The Queendom of East Mercia has had plenty of conflicts within its own borders as well as the outside conflicts that shaped the World of HOOD. The most notable took place over 500 years after the timeline schism from the real world and involved an equal rights movement – though not the one you might think… (see below)
One of the fun but also challenging things about being a worldbuilder is coming up with names for things. The name “Acorn Uprising” comes from the family crest of a noble family at the middle of the conflict. Those family crests had been brainstormed long before fleshing out this “historical” event, and it gave us a great opportunity to highlight the world. We liked it not just for the reference, but because acorns are small and easily crushed – just like the rebellion. Though it also had enduring consequences, much like a seed that grows into a great oak tree.
Find out more about the Acorn Uprising
After Matilda “Maud” Beauclerc (Empress Matilda I) ascended to power and ushered in the First Age of Hycath, all transfer of titles and lands occurred through maternal lines. After the Sacking of the Vatican ushered in the Second Age of Hycath, East Mercia became a queendom led by the Fitzwalter family and supported by a council of two other founding families, the Loxleys and the Olivers. During this period, some laws surrounding the inheritance of wealth were expanded to also include male heirs. Though this was an improvement, many believed it was little more than an empty gesture, as female heirs still took precedence.
Belonging to one of the founding families, the Olivers held a tremendous amount of political pull in the newly formed country. But even after the marriage of Gregory Oliver to Princess Cecily Fitzwalter in YE 297, their agenda of equal rights between the sexes was still unable to move forward. The most vocal advocate was Gregory’s older brother, Merrick Oliver, who stood to lose his own inheritance to a female cousin, Bathsheba. Gregory was put in a treacherous position when Merrick gathered allies to move against the throne.
