Dwilight/The Far West/The Ancient History of the Echiur Dynasty/The Age of Dynastic Quarrels: Shifts and Changes in the Echiuraen Empire
The Age of Dynastic Quarrels: Shifts and Changes in the Echiuraen Empire
When the Echiur Dynasty reached its territorial limit, it began to look internally. The realm was a piecemeal patchwork of societies and people. Such a variety, the concerned Dynasty thought, would become harmful. The more they expanded during the first age, the more new people entered the domain of Echiur. More than this, the bloodline now reigned in four cities and vast stretches of land in between. A period of peace and organization was required.
At this time, the conquered and acquired regions and cities had their own basic autonomy to reign their lands as they chose, naturally with the best interest of the family in mind. The rulers of these realms, who were all related to the city of Echiur, enjoyed the freedom and responsibility that their positions afforded them. It was a polycratic society with many rulers in many different places. This arrangement, however, would need to be rearranged for the city of Echiur to retain its dominance.
With the city as the leading agent of change, the Echiur members of the family reformed the realms into a centralized Empire. With one leader at the top, the senior Dynast would command the realm from the Throne of Echiur. The outlying cities and regions would become vassal duchies to this throne. As with all drastic changes, there was grumbling and resistance. The Duchy of Shokalom especially did not favour being subjected to distant authority.
Feuds erupted between the newly formed duchies and the newly appointed capital city. The rulers of the subject realms asked what reason they had to subordinate themselves completely to the Throne of Echiur? As long as they were members of the same Dynasty, the city had nothing to worry about. It would get its dues. The city said that the intentions of the Dynasty were to create a powerfully centralized realm which would strengthen the economy, the military cohesion, and create one Echiuraen culture. Koshtqoria and Viannia, after long debates and barbed convincing, accepted the yoke of Echiur, but Shokalom refused. Their leader was Chieftess Layoria, descendant of Lady Mabia, descendant of Lord Cotton. The city became a Matriarchy after Lady Mabia’s conquest and they did not want to surrender their power to a largely male Echiur branch, which at the time happened to have more male than female offspring. With intentions to compromise with their relatives, the Throne of Echiur struck a deal that would allow the Duchy to continue to be a Matriarchy, and those Dames of the Shokalom branch could come and populate the council positions of the Echiuraen Court, if they accepted and obeyed the decisions made in Echiur. With this representation, Shokalom conceded to the Throne of Echiur.
Naturally, when a parent figure shows favour to one sibling, the others quickly clamour for the same treatment. The Duchies of Koshtqoria and Viannia rebelled against Echiur demanding representation of their duchies in the Court of Echiur. The Throne recognized their just request and quelled the rebellion peacefully. Thus, the descendants of the Sons of Magost formed the Echiuraen Empire two hundred and seventy one years after the gathering near the echiur berry tree.
The first decades of the Empire were quiet and largely directed towards bureaucratic work. As time carried on, the Empire enjoyed many cultural achievements; such as the construction of the Great Statue of Magost in Torfino, and the discovery of the Lost Temple of Klar, founding the religion of the Empire, Klarvoyanism. The Klarvoyists spread their power and influence throughout the realm and opened a new opportunity for the Dynasty to take commanding positions. The Pontiff of Klar was always a descendant of the Sons of Magost. Literature and the arts flourished under the patronage of the Dynasty. Poets such as Honfor or Lord Yastor created wonderful works that entertained citizens from coast to coast. The idea of creating one Echiuraen culture was succeeding.
The Echiuraens also developed basic sciences and an intellectual culture. The Barrow Mine opened and a new source of metal flowed into the Empire. The metal found was more durable and resistant to the weather. They formed it into very strong armour and weapons. Trading tools and goods with the northern and eastern peoples, they opened up another new avenue of wealth.
Much of the gold was taxed by the Throne, who demanded the lions share, and this began to irk the vassal Dukes, especially the ones who had these great factories in their lands. Disillusioned nobles gathered and began to speak dissent against the Throne. After a century of peace, blood would spill once again.
As a familial dynasty, all the gold of the realm would be shared. The Throne would get the most and the other cities would get equal shares. A secret investigation performed by Dame Gella, descendant of Count Dae, descendant of Duke Wehen, descendant of Sir Fabor, on the suspicion of Duchess Anoma of Shokalom, descendant of Duchess Layoria and genealogy following through the blood of Lady Mabia, discovered that the city of Echiur branch of the family would pocket a chunk of gold for themselves first, and then divide up what remained between the Throne and the Empire.
This scandalous discovery caused massed rebellion and protest across the Empire. The noble relatives from the Duchies converged into the city to accuse them and trial them for corruption, embezzlement and treason. The guilty party, the descendants of Lord Dyton, were disowned and banished.
Sir Reybar’s descendants, who were also residents and prominent members of the city of Echiur, replaced Lord Dyton’s clan as the senior Dynasts in the city. This was opposed by Lord Moton’s family who were technically the senior bloodline, as their progenitor was the second born son of Lord Magost. A schism occurred in the city leading to an urban clan war. The city was divided in half on this line, one side supporting the descendants of Sir Reybar, the other supporting Lord Moton’s descendants. The clans of the other Founding Champion’s declared neutrality and stepped back to watch who emerged victorious.
The battle lasted three days with Lord Moton’s inheritors besieging the city to scoop out the inheritors of Sir Reybar. Sir Reybar’s clan lost and had to accept the authority of the new senior bloodline, the descendants of Lord Moton.
Twenty years later, the young generation of the outlawed clan of Lord Dyton returned with a large legion and demanded their reinstatement to the Throne. This began the brutal War of the Cast Away Blood.
It was Lord Dyton’s descendants, and their outsider allies from the north, versus all the other clans in the Empire. Upper Via and the Vakreno Heaps incurred the most damage from the war, with the cities of Echiur and Via taking scars on its architecture that would never be repaired. This was a devastating war as both stubborn sides waged in anger and extreme prejudice. It lasted a few decades.
Prominent members of the war were General Vinpel leading the Echiuraen Legion and Marshal Qalom leading the Viannian Third Regiment. Together the two of them defended the northern border from invasion and proved that the Dynasty could manage to work together in time of crisis. The General was a son of the Judge of Echiur who banished the Dyton’s, and was a descendant of Lord Moton’s blood. The Marshal was the daughter of one of the leaders of the, now termed, usurpation of Sir Reybar’s line. With the combined military of the whole Empire, Lord Dyton’s outcasts and their allies were far outnumbered. Eventually they were pushed back and defeated at the battle of the Dipped Horn. The Hero Jasken Nenoz was killed in this battle. His son was ennobled into the royal family of the Dynasty and allowed to pass his new dignity to his children.
At the war’s end, the Dyton clan was allowed to return to the Empire but in their defeat they could only do so as ordinary peasants or slaves to the royal house. From their military alliance with outsiders, the Dynasty decreed that they had surrendered their connection to the Sons of Magost. To this day, the Dyton’s still keep detailed records of their lineage hoping to one day return to full glory. But that has not occurred in all the history I am exhibiting. Another interesting outcome of this war was the immigration of nobility from the north. Since the Dyton’s allied with them, they felt they had an invitation to enter the Empire and join the ruling family. The Echiur Dynasty did not agree and barred them from civil life, but the nobles remained and began their own communities. Pockets of outside nobles clustered in regions all over Viannia. The proximity to foreign nobles was a new challenge for the Empire who, since the formation of the Empire, had always been dealing internally with each other.
The introduction of foreign agents, as in many organisms, would prove to cause illness. So to was the introduction of foreign nobility into the Empire. This new blood would lead to an irreconcilable problem for the culturally celebrated and powerful Echiuraen Empire. In addition to this, the future of the empire would be threatened by a menacing new enemy from the South.
