Second Likkran War

The Second Likkran War (1609-1612, 1877-1878 by Fuenodian reckoning, Japanese: 第二次リックラ戦争 Dainiji Rikkura Sensō, Namari: ふたつめの　いっきゃたたかやそい Putatumeno Ikkya-tatakayasoi, Nodaimese: Melolo Likkragevei, Guruni: Mallo Likkragavel, Blylandic: Anneret Likrstraid) was a civil war affecting the Kingdom of Likkra which arose as a result of a succession crisis. It was only the second war which involved the entire continent of Likkra, hence it is called the Second Likkran War, and the war itself spilt over into China, Japan, Nodaima, and parts of Europe. It began soon after the king, Fillip IV, died without an apparent male heir. Overall, there were three factions: the Loyalists, who wanted to put Princess Emma, Fillip's young granddaughter and his only living direct descendant, onto the throne, the Radicals, who wanted to make Riťofro Brugar, whose genetic relationship to the Likkran royal family was questionable at best, king, and the Republicans, who wanted to make Likkra a republic.

The result of the war had huge implications for Likkran politics. While, since the founding of the kingdom, Likkra was ruled by the highly patriarchal Guruni, the Loyalists' victory meant that for the first time, a female became monarch of Likkra. Not only that, Emma was the daughter of a prominent Namari princess, and it was hoped that her ascension to the throne would lead to Namari independence (which occurred decades later). Emma herself spoke little Guruni at the time of her ascension; she primarily spoke Japanese and Namari, having lived in Chiyohara for much of her early childhood. This led to increasing Namari influence in the government, which, even after Namari independence, considerably shifted the balance of power.

Background

Likkra at the beginning of the 17th century was a country whose population had been dissatisfied, in one way or another. Over the previous centuries, the Guruni and the Likkran royal family consolidated power after their conquest of Namari, with the end result being that power lay only in the hands of a few noble families living in Haguya. This created tensions between the capital and the provinces; the Chinese living in the west, the indigenous Likkrans in the south, and the people of Namari in the east, as well as the increasing number of Europeans, grew discontented with the rule of the royal family, particularly as many of the laws enacted discriminated against them in favour of the Guruni.

Relations between Likkra and other nations were also at an all-time low. A huge trade disagreement led to the severing of all diplomatic and trade ties between Likkra and Nodaima, and the expulsion of their representatives. In addition, the Likkran military had been crossing the kingdom's borders far too often, leading to border skirmishes against China and Japan. The Guruni had considered the unification of all of Likkra as their goal, and saw the occupation of Likkran territory by China (in the west) and Japan (in the east) as an obstacle to that goal. On the other hand, after Spanish and Portuguese missionaries arrived in the country, there was talk that the king may end up converting to Christianity. While it is not clear whether the king had intended to convert, it is known that the Guruni welcomed the missionaries, and many of the Guruni converted.

What concerned the Guruni the most, though, was the fact that the king did not have any living sons or grandsons. When Fillip's only son Rihardo was assassinated in the Chinese-speaking west, this left no male heirs to inherit the throne. The laws of Likkra dictated that the closest male relative should inherit the throne if the late king left no male-lineage descendant; however, the royal family had by this point gone through a period where only one son was born in each generation. This meant that there was no obvious successor to the throne should the king die. In response, one nobleman, Riťofro Brugar, claimed to be related to the king and stated his intention to seize the throne should the king die. This alarmed some of the other nobles, as he had no evidence which he could use to back up his claim.

However, what was not known to the nobility (and to the common population) was that Rihardo had actually married Princess Koharu. Koharu was a member of the Namari royal family, and a matrilineal descendant of Namari's last queen. Only Fillip knew of this relationship, making sure to keep it a secret. As such, their sole child, Emma, spent her early childhood out of the spotlight in Chiyohara. After Rihardo's assassination on October 15, 1608 (April 1, 1876 by Fuenodian reckoning), Fillip made this relationship public and declared Emma his heir via royal decree. While the people of Namari welcomed this news, the Guruni were considerably angered at the thought that a child of a Namari princess should inherit the throne. This led to massive protests in Haguya, counter-protests in Chiyohara, and massive fights in many cities where both Guruni and Namari people lived. Eventually, Fillip was betrayed by the Prime Minister, Karlo Sugrin, who slipped poison into his meal.

Fillip died on November 22, 1609 (February 35, 1877 by Fuenodian reckoning). This left a power vacuum, as Emma was still in Chiyohara and too young to inherit the throne, and Brugar was trying to gather support for his cause in the provinces. When both heard the news, they headed straight for Haguya. The two met in the castle's courtyard, and Brugar tried to convince the young princess that he should rule in her stead. However, Emma activated her magic device in response; she could not understand Brugar due to the language barrier. Her device translated Brugar's words, and she responded in the negative. Brugar was angered at Emma's response, and proceeded to insult the Namari people. At that point, Emma had her device transform into a sword, and challenged Brugar to a duel.

The war is considered to have begun at this point. Brugar accepted Emma's challenge, but was quickly defeated, with Brugar realising that he did not have any chance of defeating Emma in a straight fight as Emma was a magical girl, like all young Namari princesses. However, he had the castle surrounded by his troops, who proceeded to enter the castle walls and attempted to arrest Emma. At that point, Emma's troops, who were waiting outside the castle, opened fire, and a battle broke out between the two forces. Both Emma and Brugar fled in the resulting confusion.

End of the war

See also: Sunflower Revolution

After the fall of Chiyohara on November 22, 1611 (October 30, 1878 by Fuenodian reckoning), it seemed that the Radicals would achieve victory. Emma had already fled to Japan, and the Chinese rebellion in the west had already been put down. Brugar had begun preparations for his coronation, to be held on January 13, 1612 (December 8, 1878). However, events conspired against the Radicals. Very soon after the fall of Chiyohara, its inhabitants revolted and managed to overthrow the Radical government. Angered at this, Brugar ordered his troops to burn Chiyohara to the ground; however, before his troops could execute this order, the Tokugawa shogunate invaded Likkra and occupied Chiyohara.

Likkra, and the Radicals, now found themselves at war with Japan. Soon after fleeing Likkra, Emma had met with the shogun, and formulated a plan to take back Likkra. This involved Japanese forces supplementing the Loyalists' troops, as well as directly attacking Radical strongholds in Namari. This brought renewed hope to the people of Namari, as they had long seen Japan as an ally, despite their differences. Japan also had an interest in ensuring the Loyalists' victory, as they had long seen Likkra as a threat after their annexation of Namari. Now the Radicals had to contend with virtually the entire region of Namari revolting, as well as a Japanese invasion. Brugar attempted to attack Japan, but was soundly defeated.

On December 5, 1611 (November 6, 1878 by Fuenodian reckoning), Emma triumphantly returned to Chiyohara, and announced to the people that in due time, other nations will come to their aid, which they did. China invaded Likkra on December 9 (November 10), while Nodaima declared war on December 15 (November 16). At the same time, the Spanish and Portuguese forces assisting the Radicals pulled out as the Dutch and the British were threatening war if they continued assisting the Radicals. Despite this, Brugar continued to hold firm at Haguya.

The defining point in the war came on December 18 (November 19 by Fuenodian reckoning). In an event dubbed the "Sunflower Revolution", the people of Haguya revolted against Brugar. What was significant about this event was that Haguya was a melting pot of cultures, as opposed to other cities which saw revolts, which were predominantly Namari, Chinese, or indigenous. The fact that the Guruni living in Haguya did not oppose the revolt (and some Guruni even participated) meant that they saw Brugar not as the king the Guruni needed, but as a man who led Likkra to near-inevitable destruction at the hands of foreigners. They believed that Emma, despite being female and of Namari descent, was the only one who could avert Likkra's destruction, and begrudgingly accepted her as the rightful ruler. Brugar fled Haguya in response, and estabished a fortress at Akaishi.

Upon hearing this, Emma headed back to Haguya and prepared to launch a final assault on the fortress at Akaishi. Brugar attempted repeatedly to take back Haguya, but failed each time. Finally, on January 19, 1612 (December 14, 1878 by Fuenodian reckoning), Emma's troops and their allies marched on to Akaishi to end the war once and for all. After a long and bloody battle, Emma's forces won the battle and captured Brugar, ending the war.

Aftermath

After the war, the new government and the newly-crowned Emma implemented a series of reforms designed to give more representation to the people of Likkra. By royal decree, Emma declared the establishment of a two-house legislature. The lower house, the House of Representatives, would have members elected from the general population, while the upper house, the Royal Council, would have members chosen from the nobility by the lower house and personally approved by the monarch. Instead of the old system of the Prime Minister being personally appointed by the monarch from the nobility, the candidate for Prime Minister would be selected by the House of Representatives among its members. The first parliamentary election in Likkra was held on October 17, 1613 (May 25, 1880 by Fuenodian reckoning), and all land owners at least 25 years of age were eligible to vote.

Many of the Radicals and their supporters were put to trial. Sugrin, who after assassinating Fillip became Brugar's right hand man, was convicted of regicide and high treason and sentenced to death. Many others were also convicted of treason; the justification by the courts was that they acted against Fillip's decree that Emma was to inherit the throne after his death. Brugar's trial attracted the most attention, as Emma herself attended it. Brugar himself insisted that he was innocent of all charges, as he claimed that he was acting according to the laws of succession, which dictated that only a male-line descendant of the royal family could inherit the throne. At that point, a woman who had travelled all the way from Chiyohara shouted "Those were the old laws, this is the revolution!" (それは古き法則なり、これは革命なり Sore wa furuki hōsoku nari, kore wa kakumei nari). Emma added to the woman's outburst, saying that if the laws are unable to solve a crisis, then a revolution is necessary, and that she is part of the revolution. She added that the crisis arose because the people of Namari wanted their own ruler, and that even though she would normally be ineligible to ascend to the throne, her grandfather knew that adhering to the old succession laws would mean that Namari would eventually revolt and increase the risk of a Japanese invasion. She explained that her grandfather knew that only if a Namari princess became monarch of Likkra could both crises be averted, and that she was this princess.

Brugar countered by saying that he could have implemented reforms to appease the people of Namari, and send troops to defend the border with Japan, as Korea had successfully managed to repel a Japanese invasion. Emma countered that Korea only won because of their superior navy, and that a war between Likkra and Japan would primarily involve ground forces (at the time, the only sea-based link between Earth and Fuenod was between Europe and Likkra). She also added that Brugar had seriously underestimated the capabilities of the Japanese samurai during the course of the war. Also, Emma added, the people of Namari would only be happy with a female ruler such as herself, and not with a foreign male ruler; she stated that it was often said that the only male all people of Namari bow down to is the emperor of Japan.

Eventually, the court found Brugar guilty of all charges. Brugar begged Emma for mercy; however, she rejected his pleas, saying that he had done enough to deserve death, specifically mentioning the order to burn Chiyohara down to the ground, as well as the many massacres of Chinese by troops under his orders. She added that unlike him, she will work towards a country where everyone can live together in harmony, without conflict and without regard to race. Emma finished with "No one wants you anymore, so begone" (誰にも貴様がほしがらず、消えよ Dare ni mo kisama ga hoshigarazu, kieyo).

The new government also re-established ties with Nodaima, and worked to improve diplomatic relations with other countries.

Legacy

Emma's reign proved to be a very prosperous one, and is often considered a Golden Age for Likkra. However, Emma and everyone else knew that sooner or later the kingdom will break up, due to the people of Namari calling for independence. While during Emma's reign the people of Namari have largely kept quiet, calls for independence resumed in full force after her death in 1695 (1947 by Fuenodian reckoning). The Guruni and the Chinese wanted Emma's only grandson on the throne, while the people of Namari wanted her only granddaughter on the throne. After a number of riots across the kingdom, the prime minister, Mihel Berdu, who was also regent, called for an independence referendum in the provinces of Namari. He knew that the current succession crisis could only be resolved by splitting the kingdom into two, allowing both candidates to become monarch. When the results of the referendum came in, an overwhelming 95 per cent of the population voted for independence. Therefore, on March 18, 1696 (July 16, 1948 by Fuenodian reckoning), Namari regained independence.

After Namari independence, there emerged a group that wanted to reunite the continent. This group, the League of Likkra, was composed primarily of Guruni, but had a few Chinese and Europeans. They were known for attacking people they suspect to be Namari, especially in the bigger cities. The government almost immediately outlawed the group; however, that only served to bolster its resolve. Their attacks continued on and off all the way until the 21st century, at which point they were already designated as a terrorist organisation by many nations, as well as the Zodiac Warriors and Puella. Their final act came soon after Gakran was defeated in 2009 (2207 by Fuenodian reckoning), where they took advantage of the state of Likkra to bomb Haguya Castle while Princess Erika was visiting. That proved to be the final straw for the Zodiac Warriors, who promptly sent a magical girl, Kaede Yuzuhara, to utterly annihilate the group. Yuzuhara's ability to quickly eliminate all traces of the group with zero casualties and with almost no warning indirectly resulted in a decrease in terrorist activity throughout the galaxy, as many groups realised just how powerful and skilled the magical girls of the Zodiac Warriors are.

After Emma's victory, Namari influence grew within Likkra. This meant that the Guruni slowly but surely lost their influence. As Emma knew little Guruni, this led to increased use of Japanese within the government. The growing use of Japanese (and later, English) within the government led to Guruni turning from the national language to a minority language in its own nation. It is often noted that the current monarch (as of 2012, or 2209 by Fuenodian reckoning), Amelia, does not know Guruni at all, and that current government documents treat Guruni as a minority language rather than a main language (the main languages being Japanese, Namari, Mandarin Chinese and English).