The Animas Valley
Update Seven: Bigger is Not Always Better
The collapse of Asran and Opulenth created a void that the nations of the Animas were only too happy to fill and as nations were tested, they developed new ways of coping. Even the secretive Prydda’annwfyn crept out of their forests to engage the outside world. In fact the Bear People began a long period of raiding the lands around them to the north and south. Slaves, plunder and terrorizing were their goals and they succeeded at all three. In the north a huge swath of rich land fell under their influence, but because it was not the old dark forests of their home, the bear People never fully occupied it. In the south it was much the same, but the fear of the people was so great that they cried out for help from Ereva and by 360 an uneasy truce of shared control was in place along their now shared border.
Ever since the first large scale incursion by Prydda’annwfyn into the outside world when they attacked Opulenth, the seeds of change had been slowly growing. Among the enslaved citizens of Opulenth were many educated and articulate people who, over time, became slaves of value who tutored the “cubs” and kept records. Within a generation or two, knowledge was recognized as useful and sometimes valuable. Being able to speak foreign languages was no longer looked down upon or thought as treasonous. As the Nakatai to the west struggled to resist the never-ending Gasiriakora pressure, the Prydda’annwfyn found themselves building strong ties to this doomed tribe of the Ksilotai. The Sedayans and Kanese pushed their borders right up to the edges of the traditional Prydda’annwfyn forest. The borders were generally quiet, but all sides were watchful. With war on the borders an ongoing event, the internal fighting between clans lessened and the power of the monarchy weakened and the Argylli (nobility) and clan warlords grew in power. It was in this period that a strong element of fanaticism crept into and grew in the Prydda’annwfyn culture. Den sites of religious significance grew in importance and influence. The great drought of 364-369 brought the border raids to halt as all the people of the central river valley struggled to eek out a living from a drying landscape.
In Ereva the decades of mid century were among the most prosperous it had ever known. The rapid growth of the empire had brought all the shortcomings of traditional rule to the surface. Janus III, rightly called “The Great” was a wise and virtuous ruler. Throughout his long rule he worked diligently to make his nation great. He created provinces overseen by governors. He organized land ownership into those acres controlled by the lords and lesser nobles, the acres farmed by ‘free farmers’ and the lands that supported the religious clans. Governors collected taxes, kept records and recorded inventories of the people and wealth of their province for the king. In 365 Janus began a twenty year project to rebuild his capital city. The city became spacious and well watered; its ramparts were large and formidable and circled an impressive fortified acropolis that dominated the city center. The city of Ereva was a jewel at the naval of the world. Like the nine gods of the Ereval pantheon, nine temples topped the acropolis and they attracted the faithful from throughout the land. And sometimes the not so faithful made an appearance. In 373 a philosopher called Anno took up residence in Ereva and collected a small, but loyal following among the educated youth of the city. In his journey to the city he developed the idea of a single god that ruled over the entire world. He taught his radical ideas through simple stories and parables like the ‘Mysterious Multiplying’, ‘the Counting House’ and ‘Hat Tricks’. Anno made many of the priests nervous.
For the Gasiriakora these years were all about war, total, relentless and ongoing war against the Nakatai and the desire to rebuild the empire lost many years ago. As it ebbed and flowed over the decades, this war forced many changes among the ruling elite. Royal power continued to decay under Akurogos III, Kassiterogetos I and Erutogeros II, with the Gasiria (the military aristocracy and the council of military aristocrats) assuming more and more power. The figurehead monarchs offered little resistance; instead, the main power-struggles was between the wealthiest aristocrats in the Gasiria and the Poleketos (supreme commander and annually-elected head of the council), both vying for the allegiance of the poorer Gasiriai. Power fluctuated between the two and over time the ongoing warfare and the gradual professionalization of the military gradually turned the Poleketos into genuine political force. The Cult of Are-Ahermis continued to develop and expand until the other gods of the pantheon came to be seen as aspects or avatars of Are-Ahermis. Because of Are-Ahermis' essential nature as a wandering god, the lack of a particular geographic attachment and his affiliation with traders helped spread this religion into other territories much more easily. Casual armies were no longer possible and over time, organization, equipment discipline and leadership become more important than valor or individual skill. These changes led to improved tactics and battlefield maneuvers. Slowly and painfully the Gasiriakora regained their ancient lands and squeezed the Nakatai up against the fearful forest of the Bear people. Even in the years of drought the Gasiriakora pressed their attack and used fire as a weapon in the dry summers to burn their enemies without mercy. The captured lands were often devastated lands and they took many years to recover.
War was on the mines of the Kanaese lords and Tongjun (general) Han Tzu and Shizhi Zhang Ding spent six years conquering the dying empire of Opulenth and it struggling warlords. Most of that now dead nation fell to them and to the banner of Kana. In fact the Kanese expansion only stopped when it met the southbound troops of the Sedaya. Diligent diplomacy kept war at bay and both nations accepted the status quo. It was in the east that the Kanese met their match. Propelled by easy victories over the decaying Opulenth, Shizhi Zhang Ding attacked the emboldened kingdom of Chim that had newly arisen from the ashes of Shekek. In this two year war, at every turn the Shizhi was bested and his armies turned back. Some attributed the setbacks to his advancing age, others to difficult terrain and still others to the power of the Chim weapons which were clearly stronger and better than anything the Kana possessed. But the king was determined and kept his armies fighting until he died of a fever far from home and family. Zhang Lian assumed his role as Shizhi and his Erevan wife Ma-li the title of Shinu. Her popularity among the common people and eight children (two sons and six daughters) became the foundation for the Kanese obsession with eight as a lucky number. Her preference for red silk made red eight an even luckier combination. It was during the rule of Zhang Liana and Ma-li that the growing size of the empire made ruling it ever more difficult. To keep the nation in tact the Shizhi expanded the bureaucracy and made sure that his officials were trained in the work they had to do. Examinations became routine for those who were to work in government positions.
It was in Sedaya that the most radical of changes took place. In six years of war the armies of Sedaya conquered the failing Asran and took control of much of the old empire of the west, but the war was not lead by a great king. The kings of Asran were weak and power shifted from the royal house to the noble class who were increasingly influenced by the rising power of the Sedainan priesthood. Fanaticism became a strong thread in the wars against the Asran and the second, bitter cup that followed. As the power of the priests rose the influence of the traders diminished and fewer and fewer ventured north. As the wars progressed the ebb only increased. Once the great armies had swept into and conquered the west they were restless and riding a high tide of glorious victory. So they turned north into the land of the Hinsa Hinga to add to their brightness of their star. They brought all the lands south of the great river under the lordship of Sedaya and sought even greater glory for their gods before the walls of Hinsa Hinga itself. The bowmen of the north were more than ready and the arrows of the ‘Cult of the Bow’ rained down without mercy upon an army who had yet to face such a determined foe. Ballista arrows cut great swaths through their ranks, sharp arrows driven by bows of exceptional power sliced through armor and then flesh. The Sedayan troops had little opportunity to engage the Hinsa in melee and when they did their ranks usually had been previously decimated by archers. The attack failed and the army driven back across the rivers and back to their own homeland. The Hinsa Hinga were satisfied with saving their nation and humiliating their enemy and did not press on into the heartland of Sedaya. With the treasury drained and the army broken there was relief among the nobility that the Hinsa Hinga were not so aggressive.
With their success against the armies of Sedaya the Zarnaks of Hinsa Hinga rejoiced and their people prospered. Peace brought more trade and the cities and towns of the western mountains grew wealthy. The merchants there even noticed that more and more nomads from the endless steppe lands of the north were coming south to trade. And then in 382 the greatest of the peaks in the Ash Mountains exploded filling the skies with fire and smoke and devastating all the lands around. Fear spread throughout the land as news this omen of death and evil travelled south.
Many nations in the Animas grew quickly and large. Those same nations also suffered from that growth in the cost of having such a large nation. National upkeep for many went from zero to 1 or more. The larger armies also cost more to have and maintain. As empires grow they are faced with new challenges to stay solvent.
341-390
345-363 Bear People raid border areas
341-347 Kana attacks Opulenth
344-350 Sedaya attacks Asran
352-357 Sedaya war with Hinsa Hinga
355-357 Kana attacks Shekek
358 Ereva reorganizes the nation
364-369 Gasiriakora and Kana suffer droughts
365-386 Ereva City rebuilt
372- 381 Gasiriakora fights the Nakatai
374 The year of the great flood of the Animas bring destruction and devastation to the Bear People, Sedaya, and Ereva
382 Volcano erupts in the Ash Mountains
I'm no longer on the top of the heap 
CURSE YOU CHIM! Then again, it is a blessing in disguise since without challenges my nations usually crumble into stagnancy or I get bored with my never-ending successes... 
