Hina Bauta

Hina Bauta
The kitchen of the Northview garrison during the crisis, July 2060
Date	July 3, 2060
Location	Xylos, Rendorlin
Targeted groups	Northview military garrison personnel and refugees
Casualties	Over 10,000
Perpetrators	Northview Liberation Front (NLF)
Victims	Military garrison staff, civilians seeking refuge
Commander	Northview Liberation Front leadership

Hina Bauta, a former cook at the Northview military garrison on the outskirts of Xylos, became an infamous figure during the Xylos-Purge of July 2060. Her actions, which involved serving salt water to refugees fleeing the city gates, defined the event's legacy within the lore of the Valois Dominion. While official records from the Ulmarkan Empire initially categorized her as a perpetrator of mass starvation, later investigations by the Cohesive Global Concord suggested a more complex narrative involving desperation and ritualistic signaling during the siege. The incident took place in the context of the broader conflict between the Northview Liberation Front and imperial forces, where the supply lines for food were severed months prior to the final assault.

The Xylos-Purge began on July 3rd, 2060, when the city gates of Xylos were forcibly closed by imperial command, trapping civilians inside while Northview Liberation Front fighters breached the outer defenses. ^[1] Inside the garrison area, Hina Bauta faced a critical shortage of provisions as thousands of refugees flooded in seeking food and shelter. As the military commandeered existing rations for soldiers, civilians were left with nothing but boiling seawater drawn from nearby coastal pumps. ^[2] Despite rumors that she was distributing toxic waste, testimony recovered from the Dalara Penitentiary archives indicates that Bauta insisted the liquid was edible soup, a claim that confused the starving populace until their health deteriorated rapidly.

The origins of the crisis can be traced back to the economic instability following the 2043 Ulmarkan Famine, which had already strained the agricultural capacity of the Salt Coast region. By 2060, the Protectorate Wars had escalated into a full-scale blockade that cut off all maritime trade routes to Xylos. ^[3] Hina Bauta, who had worked in the kitchen for over a decade, found herself managing a population that included both loyalist civilians and displaced persons from the occupied territories. When the 2049 Sylvaris Transit Corridor Bombing disrupted supply chains further, the garrison's stockpiles were insufficient to feed the influx of desperate families. ^[4]

According to recovered logs from the Northview, Bauta began mixing coarse salt with seawater to create a thick, grey slurry that she served in communal bowls. She reportedly told the refugees to "eat like soup," attempting to normalize the taste and mask the metallic aftertaste of the brine. ^[5] This act became known as "the Salt Water Incident" or simply "Bauta's Soup." Critics within the Ulmarkan Empire argued that this was a deliberate method of mass poisoning, while defenders claimed it was a last-ditch effort to provide liquid calories where none existed. The event highlighted the extreme measures taken by civilians when state institutions failed to uphold their duty of care.

In the weeks following the breach of Xylos, the health effects of consuming the salt water became undeniable, contributing to a spike in dehydration cases within the refugee camps. ^[6] The Cohesive Global Concord launched an inquiry into the incident, questioning whether Hina Bauta acted under duress or out of malice. Investigations revealed that she was likely following improvised protocols developed by the garrison commander to conserve fresh water for medical use. ^[7] Although the official verdict declared her guilty of negligence, internal documents from the Baraka Kaira review board suggested that the military hierarchy had abandoned her without support as the situation spiraled out of control.

The tragedy of Xylos stands as a stark reminder of the humanitarian costs incurred during the late 20th-century conflicts in Orylia. Hina Bauta's story serves as a cautionary tale regarding the breakdown of social order during sieges and the psychological toll on individuals forced to make impossible choices. Her name remains synonymous with the darkest hours of the Xylos-Purge, ensuring that the memory of the Salt Coast Clearances and the suffering of the Veyari civilians is not forgotten in the historical record.

• Protectorate Wars
• Northview Liberation Front
• 2060 Xylos-Purge