North King
blech
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- Jan 2, 2004
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The Kbrilma Sea has always been an Arta Xorti lake, waters where even the Opulensi rarely sailed. The states of Zirais, Dinyart, Leheb, Baharr, and Nahar have almost always existed in a status quo; the last real development was when Baharr and Dinyart fractured over a century ago. Otherwise, they have mostly merely sat there, the armies gathering cobwebs and the people moldering away in obscurity, tending to tiny, dry farms, or fishing in the vast seas.
So it was, anyway, when the sailor Vadeni had come to the region. A trader of no small talent, he also had a knack for making the most of a situation: a knack that would lead him through his ascension to the position of Grand Admiral of the Eastern Sea in the Trilui navy. But all that would come later; for the moment, he was but a lowly captain, and for the moment, he had but a single ship under him.
Still, it was his voyage around the Kbrilma Sea which began a series of changes in the area. Stopping in on the ancient and revered isle of Dinyart, it was he who first hinted at an agreement for trade between this isolated land and the Trilui. Initially it looked as though it might go through on the force of his will alone, which would have given the westerners a much better position than even the local Opulensi, but eventually it fell through; by this time, Vadeni had continued onwards.
A quick side trip to Stad Men was fairly unprofitable iron ore was exceedingly low priced that year but he did get valuable maps to the region. He rounded the sea, selling grain to Zirais and Nahar, making a stop at Baharr to sell some products of the far north, and finally ended up in Epichirisi proper, where he bought an entire load of spices.
It turned out that this was an excellent time for that, for his arrival led to a minor dispute over customs duties that finally triggered an open conflict between the Tranos family and the King. War flared up both on land and at sea, drawing in nearly the entire Epichirisi nation, and leaving the other Opulensi to sell their spices as a much increased rate while the struggle continued. Vadeni made a handsome profit selling the spices in Trovin more importantly, he had opened the gateway for more Trilui traders.
The newcomers to the trade network began to spread their own culture, which led to not a few tensions, and more than one fight between the forces of change and those of conservatism. In Dinyart, for example, the old farmers of the island faced open rebellion from the people of the towns, supported by the priests of the most holy of all Indagahor sites. This eventually led, with Trilui support, to the toppling of the conservative government there, and the installation of a much more pro-Western ruler.
Even as the Epichirisi war began to end (in the favor of the king, who had installed the first professional land force on the Opulensi Island) and the Dinyart civil war concluded, another, perhaps even more significant war began, with the invasion of Nahar by Zirais.
The tiny desert city state seemed doomed to succumb to an amphibious operation by its neighbor, but they luckily had one of the greatest tactical geniuses of this age. Ruman of Nahar was able to elude the capture of his city with a few hundred militia, fleeing to the other side of the bay.
When the Zirais attempted to catch him at his campsite by yet another attack via the water, he defeated them on the beaches, and retreated inland, with some claiming he would invade Zirais itself to turn the tables. This prompted a panicked overland dispatch of more forces from the large state, which blundered directly into a trap Ruman had set for them: the entire Zirais army was defeated in a single fortnight.
With no one to oppose him, he retook his own capital, proclaiming himself the despot of Nahar in the process, conquered Zirais and the tribes in between, and took the navy of the latter for good measure. In the end, he had managed to carve out an impressive empire from such a small starting point.
Zirai-Nahari War: -Zirais
Epichirisi Civil War: -500 militia, -100 professionals
Dinyart Civil War: -1,000 militia
By this time, of course, the Trilui homeland had itself experienced some changes. While Trovin continued relatively unhindered in conducting all the business associated with its central status, the outlying regions evolved at an increased pace. The client state of Pekorova had been integrated into the Trilui, which went over surprisingly smoothly due to careful planning by the administration of both countries. The old Sesh provinces, too, were forged into productive members of the empire with a hefty investment.
Meanwhile, a great deal of expansion in the Evinui Hills was able to go forward, though few were ready to volunteer as settlers: the Astrii tribes to the north proved quarrelsome, and occasionally they launched expeditions southwards that destroyed a farm or two.
It has been said that in times of war,
The Trilui only lust for more;
Their clothes forever crimson be,
Such is the way of the Trilui.
The Trilui only lust for more;
Their clothes forever crimson be,
Such is the way of the Trilui.
~ Hamakuan verse
At the beginning of this period, the Trilui Empire seemed to be only at a stepping stone a pause before the final push to true greatness. At this point, they were easily the greatest empire in the known world, but history still challenged them, and the Empire of the Sesh still had a grander legacy. The Emperor did not care for those who said this, but he also did not care about them. More was to come, and soon.
The defeat of the Second Empire in the west had solidified the credentials of the naval powers war machine, but simultaneously, they were harassed from the south by their old rivals in Hamakua. A simple naval expedition rescued the colony of Sivi and destroyed half the Hamakuan navy, but it had not brought the nation itself down. Now the Emperor had the time and resources for vengeance.
A fleet of seventy-five ships sailed from Trovin to aid the naval squadron of fifty already at Sivi: it was a grand sight, cheered by the children as the masts vanished one by one over the horizon. A complement of over four thousand men were joined to them, and the first leg of the mission was easily successful: they wrested control of the old city of Waipio from the Hamakuans with far fewer losses.
Battle of Waipio: -500 Hamakuan militia; -250 Trilui militia
As the main expedition of 125 galleys churned their way southwards with more soldiers, an envoy left Waipio, traveling northwards. He arrived in the camps of the Rannish barbarians, who had ever been fierce and feared raiders of the peninsula, and in the end, offered them iron weapons, advisors, and an alliance against the Hamakua. For a half-starving, always shunned barbarian tribe, it was an offer too good to refuse: they accepted it happily. Within a month, the horde had left the foothills of the Kotthorns and were marching south.
Word had been sent southwards as well, and the Hanakahi joined the war against their ancient motherland as well. While the addition of Kona to the enemy forces was somewhat unexpected, the Trilui commanders viewed it as simply a roadblock. Their own forces alone might be enough to win this battle, and with thousands of barbarian allies and nearly 1600 warriors from the southern nation, it would be an easy battle.
With only a couple of ships lost to storms or minor skirmishes, the Trilui rounded Cape Manakea in a few weeks, and were within striking range of the main allied forces. However, wisely, the admiral declined to immediately attack, and instead secured a base for his communications, attacking the neutral city-state of Annua and the nearby Hamakuan isles. The island city was caught off-guard, and ten of its ships were destroyed in the harbor as the militia fought valiantly to the bitter end; the Trilui shrugged off the losses and prepared for their final strike towards the Hamakuan capital.
Battle of Annua: -500 Annuan militia, -10 ships; -250 Trilui militia, -5 ships
The final strike was carefully planned: one force was to come from the south those men who had just conquered Annua. Another was to come from Hanakahi, with minor detachments ensuring that Kona could not come to their allys rescue. The forces from Waipio would link up with the Rannish army and march from the north. North, southeast, south they had the Hamakuan capital on three sides.
The enemy was not idle, however, and an enterprising Annuan admiral, Makaala, managed to link forces with the Konaese and the Hamakuans to bring their combined force to an astounding 124 galleys: a force that was supposed to be unknown outside of the Trilui navy itself. Makaala had found what he called the perfect place as well: where the straits narrowed just north of Annua itself between the islands. They were able to avoid detection and set themselves directly across the Trilui path, catching the invaders navy utterly by surprise.
Set between a rocky ridge on each shore, the Kawai Straits offered little room for the unloading of soldiers or of cargo. The Trilui decided to go into battle with them anyway, and board the enemy ships, which were relatively free of troops, but the added weight (especially of the sails) made their ships unwieldy and far less seaworthy than the Trilui were used to. The enemy closed rapidly, and minimized the possibilities for boarding by ramming the Trilui ships directly in the sides: bronze heads crashed into the waterline and sank many vessels.
It was an unmitigated disaster, and the Trilui admiral, recognizing it was likely he would be blamed, did not order a retreat, but instead plunged directly into the fray in a suicidal rush. His ship was torn apart, of course, but worse, there was no central command. When the northerners did pull back, it was haphazard and ragged; the waters were thick with their blood.
Battle of Kawai: -120 Trilui ships, -750 militia, -250 professionals; -15 Konaese ships; -15 Hamakuan ships; -4 Annuan ships
There were still two other forces advancing against Hamakua, of course, and neither of them had heard of the defeat at sea. The Hanakahi, however, were held up by rather more determined Konaese resistance than they had expected, and were unable to arrive in time for battle.
The commander of the joint barbarian-Trilui force was wary of committing his forces, given his allies obvious absence, but the Hamakuans marched boldly into battle, heartened by the news of their victory. The trouble was, they were still outnumbered by over two to one and they were certainly less experienced than the Trilui, less determined than the Rannish. The Trilui general put his professionals in the center, which the Hamakuans matched, but his militia on the left managed to put the Hamakuan right to flight, while the Rannish did an excellent job of pinning the enemy left. They were able to roll up the defenders line, and few managed to escape back to the city of Haleaka.
In the end, the Trilui were not able to take the city, and settled down for a long, hard siege, while their barbarian allies, growing restless, were sent on raids and an expedition to capture Hanakea, which was successful. The siege, however, was ineffectual, due to the continuing presence of ninety allied ships off the coast.
Battle of Haleaka: -2,000 Hamakuan militia, -500 professionals; -1,250 Trilui militia, -250 professionals; -2,000 Rannish infantry
Eventually, of course, word flitted back to Trovin itself of the three battles Waipio was met with contentment, Kawai with horror, and Haleaka with only a little relief. The Emperor ordered a second expedition to be mounted to the south, with another 1,000 professionals, 2,500 militia, and a staggering 200 warships all told. It was a mighty force, to be sure, but its sheer size meant that some of the customary defenses against piracy could not be maintained to their fullest extent incomes declined slightly.
To command the expedition, the Emperor put his trust in the best sailor he had the rising star of Admiral Vadeni. His force was met with no cheers on its departure, only a grim farewell by the wives of the soldiers. After several weeks of rough sailing, in which nearly 10 galleys were lost to bad weather, it arrived at Hanakahi itself, where they resupplied for a strike at Annua, which had been reoccupied.
With no effective land army, the Annuans let their capital be taken again. Admiral Makaala did not expect to catch the Trilui at Kawai this time, and rightly withdrew after his rear was threatened by a detachment that had been sent around the island; his forces were forced to offer battle in the bay of the second-largest island in the Annuan chain, Kainalu. It was hardly the best of positions, but it wasnt the worst the Hamakuans knew these somewhat enclosed waters better than the Trilui.
Therefore, naturally, Vadeni refused to give them battle on their own terms, and instead attempted to lure them out with signs of apparent weakness among his own fleet, but Makaala was far too clever an admiral to take such bait. Thus, Vadeni resorted to his land forces.
Detaching a large force of 250 professionals and 500 militia, he landed it on the south of the island. It proceeded overland to attack the allied fleet at its coastal camp; they were forced to make a rapid retreat as a few Konaese soldiers bought them time. However, this flight brought them directly into the path of Vadenis navy.
Finally able to get the battle he wanted, in open waters, Vadeni made his Trilui sailors seamanship show, as they outmaneuvered and destroyed both the left and the center of the enemy fleet. Only the right was able to escape, with a mere twenty-five ships under the banner of Makaala; the Admiral had won a glorious victory for the Empire.
Battle of Kainalu: -35 Konaese ships, -250 militia; -20 Hamakuan ships; -10 Annuan ships; -50 Trilui ships
With naval superiority clearly in their favor, the Trilui were able to make quick time to Hanakea, which Vadeni finally put under blockade. Though disease ran rampant through both the ships and the lines on land, it was judged that more men would be lost in a fruitless assault: after half a year, the capital of Hamakua and the last formal authority of that state surrendered.
Siege of Hanakea: -Hamakua; -1,000 Rannish infantry; -500 Trilui militia, -250 professionals
Business, of course, had to be cleared up, and the Trilui decided to aid their allies in Hanakahi, invading Kona both by sea and from the north along the coast. With less than two thousand militia being all that defended their city, Kona, too, fell, but rather more easily, as they wanted to avoid the decrepit state that Hanakea had fallen into after the prolonged siege.
Battle of Kona: -Kona; -500 Hanakahi militia; -250 Trilui militia
At long last, Hamakua had been utterly destroyed: one of the two great rivals to the Trilui had been destroyed. But the cost had been massive: over 2,500 Tui for the logistics, 175 ships, 3,250 militia, and 750 professionals. At four thousand men it was over a tenth of the usable manpower of the Empire, and the ships would be costly to replace. Far worse, however, from a long term perspective was the declining incomes of the Empire due to rising piracy, not to mention the cost of maintaining a presence in old Hamakua, which drained more and more Tui out of the treasury every year in order to replace fallen troops and keep the living fed.
Worse still, the political situation of old Hamakua had soured considerably after the war was done. Hanakahi had always been under the impression that they would get the lions share of Hamakua, and the introduction of the Rannish as an ally, crucial as it had been to success at Hanakea, was viewed as something of a snub; the appropriation of half the territory into the new state of Rann was much more. The Zyeshu to the north also viewed this new arrival with suspicion, while Rann itself was difficult to keep together; just about the only thing holding the kings authority constant was his ties to that faraway Emperor in Trovin.
Even as tensions rose between the two states, a Konaese rebellion began in the Hanakahi lands, forcing them to maintain a large presence there to keep it contained; suppressing it proved too difficult as of yet.
Perhaps the most dangerous of all difficulties yet was the escape of the twenty-five allied ships, which initially had proved a mystery. The answer to the puzzle was not a welcome one Makaala had set up shop across the Gulf from his old homeland, and was busily raiding not only the minor coastal states there, but often crossing the Gulf to raid Trilui possessions. It required a constant naval presence of nearly a hundred ships by the end of the period, which prevented any resolution of the rising pirate trend in the north, as well.
There are half a dozen nations or so that are nearly surrounded by the Trilui but strong enough to remain independent. These are the Farou, the Huut, Palmyra, Treha, Neruss, and a few more minor players. Though they often find their economies rising and falling with the tides of the Trilui, they by no means think of themselves as part of the Empire, and their armies and rulers make that belief a reality.
Treha began the period with the announcement of a Great Harbor, to cost in the region of 2500 gold pieces. It actually consisted of two harbors, an inner military one, and an outer commercial hub. In reality, it was mostly a massive renovation and expansion of the current harbor, but it was a welcome one, with the massive statue at the gates inspiring pride if nothing else. It would also make the city nearly immune to all but the most determined amphibious attacks not to be sneered at, with the recent events in Hamakua.
Complementing this was the conclusion of a protracted, multiple decade long campaign against pirates. While of course pirates are not eliminated (it would take a lot more than just patrols and expeditions to do that), their threat is massively reduced in the Treha archipelago itself, while the Chimoai islands to the south have also seen a decline in piracy. This has led to the small island nation picking up quite almost all of the trade that the Trilui were losing during the period to their own pirate problem.
Palmyra began to see a slight turn towards the sea during the period, as their people increasingly began to fish for a living and the trade fleet was expanded. However, the fields also saw a slight boost in productivity as an ancient predecessor of the crop rotation system was brought into practice. This granted several decent sized agricultural surpluses, expanding the population as well as the income. Expansion into the south combined with new mining technologies to harness deposits of copper in the hills, which, while not as profitable as the old tin mining industry, was certainly welcomed by the government.
In Farou, change was certainly occurring, but it was altogether too slow to be noticed by any but the historian. The Senate managed to gain more and more power with the accession of every new, weak king. With a firmer hand in the national budget, they were able to divert more of it to the bread and circuses that the people loved. However, it was not just crass entertainment that they sponsored: the first true theater in the world might be said to have been founded in the city of Farou proper.
This generally cosmopolitan aura certainly made the Farou one of the worlds premier cultures. More than that, however, it provided a beacon of hope. As the nation of Hamakua fell into ruins due to the invasion of the Trilui, the famous and numerous community of musicians and poets that resided in the ancient nation found themselves plunged into chaos. Many found their way to the one refuge that seemed likely to not only accept them, but give them a place to thrive Farou. The injection of new art forms and new strains of thought into the Farou society proved to have a great positive effect on the nation.
To the south, the ancient Huut Empire seemed to shake itself awake from a century of lethargy and corrupt rulers, and under the rule of the indomitable Ijakablatadka began to reassert itself. The government spent vast sums investing into the agricultural surpluses of the western portion of the nation, where agriculture began to grow steadily, especially when farming techniques arrived from Palmyra (along with 500 gold in repayment for the province of Palmyra proper). This was mirrored in the growth of the nation itself, which expanded once again to the foothills of the Kotthorns.
When Ijakablatadka finally died, his people decided to erect a massive statue of the deceased lord or at least, his son and their ruler did. The Tu'Ijakablatadka was bound to become one of the wonders of the world, and perhaps sooner than might have been thought, given the experience of the Huut with monumental architecture.
Meanwhile, the nation of Neruss began this era with a vast set of new territories to rule over this was the ancient land of Akalm. With most of the Parda Hills under their control, Neruss became extremely wealthy from the gold mined there, especially after they sold some of the mines to enterprising Seshweay businessmen. This, combined with joint military exercises solidified the alliance between the two nations, though when no threats to New Seshweay, they decided to go on the offensive instead.
Thus, Neruss invaded the small desert state of Gyza on its southern frontier. A tiny Hafnid city founded on the site of an oasis, it was just the infancy of a cross-desert trade. The Nerussian army descended upon it quickly, with the age-old merchant trick popularized in Arkage being used once again to bring the city to its knees nearly bloodlessly. The conquest was a swift and simple one, all told, but it might be noted that cities in the region are starting to grow rather wary of merchants coming with large, unusually shaped packages in their carts.
Meanwhile, the great general of Thrasten, renowned throughout the region as one of the greatest ever to come out of Neruss has overthrown the old primitive government that once ruled over the nation, and established a Republic in its place. Even though he died before the end of the period, his tenure as First Prefect will surely continue as a worthy example throughout the ages for the people of Neruss.
The other great empire of the known world is, of course, Krato. Once a tiny nation on the very fringe of the map, the Uggor tribes have managed to build a very big nation on the fringe of the map. The conquest of Thearak, once a dream that would have seemed impossible, has long since succeeded: almost all who follow Iralliam are under a single banner. It is easily the greatest power in the south now (who would challenge it?), and is fairly safe from other avenues: it is far from the Trilui bases of power, and who would be mad enough to cross the Kotthorns?
Ironically, Krato herself crossed the Kotthorns, or at least one of the many gaps in the range; an expedition from her lands met up with an expedition from Bahra that had been heading south: they were able to establish a trade route fairly quickly. Immediately wild animals and ivory were exchanged for the horses and gold of the north; both nations were duly satisfied. Krato was told of the events of the north, which had always been somewhat distorted by the long routes the news had taken. They learned of the old Sesh and their fall; they learned of the return of the Seshweay, of the expansion of Bahra, and of nations that were even further north, but these were hazy even in the Bahrai conception of the world.
At the same time, Krato was making expeditions in the opposite direction, to the far south. Ships had plied the Galas Sea for ages, of course, but the stormy waters precluded more thorough exploration. Now they rounded the bend, and continued onwards until they found a sheltered, almost pleasant cove; here they anchored, and in time further expeditions set up a full colony here. The natives were not overly friendly, but neither were they deeply hostile, and while the jungle climate was different from what the Uggor were used to, it was not all that estranged from their savannah background.
Mining explorations payed off as new veins of tin were found, which was still valued the world over, though not as much as it had been. Continuing integration of the old Thearaki lands meant still more income went to the crown as well, however the movement of some Uggor and Duroc into these lands raised the ire of many natives, who saw their lands usurped in favor of the invaders. Still, times were easy, and Krato became a major exporter of grain, especially to the increasingly impoverished east as the Hamakuan farming system collapsed.
For its part, Bahra had done surprisingly little during the period, though the king once again underestimated the cost of his military and began to acquire a debt. That was a fairly minor blip on an otherwise good record, as the Bahrai managed to expand northwards, incorporating several of the tribes who had previously allied themselves to the nation against the Second Empire. The contact with Krato brought quite a lot of wealth to the southern lands as well, even though trade had to be funneled through another state (Moti). In addition, they learned themselves of the wars between the Uggor and Liealb, as one nation consumed the other; they also first learned of the religion of Iralliam.
There is one nation yet in the world which has confused many tyrants. For at least the Farou have a king, little though they listen to him; these Seshweay do not even have that. There is no one above; the Senate is made of those who are duly elected by the people. There is no absolute ruler, and all are under a common law.
In recent times the Republic has expanded considerably, retaking its homeland the lower Sesh valley. This was viewed as a somewhat worthless conquest by some, as it had been so ravaged by decades of war. Now, however, it has gradually grown to become one of the worlds major agricultural regions, as it once was; indeed, the Republic is one of the biggest exporters of grain (aided by a reduction in tariffs). The former state of depopulation has been rectified with a flood of refugees from the former land of Tisesh, who did not trust yet another foreign ruler.
One of the other major economic bright spots for the Republic was the purchase of many of the gold mines in Neruss, which not only managed to enrich the merchants, but gave Seshweay itself a steady supply of gold; combined with agricultural surpluses and a new ivory trade from the far south, this made the Seshweay the largest center of economic activity in its region, especially the major trade cities of Onesh, Mahid, and increasingly the newfound Pa.
By comparison the religious and judicial arms of society would seem to be unchanging, but that is not so. The new School of Ayaseis grew massively in popularity, and the new generation of Unity priests helped to redefine the religion for future generations: their tireless efforts abroad managed to spread the cult of Ancestor Worship to other nations as well. The Magistrates should not be overlooked either; it was their efforts which ensured the easy integration of the Sesh region into the Republic; indeed their harsh prosecution of crimes by any man, Seshweay or Arkage, drew much acclaim from the locals; indeed, any residual hatred has died away. The division between Seshweay and Arkage, which had for so long driven the regions strife, had all but disappeared.
Alliances have been made with both Styr and Kardil, which led to further gains for the cult of Ancestor Worship, and both have agreed to allow the Sesh to set up trading posts: though outside of their kingdom, and not inside as the Republic would have liked.