Empire of Oleandron

The history of Oleandron is a long and turbulent one, which begins in the far past. During the period following The Destruction of Salazuir the High Elves on Ærellion quickly became more and more extreme in their magical beliefs, eventually forcing all non-mages into second-class citizenship (this after expelling all of "unpure" blood). Even the nobility were not safe- lacking magic would completely doom even the brightest, well connected, and experienced elf. Finally, in 340 BC, a group of elves decided they had had enough. It had been many generations since the High Elven realms were stable, and they were increasingly authoriarian and tyrannical for non mages. The evlen dissidents theorized that the magical woods were corrupting the souls of their brethren, and that as long as they lived within that region they could never be safe from magical-enforced tyranny. Having agreed on this, the group realized that a rebellion would be worthless as they would surely slide back into bad governance, and decided to instead emigrate to a new home. Alas, all their known world was in turmoil, leaving them nowhere clear to emigrate too. They also sought to flee further than the reach of their resident nations, as they worried about being attacked in retaliation for fleeing. Over the next 3 years, a grand fleet was gathered, using all the wealth of the non-magical. The governments did nothing to halt this, not caring for them anyways. And so, in 337 BC, the fleet departed, under the leadership of Lord Oleandrellos, the second son of a prominent family who had been passed up on due to his lack of magic and forced to fight on the frontlines. Despite his excellent conduct, Oleandrellos was blocked from promotions and forced to watch the slow advance of the Feykin.

After a long and grueling journey across the north, the migrants finally came to the shores of Telgren, and there they set to looking for a place to settle- the main settlement that would become the city of Oleandron was founded in 336 BC (its first name was Novum Havennai but it was renamed after Oleandrellos passed away). Converting the majority of their ships into homes the city swiftly grew as farms and orchards sprung up around the city. Perhaps history may have turned out differently if the neighboring tribes had not coveted the rich new cities (of course, the Oleandrois never payed they for the land, so they certainly had a claim to it). Tribal raids began in the late 330s BC, and the settlers realized they had to organize a response. Originally organized into separate and free lands, the cities once again turned to Lord Oleandrellos, who led a great offensive to acquire border territories and establish a security zone around the cities. During this period, the people were set to building walls around their cities, many of which stand to this day. This period, which became known as the Security Wars, lasted 20 years, and during this time the elves secured a well-defended perimeter of settlements and drove off the surrounding tribes. However, this came at a cost- there were originally just over 250,000 migrants and by the end of the active wars in 308 BC there were around 210,000 less. Although such a casualty rate wouldn't be uncommon for other races, for elves this was a worrying rate.

Lord Oleandrellos knew that the people would need a period of great peace if they were to actually survive; at the current rate of death their settlements wouldn't even last a century. The next 50 years, he declared, would be free of war. Instead, alliances with tribes were made, conflict was minimized, and proxy wars were generally sponsored between rival tribes in order to keep them divided and distracted. During this time the first humans came to live in Novum Havennai, though always as servants, slaves, or captives in war. Though elven sources deny it, claiming the 'purity' of their blood was not 'sullied' until many years later, reports of Eldritch began surfacing quite quickly and within 100 years would come to play an important role in the empire. Immediately after the 50-year period of peace was up, the elven legions went on the march, securing control of the river valley and coastline. This time, they did not drive off the tribes, but instead either took them as slaves or as vassals depending on the quality and amount of resistance. Their early tribal allies were largely subsumed peacefully and became a slightly higher class of human; they would often marry the Eldritch and therefore have little genetic trace among modern humans. The Water Wars (258-225 BC), as they came to be called, quadrupled the size of Oleandron and secured lots of new space for the elves to establish noble titles. Lord Oleandrellos then donned the title Eternal Protector and looked set to slowly transform the assembly into a rubber-stamp legislature, through sheer force of will and popularity. However, in 211 BC, he was tragically assassinated.

His personal estate in the city (since at this point Oleandron had neither a presidential or imperial palace) had originally been on a relatively peaceful stretch of land just outside the main settlement in Novum Havennai, but as the city grew it came to be surrounded by bustling streets. This made it much easier for the assassins to sneak in and set off a magical explosion which destroyed the building, killing Oleandrellos and his entire family. Though by this point there were many young mages born since the landing, the attack was clearly from an angry human, and traces pointed to tribes on the border of the Empire. This was enough to start the Gulf War. It was also enough to end the consolidation of power in Oleandron; the assembly quickly voted to abolish the title of Eternal Protector (in honor of the dead, of course), regain their power, and rename the capital to Oleandron. The nation, which had previously been known as the Republic of Free Elves, was also renamed to the Republic of Oleandron. The Gulf war was quickly over, as many veterans and young elves alike joined the army and swept across the gulf, wiping the suspects' tribes off the face of the earth, despite their lack of direct involvement. In the same year the war ended (206 BC), a special trading port was founded in order to form mercantile relations with the Tritons, which soon lead to economic growth as well. The republic secured, the assembly turned to peace.

Of course, peace could never last forever, and in 172 BC, a warlord by the name of Barbarus arrived on the borders of the Republic. his forces initially caused great harm to the republic, for the majority of their forces were in the west, and several towns were burned and looted or at the very least besieged. Many humans, whether escaped slaves or oppressed servants, joined Barbarus' armies, forcing retribution on the former elven masters. For several years, his armies clashed with those of the Republic. Over time, they were forced back, but Barbarus launched a devious offensive designed to envelop and destroy the main elven army. However, in the battle of Bullis Ford (166 BC), originally a side skirmish which became the center of the action when Barbarus arrived, he was personally slain by the elven general, Cycladian. His armies disintegrated and the elves performed their second genocide in 50 years on the survivors (in retribution for the rape and murder of the forces, of course). Bullis Ford and the surrounding area was a wasteland for several generation after this action. Cycladian found great fame once back in the capital, so the assembly sent him on an expedition to get him out of the capital, with the excuse that the western tribes were being rowdy and needed to be subdued. Cycladian did not survive this expedition, but he did secure a large portion of the future Blazennia (in this time it became known as Cycladiand). When it returned in 151 BC, led by his third in command (second in command also perished) they returned with news of the new land but also with many slaves and prisoners of tribes who had submitted or been defeated. The assembly's politicking managed to keep the leadership from any important position, but their actions were beginning to be noted, and many problems had begun to be blamed on them. This was the beginning of the end for the republic, though the assembly did not yet know it.

In 89 BC, an elven general by the name of Aulienall Islileum won great fame for her heroic and completely unsanctioned invasion of the future Aulienall (the elven name for Alcedina). Believing that the elven people were becoming corrupt, Aulienall felt that they should take charge of the army and lead it to great victory, which she did. When the republic ordered a trial for treason, the people revolted and stormed the assembly, lynching and killing many of the assembly members. They initally offered Aulienall a crown, but she had no interest in ruling, preferring to hone her skills with the blade, so instead the offered it to her brother Torbindon. He accepted and became Torbindon I Isileum, declaring the Empire of Oleandron. During the first part of Torbindon's reign, a number of western expeditions were led by his sister, who secured several island bases from which later expansion would be made. Over the next few decades, supplies were built up in preparation for a great expedition which was to be launced in 10 BC, but the expedition had to be drastically reduced after the beginning of the Wain War. The Wain War was similar to the earlier conflict against Barbarus, except that this time the invaders rode in great wains, which improved their mobility significantly compared to Barbarus. Also notable is that the Wainriders were a tribal confederation which meant that the death of one leaders would not be enough to do them in. From 11 BC to 8 SC, the Wain Wars continued on without pause, even as the Great Calamity shook the world. The resulting issues with foodstuffs caused both sides great trouble and prompted more and more Wainriders to charge into battle, preferring death in combat to starvation at home. Eventually this caused such a toll on their population that the Wainriders simply disintegrated. Their remnants (mostly women and children) would mostly be conquered on the arrival of the Fremedhian tribes. Eventually the marshes, in which more Wainriders had survived, became the homeland of a blend of the two people groups; the Cloriadmen.

At the same time as the Wain War, the Empire was dealing with the first trickle of Dark Elven refugees from Yyradayn, and with much of the east embroiled in war, the Empire sought to send them west, where there was more available goods and a wide frontier they hoped the dark elves could tame. Thus, the great expedition was launched, despite the ongoing war, in 4 SC. While most of the settlers were dark elves, there were also those who had lost their homes in the Wain War, and the settlers managed to secure a swath of coastline. Much of this pale of coastline was dominated by the dark elves, but the city of Isileum, situated in the most strategically sound position, came to be dominated by the high elves. It is to this city that General Aulienall, returning from the Wain Wars, decided to settle, at least for a time. She pledged to defend the western lands to the best of her abilities, and Isileum soon became the site of a prestigious military academy and a number of other marvelous constructions. As the landing site for Dark Elven refugees, who continued to flow in through the 40s, the city soon swelled with merchants and tradesmen, and with them came slaves. Soon, the city became one of the largest in the Empire.

One issue which has not yet been mentioned is that of the Trolls, who at this point inhabited most of the mountain ranges and into the fens, forests, and plains of Southern Telgren. These Trolls had been raiding and pillaging the frontier settlements in Cycladiand since its formation, and by 26 SC, the elves had had enough. 15 years removed from the Wain Wars, the Empire once more prospered, and a new idea was proposed- pay dwarves to settle the mountains and equip them to defeat the trollish menace. They knew that many of the dwarves in western Ærellion labored in unequal status, and thought they would be a great candidate for this plan. They were correct, and many dwarves migarted to Telgren thanks to this opportunity. This operation, while immensely successful did have a number of holes. Some of the dwarves who came over took the gear and simply ignored their deal, setting off on their own. The human lands of Ærellion lost their most productive craftsmen, and in return refused to trade any more slaves to Oleandron (these nation had been their main external source of slaves). In order to keep ahold of slaves in non-frontier areas (the only regions which were plentiful sources now), the trade of slaves was taxed and regulated far more, which angered many. However, the plan did manage to push the trolls out of several major areas by 75 SC, and eventually out of all but Urzomarthia by the end of the Empire. The introduction of Dwarves essentially removed the trolls as a major threat, as the elves were safe from their raids thanks to the dwarven advance. In time, the dwarven holds also became some of the most wealthy provinces in the empire.

Of course, the dwarves did not immediately solve the many fronts of the Empire. In the coming decades, there would be an additional two wars fought at almost the same time as the Mountain Wars; the Vitalic and Verderé Wars. The Vitalic wars (42-77 SC) were fought in and around the newer eastern holdings of Iliseum, while the Verderé Wars (51-89 SC) were fought in and around the western end of the Verderé Hills. While the Verderé wars were more advantageous in territorial gains, the Vitalic wars managed to secured a major buffer for the western core. During the Verderé Wars, Oleandron fought against the Fremedhians for the first time, with the tribes being pushed somewhat eastwards. Realizing that lands to the east of the Ravieau River had little to no natural defenses and would be seriously vulnerable to attacks from the hills and marshes, Oleandron fortified the river and it became the border. While at times tribes on the other side of the river were counted as tributaries or allies, for the most part the Oleandrois did not venture past the river. The Verderé Wars also opened up the hills to settlements by those who would become the Verderén Halflings, beginning in 95 SC. On the other side of the Empire, the Vitalic wars secured a better foothold for the dark elven settlers, mainly via conflict with now-unknown groups, who seem to have been mostly destroyed in these wars.

After the turbulent few previous centuries, Oleandron would experience the Spring Period, a time of peace which lasted almost 200 years (89-251 SC). Notably, during this period, the Cianwood was settled and the Imperial Magical Academy within was founded. Dwarves delved deep into the mountains and further eliminated trolls, bringing great wealth. Despite the long decades of peace, trouble was brewing, and the so-called Great War broke out in 251. An emerging confederation of tribes, the Oroburuon, had been challenging the borders of Oleandron for several decades, and a young new ruler had taken control and modernized their tactics significantly. When war broke out over a slave trade dispute, the Oroburon and Oleandron came to blows. Oroburon enlisted the aid of a number of other tribes through a combination of bribes, threats, and promises, and crushed several armies, killing general Aulienall and demanding a massive ransom to not sack Isileum. He took a number of elves as slaves, in particular dark elves (as their skin color made them exotic and therefore prestigious to own for the elites), and retreated after being paid by Torbindon. Torbindon's decision to pay the ransom infuriated the eastern half of the empire, which resented bearing the strain of saving the west. For this, he was deposed and a new emperor came to power, Varavidion I. Varavidion was more interested in trade, and attempted to pursue a lasting peace with Oroburon. However, sensing weakness during the negotiations, the Oroburoni murdered Varavidion and invaded again in 257. This second war was by no means an unequal as the first, as the Oroburoni coalition began to fall apart and smaller tribes dropped out. The Oroburoni warrior class began to die off from many battles, and their troop quality declined severely. Finally, after 13 years, the second half of the Great War was over, and the new Emperor, Sileilon I became a hero throughout the country.

Sileilon was the first emporer to have been born on Telgren and not Ærellion, and during his reign the Empire became more youthful as the the generations born since the landing came to dominate politics. The architects of the landing themselves were almost all gone, having been at their youngest 300 years old when the landing came. And even those younger elves who had been alive during the expedition were finding their influence falling, with most of them having died or being long since retired. Thus, the first hundred years of Sileilon's reign became known as the Second Spring Period. During this time, magic, arts, and culture were patronized, and the elves stepped back from dominating regional politics, with a more diverse set of local leaders cropping up. Even though the army had largely been human-based since Aulienall's Expedition, there were still elite regiments of elves. By the end of the Spring Period, even the poorest elf was wealthy and influential enough that they could become an officer if they wished to serve in that way. The only remaining elven regulars were those of the Imperial Military Academy in Isileum, whose cadets formed an honor guard for the Emperor after he moved his court near there in 366 SC. This means that the final military conflict in which elves fought as regulars was the flower wars (327-335), so called for the many fields of flowers which would grow over the graves of the fallen. There were two major flower wars, one on each side of the empire. In the western one, the elves conquered Fjallrock and liked the area so much that it became the most popular settlement for common elves moving from the cities as their fortunes improved. Their settlements there persist to this day, as some of the last places where the memory of the Empire is not tainted. To the east, a portion of the plains were conqered, but this proved difficult and draining to hold onto, which would prompt the importation of centaurs after 20 years of skirmishes along that border.

The centaurs, though originally brought as slaves, were soon given great leeway in how they managed their affairs, so long as they controlled the borders of the empire successfully. Though limited attempts at cultural imposition were made, the centaurs by and large resisted this and retained their own culture. With their borders secured, the Spring Period continued unhindered for several more decades, with this period being the height of the Empire's artistic and cultural presence, and its borders continued to expand smoothly with little to no loss of elven life. However, with the growth of the Empire and a lack of threats, its subjects began to see more and more issues pile up for non-elves, who demanded their piece of the prosperity the elves shared. Typically, the Second Spring Period is held to have ended in 377 SC, with slave riots in many major cities which led to the roads becoming unsafe for all due to banditry. The next 50 years were more akin to a gilded age than true prosperity, as commonfolk suffered greatly and racial division became more and more prevalent as elves moved to countryside woods, halflings holed up in their hills, and dwarves continued their dwarf-only policy underground. Most major cities became human-dominated, many slaves to masters who never visited and worked through eldritch middlemen. This also led to a decrease in racial mixing, excluding the eldritch, many born illegitimately, who continued to grow, taking the place the common elves had once occupied. However, the eldritch soon came to represent their own special caste; not pure elves and always assumed to be illegitimate, they could never reach the heights of a pure elf, but they also had little in common with the downtrodden humans. This prompted many attacks against eldritch by humans, and disdain for their safety by pure elves. The sad reality is that this discrimination became pogroms during the fall of the empire, which is why there are so few eldritch on Telgren today.

However, the troubles with other subject groups was nothing compared to that brought about by the centaurs. If the elves had wanted to keep them under control, they could have probably kept a close eye on them or let them free and grant them broad autonomy and minority rights. Instead they did neither, trusting that the slave centaurs would stay loyal despite pressure to change their way of life without anything to back it up. The 415 expedition led by a Centaur named Broadhoof was proof of that. Sent to bring some tribes on the border under the domination of the Empire, Broadhoof instead allied with those tribes and led a general revolt of centaurs. Starting in 415, this event became known as Broadhoof's mutiny. Oleandron's ruling class had to scramble to find a response, and sent army after army to the plains in order to shut him down. Finally, after 11 years and much of the Plaires Centralis under their control, with potentially up to a million deaths combined, Broadhoof was killed and the rebellion fell apart. However, the centaurs scattered around the Plaires Centralis could clearly no longer be trusted to control the plains, and a more concrete solution had to be found. With a low population in the rest of the Empire, the centaurs were subject to strict cultural oppression and played against one another to secure the loyalty of some by throwing others under the bus. In the end, the Plaires Centralis became a mix of human and centaur settlements, and the cultural diffusion of these was more effective than anything the elves tried.

From the end of Broadhoof's Mutiny in 426 to the Imperial Coup of 767, the Empire staggered on. Emperor Sileilon and the upper class became more and more alienated from the lower classes, though elves continued to dominate the imperial bureacracy. They siphoned more and more of the budget for frivolity, neglecting infrastructure, sanitation, and the military. However, the Empire continued to expand, securing lands that would hopefully shorten its borders and make defense easier. Adventurous merchants sponsored expeditions to bring in new tribute, new slaves, and new goods, but never to sustainably expand the economy. One such expedition would lead to entended control over the southern islands. Igniting a short conflict known as the War of the Long Summer, this expedition would secure Great Summer Island. With Oleandron's attention drawn south, the would soon become embroiled in conflict with natives on Ifyrial's northern coast and the other islands in the region. Between 461 to 473, Oleandron conquered and extacted tribute from a variety of Orcish tribes along the coast, and while most were more tributaries than slaves, a trickle of orcs began to slow northwards.

Shortly thereafter, Oleandron would take a more active role on Ifyrial, and settlements of elves were set up to manage the captured regions. These small town would pop up relatviely quickly, but reached their zenith in just a few years. After 512 SC, settlements were abandoned more often than new ones were founded as the orcs became increasingly unruly, uproductive, and resistant to tribute demands. The year 560 would mark the height of Oleandron's territorial expansion, and shortly thereafter the nation began to decline, with the first cracks showing on ifyrial. In 564, several minor orcish rebellions united under the leadership of a charismatic chieftain whose children had been taken as hostages to ensure his compliance. When these children were 'misplaced' and accidentally enslaved, they were lost forever and his tribe erupted in rage. This act was seen as a grave isnult to the orcs, and they vented their fury on the elven population, with what was once a simple rebellion soon getting out of control as more and more tribes joined the rebellion. Due to its non-cohesive nature, the rebels' control over land would wax and wane over the years until an overambitious elven general attempted to march 3 legions through the desert to strike a rebel stronghold but was ambushed and slain. With the loss of their forces on Ifyrial beyond a few small garrisons, the decision was made to abandon mainland Ifyrial altogether, and though a few of the larger enclaves attempted to stand and fight the elven foothold was totally gone by 580.

Although the orcish tribal alliance would soon dissolve into warlords, the elven hold over Ifyrial's islands was not secure. Despite having a large fleet, Oleandron was beset by orcish raiders who used converted merchant ships to raid the islands and then escape to their coastline. Though many were stopped, there were simply too many raids to stop them all, and the southern islands were slowly abandoned. By the mid-600s, Oleandron had pulled out of the islands altogether, with their southernmost point returning to the island of Illumendell. While raids against this island continued for several years, they were unprofitable for the orcs, and soon ceased. However, Illumendell itself was economically defunct by this point, and the island soon became an Oleandron possession in name only, as the last bastion of the former Southern Islands province. The end of Olenadron's control over the south is why Illumendell is considered the southernmost point of Telgren in the modern age, with all islands south of there being considered part of Ifyrial.

While dealing with the orcs, Oleandron's outermost areas began to slowly be chipped away at by migrating tribes, who became progressively stronger in comparison to the Empire. Combined with the loss of Ifyrial and the inability of the state to stop constant raids by inferior oppenents, this should have been a powerful warning to the nation that reform was needed. Enamored with wine and lavish parties, the nobility would ignore this warning, which proved fatal in the end. In 762 SC, a huge army of tribes crossed the border in coordinated effort, and so began the last days of Oleandron. The raiders, known as the Westmen, crossed the border and tore huge rents in the empire, depopulating entire regions with their ferocity. Emperor Sileilon was "retired" by his honor guard and the decision was made to appoint the son of the past emperor, Torbindon I, was installed as Torbindon II.

Torbindon II is widely remembered as being a bad emperor, as he did little to help the situation. With the empire split in half by raiders in the center, resources were low and much of the Empire was cut off from their usual trade routes. Bread riots were erupting on a daily basis in the largest cities, and the countryside was full of bandits- both tribal stragglers lost along the way and runaway slaves were common theives. Much of it was a scorched wastland, to boot. The breakdown in order made it hard for even the wealthy to keep their investments afloat far from their homes. Amid all this chaos and disorder, Torbindon decided to commit to a balanced budget, reducing investment further in the military and public works. The rich recieved bailouts, but these soon became faud-filled and unsustainable, so that idea was quickly shelved. In the end, Torbindon turned to a complicated system of magical law enforcement which was widely hated in order to reduce the strain on the military and hopefully use it to crush the invaders, who continued to pour in. His attempt was a partial success, but only thanks to the staunching of the flow by brave units who held the frontlines at all costs. This price, however, was too much to pay with raiders still in the center of the lands. The army was able to do little more than harass and slowly push the tribes east, where they were eventually bottled up. Though the situation seemed to be getting better, in 765 the westmen then poured into Cycladiand after of the garrison holding the main pass held a botched sortie. This was blamed on the elven generals, who were out of touch, and the human-majority military led a revolt in 767.

With the Westmen pouring into Cycladiand, the military seized control of Oleandron and Isileum, killing the emperor and forcing the entire elven ruling class into exile. The commoners were allowed to stay, but they would no longer see the same level of influence they had previously. The human dicators quickly dismantled the imperial bureacracy and replaced it with a military one, enforcing their will and completely rearranging the military hierarchy. Mandatory conscription was once again enacted, but many ignored it. Still, their forces were enough to stop the Westmen and contain them, though by now half the empire was depopulated. By 770, the hopes of reclaiming the entire empire were gone, and the military signed a treaty with the major westmen leaders, granting them control over the lands they occupied. They then turned to consolidating power, which is remarkably difficult to do when your country is a warzone. The head of the operation, residing in Oleandron, despite using centaur messengers along the "safe" roads, had issues getting messages to his subordinates in Isileum. This state of affairs led to the "temporary" separation of Oleandron into East and West Oleandron in 774. This decision, while usually being cast as a mistake, was probably the only thing that could have saved either side of the Empire, even though both sides would have been forced to shed weight in the best case scenario. Alas, the situation continued to deteriorate, and both halves soon fell into civil war as generals fought over promotions, influence, and for the throne.

This was indisputably the end of Oleandron as a unified force, and the sad and short histories of East and West Oleandron are more like separate countries than that of Oleandron.