Vellarium Civil War

Turmoil Within the Court
Vellarium's traditional policy of neutrality was greatly tested during the years of the war of Darkness and Light. As the planetary interests began to rub up against those of the galactic conglomerates, many calls were made for the planet to choose sides in the massive conflict. The ruling monarchs were unwilling to do so, but their weakness due to internal issues made the people's idea of thinking and acting otherwise all the more tempting. Revolutionary groups for both sides began staging attacks, but were generally unsuccessful because they failed to portray any legitimacy in a planet that had been ruled for millennia by monarchs raised from birth. The political shift of the princess Cheyrine to the Republic insurgents was a gift the Republic could only have dreamed of. Her legitimacy-though not complete-was equal or greater to that of her mother Ryzia, the current de-facto ruler. If the revolutionaries could seize the queen and her other daughters, and the capital, it was widely held that the whole planet would fall into line, making Cheyrine their default leader.

The Queen Seized
The plan came to fruition four years after the death of King Egaderoe. Using Cheyrine as an internal contact, revolutionaries stormed the royal palace in the early hours of the night and captured Ryzia. Declaring Cheyrine the rightful and legitimate queen over her mother, the fighters meant to quarantine and intern the other powerful members of the court and thus take control of the city and the whole planet, but failed to capture their two most important targets, Yzania and Veronica, the two other royal princesses. In the cover of chaos, the two escaped the city and fled through the countryside. Meanwhile, revolutionaries took control of other important sites with relative ease, and after a near bloodless night had practical control of the entire city. Cheyrine claimed the move to be neither coup nor revolution-just a lawful and fair transfer of power away from an “illegitimate” ruler. Individual citizens were divided on the action, while some viewed it as a heroic move, others saw it to be a cowardly attempt by the Republic to gain influence.

Asylum in the Desert
Yzania and Veronica fled together through the sand-covered planet, trying to together find some place to rest and plan there next move. Hunted and sheltered by the people through whom which they came, they eventually found shelter under the governor-mayor of Vaas, Evin Nyr-Vos. A friend of both Ryzia and the Republic, he promised them shelter and safety while he tried to work out a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Unfortunately, the diplomacy failed. After a few brief attempts to reach a compromise, negotiations broke down, and hostile talk resumed. Declaring Nyr-Vos a traitor to Vellarium, Cheyrine marshaled a powerful army and marched to Vaas to claim her sisters for herself. The force they were able to assemble to contest her for dominion was small, and Evin refused to allow battle to touch the city. Deciding that retreat was the only option, the sisters decided to abandon the city.

Realizing her failure, Cheyrine quickly gathered an army and marched to face her sisters at .Fearing encirclement and unbreakable siege by the superior forces of Cheyrine and her allies, Veronica and Yzania chose instead to divide and each march with seperate forces to the planet's easily defendable poles. Under the cover of sandstorm, the two began the secret march. Yzania, marching south, was unopposed, but Verononica's troops ran into an evenly matched advance party under the command of General Vad Moby. The forces clashed in a confused first major battle to the war. Intelligence for both sides was inaccurate in the swirling sand. General Moby switched being convinced that the enemy army was only a small scouting force or the entire Queen's guard. His orders were inefficient and contradictory, and at the end of the day, he was forced into retreat. Veronica knew as little as he did, but her determination and wit allowed her to win out the day. Though not a decisive victory, it gave a much needed boost in morale to those opposed to the new regime.

The People Choose Sides
Diplomatic attempt to bring a quick end to conflict had failed, and now the people knew that only a full-scale and possibly prolonged war would bring an answer to the question of the planet's future. Cheyrine called on provincial governors and their constituents to be loyal to her federal power, but many instead pleadged their loyalty to an effort to restore Ryzia to the throne. Meeting and secret correspondence with Yzania and Veronica established these groups into an alliance, the “Queen's Guard”. Situated primarily in southern Vellarium, these governors and individuals pledged to fight and destroy the new regime. The military, meanwhile, was split on who to back. The commander of the army, Jenz Vechkt, was killed by an unknown assasin before making a public statement of his loyalties. No second in command could replace him-a successor was meant to be chosen by the monarch-so individual soldiers were free to side with whomever they'd choose. Though individuals within territories had there own individual views, the basic alignment of a majority of the planet was decided in just a few weeks. Apart from a few areas that were internally contested, the planet was split between territories ruled by Cheyrine from Nerungard and those ruled by Yzania, Veronica, and their allies from Ve'Dun. One exception was the city-state of Davium. Though it's polar region was occupied by Veronica's troops, the rest of the province was declared a temorary neutral state by it's governor, De'Chen, seceding from Cheyrine's empire to form an autonomous country. Safe from the damage of war, Davium becoming a premier trading stop for the war's duration.