The Narrows Massacre

The Narrows Massacre on Luana 19th was a significant event in Collapse-era Halcyian history; the event that begun the Halcyian Winter Revolution.
== Background ==
It occurred around noon on Luana (March) 19th, 252 C. Two mages, a man and a woman, were due to be hanged - at noon, as per Halcyian tradition, when God (the sun) is closest. This took place in the Occident Square of the western tip of the Narrows, right beneath the clock tower of the Shelter of Her Light Maionan church. Present initially were numerous Jackboots, a chaplain, and large masses of enrapt crowds. 
Earlier that day, the new king Copper I and their noble entourage had made landfall in Halcyon for the first time. Their predecessor and estranged mother Queen Volterra had died just under a month prior. Halcyon had been in an uncertain power vacuum and the Lionheart communists were ramping up their terrorist attacks massively. 
== The Event ==
King Copper and their entourage consisting of Emet, Yarak, and Rhydia arrived at the square, muscling through. They demanded of a guard to take them up onto the scaffolding, where the hanging would happen in mere minutes. They announced themselves as King, to some cheers. At only twelve seconds to noon, Yarak then subtly dislodged the clock face far above using a palmed Fireball, which almost killed the chaplain. Rhydia tried to stop the chaplain pulling the lever, but the lever was pulled and the two mages began hanging. Yarak freed one - he crawled under the stand - but the other one, she died painfully. Meanwhile, seeing the fireball, the known Lionheart leader Tamerlane seized his chance, decrying the king as weak, and hurled a necklace of fireballs onstage, which exploded. It gravely wounded the group, as well as downing Emet. It also killed around 20 civillians and a Jackboot. Tamerlane slipped into the crowd, as Jackboots fired on the crowd, assuming it to be an uprising - more civillians were shot and lay dying horribly. Tensions had exploded, at long last, and within hours of the King's arrival. 
Rhydia chased down Tamerlane, but he revealed himself to be wearing a bomb vest. He told her he was willing to die for his cause, so she backed off, and noted where he fled to. The King and their entourage fled the square. The Jackboots fired upon the crowd several more times as some of the crowd began attacking back with whatever they could find - bricks, knives, tools. The Jackboots eventually withdrew as most of the crowd dispersed. Within a few hours, the square was empty, full of bodies and he charred remains of the scaffold. The final death tolls were-
* 2 Jackboots killed (one by Tamerlane, one by civillians throwing bricks)
* 4 Jackboots injured by peasants with tools and bricks
* 1 mage killed by hanging by the neck until dead
* 78 civillians killed (eighteen by Tamerlane, seven by Jackboots firing the first time, twenty-three by Jackboots firing subsequently, nineteen from stampeding and crushing, and eleven later from the injuries sustained)
* At least 50+ peasants injured by fire, smoke, debris, gunshots, or stampeding, roughly, but no way to know for sure.
Category:Events