Mad King? Pfft. How many of his own children has he personally slaughtered? You know, back in MY day, we had to earn our Mad King titles. Now it's just a cheap label slapped on any old ruler with a bit of cranky disposition.
But seriously, I would say it is SA inasmuch as SA is being used for a vehicle for propaganda and alliance-making in this particular war. Allison did openly call for rebellion against Asylon in SA discussions. Magistratum and counter-Magistratums were made by opposing sides. Now obviously there's nothing official, no 'crusades' declared, the Prophet is silent... but official-ness doesn't mean so much when it comes to grinding a realm into the dirt by any means possible.
In that sense, all SA has done is provide a way for people to make connections with each other. Which has always been a big part of what makes it great. It's huge. You can talk to half the island if you're a member, and if you're a good politician or diplomat you can leverage that into an enormous amount of power. That doesn't mean that what's happening is Church policy, either officially or unofficially.
