Montiac Civil War

The **Montiac Civil War** was a major civil war between forces loyal to Montiacos (led by King Nonus and General Pellian Casca), and the Montiac rebels (led by Appius Salvian), which began on the 21st of Ursus, ME 78. The civil war was fought all across the Domunian Peninsula, with Salvian utilizing a new form of warfare to avoid being locked into a traditional frontline war. The state of Isara, then also at war with Montiacos, provided limited assistance to the rebels until ME 80. The deciding battle was fought on the 5th of Thallanium, ME 81, and saw Salvian's forces take the capital city Montiacos with little resistance.

The civil war marked the end of the 106-year reign of the Montiac royal family, the banishment of King Nonus, and the creation of the Montiac Empire, which continues to rule much of Calast to this day.

## Background

With the Montiac-Isaran War at a perpetual stalemate, sucking away civilian resources, the support for King Nonus from most citizens was incredibly low. Coupled with the weakness shown by the military, which most found embarrassing, Nonus's ability to lead Montiacos was questioned.

Appius Salvian, a long time opposer of Nonus and a well respected figure in Montiac society, had long pushed for an elected ruler to replace the monarchy. Disgusted with the war himself, Salvian began his revolt on the 21st of Ursus, ME 78, thus beginning the Montiac Civil War.

Salvian had sent out letters to generals and commanders he was close with, asking for their support in his campaign. Those that sided with Salvian would become the original seven High Councillors of the Montiac Empire.

## Course of the war

Despite overwhelming civilian support, the rebels failed to secure the frontline they had hoped. The rebel commanders were fairly spread out across the peninsula, forcing Salvian to adapt with a new form of warfare, and mainly fight a war of attrition rather than a traditional frontline war. Salvian's "guerilla warfare" would continue for much of the war. An uneasy alliance was made with Isara, though the two sides rarely fought together.

Isara surrendered 15-months after the civil war's start due to a mass famine, though little territory was gained by Montiacos. From there, most expected the rebels to be crushed by the focused might of the Montiac army. Salvian himself had even reportedly made arrangements to flee to Isara. However the new Montiac General, Pellian Casca, made a fatal mistake: using the Chamael as shock troops, sending them en masse into battle with regular Lepus soldiers following behind. As the Lizard-folk weren't as strong as originally thought, they and those that followed were slaughtered by the rebels who would quickly surround them. This led to the boost in manpower failing to make the difference expected, as well as morale in Montiacos falling. Furthermore, the Chamael and Lepus were extremely hostile to each other which made managing the mixed army nearly impossible.

As the rebels neared Montiacos, finally combining their forces, many Montiac garrisons defending camps and cities would simply surrender at the sight of the rebels. Soldiers in Montiacos and other southern cities would often defect in the middle of the night, leading Nonus to act a travel ban between cities. Those that were seen on roads during this time were arrested, whether they were defectors or not. Finally, on the 5th of Thallanium, ME 81, the combined rebel forces marched on and took the capital, ending Nonus's reign, and the civil war.

## Aftermath

King Nonus was immediately exiled. Though originally planning on executing him, Salvian took pity on the former king and allowed him banishment to Calor, as opposed to losing his head. Nonus's fate after this remains unknown.

In the days immediately following the wars end, Salvian made major changes to Montiacos. These included reorganizing it as the Montiac Empire and making himself the first Emperor, creating a High Council to govern alongside the emperor, introducing elections for High Councilors, and drastically overhauling the military.

Isara would ultimately fold into the Empire, unable to recover from its famine, and became the second inner province. While the Empire gave assistance to the country's Lepus, the Chamael of of Isara were left to fend for themselves, and would go extinct come ME 88.