Almsreich's Ousting

260 AU

First General Graham Almsreich of Godrin, born to a Ghalean mother and promptly whisked away to Godrin by his fiercely Godrite father, would make his name during the War of the Vassals. A gifted leader and peerless soldier, Almsreich climbed the ranks with a swiftness long absent in the annals of history, seizing the hearts of the people. Thrice was the good general captured by the Durantians during the war, each time making good his escape in increasingly outlandish fashions, the most outstanding featuring a burlesque show, copious amounts of bourbon, and the ability to dance for hours without rest.

It may be gathered, then, that the public would not easily be swayed in regards to their adoration of Almsreich. He was, after all, the epitome of the Godrite... yet, for better or for worse, he would not consider for a moment the abandonment of the war. His reasoning was simple: they had fought for fifty years. Too much had been lost to lay down arms at this late hour, to do so would spell disaster and a complete loss of faith in the government. For the good of both nations, a decisive victory was needed, preferably by his side. Unfortunately for Almsreich, Godrite President Leonard Kestrelle did not share his opinion. The bureaucratic branch of the Godrite government wished to see a prompt end to hostilities, pride be dammed. This view was shared by the Durantian government, resulting in what many believe to be a quiet plot between the two hatched with the aim of terminating the last obstacle between the nations and a lasting peace. While the following is unconfirmed, the evidence leaves little room for doubt:

Two weeks prior to the signing of the armistice, word was sent by the soldiers garrisoned at the eastern coast of Godrin that a sizable Durantian force had landed and was making for the central mountains, passing the whole of northern Godrin without violence. This was uncommon and smacked of treachery, and would no doubt be of great interest to the General who, having recovered from the last skirmish entirely, was aching for battle. However, for unknown reasons, this report did not make it to Almsreich, who instead received a report erroneously asserting that Durantians were emerging from the Kelsmic mountains to the west, their ranks bolstered by Kelsmic forces. This sent the General's camp into an uproar and demanded an immediate march to the alleged site of the incursion. Arriving in a narrow pass through woodlands near the Kelsmic border, the General intended to take the Durantian-Kelsmic forces by surprise, as they would be expecting attack from the north and east, not the south. Upon their establishment of a camp, however, the General and his men found themselves cut off from the bulk of their forces, bands of mercenaries descending from the mountains on all sides, ranks filled out by soldiers of both Godrite and Durantian stock. The shock of these collective treacheries left Almsreich easy prey, and by nightfall he and his lieutenants had been subdued, the remainder of his forces slaughtered or routed.

The four surviving men (Graham Almsreich, Augustus Heinn, Davis Gambison, and Marisa Ronove) were declared war criminals and, as per the conditions of the armistice, put on trial before a joint panel of Durantian and Godrite officials, the Archduke of Durant, Leonard Kestrelle, and the soon to be promoted General Alexander Grafton among them. While President Kestrelle staunchly advocated the execution of the whole lot, both Grafton and Saint-Just condemned this action, both on the grounds that the soldiers were simply doing their jobs, and that a crime, if there was one, rested firmly on the soldiers of the architect of the actions which brought them here to begin with. Unwilling to endanger himself, Kestrelle relented, prompting the exile of the four.