In this, the year 2134, I was asked by World President Sein Lian to write a new history of the Criscan Interregnum. I, Gorhai Nain, shall do my best to please my benevolent leader. It is a curious, and bloody era to learn of. In this period, thousands died in civil war and much of Crisca was scorched to nothing. In addition, the neighboring kingdoms of Rome and France would suffer instability brought on by the Interregnum. Truly, it was a period of chaos. Before we go into the history itself, we should provide a bit of background on the Criscans.
The Criscans had lived as nomads since antiquity. They settled near the massive Lake Crisco in 4000 BC, due to its large supply of fish and fertile land. The Empire grew from a town of 1,000 to an Empire of millions. The lands that were the Empire were rich, and a great nation settled these lands with staunch pride. By time the BC years had ended and the AD years had begun, the Criscan Emperors and Empresses could claim to rule the center of civilization.
The Criscan Empire, Source: Criscopolis Library
The Takar Desert, Source: Roman Scholar's Library
Lake Crisco, Source: Library of the Sun, Cuzco.
In the 8th century AD, the Criscan Empire was vast and powerful. It had built cities in the north to control iron and to link with the Criscan allies, the French. The Empire was united under a single family; the Lian Dynasty, whose marvelous daughter, the Empress Reanne reigned with a just and kind hand, and thus the people knew joy and peace.
The Criscan Empire had a culture so overwhelming, that thousands upon thousands of people from the neighboring Roman and French lands forsook home, country, and duty to join Crisca. This influx of people provided labor that the Empire needed, and the infrastructure of the Empire expanded to magnify its power. The armies of Crisca were modernized as well; powerful longbowmen who could shoot a man dead from 300 feet away, disciplined spearmen and macemen who carved up barbarian raiders like soft fruit. None could challenge the might of Crisca!
In 770, the Empire showed signs of division. Crisca had always been a hub for various religions, most of them founded in Criscan lands. The Empire was officially Christian, and most of its people practiced that religion. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism however, all named Criscopolis as their Holy City, and those faiths had great roots in Crisca. For millennia, all the faiths had lived in harmony, but several radicals took the stage and would throw Crisca off balance.
Erin de Fastaya was a Christian zealot. He openly condemned and mocked the Hindus and Buddhists, and once said "Criscopolis is a breeding ground for the cesspool of vice: all vice there is made by the Hindus and their descendant Buddhists." Many liberal or non zealot Christians were horrified at such intolerance, and opposed Erin.
But Erin was powerful, and held true power as a tyrant over the Christian Holy City of Selia (which is also the Holy City of Islam). He controlled the Pope like a puppet, and wished "to scourge the Holy City of the non Christian and traitorous menace." In other words, he wanted to exterminate all non Christians and moderate Christians in Selia! However, a group of fellow zealots refused to aid him as they believed it to be murder, which was evil. Though he said, “It is not murder if it is not human!” he had no choice to relent. Erin succeeded in having 3 Muslim temples razed, and the Christians opposed to Erin quickly organized a mass exodus of Muslims out of Selia to preserve their lives and religion.
The Holy City of Selia, Circa 760 AD. Source: Library of St. Har's Cathdral
These actions by Erin had a horrible effect on the Criscan culture. Many Criscans, regardless of religion, left Crisca to go to France or Rome, disgusted by such a person as Erin de Fastaya. Empress Reanne ordered a contingent of longbowmen and a swordsman division freshly arrived from Nor Crisc to attack Selia and kill Erin. However, the Pope, threatened with death by Erin, in turn warned Reanne that she would face excommunication if she moved against Selia. This, combined with fear of turning the Holy City into a ruin, stayed her hand.
Probably the greater influence in her decision was the fact that an elite corps of Roman Praetorian Swordsman (upgraded with chain mail and modern long swords) arrived in Criscopolis a month before Erin’s attempt to cull the populace of Selia. They seized the Imperial Palace and announced that the Empress and the Imperial Capitol were under the protection of Emperor Julius Caesar III. They had been sent by the Roman Empire to the East to maintain order in Crisca, so that the lucrative dye and sugar trade to Rome would not collapse. Their commander, Gaius Brutus, pressured the Empress to forgo an assault on Selia. Knowing she would be deposed if she didn’t, she relented.
The Criscans had lived as nomads since antiquity. They settled near the massive Lake Crisco in 4000 BC, due to its large supply of fish and fertile land. The Empire grew from a town of 1,000 to an Empire of millions. The lands that were the Empire were rich, and a great nation settled these lands with staunch pride. By time the BC years had ended and the AD years had begun, the Criscan Emperors and Empresses could claim to rule the center of civilization.
The Criscan Empire, Source: Criscopolis Library
The Takar Desert, Source: Roman Scholar's Library
Lake Crisco, Source: Library of the Sun, Cuzco.
In the 8th century AD, the Criscan Empire was vast and powerful. It had built cities in the north to control iron and to link with the Criscan allies, the French. The Empire was united under a single family; the Lian Dynasty, whose marvelous daughter, the Empress Reanne reigned with a just and kind hand, and thus the people knew joy and peace.
The Criscan Empire had a culture so overwhelming, that thousands upon thousands of people from the neighboring Roman and French lands forsook home, country, and duty to join Crisca. This influx of people provided labor that the Empire needed, and the infrastructure of the Empire expanded to magnify its power. The armies of Crisca were modernized as well; powerful longbowmen who could shoot a man dead from 300 feet away, disciplined spearmen and macemen who carved up barbarian raiders like soft fruit. None could challenge the might of Crisca!
In 770, the Empire showed signs of division. Crisca had always been a hub for various religions, most of them founded in Criscan lands. The Empire was officially Christian, and most of its people practiced that religion. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism however, all named Criscopolis as their Holy City, and those faiths had great roots in Crisca. For millennia, all the faiths had lived in harmony, but several radicals took the stage and would throw Crisca off balance.
Erin de Fastaya was a Christian zealot. He openly condemned and mocked the Hindus and Buddhists, and once said "Criscopolis is a breeding ground for the cesspool of vice: all vice there is made by the Hindus and their descendant Buddhists." Many liberal or non zealot Christians were horrified at such intolerance, and opposed Erin.
But Erin was powerful, and held true power as a tyrant over the Christian Holy City of Selia (which is also the Holy City of Islam). He controlled the Pope like a puppet, and wished "to scourge the Holy City of the non Christian and traitorous menace." In other words, he wanted to exterminate all non Christians and moderate Christians in Selia! However, a group of fellow zealots refused to aid him as they believed it to be murder, which was evil. Though he said, “It is not murder if it is not human!” he had no choice to relent. Erin succeeded in having 3 Muslim temples razed, and the Christians opposed to Erin quickly organized a mass exodus of Muslims out of Selia to preserve their lives and religion.
The Holy City of Selia, Circa 760 AD. Source: Library of St. Har's Cathdral
These actions by Erin had a horrible effect on the Criscan culture. Many Criscans, regardless of religion, left Crisca to go to France or Rome, disgusted by such a person as Erin de Fastaya. Empress Reanne ordered a contingent of longbowmen and a swordsman division freshly arrived from Nor Crisc to attack Selia and kill Erin. However, the Pope, threatened with death by Erin, in turn warned Reanne that she would face excommunication if she moved against Selia. This, combined with fear of turning the Holy City into a ruin, stayed her hand.
Probably the greater influence in her decision was the fact that an elite corps of Roman Praetorian Swordsman (upgraded with chain mail and modern long swords) arrived in Criscopolis a month before Erin’s attempt to cull the populace of Selia. They seized the Imperial Palace and announced that the Empress and the Imperial Capitol were under the protection of Emperor Julius Caesar III. They had been sent by the Roman Empire to the East to maintain order in Crisca, so that the lucrative dye and sugar trade to Rome would not collapse. Their commander, Gaius Brutus, pressured the Empress to forgo an assault on Selia. Knowing she would be deposed if she didn’t, she relented.