Maraśań Civil War

Date	14 September 2025 - Present
Place	Maraśa
Status	Ongoing
Belligerents
Merchants Ocean Priests (and Mob) Sun Priests (and Rauratoshan)

The Maraśan Civil War is an ongoing conflict in Maraśa.

Prelude

For more information on the government of Maraśa and its functioning prior to the civil war, see Monarchy in Maraśa

On 25 May 2025 the ŋation of Þunan Qumreá fell apart. Many of its residents moved to the far northwest of the Ŋorld, forming the ŋations of Maraśa and Jotlond. Maraśa ended up being ruled by the Wetáŋa, a woman claiming to be a divine goddess. Due to cultural attitudes among the Śácamþasán people, a mortal monarch would be considered an Ipit tpii or ‘tyrant’, and only a Tunema mAnItu or god quing can rule. As such, the monarchy existed on a knife edge, with any proof of mortality potentially leading to total collapse. To reinforce the monarchy, Wetáŋa boosted the power of the priest class to rival the merchants, which normally ran the government largely unopposed in Þunan Qumreá.

Rumors spread early on claiming to reveal Wetáŋa's true identity, or simply that she was not a god. This was helped by an incident where the Wetáŋa cut herself on a sharp corner and didn't immediately heal, as would be expected of a god. People gossiping about it were detained and executed via being thrown into a lava lake in the nether.

The Documents

Rumours about Wetáŋa‘s mortality severely escalated when, on the 6th of July, several documents were revealed to the world by a Maraśan poet, which together formed the life story of the Queen and indisputably proved she was not a God. These were hidden in various places throughout Þunan Qumreá.

Greetings
You do not know me, but you do not need to. In 6 documents from Þunan Qumreá in 6 pale chests, you can bring down the Maraśań government and replace it with a better one. The first document lives below that which its builder has forgotten. 

Document 1: Fájaþáw Nursery log
In the Month of Casting, Quiet Week, Day 5, Year 118 was taken here from the nursery a girl by the name of Wyiŋaq. Her parents are Tuŋen Pifa Ŋyce Fisa and Sán Śyńyrár Fáruce Cáŋaj. They hail from [ILLEGIBLE] hidden in the scars of thieves, covered by a nice façade and wish to raise the child there. You have proven yourself worthy.

Document 2: My dear Rełań
I cannot express how much I have missed you these past months. The crops have been yielding more, and the café is starting to look like a real place worth going. I really wanna take you there sometime. Þápa is doing well, she says hi. She does have this odd classmate she‘s been telling me about, some vagrant kid whose older parent seems to be convinced their child is some kind of god. Of course, after hearing it enough, the child believes it too. I knew there were a lot of heretics in Fájaþáw but I thought a place this recently conquered would have less of them. Luckily it seems her parents have been pressured enough, and they are gonna go move somewhere else again. I sure hope you don‘t encounter her younger parent while sailing where a grand treasure was found in a land once foreign!

Document 3: The Voyage
Fishland voyage, notebook of Tuŋen Pifa Ŋyce Fisa, Month of Casting, Quiet Week, day 5, Year 134. 
The girls are teasing me again, they think it‘s weird that I would be with them, and want to make me navigator, a more ‘worthy’ job for one of my gender, I suppose. It used to bother me, but I stopped paying it much attention a long time ago. It is Wyiŋaq‘s birthday today, and an important one. I hope I can get home soon, so I can at least say my goodbyes before she starts her rite of passage. I wish I could be home more often for her. At least she stills has Fáruce staying home in the gears that kept the country going when it all began.

Document 4: A mother‘s lament
I fear I will face criticism for the rest of my life for what I have done. I had no other choice. My girl would never have a future if I did not lie about her nature. How is a person supposed to work without being able to walk? The only way she can be stable without me is if the people think she is a god. Then they will fear her, feed her, and let her be in the sea, where she belongs. Áj Fájy, my desire was never to commit hubris, I beg you to understand. I simply want my girl to have a future. In some days she will have her rite of passage in a land shaped like one of Maraśa‘s nicer animals. I have informed the elders there of her….shortcomings. They promised to give her a normal rite. I pray they are no liars.

Document 5: Dolphin Island Rite Log
The elders of Dolphin Islands hereby decree that Wyiŋaq, daughter of Tuŋen Pifa Ŋyce Fisa and Sán Śyńyrár Fáruce Cáŋaj, has completed the rite of passage successfully. She shall henceforth be known as Áń Wyiŋaq Cáśy Cáŋaj. The name was chosen for her affinity with the waves, unrelenting self-criticism, and occupation as a shaman‘s apprentice where Sky Touches Earth and turns all that live into statues. While a shaman, she has proven herself more in line with womanhood than third gender.
Given on Month of Forage, Lucky Week, Day 4, Year 134. 

Document 6: The Starbond has Fallen
Everyone is fleeing. By boat, on foot, any way they can. But they were gonna leave me to die. I crawled to them, I pleaded with them to take me, they did not care. „What use will we have for you, one who consumes rations but cannot work?” I would not live without people caring for me. Perhaps they are right, perhaps I am a waste of everyone. But oh Great Ocean, I could not accept my own death. I told them what my dear táfe told me to say. I said „Look at my tail. I am Wetáŋa, Queen of Mermaids. Leave me here and you and all your relatives will succumb to storms, your new land forever without rain.” I don‘t know whether they were believed that I truly was not Áń Wyiŋaq Cáśy Cáŋaj. But they believed it enough to keep me alive.
I fear I have created a chain of events which I will not be able to escape from. Some are already talking of founding Maraśa…

Dear pet of the wind spirits
It seems you have followed my advice and collected all the information you need to destroy the government of Maraśa. By the time you read this, I will likely be burning below the Lava Shield Sea. But it matters not. I have enough accomplices to continue to carry out my works. In the end, it is your choice whether to reveal this information or not, but I have given it to enough people to make it highly likely someone will. 
If I may have a last wish before I burn alive, the one good thing Wetáŋa, or should I say, Cáśy, has done is completely eliminate the power of the merchants of Þunan Qumreá. This means you now have a blank slate to work with. I beg of you, therefore, to establish a democratic system, in line with Imerchal. I cannot force you to do this, but I hope you can respect the dying wish of an old poet. Goodnight.
• Tuŋen Fjupiw Ŋápáw Seŋaur

The contents of the documents were quickly known all around the world, but successful silencing and propaganda campaigns kept this knowledge away from the public of Maraśa. Nonetheless, mass executions sprung up around this time.

Timeline

The conflict started on 14 September, after the attempted arrest of a prominent gold merchant. With the documents above as evidence of the queen's mortality and a hefty bribe, the guards switch sides. Soon after leaving they meet the queen, and a guard shoots Wetáŋa's arm. Since she bleeds, this is demonstrable proof of her mortality, and Maraśa descends into chaos, with the queen retreating to her palace and widespread looting. The palace soon comes under siege by an assembled group of merchants.

After a day, the civilian mob are convinced by the priests of Ocean to cease their looting and instead attack the merchants. These merchants began talks of a secular government, vehemently opposed by the priests, who saw their position rise in the absolute monarchy of Maraśa and wished to keep this. Eventually, the Sun Priests were able to obtain support from much of the military, while the Ocean priests urged caution and a true test of the Tunema. Shortly thereafter, a truce was brokered between all sides as the conduits that allow underwater breathing were briefly disabled as a threat.

Attempt to replace the Tunema

On 17 September, the head priest of the god Miŋe gave a speech denouncing the former Tunema Wetáŋa, the riots, and the merchants as being corrupted by the demon Jiwe. They then announced that a new Tunema had been selected from abroad in the form of the queen Nozomi of Rauratoshan, whom they styled as Ityn, Queen of the Galaxy. Nozomi, however, had no knowledge of the plot, and reports state that attempting to claim herself as a god in Maraśa would likely upset the constitutional balance in Rauratoshan itself and lead to her overthrowal. Nonetheless, she vowed to meet the Sun priests to disentangle the confusion.

Arrival of Nozomi-Ityn

On 1 October, Quing Nozomi of Rauratoshan met with the sun priests, but was stabbed by one of her own guards during the leadup to her coronation, causing her to bleed and reveal her mortality. This caused a riot among the sun priests, who attempted to kill the Quing in a fit of blind rage. They were only prevented from this when their military allies intervened against the shamans, driving them back and allowing the Quing to escape, at great loss to her own retinue. The conflict between military and shaman was resolved when the ambassador Asánraho, who had convinced the Maraśań of Nozomi‘s divinity, was seized by the army and offered as a sacrifice to the shamans in return for peace. He was then burnt alive in the name of Miŋe-Sehol using Her light without a trial, to the horror of officials from Rauratoshan and the Church of Sehol.

Minhi-Huakkʉ

Mere hours after Nozomi barely escaped Maraśa with her life, Pez̃emi Minhi-Huakkʉ, Cousin of Doge Peleṽa Thoa-Saevakki of Kozdenen, arrived at the camp of the merchant clans, making promises of a private army, exclusive trade agreements and the delivery of advisors and books in return for access to Maraśań markets. This was quickly accepted by this faction, and they showered him in gifts, only to realise he had no authority to offer these things when they asked the Doge for them. Further attempts to squeeze full neutrality out of the Doge proved unsuccessful.

Eclipse

The day after the execution of Ambassador Asánraho, a solar eclipse occurred Ŋorldwide during sunrise, effectively extending the night by hours. This eclipse had not been predicted by any astronomical authority, and so it sent several populations into disarray and religious mania. Notably, the Church of Sehol saw it as a sign of grief for the murder enacted in their Goddess‘ name. This omen was worsened by a minor eruption on Earth Island, shielding the Sun with ash and soot from the volcano for the rest of the day in the Northwest corner of the Ŋorld. This was taken as a sure omen that Ár, the lover of the Sun, was furious about something the Maraśań had done, and crowds manically began burning letters of lament, regret and wishes, alongside any objects peasants could find, including household items, fish and weaponry. This religious mania re-ignited the feud between soldier and shaman, as Ár is the patron of the armed forces.

Reactions abroad

The general reaction abroad was one of horror. Please add more about your own country here.

Dróstsiśtsi

In response to the chaos, the Dróstsiźda government denounced the violence. Additionally, the prime minister went on the news and gave a statement: "We denounce the influence of the priests peddling lies for their own gain. As well, Rauratoshan is considered an ally of Dróstsiśtsi, and we denounce the priests that have dragged them into this."

Hajdislant

After the prediction of a death spike, expansions of the space in Hajdis started taking effect. Satan has condemned the plans to replace Wetáŋa with another Tunema.

Anaqw

On October 2, 2025, rosi Wandri Quai of the Temple at Ŋahu went to Maraśa's Earth Island, and burnt themself alive in protest of the execution. At least one anonymous Maraśań citizen noticed Wandri Quai in the act and wrote about their death.

Araçana

Along with Imerchal, Araçanni intelligence was responsible for the investigation into Wandri Quai’s disappearance. Following the conclusion of this investigation, Princess Mayor Miliçen Sly said of the events in Maraśa: "The violence and terror in Maraśa is despicable, and my thoughts are with the people of Maraśa and of Rauratoshan during these terrible events," and implied future Araçanni intervention by saying "We cannot in good conscience remain bystanders in such an urgent situation."

Rauratoshan

The Rauratoshan Office of the Frontier was extremely pissed off to hear that Rauratoshanian corps were caught in the crossfire at the Battle of Sun Island, and sent 216 angry letters to the sun priests and Maraśań military leaders. Meanwhile, multiple institutions had a more religious response. Due to the eclipse, the Selshan Digest investigated the spiritual stability of the Ŋorld, allegedly with help from Nuiceta. Meanwhile, House Randa, prominent followers of Nahotayu, published propaganda disparaging Quing Nozomi, abusing their (financial) control of the Preservation Party to turn the party into a pro-theocratic party. This led directly to the Rauratoshanian constitutional crisis.