Hellfreckle Empire

## Before

The beginnings of the Hellfreckle empire are quite clouded. Not very many citizens of The Old Gingerian Republic remain. Most of the history that is taught in schools in the empire is flat propaganda. Most of it including tales of oppression and suffering. All journals from soldiers, as well as letters back home we’re destroyed for fear of the truth leaking.
We know very little as to what actually happened but we do know a few key details. The Hellfreckle empire was mainly comprised of rich oligarchs, warlords, and relatives of emperors of the now dead Gingerian Empire. These people controlled an elite police force which would later make a transition into becoming what we know now as the Brotherhood of Taxes. This elite police force would come under strong influence from those oligarchs and politicians. Their power was quickly abused though, they were used to cause unrest in the crime underworld.

## Destabilization

The destabilization in the crime world shook up everything from the economy, to politics. It affected everyday life. Stores were slowly going out of business, and their replacements were controlled by crime families who were loyal to those politicians and oligarchs, that made up the head of the elite police organization. These stores had much higher prices than their competitor, making traffic there slim. Other rival businesses were frequently raided and burned, causing people to flock to the new stores.

Because of the raised prices, many groups of people refused to purchase goods from these stores. Some even took to rioting, to try to convince the government to shut down these stores. Because of the refusal to purchase goods, the Gingerian government lost quite a bit of sales-tax revenue. In the summer of 1680, the Gingerian government was bribed by the high ranking officials who were in charge of this new shakeup, to not side with the protesters. The Gingerian Republic was corrupt from the very start, so this was nothing new. Though as tensions rose, something was bound to happen.

## Tensions unleashed

On December 9th, 1681, a crowd had gathered in front of one of the new, crime owned, breadstore. The crowd was blocking people from entering the building. The crowd was part of the group People’s party, a large group of Gingerian citizens who opposed the corruption in the government and the crime controlled stores. Slowly, another crowd gathered in front of the Bread store. This crowd was mostly made up of hungry peasants and factory workers who needed to buy food for their families. Snowballs, and jeers were traded between the two crowds. Finally one man punched another and a giant fight broke out.

Finally the “authorities“ arrived at the scene of the brawl. Many people had quit fighting by now, while a few still remained in brawls with others. Many people were lying on the ground bloody and battered. The authorities that had arrived were the elite police force, here to protect their business. When they arrived, the crowd quickly disperse. Though a few people remained. These people began shouting at the men. Then, the men drew their swords and batons. What insued was a bloodbath. Anyone who was walking out and about at the time was attacked, and ruthlessly stabbed, beaten, or worse. This day is known as