Liox

At a certain point during The rebellion of Arnethius , western Theria was divided into two territories. There was Arkalon in the north, under command of the Vesajan lord Ark-aal , and Amthal and Durval in the south, under command of Arnethius , the ascended general. The Arnathians were set on conquering Arkalon, which was a long way from the capitals in the south.   Many camps were built during this period, places were Arnethian soldiers could rest during the many marches north. One of these camps was Liox, located on top of a hill near the coast of the Inland sea . Liox was one of the biggest and most active camps, resulting from it's superior location which boasted a great overview of the surrounding lands. During this time, 538 - 540 A.V., the camp was purely military.   When Arnethius and his army got annihilated, the vesajan lord was quick to send his forces south to retake the continent. He wanted revenge, and ordered the death of every person that could be linked, directly or indirectly, to the Arnethians. Everywere on the continent, but mostly in Amthal, people were imprisoned and murdered by the Arkalonian army. But it did not stop there, and propaganda was spead which painted the Arnethians as traitors, criminals, not to be trusted. It worked. Many refugees had nowere to go, and out of desperation they ran from their homes, to hide in the vast, uninhabited, rocky lands.   Here a stronghold was made out of the former warcamp Liox, and many people would gather there in fear. A population of hundreds became one of thousands, reaching more than 10.000 by the end of the year 541 A.V.. Liox was born. Beyond the mountains the prosecution of Arnethians was still happening, but by now The god-wars had ramped up again to full speed, drawing away the attention from Liox. Ten years later the Vesaja disappeared, marking the end of the god-wars. The prosecution ended, but the outside world would accept them as equals. The Lioxians on the other hand would never forget what the west had done to them.   Despite there was a relative peace, life in Liox was tough. The rough and infertile ground proved to be insufficient to provide for the fast growing population. Obviously no help would come from the other nations, who only accepted to sell food at very inflated prices to them. What they lacked in food, they had plenty in metals which they obtained from the Ironshed-mountains located next to the capital. These metals got them through this hard period, but something had to change as the other nations were slowly bleeding them dry. The lioxians needed a new partner, which they found in the south.   The Crown-triarchy in the south was buying their metal for a much fairer price, and they also had plenty of food to send the other way. This new trade-route by sea became the artery that enabled Liox to survive, grow and eventually thrive. A sentinel-harbour was made closer to the sea, which housed a formiddable fleet of merchant and fishing vessels. Pletion was also founded not much later; a gigantic farmland community, governed by the state. No longer were they dependant on the other nations of the west, and conflict between them was constantly looming around the corner.   From the start Liox had been under the control of an emporer, which was electected by the senate. Many of these emporers had passed by the year 1032 A.V., and while there was often strife, discontent and even war over small territories, they managed to always avoid total war. This was about to change, ironicly by one that was the least war-minded emporer of them all: emporer Victer. He was a pacifist, and opened communications with Arkalon, Amthal and Durval, with the hope of creating beneficial partnerships. During his reign of 29 years, alot of deals and agreements were struck between these nations. Deals and agreements which were often considered not in the common interest of the Lioxian people. The biggest frustration from the people came when Victer demanded all Arnethian worship to happen in private, as he believed Arnethism was only holding Liox back. Victer was not Arnethian, but the majority of the lioxian citizens were, and riots ensued. During this chaos emporer Victer died of illness and stress, and the dream of unity in the west died with him.   They say the scale of political preference is never in balance, but always tips over to the other side, which is exactly what happened in Liox. The people were angry, and cried out for different leadership. Mardox, a military general with an impressive track record, stepped forward and gained the support of the people. He was Arnethian, as well as a firm believer in "might makes right", and he convinced the people that Liox could, and should, challenge the other nations for dominion of western Theria. The new emporer made alot of changes, mostly military, and after 5 years Liox invaded Arkalon: the War of the West had begun.   By now the war has been waging for 58 years, long after the death of emporer Mardox. When Mardox died in battle, he was succeeded by emporer Dedron, who shared the same vision but proved to be alot less capable. Under his rule no progress could be made in the war, but a heavy price was still payed. Emporer Destran, who was elected after Dedron had died, was therefore alot less polarising than his predecessor. He quickly grew tired of the war and the stress that came with it, and gave the senate more power to rule in his stead.   Now more than ever, thanks to the work of the late emporer Mardox, master-general Dahlvos, and a few very capable senators, Liox is very able to take over the whole of Arkalon, which would in turn open the door to the rest of the western continent. However, the majority is no longer interested in a complete conquest, as the human cost would be tremendous. A price that they have been paying for decades now. Negotiations with Arkalon have started, which are very much in favour of Liox, in return for peace. Despite this, there are still many that oppose peace, and still opt for total dominion. Superiority by strenght.   Born out of violence, the military branch of Liox has always been a very important and prominent part of their culture. In the beginning, there was a constant treath of attack by the forces of Ark-aal , which, if succesfull, could very well have resulted in the death of all residents and the extinction of the Arnethians. Building up their defences was priority number one back than, and it has remained that way for almost all of the lioxian history. The most recent change in warfare, was implented during the reign of emporer Mardox. He increased military funding, which resulted in more, and better equipped soldiers. This, in combination with strong nationalist propaganda, created what is considered today as one of the strongest armies in the world. To command this vast army as efficient as possible, emporer Mardox also implemented a strict order and chain of command.   For more information, visit Lioxian warfare  .