Zycaina Empire

History

Formation (600 - 673af)

The Northern territories of Zyraia were populated by several peoples; the Urycquan (ew-rear-kwan), the Faqavi (far-kar-vee), the Khâif (kay-hah-eef), and the Hhalkna (hach-halk-nah).

... more to come. Somehow, they merge to form the early Zycaina Empire.

The southern territories of Zyraia were populated by 2 larger nations; the Guia'dan (gwee-ah-darn), and the Ereqavi (erah-kar-vee).

Qavikan

The Ereqavi and Faqavi were once one nation, Alqavi, but a vicious civil war from 607-612af split the nation, called the Qavikan (kar-vee-khan). While Ereqavi retained some of its strength and land, the losing faction, the Faqavi, were relegated to the north. They never recovered post-Qavikan and were later conquered by the Urycquan, what historians believe to be the first step towards the formation of the Zycaina Empire.

The Ereqavi lasted a bit longer than their northern relatives, but were eventually absorbed by Guia'dan.

The civil war was essentially the cause of two powerhouse nations forming on Zyraia; the Zycaina Empire and the Guia'dan.

Urcy'kha Alliance

Urycquan, thirsty for expansion after conquering Faqavi, turned their eyes upon the rest of their neighbours. After some mild border skirmishes with Gui'dan, they realised that they could not yet contend with the southern armies. Khâif was busy with a failed expansion attempt into Hhalkna lands. The Hhalkna didn't take kindly to this, and so retaliated. Khâif, realising they were stuck between two, now aggressive, nations, and with the greedy Guia'dan to the south claiming what it could from the Ereqavi, decided to surrender to the Urycquan, proposing an alliance. Fortunately, the leader of the Urycquan was a visionary and his ultimate goal was to unite the people under one rule. He accepted Khâif's proposal, provided they defer to his military rule. Thus, the foundations of the Zycaina Empire, the Urcy'kha Alliance began in 637af.

With the new alliance, Hhalkna was unable to compete with the Urcy'kha's superior numbers. They eventually fractured, with the majority joining the Urcy'kha Alliance, to form the Zycaina Empire. There was a small population of Hhalkna who were resistant to the idea of joining the Empire. They migrated north, into the tundra, forming a small colony called Dvalla.

Rise to Power (673 - 702af)

In 673af, disaster struck the southern lands of Zyraia. Mt Zeyr erupted, spewing ash and volcanic rock far across the land, earthquakes shook the continent for miles in every direction, collapsing countless buildings and destroying much of the infrastructure. Overnight, crops were ruined, homes destroyed, and more than a million people lost their livelihood. Guia'dan was ill-prepared for such a crisis. With their resources suddenly crumbling about them, they had no option but to turn to trade negotiations with surrounding lands.

Emperor Anasûralii saw the opportunity to extend the Empire's influence. Under the guise of humanitarian efforts, he sent the armies south, with wagons of food and supplies, to help and give aid to the starving Guia'dan people. The soldiers helped the local people to rebuild their homes.

Meanwhile, in the larger cities of the south, spies began sedition amongst the local populace, inciting them to anger over Guia'dan's government's inadequacy to deal with the natural disaster. Due to the surrounding land's collapse, the commoners within the cities of the south suffered starvation, with a lack of food for everyone. While the commoners suffered, the aristocracy continued to live well, hoarding the scarce resources for themselves while they tried to negotiate new trade deals.

Anasûralii, however, was cunning. He knew that his Empire was the only feasible option for establishing trade and getting the resources to the people in time. The northern lands of Jarindi were too barren to provide enough, and the southern, more bountiful lands of the Saa'karani too far away. With the Ayrneon to the west, the south were not on good terms, and would not enter into any form of negotiation. So Anasûralii continued to raise the bar, hiking the cost of trade ever higher. So high, that the south could not, nay, would not pay. They had the wealth, but to do so would cost them everything. All the while offering aid for free to the outlying lands, but adding the cost to the trade deal. To the general public, he appeared extremely generous and compassionate, but to the southern leaders, he was anything but.

As negotiations continued, unsuccessfully (intentionally so, on Anasûralii's part), the people continued to suffer, seemingly at the hand of their own government. Anasûralii ensured that his spies spread the word of the Empire's good deeds with providing aid to the farmlands and those who had lost their homes. With an extreme shortage of food, the most necessary resource for the people, the economy collapsed, prices shooting through the roof. Hyper-inflation kicked in, and money quickly became almost worthless.

Eventually this reached a tipping point, and the people rebelled. During the time of "humanitarian aid", the armies of the Zycaina had been strategically positioning themselves, remaining unchecked by the floundering government. The southern armies had all but disbanded, with money they were being paid becoming virtually worthless in a broken economy. The rebellion was short lived, with the Zycaina Empire sweeping in and taking over, crushing the meagre forces that hadn't deserted. The Guia'dan people barely knew what happened, but so poor were their living conditions, that they welcomed the sure, guiding hand that Anasûralii seemed to offer.

Guia'dan had no choice but to capitulate and become a state of the Zycaina Empire. The next couple of decades were harsh, with the land immediately around Mt Zeyr covered with ash and lava, but with the vested interest of Anasûralii, who saw the future potential, the land was eventually brought back into habitability.

Prominence (702af - now)

... more to come. Something about the southern lands over time become more fertile from the volcanic activity? Next generation of the Empire becoming very wealthy because of this.