The Phantom Insurrection Military Conflict in Pathfinder: Crusades | World Anvil

The Phantom Insurrection

The Phantom Insurrection was a revolution that played out over the course of several weeks. While a revolution had been in the works for years, the rebels didn't have the resources to stand against an oppresive regime that often employed brutal mercenaries to act as their guards. Over time, the morale among the rebels lowered significantly. The chance of a successful coup was low until Zakina Kociak-Falenmir, Industria Cellini, Elathera Clearwater, and their allies arrived on the islands. Seeing the level of corruption among Basilla's ruling families, they took matters into their own hands.   Modern Basillian society has always been led by the royal families. They believed themselves to be the true leaders of the islands, all while being influenced by the rakshasa, Jahangir. He poisoned their bloodlines and took the bodies of weakened loved ones in order to stay alive. The royals affiliation with Jahangir was unknown to the public, allowing him to control the islands as he saw fit. Zakina visited the islands to meet with her mother's side of the family, which led to her meeting Jahangir in one of his many disguises. His identity was quickly revealed to her and her friends, though he didn't know until they stormed into his room with the intent to kill him.   Jahangir proved to more powerful than they anticipated and so, Elathera bound his soul to a book, and locked it away in her private demiplane. Within the next day, the group had disguised themselves as demons, and attacked the Kociak Estate. Several guards lost their lives and the others were unable to stop the assassination against the family's matriarch, Sunyeros Kociak. She was killed shortly after giving birth to a set of twins fathered by Jahangir, one which would become his new body. In disguise, the group fled from the estate in broad daylight, intentionally putting themselves in the public's view.   It was an attempt to draw attention to the royal families and expose them and their dealings with corrupted beings. Before Sunyeros' untimely death, she had planned a coronation ceremony for Zakina to name her the new matriarch of the Kociak family. In reality, it was a farce, and Sunyeros had hired a member of the Gatto family to assassinate her on stage. The would-be assassins were flushed out and the coronation played out peacefully, though Zakina was urged into hiding afterwards. Rywa Gatto was promised more power for her death and with her escape, he hired a crew of contract killers to finish what his own family couldn't.   Unbeknownst to him, he had fallen right into the party's trap. His killers were caught by the group and instructed to return to Rywa, tell him that Zakina was dead, and then map out the Gatto Estate. If they refused to do so, their freedom was at stake. The assassins followed through and delivered a map to the party several days later. The next stage of their plan was to frame the Gatto family for attempted murder, as well as treason, for kidnapping Zakina. Elathera and Zakina quietly found their way into the estate, where Zakina was locked in the dungeon. Industria stormed the home with Rikius Falenmir, Lucky Kociak, and Jordeira Ferus; insisting that Rywa had taken Zakina.   He defended his family, stating that they had no blame in the current circumstances. He was confident that she was dead and nothing was amiss, so he allowed the party to search his home. Inside of his private dungeon was a panicked Zakina, who had her memories temporarily erased to sell the act. Rywa was immediately arrested and imprisoned. He was sentenced to exile and once he departed the islands, Zakina used her new position of power to establish the Basillian Council.

The Conflict

Outcome

The remaining royal families were threatened with jail time for conspiring with a rakshasa, unless they disbanded their private mercenary crews and forgave any debts that they thought the commonfolk owed them. The Gatto family refused to cooperate with the newly established government, and sought vengeance for their exiled patriarch. To try and regain control of the islands, they comitted a number of terrorist attacks on the main island. Their private mercenaries attempted to raid the Kociak Estate, but were quickly cut down by Tenin and the Maiden's Fist. Those that survived were apprehended and given a choice; join the council to better themselves or leave Basilla and never return.   Under Rikius' guidance, those that stayed became the basis for an island-wide military force. They provided important intel on the Gatto family, which led to a successful assault on their estate. The Gatto family held out for several days, but they were weakened and outnumbered. Some attempted to surrender, only for their own kin to deem them traitors, and kill them. The subsequent breach on their property led to even more deaths. By the time the battle was over, very few family members were left standing. The survivors were jailed and exiled.

Aftermath

Tensions between the nobility of the Basillian Isles and its commonfolk continued to increase after the fall of the Gatto family. While they had representatives on the council, they felt entitled to more. The royal families held no power anymore, leaving the nobles to fend for themselves. Behind the backs of many, several noteable members of high society were planning their own rebellion. Twenty years after the Basillian Council was formed, society was embroiled in a civil war. Assassination attempts were made against the ruling family, though all of them were unsuccessful. The nobles hired outside mercenary crews to fight their battle, leading to a host of horrific crimes against the general public. Thousands of people were displaced. The nobility of Basilla torched homes to the ground with the residents still inside, and they took hostages with no intent of returning them alive.   They began calling themselves the Flock of Crowns. Their efforts to restore Basilla to the vision they once had of it were unsuccessful. Even their failures led to countless lives lost. The war between the Basillian Council and the Flock of Crowns nearly caused widespread famine, but the crisis was averted with the help of the Order of the Oracle's Eye. Tourism dropped sigificantly, dealing a serious blow to Basilla's economy for many years. Safe zones were established on the main island, managed by The Stargazers and the council.   Five years later, the Flock of Crowns was defeated. The surviving members of the group were publicly executed and any assets they had were put towards the efforts to rebuild the islands. Basillian high society was no more, ending Jahangir's influence on the archipelago for good.
Conflict Type
Rebellion
Battlefield Type
Land
Conflict Result
The royal government was overthrown, leading to the formation of the Basillian Council.


Cover image: by Kal V, derivative work created with the Canva Content License

Comments

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Aug 6, 2021 07:31 by Dimitris Havlidis

Thank you for submitting on my special category! I really hope you enjoyed taking part in SummerCamp this year.

World Anvil Founder & Chief Grease Monkey
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Aug 6, 2021 22:23 by Frankie Valentine

I enjoyed it a lot and I'm looking forward to doing some more community challenges in the future!

Aug 7, 2021 04:30 by Dimitris Havlidis

Way more to come :)

World Anvil Founder & Chief Grease Monkey
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“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” - Aesop