The Collapse

Prelude to the Fall

By the late 24th century ATC, the Empire was at its zenith, controlling all of Mor'Rhavid in eastern Khelegan, the southwestern coast of Abhagan to Akeaom, all the Akeaoman city-states, and most of the coastal regions of Efalain and Hrafnawyld. At the forefront of these expansions had always been the Bloodhand Vanguard, the most favored and feared sons of Sharr Zendylhia (the Zendylites' name for their Empire).

It therefore came as a complete shock to the citizens of the Empire when in 2371ATC, several distant legions of the Vanguard seemingly rebelled, engaging in a series of massacres against foreigner and citizen alike in an apparent attempt to carve out a northern kingdom. In their surprise and dismay at this betrayal, none in the Empire would remember that the highly spiritual Efaleain had warned them against reaching too far into the northern wilds.

Consequence: End of the Occupation Era

The effects of the Bloodhand Rebellion were far-reaching, severely weakening the Empire's strength both through the loss of the Vanguard itself, and by the damage they inflicted. By the time the last rebellious Bloodhand fell, the island nation of Hrafnawyld had violently thrown off Imperial occupation, vowing to never again allow Zendylite boots to touch Wylden soil without bloodshed, and had begun actively attacking the Empires coastal settlements in Efalain.

In the Akeaoman Sea, the loss of the intimidation provided by the Bloodhands, as well as the Empire's own policies of maintaining the military infrastructure of the Akeaoman city-states, led the free-spirited citizens of Reka and Akaea to incite further rebellions among the Akeaomans, beginning a three-century reconquest of the various independent city-states, culminating with the final liberation of Peraea in 2674, and the formation of the Akeaoman Confederacy of City-States.

In the far east of Khelegan, the massive reduction in Imperial presence in Mor'Rhavid was carefully marked and weighed by the patient Mor'Rhaia, and when they determined the time was ripe, the people of that desert nation struck, aided quietly by both the Tanaari, and surprisingly, the Ekkaci. Though Ekkac had never been attacked by the Empire, nor had it been directly threatened, the insular and tradition-minded Ekkaci had long feared that the powerful and expansionist Zendylites would set their sight further south someday, and were eager to see Mor'Rhavid rid of the belligerent foreigners.

The Final Consequence: The Empty Throne

Most historians mark the end of the Collapse at the abdication of the last Sharrarch and the vacancy of the Legacy Throne. For over 1600 years, the Zendylte Empire had been ruled by an absolute Sharrarch, seated upon the Legacy Throne of Zendyl the Messenger; the Collapse ended all this, with the final Sharrarch surrendering his throne and title to assume theoretically equal power with the Triarchs Col Shaphel and Col Aylia, creating the Triarchial triumvirate that rules the Empire in the modern day.