Adjusk Civil War

The Adjusk Civil War was an internal conflict in the kingdom of Adjuskimavo, fought primarily between factions in support of each of the respective potential heirs to the throne.
In EL 981, the royal palace was besieged by the forces of the wizard Udjarak, and in the midst of this, the young Queen Nonebi Mawenamoto went into labor. She gave birth to twin boys, Dakari and Akachi, during the siege, with her husband King Avidja at her side. At some point afterwards, the two were found by Udjarak's men, and killed. In the absence of an adult heir, Masego Chudem, King Avidja's royal advisor, stepped up as steward. Because anyone who may have been present at their birth died shortly after, for many years it was unknown which of the twins was the elder. The boys came of age in mid 999, around which time riots began to break out between various factions across the kingdom in support of the rulership of one brother or the other, based mainly on the differing approaches between the potential heirs to reliance on the military and handling of magical threats. Various attempts were made to divine which was the rightful heir to the throne, to no avail. Masego continued to rule as the royal council continued to debate how best to decide between them.
Neither Dakari nor Akachi renounced his claim to the throne. In general, Dakari was a greater supporter of preventative policies, i.e. placing tighter restrictions on the study and practice of magic and employing harsh, swift punishments when these rules were broken, while Akachi favored instead "fighting fire with fire" and including more magic users within the forces employed by the royal court as a means to counteract any magical threats that may arise rather than infringing on what he perceived as citizens' liberties. Regarding the military, both brothers claimed that there was wisdom in knowing when to enlist outside help, though Akachi was observed to be more willing to interact with and publicly support various adventuring parties hired by Masego through the years. Various rumors damaged each brother's reputation: Dakari was claimed to be too bookish to be an effective ruler in times of trouble, while Akachi was at times accused of hotheadedness to the point of being unstable.
Supporters of Dakari were generally called barafus, while supporters of Akachi are known as mwalis. Each side was, over the course of the war, responsible for initiating several battles which led to thousands of lives lost, both soldier and civilian. Most magic users that actively participated in the conflict supported the mwalis, which only served to strengthen the perception that wizards were dangerous and must be dealt with in some fashion.
The war drove many citizens of Adjuskimavo to flee south to Thessélias and Jeltir. Both kingdoms increased border control because of this, though Jeltir also reportedly sent aid in the form of supplies to refugee camps.
The war was notable for being completely condemned by all authority in Kilidja, and being largely fought and financed by independent entities within Adjuskimavo.
The debate of succession ended on August 29th of 1000 when an adventuring party consisting of Amare the Boundless, Imakulay Makuza, Lalo of Miticha, and the Marked Monk apprehended Udjarak the Eclipse and brought back his body after he committed suicide. More notably, they discovered that Prince Akachi was in reality a bronze dragon repeatedly feebleminded by Udjarak in his youth, sent to kill Queen Nonebi, and shapechanged to exactly resemble Prince Dakari. Thus it was discovered that Dakari was the one true heir to the throne. However, this story proved difficult to swallow for many citizens of Adjuskimavo, who were quick to cry that it was a conspiracy covering up the murder or exile of the prince. Dakari, after assuming the throne, took quick and decisive action to end these rebellions, and slowly, the kingdom came to tentatively accept his rule.
Akachi vanished the day this information was brought back to the capital, and has not been seen since.

Conflict Type

War

Start Date

EL 998

Ending Date

EL 1000