Alsynnia's Massacre

== Overview ==
Alsynnia's Massacre was a mass shooting that took place in the Capitol District of Messiah on M37T3Y2854. Thousands of political activists and sympathizers to potential heir to the throne Alsynnia Argyle protesting the recent coronation of Queen Ana Kellic were summarily executed by Collingian Army soldiers. The event was a critical moment in Collingian history which cemented a lasting distaste amongst the public for Collingian royalty that would persist throughout Queen Ana Kellic's entire reign, ultimately sparking the Collingian Civil War. 
=== Preceding Events ===
==== Ana's Twin, Alsynnia ====
Following the passing of King Rudolph Kellic IV, there was much contention over who would rightfully claim heir to the throne. King Rudolph produced no male heirs, which ultimately placed his eldest daughter Ana as heir to the throne. This was not without scrutiny however, as it was well speculated that Ana was a twin. Her supposed sister was Alsynnia Argyle, another woman of high status who started poor but married into the rich and powerful Argyle family. While her official origins are supposedly humble, it had been alleged that she had been abandoned on the city streets shortly after her and Ana's birth, with only a small royal pendant in her bassinet inscribed with her name. The abandonment of twins was sadly a common practice during this era, for largely religious reasons. Period PVT beliefs stated that were a woman to give birth to twins, one was a soulless golem; destined to be filled with the evil spirit of Mogyawth. Many twins were sadly killed for this reason, but more affectionate mothers would secretly send them away in an attempt to hide their terrible secret.
==== A Display of Democracy ====
Rumors around Ana's twin sister swirled, and intensified when King Rupdolph's wife Queen Gravina allegedly died by suicide only a month after Ana's birth. For many years it was an open secret that Ana was a twin. The scandal culminated in Y2851 when a woman, Alsynnia Argyle, claimed heir to the Collingian throne. Her appearance was the spitting image of Ana, who herself did not even definitively know she was a twin. Public discourse and discontent grew, threatening widespread riots. Such a situation was unprecedented. To defuse the situation King Rudolph called for a "display of democracy". Through popular election, the people of the Collingian Empire would decide the true heir to the throne. 
Such a novel proposition was met by the public with great enthusiasm, which clamored at the chance to be part of the political process. In short order, a debate was held between Princess Ana and Lady Alsynnia, broaching numerous topics relevant to a potential heir. As the debate wore on, it was clear that Lady Alsynnia had won the public's adoration. Her sharp wit, tact, humility, and populist appeal outshone Ana's smug elitism. Many times Alsynnia left Ana quite literally speechless, resigning the moderator simply to move to the next question. 
==== Alsynnia's Hopes Dashed ====
While it was clear to see that Alsynnia had "won", the mechanics of politics are sadly much darker. The entire "display of democracy" was just a perfunctory formality; a show for the masses, and pretense to claim plausible deniability once Princess Ana was inevitably crowned queen by the compromised Collingian House Politica. When it became clear what had happened, public outrage erupted across the kingdom. More motivated protestors dubbed themselves "Alsynnia's Army". Tensions came to a head as Alsynnia, along with her immediate family, were exiled from the city by the king and sent to the far-away Kingdom of Velocitus. This was his final action, as days later the elderly king contracted Bloedhoes and died shortly after. 
=== The Massacre ===
With the king's passing, a fabricated coronation was quietly held in the capitol for Queen Ana, with the jeers and shouts of throngs of protestors just out of earshot. 
The first few weeks of Ana's rule were fraught with civil unrest, as citizens chafed under her heavy-handed edicts. Many protests were quelled in brutal fashion, with citizens beaten and imprisoned without trial. This brutality was on full display on M37T3Y2854. The date marked one year since Queen Ana's coronation, and while a parade was set to ride through the center square of the Capitol District, thousands of members of Alsynnia's Army descended upon the area, blocking the procession's route. Queen Ana herself, wanting to send a brutal message to her detractors and enemies, ordered her officers and guards to descend upon the citizens with murderous intent, to make an example of these "ungrateful miscreant swine". The soldiers surrounded the square, cutting off all entry and exit. They then systematically rounded up all the protestors, executing them en-masse. Attendees of the parade looked on in horror as thousands of protestors were shot, stabbed, beheaded, and even burned alive, with Queen Ana looking on in cold approval. There was a horrifying silence as the last protestor was executed, lingering for an uncomfortable while. Then, as if nothing happened, Queen Ana ordered to procession to continue, the wheels of the cheerful parade floats and carts mangling and grinding over the fresh corpses of the dead.