Tamriel as a womanizer, drunkard who would spend more time in drinking contests at the wee hours of the night than in a drawing room. His vices aside he was known to have an excellent sense of humor and was well liked by most dignitaries who visited the Palace, who he was known to play practical jokes on often. Many members of the Council also thought highly of him but this was due more to his lack of ambition than his personality.

Despite being well liked he was not respected among the various kings and lords and the land fell into disarray. By sheer number of battles, the reign of Emperor Antiochus was nearly two fold more bloody than that of his grandfather, Uriel II. The Illiac Bay alone saw over 120 battles between as many as 45 different lords. Due to the number of the battles I will not outline any specific ones but only the general effects. As with all war the infrastructure of the country was greatly damaged. Surprisingly, Antiochus was quite frugal despite his own personal taste for indulgence and debauchery and repairs were often made quickly, and sometimes in between battle. A popular joke at the time was that the Empire repaired the roads of the Illiac Bay just so the kings there would have something to destroy. The small scale of most of the battles allowed farms to remain largely unharmed but a fair amount of productive capacity was moved to healing the injured soldiers and fueling war efforts. The most damaging effect of this time was the lack of trust in the Empire placed in the hearts of the people and the various rulers.

After the bold moves to save the Empire taken by Emperor Pelagius II the rulers around Tamriel were largely inexperienced in both war and statecraft. Luckily this meant that the small skirmishes waged around Tamriel did manageable amounts of physical damage. It also meant they did not have the expertise to handle the situation. This constant bickering was only exacerbated by the ineptitude of Antiochus in certain aspects. While fiscally responsible and able to fix the damages caused by the feuding kings, queens, dukes and countesses he lacked the respect to control them and bring peace to the kingdom. He was well liked but seen more as a lovable oaf and friend than a true leader and so his efforts to negotiate peace were lackluster even if he put his entire effort in to them. He did not even manage this though and was known to come to the table with a bottle of wine that he had finished half of and sometimes leave with a consort if talks went on for too long. His sole victory came in the year 3E 110 when the kingdom of Pyandonea attempted an invasion of the Summerset Isles with the help of Antiochus’ half sister Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.

The War itself, now called the War of the Isles, did not last long. Pyandonea attacked early in the year. They first attacked a port town on the eastern coast of Auridon and planned to use the smaller island as a launching point in the war for Summerset and then all of Tamriel. What they did not expect was a swift answer from both the kings of Summerset and the Empire itself. Mages in Dusk were able to see the approach of the Pyandonean fleet in time for some preparations and the Altmeri fleet was place in between Summerset and Auridon. Shortly after the Pyandoneans attacked the fleet attacked them from the inner channel while the Empire attacked from the East. Even with this the Pyandonean force was strong enough that defeat seemed at hand until a large maelstrom took most of their fleet to the bottom of the Abecean. It has since been surmised that the storm was caused by the mythical group of mages known as the Psijic Order at the behest of Emperor Antiochus. I again would suggest Your Highness seek the Counsel of your generals to discuss the tactical side of the war.

Emperor Antiochus died a sad death in the year of 3E 119, in his bed being treated for various diseases accrued during his years of debauchery. The question of succession was brought up by his half-sister but the Council did not head her words and approved the coronation of Empress Kintyra II. This is something that would not sit well with the Wolf Queen. Two years into her reign, Empress Kintyra II was kidnapped in an ambush. And with this the War of the Red Diamond began.