The Falkner Square Massacre
"Please, help! There's fire everywhere, there's people all over the ground and bleeding, and... oh Goddess, those are gunshots!"The Falkner Square Massacre is an event in 1890, in which King Marcus Mitfield and the majority of the Mitfield main family was assassinated in Falkner Square, in downtown Manhesto. Out of the Mitfield main family, only Kaylee Mitfield survived the event directly, whereas Jacob Mitfield was deployed alongside Battlegroup Altis over the Vinesian Ocean.
With the murder of Marcus, Crown Prince Hector, and Prince Joseph, and with Kaylee not yet being of age, Jacob Mitfield was the last surviving prince of the line, and was immediately recalled from his duties in the Eastern Ocean for emergency succession. He was appointed the 9th King of Mithambe by the Royal Court, and would hold his position until Kaylee was of age and ready to ascend to the responsibility.
The Falkner Square Massacre rocked the foundations of the Louthian continent, with King Weston and King Asher fearing the worst - that the rumors of a Neo-Louthian Empire are not unfounded, and that their opening move was to punish the descendants of the man responsible for the original Empire's destruction. The murder of its royal family has the Kingdom of Mithambe on full alert, and its military apparatus geared on a war footing. The rest of Vinesia has taken notice, with the Kingdoms of Sherland and Cleolinia having activated their reserves in the event of regional instability (and potential sympathetic violence), while the Kingdom of Porfodia has closed its borders.
The Overview
Prelude
With the official cooling of tensions between House Mitfield and the Church of the Great Design, the Pontifex of the Church, Irim Nessar, formally invited King Marcus and the Royal Family, as well as the Prime Minister and other head officials, to commemorate the new bell that would adorn the top of the Chalice of Creation. Seeing this as a public demonstration of a new chapter in the relations between the Court and the Church, King Marcus agreed, and was joined by the majority of his family, including Crown Prince Hector and his wife June, and Hector's daughter Kaylee.With such a publicized event, the Talons of the Throne immediately began work in securing the premises and screening the staff that would be working the commemoration ceremony that day. Feather Squad Ocean Joy was the royal protection squad for the day, and its members briefed on how the ceremony would be performed.
The Grand Day of the Bell
On the day of the ceremony, the majority of Falkner Square was secured, with Knights from the 1st Royal Guard interspersed with Talon reinforcements. Two Sifen-class cruisers from Battlegroup Gersix floated in the sky, providing aerial reconnaissance and support should it be seen necessary. The faithful of the church and the adherents of the crown lined the streets, as both Pontifex Nessar and King Mitfield walked alongside each other, escorted by their guards. Prayers were shouted into the crowd, and flowers tossed in the sky in celebration of the Crown and Church reconciling their differences.Catastrophe
As the Pontifex and the King shook hands on the dais, one of the Pontifex's nearest advisors detonated, without warning. The resulting explosion showered both Pontifex Nessar and King Marcus with shrapnel from bone and metal - King Marcus died immediately, whereas Irim was left to bleed out as he tumbled from the dais. Queen Amelia was struck and fell, before the sounds of gunfire began to ring out.As Ocean Joy immediately invoked a barrier to protect Queen Amelia and the remainder of the Royal Family, Talons Fabian and Lena were killed from the inside of the protective barrier. Lead Feather Xavier Seaward realized that the gunfire and shrapnel from secondary detonations directed at them were not only military-grade ammunition, but ensorcelled to pierce most forms of ethereal protection, including the secret wards and barriers that are only used by the Talons. Immediately rallying friendly forces towards him, Xavier began a working to warp the Royal Family away from the conflict with an Etherspace rift, only for a sniper's round to rip through his hands, stopping the invocation mid-stride and creating an ethereal backlash explosion, which was amplified within the protective barrier.
Feather Squads Mountain Destiny and Crystal Fear arrived on scene, hindered by panicked attendees and insurgents mixed within the ranks. With hardened armor and with support of the 1st Royal Guard, the 1st Constabulary, and other Talons, they slowly pushed towards the heaviest scenes of the fighting, which was centered around the dais. Two insurgents attempted to stop the Feathers and their reinforcements via taking hostages, but were disarmed and subsequently butchered by flying fans, the signature weapon of Rachel Belfour.
As the reinforcements secured the dais and pushed back the attackers, Rachel was able to get in touch with Xavier, who was bleeding out from his destroyed limbs. He passed on the message that the wards the Feathers put up were breached, before choking to death on his own blood. In the process of securing the bodies of the Royal Family, it was found that Kaylee Mitfield was alive, having been protected from the gunfire by the bodies of her parents and grandmother.
Aftermath
All aerial traffic within the Manhesto Control Zone was suspended and forced to land, as Battlegroup Gersix was immediately scrambled, while Manhesto itself was placed under immediate lockdown. Military intelligence teams immediately got to work to piece together a potential identity of the insurgents, which was made difficult by the fact that no insurgents survived - killed in the crossfire, or committing suicide via gunshot or poison. The discovery of unknown seals on their backs proved resistant to ethereal tampering as well, stalling any forensic investigation.Kaylee was evacuated to St. Asha's for emergency medical treatment, which was immediately placed on lockdown. Julian Cross was evacuated from St. Asha's by a Talon detachment, and brought to Castle Manhesto for his protection.
Princess Clarisse and Duke Benjamin, who were on vacation, were immediately informed of the disaster by Darren Tirsand and by Evan Belfour through different cables, each highlighting the need for direction of the Court with immediate haste. The Cross couple immediately returned to Manhesto, via Clarisse utilizing her gift to form an etherspace channel directly into the heart of the Royal Court, where they were greeted by a distressed Iris.
Jacob was aboard The Endless Rainbow when he was informed via Jason of the events that had occurred. Shortly after Jason informed Jacob, Battlegroup Altis was immediately recalled to Manhesto by MSAB Strategic Command, citing the escalation of hostilities against an unknown actor. Admiral Frewett informed his Porfodian counterparts, who acknowledged and provided safe escort as Battlegroup Altis made haste back towards Manhesto. The Endless Rainbow was directed to land first, and Talons immediately greeted Jacob, who was escorted to Castle Manhesto where he made contact with the three dukes, his aunt, and his wife, who were safe.
With the sudden death of King Marcus and Hector, and with Kaylee's youth a legal hindrance for her ascension, Jacob was acknowledged by right of birth to be the next Monarch. In front of the Royal Court, Jacob uttered the oath of the crown, and was appointed king, one day after the disaster. His first act as King was to acknowledge that the Kingdom of Mithambe was attacked, and that under his direction, the Kingdom was ready for war.
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