The Big Event
The Big Event is the most popular name given to the 1991 New Year’s Insurrection in Destrea, carried out by the Risky Witches. It lasted only two days, and saw the assassinations of all high ranking Destrean officials, politicians, and military officers who supported the regime, the total domination and occupation of the province of Espada, and the start of a yet ongoing Destrean civil war led by a newly empowered generation of revolutionaries.
Beginning in late 1990, the yet-to-be-named Risky Witches mobilized elite forces to key locations all over the country under orders to closely monitor Destrean officials and officers in the area and be prepared to attack at a moment’s notice. With an effective force of nearly 8,000 deployed rebels, the group successfully placed the entirety of the Destrean government under surveillance, and they remained undetected due to the general public also being suspicious of the regime at the time thanks to sharply dropping approval rates caused by the recent national order to execute any spirits showing “signs of rebellion” without trial.
At the turn of the new year in 1991, the moment the holiday fireworks started, the Risky Witches launched their attack simultaneously across the nation. News broadcasters covering the fireworks in these areas were hijacked by the group and used to broadcast their attacks nationwide. All government officials and military officers anywhere within the country with any positive connection to the Destrean regime were assassinated in only 39 minutes, entirely destroying the Destrean chain of command.
The most notable attack during this time was a large scale operation to raid the personal villa of the Destrean commander in chief, led by Freya, supported by 31 masked rebels, and with a hostage news crew in tow that was forced to broadcast the operation. The group stormed the villa with frightening efficiency, pushing their way past the elite guard units assigned to protect the commander in chief so easily that many people watching the broadcast did not believe it was real. After reaching the commander in chief and shooting his bodyguards through the wall, Freya kicked down his door and upon walking in, was shot eight times in the chest and twice in the head, but remained standing, shot the commander in chief once in the throat, and walked out of frame.
In this moment, the news crew was turned to the 31 masked rebels, who removed their masks and revealed that they were all spirits. One of these spirits then ensured viewers that everything they had seen was real, declared the establishment of the Risky Witches and delivered their agenda, delivered a rallying speech to any aspiring rebels, delivered a warning for all citizens of Espada to stay indoors, lock and cover their doors and windows, and to avoid answering the door for any reason until further notice, and finally, urged all citizens living in or around the fortified city now known as Presidia de la Bruja to evacuate within the next hour, declaring that the Risky Witches intended to invade the province and take it for themselves. After closing the speech by ensuring the Destrean people that the group means them no harm, and hinting at the fact that the group had killed zero innocent civilians during this insurrection, the broadcast was cut and the news crew was escorted to safety.
This broadcast successfully empowered a large number of prospective rebels and revolutionaries throughout the nation, many of whom took up arms against Destrean police in the same moment. As more and more people learned that the Risky Witches truly did not kill any innocents, the fervor of the rebellion surged, even more so as every rebel killed was then seen as a martyr. With a destroyed chain of command and many elite forces wiped out, this new rebellion dealt further significant damage to Destrea and found it easier than expected to arm themselves, marking the beginning of a new civil war that rages on to this day.
Over the next two days, the Risky Witches converged on the province of Espada at full strength, which included a modest air force comprised of stolen Destrean aircraft, wiping out every last remnant of Destrean forces stationed within it. After establishing themselves within Presidia de la Bruja, they declared themselves the Revolutionary State of Espada and celebrations erupted for days on end, uninterrupted due to Destrea lacking the forces to fight back thanks to the revolutionaries outside of Espada carrying on their fights, pushing back on all fronts, as the Risky Witches assured citizens of Espada they were safe now and would be kept safe by the group, free from Destrean regime. By the time a new Destrean regime was formed by militant conservatives and nationalists, Espada was fully fortified and well armed, which marked the beginning of the ongoing war between Destrea and Espada.
Broadcasting the attacks on national news proved to be beneficial for the Risky Witches, as it made it plainly easy for all to see exactly how the Destrean regime treated its people, and that the Risky Witches had not lied when claiming to have never killed an innocent civilian, which was hugely beneficial towards both goals of empowering the masses to revolt and quickly establishing international diplomatic relations.