Imperial Civil War

> "*This Empire is now in a total and absolute state of emergency. The Dread is at our gates, and is trying to tear them down with bloodied claws. Gods have mercy on us all.*"
> ― Emperor Jacras I's 1845 Proclamation
>
>

## Imperial Civil War

### Date

19th August 1839 to 2nd November 1860 (21 years, 2 months and 15 days)

### Result

Republican/Demonic defeat

Emperor Jacras I murdered

Extreme devastation throughout the Empire

Liberal and progressive ideals permanently discredited in Inecuria

Inecurian industrialisation halted and partly reversed

Most Asian territories lost to European empires

### Attackers

Republican rebelsOther rebels
Various Dreadfolk factions
Thangor the Eternal

### Attacker Strength

Approx. 3 million at peak (Rep. military)Approx. 7 to 9 million total (Rep. military)
Several million demons
At least 20 million mutants

### Defender Strength

Approx. 4 million in 1844Approx. 17 million in 1850
Approx. 42 million total

### Attacker Losses

Approx. 5 million RepublicansUnknown but very high demonic losses
Mutant losses total and absolute (20+ million)

### Civilian Casualties

At least 90 million

The **Imperial Civil War**, also known variously as the **Inecurian Civil War**, the **War Against the Dread** and the **Second Annihilation**, was a conflict fought from 1839 to 1860 between the Imperial Government of the Nesarian Empire - the "Loyalists" - and anti-monarchist rebels who fought to establish a democratic republic - the "Republicans" - in addition to a large host of other rebel factions seeking to impose a wide range of different goals. The political and ideological origins of the war were eventually completely overshadowed by late 1844 by the extensive demonic corruption of the rebel forces, their enslavement by Dread Titans, and the unprecedented scale of invasions from the Dreadlands.

The Civil War was the last time the Emperor took to the field to personally command an army, as Emperor Paravon the Avenger spent most of the war on campaign. Paravon was the last monarch in world history to actually participate in combat, but would not be the last to command an army.

The 2nd of November 1860 is the date commonly given as the end of the war, as it was when President Medan Lusion and the rest of the remaining Republican leadership (which by this point were no longer "Republican" in any sense, but were slaves of Dread Titans) were killed, and there were no others to replace them to provide organised resistance to the Empire. However, in truth the conflict would take several more years to die down, as demonic creatures and disorganised rebel groups would continue to plague Inecuria even after this point; the continent was not truly at peace until 1865.

The Civil War ranks as the single bloodiest war in human history. Exact estimates for casualties vary, but at least 134 million lives were taken over the course of the conflict, approximately 1/5 of the population of Inecuria at the time. The astounding degree of devastation materially crippled and psychologically traumatised the continent, and led to a severe reaction against progressive Republican ideals which lasts to this day.

Simultaneously to the civil war, a coalition of European powers invaded the Empire's Asian territories, eventually forcing the Emperor to officially relinquish them in the Treaty of Singapore in 1846. The Imperial Navy and regional colonial forces put up a stubborn fight against the Europeans, but without the help of the Imperial Army - which was confined to Inecuria due to the Civil War - their situation was unwinnable. Though tensions had been building for some time, this event is typically seen by historians as the starting point of the extremely intense hatred Inecurians would hold for the West throughout the entire 19th and 20th centuries, and which continues to a limited extent to this day.

## Casualties

> "*The world stood by and watched as we were slaughtered in our millions to keep the world safe. They repaid us for being the bulwark of the universe by taking our Empire and humiliating us. They will pay a thousandfold for their transgressions.*"
> ― Emperor Adrion
>
>

The casualties in the Imperial Civil War were staggering, exceeding either of the World Wars. Imperial records estimate 90 million civilian deaths and at least 24 million military deaths, though the definition of what constitutes "military" is sometimes controversial. The count of civilian casualties is also disputed, as some historians have asserted it to be significantly higher than what the Imperial administration recorded, citing inconsistencies with censuses in later generations. All demonically corrupted mutants, who numbered in excess of 20 million, were slain in the course of the war, and an unknown but very high number of demons were killed.

The total death toll of the war - at least, in terms of mortal deaths - is therefore agreed upon to be a minimum of 134 million, but is likely to be higher. Figures for the mid-19th century population of Inecuria vary, since the period is at an awkward time between censuses (which were rare at this time), but the academic consensus is somewhere in the region of 680 million, meaning that the war claimed at least 19.7% of the continent's population, or about 1 in every 5. The population was not restored to the 680 million mark until the census of 1972, over a century after the war ended.

This count does not include demons and mutants from the Dreadlands who came into this world and never returned. This number is almost impossible to know exactly, but estimates generally range from 5 to 7 million, most of which were mutants and not true demons.

### Nature of Casualties

In addition to deaths from direct combat and collateral damage in sieges, the war led to a very rapid breakdown in both military and civilian logistics. Armies were often improperly supplied with rations and adequate clothing, leading to deaths from attrition, and the supply routes of food to major cities soon fell apart as armies from both sides raided farms and shipments to feed themselves. Common bandits also began operating along major trade routes, leading to trade falling to negligible levels. As a result, not only were many people deprived of an income, but shipments of basic necessities - especially food - became sporadic throughout the war, leading to mass starvation in the cities. Order soon broke down entirely in many cities, and the fight over basic necessities rapidly became violent.

The movement of soldiers and refugees across the continent also led to the spread of disease, both natural and unnatural. It is estimated that approximately 15 million of the civilian deaths were from demonic plague, though the militaries of both sides were more effective at dealing with disease, quarantining affected soldiers and systematically burning their corpses. In many cases, when medicine was not available and death from the plague was inevitable, the armies of both sides would simply shoot diseased soldiers and burn their corpses in a secure location, stopping any further spread.

Towards the end of the war, as the demonic corruption of the rebel factions advanced, large swathes of the population who were mutated by the influence of the Dreadlands had to be purged by the Imperial Inquisition, including prisoners of war and civilians. The single largest purge of a non-military target was in the Defiling of Sekoshi, where approximately 100,000 mutants were purged, but towards the end of the war, purges were virtually a daily occurrence.

## Origins and Causes

The Imperial Civil War began on the 19th of August 1839, when the United Republican Congress (URC) - by far the largest and most organised Republican organisation - published the Freedom Manifesto declaring its philosophy, proclaiming itself the sole legitimate governing authority of the Empire, and beckoning Imperial citizens "of all creeds and classes" to rise up against the "foolish tyrants" of Imperial Government, which the Manifesto described as "only competent in the domain of oppressing its own subjects".

The Freedom Manifesto mentioned socio-economic issues only in passing, and instead mainly focussed on more lofty ideals, bemoaning the restriction of rights and freedoms. However, most historians of the Civil War are in agreement that it was economic and political instability that was the main cause of the Republican revolt rather than frustration with restricted rights - though they certainly were a factor, and the evidence largely shows that all Republican supporters at least supported the basic premise of a democratic government even if the URC's liberal and secular principles had very little support.

### Economic Issues

Beginning in the 19th century, Inecuria began to suffer from much the same economic issues that had kickstarted the Time of Troubles almost a thousand years before - though to a more extreme degree. All across the continent, but especially in Onshi, Ascaria and Avamorica, major cities had outgrown the logistical network that supplied them with necessities. Industrial development had encouraged mass migration to urban centres, facilitated by the mass expansion of the rail network in the late 18th century, and advancements in medical knowledge had made births safer and childhoods less dangerous - meaning that not only were there more people in the cities, but they were having more children.

The price of necessities subsequently skyrocketed, especially the price of food; this was noticed even by the higher classes, who found their food bills steadily rising. Anger rapidly grew amongst the urban poor, but this was not yet directed at the state; the wrath of the people was mainly directed at the merchants who were raising prices, at those who hoarded food, and particularly at wealthy rural landowners who put their fields to work growing cash crops such as cotton rather than staples like wheat and potatoes.

Soon after his accession to the throne in 1827, Emperor Jacras I attempted to remedy the issue by proposing a law that would prohibit rural landowners from using any more than one-third of their productive farmland for cash crops - however, the proposal was shot down by the Imperial Council. The wealthy landowners strongly protested, which was to be expected, but the representatives of the Imperial Countries also decried what they saw as significant overreach by the Imperial state in their local affairs.

It was also generally agreed upon, both by contemporaries and by later historians, that the bill was badly written and suffered from overly vague language; it has since been speculated that Jacras's economic ministers, who actually wrote the bill, deliberately chose poor wording because they did not want it to become law. Jacras attempted to rewrite the bill himself to propose it again, but he was discouraged from doing so by his advisors, who claimed that it was a waste of time which would just make him appear weak. In reality, it was his abandonment of the effort after one attempt that began his steadily growing reputation of weakness amongst the common people.

The common people's anger began to shift towards the state and towards Emperor Jacras for failing to do anything to remedy the situation. The urban poor increasingly began to lose hope that the Empire would do anything to improve their conditions. This especially came after the Chief Minister of Logistics, Mathuris vi Nasa, began publishing pamphlets urging the urban populations to migrate back to the countryside, proclaiming that "if the factory worker returns to farming, the food situation shall solve itself". The pamphlet sparked outrage as it implicitly put the blame onto the poor - as one popular response went, "the Minister accuses us of the crime of existing" - and it painted all the urban poor as immigrants who ought to return to their rightful place in the fields, infuriating those who had been born and raised in the cities and causing those who had actually migrated from the countryside to feel insulted. The pamphlet also completely ignored the problem that most of the urban poor did not have the means to move away, especially given that an increasing proportion of their meagre wages were spent on mere survival.

Regardless of the poorly worded and generally out of touch nature of Minister Mathuris's pamphlet, migration to the cities was essentially halted, and some of the migrants began to leave for the countryside - but while this prevented the problem from becoming worse, it was far from a remedy. The more educated urbanites began to criticise Minister Mathuris for different reasons than insulting and denigrating the poor; they pointed out that expanding the logistical network to supply more food to the cities was his job, and questioned why he was not actively working on expanding the capacity of the roads and railways to enable a greater volume of food to be supplied and to allow for it to be drawn from further away.

The reality was more complex; not only was the transport budget highly limited, but proposals for infrastructure projects were frequently delayed by local governments who disagreed about specific routes and the details of construction contracts. The opinion of modern historians on Mathuris vi Nasa is mixed; some argue that he never had the resources or authority to replicate the massive rail expansion of the late 18th century, whereas others compare him to his predecessors who were able to overcome the same challenges to great success and criticise his ability.

In any case, the urban poor and middle classes began to steadily turn against the Imperial state; they considered the ministers in charge incompetent and out of touch, and they considered the Emperor weak and cowardly for refusing to replace ineffective officials and bowing to their whims. While the Republicans could not necessarily offer a concrete solution to the economic issues of the cities, they were highly effective at capitalising on the anger they generated.

## Factions

### Loyalists

The designation "Loyalist" encompasses not only the forces of the Imperial state, but the plethora of militia groups which assembled in defence of the Empire. The Loyalists consisted generally of those adhering to the right wing; conservatives, traditionalists, theocrats, nationalists and all others of that ilk. Unsurprisingly, the aristocratic elite of the Empire strongly favoured the Loyalist cause, but they also enjoyed strong support amongst rural landowners and farmers. Since the Loyalists presented themselves as the defenders of traditional religion against the revolutionaries, which were secular at best and violently anti-theistic at worst, they were also favoured by the devout of virtually every faith - but particularly Christians, who were keenly aware of the damage done to their religion through earlier revolutionary activity in Europe.

The bulk of the Loyalist force was the Imperial Army, the regiments which remained loyal to the Emperor. Although approximately half of the entire Imperial Army defected to the Republican cause, many of those who stayed with the Emperor were experienced veterans of the Third Thai War of 1829-34, whereas most of the Republican defectors were new recruits or had only experienced the tail end of the war. This was most exaggerated amongst the officer class, as every single one of the officers who fought in the Third Thai War sided with the Emperor. The advantage in veterancy dwindled over the course of the war, as Republican soldiers gained more experience and the Imperial veterans were killed, but it remained a constant factor.

The veterancy of the officers was a double-edged blade; on the one hand, it greatly assisted cohesion and organisation, as the officers knew what they were doing - but on the other hand, it is perhaps the very fact that they knew what they were doing which made their doctrine extremely rigid and predictable, rarely experimenting with new tactics, reluctant to deviate from the Imperial-issued war manuals and even more reluctant to act on their own initiative without orders from above. Although this situation improved and commanders were encouraged to act with more autonomy as the war went on, in the early stages it led to Loyalist armies being frequently outwitted by numerically inferior Republican forces.

### Republicans

The designation "Republican" encompasses an alliance of anti-monarchist factions, chiefly represented through the organisation known as the United Republican Congress (or URC), which claimed to be the legitimate governing authority of Inecuria. The Republicans encompassed a wide variety of political groups; republican conservatives, liberals, several varieties of socialists, proto-fascists, and ambitious aristocrats who simply desired power for themselves. The Republicans were generally favoured by the middle class and urban working classes, and were particularly favoured by the irreligious, since the Republicans presented themselves as secular.

The Republicans managed to get almost half of the Imperial Army to defect to their cause at the outset of the war in 1839, but most of these soldiers were inexperienced, particularly the officers. Though the situation improved as the soldiers gained experience over the war, most historians regard the Republican forces as remaining inferior in quality to the Imperial Army throughout the conflict. However, Republican commanders did give their subordinates a great deal of room to experiment and act on their own initiative, and encouraged innovation in strategy and tactics. This often caused problems when two high-ranking commanders were made to work together, as they often had conflicting doctrines, but it proved exceptionally useful in allowing Republican commanders to outwit and outmanoeuvre the more predictable Loyalists, who took several years to abandon their steadfast dedication to the established doctrines and war manuals.

The quality of Republican soldiers was highly variable. Those of the United Republican Congress tended to be of the highest quality, as they inherited the traditions of the Imperial Army, whereas the independent militias, much like the Loyalist militias, were typically little more than bands of civilians wielding obsolete firearms.

#### United Republican Congress

The United Republican Congress, usually simply called the URC, began in 1826 as an association of liberal intellectuals with anti-monarchist leanings. They envisioned a liberal, democratic federal republic modelled after the United States as a replacement for the Empire, which they saw as an outdated, inefficient and dangerously authoritarian system. The Congress quickly became known to Imperial intelligence and the Inquisition, but they thought little of it - thinking it did not pose a tangible threat - and so took no action against the Congress, even though the discussion of ousting the Emperor could be classified as treason. Some Inquisitors at the time openly defended a policy of non-intervention, arguing that suppressing their meetings would only garner sympathy for their cause.

The URC began to accumulate ideological diversity over time, but it was not until 1838 that it truly became a "big tent" of republicans, who disagreed on many finer points of policy but were all in agreement that the Emperor had to go. Such a diverse array of anti-monarchists joined in that year because they caught wind of the Congress's plot for a military coup, and demanded to be involved.

The plot would not remain secret for long, and became known to the Imperial state and Inquisition in 1839, who heavily bolstered the guard in Capera and began relocating soldiers and officers with dubious loyalty to far-flung corners of the Empire. The URC, upon realising their plans were known, made a hasty and cataclysmic decision. They knew that they had accumulated significant support within the army and amongst the general populace, especially in Avamorica, and they feared being quietly assassinated and taken part by the Inquisition. They decided to act fast, and take the Empire entirely off guard by publicly proclaiming themselves to be the legitimate governing authority of the "Republic of Inecuria", asserting that the Empire was a tyrannical state that had no right to exist and calling upon their supporters to come to their defence. In effect, they declared war upon the Emperor.

The URC was beset by the constant internal struggle between its competing political parties, which were:

* **Classicals:** Sometimes derisively called the "Oligarchs" by their opponents, this faction was mostly made up of rebellious aristocrats and wealthy upper-class commoners. Their aim was merely to replace the monarch with a republic made up of themselves; most of them were dubious of full democracy and desired no social or economic change. They were the only party in the URC which was not in favour of secularism.
* **Liberals:** This party was mostly made up of the middle class, predominantly urban landowners and industrial entrepreneurs. These were the original core of the URC who desired a federal republic inspired by the USA, which would establish a free market capitalist economy and rule according to the harm principle, rejecting the notion of governmental paternalism.
* **Radicals:** This party was mostly made up of landless middle class intellectuals, though it also had several urban working class representatives. They desired the establishment of a single-party republic which would create an egalitarian socialist economy and intervene heavily in the lives of its subjects to ensure equality. More than mere secularists, most of the Radicals were against organised religion, desiring to seize the assets of temples and monasteries and expel all traces of religion from education. As the war went on, the more extreme members of the Radical party defected to the independent People's Liberation Committee (PLC).
* **Democrats:** The Democrats encompassed a range of social classes, and they could be described as conservative liberals. Rather than looking to the USA for inspiration, the Democrats looked to the United Kingdom, and were the only Republican faction which advocated for retaining the Emperor as a constitutional figurehead. They agreed with the Liberals on democracy and liberty, but rejected free market capitalism and believed the total eradication of the aristocracy to be too extreme. They were secularists in that they desired to entirely remove clergy from the domain of politics, but rejected the idea that education should be devoid of religious teaching.

Somewhat ironically, the pro-democracy URC did not hold a single election after electing Medan Lusion, a Liberal, as President in 1837. President Lusion argued that elections would not only be a logistical challenge and a waste of resources in the midst of a war, but would cripple the Congress's ability to command during wartime as its members would be consumed by party politics.

The URC was never formally abolished, but had effectively ceased to exist by 1849-50, when its members had all either become utterly damned by demonic corruption or had forseen the imminent evil and fled. Its members eventually ceased to make any reference to a "Congress" and no longer bothered with the term "Republican", as they openly admitted their allegiance to the Dread Titans.

### Demonic Corruption

> "*I never wanted this to happen, but I have no choice after uncovering the truth. This Empire is built on betrayal and deceit. Mortalkind has only one way to survive and prosper, but the traitors in power call it "heresy". I will liberate this world from the lies that have enslaved us for so long - and if I cannot save Inecuria, then I shall burn it to the ground!*"
> ― Medan Lusion, former President of the United Republican Congress
>
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Demonic influence had been present amongst the Republicans from the very beginning. There were those who secretly knew of the re-opening of the path between this world and the Dreadlands from as early as 1836, but the most prominent and significant figure was Caleia, the sister of President Medan Lusion. The two were extremely close - so close that Loyalist propaganda proclaimed the two were in an incestuous relationship, and evidence from diaries and letters may possibly confirm this to be true - so it was relatively easy for Caleia to corrupt her brother. When exactly Medan had his change of heart is not known; it may have been before the war even started and he kept it a secret until later, or it may have only been once he started to physically mutate in early 1845.

Many of those within the Republican ranks supported allying with forces of the Dreadlands out of pragmatic desperation; as the possibility of winning the war by conventional means became increasingly less feasible, more Republicans began to openly discuss the idea of using demonic assets, despite knowing how bad of a look this would be. However, Caleia Lusion was seemingly one of the so-called "true believers" from the start - that is, she believed the Dread Titans to be gods, and believed that becoming their servant was the path to enlightenment and survival. Her significant role in spreading the abominable religion eventually led to her being nicknamed as the "Prophetess of Annihilation".

Some Republicans were appalled by the dealings with the Dreadlands and distanced themselves from the United Republican Congress. Most of these ended up siding back with the Empire, recognising that the threat of extinction or slavery at demonic hands was far more pressing than any political dispute, and accepting that a Republican victory was impossible. However, these were a minority; most Republicans eventually became "true believers", and the demon-worshippers recruited many into their ranks who previously called themselves Loyalists.

## Foreign Aid

The Nesarian Empire largely did not expect outside help with putting down the rebellion, particularly as they were at war with those who were in a position to lend help (i.e. the European empires), and the other great powers were either wholly apathetic (i.e. Qing China, Japan, Russia) or ideologically supported the Republicans (i.e. the United States).

Once it became apparent in the mid-1840s that they were not merely fighting rebels but the legions of the Dread Titans, the Empire routinely begged for aid, even from its enemies. The vast majority of the world, though, refused to even recognise the events as real, thinking of it as a desperate lie to try and save an ailing empire from a long overdue collapse. However, that soon changed in 1847.

In late 1847 - winter in Europe, but summer in Inecuria - Colonel Robert Anstruther, of Clan Anstruther, was sent to Inecuria with the 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders, to ensure that the terms of the Treaty of Singapore were being upheld. The original plan was for them to go to Ascaria, but upon landing at Haran in Rulkhar they received a message telling them that they should meet an Imperial representative at Ritaki, the regional capital of Kimato, Onshitama. They sailed along the coast to their destination, and could easily see the devastation on the shore. They landed at Aikahi, at the very eastern edge of Kimato, as the local sailors refused to go any further, terrified of the threat of the Witch-Pirates in the region.

The Highlanders marched west to Ritaki, stopping approximately halfway at the town of Sokido, where they encountered a large group of refugees from the woodland town of Sakashi, on the border of Kahen Forest, who said their home had been destroyed by a demonic army from within the forest. Thinking that "demonic army" was merely a derogatory term for Republican rebels, Colonel Robert thought little of it, until that night the army in question made its way to Sokido, made up of abominable mutants and led by two Ferigans, a male and a female. The 72nd Highlanders helped the local militia to defend Sokido, losing several of their own, and Colonel Robert was wounded whilst fighting the female Ferigan though he did suceed in taking off her left arm. The Highlanders had little sleep that night, and in the morning Robert consulted his men to see what they should do. They came to an agreement; those who wished to go home would do so immediately, and those who wished to stay and fight the terrifyingly real horrors - Robert among them - would march to Ritaki. About a third of the regiment went home, and brought the news to the British government.

Whilst the 72nd Highlanders went to aid the Nesarian Empire in their fight against the Dreadfolk, the British Parliament could no longer pretend that the talk of war against demons was untrue after hearing the testimony of their own soldiers, and the British public was very quickly made aware of the truthfulness of the Inecurian reports. Parliament established three new regiments - the First, Second and Third Mortal Volunteers - out of British army regulars who volunteered to fight the demons, and several months later they sent two more regiments which consisted of new recruits who volunteered for service in Inecuria. The British also sent a regiment of Indian volunteers who had assembled of their own accord and demanded to be recognised by the state, who called themselves the Swords of Kali. Many British subjects also went to Inecuria of their own accord as private individuals, alongside a great number of volunteers from across Europe, many of which went to the majority-Christian country of Epsilucia to defend their brothers in faith.

Several other European states also sent forces to aid the Empire; France, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, and Greece each sent a regiment, Austria and the Ottomans both sent two regiments, and Russia provided four. Whilst the USA never officially sent any forces, a great many American volunteers arrived to fight the Dreadfolk.

## Military Developments

*Main page: Civil War Military Developments*

The Civil War forced its combatants to adapt to its rapidly changing circumstances, facing a wide variety of enemies that rarely fought in a traditional manner. The typical tactics of the day were effective when the mortal Loyalists and Republicans fought one another, but they were usually ineffective - and often actively detrimental - against forces of demons and mutants.

Land armies saw a large-scale return to melee warfare in order to better fight enemies who were too fearless, too fast and too numerous for muzzle-loading gunpowder firearms to be effective. The Imperial Army returned to melee-based warfare to a much greater degree than the Republicans; the armouries mass-produced helmets and cuirasses for the soldiery, and the core infantry line returned to consisting of pikemen and halberdiers rather than musketmen. It was only at the tail end of the war, when breech-loading firearms became feasible to supply en masse, that firearms returned to being the primary armament.

However, that is not to say that gunpowder disappeared; musketmen were still a common sight, and were often mixed into infantry formations in a manner reminiscent of the Spanish Tercio. Their role was to shoot particularly dangerous targets rather than the general mass of the enemy; since demonic and mutant forces generally could not be dissuaded with small arms fire, the focus moved to eliminating individual high-value targets. Skirmishers were equipped with rifles and were trained as precision marksmen, taking on a similar role to the general musketmen but to a more extreme degree, and given greater autonomy to act on their own initiative rather than being attached to infantry regiments.

The Civil War saw the production and use of artillery accelerate significantly. Whilst Imperial technology returned to older forms for the common infantry, artillery technology moved forward rapidly; breech-loading rifled artillery became commonplace by around 1850, far earlier than the other great powers of the world. The Imperial Army used a wide variety of guns; light field guns, heavy guns, howitzers, mortars and, in some areas, rocket artillery. However, most guns went not to the army, but to the navy; the Imperial Navy rapidly expanded in size, becoming the world's largest naval force in terms of tonnage, number of ships and number of guns. Despite this incredible advancement, the Imperial Navy suffered massive losses and most surviving ships were dismantled after the war as they were too costly for the now-impoverished Imperial state to maintain.

## Additional Conflicts

The Civil War, though primarily between the Loyalists and Republicans, was not solely fought between those two. Separatist nationalists rose up across the Empire, and there were many other rebel groups who did not support independence but nonetheless still saw the opportunity to press their demands onto the Emperor through force of arms. Although there were many minor conflicts, the most famous of them (ordered by the date they began) were:

* The Rulcarian Jihad (1840-48), in Rulcaria
* The Abominable Heresy (1841-45), in Onshi
* The Under-War (1841-59), in Shengema
* The Forest War (1842-44), in Avamorica
* The Coal War (1843-47), in Calparnia
* The Valsatten Disgrace (1845-47), in Epsilucia

## Famous Battles

There are several military engagements from the Civil War which have become (in)famous for their scale, brutality, military significance or the tactical cunning which resulted in victory.

* Battle of Faldisa Bank, 1843, Elvish Sea, tactically inconclusive, Republican strategic victory
	+ *Though not militarily significant, this battle was the first sighting of Luisas in over a thousand years*
* Siege of Saviesa, 1841-1846, Avamorica, eventual Loyalist victory but decisive Republican strategic victory
* Battle of Karotaga, 1844, Asmukhar, tactically inconclusive, Loyalist strategic victory
	+ *Often described as the last great "proper battle" of the war between two entirely mortal armies*
* Defiling of Sekoshi, 1846, Onshi, Loyalist victory
* Battle of Banda, 1846, Banda Sea, European coalition victory
	+ *Resulted in total defeat of Imperial forces in Southeast Asia and led to surrender against Europeans the following year*
* Battle of Rosti (or Stand of the Helriki), 1848, Epsilucia, Loyalist pyrrhic victory
* Defence of Atsaan, 1851-1858, Asmukhar, Loyalist victory

## Magical Resurgence and Elvish Troubles

During the Civil War, there was a significant resurgence in magic. Hints of the resurgence had been coming since before the war, with many strange behaviours and occurrences reported; for example, most Elfkin and Harpies started feeling inexplicable tingles at specific locations which other races did not feel, often accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling of pressure inside their heads. Random disappearances were reported as early as 1836 and steadily climbed in frequency, which was later found to be the work of Dreadfolk (presumably Succubi), as the resurgence in magic did not just return magical ability to the Elfkin and Harpies - it also re-opened the gateway between this world and the Dreadlands.

The sudden magical resurgence deeply frightened Emperor Jacras and the Imperial Government, who worried that the Elves might take inspiration from the separatist nationalists rising up across the Empire, and were extremely doubtful about the ability of the Imperial Army to fight against magical foes. He therefore flooded all the Elvish institutions with spies to notify him about any hints of rebellion, and his worst fears seemed to be confirmed when, shortly after the civil war began, large numbers of Elves went rogue and began selling their services as mercenaries, the vast majority of which were hired by factions opposed to the Empire. Emperor Jacras was confident in the loyalty of the Eshérian Elves, but Avamorica - a Republican stronghold - was seeing large numbers of Elves turn traitor, and his spies brought increasingly frequent reports of restlessness amongst the Saverians; many Saverian nobles were beginning to question whether their relationship with the Empire was as beneficial as it could be now that their powers had returned to them.

It should be noted that the modern historical consensus is that the Saverians never actually seriously considered the topic of secession, and instead merely sought a more advantageous treaty with the Imperial Government to give the Kingdom of Saveria greater freedom, power and privilege within the Empire - but Emperor Jacras was told that they were questioning their loyalty and so he understandably concluded that pre-emptive action was necessary before the discontent turned into armed revolt. Acting hastily, he sent a message to King Felio Larion - the incumbent King of Saveria - demanding the requisition of all mages for the Imperial war effort, the confiscation of all texts relating to magic, and the occupation of Saveria by continental Imperial troops who could enforce these two things throughout the duration of the conflict. Behind the fast small ship carrying the messenger sailed a fleet carrying five thousand Imperial soldiers who would enforce the demands. King Felio was outraged by these demands, claiming that they violated the ancient treaties which bound Saveria and the Empire together, and categorically rejected them, sending back the messenger with a strongly-worded response. Felio sent out Saverian ships to escort the Imperial vessels under the pretense of protecting them, but when the soldiers came ashore they were met by two thousand heavily armed and armoured soldiers - most of them newly made battle-mages - who apprehended them, confiscated their weapons and put them all under house arrest, where they remained for the rest of the Civil War.

Gravely insulted by the actions of his Emperor, King Felio and his Saverian kinsmen loathed the idea of continuing to swear fealty to him, but they also recognised that going to war with the Empire was not in the interests of themselves or the wider world. They hated the Republicans far more than the recent Imperial offences, fearing their permanent victory far more than short-term Imperial tyranny, and they knew that if they provoked the full anger of the Imperial beast then they would be destroyed even if they made every single one of their citizens into a battle-mage; their food imports from the continent would be ceased and they would all starve, irreparably crippling them without a single military engagement being necessary. After consulting with the other nobles, King Felio decided to declare a somewhat confusing status that he carefully labelled "allied non-dependence" (rather than total independence); Saveria would not declare itself to be separate from the Empire and still swore allegiance to the Emperor, but all of its civil and military institutions were entirely separated from Imperial control and Saveria would no longer pay taxes or tribute to the Emperor, instead using all of its resources solely as the King of Saveria deemed fit.

Emperor Jacras was infuriated at this rebellion and a little humiliated that his plan had backfired so spectacularly, but he was forced to accept the situation as it was; he simply could not spare the manpower and resources which would be necessary to re-assert control over Saveria, and he abhorred the idea of cutting off their food supply, which would not only lead to needless suffering but also enrage and impoverish the farmers who produced food for Saveria and the merchants who transported it there. It was also simply the case that although the lack of Saverian taxes hurt the Imperial treasury, Saveria was still essentially on the Empire's side, and Saverian forces would fight alongside Imperial ones and against the Empire's foes throughout the war. Some historians have argued that Saveria's military independence was actually beneficial for the Empire, as they were able to direct their focus towards enemies which were often overlooked by Imperial strategists but were nonetheless extremely critical to defeat - most famously and significantly the Black Navy, the gargantuan coalition of Witch-Pirates which according to the most conservative estimates had two hundred military-grade ships at their disposal, and according to higher estimates as many as four hundred.

## Resurgence of the Inquisition

The Imperial Inquisition greatly expanded in scale during the Civil War, and in its need to quickly recruit many Inquisitors to deal with the new wave of traitors, heretics, criminals and corrupt officials the Inquisition opened its doors to women. However, as magic came back into the world, so did its darker side; the barrier between this world and the Dreadlands was weakened and lowered, allowing all manner of horrors to flood through in their most concerted and deadly effort yet. The Dara Morca, the order of the Inquisition responsible for protecting the innocent from the supernatural, was quickly restored, and many Inquisitors made a name for themselves and acquired an almost legendary status in the service of the Dara Morca.

Public opinion of the Inquisition shifted somewhat as a result. While the Republicans and other rebels generally dreaded the Inquisition, even they had a great deal of respect for those working in the Dara Morca, and amongst the Loyalists and common folk the Inquisition became an object of admiration rather than terror, being subsequently deeply romanticised in many works of art.