-Worldbuilding Diary-
The Rise of the Sredinah Empire
The earliest days of the Sredinah Empire date back to a thousand years after the Fall of the Empire of Dawn (FED). The Continent of Pelaraam had been getting back up on its feet, after the unknown event that had destroyed the capital of the Empire of Dawn, fragmenting the Empire into numerous smaller states. The period after the Fall was reminiscent of the Age of War Neverending. Alliances were formed as quickly as they fell apart, as Pelaraam descended into war once again.
In the one thousand years after the Fall, the seeds for many of the Countries we know of today were planted. The Aforiana Empire had absorbed the country of Konqia in the West, and a new Kingdom had formed in the South, Elderguard. The area of the Selman Sultanate had been split into three countries. In the North, the Kingdom of Siewerskai had begun its slow conquest of the Northern Tribes.
Between those rising powers, the Central and Eastern parts of Pelaraam were chaotic. More than twenty countries dotted the landscape, and they were embroiled with their own internal conflicts, as well as some of them warring with the invading forces of their neighbors.
Sons of Artorias
In Central Pelaraam, a political organization had appeared in the Kingdom of Fracia. They were the ones who remembered the glory days of the Empire of Dawn, young and full of vigour with dreams of grandeur. Their purpose was clear: establish the Empire once again. They were a bunch of youths filled with revolutionaire aspirations.
At first, they were not numerous, nor were they powerful. Their kinsmen treated them with disdain, as everyone was concerned with their own interests and the wave of nationalism that had swept across Pelaraam. People did not wish to unite under one single banner, as they remembered that their ancestors were forced underneath the banner of Artorias through warfare. Political propaganda and ideology had rooted in the hearts of men - thus, the Sons of Artorias were treated as outcasts. Some called them insane louts who were dreaming of the past instead of focusing on the future and actually contributing to their Kingdom. Progression was slow and arduous, but the Sons of Artorias somehow managed evading destruction at the hands of those who did not wish to hear about their ideas. Still, the atmosphere concerning them was negative. They were exiled from Fracia and they became a moving band. They traveled from place to place, spreading their ideas to those who would listen, gathering members from those who would join them, seeking like-minded men and women who would give their all to help their cause. Since they were a traveling band of people who were all itching for adventure and change, they were prone to get into fights. Some of the fights involved slaying of monsters that lurked in the mountains and forests in the Central Kingdoms, and other fights saw them act as a mercenary band. The money involved was good, so they used the loot from those missions in order to purchase better equipment, as well as finance their idea. Touring battlefields across Pelaraam and preaching their ideas - the Sons of Artorias grew in size. They even attracted some powerful people to their cause, the most notable being two princes of rival Kingdoms, as well as numerous minor or major nobles, or Men of Name (a term used for people who were notorious across the Kingdoms for their prowess in battle). The Sons of Artorias became a mighty host of eight thousand warriors.
The years ahead were some of the hardest the Sons had to endure. The Central Kingdoms agreed upon one thing: The Sons of Artorias are taking away their children under the false promise of glories lost. The Kingdoms made a treaty: None would welcome the Sons of Artorias in their borders. Open hostility was declared and everywhere the Sons went, they were met with scorn and even armed resistance, when some rulers chased them away with their own armies. A few Kings even put bounties on their heads and there was a considerable number of mercenaries hunting them. One of the princes had returned home to his Kingdom, while the other stayed - completely loyal to the idea of the Sons. They were forced to survive in the mountains and forests, during Winter. Food was scarce and they were ill-equipped for the weather.
Their numbers dwindled, as some died due to the cold, and many died of hunger. Some died by the sword, and some were killed by the monsters that lurked in the dark corners of the hostile wilderness.
Extinction hung heavy over the Sons of Artorias, until one day. It was mid-winter. The Sons woke up to a feeling of warmth surrounding them. There was a scent of hot, fresh food permeating the air. The Sons were startled to see themselves surrounded by men in strange robes, as well as armored soldiers standing in a perimeter around their camp. There was a huge bonfire in the middle of the Sons’ camp, in front of which a young man, no older than 20 years of age, sat. His long, golden hair hung low to his waist, his clothes were not plain, but they weren’t eccentric. Something in between. There was a golden crown resting atop his head.
And he spoke: “Hear me, O Sons of Artorias! I have been searching for those who wish to see the Dawn rise again. I traveled across the Central Kingdoms, as my Sorcerers searched the far reaches of the World. I have found you, at last!
Your wishes and your ideas have reached me. I only wish they had reached me sooner. But alas, what use there is dwelling on things that could have been? Today, my friends, we look to the future.”
“Who are you?” someone called from the crowd.
“I am King Arathar Sredan, the Holy Protector of the Kingdom of Credenia. And I have come to ask you to join me.” the young man spoke. There was dead silence in the camp. Those who were eating, stopped. Those who were talking quietly to themselves, stopped.
“I carry the will of my ancestor, the great Artorias!” Arathar yelled triumphantly.
“Let us join forces, my friends, and usher a new Dawn into this world!” and he tore the sword that hung at his side out of its scabbard - an immensely bright flash of light blinded those around King Arathar. He was holding a beautiful sword, that had something akin to a very small Sun, emanating radiance from within the blade. Those who knew the stories immediately recognized that this was the sword of legend, the Sword of Emperor Artorias - The Dawnbringer.
As one, the Sons of Artorias fell to their knees and swore their fealty to the young king who had led them into the safety of his realm. His kingdom, Credenia, was among the largest ones in the Central Kingdoms. He spent his childhood listening to stories about the Empire of Dawn, and during his early days of rule, when he had heard that the Sons of Artorias believed in the Empire of Dawn - he knew that he needed to make contact with them.
Together with the Sons, Arathar’s army was forty thousand strong. With the knowledge about other Kingdoms and internal affairs he had received from the Sons’ members who come from noble backgrounds, Arathar began to formulate a plan. He had made the high ranking officers of the Sons his own high ranking officers, bestowing upon them the rank of General.
And soon, Arathar’s mighty host of warriors, marching under the blue flag with a golden two-headed eagle who held the Sun in its claws, moved towards the Central Kingdoms. One by one, they fell, and Arathar wasted no time to annex them to Credenia. In just five years, he had managed to claim eight Kingdoms for Credenia.
During this time, while Arathar was busy with taking the Northern part of the Central Kingdoms, the Kingdoms in the Southern part had forged alliances, and directed their efforts into creating a large coalition army that numbered in hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Arathar came prepared, with a force that was large enough to collide with the Southern Coalition.
Arathar’s great army was divided into two smaller armies. The first one was the one he personally led. They were the Credenian Golden Host. The other army was led by The Sons of Artorias, in Arathar’s name. The Sons fought hard and fought well - for they wanted revenge on those who had signed their death sentences and sent them out into the wilderness to die.
Credenia and the Southern Kingdoms Coalition clashed, with both armies losing equally. They were matched both in skill and in manpower. This conflict lasted for four months, until Arathar ordered a retreat. He knew that if he stayed any longer, then his grip on the newly-conquered Kingdoms would weaken and he would needlessly lose too many soldiers. So the Credenian army retreated.
From then on, the Southern Coalition became a permanent solution. A Senate was installed and it oversaw the governing of the Coalition, while on the other side, Arathar declared himself Emperor, and he gave his new Empire a name: The Holy Empire of Sredinah. The Sons of Artorias were given land, wealth and power as nobles and military leaders. They were Arathar’s most loyal men - loyal to a fault, almost. He had saved them from certain death and now, they were indebted to him forever. And he used that loyalty to his own personal gain.
Ten years have passed, and the Coalition was hounded by raiders from the sea, as well as savage tribes from the Perrunian Wildlands. It was weakening - as opposed to Sredinah, which was flourishing under Arathar’s rule. There was the threat of the Northern Tribes who often came down from their mountains to raid Sredinian lands, but there was never a danger from any real army. Arathar ordered the construction of a large wall across the Siewerskai Mountains that bordered Sredinah, in order to stop the Northern Tribes from coming.
In the seventeenth year of Arathar’s rule, news came from the Coalition. They were on the brink of collapse, as a large invading force came from the ocean. Their army was crippled and the Perrunian Raiders savaged the Northern part of the Coalition. They asked Arathar for help.
In a matter of weeks, Arathar had mobilized the Imperial Army of Sredinah, and marched towards the Coalition.
There, he found the Coalition burning. Quickly, he salvaged what could be salvaged and launched a counterattack against the invaders, who he found out were The Osakai, from the Osak-ryu Shogunate.
The war to reclaim the Coalition lasted for two years, until finally - Arathar managed to drive out the Southerners who came from Osak-ryu, which was a large island Kingdom near the Coalition coasts.
With the ending of the war, the Coalition surrendered their weapons and accepted Arathar as their Emperor, as he annexed their territories to Sredinah.
A few years later, Arathar would die of a terrible illness, at the age of forty-nine. His son, Arathar II inherited the crown, and continued to strengthen Sredinah as one unified Empire.
In the reign of Sredinah’s 7th Emperor, Gladio, civil strife began in Sredinah, as nobles who harboured ill will towards Arathar’s bloodline wanted more power, and threatened to destabilize the Empire with civil war. Gladio put them to the sword, but he promised those who wanted change that he will bring about change. Sons of Artorias were a powerful political faction in the Empire, and Gladio conferred with them. A decision was made: A Senate would be established, similar to the one the Coalition had. Powerful men could now have a say in the way the Empire was run, and Gladio could keep a close eye on those who would cause problems in the future.
There were a few incidents of note, the biggest one being the Tarbonian Independence War. A Northern Sredinah country (which was also Arathar’s birthplace) by the name of Tarbia wanted to leave the Empire. They went to war with Sredinah because of it, and in the end - managed to become independent. Tarbonians allied themselves with Imperial Siewersk. Siewersk declared that they will march on Sredinah with their full force if they try and march into Tarbonia with the intention to claim it back for the Holy Empire - and for three hundred years, the three nations have been involved in all manners of secret conflicts between one another.
The Holy Empire of Sredinah lasts to this day, ruled by the Invictio bloodline, by His Eminence, Emperor Raelyan.
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