War in Ryzan

The War in Ryzan, also known as the Second Ryzani Civil War was a conflict between the Fourth Tsardom of Ryzan lead by Josbar, the Empire of Ryzan lead by former war hero Astr0, the Grand Temple, the religious governance of the Twin Dragon faith lead by the Celestial Matron, Crezyman who controls Volkoregrod and Vet who was a former ally of Astr0 before he was evicted for the burning of the Twin Dragon Temple in Volkoregrod. The Fourth Tsardom was supported by the Syltör League which consists of Andorn, the Aurlûnor Velande, Norfthorn, Halge, Valle and Lennox.

The conflict is arguably over, as the Greater Syltör Empire has annexed most of the former Ryzan, though some nominally independent states as well as a Ryzani insurgency still exist in the region.

Leading up to the Election:
Early signs of what was to come can be traced back to the months leading up to the September Ryzani Election, where mere days ahead of the election, the extremely popular President Kovalsky would be assassinated, the assassination itself occurring fairly recently after the assassination of Prime Minister Jacob Azurov. Ushering in a temporary military junta under General K. V. Novikov, the highly suspicious deaths of these 2 massively popular former veterans of the Brother's War were seen by many as the lead cause of the turmoil to come, as paranoia and the desire for change gripped the nation. No one could replace these men, and whoever came next to the reins of the government would inevitably have faced great conflict within the nation. Surprisingly, the Novikov Junta would still allow a peaceful transfer of power to the next President, however the temporary suspension of rights under the Junta, combined with the tension from the assassinations would be instrumental in the nation-splitting unrest to come.

In a bid to gain power, the Ryzan National Militarist Union, RNMU, would unite with the New Ryzan Party, NRP, the dominate political party of the time. Immediately though, conflict would begin to rise within the coalition party, when the NRP held an internal vote to choose their nominee for Prime Minister, between member of NRP party leadership. Geo Shan and the former leader of the RNMU, Azrael Arden (Astr0). Internal investigations led by NRP head, and Remtal Duke Josbar Liberium revealed that a great portion of votes for Arden were not even from Ryzani citizens, in large made up of members of Ulfaeng and former Capna Partisans, sparking the ousting of all former RNMU members from the NRP.

Following the internal coup in the NRP, Tsar Sarcasmo of House Toss would announce a recount in the national election, based off of further evidence found by the NRP linking their own internal election fraud with an even greater problem on the national level. With the recount done, the NRP would win a majority of seats in the election, gaining 14/35 seats in the Duma, and ushering in Josbar Liberium's 2nd term as President (his first being pre-Bardonian occupation).

Liberium Administration:
The beginning of Josbar's 2nd tenure in office saw him putting down a squatter rebellion in Deutzan. Many believed this would be the highlight of conflict within the internally-focused President's term. However, they could not be more incorrect.

A mere 2 days (OOC) into his term, the former leader of the RNMU, and veteran of the Brother's War, Arden Azrael attempted to launch a coup against Liberium, demanding Liberium's resignation so that Azrael may be crowned Emperor, and Ryzan may be reorganized into the First Ryzani Empire. Liberium refused this, and immediately declared martial law, the country entering a state of national emergency. The next day, Minister of Justice, Duke Vetrys Zukolov of Vonskyr declared his support for the Imperialists, sheltering Azrael and the other Imperialists in Volkoregrod, and raising taxes in the city to 1k per day. The Second Ryzani Civil War had begun.

Early Action
Initial action in the war was relatively limited, as the Imperialists consolidated their forces in Volkoregrod, and Republican armies began settling into a siege around the city. Seemingly, factions from both sides still hoped for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, each knowing that Ryzani war exhaustion was still quite high following their liberation from the Bardonian Empire. Neither side wanted war, however were entirely unwilling to compromise.

Battle of the Bridge
The Battle of the Bridge was the first armed confrontation between Republican and Syltor League Forces against Imperial Ryzani Forces that occurred on September 25th, 2021 near the city of Volkoregrod. The skirmish lasted for around 5-10 minutes with the Imperialist holding the upper hand in the fight due to greater number's and that they have been well equipped and trained compared to the disorganized Republican and Syltor League force. As the battle was ongoing, Josbar would declare Victory against Imperialist forces and describing on how Republican and Syltor soldiers had broken the Imperialist's and reclaimed Volkoregrod! This statement was false. In reality it was an overwhelming Imperial Victory and confident in this Victory they proceeded to march towards the Capital. Towards Carthya.

Sack of Carthya
The Sack of Carthya was a major defeat for the Republican cause: Carthya was a symbolic symbol of the Republican cause and was the center for Ryzani Democracy in the aftermath of Ryzani Occupation and the birthplace of the both the Ryzani-Carthyan Republic and Ryzani Republic. What followed was the collapse of the government and a mass exodus of Ryzani civilians as they became refugees in neighboring countries and both the Duchy of Tossagrad and Nebskoslavia (Csardom of Nebskoslavia) declaring independence.

In the short-term the capital was sacked, citizens had fled, its armies broken and in tatters, the Republican cause was broken, but the war was far from over.

Confusion in the Ranks
The Civil War marks the first time in history, that a nations leader is a belligerent that is themselves, as the Aurlûnor Velande, Andorn and Ryzan are of the Twin Dragon faith, and the Grand Temple seemingly sided with Astr0 initially before Vet's betrayal.