Corpus Tamrielicum - The Imperial Library

[68] The War of Betony
[68] THE WAR OF BETONY
The War of Betony
by Fav'te
Could there be a better proof of the natural perversity of Bretons than their conduct before,
during, and after what history will remember as the War of Betony? By the most depraved of
motivations, the most despicable of tactics, and the most ungentlemanly of triumphs, the
kingdom of Daggerfall changed the nature of warfare in the Iliac Bay and perhaps over all of
Tamriel. In Sentinel, we call the recent carnage the "Siege of Betony," but as the book of
history is writ by the victors, let us speak instead of the "War of Betony."
Redguards by their nature are a modest and practical people. We are not phlegmatic like the
High Elves, nor cowardly like the Wood Elves and Khajiiti. But what would infuriate and
enrage the swaggering, vainglorious Nords and Bretons would not merit a shrug from a
Redguard. Had any Breton kingdom possessed the little island of Betony, it would have been
covetously guarded. Betony's trade would have been seriously restricted; its religion
subjugated; its people bound by active and constant pledges and duties of vassalage. But
Betony was not a Breton dominion. Betony was part of the Kingdom of Sentinel.
King Lysandus -- may the Old Ones continue to torment his soul for his wickedness! -- saw
the prosperous island which is closer to his land than to Sentinel, and his black heart turned to
avarice. Through threats, lies, acts of piracy and, finally, invasion, Daggerfall illegally took
possession of the Island of Betony. His court sorceress, the Lady Medora, his enchantress
mother, and other experienced counselors were horrified by the brutality of his campaign and
begged him to abandon his tyrannical act of war. Gradually, all dissentors were removed from
court. None but the ignorant and the warmongers remained.
Our late king Camaron tried to employ civil diplomacy with Daggerfall, but in the end, he
made the formal declaration of war. Daggerfall and Sentinel have fought many times in their
two thousand years of coexistance, and Camaron knew the black magic and espionage the
Bretons considered honest warfare. Never debasing the Sentinel character by duplicating the
Breton villainy, Camaron knew best how to combat Lysandus. King Lysandus' knavish battle
tactics were even more perfidious than his ancestors', and the war continue to rage until it
began to involve more than Sentinel and Daggerfall.
Lord Graddock, ruler of Reich Gradkeep, acted as concilator between Sentinel and
Daggerfall, and eventually convinced both monarchs to meet and make peace. The ill-fated
Treaty of Gradkeep began civilly; the terms of peace were discussed, agreed on, and set to
paper. The terms were excessively generous. Camaron had agreed to give up some of his
rights to Betony in order to placate the madness of Lysandus and bring peace back to the Iliac
Bay. It was not until King Camaron read the Treaty he was about to sign that he realized the
outrageous perfidy of the Bretons: the Treaty had actually been purposefully miswritten by
the Daggerfall scribe in a desparate and ignominious attempt to trick Camaron into signing a
contract different from the one to which he had agreed. The castle of Reich Gradkeep erupted
into bloodbath, and the war continued.
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