The Great Purge

A civil war in Artalgne that reinforced the policing against magic

Special thanks to Allurys for giving the idea and doing most of the writing for this article

Introduction

"You rascals should stand down now. You know what the Envoys did to your kind last time, in the Great Purge..."

— an Envoy of Tiamat to a group of rebels

Centuries ago, a fierce civil war raged in the Artalgnian Empire. Words of mouth tell of a secret cult, followers of a witch who was promoting the use of profane magic, that raised their weapons against Artalgne's Royal Family and were then taken down by the Crusaders to restore peace. This episode was called The Great Purge. But that was not how things really went...

The Conflict

Aftermath

After this incident, the anti-magic rules became even more strict, prohibiting the population from every single contact with magic; the simple act of reading a book that teaches about magic was considered heresy and punished with death. Monthly inspections began to certify that no one is praticing any form of magic, preventing another civil war.

Historical Significance

The facts behind the story are very different than how it is told. The witch, Lélia Donnato was a traveler, practitioner of magic, who was trying to help the Artalgnian people. She was using magic on medicinal mixtures to hide from the authorities, but she was eventually caught and executed. Those who supported her rebelled against the Empire, as Lélia wasn't doing anything but helping those in need. This group was trying to fight for the people, and since they were many, the Empire couldn't just kill everyone. In the end, a deal was struck: a large sum of money was offered to the leaders of the movement, and all they had to do was deal with the medical problems of the Empire and quench down the rebellion.

To explain what happened and keep the Empire's image undamaged, the story of the events was manipulated. Lélia was a witch that was promoting the use of magic and the rebels were called "the God Eaters", followers of Lélia who wanted to bring down the Empire. It was told that through magic, the God Eaters controlled the minds of almost half of the Artalgnian people and forced them to fight against their own, attempting to take control over the Empire, starting a big rebellion. After an entire year of conflict, the Crusaders fought bravely and managed to kill every single God Eater, freeing the population and restoring peace.

In Literature

Even though the story of this war is being passed through generations, there is little evidence of it. There are no accurate records of the event, and some even believe that it is all just old folklore. On the other hand, there is a strange and laughable rumor becoming popular; it says that the God Eaters survived and managed to take control over the country.

Conflict Type

War

Battlefield Type

Land

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Related Article

/*Artalgnian Empire*/

/*Apotheosis*/

/*Lélia Donnato*/