The Blood Moon Massacre

The Blood Moon Massacre was a synchronised assassination of the Emperor Gaius Rodorian II and eleven of his children including four of his five sons. With his eldest, and heir apparent, slain the crown fell to Emperor Lucien Rodorian who had been viewed by many as a hedonist and layabout until his ascension. Named for its timing with a Blood Moon the event was hailed as a crucial moment in the evolution of the Falaran Empire.
The massacre took place over the course of three days starting with the assassination of Emperor Gaius Rodorian II by poison which was followed by attempts on all of his children's lives as well as several other senior members of the House of Rodorian. The mantle of Emperor of the Falaran Empire passed to Emperor Lucien Rodorian due to the intervention of Grand Vizier Profundis Rax against a would be assassin. 
The timely presence of the Grand Vizier and his subsequent rise in power led many to believe himself responsible for the incident with its true perpetrator never discovered beyond an alleged anarchist plot.

Cultural Reception

The Blood Moon Massacre was considered by many Falaran artists to represent the end of the medieval era of Falarin. With the subsequent challenge to noble rights under Emperor Lucien Rodorian and the Great Annihilation that came at the end of his reign the Falaran Empire was forever transformed. 
In art and literature after the event usage of a Blood Moon was considered a sign of change or modernisation and several political movements took the fortune in the following decades. Blood Moons themselves would share this representation often being seen as omens of change invoking fear or awe in the common folk of the Falaran Empire.