The Second Intermediate Period (240 AE to 248 AE)

Descent

Beginning only a few weeks after the death of the final Akenit emperor, Uphet II, but long overdue, the Second Intermediate would surprisingly not be caused by any of the numerous issues that had long troubled the First Sunarian Empire, but rather, was caused by a newly arisen threat,Rot Fungus, which wrought unimaginable havoc upon the empire's heartland in the Sun Delta. Killing the majority of the region's population, and displacing the rest, the First Rot Crisis would consume entire communities under the thick spore clouds of the fungus, infecting hundreds of thousands if not millions of people by the time Emperor Uphet II met his demise in the empty halls of his palace. Upon the death of Emperor Uphet II, and the collapse of the capital, war erupted almost immediately in the southern lands of Upper Sunar. Hereditary since the reign of Uphet I, magistrates across the empire, had spent decades entrenching themselves through the generations, and now with no oversight, broke away from the rule of Sunas, and proclaimed their own fledgling kingdoms and empires across the vast lands of the empire. At this same time, the armed forces of the empire were now under the total command of their generals and officers; and in this absence of an emperor, effectively attempted to reign in the chaos. Hoping to proclaim a new emperor from their number, the highest surviving generals formed a military interregnum and captured the city of Lohbe, establishing it as the new, provisional capital from which they waged a determined campaign to combat each of the separatist factions rallied against them. This united front would be destroyed, however, after the disastrous Battle of Afrat, where separatist forces out of Wajerna and Carshenet, encircled and annihilated most of the imperial army. Loosing their primary commanders in the fighting, the provisional government dissolved over the next few days, with its surviving soldiers fracturing into troublesome war bands, more likely to fight each other, than the separatists. As a result of their victory at Afrat, the separatist dynasty out of Wajerna, formed a short lived empire, however, instability saw its collapse within only a year as other factions tore into it. With the provisional government shattered, and its armies rendered irrelevant, the former capital of the military government, Lohbe fell into mob rule as a radical and bloodthirsty faction took power and put the few surviving members of the provisional government to death. These executions would bring to an end any effort to restore the imperial government, and onward fighting would take place almost exclusively between separatist powers, over the shattered territory of the First Empire.

Revival

Lasting just over eight years, the Second Intermediate Period would be a one of the worst disaster's in Sunar's long history, with most of the country's populous dying from war or disease; or fleeing the region as refugees for Upper Sunar, or Nebtka. The Rot Crisis would end though, when discoveries at the island city of Motheb, in 985 FD, revealed the anti-fungal effects of the opeht palm's sap, and more usefully, its oil. Able to actually fight off the fungal infestation, the people of Motheb slowly reclaimed their island using oil and fire, before news of its effectiveness spread to the mainland city of Nemilsis where it was desperately needed. Able to turn the encroaching fungal spread back, opeht palm became widely known as the solution to the crisis, and over the next decade, the men and women of the Sun Delta, slowly reclaimed their homes, using slash and burn methods to slowly eliminate the fungus. Lower Sunar, would recover quickly from the First Rot Crisis, with many refugees coming home to aid in the retaking of the delta. Most sources seem to indicate that, by about 1050 FD, things were back on track in the region, with order fully restored. The end to the political crisis that arisen from Uphet II's death would take a few years longer to resolve; lasting until 988 FD, before any one claimant could legitimately claim to have reforged an empire. The figure responsible for the achievement would be no true Sunarian though, instead out of the deep south a Drumidian would ride north, on a campaign of conquest; today he is remembered as Haphkanses I, founder of the Drumidian Empire. Born the bastard son to Carnut I, the magistrate of Carshenet, legend says Haphkanses' mother was a mistress, who's death ultimately saw him sent into exile. Journeying south to his mother's homeland, the young man became a fervent warrior in the ranks of of the Tomite army, and eventually became a powerful general in service to the Drumidian King, Obarc. Overseeing a number of raids northwards into Sunar at the onset of the Second Intermediate, Haphkanses grew wealthy after he pillaged the lands surrounding Khusuru, and used his new found riches to to win Obarc over for an invasion of the crumbling northern state. Leading the Drumidian army north, Haphkanses first marched on the city of his father, Carshenet, where his half brother Carnut II ruled absolute. Joined by his relatives out of Wajerna, and a sizable Imechet force from Phernac, though, Carnut's army vastly outnumbered the Drumidian army under Haphkanses. This would not lead to victory for the the Sunarians though, as their commanders bickered over leadership, and allowed Haphkanses' tribal war band to descend upon them at the Battle of Elkerna in 986 FD. Overwhelmed by the ferocity of the Drumidian army, the weaker, and largely conscripted host of the various Sunarian dynasts, collapsed. Haphkanses himself would according to legend, meet his half brother in battle, piercing him through the eye with an arrow, rendering the Carshenet army leaderless, just as their forces charged into each other. Winning at Elkerna, Haphkanses took control over a vast swath of land encompassing most of Sunar's southern frontier, this victory would be a shallow one though, since Obarc gave away most of the land to his friends and supporters in the Tomite court. Receiving barely a word of praise for his victory, Haphkanses was offered no reward, and emerged from the battle no richer, or glorious, his only gain really being, the respect of his army, who now began to respect Haphkanses, more than their king. Envious,Haphkanses recognized his one blessing, and quickly denounced Obarc before his army, accusing the man of cowardice for not leading the army himself in traditional Drumidian fashion, and received a thunderous roar of support from his army. Turning his rebellious host around, Haphkanses marched upon and sacked Tome in late 986 FD, and drove Obarc into exile, proclaiming himself Emperor of a new Drumidian-Sunarian state. Obarc would return a few months later in the spring of the following year, going so far as to even retake Tome, but by this point Haphkanses had once again made the trek north, and capitalized upon his victory at Elkerna, to subjugate the crippled cities of Upper Sunar. A minor, and severely weakened Tomite state would linger for some time, afterwards, but achieved little before it was once more conquered by Haphkanses in 990 FD. Arriving at the city of Nascadet in 988 FD, Haphkanses would be proclaimed Emperor of Sunar by a surviving cabal of exiled Sunist priests, officially marking the end of the Second Intermediate Period. Following his coronation, the Drumidian Emperor, marched his army around the Sun Delta into the eastern plains of Lower Sunar where the host found yet more disorder to harness. Depopulated and desperately fighting back the encroaching Rot Fungus, many of the Lower Sunarian cities had emptied their armies forth to retake the Sun Delta, leaving their home's undefended as the Drumidian's poured out of the south. All would fall to the tribal warriors as they marched eastwards, and when at last, the great eastern city of Imadet fell to Haphkanses army in 989 FD, and their dynast bowed to his rule, the reunification of Sunar, was complete.