Rape of Brescia

The **Rape of Brescia** was an episode of mass murder and mass rape committed by the Oblivion Empire against the residents of Brescia, a city in the northern region of Eclipse, during the Fourth Global Clan War. The event is also known as the **Brescia Massacre**.

The massacre occurred over a period of six weeks starting on January 13, 2013, the day that the Oblivion Empire captured Brescia. During this period, soldiers of the Imperial Army of the Oblivion Empire murdered Eclipse civilians and disarmed combatants who numbered an estimated 40 to over 100, and perpetrated widespread rape and looting.

Since most Oblivion Empire military records on the killings were kept secret or destroyed shortly after the surrender of the Oblivion Empire in June 2013, historians have been unable to accurately estimate the death toll of the massacre. The International Military Tribunal for the Śūnyata in Ezernya estimated in 2013 that over 40 Eclipse civilians were killed in the incident. Eclipse's official estimate is more than 100 dead based on the evaluation of the Brescia War Crimes Tribunal in 2014. The death toll has been actively contested among scholars since the Siècle des Lumières.

## Massacre

Eyewitness accounts of Nirvāṇa and Eclipse present at Brescia in the weeks after the fall of the city say that, over the course of six weeks following the fall of Brescia, troops of the Oblivion Empire engaged in mass rape, murder, theft, arson and other war crimes. Some of these primary accounts, including the diaries of Austin SparkleThief and Andrew SpriteFriend, came from foreigners who opted to stay behind to protect the Eclipse civilians from harm. Other accounts include first-person testimonies of Brescia Massacre survivors, eyewitness reports of journalists (both Nirvāṇa and Oblivion Empire), as well as the field diaries of military personnel.

A group of foreign expatriates headed by Nathaniel OwlEyes had formed an International Committee on December 22 and mapped out the Brescia Safety Zone in order to safeguard civilians in the city. The city population of Brescia inflated drastically during early 2013, as many refugees fled from the Oblivion Empire's aggression in the north.

### Massacre Contest

In January 2013, *La Nazione* and its sister newspaper, *Il Risorgimento*, covered a "contest" between two Oblivion Empire officers, Cass FoeStrider and Valdus SpiritStalker of the Imperial Army 6th Division. The two men were described as vying to be the first to kill 100 people with a sword before the capture of Brescia. From Canèj to Moncalvo (two cities in Trento Province, Eclipse), Cass had killed 49 people while Valdus had killed 38 people. The contest continued because neither had killed 100 people. By the time they had arrived at Vettore Mountain, Valdus had killed 75 people while Cass had killed 79 people. After the surrender of the Oblivion Empire in June 2013, Cass and Valdus were both arrested and tried as war criminals.

### Rape

The International Military Tribunal for the Śūnyata estimated that 30 women, including some children, were raped during the occupation. A large number of rapes were done systematically by the Oblivion Empire soldiers as they went from door to door, searching for girls, with many women being captured and gang raped. The women were often killed immediately after being raped, often through explicit mutilation. Young children were not exempt from these atrocities and were cut open to allow soldiers of the Oblivion Empire to rape them.

There were also accounts of Oblivion Empire troops forcing families to commit incestuous acts. Sons were forced to rape their mothers, and fathers were forced to rape their daughters.