Kataibatic Event

Kataibatic Event

Date	May 19, 2039 – June 14, 2040 (2039-05-19 – 2040-06-14)
Type	Meteorologic, volcanic, earthquakes, wildfire
Cause	Activation of the Kataibatic Tablet
Deaths	450,000 (Cataclysm) 3,500,000 (End)
Non-fatal injuries	7,900,000 (End)
Missing	approx. 13,000,000 (End)

The Kataibatic Event, also recognized by Eordis's international scientific community the Kataibatic Irregular Natural Cataclysmic Event (KINCE), was a widespread catastrophic event incurred by the activation of the Kataibatic Tablet on 19 March 2039 during the last years of the Neocon War. The tablet's unleashing occurred during the Allied Anatolian Campaign when Caliph Ziyaad insisted on using the ancient artifact against the invading Heimdallr forces. The Tablet's power was apocalyptic, unleashing a amalgam of natural disasters that killed 450,000 around the Middle East and Southern Europa on the day it was activated. The aftereffects from its increased power would remain until 14 June 2040, all matching the descriptions inscribed in the Second Kataibatic Tablet Scroll: unnatural storms indicated by yellow lightning, hurricanes, redding of the skies, geothermal disasters, and earthquakes after a blinding flash. By its end on the aformentioned date, the Event was regarded as one of the worst man-made and natural disasters in the history of Eordis by the number of casualties and missing.

The extensive proportion of the devastation wrought about international shock and condemnation. In what is to be termed the "Kataibatic Effect," numerous countries in the Neoconservative Alliance, sprung into widespread revolt against the Neocon governments and massive defections by the Neocon soldiers and nations, which notably included Indiae, Kyachindwin, and the Lorican Democratic Republic; this effect later observed the resignations of three presidents of the Neocon nations: Quyền Phương Nghi, Khaing Zeyar Zin and Juan Martín Pareja. From the nations of the Heimdallr Council, their governments expressed their utmost condemnations against the Neocon governments, and promoted only unconditional surrender of the Alliance. Its citizens, alongside those of the Neocon countries, were instilled a sentiment of sadness and anger given the scale of the disaster. The tremendous psychological and emotional impact brought about by the Cataclysm and the aftermath led governments to mark the Cataclysm as a day of remembrance, which also gave rise to the shortname names the Cataclysm and 5/19, and period time names "pre-" and "post-5/19," and "pre-" and "post-Cataclysm"; the cultural effects of the disaster oversaw literature, film, and music focus on peactime and anti-war themes.

The Event

Cataclysm (May 19)

The devastation on the Cyprian city of Salamis during the Cataclysm (photo taken from the cockpit of a Levantine C-130)

Aftereffects (20 March 2039-14 June 2040)

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius and aftermath of the destruction upon Napoli, Rumania (photo taken on 23 November 2039)

Aftermath

Randgriz Trials

Main article: Randgriz Trials of 2040-2041

Following the end of the Neocon War, the core members of the Heimdallr Council that included the Erebonian Empire, United Kingdom, Rubrum, Gallia-Bruhl, Zanarkand, and New Akiba agreed to convene to a joint tribunal in Randgriz, with the Randgriz Charter and the Randgriz Convention being its legal basis. As Concordia, Bethausia, Quenmin, and Joyonghea only had pro-Heimdallr governments that were partially recognised, it could not participate wholly, nor could it conduct a private tribunal within its borders for its arrested leaders and personnel. As a result, the final sentence was heeded by the head of the tribunal, who was Lucian Prime Minister Ignis Stupeo Scientia.

The court tried more than 70 of the most important surviving Neocon leaders of Concordia, Bethausia, Quenmin, Joyonghea, Holy Trabian Empire, Ilari, and other participating Neocon nations, including secondary allies. The trial would last until 20 March 2041, the anniversary of the start of the Neocon War. It also saw the prosecution of the Neocon 5, who had been arrested immediately following their respective resignations. The purpose of such trial was not just to convict the defendants, but to also assemble irrefutable evidence of Neocon crimes, offer a history lesson to the defeated Neocon nations, ban the use of any artifacts in future operations and wars, and delegitimize the Neocon elites, prominently included the well-known Mangjeol family and Janggok family.

Field Marshal Kiriya Kitagawa, along with the Big 6 that included prominent Heimdallr commanders Phùng Minh Thiệu, Bo Tae-sung, Zeya Tun, Mevludin Abarronbašić, and Prince Abdul Rashid served as prosecutors with Kitagawa being the Chief Prosecutor. In Kitagawa's words and writing:

The Kataibatic Event, though largely in part has found that deceased Caliph Ziyaad of the Levant is responsible for unleashing the cataclysm, the Neocon Presidents Robert Starkweather, Quyền Phương Nghi, Khaing Zeyar Zin, Juan Martín Pareja, Pam Nam-seon, and Raphaëlle Ménétries are found to be as responsible as the one who unleashed the calamity such that they were inextricably linked by means of motive to defeat the Heimdallr forces in the last 2 years of the war. Although former Presidents Quyen, Khaing, and Pareja had submitted their resignations prior to the war's end, the inextricable link has been established at the time of the artifact's activation and that the three were among the leaders who pushed for the use of artifacts in war.

Despite the appeals of the defendants attorneys, the link between Neocon leaders and the crime committed by Ziyaad was found to be indissoluble. As a result, Kitagawa heeded a capital sentence for the Neocon leaders, which received overwhelming support from the jury. As a result, the Neocon leaders were found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of committing crimes against humanity, conducting biological experiments violating the Randgriz Convention, permitting the use of artifacts that have killed millions of lives, and various other war crimes.

Caliph Ziyaad, although already incapacitated to be prosecuted, was found guilty of the crimes mentioned above and that the judges had ordered for his body to be cremated and ashes disposed of. The exact sentences to be given each defendant were debated at length by the judges. 55 leaders and personalities were sentenced to death, among them were:

• Robert Starkweather, former President of Concordia
• Quyền Phương Nghi, former President of Quenmin
• Khaing Zeyar Zin, former President of Bethausia
• Juan Martín Pareja, former President of Ilari
• Pam Nam-seon, former President of Joyonghea
• Raphaëlle Ménétries, former President of Trabia
• Mangjeol Son-ha, head of Hamgeup-Dongnan General Industries
• Cheonsu, Emperor of Joyonghea
• Mangjeol Young, head of the Mangjeol family
• Gotthard Oswald, head of Alderney Holdings Inc.
• Chang Gwan-mook, plotter of Case Violet and Operation Terminate, the plot to assassinate Marshal Kitagawa in 2037