Reference: Heimriddell's History of the Telmarine Court in Narnia (2945), vol. XI, no.

17, University of Conscire, Cair Paravel, "An Old Song called Freedom"

“[…] Certainly, it is difficult to define chronological frameworks for what is actually a very long
process in the history of Narnia’s century of political reformation but it is in custom of what we
call the Official accounts to divide this long period of warfare and unrest into three segments
of time.

- THE MIRAZ USURPATION (2295-2303)

The pivotal moment of the start of the Tenth War is, of course, the usurpation of Caspian IX’s
throne by his brother, Miraz. Though it is technically impossible to know whether such a
radical change in Narnia’s political environment would’ve ensued were it not for Miraz’s
actions, we can at least assure that it is this first act which will spur all of Caspian X’s future
actions in the Tenth War. In Caspian’s childhood diaries you can account for the mourning for
his parents and the incipient interest the king had, since childhood, in the tales of Old and the
native Narnian creature which he believed by then to have been wiped out almost entirely
(Silvertint, 2870). As a matter of fact, though it is correct that Narnian numbers had been
cruelly decimated all throughout the Conquest and previous Telmarine reign, the wilderness
particularly at the east of the country held a population much larger than any Telmarine
would’ve believed possible. Of course, by the time Caspian X was chased out of the Caspian
castle, they had learned to disguise themselves so well among the woods that it is truly proof
of Caspian X’s sheer fortune that he managed to find any Narnian (and a nice one willing to
listen to his cause, at that) instead of perishing in the then immobile woods.

Caspian X’s alliance with the Narnians was tenuous since its very beginning. It is thought that
only by the (surprisingly lucky again) discovery of the horn belonging Queen Susan, the Gentle,
and the subsequent call which brought forth the Kings and Queens of Old, did Caspian manage
to gain the favour of the Narnian commonfolk. Though significantly changed (we assume by
the magic that brought them into the future, in the first place1), the Kings and Queens retained
the same spirit of Old, which was certainly alive in the Narnians and which brought them much
fervour. When they decided to support Caspian X’s plight to the throne, then so did the
Narnian people, who saw in them a return to the ways of old, sorely needed by then. Little did
they know that would not ever be possible.

The first phase saw a few initial skirmishes be won by the Telmarine, who had by then the
greater numbers and the more technological advancement. What they lacked, however, was
the smarts and conviction that the Narnian side had plenty of. Acting within the legal
frameworks of the time, King Peter and King Edmund challenged Miraz to an honourable duel
that would engage the leader of the Telmarine faction long enough for the Narnian to realize a
series of hits planned to seriously weaken Telmarine forces. This did not come to fruition,
though, because Miraz was betrayed by one of his own lords and the full scale civil war was
forced to begin.

1
It is believed that the disappearance of the Kings and Queens on 1015 during the hunt of the White
Stag can be explained by the calling of the horn, though some (myself among them) believe it to be
untrue due to the disparity in ages and the accounts that all of the monarchs left during the first phase
of the Tenth War.
 - THE TELMARINE CONSPIRACY (2303-2309)

This phase reveals a greater dimension to what could’ve been a simple succession conflict but
which inevitably turned into a civil war. Logically, it was not only Miraz who was upset with the
reign of the Caspians but the rest of the Telmarine narnian, who were by then beginning to
suffer the effects of a drought, had also become increasingly tired of Caspian IX’s misguided
choices and Miraz’s selfish ones. The whole of society, on both sides, was tired. It was time to
call for a change. But who to support?

The death of Miraz fractioned the country. A fair amount of Telmarines joined Caspian’s side,
declaring him the rightful king, whether it was out of honour or exhaustion we cannot know.
But this, in turn, hurt the Narnian side. Caspian obviously began to pay closer attention to the
Telmarines who had joined, amidst who were some who would become very exceptional
individuals, and not even the intervention of the Kings and Queens of Old managed to impede
the fracturing of the Narnian army. It seems, too, that the instability and bias on Caspian’s part
had begun to irritate the Kings and Queens, for when a large number of the Narnian army
deserted towards the north, they did so with Queen Lucy the Valiant at their helm.2

Lord Sopespian, the main actor in the Telmarine conspiracy against Miraz and surprisingly the
actual murderer of the usurper, was facing a similar issue. The Telmarine suffered something
that the Narnian did not: the revelation of myth coming to life before their very own eyes.
What they thought dead had been reborn and this redefined what truth and, most
importantly, what trust was. Though he did not enjoy the support from the large of educated
Telmarine society, he did have the still grandiose Telmarine army, who were afraid to lose
their privileges under Caspian X and the Kings and Queens of old, backing him up.

The war lasted nearly ten years. Caspian X migrated, out of necessity, to the east, while
Sopespian held almost all of the west. They battled in the middle, more often than not, and
regularly gave each other small periods of peace to regroup that were inevitably broken after a
while. After all, both had begun to hold courts on their own and neither was experienced as a
ruler, which called for that necessity. Talks of peace were always held with the unspoken
agreement that they would end. The northern marches and the entirety of the Archen river,
however, belonged to Queen Lucy and it was said to have become so wild that even a centaur
would hesitate to enter, let alone a human.

The turning point, which ended the armed phase of the Tenth war, was Caspian X’s surprising
alliance with the Tisroc Aghad of Calormen. Forced to flee the country during a particularly
harsh battle, and ever the explorer, Caspian X took the opportunity to travel to Calormen to
seek the support of the Tisroc, with whom he had been corresponding for years by then.
Aghad and his wife Elnara were a pair of intellectuals who had been following the events very
closely. Caspian’s stay in Calormen lasted nearly a year and at the end of it, the Tisroc himself
accompanied him back to Narnia to reclaim his throne, leaving his wife as regent. With the
sheer force of the Calormene army, the remaining Telmarine were forced to yield.

2
Though we have no actual documents to prove this, it is speculated that the fracture of the Narnian
army might’ve been a tactic to appease the large number of discontented narnians orchestrated by the
Kings and Queens of Old. During the Interregnum and Caspian’s reign, we have accounts of the four
siblings being as amicable with each other as they had ever been which seems to support this theory.
 - THE CASPIAN REGENCY or, more accurately, THE INTERREGNUM (2309-2311)

But things could not continue as they had before. All around Caspian knew that taking the
throne and ruling in much the same way his father had before him would lead him to his own
demise, and so he was persuaded to wait before his crowning in order to gauge the situation.
In the meantime he appointed himself, with the backing of the Kings and Queens of Old, as
well as Calormen, a prince regent. He could not imagine that he would last in the position as
long as he did after such a victorious battle, but alas, the world had changed as they fought.

For one, Queen Lucy and the Narnians in the north had returned after the news of his
appointment as regent. In a letter to her brother Edmund, she confessed she might be the one
thing holding the Narnians back from the large of the north seceding from Caspian X’s Narnia.
But the Telmarine court had also shifted and it was up to Caspian to reconcile the differences
between his mobile, adventurous eastern court—which now hosted the Tisroc—and the more
traditional aristocracy of the western court, which was managed by Prunaprismia, Caspian’s
aunt, despite her widowed status.

In a truly perspicacious move, Caspian opened a space for discussion, unprecedented in all of
Narnian politics until then. He launched notices that circulated all around the country for a
month, calling for towns and communities to send to the Citadel envoys of their
representatives so they could hold assembly, which would be moderated by the unbiased High
King Peter and Tisroc Aghad. Caspian would represent himself.

The First Council of Arlanza was a success. So much, in fact, that it would become a fixture in
Narnian politics to this day. Numerous resolutions were reached, and though most were
content with Caspian’s performance, it was soon clear that many of them could not be
accomplished without the careful examination of the Council members involved in the process.
Caspian could no longer rule by himself and, smartly so, did not try to. Three more official
assemblies were held during the period of Caspian’s regency, which gave as a result the fixture
of the Council as a political organism with designated members, a constitution by the expert
pen of King Edmund the Just, the redistribution of Narnian territory to different communities
by provinces and, lastly, the securing of Caspian’s position as King of Narnia.

Caspian X was crowned King of Narnia in the first months of 2311 to a seeming political calm
and a society expectant to see what the partnership of their new king and the Council of
Arlanza would bring. One of the most notable initiatives of Caspian X’s reign was the
construction of the University of Conscire, as adviced by the Tisroc, in the ruins of Cair Paravel.
[…]”