1st Morbillist Crusade
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The First Morbillist Crusade was an attempt to covert the countries of Greece and Cost Rica to Morbillism. This crusade failed miserably and possibly made enemies of both countries.
Name
The name stems from the fact this crusade happened to be the first of the religion. Despite no other crusades occurring, an optimism has surrounded the idea of the crusades, hence why more than one is expected.
History
Archdeacon Lucien Worley was the creator and largest supporter of the First Morbillist Crusade. He has said the idea came to him on October 23, 2022, and he suggested the idea to the pope the next day. On October 24, the Morbillist pope as well as several Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, priests, and Lucien himself, numbering roughly 50 total, all gathered to discuss the idea. The meeting lasted 5 hours and the plan was presented to the cabinet on October 26, most likely to gain funds. On December 7, the ships holding the 1200 crusaders left the harbor, and a day of worship was commenced to pray for a safe journey.
Arrival
On December 30, 2022, the fleet known as the Bats arrived in Costa Rica, and the fleet known as the Children arrived in Greece on March 6, 2023. Upon arrival, both groups began chanting lines from the script of Morbius, as well as acting out scenes selected by Lucien. This caused quite a stir, and a small crowd gathered in both countries. When noon rolled around, the crusaders began making Morbius theater popcorn for lunch. It has been reported that a townsperson in Greece tried to tried to steal some of the sacred snack, but these have not been confirmed. The crowds in both countries stopped to listen to a priest read the script of Morbius. After lunch, the two groups got up and went on their way. This, however, is where the similarities between the two trips ends.
Costa Rica
The planned route the crusaders would be taking would have them going south to Puerto Limón and then making their way to San Jose. They were robbed in the middle of the night on January 2, just miles away from Puerto Limón, though this would make little difference as they were stopped by authorities on January 5 while trying to leave the area. A few of the less competent of the members attempted to escape and in the confusion a fight broke out. While the police were hopelessly outnumbered, one of them managed to capture Graham Jackson, a powerful man and generous donor to the church. The fighting ceased almost immediately, and all of the crusaders, numbering over 500, were detained until the Federated States of Morbius could negotiate a deal with the officials in Costa Rica. After a deal was struck, all of the crusaders went home almost immediately and the Federated States paid a small fee to pay for the treatment of minor injuries the officers involved suffered. Not much else was done on the part of the Federated states of Morbius, as the news never left the country. The group arrived at home on February 5, 2023.
Greece
The group in Greece made it slightly further. After reaching Patras on March 7, they were greeted by a man whose name will not be disclosed for diplomacy reasons, and from now on will be known as Peely. This man told the crusaders he could get them in touch with Kostas Peletidis, the current mayor of Patras. He then invited some specific individuals of varying influence to his place of residence for the night. When these individuals returned in the morning, they were quiet and refused to speak about their time away from the rest of the crusaders. This event created a divide within the group, and many became suspicious of the group who had met with Peely. After several nights of this same occurrence, the group which had been excluded captured several of the others when they returned, and a massive fight broke out. Unlike what had occurred in Costa Rica, there was nobody to intervene. When the infighting died down, close to 100 were dead and over half of the group was injured. Among the fallen was a bishop and 2 townspeople who were caught in the fray. The entire group left hours later, after legislature voted for the crusade to end. Their ships failed to return to the Morbian archipelago, as they sank during the journey home.