The Brutality (concept)
The Brutality refers to the massacre of over 200 nobles and their families in 878 IS at the funeral of High King Thamean's son Giliman at his order. The massacre is also often used to refer to the greater purge of their families, homes, and those who did not attend across Chevalie at the same time.
The massacre directly brought forth the Anarchy of the Five Crowns and the Red River War, generally considered the darkest point in Marcher history. The massacre effectively ended the lineage of the Demonteaux, Klemendair and Viligad noble families, along with two dozen other minor ones, and led to the deaths of nearly every high noble and dynastic head in Chevalie. Thamean himself would kill himself in his throne room soon after in a maddened display, and the historical account is unclear if Thamean meant to cut his wrists deep enough to bleed to death or if it was an accident. Popular tales say that he could have been saved, but his knights were too afeared and ashamed of their High King to do so, and killed themselves soon after to avenge their High King.
The massacre, besides the murders themselves, caused much controversy for the use of mercenaries leased from the Anti-Magic Orders for it. Thamean, not trusting his own men to do the deed, instead paid hefty sums to the various holy orders own mercenary companies in order to do it for him and ensure that military forces would not be able to stop them. The reputations of the Orders would be tarnished, and would not be recovered until the end of the Red River War and the sacrifice of The Champion of Chevalie, the Orders soon after declaring neutrality in Marcher politics and focusing their mercenary work abroad.