Chapter Three: Exodus and Aggression
War raged on in Ilos. As internal chaos and declining hopes plagued the Anotonians, they were being mercilessly pounded on both fronts. Skirmish after skirmish, Anotonians collapsed, unable to defend their people any longer. From the north, Herakossus quickly swept through northern cities, claiming the majority of Anotonian territory remaining. However, they were beaten in a race to the capital by Menados, who put Aecan under siege for several days before at devising an intricate plan to take it over. It resulted in many burning buildings, charred corpses, and the brave escape plan of the religiously enlightened fisherman, Actaeus, triggered a mass exodus. During a desperate journey through the seas teeming with pirates and Menadan pursuers, Actaeus and his followers made stops in various ports on their way to the land described to them by Ba'al. They narrowly escaped being swallowed into the conflict between the collapsing Vatia, and Athan and Qarpa'i forces. Mysteriously, they arrived at a very distant location they called Helikos, claiming to have been taken there by a great weather system. They then changed their name to Jutans, Ilosian for "believers".
As Ilos finally cooled down for a bit, another region began to see tension. Six Draesonian merchants were caught by Sufonan rivermen. Instead of hanging them or torturing them, Sufona declared their trade relationship with Draesonia to have ended. In place of their trade with Draesonia, Sufona traded with Marinth to the south. Draesonia was left to struggle with the tiny civilization of Iumia to their north. Not too far to the west, Altania became involved in a bit of conflict. Their target, Rusathia, was just a few days by boat away from them. To Rusathia's surprise, groups of friendly Altanian traders turned out to be warriors and blood spilled from the docks, creating chaos in Rusathia. Altania drove south, but it was not long before Rusiathan forces met with them and produced a stalemate. At the same time, Rusathia's neighbor, Beletia, grew into a sizable foe that threatened Altania with destruction if they were to continue their attacks. Altania's northern neighbor, Auruchni, reported conflict in the island across the strait to their north. Melia continued their aggression toward Wealn with further invasion of their territory. Wealnish villagers were largely driven from their native lands to the old lands of Corval, and some even made small journeys to other nearby islands to find safety. Wealn begged for peace, but over years of conflict, Melia had proven themselves to be merciless.
Branga, contrary to some of the aggressors in Euthia, gained power though peaceful methods. The Brangabhoomi culture quickly developed into an intricate system of belief, spawning cults both in Branga and in foreign lands, Jamikur in particular. Jamikur suffered from mass dissent and protest, calling for the Brangabhoomi religion to be made official in Jamikur, but the leadership refused. The population turned from its leader and joined Branga where they could worship freely without being scrutinized and questioned. Jamikur didn't take very well to this. First, signs of war brought fear onto them and then the Brangabhoomi religion caused the Jamiks to turn on their empire. In eastern Ashaja, Xia and Zhingye reigned supreme. Each of them had been progressing rapidly technologically, leaving the rest of the civilizations in the dust. Although not far behind, Tinus and Zarazia came up a bit short. With neighbors such as Kyorong and Guzhon growing, things were beginning to get quite interesting in Ashaja. Across the waters, Yokosaka was progressing with tremendous speed. Technologically, they had advanced to discovering pottery, which in turn supplemented their already growing population. Seeing this, several neighbors began to prepare their defenses should Emperor Kotona call for an invasion.
Way out in the jungles of Wiixk'oltzan, blood was beginning to spill. Qaxt'i grew tired of Dzambo's nonsense and launched an invasion of their territory. Dzambo was no match for the skilled Qaxt'in fighters and they saw devastating losses. Although they retained their interior jungle territory, the Dzambecs were stripped of their coast and Qaxt'i claimed the Dzambec capital, Cochaba. The Dzambecs fled by the thousand to the jungles, many scattering into other empires such as the close by Ekmu empire. On the eastern side of Qaxt'i, expansion was halted with the formation of two new states, Kuhuaxta and Tzepec.
A growing trend of aggression slowly was beginning to overtake the globe. Ilos was no longer the center for conflict, as numerous areas in Euthia and Wiixk'oltzan found themselves swamped in military confrontations. Competition was flourishing, but at the expense of the poor warriors who met their doom on the battlefield.
