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((Whenever the conservatives, reactionaries and liberals who all have some obsession against Faixòn publish their lies, there will be an article recounting the true events, that is that most liberals have calmed down the mob without use of force and especially that Faixòn never tried to claim any regency!))
Faixòn returned to the university. The empress had obviously taken no offense, and it was for the better. Rain had set in, making him think that sometimes, wishes do come true. Now he wanted to see if the brightest minds of Hispania's academical world had elaborated any ideas to improve the firefighting. After that, all he needed was some good, long rest.
Atillio and the other members of the Cortz who had remained in the Parliament building during the crisis were by now gathered around a telegraph in a side room reading news and debating loudly as it entered. Reports of the march on Parliament and their intent to bring down the Cortz was met with outrage. Another report shortly thereafter of the Crown Princes near assassination turned the loud shouting and debating into a grim silence. The silence permeated over the Cortz members who stewed in the day's events as reports filed in and were read one by one. At the news of the regency declaration, and Faxion's clear hopes to gain control of the regency, angry shouts once again filled the room.
"Outrageous!!! Someone such as him having so much power. Who in their right mind made him Deputy Prime Minister? Thank God it is the Empress as regent until the Emperor can return to the capital. We need to make sure news of today's events reaches Hispanian provinces. Clerk, I need you to send this message to my presses headquarters in Italy."
Events in Capital are grim. I urgently require the following report to be published at once:
"The Hispanian-wide Liberal campaign to pressure the nation into accepting an expansion of the franchise has failed. When it was clear at the beginning of today that members of the Cortz would continue to uphold the status quo and vote no to expanding the franchise the need for dirty tricks arose. The Liberal sponsored rallies throughout the capital turned into violent riots, many Cortz members attempting to reach Parliament were blocked by these mobs, with one Cortz member being torn from his cart and fiercely beaten. Thus, with many critical Cortz members absent through such a deliberate coup the Liberals in the Cortz were able to force through the franchise expansion act - which has yet to be approved by the crown. However, the violence did not stop there. The "peaceful protesters" so well encouraged by the liberal parties less than a day ago turned to looting and pillaging of the capital. In the chaos many liberal members of Parliament vanished into the chaos of the streets to "speak with the rioters." Speak they must have, shortly afterwords a mob previously without purpose marched on Parliament itself calling for an end to the Cortz. Meanwhile, the Conservatives who left the Parliament building took charge of police units, volunteers, and guards to help suppress the riots and quell the fires springing up throughout the city. At this time it is likely that a good amount of Valencia will be lost to fire by the end of the night. The mob marching on Parliament attacked the guards attempting to break in to hold the members of the Cortz still inside hostage, luckily thanks to the efforts of the Minister of Justice the mob failed to breach the gates, though vicious casualties were suffered on both sides. Despite the chaos, liberals demonstrated time and time again their attempts to gain from the chaos they had sown. Arrest warrants for various liberal parliament members - sent by other liberal members have clattered back and forth over the lines. This clear attempt to find a scapegoat only furthers the evidence of a conspiracy. The Phoenix Faxion attempted to declare himself regent during this period of emergency with the Emperor absent from the capital and the crown prince viciously injured by liberal "protesters" early this evening who knows what he would have done. By the grace of God, the Empress intervened and remains in charge until the Emperor arrives back in the capital. Overall, it seems clear that this was liberal stratagem gone very wrong - or perhaps in their eyes very right. I pledge to you across the Empire now that Hispania's Moderates will push for a full investigation of today's events and with the aid of The Crown and God will set things right. We will determine who is responsible for the hundreds of deaths and bring them to Justice."
The news from the capital was met with mixed reception, seeing as several different sides of the story were being published. Most people were patiently waiting to hear what really happened once everything calmed down.
Her Highness the Empress of Hispania, in her capacity as Regent and in a sign of goodwill and national unity, issues formal pardons for the following individuals, absolving them of any crimes they have been accused of:
Manuel Medrano, Interior Minister
Manuel D'Garcia, Justice Minister
Lluis Faixon, Deputy Prime Minister
Should any of them be imprisoned, they shall be released effective immediately.
((Whenever the conservatives, reactionaries and liberals who all have some obsession against Faixòn publish their lies, there will be an article recounting the true events, that is that most liberals have calmed down the mob without use of force and especially that Faixòn never tried to claim any regency!))
Faixòn returned to the university. The empress had obviously taken no offense, and it was for the better. Rain had set in, making him think that sometimes, wishes do come true. Now he wanted to see if the brightest minds of Hispania's academical world had elaborated any ideas to improve the firefighting. After that, all he needed was some good, long rest.
Hispania's brightest didn't have much to say, for they had abandoned the university. The fire had gotten a bit too close for comfort and the students and faculty were now scattered across the city.
* * * * *
The rain clouds that had been sweeping in broke open in a torrential downpour, drenching the city in much-needed water. Where the fire was raging, the rain deprived it of dry fuel and prevented it from easily spreading to nearby buildings. Those areas that were in danger but had yet to go up in flames were now thoroughly wet, greatly reducing the risk of the fire spreading further. A few well-placed fire breaks where needed made it so the fire was all but done spreading. The weather would wear it down. Yet the threat of wind had manifested as well. In the more open areas, the wind picked up and blew the flames to neighbouring buildings. The rain kept it from spreading rapidly and deprived it of fuel in some cases, but in other instances it found purchase and kept going. The actions of the fire fighting groups proved the greatest asset in keeping things contained. Despite the new challenge, things were looking better and it seemed feasible that the fires could be extinguished over the next few days if the rain kept up.
* * * * *
The storm clouds raging over the capital were a menacing sight, but one that concealed the smoke and damage caused by the flames. As the Emperor approached Valencia, he was completely unaware of what was going on within the city. If it had not been for the I Corp spread out outside the city and the patrols roaming the countryside looking for refugees or fleeing rioters, he might have rode right into the city completely unaware. As fate would have it, a patrol came across the Emperor on his way to the city. They guided him towards the headquarters of the I Corp, not wanting to risk the Emperor's safety by letting him pass into the city until things had calmed down. As they escorted him, Ferran took the opportunity to question the lieutenant leading the patrol.
"What is the meaning of this?" Emperor Ferran asked. "Why are you not letting me inside the city?"
"Your Imperial Highness, pardon my redirecting you, but I cannot let you into the capital until it is safe. The fires are still raging and small groups of rioters are still on the loose."
Emperor Ferran looked towards the city, seeing the smoke for the first time. "Fire? Riots? What the hell happened while I was gone?"
Lieutenant lowered his gaze. "Well there are different stories, but it is believed that the lower classes rioted when they believed they were being deprived of the franchise again. Even though it passed through Parliament, through dubious means according to some, the situation had escalated too far by then. Many of them started calling for the abolition of the Cortz. The government attempted to handle the situation, but ended up turning on each other. Then the fires started. That sort of put a damper on the rioting, but created a much greater threat. The rain has greatly helped, but its an uphill battle to be certain."
Ferran's head spun at all this. What in God's name was going on? He had only been gone a few weeks and the capital was in anarchy, the government had nearly collapsed, and fires were consuming the city. He rubbed at his forehead, trying to take it all in. "Who is leading the relief effort then?"
"I suppose the Empress, Your Imperial Highness... at least I think so." The lieutenant scratched at his chin. "It was Medrano at first, but then D'Garkia arrested him and took over command, only for Faixòn to have him arrested and take over leadership after Leon was shot. I guess after that they decided to proclaim a regency and the Empress assumed the role as you desired."
Ferran suppressed a groan. This whole situation was proving a nightmare already. How was he ever going to clean this up? It sounded like he'd need to start thinking about a new Cabinet if everyone was arresting each other. As for the news of a regency, he was not pleased to hear that the situation was so poor that such a measure was needed while he was still alive and well. The choice of the Empress perplexed him at first, since his son was the logical choice, but then he remembered that he had designated his wife as his regent over a decade ago and never bothered to change it. He supposed that was not the worst thing, for she was more than capable of handling things. He spent the rest of the trip to the army headquarters deep in thought, puzzling over the dilemma put before him. Word of his arrival proceeded him and was relayed to the appropriate people. The government and Regent would know that the Emperor had finally arrived and was outside the city with the I Corp.
((The Emperor is now officially present. He'll be at the army headquarters for now and can be reached by telegraph or in-person for those with the army outside the city like Macke11. I'll leave it at that to give people the chance to wind things down before I end the event.))
When the messenger came to the government district to spread word of the emperor's arrival to the Minister of the Navy, Alfonso received the news as well. He and his guards once more set out on Valencia's streets, heading towards the gates of the city to the I Corps HQ, to see if he could help explain to the Emperor what had happened.
Fernando de Leon emerged from the hospital, still slightly limping. Apparently whatever had brought him back to life hadn't fully healed his injuries. He didn't get far before he realized that a large crowd had gathered in front of him and the hospital, trying to comprehend his miraculous recovery. Thousands of eyes stared straight at him, not believing that this was the same man who had just been fatally shot a few hours ago.
One of his attendants nervously handed him a slip of paper, informing him that the Emperor had arrived in Valencia. Fernando nodded, knowing what he had to do.
"Um, could you guys, like, get me a cab or something?" said Fernando. "I need to get to the army headquarters at once."
Somebody quickly furnished a carriage, and he climbed inside. As the horses set off down the street, parts of the crowd followed the carriage, still wondering how such a gravely wounded man had risen from the dead.
Seriously? though Fernando. Can't they just go home?
---
After issuing the pardons, the Empress ordered a carriage and set off for the army headquarters to meet with her husband. There was much that happened today that he needed to know about.
((Fernando and the Empress are going to the army headquarters to talk with the Emperor.))
When the messenger came to the government district to spread word of the emperor's arrival to the Minister of the Navy, Alfonso received the news as well. He and his guards once more set out on Valencia's streets, heading towards the gates of the city to the I Corps HQ, to see if he could help explain to the Emperor what had happened.
Fernando de Leon emerged from the hospital, still slightly limping. Apparently whatever had brought him back to life hadn't fully healed his injuries. He didn't get far before he realized that a large crowd had gathered in front of him and the hospital, trying to comprehend his miraculous recovery. Thousands of eyes stared straight at him, not believing that this was the same man who had just been fatally shot a few hours ago.
One of his attendants nervously handed him a slip of paper, informing him that the Emperor had arrived in Valencia. Fernando nodded, knowing what he had to do.
"Um, could you guys, like, get me a cab or something?" said Fernando. "I need to get to the army headquarters at once."
Somebody quickly furnished a carriage, and he climbed inside. As the horses set off down the street, parts of the crowd followed the carriage, still wondering how such a gravely wounded man had risen from the dead.
Seriously? though Fernando. Can't they just go home?
---
After issuing the pardons, the Empress ordered a carriage and set off for the army headquarters to meet with her husband. There was much that happened today that he needed to know about.
((Fernando and the Empress are going to the army headquarters to talk with the Emperor.))
The streets were relatively safe now that the riots had died down and the army had moved men into the city, as long as one avoided the fires, so reaching the I Corps proved no problem.
* * * * *
Although the fires were dying down, a few buildings were still going up in flames. One fire was slowly spreading towards the industrial district. Despite efforts to stop it, it managed to reach potentially the most dangerous factory it could. The explosives factory in Valencia caught fire before it could be stopped. Brave men ran into the building the moment it became clear that the factory was in danger and removed as much explosives as possible. Fortunately, the stock was low, for the factory had been experiencing a lull and had little support from the liberal government. Most of its remaining stock had been taken already to be used for fire breaks. By the time the building was engulfed, most of the most dangerous products were no longer in the building. Still, there was enough to ensure the factory was doomed. When the fire spread to where the remnants of the explosives were kept, the factory went up in a ball of flame that could be seen from across the city. Only the removal of the majority of the explosives and pure luck kept the fire from spreading to the other factories.
((TylerCraigofPrussia and 05060403 brought up in the chat that I should probably do rolls to see which factories burnt down. RNGesus decided that only the explosives factory would go down, although a second roll revealed the damage would be minor at best. So we lose only a single factory and get a fireworks show in the process. ))
Manuel heard both, the news of the arrival of the Emperor and the explosion of the explosives factory.
For the factory there was nothing to do, and for the Emperor, he knew he was expecting explation of his acts, but he knew also that everybody was probably rushing towarda him to tell their side of the history, so he made a simple choice, he decided to went to the Parliament to inspect his forces and to write a formal explanation that he would deliver once the Emperor entered the city. He wasn't running from his duty, he simply was over preocupaid by the men he had left in the Parliament.
On his way on the Parliament, smoking and thinking, he noted for the first time how excesively dusty and ragged was his cloth, his hand smelled like gunpowder and dust, a combination he earned as he fighted alongside his men on the Parliament. He felt ashamed towards the men he had ordered to attack the revolters, so many injured and so many dead, he felt he had lost his position to command them.
His travel was safe, but misserable and lonely as he could only feel shame and grive, the rain pooring around him making him remember of the great fire that was on the city.
As he arrived to the Parliament he expected his men to look him with distrust and anger, but on the other side, they asked him how was him, if he was injured, even the injured policemen and the few members of the Public Force left showed preocupation towards the man that had lead them in the assault. That sensation reinvigorated him and made him loose from his mind all the shame and grive he was feeling. These men needed a leader, and they where waiting for him, he couldn't let them down.
As soon as he composed himself, he started issuing orders, the most important ones being making all the efforst they could to help the citizens that where injured, trapped in burning or near to collapse buildings, as the rain could probably contain the flames. All the able bodied policemen started to work as soon as he said hes orders, as well as some parleamentarymen that voluntaried to help.
Once the orders where clear, he joined his men on the rescue mission, hoping to save as most lives as he could.
When Alfonso heard the explosion from the industrial district, he knew it had been the explosives factory. He shook his head. Whoever though it was a good idea to put an explosives factory in the middle of the capital was a fool. He hoped that when Valencia was rebuilt, the explosives factory get restored. That focused him back on the rebuilding efforts. He had a few ideas on how to rebuild the capital, and how to make sure the capital didn't need to be rebuilt again. Establishing a formal fire brigade, a school to train them, wider spaced buildings, riot containment training, and certainly no explosives factory. He called for pen and paper. He began to draft a rough sketch of how the cites damaged sections could be rebuilt. It was far from comprehensive, but that would change. In any case, it was enough to present his ideas to the emperor.
Takawira was yet to experience the exhaustion of the hours spent trying to stop the fire; just as the rain kept the fire at the bay, adrenaline and determination had kept him awake. The diminishing fire inspired him with hope, yet he was woefully aware of how it could last a great deal longer yet. His strangely timed musings over, he continued trying to organise the response to the fire, with the main focus on containment and evacuation with a few exceptions where the rain weakened the fire enough for it to be potentially extinguished in its entirety, or at least locally.
Francisco and his group soon had some time to rest, the fire was mostly contained in that part of the city thanks for the rain, so he decided to speak to his men.
"When I called you, you were known as thugs and mercenaries, the scum of civilization. I called you offering money to arrest a men. But now here we are, we decided to instead of killing and arresting people, we decided to save them. By now at least over two hundred families own You their deepest gratitude. Now with the rain we can finally have some rest before heading to another part of the city. But you all need to know that you shouldn't go back to your condition as criminals, I am not forcing anyone but, isn't it better to save lives ? Isn't it more gratifying ? We now are heroes no matter how many people you killed before, you were redeemed and pardoned by the society. Now it is time for an new beginning for your lives, the opportunity is here. I will not call you mercenaries anymore, I will now call you "Guerreros del Fuego" ! Now rise up and let fight the flames of the hell !"
The men didn't really cheer, instead they entered in a profound though for a moment, then one of them, rose up and said.
"Viva Los Guerreros del Fuego !"
The rest of the men soon followed rising their axes, "Viva Los Guerreros del Fuego !"
Manuel heard both, the news of the arrival of the Emperor and the explosion of the explosives factory.
For the factory there was nothing to do, and for the Emperor, he knew he was expecting explation of his acts, but he knew also that everybody was probably rushing towarda him to tell their side of the history, so he made a simple choice, he decided to went to the Parliament to inspect his forces and to write a formal explanation that he would deliver once the Emperor entered the city. He wasn't running from his duty, he simply was over preocupaid by the men he had left in the Parliament.
On his way on the Parliament, smoking and thinking, he noted for the first time how excesively dusty and ragged was his cloth, his hand smelled like gunpowder and dust, a combination he earned as he fighted alongside his men on the Parliament. He felt ashamed towards the men he had ordered to attack the revolters, so many injured and so many dead, he felt he had lost his position to command them.
His travel was safe, but misserable and lonely as he could only feel shame and grive, the rain pooring around him making him remember of the great fire that was on the city.
As he arrived to the Parliament he expected his men to look him with distrust and anger, but on the other side, they asked him how was him, if he was injured, even the injured policemen and the few members of the Public Force left showed preocupation towards the man that had lead them in the assault. That sensation reinvigorated him and made him loose from his mind all the shame and grive he was feeling. These men needed a leader, and they where waiting for him, he couldn't let them down.
As soon as he composed himself, he started issuing orders, the most important ones being making all the efforst they could to help the citizens that where injured, trapped in burning or near to collapse buildings, as the rain could probably contain the flames. All the able bodied policemen started to work as soon as he said hes orders, as well as some parleamentarymen that voluntaried to help.
Once the orders where clear, he joined his men on the rescue mission, hoping to save as most lives as he could.
When Alfonso heard the explosion from the industrial district, he knew it had been the explosives factory. He shook his head. Whoever though it was a good idea to put an explosives factory in the middle of the capital was a fool. He hoped that when Valencia was rebuilt, the explosives factory get restored. That focused him back on the rebuilding efforts. He had a few ideas on how to rebuild the capital, and how to make sure the capital didn't need to be rebuilt again. Establishing a formal fire brigade, a school to train them, wider spaced buildings, riot containment training, and certainly no explosives factory. He called for pen and paper. He began to draft a rough sketch of how the cites damaged sections could be rebuilt. It was far from comprehensive, but that would change. In any case, it was enough to present his ideas to the emperor.
Takawira was yet to experience the exhaustion of the hours spent trying to stop the fire; just as the rain kept the fire at the bay, adrenaline and determination had kept him awake. The diminishing fire inspired him with hope, yet he was woefully aware of how it could last a great deal longer yet. His strangely timed musings over, he continued trying to organise the response to the fire, with the main focus on containment and evacuation with a few exceptions where the rain weakened the fire enough for it to be potentially extinguished in its entirety, or at least locally.
Francisco and his group soon had some time to rest, the fire was mostly contained in that part of the city thanks for the rain, so he decided to speak to his men.
"When I called you, you were known as thugs and mercenaries, the scum of civilization. I called you offering money to arrest a men. But now here we are, we decided to instead of killing and arresting people, we decided to save them. By now at least over two hundred families own You their deepest gratitude. Now with the rain we can finally have some rest before heading to another part of the city. But you all need to know that you shouldn't go back to your condition as criminals, I am not forcing anyone but, isn't it better to save lives ? Isn't it more gratifying ? We now are heroes no matter how many people you killed before, you were redeemed and pardoned by the society. Now it is time for an new beginning for your lives, the opportunity is here. I will not call you mercenaries anymore, I will now call you "Guerreros del Fuego" ! Now rise up and let fight the flames of the hell !"
The men didn't really cheer, instead they entered in a profound though for a moment, then one of them, rose up and said.
"Viva Los Guerreros del Fuego !"
The rest of the men soon followed rising their axes, "Viva Los Guerreros del Fuego !"
((I'm just going to act as though all efforts to save lives are continuing splendidly at a decent pace, the fires are burning down, and things are coming to a close. It's too tedious writing up vague boring replies each time about how everything is doing a decent job. I'll respond if someone is addressing the Emperor or an NPC, or if circumstances change noticeably.))
((Yeah, I am. For a brief point I was considering walking out with the ammo law but decided not too. Btw, you can type @name to give someone a notification that you've mentioned them.))
((Yeah, I am. For a brief point I was considering walking out with the ammo law but decided not too. Btw, you can type @name to give someone a notification that you've mentioned them.))
((Good to know. Just so you know, O5 intended to add a clause allowing for capitalists to manufacture ammunition, the regulation was only meant to affect citizens making their own ammunition, but he forgot to specify that in the law. It was not intended as a slight against you.))
"Your Highness, it is a great relief to see that you remain unscathed, and I think we all are happy to have you here, able to lead our efforts, should you wish. I know not how much lieutenant Orfeo has told you, so I thought I'd give you my brief overview of the situation, from start to end. Befor I start, you should be aware that I have been out here for a while, so there are likely more well-informed people inside Valencia and a lot of what I know is only rumors. The campaign to expand the franchise in short spiralled out of control, turning to violent means, even after that of the legislation's passing, which is believed to have been caused by fear for its revocation. I have also heard that groups of rioters called for the abolition of the Cortz. Needless to say the police clashed with the protesters in fighting that was bloody for both sides and our keepers of order once even cooperate with La Guardia Real and the Public Force to fend off a large mob striking at parliament. Politicians started taking to the streets to calm the dissenters and make them stop rioting, but some were more successful than others. Somewhere in all this the Prime-Minister Leon got shot whilst speaking to a crowd near the Parliament building and…” Bernardo hesitated, but ultimately knew that he had to continue, “... your son, the Crown Prince Ferran, was assaulted by violent gangs. Worry not though, for I have heard that he should still be alive and in spite of how bad that may sound he was only wounded last I heard. I have got news of infighting in the Cabinet and ministers arresting each other to left and right, but I will refrain from taking any side in that matter, so I better not try to explain it.
I got requests from several people to take command of the I Corps and make it enter the city one way or the other, but waited in the longest for your permission. Then I got orders from your wife, the Empress, who had assumed the role of regent until you got here. She told me to send in a tenth of the Corps to act as a peacekeeping and thought that it was fine since the orders came from an Empress-regent.
Oh, how could I forget that? There is a large fire spreading through the city, so we also sent in the engineer regiment and some artillery with solid projectiles to hold it back. If Your Highness has got any questions, I would be glad to try to answer them.”
With those words, the Minister of War finished his briefing and waited to hear the Emperor's response. Hopefully he had not missed anything or made the Emperor more confused.
"Cowards", Faixòn mumbled as he seated himself on the balcony of the principal's office again. A few had remained behind and operated the telegraph to keep the minister informed, but the lack of faith in the efficiency of the efforts against the fire was annoying. He had poured himself a glass of fine wine and sipped it as he read through the messages. "The Emperor has arrived, good thing that... Leon has recovered from the gunshot... What I would give to enjoy such good health as the Leons in my old age!... There's a storm coming... Not like I am not able to see that myself!... The explosion factory went the way of its products..."
He set the messages aside, wondered what to do. At least D'Garcia will probably try to explain why he wanted Faixòn arrested and tell the Emperor his lies, the empress might mention his outburst - though that was only due to concern for the city - and everyone else say how much of a hero they have been. Although Lluis was firmly decided to put the blame on the Cortz and call for its abolishment, he would wait until things calmed down. 'Assaulting' Ferran could only be a bad idea, and while there was much opportunity in this situation, badly handling it can backfire severely. Caution was advised.
((Poor Ferran, he can't go into a vacation for a weekend and the Empire almost colapses. ))
Francisco decided to send an mensage to the Emperor to explain the political situation, hoping that he would hear him.
"Your Majesty Emperor Ferran VI de Trastámara,
I write this mensagens to address you of the preocupant political situation on the moment.
It all started with peaceful protests caused by Señor Medrano, these protests started to get out of control when they decided to block most of the Unionist and Conservatives from coming to the Cortz, with an incident of a noble getting hit several times on the street by trying to pass. No doubt Medrano did that to avoid the opposition from the Cortz.
When the "Reform Passed", the people didn't belive that and instead started to riot. Many Fraternidad members, mostly moderates, tried to calm down the situation with a limited success with the most moderate leaving. But then the things escalated when the Prime Minister was shot and almost died, then by something the doctors called "a miracle" he survived. Your son was also in the situation and almost died if wasn't for the guard.
Señor Faixon didn't help either, instead of calming down the riots, he gave a furious speech for the dissolution of the Cortz and made a massive mob head to the parliament, me and the Count of Alexandria, with orders from the Minister of Justice, went to arrest Faixon for this but he used the unnoficial position of Deputy Prime Minister to take command, arrest the Minister of Justice, that moments before just prevented the parliament from burning but at a high cost of at least a thousand dead and 3 times the injuried. Then señor Villahermosa, a close friend of Faixon, called for a regency for he take control since he was highest position on the city.
Thanks for the Empress, the Empire was saved from a possible anarchy, no doubt that Faixon would dissolve the Cortz and possibly more if he had control of the Regency.
I ask your majesty that once the situation is controled, we start a real vote to give or not legitimacy to this that I can only call a trial of a Coup d'etat.
Alfonso figured he should give his accounts to the emperor, even though he was no doubt overwhelmed with reports.
"Your Majesty, I know you have likely heard accounts of what goes on in the city, but I wish to ensure you have heard the whole story from as many sides as possible so you can decide for yourself what really happened. It all started a few days ago, when many of the liberals, myself included, organized many large protests through the streets on the day of the vote to show the conservatives the people wanted reform. But some elements of the rallies felt they weren't doing enough, and blocked the path of several Unionists, which indeed allowed the votes to pass. But from what I've heard from police I've worked with today, a murdered Unionist count was discovered and the police moved to break up the protests. Instead of dispersing peacefully, they viewed it as an attempt to silence them. Someone somewhere fired a shot, and everything went downhill from there.
Many members of Parliament went out to calm the protesters with words, Faixon took this time to call for the abolition of the Cortz, calling it an obstacle to progress in general terms. While I don't know if it was his intention to further agitate the rioters, it certainly did nothing to calm them. At some point, the Prime Minister was shot, and your son badly injured. I personally led whoever would follow in a militia to secure streets. It was my mistake that I went to check on the Cathedral. Some men came with me from the Cathedral, and the Rioters must have though I was using it as a staging ground. A large mob settled outside, but to their credit, they did not enter the Cathedral itself. Later, I received word that Francisco de Silva was marching to arrest Faixon. I moved to stop as allowing a mob to arrest a minister of your government without a warrant would set a bad precedent. When such a warrant was issued, I moved to arrest him, but he pointed out that with the Prime Minister shot, he was Deputy Prime Minister. Even though it was not an official position, I abandoned the arrest.
It was around this time that a large explosion came from the plaza outside the Cathedral. The mob there was incinerated, and the only thing that could cause such an explosion that was so hard to put out is Kerosene. As to how it got there, I have no idea. But the fire quickly spread uncontrollably throughout the city By some divine miracle, the Cathedral remains untouched. D'Garcia lead a large militia of Public Force and Police forces against a large mob advancing on parliament. Both groups basically destroyed each other, with the ruins of D'Garcia's force turning up the victors. Faixon ordered D'Garcia's arrest, but I left to go help the fires, along with the greater part of the people in the city. It was here that two men in particular shone. Takawira Mwenemutapa is arguably the one most responsible for the containment of the fire, ordering the creation of firebreaks using explosives and mining tools. The other is Francisco de Silva, who's mob broke in doors to rescue people from the fire. This has given me ideas for reform that I will save for later. But anyway, I broke my leg, and had to be taken away from the active firefighting. So now I'm here. As I'm sure you heard, the explosives factory went up in flames. I hope you will see the wisdom in rebuilding it outside the city itself. But that just about wraps up my account of the events."
))
