Anziotte Revolt

The Anziotte Revolt saw the common people of the city of Anziotte rise up in a bid to seize their freedom.

### Background

Tensions had been rising within the Empire steadily for nearly a century between the old nobility and a new class of wealthy commoners seeking to translate their money into rights and power.

In 1132 the Emperor appointed his brother Gaius Tempest as Governor of Magra over the protests of the previous Governor, Archduke Milanidas. The two entered a protracted power struggle as both attempted to undermine the other. Both sides collected their own set of taxes, already crushingly high, driving much of the peasantry to the brink of ruin. Whilst never erupting into outright famine, food shortages become common in the countryside and many peasants fled to Anziotte in search of work and food. Mayer Egmont, a prominent industrialist, demanded the Imperial government respect and enforce the law and urged for the adoption of new protections for the common people.

Anziotte additionally was the beating heart of the New Faith reform movement, led by Father Lennard, which rallied against both the burden of the Lots as well as the corruption and excess of the Patriarch Cassius.

Further sparking unrest the city was the host of the underground organisation called The Last Straw led by Sophia of Anziotte, which exploited the long-simmering grievances of the population into a revolutionary sentiment. The organisation conducted a campaign of terror against the Imperial government in Anziotte, using gunpowder explosions to assassinate conservative members of the Anziotte Prefecture and undermining an attempt by Governor Tempest to impose martial law in the city.

### The Revolt

#### Riot at the Prefecture

Suspecting him to be a member of the Last Straw, by order of a conservative Prefecture Judge, Mayer Egmont was arrested and trialled for treason against the Empire. He was found guilty and sentenced to True Death by hanging, with the sentence being carried out only hours after his arrest. The execution, seen as a blatant attack against the common estate, sparked mass protests from members of the Common Estate, who rallied outside the Prefecture building demanding the resignation of the Judge who had passed the sentence and the ratification of new protections against noble tyranny. The Prefecture requested the assistance of the city's noble militia in keeping order. However the militia's commander, Dorius Ottan, used the excuse to attempt to crush the 'traitors' within the prefecture itself. Ottan ordered his soldiers to summarily execute Prefect Augustin El Borne.

Unbeknownst to them however, within the crowd were hiding operatives of the Last Straw. Aeden Brante, a leader of the Last Straw, took the barricade and made an impassioned speech urging the commoners to defend the Prefect, whilst Last Straw soldiers armed with gunpowder muskets counterattacked against the militia. Facing gunpowder weapons for the first time, the militia was hopelessly ill-prepared and swiftly broke. Ottan was forced to retreat as well, swearing vengeance.

#### Revolutionaries seize Anziotte

With his hand forced, the Prefect declared that the Militia had gone rogue and disobeyed the Emperor's law. He told the crowd that the Last Straw was the only hope they had for justice. The crowd, enraged by the near-massacre, and shocked at the power of the Last Straw's weaponry set about the task of seizing the city. The Last Straw handed out weapons whilst their veteran revolutionaries organised groups to take control of the city's defences. The exact sequence of events of the revolt are confused, but what is known is that by the time the sun set on Anziotte, the revolutionaries were in full control of the city. The Last Straw, in alliance with Prefect El Borne and Father Lennard, had seized the city and were preparing to defend it against the inevitable counterattack from the Governor.

#### The Battle of Anziotte

The counterattack arrived as expected; the full might of the Magran Legion under the command of Gaius Tempest, who demanded the city's immediate surrender. The revolutionaries countered with their own list of demands, effectively demanding an immediate end to the Imperial order and the right to govern their own city. Governor Tempest refused and ordered the revolt suppressed by force.

The Magran Legion attacked the walls of Anziotte several times, but each time were repelled by the defenders. The combination of gunpowder weaponry and the fanatical resolve of the Last Straw soldiers was simply too much for them to overcome. In desperation, Gaius Tempest led the next attack in person - the first time a member of the Imperial family had taken up arms in more than a century. Whilst initially more successful, in the chaos of the fighting Governor Tempest became separated from the main body of Legionnaires and was captured. Without their commander the Legionnaire's either broke and ran, or threw down their weapons and surrendered.

### Aftermath

In the aftermath of the revolt, the city was bloodied and bruised, but unbroken in the face of Imperial might. The revolutionaries were the first since Char Milanidas to defeat an Imperial Legion in the field, leaving the city free to choose its own fate. With such an example to emulate it seems inevitable that there will be more revolts elsewhere in the Empire.

The Empire itself teeters on a knife's edge.