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TheRunickConflict

The Runick Conflict

The various civilizations of the Runick Star have lived in periods of peace and turmoil throughout its history, and continue to do so. Rarely have any events transpired that have caused a cessation to nearly all life upon the Star's surface, the worst of which being The Runick Conflict. During this war, a wave of violence swept throughout the three civilizations, Gratz, Ren'Avehn, and Ciiva, driving all three nations into a bloody war that left only the Three as survivors.

The Instigation

During the changing of a Judge within the Gratzian Court due to his natural death, a plan was hatched by two more corrupt individuals serving as Judges; District 1 and District 4. Their plan would allow for an imperialistic doctrine of the Gratzian people in order to annex the neighboring continents under their explicit rule, as well as eradicate any concept of Ciivan superiority. In order to succeed in their goals, not only would the replacement Judge for District 6 need to be in line with the manipulators goals, a second influential Judge would need to be removed from office.

While the two Judges had impure motives, it was an understanding that no Judge would ever do anything to threaten the life of another Judge, and so a separate plot was employed. The two Judges made it clear that someone on the Court wished for actions that were not in the best interest of the Gratzian people, and that these actions could lead to a weakening of the Gratzian nation.

As rumors circled, citizens found their loyalties divided, and word made its way to the Ciivan High Council that a Gratzian Judge may have his heart set on war. In order to preempt any possible attack on their nation, several members of the High Council secretly organized a small group of Assassins to eliminate the problematic Judge and prevent the war. The exact triggering event is unclear, as Gratzian records have two separate accounts of what happened, and Ciivan history has three for five total different versions.

The Histories ( Note to the Archmagus: The Judges have numbers related to their Courts. The names are still up in the air. )

The First Gratzian Account

As 1 and 4 grew louder in their accusations, they made it clear that the dissenting Judge was influential, but refused to provide specific names. Outside of their own influences, only 7 had more sway than any of the others. Soon public opinion within other jurisdictions began to turn against 7. Refusing to admit that he held any such beliefs, 7 outright challenged both 1 and 4 to either name the Judge serving outside of the best interests, or admit that their charges were without standing.

That night after the session, two members of a Ciivan envoy attempted to assassinate 4 as they left the Court. The assassins were slain, and 4 immediately used the attack as proof that 7 had consorted with the enemy, and that Ciivans now sought Gratzian blood. The Gratzian Grand Marshall was convinced, and preparations were set for war immediately. 1 and 4 lead the charge against Ciivan shores, with 2 following their command. Judge 6 was never replaced, leaving 3, 5, and 7 to defend Gratz, as their coasts were the largest and closest to Ciiva. Immediately after the call, turmoil erupted within 7's districts, and the infighting began, claiming 7's life.

The Second Gratzian Account

Before the new Judge could be confirmed, two members of the Ciivan envoy ambushed the new Judge, killing him in plain day, as well as Judge 7 who was attempting to sway his opinion on the concept of foreign aggression. The outright slaughter of two Gratzian officials on their own soil sparked immediate hostilities. Striking while the iron was still hot, 1 and 4 pressured the Grand Martial to act swiftly, saying that there could be no misunderstanding of the events that transpired.

Before new Judges could be considered, the Grand Marshall issued the call to arms, sending 1, 2, and 4 overseas to retaliate against Ciiva, while leaving 3, and 5 behind to defend Gratzian soil. 3 took control of 6's men to aid in border defense, and 5 took control of 7's for the same, but infighting over the death of 7 began to dismantle the defenses.

The First Ciivan Account

After the Ciivan envoy arrived upon the Gratzian shores, they immediately began to investigate the rumors of the warmongering among the Judges. Trailing the source back to 1 and 4, they prepared to send word back to the Ciivan High Council that in fact there were two Judges attempting to manipulate the nation of soldiers into a frenzy for war against Ciiva. However, before the envoy could send their message back, they were ambushed and killed by members of 1 and 4's personal guard.

Used as false proof that the Ciivans were trying to kill off the Gratzian leadership, the bodies of the envoy were displayed in front of 1's courthouse, and 1 and 4 were able to convince the Grand Marshall to go to war. Realizing that war was coming, the High Council also sent a vast portion of their finest warriors around the far end of the continent to approach Gratz from the furthest shores in an attempt to catch them off guard.

The Second Ciivan Account

Realizing that any attempt on the life of any Gratzian officials would be construed as an unforgivable act of war, the members of the Ciivan envoy attempted to approach 7 in open daylight, hoping to provide information that they had gathered regarding 1 and 4's attempts to start a war. While 7 believed the information the envoy was providing, 6 exclaimed that he was indeed working with 1 and 4 to crush the Ciivans. Fighting immediately broke out, resulting in the death of 7 as he attempted to fight against 6's personal guard. While 6 was killed as well in the struggle, the envoy escaped.

Men at the battle loyal to 1 and 4 replayed the events as outright Ciivan aggression, sparking the war. While Ciivans were trying to prepare for the coming battle, Gratzian soldiers landed on Ciivan shores and began attacking anyone that they saw with a complete disregard for civilian lives.

The Third Ciivan Account

Refusing to risk the possibility of an outright war upon Ciivan soil, the High Council massed their troops and first sent a team of assassins to Gratz disguised as a trade envoy. Once they arrived, the assassins immediately sought out the influential Judges that seemed to be at the crux of the argument. Without detection, the Assassins killed 1 and 4, leaving their armies without leadership. Fleeing to the meet the approaching Ciivan landing parties, they gathered what Intel they could.

With 1 dead, the Grand Marshall assumed direct control of their army and lead the charge against Ciiva, taking 2 and 6, who had been in the confirmation process before the assassination. 3, 5, and 7 remained behind, and were unable to hold control in Gratz under the Ciivan surprise attack. The Gratzian armies began fighting amongst themselves, and while they were still able to defeat a majority of the Ciivan landing party, without the Grand Marshall, Gratz descended into violent chaos.

The Conflict

After the conflict began, there seemed to be no slowing it. At first, fighting was specific to the Gratzian nation, though several groups of soldiers had made their way to Ciiva and found themselves immediately under attack. The battles raged for months, destroying whole cities, leaving vast areas of Gratz in ruin, and with few to no survivors. A small resistance comprised of Malachai and The Saints attempted to find a way to stop the fighting in the heart of the Gratzian nation, but very quickly found themselves under attack from other Gratzian soldiers. Branded as traitors, they did everything they could to slow the destruction and death of innocent lives while the majority of them attempted to escape through Academy.

At the same time, the Ciivan High Council found itself under siege from a combination of dissillusioned citizens, criminals, and Gratzian soldiers that had disenfranchised themselves. Struggling to remain in power and fight off the vast hordes of violent marauders, the High Council took to the fight themselves, leading soldiers and guardsman through the city, doing all that they could to stop the fighting. Outnumbered in sheer volume, and caught almost entirely off guard by the ferocity of the violent oppression, the destruction was practically mutually assured, leaving only Devin of Ciiva as a survivor in the original conflict on Ciivan soil. Seeking to find safety outside of their own borders, the remaining High Council and the Monk Templar escaped on a ship to head to the Ren'Avehn continent where they had an uneasy peace with the Renavaati.

After the majority of the fighting, the Renavaati found themselves stuck between the exiles of the two nations who sought to escape the violence. All over the continent, numbers of Gratzian and Ciivan refugees met in various camps of Renavaati tribes. Jingoistic tempers flared, leading to newfound violence, and dragging the Renavaati tribes into the middle of the fighting as an innocent bystander. Realizing that this fighting was rapidly killing off her people, a young matriarch of a tribe named Andraiel gathered up the survivors of her people and made her way to the spire at the very center of her homeland's civilization. However it was there that the fighting seemed not only at its worst, but had reached its culmination.

All of the remaining survivors of the world wide conflict had gathered at the base of the spire and now seemed to be in a bloodied fight for individual survival, ignoring any sort of national loyalty. After weeks of continued bloodshed, only Malachai Veiderheist, Andraiel, and Devin of Ciiva had survived. No other Runicks were left alive in any reach of the Star's surface.