Siege of Brehx

The Siege of Brehx was a bloody coup that served as the catalyst for the start of the Era of Conflict, a period of war between the races of Velaria that spanned a thousand years. As of 1039BU, the different cultures and societies were divided up entirely by race/species. Each race had a hefty reluctance to work with any others due to the disparities between them. Brehx was the capital city for the Human Kingdom at the time, the centre of their civilization and politics. A new King had just been appointed, a young hopeful man wishing to garner peace with the other people of Velaria. At the time, the Human Kingdom was rigid with societal norms, it was unheard of to go against the King for they were considered holy, their lineage blessed by the Gods to lead the Human race. This did not stop a woman named Janeth Reap from plotting against them. She was a retired soldier that had spent her entire life fighting for the right to claim land for the Human Kingdom, and was filled with hate towards the other races of Velaria. Over the course of five years, she lay low, gathering followers and spreading her message, that the new 'boy-king' is naïve and shouldn't be in charge. The radical faction that spawned from her was named after her as well, they called themselves the Reapers.
The new boy-king, King Harerld, invited some powerful people from the surrounding races to the Human Kingdom's capital city, Brehx, as a peace offering. He wished to show that the Kingdom wanted to start working together and did not care for the differences in species. He genuinely believed in the work of peace, and thought his people did too. However, many high-ranking officials and roughly half the population of his Kingdom had joined under the Reapers, but King Harerld was too young and hopeful to see, despite warnings from his trusted advisors. The event that is now known as the Siege of Brehx started on the night of this peaceful Gala.

The Battle

All at once, during a peaceful night with increased guards for the safety of their visitors, the city of Brehx erupted into bloody chaos. Friends stabbed each other in the back, fire erupted throughout the city, and a force of Reapers emerged from the surrounding woods to assault the city. A signal of a warhorn, being bblown in the quiet night by Janeth Reap herself, enacted the coup, with all the loyal Reapers donning a black arm band and slaughtering anyone that stood in their way. The walls were quickly taken first, so that the Reapers that had gathered from the settlements outside of Brehx could enter. The Reapers had stationed many of their units on the walls, slaying any city guard that tried to fight them, but also inviting many into their ranks that did not wish to die. Then, the Reapers swathed through the city to its center, the Keep of the King, in a path of bloodshed. The half of the population that did not join the Reapers were fiercely loyal to their King, fighting to the death to defend him and the Kingdom. But the Reapers had an element of surprise and were relentless as they pushed through, instructed by Janeth Reap to even cut down women and children if they got in the way. Thousands were slain trying to defend the King from the Reapers that day, and the cobble streets of Brehx were soaked in blood. Janeth Reap did not care for the collateral of the other races, she actually wished it. The Reapers took the Keep and stormed into the well-defended Throne Room, eliminating all threats including priests, bishops and nobleman. They then took King Harerld, still a boy of only 13 at the time, and the leaders of the High Elves, Wood Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Hobgoblins captive and secured the Siege of Brehx. Many Reapers had signed up for a chance to unleash carnage on the city, and they did just that during the siege, rampaging through the night slaughtering as many as they could. Other Reapers focused on the cause of the Coup and aided Janeth Reap in the main force that pushed through the city and took the Keep of the King, then captured the leaders.
All the Reapers gathered to the centre of the town the next time the warhorn was blown by Janeth, signalling their victory. To the cheers of bloodthirsty Reapers, shouts of civilians caught up in the coup, and cries of suffering people, the leaders were all burned at the stake, one by one. Above a square full of blood-covered civilians, the leaders were screaming and burning engulfed in flame that lit up the night with a fierce, deadly glow. This Siege was over quickly, a well executed coup planned by an experienced soldier against a naïve child. The events of the Siege of Brehx echoed throughout Velaria, all of the other races furious at this betrayal, reinforcing the seclusion of all the peoples of Velaria and causing an all out war between all the major factions, all fighting for dominion. That was the one thousand year war known as the Era of Conflict.

Aftermath

Janeth Reap and her Reapers enforced a council leadership system in Brehx once they overthrew the King, but it was filled with many likeminded people. Over the years and even after the Great Unite that ended the Era of Conflict, the council system established by Janeth has persisted in the country of Amaron. The council, although created during a bloody uprising, is believed to be a good thing to come out of the Siege of Brehx. This event also created the alternate meaning of a 'reaper' in the Human language. At the time, a reaper was only a person who harvested crops, but after the Reapers slaughtered an entire city, reaper also adopted the meaning of a person that harvests other people, or souls.

To me Reapers! Tonight we overthrow the false King with his foolish ideals and take control ourselves! We are the Kingdom, and we will lead our Kingdom to glory!

— Janeth Reap, during the Siege of Brehx

Conflict Type

Siege

Location

Amaron