The Black Riots

The rise of The Pauper Kings

I doubt it's as simple as that, love. It's hard to imagine that all it took to end the world was the careless toss of a match after lighting a pipe. Money really does make the world go round, but I happen to believe that there was far more going on in that game than we were led to believe...

— Eirnan Clark, Captain of The Delerium

In the 1800s there was a massive crash in the world economy. Investors associated with the combustion engine as well as the uses of crude oil and gasoline immediately pulled funding for such ventures due to a series of unfortunate incidents.
Oil spills, prototype failures, and other accidents primed the world for this economic downturn. The straw that broke the camel's back was an explosion killing several working on a prototype rig attempting to harvest oil from the earth at an alarming rate.
This caused a chain reaction as investors began pulling their funding for such projects resulting in more investors pulling out of the projects out of fear. While this began in America it soon consumed the world.
It was a short war between the rich and the poor. The effects are still present to this day.

The Riots

The Black Riots, referring to the distinctive black color of crude oil, were the massive rise in crime and rioting that occurred over the months following this economic crash. Law enforcement was overrun or bought off in many parts of the world as the wealthy were hunted down, dragged out of their homes, and killed in humiliating and brutal fashions.

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by Aaditya

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The Pauper Kings

Many of the rioters were laid off workers or disgruntled inventors, all furious at what they had lost. Others were simply those less fortunate than others. The Pauper Kings are the direct result of The Black Riots. As the systems of government began to fall apart, the most influential among the rioters began forming organizations. Some were focused on criminal activity, while others focused on rebuilding what was lost. Small wars are fought in the city streets and skies to this day. Pauper Kings are the leaders of these organizations, men and women who started at the bottom and clawed their way up. They are the true rulers of many nations and even on the seas and in the skies, The Sky Barrons being a prime example.

Belligerents

Rioters

• The Pauper Kings

Law and Military

Strength

Due to it being a worldwide event, its unclear exactly how many rioters there were.

The actual strength was less than most would assume for the soldiers on the other side. Many soldiers abandoned their posts and left to protect their homes and family.

Casualties

Deaths ranged in the hundreds of thousands.

Toward the end of the conflict many soldiers became rioters, so its unclear.

Objectives

Depending on where you were, the objective was simply to get even. These men and women had lost everything and saw no other way out.

Quell the riots.