The Grey Dukes Rebellion (Vithinja)
| The Grey Dukes Rebellion | |||||||
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| Part of Vithinjan Revolts | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Valker I Sorthänd | Danejil the Decrepit | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12 000 | 15 000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The 'Grohärtegens Mytäri' (The Grey-Dukes Rebellion) was a Vithinjan internal conflict taking place in 1681-1682, commonly retold as the folktale known as the Grey Kings Saga (Groköngasägyn). The events name is in reference to the title used by Danejil the Decrepit, who is the historic figure which the saga is centered around, while at the same time serving aa the antagonist. It describes the gruesome events of the Coldharbour Massacre and the Drowning of the Lilies, which wiped out over 100 recognized members of the Sorthänd dynasty.
As the ruler of Tor Bringär, Duke Danejil was the most powerful man without royal blood that Vithinja had ever seen. His full name and title at the time just before the events at Coldharbour would be Duke-Marchal Danejil of Tregripen, lord of Transmarianlän and Östervättnlän, royal councillor of the Kingsmoot and Victor of Högbroa. He used to be exemplified as a lesson for the Vithinjan royals showing why no single vassal should be allowed to hold enough power to challenge the crown. Later, in more modern times, he has been referenced as an infamous example of why you should never violate the safety guarantee of the Moots. Showing those who you want to work for you that you cannot be trusted is a good way to engineer your own downfall. That is at least a common view of the events among the Ruthans.
Bloodbath at the kingsmoot
During the Kingsmoot of Oktober 1681 where Ruth IV Sorthänds successor was to be recognized, Danejil would interrupt the common procession when he denounced the royal family before seemingly leaving the assembly peacefully. In actuality he had set the ship where the ceremony took place to burn. While there were many guards surrounding the ship they would find themselves turning on the royals or alternatively picked off by crossbows from the dark winter night. After the ship quickly turned into an inferno many royal family members would jump into the ice cold water, where they too would be picked off by crossbows or simply freeze to death. Many different stories discussing the royal families fiery or freezing ends would be retold, with the event getting the name 'The Coldharbour Massacre'.
After this execution, Duke Danejil attempted to usurp the throne, crowning himself as the grey king as part of that years winter festivities, a name previously used to ridicule him. His claim came through his wife, Kristina Sorthänd and their child now being the closest survivng relative to the king in accordance to primogeniture law. This was far from the first attempt in Vithinjan history to replace the semi-elective Kingsmoot inheritance law with the more common primogeniture, but it is by far the closest one to succeeding. In his quest to ensure his own legitimacy he would invade the royal conclave, where most of the children of the Sorthänd house -at least those not caught at Coldharbour- would be found. He put all the royals to the sword once more, in the event known as the Drowning of the Lilies, referring to the common tradition for royal children to informally be called Lilies, and the conclave as the Lilypond.
The War
The civil war that followed didn't even get to witness the following winter. When most of the country rallied around the remaining fragments of the royal family, the Duke was forced to attempt to force an end to the war early, marching in haste to reach the capital of Rolvsvik. As the only two legitimate royals currently in the capital, the siblings Valker and Frithja would work together to assemble a force capable of protecting the city. His actions during this time would earn him the name Valker I Sorthänd by the end of this conflict, with historians often calling him Valker the Just. Although there were a number of smaller skirmishes and other minor events, the war only saw two full scale battles: The battle of Rolvsvik and The battle of Moorkulla. After being defeated at both the capital and then at the follow up in Moorkulla, Danejil attempted to retreat back to Tor Bringär. Unfortunately for him, he was captured by the loyalist forces serving by Valker, who reached the dukes ships before he could escape to sea. Before returning to Rolvsvik the kings men would loot then set ablaze the Dukes flagship, letting it burn just like the tempel ship in Coldharbour had less than a year earlier.
The final fate awaiting the duke would be far worse, starting with rotting in the dungeons of Rolvsvik for the next few months. In December of 1682, after being crowned at the new Kingsmoot, Valker would deny the duke his noble's right to face execution by the sword. Instead the newly crowned king would humiliate the duke in through various means during his public execution in the central plaza of Rolvsvik. The event would lead towards it's climax when the king suddenly paraded the duke down to the nearest bridge. A barrel with a wretched stench was brought forth by his guards as he announced his final verdict. The exact words used for the verdict is unknown, not because it isn't recorded but because the trial has been told a hundred different ways. But the core of it is simple: the Duke had pissed on the royal family, so, an eye for an eye. The barrel, filled nearly to the top with horse urine, would serve as the dukes tomb as he was pressed into the vile container. Its lid secured, after a festive count to three, the duke would be thrown to the seabound waters, while not even given the dignity to drown in them.
Aftermath
Although the royals had rid themselves of the duke, the events of the rebellion would soon lead towards the male line of Sorthänd dying out within the following 50 years. Despite this the royal family first claimed that the Sorthänd dynasty would continue through the female line. Others would disagree. Actors from abroad would maintain through the 18th century the use of the international name of Sortvit for the new royal family, ignoring their protests. In the end, because of the fall of the monarchy in the early 1800s the name Sortvit would quickly supplant the old dynastic name, ensuring that today the Sortvit family is viewed as a separate dynasty to Sorthänd, even by the royal family themselves.