by Max Barry

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Calobo, confident in victory, charged up the BLue Mountains, only to be driven back decisively. WHile inspecting the battlefield, his horse wound up on the wrong path and wandered into a Sastan camp. The king was captured, but a Sastan soldier shot him before he reached the camp prison. The King is dead. The Balti army has collapsed and the communists charge forward, already the masters of most of Balticonia. Lamanza has fallen in Frihomptia, as has Cintornia. Puto Calobo and Nod Colomio seem the next targets for the communists, as these are the only cities left resisting. Luiza's whereabouts are still unknown.

Brotherhood for life and Austronta

Don't you think those colors on the wfe are too bright?

The santland

"I will not count less than 75% as a majority"

What will you do if a side gets less then 75% but more than 50%?

Brotherhood for life and Austronta

Free Toast wrote:The santland

"I will not count less than 75% as a majority"

What will you do if a side gets less then 75% but more than 50%?

Then we'll uh..... we'll discuss it more.

The santland wrote:"Really?" asks Lectus, "Now that is quite unfortunate. Any reason why?"

"A big storm in the oriental ocean."

I stand strongly against the proposed merger. First of all, Rhinia demands we move to their region. This would kill our roleplay if we left our home rmb. This is hardly short of an annexation! Secondly, Rhinia would have most of the government power. I think we all enjoy the autonomy we have in Lezra. I do support closer ties with Rhinia, and I have continually argued for a better deal, but as it stands, I am decisively against the merger

Balticonia wrote:Calobo, confident in victory, charged up the BLue Mountains, only to be driven back decisively. WHile inspecting the battlefield, his horse wound up on the wrong path and wandered into a Sastan camp. The king was captured, but a Sastan soldier shot him before he reached the camp prison. The King is dead. The Balti army has collapsed and the communists charge forward, already the masters of most of Balticonia. Lamanza has fallen in Frihomptia, as has Cintornia. Puto Calobo and Nod Colomio seem the next targets for the communists, as these are the only cities left resisting. Luiza's whereabouts are still unknown.

The RPK that remains in Balticonia set up bases in Puto Calobo and Nod Colomio in order to protect the cities while a letter is sent to the communists asking them to cease their attacks on Balticonian lands.

The santland wrote:Lectus claps his hands and the main course is brought out for the dining guests. Large halibut and sturgeon are brought out on trays. Many salmon and trout are also brought out before the guests with a variety of spices and salads. Another thing on the table is a large bowl of a newly invented Santec Sauce called "Tartur". This means approximately "trout cover"

"Well, this is certainly different than the meals i see in New Rhedava..." The King digs in, first trying the salmon with the "tartur" sauce.

Rednedonia wrote:The RPK that remains in Balticonia set up bases in Puto Calobo and Nod Colomio in order to protect the cities while a letter is sent to the communists asking them to cease their attacks on Balticonian lands.

The Sasts agree, but they march all the way to the walls of Puto Calobo and Nod Colomio. They now control the rest of the country. Luiza has been found in Puto Calobo and will represent the side of the Balti in a peace conference at Cintornia.

Balticonia wrote:The Sasts agree, but they march all the way to the walls of Puto Calobo and Nod Colomio. They now control the rest of the country. Luiza has been found in Puto Calobo and will represent the side of the Balti in a peace conference at Cintornia.

Commander Kavish attends the conference and invites representatives from Utopia, Korania, and the Santec in order to help decide the fate of Balticonia.

Balticonia wrote:I stand strongly against the proposed merger. First of all, Rhinia demands we move to their region. This would kill our roleplay if we left our home rmb. This is hardly short of an annexation! Secondly, Rhinia would have most of the government power. I think we all enjoy the autonomy we have in Lezra. I do support closer ties with Rhinia, and I have continually argued for a better deal, but as it stands, I am decisively against the merger

I agree with your statement and I will make one of my own in around 20 mind.

Post self-deleted by Old utopia.

Rednedonia wrote:Commander Kavish attends the conference and invites representatives from Utopia, Korania, and the Santec in order to help decide the fate of Balticonia.

Wait a moment. Who's holding this conference? Did I invite you? Don't pretend you won a war.

Old utopia wrote:Alright so this is my statement:

There is no need for a merger between Lezra and RHINIA. RHINIA has 30 members. We have 28. And we are wayyyyyyyy more active than RHINIA. It makes no sense to have a merger. I don't think I need to say much more. It just doesn't make sense. And more importantly, the merger bill states that an elected RP council will decide the setting and date of the RP, meaning that this RP that we currently have going will most likely be overridden. For me that's... no. I don't think we should sacrifice this region, it's RP and its history just because we have 2 fewer members than RHINIA. This bill and the merger entirely wasn't even approved by Austronta as it says only The santland approved it. And more importantly, neither did Sparkhill and this is his region. He should decide whether there should be a merger or not. He can't stop us from leaving this region, but if we are going to have a professional merger with a bill and everything, the founder of Lezra should have a say. It just doesn't make sense for this merger to happen, it's not worth the sacrifices and the fact that neither Sparkhill nor Austronta approved the bill makes me question its legitimacy.

I completely agree

Post self-deleted by Old utopia.

Old utopia wrote:Alright so this is my statement:

There is no need for a merger between Lezra and RHINIA. RHINIA has 30 members. We have 28. And we are wayyyyyyyy more active than RHINIA. It makes no sense to have a merger. I don't think I need to say much more. It just doesn't make sense. And more importantly, the merger bill states that an elected RP council will decide the setting and date of the RP, meaning that this RP that we currently have going will most likely be overridden. For me that's... no. I don't think we should sacrifice this region, it's RP and its history just because we have 2 fewer members than RHINIA. This bill and the merger entirely wasn't even approved by Austronta as it says only The santland approved it. And more importantly, neither did Sparkhill and this is his region. He should decide whether there should be a merger or not. He can't stop us from leaving this region, but if we are going to have a professional merger with a bill and everything, the founder of Lezra should have a say. It just doesn't make sense for this merger to happen, it's not worth the sacrifices and the fact that neither Sparkhill nor Austronta approved the bill makes me question its legitimacy.

I would like to point out that the approval part was added by me when I was making the copy. I did not add any other delegates names because I did not want to speak for anyone else.

Brotherhood for life and Austronta

The santland wrote:I would like to point out that the approval part was added by me when I was making the copy. I did not add any other delegates names because I did not want to speak for anyone else.

Ok, but I think it would've helped if you added the name of everyone that approved the bill.

Thank you for your support during my run as DPM. I am sorry for my failures.

Snowylan wrote:OOC:Sorry, about the late reply.
IC:
The topic of the Tsar's relationship is a heavily debated topic in the news papers and salons, however there has not been any concrete evidence for months, with a few more.... treasonous minds hinting that the Tsar may, uh bat for the other team.

The Tsar regardless still writes frequent letters to Zxia, occasionally riding down to meet her in person and chat, oh his private office hangs Zxia's painting of the HMS Zxia the pride of the Navy and the flagship of the home fleet.

Zxia occasionally visits the salons in which the Tsar's relationship with Zxia is discussed. She pays the gossip-mongers no mind

Brotherhood for life and Snowylan

Balticonia wrote:Wait a moment. Who's holding this conference? Did I invite you? Don't pretend you won a war.

The Peacekeepers are holding a conference as part of the peace talks in order to help decide how to keep Balticonia from civil war again.

A deal has been made!

A new regime has begun in Balticonia! The Sastans will now control all the country except for the cities of Nod Colomio, Puto Calobo, and Puto Vicorrio. The Batoriles will also belong to these cities, which will be known as Marprovia. The new capital of Balticonia is Laumana.

Brotherhood for life, Austronta, and Snowylan

I'm back and here to RP

Balticonia wrote:A deal has been made!

A new regime has begun in Balticonia! The Sastans will now control all the country except for the cities of Nod Colomio, Puto Calobo, and Puto Vicorrio. The Batoriles will also belong to these cities, which will be known as Marprovia. The new capital of Balticonia is Laumana.

Wait... you reached an agreement? What is this, some kind of Aprils fools joke?
In all seriousness though, Bernado Ajello has invited the leaders of Marprovia and Balticonia to a summit. Elesa is also invited.

Brotherhood for life, Austronta, and Snowylan

Post-War Korania (1411-1432)

Alexander II

During Regency (1411-1416)

The year is 1411, and Korania is a little bit on fire, both figuratively and literally. The empire had just lost a crushing war against a coalition consisting of Austronta, Old Utopia, the Union of Southeast Lezra and Allan Land. Most of the empire’s influence in the South Lezran Sea had been eliminated with its island-colonies, barring the county of Solovis, had been released as independent nations. The war marked the end of Koranian supremacy and Korania being a superpower, leaving 2 nations, Old Utopia and Austronta to attempt to take up the mantle.

Korania was currently in a regency and its regent, Anton Kersovich had utterly failed to stop the coalition of empires from defeating the Koranian empire and was thus extremely unpopular. A meeting of the Divat was called in Velnaz, in which Anton Kersovich was removed as Regent and replaced with Ivan Kovlov. Ivan, upon assuming the title of Regent became burdened with the task of fixing everything Anton Kersovich and the war had done to Korania. Ivan would do well in his 5 years of being regent, managing taxes well enough to raise enough money to reconstruct and recover most of Korania.

In 1416, the son of Alexander Antonov I, also called Alexander, became 16 and thus, old enough to be crowned emperor. Ivan Kovlov stepped down as regent and Alexander was crowned emperor Alexander Antonov II of Korania in Andruthinia, the capital of Korania. Ivan Kovlov was rewarded for his service to the empire as regent and his family was given land near Velnaz. Ivan Kovlov continued to serve the empire being appointed as the chancellor of Korania by Alexander II. Alexander II’s reign had begun.

First 5 Years of Ruling (1416-1421)

Alexander’s reign didn’t begin as stable as he hoped it would. The devastating war had a heavy toll on Korania, mostly on its peasants whose homes and farmlands had been burned during the devastating chevauchées of the Austrontans. Many peasants were now asking for help which could not be given yet. When their demands were rejected by the crown, they resorted to more violent methods.

A band of 20,000 peasants were amassed calling for the abolishment of serfdom and feudalism all together declaring it inhumane and a violation of freedom. Korania was woefully unprepared for any rebellion especially a large one and thus Alexander II was forced to meet the peasants and negotiate with the leader of the peasant band Nikolas Amatzy. Negotiations broke down after a week, however, and Alexander II was forced to meet the band of peasants outnumbered at the battle of Lylulsk. Alexander, despite outnumbered by 10,000 men won the battle crushing the peasant army. Despite his victory, Alexander was still forced to make concessions to the peasants to prevent a rebellion from happening again. He promised greater rights to the peasants and eventually the abolishment of feudalism for them, a promise which he would totally totally keep. Except he didn’t, taking that promise to his grave.

Alexander II Adressing The Peasants

After the peasants' revolt, Alexander II began a reform of how the empire worked, starting with the king’s advisors. Alexander made a council of advisors consisting of 5 members: The chancellor which acted as the right-hand man of the emperor, overseeing the legislation of the empire and advising the emperor in legislative affairs. The Marshall acted as a military advisor to the emperor, responsible in raising levies, training troops and commanding the emperor’s armies. The steward sometimes called the treasurer, acted as a financial advisor to the emperor, taking care of the empire’s money. The spymaster acted as the eyes and ears of the emperor and often orchestrated schemes to help the empire which often involved assassinations. And finally the court chaplain, who managed religious services within the court of the emperor, a position less important than the others and often held by bishops in the empire. With this more organised court, Alexander II ruled his empire much more effectively.

Reorganization of Turkish Korania (1421-1424)

One of the things Alexander II is most famed for was the reorganization of Turkish Korania which had been a part of the empire since 1114. That part of Korania had been lacking good administration and organisation for around 300 years and Alexander II put himself to the task of organizing Turkish Korania. The first thing Alexander II did was separate Turkish Korania into 11 different states like the 5 states in western Korania. The head state was Turkiskaj which was made around the city of Turchanka which had outgrown the old Turk capital of Nezda. He appointed a governor for each state, something that was not done for Western Korania. He also, with the accord of the Pope, made each state have a bishop, something that was done for Western Korania. The organization of Turkish Korania by Alexander II is mostly remarked as good but a problem did arise from it. One that would have consequences for years to come. The difference of how Western Korania and Turkish Korania were administered and governed separated the 2 regions rather than absolving it into Western Korania like Mikalas I had done with the 5 kingdoms he had conquered. Unlike in Western Korania, where everybody considered themselves Koranian, Turkish Korania was different with many refusing to adapt and assimilate into the Koranian culture and remaining a part of the Turkish culture. This would lead to many Turk rebellions in later years.

Forging Alliances (1424-1425)

Formation of Koranian-Allandian Alliance

Korania didn’t have allies for most of its existence under the Volkovs. The empire would often secure the military support of one nation or the financial support of another because it was beneficiary to both nations but it didn’t keep its allies for long. Which wasn’t good. Had Korania secured some allies, it may have been able to survive the coalition against it. Alexander II realized this and set the task of finding a hopefully permanent ally for Korania. The Ivorican kingdoms refused to ally with Korania, being one of its main rivals, Old Utopia and Austronta were out of the picture seeing as they and Korania both hated each other. Balticonia was far away and weak, still recovering from the collapse of the Union of Southeast Lezra, and most of the nations in central Lezra were uninterested to ally with Korania or lacked the proper governance to forge any alliances. Because of this, the search for a reliable ally was tough. But eventually, Alexander II did find one. The kingdom of Allan Land had joined the coalition against Korania but had gained very little from it. They were promised land on the South Lezran Sea but were then denied it by Austronta and Old Utopia. The Allan Landians still hated the Old Utopians after the Old Utopians murdered their king around 300 years ago in 1148 and were therefore hesitant to continue working with them. Because of all this, the Allan Landian king Gwen I and Alexander II met in Petrenkov and signed treaty, creating a defensive and military alliance between the 2 nations to prevent any Old Utopian or Austrontan attack and hinder the growth of Old Utopian and Austrontan influence.

Relations with the Ivoricans (1425-1428)

By 1425, Ivorica was still split between many tiny kingdoms, all exerting their influence over the others and constantly warring with each other. This was particularly the case along the Koranian-Ivorican border, which was mostly undefined, where most of the kingdoms were tiny and constantly fighting. Together they came to be known as the Ivorican marches. These marches would often perform raids into Koranian lands angering the Koranian nobles that ruled over those lands. A massive Ivorican raid in late 1425 caused the Koranian nobles to call for help from Alexander II.

The emperor responded not by invading the marches but by orchestrating schemes to sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican kingdoms. He was successful in causing a war between most of the Ivorican marches and even helped specific kingdoms to make sure one didn’t grow too powerful. Because of the constant chaos, raids on Korania became almost non-existent. Korania played a detrimental role in keeping Ivorica disunified and in chaos because if they didn’t it would be a problem. United, Ivorica would have almost twice the population of Korania, meaning twice the army, twice the money and twice the weapons. It would be a disaster for Korania. By 1428 the chaos in the Ivorican marches had calmed down and they resorted to raiding Korania once again. This caused the Koranian nobles near the border to form a large union to protect each other from the Ivoricans. This worked quite well and repelled most Ivorican raids for quite some time.

Relations and Trade With Central Lezra (1428-1431)

Anatoli IV, Depicted Here as A Warrior-King

Central Lezra, had for a long time, been without any unity or order. It lacked the population to form a strong state and therefore was comprised of small or large horse tribes who frequently raided Korania, Old Utopia, Allan Land and the Ivoricans. It was also home to the silk road, built by Nezim III in around 610 which stretched from the edge of Old Utopia to what is now Snowylan connecting almost all of Lezra in a series of long roads. These roads, while carriers of immense wealth, were also carriers of diseases and in 1428 Korania was hit with a massive plague which devastated the nation, mostly Turkish Korania. By 1431 the plague had settled down and mostly disappeared from Korania, but the road continued to be a massive transmitter of diseases to Korania for a long time.

Last Years of Ruling (1431-1437)

Alexander’s last years of ruling would be plagued with the problem of his succession. He had a son named Anatoli who was 23 at the time who was fairly liked across the empire, mainly among the nobility. However, some preferred his cousin Viktor, son of Alexander II’s brother Vasily. Viktor was a pious man and was supported by the church and the people, along with Alexander II’s brother Vasily who himself held the support of some of the nobility. In 1433 a revolt broke out attempting to depose Alexander II in favour of his nephew Viktor. The revolt failed and the nobles and peasants held responsible for it were either exiled or executed. This angered the church and the people, who prepared for war. In 1435 Alexander II held a meeting of the Divat in Andruthinia. Here most of the nobility swore an oath to make sure Anatoli would become emperor upon Alexander’s death. This nobility included Mikhael Markov, the leader of the House of Markov. In 1436 Alexander caught the flu and was confined to his bed for the last year of his life. Anatoli was proclaimed regent by Alexander II, however, some of the Divat contested this. When Alexander II died in January of 1437, a meeting of the Divat was called to decide on who would succeed him. Because the Divat was mostly comprised of nobles, Anatoli won out in the end. However, parts of the Divat did not accept this and held a meeting in secret, electing Viktor as emperor, beginning the year of the 2 emperors.

Year of the 2 Emperors (1437)

The year of the 2 Emperors was a short but violent military conflict between the son and nephew of Alexander II after his death, Anatoli and Viktor. Anatoli had the backing of the nobility, while Viktor had the backing of most of the people and the church. The conflict began with the battle of St.Mikalas bridge, a bridge which crossed the river to Velnaz. Anatoli defended the bridge while Viktor assaulted. The battle was deadly and led to around 4000 casualties and Viktor was able to break the defender’s and cross the bridge. Viktor would then besiege Velnaz home to House Nikolaev (they’ll be important for later). However, the city was reinforced by men from the Markovs and Orlovs who drove back Viktor in May. Viktor retreated to Bolochia where he had the most support. He mustered an army of 20,000 men and marched east attempted to hook up with reinforcements from Petrenkov, ruled by House Ignatiev. He failed, however, and was caught in July by Anatoli and defeated and forced to retreat back to Nebovosk.

In August Nebovosk was put under siege by Anatoli’s men. Forces from Petrenkov attempted to relieve the siege but they were repelled by Markov forces led by Mikhael Markov who in battle, killed Igor Ignatiev who left no heirs, ending the house of Ignatiev. The war seemed to be reaching its end, however, a band of mercenaries funded by the pope himself who supported Viktor. The mercenary band ravaged Turkish Korania and then moved on to Ballatchia (which was under Koranian rule). Nebovosk was captured in October, and Anatoli supposedly duelled Viktor and killed him by stabbing him in the neck. The mercenary band dispersed and Anatoli was crowned Anatoli IV of the House of Antanov in December of 1437. The pope Leo IX was still angry and excommunicated Anatoli IV on January of 1438, however, by then the war had ended and the excommunication did little. The Year of 2 emperors was not extremely important for Korania, however, it was extremely important for the Markovs because with the extinction of the House of Ignatiev, Petrenkov was left with no ruler and because of the Markov assistance to Anatoli IV, they were granted the city, which propelled them to Dukes in Korania, becoming the Dukes of Petrenkov, a flourishing city.

1st Ivorican Koranian War (1438-1445)

Background (1431-1438)

By 1431 Ivorican-Koranian relations had deteriorated. The Anti-Ivorican League known as the League of Nebovosk was formed in 1430 as a named successor to the union of nobles who united to fight against Ivorican raids. Of course, these raids did not mean wars between Korania and Ivorica. Most of the raids were carried by bands of Ivoricans not controlled by any of the kingdoms and therefore the raids could not be declarations of war against Korania. The League of Nebovosk worked very well in repelling raids and event went as far to attack the Ivorican Marches themselves. Because the marches were tiny, they were too weak to actually do anything and did not receive the backing of any of the large Ivorican kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivorican marches formed their own league in 1435 as a direct rival to the Koranian league. This increased tensions between the Koranians and the Ivoricans. However, most of Korania was troubled with Anatoli II’s succession so little happened. When the year of the 2 brother’s began, the Ivorican League launched a large raid into Bolochia which was extremely successful. When Anatoli IV finished his conflict with Viktor he looked to the Ivoricans. He saw the raid as extremely invasive and humiliating for Korania and looked to amend it. Rather than sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican League, he decided that outright military confrontation would be better and launched a surprise attack on the League in April of 1438.

First Engagements (1438-1439)

The Ivorican League

The Ivorican League was surprised by the attack and was unready for a full-blown invasion. They attempted to muster forces but failed and were crushed twice by the Koranian forces. Most of the Ivorican Marches were overrun by January of 1439. This caused unwanted attention from the stronger Ivorican kingdoms who worried that Korania would begin to dominate the Ivoricans if they didn’t act quickly. So worried, they quickly joined in against Korania in May of 1439. This is generally considered as the 1st Ivorican-Koranian war because the other wars had not been between the whole of Ivorica and Korania just some of the kingdoms, however, this war included all of Ivorica united against Korania.

Climax (1439-1443)

The following 3 years were the climax of the war where fighting reached its peak, with Ivoricans and Koranians engaged in sporadic back and forth fighting across Ivorica. Korania triumphed over Ivorica in the war for 2 reasons. Firstly, the Koranians held much more advanced military technology so despite being outnumbered, they were still able to win most fights. Secondly, Korania was one empire while Ivorica was still split between many small and large kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivoricans lacked any form of coordination and strategy, allowing themselves to be picked off one by one. In 1441 Colombo was captured, sacked and razed to the ground, slaughtering thousands of Ivoricans civilians, something they would not forget. The Ivoricans, in turn, sacked Koranian villages and burned everything committing heinous acts in the process. By 1443, the Ivoricans were pushed to Karatana. The capital of the kingdom was besieged but the Koranians failed to take it. However, by then the war had been lost.

End and Peace Treaty (1443-1445)

Attempts from the Ivoricans to retake their kingdoms worked in some places but they were too weak to continue the war. Anatoli IV made one last all-out assault on the kingdom of Karatana and was able to capture the capital of the kingdom. The Ivoricans were now completely occupied by Korania. The Kings, Counts and Marcher Lords were all rounded up and forced to attend a peace congress in Karatana. What followed was the Peace of Karatana, a number of treaties made to end the war between the Ivorican kingdoms and the Empire of Korania. The Ivoricans were crushed. They were forced to cede massive amounts of land and money to Anatoli IV as well as swear allegiance to Anatoli IV. As a result of the war, Ivorica was almost completely annexed by the Koranian empire with the kings and counts forced to swear allegiance to Anatoli. Korania also gained a massive amount of money which it would use to completely rebuild the nation. The war was a massive success for Korania and Anatoli was praised.

The Utopo-Koranian War (1445-1463)

Bakkan Horde

Background (1445-1448)

Relations with the Old Utopians and their Grand Duke Cristoforo I were obviously not well. Korania’s devastating war was orchestrated by Old Utopia and the Duchy caused the downfall of the empire, something which the Koranians did not take lightly. They sought revenge. Unfortunately, Old Utopia was too powerful to mess with. It had allied itself with the fractured but strong Austrontan kingdoms and republics. Austronta too had joined the war against Korania, albeit not technically Austronta as it was rather more a loose confederation of kingdoms who shared the spoils united only once to take down a common enemy and reap the benefits. Korania was still recovering, although now it was recovering much faster with the massive amount of cash from the Ivoricans. Old Utopia was swimming in gold and it hogged its trade routes and its massive navy frequently raided Koranian merchants, barring Korania from having influence in the South Lezran Sea.

Tensions between Old Utopia and Korania started to grow increasingly high especially after Korania crushed the Ivoricans which worried Old Utopia who was hoping Korania would remain weak for a much longer time. It seemed as if a war was brewing. Anatoli IV was hoping to win further support from the nobility and he hoped that war with Old Utopia would determine his reign as a great one. He was eager to go to war with Old Utopia and used the harassing of Koranian merchant ships by the Old Utopian navy as a casus belli. He rallied the people and then convinced his nobles that war was the only option if Korania wanted to return to the world stage. Furthermore, Korania was still allied with Allan Land who agreed to join the war in exchange for land from Old Utopia which Korania accepted. In 1448, war was declared.

First Engagements (1448-1451)

Korania was in no way shape or form able to handle Old Utopia’s massive navy so they knew that this war was going to primarily be fought on land. Old Utopia immediately began blockading Koranian ports which put a strain on the nation but even Old Utopia didn’t have a navy large enough to blockade the entire coastline of Korania. Anatoli IV moved in with an army of 17,000 men and raided the Old Utopian lands. They were met by an army of 20,000 led by a mercenary general named Francisco Devacarro who faced Anatoli IV in open battle. Anatoli won and routed Francisco’s army who retreated. Anatoli cut a bloody swathe into Old Utopia and attempted to capture Andrif but 3 armies each consisting of 15,000 arrived just in time and he was forced to retreat. The Old Utopians attempted to counter-attack but Anatoli evaded them. He was eventually forced to face them in battle which he lost but with little casualties. Anatoli then received reinforcements and attacked Old Utopia once again in 1450.

Troutwater Mountains

The Allan Landians were also moving in. They attempted to attack Pandonus but were repelled by the city’s garrison. The Allan Landians then found themselves being pummeled by the Old Utopians. They were forced to retreat to the troutwater mountains in which they fought countless battles against the Old Utopians. The Allan Landian front would soon become a struggle between Allan Land and Old Utopia over the troutwater mountains. This allowed Anatoli to surprise the Old Utopians who were busy with the Allan Landians. He took Andrif by surprise and began to move to Jurana. The Old Utopians cut off his supply line and he was once again forced to retreat. He was defeated by Francisco Devacarro in the battle of Ponza and was pushed out of Old Utopia entirely in 1452.

The Bakkan Front (1451-1455)

Anatoli was forced to contemplate his situation after the disastrous battle of Ponza. His nobles were beginning to become worried and started to call for Anatoli to make peace. But the Emperor hesitated. He thought he could still have a chance against the Old Utopian. He called for more reinforcements and set up defences in the Bakkan valleys and waited for Francisco to come. Sure enough, the Old Utopian mercenary arrived at the valleys and began assaulting Anatoli’s army. And here is where the Bakkan horde comes in. The Bakkan horde was a sub-part of the Turkish horde except that they were culturally and linguistically different. After the Turks were crushed by Mikalas III in 1114 and the Turk horde was annexed into Korania, the Bakkans became a puppet of the Koranians. They were used as a puppet to spread Korania’s influence over central Lezra along the silk road. When the war came to them they took a neutral side and the Bakkan front quickly became a diplomatic front as both sides attempted to convince the Bakkans to join their side.

The Bakkans eventually joined the Old Utopians and attacked Anatoli IV in a narrow strait. However, the Koranians held their ground and the Bakkans were defeated. Anatoli counter-attacked and pushed back the Bakkans and the Old Utopians. He tried to move towards Old Utopia once again but Bakkan raids harassed his supply line and he was forced to remain in the Bakkan valleys. By 1454, Anatoli IV was essentially trapped in the Bakkan valleys, being unable to move out due to Bakkan assaults. The Old Utopians tried to encircle Anatoli but failed. Eventually, sickness had spread across the Old Utopian camps and they abandoned the Bakkans entirely. By 1455 Anatoli finally defeated the Bakkans and pushed them out of the valley, freeing his army. With this, the Bakkan front had mostly ended and the Bakkan horde stopped being a prominent player in the war.

Climax of the War (1455-1460)

Treaty of Andrif

When 1455 came around, the war had reached its peak. Sporadic fighting was erupting across the troutwater mountains and the Duchy of Pandonus. The fighting between the Allan Landians and the Old Utopians had become intense, culminating in the battle of Pandonus. Allan Landians attempted to besiege the city but were caught by an Old Utopian army led by a general named Alfonso Vescovi. The Allan Landians fought a massive battle just outside of Pandonus. With some clever tactics, Alfonso found himself flanked and surrounded. The Old Utopians were crushed and the garrison, which had joined the fighting fled the battle and surrendered the city the next day. The Allan Landians were doing exceptionally well, mostly due to their cavalry which was very well trained and efficient. The Koranians were not doing so well, however. They had been stuck in a stalemate with the Old Utopians for a while, and the threat of Ivorican revolt loomed over their heads. Many were calling for Anatoli to retreat and make peace but he did no such thing. Determined to prove himself, he went on one last campaign to hopefully force the Old Utopians into submission.

Anatoli once again met Francisco Devacarro on the field of battle. In one climactic battle, Anatoli won and defeated Francisco but under heavy casualties. He moved to Andrif once again in 1457. Francisco Devacarro moved to the city and began setting up defences. The city was besieged in May of 1457. The siege lasted until October of 1457. Various sorties from the defenders proved the siege to difficult to maintain by Anatoli IV. He ordered one last assault of the city which failed. The attackers were repelled and Anatoli IV abandoned the siege when the snow began to fall. Luckily for Anatoli, however, the Allan Landians had done a much better job. After capturing the city of Pandonus, they proceeded to capture the entire Duchy by the end of 1458. In February of 1459 neither Korania, Allan Land or Old Utopia could continue fighting, having exhausted their last bit of money. Because of this, they began negotiations to sign a peace treaty. In April of 1459, they finally reached an agreement and the treaty of Andrif was signed. Korania was going to have to hand over the ownership of the Bakkan horde to Old Utopia, as well as limit their powers over the Ivoricans, giving them semi-autonomy. In return though, Old Utopia was forced to cede some land across the troutwater mountains to Allan Land as well as pay a large sum of gold to both Korania and Allan Land. Overall, the war did not have the success Anatoli hoped and he was forced to cede absolute rule over the Ivoricans and the Bakkan horde, but the large sacks of money from Old Utopia helped Korania recover even faster. By the end of the war, Korania was still not the ruling superpower it hoped to be and it had lost a valuable puppet, but the money from the Old Utopians ensured a quick recovery for the empire.

Grigori, Serfdom and Pirates (1459-1479)

Eustace Klyd

New Emperor, New Nation (1459-1463)

In June of 1459, Anatoli IV passed away at the age of 61. He was a good emperor and became revered by his people as the emperor who restored Korania to most of its former glory. His 27-year-old son, Grigory was crowned emperor Grigory I of Korania. Just 4 years into his reign, a new nation was formed. The empire of Austronta was formed under the Hapsburg-Lotharingien family. Although it would take a few years for them to fully conquer the region of Austronta, the empire proved itself to be a new contender for Korania. Grigory was keen to keep an eye on the new empire, but he also didn’t want to make Austronta his enemy. However, Austronta soon allied itself to the Old Utopians and he quickly broke relations with Austronta. He was keen to hinder Old Utopian influence in Lezra as much as possible and so he first tried to undermine its allies. He attempted to ally himself with the kingdom of Sastaville and convince the kingdom to launch an invasion of Austronta but the king refused. He then tried to help the recovering Balticonia and convince the nation to turn on Old Utopia but that failed too. Eastern Lezra remained in Old Utopia’s hands during Grigory’s reign, and Austronta remained a close ally of Old Utopia.

Serfdom and Feudalism (1463-1467)

After the Utopian-Koranian war, peasants, despite the sack of money from Old Utopia, were beginning to have it worse. They found themselves constantly barraged by taxes and the nobility. They wanted more rights to be granted to them, more freedom and most importantly, the end to feudalism. The wars against Ivorica and Korania led Korania to be unprotected internally during the wars, leading to a rise in banditry and harsher conditions for the peasants. Despite the wars improving the lives of the peasants, they still seemed to be in the middle ages and protested. To make matters worse, in 1464 there was a large drought, crops failed and famine ensued. The peasants looked to countries like Old Utopia, who had abolished serfdom a few years before and demanded the same rights. Grigori wasn’t having it and refused to listen which only caused more riots. Grigori’s nobles employed harsh methods of keeping their peasants quiets and they pressured the emperor in refusing the peasant’s demands. In places like Bolochia and Makarova, rebellions ensued and some nobles were even forced out of their castles and then in some cases killed. Grigori’s nobles urged him to act and he addressed the peasants directly. After a long time of talking. Grigori finally agreed to a deal with the peasants, despite his nobility’s protests. He, like Alexander II promised greater rights to the peasants and the abolishment of serfdom. Unlike Alexander, he upheld those promises and while he wouldn’t live to see the abolishment of serfdom, he made many acts to improve the lives of the peasants.

The War on The Sea (1467-1479)

Grigori didn’t give up on hindering Old Utopia, as some had thought. He was determined to hamper the Grand Duchy as much as possible and he had devised a new strategy. He decided that this time, rather than undermine Old Utopia’s allies which failed, he would attempt to obstruct Old Utopian trade in the South Lezran Sea. He used the money from the previous wars to employ pirates, giving them gold in return for them harassing only Old Utopian ships. This worked well at first, Old Utopian merchant ships across the South Lezran Sea found themselves constantly harassed by pirate ships and Old Utopian trade was hampered. Even merchant ships protected by war galleys were looted and sunk. This was mostly due to 2 brothers named Eric and Eustace of the family Klyd. They were born somewhere in Lezra, perhaps on the island of Drextopia or perhaps the islands of Solovis. The 2 joined a crew of pirates early in their 20s under an unknown pirate captain. They proved to be exceptionally good duelists and very good with cannons and they soon rose above the ranks and became the captains favourite. They also gained the favour of their fellow crew. Because of their popularity within the crew, they betrayed their captain, killed him and took command over the small barque. They named their barque ‘The Martyred Captain’ and quickly set sail.

Eric and Eustace soon became formidable pirates and even amassed a small alliance of 4 galleys. They were very good tacticians and won battle after battle, even when outnumbered. Their cunning became renowned and they made quite a living off of their piracy. They accepted the offer from Grigori and began targeting Old Utopian ships, raiding them, sinking them and sometimes capturing them. Many pirates soon signed up to their crew and they both acquired nicknames. Eric became known as ‘Barbadoro’ which means goldbeard in Old Utopian. This is because Eric had an almost gold-looking beard. Eustace meanwhile, acquired the nickname ‘L’Orso del Mare’ which means bear of the sea due to his ferocity. The brothers became so infamous, almost every pirate signed up to their growing fleet. By 1471 they held a fleet of 9 barques, 4 brigantines and 2 caravels. The Old Utopians were determined to put a stop to this.

Battle on the Old Utopian Gulf

In 1472, the famous Old Utopian merchant ship ‘La Corona di Diamanti’ or ‘The Diamond Crown’ was looted of all its jewels and immense wealth and then captured by Eric and Eustace. The merchant ship was protected by 4 barques but they were ambushed and sunk due to Eric’s tactics. On the Diamond Crown, Eric proclaimed in front of his fellow crew, the establishment of the confederacy of pirates with Eric and Eustace as the Pirate kings. They set up base on a small island in the North Lezran Sea which they captured from the Old Utopians. On the island, they built a fort which they then named Fort Cruelsea. This was the last straw for the Old Utopians. They had lost many good admirals and a large amount of wealth. They needed to stop this. They began recruiting new admirals and hiring mercenaries to commandeer ships and hunt down parts of the Confederacy of Pirates. They put out bounties on pirate captains and even put a bounty of 15,000 coins on Eric and Eustace each. This drew a lot of attention and a lot of mercenaries signed up but they failed to do much and were defeated and killed by the confederacy. By 1475, the situation looked dire. Mercenaries failed to put a stop to the 2 pirate brothers and the Confederacy of Pirates kept on growing in size and strength.

Luckily for the Old Utopians, someone arrived to help. A mercenary by the name of Claudio Azerella. He commandeered a ship known as ‘The Drunken Shark’ and quickly rose above the ranks due to his tactics. He sunk many pirate ships and captured many more. By 1475 he had captured a total of 16 barques and 5 brigantines ad well as recover some wealth. In late 1476 he captured the infamous pirate captain Armando Constantini and his prized ship, dealing a great blow to the confederacy. He caught the eye of Eric and Eustace who personally accompanied their ship to defeat and kill Claudio. However, he evaded the 2 brothers using quick thinking. He returned to Kantonus a hero. In 1477, Eric and Eustace began planning something big. An all-out attack on Kantonus. They planned to attack, capture and sack the city. If they succeeded in doing this they would live on forever as pirate legends. They amassed a fleet of 35 barques, 15, brigantines and 6 caravels which in total added up to 56 ships. They planned to move on Kantonus by 1479. However, Claudio was determined to stop them. He was made admiral of a large Old Utopian fleet. When he learned of the 2 brother’s intentions, he began patrolling the coastline near Kanton Inu and the Old Utopian gulf. The stage had been set for a grand battle in the Old Utopian gulf.

In June of 1479, Eric and Eustace decided to strike. With an armada of 37 barques, 21 brigantines and 7 caravels they attacked Kanton Inu. Claudio’s fleet came quickly to defend and a huge battle ensued. Claudio used ships with nothing but gunpowder barrels to be sailed straight into the enemy armada and then blown up. This gave Claudio an advantage in the battle and after a few hours of fighting, the Pirate Armada had been routed. Eustace was killed in the fighting, presumably by Claudio himself and his prized ship ‘The Sea Bear’ was sunk. Eric escaped on his ship ‘The Drunken Shark’ due to quick manoeuvres, however, his armada was still decimated. He had lost 15 barques, 9 brigantines and 6 caravels in the attack and his remaining ships were battered and needed to be repaired. He retreated to Fort Diamond to recuperate but Claudio caught on and besieged the fort with his armada. The remainders of Eric’s Pirate Armada were sunk, the fort was taken and he himself was shot, captured and then brought to Kanton Inu where he was then hanged.

In the end, Grigori’s attempt to undermine OLd Utopian trade had been a failure. He had spent a lot of money funding the pirates so now that money went to waste and Korania was financially weakened. On a further note, Koranian influence in the South Lezran Sea was now being hindered due to Claudio Azerella. Claudio would raid Koranian merchant ships whenever he pleases and while Korania and Old Utopia would sometimes not be in a direct war, they would fight each other over wealth and influence in the South Lezran Sea for decades to come.

A Prosperous Age (1479-1493)

Grigori II

Beginning of Prosperity (1479-1483)

Korania was at peace and was experiencing prosperity once again. Grigori I put his efforts into improving Korania internally as well as trying to restore it to its former glory. Cities like Velnaz and Petrenkov flourished during this age of prosperity. Velnaz began to outmatch the old capital Andruthinia while Petrenkov, under the Markovs, became the dominant city in the province of Koranskaj, outmatching all its rivals. The population of Korania boomed as the lives of the peasants got easier, the nation became more wealthy despite Old Utopia dominating the South Lezran Sea and stability was restored to the nation. Grigori became praised among the people, but among the nobility, it was slightly different. However, by 1483 Korania had entered an age of prosperity.

Grigori’s Last Years (1483-1488)

Grigori I had reached the age of 53 by the end of 1483. His people had developed a love for the emperor after all his work to improve their lives and their nation. His nobility was less affectionate. Their power had been diminishing during his reign and they were afraid that they would lose even more. Such nobles who thought this, were the House of Nikolaev, who ruled Velnaz and the House of Borokov who ruled over towns and castles in Bolochia. Some other more minor houses also felt that their power was being diminished. Together, they attempted to pressure Grigori in 1485, but he didn’t budge. Some wished to rebel, but the Nikolaevs and Borokovs relented, deciding not to rebel. Some nobles weren’t having it and decided to rebel anyways in 1486. The rebellion was crushed and only lasted 6 months before the nobles surrendered. Grigori, in an attempt to bring the nobility under his complete control, revoked their titles and executed them as a show of strength and divided their lands between the other nobles. This kept the Koranian nobility quiet until his death. In 1488 at the age of 56, Grigori fell ill and on the 8th of July, he died. He was succeeded by his son, also named Grigori who was crowned Emperor Grigori II.

Grigori II’s First Years (1488-1493)

Grigori II was young when he ascended to the throne. He was 24. He had yet to prove himself upon becoming Emperor but he was eager to do so. He first tried to better organize the Ivorican counties and Dukedoms by shifting the borders and changing the administration. This worked well and the Ivorican provinces began producing more money but some of the Ivorican nobility was now upset. Their lands had been shuffled and some were forced to leave their homes and relocate. It should be noted that there was a strong separation between the Ivorican and Koranian nobility. Both had different traditions, ideals and goals. The only similarity between them was that they both despised one another. The Ivorican nobility had a larger degree of autonomy in order to keep them happy, which upset the Koranian nobility because their autonomy was dwindling fast. They thought that the Ivoricans were a privileged nobility and were eager to see them fall. The Ivoricans thought no different, they hated the Koranians and were eager to be independent. It was clear both were scheming against each other. Grigori’s organisation of the Ivorican provinces would eventually lead to a rebellion, but first, we should talk about 2 other important events that happened during the same time. The 1st one revolved around a matter with the nobility.

Tensions Within the Nobility (1491-1493)

Relations between the Koranian nobility had been well since the year of the 2 Emperors. There were little disputes and the strong rule of Grigori I kept them in check. Despite their dwindling power, the nobility still possessed one strong weapon. The Divat. As long as that stood, they still had some sort of power within Korania. By the last few years of Grigori I, the nobility was being dominated by 2 brothers of the house of Nikolaev. One was named Artyom and was the ruler of the house. He was an exceptional military strategist and a very good fighter and duelist. The other was Dmitri. He was the opposite of his brother. He was an excellent diplomat and also a very good spymaster, always seeming to be one step ahead of all his opponents. The 2 brothers held a seat in the Emperor’s council with Artyom as Grigori II’s Marshall and Dmitri as his Chancellor. The 2 held a large amount of influence within the emperor’s court and the empire itself. However, something would happen that would change quite a lot.


Danyil Markov

In 1491 the skilled statesman and noble Danyil Markov died under somewhat suspicious circumstances at the age of 45. The rulership of Petrenkov and all Markovi lands passed down to his son, Ivano Markov who was only 19. Despite being young and unproven Grigori II decided to give Ivano Markov a position in his council as Treasurer, making him in control of the Empire’s wealth. Ivano Markov was in a delicate position. He was young and surrounded by nobles who sought his lands and most importantly Petrenkov for themselves. His biggest rivals were definitely the Nikolaev brothers who were hoping to undermine the Markov family as much as possible to secure their position in Korania. Ivano Markov, however, was clever and most certainly being underestimated by everyone. He began trying to undermine the Nikolaev brothers as soon as possible. And he found a chance to do such very quickly. In 1493 Word had arrived that the Ivoricans were planning to revolt. Grigori decided to attempt to persuade them to not rebel. Ivano then convinced the emperor to send Dmitri as an envoy and the emperor agreed. In one quick move, he had managed to separate the 2 brothers. But before we get to the Ivorican revolt there is one more thing to talk about.

Abolishment of Serfdom (1493)

In 1493 Grigori passed the Serfdom Abolishment act, abolishing Serfdom. The surprising thing was that Grigori had to run this act with the Divat and despite all common sense, the nobles voted in favour. This was probably due to a lot of bribes from Grigori. Anyways, the abolishment of Serfdom technically meant the end of feudalism. Even though Feudalism would technically only be abolished in 1579, without Serfdom the feudal system simply ceased to exist. This improved the lives of the peasants of Korania and mostly everyone else except maybe the nobility. Mercantilism slowly replaced feudalism as the ruling political system in Korania and Mercantilism would eventually grow to be dubbed ‘Capitalism’. The abolishment of Serfdom was an important mark in the history of Korania and some consider this the end of the medieval era for Korania although this is disputed. What is not disputed, however, was that 1493 marked the end of medieval ways and systems in Korania. And now, back to the Ivorican revolt.

The Ivorican Revolt (1493-1497)

Background and Beginning (1493-1494)

In 1493, Dmitri Nikolaev travelled to the Karatana to talk with the Duke of the region, who Grigori had thought was going to be the leader of the revolt if it occurred. Dmitri attempted to talk to the Duke who was called Reginald Ansel. However, he failed to persuade the Duke who had planned to revolt months earlier. Dmitri was imprisoned and Reginald proclaimed Karatana to be an independent kingdom. Dmitri was kept as a hostage in case the Koranians decided to attack Karatana. This worked and Grigori instead decided to negotiate terms with the Ivoricans.

Negotiations (1494-1495)

Reginald demanded independence or else but Grigori attempted to push for a slightly more autonomous puppet state. Negotiations eventually broke down after a few months and Reginald ceased communications with Grigori. It was likely that he would’ve executed Dmitri there and then, had Dmitri not escaped the day prior. This caused Reginald to lose his only bargaining chip which led to a full-blown war, beginning in 1495.

First Engagements (1495-1496)

Siege of Andruthinia

Some Ivorican counties and dukedoms supported the Koranians, especially the Marcher lords near the border. This caused a sort of civil war between the Ivoricans who fought against each other. Grigori didn’t even need to send reinforcements. However, in August of 1496, Reginald won a great battle against the Pro-Koranian Ivoricans and Grigori was forced to send reinforcements. These reinforcements engaged in minor battles with the Ivoricans eventually culminating in a long battle which the Ivoricans won but with heavy casualties. Grigori sent more reinforcements but the Ivoricans kept pushing them back. It seemed as if the revolt was actually turning out to be serious.

Climax (1496-1497)

A coalition of nobles led by Artyom Nikolaev led a large force against the Ivoricans. They won 2 battles against Reginald in April and May of 1497 but were then pushed in July. Artyom won more battles but found himself unable to continue pushing forwards as the Ivoricans had taken very defensive positions. Artyom attempted one final offensive in September, winning 4 battles consecutively but when he attempted to push into the kingdom of Karatana he failed and Reginald defeated him. Artyom and his nobles considered further offensives but October and Winter were dawning on them and they knew they could not fight the Ivoricans in the snow. Artyom called for a retreat. Reginald chased and caught him but was unable to crush the Koranians decisively. The Ivorican king attempted to crush them once more in November but failed and was defeated and he himself was chased. By December the 2 sides had reached a stalemate and called an armistice. On Christmas day, Grigori and Reginald agreed to a peace treaty. Karatana and some other Ivorican states were to be released as independent kingdoms but they would have to pay Korania large amounts of gold. In the end, the war was a failure for Grigori II and his reputation was tarnished by his defeat.

The Nikolaev Revolt (1497-1502)

Background (1497-1499)

Tensions had been rising within the nobility since the Ivorican revolt, especially between the Markovs and the Nikolaevs. Grigori II was eager to put at ease these tensions as he didn’t want a rebellion or civil war to occur in Korania because he was hoping to put his focus on retaking Ivorica. However, his wishes did not come to be. Ivano Markov and the Nikolaev brothers despised each other as both were trying to undermine one another and secure their position as the dominant house in Korania. What also increased tensions were the suspicions around the death of Ivano Markov’s father, Danyil Markov. There were suspicions that the Nikolaevs had poisoned him for still unknown reasons. This only helped fuel the tensions within the nobility and soon, the noble houses were beginning to pick sides.

Artyom Nikolaev

In 1498, someone attempted to murder Ivano himself. He failed but managed to kill Ivano’s personal bodyguard, who was also his best friend, while trying to run away. Everyone suspected the Nikolaevs but without hard evidence, nobody was unable to convict them. But it was very clear to everybody that the Nikolaev brothers had drawn blood, and Ivano was going to retaliate. However, he was stopped by Grigori II who put his foot down and commanded he put a stop to this. He had chosen the side of the Nikolaevs, simply because they were more powerful and more beneficial to him. In late November, Grigori grew tired of Ivano, dismissed him and ordered him to leave the capital. A month later, Grigori II was found dead in the morning, most obviously due to poison.

It all pointed to Ivano as being the culprit. Grigori had dismissed Ivano a month before and had taken the side of the Nikolaevs. It made all the sense that he was the man who ordered that Grigori be poisoned. Since Grigori had no children, the throne passed to his fat, gluttonous brother Anatoli who in January was crowned Anatoli V. In February of 1499, Ivano Markov was summoned to the capital Andruthinia for a trial. Rather than refusing and proclaiming a revolt, he travelled to Andruthinia where he was promptly confined to the palace. He wasn’t arrested but he was going to be put on trial after a month. However, Ivano Markov did not spend his time in the capital doing nothing. He used his time there to manipulate the nobles who were also present and lead them to believe that it was, in fact, the Nikolaevs that poisoned Grigori II (it is still a matter of debate on who killed Grigori II). Whatever the case, in March of 1499, Dmitri, who was the brother present at Andruthinia as Artyom was in Velnaz, was confronted by Andrei Borokov about the suspicions that they had killed the emperor. Dmitri denied them but began leaving the palace with his personal guard. Andrei followed him with his own personal guard, they confronted each other at the main hall of the emperor, they drew their guns and in front of the emperor, a shootout occurred, Andrei Borokov was killed and Dmitri fled the city. 2 days later, Anatoli V dismissed the trial of Ivano and instead convicted the Nikolaev brothers of poisoning his brother and branded them traitors. In April, Artyom and Dmitri rallied their allies in the nobility and proclaimed a rebellion against Anatoli V to depose him in favour of Artyom Nikolaev, beginning the Nikolaev revolt.

Beginning (1499)

The Nikolaev brothers had rallied a formidable alliance of nobles to help them take the throne. Despite most of the noble houses being minor houses, together they posed a strong enough force for Anatoli V. The strongest supporters of Anatoli were, of course, the Markovs, who wished to destroy the Nikolaevs and the Borokovs, who sought revenge after the death of their father Andrei was killed at the hands of Dmitri Borokov. The 2 sides were almost equal in number but the side of the Nikolaev's possessed a special weapon. Artyom Nikolaev was by far the best strategist and tactician in all of Korania at that time. Few generals could stand up to him, even with overwhelming numbers. By August of 1499, Artyom had captured the castle and home of a prominent noble on Anatoli’s side and defeated a large coalition of nobles led by Alexei Borokov. The war seemed to be in the Nikolaev’s favour especially with some nobles abandoning Anatoli and instead proclaiming neutrality. However, in November he was pushed back by overwhelming odds and barred from taking Andruthinia. In December of 1499, the supporters of Anatoli would retaliate dealing a large blow to the supporters of Artyom in the battle of Losif. The revolt, it seemed, would not end so quickly.

Assaults and Battles (1500-1501)

As the 16th century dawned on Korania Artyom launched a counter-attack and invaded Bolochia, the home of the Borokovs. He attempted to take their castle in a siege that lasted 5 months but Alexei would relieve the garrison of the castle and break the siege. By June, Artyom had been pushed outside Bolochia. In July, Ivano Markov forced the surrender of one of Artyom’s allies by capturing the noble lord and his family. This caused Artyom to attack the Markovi lands. Ivano was defeated twice by Artyom. He attempted to organise an attack on Velnaz but his allies failed to group together and commence the siege. In September, Petrenkov was put under siege. However, support for Ivano came in from Turkish Korania. A small fleet docked on the province of Koranskaj, deploying 15,000 troops to relieve the siege of Petrenkov. They arrived just in time and broke the siege and defeated Artyom in November of 1501.

Artyom was now put in a difficult position. He was trapped between noble forces coming from Andruthinia and the Markov and Eastern Koranian forces chasing him from Petrenkov. He decided to move west and managed to defeat the coalition of forces coming from Andruthinia and then put the capital of the empire to siege in February of 1502. However, the Koranian winter that year proved a harsh one and his army suffered from attrition. Nevertheless, they continued to besiege Andruthinia. Ivano and his reinforcements were slowed down by the snow and it seemed as if they would not be able to reach the capital in time. Winter faded into spring and Ivano was still too far away from Andruthinia. It looked as if Artyom was going to take the city and win. In June, Artyom stated that ‘I will be dining in the palace of Andruthinia within 2 weeks, with the emperor’s head in front of me’. 2 weeks passed and he had failed to take the city. He attempted to storm the walls 3 times but failed all times. June passed into July and still, Artyom had failed to take the city. Alexei Borkov arrived at the city in August and attempted to break the siege but Artyom repelled him. Meanwhile, the garrison within Andruthinia was beginning to starve. Suddenly in September, Ivano Markov finally arrived. Positioning his army on a hill near the city, he ordered a massive cavalry charge into the ranks of Artyom’s army. The charge completely broke Artyom’s men and the siege ended.

Anatoli The Fat

Artyom’s army was battered and weakened. He called for a retreat to Velnaz. Meanwhile, many nobles who had joined the side of Artyom had deserted to Anatoli’s side. Artyom attempted to counter-attack and defeat Alexei Borkov and Ivano Markov but he was caught on 3 sides and was forced to retreat. Ivano and Alexie did not besiege Velnaz as it was December and they would be unable to set up a siege in that harsh winter. The end of the rebellion was coming.

Final Sieges and End (1502)

In March, the terrible winter finally ended and Velnaz was put to siege. The siege would last 5 months. In August, the city was taken by Artyom, Dmitri and the Nikolaev family were not there. They had retreated to a small but very defensible castle near Velnaz, positioned on a hill. Despite that, Ivano and Alexei put to siege the small castle. The few nobles who still supported the 2 brothers attempted to break the siege twice but they failed and 2 months later the last nobles still in support of the Nikolaev brothers had surrendered. The 2 brothers knew that if they lost the rebellion, their heads would end up impaled on 2 pikes and so they refused to surrender and continued the siege. Eventually, however, the castle was eventually taken in November. Artyom and Dmitri were captured and taken to Andruthinia. Ivano Markov ordered that all the entrances and exits to the castle be sealed shut and then ordered for the castle to be burnt to the ground, with the rest of the Nikolaevs still inside. The Nikolaev revolt had ended.

Aftermath of the Revolt

Artyom and Dmitri remained imprisoned for a month (where they were probably tortured). They were executed on the 7th of December 1502. On the 19th of December, Anatoli V (now called Anatoli the Fat) called a meeting of the nobility to divide the lands of the Nikolaevs between the nobles who had remained loyal to Anatoli V. The nobles who had sides with Artyom had some of their lands given away but they were not wiped off the map. In the end, Alexei Borokov got the Nikolaev lands in Bolochia, while other nobles got the Nikolaev lands in other provinces. But the biggest winner was the now 30-year-old Ivano Markov who was rewarded the city of Velnaz and most of the Nikolaev territories in the province of Velnazski. In 11 years, Ivano Markov had toppled the most powerful noble house in Korania and secured his house as the dominant house in all of Korania.

In the end, the Nikolaev revolt was very important to the history of Korania. It cemented the house of Markov as the most powerful noble house in Korania which would eventually help them take power and become the ruling house in all of the Koranian empire. It set the foundations of the wars to come that would eventually turn Korania upside-down and transform it to a new empire, one that would grow to overpass most of its rivals and be the superpower of Lezra for almost many years to come. In the next factbook, I will cover the collapse of the Antonov dynasty, how the Carsonist reformation affected Korania and the religious and civil wars that led to the establishment of the Markov dynasty as the ruling dynasty of Korania.

Written by Old utopia

The images used in this factbook do not belong to me, obviously. I did not draw them

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Post-War Korania (1411-1432)

Alexander II

During Regency (1411-1416)

The year is 1411, and Korania is a little bit on fire, both figuratively and literally. The empire had just lost a crushing war against a coalition consisting of Austronta, Old Utopia, the Union of Southeast Lezra and Allan Land. Most of the empire’s influence in the South Lezran Sea had been eliminated with its island-colonies, barring the county of Solovis, had been released as independent nations. The war marked the end of Koranian supremacy and Korania being a superpower, leaving 2 nations, Old Utopia and Austronta to attempt to take up the mantle.

Korania was currently in a regency and its regent, Anton Kersovich had utterly failed to stop the coalition of empires from defeating the Koranian empire and was thus extremely unpopular. A meeting of the Divat was called in Velnaz, in which Anton Kersovich was removed as Regent and replaced with Ivan Kovlov. Ivan, upon assuming the title of Regent became burdened with the task of fixing everything Anton Kersovich and the war had done to Korania. Ivan would do well in his 5 years of being regent, managing taxes well enough to raise enough money to reconstruct and recover most of Korania.

In 1416, the son of Alexander Antonov I, also called Alexander, became 16 and thus, old enough to be crowned emperor. Ivan Kovlov stepped down as regent and Alexander was crowned emperor Alexander Antonov II of Korania in Andruthinia, the capital of Korania. Ivan Kovlov was rewarded for his service to the empire as regent and his family was given land near Velnaz. Ivan Kovlov continued to serve the empire being appointed as the chancellor of Korania by Alexander II. Alexander II’s reign had begun.

First 5 Years of Ruling (1416-1421)

Alexander’s reign didn’t begin as stable as he hoped it would. The devastating war had a heavy toll on Korania, mostly on its peasants whose homes and farmlands had been burned during the devastating chevauchées of the Austrontans. Many peasants were now asking for help which could not be given yet. When their demands were rejected by the crown, they resorted to more violent methods.

A band of 20,000 peasants were amassed calling for the abolishment of serfdom and feudalism all together declaring it inhumane and a violation of freedom. Korania was woefully unprepared for any rebellion especially a large one and thus Alexander II was forced to meet the peasants and negotiate with the leader of the peasant band Nikolas Amatzy. Negotiations broke down after a week, however, and Alexander II was forced to meet the band of peasants outnumbered at the battle of Lylulsk. Alexander, despite outnumbered by 10,000 men won the battle crushing the peasant army. Despite his victory, Alexander was still forced to make concessions to the peasants to prevent a rebellion from happening again. He promised greater rights to the peasants and eventually the abolishment of feudalism for them, a promise which he would totally totally keep. Except he didn’t, taking that promise to his grave.

Alexander II Adressing The Peasants

After the peasants' revolt, Alexander II began a reform of how the empire worked, starting with the king’s advisors. Alexander made a council of advisors consisting of 5 members: The chancellor which acted as the right-hand man of the emperor, overseeing the legislation of the empire and advising the emperor in legislative affairs. The Marshall acted as a military advisor to the emperor, responsible in raising levies, training troops and commanding the emperor’s armies. The steward sometimes called the treasurer, acted as a financial advisor to the emperor, taking care of the empire’s money. The spymaster acted as the eyes and ears of the emperor and often orchestrated schemes to help the empire which often involved assassinations. And finally the court chaplain, who managed religious services within the court of the emperor, a position less important than the others and often held by bishops in the empire. With this more organised court, Alexander II ruled his empire much more effectively.

Reorganization of Turkish Korania (1421-1424)

One of the things Alexander II is most famed for was the reorganization of Turkish Korania which had been a part of the empire since 1114. That part of Korania had been lacking good administration and organisation for around 300 years and Alexander II put himself to the task of organizing Turkish Korania. The first thing Alexander II did was separate Turkish Korania into 11 different states like the 5 states in western Korania. The head state was Turkiskaj which was made around the city of Turchanka which had outgrown the old Turk capital of Nezda. He appointed a governor for each state, something that was not done for Western Korania. He also, with the accord of the Pope, made each state have a bishop, something that was done for Western Korania. The organization of Turkish Korania by Alexander II is mostly remarked as good but a problem did arise from it. One that would have consequences for years to come. The difference of how Western Korania and Turkish Korania were administered and governed separated the 2 regions rather than absolving it into Western Korania like Mikalas I had done with the 5 kingdoms he had conquered. Unlike in Western Korania, where everybody considered themselves Koranian, Turkish Korania was different with many refusing to adapt and assimilate into the Koranian culture and remaining a part of the Turkish culture. This would lead to many Turk rebellions in later years.

Forging Alliances (1424-1425)

Formation of Koranian-Allandian Alliance

Korania didn’t have allies for most of its existence under the Volkovs. The empire would often secure the military support of one nation or the financial support of another because it was beneficiary to both nations but it didn’t keep its allies for long. Which wasn’t good. Had Korania secured some allies, it may have been able to survive the coalition against it. Alexander II realized this and set the task of finding a hopefully permanent ally for Korania. The Ivorican kingdoms refused to ally with Korania, being one of its main rivals, Old Utopia and Austronta were out of the picture seeing as they and Korania both hated each other. Balticonia was far away and weak, still recovering from the collapse of the Union of Southeast Lezra, and most of the nations in central Lezra were uninterested to ally with Korania or lacked the proper governance to forge any alliances. Because of this, the search for a reliable ally was tough. But eventually, Alexander II did find one. The kingdom of Allan Land had joined the coalition against Korania but had gained very little from it. They were promised land on the South Lezran Sea but were then denied it by Austronta and Old Utopia. The Allan Landians still hated the Old Utopians after the Old Utopians murdered their king around 300 years ago in 1148 and were therefore hesitant to continue working with them. Because of all this, the Allan Landian king Gwen I and Alexander II met in Petrenkov and signed treaty, creating a defensive and military alliance between the 2 nations to prevent any Old Utopian or Austrontan attack and hinder the growth of Old Utopian and Austrontan influence.

Relations with the Ivoricans (1425-1428)

By 1425, Ivorica was still split between many tiny kingdoms, all exerting their influence over the others and constantly warring with each other. This was particularly the case along the Koranian-Ivorican border, which was mostly undefined, where most of the kingdoms were tiny and constantly fighting. Together they came to be known as the Ivorican marches. These marches would often perform raids into Koranian lands angering the Koranian nobles that ruled over those lands. A massive Ivorican raid in late 1425 caused the Koranian nobles to call for help from Alexander II.

The emperor responded not by invading the marches but by orchestrating schemes to sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican kingdoms. He was successful in causing a war between most of the Ivorican marches and even helped specific kingdoms to make sure one didn’t grow too powerful. Because of the constant chaos, raids on Korania became almost non-existent. Korania played a detrimental role in keeping Ivorica disunified and in chaos because if they didn’t it would be a problem. United, Ivorica would have almost twice the population of Korania, meaning twice the army, twice the money and twice the weapons. It would be a disaster for Korania. By 1428 the chaos in the Ivorican marches had calmed down and they resorted to raiding Korania once again. This caused the Koranian nobles near the border to form a large union to protect each other from the Ivoricans. This worked quite well and repelled most Ivorican raids for quite some time.

Relations and Trade With Central Lezra (1428-1431)

Anatoli IV, Depicted Here as A Warrior-King

Central Lezra, had for a long time, been without any unity or order. It lacked the population to form a strong state and therefore was comprised of small or large horse tribes who frequently raided Korania, Old Utopia, Allan Land and the Ivoricans. It was also home to the silk road, built by Nezim III in around 610 which stretched from the edge of Old Utopia to what is now Snowylan connecting almost all of Lezra in a series of long roads. These roads, while carriers of immense wealth, were also carriers of diseases and in 1428 Korania was hit with a massive plague which devastated the nation, mostly Turkish Korania. By 1431 the plague had settled down and mostly disappeared from Korania, but the road continued to be a massive transmitter of diseases to Korania for a long time.

Last Years of Ruling (1431-1437)

Alexander’s last years of ruling would be plagued with the problem of his succession. He had a son named Anatoli who was 23 at the time who was fairly liked across the empire, mainly among the nobility. However, some preferred his cousin Viktor, son of Alexander II’s brother Vasily. Viktor was a pious man and was supported by the church and the people, along with Alexander II’s brother Vasily who himself held the support of some of the nobility. In 1433 a revolt broke out attempting to depose Alexander II in favour of his nephew Viktor. The revolt failed and the nobles and peasants held responsible for it were either exiled or executed. This angered the church and the people, who prepared for war. In 1435 Alexander II held a meeting of the Divat in Andruthinia. Here most of the nobility swore an oath to make sure Anatoli would become emperor upon Alexander’s death. This nobility included Mikhael Markov, the leader of the House of Markov. In 1436 Alexander caught the flu and was confined to his bed for the last year of his life. Anatoli was proclaimed regent by Alexander II, however, some of the Divat contested this. When Alexander II died in January of 1437, a meeting of the Divat was called to decide on who would succeed him. Because the Divat was mostly comprised of nobles, Anatoli won out in the end. However, parts of the Divat did not accept this and held a meeting in secret, electing Viktor as emperor, beginning the year of the 2 emperors.

Year of the 2 Emperors (1437)

The year of the 2 Emperors was a short but violent military conflict between the son and nephew of Alexander II after his death, Anatoli and Viktor. Anatoli had the backing of the nobility, while Viktor had the backing of most of the people and the church. The conflict began with the battle of St.Mikalas bridge, a bridge which crossed the river to Velnaz. Anatoli defended the bridge while Viktor assaulted. The battle was deadly and led to around 4000 casualties and Viktor was able to break the defender’s and cross the bridge. Viktor would then besiege Velnaz home to House Nikolaev (they’ll be important for later). However, the city was reinforced by men from the Markovs and Orlovs who drove back Viktor in May. Viktor retreated to Bolochia where he had the most support. He mustered an army of 20,000 men and marched east attempted to hook up with reinforcements from Petrenkov, ruled by House Ignatiev. He failed, however, and was caught in July by Anatoli and defeated and forced to retreat back to Nebovosk.

In August Nebovosk was put under siege by Anatoli’s men. Forces from Petrenkov attempted to relieve the siege but they were repelled by Markov forces led by Mikhael Markov who in battle, killed Igor Ignatiev who left no heirs, ending the house of Ignatiev. The war seemed to be reaching its end, however, a band of mercenaries funded by the pope himself who supported Viktor. The mercenary band ravaged Turkish Korania and then moved on to Ballatchia (which was under Koranian rule). Nebovosk was captured in October, and Anatoli supposedly duelled Viktor and killed him by stabbing him in the neck. The mercenary band dispersed and Anatoli was crowned Anatoli IV of the House of Antanov in December of 1437. The pope Leo IX was still angry and excommunicated Anatoli IV on January of 1438, however, by then the war had ended and the excommunication did little. The Year of 2 emperors was not extremely important for Korania, however, it was extremely important for the Markovs because with the extinction of the House of Ignatiev, Petrenkov was left with no ruler and because of the Markov assistance to Anatoli IV, they were granted the city, which propelled them to Dukes in Korania, becoming the Dukes of Petrenkov, a flourishing city.

1st Ivorican Koranian War (1438-1445)

Background (1431-1438)

By 1431 Ivorican-Koranian relations had deteriorated. The Anti-Ivorican League known as the League of Nebovosk was formed in 1430 as a named successor to the union of nobles who united to fight against Ivorican raids. Of course, these raids did not mean wars between Korania and Ivorica. Most of the raids were carried by bands of Ivoricans not controlled by any of the kingdoms and therefore the raids could not be declarations of war against Korania. The League of Nebovosk worked very well in repelling raids and event went as far to attack the Ivorican Marches themselves. Because the marches were tiny, they were too weak to actually do anything and did not receive the backing of any of the large Ivorican kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivorican marches formed their own league in 1435 as a direct rival to the Koranian league. This increased tensions between the Koranians and the Ivoricans. However, most of Korania was troubled with Anatoli II’s succession so little happened. When the year of the 2 brother’s began, the Ivorican League launched a large raid into Bolochia which was extremely successful. When Anatoli IV finished his conflict with Viktor he looked to the Ivoricans. He saw the raid as extremely invasive and humiliating for Korania and looked to amend it. Rather than sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican League, he decided that outright military confrontation would be better and launched a surprise attack on the League in April of 1438.

First Engagements (1438-1439)

The Ivorican League

The Ivorican League was surprised by the attack and was unready for a full-blown invasion. They attempted to muster forces but failed and were crushed twice by the Koranian forces. Most of the Ivorican Marches were overrun by January of 1439. This caused unwanted attention from the stronger Ivorican kingdoms who worried that Korania would begin to dominate the Ivoricans if they didn’t act quickly. So worried, they quickly joined in against Korania in May of 1439. This is generally considered as the 1st Ivorican-Koranian war because the other wars had not been between the whole of Ivorica and Korania just some of the kingdoms, however, this war included all of Ivorica united against Korania.

Climax (1439-1443)

The following 3 years were the climax of the war where fighting reached its peak, with Ivoricans and Koranians engaged in sporadic back and forth fighting across Ivorica. Korania triumphed over Ivorica in the war for 2 reasons. Firstly, the Koranians held much more advanced military technology so despite being outnumbered, they were still able to win most fights. Secondly, Korania was one empire while Ivorica was still split between many small and large kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivoricans lacked any form of coordination and strategy, allowing themselves to be picked off one by one. In 1441 Colombo was captured, sacked and razed to the ground, slaughtering thousands of Ivoricans civilians, something they would not forget. The Ivoricans, in turn, sacked Koranian villages and burned everything committing heinous acts in the process. By 1443, the Ivoricans were pushed to Karatana. The capital of the kingdom was besieged but the Koranians failed to take it. However, by then the war had been lost.

End and Peace Treaty (1443-1445)

Attempts from the Ivoricans to retake their kingdoms worked in some places but they were too weak to continue the war. Anatoli IV made one last all-out assault on the kingdom of Karatana and was able to capture the capital of the kingdom. The Ivoricans were now completely occupied by Korania. The Kings, Counts and Marcher Lords were all rounded up and forced to attend a peace congress in Karatana. What followed was the Peace of Karatana, a number of treaties made to end the war between the Ivorican kingdoms and the Empire of Korania. The Ivoricans were crushed. They were forced to cede massive amounts of land and money to Anatoli IV as well as swear allegiance to Anatoli IV. As a result of the war, Ivorica was almost completely annexed by the Koranian empire with the kings and counts forced to swear allegiance to Anatoli. Korania also gained a massive amount of money which it would use to completely rebuild the nation. The war was a massive success for Korania and Anatoli was praised.

The Utopo-Koranian War (1445-1463)

Bakkan Horde

Background (1445-1448)

Relations with the Old Utopians and their Grand Duke Cristoforo I were obviously not well. Korania’s devastating war was orchestrated by Old Utopia and the Duchy caused the downfall of the empire, something which the Koranians did not take lightly. They sought revenge. Unfortunately, Old Utopia was too powerful to mess with. It had allied itself with the fractured but strong Austrontan kingdoms and republics. Austronta too had joined the war against Korania, albeit not technically Austronta as it was rather more a loose confederation of kingdoms who shared the spoils united only once to take down a common enemy and reap the benefits. Korania was still recovering, although now it was recovering much faster with the massive amount of cash from the Ivoricans. Old Utopia was swimming in gold and it hogged its trade routes and its massive navy frequently raided Koranian merchants, barring Korania from having influence in the South Lezran Sea.

Tensions between Old Utopia and Korania started to grow increasingly high especially after Korania crushed the Ivoricans which worried Old Utopia who was hoping Korania would remain weak for a much longer time. It seemed as if a war was brewing. Anatoli IV was hoping to win further support from the nobility and he hoped that war with Old Utopia would determine his reign as a great one. He was eager to go to war with Old Utopia and used the harassing of Koranian merchant ships by the Old Utopian navy as a casus belli. He rallied the people and then convinced his nobles that war was the only option if Korania wanted to return to the world stage. Furthermore, Korania was still allied with Allan Land who agreed to join the war in exchange for land from Old Utopia which Korania accepted. In 1448, war was declared.

First Engagements (1448-1451)

Korania was in no way shape or form able to handle Old Utopia’s massive navy so they knew that this war was going to primarily be fought on land. Old Utopia immediately began blockading Koranian ports which put a strain on the nation but even Old Utopia didn’t have a navy large enough to blockade the entire coastline of Korania. Anatoli IV moved in with an army of 17,000 men and raided the Old Utopian lands. They were met by an army of 20,000 led by a mercenary general named Francisco Devacarro who faced Anatoli IV in open battle. Anatoli won and routed Francisco’s army who retreated. Anatoli cut a bloody swathe into Old Utopia and attempted to capture Andrif but 3 armies each consisting of 15,000 arrived just in time and he was forced to retreat. The Old Utopians attempted to counter-attack but Anatoli evaded them. He was eventually forced to face them in battle which he lost but with little casualties. Anatoli then received reinforcements and attacked Old Utopia once again in 1450.

Troutwater Mountains

The Allan Landians were also moving in. They attempted to attack Pandonus but were repelled by the city’s garrison. The Allan Landians then found themselves being pummeled by the Old Utopians. They were forced to retreat to the troutwater mountains in which they fought countless battles against the Old Utopians. The Allan Landian front would soon become a struggle between Allan Land and Old Utopia over the troutwater mountains. This allowed Anatoli to surprise the Old Utopians who were busy with the Allan Landians. He took Andrif by surprise and began to move to Jurana. The Old Utopians cut off his supply line and he was once again forced to retreat. He was defeated by Francisco Devacarro in the battle of Ponza and was pushed out of Old Utopia entirely in 1452.

The Bakkan Front (1451-1455)

Anatoli was forced to contemplate his situation after the disastrous battle of Ponza. His nobles were beginning to become worried and started to call for Anatoli to make peace. But the Emperor hesitated. He thought he could still have a chance against the Old Utopian. He called for more reinforcements and set up defences in the Bakkan valleys and waited for Francisco to come. Sure enough, the Old Utopian mercenary arrived at the valleys and began assaulting Anatoli’s army. And here is where the Bakkan horde comes in. The Bakkan horde was a sub-part of the Turkish horde except that they were culturally and linguistically different. After the Turks were crushed by Mikalas III in 1114 and the Turk horde was annexed into Korania, the Bakkans became a puppet of the Koranians. They were used as a puppet to spread Korania’s influence over central Lezra along the silk road. When the war came to them they took a neutral side and the Bakkan front quickly became a diplomatic front as both sides attempted to convince the Bakkans to join their side.

The Bakkans eventually joined the Old Utopians and attacked Anatoli IV in a narrow strait. However, the Koranians held their ground and the Bakkans were defeated. Anatoli counter-attacked and pushed back the Bakkans and the Old Utopians. He tried to move towards Old Utopia once again but Bakkan raids harassed his supply line and he was forced to remain in the Bakkan valleys. By 1454, Anatoli IV was essentially trapped in the Bakkan valleys, being unable to move out due to Bakkan assaults. The Old Utopians tried to encircle Anatoli but failed. Eventually, sickness had spread across the Old Utopian camps and they abandoned the Bakkans entirely. By 1455 Anatoli finally defeated the Bakkans and pushed them out of the valley, freeing his army. With this, the Bakkan front had mostly ended and the Bakkan horde stopped being a prominent player in the war.

Climax of the War (1455-1460)

Treaty of Andrif

When 1455 came around, the war had reached its peak. Sporadic fighting was erupting across the troutwater mountains and the Duchy of Pandonus. The fighting between the Allan Landians and the Old Utopians had become intense, culminating in the battle of Pandonus. Allan Landians attempted to besiege the city but were caught by an Old Utopian army led by a general named Alfonso Vescovi. The Allan Landians fought a massive battle just outside of Pandonus. With some clever tactics, Alfonso found himself flanked and surrounded. The Old Utopians were crushed and the garrison, which had joined the fighting fled the battle and surrendered the city the next day. The Allan Landians were doing exceptionally well, mostly due to their cavalry which was very well trained and efficient. The Koranians were not doing so well, however. They had been stuck in a stalemate with the Old Utopians for a while, and the threat of Ivorican revolt loomed over their heads. Many were calling for Anatoli to retreat and make peace but he did no such thing. Determined to prove himself, he went on one last campaign to hopefully force the Old Utopians into submission.

Anatoli once again met Francisco Devacarro on the field of battle. In one climactic battle, Anatoli won and defeated Francisco but under heavy casualties. He moved to Andrif once again in 1457. Francisco Devacarro moved to the city and began setting up defences. The city was besieged in May of 1457. The siege lasted until October of 1457. Various sorties from the defenders proved the siege to difficult to maintain by Anatoli IV. He ordered one last assault of the city which failed. The attackers were repelled and Anatoli IV abandoned the siege when the snow began to fall. Luckily for Anatoli, however, the Allan Landians had done a much better job. After capturing the city of Pandonus, they proceeded to capture the entire Duchy by the end of 1458. In February of 1459 neither Korania, Allan Land or Old Utopia could continue fighting, having exhausted their last bit of money. Because of this, they began negotiations to sign a peace treaty. In April of 1459, they finally reached an agreement and the treaty of Andrif was signed. Korania was going to have to hand over the ownership of the Bakkan horde to Old Utopia, as well as limit their powers over the Ivoricans, giving them semi-autonomy. In return though, Old Utopia was forced to cede some land across the troutwater mountains to Allan Land as well as pay a large sum of gold to both Korania and Allan Land. Overall, the war did not have the success Anatoli hoped and he was forced to cede absolute rule over the Ivoricans and the Bakkan horde, but the large sacks of money from Old Utopia helped Korania recover even faster. By the end of the war, Korania was still not the ruling superpower it hoped to be and it had lost a valuable puppet, but the money from the Old Utopians ensured a quick recovery for the empire.

Grigori, Serfdom and Pirates (1459-1479)

Eustace Klyd

New Emperor, New Nation (1459-1463)

In June of 1459, Anatoli IV passed away at the age of 61. He was a good emperor and became revered by his people as the emperor who restored Korania to most of its former glory. His 27-year-old son, Grigory was crowned emperor Grigory I of Korania. Just 4 years into his reign, a new nation was formed. The empire of Austronta was formed under the Hapsburg-Lotharingien family. Although it would take a few years for them to fully conquer the region of Austronta, the empire proved itself to be a new contender for Korania. Grigory was keen to keep an eye on the new empire, but he also didn’t want to make Austronta his enemy. However, Austronta soon allied itself to the Old Utopians and he quickly broke relations with Austronta. He was keen to hinder Old Utopian influence in Lezra as much as possible and so he first tried to undermine its allies. He attempted to ally himself with the kingdom of Sastaville and convince the kingdom to launch an invasion of Austronta but the king refused. He then tried to help the recovering Balticonia and convince the nation to turn on Old Utopia but that failed too. Eastern Lezra remained in Old Utopia’s hands during Grigory’s reign, and Austronta remained a close ally of Old Utopia.

Serfdom and Feudalism (1463-1467)

After the Utopian-Koranian war, peasants, despite the sack of money from Old Utopia, were beginning to have it worse. They found themselves constantly barraged by taxes and the nobility. They wanted more rights to be granted to them, more freedom and most importantly, the end to feudalism. The wars against Ivorica and Korania led Korania to be unprotected internally during the wars, leading to a rise in banditry and harsher conditions for the peasants. Despite the wars improving the lives of the peasants, they still seemed to be in the middle ages and protested. To make matters worse, in 1464 there was a large drought, crops failed and famine ensued. The peasants looked to countries like Old Utopia, who had abolished serfdom a few years before and demanded the same rights. Grigori wasn’t having it and refused to listen which only caused more riots. Grigori’s nobles employed harsh methods of keeping their peasants quiets and they pressured the emperor in refusing the peasant’s demands. In places like Bolochia and Makarova, rebellions ensued and some nobles were even forced out of their castles and then in some cases killed. Grigori’s nobles urged him to act and he addressed the peasants directly. After a long time of talking. Grigori finally agreed to a deal with the peasants, despite his nobility’s protests. He, like Alexander II promised greater rights to the peasants and the abolishment of serfdom. Unlike Alexander, he upheld those promises and while he wouldn’t live to see the abolishment of serfdom, he made many acts to improve the lives of the peasants.

The War on The Sea (1467-1479)

Grigori didn’t give up on hindering Old Utopia, as some had thought. He was determined to hamper the Grand Duchy as much as possible and he had devised a new strategy. He decided that this time, rather than undermine Old Utopia’s allies which failed, he would attempt to obstruct Old Utopian trade in the South Lezran Sea. He used the money from the previous wars to employ pirates, giving them gold in return for them harassing only Old Utopian ships. This worked well at first, Old Utopian merchant ships across the South Lezran Sea found themselves constantly harassed by pirate ships and Old Utopian trade was hampered. Even merchant ships protected by war galleys were looted and sunk. This was mostly due to 2 brothers named Eric and Eustace of the family Klyd. They were born somewhere in Lezra, perhaps on the island of Drextopia or perhaps the islands of Solovis. The 2 joined a crew of pirates early in their 20s under an unknown pirate captain. They proved to be exceptionally good duelists and very good with cannons and they soon rose above the ranks and became the captains favourite. They also gained the favour of their fellow crew. Because of their popularity within the crew, they betrayed their captain, killed him and took command over the small barque. They named their barque ‘The Martyred Captain’ and quickly set sail.

Eric and Eustace soon became formidable pirates and even amassed a small alliance of 4 galleys. They were very good tacticians and won battle after battle, even when outnumbered. Their cunning became renowned and they made quite a living off of their piracy. They accepted the offer from Grigori and began targeting Old Utopian ships, raiding them, sinking them and sometimes capturing them. Many pirates soon signed up to their crew and they both acquired nicknames. Eric became known as ‘Barbadoro’ which means goldbeard in Old Utopian. This is because Eric had an almost gold-looking beard. Eustace meanwhile, acquired the nickname ‘L’Orso del Mare’ which means bear of the sea due to his ferocity. The brothers became so infamous, almost every pirate signed up to their growing fleet. By 1471 they held a fleet of 9 barques, 4 brigantines and 2 caravels. The Old Utopians were determined to put a stop to this.

Battle on the Old Utopian Gulf

In 1472, the famous Old Utopian merchant ship ‘La Corona di Diamanti’ or ‘The Diamond Crown’ was looted of all its jewels and immense wealth and then captured by Eric and Eustace. The merchant ship was protected by 4 barques but they were ambushed and sunk due to Eric’s tactics. On the Diamond Crown, Eric proclaimed in front of his fellow crew, the establishment of the confederacy of pirates with Eric and Eustace as the Pirate kings. They set up base on a small island in the North Lezran Sea which they captured from the Old Utopians. On the island, they built a fort which they then named Fort Cruelsea. This was the last straw for the Old Utopians. They had lost many good admirals and a large amount of wealth. They needed to stop this. They began recruiting new admirals and hiring mercenaries to commandeer ships and hunt down parts of the Confederacy of Pirates. They put out bounties on pirate captains and even put a bounty of 15,000 coins on Eric and Eustace each. This drew a lot of attention and a lot of mercenaries signed up but they failed to do much and were defeated and killed by the confederacy. By 1475, the situation looked dire. Mercenaries failed to put a stop to the 2 pirate brothers and the Confederacy of Pirates kept on growing in size and strength.

Luckily for the Old Utopians, someone arrived to help. A mercenary by the name of Claudio Azerella. He commandeered a ship known as ‘The Drunken Shark’ and quickly rose above the ranks due to his tactics. He sunk many pirate ships and captured many more. By 1475 he had captured a total of 16 barques and 5 brigantines ad well as recover some wealth. In late 1476 he captured the infamous pirate captain Armando Constantini and his prized ship, dealing a great blow to the confederacy. He caught the eye of Eric and Eustace who personally accompanied their ship to defeat and kill Claudio. However, he evaded the 2 brothers using quick thinking. He returned to Kantonus a hero. In 1477, Eric and Eustace began planning something big. An all-out attack on Kantonus. They planned to attack, capture and sack the city. If they succeeded in doing this they would live on forever as pirate legends. They amassed a fleet of 35 barques, 15, brigantines and 6 caravels which in total added up to 56 ships. They planned to move on Kantonus by 1479. However, Claudio was determined to stop them. He was made admiral of a large Old Utopian fleet. When he learned of the 2 brother’s intentions, he began patrolling the coastline near Kanton Inu and the Old Utopian gulf. The stage had been set for a grand battle in the Old Utopian gulf.

In June of 1479, Eric and Eustace decided to strike. With an armada of 37 barques, 21 brigantines and 7 caravels they attacked Kanton Inu. Claudio’s fleet came quickly to defend and a huge battle ensued. Claudio used ships with nothing but gunpowder barrels to be sailed straight into the enemy armada and then blown up. This gave Claudio an advantage in the battle and after a few hours of fighting, the Pirate Armada had been routed. Eustace was killed in the fighting, presumably by Claudio himself and his prized ship ‘The Sea Bear’ was sunk. Eric escaped on his ship ‘The Drunken Shark’ due to quick manoeuvres, however, his armada was still decimated. He had lost 15 barques, 9 brigantines and 6 caravels in the attack and his remaining ships were battered and needed to be repaired. He retreated to Fort Diamond to recuperate but Claudio caught on and besieged the fort with his armada. The remainders of Eric’s Pirate Armada were sunk, the fort was taken and he himself was shot, captured and then brought to Kanton Inu where he was then hanged.

In the end, Grigori’s attempt to undermine OLd Utopian trade had been a failure. He had spent a lot of money funding the pirates so now that money went to waste and Korania was financially weakened. On a further note, Koranian influence in the South Lezran Sea was now being hindered due to Claudio Azerella. Claudio would raid Koranian merchant ships whenever he pleases and while Korania and Old Utopia would sometimes not be in a direct war, they would fight each other over wealth and influence in the South Lezran Sea for decades to come.

A Prosperous Age (1479-1493)

Grigori II

Beginning of Prosperity (1479-1483)

Korania was at peace and was experiencing prosperity once again. Grigori I put his efforts into improving Korania internally as well as trying to restore it to its former glory. Cities like Velnaz and Petrenkov flourished during this age of prosperity. Velnaz began to outmatch the old capital Andruthinia while Petrenkov, under the Markovs, became the dominant city in the province of Koranskaj, outmatching all its rivals. The population of Korania boomed as the lives of the peasants got easier, the nation became more wealthy despite Old Utopia dominating the South Lezran Sea and stability was restored to the nation. Grigori became praised among the people, but among the nobility, it was slightly different. However, by 1483 Korania had entered an age of prosperity.

Grigori’s Last Years (1483-1488)

Grigori I had reached the age of 53 by the end of 1483. His people had developed a love for the emperor after all his work to improve their lives and their nation. His nobility was less affectionate. Their power had been diminishing during his reign and they were afraid that they would lose even more. Such nobles who thought this, were the House of Nikolaev, who ruled Velnaz and the House of Borokov who ruled over towns and castles in Bolochia. Some other more minor houses also felt that their power was being diminished. Together, they attempted to pressure Grigori in 1485, but he didn’t budge. Some wished to rebel, but the Nikolaevs and Borokovs relented, deciding not to rebel. Some nobles weren’t having it and decided to rebel anyways in 1486. The rebellion was crushed and only lasted 6 months before the nobles surrendered. Grigori, in an attempt to bring the nobility under his complete control, revoked their titles and executed them as a show of strength and divided their lands between the other nobles. This kept the Koranian nobility quiet until his death. In 1488 at the age of 56, Grigori fell ill and on the 8th of July, he died. He was succeeded by his son, also named Grigori who was crowned Emperor Grigori II.

Grigori II’s First Years (1488-1493)

Grigori II was young when he ascended to the throne. He was 24. He had yet to prove himself upon becoming Emperor but he was eager to do so. He first tried to better organize the Ivorican counties and Dukedoms by shifting the borders and changing the administration. This worked well and the Ivorican provinces began producing more money but some of the Ivorican nobility was now upset. Their lands had been shuffled and some were forced to leave their homes and relocate. It should be noted that there was a strong separation between the Ivorican and Koranian nobility. Both had different traditions, ideals and goals. The only similarity between them was that they both despised one another. The Ivorican nobility had a larger degree of autonomy in order to keep them happy, which upset the Koranian nobility because their autonomy was dwindling fast. They thought that the Ivoricans were a privileged nobility and were eager to see them fall. The Ivoricans thought no different, they hated the Koranians and were eager to be independent. It was clear both were scheming against each other. Grigori’s organisation of the Ivorican provinces would eventually lead to a rebellion, but first, we should talk about 2 other important events that happened during the same time. The 1st one revolved around a matter with the nobility.

Tensions Within the Nobility (1491-1493)

Relations between the Koranian nobility had been well since the year of the 2 Emperors. There were little disputes and the strong rule of Grigori I kept them in check. Despite their dwindling power, the nobility still possessed one strong weapon. The Divat. As long as that stood, they still had some sort of power within Korania. By the last few years of Grigori I, the nobility was being dominated by 2 brothers of the house of Nikolaev. One was named Artyom and was the ruler of the house. He was an exceptional military strategist and a very good fighter and duelist. The other was Dmitri. He was the opposite of his brother. He was an excellent diplomat and also a very good spymaster, always seeming to be one step ahead of all his opponents. The 2 brothers held a seat in the Emperor’s council with Artyom as Grigori II’s Marshall and Dmitri as his Chancellor. The 2 held a large amount of influence within the emperor’s court and the empire itself. However, something would happen that would change quite a lot.


Danyil Markov

In 1491 the skilled statesman and noble Danyil Markov died under somewhat suspicious circumstances at the age of 45. The rulership of Petrenkov and all Markovi lands passed down to his son, Ivano Markov who was only 19. Despite being young and unproven Grigori II decided to give Ivano Markov a position in his council as Treasurer, making him in control of the Empire’s wealth. Ivano Markov was in a delicate position. He was young and surrounded by nobles who sought his lands and most importantly Petrenkov for themselves. His biggest rivals were definitely the Nikolaev brothers who were hoping to undermine the Markov family as much as possible to secure their position in Korania. Ivano Markov, however, was clever and most certainly being underestimated by everyone. He began trying to undermine the Nikolaev brothers as soon as possible. And he found a chance to do such very quickly. In 1493 Word had arrived that the Ivoricans were planning to revolt. Grigori decided to attempt to persuade them to not rebel. Ivano then convinced the emperor to send Dmitri as an envoy and the emperor agreed. In one quick move, he had managed to separate the 2 brothers. But before we get to the Ivorican revolt there is one more thing to talk about.

Abolishment of Serfdom (1493)

In 1493 Grigori passed the Serfdom Abolishment act, abolishing Serfdom. The surprising thing was that Grigori had to run this act with the Divat and despite all common sense, the nobles voted in favour. This was probably due to a lot of bribes from Grigori. Anyways, the abolishment of Serfdom technically meant the end of feudalism. Even though Feudalism would technically only be abolished in 1579, without Serfdom the feudal system simply ceased to exist. This improved the lives of the peasants of Korania and mostly everyone else except maybe the nobility. Mercantilism slowly replaced feudalism as the ruling political system in Korania and Mercantilism would eventually grow to be dubbed ‘Capitalism’. The abolishment of Serfdom was an important mark in the history of Korania and some consider this the end of the medieval era for Korania although this is disputed. What is not disputed, however, was that 1493 marked the end of medieval ways and systems in Korania. And now, back to the Ivorican revolt.

The Ivorican Revolt (1493-1497)

Background and Beginning (1493-1494)

In 1493, Dmitri Nikolaev travelled to the Karatana to talk with the Duke of the region, who Grigori had thought was going to be the leader of the revolt if it occurred. Dmitri attempted to talk to the Duke who was called Reginald Ansel. However, he failed to persuade the Duke who had planned to revolt months earlier. Dmitri was imprisoned and Reginald proclaimed Karatana to be an independent kingdom. Dmitri was kept as a hostage in case the Koranians decided to attack Karatana. This worked and Grigori instead decided to negotiate terms with the Ivoricans.

Negotiations (1494-1495)

Reginald demanded independence or else but Grigori attempted to push for a slightly more autonomous puppet state. Negotiations eventually broke down after a few months and Reginald ceased communications with Grigori. It was likely that he would’ve executed Dmitri there and then, had Dmitri not escaped the day prior. This caused Reginald to lose his only bargaining chip which led to a full-blown war, beginning in 1495.

First Engagements (1495-1496)

Siege of Andruthinia

Some Ivorican counties and dukedoms supported the Koranians, especially the Marcher lords near the border. This caused a sort of civil war between the Ivoricans who fought against each other. Grigori didn’t even need to send reinforcements. However, in August of 1496, Reginald won a great battle against the Pro-Koranian Ivoricans and Grigori was forced to send reinforcements. These reinforcements engaged in minor battles with the Ivoricans eventually culminating in a long battle which the Ivoricans won but with heavy casualties. Grigori sent more reinforcements but the Ivoricans kept pushing them back. It seemed as if the revolt was actually turning out to be serious.

Climax (1496-1497)

A coalition of nobles led by Artyom Nikolaev led a large force against the Ivoricans. They won 2 battles against Reginald in April and May of 1497 but were then pushed in July. Artyom won more battles but found himself unable to continue pushing forwards as the Ivoricans had taken very defensive positions. Artyom attempted one final offensive in September, winning 4 battles consecutively but when he attempted to push into the kingdom of Karatana he failed and Reginald defeated him. Artyom and his nobles considered further offensives but October and Winter were dawning on them and they knew they could not fight the Ivoricans in the snow. Artyom called for a retreat. Reginald chased and caught him but was unable to crush the Koranians decisively. The Ivorican king attempted to crush them once more in November but failed and was defeated and he himself was chased. By December the 2 sides had reached a stalemate and called an armistice. On Christmas day, Grigori and Reginald agreed to a peace treaty. Karatana and some other Ivorican states were to be released as independent kingdoms but they would have to pay Korania large amounts of gold. In the end, the war was a failure for Grigori II and his reputation was tarnished by his defeat.

The Nikolaev Revolt (1497-1502)

Background (1497-1499)

Tensions had been rising within the nobility since the Ivorican revolt, especially between the Markovs and the Nikolaevs. Grigori II was eager to put at ease these tensions as he didn’t want a rebellion or civil war to occur in Korania because he was hoping to put his focus on retaking Ivorica. However, his wishes did not come to be. Ivano Markov and the Nikolaev brothers despised each other as both were trying to undermine one another and secure their position as the dominant house in Korania. What also increased tensions were the suspicions around the death of Ivano Markov’s father, Danyil Markov. There were suspicions that the Nikolaevs had poisoned him for still unknown reasons. This only helped fuel the tensions within the nobility and soon, the noble houses were beginning to pick sides.

Artyom Nikolaev

In 1498, someone attempted to murder Ivano himself. He failed but managed to kill Ivano’s personal bodyguard, who was also his best friend, while trying to run away. Everyone suspected the Nikolaevs but without hard evidence, nobody was unable to convict them. But it was very clear to everybody that the Nikolaev brothers had drawn blood, and Ivano was going to retaliate. However, he was stopped by Grigori II who put his foot down and commanded he put a stop to this. He had chosen the side of the Nikolaevs, simply because they were more powerful and more beneficial to him. In late November, Grigori grew tired of Ivano, dismissed him and ordered him to leave the capital. A month later, Grigori II was found dead in the morning, most obviously due to poison.

It all pointed to Ivano as being the culprit. Grigori had dismissed Ivano a month before and had taken the side of the Nikolaevs. It made all the sense that he was the man who ordered that Grigori be poisoned. Since Grigori had no children, the throne passed to his fat, gluttonous brother Anatoli who in January was crowned Anatoli V. In February of 1499, Ivano Markov was summoned to the capital Andruthinia for a trial. Rather than refusing and proclaiming a revolt, he travelled to Andruthinia where he was promptly confined to the palace. He wasn’t arrested but he was going to be put on trial after a month. However, Ivano Markov did not spend his time in the capital doing nothing. He used his time there to manipulate the nobles who were also present and lead them to believe that it was, in fact, the Nikolaevs that poisoned Grigori II (it is still a matter of debate on who killed Grigori II). Whatever the case, in March of 1499, Dmitri, who was the brother present at Andruthinia as Artyom was in Velnaz, was confronted by Andrei Borokov about the suspicions that they had killed the emperor. Dmitri denied them but began leaving the palace with his personal guard. Andrei followed him with his own personal guard, they confronted each other at the main hall of the emperor, they drew their guns and in front of the emperor, a shootout occurred, Andrei Borokov was killed and Dmitri fled the city. 2 days later, Anatoli V dismissed the trial of Ivano and instead convicted the Nikolaev brothers of poisoning his brother and branded them traitors. In April, Artyom and Dmitri rallied their allies in the nobility and proclaimed a rebellion against Anatoli V to depose him in favour of Artyom Nikolaev, beginning the Nikolaev revolt.

Beginning (1499)

The Nikolaev brothers had rallied a formidable alliance of nobles to help them take the throne. Despite most of the noble houses being minor houses, together they posed a strong enough force for Anatoli V. The strongest supporters of Anatoli were, of course, the Markovs, who wished to destroy the Nikolaevs and the Borokovs, who sought revenge after the death of their father Andrei was killed at the hands of Dmitri Borokov. The 2 sides were almost equal in number but the side of the Nikolaev's possessed a special weapon. Artyom Nikolaev was by far the best strategist and tactician in all of Korania at that time. Few generals could stand up to him, even with overwhelming numbers. By August of 1499, Artyom had captured the castle and home of a prominent noble on Anatoli’s side and defeated a large coalition of nobles led by Alexei Borokov. The war seemed to be in the Nikolaev’s favour especially with some nobles abandoning Anatoli and instead proclaiming neutrality. However, in November he was pushed back by overwhelming odds and barred from taking Andruthinia. In December of 1499, the supporters of Anatoli would retaliate dealing a large blow to the supporters of Artyom in the battle of Losif. The revolt, it seemed, would not end so quickly.

Assaults and Battles (1500-1501)

As the 16th century dawned on Korania Artyom launched a counter-attack and invaded Bolochia, the home of the Borokovs. He attempted to take their castle in a siege that lasted 5 months but Alexei would relieve the garrison of the castle and break the siege. By June, Artyom had been pushed outside Bolochia. In July, Ivano Markov forced the surrender of one of Artyom’s allies by capturing the noble lord and his family. This caused Artyom to attack the Markovi lands. Ivano was defeated twice by Artyom. He attempted to organise an attack on Velnaz but his allies failed to group together and commence the siege. In September, Petrenkov was put under siege. However, support for Ivano came in from Turkish Korania. A small fleet docked on the province of Koranskaj, deploying 15,000 troops to relieve the siege of Petrenkov. They arrived just in time and broke the siege and defeated Artyom in November of 1501.

Artyom was now put in a difficult position. He was trapped between noble forces coming from Andruthinia and the Markov and Eastern Koranian forces chasing him from Petrenkov. He decided to move west and managed to defeat the coalition of forces coming from Andruthinia and then put the capital of the empire to siege in February of 1502. However, the Koranian winter that year proved a harsh one and his army suffered from attrition. Nevertheless, they continued to besiege Andruthinia. Ivano and his reinforcements were slowed down by the snow and it seemed as if they would not be able to reach the capital in time. Winter faded into spring and Ivano was still too far away from Andruthinia. It looked as if Artyom was going to take the city and win. In June, Artyom stated that ‘I will be dining in the palace of Andruthinia within 2 weeks, with the emperor’s head in front of me’. 2 weeks passed and he had failed to take the city. He attempted to storm the walls 3 times but failed all times. June passed into July and still, Artyom had failed to take the city. Alexei Borkov arrived at the city in August and attempted to break the siege but Artyom repelled him. Meanwhile, the garrison within Andruthinia was beginning to starve. Suddenly in September, Ivano Markov finally arrived. Positioning his army on a hill near the city, he ordered a massive cavalry charge into the ranks of Artyom’s army. The charge completely broke Artyom’s men and the siege ended.

Anatoli The Fat

Artyom’s army was battered and weakened. He called for a retreat to Velnaz. Meanwhile, many nobles who had joined the side of Artyom had deserted to Anatoli’s side. Artyom attempted to counter-attack and defeat Alexei Borkov and Ivano Markov but he was caught on 3 sides and was forced to retreat. Ivano and Alexie did not besiege Velnaz as it was December and they would be unable to set up a siege in that harsh winter. The end of the rebellion was coming.

Final Sieges and End (1502)

In March, the terrible winter finally ended and Velnaz was put to siege. The siege would last 5 months. In August, the city was taken by Artyom, Dmitri and the Nikolaev family were not there. They had retreated to a small but very defensible castle near Velnaz, positioned on a hill. Despite that, Ivano and Alexei put to siege the small castle. The few nobles who still supported the 2 brothers attempted to break the siege twice but they failed and 2 months later the last nobles still in support of the Nikolaev brothers had surrendered. The 2 brothers knew that if they lost the rebellion, their heads would end up impaled on 2 pikes and so they refused to surrender and continued the siege. Eventually, however, the castle was eventually taken in November. Artyom and Dmitri were captured and taken to Andruthinia. Ivano Markov ordered that all the entrances and exits to the castle be sealed shut and then ordered for the castle to be burnt to the ground, with the rest of the Nikolaevs still inside. The Nikolaev revolt had ended.

Aftermath of the Revolt

Artyom and Dmitri remained imprisoned for a month (where they were probably tortured). They were executed on the 7th of December 1502. On the 19th of December, Anatoli V (now called Anatoli the Fat) called a meeting of the nobility to divide the lands of the Nikolaevs between the nobles who had remained loyal to Anatoli V. The nobles who had sides with Artyom had some of their lands given away but they were not wiped off the map. In the end, Alexei Borokov got the Nikolaev lands in Bolochia, while other nobles got the Nikolaev lands in other provinces. But the biggest winner was the now 30-year-old Ivano Markov who was rewarded the city of Velnaz and most of the Nikolaev territories in the province of Velnazski. In 11 years, Ivano Markov had toppled the most powerful noble house in Korania and secured his house as the dominant house in all of Korania.

In the end, the Nikolaev revolt was very important to the history of Korania. It cemented the house of Markov as the most powerful noble house in Korania which would eventually help them take power and become the ruling house in all of the Koranian empire. It set the foundations of the wars to come that would eventually turn Korania upside-down and transform it to a new empire, one that would grow to overpass most of its rivals and be the superpower of Lezra for almost many years to come. In the next factbook, I will cover the collapse of the Antonov dynasty, how the Carsonist reformation affected Korania and the religious and civil wars that led to the establishment of the Markov dynasty as the ruling dynasty of Korania.

Written by Old utopia

The images used in this factbook do not belong to me, obviously. I did not draw them

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Post-War Korania (1411-1432)

Alexander II

During Regency (1411-1416)

The year is 1411, and Korania is a little bit on fire, both figuratively and literally. The empire had just lost a crushing war against a coalition consisting of Austronta, Old Utopia, the Union of Southeast Lezra and Allan Land. Most of the empire’s influence in the South Lezran Sea had been eliminated with its island-colonies, barring the county of Solovis, had been released as independent nations. The war marked the end of Koranian supremacy and Korania being a superpower, leaving 2 nations, Old Utopia and Austronta to attempt to take up the mantle.

Korania was currently in a regency and its regent, Anton Kersovich had utterly failed to stop the coalition of empires from defeating the Koranian empire and was thus extremely unpopular. A meeting of the Divat was called in Velnaz, in which Anton Kersovich was removed as Regent and replaced with Ivan Kovlov. Ivan, upon assuming the title of Regent became burdened with the task of fixing everything Anton Kersovich and the war had done to Korania. Ivan would do well in his 5 years of being regent, managing taxes well enough to raise enough money to reconstruct and recover most of Korania.

In 1416, the son of Alexander Antonov I, also called Alexander, became 16 and thus, old enough to be crowned emperor. Ivan Kovlov stepped down as regent and Alexander was crowned emperor Alexander Antonov II of Korania in Andruthinia, the capital of Korania. Ivan Kovlov was rewarded for his service to the empire as regent and his family was given land near Velnaz. Ivan Kovlov continued to serve the empire being appointed as the chancellor of Korania by Alexander II. Alexander II’s reign had begun.

First 5 Years of Ruling (1416-1421)

Alexander’s reign didn’t begin as stable as he hoped it would. The devastating war had a heavy toll on Korania, mostly on its peasants whose homes and farmlands had been burned during the devastating chevauchées of the Austrontans. Many peasants were now asking for help which could not be given yet. When their demands were rejected by the crown, they resorted to more violent methods.

A band of 20,000 peasants were amassed calling for the abolishment of serfdom and feudalism all together declaring it inhumane and a violation of freedom. Korania was woefully unprepared for any rebellion especially a large one and thus Alexander II was forced to meet the peasants and negotiate with the leader of the peasant band Nikolas Amatzy. Negotiations broke down after a week, however, and Alexander II was forced to meet the band of peasants outnumbered at the battle of Lylulsk. Alexander, despite outnumbered by 10,000 men won the battle crushing the peasant army. Despite his victory, Alexander was still forced to make concessions to the peasants to prevent a rebellion from happening again. He promised greater rights to the peasants and eventually the abolishment of feudalism for them, a promise which he would totally totally keep. Except he didn’t, taking that promise to his grave.

Alexander II Adressing The Peasants

After the peasants' revolt, Alexander II began a reform of how the empire worked, starting with the king’s advisors. Alexander made a council of advisors consisting of 5 members: The chancellor which acted as the right-hand man of the emperor, overseeing the legislation of the empire and advising the emperor in legislative affairs. The Marshall acted as a military advisor to the emperor, responsible in raising levies, training troops and commanding the emperor’s armies. The steward sometimes called the treasurer, acted as a financial advisor to the emperor, taking care of the empire’s money. The spymaster acted as the eyes and ears of the emperor and often orchestrated schemes to help the empire which often involved assassinations. And finally the court chaplain, who managed religious services within the court of the emperor, a position less important than the others and often held by bishops in the empire. With this more organised court, Alexander II ruled his empire much more effectively.

Reorganization of Turkish Korania (1421-1424)

One of the things Alexander II is most famed for was the reorganization of Turkish Korania which had been a part of the empire since 1114. That part of Korania had been lacking good administration and organisation for around 300 years and Alexander II put himself to the task of organizing Turkish Korania. The first thing Alexander II did was separate Turkish Korania into 11 different states like the 5 states in western Korania. The head state was Turkiskaj which was made around the city of Turchanka which had outgrown the old Turk capital of Nezda. He appointed a governor for each state, something that was not done for Western Korania. He also, with the accord of the Pope, made each state have a bishop, something that was done for Western Korania. The organization of Turkish Korania by Alexander II is mostly remarked as good but a problem did arise from it. One that would have consequences for years to come. The difference of how Western Korania and Turkish Korania were administered and governed separated the 2 regions rather than absolving it into Western Korania like Mikalas I had done with the 5 kingdoms he had conquered. Unlike in Western Korania, where everybody considered themselves Koranian, Turkish Korania was different with many refusing to adapt and assimilate into the Koranian culture and remaining a part of the Turkish culture. This would lead to many Turk rebellions in later years.

Forging Alliances (1424-1425)

Formation of Koranian-Allandian Alliance

Korania didn’t have allies for most of its existence under the Volkovs. The empire would often secure the military support of one nation or the financial support of another because it was beneficiary to both nations but it didn’t keep its allies for long. Which wasn’t good. Had Korania secured some allies, it may have been able to survive the coalition against it. Alexander II realized this and set the task of finding a hopefully permanent ally for Korania. The Ivorican kingdoms refused to ally with Korania, being one of its main rivals, Old Utopia and Austronta were out of the picture seeing as they and Korania both hated each other. Balticonia was far away and weak, still recovering from the collapse of the Union of Southeast Lezra, and most of the nations in central Lezra were uninterested to ally with Korania or lacked the proper governance to forge any alliances. Because of this, the search for a reliable ally was tough. But eventually, Alexander II did find one. The kingdom of Allan Land had joined the coalition against Korania but had gained very little from it. They were promised land on the South Lezran Sea but were then denied it by Austronta and Old Utopia. The Allan Landians still hated the Old Utopians after the Old Utopians murdered their king around 300 years ago in 1148 and were therefore hesitant to continue working with them. Because of all this, the Allan Landian king Gwen I and Alexander II met in Petrenkov and signed treaty, creating a defensive and military alliance between the 2 nations to prevent any Old Utopian or Austrontan attack and hinder the growth of Old Utopian and Austrontan influence.

Relations with the Ivoricans (1425-1428)

By 1425, Ivorica was still split between many tiny kingdoms, all exerting their influence over the others and constantly warring with each other. This was particularly the case along the Koranian-Ivorican border, which was mostly undefined, where most of the kingdoms were tiny and constantly fighting. Together they came to be known as the Ivorican marches. These marches would often perform raids into Koranian lands angering the Koranian nobles that ruled over those lands. A massive Ivorican raid in late 1425 caused the Koranian nobles to call for help from Alexander II.

The emperor responded not by invading the marches but by orchestrating schemes to sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican kingdoms. He was successful in causing a war between most of the Ivorican marches and even helped specific kingdoms to make sure one didn’t grow too powerful. Because of the constant chaos, raids on Korania became almost non-existent. Korania played a detrimental role in keeping Ivorica disunified and in chaos because if they didn’t it would be a problem. United, Ivorica would have almost twice the population of Korania, meaning twice the army, twice the money and twice the weapons. It would be a disaster for Korania. By 1428 the chaos in the Ivorican marches had calmed down and they resorted to raiding Korania once again. This caused the Koranian nobles near the border to form a large union to protect each other from the Ivoricans. This worked quite well and repelled most Ivorican raids for quite some time.

Relations and Trade With Central Lezra (1428-1431)

Anatoli IV, Depicted Here as A Warrior-King

Central Lezra, had for a long time, been without any unity or order. It lacked the population to form a strong state and therefore was comprised of small or large horse tribes who frequently raided Korania, Old Utopia, Allan Land and the Ivoricans. It was also home to the silk road, built by Nezim III in around 610 which stretched from the edge of Old Utopia to what is now Snowylan connecting almost all of Lezra in a series of long roads. These roads, while carriers of immense wealth, were also carriers of diseases and in 1428 Korania was hit with a massive plague which devastated the nation, mostly Turkish Korania. By 1431 the plague had settled down and mostly disappeared from Korania, but the road continued to be a massive transmitter of diseases to Korania for a long time.

Last Years of Ruling (1431-1437)

Alexander’s last years of ruling would be plagued with the problem of his succession. He had a son named Anatoli who was 23 at the time who was fairly liked across the empire, mainly among the nobility. However, some preferred his cousin Viktor, son of Alexander II’s brother Vasily. Viktor was a pious man and was supported by the church and the people, along with Alexander II’s brother Vasily who himself held the support of some of the nobility. In 1433 a revolt broke out attempting to depose Alexander II in favour of his nephew Viktor. The revolt failed and the nobles and peasants held responsible for it were either exiled or executed. This angered the church and the people, who prepared for war. In 1435 Alexander II held a meeting of the Divat in Andruthinia. Here most of the nobility swore an oath to make sure Anatoli would become emperor upon Alexander’s death. This nobility included Mikhael Markov, the leader of the House of Markov. In 1436 Alexander caught the flu and was confined to his bed for the last year of his life. Anatoli was proclaimed regent by Alexander II, however, some of the Divat contested this. When Alexander II died in January of 1437, a meeting of the Divat was called to decide on who would succeed him. Because the Divat was mostly comprised of nobles, Anatoli won out in the end. However, parts of the Divat did not accept this and held a meeting in secret, electing Viktor as emperor, beginning the year of the 2 emperors.

Year of the 2 Emperors (1437)

The year of the 2 Emperors was a short but violent military conflict between the son and nephew of Alexander II after his death, Anatoli and Viktor. Anatoli had the backing of the nobility, while Viktor had the backing of most of the people and the church. The conflict began with the battle of St.Mikalas bridge, a bridge which crossed the river to Velnaz. Anatoli defended the bridge while Viktor assaulted. The battle was deadly and led to around 4000 casualties and Viktor was able to break the defender’s and cross the bridge. Viktor would then besiege Velnaz home to House Nikolaev (they’ll be important for later). However, the city was reinforced by men from the Markovs and Orlovs who drove back Viktor in May. Viktor retreated to Bolochia where he had the most support. He mustered an army of 20,000 men and marched east attempted to hook up with reinforcements from Petrenkov, ruled by House Ignatiev. He failed, however, and was caught in July by Anatoli and defeated and forced to retreat back to Nebovosk.

In August Nebovosk was put under siege by Anatoli’s men. Forces from Petrenkov attempted to relieve the siege but they were repelled by Markov forces led by Mikhael Markov who in battle, killed Igor Ignatiev who left no heirs, ending the house of Ignatiev. The war seemed to be reaching its end, however, a band of mercenaries funded by the pope himself who supported Viktor. The mercenary band ravaged Turkish Korania and then moved on to Ballatchia (which was under Koranian rule). Nebovosk was captured in October, and Anatoli supposedly duelled Viktor and killed him by stabbing him in the neck. The mercenary band dispersed and Anatoli was crowned Anatoli IV of the House of Antanov in December of 1437. The pope Leo IX was still angry and excommunicated Anatoli IV on January of 1438, however, by then the war had ended and the excommunication did little. The Year of 2 emperors was not extremely important for Korania, however, it was extremely important for the Markovs because with the extinction of the House of Ignatiev, Petrenkov was left with no ruler and because of the Markov assistance to Anatoli IV, they were granted the city, which propelled them to Dukes in Korania, becoming the Dukes of Petrenkov, a flourishing city.

1st Ivorican Koranian War (1438-1445)

Background (1431-1438)

By 1431 Ivorican-Koranian relations had deteriorated. The Anti-Ivorican League known as the League of Nebovosk was formed in 1430 as a named successor to the union of nobles who united to fight against Ivorican raids. Of course, these raids did not mean wars between Korania and Ivorica. Most of the raids were carried by bands of Ivoricans not controlled by any of the kingdoms and therefore the raids could not be declarations of war against Korania. The League of Nebovosk worked very well in repelling raids and event went as far to attack the Ivorican Marches themselves. Because the marches were tiny, they were too weak to actually do anything and did not receive the backing of any of the large Ivorican kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivorican marches formed their own league in 1435 as a direct rival to the Koranian league. This increased tensions between the Koranians and the Ivoricans. However, most of Korania was troubled with Anatoli II’s succession so little happened. When the year of the 2 brother’s began, the Ivorican League launched a large raid into Bolochia which was extremely successful. When Anatoli IV finished his conflict with Viktor he looked to the Ivoricans. He saw the raid as extremely invasive and humiliating for Korania and looked to amend it. Rather than sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican League, he decided that outright military confrontation would be better and launched a surprise attack on the League in April of 1438.

First Engagements (1438-1439)

The Ivorican League

The Ivorican League was surprised by the attack and was unready for a full-blown invasion. They attempted to muster forces but failed and were crushed twice by the Koranian forces. Most of the Ivorican Marches were overrun by January of 1439. This caused unwanted attention from the stronger Ivorican kingdoms who worried that Korania would begin to dominate the Ivoricans if they didn’t act quickly. So worried, they quickly joined in against Korania in May of 1439. This is generally considered as the 1st Ivorican-Koranian war because the other wars had not been between the whole of Ivorica and Korania just some of the kingdoms, however, this war included all of Ivorica united against Korania.

Climax (1439-1443)

The following 3 years were the climax of the war where fighting reached its peak, with Ivoricans and Koranians engaged in sporadic back and forth fighting across Ivorica. Korania triumphed over Ivorica in the war for 2 reasons. Firstly, the Koranians held much more advanced military technology so despite being outnumbered, they were still able to win most fights. Secondly, Korania was one empire while Ivorica was still split between many small and large kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivoricans lacked any form of coordination and strategy, allowing themselves to be picked off one by one. In 1441 Colombo was captured, sacked and razed to the ground, slaughtering thousands of Ivoricans civilians, something they would not forget. The Ivoricans, in turn, sacked Koranian villages and burned everything committing heinous acts in the process. By 1443, the Ivoricans were pushed to Karatana. The capital of the kingdom was besieged but the Koranians failed to take it. However, by then the war had been lost.

End and Peace Treaty (1443-1445)

Attempts from the Ivoricans to retake their kingdoms worked in some places but they were too weak to continue the war. Anatoli IV made one last all-out assault on the kingdom of Karatana and was able to capture the capital of the kingdom. The Ivoricans were now completely occupied by Korania. The Kings, Counts and Marcher Lords were all rounded up and forced to attend a peace congress in Karatana. What followed was the Peace of Karatana, a number of treaties made to end the war between the Ivorican kingdoms and the Empire of Korania. The Ivoricans were crushed. They were forced to cede massive amounts of land and money to Anatoli IV as well as swear allegiance to Anatoli IV. As a result of the war, Ivorica was almost completely annexed by the Koranian empire with the kings and counts forced to swear allegiance to Anatoli. Korania also gained a massive amount of money which it would use to completely rebuild the nation. The war was a massive success for Korania and Anatoli was praised.

The Utopo-Koranian War (1445-1463)

Bakkan Horde

Background (1445-1448)

Relations with the Old Utopians and their Grand Duke Cristoforo I were obviously not well. Korania’s devastating war was orchestrated by Old Utopia and the Duchy caused the downfall of the empire, something which the Koranians did not take lightly. They sought revenge. Unfortunately, Old Utopia was too powerful to mess with. It had allied itself with the fractured but strong Austrontan kingdoms and republics. Austronta too had joined the war against Korania, albeit not technically Austronta as it was rather more a loose confederation of kingdoms who shared the spoils united only once to take down a common enemy and reap the benefits. Korania was still recovering, although now it was recovering much faster with the massive amount of cash from the Ivoricans. Old Utopia was swimming in gold and it hogged its trade routes and its massive navy frequently raided Koranian merchants, barring Korania from having influence in the South Lezran Sea.

Tensions between Old Utopia and Korania started to grow increasingly high especially after Korania crushed the Ivoricans which worried Old Utopia who was hoping Korania would remain weak for a much longer time. It seemed as if a war was brewing. Anatoli IV was hoping to win further support from the nobility and he hoped that war with Old Utopia would determine his reign as a great one. He was eager to go to war with Old Utopia and used the harassing of Koranian merchant ships by the Old Utopian navy as a casus belli. He rallied the people and then convinced his nobles that war was the only option if Korania wanted to return to the world stage. Furthermore, Korania was still allied with Allan Land who agreed to join the war in exchange for land from Old Utopia which Korania accepted. In 1448, war was declared.

First Engagements (1448-1451)

Korania was in no way shape or form able to handle Old Utopia’s massive navy so they knew that this war was going to primarily be fought on land. Old Utopia immediately began blockading Koranian ports which put a strain on the nation but even Old Utopia didn’t have a navy large enough to blockade the entire coastline of Korania. Anatoli IV moved in with an army of 17,000 men and raided the Old Utopian lands. They were met by an army of 20,000 led by a mercenary general named Francisco Devacarro who faced Anatoli IV in open battle. Anatoli won and routed Francisco’s army who retreated. Anatoli cut a bloody swathe into Old Utopia and attempted to capture Andrif but 3 armies each consisting of 15,000 arrived just in time and he was forced to retreat. The Old Utopians attempted to counter-attack but Anatoli evaded them. He was eventually forced to face them in battle which he lost but with little casualties. Anatoli then received reinforcements and attacked Old Utopia once again in 1450.

Troutwater Mountains

The Allan Landians were also moving in. They attempted to attack Pandonus but were repelled by the city’s garrison. The Allan Landians then found themselves being pummeled by the Old Utopians. They were forced to retreat to the troutwater mountains in which they fought countless battles against the Old Utopians. The Allan Landian front would soon become a struggle between Allan Land and Old Utopia over the troutwater mountains. This allowed Anatoli to surprise the Old Utopians who were busy with the Allan Landians. He took Andrif by surprise and began to move to Jurana. The Old Utopians cut off his supply line and he was once again forced to retreat. He was defeated by Francisco Devacarro in the battle of Ponza and was pushed out of Old Utopia entirely in 1452.

The Bakkan Front (1451-1455)

Anatoli was forced to contemplate his situation after the disastrous battle of Ponza. His nobles were beginning to become worried and started to call for Anatoli to make peace. But the Emperor hesitated. He thought he could still have a chance against the Old Utopian. He called for more reinforcements and set up defences in the Bakkan valleys and waited for Francisco to come. Sure enough, the Old Utopian mercenary arrived at the valleys and began assaulting Anatoli’s army. And here is where the Bakkan horde comes in. The Bakkan horde was a sub-part of the Turkish horde except that they were culturally and linguistically different. After the Turks were crushed by Mikalas III in 1114 and the Turk horde was annexed into Korania, the Bakkans became a puppet of the Koranians. They were used as a puppet to spread Korania’s influence over central Lezra along the silk road. When the war came to them they took a neutral side and the Bakkan front quickly became a diplomatic front as both sides attempted to convince the Bakkans to join their side.

The Bakkans eventually joined the Old Utopians and attacked Anatoli IV in a narrow strait. However, the Koranians held their ground and the Bakkans were defeated. Anatoli counter-attacked and pushed back the Bakkans and the Old Utopians. He tried to move towards Old Utopia once again but Bakkan raids harassed his supply line and he was forced to remain in the Bakkan valleys. By 1454, Anatoli IV was essentially trapped in the Bakkan valleys, being unable to move out due to Bakkan assaults. The Old Utopians tried to encircle Anatoli but failed. Eventually, sickness had spread across the Old Utopian camps and they abandoned the Bakkans entirely. By 1455 Anatoli finally defeated the Bakkans and pushed them out of the valley, freeing his army. With this, the Bakkan front had mostly ended and the Bakkan horde stopped being a prominent player in the war.

Climax of the War (1455-1460)

Treaty of Andrif

When 1455 came around, the war had reached its peak. Sporadic fighting was erupting across the troutwater mountains and the Duchy of Pandonus. The fighting between the Allan Landians and the Old Utopians had become intense, culminating in the battle of Pandonus. Allan Landians attempted to besiege the city but were caught by an Old Utopian army led by a general named Alfonso Vescovi. The Allan Landians fought a massive battle just outside of Pandonus. With some clever tactics, Alfonso found himself flanked and surrounded. The Old Utopians were crushed and the garrison, which had joined the fighting fled the battle and surrendered the city the next day. The Allan Landians were doing exceptionally well, mostly due to their cavalry which was very well trained and efficient. The Koranians were not doing so well, however. They had been stuck in a stalemate with the Old Utopians for a while, and the threat of Ivorican revolt loomed over their heads. Many were calling for Anatoli to retreat and make peace but he did no such thing. Determined to prove himself, he went on one last campaign to hopefully force the Old Utopians into submission.

Anatoli once again met Francisco Devacarro on the field of battle. In one climactic battle, Anatoli won and defeated Francisco but under heavy casualties. He moved to Andrif once again in 1457. Francisco Devacarro moved to the city and began setting up defences. The city was besieged in May of 1457. The siege lasted until October of 1457. Various sorties from the defenders proved the siege to difficult to maintain by Anatoli IV. He ordered one last assault of the city which failed. The attackers were repelled and Anatoli IV abandoned the siege when the snow began to fall. Luckily for Anatoli, however, the Allan Landians had done a much better job. After capturing the city of Pandonus, they proceeded to capture the entire Duchy by the end of 1458. In February of 1459 neither Korania, Allan Land or Old Utopia could continue fighting, having exhausted their last bit of money. Because of this, they began negotiations to sign a peace treaty. In April of 1459, they finally reached an agreement and the treaty of Andrif was signed. Korania was going to have to hand over the ownership of the Bakkan horde to Old Utopia, as well as limit their powers over the Ivoricans, giving them semi-autonomy. In return though, Old Utopia was forced to cede some land across the troutwater mountains to Allan Land as well as pay a large sum of gold to both Korania and Allan Land. Overall, the war did not have the success Anatoli hoped and he was forced to cede absolute rule over the Ivoricans and the Bakkan horde, but the large sacks of money from Old Utopia helped Korania recover even faster. By the end of the war, Korania was still not the ruling superpower it hoped to be and it had lost a valuable puppet, but the money from the Old Utopians ensured a quick recovery for the empire.

Grigori, Serfdom and Pirates (1459-1479)

Eustace Klyd

New Emperor, New Nation (1459-1463)

In June of 1459, Anatoli IV passed away at the age of 61. He was a good emperor and became revered by his people as the emperor who restored Korania to most of its former glory. His 27-year-old son, Grigory was crowned emperor Grigory I of Korania. Just 4 years into his reign, a new nation was formed. The empire of Austronta was formed under the Hapsburg-Lotharingien family. Although it would take a few years for them to fully conquer the region of Austronta, the empire proved itself to be a new contender for Korania. Grigory was keen to keep an eye on the new empire, but he also didn’t want to make Austronta his enemy. However, Austronta soon allied itself to the Old Utopians and he quickly broke relations with Austronta. He was keen to hinder Old Utopian influence in Lezra as much as possible and so he first tried to undermine its allies. He attempted to ally himself with the kingdom of Sastaville and convince the kingdom to launch an invasion of Austronta but the king refused. He then tried to help the recovering Balticonia and convince the nation to turn on Old Utopia but that failed too. Eastern Lezra remained in Old Utopia’s hands during Grigory’s reign, and Austronta remained a close ally of Old Utopia.

Serfdom and Feudalism (1463-1467)

After the Utopian-Koranian war, peasants, despite the sack of money from Old Utopia, were beginning to have it worse. They found themselves constantly barraged by taxes and the nobility. They wanted more rights to be granted to them, more freedom and most importantly, the end to feudalism. The wars against Ivorica and Korania led Korania to be unprotected internally during the wars, leading to a rise in banditry and harsher conditions for the peasants. Despite the wars improving the lives of the peasants, they still seemed to be in the middle ages and protested. To make matters worse, in 1464 there was a large drought, crops failed and famine ensued. The peasants looked to countries like Old Utopia, who had abolished serfdom a few years before and demanded the same rights. Grigori wasn’t having it and refused to listen which only caused more riots. Grigori’s nobles employed harsh methods of keeping their peasants quiets and they pressured the emperor in refusing the peasant’s demands. In places like Bolochia and Makarova, rebellions ensued and some nobles were even forced out of their castles and then in some cases killed. Grigori’s nobles urged him to act and he addressed the peasants directly. After a long time of talking. Grigori finally agreed to a deal with the peasants, despite his nobility’s protests. He, like Alexander II promised greater rights to the peasants and the abolishment of serfdom. Unlike Alexander, he upheld those promises and while he wouldn’t live to see the abolishment of serfdom, he made many acts to improve the lives of the peasants.

The War on The Sea (1467-1479)

Grigori didn’t give up on hindering Old Utopia, as some had thought. He was determined to hamper the Grand Duchy as much as possible and he had devised a new strategy. He decided that this time, rather than undermine Old Utopia’s allies which failed, he would attempt to obstruct Old Utopian trade in the South Lezran Sea. He used the money from the previous wars to employ pirates, giving them gold in return for them harassing only Old Utopian ships. This worked well at first, Old Utopian merchant ships across the South Lezran Sea found themselves constantly harassed by pirate ships and Old Utopian trade was hampered. Even merchant ships protected by war galleys were looted and sunk. This was mostly due to 2 brothers named Eric and Eustace of the family Klyd. They were born somewhere in Lezra, perhaps on the island of Drextopia or perhaps the islands of Solovis. The 2 joined a crew of pirates early in their 20s under an unknown pirate captain. They proved to be exceptionally good duelists and very good with cannons and they soon rose above the ranks and became the captains favourite. They also gained the favour of their fellow crew. Because of their popularity within the crew, they betrayed their captain, killed him and took command over the small barque. They named their barque ‘The Martyred Captain’ and quickly set sail.

Eric and Eustace soon became formidable pirates and even amassed a small alliance of 4 galleys. They were very good tacticians and won battle after battle, even when outnumbered. Their cunning became renowned and they made quite a living off of their piracy. They accepted the offer from Grigori and began targeting Old Utopian ships, raiding them, sinking them and sometimes capturing them. Many pirates soon signed up to their crew and they both acquired nicknames. Eric became known as ‘Barbadoro’ which means goldbeard in Old Utopian. This is because Eric had an almost gold-looking beard. Eustace meanwhile, acquired the nickname ‘L’Orso del Mare’ which means bear of the sea due to his ferocity. The brothers became so infamous, almost every pirate signed up to their growing fleet. By 1471 they held a fleet of 9 barques, 4 brigantines and 2 caravels. The Old Utopians were determined to put a stop to this.

Battle on the Old Utopian Gulf

In 1472, the famous Old Utopian merchant ship ‘La Corona di Diamanti’ or ‘The Diamond Crown’ was looted of all its jewels and immense wealth and then captured by Eric and Eustace. The merchant ship was protected by 4 barques but they were ambushed and sunk due to Eric’s tactics. On the Diamond Crown, Eric proclaimed in front of his fellow crew, the establishment of the confederacy of pirates with Eric and Eustace as the Pirate kings. They set up base on a small island in the North Lezran Sea which they captured from the Old Utopians. On the island, they built a fort which they then named Fort Cruelsea. This was the last straw for the Old Utopians. They had lost many good admirals and a large amount of wealth. They needed to stop this. They began recruiting new admirals and hiring mercenaries to commandeer ships and hunt down parts of the Confederacy of Pirates. They put out bounties on pirate captains and even put a bounty of 15,000 coins on Eric and Eustace each. This drew a lot of attention and a lot of mercenaries signed up but they failed to do much and were defeated and killed by the confederacy. By 1475, the situation looked dire. Mercenaries failed to put a stop to the 2 pirate brothers and the Confederacy of Pirates kept on growing in size and strength.

Luckily for the Old Utopians, someone arrived to help. A mercenary by the name of Claudio Azerella. He commandeered a ship known as ‘The Drunken Shark’ and quickly rose above the ranks due to his tactics. He sunk many pirate ships and captured many more. By 1475 he had captured a total of 16 barques and 5 brigantines ad well as recover some wealth. In late 1476 he captured the infamous pirate captain Armando Constantini and his prized ship, dealing a great blow to the confederacy. He caught the eye of Eric and Eustace who personally accompanied their ship to defeat and kill Claudio. However, he evaded the 2 brothers using quick thinking. He returned to Kantonus a hero. In 1477, Eric and Eustace began planning something big. An all-out attack on Kantonus. They planned to attack, capture and sack the city. If they succeeded in doing this they would live on forever as pirate legends. They amassed a fleet of 35 barques, 15, brigantines and 6 caravels which in total added up to 56 ships. They planned to move on Kantonus by 1479. However, Claudio was determined to stop them. He was made admiral of a large Old Utopian fleet. When he learned of the 2 brother’s intentions, he began patrolling the coastline near Kanton Inu and the Old Utopian gulf. The stage had been set for a grand battle in the Old Utopian gulf.

In June of 1479, Eric and Eustace decided to strike. With an armada of 37 barques, 21 brigantines and 7 caravels they attacked Kanton Inu. Claudio’s fleet came quickly to defend and a huge battle ensued. Claudio used ships with nothing but gunpowder barrels to be sailed straight into the enemy armada and then blown up. This gave Claudio an advantage in the battle and after a few hours of fighting, the Pirate Armada had been routed. Eustace was killed in the fighting, presumably by Claudio himself and his prized ship ‘The Sea Bear’ was sunk. Eric escaped on his ship ‘The Drunken Shark’ due to quick manoeuvres, however, his armada was still decimated. He had lost 15 barques, 9 brigantines and 6 caravels in the attack and his remaining ships were battered and needed to be repaired. He retreated to Fort Diamond to recuperate but Claudio caught on and besieged the fort with his armada. The remainders of Eric’s Pirate Armada were sunk, the fort was taken and he himself was shot, captured and then brought to Kanton Inu where he was then hanged.

In the end, Grigori’s attempt to undermine OLd Utopian trade had been a failure. He had spent a lot of money funding the pirates so now that money went to waste and Korania was financially weakened. On a further note, Koranian influence in the South Lezran Sea was now being hindered due to Claudio Azerella. Claudio would raid Koranian merchant ships whenever he pleases and while Korania and Old Utopia would sometimes not be in a direct war, they would fight each other over wealth and influence in the South Lezran Sea for decades to come.

A Prosperous Age (1479-1493)

Grigori II

Beginning of Prosperity (1479-1483)

Korania was at peace and was experiencing prosperity once again. Grigori I put his efforts into improving Korania internally as well as trying to restore it to its former glory. Cities like Velnaz and Petrenkov flourished during this age of prosperity. Velnaz began to outmatch the old capital Andruthinia while Petrenkov, under the Markovs, became the dominant city in the province of Koranskaj, outmatching all its rivals. The population of Korania boomed as the lives of the peasants got easier, the nation became more wealthy despite Old Utopia dominating the South Lezran Sea and stability was restored to the nation. Grigori became praised among the people, but among the nobility, it was slightly different. However, by 1483 Korania had entered an age of prosperity.

Grigori’s Last Years (1483-1488)

Grigori I had reached the age of 53 by the end of 1483. His people had developed a love for the emperor after all his work to improve their lives and their nation. His nobility was less affectionate. Their power had been diminishing during his reign and they were afraid that they would lose even more. Such nobles who thought this, were the House of Nikolaev, who ruled Velnaz and the House of Borokov who ruled over towns and castles in Bolochia. Some other more minor houses also felt that their power was being diminished. Together, they attempted to pressure Grigori in 1485, but he didn’t budge. Some wished to rebel, but the Nikolaevs and Borokovs relented, deciding not to rebel. Some nobles weren’t having it and decided to rebel anyways in 1486. The rebellion was crushed and only lasted 6 months before the nobles surrendered. Grigori, in an attempt to bring the nobility under his complete control, revoked their titles and executed them as a show of strength and divided their lands between the other nobles. This kept the Koranian nobility quiet until his death. In 1488 at the age of 56, Grigori fell ill and on the 8th of July, he died. He was succeeded by his son, also named Grigori who was crowned Emperor Grigori II.

Grigori II’s First Years (1488-1493)

Grigori II was young when he ascended to the throne. He was 24. He had yet to prove himself upon becoming Emperor but he was eager to do so. He first tried to better organize the Ivorican counties and Dukedoms by shifting the borders and changing the administration. This worked well and the Ivorican provinces began producing more money but some of the Ivorican nobility was now upset. Their lands had been shuffled and some were forced to leave their homes and relocate. It should be noted that there was a strong separation between the Ivorican and Koranian nobility. Both had different traditions, ideals and goals. The only similarity between them was that they both despised one another. The Ivorican nobility had a larger degree of autonomy in order to keep them happy, which upset the Koranian nobility because their autonomy was dwindling fast. They thought that the Ivoricans were a privileged nobility and were eager to see them fall. The Ivoricans thought no different, they hated the Koranians and were eager to be independent. It was clear both were scheming against each other. Grigori’s organisation of the Ivorican provinces would eventually lead to a rebellion, but first, we should talk about 2 other important events that happened during the same time. The 1st one revolved around a matter with the nobility.

Tensions Within the Nobility (1491-1493)

Relations between the Koranian nobility had been well since the year of the 2 Emperors. There were little disputes and the strong rule of Grigori I kept them in check. Despite their dwindling power, the nobility still possessed one strong weapon. The Divat. As long as that stood, they still had some sort of power within Korania. By the last few years of Grigori I, the nobility was being dominated by 2 brothers of the house of Nikolaev. One was named Artyom and was the ruler of the house. He was an exceptional military strategist and a very good fighter and duelist. The other was Dmitri. He was the opposite of his brother. He was an excellent diplomat and also a very good spymaster, always seeming to be one step ahead of all his opponents. The 2 brothers held a seat in the Emperor’s council with Artyom as Grigori II’s Marshall and Dmitri as his Chancellor. The 2 held a large amount of influence within the emperor’s court and the empire itself. However, something would happen that would change quite a lot.


Danyil Markov

In 1491 the skilled statesman and noble Danyil Markov died under somewhat suspicious circumstances at the age of 45. The rulership of Petrenkov and all Markovi lands passed down to his son, Ivano Markov who was only 19. Despite being young and unproven Grigori II decided to give Ivano Markov a position in his council as Treasurer, making him in control of the Empire’s wealth. Ivano Markov was in a delicate position. He was young and surrounded by nobles who sought his lands and most importantly Petrenkov for themselves. His biggest rivals were definitely the Nikolaev brothers who were hoping to undermine the Markov family as much as possible to secure their position in Korania. Ivano Markov, however, was clever and most certainly being underestimated by everyone. He began trying to undermine the Nikolaev brothers as soon as possible. And he found a chance to do such very quickly. In 1493 Word had arrived that the Ivoricans were planning to revolt. Grigori decided to attempt to persuade them to not rebel. Ivano then convinced the emperor to send Dmitri as an envoy and the emperor agreed. In one quick move, he had managed to separate the 2 brothers. But before we get to the Ivorican revolt there is one more thing to talk about.

Abolishment of Serfdom (1493)

In 1493 Grigori passed the Serfdom Abolishment act, abolishing Serfdom. The surprising thing was that Grigori had to run this act with the Divat and despite all common sense, the nobles voted in favour. This was probably due to a lot of bribes from Grigori. Anyways, the abolishment of Serfdom technically meant the end of feudalism. Even though Feudalism would technically only be abolished in 1579, without Serfdom the feudal system simply ceased to exist. This improved the lives of the peasants of Korania and mostly everyone else except maybe the nobility. Mercantilism slowly replaced feudalism as the ruling political system in Korania and Mercantilism would eventually grow to be dubbed ‘Capitalism’. The abolishment of Serfdom was an important mark in the history of Korania and some consider this the end of the medieval era for Korania although this is disputed. What is not disputed, however, was that 1493 marked the end of medieval ways and systems in Korania. And now, back to the Ivorican revolt.

The Ivorican Revolt (1493-1497)

Background and Beginning (1493-1494)

In 1493, Dmitri Nikolaev travelled to the Karatana to talk with the Duke of the region, who Grigori had thought was going to be the leader of the revolt if it occurred. Dmitri attempted to talk to the Duke who was called Reginald Ansel. However, he failed to persuade the Duke who had planned to revolt months earlier. Dmitri was imprisoned and Reginald proclaimed Karatana to be an independent kingdom. Dmitri was kept as a hostage in case the Koranians decided to attack Karatana. This worked and Grigori instead decided to negotiate terms with the Ivoricans.

Negotiations (1494-1495)

Reginald demanded independence or else but Grigori attempted to push for a slightly more autonomous puppet state. Negotiations eventually broke down after a few months and Reginald ceased communications with Grigori. It was likely that he would’ve executed Dmitri there and then, had Dmitri not escaped the day prior. This caused Reginald to lose his only bargaining chip which led to a full-blown war, beginning in 1495.

First Engagements (1495-1496)

Siege of Andruthinia

Some Ivorican counties and dukedoms supported the Koranians, especially the Marcher lords near the border. This caused a sort of civil war between the Ivoricans who fought against each other. Grigori didn’t even need to send reinforcements. However, in August of 1496, Reginald won a great battle against the Pro-Koranian Ivoricans and Grigori was forced to send reinforcements. These reinforcements engaged in minor battles with the Ivoricans eventually culminating in a long battle which the Ivoricans won but with heavy casualties. Grigori sent more reinforcements but the Ivoricans kept pushing them back. It seemed as if the revolt was actually turning out to be serious.

Climax (1496-1497)

A coalition of nobles led by Artyom Nikolaev led a large force against the Ivoricans. They won 2 battles against Reginald in April and May of 1497 but were then pushed in July. Artyom won more battles but found himself unable to continue pushing forwards as the Ivoricans had taken very defensive positions. Artyom attempted one final offensive in September, winning 4 battles consecutively but when he attempted to push into the kingdom of Karatana he failed and Reginald defeated him. Artyom and his nobles considered further offensives but October and Winter were dawning on them and they knew they could not fight the Ivoricans in the snow. Artyom called for a retreat. Reginald chased and caught him but was unable to crush the Koranians decisively. The Ivorican king attempted to crush them once more in November but failed and was defeated and he himself was chased. By December the 2 sides had reached a stalemate and called an armistice. On Christmas day, Grigori and Reginald agreed to a peace treaty. Karatana and some other Ivorican states were to be released as independent kingdoms but they would have to pay Korania large amounts of gold. In the end, the war was a failure for Grigori II and his reputation was tarnished by his defeat.

The Nikolaev Revolt (1497-1502)

Background (1497-1499)

Tensions had been rising within the nobility since the Ivorican revolt, especially between the Markovs and the Nikolaevs. Grigori II was eager to put at ease these tensions as he didn’t want a rebellion or civil war to occur in Korania because he was hoping to put his focus on retaking Ivorica. However, his wishes did not come to be. Ivano Markov and the Nikolaev brothers despised each other as both were trying to undermine one another and secure their position as the dominant house in Korania. What also increased tensions were the suspicions around the death of Ivano Markov’s father, Danyil Markov. There were suspicions that the Nikolaevs had poisoned him for still unknown reasons. This only helped fuel the tensions within the nobility and soon, the noble houses were beginning to pick sides.

Artyom Nikolaev

In 1498, someone attempted to murder Ivano himself. He failed but managed to kill Ivano’s personal bodyguard, who was also his best friend, while trying to run away. Everyone suspected the Nikolaevs but without hard evidence, nobody was unable to convict them. But it was very clear to everybody that the Nikolaev brothers had drawn blood, and Ivano was going to retaliate. However, he was stopped by Grigori II who put his foot down and commanded he put a stop to this. He had chosen the side of the Nikolaevs, simply because they were more powerful and more beneficial to him. In late November, Grigori grew tired of Ivano, dismissed him and ordered him to leave the capital. A month later, Grigori II was found dead in the morning, most obviously due to poison.

It all pointed to Ivano as being the culprit. Grigori had dismissed Ivano a month before and had taken the side of the Nikolaevs. It made all the sense that he was the man who ordered that Grigori be poisoned. Since Grigori had no children, the throne passed to his fat, gluttonous brother Anatoli who in January was crowned Anatoli V. In February of 1499, Ivano Markov was summoned to the capital Andruthinia for a trial. Rather than refusing and proclaiming a revolt, he travelled to Andruthinia where he was promptly confined to the palace. He wasn’t arrested but he was going to be put on trial after a month. However, Ivano Markov did not spend his time in the capital doing nothing. He used his time there to manipulate the nobles who were also present and lead them to believe that it was, in fact, the Nikolaevs that poisoned Grigori II (it is still a matter of debate on who killed Grigori II). Whatever the case, in March of 1499, Dmitri, who was the brother present at Andruthinia as Artyom was in Velnaz, was confronted by Andrei Borokov about the suspicions that they had killed the emperor. Dmitri denied them but began leaving the palace with his personal guard. Andrei followed him with his own personal guard, they confronted each other at the main hall of the emperor, they drew their guns and in front of the emperor, a shootout occurred, Andrei Borokov was killed and Dmitri fled the city. 2 days later, Anatoli V dismissed the trial of Ivano and instead convicted the Nikolaev brothers of poisoning his brother and branded them traitors. In April, Artyom and Dmitri rallied their allies in the nobility and proclaimed a rebellion against Anatoli V to depose him in favour of Artyom Nikolaev, beginning the Nikolaev revolt.

Beginning (1499)

The Nikolaev brothers had rallied a formidable alliance of nobles to help them take the throne. Despite most of the noble houses being minor houses, together they posed a strong enough force for Anatoli V. The strongest supporters of Anatoli were, of course, the Markovs, who wished to destroy the Nikolaevs and the Borokovs, who sought revenge after the death of their father Andrei was killed at the hands of Dmitri Borokov. The 2 sides were almost equal in number but the side of the Nikolaev's possessed a special weapon. Artyom Nikolaev was by far the best strategist and tactician in all of Korania at that time. Few generals could stand up to him, even with overwhelming numbers. By August of 1499, Artyom had captured the castle and home of a prominent noble on Anatoli’s side and defeated a large coalition of nobles led by Alexei Borokov. The war seemed to be in the Nikolaev’s favour especially with some nobles abandoning Anatoli and instead proclaiming neutrality. However, in November he was pushed back by overwhelming odds and barred from taking Andruthinia. In December of 1499, the supporters of Anatoli would retaliate dealing a large blow to the supporters of Artyom in the battle of Losif. The revolt, it seemed, would not end so quickly.

Assaults and Battles (1500-1501)

As the 16th century dawned on Korania Artyom launched a counter-attack and invaded Bolochia, the home of the Borokovs. He attempted to take their castle in a siege that lasted 5 months but Alexei would relieve the garrison of the castle and break the siege. By June, Artyom had been pushed outside Bolochia. In July, Ivano Markov forced the surrender of one of Artyom’s allies by capturing the noble lord and his family. This caused Artyom to attack the Markovi lands. Ivano was defeated twice by Artyom. He attempted to organise an attack on Velnaz but his allies failed to group together and commence the siege. In September, Petrenkov was put under siege. However, support for Ivano came in from Turkish Korania. A small fleet docked on the province of Koranskaj, deploying 15,000 troops to relieve the siege of Petrenkov. They arrived just in time and broke the siege and defeated Artyom in November of 1501.

Artyom was now put in a difficult position. He was trapped between noble forces coming from Andruthinia and the Markov and Eastern Koranian forces chasing him from Petrenkov. He decided to move west and managed to defeat the coalition of forces coming from Andruthinia and then put the capital of the empire to siege in February of 1502. However, the Koranian winter that year proved a harsh one and his army suffered from attrition. Nevertheless, they continued to besiege Andruthinia. Ivano and his reinforcements were slowed down by the snow and it seemed as if they would not be able to reach the capital in time. Winter faded into spring and Ivano was still too far away from Andruthinia. It looked as if Artyom was going to take the city and win. In June, Artyom stated that ‘I will be dining in the palace of Andruthinia within 2 weeks, with the emperor’s head in front of me’. 2 weeks passed and he had failed to take the city. He attempted to storm the walls 3 times but failed all times. June passed into July and still, Artyom had failed to take the city. Alexei Borkov arrived at the city in August and attempted to break the siege but Artyom repelled him. Meanwhile, the garrison within Andruthinia was beginning to starve. Suddenly in September, Ivano Markov finally arrived. Positioning his army on a hill near the city, he ordered a massive cavalry charge into the ranks of Artyom’s army. The charge completely broke Artyom’s men and the siege ended.

Anatoli The Fat

Artyom’s army was battered and weakened. He called for a retreat to Velnaz. Meanwhile, many nobles who had joined the side of Artyom had deserted to Anatoli’s side. Artyom attempted to counter-attack and defeat Alexei Borkov and Ivano Markov but he was caught on 3 sides and was forced to retreat. Ivano and Alexie did not besiege Velnaz as it was December and they would be unable to set up a siege in that harsh winter. The end of the rebellion was coming.

Final Sieges and End (1502)

In March, the terrible winter finally ended and Velnaz was put to siege. The siege would last 5 months. In August, the city was taken by Artyom, Dmitri and the Nikolaev family were not there. They had retreated to a small but very defensible castle near Velnaz, positioned on a hill. Despite that, Ivano and Alexei put to siege the small castle. The few nobles who still supported the 2 brothers attempted to break the siege twice but they failed and 2 months later the last nobles still in support of the Nikolaev brothers had surrendered. The 2 brothers knew that if they lost the rebellion, their heads would end up impaled on 2 pikes and so they refused to surrender and continued the siege. Eventually, however, the castle was eventually taken in November. Artyom and Dmitri were captured and taken to Andruthinia. Ivano Markov ordered that all the entrances and exits to the castle be sealed shut and then ordered for the castle to be burnt to the ground, with the rest of the Nikolaevs still inside. The Nikolaev revolt had ended.

Aftermath of the Revolt

Artyom and Dmitri remained imprisoned for a month (where they were probably tortured). They were executed on the 7th of December 1502. On the 19th of December, Anatoli V (now called Anatoli the Fat) called a meeting of the nobility to divide the lands of the Nikolaevs between the nobles who had remained loyal to Anatoli V. The nobles who had sides with Artyom had some of their lands given away but they were not wiped off the map. In the end, Alexei Borokov got the Nikolaev lands in Bolochia, while other nobles got the Nikolaev lands in other provinces. But the biggest winner was the now 30-year-old Ivano Markov who was rewarded the city of Velnaz and most of the Nikolaev territories in the province of Velnazski. In 11 years, Ivano Markov had toppled the most powerful noble house in Korania and secured his house as the dominant house in all of Korania.

In the end, the Nikolaev revolt was very important to the history of Korania. It cemented the house of Markov as the most powerful noble house in Korania which would eventually help them take power and become the ruling house in all of the Koranian empire. It set the foundations of the wars to come that would eventually turn Korania upside-down and transform it to a new empire, one that would grow to overpass most of its rivals and be the superpower of Lezra for almost many years to come. In the next factbook, I will cover the collapse of the Antonov dynasty, how the Carsonist reformation affected Korania and the religious and civil wars that led to the establishment of the Markov dynasty as the ruling dynasty of Korania.

Written by Old utopia

The images used in this factbook do not belong to me, obviously. I did not draw them

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Post-War Korania (1411-1432)

Alexander II

During Regency (1411-1416)

The year is 1411, and Korania is a little bit on fire, both figuratively and literally. The empire had just lost a crushing war against a coalition consisting of Austronta, Old Utopia, the Union of Southeast Lezra and Allan Land. Most of the empire’s influence in the South Lezran Sea had been eliminated with its island-colonies, barring the county of Solovis, had been released as independent nations. The war marked the end of Koranian supremacy and Korania being a superpower, leaving 2 nations, Old Utopia and Austronta to attempt to take up the mantle.

Korania was currently in a regency and its regent, Anton Kersovich had utterly failed to stop the coalition of empires from defeating the Koranian empire and was thus extremely unpopular. A meeting of the Divat was called in Velnaz, in which Anton Kersovich was removed as Regent and replaced with Ivan Kovlov. Ivan, upon assuming the title of Regent became burdened with the task of fixing everything Anton Kersovich and the war had done to Korania. Ivan would do well in his 5 years of being regent, managing taxes well enough to raise enough money to reconstruct and recover most of Korania.

In 1416, the son of Alexander Antonov I, also called Alexander, became 16 and thus, old enough to be crowned emperor. Ivan Kovlov stepped down as regent and Alexander was crowned emperor Alexander Antonov II of Korania in Andruthinia, the capital of Korania. Ivan Kovlov was rewarded for his service to the empire as regent and his family was given land near Velnaz. Ivan Kovlov continued to serve the empire being appointed as the chancellor of Korania by Alexander II. Alexander II’s reign had begun.

First 5 Years of Ruling (1416-1421)

Alexander’s reign didn’t begin as stable as he hoped it would. The devastating war had a heavy toll on Korania, mostly on its peasants whose homes and farmlands had been burned during the devastating chevauchées of the Austrontans. Many peasants were now asking for help which could not be given yet. When their demands were rejected by the crown, they resorted to more violent methods.

A band of 20,000 peasants were amassed calling for the abolishment of serfdom and feudalism all together declaring it inhumane and a violation of freedom. Korania was woefully unprepared for any rebellion especially a large one and thus Alexander II was forced to meet the peasants and negotiate with the leader of the peasant band Nikolas Amatzy. Negotiations broke down after a week, however, and Alexander II was forced to meet the band of peasants outnumbered at the battle of Lylulsk. Alexander, despite outnumbered by 10,000 men won the battle crushing the peasant army. Despite his victory, Alexander was still forced to make concessions to the peasants to prevent a rebellion from happening again. He promised greater rights to the peasants and eventually the abolishment of feudalism for them, a promise which he would totally totally keep. Except he didn’t, taking that promise to his grave.

Alexander II Adressing The Peasants

After the peasants' revolt, Alexander II began a reform of how the empire worked, starting with the king’s advisors. Alexander made a council of advisors consisting of 5 members: The chancellor which acted as the right-hand man of the emperor, overseeing the legislation of the empire and advising the emperor in legislative affairs. The Marshall acted as a military advisor to the emperor, responsible in raising levies, training troops and commanding the emperor’s armies. The steward sometimes called the treasurer, acted as a financial advisor to the emperor, taking care of the empire’s money. The spymaster acted as the eyes and ears of the emperor and often orchestrated schemes to help the empire which often involved assassinations. And finally the court chaplain, who managed religious services within the court of the emperor, a position less important than the others and often held by bishops in the empire. With this more organised court, Alexander II ruled his empire much more effectively.

Reorganization of Turkish Korania (1421-1424)

One of the things Alexander II is most famed for was the reorganization of Turkish Korania which had been a part of the empire since 1114. That part of Korania had been lacking good administration and organisation for around 300 years and Alexander II put himself to the task of organizing Turkish Korania. The first thing Alexander II did was separate Turkish Korania into 11 different states like the 5 states in western Korania. The head state was Turkiskaj which was made around the city of Turchanka which had outgrown the old Turk capital of Nezda. He appointed a governor for each state, something that was not done for Western Korania. He also, with the accord of the Pope, made each state have a bishop, something that was done for Western Korania. The organization of Turkish Korania by Alexander II is mostly remarked as good but a problem did arise from it. One that would have consequences for years to come. The difference of how Western Korania and Turkish Korania were administered and governed separated the 2 regions rather than absolving it into Western Korania like Mikalas I had done with the 5 kingdoms he had conquered. Unlike in Western Korania, where everybody considered themselves Koranian, Turkish Korania was different with many refusing to adapt and assimilate into the Koranian culture and remaining a part of the Turkish culture. This would lead to many Turk rebellions in later years.

Forging Alliances (1424-1425)

Formation of Koranian-Allandian Alliance

Korania didn’t have allies for most of its existence under the Volkovs. The empire would often secure the military support of one nation or the financial support of another because it was beneficiary to both nations but it didn’t keep its allies for long. Which wasn’t good. Had Korania secured some allies, it may have been able to survive the coalition against it. Alexander II realized this and set the task of finding a hopefully permanent ally for Korania. The Ivorican kingdoms refused to ally with Korania, being one of its main rivals, Old Utopia and Austronta were out of the picture seeing as they and Korania both hated each other. Balticonia was far away and weak, still recovering from the collapse of the Union of Southeast Lezra, and most of the nations in central Lezra were uninterested to ally with Korania or lacked the proper governance to forge any alliances. Because of this, the search for a reliable ally was tough. But eventually, Alexander II did find one. The kingdom of Allan Land had joined the coalition against Korania but had gained very little from it. They were promised land on the South Lezran Sea but were then denied it by Austronta and Old Utopia. The Allan Landians still hated the Old Utopians after the Old Utopians murdered their king around 300 years ago in 1148 and were therefore hesitant to continue working with them. Because of all this, the Allan Landian king Gwen I and Alexander II met in Petrenkov and signed treaty, creating a defensive and military alliance between the 2 nations to prevent any Old Utopian or Austrontan attack and hinder the growth of Old Utopian and Austrontan influence.

Relations with the Ivoricans (1425-1428)

By 1425, Ivorica was still split between many tiny kingdoms, all exerting their influence over the others and constantly warring with each other. This was particularly the case along the Koranian-Ivorican border, which was mostly undefined, where most of the kingdoms were tiny and constantly fighting. Together they came to be known as the Ivorican marches. These marches would often perform raids into Koranian lands angering the Koranian nobles that ruled over those lands. A massive Ivorican raid in late 1425 caused the Koranian nobles to call for help from Alexander II.

The emperor responded not by invading the marches but by orchestrating schemes to sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican kingdoms. He was successful in causing a war between most of the Ivorican marches and even helped specific kingdoms to make sure one didn’t grow too powerful. Because of the constant chaos, raids on Korania became almost non-existent. Korania played a detrimental role in keeping Ivorica disunified and in chaos because if they didn’t it would be a problem. United, Ivorica would have almost twice the population of Korania, meaning twice the army, twice the money and twice the weapons. It would be a disaster for Korania. By 1428 the chaos in the Ivorican marches had calmed down and they resorted to raiding Korania once again. This caused the Koranian nobles near the border to form a large union to protect each other from the Ivoricans. This worked quite well and repelled most Ivorican raids for quite some time.

Relations and Trade With Central Lezra (1428-1431)

Anatoli IV, Depicted Here as A Warrior-King

Central Lezra, had for a long time, been without any unity or order. It lacked the population to form a strong state and therefore was comprised of small or large horse tribes who frequently raided Korania, Old Utopia, Allan Land and the Ivoricans. It was also home to the silk road, built by Nezim III in around 610 which stretched from the edge of Old Utopia to what is now Snowylan connecting almost all of Lezra in a series of long roads. These roads, while carriers of immense wealth, were also carriers of diseases and in 1428 Korania was hit with a massive plague which devastated the nation, mostly Turkish Korania. By 1431 the plague had settled down and mostly disappeared from Korania, but the road continued to be a massive transmitter of diseases to Korania for a long time.

Last Years of Ruling (1431-1437)

Alexander’s last years of ruling would be plagued with the problem of his succession. He had a son named Anatoli who was 23 at the time who was fairly liked across the empire, mainly among the nobility. However, some preferred his cousin Viktor, son of Alexander II’s brother Vasily. Viktor was a pious man and was supported by the church and the people, along with Alexander II’s brother Vasily who himself held the support of some of the nobility. In 1433 a revolt broke out attempting to depose Alexander II in favour of his nephew Viktor. The revolt failed and the nobles and peasants held responsible for it were either exiled or executed. This angered the church and the people, who prepared for war. In 1435 Alexander II held a meeting of the Divat in Andruthinia. Here most of the nobility swore an oath to make sure Anatoli would become emperor upon Alexander’s death. This nobility included Mikhael Markov, the leader of the House of Markov. In 1436 Alexander caught the flu and was confined to his bed for the last year of his life. Anatoli was proclaimed regent by Alexander II, however, some of the Divat contested this. When Alexander II died in January of 1437, a meeting of the Divat was called to decide on who would succeed him. Because the Divat was mostly comprised of nobles, Anatoli won out in the end. However, parts of the Divat did not accept this and held a meeting in secret, electing Viktor as emperor, beginning the year of the 2 emperors.

Year of the 2 Emperors (1437)

The year of the 2 Emperors was a short but violent military conflict between the son and nephew of Alexander II after his death, Anatoli and Viktor. Anatoli had the backing of the nobility, while Viktor had the backing of most of the people and the church. The conflict began with the battle of St.Mikalas bridge, a bridge which crossed the river to Velnaz. Anatoli defended the bridge while Viktor assaulted. The battle was deadly and led to around 4000 casualties and Viktor was able to break the defender’s and cross the bridge. Viktor would then besiege Velnaz home to House Nikolaev (they’ll be important for later). However, the city was reinforced by men from the Markovs and Orlovs who drove back Viktor in May. Viktor retreated to Bolochia where he had the most support. He mustered an army of 20,000 men and marched east attempted to hook up with reinforcements from Petrenkov, ruled by House Ignatiev. He failed, however, and was caught in July by Anatoli and defeated and forced to retreat back to Nebovosk.

In August Nebovosk was put under siege by Anatoli’s men. Forces from Petrenkov attempted to relieve the siege but they were repelled by Markov forces led by Mikhael Markov who in battle, killed Igor Ignatiev who left no heirs, ending the house of Ignatiev. The war seemed to be reaching its end, however, a band of mercenaries funded by the pope himself who supported Viktor. The mercenary band ravaged Turkish Korania and then moved on to Ballatchia (which was under Koranian rule). Nebovosk was captured in October, and Anatoli supposedly duelled Viktor and killed him by stabbing him in the neck. The mercenary band dispersed and Anatoli was crowned Anatoli IV of the House of Antanov in December of 1437. The pope Leo IX was still angry and excommunicated Anatoli IV on January of 1438, however, by then the war had ended and the excommunication did little. The Year of 2 emperors was not extremely important for Korania, however, it was extremely important for the Markovs because with the extinction of the House of Ignatiev, Petrenkov was left with no ruler and because of the Markov assistance to Anatoli IV, they were granted the city, which propelled them to Dukes in Korania, becoming the Dukes of Petrenkov, a flourishing city.

1st Ivorican Koranian War (1438-1445)

Background (1431-1438)

By 1431 Ivorican-Koranian relations had deteriorated. The Anti-Ivorican League known as the League of Nebovosk was formed in 1430 as a named successor to the union of nobles who united to fight against Ivorican raids. Of course, these raids did not mean wars between Korania and Ivorica. Most of the raids were carried by bands of Ivoricans not controlled by any of the kingdoms and therefore the raids could not be declarations of war against Korania. The League of Nebovosk worked very well in repelling raids and event went as far to attack the Ivorican Marches themselves. Because the marches were tiny, they were too weak to actually do anything and did not receive the backing of any of the large Ivorican kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivorican marches formed their own league in 1435 as a direct rival to the Koranian league. This increased tensions between the Koranians and the Ivoricans. However, most of Korania was troubled with Anatoli II’s succession so little happened. When the year of the 2 brother’s began, the Ivorican League launched a large raid into Bolochia which was extremely successful. When Anatoli IV finished his conflict with Viktor he looked to the Ivoricans. He saw the raid as extremely invasive and humiliating for Korania and looked to amend it. Rather than sow dissent and chaos among the Ivorican League, he decided that outright military confrontation would be better and launched a surprise attack on the League in April of 1438.

First Engagements (1438-1439)

The Ivorican League

The Ivorican League was surprised by the attack and was unready for a full-blown invasion. They attempted to muster forces but failed and were crushed twice by the Koranian forces. Most of the Ivorican Marches were overrun by January of 1439. This caused unwanted attention from the stronger Ivorican kingdoms who worried that Korania would begin to dominate the Ivoricans if they didn’t act quickly. So worried, they quickly joined in against Korania in May of 1439. This is generally considered as the 1st Ivorican-Koranian war because the other wars had not been between the whole of Ivorica and Korania just some of the kingdoms, however, this war included all of Ivorica united against Korania.

Climax (1439-1443)

The following 3 years were the climax of the war where fighting reached its peak, with Ivoricans and Koranians engaged in sporadic back and forth fighting across Ivorica. Korania triumphed over Ivorica in the war for 2 reasons. Firstly, the Koranians held much more advanced military technology so despite being outnumbered, they were still able to win most fights. Secondly, Korania was one empire while Ivorica was still split between many small and large kingdoms. Because of this, the Ivoricans lacked any form of coordination and strategy, allowing themselves to be picked off one by one. In 1441 Colombo was captured, sacked and razed to the ground, slaughtering thousands of Ivoricans civilians, something they would not forget. The Ivoricans, in turn, sacked Koranian villages and burned everything committing heinous acts in the process. By 1443, the Ivoricans were pushed to Karatana. The capital of the kingdom was besieged but the Koranians failed to take it. However, by then the war had been lost.

End and Peace Treaty (1443-1445)

Attempts from the Ivoricans to retake their kingdoms worked in some places but they were too weak to continue the war. Anatoli IV made one last all-out assault on the kingdom of Karatana and was able to capture the capital of the kingdom. The Ivoricans were now completely occupied by Korania. The Kings, Counts and Marcher Lords were all rounded up and forced to attend a peace congress in Karatana. What followed was the Peace of Karatana, a number of treaties made to end the war between the Ivorican kingdoms and the Empire of Korania. The Ivoricans were crushed. They were forced to cede massive amounts of land and money to Anatoli IV as well as swear allegiance to Anatoli IV. As a result of the war, Ivorica was almost completely annexed by the Koranian empire with the kings and counts forced to swear allegiance to Anatoli. Korania also gained a massive amount of money which it would use to completely rebuild the nation. The war was a massive success for Korania and Anatoli was praised.

The Utopo-Koranian War (1445-1463)

Bakkan Horde

Background (1445-1448)

Relations with the Old Utopians and their Grand Duke Cristoforo I were obviously not well. Korania’s devastating war was orchestrated by Old Utopia and the Duchy caused the downfall of the empire, something which the Koranians did not take lightly. They sought revenge. Unfortunately, Old Utopia was too powerful to mess with. It had allied itself with the fractured but strong Austrontan kingdoms and republics. Austronta too had joined the war against Korania, albeit not technically Austronta as it was rather more a loose confederation of kingdoms who shared the spoils united only once to take down a common enemy and reap the benefits. Korania was still recovering, although now it was recovering much faster with the massive amount of cash from the Ivoricans. Old Utopia was swimming in gold and it hogged its trade routes and its massive navy frequently raided Koranian merchants, barring Korania from having influence in the South Lezran Sea.

Tensions between Old Utopia and Korania started to grow increasingly high especially after Korania crushed the Ivoricans which worried Old Utopia who was hoping Korania would remain weak for a much longer time. It seemed as if a war was brewing. Anatoli IV was hoping to win further support from the nobility and he hoped that war with Old Utopia would determine his reign as a great one. He was eager to go to war with Old Utopia and used the harassing of Koranian merchant ships by the Old Utopian navy as a casus belli. He rallied the people and then convinced his nobles that war was the only option if Korania wanted to return to the world stage. Furthermore, Korania was still allied with Allan Land who agreed to join the war in exchange for land from Old Utopia which Korania accepted. In 1448, war was declared.

First Engagements (1448-1451)

Korania was in no way shape or form able to handle Old Utopia’s massive navy so they knew that this war was going to primarily be fought on land. Old Utopia immediately began blockading Koranian ports which put a strain on the nation but even Old Utopia didn’t have a navy large enough to blockade the entire coastline of Korania. Anatoli IV moved in with an army of 17,000 men and raided the Old Utopian lands. They were met by an army of 20,000 led by a mercenary general named Francisco Devacarro who faced Anatoli IV in open battle. Anatoli won and routed Francisco’s army who retreated. Anatoli cut a bloody swathe into Old Utopia and attempted to capture Andrif but 3 armies each consisting of 15,000 arrived just in time and he was forced to retreat. The Old Utopians attempted to counter-attack but Anatoli evaded them. He was eventually forced to face them in battle which he lost but with little casualties. Anatoli then received reinforcements and attacked Old Utopia once again in 1450.

Troutwater Mountains

The Allan Landians were also moving in. They attempted to attack Pandonus but were repelled by the city’s garrison. The Allan Landians then found themselves being pummeled by the Old Utopians. They were forced to retreat to the troutwater mountains in which they fought countless battles against the Old Utopians. The Allan Landian front would soon become a struggle between Allan Land and Old Utopia over the troutwater mountains. This allowed Anatoli to surprise the Old Utopians who were busy with the Allan Landians. He took Andrif by surprise and began to move to Jurana. The Old Utopians cut off his supply line and he was once again forced to retreat. He was defeated by Francisco Devacarro in the battle of Ponza and was pushed out of Old Utopia entirely in 1452.

The Bakkan Front (1451-1455)

Anatoli was forced to contemplate his situation after the disastrous battle of Ponza. His nobles were beginning to become worried and started to call for Anatoli to make peace. But the Emperor hesitated. He thought he could still have a chance against the Old Utopian. He called for more reinforcements and set up defences in the Bakkan valleys and waited for Francisco to come. Sure enough, the Old Utopian mercenary arrived at the valleys and began assaulting Anatoli’s army. And here is where the Bakkan horde comes in. The Bakkan horde was a sub-part of the Turkish horde except that they were culturally and linguistically different. After the Turks were crushed by Mikalas III in 1114 and the Turk horde was annexed into Korania, the Bakkans became a puppet of the Koranians. They were used as a puppet to spread Korania’s influence over central Lezra along the silk road. When the war came to them they took a neutral side and the Bakkan front quickly became a diplomatic front as both sides attempted to convince the Bakkans to join their side.

The Bakkans eventually joined the Old Utopians and attacked Anatoli IV in a narrow strait. However, the Koranians held their ground and the Bakkans were defeated. Anatoli counter-attacked and pushed back the Bakkans and the Old Utopians. He tried to move towards Old Utopia once again but Bakkan raids harassed his supply line and he was forced to remain in the Bakkan valleys. By 1454, Anatoli IV was essentially trapped in the Bakkan valleys, being unable to move out due to Bakkan assaults. The Old Utopians tried to encircle Anatoli but failed. Eventually, sickness had spread across the Old Utopian camps and they abandoned the Bakkans entirely. By 1455 Anatoli finally defeated the Bakkans and pushed them out of the valley, freeing his army. With this, the Bakkan front had mostly ended and the Bakkan horde stopped being a prominent player in the war.

Climax of the War (1455-1460)

Treaty of Andrif

When 1455 came around, the war had reached its peak. Sporadic fighting was erupting across the troutwater mountains and the Duchy of Pandonus. The fighting between the Allan Landians and the Old Utopians had become intense, culminating in the battle of Pandonus. Allan Landians attempted to besiege the city but were caught by an Old Utopian army led by a general named Alfonso Vescovi. The Allan Landians fought a massive battle just outside of Pandonus. With some clever tactics, Alfonso found himself flanked and surrounded. The Old Utopians were crushed and the garrison, which had joined the fighting fled the battle and surrendered the city the next day. The Allan Landians were doing exceptionally well, mostly due to their cavalry which was very well trained and efficient. The Koranians were not doing so well, however. They had been stuck in a stalemate with the Old Utopians for a while, and the threat of Ivorican revolt loomed over their heads. Many were calling for Anatoli to retreat and make peace but he did no such thing. Determined to prove himself, he went on one last campaign to hopefully force the Old Utopians into submission.

Anatoli once again met Francisco Devacarro on the field of battle. In one climactic battle, Anatoli won and defeated Francisco but under heavy casualties. He moved to Andrif once again in 1457. Francisco Devacarro moved to the city and began setting up defences. The city was besieged in May of 1457. The siege lasted until October of 1457. Various sorties from the defenders proved the siege to difficult to maintain by Anatoli IV. He ordered one last assault of the city which failed. The attackers were repelled and Anatoli IV abandoned the siege when the snow began to fall. Luckily for Anatoli, however, the Allan Landians had done a much better job. After capturing the city of Pandonus, they proceeded to capture the entire Duchy by the end of 1458. In February of 1459 neither Korania, Allan Land or Old Utopia could continue fighting, having exhausted their last bit of money. Because of this, they began negotiations to sign a peace treaty. In April of 1459, they finally reached an agreement and the treaty of Andrif was signed. Korania was going to have to hand over the ownership of the Bakkan horde to Old Utopia, as well as limit their powers over the Ivoricans, giving them semi-autonomy. In return though, Old Utopia was forced to cede some land across the troutwater mountains to Allan Land as well as pay a large sum of gold to both Korania and Allan Land. Overall, the war did not have the success Anatoli hoped and he was forced to cede absolute rule over the Ivoricans and the Bakkan horde, but the large sacks of money from Old Utopia helped Korania recover even faster. By the end of the war, Korania was still not the ruling superpower it hoped to be and it had lost a valuable puppet, but the money from the Old Utopians ensured a quick recovery for the empire.

Grigori, Serfdom and Pirates (1459-1479)

Eustace Klyd

New Emperor, New Nation (1459-1463)

In June of 1459, Anatoli IV passed away at the age of 61. He was a good emperor and became revered by his people as the emperor who restored Korania to most of its former glory. His 27-year-old son, Grigory was crowned emperor Grigory I of Korania. Just 4 years into his reign, a new nation was formed. The empire of Austronta was formed under the Hapsburg-Lotharingien family. Although it would take a few years for them to fully conquer the region of Austronta, the empire proved itself to be a new contender for Korania. Grigory was keen to keep an eye on the new empire, but he also didn’t want to make Austronta his enemy. However, Austronta soon allied itself to the Old Utopians and he quickly broke relations with Austronta. He was keen to hinder Old Utopian influence in Lezra as much as possible and so he first tried to undermine its allies. He attempted to ally himself with the kingdom of Sastaville and convince the kingdom to launch an invasion of Austronta but the king refused. He then tried to help the recovering Balticonia and convince the nation to turn on Old Utopia but that failed too. Eastern Lezra remained in Old Utopia’s hands during Grigory’s reign, and Austronta remained a close ally of Old Utopia.

Serfdom and Feudalism (1463-1467)

After the Utopian-Koranian war, peasants, despite the sack of money from Old Utopia, were beginning to have it worse. They found themselves constantly barraged by taxes and the nobility. They wanted more rights to be granted to them, more freedom and most importantly, the end to feudalism. The wars against Ivorica and Korania led Korania to be unprotected internally during the wars, leading to a rise in banditry and harsher conditions for the peasants. Despite the wars improving the lives of the peasants, they still seemed to be in the middle ages and protested. To make matters worse, in 1464 there was a large drought, crops failed and famine ensued. The peasants looked to countries like Old Utopia, who had abolished serfdom a few years before and demanded the same rights. Grigori wasn’t having it and refused to listen which only caused more riots. Grigori’s nobles employed harsh methods of keeping their peasants quiets and they pressured the emperor in refusing the peasant’s demands. In places like Bolochia and Makarova, rebellions ensued and some nobles were even forced out of their castles and then in some cases killed. Grigori’s nobles urged him to act and he addressed the peasants directly. After a long time of talking. Grigori finally agreed to a deal with the peasants, despite his nobility’s protests. He, like Alexander II promised greater rights to the peasants and the abolishment of serfdom. Unlike Alexander, he upheld those promises and while he wouldn’t live to see the abolishment of serfdom, he made many acts to improve the lives of the peasants.

The War on The Sea (1467-1479)

Grigori didn’t give up on hindering Old Utopia, as some had thought. He was determined to hamper the Grand Duchy as much as possible and he had devised a new strategy. He decided that this time, rather than undermine Old Utopia’s allies which failed, he would attempt to obstruct Old Utopian trade in the South Lezran Sea. He used the money from the previous wars to employ pirates, giving them gold in return for them harassing only Old Utopian ships. This worked well at first, Old Utopian merchant ships across the South Lezran Sea found themselves constantly harassed by pirate ships and Old Utopian trade was hampered. Even merchant ships protected by war galleys were looted and sunk. This was mostly due to 2 brothers named Eric and Eustace of the family Klyd. They were born somewhere in Lezra, perhaps on the island of Drextopia or perhaps the islands of Solovis. The 2 joined a crew of pirates early in their 20s under an unknown pirate captain. They proved to be exceptionally good duelists and very good with cannons and they soon rose above the ranks and became the captains favourite. They also gained the favour of their fellow crew. Because of their popularity within the crew, they betrayed their captain, killed him and took command over the small barque. They named their barque ‘The Martyred Captain’ and quickly set sail.

Eric and Eustace soon became formidable pirates and even amassed a small alliance of 4 galleys. They were very good tacticians and won battle after battle, even when outnumbered. Their cunning became renowned and they made quite a living off of their piracy. They accepted the offer from Grigori and began targeting Old Utopian ships, raiding them, sinking them and sometimes capturing them. Many pirates soon signed up to their crew and they both acquired nicknames. Eric became known as ‘Barbadoro’ which means goldbeard in Old Utopian. This is because Eric had an almost gold-looking beard. Eustace meanwhile, acquired the nickname ‘L’Orso del Mare’ which means bear of the sea due to his ferocity. The brothers became so infamous, almost every pirate signed up to their growing fleet. By 1471 they held a fleet of 9 barques, 4 brigantines and 2 caravels. The Old Utopians were determined to put a stop to this.

Battle on the Old Utopian Gulf

In 1472, the famous Old Utopian merchant ship ‘La Corona di Diamanti’ or ‘The Diamond Crown’ was looted of all its jewels and immense wealth and then captured by Eric and Eustace. The merchant ship was protected by 4 barques but they were ambushed and sunk due to Eric’s tactics. On the Diamond Crown, Eric proclaimed in front of his fellow crew, the establishment of the confederacy of pirates with Eric and Eustace as the Pirate kings. They set up base on a small island in the North Lezran Sea which they captured from the Old Utopians. On the island, they built a fort which they then named Fort Cruelsea. This was the last straw for the Old Utopians. They had lost many good admirals and a large amount of wealth. They needed to stop this. They began recruiting new admirals and hiring mercenaries to commandeer ships and hunt down parts of the Confederacy of Pirates. They put out bounties on pirate captains and even put a bounty of 15,000 coins on Eric and Eustace each. This drew a lot of attention and a lot of mercenaries signed up but they failed to do much and were defeated and killed by the confederacy. By 1475, the situation looked dire. Mercenaries failed to put a stop to the 2 pirate brothers and the Confederacy of Pirates kept on growing in size and strength.

Luckily for the Old Utopians, someone arrived to help. A mercenary by the name of Claudio Azerella. He commandeered a ship known as ‘The Drunken Shark’ and quickly rose above the ranks due to his tactics. He sunk many pirate ships and captured many more. By 1475 he had captured a total of 16 barques and 5 brigantines ad well as recover some wealth. In late 1476 he captured the infamous pirate captain Armando Constantini and his prized ship, dealing a great blow to the confederacy. He caught the eye of Eric and Eustace who personally accompanied their ship to defeat and kill Claudio. However, he evaded the 2 brothers using quick thinking. He returned to Kantonus a hero. In 1477, Eric and Eustace began planning something big. An all-out attack on Kantonus. They planned to attack, capture and sack the city. If they succeeded in doing this they would live on forever as pirate legends. They amassed a fleet of 35 barques, 15, brigantines and 6 caravels which in total added up to 56 ships. They planned to move on Kantonus by 1479. However, Claudio was determined to stop them. He was made admiral of a large Old Utopian fleet. When he learned of the 2 brother’s intentions, he began patrolling the coastline near Kanton Inu and the Old Utopian gulf. The stage had been set for a grand battle in the Old Utopian gulf.

In June of 1479, Eric and Eustace decided to strike. With an armada of 37 barques, 21 brigantines and 7 caravels they attacked Kanton Inu. Claudio’s fleet came quickly to defend and a huge battle ensued. Claudio used ships with nothing but gunpowder barrels to be sailed straight into the enemy armada and then blown up. This gave Claudio an advantage in the battle and after a few hours of fighting, the Pirate Armada had been routed. Eustace was killed in the fighting, presumably by Claudio himself and his prized ship ‘The Sea Bear’ was sunk. Eric escaped on his ship ‘The Drunken Shark’ due to quick manoeuvres, however, his armada was still decimated. He had lost 15 barques, 9 brigantines and 6 caravels in the attack and his remaining ships were battered and needed to be repaired. He retreated to Fort Diamond to recuperate but Claudio caught on and besieged the fort with his armada. The remainders of Eric’s Pirate Armada were sunk, the fort was taken and he himself was shot, captured and then brought to Kanton Inu where he was then hanged.

In the end, Grigori’s attempt to undermine OLd Utopian trade had been a failure. He had spent a lot of money funding the pirates so now that money went to waste and Korania was financially weakened. On a further note, Koranian influence in the South Lezran Sea was now being hindered due to Claudio Azerella. Claudio would raid Koranian merchant ships whenever he pleases and while Korania and Old Utopia would sometimes not be in a direct war, they would fight each other over wealth and influence in the South Lezran Sea for decades to come.

A Prosperous Age (1479-1493)

Grigori II

Beginning of Prosperity (1479-1483)

Korania was at peace and was experiencing prosperity once again. Grigori I put his efforts into improving Korania internally as well as trying to restore it to its former glory. Cities like Velnaz and Petrenkov flourished during this age of prosperity. Velnaz began to outmatch the old capital Andruthinia while Petrenkov, under the Markovs, became the dominant city in the province of Koranskaj, outmatching all its rivals. The population of Korania boomed as the lives of the peasants got easier, the nation became more wealthy despite Old Utopia dominating the South Lezran Sea and stability was restored to the nation. Grigori became praised among the people, but among the nobility, it was slightly different. However, by 1483 Korania had entered an age of prosperity.

Grigori’s Last Years (1483-1488)

Grigori I had reached the age of 53 by the end of 1483. His people had developed a love for the emperor after all his work to improve their lives and their nation. His nobility was less affectionate. Their power had been diminishing during his reign and they were afraid that they would lose even more. Such nobles who thought this, were the House of Nikolaev, who ruled Velnaz and the House of Borokov who ruled over towns and castles in Bolochia. Some other more minor houses also felt that their power was being diminished. Together, they attempted to pressure Grigori in 1485, but he didn’t budge. Some wished to rebel, but the Nikolaevs and Borokovs relented, deciding not to rebel. Some nobles weren’t having it and decided to rebel anyways in 1486. The rebellion was crushed and only lasted 6 months before the nobles surrendered. Grigori, in an attempt to bring the nobility under his complete control, revoked their titles and executed them as a show of strength and divided their lands between the other nobles. This kept the Koranian nobility quiet until his death. In 1488 at the age of 56, Grigori fell ill and on the 8th of July, he died. He was succeeded by his son, also named Grigori who was crowned Emperor Grigori II.

Grigori II’s First Years (1488-1493)

Grigori II was young when he ascended to the throne. He was 24. He had yet to prove himself upon becoming Emperor but he was eager to do so. He first tried to better organize the Ivorican counties and Dukedoms by shifting the borders and changing the administration. This worked well and the Ivorican provinces began producing more money but some of the Ivorican nobility was now upset. Their lands had been shuffled and some were forced to leave their homes and relocate. It should be noted that there was a strong separation between the Ivorican and Koranian nobility. Both had different traditions, ideals and goals. The only similarity between them was that they both despised one another. The Ivorican nobility had a larger degree of autonomy in order to keep them happy, which upset the Koranian nobility because their autonomy was dwindling fast. They thought that the Ivoricans were a privileged nobility and were eager to see them fall. The Ivoricans thought no different, they hated the Koranians and were eager to be independent. It was clear both were scheming against each other. Grigori’s organisation of the Ivorican provinces would eventually lead to a rebellion, but first, we should talk about 2 other important events that happened during the same time. The 1st one revolved around a matter with the nobility.

Tensions Within the Nobility (1491-1493)

Relations between the Koranian nobility had been well since the year of the 2 Emperors. There were little disputes and the strong rule of Grigori I kept them in check. Despite their dwindling power, the nobility still possessed one strong weapon. The Divat. As long as that stood, they still had some sort of power within Korania. By the last few years of Grigori I, the nobility was being dominated by 2 brothers of the house of Nikolaev. One was named Artyom and was the ruler of the house. He was an exceptional military strategist and a very good fighter and duelist. The other was Dmitri. He was the opposite of his brother. He was an excellent diplomat and also a very good spymaster, always seeming to be one step ahead of all his opponents. The 2 brothers held a seat in the Emperor’s council with Artyom as Grigori II’s Marshall and Dmitri as his Chancellor. The 2 held a large amount of influence within the emperor’s court and the empire itself. However, something would happen that would change quite a lot.


Danyil Markov

In 1491 the skilled statesman and noble Danyil Markov died under somewhat suspicious circumstances at the age of 45. The rulership of Petrenkov and all Markovi lands passed down to his son, Ivano Markov who was only 19. Despite being young and unproven Grigori II decided to give Ivano Markov a position in his council as Treasurer, making him in control of the Empire’s wealth. Ivano Markov was in a delicate position. He was young and surrounded by nobles who sought his lands and most importantly Petrenkov for themselves. His biggest rivals were definitely the Nikolaev brothers who were hoping to undermine the Markov family as much as possible to secure their position in Korania. Ivano Markov, however, was clever and most certainly being underestimated by everyone. He began trying to undermine the Nikolaev brothers as soon as possible. And he found a chance to do such very quickly. In 1493 Word had arrived that the Ivoricans were planning to revolt. Grigori decided to attempt to persuade them to not rebel. Ivano then convinced the emperor to send Dmitri as an envoy and the emperor agreed. In one quick move, he had managed to separate the 2 brothers. But before we get to the Ivorican revolt there is one more thing to talk about.

Abolishment of Serfdom (1493)

In 1493 Grigori passed the Serfdom Abolishment act, abolishing Serfdom. The surprising thing was that Grigori had to run this act with the Divat and despite all common sense, the nobles voted in favour. This was probably due to a lot of bribes from Grigori. Anyways, the abolishment of Serfdom technically meant the end of feudalism. Even though Feudalism would technically only be abolished in 1579, without Serfdom the feudal system simply ceased to exist. This improved the lives of the peasants of Korania and mostly everyone else except maybe the nobility. Mercantilism slowly replaced feudalism as the ruling political system in Korania and Mercantilism would eventually grow to be dubbed ‘Capitalism’. The abolishment of Serfdom was an important mark in the history of Korania and some consider this the end of the medieval era for Korania although this is disputed. What is not disputed, however, was that 1493 marked the end of medieval ways and systems in Korania. And now, back to the Ivorican revolt.

The Ivorican Revolt (1493-1497)

Background and Beginning (1493-1494)

In 1493, Dmitri Nikolaev travelled to the Karatana to talk with the Duke of the region, who Grigori had thought was going to be the leader of the revolt if it occurred. Dmitri attempted to talk to the Duke who was called Reginald Ansel. However, he failed to persuade the Duke who had planned to revolt months earlier. Dmitri was imprisoned and Reginald proclaimed Karatana to be an independent kingdom. Dmitri was kept as a hostage in case the Koranians decided to attack Karatana. This worked and Grigori instead decided to negotiate terms with the Ivoricans.

Negotiations (1494-1495)

Reginald demanded independence or else but Grigori attempted to push for a slightly more autonomous puppet state. Negotiations eventually broke down after a few months and Reginald ceased communications with Grigori. It was likely that he would’ve executed Dmitri there and then, had Dmitri not escaped the day prior. This caused Reginald to lose his only bargaining chip which led to a full-blown war, beginning in 1495.

First Engagements (1495-1496)

Siege of Andruthinia

Some Ivorican counties and dukedoms supported the Koranians, especially the Marcher lords near the border. This caused a sort of civil war between the Ivoricans who fought against each other. Grigori didn’t even need to send reinforcements. However, in August of 1496, Reginald won a great battle against the Pro-Koranian Ivoricans and Grigori was forced to send reinforcements. These reinforcements engaged in minor battles with the Ivoricans eventually culminating in a long battle which the Ivoricans won but with heavy casualties. Grigori sent more reinforcements but the Ivoricans kept pushing them back. It seemed as if the revolt was actually turning out to be serious.

Climax (1496-1497)

A coalition of nobles led by Artyom Nikolaev led a large force against the Ivoricans. They won 2 battles against Reginald in April and May of 1497 but were then pushed in July. Artyom won more battles but found himself unable to continue pushing forwards as the Ivoricans had taken very defensive positions. Artyom attempted one final offensive in September, winning 4 battles consecutively but when he attempted to push into the kingdom of Karatana he failed and Reginald defeated him. Artyom and his nobles considered further offensives but October and Winter were dawning on them and they knew they could not fight the Ivoricans in the snow. Artyom called for a retreat. Reginald chased and caught him but was unable to crush the Koranians decisively. The Ivorican king attempted to crush them once more in November but failed and was defeated and he himself was chased. By December the 2 sides had reached a stalemate and called an armistice. On Christmas day, Grigori and Reginald agreed to a peace treaty. Karatana and some other Ivorican states were to be released as independent kingdoms but they would have to pay Korania large amounts of gold. In the end, the war was a failure for Grigori II and his reputation was tarnished by his defeat.

The Nikolaev Revolt (1497-1502)

Background (1497-1499)

Tensions had been rising within the nobility since the Ivorican revolt, especially between the Markovs and the Nikolaevs. Grigori II was eager to put at ease these tensions as he didn’t want a rebellion or civil war to occur in Korania because he was hoping to put his focus on retaking Ivorica. However, his wishes did not come to be. Ivano Markov and the Nikolaev brothers despised each other as both were trying to undermine one another and secure their position as the dominant house in Korania. What also increased tensions were the suspicions around the death of Ivano Markov’s father, Danyil Markov. There were suspicions that the Nikolaevs had poisoned him for still unknown reasons. This only helped fuel the tensions within the nobility and soon, the noble houses were beginning to pick sides.

Artyom Nikolaev

In 1498, someone attempted to murder Ivano himself. He failed but managed to kill Ivano’s personal bodyguard, who was also his best friend, while trying to run away. Everyone suspected the Nikolaevs but without hard evidence, nobody was unable to convict them. But it was very clear to everybody that the Nikolaev brothers had drawn blood, and Ivano was going to retaliate. However, he was stopped by Grigori II who put his foot down and commanded he put a stop to this. He had chosen the side of the Nikolaevs, simply because they were more powerful and more beneficial to him. In late November, Grigori grew tired of Ivano, dismissed him and ordered him to leave the capital. A month later, Grigori II was found dead in the morning, most obviously due to poison.

It all pointed to Ivano as being the culprit. Grigori had dismissed Ivano a month before and had taken the side of the Nikolaevs. It made all the sense that he was the man who ordered that Grigori be poisoned. Since Grigori had no children, the throne passed to his fat, gluttonous brother Anatoli who in January was crowned Anatoli V. In February of 1499, Ivano Markov was summoned to the capital Andruthinia for a trial. Rather than refusing and proclaiming a revolt, he travelled to Andruthinia where he was promptly confined to the palace. He wasn’t arrested but he was going to be put on trial after a month. However, Ivano Markov did not spend his time in the capital doing nothing. He used his time there to manipulate the nobles who were also present and lead them to believe that it was, in fact, the Nikolaevs that poisoned Grigori II (it is still a matter of debate on who killed Grigori II). Whatever the case, in March of 1499, Dmitri, who was the brother present at Andruthinia as Artyom was in Velnaz, was confronted by Andrei Borokov about the suspicions that they had killed the emperor. Dmitri denied them but began leaving the palace with his personal guard. Andrei followed him with his own personal guard, they confronted each other at the main hall of the emperor, they drew their guns and in front of the emperor, a shootout occurred, Andrei Borokov was killed and Dmitri fled the city. 2 days later, Anatoli V dismissed the trial of Ivano and instead convicted the Nikolaev brothers of poisoning his brother and branded them traitors. In April, Artyom and Dmitri rallied their allies in the nobility and proclaimed a rebellion against Anatoli V to depose him in favour of Artyom Nikolaev, beginning the Nikolaev revolt.

Beginning (1499)

The Nikolaev brothers had rallied a formidable alliance of nobles to help them take the throne. Despite most of the noble houses being minor houses, together they posed a strong enough force for Anatoli V. The strongest supporters of Anatoli were, of course, the Markovs, who wished to destroy the Nikolaevs and the Borokovs, who sought revenge after the death of their father Andrei was killed at the hands of Dmitri Borokov. The 2 sides were almost equal in number but the side of the Nikolaev's possessed a special weapon. Artyom Nikolaev was by far the best strategist and tactician in all of Korania at that time. Few generals could stand up to him, even with overwhelming numbers. By August of 1499, Artyom had captured the castle and home of a prominent noble on Anatoli’s side and defeated a large coalition of nobles led by Alexei Borokov. The war seemed to be in the Nikolaev’s favour especially with some nobles abandoning Anatoli and instead proclaiming neutrality. However, in November he was pushed back by overwhelming odds and barred from taking Andruthinia. In December of 1499, the supporters of Anatoli would retaliate dealing a large blow to the supporters of Artyom in the battle of Losif. The revolt, it seemed, would not end so quickly.

Assaults and Battles (1500-1501)

As the 16th century dawned on Korania Artyom launched a counter-attack and invaded Bolochia, the home of the Borokovs. He attempted to take their castle in a siege that lasted 5 months but Alexei would relieve the garrison of the castle and break the siege. By June, Artyom had been pushed outside Bolochia. In July, Ivano Markov forced the surrender of one of Artyom’s allies by capturing the noble lord and his family. This caused Artyom to attack the Markovi lands. Ivano was defeated twice by Artyom. He attempted to organise an attack on Velnaz but his allies failed to group together and commence the siege. In September, Petrenkov was put under siege. However, support for Ivano came in from Turkish Korania. A small fleet docked on the province of Koranskaj, deploying 15,000 troops to relieve the siege of Petrenkov. They arrived just in time and broke the siege and defeated Artyom in November of 1501.

Artyom was now put in a difficult position. He was trapped between noble forces coming from Andruthinia and the Markov and Eastern Koranian forces chasing him from Petrenkov. He decided to move west and managed to defeat the coalition of forces coming from Andruthinia and then put the capital of the empire to siege in February of 1502. However, the Koranian winter that year proved a harsh one and his army suffered from attrition. Nevertheless, they continued to besiege Andruthinia. Ivano and his reinforcements were slowed down by the snow and it seemed as if they would not be able to reach the capital in time. Winter faded into spring and Ivano was still too far away from Andruthinia. It looked as if Artyom was going to take the city and win. In June, Artyom stated that ‘I will be dining in the palace of Andruthinia within 2 weeks, with the emperor’s head in front of me’. 2 weeks passed and he had failed to take the city. He attempted to storm the walls 3 times but failed all times. June passed into July and still, Artyom had failed to take the city. Alexei Borkov arrived at the city in August and attempted to break the siege but Artyom repelled him. Meanwhile, the garrison within Andruthinia was beginning to starve. Suddenly in September, Ivano Markov finally arrived. Positioning his army on a hill near the city, he ordered a massive cavalry charge into the ranks of Artyom’s army. The charge completely broke Artyom’s men and the siege ended.

Anatoli The Fat

Artyom’s army was battered and weakened. He called for a retreat to Velnaz. Meanwhile, many nobles who had joined the side of Artyom had deserted to Anatoli’s side. Artyom attempted to counter-attack and defeat Alexei Borkov and Ivano Markov but he was caught on 3 sides and was forced to retreat. Ivano and Alexie did not besiege Velnaz as it was December and they would be unable to set up a siege in that harsh winter. The end of the rebellion was coming.

Final Sieges and End (1502)

In March, the terrible winter finally ended and Velnaz was put to siege. The siege would last 5 months. In August, the city was taken by Artyom, Dmitri and the Nikolaev family were not there. They had retreated to a small but very defensible castle near Velnaz, positioned on a hill. Despite that, Ivano and Alexei put to siege the small castle. The few nobles who still supported the 2 brothers attempted to break the siege twice but they failed and 2 months later the last nobles still in support of the Nikolaev brothers had surrendered. The 2 brothers knew that if they lost the rebellion, their heads would end up impaled on 2 pikes and so they refused to surrender and continued the siege. Eventually, however, the castle was eventually taken in November. Artyom and Dmitri were captured and taken to Andruthinia. Ivano Markov ordered that all the entrances and exits to the castle be sealed shut and then ordered for the castle to be burnt to the ground, with the rest of the Nikolaevs still inside. The Nikolaev revolt had ended.

Aftermath of the Revolt

Artyom and Dmitri remained imprisoned for a month (where they were probably tortured). They were executed on the 7th of December 1502. On the 19th of December, Anatoli V (now called Anatoli the Fat) called a meeting of the nobility to divide the lands of the Nikolaevs between the nobles who had remained loyal to Anatoli V. The nobles who had sides with Artyom had some of their lands given away but they were not wiped off the map. In the end, Alexei Borokov got the Nikolaev lands in Bolochia, while other nobles got the Nikolaev lands in other provinces. But the biggest winner was the now 30-year-old Ivano Markov who was rewarded the city of Velnaz and most of the Nikolaev territories in the province of Velnazski. In 11 years, Ivano Markov had toppled the most powerful noble house in Korania and secured his house as the dominant house in all of Korania.

In the end, the Nikolaev revolt was very important to the history of Korania. It cemented the house of Markov as the most powerful noble house in Korania which would eventually help them take power and become the ruling house in all of the Koranian empire. It set the foundations of the wars to come that would eventually turn Korania upside-down and transform it to a new empire, one that would grow to overpass most of its rivals and be the superpower of Lezra for almost many years to come. In the next factbook, I will cover the collapse of the Antonov dynasty, how the Carsonist reformation affected Korania and the religious and civil wars that led to the establishment of the Markov dynasty as the ruling dynasty of Korania.

Written by Old utopia

The images used in this factbook do not belong to me, obviously. I did not draw them

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