Dan Kukati and the rebirth of Qesani
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That felt very sudden. But let's see which way this new Sill leans. A godly man from the sounds of it, however that plays out.
I'm gonna be honest, I don't know why it said tat he was a godly man. The new Sill (Efearar) is cynical and really don't believe that much in religion. The game probably made a mistake...
It could be a big dash of irony but that does sound odd. The descriptions are normally at least somewhat linked to traits.
PART 35: FROM COUNT TO SILL
Efearar Efeararnisl Kukati was born on 20 September, 1083, only son of Prince Efearar Aredisnisl Kukati and Princess Kagari Waridlisl Kukati, making him the grandson of both Aredis and Warid II. By the time of his birth, his father was Count of Kisari, which had been the capital of the Kingdom of Adiligor until King Sugarid II came to power by overthrowing Prince Efearar. When his father died in late 1090, Efearar became the new Count of Kisari at the age of 13.
Efearar showed a good personality, but little to no rulership skills. Although a nice man, he always prefered writing poems or reading books to actually ruling the county. His court often criticized him for is cowardice, his lack of faith and his distrust of most of his courtiers. During most of his life, he had little to no contact with the main House Kukati and the Sills, and actually believed that he was excluded from the succession. Because of this, he just lived his life following orders from the King of Adiligor. This is why he just followed King Tanc in revolt against Sill Dag III. But in July 1136, Efearar received the surprise visit of the army, announcing to him that he was now the Sill. This was quite a shock to the old man.
Although a chaste man, Efearar still had 8 children, including 6 sons. Sadly, his four eldest sons all died before reaching the age of 20, each from a different disease.
Although not a believer of the gods, he was advised by his sons and advisers to perform a Sky Burial for Dag III. This could show the population that his reign was the natural continuation of traditions and tat he was paying his respect to his predecessor. Although he had no thrust in those new “advisers” from the capital, he still agreed with his sons. And so, to secure his position as Sill, he put the body of Dag III to rest.
In November 1136, the army, still lead by Prince Aredis Quracnisl, defeated the armies of Egodin at the Battle of Sisoriy. Following this, Aredis decided it would be better to concentrate their efforts on defeating Egodin, believing he could then deal with the rebels.
But things didn't go like Aredis planned. At the capital, Efearar was looking at the successes of this general, and he didn't like it. The fact that he took decisions himself was suspicious... Added to that was the fact that Efearar had actually no problems with the rebels demands. After all, he had himself been a vassal for almost 50 years, and believed tat keeping a ruler in check was a better idea. Plus, it would mean more time for him to read books. And so, in July 1137, the Sill simply surrendered to the rebels demands. For the first time in 65 years, the Council now had some influence in the decision making of the Empire.
In August, Efearar realized that he had bad relations with one of his vassal kings, King Kid of Risonia and Adiligor. In order to please the king, Efearar decided to give him back the county of Kisari, the former capital of his House. It greatly helped King Kid accept Efearar as the new Sill.
In November Duke Esagiel of Eraykaba contacted Efearar. He had proofs that Duke Edilar Sucieznui of Baurala was actually a bastard. Efearar was stupefied. The brother of Edilar, Ligor II, rebelled against Qurac from what he had heard, and now the younger one was a bastard? Everyone had to know! He made sure that the public knew about this. Edilar felt greatly insulted by this and promised he would take his vengeance some day.
In January 1138, Efearar was contacted by Duke Lurar Rin of Radias. Lurar, the leader of the previous revolt, had now turned into a staunch loyalist of the Sill, who he respected for making concessions on his power. Lurar offered to teach the generals of the empire some strategies he used during the last civil war, something Efearar gladly accepted. He refused to be taught anything however, still worried of the former rebel leader.
On the 4th of June 1138, the council used their new powers for the first time, and decided to strike big by changing the Controlled Realm Inheritance Law. Since Dan became Sill of the Second Qesani Empire in 959, the inheritance had been regulated to stop any people outside of the empire from inheriting titles inside of it. But now, the empowered vassals decided it was time to change this. In a close votes (5 yes, 3 no), the law changed to Free Inheritance Law, showing everyone tat things were gonna change.
In November, Efearar heard rumors that some courtiers were plotting to kill his son, Prince Nageb. He began to worry extensively about the safety of his family, and suspected his kinsman of plotting the demise of his close ones. He tried to convince Nageb to go into hiding, but the young man refused.
On the 4th of February 1139, the war with Egodin was finally won. This was a great victory, as once again the empire had protected its integrity from the ambitions of its neighbours. In the celebrations in the capital on the following day. Efearar surprised everyone by announcing that he was planning to retire from public life and leave the active duties of government to the designated regent and the Council. He never really had intentions of ruling the Empire, and now that the empire was at peace he could give it away to focus on his books and poems. His son Nageb, who had just been victim of a failed assassination attempt, went into hiding alongside his father.
However, problems arose as soon as Efearar secluded himself. The first problem when in the regency. Since the reign of Dag III, Duke Efat Redis “the Bold” of Ruande ad been the designated regent, and his skills were recognized by everyone. He was erudite, just, courageous and humble. He was a supporter of the Sill and was sympathetic to the vassals. Everyone agreed that he was perfect for the job. But one day after the start of his regency, political turmoil in the court lead to a change of regent. Agan Agannisl Kukati, grandson of Dag II andcousin of Dag III, used backdoor politics and the fact that he was othe heir to the throne to claim take down Efat and claim the regency for himself.
In the middle of the regency crisis, the court received a letter from Duke Edilar Sucieznui of Baurala. Humiliated by the Sill in 1137, Edilar had been building a faction of vassals, using favors and bribes to gain supporters in order of claiming even more power for the Council. With Efat as the regent, it was believed that the demands would simply be accepted. But Agan Agannisl was an arbitrary man who wanted to regain the absolute power for the Sill, and so refused the demands, launching the empire into another civil war.
Agreed. He will go down as a weak Sill, and if the Empire falls apart in the next few decades he will probably be blamed for it.
Then let's hope his regent(s) can get the job done since he clearly won't.
PART 36: A REGENCY OF WARS
At the age of 51, Agan Agannisl was now regent of the Second Qesani Empire. And with the Sill sticking into his library, there was nobody to oppose him at court. But outside of court, he still had to face the biggest Civil War of their history. But this mass rebellion leaved offices open, allowing im to name is cronies on the Council.
Soon after the beginning of the regency, Sill Efearar learned that some people at court were plotting to kill him. This only proved to him that secluding himself had been a great idea. However, he was worried about who would be willing to kill him? Maybe Agan, the regent and heir to the throne? Who knew?
Soon after, in March 1139, Efearar met with his son Nageb. Nageb didn't like the way things were going in the Empire, especially with Agan slowly putting his puppets into the council. Bot Efearar and Nageb soon came to te conclusion that Agan Agannsil would attempt to get rid of them and become Sill. Nageb convince his father that this could not stand, and soon both began to plot the death of the regent.
In June, news came from the Kolund Empire. Sill Wakant had once again decided to expand in the Kingdom of Kilegh. With the way things were going, Kilegh could stop existing by the end of the century.
The month of June showed everyone how bad the situation was in the Empire. The loyalists were barely able to assemble an army of 10,000 men, while the rebels were leading many forces of 15,000 troops in the strongest cases. The Sill refused to rule, and the regent was a man who acted like he was already Sill. In this chaos, it wasn't a surprise that many vassals began usurping the lands and titles of their neighbours, and soon vassal's wars were out of control.
In September, the battle of Ravavon lead to a massive defeat for the loyalists, who lost more than half their troops. It became clear to Agan that troops alone would not suffice to end this civil war. He planned on calling the Ten, but they had themselves been weakened during a previous employment. So Agan had to call another mercenary company, the Tearpen.
In December, Duke Esagiel of Eraykaba contact once again the court with information on one of the loyalist vassals. The Regent decide to use these information on Duke Lisanc of Wusan'a to force the vassal to stay out of any faction. Lisanc grudgingly accept the blackmailing, to Agan's great pleasure.
On te 23rd of March 1140, two things happen. The first is the end of the Battle of Ekueicintou. This victory from Captain Qavant of Tearpen, allowing the loyalist to finally strike back. The other thing was that King Das of Revejin decided to use this civil war as an opportunity to conquer some lands and declared war on the Second Qesani Empire. Now Agan had to fight an internal war and an external war.
Thankfully something would come up to occupy Revejin for a while. Prince Dian, the brother of King Das, had lived into the court of the Second Qesani Empire for a couple of years now, believing that Dag III would help him claim the throne of Revejin. But with Dag III dead and Efearar clearly having no intentions of doing anything, Dian decided to take matters into his own hands. After borrowing money from members of the court, including from the regent himself, Dian hired a host of mercenary and marched toward Revejin to claim the throne. With enough luck, this little civil war would leave Agan enough time to finish his own.
In September 1140, the empire lost one of its great generals. Asoup Kukani died at the age of 57. First rising to fame under Sill Qurac, were he fought aside Prince Aredis and fellow general Asoup Asoupid, his skills helped the Empire face many wars, and even recently he was leading troops alongside Captain Qavant of Tearpen at the Battle of Ekueicintou. His death happened during the battle of Necaoro, during which he cached Consumption and died before the end of the fighting.
His fellow commander Prince Aredis would follow him in the after life two months later. Since July 1139, the eldest son of Sill Qurac became incapable, and by then he had already been suffering from both Pneumonia and Slow Fever for months. He died in November 1140 after more than a year of pain, finally passing away at the age of 49. He had been generals for more than 30 years, starting under his great-uncle Ravan II and finally ending his life in bed under the reign of his cousin Efearar. At the time of his death, he was the 2nd in the line of succession.
In February 1141, King Roa of Rodiane died at the age of 50. Chancellor of the Empire at the time of his death, he was the last loyal vassal king by 1141. He remained famous for his botched operations on Sill Qurac in the 1120's, and few were sad to see him go. The office of Cancellor was filled by a loyalist duke close to Agan.
In May 1141, the Qesani forces lead by the young Duke Wadis II Wodasia of Walamasia (the great grandson of famous general Duke Serad “the Wise”) faced the armies of King Das of Revejin. Although they had the numeric superiority, the forces of the Empire lacked true cooperation, being a mix of Tearpen mercenaries and loyalist soldiers. Thhe battle was a great defeat, which also costed the life of Captain Qavant of Tearpen.
The Tearpen, who had just lost their leader, weren't happy to find out when they arrived to the loyalist base that there was no more money to pay them. Their new captain, a man named Sagan, made it clear that without pay they would not stick around. By early June, the Tearpen had deserted the battlefield, leaving the loyalist forces to fight alone.
In December 1141, Prince Disiel, the youngest son of Sill Efearar, suffer from food poisoning. The Sill quickly call the court physician, but he completely botched the treatment making simple problem a dangerous threat to the life of the Prince. Disiel's older brother Nageb suspect that this is actually an attempt against their life by the regent. Although Efearar suspect it too, he also fear confrontation with the members of the court and just support the Court Physician. Disiel die in February 1142 at the age of 21 from complications of his food poisoning problem.
By July 1142, Efearar immersed himself more and more into classical books, possibly to cope with the death of both his son Disiel. He began to pass entire days into the library, barely eating. He had become obsessed with old books and classical poems. Those books include the poems written by Ravan I and Ravan II, as well as the book written by Sill Syudigor.
News that the Sill receive in January 1143 finally make him look away from his books. His daughter Kagari had died from Slow Fever at the age of 21. This news leaved the Sill devastated. Now, the only children he had not lost to some disease were his daughter Wobaca and his son Nageb.
By September, Efearar realize that his funds in the treasury have disappeared. Those funds were put into place so he could buy new books, and now they were gone. The only possible culprit was the regent Agan Agannisl, but there was no way of proving it.
By January 1144, both wars were going badly. Although the rebels had almost no troops left, they had the time to siege so much lands that it would take years to reconquer it back. It also cost many troops to the loyalists, who barely had 4,000 men left. Meanwhile, Revejin was still advancing with a massive army. So when the rebel leaders offered Agan a white peace, the regent had no choice but to accept the deal. He needed recruits to fight Revejin. This “peace” was signed on the 24th of January 1144, but nobody was fooled. As soon as the war with Revejin was over, it was clear that one of the two sides would move against the other. The only question was: “who would strike first?”
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Things may well get worse before they get better - it sounds like the realm is almost exhausted and yet there is the war with Revejin and doubtless another civil war in the offing soon.
The Second Qesani Empire is being bled dry. I believe that the chaos is only likely to get worse for the short-term.
PART 37: COUNCIL OF POWER
To replace the many military commanders that were lost during the civil war, Regent Agan Agannisl recruited new younger generals to fill up the ranks. The most prominent of those were Nar Narid, a 27 year old brilliant strategist who caught the eye of the regent for his talents and was promoted general in March 1144.
Agan was not able to do much for the war however, as in June he got a bad case of measles that forced him to stay in bed. Unable to act as regent, he was replaced by Duke Kobedis Tobedis of Wuzias, the spymaster of the empire. Only 26 years old, just and charitable, good in intrigue, Kobedis had everything to please the vassals. Plus, both his grandfathers were hanged by Sill Qurac in 1126, meaning that Kobedis would not be as keen as his predecessor to protect the power of the throne. With his ascension as regent, many believed reconciliation between the former rebels and the loyalists was on its way.
In August 1144, news from Revejin surprised everyone. King Das “the Just” had died at the age of 38 from camp fever. With his son underage and his relative hated, the nobles of Revejin elected Rodenr Byevedro as their king. This meant the end of the 114 years rule of House Wevasia on Revejin. It started in 1000 with Kas “the Just”, and now it ended with Das “the Just”. For Regent Kobedis
On a religious level, this also had a massive impact. For more than a century, the Kingdom of Revejin had its own Purios, defiantly naming a rival religious head to oppose the legitimate Purios. But King Rodenr put an end to it, as it was associated with House Wevasia and he wanted to start fresh. And now, the Kingdom of Revejin was back into the fold of Purios Amin VI.
In August, Sill Efearar began to talk frequently with the Court Physician, the priest Qearar. Qearar then asked the Sill if he could buy some exotic herbs for his experiments. Efearar was happy to simply talk with someone and gladly bought the herbs. A month later, Qearar thanked him, saying that he put the herbs to good use. This would be the last time they would talk, Qearar dying in December 1144 at the age of 43.
In February 1145, the army of the Empire defeated the forces of Revejin at the battle of Twice. It seemed that the new king Rodenr did no have full control of his vassals yet, and dissension among the enemy forces allowed a victory for the forces of Regent Kobedis. Saddly, things would only go downhill from there.
In September 1145, a new anti-Purios was appointed, ending the year of church unification after a century of division. This anti-Purios had this time been appointed by the Kolund Empire. Indeed, Sill Wukant “the Bold” had never accepted that the Purios lived in the Second Qesani Empire, and thus decided to set up his own rival Purios. This meant that the Searpen faith was now split into two. In the West, they followed Purios Amin VI, while in the East, they followed the puppet of Wukant. The faith was more divided tan ever.
During the whole year of 1146, battles were fought between the two sides. And in each case, Revejin won. The victory at the Battle of Tewice was unachievable now due to the lack of manpower, and on the 5th day of December King Rodenr achieved victory, taking a county away from the Empire. This was the first defeat in an external war since Warid I “the Butcher” was defeated by Egodin in 1013, more than a century ago. The moral of the people was at its lowest.
The Council was worried, the vassals were getting restless and the population didn't know what would happen after this defeat. And where was the Sill? Regent Kobedis was able to convinced the Sill to come out of his isolation to deliver a speech to the Council and to show that he was still there. The regent made it clear that the current situation needed a Sill, and Efearar was too much of a craven to oppose.
But as soon as he began to appear in public once more, he got the visit of angry nobles. They were lead by Duke Evat “the Bold” Redis of Ruande, who felt like he had been cheated out of his regency and now demanded more power for the nobility. And Efearar, like usual, simply agreed. He gave the Council the right to decide on wars.
Efearar would then “rule” the Empire up until July 1147, at which point he decided that the Empire didn't need him anymore and just returned into his self imposed isolation, leaving the power in the and of a regent once more. But when the new regent made his appearance at the court, many feared for the worst. Agan Agannisl had recovered from his case of measles, and now e was retaking control of the regency. Would he try to get his revenge on those that opposed him? Would the vassals rebel against this tyrannic regent? Nobody knew.
But turned out that nothing would happen. The Council was now full of rivals of Agan, creating some kind of equilibrium in the government. As for the vassals, they were happy with the concessions made by Efearar. They had their word on the policies of the Empire and they could refuse to go on external war. What else did they need? Because of this, the Empire passed the next 12 months in relative peace, allowing the army to rebuild it and the region to prosper.
Something would come up to challenge the fragile peace of the region, however. In January 1148, Sill Wukant of the Kolund Empire died at the age of 62, having ruled for 53 years. Once believed to be the one under who the empire would crumble, Wukant “the Bold” proved to be the second coming of his uncle Rig II “the Holy”, expanding the empire to unseen size and even destroying the Kingdom of Kilegh. He would be fondly remembered by his subjects.
To succeed him was his son Red II, now 38 years old. But Red II was not fit to be ruler. He was a drunken, fat and depressed man who passed most of is time in books or in the church. And thus, just like Efearar, Red II lived in isolation from his court, meaning that the Kolund Empire needed a regent. This Regent was the vassal king Tears Kagigor of Ryoia. A shrewd diplomat as well as a working and ambitious man, he was the perfect choice for a regent, unlike Agan.
Sill Red II (left) and King Tears of Ryogia (right)
Relations between the Regent Agan and Regent Tears were difficult, to say the least. Tears was a loyal servant of House Rurigor, and wanted the empire to continue expanding. And so he turned his attention to this rival Sill of the West. For him, the Second Qesani Empire had always been an insult to the greatness of the Kolund Empire, the true heir to the First Qesani Empire. After all, did Nizar II not continue to rule as Sill of the Kolund Empire after he put an end to the First Qesani Empire. So what were those Kukati doing by challenging the power of House Rurigor, the true heir of Lagan “the Faceless”.
And so, on the 14th of July 1148, the Kolund Empire declared war to the Second Qesani Empire.
PPS: My nex post will probably be the context for 1100-1148. I don't want to do a small post of 2 years were nothing happen, so instead I'll do the contaxt and then cover the war in te following part.
CONTEXT 1100-1148
In the last 48 years, the number of independent realms was once again shrunk tanks to the Second Qesani Empire and the Kolund Empire. By 1148, only 7 states remained: the Second Qesani Empire, the Kingdom of Revejin, the Kingdom of Kotan, the Republic of Surory, the Kolund Empire, the Solala Kingdom and the Kingdom of Egodin.
South-West
The South West region has been under the full control of the Second Qesan i Empire for about 70 years now.
Most of them were fully integrated into the structure of the Empire under Ravan II, who brought what seems to be the height of the Second Qesani Empire. But this also meant that the region would frequently fall into civil wars. Following the death of Ravan II in 1120, his successors faced many opposition, turning the region into an unstable mess.
North-West
At the start of the century, 3 kingdoms remained independent from the Second Qesani Empire. Now, only Revejin remain.
Following the division between Rodiane and Revejin, the two kingdoms fought a series of wars that ended in favor of Revejin, although King Rigoa “the Mutilator” was unable to reunify the two kingdoms. In 1104, Rigoa was assassinated and his brother Sigoa was elected as king.
After finishing a last war with Rodiane, Sigoa shifted his policies toward the Second Qesani Empire. Fearing their expansion, especially after they annexed Rodiane and Basboao, he built a defensive coalition alongside the Kingdom of Egodin and the Purios himself. Sigoa would also attempt, without much success, to use the turmoil in the Second Qesani Empire to gain lands from the various rebels. Sigoa died in 1127 and was succeeded by his son, Das “the Just”. Das would follow the foreign policy of his father. With the new Sills of the Second Qesani Empire facing massive civil wars, he attempted to claim their lands. Although he was unable to gain new lands, he was able to push Sill Dag III into a white peace, which caused another civil war.
Das declared a war against the Second Qesani Empire during the early years of Sill Efearar's reign. However, he would die shortly after striking a victory against the Qesani in 1144. By the time of his death, his son was still a child and his family was now hated among the nobility. This lead to the election of a new king unaffiliated with House Wevasia, ending their 144 years of rule over the kingdom. Rodenr Byevedro, new king of Revejin, finished the war and won, making him the first man to defeat the Qesani in war since 1013.
Revejin's twin kindom, Rodiane, did not have such luck. It remained independent for 21 year (10941-1115), during which its only king was R III “the Tormentor”. R III's power was weakened following wars with Revejin, which allowed the Qesani to sweep in and install their own claimant on the throne of Rodiane, R's uncle Roa. Roa would then become a vassal king of the Second Qesani Empire, ending the short autonomy of Rodiane.
As for the Kingdom of Basboao, it didn't survive long after the fall of Boao. Following the death of King Tous “te Tyrant” in 1102, his son Kubarid became king. However, he faced many rebellions, including one to put the new king of Boao, his uncle Lilar, on the throne of Basboao. This revolt won with the backing of the Second Qesani Empire and Basboao was annexed in 1104. The following 7 years saw the vassal kingdom be weakened by wars and coups, leading to its disappearance in 1111. The title of King of Basboao was then taken by the Sills of the Second Qesani Empire, starting with Ravan II.
North
In the North, the land is mostly divided between the Second Qesani Empire at the West and the Kolund Empire at the East. However, a single kingdom was able to survive.
The Kingdom of Kotan was somehow able to survive. In the recent decades, the Kingdom of Kotan faced one of its biggest political crisis. Their king, Dag “the Terrible”, was a weak and sinful ruler. Many believed that the kingdom would not survive with him at its head. This lead to a civil war in the 1120's. The pretender was Aredis Katati, who was the great grandson of King Kisedis “the Wise” (first king of an independent Kotan). In 1125, 41 years into the reign of Dag, Aredis was able to claim the throne of Kotan, ending the control of House Kurati on the throne. Aredis died I died in 1130, only 5 years after taking the throne, and as of now his son Aredis II is making sure that his house keep the throne.
North-East
Other than being the home base of a massive revolt against Wukant in the early part of the century, the political situation of the region hasn't changed for a hundred year. The region is entirely under the control of the Kolund Empire, with the exception of a small republic barely connected to the rest of the continent.
The political situation in the Republic of Surory has definitively evolved from a dynastic oligarchy under the Kylian to a true aristocratic republic when the last male heir of House Kylian was assassinated by the other great houses in 1119. As for its leader, Surory had been lead for almost 50 years by Egodouc Rarin (ruled 1097-1141), which made many fear that House Rarin would become the new House Kylian. But after his death power passed normally to another House, leaving the leadership position in the hands of Dujr Degluk.
East
The East is the core region of the Kolund Empire, and although it showed signs of weakening, it still remains strong.
At the turn of the 12th Century, the Kolund Empire was lead by Wukant Rurigor, soon to be known as Wukant “the Bold”. When he ascended to the throne, many believed that he would bring the end of the empire, but instead proved to be as strong and lasting as his grandfather Rig II “the Holy”. In the end, Wukant ruled for almost 43 years, dying in 1148 and leaving a empire stronger than ever.
His heir, Red II, is however an incompetent drunk who pass his time isolated and depressed, leaving the true control of the state to the regency and the council. This situation lead to the regent launching a war against the Second Qesani Empire, a war that could have disastrous repercussions for both sides.
South-East
With the Tolada annexed by the Kolund Empire in 1135, only a weakened Solala Kingdom stand against the total domination of the Kolund in the region.
In 1120, the old queen Kigaya died after 37 years of reign, leaving her fragile kingdom to her son Tyad I “the Resilient”. Tyad tried to start diplomatic relations with the Second Qesani Empire, hoping to create an alliance to protect his realm from the Kolund Empire. Alas, the madness of Sill Qurac stoped any plan for a true alliance, Tyad only gaining a non-agression pack out of it. When Qurac died in 1130, Sill Wukant of the Kolund Empire launched a punitive expedition against the Solala Kingdom, punishing Tyad I for is attempt at gaining an ally against him. Tya I died in 1143, leaving the kingdomto his young son Tyad II. However, the young monarch suffer from measles, and who know how long he will last.
South
The South suffered extremely from the expansion of Sill Wukant of the Kolund Empire, and now the region is on the brink of collapse.
Queen Kyaa of Kilegh died in 1105 at the age of 65. Saddly, her death did not bring Kilegh and Egodin together, but instead throw the two kingdoms into a war. With her death, House Wagonia, which had ruled the Kingdom of Kilegh since 872, went instinct. To succeed her, the nobles of Kilegh elected Selus Dahonia, who would be known as Selus “the Bold” for his many attempts to conquer Egodin, which all ended in failure. His wars with Egodin leaved Kilegh wide open for the Kolund Empire to grab lands.
Selus died in 1145 at the age of 80, having ruled Kilegh for half of his life. His son Bamelus succeeded him, and became the last king of Kilegh when the kingdom was finally annihilated by the Kolund Empire in 1147,
This leaved Egodin as the last independent kingdom in the region. With the death of King Rarav in 1102, any chance of unifying Kilegh and Egodin died with him. His uncle Esagav “the frog” became king, but died in 1121. His son Kanelus ruled for 14 year until he was killed by rebels, leaving the throne to his younger brother Tajav. But Tajav died in 1140, leaving the throne to his own son Nemav.
During these rapid successions, Egodin was forced to defend itself against both Kilegh and the Kolund Empire, defeating the later but losing to the later. It also attempted many times to take back the lands taken by the Second Qesani Empire, without any success. But with the war in between te two empires, maybe Egodin will find an opportunity to exploit?
No doubt this is why the two Empires are now tussling - there is virtually no one else to tussle with!
PART 38: CLASHING EMPIRES
With the war on its way, the regent Agan Agannisl became to look at the info he had on his troops. And more importantly, on the troops of the enemy. And he was not amused by what he found. The Kolund Empire basically had twice as much troops as they had. This was expected, but still frustrating. Agan really hoped that they had good generals on their side, because it would not be an easy war.
Qesani troops (left) and Kolund troops (right)
In August 1148, Prince Syudigor, the second son of Sill Qurac, died at the age of 50. With his death, only two male heirs of Qurac were left: his third son Rill and his grandson Ravan.
Syudigor's death didn't affect much the Sill, but the death that happened in October did. In that month, Efearar lost his last daughter Wobaca, who died at the age of 37 clutching her heart. Wit her death, Efearar had lost 7 of his 8 children, all to disease or some other health problem. The only one of his children still remaining was Prince Nageb, who was still hiding with his father.
The forces of the empire were mainly divided into two armies. The first one, in the southern part of the realm, was lead by Duke Wadis II Wodasia of Walamasia, or Wadis II “the Just”. By the start of the war, he was as much famous as his great-grandfather, Serad “the Wise”, and a renowned military leader. To lead his flanks were Duke Lisanc Tenr of Wucan'a, son of Kobarid “the Mutilator” (the last king of independent Basboao), and Ravan Aredisnisl, grandson of Sill Qurac and son of the famous general Prince Aredis.
The second army was up in the North, close to the borders of Revejin. It was lead by Duke Evat “the Bold” Redis of Ruande. Evat had been regent for a day before Agan Agannisl took the office, and then served as Marshal under the regency of Kobedis Tobedis. He lead the demands for more council powers in 1146, but now had been relegated to the rank of general by the regent Agan Agannisl. To help him, he were Duke Egar Rearpen of Keharsati, a man who got both his grandfathers executed by Sill Qurac, and Duke Lular “the Just”, who lead a civil war against Sill Dag III but soon became a loyal supporter of Efearar.
In May 1149, the army of Wadis II spotted a host of 6000 troops arriving form the southern border. The Kewdero general soon order his troops to move toward the small host, although he was worried that this could be a trap to lure his army close to the border.
But at the same time, Evat “the Bold” received news from the northern border, were the real bulk of the Kolund army was. Two armies, for a total of 32,500 troops, wit probably more on the way. Evat moved his army to a safe distance and ten sent a message Wadis II, telling him of the massive army up north.
But Wadis II was afraid of leaving the army in the south alone, and thus decided to fight it before heading north. In Agust, the battle of Adyka resulted into a victory for Wadis II and his troops, marking the first engagement of the war as a success.
While Wadis was pursuing the fleeing armies up north, massive news came from the Kolund Empire. Sill Red II had died of depression on the 17th of November 1149, less than 2 years after is ascension to the throne. He was succeeded by his 22 years old son Wagedis, who's was a great diplomat and knew how to deal with others. Now having a Sill who took part in the affair of states and who was liked, the vassals of the Kolund Empire gave more troops to the Sill and his war, adding more than 20,000 men to the imperial forces.
In February 1150, news of the siege of Taepaoro (a castle on the border) pushed Evat “the Bold” to act now instead of waiting for his slowly advancing allied army. When a new host of troops appeared at the end of the month, Evat defeated it at the Battle of Qucilia in March, using bold and reckless tactics to surprise the enemies.
When in April the fleeing army from the South finally arrived North, Evat decided to cut their wait and crush them at Kean, in Kolund territory. This was not liked at all by Wadis II, who had been chasing them for months waiting for a good opportunity to attack the enemy. Still, Kean was a victory, allowing the Qesani forces to get rid of an enemy army.
In September 1150, the death of Purios Amin VI was announced, and the leader of the Searpen faith wa succeeded by Purios Amin VII.
After Kean, the two armies advanced together. However, neither Wadis II or Evat “the Bold” were willing to give command of their army to fuse the whole force together. Thus, they each commanded their troops in battle and had to get along for the battle plans, which was a difficult thing to do. Wadis II was cautious and a master of strategy who feared losing troops, while Evat “the Bold” lived up to his nickname and used careless tactics to force his way to victory. It was also a fact that both men did not like each other and had always competed for the office of Marshal. With a divided command structure, many feared that the recent victories be the last victories of the war.
The divifed leadership was put to a test at the Battle of Sotekay in October 1150. The two armies met a two armies from the Kolund Empire, with one of them lead by Sill Wagedis himself. Evat could pass out on the opportunity of capturing the enemy Sill, and against the advices of Wadis II engaged the enemy forces, forcing Wadis II to back him up. Sotekay turned out to be the biggest battle of the war, a total of 60,882 troops facing each others in this gruesome fight. In the end, it turned into a decisive victory for the Second Qesani Empire, the enemy losing way more than the Qesani forces.
The ally forces then moved to liberate the besieged city of Saepilia, facing the attacking army in December. This time Wadis II made sure that things went his way, and thanks to his careful tactics the Qesani forces only lost 1,400 troops.
In March 1151, Prince Warid Dagnisl, Dag III's eldest son, died of poor health at the age of 40 years old. With his death, the memories of the Dagnisl War faded away, most of the people who participated in it having died.
During all that time, Sill Efearar was still remaining isolated in his personal quarters, focused on his books. He was so focused that he never really took the time to see his wife. But instead of missing her, he felt more pure and free of all those carnal desires. He decided that celibate wasn't so bad.
In June, the two armies faced the Kolund troops at Ducaoro. This battle created another rift between the two generals. Evat “the Bold” lead the troops himself and was the one who achieved the victory, but Wadis II was in the end credited for the victory, and the regent Agan Agannisl made it clear that the victory was due to Wadis II and not Evat, who he despised.
In August, Evat got the victory he wanted at the First Battle of Dameba. Not only did Evat achieved a victory and was credited for it, but they also captured one of the Kolund generals, Count Natiel of Semalter.
But as they were recovering from the First Battle of Nameba, the two generals were attacked by a massive Kolund army. The Second Battle of Dameba marked the first time that the Qesani armies were on the defensive as well as the first time they were in numerical inferiority. Still, the cautious defence of Wadis II allowed them to gain the upper hand, at which point Evat “the Bold” lead a daring assault on the enemy, breaking their formation. Wit this they pushed back the enemy armies and won the Second Battle of Nameba.
The Battle of Dadaba in July 1153 allowed the generals to definitively pushed the Kolund forces out of the Second Qesani Empire. No fighting took place after Dadaba until the Battle of Ramyan in June 1154, in Kolund territories, which Wadis II won easily.
After Ramyan, the forces of the Kolund Empire were devastated and Sill Wagedis was forced to surrender. From 1148 to 1154, te Kolund Empire and Second Qesani Empire faced each other in the biggest war of recent history. Tis war would have many names: the Imperial War, the Continental War, the Great Clash... But it would have only one ending, the victory of the Second Qesani Empire over the Kolund Empire.
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Well that sounds like a very hard-fought contest - and a tribute to the Qesani generals. They made Kokund pay dearly for their arrogance.
PART 39: THE HEROES OF THE IMPERIAL WAR
Evat Redis, commonly known as Evat “the Bold”, was born on the 12 September 1101 in the middle of a civil war, his father Nant Redis fighting on the side of the rebels. After the civil war, his father died in a cell in 1104, forgotten by Ravan II. Evat thus became duke at the age of 3. Havins studied religious texts and, his path seemed to be the one of knowledge. But his lack of faith turned him away from it, and instead he became a man of the army, defending his lands in Lamorgil from the Egodin empire. Evat truly came to fame during the Dagnisl War, being one of the main generals of the future Dag III. Since, he had been regent for a day and leader of a council power faction. And now, returning from his greatest campaign at the age of 52 years old, he was old, lacking a hand and sick from conssumption.
Wadis Wadosia, or Wadis II “the Just”, was a Kewedro born on the 20 July 1117. He lived admiring his great-grandfather, Serad “te Wise”, who gained his independence from the Kingdom of Revejin and then swore fealty to Sill Ravan II in 1110, after which he became his most trusted general. Wadis II lost his father at a young age and succeeded his grandfather Wadis I at the age of 9. He was raised to be a military leader like Serad “the Wise”, and turned out to be a great strategist. However, he also pushed himself to learn basic administration and diplomacy, making him a perfect ruler. His military fame came when he lead to loyalist armies during the 12th Civil War (1137-1144). The most loyal follower of Sill Efearar, he now returned from the Imperial War (as historians call it) at the age of 37, still in his prime, but highly depressed after the violence of the conflict.
When both general returned to their domains in August 1154, they were shocked to learn that Sill Efearar had just passed away. “Ruling” the Second Qesani Empire for 18 years, his lack of interest in governance lead to the weakening of imperial powers. However, his lack of backbone actually made him the most popular Sill Ravan II, or maybe even more than Dan Kukati himself. “He” also won the Imperial War against the Kolund Empire, making the strongest man on the continent at the time of his death. Some of his contemporary would dub him Efearar “the Great”, either due to his popularity, his victory against the Kolund Empire, or because the events that followed his reign would make his time on the throne look like a golden age.
After dying at the age of 70, Efearar was succeeded by his regent, Agan Agannisl Kukati. Born February the 18th 1087, he was the son of Prince Agan Dagnisl and the grandson of Sill Dag II. He barely knew his father, who died in 1096, but he always heard that he was an imbecile. Agan became an efficient backdoor politician, participating into many plots and staying in the shadows. For most of is life, he was just a forgettable member of House Kukati. But that changed when he became the regent of Sill Efearar, showing a desire to rule with an iron fist, following his own rules and with a goal set on restoring the imperial powers lost by Efearar. He was regent for most of Efearar's reign, and now, he was Sill.
Soon after his ascension, Agan learned of some troubling news coming from the defeated Kolund Empire. It seemed like the vassal kings didn't like the humiliation of defeat caused by their Sill. They got together and decided that House Rurigor had failed the empire and that it was time to put a new house on the imperial throne. The vassal kings forced Sill Wagerid to abdicate in favour of his cousin, Digor Lavatid. Digor turned out to be an imbecile and a coward with no real skill, making him the perfect puppet for the vassal kings. And just like that, House Rurigor ad lost the throne of the Kolund Empire.
Agan looked at this turn of event with fear. He may have won the war, but this also allowed two generals to gain fame and prestige, maybe enough to overthrow him. He was especially wary of Evat “the Bold”, who had become his political rival over the years. His fear became worst with the death of King Kid in September. Kid had been king of both Risonia and Adiligor. But Risonia was an elective monarchy, and with his death the vassals decided to elect a new king. They chose Evat “the Bold”. Now, Agan's most hated rival was vassal king.
With one general clearly set on opposing him, Agan moved to secure the loyalty of the other hero of the Imperial War, Wadis II “the Just”. Wadis II had always been a loyal supporter of Efearar and is regency, and thus had no problem with Agan. But Agan wanted to ensure the loyalty of the Kewedro general, naming him the designated regent and sending him massive gifts.
This was the last straw for Evat “the Bold”. When Agan became king, close friends of Evat heard him say “I will not serve under this tyrant”, and now he was about to turn this into reality. With the death of King Kid, Evat found himself at the head of the independence faction, and a powerful one, which included among others the King of Boao and the new King of Adiligor. On September the 11th, he sent a letter to Agan, knowing that the Sill would refuse their demands. Evat prepared for war, and war it was.
As Agan was raising is army, news came that veterans of the Imperial War and young men were joining the rebel armies. The popularity and reputation of Evat “the Bold” was at its highest, and many wanted to followed their great hero instead of fighting for an unpopular Sill. The situation was going from bad to worse.
In October, Agan lost his wife, who died of Camp Fever at the age of 71. The Sill decided to use this occasion to reenforce his relationship with his last vassal kingdom, Rodiane, which was ruled by Queen Woao Wevasia. He betroth himself to the Princess and heir of the vassal kingdom, the 12 year old Woao. She was young, but it didn't matter, as the political gain was too big. Plus, he could wait for her to come to age.
Many small battles were lost against the rebels during the rest of 1154. A small victory was finally achieved in February 1155 at the Battle of Kakala. The troops were lead by Duke Egar Reapren of Keharsati, who had served under Evat “the Bold” during the Imperial War. Although he had no love for Agan, the duke refused to follow his former superior in secession.
In June, both rebels and loyalists had been avoiding each other. But it also became clear that outside of the commanders returning from the Imperial War, Wadis II at the head of them, the loyalist generals were barely competent military men. In June, Agan was contacted by Duke Lurar “the Just” Rin of Radias. Having also served under Evat “the Bold” during the Imperial War, he was a master when it came to leading flanks, and offered to train the other generals to his art, which the Sill accepted. This left Agan with a triumphant smile. After all, the two subordinates of Evat had chose to remain loyal to the empire instead of following the rebel leader. What a great day.
The Battle of Lonala in November saw the first real fight of the war. A rumor came that the army at Lonala was lead by Evat “the Bold” himself. Wadis II was ordered by the Sill to go face the rebel leader, and Agan himself participated to the battle. Although Evat turned out to be absent from the battle, it gave a victory to the loyalists.
But this victory came to a great price. In the mist of the fighting, Sill Agan was struck to the head by an enemy. When he was found by the generals, Agan was in a coma. The attempts of the physicians to wake up the Sill failed, and now the Sill was unable to rule. In this time of extreme need, the empire needed a regent. The officers and the population already had a man in mind however. They were facing a man who was arguably the greatest general of the Second Qesani Empire. To defeat him, they needed the only man to equal his fame and talent. On the 29th of November 1155, Wadis II became the regent. Two years ago, Wadis II and Evat “the Bold” stood side by side against the Kolund Empire. Now, they were facing each other, one man trying to preserve the empire, the other trying to dismantle it.
To Wadis II, it was clear that they needed mercenaries at this point. The rebels had already twice as much troops. In December, he contacted the Ten, offering them to work for the loyalists. But he soon discovered that Evat ad already offered a job to the Ten, who joined the banner of the war hero in rebellion. The regent had to turn to another mercenary band which helped the empire in the past, Tearpen. Wadis II had personally fought by their side in the 12th Civil War, and although Captain Sagan of Tearpen had no love for Agan, he had a profound respect for Wadis II “the Just”. The Tearpen was now working for the loyalist cause.
By the time Wadis II had joined with Captain Sagan in March 1156, he was ready to pass to build an offensive strategy to defeat the rebels. But then he got the news that Sill Agan was dead. He simply died in his coma, less than 2 years after becoming Sill. In a fit of irony, Agan would end his reign under a regency, he would was regent for so many years.
Agan was succeeded on the throne by Ravan Aredisnisl Kukati, the grandson of Sill Qurac, raised by him. And for better or worst, Ravan III was now in charge.
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Wow those are fateful words ... and their promised chaos has already begun.