The Undertaker Brigade and the Fall of Victory
Military action
Tensions rose as a small group of Seanachaisian refugees attempted to settle outside the gates of Armuun, demanding compensation for their loss. The situation turned quickly into a conflict that led to a terrible loss of life, one that would have repercussions for many years to come.
While knowledge of Seanachaisian refugees was not a secret, for most of the Bechtlarite ruling class it was a thing that they preferred to avoid as it served as a constant reminder of their previous ruler's failings. When a gathering of them appeared and began to build outside the walls of Armuun, the people of the city were divided. A delegation was sent out to hold counsel with the refugees and determine their intentions and purpose. The delegation was met at the entrance of their settlement but denied entry. For many of the Becht people, this was the first time they had seen the Seanachaisians since the Blight, and they were horrified by the state of them, their faces scarred and eyes filled with anger and hatred and hurt. Their demands were chaotic, as they lacked any form of leadership or structure, but they referred to themselves as the Undertaker Brigade , and claimed that if their demands for compensation were not met, they would hurl themselves against the walls in a hopeless assault as a form of ultimate protest, proving to the world that the Bechtlarite Empire was unchanged and unrepentant. The demands were as follows:
- The land upon which they built
- A monthly stipend of food and supplies
- Access to the resources and facilities of Armuun
- A seat on the Order of Objective Representation
- A public admission and apology for the attempted genocide of their race.
The delegation brought their observations and demands to
Sovereign Jaimus Oraulicli who was troubled deeply by the news. At this point resources were limited and despite their prospering, it remained a delicate balance. He brought the demands before the Order of Objective Representation, and debates began almost immediately. While the majority were in favor of most of the demands, seeing no issue with admission of guilt and attempting to help the refugees, there were still concerns that, not only would this potentially damage their society's delicate supply balance, but that this would be a precursor to even more and greater demands from a group of people who were either unable or unwilling to give back. These debates raged on for weeks as the Undertakers continued to build, threatening and running off any would be curiosity seekers that got too close. Some of these incidents led to small outbreaks of violence which only worsened as the Undertakers began making forays into the city for supplies, taking whatever they felt they needed without offer of compensation.
In an attempt to stem the threat of further altercations, Sovereign Jaimus went to the quickly growing settlement which the Undertakers had begun to call
Victory to plead for patience and to work in unison to come to agreeable terms. The group that met him at the gate were led by
Oisin Oifrei and a small group of armed Seanachaisians, obviously uneasy at the presence of the Sovereign and his personal guards. The two spoke at length, but while they spoke, the entourage that followed each of them, already tense and on edge, began to bicker back and forth, starting with backhanded insults and eventually devolving into threats of violence. Despite their best efforts to diffuse the situation, the two leaders were unable to reign in their followers fast enough and a fight broke out. The ensuing assault was swift and devastating, and within the first few minutes, dozens of the Seanachaisians were dead, including Oisin. The Sovereign, having attempted to halt the violence by throwing himself in front of Oisin was gravely wounded himself, but his guards managed to pull him away to safety. The troops within Armuun, seeing the fighting and their Sovereign fall, sounded the alarms and quickly ran to reinforce the troops fighting with the Undertakers, and as they did, the Undertakers came out in force. Above the report of musket fire, the sounds of powerful music could be heard, drums and horns pulsed through the scene and seemed to hinder and even harm the attacking Bechtlarite soldiers, many of them falling without ever being struck.
The fighting raged on into the night, but the numbers were on the side of the Bechtlarites, and eventually Victory was overrun. While a handful of the refugees managed to escape, those that did not were either captured and imprisoned, or killed outright in the fervor of the moment. The incomplete village burned for days, leaving only a patch of scorched earth as a reminder that it once stood there at all. As the Sovereign recovered from his injuries, he became more and more stern and controlling, usurping the will of the Order of Objective Representation a number of times as he continually sent small groups of trusted soldiers out in search of stragglers, intent on stamping out any attempts at retaliation in the future. It is said that this paranoia carried with him until his untimely death.
