The Scarlet Moon Empire has been peaceful since the Succession Wars, 15 years earlier, at least in the capital city of Gregminster. Outlying areas report heavy taxation, exploitation by imperial troops and general discontent. While small mobs have l...
Kalekka, a small town in the Dana region, produced cottons, was once a thriving, agricultural town before the citizens were killed in a massacre.
In the year 447, the town of Kalekka, in the Dana region of the Scarlet Moon Empire, was captured by the Jowston Army in the ongoing struggle between the two nations. Eventually, however, the Jowston Army was repelled by Barbarossa Rugner, Emperor of Scarlet Moon, and his Six Great Generals. However, this did not end the war and it raged well into the new year.
By 448, the war was still raging. Barbarossa wanted to continue to fight, to rid all Jowston forces from the Empire, but popular opinion was very much against the war, the people weary after the harshness of the Scarlet Moon Succession War just two years prior. And so it appeared that Dana would eventually fall to Jowston, until Barbarossa's Chief Strategist, Leon Silverberg, suggested a plan that would be sure to turn public sentiment pro-war.
The plan was stunningly simple although it wasn't difficult to see why no-one had suggested it before. The Imperial Army would massacre the citizens of Kalekka, leaving no survivors or witnesses. The atrocities would then be pinned on the City-States of Jowston. When news of what had supposedly happened spread, public opinion would surely turn pro-war.
Unsurprisingly, the suggestion of the plan split Barbarossa's inner circle in two. Mathiu Silverberg, Leon's nephew and Kilawher Shulen both objected to the plot, Kilawher even going so far as to physically slap Leon for suggesting it. Eventually, however, all came to the agreement, however uneasily, that the plan was the best course of action. And so, the Emperor's Elite Guards was sent to Kalekka to commit the atrocity.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The mission was successfully complete, but not all members of the Elite Guard were happy. In fact, the lieutenant of the group, one Humphrey Mintz, was so outraged at what was transpiring around him that he slayed his commander before fleeing and joining the Toran Liberation Army.
However, the plan was a success. As expected, the citizens of the Empire were outraged and public opinion became fiercely pro-war in the wake of the massacre. Barbarossa was free to continue to wage his war against Jowston, eventually expelling the enemy army from the Empire completely. As regards fallout, Mathiu Silverberg, who helped orchestrate the attack, quit the military after the incident. The Great General, Georg Prime, left the Empire soon afterwards, traveling to Falena, which may or may not have been related to his opinion on the incident. Also, the news of what really happened further enraged those already sympathetic to the rebel cause, the incident being the first example of a real Imperial atrocity, further fueling the flames of rebellion deep within the heart of the Scarlet Moon Empire.
Anti-war sentiment rose throughout the Empire which kept Barbarossa from being able to push all resources towards defending the region against Jowston. It was then that the Empire orchestrated the Kalekka Incident whereby the village of Kalekka would be sacked and the citizens massacred with the resulting blame being placed on Jowston. This, it was argued, would turn the sentiments of the people to pro-war. Objections were raised by many of Barbarossa Rugner's officers but Barbarossa, a changed man after his wife, Claudia, perished during the Succession War, agreed to the proposal. As planned, the incident filled the citizens of the Empire with a desire for vengeance and the result was the defeat of Jowston forces within Scarlet Moon territory.
Sometime after this, Windy, the Court Magician began to exert undue influence over Barbarossa. With Barbarossa infatuated with Windy's striking resemblance to Claudia and a disinterest in political affairs, the Scarlet Moon Empire began to descend into corruption. As the Empire became decadent and corrupt, the will of the people was choked out and suppressed.
Windy suddenly came into power as the Court Magician for Emperor Barbarossa Rugner; he felt an immediate kinship with Windy due to her resemblance of that of his late wife, Claudia, and Windy used his feelings for her in order to exert power over his kingdom, the Scarlet Moon Empire, using the resources of the state in her unrelenting quest. She even attempted to give Conqueror Runes to all of the 5 Great Generals; however, only Kwanda Rosman and Milich Oppenheimer took them, using them to control monsters as Windy used them to keep the generals in her grasp.
Keywords:
- The Conqueror Rune also known as the Black Rune was a rune given to two of the five generals (Kwanda Rosman and Milich Oppenheimer) by Windy in order for her to control them. The rune gave them control over wild monsters, however the more they used it, the more they fell under Windy's control. Once they were under her control, she forced them to do horrible things,
