Castle of Grapes Massacre

The Castle of Grapes Massacre was an incident which took place during February 1934 in Kerlile, in which six Founding Mothers of Kerlile were killed alongside their families by the ten members of the first Council of Kerlile. As a result of the fighting, the Castle of Grapes - an historical residence of the North Fleuran Royal Family - was burned down, and replaced by the Council of Kerlile Chambers. The city of Grapevale was then built upon the surrounding lands.

Background

During the founding of Kerlile, the sixteen Founding Mothers of Kerlile each took control of one region of Kerlile for the ten-year period between 1924 and 1934. Each woman could run the region as she wished, with the goal of producing a culture shift away from patriarchy. The methods used differed between each woman, ranging from the use of mercenaries and punitive sanctions on those who did not conform; to an improvement of living standards in order to win support from the common people. After the end of the ten-year period, the Founders met in the Castle of Grapes, the ancestral residence of the North Fleuran monarchy, to report on their progress.

At this meeting, which took place in February 1934, eleven of the Founders reported successful cultural shifts in their regions, while five reported continued struggles. After the formal meeting ended, the eleven who had been successful met and chose to dispose of the other five before beginning centralised rule in the country; as they believed the other five incapable of the necessary activities required to create a functioning matriarchal state. One of the eleven, Audrey Quinn, disagreed with this course of action and decided to warn the five.

Murders of the Six

Audrey Quinn left the meeting of the eleven, instructing her nanny to flee the castle with her baby daughter, Adelaide Quinn, who would become the only survivor of the six families. Quinn then attempted to warn the other five Founders of the Ten's plot; however Margaret Robinson had followed her and learned of her intentions. The Ten therefore attacked immediately, finding Audrey in the room of Tetli, a Founder of Xiomeran origin. While the Six women fought back, the forces of the Ten were superior, aided by mercenaries and family guards. All Six women were killed, with any female descendants being murdered alongside them.

Castle of Grapes fire

During the fight between Audrey Quinn, Tetli, and forces of the Ten, a candle in Tetli's bedroom was knocked onto the curtains unnoticed by those fighting. This started a fire which burned throughout the Castle of Grapes. By the time the fire was discovered, it was too late to save the castle, and the inaugural ten-member Council of Kerlile chose to allow it to burn down in order to cover up the massacre. For 89 years afterwards, the Council insisted that the castle had been burned in a "ceremonial ritual" celebrating the new state of Kerlile.

Aftermath

Due to the massacre, Six out of sixteen Founders remained unknown by the wider world until 2023. It is unknown how the Council managed to avoid the information leaking, however it is believed that most individuals in Kerlile thought the Six had given up on the Kerlian project and returned to their birth countries. Individuals who spoke out about their existence were killed or sent to forced labour camps. Unverified reports suggest that those sent to labour camps first had their tongues removed so they were unable to speak of what they knew.

The cover-up of the massacre also resulted in the Council of Kerlile denying any precedent for the removal of a family from the Council until 2022 when they expelled Carmen Robinson and her descendants for "multi-generational treason" as a result of her continuing of her mother, Sarah Robinson's, plot to use members of the Aurora Programme as double-agents. In July 2023, the Council also refused to expel Jennifer Hale, citing "lack of precedent".

Cover-up

Immediately after the incident, the inaugural Council of Kerlile began spreading the belief that the Castle of Grapes had been burned down in a ceremonial ritual signalling the death of North Fleura and the formal dawn of a centralised Matriarchy. The rubble was quickly cleared, with construction on the Council of Kerlile Chambers beginning immediately afterwards - a task that involved considerable amounts of forced labour.

The names of the Six were not officially mentioned at any point forward; with the citizens of the six regions they had controlled being led to believe that they had abandoned the Kerlian project and returned to the lands of their birth. Those who enquired further, or speculated on their disappearance, were themselves disappeared or executed. The nobility who knew the Six personally were all killed. Among Daughters of the Council, the affair became known as the "Secret of the Six".

Revelation

On the 7th August 2023, the underground publishing company Free Kerlian Press published a book titled A Daughter's Manifesto by Amelia Quinn, a descendant of Audrey Quinn through Adelaide, the baby who survived the massacre. This book gave numerous details regarding events and the cover-up; urging readers to "join" her in bringing down the present-day Council of Kerlile as a result.