Battle of the Brothers

The Battle of the Brothers was a famous conflict between two brothers for the throne of Mechandre in the early days of the Han Dynasty. The result of the conflict cemented the Han family line as the ruling monarchs of the nation, which continues until this day.

Contemporary accounts report that the battle was fought the day of the fourth full moon of 541, between Han Yeol pak-Hanja and Han Yeol pak-Guksul. The battle is commemorated annually with the Festival of Honour which takes place on the fourth full moon of the year.

Background
The powerful Han family had been a key political family in the history of Mechandre for decades. Their position as unshakeable allies to the ruling Yeol family had seen them build considerable economic, militaristic, and social power through the Yeol Dynasty. When the Yeol family failed to produce a male heir, the Han family were regarded as the obvious choice for a husband for the future queen, Yang Yeol il-Hijo. Arrangements were made, and Hijo was engaged to marry Han Cheun pak-Li The pair were wed in 505, and Li became the first king of the Han Dynasty upon the death of the former king in 535.

Li and Hijo had two children. The twins, born in 521, were Han Yeol pak-Hanja and Han Yeol pak-Guksul. It is said that Hanja was an impulsive and inattentive son, and not well-liked by the citizenry. Hanja’s uncaring ways and arrogant ways infuriated Guksul, who believed that he would have been better suited to the throne than the brother born minutes before him.

The Battle
When King Li died in 536 and Hanja was crowned as the king, his brother left the palace and never attended the coronation. Guksul began a campaign to garner the popular support of the people of the country to claim what he believed what his right. Many agreed with his cause, and joined him in his quest for the crown of Mechandre. Reports from the period describe Guksul meeting with unscrupulous wisemen to demand unspeakable curses by placed upon his brother before he could bear a male heir. It is clear that nothing worked, for Hanja lived a strong and healthy life for the first five years of his rule.

The conflict came to a head on the fourth full moon of 541, when Guksul stormed back into the palace in his armour, disturbing the hearing of complaints from the public. Some reports claim that the prince brought a grizzled black wolf with him, bound under the sway of dark magic. Hanja welcomed his brother and asked if he had come to reconcile their differences. Guksul is described as having been insensed by the remark and drew his sword. The royal guard prepared to cut him down for his treason, but Hanja stopped them and asked only that his sword be brought to him.

Having always been far and away the more martial of the two brothers, Hanja declared that his brother was welcome to the throne if he could claim it in honourable single combat. The pair fought the duel before the court. Even without armour, Hanja defeated his brother, though he lost much of an arm in doing so.

Aftermath
Hanja had the heads of his brother and the wolf removed from their bodies. Both were burned in the courtyard of the palace without ceremony. A proclamation was issued that all of Guksul’s followers, the Guksul-sun, were forever banished from the lands. Any who returned, or who chose never to leave, were condemned to die.

As the word filtered out, many of those who were banished did indeed leave as ordered; however, many of those who chose to remain rose up in outrage. Over the following few years, several cities and towns had to quell violent uprisings.

The event had has a lasting impact on the public consciousness. To this day, the Guksul-sun remain banished from civilisation, though they have several villages hidden in the hills, mountains and forests. Additionally, as mentioned above, the event is commemorated in a yearly festival. Until the imperial invasion in the early 1400s, the Han family were nearly unchallenged by uprisings and invaders. The native population believed that the strength of Han Yeol pak-Han, who so easily defeated a fully armoured opponent with only his robes and a sword, flowed through in the veins of the Han dynasty kings, making their rule and might absolute and inviolable.