Aglazdere Civil War

## The Padishah's Speech

*My subjects in Al Basazar, I address you on the eve of Aglazdere’s five hundredth anniversary with great solemnity and sense of purpose. Half a millennium has gone by since my illustrious ancestor, Sabahattin the Prophet, declared the existence of our blessed nation. It is time to enter a glorious new age, an age where we will once claim our destiny, an age where will cast off the shroud of falsehood and superstition, and age in which we will right the wrongs of the past.*

*My nation has been in the grasp of a systemic and long-lasting conspiracy to control the throne for nefarious and wicked ends. The rot began with Mazhar, the Grand Vizier, who conspired to have my illustrious ancestor, Sabahattin the Prophet, murdered so that he might become the puppetmaster of Aglazdere. The Prophet was not brought to heaven before his time. No, he was murdered, martyred in one of history’s greatest lies! The Grand Vizier, whose failed attempts to create the Philosopher’s Stone led to the sacrifice and needless slaughter, both in the Cataclysm and in the fall of Al Dijar, is the indeed the rot at the heart of this infection.*

*It is time to cast off the shroud of falsehood. Five hundred years ago, the Grand Vizier and the priesthood of the Maker conspired to create the Philosopher’s Stone, so that they might become immortal. What they hid from the outside world was this - the key ingredient to the Philosopher’s Stone is human souls. Thousands upon thousands sacrificed upon the altar of perverted science, so that man might live forever and lead might become goal. But the genocide of the Cataclysm was not circumstantial, but a cynical and calculated decision to bring about the apocalypse the priesthood of the Maker had been predicting. And yet, they failed. They conquered the world with the Prophet as their puppet, and killed him when he tried to reveal their lies. The Grand Vizier tried again, in Al Dijar, plunging the city beneath the sands as yet another sacrifice in search of the Philosopher’s Stone. How many times will he annihilate civilizations to make himself immortal? When will the sacrifices become too much? Never. Not for him. For the Grand Vizier, no sacrifice is too great.*

*The priesthood of the Maker is complicit in this conspiracy, even today. Five hundred years ago, they railed against technology, claiming that man had replaced god with machines. But this story is a lie. Machines are their god. Look across the river, my subjects in Al Basazar, and see their Gear Knights, the truth to their lie. This is what they intend for all mankind. Priests made immortal by means of the Philosopher’s Stone, and humanity bound in bodies of silicon and steel, slaves to the Laws of Robotics. The Maker himself is a lie, a ghost in the machine, unworthy of our worship.*

*I have searched for the truth. I have searched for a unifying principle, for a god worthy of our worship. If there is no Maker, no heaven, no eternal light, I thought, what of the gods of the earth, gods such as the Crocodile and the Cat worshipped in Akkhe? Yet those are primitive spirits. In my search, I sought to find a more primordial truth, truth abstracted from lies and graven idols. And one night, deep in the libraries of Abu Hasan, the truth was revealed to me by the lips of Tira Kariq, an ancient Djinn born of the fires of the world’s creation. Fire, earth, air, and water. These are the fundamental building blocks of reality, which collided in the time before times to create the world we know and cherish. It is the Djinn who were first born of these fundamental building blocks, and who are the caretakers to the Elemental Planes, where unformed matter takes form. Even children know from the first time they hear a fable or a story that Djinn are capable of granting wishes to their supplicants. What has the Maker ever granted us? What has he ever granted us, but silence?*

*Thus do I, Padishah Sabahattin V of Aglazdere, Sovereign of the House of Azad, King of Kings, Commander of the Faithful and Successor to the Prophet, and Custodian of the Cities of Ta-al Kayji, Al Basazar, and Varas, proclaim my decree. From this day on forward, Aglazdere will not longer follow the faith of the Maker, but faith of Tira Kariq, that of the Primordial Truth. To the Grand Vizier Angon Mazhar and those who follow him, I proclaim a sentence of death by fire. To Successor Uthman of Ta-all Kayji and those who follow him, I proclaim a sentence of death by fire. To my subjects of Al Basazar, I command you to join forces with my Janissaries. We will cross the river and bathe Ta-all Kayji in a reign of fire, and cleanse the city of its lies and rot. On the eve of Aglazdere’s five hundredth anniversary, we will claim our destiny! We will define righteousness!*

## The Grand Guildmaster's Speech

*Your Imperial Majesty,*

*We hear you and are surprised that you would taint the Festival of Colors, Al Basazar’s celebration of the unification of Aglazdere, with demagoguery and threats of violence. Padishah or not, we cannot do what you say based on the face value of your words.*

*We find no compelling reason to believe the truth of what you say. Moreover, your decree would violate ancient treaties between the cities of Al Basazar, Varas, and Ta-al Kayji, and we, the Council of Guildmasters, choose to invoke these treaties.*

*In the year of Aglazdere’s founding, it was decreed by Padishah Sabahattin I that the three cities of Al Basazar, Varas, and Ta-al Kayji would serve as the three capitals of the new nation - capitals of commerce, power, and faith respectively. The Prophet would rule over Varas directly, while Al Basazar and Ta-al Kayji would be granted a semi-sovereign status. Your Imperial Majesty would know of this decree.*

*In Year 5 AC, the cities of Al Basazar and Ta-al Kayji signed the Pact of the River States, in which we vowed that we would come to each other’s aid in times of war. Your Majesty would know of this pact. We, the Council of Guildmasters, have determined that our Pact with Ta-al Kayji holds higher standing then our allegiance to the central government in Varas.*

*In Year 231 AC, when the position of Grand Guildmaster of Al Basazar was abolished, the Provision for Emergency Unity Act was passed. The act declared that in times of war or national emergency, the position of Grand Guildmaster could be re-established. In accordance with with this decision, one of the Guildmasters has always been designated as a candidate for this position should it ever be revived. The Council of Guildmasters has chosen to invoke this act and invest in me, Sarah Antonia Escarra, Guildmaster of Ward Seven, the title of Grand Guildmaster of Al Basazar and all the powers that accompany it.*

*As the Grand Guildmaster of Al Basazar, I have determined that it is in our city’s best interests that we declare our sovereignty on this day, 500 AC. Hereafter, we are the Republic of Al Basazar, a sovereign state apart from Aglazdere, and we will stand with our ally, Ta-al Kayji, against any threat, foreign or domestic.*

*Your Imperial Majesty, the words of a monarch carry weight, and no further talk will bring us back into your fold. Nonetheless, in the spirit of peace, we ask that you do not plunge Aglazdere into the fires of civil war. Do not let Aglazdere’s five hundredth anniversary be the year the nation falls. We ask that you reconsider your decree, and if you do not, we will consider that an act of war.*

*Long live the Republic of Al Basazar and the Caliphate of Ta-al Kayji! Long live the river states!*

## Outcome

Negotiated peace settlement

* Al Basazar wins the Great Sky Ship Battle and preserves its independence at great cost
* Varas is razed to the ground, it's inhabitants killed and subsequently revived by the Philosopher's Stone
* Rick assassinates Padishah Sabahattin V and becomes Padishah of Aglazdere
* The cities of Al Basazar and Ta-al Kayji agree to rejoin the Empire of Aglazdere on generous terms

## Order of Battle

### Empire of Aglazdere

* Padishah Sabahattin V (KIA)
	+ Admiral Gemariah (KIA)
		- Vice Admiral Eitan (KIA)
		- Lord Paulus
		- Captain Neemias
		- Captain Arda Ikbal (KIA)
		- Lord Raphael (KIA)
		- Captain Vimal (KIA)
		- Captain Festus (WIA)
		- Captain Atallah (KIA)
		- Captain Solak (KIA)
		- Captain Orga Gjallarhorn (KIA)
		- Captain Kunal (KIA)
		- Captain Amnon
		- Captain Apollon (WIA)
		- Captain Ashok
		- Lord Raza (KIA)
		- Captain Rahul (KIA)
		- Captain Indrek
		- Captain Kolos (KIA)
		- Captain Severin (KIA)
		- Captain Volkan (WIA)
		- Captain Zahir
		- Captain Nevin (KIA)

### Republic of Al Basazar

* Successor Sohrab Melech
* Grand Guildmaster Sarah Antonia Escarra
	+ General Saul (WIA)
		- Captain Cleon Pompey (WIA)
		- Captain Finley FacClellan
		- Captain Tao Heng (KIA)
		- Captain Sergius Laban
		- Captain Serafina
		- Captain Klaus Marzell (KIA)
		- Captain Rick
		- Captain Silvia Kadri (KIA)
		- Captain Nur ad-Din
		- Captain Marlin IV (KIA)
		- Captain Amos Artemon (WIA)
		- Captain Ilkin Fletcher (KIA)
		- Captain Aziz Tafari
		- Captain Thea Haak
		- Captain Archana Aurora (KIA)
		- Captain Jagannatha Venkata (WIA)
		- Shaarabahn (WIA)
		- Rose (KIA)