Timeline of the 2395 revolution of Empherias

This is a timeline of events of the 2395 revolution of Empherias from some background events, to the beginning in 2395, through to the official end to 2396, to some post-revolution important events.

January 2395

• 25 January 2395
  • The Brekenreidkegt Town Hall building is seized by approximately 500 civilian protestors during the Brekenreidkegt Brekepaine rebellion. Protestors used lit torches, common weapons, cricket bats, fencing swords, and cooking knives. The building was heavily damaged with smashed windows, broken walls, and several guards killed and injured. In total, 44 people were killed: 19 royal guards, and 25 civilian protestors.
  • The governor of Brekenreidkegt, Anerheim Klerz Eystaveil, 8th Duke of Brekenreidkegt, flees from his office at the town hall.
  • Edgard Morrison, one of the leaders of the protests, makes a speech known as the 'Hopeful Declaration' declaring a new democratic age.
• 26 January 2395
  • The Duke of Brekenreidkegt arrives in Esthullen and meets with James VII of Empherias to discuss the emergency situation in Brekenreidkegt.
• 27 January 2395
  • Edgard Morrison establishes the State of Brekenreidkegt around the town's border. It was a de-facto independent republic, instituting reforms and disobeying orders from the Empheri government, but no declaration of independence was released and there was no effort to officially secede besides the expulsion of all government officials from the city limits. Morrison stated that he had no goals to establish an independent country of Brekenreidkegt, instead stating his main goal was to institution nationwide reform and re-integrate with a populist government later on.
  • A major protest takes place in nearby Stonemare on 200 protestors but it is non-violent.
• 28 January 2395
  • A notable populist newspaper in Esthullen picks up the story and publishes a pro-violence piece.
• 29 January 2395
  • News of violence in Brekenreidkegt reaches the rest of the nation and mainstream press report on the protests.
  • A protest of 200 people spring up in Alexandria, Wynnoa.
  • A protest of 50 people spring up in Winswepp, Wynnoa.
• 30 January 2395
  • Several protests, each consisting of 300 people, spring up across the country such as in Alexandria, Zerwynn, Vreimer, and several in Esthullen. The largest is in Rosetta, with around 650 people.

February 2395

• 3 February
  • The Georgina Riot would begin in Georgina. The protest was planned by the Georgina Union, a trade union promoting populist ideas. It would see over 700 protestors take to the street while the underfunded Wynnoa Metropolitan Police attempted to put down the riots, making 258 arrests. 7 civilians would die, while 1 police officer would succumb to fatal injuries from rioters. Several major high streets in the city centre were heavily damaged, and some of the police force's horses were critically injured.
• 4 February
  • The second day of the Georgina Riot would see a further 195 arrests, but the Georgina Union would incentivise a further 1,250 protestors on the second day which would overwhelm local police. Seventeen policemen were killed, and the WMT ordered police to withdraw from the area and to promote infighting instead to dispel the riot.
• 6 February
  • Henry Alark, former army lieutenant well known for his radical and militarist approach to revolutionary politics, establishes the Alark Corps, with backing from the Zerwynn City Union.
• 12 February
  • Henry Alark recruits 7 former army officers and several hundred troops.
• 15 February
  • Within the Alark Corps, Henry Alark and two other former army officers Peter Braque and Espen Surge, produce the first plan for their government coup.
• 22 February
  • Henry Alark and the Alark Corps march to the small town of Skeulbourg and set up a base there.
• 24 February
  • The seizure of the Meisze Barracks in Meisze allows Alark to arm his forces with military-grade equipment.

March 2395

• 28 March 2395
  • The Aerogastnicht takes place. It was a night of murders of key autocratic figures leading to the death of twelve members of parliament, three royal guards, thirteen councillors, twenty-five upper class nobles, and two other deaths, with the attempted murder or serious injury of another 55. It had been planned in an underground newspaper and violent group for weeks and targeted people from across the country. Some spies did discover some of the plots for the government, leading to some plots being ousted in advance. The night allowed for the prime minister to begin major profile arrests under the guise of public safety concerns.
• 29 March 2395
  • Prime Minister Russell Montgomery passes a law with emergency powers in parliament, with backing from James VII, known as the 'Crackdown on Treason Act 2395' which allowed for arrests of people if suspected of treason or revolutionary acts.
• 31 March 2395
  • Famous populist journalist, and future prime minister, Felix D'laminet is arrested under the Crackdown on Treason Act.

April 2395

• 17 April 2395
  • The Minister of Intelligence Alexander Magnus, Viscount of Mesels, informs James VII of an incoming attack on the capital, and thus flees to Rommes. The prime minister is notified on the same day, but remains in the capital.
• 18 April 2395
  • The prime minister flees to Rommes to meet with James VII and heads of the army.
  • The National Guard was alerted, mobilising 250 guards in the city. The Army also dispatched 1,000 troops under the command of General John Graham. One of Graham's officers, Isaac Rose, believed that only 1,000 troops was enough to 'destroy the malnourished poor'.
• 19 April 2395
  • The Alark Corps arrive at the King's Palace with 500 troops, creating mass panic in the city of Esthullen. A further 195 militia joined the corps as volunteers, recruited during the march in.
  • During the morning, the Corps captured several rich manors such as the Bates Estate, the Armstrong House, the Klauszen Estate, and the Hayes House - their respective owners had all fled except John Hamish Hayes, eldest son of James Hayes, Viscount of Hosiant, who was murdered by Alark's troops.
• 20 April 2395
  • The Alark Corps capture the parliament with little resistance. Three members of parliament and another 8 nobles who believed the parliament was safe - as it was guarded by 50 national guards, were slaughtered alongside many of those protecting them. Their heads appeared on pikes later that day.
  • The National Guard and General John Graham order the withdrawal of all government troops from the city centre, hoping to siege the entrenched protestors into giving up. Graham believed that having the Alarkists take control of the city for a prolonged period of time would turn the populace against the populist movement.
• 21 April 2395
  • Henry Alark would proclaim a new populist government while standing in the King's Palace, but news did not spread due to the blockade by the army.
• 26 April 2395
  • The Battle of Parliament takes place. The Army believed that they could no longer tolerate a populist occupation of the capital, fearing losing legitimacy, and hearing of the crimes of the Alarkists. They moved in and engaged the Alark Corps near the central town. It results in a government victory.
    • After eight hours of urban warfare, Alark's forces were forced to retreat due to the superior firepower and higher manpower of the army.
    • Towards the battle's conclusion, several of the militia on the populist side fled and the side became incredibly disorganised while the army maintained organisation.
    • Alark fled the city alongside prominent members, and many in Alark's forces were arrested and put on trial for treason.
• 27 April 2395
  • The government declare victory and recapture the capital city. But many see the brief occupation as a weakness of the government.
  • General John Graham is promoted to Chief of the Armed Forces, replacing Edward Cleaf who had been in office since December 2394.
• 29 April 2395
  • With newfound confidence in the army, Graham orders the invasion of rebellious trade unions around the Greater Esthullen area, beginning with Brekenreidkegt
• 30 April 2395
  • Prime minister Russell Montgomery with royal assent passes an emergency law titled the 'Trade Union Dismantle Act 2395' which allowed trade unions to be dissolved by the government without reason. However, without any real way to enforce this, the government's power to dissolve trade unions didn't change except for removing loyal unions. However, the law included punishment for those in disloyal trade unions such as prison sentences. 201 people were arrested under this law between April and June.

May 2395

• 2 May
  • The government, with newfound confidence, invades the State of Brekenreidkegt with 2,000 troops and occupies the territory. Morrison is captured and placed in a detention centre in Vreimer. 294 people are arrested, and a further 64 are killed on the side of the revolutionaries, while just 5 army soldiers were killed.
• 5 May
  • Edgard Morrison, former President of the State of Brekenreidkegt and major member of the populist movement, is executed on charges of treason. He becomes a martyr in left-wing newspapers.

August 2395

• 1 August
  • Felix D'laminet begins speaking with prominent members of the populist movement through a newly made network from prison.
• 6 August
  • Despite panic from the government that D’laminet was dangerous, some were concerned that his execution could lead to a similar fate as Morrison’s which could see more protests occur. Instead, the government decided to relocate him from Vreimer to Zerwynn.
• 8 August
  • The government intercept letters from Felix D'laminet but the guards who discovered it do not tell their superiors.
• 11 August
  • The government intercept more letters from D'laminet but yet again do not tell their superiors.

September 2395

• 7 September
  • A large-scale national strike takes place.

January 2396

National strikes took place once again during the summer, with a major one occurring on 7 September 2395. Trade unions in particular would play a crucial part in weakening government control. Upwards of 90% of all towns in the modern day province of the North were completely controlled by independent trade unions who had began implementing some reforms already. Trade unions even grow in places where the government would ordinarily have great control, such as south of the Ewynn, in Palarya, and even some parts of Wynnoa. With growing confidence, Henry Alark again recruited people, this time from several trade unions, and formed a new army of 2,500 troops. They were equipped with stolen army barracks after several raids in September and October. They laid low in November and sent out disinformation through known spies instead of imprisoning them. Then, when the time came, the spies were purged and Alark marched on Rommes to the King's residence on 29 December 2395. Aided by several loyal trade union-controlled towns on the way, Alark reached the royal palace with little resistance and little notice to the royal guards. Furthermore, the eldest daughter and heir to the throne Crown Princess Abigail, had been in correspondence with many populist figures since as early as 2393 and sympathised with their cause, and had been spreading disinformation to the king herself as one of his trusted members of the courts. Abigail had never liked her father, but didn't want to be disowned, and many believed she gained her position as an anti-establishment figure with liberal and socialist beliefs during her upbringing where her family was absent.

Alark was ultimately successful and defeated a contingent of 300 royal guards with ease and captured the palace. The King narrowly escaped in a small convoy and fled to the neighbouring country of the Hveden Federation, where their monarchy had only recently been re-established in 2390. Before fleeing to Hvede, the King was keen to try and remain in the country, but his small convoy encountered trade union militias in any major town they went - and thus they choose to go to a safe third option.

Abigail had moved to a safe undisclosed location in Vreimer just hours before the storm of the palace, but was quick to express her support for the revolution. Once her father had fled in early 2396, she took control and declared that James VII had de-facto abdicated by leaving the country. She was declared the Rijkdottir Abigail I on 11 January 2396.

She pardoned and released Felix D’laminet, and other populists persecuted for their ideology, from prison. She dissolved the corrupt parliament and installed her friend, Maisie Zoey King, as an interim Prime Minister. D’laminet met with Abigail many times and D’laminet used his influence over the populist movement to show support for the monarchy under Abigail, while she agreed to remove more powers from the monarchy - which she wished to do regardless. She was quick to remove all influence of her father and his noble allies across the country. She made frequent addresses assuring her citizens and both the army and now the populists embraced their new ruler.

The interim government pushed to immediately be more radical to gain the favour of the general public. They initially wanted to execute all former Conservative prime ministers on the basis they committed treason against the Empheri people. Of the surviving, the incumbent Prime Minister Russell Montgomery, the 2nd Lord Grey, was arrested and sentenced to death; his brother and former PM Jack Kaur, the 1st Lord Grey, had his titles stripped after he fled to Ahitereira; and Thomas Wright, Baron of Stonegrave was arrested but died of natural causes in custody. Former Liberal prime minister Wigfred Marksdottir would be put on house arrest until 2405, and would die in 2428 of natural causes aged 98.

Rijkdottir Abigail began finally began tweaking her government in December 2396, and invited Felix D'laminet to form a government as her prime minister