War of Burning Grass

The War of Burning Grass was a civil war that raged across much of Kelldarland in the Age of the Thousand Kingdoms, just a few generations before mass settling of Westsheald by the Kelldar and Skainlander peoples.

It was fought between rival claimants of the House Ritterax, and as a result of the fighting, most of the members of that ancient and distinguished house were annihilated. The final end to the war came with the abolition of the office of the Lord of Riders. The Ritterax scions Garn, Tiradron, Broch, Adel and Jessup all vied to succeed the recently deceased Lord Tirahart, and it came to a head with the adult claimants accusing each other of senicide.

Garn was the eldest claimant, and enjoyed the largest measure of support. However, he was Lord Tirahart's nephew and not his son, as tradition normally favored.

Tiradron was widely regarded as his father's personal favorite, but he was a bastard born to Woadish slave woman. His late father, however, legitimized him and even went so far as to affix 'tir' (meaning arrow) to his name in the fashion of many of the previously favored sons of Ritterax.

Broch was his father's eldest son and therefore the heir by the normal practice. However, he and his father had been long estranged and Broch had spent his sire's twilight years among distant kin in the port city Kellastrade rather than among his family in Raxthrane.

Adel was a cousin of the deceased Lord of Riders, and a distant member of a lesser branch of House Ritterax even then; but he was exceedingly wealthy. He claimed that Lord Tirahart has chosen him years previous by bestowing the Lance of Riders upon him.

Jessup was his father's youngest son, by far. He was only six when his sire passed, and only seven when his mother (the Lady Ona Ritter) and uncle (the Lord Morlan Ritter) pressed his claim to war.