Ikaruga Civil War

The Ikaruga Civil War was a conflict between the Ikaruga Federation and the Novus Orbis Librarium that began in 2191 and ended in the June of 2197. Publicly, the conflict began after the Ikaruga Federation announced their independence from the NOL, but in reality, the war was only a front for experiments occurring on both sides, which dragged the war out for almost six years. Sector Seven aimed to create a Kusanagi, while the NOL wished to cause enough deaths to awaken Izanami.

This war was the first time that Ars Magus was used by humanity against itself on such a large scale, and the second time to use Ars Magus at all. For this reason, it became known as the Second War of Ars Magus.

Information
Prior to the start of the war, under the NOL's rule, those who possessed the ability to use Ars Magus began to be given preferential treatment, with higher aptitudes leading to better treatment. Since Ars Magus aptitude is decided by genetics, this led to discomfort and dissatisfaction among the population of those with little to no aptitude. By 2190, the socioeconomic gap between those who could and couldn't use Ars Magus had widened considerably.

Eventually, possibly unrelated to this dissent, the 5th Hierarchical City of Ibukido began to move independently of the NOL. In 2191, Ibukido allied itself with 5 other Hierarchical Cities in the Ikaruga Region: Yabiko, Kazamotsu, Wadatsumi, Akitsu-Kou, and Akitsu-Otsu. Together, the allied Hierarchical Cities declared themselves the Ikaruga Federation. However, this declaration of independence was not acknowledged by the NOL, which moved to oppress the Federation. This began the Ikaruga Civil War.

Around this time, Sector Seven began experiments on what they believed were to create a Black Beast, but which were instead to create a Kusanagi. Sector Seven's Committee believed that they had orchestrated the war in order to collect enough souls to create a Black Beast, but in reality, they were being manipulated by both Relius Clover and Yuuki Terumi.

There is a period of the war that is ambiguous. Tenjo Amanohokosaka was the Imperator of the NOL, but at one point, she was overthrown by Relius and Terumi. Since the identity of the Imperator is only known to the heads of the Duodecim, the swap went unnoticed by the public. Tenjo eventually became the head of the Ikaruga Federation. It is unknown if the Federation's rebellion was Tenjo's retaliation or if she became their head after the Federation had already formed and declared its independence. Regardless, throughout the war, she was known publicly as only the leader of the Federation. Her identity as the former Imperator of the NOL was kept a closely-guarded secret by Houichirou Hazuki, Kagura Mutsuki, and others in the know. Tenjo remained in contact with those loyal to her within the NOL, especially Kagura, and positioned herself in Wadatsumi for most of the war. An alliance formed between Kagura, Kokonoe, and Tenjo, kept secret from their respective organizations: the NOL, Sector Seven, and the Ikaruga Federation.

In 2192, the Ikaruga Federation began to expand its territory, resulting in greater conflict with the NOL. The Federation formed a relationship with Sector Seven. The Committee used a laboratory deep within Ibukido to conduct their experiments for the Black Beast, their intentions possibly hidden from the Federation, although Tenjo resented the relationship altogether. Around this time, some began to suspect the war itself; the sheer military might of the NOL should have been able to raze the Ikaruga Region within a few weeks, but the NOL was hesitant to end the war, with only skirmishes occurring.

The war saw the use of experimental weapons as well as the Ninth Squadron, a sacrificial NOL unit meant to weaken the Ikaruga Federation's forces so that other units could take the glory and receive promotions.

Attack on Celica A. Mercury's Church
In 2192, Yuuki Terumi launched an attack on Celica A. Mercury's Church. Although this event did not directly involve the NOL or the Ikaruga Federation, it was an important event that happened during the war and was linked to it. Terumi and Relius Clover desired Saya, a young artificial human living at the church, to act as a vessel for Izanami; she would also serve as the basis for the creation of Boundary Interface Prime Field Devices numbers 11 to 13, two of which were made in the Ibukido experiments.

Prior to the attack, Terumi mentally assaulted Saya and gave her the Nox Nyctores - Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa. She then gave it to her older brother, Jin Kisaragi. When the barrier surrounding the church broke down, Terumi entered, Observing himself so he could maintain a physical form, and murdered the nun, Celica A. Mercury, who was looking after the church. He then kidnapped Saya and Jin, setting the church on fire. Their elder brother, later Ragna, returned to the church to see it in flames just as Terumi was about to leave. Terumi ordered Jin to cut off his brother's arm, and then left Ragna to die. He returned with Saya to the NOL, where she disappeared until after she had become a vessel for Izanami. Jin was abandoned but was soon adopted by the Kisaragi family. The eldest brother survived and later became known as Ragna the Bloodedge.

Terumi's arson and kidnapping meant that the NOL could meaningfully continue to collect souls to awaken Izanami, since only Saya was fit to be Izanami's vessel. Jin would also later prove to be an influential part of the war itself.

The Phenomena Weapon Dispossession Operation
Circa 2193, the NOL excavated the Nox Nyctores - Deus Machina: Nirvana. While they were still retrieving it, Relius Clover, Colonel of the Engineering Department of the NOL, spoke to Sector Seven's Committee and to Kokonoe about the possibility of creating a Nox Nyctores, claiming he would reward them with a Prime Field Device for their efforts. Additionally, Tenjo, possessing the ability to transfer her soul between vessels, sensed that her time was near and intended to extend her life using Nirvana. Sector Seven then hired Bullet's Mercenary Squad to retrieve the Nox Nyctores - Deus Machina: Nirvana.

The squadron was sent to the 4th Hierarchical City of Naobi, which was under the control of the NOL. One of the members of the squad, Bullet, was left behind due to an injury she had sustained earlier. The rest of the squad managed to retrieve the Nox, but met with the NOL who had come to finish the excavation, and a battle occurred. Azrael, also hired by the Committee, appeared and destroyed both forces, but not before the leader of Bullet's squad dealt a blow to the Mad Dog and managed to escape with the Nox in tow. Azrael's appearance was likely to cause more deaths for the Committee so a Black Beast could be created.

Kokonoe found the squad's leader on the brink of death and took him in, but her life-saving surgery drastically changed his appearance. He was injected with Demon Cells, the only thing that could regenerate his cells, and later became known as Iron Tager. During one brief stint of consciousness before the surgery, he asked that his memories be sealed away. She promised to find a way to reverse his condition and turn him back to a normal human, and as a result, Tager became unaware of his life prior to being in Kokonoe's service. The professor later told Tager that he was a victim of the Burning Fields of Ikaruga. Litchi also became Kokonoe's assistant around this time.

The Ibukido Experiments & the Burning Fields of Ikaruga
In the labs underneath Ibukido, Sector Seven acquired Lambda-11, a Prime Field created by Relius. She was the first of the Prime Fields based off of Saya, but she was not used for combat and they did not attempt to make her a Kusanagi. Instead, she was relentlessly experimented on, to the point where it was essentially torture. Tenjo resented the use of the experiments and planned to use Kushinada's Lynchpin to stop Terumi and Relius from creating a Black Beast.

On the 25th of December, 2194, Christmas Day, scientists involved in the Ibukido experiments began the final phase to smelt Mu-12. The process went smoothly at first, with Hazama attempting to fuse with Mu, but she rejected him and the two were unable to become a Kusanagi. The Takamagahara System then caused the Nox Nyctores, Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi, which had been orbiting the Earth as a satellite after the Dark War, to fire upon Ibukido. The devastating result was the razing of the entire Hierarchical City, once one of the largest cities on the planet, in an instant. The event was later known as . Nearly everyone in the city at the time was killed by the blast, although there were survivors, such as Mu and Lambda. Mu lost her memories and forgot her origins, but was soon found and adopted by Edgar and Claire Vermillion, who christened her Noel Vermillion. Lambda, thought to be dead, was left to rot within the facility.

Some time afterwards, Kokonoe sent Tager to the facility where the experiments occurred. He retrieved Lambda and took her back to Sector Seven, where Kokonoe would spend the next few years repairing her. Although the destruction of Ibukido was due to the Takamagahara System, the public believed it was by the NOL, and what started as a war became a demonstration of the NOL's power.

In 2196, the Federation tried to negotiate for peace, but their plea fell on deaf ears. The NOL had retaken most of Kazamotsu and Yabiko after the destruction of Ibukido, but Wadatsumi remained a battlefield and was inaccessible. Incidents of looting increased from those who had lost their homes, and the refugees began trying to migrate to Yabiko and Kazamotsu. Protests in Kazamotsu, where the NOL had a strong presence, began to spiral out of control, and the officials there began to expect a massive civilian uprising after the looting of various Ars Magus vessels. Kagura and Hibiki moved to have the refugees transported to the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, which was still undergoing construction.

Spiral Shift – Hero of the Frozen Blade and That which is inherited
Jin graduated from the Military Academy in the January of 2197 and became a member of the military with the rank of First Lieutenant. At some point, he accidentally came into contact with Tager at the ruins of Ibukido. When he returned to Yabiko, he was scolded by Kagura for moving alone. After a brief run in with Meifang Lapislazuli, Jin met his assistant, Corporal Honoka. The two were sent to the front lines under the command of Captain Grimwood Huster of the Ninth Squadron. Jin also became acquainted with Corporal Karenjina Parsett, and they were soon sent to fight a number of rock giants created by Sector Seven.

Relius returned to Sector Seven to analyze Nirvana, and in his own time, was able to create Fluctus Redactum: Ignis based on Nirvana. Relius used his wife, Ignis Clover, and daughter, Ada Clover as the identities for Ignis and Nirvana respectively, but required additional help from Sector Seven to smelt their identities. Relius then tipped the NOL about Sector Seven's plan to create a Nox Nyctores, leading them to immediately attack the facility. The NOL got as far as the cauldron within the facility where the cores were being smelted, and Tager was sent to stop the soldiers from advancing to the center of the facility.

However, the cauldron went out of control, creating a miniature Black Beast that took the souls of both NOL and Sector Seven soldiers alike. Kokonoe was forced to use sorcery and the spell Infinite Gravity in order to seal the Beast away into cores that could be harnessed by Nirvana and Ignis, or rather by the souls of Ada and Ignis Clover, respectively, that were used to fuel the automatons. Before falling unconscious, Kokonoe used Nirvana to strike at Relius and managed to wound him. By the time she awoke, he had already disappeared, along with both automatons.

Jin and the Ninth Squadron went to the laboratory to retrieve Nirvana but were two hours too late, and were the first to report on the situation. Kokonoe had already disappeared by this time. Relius operated a Necromancer in the area to turn the corpses from the earlier incident into Ghouls, forcing the Ninth Squadron to fight them off. Tenjo later heard about the events in the laboratory and expressed regret Kokonoe's injuries and the loss of Nirvana. She then transferred her soul into the Phoenix: Rettenjo, leaving her body behind as a puppet.

Kagura believed too many deaths had already occurred, but an order went through for the attack on Wadatsumi and the castle where Tenjo was. The Ninth Squadron was able to detect a hidden entrance to the castle using Karenjina's Drive, Seagull. They entered, but Karenjina was left behind and Jin was forced to fight against a monster made of liquid seithr. When Jin caught up to the rest of his squadron, he found several of them dead and Grimwood held at the neck by Meifang. This area, hidden underneath Wadatsumi Castle, had a large hole with a coffin suspended above it. A conveyor belt was throwing the corpses of both NOL and Ikarugan soldiers into it. Meifang decapitated Grimwood, knocked out and incarcerated Jin, and had the Zero Squadron interrogate Karenjina.

Throughout the war, the Zero Squadron disposed of traitors and tortured people to get the information that the Imperator desired.

The end of the war
Kagura put in a great deal of work to rebuild Yabiko and Kazamotsu after the NOL retook them, to the point where it was difficult to believe it had been a battlefield one year prior. After being released from his cell, Jin was sent to Yabiko by the Imperator with a decree for Kagura to deploy all forces into combat and swiftly end the war; it also stated that the Ikaruga Region was to be sealed off from the outside. Kagura had also received a report from Taro Sasaga'e about Jin not being able to control Yukianesa at the Academy at one point, raising his concern about Jin.

Kagura sent numerous forces, including the Eighth Squadron, into battle. He positioned Jin on the sidelines, so he would only fight in small skirmishes against the forces of Ikaruga and Sector Seven. Tager happened upon Jin's forces and seemed about to engage them before he was teleported straight to Kagura's point of command. Kagura fought him directly, passing command to Hibiki, but was bested, after which Tager teleported safely away. Kagura's injury was so serious that the Zero Squadron had no choice but allow Hibiki to take him on an Ars Magus vessel out of Ikaruga to the main NOL headquarters to receive treatment. Command of the battlefield then passed to the next member of the Duodecim present, Jin Kisaragi.

This battle was actually completely orchestrated by Kokonoe and Kagura so that Tenjo's heir, Homura, could be smuggled out of Ikaruga, something that could only be achieved practically with an Ars Magus vessel. After speaking with Kagura, the young heir decided to fight for his birthright, and to reclaim Ikaruga in the future and rebuild it.

Jin, left in command as the only member of the Duodecim left on the battlefield, decided to end the war that day and stormed Wadatsumi. Yukianesa attempted to corrupt him and tempt him to kill, but he was able to singlehandly wipe out the opposing forces with ice without taking a single life. During this time, the Ikarugan Ninjas were wrapped up with fights against the other NOL forces, with Bang Shishigami leading the charge and evacuating the Wadatsumi population. The NOL then torched the Wadatsumi castle and the numerous buildings within the city while Jin continued his charge alone into the castle.

Bang ran into the burning castle to save Tenjo, who gave him the Rettenjo with her soul in it. Jin arrived soon after and effortlessly defeated the ninja after freezing the room with his Arctic Dungeon technique, leaving an 'x' shaped scar across his face. Tenjo told Jin that she was only a "doll" that would give birth to "death" and asked that she be cut down to fight back against death itself. She threw a charm at the First Lieutenant, and he struck her with Yukikaze, killing her.

With Tenjo's death, the war was over. Honoka appeared and revealed that he was actually Hazama. Terumi then used his version of Mind Eater to take away Jin's memories, causing him to lose his recollection of the events with Tenjo. Terumi and Hazama then took Tenjo's corpse and replaced it with another one.

Aftermath
Immediately following the news of Tenjo's death, the soldiers of the Ikaruga Federation lost their will to fight and the Federation surrendered. Some soldiers of the NOL attempted to continue the slaughter, but Jin ordered that no more lives were to be taken. After the end of the war, Jin was awarded by the NOL with the title "Hero of Ikaruga" and a promotion of two ranks to Major, becoming the youngest commander of a squadron in NOL history. Taro, Noel, Tsubaki Yayoi, and Makoto Nanaya attended the ceremony for his promotion.

Bang evacuated the remainder of the survivors from Ikaruga to Kagutsuchi, where they built and settled in the district of Roningai. The Ikaruga Civil War cast the NOL in a bad light as citizens took the destruction of Ibukido and Wadatsumi as a heavy-handed demonstration of the NOL's strength. Even years after the war ended, Ibukido and Wadatsumi were unable to recover, but the other four cities of the Federation eventually received restoration efforts thanks to Kagura. Ultimately, Sector Seven's attempts to create a Black Beast failed, but the amount of deaths that occurred considerably sped up the process to awaken Izanami. Tenjo, one cause of the war, had also been eliminated. The NOL was ultimately declared the victor, and the Ikaruga Federation dissolved.

The war did more than destroy Ikaruga and the lives of its citizens by affecting the lives of many others. Lotte Carmine, who was present during the attack on the Sector Seven base that housed Nirvana, dealt with his trauma by throwing himself further into his research on the Boundary, eventually leading him to becoming Arakune after some manipulation from Terumi. Ragna was left without family and was raised by Jubei; one year after the war ended, Ragna began to destroy NOL branches and, for the next few years, searched for Saya.

Kagura was later assigned to look after the Ikaruga region, becoming its reigning lord. Privately, he remained loyal to Homura and stayed in contact with Kokonoe. In the February of 2200AD, Bang was made aware of Homura's survival and was reunited with him. Izanami, awakened earlier that year, then abdicated her position to Homura before starting Doomsday and announcing it to the citizens of the world.

Novus Orbis Librarium

 * Colonel Meifang Lapislazuli - head of the Wings of Justice
 * Duodecim
 * Mutsuki
 * Colonel Kagura Mutsuki - secretly conspired with Kokonoe and Tenjo; Tenjo's former pupil
 * Captain Hibiki Kohaku - Kagura's secretary; conspired alongside Kagura
 * Kisaragi
 * Yayoi
 * Tsubaki's father - head of the Yayoi household; worked in the Imperial Guard during the war
 * Ninth Squadron
 * Captain Grimwood Huster - leader of the Ninth Squadron; deceased
 * Corporal Karenjina Parsett
 * First Lieutenant Jin Kisaragi - ended the war and became known as the ; was promoted to Major after the war
 * Corporal Honoka - Jin's assistant; was actually Hazama in disguise
 * Owl - deceased

Ikaruga Federation

 * Tenjo Amanohokosaka - former Imperator of the NOL who was secretly overthrown and head of the Ikaruga Federation; deceased
 * Homura Amanohokosaka - Tenjo's child and heir to the NOL
 * Bang Shishigami - head of the Ikaruga Ninja; was entrusted with the Phoenix: Rettenjo by Tenjo

Sector Seven

 * the Committee
 * Kokonoe
 * Iron Tager
 * Lotte Carmine
 * Bullet's Mercenary Squad - hired to retrieve the Deus Machina: Nirvana; all deceased except for Bullet and Tager
 * Azrael - hired by a Committee member to increase the headcount

Other

 * Yuuki Terumi - manipulated both Sector Seven and the NOL; attempted to awaken Izanami
 * Relius Clover - manipulated both Sector Seven and the NOL; attempted to awaken Izanami
 * Takamagahara System
 * Edgar and Claire Vermillion
 * Noel Vermillion/Mu-12
 * Lambda-11

BlazBlue: Central Fiction Library Entry
''A war fought between 2191 and 2197. Also known as the 'Second War of Ars Magus.' An alliance of Hierarchical Cities led by the 5th Hierarchical City 'Ibukido' called themselves the 'Ikaruga Federation', and declared independence. The Librarium then proceeded to suppress them by force.''
 * Ikaruga Civil War

''In reality, this war was plotted for two reasons. The first was an 'experiment' requiring the gathering of a massive number of souls, in order to smelt the 'Black Beast' once more. The second was the elimination of the 'previous Imperator.'''

Another name for the 'Ikaruga Civil War.' It was the first war 'between humans' where 'Ars Magus' was used as a weapon, but second overall, thus it has this name.
 * Second War of Ars Magus

''An incident where Sector Seven plotted to steal the Nox Nyctores Nirvana, discovered by the Librarium. The operation was a success, but Sector Seven's assault team was annihilated, with only a single survivor.''
 * Phenomena Weapon Dispossession Operation

''An experiment worked on by Sector Seven in the Ikaruga Federation in 2194. The experiment to connect with the Boundary using a Boundary Interface Prime Field Device ended in failure. Immediately afterwards, an attack by Take-Mikazuchi annihilated Ibukido.''
 * Ibukido Experiment