The Romtol Civil War

The man lay before me, my blade in his gut— he was dying. Similar scenes were playing out all around me, as my comrades cheered, our enemies beaten. A sullen smile came upon the man's lips, and he struggled to speak. "Let us drink again one day, sister." he said, and promptly expired. Not a drop of alcohol has touched my lips since.

— A solider's woe

The Romtol Civil War occurred in 3452, and lasted a mere six months, sparked by the disappearance of a head of the Poggok— blamed on one of the other four families, the Rocholdomn. In truth, she had been discovered to be a tether by the Cichuelizon, and was assassinated using Eldritch magics. The war itself was forced to a close by the annual burning of Rotomul.

A reminder

The scorched theatre remains today as a reminder of the war. It stands in the portion of Mouch that had been burned by the Poggok, though through some miracle, the theatre remained standing despite half of the edifice having been scorched.
Plays are still performed on its half-burned stage, with an audience filling the untouched portion of its seating.

A False Start

The Poggok and Rocholdomn families had feuded for generations, and continue to do so to this day. Then, as they are now, relations were tense between the two groups. Who else could possibly be behind the disappearance of the head of the Poggok but their most notable rivals? It was clear logic, to them, a way to explain the strange circumstances of the woman's disappearance. She was heavily guarded— there was no conceivable way for one to even access her private room, yet alone set foot on the grounds of her home without being seen. And so they assumed the Rocholdomn to have paid off their guards, who were promptly executed for their betrayal. One would claim to have fought with their comrades over the bribe, a lie made to save their own skin— one that would only seal their fate, as they would perish in battle only a month later.
The Poggok sent troops south towards the Rocholdomn-controlled city of Mouch after a week, negotiations having fallen apart with the Rocholdomn denying involvement in the incident. Thanks to a spy, the Rocholdomn were able to ready their defenses before the invading army arrived— and the two would fight at the edge of the city for two months. However, the Poggok's forces had cut off the northern roads— along with them, a notable portion of Mouch's food. The war would have ended shortly after that, if it weren't for the intervention of Rektouzk to the south, who saw a great opportunity to capitalize on. They began to send a greater amount of food to Mouch, at a higher price, slowly draining at the Rocholdomn's great wealth. Still, it allowed them to survive, and they would hire mercenary troops from the mercantile nation when the Poggok would attempt to cut off the south, as well— pushing them back in a bloody battle that would see both parties agreeing to a week-long truce in order to recover.

My brother is dead. My sister is dead.
And my spirit may soon follow, should I step onto the battlefield once more.

— A weary soldier

A Waning Defense

Despite the aid from the south, Mouch would begin to conscript its citizens to fight as trained soldiers perished. As the Poggok spent much of their resources on training their armies, the conscripted soldiers were little more than an obstacle to them— which they steadily began to cut through. In the fifth month, the northernmost districts of the city were breached, and razed. Families were displaced, jobs lost, landmarks destroyed— and civilian lives ended. Civilians began to flee Mouch through its southern roads, off to Rektouzk or Zilopnou in the west. In Rektouzk, these refugees would be faced with steep tolls to cross the border— though they could take this toll as a debt, instead. Many would end up in the couleuz mines shortly afterward to pay off the toll.

A Bigger Threat

As Mouch burned and the Poggok pushed further into the city— the forever growing woods of Rotomul began to appear on the horizon. The Poggok would either have to fight with their backs to the hungering trees, losing the option of retreat and potentially dooming the city— which still held great value for them.
Or, they could leave, and allow their enemies to burn back the horrid forest. They chose the former, and retreated home. The war would end here, as the Poggok's stockpiles had dwindled, they lacked the resources to continue. This, and the heir to the family's new head died near the end of the war— something she did not wish to live through again.

Aftermath

While the two families would continue to distrust one another afterwards, they would avoid another war— both having sustained considerable losses over the course of the fighting. Civilians, too, were beginning to loathe whoever they believed to have led them into the disastrous war— and exactly who was being blamed seemed to change from household to household.
Rotomul was burned back, having grown closer than usual— leading to a disastrous fire south of Mouch, scorching farmland and destroying their crops. Thousands had died in the war, and hundreds more would starve to death in the resulting famine. It is almost miraculous that Mouch was able to recover.

Public Outcry

Through the war, the families had exercised what was perhaps their largest act of control in Romtol's history. Regardless of how the families themselves felt— the average citizen did not know of the exact happenings within the groups, and they had long been lead to believe that the Pomm was their leader.
Soldiers and civilians on both sides were told that the Pomm wished them to combat an insurgent force— a bold lie that did not take long to be revealed. It was only through careful propaganda— and even cooperation between the feuding families— in the aftermath that the citizenry was kept from revolting. Their solution was simple— blame the Pomm. Romtol was fed the lie that the Pomm had played both sides against one another, as a way to punish each for inadequate tax payments and production.

How could the man we entrusted with our lives toss them so callously aside? This is not the face of a leader, see how he weeps before you— for he knows judgement is at hand.

— Poggok member addressing the crowd

His tongue was cut out by a Poggok, to keep him from speaking the truth, and thrown to the angered masses. He was executed by the end of the day, and the process of electing a new Pomm would begin the following month.

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