The ongoing Elantian civil war

Table of Contents

Report on the Elantian Civil War

To the Attention of the Most Gracious Lords and Ladies of the Continent of Aslaine

My fellow lords and ladies, the time is critical, as for the first time in a millennium, Aslaine is now at risk of seeing a reunification of the City of the Hundred Fiefs under a new Emperor! Once this comes to pass, we can all be asurred that it will not be long before a terrible Elantian Empire will rise again to conquer us all!

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Return of the Emperor

The Return of the Emperor has long been foretold in a prophecy. Ridiculous inventions, of course, but after the fieflings have clutched to this hopes for an entire millennium, they are certainly not going to realise this now...

The Prophecy

A once mighty empire burnt to ashes
A once worthy people brought to its knee
A once powerful magic forgotten
All shall survive
All shall revive
All shall thrive
For the one to unite shall come
For the one to protect shall fight
For the one to conquer shall rise

Reunification attemps

Over the thousand years that have spanned since the fall of the empire, every single fiefling imperial leftovers has hoped to be the one to reunify the city and to rebuild the empire, and they have done their utmost to accomplish this—and their utmost to stop their rivals from accomplishing this.
The most famous attempts are obviously the Bloody Lord of Fear, known for its terrible massacres of all of his opponents until his eventual demise via literal backstabbing, and the Red Lady, who tried to seduce her way through the entire nobility of the fiefs before also getting backstabbed.
All of them have failed, and all of them have to continue to fail! Elante can never be allowed to rise again!

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The new would-be Emperor

Nevertheless, do not let all these previous failures reassure you and convince you there are no risks, for a new far more convincing threat is rising!

Lord Adélème by AmélieIS

Lord Adélème of Spinner
Strengths: His fief is known for weaving and making instruments, most famously the spindle of loss that unravels wards and has been the basis of his string of conquests. He is extremely popular in his own fief and in the entire city and very likely to succeed in reuniting it all.
Weaknesses: His only weakness is his unpopularity with those currently in power in the fiefs, as they stand to lose their independence upon conquest. However, he has ben very adept at manipulating the lower classes to revolt against them, allowing him easy conquests.
Conquests: Already a full third of the city has fallen into his greedy hands, lords and ladies slaughtered or enslaved to his bidding. Day after day, he is crawling his way closer to total domination and nothing seems to be able to stop him!

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His Allies

Lord Diviner
Strengths: A famous prophet that a lot of people come consult from all the fiefs and even from outside of the city.
Weaknesses: A lot of people do not believe he has any true prophecy power.
Effects: He is at the source of all propaganda in favour of the would-be emperor, but he is also an extremely well-connected informant for the alliance.

Lady Dyes
Strengths: A chemist who makes dyes and clothing and so who has been a historical ally of the fief of Spinners.
Weaknesses: She does not appear to be as useful and powerful as other members of the alliance, yet she has a disproportionate influence because of this historical friendship.
Effects: An extremely loyal friend but potentially a weak point in the alliance—or at least a source of jealousy that can be exploited.

Lady Jewel
Strengths: Her fief crafts jewellery that is mainly used to anchor wards and other protective magic. However, they are also famous for their shackles that restrict the use of magic.
Weaknesses: She is reclusive and very little is known about her.
Effects: The shackles are great for taking hostages and disabling powerful enemies in battle. This alliance has served the would-be emperor well.

His Enemies

Lord Drink, the leader of the resistance.
Strengths: His fief produces the wine and tea leaves that are the most popular drinks in the city, forcing almost all lords and ladies to trade with him or risk their people revolting against them.
Weaknesses: While an adept diplomat, he has shown himself to be indecisive, too prudent, and a poor leader of the opposition against the would-be emperor.
Effects: He has proven rather ineffectual so far and has only managed to oppose the would-be emperor in the City Council without slowly his conquests.

Lady Glass, his next target.
Strengths: Her fief makes glass and use it to create delicate instruments used in just as delicate magic.
Weaknesses: Her fief is highly dependent on external trade and will not last long once it is cut off. She is also young and has come into power only a decade ago, making her hold weak and easily shaken off. To make matter worse, she has stayed isolated inside her own fief and has little to no allies among the rest of the city.
Effects: An insignificant lady from an insignificant fief, she is unlikely to last long against the would-be emperor.

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Other Challenges

Since the other fief lords and ladies are not going to slow down the would-be emperor, we have to look in another direction to stop him.

Internal challenges

The wards of the fiefs have proven to be of little obstacle to the would-be emperor thanks to the instruments crafted by his fief. Even with the forewarning that they have, the rest of the fief lords are unlikely to be able to twist theirs to make enough of a difference.

The upcoming season of magic floods will slow down the pace of conquests but will not stop them.

The trouble with the water reserves might trigger some rapprochement between the enemies of the would-be emperor, but such an alliance even if more encompassing is not likely to be more effective than it has been up to now.

External Challenges

Us—Foreign lords hell-bent on opposing the renewal of the empire—The one and only credible threat that can pretend to stand a chance to throw off this ridiculous unification scheme and kill the pretender!

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Thus, my fellow lords and ladies, it is clear that now is the time to act! Let us form in a new alliance and come together to crush once and for all this ignoble Elantian threat!

A friend of all free Aslainian people

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Related articles

The City of the Hundred Fiefs

Territories The City of the Hundred Fiefs · Geography (The world's strongest magic hotspot, The cave system under the city) · Fiefs (The Fief of Glass, The Diviner Fief) · Neutral areas (The Council's Palace) Politics Government system (Lords and Ladies of the Fiefs, The Council) · Conflict (The ongoing Elantian civil war, Lord Adélème's fanclub, The Resistance against the New Empire, Water sickness, Previous inhabitants of the Fief of Perfumes) · Lords & ladies (Lord Adélème of Spinner, Lady Olénie) Magic Dangers (Seasonal magic flood, Magical corrosion, Are the magic currents under the city expanding?, Basement kraken) · Technologies (Tower wards, Ward pins, Tasty Treat) · Magic system (Runes, Glass and Magic Lenses) Culture History (The Return of the Empire, Dragonic magic manifestations, The Last Emperor's Experimental Notes, The Ruins of the Ancient city of Elante, Anti-imperial sigil) · Travellers (Trading caravans, Travelling healers, Divination Sessions) · Others (Lord Adélème's Tower, Tower cats, The Worship of the Imperial Family, Election of a Tower Leader, Spying Devices)