Chapter1: April, 30th 1910
Riots broke out this morning in Solace Bay in reaction to a series of events surrounding the chartering of the city.
The Impetus appears to have been today's announcement of additional city taxes to be paid out by all citizens. Other grievances heard from the rioters included the unsafe housing of workers, brutality of Solace Bay Co Guards (who have now become the official police force of the recently chartered City of Solace Bay), and claims that the recent city council elections were rigged.
The riots began in the newly built western end factory complex and the worker housing neighborhoods that surround it.
Once news of the riots spread, various groups of workers joined in around the city until nearly the entire city was rioting. Most of the destruction has been done in the Western End factory neighborhoods and the North Shore neighborhood.
So far several company guards and managers have been beaten to death by the workers. 
Several factories have been burned down or are in the process of burning. 
In addition, entire blocks of worker's housing have been torched to the ground. 
The remaining guards are busy attempting to keep rioters from damaging any more factories. Many are also trying to bring order to the downtown area. Being armed with guns against the unarmed (except for blunt objects) rioters is giving them an advantage..
Most of the board of the Solace Bay Co. was able to make it out of the city and escape across the bay to Wyant’s Landing, where there is an emergency council of all Wyant’s landing inhabitants being held at the Wyant mansion.
Before we go to the mansion, there are some very important background events that led up to these riots that must be mentioned.
When we last saw the Solace Bay Co. executive board they had decided to charter their settlement. They had also decided that in order to maintain control of the settlement and fulfill the federal requirement of having open elections, they would require a written exam be passed before a candidate could run for city council or mayor. This would disqualify 95% of the illiterate populace and the Wyant brothers could personally grade the tests and fail any candidates they wished to remove from the electoral race.
Yet, these plans were kept secret from all except the upper management of the company. Thus, when the elections were announced, there was a great excitement among the workers who felt that this was their chance to get some say in the way their lives were run. So, each neighborhood began choosing the candidates they wanted to run. Meanwhile, the Solace Bay Co. started planting their own candidates in poor working neighborhoods who posed as lowly workers, but were really higher level Solace Bay Co. employees. If the populace would elect these plants unwittingly it would be just another way for the company to maintain its control over the workers while entertaining the appearance of honest elections.
Also, during this time a different rumor was going around the town. A rumor was spread that there was a new underground worker's organization formed by a mysterious man known only as "Black Francis."
The organization was called the Brotherhood of Derrik (named after a worker's neighborhood in Solace Bay). It's membership was secret, and it's goals were also vague, being merely stated as "fighting for the worker's cause." This organization spread fear in the middle class and wealthy of the region and gave them all the more incentive to retain a tight control over the workers in the soon to be elected government.
And so, with all this excitement brewing, the town was electric when the elections finally arrived on March, 21st 1910. Out of the candidates, every undercover worker plant was elected to the town council, also, Daniel Johnson was elected the First Mayor of Solace Bay. Only two wealthy candidates from Wyant landing were elected to the ten member city council. Immediately following the elections the workers were happy, and the Solace Bay executives were happy. The worker's thought they had gotten what they wanted, and the Solace Bay Co. execs knew the truth of what had happened. They had maintained control of the Workers and the Company. The charter was sent into Auen as charter stating the population of Solace Bay to be 12,090, making it a city immediately. (Truthfully the city only had 11,800 or so inhabitants, but numbers were fudged and a couple hundred transitory lumberjacks declared the city as their home). This was the first and only time that a federal charter granted city-hood with the signing of the charter.
The charter signing day was a glorious day in the city. The entire populous of Solace Bay showed up to put their X (since none of them could write) next to where a literate Solace Bay Co. employee had written their name. The sun was almost bright enough to shine through the smoky fog of the factories, and everyone felt that they smelled something other than sulfur in the air that day.
Unfortunately Things did not stay cheerful for very long. The very next week, a day after the charter had been officially ratified by the inakaye government, a new rumor spread through town. Apparently the Brotherhood of Derrik had discovered the lie about the planted city council candidates, and through some communication network spread this truth as a rumor throughout the entire city. The workers were furious, and the newly elected city council had nothing they could do but flat out deny these accusations. Some workers believed the council, but truthfully, the doubt had been planted. Thus, this morning when the news of new city taxes was announced, it was the last straw. The rioting started before the Company guards or floor managers knew what to do about it.
And, so we arrive at our present time, at an emergency council in the Wyant Mansion.
The night air smelling of smoke, and the distant glow of the city burning across the bay.
Inside the Wyant mansion the golden electric lights shed a warm light on the dining hall, where the most prominent members of both the Solace Bay co. and the Wyant's Landing neighborhood have gathered.
The Dining hall is a large room, on one side having a space for dancing and a small musical ensemble, the other side having a large banquet table. the room is packed nearly full. There must be almost 100 people murmuring and talking in nervous excited voices.
At the head of the table stand James Wyant and Mayor Daniel Johnson. They are discussing something with each other in quiet tones as the neighborhood gathers to listen to their meeting. Next to them in a chair at the table sits Robert Wyant. He is looking down at the table and appears to hear or see nothing that is happening around him.
At this moment James Wyant Gets up to speak . . .
"A great injustice has been dealt to us today. Our lives and our livelihoods have been threatened, and in some cases tragically taken. The workers whom we provide with food, shelter, and income have turned upon us and challenged our superiority. I am here tonight to tell all of you, that this will not last one moment longer . . . (there is silence in the room) We have been too lenient in the past (at this point James looks down at his brother whom is still sitting in his chair starting distantly at the table in front of him). We have allowed dissent to spread when it should have been squashed. we have used kind words and deceit to trick the workers, when we should have used force to put them in their place. We have even allowed a subversive worker's organization to rise up in our town without making one move to dissolve it."
"This old way of doing things will be no more . . ." (nod's and murmurs of agreement from the crowd).
"Tomorrow, we will go into our city with an iron fist, and destroy any sort of rebellion we find. The workers will be made to rebuild what they have destroyed, and will also build a new kind of factory. A prison factory, in which those who are arrested for sabotage and subversion will be sent to toil away the rest of their lives with a gun at their back. Some of you have lost friends, brothers, or husbands tonight. They will be avenged. Each and every member of this evil brotherhood will be found and tried in a court for their crimes. they will be sentenced to death or life in prison."
(more agreement from the crowd)
"I Say, when you look upon the Solace bay of the future you will see a city of industry, of obedience, of justice! Do you see it?" (Shouted "yes"s and "indeed"s from the crowd)
"The future of our city will be a prosperous one, where our children . . ."
Thus, onward goes the speech of James Wyant to the city's wealthy, riling them up for the changes that are to come. And, in his observant way, Daniel Johnson, the newly elected mayor looks thoughtfully between the firey James as he delivers his speech, and the silent Robert who is still staring at the table. Not only have things changed between the workers and the upper class today. but something great has changed in the dynamics of the company. Daniel sees his horld changing before his eyes, and can almost feel the earth shifting under his feet. Robert is done, and James has come out on top. Daniel can do nothing but think about this and wonder what it means for him and his future.
Meanwhile. across the bay, the city burns on into the night . . .
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