The Crimson Rebellion

### **Overview**

The Crimson Rebellion, also referred to as the Red Rebellion and the Decade of Blood, was a large-scale armed uprising that took place in Eastern Asuwe between April 311 and December 320. Originating in the Eastern city of Ahviann, it soon spread to other nearby cities, including large cities with significant military garrisons like A'dante, which held the Sunward Garrison. Within half a year, at least 6 cities had undergone full-scale mutinies, with the regional lord being overthrown and exiled, or even murdered. When the rebellion was finally quelled in late 320, over 300,000 civilians and soldiers had perished in the conflict, making it the single largest civil conflict in the history of the Asuwan Empire.

### **Initial Beliefs**

For the first 2 years of the uprising, it was believed that Commander Yros Edrik, the Great Commander of the Sunward Garrison, had not been content with the position of Great Garrison Commander, and wanted to be Chief of the Armies instead. This position was, and is still, the highest point of command in the Asuwan Military, second only to the king. King Allemande, the ruling king at the time, had denied Edrik of this request 3 years prior, to which Edrik had expressed his open dissatisfaction. However, he had returned to his post at the Sunward Garrison without causing any military conflict. After the outbreak of the rebellion, many believed that Edrik's dissent with the King had been brewing, and that he had spent the 3 years planning an organised munity against the crown, which then manifested into the Crimson Rebellion.

According to written records by Lord Rhaegan III, who was a member of the King's Council at the time, a mysterious soothsayer had visited King Allemande with a message in late March 311. The soothsayer claimed to hail from A'dante, and warned the king that his empire would soon collapse, and that terrible things would happen. Mere days after Allemande received this message, the rebellion began. Over the next few months, loyal messengers from all across Eastern Asuwe sent reports of uprisings back to the crown, though it is likely that many more would have been intercepted before making it to the capital.

### **Initial Response**

Upon hearing Commander Edrik's betrayal, King Allemande ordered for the immediate capture of the commander and the Edrikos Clan, with the intention to publicly execute the entire clan for their act of treason. This order did not materialise in the end, as Edrik would be killed in a skirmish with troops of the Myrrian Garrison in late 311.

### **Main Cause**

Around 2 years after the beginning of the rebellion, the true cause of the rebellion would be unveiled: spies from neighbouring kingdom Great Losona had been sent to infiltrate multiple Asuwan cities near the Asuwan-Losona border. These spies, numbering in the hundreds, were tasked with sowing discord amongst soldiers and garrisons, in attempt to incite a seemingly self-initiated armed rebellion against the Asuwan crown. King Lysander I, then king of Great Losona, had initiated this plot in attempt to weaken Asuwe internally, likely before launching a full-scale invasion on the kingdom, though the latter motive has never been confirmed. Prior to this discovery, Lord Tharian Accoprios, then Lord of A'dante, had been labeled a traitor to the crown as he had abandoned his post as Commander of the Myrrian Garrison, and rallied his troops to join the rebellion. He was later killed in combat, under orders from the crown. Though unconfirmed, it is likely that he had joined the rebellion due to Losonian influence.

According to a letter written by Lord Aaron Tyrius, a member of the King's Council and Lord of Ahvdran, to King Allemande, it is likely that Losonian spies had already been planted in major Asuwan cities long before the start of the rebellion. He named it "a chief security concern", and one that would "threaten the very existence" of Asuwe if left unchecked.