The Calvardian Revolution (民主化革命), also referred to as the Democratic Revolution (カルバード革命), was an important historical event in the history of Calvard.
Background[]
The Calvardian Revolution took place approximately 108 years before the events of Trails through Daybreak in the May of S.1100. The start of the Revolution's outright warfare is the Battle of Edith.
Contemporary events included the fall of the Iska Empire in the far east and the annexation of Crossbell by the Erebonian Empire. A large scale famine was rife in the population of Calvard and the nobility continued to oppress the people throughout this suffering. Historians note that Calvard's monarchy was 'at its limit' at this point.
The main combatants included the ruling royal family, the Eldarions, alongside the ruling aristocracy and their forces. They fought against the Revolutionaries, including the four main leading figures of the revolution: Sheena Dirke, a student, activist, figurehead and the leader of the revolution as a whole; General Ulgar Atkinson, an immigrant and leader of the revolutionary army; Auguste Aldan, a philosopher; and Aramis Gainsbourg, an artist.
It was students of the Royal Academy who started the revolution. Sheena Dirke and her companions were the first to rise up in revolt. Sheena was an activist and only 20 years old at the time. the idea of democratic revolution seemed delusional at the time but the idea attracted many young people and a true movement began. Her unwavering dedication to her homeland struck a chord with many and she was soon joined by a great many people of all kinds of walks and races who shared concern for the direction of the country. Atkinson, a former officer in the Royal Army, defected and joined her cause, coming to eventually lead the armies of the revolutionaries.
There was a thorough crackdown, during which many young people lost their lives, and Dirke herself was imprisoned and suffered many hardships as a result. Sheena herself became a symbol of the Revolutionary Army.
During the Revolution, a great many students lost their lives in their fight against the monarchy. The site of the school played a role in the Calvardian revolution, when Sheena and her close followers hid under the school in a secret room. A statue of Aramis now marks this location and hides the chamber from view.
A large number of assassins were also noted to have taken part in the revolution and an Imperial invasion by its own nobility is noted to have taken place at the same time. the Royal Guardian, a newspaper that existed before the revolution, was said to have the Royalty's ear. This publication survives to the present day.
Residents of Oración, the former royal capital and seat of power in the kingdom note that they are thankful for the beauty and architecture of the city being left largely intact during the conflict. Although the capital was transferred to Edith, Oración maintains the aesthetic of pre-revolutionist Calvard. The Vashtar Palace still stands in a ruined state, and is now a tourist attraction.
Calvard's old monarchic system was completely toppled by the end of the conflict. Discrimination based on race, status and religion was immediately outlawed following the revolution. The Republican Constitution was set up to allow people of all backgrounds and races to co-exist. Sheena Dirke took up the role of The Republic of Calvard's first leader, and continued on to achieve many more great things.
After the revolutionaries' victory, the four leading figures were split ideologically about how to proceed. August was keen to push his own ideals and despotism to which the others disagreed with. August tried to achieve them with force but his uprising was quickly defeated and he was put to death.
Legacy and Impact[]
Calvard survives to the present day as a republic, and is presently led by its 23rd president, Roy Gramheart. Sheena modernized the country, chartering the Republican Constitution, and then proceeded to move the capital to Edith from Oración. To celebrate its lasting impact, Revolution Day is held in the Republic every year on December 3rd to mark its anniversary, with massive celebrations taking place in the new capital, Edith.
The symbol of the revolution is the three leaf clove, which also appears in Calvard's flag. A lot of people displayed them on the front of their houses on Revolution Day. 'The Pledge of White Cloves' was chosen to be Calvard's national anthem, as opposed to 'La Oraciónese which was popular during the revolution but was not chosen because of a few verses lamenting the nobility's fall. The song was far too widespread to easily change the lyrics, so they merely elected to adopt a different song instead.
The Royal Academy was renamed to Aramis Academy after the artist of the same name. The high school was modelled after his ideals and some aspects borrowed from Thors Military Academy and Jenis Royal Academy. Aramis was the first president of the school and would continue to influence art history.
Statues of Sheena Dirke and key Revolution figures are found throughout Calvard. Statues of Sheena stand in revolution Plaza in the Vantaille District, Aramis Academy and Dirke Memorial Park. The Park itself is named after Sheena Dirke after her death, and it was opened his her honor to preserve nature. The guardian catfish within its lake was only ever been caught by Ulgar Atkinson.
Books sold and read across the continent tell of Sheena's achievements, including Women Who Changed the World which devotes an entire chapter to her. An NPC girl in Edith, Sheena is explicitly said to be named after her by her mother. An Orbal movie was produced to retell the events of the revolution, released in S.1208- Gloria: May of Fate 1100. Nina Fenly stars as the lead role figure, Sheena Dirke.
The Eldarion royal family were greatly diminished and only a few survivors are noted. They took refuge with the D∴G cult and plotted to regain their power and status one day. The Artifact Apeiron seemingly vanished, but it had a special property that meant only those of the Eldarion bloodline could wield it, with the blade seemingly able to transport itself to the next eligible heir.
Gerard Dantès is the last surviving Eldarion known at the time of the story. He is the current wielder of Apeiron. Despite his lineage and ambitions of his parents and the cult, Gerard had little interest in the throne or ruling Calvard, seeking only to plunge the world into one of fear. He exploited the would be ambitions of others who sought to bring pre-revolutionist ideas back through the use of Almata and made the Vashtar Palace the site of the Carnival, where it was ultimately destroyed for good in a series of explosions. Gerard would sit upon his family's throne during the final act of the game before his death at the hands of Van Arkride.
Despite Gerard's lack of interest in the royal bloodline and his cliam to the throne, the cult wanted to preserve his bloodline and provided him with concubines. Unbeknownst to Gerard, he had two twin children, Ixs and Jorda Eldarion who became the new heirs after Gerard's passing. They can jointly wield Apeiron.
Auguste Aldan is revealed to be behind the story, having survived as a form of consciousness since the Revolution by means of an unknown artifact. He lived as a parasitic entity within the ranks of the Cult and never let go of his grudge against Sheena and his ideals for how the Republic should have been led. He followed the cult's integration into the Gardens after the D∴G Cult Extermination. During the fall of the Gardens, Auguste took over a clone body of Ace Rayne developed by Melchior in secret.
Auguste is behind many of the events in the story, having taken possession of the eighth Genesis and using it to control Grendel Zolga. He also took possession of Lapis Rosenberg to become the AI needed for Zolga to manifest in reality. He took control of whatever resources the Gardens had left, including some of their artifacts and hacked into the Märchen Garten for his plot. Through this, he was able to create the Hollow Gardens from which he could observe events. He took on the alias Gardenmaster. His plan was to use the observational data and abilities of the Genesis to recreate the world with his version of how history should have gone following the revolution, by means of Corrosion. When he is confronted, he reveals his identity, circumstances and history. He is ultimately defeated and killed once and for all.
Most of the old Calvardian aristocracy were disbanded and stripped of titles, but many retained wealth and influence. The old capital, Oración has the largest concentration of the populace descended from these families, and to a large extent retains a fondness for the traditions of the kingdom as it was before the Revolution. The Auclair family was once one of these families, holding the title of marquis. Edmond Auclair, despite being incredibly wealthy and the CEO of the Quincy Company, laments the passing of his family's influence. Terrorist groups such as the True Sadness and Almata prey on the nostalgia of these groups to pursue their own interests.
Langport is noted to have greatly increased in size and population since the events of the revolution.
