Arthur Tragedy

Overview
The Arthur Tragedy was a major event in the World of Eve, which occured some five years before the events of Evenicle. The incident began as an attempt by the original Snake Crest to bring the human nations of the World of Eve to war. Having caught wind of these plans, an alliance was formed between King Tram of Arthur, King Louin of Eden, and Emperor Viares of Central to thwart the Snake Crest. Unfortunately for the alliance, events soon spiralled out of control due to unexpected developments, and ended with, among other losses, the destruction of the Kingdom of Arthur. With high losses and a global realization that the consequences would have easily been higher, the repercussions of the Arthur Tragedy are still felt to this day.

Initial Actions
The original Snake Crest, commanded in secret by Pope Seydes of the Church of Eve, were united in the goal of leading the human nations of the World of Eve to war, each for their own disparate reasons. This would be no mean feat, as Mother Eve's prohibition against the killing of others under her protection meant that anyone who violated the command without first being appointed a Soldier or Knight would become an Outlaw. Since the number of knights (and presumably the number of soldiers) is limited, large-scale combat was considered impossible, something existing only in the realm of fiction. To achieve these ends, the Snake Crest began to recruit, blackmail or otherwise coerce high-ranking officials and knights from governments all over the world to their cause. Their primary aim was war between the Kingdom of Eden and the Central Empire, but their efforts led to mass mobilization worldwide, although some nations (such as the Kingdom of El Quixote) made only defensive preparations. Meanwhile, Snake Crest assured that the Church of Eve would be overwhelmed by its duties tending to the anxiety of the public, and it can be presumed that operations were further hampered by Seydes himself.

The actiosn of the Snake Crest on came to he attention of some of the world's rulers, and the monarchs of Eden, Arthur and Central united to form a counter-effort. The plan was to bring their armies to the land of Arthur, and then to secretly summon an army of Monsters that would remind the people of the world of their common and natural enemy. The people of Arthur, meanwhile, would be carefully evacuated via the Battleship Digamma.

Battle
While both the evacuation and the summoning were performed without major consequences, the situation was soon agitated by the Snake Crest themselves. While a great number of monsters had been summoned, Snake Crest had gathered many more on their own, and launched a simultaneous offensive around the globe against the relatively unprepared nations of the world, including an attack on the Lost Woods that housed Kalar Village. The final stand of the troop of Eden Knights that defended the village remains a separate, but legendary story in its own right, and led to Kathryn Lapucelle being created a Zero Knight in the aftermath of the battle.

The Snake Crest were also present on the battlefield in Arthur, although their actual role in the battle is unknown. Acheval Dreissen, knight of Eden, would later relate that his mother, Zero Knight of Eden, defended members of Snake Crest for unknown reasons. Acheval would later credit her behaviour to a battle lust that he believes he inherited from her, though it may also be that she had been a member of the Snake Crest from the beginning. Acheval's mother turned the battle from a demonstration into a slaughter, as she cut down innumerable knights, including all of Eden's other Zero Knights. She was eventually defeated by her own son.

Meanwhile, the combined Snake Crest and Outlaw forces were able to destroy the entire city of Arthur. To add to the tragedy, King Tram and Queen Ruto of Arthur both went mysteriously missing during the calamity. While they were able to evacuate their son, Aster, along with the remaining two members of the Witches of the Round Table, the king himself went silent despite magical communication methods being readily available. His transmitter was later recovered from the scene. The reason for the royal couple's disappearance remains unknown to this day.

Aftermath
With the city destroyed, royal couple lost, and the heir secreted away, the Kingdom of Arthur was dissolved, with the surviving city of Hector voluntarily ceding to the neighbouring Republic of Lancelot. Losses among the Eden and Central forces were especially high, leading the former to replace its entire force of Zero Knights, while casualties around the globe united the nations in grief and outrage. All identified members of the Snake Crest were arrested and put to trial, although Seydes himself was never found, leading his son, Norshin, to assume the papacy in his place.

The Snake Crest was not entirely routed. Seydes' influence soon met a number of young converts, including Acheval Dreissen and Prince Felton of Central. Within only a short period, Felton would secretly depose his father, Viares, leaving a cover story that his father had receded into hiding after the tragedy.

The Tragedy had other aftereffects. Since Tram, Louin and Viares had left the other rulers out of their planning, and since they kept their failed plans a secret after the fact, Queenbelle of of Humpty was misled into believing the Battleship Digamma was a warship, and harshly punished the Poppin community that had constructed it, which also led to a heavy degree of social stigma from the people of Humpty. The surviving nations also agreed to a campaign of disarmament, reducing the number of knights each nation was meant to assume, but not every nation was willing to agree to the campaign, including the Kingdom of El Quixote, while casualties and disarmament in the Republic of Lancelot nearly reduced their armies, and thus their protection against monsters, to zero. An unintentional side-effect of the campaign was the shut down of the Ranger Academy in Hamlet. International relations also remained a relative low, following the early efforts of the Snake Crest.

These conditions of distrust and anxiety would remain for five years, until the Snake Crest struck again in the Battle of Fort Baroroan.