Caelian Civil War

Lead-up
It began with a minor protest. Citizens unhappy with the lack of political freedom and representation turned out for a protest to begin, attracting a surprising number of followers. Seeing this, the guard made their move, arresting the protestors.

Soon after, more protestors turned out on the streets of novatress demanding freedom and representation. They did not yet call for elections and democracy however fearful of such an outcome the guard made mass arrests and broke up the protest, however, this did not quell the protestors.

A mere three days later, a massive amount of people turned out on the street calling for elections and democracy. When guards turned up to break them up fighting ensued and the guards eventually backed off to defensive positions. Around this time, Cillian Shelby and other affiliated people entered Novatress to steer the crowds. T

he next day with the streets flooded with people, many carrying weapons, People began to call for revolution "Death to the tyrant!" and "Revolution!" they chanted. They demanded the return of the republic that had disappeared long ago, possibly influenced by Cillian Shelby and his accomplices Soon the garrison was called in to take up positions around the protestors, with orders to stand by. The crowd threw rocks and insults at the soldiers.

The situation was rapidly escalating and important individuals were evacuated from the city and then- "CHARGE!"

It is unknown where the order came from or who shouted it but the aftereffect was clear. Unsure of whether to charge or not a staggered charge ensued and soldiers began to attack the citizens. As this happened other citizens in the houses began to throw furniture and such outside to help create barricades and wound soldiers.

Chaotic fighting between the extremely outnumbered soldiers and the citizens ensued and it was unlikely that the soldiers could maintain their position for long. And so the Revolution began. Loyalists and revolutionaries fought for novatress.

And for a short time as the revolt burned, it seemed that Novatress hung in the balance. But then the Dust cleared and there was one obvious winner. The revolutionaries. Cillian Shelby publicly came out to lead the fledgling Republic in the revolutionary war Along with other revolutionaries.

However, as most important officials and ministers had evacuated the city the Caelian state was not decapitated and could carry on the fight. As moves elsewhere in the kingdom were made Caeli fell into civil war and fate is unclear as to who will win.

"In time Destiny's chosen shall be revealed, and Caeli will never be the same."

“Finally, we have triumphed,” Cillian says, looking over the lively streets of Novatress from the NRA’s base of operations. “Indeed, though this is only the beginning.” Bobington declares. The pair look upon the streets of their new city, the flags of the once great republic fly high as the people chant “down with the king! Down with the monarchy!”

Cillian smiles. “Ever since I was 12 and I learnt of the stories of the Republic, I have dreamed of bringing power back to the people, in a world full of kings.” The new founding fathers of the Republic journey to the military HQ of the NRA where they find their head of logistics pondering, Corvin Varsicov.

The trio discusses their plan of action. Bobington believes attacking the neighbouring island of Morbia first would be beneficial as it has valuable armour and weapons. Whereas Shelby and Corvin agree that attacking the sea fortress of Ein Bahel and freeing republican sympathizers, Lord Dorn and his militia would be more favourable to the cause. The verdict is decided, they will attack Ein Bahel on Saturday at dawn in an attempt to free Dorn and his militia.

The Mutiny of Ammaurum
However this revolt could easily have been put down using the Caelian army and navy, and for a short time this was the plan. then one fateful day, everything changed. It had started as a disagreement over pay. The younger sailors demanded more pay which their commanding officers were unwilling to give.

The disagreement continued to escalate, with Shelby promising better pay under the republic. It reached a boiling point when one day, sabres were drawn. The sailors, inspired by the revolution in novatress, Drew sabres and slew many of their commanding officers. They took control of the ships and the mutiny grew and soon many ships set out for Novatress to join the nascent republican fleet.

However, both fortunately and unfortunately for the loyalists, many experienced officers were killed and the republican fleet found itself devoid of many experienced officers and sailors- and was thus forced to replace them with sailors that were less experienced. Thus the Novatress Republican Navy was in a poor position at the outset of the civil war. In addition to this, similar events occured in the army, though on a smaller scale.

All this led to the NRA an NRN being in a poor position at the outset of the war- though the nascent republican armed forces could become a powerful force yet.

Formation of the Republican Government and military, and the formation of the Loyalist army
Herein the Republic Government began to take shape. An interim government was established with Cillian Shelby as it’s head to govern the Republic until the Country was ready for elections. The NRA and NRN were officially established as the army to protect the republic and defeat the loyalists. In one of his first acts Cillian declared the total mobilization of Novatress and further introduced Conscription. He began propaganda campaigns nationwide and helped organize partisan units to fight the loyalists. All of this was in an effort to damage the Loyalists and put the Republicans in a position to match them.

In response the Loyalist Army was raised. Luckily the Royal Army was a professional, experienced and well trained force. Recruitment campaigns were ramped up and propaganda was also likewise scaled up. The Royal Navy began construction of new ships and the nation began a move to a war economy later after the battle of Ein bahel. Over the course of the war Caelian Society would become highly militarized.

After these events the revolution started to spread outside of the city of Novatress. Soon, the first island other than novatress to join the Republicans was thrown into civil war.

The leader of Ein bahel Dorn, Unbeknownst to everyone, held secret republican sympathies. He came into contact with Cillian a few times before the revolution and secretly laid plans for his own revolution in Ein bahel. This would come as Dorn rallied the republican militias and declared that the Island of Ein bahel would secede from the Kingdom and temporarily formed the Republic of Ein bahel, before integrating it into the Republic of Novatress days later.

In the time between the secession of Ein bahel and the Battle of Ein bahel both The Republic and the Kingdom reached out diplomatically for aid. The Republicans found their patron in Centaris while the Kingdom enlisted aid from Adaen. Both countries aided their respective side via military and productive means.

In addition following Dorn’s defection many other republican sympathies followed his lead to defect to the republicans. It appeared that the Republican cause was beginning well. However wars are decided by battles. Soon it would be shown whether the Republic had teeth, as the battle of Ein bahel was soon to begin.

The Battle Of Ein Bahel
After these events the revolution started to spread outside of the city of Novatress. Soon, the first island other than novatress to join the Republicans was thrown into civil war.

The leader of Ein bahel Dorn, Unbeknownst to everyone, held secret republican sympathies. He came into contact with Cillian a few times before the revolution and secretly laid plans for his own revolution in Ein bahel. This would come as Dorn rallied the republican militias and declared that the Island of Ein bahel would secede from the Kingdom and temporarily formed the Republic of Ein bahel, before integrating it into the Republic of Novatress days later.

In the time between the secession of Ein bahel and the Battle of Ein bahel both The Republic and the Kingdom reached out diplomatically for aid. The Republicans found their patron in Centaris while the Kingdom enlisted aid from Adaen. Both countries aided their respective side via military and productive means.

In addition following Dorn’s defection many other republican sympathies followed his lead to defect to the republicans. It appeared that the Republican cause was beginning well. However wars are decided by battles. Soon it would be shown whether the Republic had teeth, as the battle of Ein bahel was soon to begin.

Soon after recieving the news that Dorn had joined the revolutionaries Evandar began to write a letter to King bear, requesting that he may assume command of Ein bahel and also requesting reinforcements with which to seize control of the town. Once finished he sent a messenger disguised as a commoner to deliver the letter to the king under the cover of night.

As this happened, lord dorn began to raise revolutionary troops from the garrison. Simultaneously, he began to rally loyalist members of the garrison and had them wait in the forest. At midnight, loyalist reinforcements arrived in the town and began to clear out the walls, while some joined the loyalist garrison and began to encircle the main building. However as Loyalist troops were approaching the north wall they were spotted by revolutionaries in the guard tower. Knowing that if he failed to capture the main building Dorn could escape and revolutionary forces might reinforce him, he ordered his troops to assault the tired and unprepared troops in the great house.

The revolutionary forces had been completely unready as Dorn expected a rapid attack before they could do anything, and so after such an attack did not come they lost organization, their forces were soon defeated and Dorn captured. However Revolutionary forces on the north wall managed to hold off against attacks by loyalists, and were able to establish defensive positions on the ground. This led to both sides digging into their positions with the loyalists controlling the majority of the city, and the revolutionaries controlling the north wall and ground besides it.

Ein bahel was quiet at last. The barricades were built already and both sides had dug in. Dorn was quietly awaiting whatever fate had in store for him as the revolutionaries and loyalists stared each other down, waiting for any sign that he could escape. But for new the winds were still and the regular din of building and shouting were silent. Both sides awaited the order to attack and rain hell.

The silence was temporary and when it ended, all hell would run loose. Row on Row of sweet berry bushes to deter advancements were layed and barricades set up. The frantic action of the past few days had died down as preperations were finished and both sides awaited the call of their officers. Beyond the boundary, hell awaited. Good soldiers would be lost and Good, long lives cut. But in the name of our country We fought, and in the name of our king we Struck. For if the revolution succeeded, Caeli would be wiped away.

"It is over. Though the Loyalists outmanoeuvred and broke the Revolutionaries many times Ein bahel is simply too difficult to defend. Due to the revolutionaries controlling novatress and a sizable amount of the fleet it is difficult to supply and reinforce Ein bahel and thus, we made the decision to retreat However, in the battle we inflicted heavy losses on the revolutionaries and incurred mild losses of our own. The revolutionaries were swiftly beaten back from their strongholds and were soundly defeated.

Due to our success in the battle, we are fully capable of taking any artefacts and weapons. With full access to the armory we will ensure that the revolutionaries have nothing to gain from this island. Due to the afformentioned supply and reinforcement issue, we have retreated from ein bahel to the island of lancaster rock and have contacted the garrison. A ship is being made and will soon be ready. It is a shame that we could not stop the revolutionaries from freeing Dorn but they have gained no major advantage. The time of the revolutionaries will swiftly come, and the traitors shall then be dealt with." - Evandar Velaerys on the aftermath of the battle of Ein bahel

The Naval battle of Novatress
After this both sides settled into a stalemate as they built up and prepared their navies for a confrontation. The Loyalists were aided greatly by Adaen while the Republicans were aided by Centarian dockyards. Loyalist forces trained day and night to be ready for the climactic battle that could decide the war. Soon enough the time would come as the Republicans attempted to blockade Minseito, expecting the Loyalists to follow them. However instead of fighting them there the Loyalists decided to go for a blockade of novatress which would force the Republicans to meet them there.

The Caelian royal navy had engaged the NRN near novatress on their own terms. Devoid of experienced sailors the NRN had been forced to meet the CRN where they did and were not able to outmanoeuvre them and so they were caught.

The result was a massacre. It was one of the largest naval engagements yet and in which the CRN showed it's prowess. The centre of the CRN was instructed to fall back so that the NRN would attempt to give chase, hoping to split the CRN fleet. And this worked perfectly. The NRN fell headfirst into the CRN's trap. Once the NRN was chasing the centre, and the centre of the NRN itself was drawn out, The faster ships on the flanks moved on the sides of the NRN. Using rams they rammed and boarded many of the NRN ships. The centre of the CRN wheeled and charged the Drawn out NRN centre.

The result was mass confusion and terror in the NRN fleet. the rear of the NRN fleet fled the battle, however the remainders were not so lucky. Surrounded by the CRN, most ships surrendered. The ones that did not were boarded, or rammed. The battle ended in slaughter, a slaughter that favored the Loyalists. The battered remnants of the NRN fleet retreated to novatress and the CRN sailed back to port with a victory.

The Norsted Revolt
Yet the Republicans still had tricks up their sleeve. Their new plan was to cause new uprisings across Caeli, a goal they would attempt to accomplish by first creating a revolt in Norsted. To this end, Cillian Shelby himself went to the Island to make a speech. Republican Partisans and agents were activated in Norsted and told to wait for a signal.

“My fellow Novatressians and Caelians alike it is time! Time to rise up, time to end the dictatorship of the King! For too long have we have done the bidding of this tyrant who knows only sitting on his gold throne! For too long have we served an unjust king! My friends, it’s time to return, return to the golden days, the days when it was YOU who decided the course of the nation! Not some appalling scoundrel who smells like a bucket of rotten toenail clippings! I call on you, every single one of you! For next Sunday we rise and take the city of Norsted!! Yes, you heard me! We need the people we need your help! People of Norsted join us so no harm is done to your glorious town.” Cillian Shelby at a speech in Norsted

Evandar knew that the royalists couldn't afford to lose the PR battle and so he immediately travelled to Norsted- under armed guard of course.

“Brothers, Sisters, Caelians. I am sure many of you know well the matter that this letter addresses, and many of you wonder whether your king would deign to answer your calls. It is for that reason that I speak to you today. For this is not just speech for the support of the elites, no this is a speech to the people. The Maritime Kingdom cannot survive without it's people. You are the bedrock of our nation. And a nation must serve it's people. And to that end I assure you, we have not forgotten! While the likes of Shelby would have you believe that the monarchy of Caeli is a tyrannical brutal regime with no regards for it's citizens this is not true. And to address Shelby, I will remind you all that Shelby's treachery came shortly after the reclamation of all former dreondor territories. And as for Golden days, I swear that the millennia in the future, People will speak of the years following the Kingdom's victory in the civil war and say "Those were the golden days."! And when he says no harm will come to your city- This is incorrect. The republicans will Destroy your city. they will destroy your culture and everything you have built. And so, do not believe Shelby's lies! the republicans make empty promises- they say they will bring freedom, But these are but lies! If left to continue, the Republic will-- And at that very moment a crossbow bolt would stream across the crowd, aiming at Evandar. And so it hit it's mark. But what the attempted assasin forgot was that their were numerous papers and a ledger in his pocket- So the bolt stopped and Evandar survived Evandar winced and continued. And so you must support the Kingdom. For Caeli, so we may rise higher! For a strong Caeli, and a great people!”

The battle of Norsted
Shortly after finishing his speech, Evandar would leave the city immediately. And days after that the republican cells in the city would launch an uprising, attempting to take key government buildings. They would succeed in taking a majority of the residential areas but they would fail in taking the government buildings- Forced to lay siege. Reinforcements would be immediately sent to Norsted. And so the battle for Norsted began. Tooth and nail, until no man was left standing.

Soon after the incident, loyalist reinforcements were rushed to Norsted. With the uprising well underway it was imperative that the siege on the government building be relieved. And with the republican navy on the backfoot the Royal Navy was quite capable of carrying out such an operation to reinforce the Norsted garrison.

The loyalists troops arrived midday and luckily managed to disembark at a secure landing zone. The Loyalists were thus able to launch a powerful flanking attack at the unsuspecting republicans. Oddly, the numbers of said republicans were lower than expected.

The effect of the attack cannot be underestimated. The Republican soldiers, already demoralised from previous defeats, were routed by the flanking maneuver. What few troops that could be saved embarked upon the republican fleet. Evandar sat reading the report on the battle with a smile spreading across his face. The republican army was all but destroyed by the battle and such a blow could be followed up by greater blows.

Then news came to immediately wipe that smile of his face. Norsted was not the main attack, at that very moment republican troops were landing on Blire Hold.

The battle of Blire Hold
At first it was expected that the republicans would quickly defeat the outnumbered garrison at Blire Hold. However, whether by underestimating the Blire garrison or overestimating the republican army, this assessment proved false. The Garrison of Blire Hold fought tooth and nail to slow down the republicans and buy time for the nearby Royalists to reinforce them. The republicans were slowed down and took heavy casualties in the battle.

Immediately after hearing news of the Republican Fleet turning north, the Royalists headed to Blire Hold to reinforce the garrison. The coming battle would be very influential as if the Loyalists were able to defeat the Republicans it would not only crush Republican Morale and cause mutinies but would leave the Northern Republican fleet stranded and inevitably destroyed. Should such an eventuality occur the Southern Republican Fleet would be all that is left and would be forced to launch an all out attack on the Loyalists with all they had left to save Novatress from a blockade.

The inability of the NRA to inflict a quick defeat of the Blire garrison would prove an omen for the future as they continued to be on the back foot. With Loyalist reinforcements rapidly saturating Blire Hold the situation for the NRA was looking worse and worse. But they were ordered to fight with all they had, since if they lost then so was all their hope.

The Loyalists, after consolidating their forces, launched an all out attack on the Republicans. The Republican Forces were shattered by the offensive and many simply fled in panic. In the sea around Blire Hold the NRN was once again defeated and the Royal Navy secured complete naval dominance around Blire Hold. Trapped and panicked, many of the Republican Soldiers were slaughtered in the chaos.

Eventually, the Republicans surrendered to the Royalists. The battle was, in effect, the Final nail in the Republican coffin. The Republicans now had no troops left that were not currently in novatress. The Northern Fleet was cut off and surrounded, panicked and demoralised. The Future of the Republic was falling in flames all around them, as Shelby wept for his dream.

Soon after the battle, the Loyalists moved to engage the Northern Republican Fleet. The ensuing battle was barely a battle. Half of the Fleet surrendered on the spot or defected while the other half was forced to fight a desperate battle, hopelessly outnumbered. Thus the Northern Fleet was utterly destroyed.

Operation Broken Torch
Following the battle of Blire Hold there was one certainty for every soul in rathnir. The republic was dying. They were rapidly losing popular support and their armed forces were shattered. The young republic, born of hope for a new tomorrow and freedom, was surrounded and defeated by the wolves all around it.

And so the next action to be taken by the Royalists was obvious. The immeasurably stronger Royal Navy initiated operation Broken Torch To attempt to finally end the civil war. With no opposition from the Republican navy, the Royalists blockaded the city of Novatress.

Already undersupplied and demoralised, the blockade would crush the Republican Spirit. Already many republicans were defecting to the the Loyalists and Republican army regiments were mutinying. And so in their last desperate hail mary, Shelby gave his assent to an operation he had always hoped would never be necessary. Operation Heaven's Blaze.

Operation Heaven's blaze
After the order was given, all that remained of the Republican Fleet prepared for the operation. This Included the famed ship "Avant-Garde." Which was the largest ship in the republican navy - and had been kept back the entire war since it was built due to the fears of the republicans of losing it and wasting their effort. The sailors were all given a traditional drink - the kind you drink the day before you die.

And so they set sail. They were to catch the Royal Navy off guard and destroy their organisation, hopefully causing a rout and breaking the blockade. It was, in reality, a nebulous goal and was improbable but so was the level of desperation for the republicans.

In the Early morning they found the Royalists and charged. However it was not a victory. It was not even a glorious and heroic defense against the enemy. It was a slaughter- and not in the republican's favour. It turned out that the Royal Navy had spotted them early and were ready and waiting for them. They attacked them on all sides with massive numerical superiority. The republican navy was thus utterly destroyed.

There was no heroic defence- there was only slaughter. Operation Heaven's Blaze ended in abject failure with none of its goals even remotely achieved.

The Republic's capitulation
Following the expected and utter failure of Operation Heaven's Blaze the Blockade of Novatress was stronger than ever. In addition, Plans were already being drawn up to launch a naval invasion of Novatress- though they hoped it would not be necessary.

In the Republican Headquarters Generals and ministers argued about next steps. Battleplans and campaigns. War and Death. The generals were making plans for a defense of novatress and some miracle plan to turn the war around. But a Tired Shelby turned them down. There was no victory. The Republic was dead.

The situation of the Republic had never been worse. After Operation Heaven's Blaze it was not just the case that their navy was significantly weakened and demoralised. The case was that they didn't have a navy.

In addition, despite the Republics claims to liberate the people, the Popular support for the Republic had cratered. Most people were turning to the loyalists and the Loyalists had implemented an extensive propaganda campaign with the intention of turning people to their side.

In the Army whole Regiments were mutinying- meaning even if there was a naval invasion there would not be a defence. The Blockade had annihilated their supplies. All in All, the Situation of the Republic was hopeless.

Thus it was that thoughts turned to peace. The Republicans reached out to the Royalists in hopes of attaining peace and their advances were accepted- nobody really wanted a bloody naval invasion of Novatress.

The terms put forward by the Royalists were surprisingly lenient. Most of the Republican leaderships would be allowed to live and all who fought for the republic would be given amnesty as long as they swore to serve the king. There was to be no purge of the Republicans. This was so Caeli could be healed. And thus the Civil war ended. Perhaps the Republican Dream was dead, but that did not mean the dream of a new tommorow was too.

The execution of Cillian Shelby
Yet there was still one final matter to address. That of the fate of the leadership. The only certainty was that Cillian Shelby could not be allowed to live. Thus plans were set in motion to prepare for his execution. It went flawlessly. Cillian Shelby’s final words were him shouting “Long live the republic! Death to the king!” And after that, he was dead. In addition to this, other republican leaders such as Dorn and Bob were executed as well.

In the Aftermath of the Civil war the King’s authority was unchallenged. Republican support had plummeted and the King became ever more popular. Never before in Caelian History had the nation risen to such heights and after reconstruction was finished Caeli was unified like never before and the King was an integral part of Caelian Culture. A dark chapter of Caelian History had ended, and a new bright chapter had begun.