Preface:

  Today if you go to Spignane, after you leave the airport and if you head down the Avenue of the Martyrs for around a mile, you’ll see a rge arch called the Martyrs' Resting Pce. It is the rgest in the world and houses the remains of the great heroes of the Spignanian Civil War. However, that isn’t the most important part of this mo. As if you head below the ard into the museum, you will see tless rows of books. If you have a tuide, they will instruct you to open one of these books and inside you will see the names of all the firmed dead from the Civil War. Together, these books hold around 1-2 million hese were all the people the postwar gover could firm had died because of the fighting.

  Though you might skip some of these hey all had a story and lives before the ravages of war cimed them. One was a young man with the first name, Mstisv, who worked in a butcher’s shop and, i days of the war, a rebel mortar strike killed him. His remains mixed with the meat he was carrying to the shop that day. Another was a little girl named Eva who gover soldiers shot in the back during the Evacuation of Allivino. She was just one of many who lost their lives that day. Yet what caused those soldiers and rebels to kill for their causes?

  It wasn’t simple psychopathy, as very few of the batants we interviewed and/or researched dispyed those traits. Instead, they were average people like you or me who believed that through violehey would create a better world for their children and their children, too. To show how and why Spignaed into civil war, we have bined ats from all sides as well as done our own researto the events of the war to provide an at of how it happened. It is our hope by reading this book, you get an uanding of the how and why of the flict. First, we begin with who is arguably the protagonist of this whole era of Spiganian history, although nobody k at the time.

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  Part 0: Birth of a Revolutionary

  | 0:1 | First Spark |

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  Last Light 1st, 956 (1/1/956) - Vilge along the Balepivia ty - Aleksander Meliton

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  The truck rumbled along the old, snow cravel road as the vilgers stared at it, wary of what the Imperial Gendarmerie could want with this small town. They saw that heavily armed gendarmes filled the truck, which was never a good sign, especially with the ret purges happening across the try after the uprising in the capital. As the truck tinued on, two vilgers spoke in hushed tones, “What do you think they’re here for?”

  “I hate to say it, but it has to be the Meliton family.”

  “It was only a matter of time before they came knog for them.”

  “Still, I hope little Aleksander makes it out alright.”

  Finally, the truck came to a stop outside a small home on the far edge of the vilge. The gendarmeries silently got out of the truck with their rifles and submae guns aimed at the house. A group of soldiers lined up by the door, ready to breabsp;

  A few minutes before, Aleksander was at the kit table, eating a small breakfast. His parents always said that a ten-year-old like him should get all the food he needs in order to grow big and strong like his father. So he eagerly ate his breakfast his mom made for him. He turo his mother. “Mama, I’m finished.”

  She smiled at him. “Great job. I’m proud of you. Let’s get you ready for school now.”

  “Hey, there you are, son.” Aleksander’s father ehe room and gave him a hug. “I got something for you.” He handed him a journal.

  Aleksaook the journal and looked up at his dad. “What’s this for?”

  He ughed and answered, “It’s so you write in.”

  “Why would I hat?” Aleksander asked curiously.

  “You might not see why now, but someday you’ll want to look bad want to remember what’s happened.”

  Just then, they heard a true to a stop outside, and his mother and father looked at each other with a look of . They quickly bahe thought as they told Aleksao go back to his room to get his school uniform on. Aleksahought they were hiding something, but he trusted them, so he started going back to his room. Just then, the door burst open. The wooden door splintered as the jackbooted gendarmes burst into the home. They were shouting at the family to get down. Aleksaurned around to see one of them hit his father in the face with the butt of his rifle. His father then colpsed on the ground with blood p from his nose as a gendarme cuffed him. They cuffed his mother too and dragged the two of them outside.

  They ignored Aleksander, who was in shock at what had just happened. Despite that, he still willed himself to run outside to see what was happening. The gendarmes put his mom and dad against the wall. Aleksander ran towards them, but a gendarme grabbed him and threw him to the ground, shouting, “Stupid kid, stay out of this!” One of his neighbors came up and ed Aleksander in a hug, shielding his eyes but not his ears. The lead gendarme gave out the sentence, “By the order of his Majesty Emperor Vdimir III Ermoi, we n you to death for the crime of high treason.”

  A shocked gasp went up from the assembled crowd. Even though they khey were active with the republi opposition, they didn’t expect that they’d face such drastisequences for it. Still, they didn’t make any moves to help them. Fear held them back fr anything. Then all Aleksander heard was a volley of gunfire and then something colpsed in the fresh snow. He turned his head slightly and saw a stream of red through the snow. The lead gendarme again spoke. “Let this be a lesson for all of you. No traitors will live and spread their traitorous thoughts without reprisal. Glory to the Emperor!”

  “Glory to the Emperor!” the crowd repeated, though the fear was clear from their shaky voices. The only one who didn’t was Aleksander, who gripped the journal that his father gave him. He resolved he would one day find some way to avenge his family.

  So for several years, this anger ament towards the empire that had killed his family grew. Although he remembered what happeo his parents, he never expressed it. Not to friends or his neted family. One of his more affluent neighbors adopted him and, for his own be, they moved away from the vilge and to the Imperial Capital of Spighere Aleksander enrolled in school and performed well and was at the top of his css. After sedary school, he pleted his six months of mandatory military training without issue and luckily got out just before the ill-fated Spignanian invasion of the small neighb Republic of Ceprodi.

  In 964, g a mix of historical cims and current grievances, Emperor Vdimir III decred war on the Republic of Ceprodi. At first, it went well, but soon ons, funding, and volunteers from the Nonesian Republid Echille Socialist Union poured into the Republic. Soon the war ground to a halt as inpetent military ahrew Spignanian scripts into the meat grinder of the urban battles of cities like Vagagorno, where thousands died in pointless urban battles. Aleksander was ihird cohort of scripts. The first cohort was called up when the war began. In order to fill out the frontline units. The sed was called up when fn support turhe war into a stalemate. The third was only partially called up, and it included Aleksander. Luckily for him, he avoided having to go into battle and instead only underwent more military training, like most other men his age.

  With the war having turned into an unwinnable slog and internal dissent rising, the emperor realized that pursuing this war further was going to further destabilize the try, so he sued for peace with the Republic. It was a white peaobody gained or lost territory, and the Empire paid minor reparations. Internally, though, the war had turned public opinion against the Emperor, so, with even his closest advisors advising him to step down, he finally abdicated in 965. His son, Emperor Alexei I Ermoi, took the throne and created a new reformist et. However, internal dissent tio rise as the opposition coalesced around the United Democratic Front, which sought to limit the emperor’s power through a stitution. This was just the beginning for Aleksahe war and its fallout showed weakness in the system, and he wao exploit that to the fullest.

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  Nicaria 4th, 968 (5/3/968) - Spignane Imperial Uy - Itronemi ty - Aleksander Meliton

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  Aleksander leaned against the railing of the fire escape and lit a cigarette. From his apartment, he could hear the announcer on the radio announg that gover forces had captured muerils. Aleksaook out the red journal his father had given him all those years ago. He flipped through the bnk pages. He had never actually written in the journal, he just couldn’t bring himself to. It made him remember the st time he saw his parents putting him in somewhat of a seal mood. It didn’t feel as bad though, since he was finally taking steps t a bit of justice to the try. Just then, he heard a knock from the door, so he tossed the cigarette a baside.

  He opehe door and saw his friend Anton Mantas. Like Aleksander, Anton was in his early tweall, had blonde hair, and greehe two had met early in uy and in their sed year, they joined a walkout in solidarity with medical doctors on strike for better w ditions.

  The two of them took a seat, and Aleksander asked. “Remember the doctor’s strike?”

  “Of course I do. I remember having to vince you to join. Holy, I’m surprised the gover didn’t crack down on us harder.”

  “Eh, I mean, it’s not like the gover was about to arrest a lot of middle-css professionals and students.” Aleksander said.

  “Fair enough.”

  “Did you ever think we would be the orying to start something simir?”

  Anton ughed. “Holy, I thought about it, but I didn’t think we could. I mean, we’re still just a pair of students. Still, after hearing your pn, I think we might actually pull it off.”

  Then they heard a knock at the door and Aleksander rose and ope and saw that Kra Raissa, another one of his friends, had arrived. Her short, red hair was in a pixie cut and she wore a jacket. “Hey Kra, how’ve you been?”

  “Aside from getting kicked out of another one of those ‘liberation’ groups. I swear those people would prefer sitting around critig everybody but not doing anything.”

  Anton joined in, saying, “Holy, I’m surprised all of those groups haven’t banned you by now.”

  As she went to sit down, she said. “Plenty of them exist. I mean, lots of women and other people ?want their rights, but not a lot of them are willing to actually do anything for them.”

  “So that’s why you came here today?” Aleksander asked.

  She nodded. “Yeah, I heard the outline of your pn and I’m ied.”

  Then they heard another knock at the door and again Aleksander ope and saw Rodya Gabriel. Like Aleksander, he was tall but had messy dark hair and was more athletice he used to be on the uy’s soccer team.

  Funnily enough, Aleksander hadn’t expected to see him today, and he said so, to which Roday responded. “We might not have the same beliefs on a lot of things, but your pitch retty ving.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I mean, you’ve clearly thought this out.” With that, he sat down and Aleksander heard a final knock at the door.

  The st person was Njord áki. He art of the Fjeldu people who traditionally lived in what is now northern Spignania. His facial features, like most Fjeldu, were more angur than most Spignanians and he had bck hair.

  “Gd you could make it.” Aleksander said.

  Njhed and said. “Well, I couldn’t refuse. I mean, I don’t even want to imagine y tanize something like this.”

  “You’re never going to let me fet that project, are you?” Aleksander asked with a chuckle.

  “Not a ce.”

  With that, the group had finally made it, and Aleksander sat down to give them the full rundown. He began by saying. “Alright, I’m sure you’ve all thought about the pn I talked to you guys about. I uand most attempts taudents on a mass scale have failed, but I think the ditions are right.”

  Rodya asked. “What ditions make this any different?”

  “I’m gd you asked. You’ve all seen the news around campus, right?”

  To this, Anton replied. “Haven’t new ws made it so that the national police automatically get all of our information? Plus, the military sent a battalion to help the Imperial Federation in their ial war and the gover’s funding an expansion to the airship fleet.”

  “Exactly, and I’ve seen nobody who actually likes these new ws. Not even the Imperialist Society. If we el this energy, we create a movement that fight for these things.”

  “What’s stopping them from arresting us as soon as the police hear about this?” Kra asked.

  “The emperor is still trying to keep his image as a reformer intact so his gover won’t act so brazenly. Plus, even the doctor’s strike two years ago only led to the anizers getting suspended or fired, and that was much more dangerous.”

  Finally, Njord asked. “So, how are you going tahis?”

  “As long as we have open unication with the people that are going to join us, then we mobilize the support we need.”

  The room fell silent as everybody sidered what he had said. Finally, they took a vote and in a unanimous decision; they agreed to gh with this pn and so they got to work.

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  Nicaria 18th, 968 (5/18/968) - Spignane Imperial Uy - Itronemi ty - Aleksander Meliton

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  In the Uy ons, hundreds of students gathered to protest. Many of these students could finally express their political views, so the energy was electric, as many of them waved fgs and signs. Most of these students weren’t radicals, with many of them just being ied in seeing what the otion was about. Aleksander and his group had spent the past two weeks busily speaking to various groups around campus in order to get more people to show up. It worked too, with hundreds of students filling the ons. Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed, as shown by the perimeter riot police.

  However, they didn’t dissuade the students, since several local issues had fired them up. The chief issues being the uy sharing student information with the National Police’s terintelligence Department. The sed being the uy w closely with the military in matters of researd allowing recruiters stant access to students. Finally, the general opposition towards the ial wars of the Imperial Federation of Montonia which the Imperial Military was getting involved in.

  They, of course, khat they didn’t have a ce at the administration agreeing to this sihey were all directly appointed by the Emperor, but it was important to show them that there position. Which was why Aleksander’s group gathered here in order to put pressure on them, hopefully peacefully. Aleksander was mostly fident that the police wouldn’t do anything rash, sihe new poliissioner for the city had shown a much more le approach to ret protests pared to the past issioners.

  All they would do was hold a couple of speeches. They only had two weeks, so there wasn’t much they could pn. Aleksander again looked at the crowd that had assembled, and although he wished he had more time, he knew he might not have an opportunity like this again, so he had to take it. He also wished that more people had shown up, but again, they were stuck with word of mouth and flyers across the uy and surrounding areas. Even with that, getting these people to show up to a rally not affiliated with a major party anization was an aplishment. It showed there was a real appetite for ge, at least among the students and whoever else from the city showed up.

  He again turned his head back to the table. They were using an improvised stage as he heard cheers and g from the crowd. Rodya had finished his speed up was Kra. Aleksander looked up at Njord, who a nearby building, watg for any ued moves by the police, ready to signal Aleksander and his rades if they did. Njord saw Aleksander looking at him and gave him a thumbs up. So he again looked back to see Kra beginning her speech.

  Aleksander paid attention to the reas to her speech, since he was ied in seeing how people would take it. As soon as she stepped up, the feminists who she brought cheered, while others had more lukewarm reas. Throughout her speech, she focused on tying the struggle of women to that of others in society in order to draw es between all the various groups which students would know and care about. It wasn’t an unon talking point used by speakers like Kra, which was key to making the struggles of women seem less like a fringe issue and instead as an integral part of various movements sweeping across the try. The students had mixed reas, with some seeming visibly ied and open to her ideas, while others seemed more hostile or dismissive of it. Which wasn’t too surprising, since many of the students and even the left wing ones didn’t care too much about feminism or issues reted to women. It was unfortunate, but that’s how it was. Finally, Kra finished her speeostly cheers and cps. The sed to st speaker was Anton.

  Anton jumped up oage fmboyantly, with the most radical students cheering his name. He first thahe other two speakers before ung into his speech. His speech started with a full denunciation of the gover, with him fog on the invasive tactics of the terintelligence Department. In order to address the core issues of the rally, he led with a full denunciation of the gover, which received a great rea from the crowd, who cheered and appuded him. Out of curiosity for the police’s rea, Aleksander looked up at Njord, who gave him a thumbs up. Nothing had ged with the police while he was eating a sandwich. So he looked back at Anton, who was finishing up his speech, so he started walking over to their improvised stage.

  Anton helped him get onto the stage before jumping off himself. Aleksander, like the other two speakers before him, received cheers and appuse. He looked out at the crowd, and from this angle, he could see more clearly the different fgs the students were waving. Some were waving the blue fg of the United Democratic Front. While others were waving the red fg of the banned Spignanian Democratic Socialist Revolutionary Party. He breathed in and began his speebsp;

  “Brothers and sisters, today we are here to make the uy hear our voices. Over the past few years, we’ve seen incredible ge. The emperor abdicated after the failure of his imperialist war of aggression, and now the people have taken more political rights. But the rights the gover has surreo us are nothing whehorities sic their secret poli us at any time for any reason. As long as they have this power, we’ll never be able to exercise hts.”

  He tinued, “Not only that, but the administration of the uy tio use our talents for further military research. They used our students in order to make ons for the war to bomb i civilians. This research tio be used and is currently being used to build neons, new aircraft, and, most of all, the new aerial battlecruiser. Do you all know how much this battlecruiser is going to cost?”

  Without waiting for a response, he tinued. “One hundred fifty million s! Imagine what they could use that money for. That’s what they’re willing to spend on ons of war while they give us nothing iurn. Almost a third of Spignanians ot read or write and millions of citizens live in poverty or have to endure degrading work to survive.”

  He cluded his speech. “We ’t possibly hope to stop any of this as long as we remain idle. So take a and make your voices heard. If we speak as ohey ’t hope to stop us. A united people will never be silenced!”

  The crowd roared with approval with astoundihusiasm. Anton, Kra, and Rodya, from their respective positions in the crowd, looked at him with approval at his speech. With that, the rally ended, even though the students still felt energized by the speeches they heard. Of course, Aleksander made sure that everybody khey would o disperse peacefully or risk the police rea. So little by little, with Aleksander’s primary group taking charge of keeping everything peaceful, the crowd dispersed without i.

  The reas to the speech depended on people’s political views. With those on the right, calling it treasonous and for the students who attended and spoke to face punishment. Those on the left called it a triumph of free expression uhe current gover. Broadly, most people were indifferent to the whole situation. Many also emphasized the fact that the people whahe rally had no affiliation with a major political party anization. This led to a lot of i, which would eventually lead to the United Democratic Front giving them an invitation to create a new ittee in their united front structure. They offered to let them found ahe “National Student anizing cil.”