Believed to possible be the oldest city in Wolfenstaad, Breylon was once Wolfenstaad‘s capital, when the nation was still young.
Breylon was a diverse city, believed to be the most diverse in the known world. It had a mix of Commoners from various castes and backgrounds, as well as many Nobles from lower Noble Houses. The majority of citizens were Commoners, and the Nobles did tend to live in larger homes, but despite the disparity in wealth, there appeared to be no animosity against the minority of Nobles who chose to live in the city. But that perception changed when the attacks began.
It begins...
The attacks started in the outskirts of the city. Places of business were burned at first. It was initially dismissed as random acts of vandalism. The city’s citizens were alarmed at first, but their concerns subsided, as what they were witnessing was a common pattern; disillusioned citizens, dissidents bearing commoner blood, would vandalize property, but then run away as soon as civil authorities came. As they always had before. It rarely happened, but when it did, it usually ended as quickly as it began. But as civil servants attempted to put out the fires, more dissidents would appear, throwing bottles through the windows of other buildings. Buildings of worship, statues commemorating historical figures of Nobility, even open markets and schools. The bottles were stuffed with cloth soaked with oils and other flammable fluids. They were lit before being thrown, and would then explode and spread flames everywhere as the bottles shattered. It soon became evident that the attacks were coordinated, and the number of dissidents continued to grow. The disbelief among citizens grew to fear, as it became evident that this was not like past protests. This was something more.
...and grows
As the fires grew, the dissidents’ numbers seemed to grow with them, and they began making their way down to the inner core of Breylon. Towards the council building. And towards the port and bridge leading to the capital. The fires continued to burn, with some fires reaching the top of the tallest cathedrals. Many of the dissidents then turned their attention from destroying property, to the citizens who took no part in their actions.
The dissidents then escalated their actions from vandalism to violence. Some would attack citizens fleeing from burning buildings, while others would board up the buildings with people trapped inside. A few were able to break out, or were broken free by other citizens who heard their screams. But many never made it out, and their remains would be found inside the burned buildings the morning after. For many, their bodies were burned so badly, it was unclear if they were of Noble of common blood.
A place of Sanctuary amidst the carnage
Many that were able to escape, would find refuge within the Wolven Cathedral, one of the few buildings that even the most brazen of Dissidents would not dare to enter. Perhaps they feared incurring the wrath of a demonic guardian from legend. Or perhaps there was a residue of morality, preventing them from desecrating a place that was seen as sacred by both Commoners and Nobles. It may never be known. But it was left largely untouched, while the rest of the city burned. And those fires burned strong into the night. The fires burned so bright, that the ruling Nobility who were in the Citadel could see the fires at night. They could actually see the buildings burning from across the strait. The strait that separated their island capital from the mainland.
A ruler's response
A mystery that is always revisited, is the response of House Wolfangell to the night of fire. While it was called the night of fire, the insurrection in the city was said to have actually lasted for three days, and that, while the Nobility’s armies encircled the besieged city within hours of the attack, they did not retake the city until the third day . And when they retook the city, it was with the King personally leading their forces. Some of the dissidents, feeling empowered by their earlier success of laying waste to much of the city, charged ahead to try and fight the Liege Protectorates. They would soon realize, far too late, why their nation’s armies were so feared, and why their mere presence was enough cause others to flee. With half their number slain within moments, the dissidents realized how futile it was to fight on. And upon seeing their compatriots brutally slain, many turned and fled, abandoning their campaign of anarchy, fleeing into the night like locusts. It was believed a small number of dissidents were taken alive, back to the Citadel, although their ultimate fate was never revealed.
As for the battle itself, the King himself was said to have fought as though possessed by some unseen force. It was the only explanation that some could offer, as the King, while not weak, did not possess the youth and vigour that he did in the early days of his reign. Also, there was no record of the King having ever personally ventured into a battlefield before. Yet on that night, he did so, with no reservation. No fear. And no mercy. Accompanied by four of his Honour Guard, the King was said to have ventured deep into one of the catacombs, where the remaining leadership of the dissidents had fled. Upon finding the dissidents, they cut down their ranks, until only the leader and two followers remained. The King and the dissident leader fought, and it was in that brutal battle, that the King was said to have suffered the scars that still remain on his face. The fate of the dissident leader remained a mystery, however. No body was ever found. Some believed the King killed the leader, and had their body thrown into the pyre, along with the bodies of the other dissidents. Others say the King grievously wounded the leader, and took them back the Citadel, to endure punishment and torture for their crimes. But a small number of people believe the leader escaped. That they fled deep into the mainland, finding shelter with citizens sympathetic to their cause, and were planning another attack on the nation. The ruling Nobility would never confirm the fate of the mysterious leader. They would only say that the dissident leader had been defeated, and would never be seen again. The fate of the leaders’ two followers was also unclear, although their fates did not garner the same attention as that of their leader.
A wrathful ruler
Throughout Wolfenstaad’s history, it had never allowed a foreign army to invade their nation. Or to harm any of its citizens. But in one night, a group of their own citizens had harmed their nation, harmed them, in a way that no invading army ever had. They had killed and wounded thousands of citizens. Bodies of loyal citizens, mostly Nobles, lay throughout the city. Some burned beyond recognition. It would take days before many could be properly identified. The shame felt by the ruling Nobility was overshadowed almost instantly by rage. But their rage was nothing, compared to that of the King and Queen’s. The sentences decreed by Wolfenstaad’s King were so brutal, that it caused some of their most ardent supporters to counsel a more tempered response. But the King’s wrath would not be abated. And in the days that followed, he would reinstate old laws. Laws that their own ancestors had abolished centuries ago, because they deemed them too barbaric, even in those ancient times.
A changed ruler
The King would never speak of what happened in the catacombs on that night. He seemed changed. As if he entered Breylon as one person, and left as another. His relationship with his daughter Cyan would change as well. She pleaded against the new laws he reinstated, and when he reinstated them, she spoke out against them in open council. The King did not reply as angrily as some expected, but he rarely spoke to his daughter after that moment. Cyan was even overheard speaking to one of her Aides, saying that when she was near her father, he often treated her as if she were a stranger. She knew that something happened in the catacombs, and would often press her Father to talk to her about it, only for him to either angrily dismiss her, or stare at her with an expression of anger and regret before walking away. This would frustrate Cyan to no end, as she wanted to know what happened, and felt that if her Father told her, she could help him come to terms with whatever had happened that night, as she could see how much it had affected him. Her mother, the Queen, would often have to mediate any conversations they had, as such conversations between Father and Daughter often ended with one of them leaving the room in anger.
Reasons behind the carnage
In the aftermath of the attack, many, still raw with emotion and pain, were left searching for answers. Sorrow soon turned to anger when the truth was revealed. The dissidents, the disillusioned commoners who were behind the carnage, had committed those attacks in response to the ruling Nobility apparently refusing to pass a reform. One that would have granted all commoners in the nation, rights that their ancestors had never known. Rights that would have improved their quality of life. Some within the Royal Council claim that the reform was never refused, but was in the process of being extensively reviewed by the Royal Council. And that while the process had taken longer than expected, It was merely a formality, and was going to be passed within a matter of days, granting all commoners within the nation, the increased rights they had been seeking for so long.
Harming their own cause
If true, then the events in Breylon would only serve to deepen the tragedy of that night by adding a cruel irony to it.
Up to that night, support of expanded rights for Commoners had slowly but steadily been increasing. Through the efforts of Cyan and those in her circle, more and more Nobles among the citizenry believed that the proposals were necessary in helping to bridge the divide between Commoners and Nobles. While many of the older Nobles were resistant to change, many of the younger, more progressive Nobility did not view Commoners with the same stigma that others did. And while reforms were slow to pass, Cyan was successful in ensuring that many did, in spite of resistance from many Nobles who held more traditionalist views. Views of where they felt the proper place of Commoners should be in their societal hierarchy. The changes Cyan brought forward may have been incremental, but they were more than anyone had seen in the nation’s history. And with each change that did not destabilize the nation, more and more proposals would be presented. And over time, more and more Nobles would support them. But the actions of the dissidents on that night would change everything.
In the days that passed after the failed insurrection, support for many reforms would all but dissipate. In areas where Commoners were the minority, they were looked at with renewed disdain. Even Commoners of Breylon, who on that night, tried to shelter and protect citizens of Noble blood from the dissidents, were looked at with suspicion and distrust. To be fair, not all Nobles exhibited that same renewed sense of hostility towards Commoners. They understood that the overwhelming majority of Commoners, despite having many grievances, had never been violent towards them. But only a few would speak out against the injustices that commoners were now being subjected to, Cyan and her supporters being chief among them. However, most other Nobles who were previously supportive of increased commoner rights became silent. They became fearful of being declared ‘class traitors’ by other Nobles if they tried to speak up in defence of beleaguered commoners. While a small number of Nobles would continue their efforts to push for increased rights for commoners, the larger movement among the Nobility, the group that initially supported those reforms, began to wain.
After that night, those who were against the proposed reforms, would see a resurgence in their support, which enabled them to pass reforms of their own. Reforms that eroded many of the rights that those earlier reforms had given the commoners.
A return to the old ways
Representatives would once again be appointed by the ruling Nobility. New reforms had allowed Representatives to be Commoners, elected by the villages they represented. It was one of Cyan’s signature reforms. But after that night, her father, King Gunther, rescinded that reform. He implemented a new policy, where almost all the new appointed representatives were of Noble blood. This made loyal Commoners feel that they had even less of a voice than they did before, reinforcing the reality that the actions of those dissidents had undercut years of progressive reforms which had been slowly but steadily improving their lives. They could not protest as openly as they once could, due to fear of the new King’s laws, which added to a newfound resentment by many law-abiding commoners against the ruling Nobility.
A lesser known theory...
Another theory regarding the dissidents’ actions was that it had been orchestrated by a Noble who sought to overthrow the King and Queen’s rule. The theory was that after the Night of Fire, said person had either been killed, fled, or been captured and taken to a lower level of the Citadel. While the theory of a disloyal Noble was largely dismissed by the council of Nobles, after that night, many lower levels of the Citadel were closed off. Areas once open for all Nobles could only be accessed by the King and Queen. And their royal guards. The belief is that this person has been imprisoned ever since that night, and had since been subjected to interrogation and torture, both as punishment for their role in the attack, and as a means of extracting information on who else was part of their movement. Cyan appears to be suspicious of the reasons behind the closing of some lower levels, but has thus far been unable to explore those areas, due to the heavy presence of her parents’ Honour Guard.