Peppercurrant Conspiracy

The Peppercurrant Scandal, when the effects of Peppercurrant addiction were made public was a major blow to public morale, and shook trust in the Kinilan Army to its core. To this day, rumours persist that Peppercurrant was intended, from its outset, to destabilize the government.

Historical Basis

Rumours of Peppercurrant being purpose designed to destabilize the government are all centred around its origin: the House of Attar. They are one of the three founding members of the Abizin Loyalists, and are outspoken in their claims that the High Queen is a usurper to the rightful Abizin Royal Family. As such, all of their activities are regarded with a degree of suspicion, especially among the common folk. When the scandal broke, many assumed that it was a deliberate plan, sabotaging Kinilan's war effort in order to weaken the government.
While the drug was initially developed merely as a product to replace the Attars' reliance on perfume sales, which naturally fell during the Great War, they did attempt to capitalize on the fallout of the addiction. While most of the Kinilan Army was recovering from withdrawal, they actually managed to smuggle a message across to the Chelestran side without being discovered, notifying them of the Kinilan forces difficulties, hoping to start a relationship that would allow them to make more aggressive moves against the government. The Chelestrans, suspecting a trap, refused to take part, and had the messenger executed. Indeed, the Chelestran army was markedly defensive before things returned to normal, fearing that the apparent lack of enemy forces was bait for a devastating counterattack.

Spread

The conspiracy version of the scandal was commonly believed immediately after the incident, but now, over a decade later, is widely discounted. There's never been word of any sort of attempt to capitalize on the incident, and many have forgotten that aspect of the story. Only a few stubborn holdouts believe, insisting that something nefarious happened...those and the few who know the truth.