The Citizens' Defiance
An underground organized movement in the Pre-Collapse cycles determined to make a change. Brave citizens of Ianua of all races, genders, classes and ages across the entire continent came together and rose up against the oppressive rule of the Ethar family and the Empire Guard.
Members would recognize each other based on the adornment of a silver ring inlaid with a sapphire or other blue stone, worn on the right pinky finger.
Structure
Public Agenda
Assets
- Secrecy: They managed to keep their existence mostly hidden until the very moment the assasinations were carried out.
- Connections: Members of the Defiance were everywhere.
- Access to gold and silver, equipment, weapons etc.
- Access to government buildings.
History
The movement was founded after 3 cycles under Queen Isidora Ethar's rule, during which the richest 1% grew more influential and rich and the remaining 99% lived in squalor. It started with just 3 people meeting at a tavern in Bridgemond, an important shipping port along the Salt Coast. They discussed their dissatisfaction with the state of the Empire, and wondered what could be done about it.
The group of friends kept meeting, and more and more people started coming to the meetings. As word spread, friends of members in other places started their own branches of the organization, and so the movement grew.
In the beginning the meetings consisted mostly of bitter people complaining about the state of the Empire, but as time went on, people started actually making plans for a revolution. People started training themselves and others in case of battle, and taught each other about strategy and planning.
When the Spirit team joined the organization in the year 2 P.C., things started to look really hopeful. Now, they had even more experienced, powerful members who could train Citizens in fighting. Spirit quickly became one of the main assets of the Defiance, and people were equal amounts fascinated and terrified of them.
But, as all good things, this period too came to an end. At this point, the movement had ammassed thousands of members. Just as the Defiance was starting to mobilize, and, with their army of angry citizes, march into the capital of O'le Esari to capture it, the Empire Guard cracked down on any suspected acts of rebellion. This violent and dangerous time scared most Citizens into leaving the movement, to protect their own and their loved ones' lives.
The movement stagnated, entering what is known as the Days of Silence. No messages were sent between the different branches of the Defiance, and the plans to take the capital fell through, never to be acted upon.
Then, without warning, while the people of O'le Esari were distracted by the Cycle's Dusk festival, six masked figures swept into the Citadel. Spirit entered the Castle without alerting the guards stationed outside of their presence, and entered the private chambers of the Queen. (Empire Quards were not allowed in the ruler of the Empire's home. Quite a stupid rule in hindsight.) They quickly and almost effortlessly took the lives of the Queen and Commander Shilling of the Guard, and captured several aristocrats suspected to have had a hand in the rule of the Empire.
The citizens went on with their celebration, and woke up the next day, unknowingly, in an entirely new era. They went about their days as usual, until messengers were sent around the city declaring the fall of the Empire and the dawn of a new era. As you might expect, chaos ensued. People didn't know what to make of this, how could something so monumental have happened without their knowing?
The Citizens of O'le Esari quickly rose to the occasion, activating the protocols set in place for the predicted reaction to the fall of the Empire, subduing the rioters and restoring relative peace. They had, after all, planned for this, they just hadn't planned for it to happen quite like this.
After almost a whole year of Spirit ruling the continent, they suddenly disappeared. These people sure had a habit of doing drastic things without consulting anyone else, huh? Again, the nation fell into a state of chaos. We just did this, the people yelled, and now we have to go through it again? I just got back on my feet, they said, i just got used to the new government!
Once more, the Citizens had to rise up to the occasion and subdue the masses. This was not quite what i had in mind when i joined the secret, underground revolution, they said to each other. I didn't think there would be quite this much subduing of the masses, they complained. But subdue the masses they did, and people calmed dpwn a little bit. The chaos had gone on for long enough, however, that the Citizens were not able to unite them back into the Empire it once was.
Instead, the cities became their own governments, and the people in the surrounding areas moved into the cities to get out of the basically-lawless lands outside of them. Thus, the Defiance disbanded, as there was no longer a demand for an organization plotting to overthrow the oppressive government.
Disbandment
Alea iacta est. (the die is cast.)
Maps
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Ianua
Before the Collapse, Ianua (ya-new-uh) was a continent like any other. It had towns, villages and cities that existed in relative harmony under the rule of the Ethar Empire. But, as often is the case when one bloodline holds the power for too long, it slowly corrupted and caved in on itself. When King Alvar Ethar died and was replaced by his daughter, Queen Isidora Ethar, the change became more apparent. Suddenly, it seemed, the government was being influenced by factions that had no business meddling in the rule of an empire. It seemed as though the Empire Guard were running the continent under their own command. Stricter laws were enforced, the Empire Guards started arresting and assaulting citizens more liberally, and the economy was at an all time low. The class divide had never been wider, as the elite continued their lives of socializing and masquerades, and the ever growing lower class starved and lived in filth.
Eventually people grew tired of this, and discreetly started meeting in their respective towns and discussing plans of revolt. These brave rebels called themselves The Citizens' Defiance, or the Defiance. Small riots were planned, executed and shut down. The Empire Guard cracked down on any seemingly rebellious goings on, in what came to be called the Days of Silence, as the Citizens' Defiance's different correspondents in the different towns were unable to communicate, and the movement stagnated.
But then suddenly, in one night, the Queen and the Commander of the Guard were killed, and several influential elite members of society were captured by a group within the Defiance known as Spirit. They claimed the power, and vowed to restore Ianua to its former glory. During their rule, nothing major was accomplished, other than the executing of many more corrupted politicians and political influencers.
However, the poor remained poor and starving, and the group of Defiants quickly realized they were better suited for work behind the scenes than in the ruling of a large Empire. So, they stepped down from power and called it quits. They disbanded the Empire and disappeared, leaving everyone else with no leader, no one to uphold any laws and no idea of what was going on. What followed is specifically what is referred to as the Collapse. 5 cycles of lawless misery and anarchy. Most cities fell to the riots and millions of people died. The few cities that survived the Collapse are Suncall, Ko'varos, Ienora, _____, and _____.
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