Raggs War

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The Raggs War
Preceded by The Raphael Project	Followed by Sky Pirate Subjugation
Combatants
Barsburg	Raggs
Chronological information
Date	10 years prior to series start
Length	Unknown
Battleground	The Kingdom of Raggs
Victor	Barsburg

The Raggs War was the first war between Barsburg and Raggs which resulted in the total destruction of the Raggs Kingdom and the slaughter of its bloodline to near extinction levels (with only three blood Raggs remaining). It was sparked by the theft of Pandora's box.

The people of Raggs suffered enormous casualties and those not slain by Barsburg troops were enslaved. The war almost resulted in the annihilation of the royal family of Raggs, with Tiashe, his memory of his true identity sealed by Vertrag, and Ayanami, who betrayed his family and kingdom for reasons as yet unknown, being the only survivors. 

The genocide also prompted the Antwort Kingdom to arm themselves after they took Pandora's box, which inevitably led to the Antwort War, as the purpose of the Barsburg Chief of Staff, Ayanami, was to get the Pandora's Box. 

Background

Emperor Wolfram Eifeler Barsburg was in love with Millea Klein, and his jealousy of Weldeschtein Krom Raggs for having Millea's love caused him to be easily manipulated by Landkarte: a mysterious young man who wished for the destruction of Raggs to achieve his own goals.

The birth of the Raggs Prince

“	There was a child born in absolute secrecy to the King from a concubine. His name was Wahrheit Tiashe Raggs.	”
—Ayanami, telling Hyuuga of the birth of the Raggs Prince.

The birth of Teito.

Wahrheit Tiashe Raggs was born on the 1st of December into the Raggs Family: the son of King Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, and the King's beloved concubine, Millea Klein.

His uncle, Fea Kreuz, and both the Former Assistant Archbishops were present at his birth and blessed him. An only child, Teito was the sole heir to the imperial throne of the Raggs kingdom. 

However, his birth was kept a tightly guarded secret and was absent from the majority of official records, as the Queen of Raggs, Vanessa Antwort, was a woman of very violent temperament, and would have had the young Tiashe killed.

History leading up to conflict

There are two different stories as to how the conflict between the two countries began, with each country having their own version of past events. The events detailed in the Barsburg history books are twisted and being notably biased in favour of Barsburg. However, it appears not even the highest military personal in Barsburg know the true reason for Kreuz's actions, nor the Pope's involvement.

The history books say that the Raggs War was triggered after Raggs broke the truce between it and Barsburg and their purpose was to get Barsburg's Eye of Raphael.

Accurate version of events

Raggs and Barsburg had always been of equal power and their leaders of equal influence.

As Millea Klein was a 'commoner', the marriage between her and Weldeschtein Krom Raggs was not recognised as legally binding, thus King Weldeschtein later married Vanessa Antwort, the princess of Antwort, before Teito was 3 years old. The marriage was to ally the two kingdoms of Raggs and Antwort, and although Vanessa dearly loved Weldeschtein, he did not have the same feelings for her, so Millea was kept as a concubine. As Vanessa discovered Teito was the son of the woman whom Weldeschtein loved, it caused the new-found Raggs queen to despise him. And thus, Teito spent most of his childhood in the Barsburg Church, nurtured by his uncle Fea Kreuz: vessel for the ghost Vertrag.

Sometime before Teito tuned 4, Millea became very ill- due to a poisoning by the Landkarte- falling into a coma.

While initially pleased with Millea Klein's illness, Vanessa came to realise Krom's love for his concubine will continue through his love for his son Teito Klein- who resembled her greatly. These feeling's were further intensified by the King's announcement that Teito will be made the official heir to the Raggs Kingdom, despite being an illegitimate child. Maddened and heartbroken by the fact her husband would never love her in the way he loved Millea, Vanessa sought to dispose of the young Prince so Krom's love for Millea would die with his son.

“	A concubine's child must always walk in the shadows. It's inexcusable that tomorrow you will be announced before the nation as the official heir!	”
—Vanessa, to a young Teito in a fit of madness.

Vanessa's descent into madness.

When Teito Klein was left in the care of a Royal Attendant, Vanessa lured him away from his guardian by promising to help him find flowers for his father. She then took him to a dungeon and branded his back with a Sklave brand which would forever mark him as less than human.

However, after doing so, she was overcome with fear- as discovery of her crime would likely result in her execution, and was thus easily manipulated by The Pope- who proposed they kill another child in Teito place and the Prince's attendant be used as a scapegoat. This would save Vanessa's life, but in return Vanessa would give the Prince to the Pope. Vanessa agreed.

“	When he was three years old, the child of that concubine fell to his death from the top of a tower when his caretaker wasn't looking. After that the maid who took care of him committed suicide.	”
—Ayanami, telling Hyuuga of the death of the Raggs Prince.

Tiashe's 'death'.

Together, Vanessa and the Pope killed another child that greatly resembled Teito (which they did by throwing out of a Church tower) and blamed Teito's caretaker for neglecting to watch him properly. The death of the 'Prince' was recorded in the official records, as well as the suicide of the attendant that had been entrusted with him.

Unknown to the Queen, the Pope sought the power of knowledge, something that the God of Death, Verloren had been blessed with, and his real purpose was to bring about Verloren's revival. After having Tiashe, the Pope tricked King Weldeschtein to change the container of Pandora's Box (the vessel that seals the body of Verloren), by which Weldeschtein unintentionally sealed Verloren's body into Tiashe, who was hidden in the new container. Weldeschtein was not aware of what the Pope has done, until Vanessa was unable to bear the secret and revealed the whereabouts of the child to her husband. With this knowledge, the Pope's plan was foiled by Fea Kreuz, who escaped with the king's son. In order to prevent his son's soul from being eaten by what was sealed in him (Verloren's body), the King gave up the Eye of Mikhail and put it into Tiashe. This makes Tiashe the vessel of the Eye of Mikhail.

As soon as word had gotten out that Fea Kreuz had stolen Pandora's Box from the Pope, Barsburg waged war on the Raggs Kingdom, thus starting the Raggs War.

It was later revealed that while Barsburg apparently sought to fight in the name of justice, their true intentions were to use the theft of Pandora's box as an excuse to invade Raggs and plunder Raggs' vast Zaiphon reserves.

The conflict

In an effort to keep Pandora's box safe from Barsburg, Fea Kreuz vowed to escape with Tiashe to the Seven God Houses and then to the Land of Seele. Their efforts were met with hostiliy, and the Bishop and his bodyguards were pursued by Hyuuga, who cut them down one-by-one until Kreuz and Tiashe were the only ones left, but they escaped as Landkarte saved them by using teletransportation.

The Raggs Kingdom, meanwhile was being shelled by Ribidziles and being invaded by Barsburg troops who killed the soldiers there and captured civilians, where they were enslaved. Despite Raggs having the advantage of knowing the soil they fought on, Barsburg, having superior weaponry, as well as the advantage of being first to attack, was the clear victor.

Although the details have not yet been revealed, it is known that Fea Kreuz did not survive the Raggs War with Tiashe. After Kreuz sealed the important part of Tiashe's memory, he was slain by Ayanami, who was known as Barsburg's Chief of Staff but whose true identity was Verloren. He absorbed Fea Kreuz's powers. Apart from Chairman Miroku, the Barsburg Imperial Army was unaware that the child, now known as Teito Klein, was in fact Tiashe Wahrheit Raggs, i.e. the only prince of Raggs and the Vessel for Mikhail's Eye, and they took him as a common sklave.

To make up for the soldiers who were dying in the war, Barsburg workers were drafted by the masses, and the remaining population were left "destitute" and forced to live in the slums.

Attacks on hospitals

“	There are a great many things in this Empire's history that weren't officially recorded. Discarding the weak during the Raggs War is one of those instances	”
—Castor, Kapitel 37.

During the War, the military was in dire need of money to fund its equipment and soldiers. As tax money was being used to feed and take care of those in hospices who were old with no relatives, or had incurable conditions, the military began burning hospices, in order to redirect taxpayer's money to the military. The fires were officially documented as accidental.

Conflict between the God Houses

“	Those families on the side of Raggs fought against those on the Barsburg Empire.	”
—Seilan, retelling the battles between the Houses.

 During the Raggs War there was a rift between the Seven Houses of God, with each house choosing a side, and battles were fought between houses on opposing sides. 

Aftermath

The Emperor, Wolfram Eifeler Barsburg, dissatisfied with the military's failure to capture the Eye of Mikhail, taxed a large amount in order to fund the military in its search for the Eye of Mikhail, and one who could control it.

Revenge of the Houses

“	After it was over, to save themselves from extinction, those families said they would bring the head of their true master.	”
—Seilan, Kapitel 31.

Following Raggs' defeat, Raggs' allied houses faced mass executions for opposing the Barsburg Empire during the war. To prevent the extinction of their bloodlines, the Houses that sided with Raggs said that they would kill the leader of their respective houses, and present their heads as a peace offering.

The Hausen House

The Ghost Fest appears before Castor in his dying moments.

Xing-lu of the Hausen House was to be one such sacrifice.

His father, however, had other plans. Xingfa organised a plan to save his son; proposing that the Noel Mermaid (a type of mermaid that can shape shift) Razette, that Xing-lu had saved a few months prior, change her face to look like Xing-lu's- and they decapitate her and give her head to the Barsburg houses instead. Razette, willing to die in Xing-lu's place, shapeshifted to look like him. However, as Xingfa drew his sword and lunged at her to kill her, Xing-lu threw himself in the way and the blow impaled him through the chest.

Xing-lu was mortally injured, and as he took his final breath, he looked up to see the God of the Hausen House, Fest, standing before him. Xing-lu died of his injuries that night, but was chosen as the new vessel for the Ghost Fest. He changed his name to Castor and moved to the Barsburg Church with Razette.

Consequences

The consequences of the Raggs War were devastating, ending the Raggs Kingdom and almost caused the extinction of Raggs' royal lineage. Raggs' capital was taken as the new capital of the Barsburg Empire and its people are forced to live the rest of their lives as sklaven (slaves). At one point after the war, Barsburg passed a law which made the former Raggs Kingdom's castle a 'forbidden zone'.

To remove all traces of hope from the former citizens of Raggs, Barsburg destroyed all records of Raggs' music, art, literature, and history.

Deaths

See also Category:Casualties of Raggs War

The War damaged both sides, but with heavier casualties on Raggs' side. The Raggs royalty were almost entirely wiped out (Tiashe and Ayanami being the only survivors) in order to prevent the revival of the Raggs Kingdom. What few survivors remained among the people of Raggs were enslaved.

Raggs War Deaths
Raggs casualties	Barsburg casualties
Weldeschtein Krom Raggs (killed by Ayanami)	The original Katsuragi (killed by the current (fake) Katsuragi)
Fea Kreuz (killed by Ayanami, his powers as a Seven Ghost were absorbed)	(Presumably) Major-General Ogi's entire unit
Mark (killed in a suicidal attack when he tried to take Hyuuga with him)	Other soldiers killed in the war
Karan (killed by Hyuuga)
Agas (killed by Eye of Raphael's attack which eliminated 1/6 of District 1)
Vanessa Antwort, and many unnamed soldiers and residents killed in the war
Post-Raggs War Deaths
Leaders of God Houses that sided with Raggs (sacrificed by members of the God houses)