Greater Aenilia/A complete History of Greater Aenilia

A Complete History of Greater Aenilia

In the beginning...

In the days preceeding the creation of Greater Aenilia, the Far East was on the verge of continental conflict. The realms of Ethiala and Taith Aenil, formerly close friends, had fallen into a brutal conflict. The war was primarily caused by Taith Aenil's earlier actions in invading the founding city of Ethiala, Talex. Inevitably over time Ethiala's overwhelming superiority in numbers, along with the assistance of their allies, was resulting in what would inevitably be the end of Taith Aenil...

During the times of this war, a young noble by the name of Luyten, a former Taith Aenilian turned Ethialan, was a strong supporter of the war which was to result in the destruction of Taith Aenil. He believed that the Vandaenil, under the command of Arella, the Arcangela and founder of Taith Aenil, had become corrupt with her power and a descended into the deepest forms of heresy against the faith. Having left Taith Aenil several years before, Luyten had become an influential Lord and military figure within Ethiala, as well as a senior member of the Ethialan Senate.

Ultimately, though a long period of tenuous peace had kept both Ethiala and Taith Aenil from direct conflict eventually, with their involvement in the war which had brewed to the north, a final confrontation had ensued. With Ethiala's armies involved in the war to the north with Arcaea, Taith Aenil, presumably in an attempt to divert presssure from their beleaguered ally to the north, attacked Hupar with some 2,500CS of troops, an act which caused Ethialan retaliation.

However, much to the surprise of the Taith Aenilian leadership Ethiala did not repay in kind, for they were not alone in their march towards the strongholds of Idapur and Nahad and, as their allies in Lasanar and surprisingly the Antoza Commonwealth assisted, and inevitably overran the vastly outnumbered Taith Aenilian forces, the situation seemed desperate for the Vandaenil. It was at this time, that the plans for Greater Aenilia were sketched into life as the figurehead Pontifex of Taith Aenil, Orphen, came to King Osric and Luyten with a plan.

This plan was originally one which was designed to result in a rapid end to the war with Taith Aenil, but Luyten, just as Orphen, saw an opportunity to forever free the Church from the domination of the heretical Vandaenil. Thus, as talks unfolded it was decided that the act would involve the secession of the traditional capital and founding city of Taith Aenil, the holy city of Idapur, into a new realm which would be free from the heresy which had clouded the path of the Vandaenil.

After nearly two weeks of careful planning and negotiation, which involved both the approval and ratification of the plan with the Ethialan Senate, as well as the notification and approval of the allied realms of the Northern Alliance, the act to create the new realm of Greater Aenilia was performed. Years after Luyten had departed from Taith Aenil, he left his adopted home of Ethiala to return to Idapur and fulfill the destiny which he revealed to the Taith Aenilians when he departed. Idapur was seceeded and Luyten became the founder of this new realm, not ruled by the Church, but a secular realm whose offical religion became the worship of the Aenil. Thus, were the true mark of the Aenil gleaned from the usurping heretics, and as the fledgling armies of Greater Aenilia marched for the first time upon Nahad, the last stronghold of the heretics, it was clear that the will of the Aenil had spoken, and Luyten's actions were blessed. It was then that a new chapter was written within the history of Aenilia, and the dawn of an age of prosperity was to come.

Turbulent first months of existence

Through the divine inspiration and strength of the Aenil, Luyten, first King of Greater Aenilia was able to form the realm and lead the armies of Aenilia to their first victory. In this civil war with Taith Aenil, the heretics were relegated down to their last city, the stronghold of Nahad. But, with the assistance of their closest ally Ethiala, the valiant troops and their Nobles from Greater Aenilia were able to defeat Kali, last of the old guard, and take the city.

Following the capture of the city and the destruction of the last remnants of Taith Aenil, much was done to restore the lands from the turmoil of the previous weeks. Lords were appointed where available, the government was reformed and the temples and guilds of the Vandaenil were cast down and replaced by new ones, constructed by Luyten and Orphen.

Several weeks after the destruction of Taith Aenil, Greater Aenilia was already rocked by its first controversy as its first King, Luyten struggled with the terms of the agreement which had been laid down upon Greater Aenilia even before its creation. Originally it had been planned by the Ethialan Senate to take the regions of Nahad and Larmebsi from Taith Aenil, in attempt to stem the tide of bloodshed by forever crippling it. With the utilisation of Luyten and Orphen's plan for secession however, and the unexpected early success of Ethiala's armies in their war against the Taith Aenilians, the political boundaries between the two realms had become slightly skewed. Though it had been planned for Greater Aenilia to only possess the regions of Idapur, Nahad, Erahol and Ornaz (and only after Aenilia had bought the region back from Ethiala for a price), the new realm had somehow ended up with all of the regions irregardless to previous political boundaries.

Of course, with these newly taken regions under Aenilian control so suddenly Ethiala was most adamant to receive them back through region exchange until such time as the agreement was fulfilled. Obviously, to the fledgling government this act was seen as somewhat overzealous and slightly greedy, mainly due to Ethialan success in the north with the acquisition of Lasop and Lantzas (former Arcaean regions). As the Aenilian House of Lords cried out to the King of Aenilia at the time, then still its founder Luyten, to do something, Ethiala remained steadfast in its demand that Luyten fulfill the agreement. As time wore on, it seemed as though that perhaps time was already short for a realm which had only existed for a few weeks and, in a last ditch effort Luyten implored to his former King and mentor, Duke Thrasymaque of Topenah to aid him in reaching some form of accord with the Ethialan Senate.

After many weeks of negotiation, finally a new treaty was drafted, one which allowed Greater Aenilia to keep the region of Ornaz in exchange for 800 gold to be paid in two instalments (both payments of which Luyten made from his own wealth), furthermore, Larmebsi was then given to Ethiala by Luyten as a "gift" of friendship, with the understanding that its huge food potential was taken advantage of by both realms, not just Ethiala. In return, Ethiala signed an ironclad treaty of alliance with their neighbours to the east and thus a friendship as solid as rock began to form. Luyten, with the guidance of the House of Lords has done all in his power to retain the regions rightfully claimed by the Aenilic Nobility through hereditary possession, and had somewhat failed. But from these tense early times, the acts of the past were forgotten and soon Aenilia grew in both influence, strength and power until finally the glory of the old days was restored.

The first elections, and the founding of the Church

The first elections in Aenilia were an historic event and incapulsated Greater Aenilia as the nobles chose who would lead them into the next era of Greater Aenilian existence. The two main candidates for election were Caerid, a former Ethialan noble, and Orphen, former Pontifex of Taith Aenil and co-founder of Greater Aenilia. As the election period continued to become more and more involved, on both sides of the equation it became very difficult to forsee who would become the next King.

With Luyten's abdication, the elections were held the following morning and to everyone's surprise, Caerid was elected as the ruler of Aenilia by a surprisingly large majority. Many believed afterwards, as they pondered the strange outcome of the election that it was a combination of factors. Primarily though it was the Nobles, who had feared the possible political fallout of having a ruler from Taith Aenil ascend the throne of a realm created in direct contravention to its ideals, so quickly after its formation. But as time passed the results of the election fell from the minds of the Aenilians as they enjoyed this blissful time of peace, using it to further the infrastructural works of their cities. Suddenly, the damage caused from the civil war was repaired and recruitment centres, palaces and the like were built throughout Nahad and Idapur, and as money flowed from the coffers many Nobles lived in somewhat idle luxury. Truly the Aenil had blessed their actions.

But we are forgetting the most important time within this era of prosperity, the foundation of the Magna Aenilia Ecclesia. For it was during this time that Orphen, along with his faith disciple Luyten caused a massive riot to occur in the holy city of Idapur, resulting in the total destruction of the abandoned Vandaenil guildhouse in a flurry of violent religious fervour. From its ashes, the first Temple of the Magna Aenilia Ecclesia was constructed in Idapur, construction that was quickly replicated in Nahad. Orphen, who had long been a religious figure became the first Priest of the faith, and was soon followed by many others who sought to serve the Aenil through the path of the priesthood.

Caerid's madness

Much of this troubled time is lost to antiquity. Unfortunately due to the confusion and destruction which occurred internally, during the reign of Caerid, little is know of his mind and how the events came to pass that Greater Aenilia found itself fighting much of the South in a war which would have resulted in Aenilia's destruction. Initially, it is believed that Caerid's madness was brought on through grief, after the sudden death of his beloved Uncle Khyber to a Noble of Arcaea. This was followed by his indignation at the failure of Ethiala to break its peace treaty with Arcaea in order to avenge the death of his Uncle.

At this time, Caerid then sought aid from others who were less likely to be bound to the deadlocked series of alliances which had formed, continent-wide, at this time. In turn, an unlikely alliance between the besieged League of Anacan and Aenilia, was formed much to the dismay of the House of Lords at the time who had no knowledge of such talks. The League of Anacan, a recently secession created realm in the far western coast of the island, was under considerable political and military stress as it contested its sovereignty with mother realm, the Antoza Commonwealth, and its allies notably the recently elevated southern superpower, Nighthelm.

Following the announcement of an alliance between Aenilia and Anacan, the focus of the wrath of the southern alliance was then turned toward the true Mark in conjunction with their new allies. This was a time of crisis for the House of Lords as it struggled between the awful reality of the situation in which the King had placed Aenilia, and making a name for the realm as one who stood behind its allies despite the cost. Through general realm discussion, it was decided that the best course of action was to stand by the alliance for a time, with the hope of causing a stalemate and an eventual peace.

Time would only tell however, that as the armies of the south marched north, it was a forlorn hope and with the possibility of heavy defeat and eventual destruction at hand. Caerid it seems, was tipped over the edge. With the capture of an infiltrator related to the King of Nighthelm, it is said that Caerid threatened torture and death should Nighthelm not withdraw their forces immediately. Other such threats and atrocities were also rumoured to have been performed by Kind Caerid in his desperate attempt to salvage the debacle.

In the end however, the damage was too great and Caerid's place as the King of Aenilia was tenuous at best as many nobles spoke of forceful removal from office. They were beaten to the act as news was brought to the realm of Caerid's sudden disappearance, which was later attributed to suicide in a final fit of delusion. Despite the abrupt end to the second King in Aenilia's history it was to spell a new age of prosperity in the history of the true Mark.

The Reign of Orphen

Following Caerid's death, elections amongst the Nobility were immediately held for his replacement. Amongst the candidates were Luyten, the co-founder and first King of Aenilia, and Orphen the founder of Aenilia's state religion and partner of Luyten in Greater Aenilia's creation. The campaign was short, and after the votes were tallied Orphen was found to be the preferred choice in a very close election. Immediately following his appointment as the King of Aenilia, Orphen set about restoring the damage caused by the mad King, approaching the rulers of the alienated Kingdoms.

Through a major shake-up in leadership and a revamped image, Aenilia was able to once again restore its peaceful status with all realms on the continent, a feat only previously achieved by its first King, Luyten. Then came an age of reformation as King Orphen altered the status quo of the House, renaming the primary advisory body and establishing a name for Aenilia throughout the continent. During this time much internal work was done again, to restore the lands of the true Mark after so many months of disrepair. Peace endured for many a month and year as Aenilia prospered and the focus turned to the expansion of the Church throughout the lands of the Far East.

Orphen, despite the founder of the religion then turned to his most faithful lieutenant, Luyten, to take up the mantel of leadership. Over time Luyten used his contacts throughout the Far East to appropriate appointments with the Lords and leaders of the island. The Magna Aenilia Ecclesia, the Great Aenilic faith, prospered under this direction and through further missions to the realms of the Far East, many more nobles were converted to the faith.

Then, a turning point in Church history came about as the realm of Arcaea declared the Magna Aenilia Ecclesia as its primary and state religion, constructing Temples in all its lands and allowing for the total conversion of its populace by the faithful priests of the Church. As the influence of the Church continued to grow, many Ethialan lords also converted and constructed temples to the Faith. Most notably was the widely respected and power Duke of Topenah, Thrasymaque. As an Ethialan Council member and the lord of the greatest city in the north, the followers of the Aenil skyrocketed to over 100,000 adherents and 30 nobles, making it arguably the largest religion in the Far East. It seemed as though in this time of peace Aenilia's prosperity would know no bounds and both Church and realm would grow evermore. But conflict once more came to the Far East, and unlike the political boundaries which had separated the lands of the South in the past, now religion would become the primary protagonist in this war.