The Treaty of Blue Springs, which had held Erenland together in general unity since 990, finally came unravelled in the 1320's and 1330's. In the decades earlier, the northern provinces, Ulrith, and the south-east, the Musrich Territories, had been gradually trying to work free of rule from Ansell. To begin with there was no dream of full independence, merely a greater measure of local autonomy. However, the movements both gathered pace simultaneously, although independently of one another, and became a definite challenge to the Erish crown. In both instances the movements were primarily led by the local magnates rather than the peasantry, who remained a depoliticised and easily controlled mass. That said, the cultural yearnings expressed by the Ulrith revolt (see below) have a good deal of popular support, and the merchant elite are important players in the Musrich struggle. By 1334 neither region has come into outright rebellion; however in Ulrith there have been a violent clashes, some regions effectively 'no go' areas for Crown officials and each side mustering their strength for war. The build-up in Musrich has been more subtle, with the prosperous lords and towns having more to lose from fighting. It is believed that the renegade provinces are still hoping to reach a political settlement which still keeps them loosely under the Erish umbrella; however, the Crown is running out of both ground and inclination to manoeuvre. No foreign powers have been involved in either rebellion to date but many are closely monitoring it. Christoté is frankly terrified, for the Musrich Territories are a highly profitable trading region. To support the rebels (even continuing to trade with them) would violate Jade Alliance terms; breaking off contact, or protracted independence war breaking out, would devastate Notruf's fragile economy and probably put the break on the Elsan boom. The Ulrith rebellion is more viewed in terms of opportunity. Both Norisca (once they sort out their own civil war) and Grail are hoping to exploit it to expand their influence southwards. Underlying causes of both rebellions can be seen as:
Historical/cultural Neither region sees themselves as 'truly' Erish i.e. not part of the country during the First Partition. Ulrith, which was primarily subjugated during the 600's, feels more cultural affinity with the so-called Tyang, the peoples who once ruled their own nation and now form the core of Grail as well as the Argylon rebels. The most ambitious Ulrith lords have dreams of uniting all Tyang people in a country stretching across the Bauxan Sea; a dream which has fuelled Grail's ambitions for the rebellion. Right to speak the Tyang tongue and follow certain customs has been a charged issue for Ulrith for many centuries. The Musrich Territories are more heterogeneous, split between the Christoté-leaning east and the self-contained south. However, the core (Eberlan, Lariskol, Grencolé etc.) were small, independent countries in a league of alliance before being swallowed by Erenland in the late 700's, and sentimental stories about the supposed happiness of those times have proliferated.
The Crown King Drako II came to the throne in 1311 when he was 6 and has matured into an utterly indolent, ineffectual ruler. During the whole period he has been dominated by his advisors, particularly his chief minister, Vance Artharan. Artharan, an autocratic, centrist and corrupt vizier, was finally toppled by an internal coup in 1332 but sensitive magnates still haven't forgotten him. Furthermore, his fall only aided the rise of Jesmel Kantrick, Drako's mistress and quite devious and corrupt enough in her own right. The three personalities epitomise the Erish Crown, an ossified, fragmented and venal institution with no plans for the future. Its institutions are in disarray and in urgent need of reform; more importantly, it is almost bankrupt and scarcely able to maintain its standing army. With the lustre of the king's figure gone and military might insufficient to retain force, there is little to hold rebellious provinces in check.
The economy Erenland experienced a protracted economic slump in the early 1300's. It was caused both by a series of harvest failures and the knock-on of the crises experienced by Norisca and (especially) Christoté. Both south and north were affected; Ulrith was plunged further into poverty and Musrich saw much of its manufacturing and trade slip into recession. The Crown response of devaluing the currency, as well as raising the taxes paid to central government to prop up its own crumbling revenue, only worsened matters. Musrich, in particular, began dreaming how it could become an economic powerhouse if only the shackles of Ansell were removed.
The King's Procession A grand tour of Erenland by King Drako in 1329, visiting every single Magnatary and Free City. It was designed to subdue the growing unrest but in fact backfired and considerably exacerbated it. Drako's vapid personality, while no secret to the magnates, became apparent to the commoners and the autonomy movements gained considerable popular support accordingly. Even worst was his demand that each magnate pay public fealty to his person in front of their own subjects. It was perfectly within Drako's rights but chafed on sore skins. Soon after 1329 the idea of Drako visiting areas like Grencolé or Fortham without a large army became inconceivable.
The military draft The Crown's standing army, first formed by King Darien, has always been unpopular. It sits uneasily alongside the magnate's right to raise forces from their own lands to defend the nation. Calls to abolish it, or at least only recruit men from the Crown's own territories, have grown of late. Particularly unpopular have been the growing amount of coercion used to recruit soldiers, the deleterious conditions they have to endure and the perceived increase in recruitment from restless provinces in order to strip out their fighting strength.
History so far
In Ulrith, the 1310's ended in an atmosphere of steadily rising tension. The magnates held a series of clandestine conferences and began sending demagogues out to towns and villages to steadily undermine the Crown's popularity. Vance Artharan responded with a propaganda campaign of his own and by placing spies in the magnates' revenue. In the early 1320's crown agents began to be attacked, first in isolated incidents and then with increasing boldness. Recruitment officials for the standing army became particularly targeted and soon they only travelled through the north under heavy guard. Two incidents in the mid 1320's ignited the conflict. In 1324 an ambush on a recruitment party in Niightel turned into a pitched battle. The ambushes were beaten back and the victorious troops launched a punitive attack on a nearby village, burning it to the ground. The next year the Lord of Delaskei and the heir apparent to Niightel were arrested by Artharan for treason. Delaskei was eventually acquitted; Niightel's son, though, was beheaded. His father, Delaskei and the Lords of Bratel, Olbrack and Fortham, together with the rulers of Marké, formed an actual conspiracy in response. Arsenals were surreptitiously built up and the first contact with Grail, which got a noncommittal response, was made. They still proceeded carefully, however. While an increasing amount of attacks on Crown property and personnel were made - some striking into Crown Lands as well as those in Ulrith - bandits and mercenaries were generally used to veil the magnates' involvement. The Crown again answered like for like, stirring up anarchy in the magnataries to try and unseat the renegade lords. Porinté, Boin and the town of Oldstan gradually joined the rebels; however, Fortham broke from them in 1330, running to the Crown in return for amnesty. The next year the Lord of Porinté's chief castle was burned down, killing most of his family (though the Lord himself escaped). A month later an almost successful assassination attempt on King Drako was 'proved' to have been ordered by the Ulrith lords. Arrest warrants for the lords of Niightel, Porinté and Delaskei, who by then never ventured to Ansell, were put out and a large force was issued to enforce them. Oldstan and Boin were quelled into submission as it advanced. However, the force was first met on the Olbrack border by another army and barred from entering the province, then on entering Porinté found bridges destroyed and ambushes, again by mercenary groups, waiting. In both instances Drako ordered the army to pull back. In 1333 he officially declared Ulrith a renegade province and ordered all Jade Alliance partners break off all contact from it. Ulrith is still in chaos and only wizards travelling to and from the Academy of Magic (which is strenuously trying to keep out of the conflict) have any hope of safe passage. The magnates are said to be bickering amongst themselves and the charitable verdict is that the King is picking the right moment to invade and pick them off individually.
The Musrich movement has developed more gradually and has been more of a case of intrigue and isolated murders. Clandestine conferences discussing possible independence were held throughout the 1310's and 20's, with Grencolé and Parsiman taking the lead. Some attempt after 1324 was made to co-ordinate the movement with the Ulrith lords but they came to nothing. Vance Artharan's spies had detected evidence of treason in Musrich by the mid-1320's but no charges were brought. This was partially because the lords retained strong influence within Erish court circles; indeed, there is a strong suggestion that they engineered Artharan's eventual downfall. With the co-operation of the lords, Musrich merchants also began developing contingency plans with their Christotan counterparts. These would both allow the smuggling of weapons from Christotan smithies under the cover of more conventional goods and would keep supply lines open should an open revolt break out. Though the central governments on both sides have tried to clamp down on them, the routes across the borders remain open. A more overt move came in 1327 when Grencolé, Parsiman, Fortel, Karé, Eberlan, Anjin, Balrinten and Lariskol signed the Shrevdon Declaration and submitted it to the King. It was a very loaded statement of loyalty to the Crown which went on to 'request' greater autonomy over taxation, trading rights and the military draft. It also raised the issue of Charlae; the Musrich lords wanted greater freedom to trade with the resource-rich nation. The Declaration promptly vanished into the Macronom and the king spent the Musrich part of his 1329 tour avoiding questions about its whereabouts. After 1329 an increasing number of anti-Crown demagogues have been seen in Musrich towns and villages and the Free City of Karé in particular is a hotbed of insurrection. The royal court has also suffered a string of assassinations of leading figures, almost all of whom were advocates of strong central rule. Only one was traced back to Musrich, and then only to a minor noble in Grencolé, but there are a lot of suspicions. In 1333 another assassination removed the staunchly pro-Ansell ambassador to Christoté. Before the crown could react the brother of the Lord of Eberlan and a fierce separatist was somehow manoeuvred into his place. He is likely to be recalled before long but he has already spent his time secretly urging Christoté to abandon its old alliance with Erenland should the King finally declare Musrich another renegade province.