Editing Iron Gold Conflict (section)

== '''II . Anarchy and Opportunism''' ==
They say a lie will have its day before the truth sees the light. Stories spread throughout the kingdom, from the Forks to the Moors to the Greenwood southward to Aracellia and the First Republic. The royals had been slaughtered, and the peasants had won. Aodh would come to be hailed as a great hero among his followers. The man who brought down an oppressive kingdom, the man who killed the titans of nobility. While these stories filled the hearts of radical elements with great joy and splendor, they inspired fear in the noble class. Fears of revolution became commonplace, and without royal guidance to help them many nobles would come to fear the peasant’s rope more than imperial institutions. Those fears were not unwarranted.

First they came for Aracellia. A realm locked down by tight restriction became the perfect breeding ground for radicalism. Peasants, led by a charismatic figure among the merchant class, stormed the barracks of townships in Cholsey, Ruevogne, Laitones, and Descluse. Allegiance broached across economic class, as all who lived outside of aristocracy were harmed by trade restrictions. These rebels branded themselves by a new name, freeing themselves from even the authority of northern druids like Aodh. They dubbed their movement the ‘Plaisignon League’, an ode to their leader of the same name. Pierre de Plaisignon became a mythic figure among the revolts of the south, a man whose words inspired surrender in even the most ardent supporters of House Viellery. 

Provinces began to pick sides, while some fell to rebellion. Pierre quickly stormed Auxerre-Sur, Beun, and Epiny, securing his eastern flank against armies from Pays d’Ete. Meanwhile, Viellery had organized her own army under the command of her generals, quickly retaking Ruevogne and Cholsey. It wouldn’t be enough. Democratic sentiment spread across Coeuronie as foot shortages afflicted the minds of its victims with the wind of change. New and organic rebellions, though the truly sporadic nature is still debated, sprouted up in Nerpois, Saint Prille, and even Aracellia itself. The army fought bravely and admirably, but when it was discovered that the members of House Viellery had fled their castles, the final nail had been driven into the coffin of the Aracellian hierarchy. 

Vicious repression and violence followed. The establishment of what would be infamously known as the “Plaisignon Courts” saw nobles, even those who protested the trade restrictions, face the headsman's axe. A new device of execution, the guillotine, saw hundreds of aristocrats massacred simply for their status. 

In other regions of the kingdom, the sentiment continued to infect the minds of the peasantry with mixed results. In the Heartlands, peasants who expressed great anger at the inquisition in the past had taken the opportunity to attempt a similar rebellion as that of Pierre de Plaisignon, but met stiff opposition. Inquisitors from Houses Fletcher and Janus were quick to restore order before the flames reached Wakendor, though the provinces of Holtwick, Wheatloss, and Strummingway could not be saved. In the Moors, a similar rebellion broke out in the province of Fingul. Dinnren, Swindon, and Tonwys all saw the death of their nobility and the establishment of commoner councils called the ‘Druid Communes'. In Amiett and Caeriolet, the nobles had already fled to their countryside estates out of fear. 

A realm in chaos. House Ruhl in the Fells had disappeared entirely, splitting the territory in two between loyalists to Friedrich in Ruddleburg and loyalists to Ruhl in Niederland. Clashes erupted in Nordweg and Grauerbau as both sides solidified their claims. Primea suffered peasant revolts under the Plaitignon doctrine in Polissus, Brie, Leujou, and Makras. With Lord Borja missing, Thyresia became a hotbed for violence. 

Finally in Arandous, calamity and old grudges. For some time, the peasants had full control of Arandous and the surrounding countryside, lacking the palace to complete Aodh’s vision. However, to say they were dormant during this period is to miss the true genius of their plot. Deep tunnels had been dug underneath Arandous, hovels being built into the sewers as they spread toward the palace. It is speculated that dwarven radicals assisted with this, but it was never confirmed. Then, a ground quake. Inside the palace, bloodsworn and servants alike scrambled to escape as the structure of the palace itself began to destabilize and collapse in on itself. As the palace staff fled into the countryside, the palace’s destruction saw its completion with the destruction of the King’s estate. By the end of the day the property was in utter ruin, looted and ransacked by peasants from Arandous.