The Arkadī Tragedy

While the rest of the world was gearing up for religious strife of their own, the Dryads found themselves in the thick of it. When the Elves converted, it was assumed by many that the Dryads would be next, but it was not that simple. While many Dryads were taken by the Common Faith, many more still owed their allegiance to the Augus. While the Royal Family refused to convert, many free Dryads (especially on the continent) had become Commonalists. These free Dryads, of course, had dominion over the local assemblies known as Şūroho, and the thousands of slaves in the Shahdom were the property of these local Şūroho.   As the rift between local government and the royal government widened, so did the rift between Trinitists and Commonalists. Neighbors turned against neighbors, family against family. Hundreds of Dryads, both free and enslaved, would be murdered in broad daylight over their chosen faith. Riots in the countryside become commonplace, and as the death count increased, the Shah of Arkadija was forced to make a decision. The Shah was a Dryad named Salar Shah Mirzaii, who had a reputation for rash action, but he was no fool. If he did not do something about the violence in the countryside, his Shahdom would descend into chaos. After many sleepless nights, Shah Salar III would make the "Law of 658", declaring that the Shahdom of Arcadia was a Trinitist state and the Temples of the Common Faith would not be tolerated.   Unsurprisingly, this had the opposite effect of what the Shah intended. Orthodox mobs would begin to raise their arms and attack Commonalists, interpreting the Law of 658 as a free pass for pogroms. In response to both the Law and the attacks on their communities, followers of the Common Faith would raise their own mobs and do open battle with the Trinitists. As the countryside fell into total chaos, so to did the Şūroho that held domain over them. These places of free thought and open debate burnt to the ground as the Dryads who once spoke within them killed one another in the streets. As their Şūro burnt, the slaves that were bound to it would be freed of their contracts. However, they did not have much time to celebrate, as the race had long stopped caring about political status: all the Dryads cared for at the moment was faith. Slaves turned against slave and Şūro alike as they joined the roving, zealous mobs of whatever their chosen religion was.   The city of Sjataç may have been able to resist the Sunset Invasions, but it could not resist the righteous fury of the people. Scarcely a week after the Law was declared, a great Commonalist mob made up of both city-dwellers and those from the countryside would flood into the city. Ancient buildings were consumed by fire and magic and ancient streets were drowned in blood. Soldiers still loyal to the Shah would attempt to destroy the mob, but they could only inflict minimal casualties before they themselves were overrun. Before the night was over, the Commonalist mob would storm the Royal Palace, where they would find the Royal Family huddled in their bed chambers, waiting for it all to be over.   Shah Salar III, his wife, and his small children would be dragged out in front of their palace, which had already been set to flame. As the children wept, their father would be decapitated, becoming the last Shah of a dynasty that had ruled Arkadija since its foundation. Not long after, the Queen and her children would be decapitated as well.   As news slowly spread of the brutal killings, the Orthodox population was enraged at the barbarism of the Commonalists. Trinitists began to form proper ranks around their clergy, with the Prelate of the Arkadī Isle, Behrouz Soleymani-Fathi, being declared the Regent of the dying Shahdom. The Commonalists would rally behind Siavash Lotfi-Pirouzfar, an influential figure within a large Şūro on the Isle who sought to make himself the Shah of a Commonalist dynasty. However, due to the total anarchy in which the Shahdom found itself, the "rule" of both Fathi and Pirouzfar over their factions was slim, especially on the continent which had lost all semblance of order. The Arkadī Civil War had begun.   For an entire year, the once great and respected Shahdom of Arkadija fell into a bloody, chaotic civil war. Battle maps could not be made, for no one knew who owned what. Engagements devolved into messy clashes of magic, steel, and gunpowder, and after the battle was over, the still-burning fury of the victorious army would be directed at whatever poor village was in the way. The line between civilian and combatant became blurred in the religious wildfire that consumed the nation, and casualties climbed up into the millions. If the marauding bands were not enough, the Civil War had caused famine to grip the Isle.   However, this tragedy was not bad for all. The Sylvan Empire had long desired to take Arkadija into the fold, and without a proper government to stop them, the Sylvan Army would be assembled. Word of Elven assistance would be sent to Commonalist leaders on both the Isle and the mainland, and by the later months of 659, the Elves began to march West.   With the support of the advanced and orderly Sylvan Army, the Trinitists began to crumble. Their villages were slaughtered, their Churches destroyed, and the ancient system of the Şūroho was abolished. The underpopulated, continental territories of the Shahdom were soon mopped up, and before the year was over, the Army had landed on the green and rainy shores of the Arkadī Isle. Although they did not know the territory and were constantly harassed by Orthodox guerillas, the Commonalist Dryads and their Elven patrons would soon hold the entire Isle in their hands.   Despite the briefness of the Civil War, almost half of all Dryads had lost their lives due to famine, disease, and murder, with almost the entire Trinitist population being murdered in the Elven Campaign. Siavash Lotfi-Pirouzfar, the aforementioned royal hopeful, would begin to establish his court in the ruined nation, but he was soon stopped by the Elves. Pirouzfar and his men would be arrested by Sylvan authorities on charges of treason and conspiracy against the Sylvan government, for the Shahdom of Arkadija was now the territory of the Sylvan Empire. They would all die in prison decades later. Kaiser Peter I von Griefklau would create three Kingdoms out of Arkadija's corpse: Neustein, Abendufer, and Kaiserwerder, which would be gifted to some former Dukes who were friends of the Kaiser. Despite the death and desecration of their homeland, the Dryads could do nothing but watch. For their part, the Elven authorities abolished slavery and would immediately get to work on rebuilding the former Kingdom, as well as taking decisive action to fight the famines by importing crops from the Sylvan heartland and having soldiers assist Dryad farmers in their work.   However, the Elves did not see the Dryads as equals: they saw them as a lesser race, with their unnatural green skin, odd horns, and strange language. Ritters would be given free plots of land in the new territories, and an Imperial law was soon passed declaring that Dryads, while not bound to the caste system per se, were henceforth banned from owning farmland, relegating most Dryads (no matter their old social status) to the position of a thrall. It would be like this for many years, with the once-great land stagnating, and then falling into the poorest and least profitable region of the Empire, far outshined by Mittelland and Ostland. However, the Dryads could only count their blessings and be thankful for what the Elves did give them in their hour of need, unaware of the far worse fate that would eventually befall them.