Gotrian Civil War

It's all a bit pathetic, isn't it? We lost our home, and all we could do was fight about it. We should, and will, be better than this.

— Valya Ghuur, High Lord of Albathanian Gotri

The Gotrian Civil War was a largely cold war fought between two factions in the government of Gotri, after the fall of their titular city over the World's Edge. Each faction had the aid of another city state in their war, namely Albathania and Balkehir, after whom the factions are often named.
A disastrous affair, most lay the blame for the conflict at the feet of the Laslin Union, of which all three cities were a part. Through their inaction and neglect before and after Gotri's fall, they are held to have enabled the civil war.

Background

The city of Gotri had, for the majority of extant history, been the closest of the Laslin Cities to the edge of the world. At its furthest it had only been 400 metres away, and this distance shrank with each passing year. As the edge drew closer, the various leaders of Gotri began negotiations with their two neighbouring cities, Albathania and Balkehir.
These negotiations were mediated by the Laslin Union, which had existed for 4 centuries at this point. Beyond trying to figure out how the many soon-to-be refugees of Gotri would be housed, the primary issue of concern was where the government of the city would relocate. Each of the neighbouring cities fought hard to be the new home of the Gotrian government, and the discussions stalled out as a result of interference from the four other Laslin cities.
As such, when the city of Gotri began to physically crumble apart, no consensus had been reached, and individual citizens and leaders fled to whichever city they preferred. A stubborn few refused to leave until an agreement was made, and many of those perished on the 17th of August 2635 when the city finally fell over the edge.

Meeting

Following the city's total collapse, the Laslin Union convened an emergency meeting in Balkehir on the 15th of September, aimed at determining how best to help the survivors.
However, there was confusion among the Gotrian survivors over who was actually representing them. The groups who had convened in each city, believing themselves to be the full and legitimate government, designated 5 representatives to attend, leading to a 10 strong delegation arriving at the meeting.
Chaos nigh immediately ensued, as each party argued for its supremacy over the other. Other groups attempted to step in to stem the conflict, but in keeping with the prior record of the Union, succeeded only in fanning the flames further.
By meeting's end, no agreement had been reached amongst the Union's members over how best to help Gotri, and Gotri's two delegations had declared war on each other.

"I beg your pardon, but we are here on behalf of the city of Gotri, and-"
"Bullshit! We are the ones representing Gotri!"

— Snippet of the argument between the Gotrian delegations

Conflict Type

War

Start Date

15 September 2635

Ending Date

9 April 2641

Conflict Result

The Gotrian Government is formally re-established in Albathania

Belligerents

Flag of Albathanian Gotri by Isaac Thompson

Albathanian Gotri

Half of Gotri
Albathania

Led By

Valya Ghuur
Nirsa

Flag of Balkehira Gotri by Isaac Thompson

Balkehira Gotri

Half of Gotri
Balkehir

Led By

Luka Izman
Merten IV
Rehana II

Objectives

Establish the Gotrian government in Albathania

Establish the Gotrian government in Balkehir

Crown by Jared Subia

High Lord

While the Laslin Union is held as a major cause of the Civil War, another was Gotri's system of governance. Rather than a clear leader, the High Lord of Gotri was a flexible position known to change several times in as many years. Their power rested in their ability to command the respect of the majority of the lords of Gotri, who were free to change their alliegances at the drop of a hat.
As a result of this system, and despite being responsible for bringing the war to a close, Valya Ghuur was not the High Lord of the re-united Gotri for very long. She nevertheless remained a key member of its delegation to the Union for years to come.

Gotrian Civil War Map

Open full size

Cold War

Despite the fiery start, the "Albathanian Gotri" and "Balkehira Gotri" factions did very little fighting, as neither home city was willing to outfit a fighting force. More attention was paid to dealing with the aftermath of the city's collapse, and of ensuring the safety of Gotrians.
Much of the conflict arose in politics and economics. Each group refused to attend meetings where the other was also present, leading to either a total absence of Gotrian representation or the hosting of two separate Union meetings to allow each side to speak. The latter only served to spark the fury of more distant Laslin cities, such as Vilaen and Stadeben, who regularly boycotted these 'sham' discussions.
Barbs were frequently traded across the ocean between the cities, and businesses involving Gotrians would refuse to conduct any affairs in the other city. The most prominent of these was the Balkehira Ironworks, which was forced to cease all export of metal goods to Albathania on the objections of its now-majority Gotrian workforce.

Resolution

As tensions ebbed and flowed over the years following the fracture, disatisfaction with the situation ran rampant. Such was the frustration that the various lords in the Albathanian Gotri faction switched their allegiance from their previous High Lord to an anti-war lord, a younger orc by the name of Valya Ghuur.
Under Valya's new authority as High Lord, she set about demanding a meeting with the leader of Balkehira Gotri. When this was refused, she appeared at the Balkehira Ironworks unannounced to talk to the workers as they left in the evening, making clear her intentions. While the majority ignored her, a few would spread the word further.
After months of all but loitering on Balkehir's streets, she was granted an audience with the Balkehira Gotri High Lord, whereupon she laid out her proposal.

At the end of the day, what matters most isn't which orc has a little crown on their head, but whether our people are united and secure. I suggest that we have a debate - not about the merits of our respective governments that have been formed from the ashes of our homeland, but about the merits of the cities we find ourselves in. I suggest that we weigh their benefits, and agree on where is best for our people.

— Valya Ghuur to the assembly of Balkehira Gotri

With some trepidation, this plan was accepted. The debate would occur in a neutral venue, namely a ship loaned for the purpose by the city of Taufa, floating at the midpoint between the two cities. Each High Lord and their governments were in attendance, in addition to the leaders of both Albathania and Balkehir.

Debate

The debate aboard the vessel lasted for several days, as each lord and leader present made their case for the benefits of their city. In key focus was the treatment of the Gotrian refugees, to which Albathania's track record was seen as significantly better, as they had seen to the construction of new dwellings better suited to the majority-orcish populace and arranged for the poorest family's to find accommodation. The case was also made that Albathania's position just under 4 kilometres from the World's Edge made it a safer place to re-establish the government than in Balkehir, which was a mere kilometre away.
At the meeting's conclusion on the 9th of April 2641, a majority of the Gotrian lord's assembled voted for the government to be officially re-established in Albathania. Acknowledging that there were many who had found homes and safety in Balkehir, however, a concession was made - 1 of the 5 delegates Gotri was entitled to in the Laslin Union would come from the Balkehira diaspora.

Aftermath

With Gotri's government now relocated to Albathania and their civil war resolved, the Laslin Union was now able to meet with them and properly discuss actions that could be taken to aid the refugees. While productive, these meetings were marred by considerable criticism by Gotri, as Valya Ghuur lambasted their lack of action prior to the city's collapse that could have avoided the entire civil war.
Several decades later, the sole Balkehira delegate for Gotri was formally transferred to Albathania, though provisions were made for the voices of those in Balkehir to be heard by the Gotrian government.