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Vampire attack
One night Aldlyn was suddenly under attack. Casualties included hundreds of civilians as well as a relative of the king, with gashes on the neck of his dried body and his royal emblem missing. Investigations suggested the rebels, in their desperation, sneaked a vampire into the capital and ordered it to assassinate the king and take his emblem as proof, but the vampire not only mistook the target but also lost control and slaughtered unrelated civilians. The rebels denied it, of course, but soon a tunnel that was used to smuggle the vampire into the country was discovered with evidences of rebel activities in it.
News spread, and the entire population soon fell into panic, fearing their villages might be the next target for the rogue monster at large. The king’s call to arms against the vampire was met with fervent enthusiasm throughout the entire kingdom. Human, beastman, orcs, and many others flocked to join the royal army. Wind Spirit offered her support while communities across the country donated supplies to fight the common threat. With the combined effort of the entire nation, the task force finally tracked down and weakened the vampire enough for Wind Spirit to seal it up in a secret place Wind Spirit didn’t wish to disclose.
Final victory
After the vampire campaign the royalists swelled several times in strength and received universal adoration, which meant it’s finally time to crush the Langohren and end the revolt. Central Army, a new royal armed force reorganized by Dorganian attaché, promptly smashed through rebel’s defense and annihilated all in their path. The rebels tried guerilla warfare but failed miserably due to local peasants erupted into defiance, as by now rebel’s reputation was in gutter thanks to their heavy taxes and the vampire. In the end most captured rebels were executed for treason, and those who evaded guillotine were often lynched by local peasants.
Legacy
Centralization of power:
War of Liberation became one of the greatest political masterstrokes for king Wiljahelmatz I as he successfully transformed Central from feudalism to absolute monarchy. Whatever oppositions left were silenced and the king can finally build up Central in peace, including that long awaited road system.
Soon after the war, the king expanded the palace and invited/compelled the remaining nobles to live there. On surface it’s meant to reward their loyalty and bond with them, in reality it’s meant to tie them up so they couldn’t plot any opposition in their domain.
Reformed military:
Soldiers from royal faction were restructured into a new national force called Central Army, which take orders directly from the court. Lands previously owned by rebel elves & nobles were confiscated and garrisoned by this new army. To root out remaining resistance, a spy network was established in Witton which eventually evolved into Lady Akira’s Intelligence Center.
National identity:
During the hunt on vampire the mindsets of civilians changed forever. As people fought side by side against a common threat they started to realize they aren’t simply a member of their village, but also a member of something much greater – a nation. People started to identify themselves as proud citizens of the victorious Kingdom of Central, regardless if they’re human or orcs. Rising nationalism helped the king to dissolve regional differences and solidify his central authority, as well as to integrate various species into the country.
Elf racism:
It came at the expense of the elves, however. The southern elf population practically disappeared, either dead or fled. Those who found refuge abroad often became apologists of their “lost cause” and filled their own heads with baseless conspiracy theories like “Vampire attack was orchestrated by the king”. This gave the impression that elves are unrepentant luddites who refused to believe science CAN be used to save nature.
The northern elves survived by dissociating themselves from their southern kin, but still suffered discrimination. Elf’s nature-loving ideology was criticized even among environmentalists after being debunked by Earth Spirit herself, with some even labeled it “environmental-terrorism” as they would apparently wage war over some trees. The term “Elvish Lumberjacks” is used by many non-elf races as joking euphemism to describe executioners, while children sing nursery rhyme that goes: “Here comes the woodsman to chop you a bed, and here comes the long-ear to chop off your head!”
Royal Lumber team:
As the elves were denounced, the Royal Lumber teams were decorated. That first lumberjack who died was honored posthumously while his family was given pension and a huge blue villa to live. An arena was planned in the future to be built where the first riot took place to commemorate the event. Royal Lumber teams would continue serving Ministry of Construction, helping tremendously in the expansion of Central now that they’re free from those pestering tree-huggers.
Newspaper:
Newspaper played a huge role in the war. The press ran by the patriot noble in Praverhill quickly spread pro-king messages across the country, from Earth Spirit’s endorsement to vampire crusade. It helped culminating nationalism and swayed public opinion toward royalists. In appreciation, Wiljahelmatz I promised to promote their business into national news agency in the future.
Crime syndicates:
During the war the rebels used various means to obtain supplies, including digging several tunnels and hiring smugglers. These smugglers eventually evolved into several crime syndicates who use the existing tunnels to conduct criminal operations, such as Thief’s Guild and Assassin’s Guild.
The Spirits:
The king allowed Spirits to help other countries in need as promised. In the end 3 Spirits left: Water Spirit to Dorgania, Magic Spirit to Amagal and Ice Spirit to Begus. It’s not a big lost for Central as they still have 3 Spirits and now they can use the relation between the Spirits to influence foreign opinions.
Benefit for other countries:
Dorgania received Water Spirit who helped tremendously to the desert country and their military attaché learnt valuable experiences on fighting rebellion which helped them crush several slave revolts later.
Amagal received Magic Spirit who helped them research new spells and they obtained lots of elf specimens to experiment on, as well as successfully tested out their foreign spy network.
Begus receive the help of Ice Spirit until she was falsely accused later. The teaching from the church became very popular as this elvish rebellion proved lesser species are indeed a threat. The church used this popularity to strengthen Apelia royalty’s reign over nobles, as well as push for more radical racial policies, such as the attack on the village Pumumu.
Aftermath
The victory ushered Central’s Golden Age for the next several decades to come, and Wiljahelmatz I spent the rest of his reign slowly turning Central into a prosperous country. However, as the prestigious king died of old age, the Golden Age died with him.
His successor, Fridurih III, was a naïve idealist who tried too hard reconciling with the elf. He pardoned former rebel elves abroad unconditionally and even dismantled that road system to give back their “precious trees”, basically undone everything Wiljahelmatz I worked so hard to achieved and irritated those who were hurt by the rebels. The result? Fridurih III forgot elves hold grudges as long as their lifespan and the ungrateful former rebels betrayed their leniency by assassinating him as they’re still salty toward royalty.
The next successor, Wiljahelmatz II, was the opposite. He became cynical and greedy after witnessing the death of his family. He hammered hard on not only elves but also anyone he suspected, alienating many loyal nobles in the process. Wishing to scare the opposition, he raised taxes and declared plans on expanding military without proper cause, which not only stained foreign opinion but also cause dissent to the civilians. Ironically, all these measures resulted in the very fate he wished to avoid: he was found dead by “mysterious causes”.
As the royalty’s last hope, it is up to the last heir, king Saotome, to return Central back to its glorious days… and beyond!
After the history lesson, the ministry wold like to meet you...