The Empire of Maz Ticca
The Empire of Maz Ticca was a nation formed by the tabaxi clans of Maz Ticca. It occupied territories including The Sovereign State of Cradia, Pigidelphia and the modern-day Kodazar Hegemony. Its dominion covered most of the continent, from the Vonboro Ocean to the Splintered Sea.
History
The tabaxi lived on the island of Maz Ticca for as long as history has been documented. Originally a collection of roaving clans, the tabaxi spent their time hunting and would occasionally come into conflict over territory disputes. Around the year 112 T.I., the shaman of the Heavenly Storm clan, Preexa, had a vision. This vision led him on a journey across the island for a full year, before coming to a large clearing in the jungle, by the coast. This clearing contained a huge stone pillar which, before Preexa's eyes, transformed into an avatar of the god Zaltec, patron god of the tabaxi, telling him to bring his clan to the clearing, and set forth to unite all of the clans. He returned to his clan, relaying the prophecy to them, and bringing them to the stone pillar. Before setting out to unite the clans, Preexa set about constructing a temple to Zaltec. Construction of the temple took longer than imagined, as they wanted the pillar to be visible all across the island, so sought to construct an immense ziggurat. Preexa passed away before the ziggurat was ever completed. Due to the construction of the ziggurat taking so long, a community had built up around it. This would eventually grow to become the town of Maz Ticca.
By the time construction of the Grand Ziggurat was completed, it was Preexa's grandson, Ronzu, who set forth to unite the clans. Journeying around the island, Ronzu repeated the message that had been delivered to his grandfather by Zaltec. Many of the clans accepted this divine messenger, and followed him back to the town.
The tabaxi began to sail out from Maz Ticca, encountering the ancient Yonad Dynasty. The tabaxi pledged fealty to the Yonadi, and fought alongside them in the constant wars that plagued the lands. The tabaxi grew in their warrior prowess, and their numbers multiplied rapidly. The Yonadi grew to rely on the tabaxi in their battles, for the tabaxi's aid brought them close to conquering all of Iorobush. However, the tabaxi secretly allied with the Yonadi's enemies, the Kingdom of Okrabremore (modern-day Pigidelphia), and the burgeoning Sovereign State of Cradia. In one fell swoop, the tabaxi eliminated their former allies, and used their success in this campaign as a threat to subdue the Okrabremore and the Cradians. With this, the tabaxi declared their own dominion, the Empire of Maz Ticca.
The Maz Ticcan empire, starting with their betrayal of the Yonadi, was ruled by Divine Emperors. There was a total of eleven Divine Emperors that ruled the Empire for 299 years, before the Empire eventually fell.
The first of these Divine Emperors, Ronzu I, spent much of his thirty-five year reign uniting the continent under Maz Ticcan control. This goal was almost fully accomplished with the aid of the Okrabremore and the Sovereign State of Cradia. The largest resistance encountered was from The Thardan Alpharchy, causing innumerable losses for the Maz Ticcans. Ronzu pulled his troops out, not wanting to hemmorhage further strength from the empire.
Upon the death of Ronzu I, his son, Zofro, took over. Zofro, not being content with what he perceived to be his father's cowardice, conscripted troops from the nations they had annexed, sending them into the Thardan Alpharchy once again. For the entire twenty years Zofro ruled the empire, he would send wave after wave of armies into their lands, but their troops could never penetrate the defences of the Alpharchy's mountainous cities. The Alpharchy's technological advantage gave them an extra edge over the Maz Ticcans, being able to fend off the overwhelming numbers the empire possessed.
Zofro's son, Ronzu II, continued his ancestors' tradition of draining resources from his subjects. What had once been great nations in their own rights before the Maz Ticcans came along were reduced to little more than settlements, their advancements set back hundreds of years. The only nation who managed to maintain their strength and progress was Cradia. After a sixty year reign, Ronzu II died heirless.
Ronzu II was succeeded by his great-nephew, a ten-year-old male named Prenakur. Five years into Prenakur's reign, the Cradians seized the opportunity and rebelled against the young emperor. Having grown up in a period of peace, the emperor was ill-equipped to command his armies during this uprising, and the Cradians, led by Zath Shadesteel, regained their true independence. Despite this catastrophic loss to the empire, Prenakur continued to rule for 46 years after this, until he died of health complications caused by old age.
Prenakur's successor was his grandson, Nishresh. Nishresh immediately sought a war against the Cradians, looking to bring the nation back under Maz Ticcan control. However, this war against the Cradians proved disastrous. The Cradians, having seen the strength of the Thardan Alpharchy's technology in the original campaign against them, had solicited the dwarves for aid. The dwarves provided Cradia with arms, and they easily overpowered the Maz Ticcan invaders. A popular saying arose from this war, "we had swords and they had rifles". After his failure to conquer Cradia, Nishresh set his sights further afield on the Kingdom of Velkana. It took a year for Maz Ticcan forces to sail to Velkana, and they spent a further nine years attempting to gain a foothold on either of the Velkan islands. Although they managed to conquer the western island, they were pushed back when the Velkans called on their allies, the Lecharian Empire of Bevalonia. The combined forces of Velkana and two Lecharian legions were more than a match for the invaders, and Nishresh died to a crossbow bolt on the battlefield. After the death of their emperor, the Maz Ticcans retreated.
With Nishresh's death, a great-grandson of Prenakur ascended to the Divine Throne, Ronzu III. Ronzu III had a peaceful rule of twenty-one years, during which he oversaw the expansion of Maz Ticca's capital, constructing trade halls and towering blocks of apartments. He also ordered the construction of roads through the interconnected territories of the empire, one of which had to be abandoned when a clan of Kodazar orcs rebelled. The rebellion was quickly and brutally quashed by an army commanded by Ronzu III's eldest son, Fakaar.
Fakaar later became the seventh Divine Emperor of Maz Ticca, following the death of his father. He ruled for eighteen years, and his reign was a flourishing time for the Maz Ticcans. The roads built by his father were expanded and improved, and with this trade within the empire also improved.
Fakaar's son Samaxas was a weak ruler. He had more interest in the pleasures associated with being an emperor than in actual governance. He ruled for only three years before his untimely death, and his reign was wholly unremarkable.
Samaxas' cousin, and chief military advisor Sykor succeeded him. Sykor's reign was seen as a challenge, as only two years into it a groundquake wiped out one of the larger settlements within the empire. In the chaos of this time, the Okrabremore decided to secede from the empire. Sykor simultaneously had to deal with the fallout of the groundquake and having to command his forces in a war of secession. He delegated the army's command to one of his top generals, Fetross, while he dealt with the refugee crisis which spawned from the groundquake. The war of secession lasted a full 10 years, with the Okrabremore gaining the upper hand, but ultimately being defeated by overwhelming numbers. During this time, Sykor had resolved the refugee crisis, rehousing those who had been uprooted within the capital. When Fetross returned to the capital triumphant, Sykor grew suspicious of him being hailed a hero. Growing paranoid that Fetross might make a play for the throne, Sykor orchestrated his death. He continued to grow paranoid, and the remaining five years of his reign before his death were the harshest in the empire's history.
After Sykor's death, with no heirs remaining in his clan, it was Fetross' son Chenux who was crowned. Chenux's reign was a peaceful one by comparison to that of his predecessor. For sixty years he ruled, the empire growing prosperous under him, and its citizens growing complacent in peacetime.
Chenux was succeeded by his great-grandson, Hafess, immortalised as the last of the Divine Emperors. His short, six year reign was a tumultuous one. The Okrabremore made another push for independence, and at the same time, bands of Kodazar orcs, goblins and ogres had organised into a compelling force, led by Badak the Benevolent, who also rose up against the Maz Ticcans. With war occurring on both sides of the empire, their forces and strength rapidly decayed. The Obrakremore managed to secure their original capital of Pigidelphia, but not before the Maz Ticcans employed a scorched earth tactic, burning the rest of their major settlements to the ground as they retreated. The Kodazar warriors from the east swarmed across the empire, conquering towns and cities once belonging to the Maz Ticcans, and planting their own barons in these settlements to maintain their new order. By the time the Kodazar reached the capital, the empire was a husk of its former self. Badak approached Chenux, and gave him two options: swear fealty to him, or be destroyed. Chenux, not wanting to destroy his ancestors' legacy, chose the former, and was allowed to remain in power in the former empire's capital, but with strict observation from Badak himself.
Disbandment
The empire was officially dissolved in the year 491 T.I. after the Kodazar Hegemony swept across it, conquering its settlements and leaving their own people in power in place of the previous tabaxi rulers. Since its disbandment, the tabaxi barons of Maz Ticca have gained more trust from the oligarchs of the hegemony, and are no longer being scrutinised by them.
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