Nine Minute War

The Nine Minute War was an extremely brief conflict that took place between the Ambrion Kingdom of Ecclesia and the Republic of Heimstadt. Nine minutes after Ecclesia's declaration of war was sent to the Heimele, the nation surrendered, hence the name. It brought to an end nearly 150 years of animosity that existed between the two states, beginning in the Great Sparwood War.
== Background ==
The Free City of Heimstadt was founded in , under the Frosterium Empire. The Ecclesian people, who originated in Solisios, fled the region due to religious persecution. They were invited to settle land south of Frosmyre, after Heimstadt successfully petitioned Queen Kaleb for permission to do so. The Ecclesians arrived in Sparwood in the year , and founded Ecclesia as a vassal of the Frosterium, starting its diplomatic relationship with Heimstadt. In , the Forsterium collapsed, and both Ecclesia and Heimstadt became independent nations.
In 105 TE, Ecclesia and Heimstadt's strong diplomatic relations resulted in a treaty integrating the Republic of Heimstadt as a vassal of Ecclesia. The agreement allowed for Heimstadt to keep its democracy, freedom, and liberties intact, while also permitting peaceful secession from Ecclesia at any time, so long as the majority of the legislature voted in favor.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BF_Id9QoGekqglVAM4tHA5eiW32tiorY/view?usp=drive_link, 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mMsWUiBdMGRhrCxOG8eq9x_BPu1h3lIz/view?usp=drive_link
Following the fall of Rohel, GBN, the alleged leader of a political shadow organization known as the "Collective", joined Heimstadt's government, along with other Karteki nationals. Shortly after, Heimele Nerosio began introducing sweeping reforms, citing a need to bolster the democracy of Heimstadt. Following this, Heimstadt's legislature held a vote in secret to declare independence from Ecclesia. As nearly all records from this time have been lost, it is unclear if and to what extent Kartek exerted influence over Heimstadt's vote, as repeatedly alleged by Ecclesian officials during the conflict that would follow.
While the agreement signed between Ecclesia and Heimstadt allowed for Heimstadt to secede by majority vote, Ecclesia declared the vote illegitimate, as it was held in secret, and suspected by the Ecclesians to be the result of Karteki meddling. Ecclesian officials gave Heimstadt an ultimatum to reintegrate as a province, or face war. Subsequently, the Empire of Kartek declared war on Ecclesia, citing the need to protect Heimstadt from Ecclesian aggression, starting the Great Sparwood War.
File:TuscanDenial1.png|Recorded exchange between Komui Phoenix and Ex-Heimele Tuscan
File:TuscanDenial2.png|Recorded exchange between Komui Phoenix and Ex-Heimele Tuscan
File:TuscanDenail2andahalf.png|Recorded exchange between Komui Phoenix and Ex-Heimele Tuscan
File:TuscanDenial3.png|Recorded exchange between Komui Phoenix and Ex-Heimele Tuscan
File:TuscanDenial4.png|Recorded exchange between Komui Phoenix and Ex-Heimele Tuscan
Wanting to remove the validity of Kartek's casus belli, in , the Ecclesians sent Komui Phoenix as a diplomat to speak with the nations foreign minister, the Ex-Heimele Tuscan. Phoenix alleged that the war had nothing to do with Heimstadt, and was merely an excuse for Kartek to commit genocide against the Ecclesians. He offered Tuscan a publicly apology for refusing to recognize Heimstadt's vote, $100,000 as compensation, and a guarantee of Heimstadt's independence by Ecclesia, in exchange for Heimstadt making peace with Ecclesia. Tuscan denied this offer, citing his distrust of offers made by Ecclesia, who allegedly broke several agreements with Heimstadt in the past.
Tuscan also cited Ecclesia's lack of investment in or care for Heimstadt, and its disrespect of their democratic institutions. Tuscan then said that he would rather Heimstadt be subjugated by Kartek, if it meant the same fate were to befall Ecclesia. Considering subjugation under Kartek would have meant genocide for Ecclesia's peoplehttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1_SV8a0LyT-ndnD0gskMF2nyahr7zS1Vz/view?usp=drive_linkhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1LbbdC4fj9peFmdTY_2F8BSdDNfQU1WBC/view?usp=drive_link, the Ecclesians were enraged. Komui Phoenix published the record of their conversation to the international community, with Tuscan following suit, and Komui again responding shortly after. While Komui Phoenix publicly preached that he was praying for the souls of Heimstadt's people, privately, he and Ecclesia's leadership vowed vengeance against Heimstadthttps://drive.google.com/file/d/11J7p-kU-h83_yh_GXhYcw1zl41mDlDXm/view?usp=drive_link. 
Eventually, in , one year after the Battle of Mother's Day, Heimstadt would come to the table and sign peace with Ecclesia. The terms were the ones originally proposed by Komui Phoenix.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LNcwIIizXkgKc_3rqel0DOua-euInsbDYrEblP_cXyQ/edit The Great Sparwood War would end in , with the Treaty of Alerre.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dxU4UH2IDNs_MAmvygd0MQol_DDqqg_kPFEJUwMUzC0/edithttps://drive.google.com/file/d/10AEOh425DiKt1-HXrSBfsIp6iU8_SeqE/view?usp=drive_link 
== Prelude ==
=== Ecclesia ===
For Ecclesia, the lead up to the Nine Minute War began in , 140 years after the exchange between Komui Phoenix and Tuscan, and 4 years after Komui's death. The Ex-Heimele Tuscan came to the Pontius Kasper and offered his blessing for Ecclesia to annex the country.https://drive.google.com/file/d/11zEEoHugFSd33PTj_8qrOLzqteFzIHBw/view?usp=drive_link Confused at first, the Pontius inquired as to the sudden change of heart, and Tuscan informed him that the Heimele Technician, someone the Pontius held in high regard, had been pushed out of government after losing the election to a low born commoner, Heimele Raven. At the time, there had already been a delegation from Heimstadt present in Alerre to discuss possible methods of filling in the Great Trench that Heimstadt had dug in between itself and Ecclesia.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z7FbZYFAFhcW1dcJtk7WkqCjO8owjJSm/view?usp=drive_link Tech sent a letter to the delegation, informing them that he was no longer Heimele, and that the new Heimele Raven would be in charge from then on. Soon after, Heimele Raven herself would arrive at the delegation in Alerre to take the lead in the negotiation. Kahmoi Phoenix, who had been handling Ecclesia's end of the negotiations, asked why the Ex-Heimele had resigned from the Alderman after losing the election, to which Raven responded, he had done so for "personal reasons". Kahmoi immediately sent a letter to Technician asking for an explanation. In his response he would claim that there had been political tampering and back room deals that lead to his defeat in the election, and tired of the palace intrigue, he chose to resign.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MsuTM9gjtRj5YLJ5r7yX_JUJBP8xmDqy/view?usp=drive_link Kahmoi then invited Technician to the capital, so he could confront Raven personally, which the Ex-Heimele accepted. 
When Technician arrived at the delegation, bringing Tuscan in tow, he called Heimele Raven a liar straight to her face, dismissing the idea he had resigned due to "personal reasons". Raven claimed that Tuscan himself had told her as much, to which Tuscan denied. Kahmoi asked for Technician to explain himself in full, to which he replied:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1venya5JXJnrEKk_VZteM_wfhT_j5vKFE/view?usp=drive_link 
Following this, the Ex-Heimeles stormed out, leaving Raven and the delegation completely stunned. Raven would spend the next hours frantically trying to explain away Technician's allegations.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nN22BNb-a5np8jiUVqiHKzAkF6TRX2Nx/view?usp=drive_link She accused Technician of speaking unkindly about Ecclesia behind closed doors,https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HW61lprgLUetPCUJysOi1WzRdRPegmg9/view?usp=drive_link and of taking unconstitutional action to keep his clique in power.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pkaHVec7yCDvPdwowR7aQpPAqS2f7otU/view?usp=drive_link Kahmoi would later go to Technician to hear his side of the story. He told Kahmoi that Raven had used a loophole within the most recently drafted constitution to win the election, and then closed the loophole upon her ascension to Heimele.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i_zVzulus_CgDImuOTtNXGUP_EtpGH1P/view?usp=drive_link
The loophole worked like this: in the republic's constitution, there existed a clause in Section 1 that stated that a political cabinet could not hold more than 20% of the population of Heimstadt.https://drive.google.com/file/d/14bL0vH9V96_55ACnihOsAKwN8JkbOfu7/view?usp=drive_link However, the wording of "political cabinet" was most likely made in error, due to the fact that the main governing body of the republic was referred to as the court of the Alderman. It is likely that the constitution meant to say "political party" instead, so as to prevent one party from gaining too much dominance. However, due to the wording present, the term "political cabinet" could be interpreted to mean the Alderman. What makes this relevant is the fact that Raven combined her own party with the HRP to form the HLRP, thus combining their votes together and allowing her to win the election.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K4MJnwxl7eYssG8XMfAERtBRgOHBwOTv/view?usp=drive_link However, this would have meant that the HLRP would have had more than 20% of Heimstadt's population within it.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U8LgPgaSL4q0gJqdXV_TvZq3DqsfBlCO/view?usp=drive_link Due to the previously mentioned interpretation, Raven would be able to ascend to the position of Heimele regardless. However, upon becoming Heimele, she would officially clarify within the constitution that "political cabinet" meant "political party",https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YyqSeVxs85yPG5EVIt20iRY5BovhheCo/view?usp=drive_link thus closing the loophole that allowed her to win in the first place.
After spending three months pouring over all the necessary documents to confirm Technician's claims, Kahmoi Phoenix invited him to Blackthorn Bastion for a private meeting.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HoJs6_3rGbzR-0d0RylUtmg6aFTf-YyZ/view?usp=drive_link While it isn't known for certain, historians believe that this was where Kahmoi offered the Ex-Heimele a deal to install him as Duke of Heimstadt, should he support Ecclesia's annexation of it. Six months later, in , Kahmoi would ride out on horseback with a retinue to Heimstadt.
=== Kahmoi Phoenix ===
While Kahmoi hadn't been round during the Great Sparwood War, being just a baby in the land of Vatkas at the time, Komui had taught Kahmoi all about the war during her tutelage in Sararis. Komui would share with Kahmoi his hatred of Heimstadt, and of democracy itself, often going on long rants about the degeneracy of "mob rule", and his desire to destroy Heimstadt for what it had done to Ecclesia.This is revealed to us through fragments of letters Komui had written to the Pontius, discovered by Sweet Sages during the Doom of Ratham
While Kahmoi did not share the same level of hatred for Heimstadt that her father did, it is key to note that only 4 years before Tuscan had come to Kasper about what was happening in the country, Komui Phoenix had passed away from old age. Kahmoi would have lived with her father for around a century up until that point, and while today the specifics remain unclear, it is likely that his death had a great impact on her.
It is theorized that Kahmoi acted against Heimstadt due not only to her upbringing by Komui, but also a desire to carry out the vengeance that her father could not.
== Declaration of War ==
When Kahmoi's retinue arrived in the city square, she dismounted her horse and handed the nearest guard a scroll, demanding that he deliver it to the Heimele at once. The scroll read:
The guard ran to the Heimele to deliver the message. Simultaneously, Technician moved to lock Raven out of the court of the Alderman, barricading its doors from within.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JRGSqObjAxLppD0koPMqwoboE0jwNOj3/view?usp=drive_link Nine minutes after Kahmoi had handed the declaration to the guard, Heimele Raven appeared before her in the town square and uttered the words, "the city is yours", officially surrendering Heimstadt to Ecclesia.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pj6t41WiqpPMcu70_KYNn2Y59OTaTZdb/view?usp=drive_link
== Terms of Surrender ==
During the negotiations that followed, Raven would plead that she not be banished from the city, though Kahmoi made no promises.https://drive.google.com/file/d/19HT65DFsJnrtQ1Zgla4s2-Ng4b0SDxjU/view?usp=drive_link With her authority over Heimstadt now non-existent, the negotiations continued between Technician, Tuscan, Kahmoi, and Tito Phoenix. Ecclesia's demands were that the Republic of Heimstadt be renamed to the Duchy of Heimstadt, and Technician be made Duke of the region, thus dissolving Heimstadt's democracy in favor of a monarchical system. While Technician was in favor, Tuscan wished for Heimstadt's democratic institutions to be preserved, and for reforms to be passed that would prevent another situation like Raven's electoral victory from happening again.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Px1jFWUyrQjxl51Hk0_ta2-G8Bp4hc1Y/view?usp=drive_link 
However, the Ecclesians insisted that the Duke was to have full and final authority over the region. Tuscan lamented that, with its ancient institutions destroyed, the population of Heimstadt would be upset.https://drive.google.com/file/d/12OUvWuNjEfe3laa2HQpImyR9cqp2MwQL/view?usp=drive_link This did not deter the Ecclesians, as Heimstadt's population was already at an all time low,Although internal records are unclear as to Heimstadt's population at the time, despite the Heimele petitioning for the population to fill out the Rathnir census (see footnote 28), the nation did not appear on the census results in terms of population (see footnote 29), meaning the nation would have numbered less than 40 people (4 active players) at the time.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UwRJ3KD58hUB3O-xwrSNzIw6449EYqkA/view?usp=drive_linkhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1HgF13lFcV8qBUVHp5yJZsBnRpP9ppyd9/view?usp=drive_link and would be unable to mount a successful rebellion against them. They insisted that no matter how Heimstadt was to be governed internally, its leader was not to be elected, and any elected officials were not to be given the power to veto the Duke's decisions. 
After 6 months, negotiations had concluded, and Ecclesia announced the annexation of Heimstadt and the dissolution of the republic to its people. The same day, guards would come in the night to take the Ex-Heimele Raven and her confidant Gulag out of the city, exiling them from Heimstadt permanently, on Kahmoi's orders.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DzIjaxGiGFqpaUAiooi7pwoN4IzGrh7x/view?usp=drive_link 
== Aftermath ==
Following her exile from Heimstadt, Raven would immigrate to the duchy of Elkinir upon Kahmoi's suggestion.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U2NECQ_UGsrmGOv1k5jQyaSP3d_YKH9Q/view?usp=drive_link She would live out the rest of her days there as a citizen.
Duke Technician would institute a new a system for the duchy, the "ward system", that would split up Heimstadt into wards, where private citizens could be selected and allowed to run their own internal districts, upon the approval of the Duke (now Lord Mayor).https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TEqEBK1L3q29PmRdF_4w-IuhqnGpJFfS/view?usp=drive_link The system was meant to allow for greater autonomy for the citizenry, with the hope that it would attract new immigrants to the region. However, the system failed to do so, and many of the old republicans fled to parts unknown. Heimstadt would never recover from the ensuing demographic collapse, and by the Doom of Ratham, the city was nearly entirely abandoned.https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sCwepZO-MzvH_0n-SxfW963hL6wyEufa/view?usp=drive_link
== References ==