Valoni History

As a warning, the dates in this section are as of yet, not official. The ideas of first dawn second dawn and years, are currently on the planning board for a rework. At the moment. Sunar, and its historic periods timeline on the Sunarian Empire Page, are the correct ones, and should be taken as a standard.

The Period of the Arican Kings

Occurring before the arrival of the Calomanci to Valona, this time period covers some of the earliest known history of the region, and began with the foundation of the town under Palsandor I. Before the arrival of the Calomanci, Valona was instead known as Arica, and its people the Aricans had lived there for an unknown period of time. What is known is that while unrelated to the peoples of Calomancia, relations were relatively good between the two groups, and that the Aricans were not by any means a war like culture. Valone in this time period was just one of many small farming settlements in the region, and would not rise to prominence until well after the end of this period. An interesting aspect of this period is the quantity of scripture on it in Valoni archives, despite there being hardly any hard evidence dating back from the period itself. As a result, most of what is known is based upon legend rather than fact and what of it is true remains a mystery.

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Arrival of the Calomanci

The first Calomanci to enter and settle large swaths of Arica would be refugees from the First League War back in Calomancia proper. Fought between the cities of Tescili and Buchria alongside their allies, the League War would be the first major war of the region and caused untold destruction. As a result, Calomanci from both cities fled the turmoil of war and arrived in the wild frontier lands of Arica. There they were at first welcomed by the locals who had always maintained good relations with their neighbors, but as thousands more flocked westward the local Aricans were quickly outnumbered and rendered a minority in their own territory. The migration westward would continue even after the end of the League Wars, as word traveled back east of the land available in Arica. Over the next century or so, hundreds of thousands picked up and moved to the frontier zone in search of new land. By 1760 many of the small Arican villages and towns that pock marked the region were overwhelmed as the Calomanci culture came to dominance. In place of the villages, the Calomanci built cities, and created around them kingdoms and states that had yet not existed in Arica. As a result the Arican culture and society began to be absorbed into the Calomanci, and they would in time, disappear from the annals. Valone would be one of the last centers of Arican culture to fall, and it would also be one of the only to be brought down through warfare. Taken over in around 1780 FD, the town was conquered by a band of Calomanci soldiers, who set themselves up as warlords and encouraged their families and friends to settle the land; while also killing or driving off the native Aricans. The name Valone for the city would originate around this time frame, as a bastardization of the original Arican name for the settlement, Valo; likely named after a largely forgotten Arican fertility god, Valoskine.

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The Oligarchic Period

Valone under the Oligarchic Period: The original soldiers who conquered Valo from the Aricans could not decide which of their number should rule over the others, and so instead an oligarchy was formed, with each of those initial men being each other's equal. These aristocrats as they came to be called, retained the exclusive right to own land within the city's territory and passed the property down to their children; and so, land ownership became a family business, that brought the Valoni elite immense wealth. Late comers and future settler, were not simply abandoned though. Most aristocrats were more than happy to rent their land out to these commoners, as tenants of either farm land or apartments. This system would last for much of the early oligarchic period of Valone, but nonetheless had several tremendous problems. Aristocrats, frequently overcharged their tenants for the land they were provided in an attempt to keep them perpetually impoverished. Tenants were often left with no choice but to comply, or face eviction at the hands of warriors loyal to the aristocrats who rented them the land. These warriors were supposed, to be the state army, but in truth, acted as enforcers and guards for the aristocrats themselves. There was of course the common levy, which made up the main force of the Valoni military; but the men who made up the levy were often untrained, and lacked the equipment the war bands of the aristocrats possessed. Another issue that began in around 1840 FD, was the realization by the aristocrats, that they could make more money selling the produce from the farmland themselves, rather than extracting a smaller portion in their tenants rent. This did not mean they themselves would toil in the field, but rather, that they would instead purchase slaves to work the land. Evicted commoners, often had no choice in the matter, as their homes and farms were torn down to make way for larger estates and plantations. Forced off the land they both lived and worked on, these farmers were driven into poverty; and as more and more fell into this lifestyle unrest amongst the commoners began to rise. Riots became the norm, and a number of ambitious aristocrats presented themselves as supporters of the commoners. This had the benefit of giving them sizeable leverage over their counterparts, as it essentially allowed them to direct and aim the wrath of the people against their enemies. In the closing years of the Assembly several of these populist aristocrats would try and fail to eliminate their rivals through use of the masses, and position themselves as the sole rulers of Valone. The Assembly would meet its end, when after several attempts and failures, one of these populists, a man named Arcandar, succeeded.
Before looking at him, though, the military system at play within Valone and its neighboring cities, should be discussed. Based upon the warrior culture of the Calomancia, the early Valoni were a militaristic and warlike people. Disputes between men, often ended in duels or combat, and most problems between states were resolved through strength of arms. On a grander scale, these warriors were often separate from the common classes, who while larger, could not afford the quality equipment these warriors possessed. For this reason, the warriors often found work, as the retainers of Valoni and Calomanci aristocracy. Serving as part of a war band, the warriors made up an elite section of the armies of the period, which were made up primarily, of worse, but more numerous commoner masses. The control over the common army, at least in Valone, was managed by the Assembly, while individual war bands, received orders from their specific masters. This was a major problem for the army of the time, as the more elite, and strong unites of the Valoni aristocracy, often refused to operate under the command of another aristocrat; and so, the Valoni military was by and large, a massive host of poor quality troops, backed purely by their commanders war band, and not the large number of professional warriors who remained in Valone to serve their masters. This fact would a major issue for Arcandar's rise, as many amongst common classes despised the fact that the best warriors in Valone, rarely went out to fight for the city itself, because of the pettiness of the aristocrats.
One cannot speak of this period without discussing the role slavery played as well. The practice was widely used, and slaves, from as far afield as modern Storn, and Rho where forced into servitude to the wealthier members of Valoni society. The majority of Valoni, however, did not keep slaves. This was less of a moral issue for them, then a financial one though. The estates of the aristocratic rulers of the city state, required a massive amount of manpower and manual labor to function and slavery allowed for a level of efficiency that paid workers could not compete with. Most of these slaves, faced a lifetime of toiling in fields and mines, owned by the elite to provide food and ore to the growing Kingdom of Valone. For this demand, slaves were frequently purchased from traders out of both the west and east. This was not an ethnic, or national based slave system, in which one group or many were targeted alone. Everyone, including Valoni could find themselves forced into slavery. Valoni, however, often entered into slavery, in a more civilized way. If a commoner were in debt to an aristocrat and unable to pay (as many were), or if they were found guilty of a number of minor crimes, slavery was often used as a punishment, or means of paying off the debt. These slaves, were, however, often treated better than foreigners, and in the case of debtors, usually served in lighter roles around the household. Part of this was because they like their masters were of Valoni blood, but it was also due to the fact that many could speak and write in the Valoni language, and possessed training in skills that made them far more valuable then a foreign born slave. Foreigners enslaved by the Valoni, were most often, prisoners of war. Whether they were captured in the barbaric lands of northern Atlamb and brought south by non Valoni traders, or in a feud between Valone's neighbors was irrelevant. These slaves, had no rights, and were treated as purely property by the early Valoni, who saw no issue in enslaving other peoples, regardless of how closely related they were. The common masses of Valone, as already mentioned, would have likely loved to have the wealth to purchase slaves, but in most cases, slaves were presented first to the elite, in private sales. There they were almost always bought on mass at overpriced rates, which ensured the common people of Valone were often left with the unhealthy, and most violent of slaves who they barely even afford due to inflated prices. This element of the slave trade in Valone, only furthered the divide between the common masses and the elite aristocracy of the day, making leaders promising changes far more popular. Revolt was also rarely an issue for the Valoni. Household slaves were never of any significant number, and in the case of debtors, one could also usually expect freedom at some point in their life, once the debt had been paid. Criminals and foreign born slaves, however, were rarely put in a position where they could revolt. Worked to the point of exhaustion on a daily basis, their lives were brutal and often, short. Left with little chance of revolting, and constantly challenged with just survival, freedom was not something they realistically could hope for. Instead most were worked to death, or kept in a perpetual state of exhaustion from which they posed little threat of successfully escaping or revolting.
Arica during the Oligarchic Period: One of the main reasons for Arcandar's ascendancy as Valone's first king, were events entirely outside his control. During this period Aricans had largely ceased to be a noteworthy factor in the region, and their culture was on the fast track to being forgotten. In their place dozens of small city states had popped up across the region of Arica, the largest being the immensely wealthy, coastal city of Helescium. Valone in this time was relatively insignificant, as it lacked a sizeable army or any serious wealth. To west of Arica in the heavily forested land called Orn, a cousin folk of the Aricans lived in relative peace. They had little contact with the newly rising Calomanci cities to their east, and mostly kept to themselves and their agricultural lifestyle. This period of peace for them would come to an end around 1869 FD though, when the savage Lapadocians swept out of the highland kingdoms in the north and conquered Orn in only a few short years. This was not immediately seen as a danger by the Valo-Calomanci, who largely ignored the unrest and focused more on the east, but by 1875 FD, cities were getting nervous enough that calls for a defensive alliance against the rapidly encroaching Lapadocian hordes, were beginning to be heard. Valone would be one such city who sided with Helescium against the Lapadocians, and when the Lapadocians eventually invaded in 1878 FD, and destroyed the Calomanci armies, it also be one of the many cities to be put the torch and sacked. The big reason for this defeat, was already mentioned the fact that Valoni, and many other cities of the period, refused to provide their best troops to any offensive army. Instead the cream of the region's fighting men remained behind their walls, where when the Lapadocians arrived, they were far to few to hold against the horde against them.

Arcandar's Insurrection

After the Lapadocians sacked Valone and countless other cities in Arica, they went home. A raiding people, the Lapadocians had no wish to conquer or subjugate Arica. What they did in Orn was unusual, staying for a far longer period then a raid would entail, the savages had maintained a presence in the country and terrorized the locals for food and supplies. Unable to do that as easily in the heavily urbanized Arica, they had wisely returned back west.
In the decade after its sack Valone struggled to recover, but eventually, was able to. Its walls rebuilt and army replenished, the Valoni were a people driven by a desire for vengeance in those years, and Arcandar was the man who promised them it. Born to an aristocratic family of the city, Arcandar had been a boy during the sack and since then grown into a young man. Displaying tremendous ambition, Arcandar would spur the masses with speeches about avenging the dead, and leading an army into Lapadocia to burn the region and its people to ash, and they loved him for it. Additionally, Arcandar's views on land reform, while relatively minor compared some of his fellow populists would truly earn him the wrath of the aristocracy. His plan was to enact legislature, which would prevent the aristocrats from evicting any more of their tenants, alongside enforcing a law that would put a set limit on the amount of slaves a person could own. This would ensure positions on the aristocracy's estates for common people, who could work for a wage, and help solve the rampant poverty within the city itself. Several assassination attempts would occur in the first few years of his political career, but each would fail, and in so doing, rile of the crowds only more for the young, radical populist who promised the end of aristocratic tyranny.
The assassination attempts were not uncalled for though. His counterparts amongst the Assembly were fearful in this time, and rightfully so. In the years before the sack of Valone, several men like Arcandar had attempted to seize power just as he now did. It was obvious to them, that if Arcandar left the city at the head of an army, he would either lose and bring back the wrath of the Lapadocians, or return a war hero, and proclaim himself a king. And so, Arcandar's attempts to put together an army were constantly undermined at every opportunity. The breakthrough he needed would finally come in 1878 FD, when the Lapadocians returned to Arica.
The Lapadocians would start their invasion off by razing the City of Lurisca before most cities even knew their most feared enemy had returned. The calls for a new defensive alliance were quick to come, but numerous cities, fearing Lapadocian wrath refused the idea. One such city was Helescium, which as the strongest power in Arica at the time, more or less condemned the defensive alliance was appeared certain defeat. Valone would be another to refuse the idea of fighting back. Its leaders were cautious, and scared of another defeat, and so their war bands and the common army remained safely behind the walls of Valone. Arcandar was of course, one of the few exceptions. Instead of remaining at Valone, he took his warriors and traveled to the City of Palium, where the anti Lapadocian faction was mobilizing. Over the next year, as several cities in western Arica fell, Arcandar and his new allies remained in Palium, and in that time he gradually gained the support of his fellow commanders, until he was eventually made supreme commander of the coalition armies.
Leading the coalition first against the Lapadocian horde besieging Helescium, Arcandar's army proved victorious, and sent the barbarians scrambling back west. This victory proved two things to the city states of the region, one that the Lapadocians could be defeated, and two that simply refusing to take a side like Helescium would not save them from the barbarian's wrath. Gaining the support of Helescium, Arcandar pushed westwards after his enemies, and by 1885 had liberated most of Orn. With the Ornese peasantry joining his already sizeable force, Arcandar continued on into Lapadocia, where his army massacred most of the populace and razed every settlement they came across. Returning to Arica after nearly a year of genocidal vengeance in the west, Arcandar had built up a prestigious reputation over the course of the war and was beloved by his army and now by the Ornese, who in respect for their savior, crowned him their king. This action would have sharp repercussions though, and in 1888, the Assembly in Valone would call for his immediate return to Valone to face trial. Accusing Arcandar of plotting to overthrow their government, the Valoni Assembly found support from even a few of the cities allied to Arcandar, who had rightfully begun to fear the control he had over their own forces. With his return to Valone demanded, it was clear to all in Arica at the time that upon Arcandar's return, he would have, like the populists who came before him, faced a mock trial before being arbitrarily executed for the threat he posed to the oligarchy. As a result, Arcandar instead responded by marching his large army back to Valone and camping it right outside the city walls. He then sent a messenger to the oligarchs, inviting them, if they still wished it, to hold the trial there outside the walls of Valone between the city and his army. They refused.
Viewing his refusal to meet them on their terms as a an act of revolt and the presence of Arcandar's army as a besiegement, the oligarchs sent a message to the Tesciline Empire, in Calomancia proper. Offering themselves, and numerous other cities fealty, the oligarchies acted without consulting the few allies they had amongst Arcandar's allies. None wanted anything to do with the Tesciline Empire, and saw the oligarchs promise as complete betrayal. Most pledged support to Arcandar as a result, or simply remained neutral. Responding in turn, Arcandar labeled the oligarchic council as betraying the City of Valone by offering it up to Tescili, and thus he not only maintained the support of the city's masses, but reinforced it, as even the moderates came to his side in the conflict to come. The common army at this time, was raised by the Assembly, however, much of the force favored Arcandar over them, and both desertion and outright sabotage were incredibly common. Because of this, the army was in large part demobilized, and instead the city's defense, fell into the hands of the incredibly outnumbered, war bands of the oligarchs.
Arcandar. for all his denouncements of the oligarchs, was in reality reluctant to actually engage the oligarchs in battle, fearing it might result in damage to the city's fortifications and lead to conflict with the common army still present within the city. Instead, he besieged the city and cut the oligarchs off from the outside world. This would be the situation for the next year, until in 1890 FD, when the Tesciline army arrived. The Tesciline army was large, but plagued by infighting between its mercenary commanders, and was made up of inexperienced and poorly equipped troops. As a result, when the two armies met outside Valone, Arcandar's emerged victorious and the Valone's last allies were sent scrambling back east. With no reinforcements coming, and the oligarchy still refusing to surrender, Arcandar remorsefully ordered the assault of his own city, and once again emerged the victor. Now the undisputed ruler of both Valone and Orn, Arcandar's ascendency saw the execution of any who dared question his rule and the Kingdom of Valone came to be the hegemonic power in Arica, which was shortly renamed Valona. Those who wisely chose to side with him, were rewarded greatly, even if they had once stood against him, and over the coming years some of their number grew into the new aristocracy of Valone. An added outcome of Arcandar's rise was the destruction of Tescili's empire. Crippled by the loss of one of its largest armies, Tescili was unable to rebuild it in time for a massive rebellion in its southern cities, who demanded the empire be dissolved. Incapable of seriously combating the rebels, Tescili could put up no real resistance and lost almost half of its empire before the remaining half also fell to infighting.

Period of the Nine Kings

Arcandar ruled until 1904, when his reign ended in his death. The ruling years of his life oversaw a period of stability in the lands ruled by him, with no foreign wars occurring following his insurrection. Instead much of his time was spent consolidating his rule over Orn and Valona by subjugating any remaining city states and constructing a network of roads across the region. He did this, by reforming the Valoni army and outlawing the war bands that had given the old aristocracy their power. Instead these newly freed warriors were recruited into his own army, and integrated into the veteran forces that had followed him on his campaigns.
The few conflicts that did arise during the his reign, were minor, with the conflict usually being as simple as a lone city refusing to recognize his authority. One major reason for this, was the fact that most of the cities were, following the battle at Valone, drastically weakened. Arcandar has wisely deployed his troops in such a manner, that the greatest casualties befell the troops loyal to his allies. In doing so, he ensured their inferiority to him for years to come, and ensured, that when he eventually demanded their fealty, they were to weak to refuse.
The major and obvious shift that arose as a result of Arcandar's ascendancy, was the formation of new social order. The absolute rule of aristocrats that had been at play within Valone previously disappeared almost overnight following the rise of the new king. Ringleaders of the old aristocracy and their families, were either put to death, or exiled from the realm, with their estates and property being taken over by the state. Not every aristocrat was punished, the majority recognized the change occurring around them, and wisely opted to recognize Arcandar as their king. This did nothing to save them from the massive series of land reforms he implemented in the coming years, however, and most of their property was seized by the state, much to their anger. These land reforms, proved to be far more radical then he had ever preached before and instead saw the redistribution of the massive agricultural estates unto the common people, and most importantly, his veterans, who were granted sizeable plots of land across the new Kingdom of Valone. This new system, at its most basic form, took the land of the aristocrats, and parceled it out into plots, which were then soled to exclusively the common peoples of Valone at incredibly low prices. The effect this had was tremendous on the social structure of Valone. The aristocrats who had survived the rise of Arcandar, lost almost all of their power. While many kept, a sizeable wealth and maintained significant estates in the rural landscape around the city, they had lost well over half the property had would pose little threat to the new king's who were to come.
These reforms were not limited to land, with them came major changes to the slave trade as well. The private auctions of the aristocrats, ended. Instead, the slave trade became far more public, as thousands were brought to the markets of Valone to be sold to anyone with the capital to pay. Aristocrats were also, as Arcandar has promised, limited in the number of slaves they could own. The number was initially, rather low, at twenty, but would increase to one hundred quite quickly when the number of slaves from war and trade began to grow exponentially. Later, during the early empire, the limit would be abandoned entirely, as the aristocracy really disappeared, and the new elite of Valone became the imperial families of the military and bureaucracy of the empire. The changes Arcandar brought to the salve trade were not really meant to help slaves, but they did nonetheless. The standard of living went up dramatically for them after the changes to the industry. Purchased by the masses of Valone on a large scale for the first time, many of the slaves that had historically been destined for the farms and mines of the aristocracy, instead became household servants in the apartments of the Valoni commoners. Here they often lived longer, lives, despite the fact that they themselves gained no new protections or rights, thanks to the fact that they were no longer worked to exhaustion on a daily basis. This was not universal though, slaves possessing trade skills, women of particular attractiveness, and educated slaves, all found themselves forced into a new form of service slavery, that had not existed to any sizeable extent prior to Arcandar's rise to power. Revolt would also become a far more dire threat to the state. Diversified across the population of Valone, slaves with no hope of freedom would rise up regularly in an attempt to overthrow their masters. These would in every case, be put down ruthlessly by the state, which showed no tolerance for rebellious slaves.
Despite the grandiaucity of his life, Arcandar was a mortal, and thus died. Succeeded by his sons, first Arcandar II, and then Archoni I later, the succession of kings, was a system well planned out in Arcandar's final years. The late king, had raised his sons to be some of the most capable generals in the realm, and so upon his death, no general existed to threaten their rise. Respected by the army, which had begun to develop into one of the first professional armies, both Arcandar II and Archoni I had the blessing of ruling over a weak aristocrats with little military involvement. As such, the minor power grabs that followed the death of these first kings, were easily quashed, and order was maintained for three successive kings. Numerous aristocratic plots did need to suppressed, but without military support the conspirators stood little chance of regaining power.
The first issues to arise with such a system, came upon the ascension of Arcandar the III, the son of Arcandar II. Born only a few months before his father's death, Arcandar III had been denied the throne in favor of his uncle, Archoni. Raised by his mother, Arcandar III was not the tactician or soldier his predecessors had been, and thus, his reign was never quite as stable. Unlike them, he was also not really a populist, and identified far more with the aristocrats his predecessors had crushed, then the people they had championed. This did nothing to gain him any friends amongst their number though, since many wanted him gone, and a restored oligarchy to take power. Generals in the military also constantly questioned his decisions, and popular support for the monarchy faded within a few years of his reign. No Valoni king would possess the same absolutist power that the first three had built for themselves, and while Arcandar III's rule would remain intact during his life, his power would be constantly questioned, and later rulers would have to deal with the problems that his reign began. Numerous problems also arose with legal and religious code during this time, as kings lacked the political power to change preexisting laws and religious doctrine, an area where priests had the final say on matters of the gods. One big reason for this was the loss of their authority over the Valoni army. As it had grown larger, kings had split the military into multiple different armies, to make command easier, these were commanded by generals, loyal to the king; but nonetheless, with new found autonomy. This made them threats to his reign, and made taking actions far more risky. A king implementing new laws, had to gain their support, or else risk the potential of an uprising. None occurred during the period, but the kings following Archoni I, constantly feared to potential for one, and as a result gave the military new found power in politics.
Following the death of Arcandar III the throne would pass between three more descendants of Arcandar who would slowly expand the borders into Calomancia. First highlands of Saluchia, and then the fertile plains of Mecenae would fall to the Kings of Valone, expansions that would almost double their territory. In 1964, however, the problems previously mentioned, military and dissent from aristocrats, became to prevalent. The dynasty was floundering by this point, and as a result, only a single heir remained of Arcandar's blood, a young boy by the name of Pontius I. From the moment he was crowned king, he lacked any real power. A cabal of generals and aristocrats ruled over the realm in his name, and Pontius was neglected, left to be a symbol of regal power for the few commoners who still clung to the belief that the king, ruled to protect them from the aristocracy. This cabal, would collapse in 1970, though, as its members began to fight for power between themselves. Possession of Pontius, thus became a major source of legitimacy. The child king would pass between numerous contenders in the coming years, leaving him with very little in the way of an education, and by the time he reached adulthood in about 1975, he showed every sign of being a weak, and foolish ruler. Perhaps then it was a blessing when one rogue general, by the name of Charthus of Marcona had him murdered in his sleep. Declaring himself the new king, Carthus was recognized by next to no one, and few consider him a legitimate king to this day. Instead, a short period of ruler less warfare erupted across the realm. Beginning in 1979, though, one man began to solidify his rule around the historic capital at Valone. Named, Varlidius Lavar, the general turned statesman quickly took control over the city and purged it of the numerous nobleman who had come to seize power during the chaos. Rallying the populous as Arcandar did, by promising a renewed period of glory, Varlidius presented himself as a populist, and thus gained a sizeable amount of support from the commoners of Valone. Using this to create a large, army, Varlidius defeated every challenger to the throne and by 1987, ruled over enough territory to rightfully be considered the king.
While popular, Varlidius was nonetheless a brutal and paranoid ruler and today it is heavily speculated, that before rising to generalship, he was very likely a bandit king, by the name of Darxus Mobarta of Saluchia. Such theories are based upon the fact that both men bore a striking likeness to one another, and that the first records of Varlidius appear, only a few short weeks after the assumed death of Marxus at sea. Numerous other pieces of evidence exist to support the idea, though for the purpose of Valoni history, further examination of Varlidius' background is irrelevant. The key aspect to draw from such information though, is that only amongst the violence and instability of such a chaotic time, could a bandit king rise to the lofty position of ruler of Valone.
Varlidius' "reign", 1987-1989 FD, if it can be called that, would be short, and he would in fact, never be coroneted officially. The man would die in 1989, at the hands of a conspiracy of his sub commanders, who fearing for their lives murdered him before he in his extreme paranoia struck against them. Despite their unity in his murder, the conspirators were united in little else, and no plan existed to replace Varlidius after his death. For this reason, the various officers and commanders turned on each other almost as soon as Varlidius was murdered. Only a handful escaped the blood bath that his campaign tent devolved into once the slaughter began and amongst their number the only one with real authority over the army, was a man by the name of Othicanus.

The Reign of Othicanus, or Pontius II

With the remaining army of Varlidius under his command, Othicanus turned the host around and led it back to the city of Valone, where almost as soon as he arrived, he proclaimed himself king. Now, it is important to recognize the fact that Othicanus was not a nobody who appeared out of the blue, as Varlidius largely had. Othicanus was part of a sizeable aristocratic family, who had close ties to Arcandar's own bloodline. For this reason, drawing a parallel that connected the two families was of major importance to Othicanus and his supporters. The most noticeable of these connections was quite obviously, the adoption of the name Pontius. Rather than be known as King Othicanus I, he instead, took the name Pontius II, to cement his succession as the next king after Pontius I. Furthermore, he would found the Pontian dynasty, and for records concerning him prior to his ascension, he would, in the future be titled Othicanus Pontius.
The actual character of Pontius, is a largely unknown fact, as legends and rumor make getting an accurate depiction of him difficult. This stems from the greatness of his reign, for under him, Valone would not only return to a period of stability, but also, begin expanding, rapidly in every direction. The reason for this was the formation of a new doctrine amongst many within the Valoni elite, called "Iust aut Valo". Meaning, Right of the Valoni, the original idea was that the Valoni, through their martial prowess had the right, granted unto them by their gods, to rule over the other people's of the world. This would have a tremendous effort in the coming centuries, as the empire, gradually expanded and brought new peoples into the empire, and routinely denied them the right of citizenship. This concept of citizenship will be developed further, momentarily.
The conquests of the Valoni in this era, would be largely the will of Pontius II who was a major supporter of the idea of Iust aut Valo. The ancient city states of Tescili and Buchria, the greatest cities of Calomancia at the time, would ultimately be brought into the realm by his campaigns. Such expansions were not the only change Pontian brought, but they would directly lead to the greatest aspect of his reign, the formation of an empire. By the mid 1990s Valone was so large that a provincial system was seen as necessary for the management of so much territory. The administration that rose to manage this vast geographic body, would directly evolve into the Imperial bureaucracy under Pontius III. Because of this provincial system, the term empire rapidly began to appear, long before any official proclamation was made, and for a sizeable period of time, both empire and kingdom were used interchangeably. The official change, would none the less come, after the death of Pontius II, when his son Pontius III officially declared himself and posthumously his father, emperors.
The problems that plagued the kings of old, ceased to exist at the same severity under Pontian II. The military, was firmly loyal to him, as he had won their allegiance leading it personally on campaigns. This allowed, him to force his will more easily upon both the legal aspects of the Valoni state and the religious. Furthermore, the masses loved him for restoring order after the chaos of the previous decades, and were more than willing to embrace the firm hand of a dictator, if it ensured peace and safety within the realm. He was none the less labeled a tyrant by many, who accused him of seeing himself above the law, and at the time, they were right. As king, he was in violation of the laws by which he was supposed to govern, and frequently used force and threats to get his way as leader. But he would be pardoned, in a sense, by his elevation to emperor posthumously. A position bound by no law, other than the will of the gods. Pontian's son and heir would be the one responsible for this, making these powers the standard for rulers of Valone, by instilling in the title emperor, absolute, autocratic power over the empire, making the position answerable solely to the gods.
Another important aspect of the early empire, that must be touched upon, originated in Pontius II's reign, but really cemented itself during his son's reign, was the formation of the imperial name. Since he had been born Othicanus, and adopted the title both personally and for his family, of Pontius, Pontius II cemented the tradition of rulers holding the family name as their imperial name as emperor. As such his children and theirs, would upon becoming emperor, become Pontius III, Pontius IV, and so on, regardless of what their birth name had been prior. While, such customs complicate matters somewhat, the cause for such a change, arose from the prominent value on family and dynasty amongst early Valoni culture. The individual, while prized, paled in comparison to the importance of one's family, and the prestige and honor held in a familial name.

The Pontian Dynasty and the Founding of the Empire

The death of Pontius II would be a mournful day across Valone and her territories. Remembered today by the prestigious epithet, Pontian II the Great, he would be the only emperor to ever bear the epithet in the empire's long history, and is considered by most alive to be the greatest man to ever rule them. Even amongst his enemies, Pontian was a well respected figure. His conquests of Calomancia had initially been despised by the subjugated peoples, yet his skillful management and effective provincial reforms had earned him respect amongst even the most ancient of Valone's enemies, the Tescilians. Succession as expected was smooth, with only a single adult son, the question of the next king was straightforward and simple, and so Pontius III ascended to the throne. On the very day of his father's funeral, Pontius III would proclaim the official formation of an empire, rallied around the concept of Iust aut Valo. Valone at last, was the Valoni Empire that exists to this day, albeit in a very different form. The aristocrats still maintained a sizeable amount power thanks to their wealth, even if it was a pale shadow of its former self. They also did not holding an inherent "official" position in the new Imperial government of Pontius III. Most still owned massive estates that had been in their families for generations at this point and vast portions of the empire's wealth were held by these elite families. Because of this, important positions within the bureaucracy were often granted to citizens of noble blood lines, despite the fact that the Imperial bureaucracy was supposed to be fully merit based. The bulk of the administration, was as Pontian III had intended, firmly within the public sphere, and was manned by primarily commoners. Over the first few centuries of the early empire, the power of aristocrats did decline though. Power would gradually, shift from the ancient families of Valone's earliest history, to new civil servant families, who had risen within the army, or bureaucracy of the growing empire.
Arising under Pontian III was also a new idea of ruler ship. The kings of Valone, had portrayed themselves as populists, the protectors of the masses. The title king, had for this reason come to carry with it the responsibility of acting within the best interests of the commoners, but also within the law. Pontian did not change this, and technically kept the title of king as a secondary one, so as to continue the tradition; but by adopting the mantle of emperor he rose above simply being a king. The term emperor was a new one amongst the Valo-Calomanci peoples, but was a simple one for them to learn. The emperor was the undisputed head, of the administration and legal code of the empire. Laws, that had remained for centuries could be overturned in favor of new law, if the emperor willed it in the interest of the state. This gave him unparalleled legal power to respond to not only crisis, but enact reforms as he saw fit. Pontian, did not include limits on the emperor's power, as he imagined, any abuse of the power, was worth it, in the interest of the stability a benevolent emperor brought. The military as well, was moved under the control of the emperor. Oaths of loyalty were mandatory, before generals could be granted command of armies, and every soldier was likewise required to swear allegiance to the emperor, or face expulsion from the armed forces. Religion as well saw a serious change with the formation of the position of emperor. Now rather than be decided by priests, religious doctrine, was brought under the authority of the emperor, who as first under the gods, had the final say on all religious matters. This elevation of the king to emperor, permanently made official the absolute authority of Valone's ruler, and made acceptable the previous tyranny of Pontian II's reign.
Its important to remember though, that while the emperor may have gained legal freedom to act absolutely, he was still to some extent accountable to his subjects. After all, an emperor, ruling too tyrannically would lose the respect of both the civilian body, and the army, which would almost certainly end in his downfall. For this reason, emperors, despite their legal power, often remained accountable by some extent, unofficially to their subjects, and could not rule too tyrannically if they wished to have a long, good reign. As a result, good emperors, often learned to balance their rule. Acting with absolute power when they truly thought it necessary, and respecting the opinions and will of their subjects and military, whenever they could afford to.
Despite the apparent loss of freedom the formation of empire may have suggested, the official recognition of citizenship also arose during this period; and was used to differentiate the Valoni inhabitants of the new empire from the other, ethnic bodies within it. By this point one must also make note, that the term Valoni had also shifted somewhat, no longer were they simply the people of the city of Valone, but rather, Valoni now referred to the population of Valona or as it had once been called, Arica. Men and women of cities such Helescium, Palium and even Navido, were seeing themselves by this point, not so much as residents of their local city or region, but rather, people of a grander, and larger, culture centered around the city of Valone. People from Calomancia proper, however, were not really Valoni, nor would they ever fully consider themselves such. Instead, the people of the region largely identified themselves around the city they lived in, and only loosely saw themselves as people of a grander Calomanci culture, much less a foreign one. Furthermore, they like many within the empire, were denied proper citizenship for a lengthy period of time. Inhabitants of the Calomanci and Ornese provinces, and especially women were all denied the rights of citizenship. Now again, one needs to recall a very important fact. No rights were guaranteed entirely. The emperor, always maintained the legal power to rule absolutely. He could if deemed necessary by him, do whatever he thought necessary to ensure order within the empire, even if it meant abolishing citizenship. For this reason citizenship, was in truth an incredibly limited source of rights. The only real benefits one gained from the status, were official recognition within the Empire, the ability to hold an imperial office, and a slight decrease in the amount of taxes paid by the individual. While rather limited by some modern perspectives, citizenship in this period was none the less a prized thing, valued both for its actual worth and benefits, as well as the symbolic pride such status brought an individual. Interestingly enough, one aspect that was not touched upon by citizenship, was the military. Valoni armies welcomed others into their number, so long as the individual could be deemed loyal and the political climate allowed it. Because of this, the military for much of the empire's history served as the primary source of employment for ambitious young men across its territory, who did not possess the qualifications to be deemed citizens. In fact until the expansion of citizenship several centuries into the empire's history, the military and its command staff, were the highest position someone of non Valoni blood could expect to rise within the Imperial state. These non citizen soldiers, were denied proper citizenship for the next few centuries. The benefits of being a veteran, however, rendered this a dull point; since after the reforms of Remil, as will be discussed momentarily, veterans regardless of origin, were exempt from tax, and guaranteed farm land at the state's expense within an Imperial province upon their retirement. This system, was viewed by many non Valoni, as the best standard of living one could obtain within the empire, and was in truth, surprisingly generous given the Valoni opinion on non citizens.
Remaining on the topic of the Valoni military for a bit longer one cannot overlook the major reforms that were previously mentioned. Undertaken during the reign of Pontian III, they were spearheaded, by one of the greatest military minds of the empire's history, Aulicus Remil, a Valoni general of the empire. Known today, as the Remilian reform, the change was a shift in the fighting style and equipment of the Imperial military. No longer were soldiers left to outfit themselves with whatever equipment they could afford. Instead, state issued uniforms were granted to the soldiers, who's traditional individual based fighting style, was forgone in favor of a more unit like structure. Soldiers were placed within legions, which were often made up of about three thousand men, during the years of Remil, although expansions under later rulers would see this reach the modern standard of five thousand men. Within this body, the bulk would be fighting men, however numerous support roles existed in an auxiliary positions. Of the legionnaires, their were three main types of unit, the general infantry, who made up the bulk of the legion's manpower; the cavalry, who while much stronger played a very important role in harassing and flanking the enemy; and lastly the peculiari. It was this last group that truly stood out, as no other military had yet to adopt the usage of specialized units in battle. The peculiari, were one of the first special forces and originally, operated at in the role of ambushers, and saboteurs. Operating mostly separate from the main force of the legion, the peculiari were trained to scout, and harass enemy forces before battle had commenced. During the actual battle, their role was to emerge in the enemies flanks, and either if the terrain allowed, attack the enemy army from the rear, or target their baggage line and create chaos amongst the enemy troops. Later, during Valone's war with Na'tal, it became standard for the peculiari cohorts of a few legions, to also fill the role of marine units, specialized in amphibious landings on either beaches or across river ways.
Remil also standardized the equipment used by the Valoni military. Up until this point, Valoni soldiers often went into battle wielding a variant of long sword known as the scorpa, originating in the ancient Calomanci heartland it had been the weapon of choice for soldiers back when the Calomanci had first begun arriving in Arica; and it worked well in the chaotic fighting of a shield wall. But, centuries had passed since it had first been developed, and amongst the city states of Calomancia, the spear and shield, had come to be used as the dominant choice amongst armies. Pared with heavier armor plate, the spearmen of Calomancia, were a force to be reckoned with. Valone would in truth only beat them and subjugated the cities and leagues, due to the Calomanci reliance on smaller armies, of elite, troops, which were unable to challenge the larger, well trained veteran armies of Valone. Many Valoni soldiers during the period would die, trying to pit their longer, clumsier blades against the armored spearmen of Calomancia, who with a better reach from their spears, made short work of them on a one versus one basis. Remil's reform, brought with it the adoption of a shorter blade, known as the gladius, which when matched against spearman fared better. The idea was, that the wielder of the gladius, would close the distance with the spearman using his own shield to deflect the initial attack. From there, the shortened blade of the gladius could be used in a stabbing motion to finish their enemy, this was an attack the older scorpa blade had been too long to preform. Another, even larger innovation was the addition of the Rho pike for Valoni soldiers. Invented first in Kalkos, the long weapon was widely used, albeit ineffectively, by the bushmen of Rho. Wielding it as a singular individual the Rho failed to recognize the value of the weapon as a tool for units to wield, not for individual men. Added to the arsenal of the new Valoni legionnaire, the Rho pike became their primary weapon, and the phalangae, or phalanx, became the main tactic of the Valoni military. This new strategy, gave the legionnaires distance on the battlefield, that allowed them to gradually wear down the enemy, who could not in turn reach them or overcome the Valoni shield wall with their own shorter spears.
One of the most important changes to come from Remil's reforms, however, was the diversification of roles in the infantry of the legions. The average legionnaire, fit the bill described above, and served primarily as a pike men in the phalanx formations. But the phalanx tactic had one major flaw, that being, the flanks. An enemy looking to defeat the phalanx, simply had to hit it from the rear or sides, where the pike wall was not directed. Here an enemy, could cut deep into the column and strike at the heart of the phalanx, annihilating it. Remil's counter to this was the formation of a proper cavalry force, and after they were conquered the integration of the Calomanci heavy spearmen. The purpose of all these being, to prevent the flanking of the main phalanx units. The spearmen especially, came to be given the name muralati for their importance. Rather than act offensively, their job, was to be stationed on the flanks of the phalanx, and prevent a break through. As such, they were given heavier armor and trained not to over exert themselves fighting; while the phalanx core, was provided with lighter armor, that helped prevent the men from becoming exhausted in battle. The muralati retained a sizeable amount of flexibility, despite their rather specific role on the battlefield. Trained to act in both close and distant proximity of their centurion, sections could be, pulled back at ease, to allow multiple phalanx groups to operate alongside one another, with the muralati being pulled to the flanks of the greater host. This was due to the split command structure under the centurion in charge of the century, in which two officers, known as the Optio primus (for the phalanx and archers) and secundari (for the muralati) led the men in combat.
The new cavalry also played very important, role, acting to swiftly to harass the enemy line before, and after the two infantry groups met. Wielding, javelins, and gladius' their job was to either, flank, or if that was impossible, punch through weaker areas of the enemy line, so as to hit them from behind, where they like the phalanx were vulnerable.
Ultimately these reforms proved a massive change for the Valoni warrior culture. Individual prowess as a warrior, became largely irrelevant amongst the common soldier, where discipline and leadership became the two most prized traits. What's more, is that, the end of war bands, brought with it, the creation of an in depth chain of command. A new officer caste was needed to command the phalanx in battle, and this brought with it the gradual shift in leadership of the Valoni army. Before the reforms, generals and commanders had often originated as noblemen, or capable friends or advisors of the emperor. Afterwards, promotion through the ranks become much more common, as general legionnaires, became officers, and officers, over time reached the rank of commander. Because of this, new military bloodlines formed, and prominent military families rose to join the ranks of Valoni aristocracy of the period. This in turn evolved the tripartite rivalry under Valoni monarchs; changing the relationship between the three aspects of the state, religion, bureaucracy and military, into a much more competitive government.
Likely one of the greatest aspects of the period, however, was the end of the First Dawn. Begun long ago by the founding of the first settlements in the far lands of Sunar, the age lasted two millennia, before the birth of the Valoni Empire ushered in the start of the Second Dawn. Where the first had been an age of archaic tribes and kingdoms, at least in the north (The Sunarian Empire for example had long maintained an imperial mantle.), the second came to be an age of not only imperialism, knowledge and culture, but also decadence, warfare, and immense wealth.
Returning to the central aspect of this section, the Pontian dynasty; the family would oversee one of the greatest golden ages of Valoni culture and power. Despite this though, their age would come and go. Four emperors, including Pontius II amongst them would bare the imperial name Pontius, before a noble coup by the prominent Oranine dynasty ended their age once and for all.

The Oranine Dynasty

The Oranine Dynasty would rise through the death of Emperor Pontius IV (grandson of Pontius II, and the son of Pontius III). Originally one of the new military families of the aristocracy, many of the family's members, rose to prominence through the officer caste of the legions; and as such were in an ideal position to seize power upon the unexpected and mysterious death of the young, ambitious emperor, Pontius IV. Embracing the militarism of Valoni culture, the Oranine emperors would be more warlike than their stability minded predecessors, and they used their influence over the armies to expand the empire's borders on every front, but no where to any serious amount. In essence the campaigns of the Oranine dynasty suffered from their decision to expand everywhere at once. Unable to focus, the gains maid were limited, and thus, largely insignificant.
While their militaristic blunders were the foremost aspect of their dynasty, the period also saw to an intensification of Imperial bureaucracy. As soldier emperors went off to lead armies on the frontiers of the empire, the actual management of the many provinces fell to the new administrative elite back in the capital; who were by and large, unaccountable thanks to the lack of oversight from whichever emperor reigned at the time. The end of the Oranine dynasty would come about as a result of Oran IV's long life. Outliving all three of his sons, the throne of Valone would then pass on to his son in law Comador, and start off the short-lived Comadorian dynasty.

The Great Imperial Crisis

The Second Imperial Crisis, or as its better known designation, the Great Imperial Crisis is the common name given to the reign of Comador and the years that immedialty followed. Remembered today as a weak willed, decedent immeasurably corrupt man, Comador was nothing like the Oranines, and had never served, nor would, in the military, and he would in his short reign bring the empire to the brink of collapse. His first, major mistake would come quite early in his reign, when he foolishly attempted to subjugate the neighboring empire of the Mershemeti people. Far older than Valone, the Empire of Mershemit, was in truth not an empire at all, but mountain confederation of wealthy city states, residing in the arid highlands south of Valone. Based around the inland Sea of Mer, Mershemit, had escaped subjugation to their incredibly war like neighbors due to the mountains they called home. Dust storms, tremendous heat, and the ferocity of the clans dwelling in the immediate border region between the two kingdoms had long been the bane of Valoni and even Calomanci armies going back centuries. Comador, was as such not the first ruler, or even emperor to try his hand at bringing the wealthy region into the empire, he was the first to not give up though. Over eight legions would be sent, in three different invasion forces, to conquer the land, and each would be destroyed by the combination of dangers listed above. This would have a catastrophic affect on his popularity at home, as no emperor had experienced so great a defeat, so early in their reign as of yet. By the time the Mershemeti united to combat Valone, and descended out of the south in 99 SD, the empire had already exploded into chaos, and no sizeable force was left to hold them back. To destroy his empire so quickly, Comador had done the one thing, no emperor had yet done all at once, he angered everyone.
After murdering a relatively minor general, he saw as a threat, Comador supposedly raped the man's wife and daughter, before torching their home and selling the surviving family into slavery. Outraged over his wicked behavior, the citizen masses and aristocracy had had more than enough of him, and both revolted within a matter of days. Comador was dragged out of his palace in the dead of night, by his own guards, and turned over to the mob, who violently tore him apart. The palace was put to the torch soon after. The land upon which the palace sat, would remain a ruin for the next several centuries, a stain upon the world so wicked, no one would dare build upon the ground Comador once dwelt, (in reality laws were soon passed by his political enemies reserving the land for the state). After the emperor's death, the empire entered into a period of rapid unrest. The Mershemeti, were not defeated, and after sacking several cities in the south of the empire, the army fractured due to regional rivalries between a few of the cities involved, and most of it returned across the mountains. The remnants that stuck around continued to be a nuisance to the empire for the next few years, but were slowly hunted down by a few legions before the situation in the empire became to unstable. The reason for more instability, was that rather than appoint a new emperor, the highest bureaucrats of the Imperial state, had instead formed an oligarchic council to try an restore order. This failed miserably however, and most of the men involved soon found themselves at the center of mob violence.
Making matters worse, the question of citizenship for non Valoni peoples had long plagued the empire. While such matters had remained largely quiet, and on the peripheries of Imperial policy during the reign of the militarily strong Oranine dynasty, it was now rapidly becoming a hot issue, that given the instability, was allowed to escalate into open rebellion amongst the larger cities of the Calomanci provinces. Slave revolt also became a major concern during the crisis, as numerous large bands of revolting slaves came together and formed the Great Slave Army in 101 SD. Operating for the rest of the crisis, these men and women, would be one of the largest threats in the empire, sacking numerous towns and cities before they were defeated by the Star Kings in the closing months of the crisis.
A migration of peoples also occurred during this period, as colonists from the distant land of Kalkos arrived on the eastern coast of the Kleomine highlands. Fleeing chaos back east, the men and women who arrived, were largely ignored by the empire which had larger issues to worry about than a few bands of foreigners settling land that had long been both remote, and seen as worthless. This would soon come to be a major mistake though, as thousands flocked to the region from east, until in 99 SD, they invaded the fertile peninsula of Dykosos and founded their own minor kingdom in the eastern half of Calomancia. This aggression would be ruthlessly handled by the empire, and a re conquest would be undertaken with relative ease in the following years, especially once the Star Kings took power, but was none the less a tremendous drain on the Empire's resources at a time where every bit was needed.
As order broke down across the empire, the economy collapsed with it. Valone wavered on the edge of complete anarchy and had no clear leader to save it from the collapse. Making matters only worse, the Imperial treasury was almost empty, and with several armies active across the empire quelling the previously mentioned revolts for citizenship and handling the numerous foreign threats, the oligarchs soon found themselves paying for armies out of their own pockets. This kept the armies loyal, for a time, but by the end of the year most of the oligarchs had bled their own wealth dry, and so the legions began to revolt. With its armies in open rebellion, its treasury empty and no clear leader, the empire was in everyone's eyes about to die a swift brutal death, but just as the end seemed in sight, the ten richest nobleman collectively came together and restored order. Paying a small number of revolting armies a new larger salary, they used their new force to individually crush the other revolts, before occupying the capital and establishing marshal law. The harsh rise of the men who would be known as the Star Kings, would be brutal and swift, but nonetheless ensured the survival of the empire and the recapture of the Dykosos Peninsula. Mershemit, on the other hand would never truly be punished, or dealt with even in the golden years of the empire to come. An attempt was made, once the crisis had been handled, to once again invade Mershemit, but after another major defeat, no future plans were made. Instead Valoni emperors, and the Valoni people in general, quietly ignored the large area on their maps, which they did not control. Mershemit, and the tremendous wealth of its cities, was written off in Valoni sources of the era, as a backwards, poor, tribal land, on the edge of the great Hasarine desert. This was one way, the Valoni came to terms with one of their greatest humiliations, by ignoring it and acting as if it was not worth the effort it would take to conquer, even to this day.

The Star Kings

Named after the meteorite metal for which their crowns were made, The Star Kings were the ten richest men in the Valoni Empire. Agreeing to end the chaotic period of oligarchic rule, and return Valone to an empire, the Star Kings were limited to the initial ten. Upon one's death there would be nine, and then eight and so forth. In essence this would allow the final surviving king to rule as emperor, but in practice only encouraged further chaos and underhanded murder. It took barely five years of infighting and the assassinations of three Star Kings before the rest agreed to an attack on one an attack on all policy, and even then another two kings would be murdered to poison before an emperor emerged. The final surviving Star King was a man named Escador. Born in Helescium to a wealthy family, he had rapidly grown in power and been one of the ringleaders in ending the Great Imperial Crisis. Out living the others in 112 SD he was the final Star King, but was also one of the shortest reigning Emperors, dying only few weeks into his reign as an immensely old man. Emperor Escador I would be succeeded by his adult son Escador II. The problem of citizenship remained an issue during the decade of the Star Kings, and at every opportunity proved one of the most divisive troubles the Valoni Empire faced at the time. While many of the Star Kings supported expanding the criteria for citizenship, some of the stronger ones, including Escador himself fiercely opposed the idea, perceiving it as a betrayal of the ancient Valoni belief, "Iust aut Valo". The son, proved even more conservative than the father in this case, and as one might expect, upon his ascendancy to emperor, Escador II maintained the conservative policies of his father's short reign.

The Escadoran Dynasty

Despite ruling for over a hundred years, the Escadoran dynasty is recorded in the chronicles as being a very peaceful one, at least by Valoni standards. While nearly twenty emperors came to rule during the period, there was very little military expansion during the century and next to no internal wars or uprisings, excluding the numerous riots and minor revolts concerning citizenship; but these were rarely anything serious, and stability was the norm. As a result, Escador I's son, Escador II, was able to restore economic stability to the Valoni heartland of the empire and brought about a golden age, which allowed the construction of numerous architectural projects that exist to this day. This was largely limited to the territories one would call Valoni, however. Outside Valona, military presence increased, and the local level autonomy that had been allowed under the Imperial bureaucracy was swiftly ended. Instead, poverty and violence became more common, and life for the average non citizen became far more difficult.
The solution to Valone's economic woes, was the modernization of its tax system, and a land reform program which overhauled the old one that had existed since the days of Arcandar, centuries earlier.
Following him, his descendants would maintain similar beliefs concerning Valoni citizenship, and at every opportunity, they quashed any talk of expanding citizenship to the non Valoni in the empire. Additionally, religious bigotry also increased during this time, with several of the first Escadoran emperors overseeing major persecutions against minor religious groups within the empire. These were largely, ineffective, however, and gradually over time religious tolerance for foreign religions did improve. This was thanks in large part, to the desire of the Valoni people themselves, who began to experiment with the new ideas being brought into their empire. The Escadoran emperors, though, remained fiercely conservative in ideology and agreed to change only grudgingly as the Valoni citizens of the empire, demanded it.
Another major aspect of the Escadoran period was their devotion to increasing the empire's sea presence and colonization of the islands in Outriders Gulf. Expanding its trade network far into the north, Valone under the Escadorans mapped out large swaths of northern Atlamb, and turned the sparsely populated island of Volspura into a lucrative new province. They would also be responsible for launching a series of failed colonization attempts into the sparsely populated region of Estelonia (It would be the Escadoran dynasty that gave the region, alongside Espania, their names). One of these attempts would ultimately bring about the infamous Estelonian Plague, that would sweep across the empire from 220 to 225 and bring about the destruction of the Escadoran dynasty.

The Albinian Dynasty, and the Citizens War

As the Estelonian plague hit the empire, the regions hit first and worst, were those in the heartland of Valona. By the time it had spread into the fertile plains of Calomancia, the emperor and his heirs had already died, and a period of disorder had arisen across the country. Left with no clear line of succession, the highest members of the Imperial bureaucracy attempted in vain to establish another oligarchy as they had a century earlier, but interference by the military destroyed any hope of such a plan. Led by the Valo-Calomanci general, and a non citizen, Albinus, the military garrison of Valone acted swiftly, arresting the conspirators, and placing in power, the elderly, and weak cousin of the late Escador XXIII. But even with an emperor, the plague, and centuries of civil disorder were to much for the state to overcome and in 222 the crisis of citizenship reached its peak. Over a hundred cities across the Calomanci provinces rose up in revolt against the empire, and demanded citizenship and a new emperor or secession, refusing the demand out of his own self interest, Escador XXIV chose war over negotiations, and once more the empire devolved into civil war.
Despite being Calomanci by birth, and clearly having much to gain by backing the rebel cause, Albinus nonetheless remained a loyal general of the Imperial government, and acted as one of the highest commanders of the Imperial legions in the war. But as the conflict wore on into the next year, and the plague continued to kill on masse, the cries for peace talks amongst the nobility and commoners rapidly began to grow louder than those of the elderly emperor. Agreeing to negotiate with the revolutionaries, Albinus and his fellow commanders, who were predominantly loyal Valoni citizens, sat down with the rebels at the city of Mecenae, where it was agreed Emperor Escador XXIV would be removed from power. Whether it was legitimate surprise to Albinus, or If he had orchestrated the entire scheme from the beginning remains a mystery to history, but he was all the same, the first name proposed when the talks of a replacement came into the discussion. Accepting the position graciously, Albinus would be the first non Valoni emperor of the empire; and on the very first day after Escador XXIV was overthrown, in 223, he ended the centuries old conflict over citizenship, by granting it universally, to the men living within the regions of Valona, Calomancia and Orn, alongside promising citizenship to the inhabitants of any future provinces brought under the Imperial state.
The descendants of Albinus would be some of the most progressive in the empire's long history, and they would be responsible for developing the large and wealthy cities of Calomancia into an incredibly important region of the empire. From their work, religious tolerance and later, an expansion of citizenship to women, came to fruition. It cannot be ignored, though, that this expansion, was in large part, symbolic. Women continued to be denied sizeable rights upon religious and traditional grounds, and for these reasons they could not hold Imperial office, and in most individual's cases, benefited little from taxes their husbands were expected to pay. For the few single women of the empire, most often widows, one aspect would make a tremendous difference in their lives, the ability to possess property, or land. Prior to the reforms of the Albinian dynasty, a widow could not expect to posses any inheritance from her father (should their be no son) or expect the property of her husband should he die. In either case, the property would either pass on to the next male relative, or be forfeited unto the state. This often left widows and female children forced to marry early or out of necessity; and in the case of the widows of dead soldiers, especially, was a widely known stain of dishonor upon the otherwise glorious pride of the Valoni Empire.
Slavery would also undergo a major change during Albinus II's reign. Traditionally, slavery was not limited by one's ethnicity or religion. Albinus II would change this, by making it illegal to own a slave of Valoni descent, with the exception being made for criminals and debtors. This would quickly expand later in his reign to include Calomanci and Ornese persons, who with their newly granted citizenship, were treated to the same quality of living as the Valoni. Hundreds of thousands would be freed in an instant with this alteration of Valoni law, and a large economic consequences would follow. The massive number of new freedmen, required work, and to provide this Albinus II formed several new legions to take in the healthy young men. This massively increased the size of the Valoni military, and improved its capacity to respond to threats within and outside its borders. Work projects were also developed at this time, in which thousand were hired by the state for the construction of canals, walls, and new infrastructure across the empire. Many of the Valoni who had formerly been the masters of these slaves also demanded compensation for their loss, a financial drain, Albinus wisely provided from the empire's own treasury. This would be problematic for a time, but ultimately proved bearable by the empire, thanks to the massive amount of trade and taxation of it, occurring during the period. Despite the abolition of large numbers of slaves, slavery persisted as a major aspect of Valoni society. Millions, still lived in shackles, due to their birth outside the empire's borders and their lives remained as unfree as they had for centuries. One major reason for this, was the continued belief in the doctrine of Iust aut Valo, which was still followed and believed in by many within the empire. The Valoni were in their eyes, still blessed, with the right to rule over all others, the definition of Valoni, had simply been expanded to include their cousins in Calomancia, and Orn.
The final days of the Albinian dynasty would come not with a bang, but rather with quiet funeral, and the rise of a new Emperor. The last Albinian emperor died in his sleep from old age, and although he had left a son to succeed him, the boy's age and mental capacity were both enough to prevent his ascension to emperor. Instead, the last heir to Albinus, would spend the rest of his life quietly living in a villa in the foothills east of Valone, before dying at the young age of twenty five.

The Virginian Dynasty

With the end of the Albinian dynasty their replacements, the Virginians arose, as bureaucrats and administrators. Led by the esteemed Emperor Virginian I the Wise, the family was one of the more peaceful ascensions of power, and were viewed fondly by the citizens of the empire as a result. They had taken imperial title of emperor, by forming a coalition in government, made up of not only their own power base in the Imperial bureaucracy, but also the priestly caste that governed the empire's religion. The military, however, did not take part in the rise; but fractured, and disunited between the many commanders and officers, it also, could not oppose them. Lasting longer than any other dynasty, the Virginians came to be viewed as the classic example of Valoni Imperi, reigning over the Empire for just over four centuries and overseeing a massive period of economic and territorial expansion. It would be under the Virginians that Valone became the world superpower it is recognized as today, and under them the Empire would see its largest extent, stretching from the northern shores of the Emerald Sea, to the sun baked plains of Abectar in the distant and remote south.
During the period, southward expansion would reach full momentive, as the sparsely populated plains of Esteleon became provinces in the growing empire, and more than a dozen colonies sprung up across the islands of the Great Eastern Tide, and later, the Boiling Sea in the far south. One such colony, Tantum Valona, would rise above all others as an economic giant in the south. But despite the success of these colonial endeavors, they were not without their own problems. Expansion in the south opened up conflict with the peoples and empires of the region, and on more than one occasion, the Valoni would be driven into conflict with the wealthy naval states of the Boiling Sea. First the Hasari City States of the Great Hasarine desert rose up to challenge Valoni might. Later, the Corsair state of Wirijataar and its masters in Na'tal would came to challenge the growing northern empire as well, fighting for supremacy in their far corner of the world. These wars, known today as the South Sea Wars, would culminate in a number of major naval and land battles across the southern colonies of the empire, and end only after the brutal sacking of Tantum Valona in 689 SD, convinced the Valoni that co-existence rather than subjugation was in their interests.
The defeat at Tantum Valona, was not the first sign of Valoni decline, but it was the first one of any serious significance. Nor was it the nail in the coffin of Valoni supremacy, since as will be discussed momentarily, the Sunarian Expedition was still to come, and the greatest height of the Valoni hegemony over the earth had yet to truly arrive. But, the defeat was an early sign of the largest issue Valone was beginning to experience due to its size, over extension. Stretching for thousands of kilometers across the world, the empire had begun to unravel during this time, as governors of the more distant provinces and colonies gained autonomy from the simple fact that direct rule from the capital was no longer possible. Travel time, as well as the mind power to manage the vast population under Valoni rule was becoming to much for a single emperor, or even a single capital's worth of bureaucracy to manage, and so local powers, began managing their regions with far less interference from the Imperial government then the empire likely would have preferred.
Throughout the late 600s, Valone's focus was largely upon the region of Tantum Valona, for the tremendous wealth it generated in trade. There was, however, a sizeable colonization effort up the coast towards the lands of Nebtka, and Pershani, alongside a more inland settlement effort out of the provinces of Esteleon. From their, Valoni settlers journeyed south towards the northern shores of Belezine Bay, where they slowly began to begin contact with the great Empire of Sunar. Ruled by a sect of fiercely isolationist priests, the southern empire had been closed for centuries to the outside world. Although many within Valone wished to see Sunar overcome, few called for outright war, as Sunar, while quiet, was still a great power of a world far older than that of the Valoni. And so Sunar remained largely left alone for this period.
The era of peace between Valone and Sunar, would come to climactic end, however, in the late 690s. Lured by an exiled Sunarian monarch promising a massive fortune in gold, a single Valoni legion, deserted their posts and reconquered the ancient empire in his name. Defeating the outdated and vastly inferior (but much larger) army of the Sunarian priests, with ease, the Sunarians were exposed and shown to be immensely vulnerable to foreign interference. When those same Valoni troops who aided the young Sunarian emperor were banished out of fear of their power in the country, word rapidly reached the Valoni emperor himself, who in 701, ordered the conquest of Sunar, entrusting five legions with the task of subjugating and occupying the land as an expansion of the Empire. It would be this campaign that brought Valone into the greatest height of its power ever, and one of the largest reasons for its eventual decline. Sunar, was quite simply, to far away for Valone to manage, even when Valoni troops came to occupy the region. Local legion commanders, were largely left to their own devices, so long as order was maintained and taxes, and tribute was shipped back to the capital in the far, far north. Sunar would ultimately be split shortly after the annexation into two separate provinces of Upper and Lower Sunar, and as a result the top power would change from being the military officials to civilian ones, as governors arrived to administer the region in the name of the Imperial State. Nonetheless, power was still localized, and governors were given tremendous autonomy.
For the next few centuries, as the Valoni Empire gradually began to unravel, Sunar would surprisingly be one of the more stable regions of the empire. As the Marian faith spread rapidly in the north, it never found much of a presence amongst the Valoni or Sunar populations of the South, and so while blood shed and chaos ran rampant in the north, the governors and administrators of the south, went on as normal, respecting the empire when it was strong, and acting independently when it was not. When the Valoni Empire finally began to collapse in the early the 11th century, Sunar and its Valoni elite, would be one of the first sections of the empire to secede, and given the great distances involved, faced little threat from the weakened capital that could barely maintain order in Valona, much less in far off Sunar. For the next two centuries or so, Sunar would be ruled by Valoni leader's styling themselves emperors in the Sunarian fashion, rather than the Valoni. Eventually, in the 13th century, Sunarian rule would be returned to Sunarian people for the first time in hundreds of years, but the Valoni would remain. Barred from any government role, the modern Valo-Sunarian population, maintain their wealth, and exist as an elite, pseudo aristocratic caste of the Sunarian Empire.
Returning to the heartland of the Valoni Empire, and the main focus of this section the Virginian Dynasty, one sees during their lengthy reign, many things. Rising from a time of frequent instability, the Virginians provided a long period of order and stability to the main provinces of the empire. While wars and turmoil did come from time to time, they were a pale shadow of the crisis of the previous eras, and under the Virginians periods of order lasted lifetimes. This was at least true, for the early to mid period of the Virginians. Towards the later years, as expansionism grew the empire towards every corner of the world, problems rapidly began to arise. Religious intolerance, that had been excusable when only a few faiths were practiced in the empire, was no longer possible as hundreds, if not thousands of new religions tried to reside within the boundaries of Valoni rule.
Economic and social issues had also come from the tremendous wealth carted back to the capital, from the campaigns in the south. Valone's currency was based upon gold coinage, Sunar on the other hand, operated on a silver system and put little monetary value on gold, which they possessed in massive quantities. Part of the reason for this was the special significance the Caramaic religion (the religion of Sunar at the time) placed on gold, which they perceived as the blood of their gods. Even before their age of isolation, Sunar had mined a massive amount of gold, but during the quiet years where they shunned outside contact, they had stumbled upon some of the largest ore deposits anywhere on earth. This gold, had found its way into the temples and households of the Sunarians, who at no point used it as currency. This was a massive reason for Valone's interest in conquering the empire. During the campaign, thousands of temples, and homes were looted on mass by the Valoni legions, who on the emperor's orders, shipped most of the gold back to the treasury in Valone. From there the metal was minted and used to pay for dozens of new legions, statues, renovations of the imperial palace, and festivals all in the emperor's name and at the state's expense. This served to truly lay the foundation of an economic catastrophe, since the rampant spending, flooded the world market in gold coinage and in just over a decade, destroyed its value. With inflation on the rise as a result of the Sunarian conquest, the empire's economy soon collapsed and by 714, the empire was plunged into its worst economic depression yet. The crisis was escalated, by another fact though.
Traditionally, the legions had often been gifted, a sizeable sum following a conquest of a new territory. This would be garnered largely from the loot and spoils of the conquered peoples, and split equally amongst common men of the Imperial legion. With Sunar, this looked to be the biggest of such payments yet, and as such legionnaires across the empire were ecstatic in expectation for their share. But it never came, the Virginian emperor who ordered the conquest, Emperor Baricles II (The imperial name had long since been abandoned by the Virginian dynasty), had ordered the legates of legions in Sunar, to turn over any gold found in the country, and they did so willingly, expecting him to divide it as so many emperors had before him. But as months turned into years, and no such stipend formulated, it became apparent, none was coming, and that the gold of Sunar, had been confiscated by the emperor, for both his personnel use, and the states. Numerous commanders, demanded the gold be divided to their legions, but time and time again, the emperor made excuses to avoid doing so. By 708, Baricles II had died, and his nephew, Calothagian III appeared no likelier to reward the army for their conquest. As such, unrest amongst the legions rapidly began to grow, and desertion became a major issue. Soon enough, undermanned legions, were facing, their former brothers, who had taken to banditry rather than continue to serve a state that refused to respect them, or their traditions.
Amongst many in the civilian sector of the empire, discontent was also growing. It was common knowledge that the state was wealthier than ever before, and yet almost everywhere they looked, the empire was in disrepair. Roads and aqueducts, were crumbling, and the walls of even Valone, had long since been surrounded by the expanse of city, leaving tens of thousands, outside the protection of the capital's walls. One of the few areas that did see a tremendous amount wealth spent by the state, was on religious festivities to the gods of the Valo-Calomanci pantheon. Temples within the capital itself were also a major spending point of the Imperial state during this time; but infrastructure alongside much else, were lacking as Calothagian refused to spend a dime. This enraged many in the empire, who gradually fell into unemployment from a lack of work. The fact that banditry by former soldiers, was also on the rise, only gave more merit to the mobs, and riots, growing in number everywhere.

The Marian Insurrection

The Cult of Marian, as the name might suggest, was founded by a man named Marian around 711 SD, who after receiving a vision (of a scale balancing the purity and corruption of the mortal world, and it tilting heavily in favor of the latter), began spreading his teachings in the small, but nonetheless ancient, Imperial city of Navido. Situated within the border region of Valona, Orn and Esteleon, the city was a blending pot of culture from the three regions, and in the days of Marian, was a relatively minor city in the heartland of the Valoni Empire, but one that was steadily growing in relevance. Like Navido, religion was also an issue growing in severity within the empire. The mainstream faith within the heartland of Valona, and Calomancia was a polytheistic faith, of numerous elemental deities. Originating long before the Valoni ancestors had crossed into Arica, the historic foundations are largely lost to the annals of history. In the early 8th century though, Valo-Calomanci faith, was a core part of the Imperial state. Religious leaders held official positions within the state concerning matters of culture, law and calendars, and legal code of the empire was based almost entirely upon religious doctrine going back millennia. Part of what made this religion so beneficial and long lived in the empire was the control the emperor personally had over it and the clergy caste within it. The faith itself held an official position within the empire, and functioned in theory like both the military and bureaucracy, as a third branch of the empire's government; but, in practice, had never held any real power itself, and as previously mentioned, was largely in the pocket of the emperor for most of the empire's history. It was also, by far the weaker of the three, as it lacked the manpower and financial support of the other two, and was reliant upon the emperor to ensure funding from the administration, and security from the military.
One of the main benefits that made the Valo-Calomanci pantheon so long lived and popular within the empire, was the fact that new deities, of subjugated peoples, could often be worked into the pre existing pantheon, as alternative aspects of the already cemented gods. For this reason religious tension was often lessened by the state endorsed faith, rather than heightened by it. This was not always the case though. Under the Escadoran Dynasty for example, religious intolerance was widespread, and worshipers of other faiths often suffered harsh persecution at the hands of the state. During these periods, the state frequently outlawed faiths, who's followers practiced incompatible religions without clear parallels in the Valo-Calomanci pantheon. Numerous efforts were undertaken by the Escadorans to convert or drive off, the monotheistic and dualistic faiths of the era, that either refused or were unable adapt within the state's religion. But, again by the time of Marian, hundreds upon hundreds of other faiths dwelled within the empire, and tolerance, rather than intolerance was the policy for most of the Virginian period. This was more out of necessity than an actual goal of the emperors though. The empire had grown to such a large extent that followers of the pantheon, were slowly losing worshipers, to newly arrived faiths in the empire. They still maintained an overwhelming, majority, but this was slowly changing. Monotheistic, dualistic, icon worship, and numerous other forms of religion, and even controversial sects of the Valo-Calomanci faith existed alongside one another in relative peace when Marian began to shake things up within the large multicultural empire of the late Virginian period.
The main tenants of Marian's religion did not seriously conflict with the idea of Valoni Imperi, and thus if it were not for certain other aspects, would have likely been left to its own devices had it not pressed these issues. The main problem that made Marian and his teachings troublesome, however, was the discrediting of imperial legitimacy he so radically preached to all who would listen. The empire in Marian's eyes, was a pagan source of corruption, since by his own words, all men were born equal. Thus it could not be seen as legitimate to have one pagan ruling absolutely above all others, especially the faithful. This conflicted with idea of hereditary monarcarchy as control of the empire was often viewed as birth right of heirs and emperors. Now this is not to say, Marian endorsed republicanism as one later sees rise up in places such as Burgos and elsewhere, rather, Marian endorsed temple appointed emperors, within a theocratic state. A man could rise above the masses, but only through exceptional purity and endorsement by the most holy of men. These men, in Marian's eyes, were of course himself, and his main acolytes, the Templari.
Other important aspects of the Cult of Marian, were the devotion to purity over corruption. In his vision, as already mentioned, Marian viewed a scale presenting to him, an imbalance in the world. Purity, was losing to corruption, and he believed that if measures were not taken to ensure the purity of mortality, something catastrophic would unfold as the world fell into corruption. There was and is to this day no deity or god in Marian's teachings, and originally worshipers did not believe in any highly established afterlife either. Instead, upon death, a beings soul would be judged upon a scale. Should they have lived a pure and faithful life, they would pass on into nothingness content with the fact that they had done their part in balancing the scales, an act Marian viewed as one's ultimate purpose in life. The corrupt, however, would be shamed for all eternity, knowing their lives came and went having betrayed every person they ever met in life. This system, worked at gaining converts in large part, due to the strong focus on family and honor amongst the Valo-Calomanci peoples. When transplanted onto other groups, such as the peoples of Mershemit, or the tribes in the west, where individualism in a certain form, was a far stronger cultural aspect, the early Cult failed to find a foothold. Later, following Marian's death, doctrine concerning the afterlife would begin to enter religious teaching, and the concept of salvation, and eternal bliss after death entered into the main Marian faith. This serves as one of the more major divergences between the Cult of Marian, which was active during his lifetime, and the later Marian Faith, which arose after his death as his followers organized the religion into a more structured organization. These changes will be discussed later on in a upcoming section, but in essence allowed the Faith access into the regions and communities where the Cult had failed to take hold.
The corruption Marian preached of, was readily apparent to the men and women living within the empire of the day. The rampant inflation had yet to fully take hold by the time he began preaching, but was fast approaching, and while the economy had yet to reach its low point, many were still living in poverty, and found credibility in his teachings. One of the major sources for this corruption in Marian's eyes, was the obvious one, the Sunarian gold. Poorly managed from the moment it arrived in Valone, embezzlement had run rampant amongst the administrators in charge of the empire's treasury and abuses of power were becoming standard by up jumped bureaucrats. Wealthier than ever before, emperor's had been decedent going back centuries, and many of the Virginians had lived lives of absolute luxury at the state's expense. But it was not until the arrival of the gold from Sunar and the tremendous wealth it brought with it, that the behavior of emperor's became truly despised by the populace of the empire. Rumors of wild orgies, and depraved feasts in the Imperial palace were common at the time, as hundreds of the empire's elite, flocked to the palace for nightly parties at the state's expense. These acts of celebration, in the emperor's name, were viewed as extravagant wastes of money by many within the empire, and amongst the more pious who took to Marian's teachings, the parties were seen as a vile corruption, for its celebration of a pagan emperor. Calothagian it must be mentioned, was also a very strange figure. Publicly, he tried to present himself as a fervent polytheist, and zealot, and acted as honestly saw himself as such; but in private, failed to live so temperate a lifestyle. Parties, and wild celebrations were the norm after hours in the imperial palace, and the man more than likely had a serious drinking problem, that ruined his dream of a pious legacy. Embracing the most decedent aspects of the late Virginian emperors, Calothagian's legacy today is a tarnished one, beaten only in its failure by that of Comador, and perhaps his successor, and son, Tiberius II.
More than any of issue yet mentioned though, it was likely envy that drove most to despise the last Virginian emperors, who were distant and often uncaring. The emperors had stolen the greatness of the Sunarian campaign for themselves, and the people and legions, were experiencing the good fortune, for no other reason than the greed of Calothagian II. Amongst the legion's the wealth of the emperors was especially troublesome. Many had fought and bled in foreign lands, or even Sunar itself, shipping the gold back to Valone, and now as they were denied their ensured bonus, the emperor lived a life of luxury. Because of these various reasons, many in both the military and civilian body, took Marian's new faith serious and were some of the first to join his cult when the man began preaching in 711 SD. But as the economic crisis grew worse and worse, and the economy teetered on the edge of collapse, more and more of empire's populous began to convert until Marian's voice could not be ignored, even by the emperor.
The Cult of Marian was not the only religion like it clamoring for change during these dark times, but it was one of the more radical faiths rising during the period. Few had the audacity to challenge the emperor's legitimacy directly, and many had met their end attempting do just that. As the Cult of Marian spread across the cities of the empire, it was not long before even the emperor heard of the robed priests calling for his abdication on street corners; and so, in 714, Marian and many of his disciples were labeled outlaws, and arrested for speaking out against the empire. At this point one must recall, absolutism was still the norm amongst Valoni, and the men and women who preached Marion's words had no rights against the decisions of the emperor. He could if he deemed it vital to the stability of the state, of had them executed without trial, or any charges being laid out against them. This would be entirely legal within the Valoni state, but realistically, was not how absolute rule functioned in the empire. The emperor, was as mentioned under the section on Pontian III's reforms, held to some accountability if he did not want to be overthrown. In this case, despite his desire to simply execute Marian and his acolytes, and end the situation. The emperor lacked the good will of the people to do so. This was because, him and his predecessors, had made enemies amongst the populace who would not stand for such behavior again. Labeling it religious persecution, dozens of other minor cults and faiths, had had enough, and rallied in defense of Marian and his cult, not recognizing in it the inherent danger it posed to all of them.
Marian did after all, refute the worship of any ideology but his own, followers of other beliefs were pagans, and as such spreaders of corruption. They were in his mind, no different from Calothagian himself, an unremorseful pagan, worthy of the choice of either conversion and abdication or death. Most vocal supporters of Marian, were like him, radicals, or else, were followers of strange faiths from foreign lands, or small irrelevant cults, who did not have much of a power base within the empire. The real power behind these though, were the more sizeable, and moderate faiths in the empire. Older and with more members, they while more reluctant to speak out again Calothagian, none the less did in a more careful manner. Their reasons for such, were fears of their own religious persecution should Marian and the other radicals be silenced. These fears were not altogether unfounded. Up until now, Calothagian had been a far more pious ruler than his uncle; and many of the wiser religious minorities recognized the zeal and hatred he possessed for them, and their foreign religions. For the moment, he tolerated them, but few were foolish enough to think such a state would last forever. Subsequently mobs arose across the empire, to protest the arrests, and demand the release of Marian and the freedom for themselves to worship whatever faith they wished. As these calls went unheard though, and Marian remained in an Imperial prison, protests turned into riots. Calothagian would have likely sent in the legions to quell the riots, and ruthlessly use such an event to begin a crackdown on religious rivals, if it were not for further instability at the time. Rumors had been circulating for months about a potential coup by the Imperial military, and its commanders. While these were likely just rumors, and not based on any conspiracy amongst the generals, the emperor did not know this at the time, and so sending in legionnaires to put down Valoni citizens, was a very risky operation. It was just as likely, that the soldiers would obey their orders, as join the mobs against the emperor, a turn of events that would mean civil war in the empire. Because of this, Calothagian, was left with choice in the matter, but to release Marian and his followers, or face an empire wide escalation that could easily spill over into revolt.
Over the next few years, the publicity Marian had gained from his arrest only furthered the growth of the Cult. By 716 he had relocated to Valone where his sermons were attended by hundreds daily. Emperor Calothagian, had failed to stop the radical prophet, and respect for him afterwards, even amongst followers of the Valo-Calomanci faith, was heavily diminished. Despite this though, he did not give up entirely. Instead, numerous religious festivals were organized in celebration of the gods, at the state's expense, in an effort to reinforce Valo-Calomanci polytheism. These did little to quell the numbers of people listening to Marian though, and were most effective at enraging the Marianites, who despised the public practice of the pagan deities and only grew more radical. Emperor Calothagian would die in 718, and his son would prove an even less capable opponent of Marian. Young and inexperienced, the new emperor, Tiberius III largely ignored the threat Marian posed, and left the man alone for the next few years as he spent a small fortune touring his empire. This proved a catastrophic mistake, at least for Tiberius, as in that time Marian not only converted more and more citizens to his growing cult, but even began to build influence amongst the Imperial bureaucracy as more and more of their number recognized the benefits of joining the Cult. These "benefits" were in large part unofficial effects of Marian's preaching. Labeling pagans as sources of corruption, followers began to not want to associate with those who disagreed with their beliefs, and as they grew in number, and as the economy remained poor, this became a major issue for pagans within the Imperial bureaucracy. As such, men in government who joined the cult, gained much, whereas those who refused, were regularly denied services by cult members, alongside becoming the targets of harassment. There was also little oversight with the emperor gone. Advisors left to manage in his absence, lacked the authority to enforce the religion of the empire on their underlings and as more and more converted out of self interest, the emperor's power base in the capital began to dissolve. The army too had rapidly fallen into Marian's camp, as legionnaires joined the Cult, viewing the emperor as weak, and both responsible and unable to solve the economic crisis. The fact that he was gone on a empire wide tour, only furthered their idea that corruption had taken root in the highest seat of power in the empire. Another factor that helped spread Marian's teachings, was that the Imperial legions, operated for set term of 8 years, before being guaranteed, a 1 year posting in Valona. Because of this numerous legions, passed into the epicenter of where Marian and his followers operated, for enough time to take in the new faith, and embrace it, before being sent to some distant corner of the empire, where they in turn began to spread it.
As a result of all this, a coup by the legions around the capitol, occurred during the closing days of Tiberius' tour. Removing their commanders, who had largely remained faithful to the old ways. When he finally arrived at the Imperial palace, Tiberius was arrested before he could even set foot inside the building. Finding few allies amongst the Imperial administration, who had largely been pressured into joining the cult, Tiberius was left with little choice when his own legions demanded he abdicate.
Following his abdication the young emperor was quietly tucked away, before disappearing from the sources a few years later. Immediately after the abdication, however, the legions invited Marian to the palace, where he and his Templari, were invited to promote a new emperor to imperial position. Selecting one of the ringleaders of the coup as their candidate, Marian crowned a young officer by the name of Jumentes as the new emperor. This would be an act immedialty condemned by numerous relatives of Tiberius, and of the Virginian dynasty as whole, who convened in Tescili to promote another to the rank of emperor and to retake, the capital of Valone which was now clearly under the authority of a rebel faction. The chosen candidate would be the younger brother of the late Emperor Calothagian, Tallicus I. Just as zealous if not more than his brother, Tallicus was an ideal candidate to combat the fanatic rebels. Having served as a commander during the Sunarian campaign, he was both well traveled and experienced in warfare, and such appeared the best hope of restoring order. Calling up every legion who could be trusted, Tallicus immediately provided the bonus his predecessors has been refusing, and gathered his army to crush the uprising, not waiting to be coroneted before beginning the Marian War.

The Marian War

The Marian War would be the largest civil war in Imperial history. As legions fought against legions, the empire tore itself apart at the seems over who was the rightful emperor, Tallicus I, or Jumentes I. Both could call upon a massive number of legions to wage war, and either one possessed a fairly stable power base. Jumentes in the heartland of Valone, thanks in no small part to Marian's support; and Calomancia in the case of Tallicus, which had very Marianite inhabitants at the time. The first major battle would occur in the foothills between the two territories, near Skirna, but in time and as legions rallied to either side, the conflict spilled over into every part of the empire. Even Sunar, which was largely peaceful during the war, had small skirmishes during the opening stages, before Imperial forces were able to overwhelm their Marianite rivals and restore Imperial power.
Longer than any war in Valoni or world history, the Marian War was a gigantic conflict, that lasted for twenty six years and outlasted both the emperors who began it. The first to die would be Jumentes, who perished in battle against Tallicus' forces outside the walls of Valone in 724. Following him another Marianite commander would be promoted to the position of emperor by Marian, who had in reality, largely taken the title himself. These soldier emperors of the Marianite revolt, were in truth little more than supreme commanders of the military for war. Marian was the emperor in all but name, and remained in Valone to manage the territory under his follower's control during the conflict. Despite his death outside Valone, Jumentes' demise would not be the end of the conflict, and the casualties sustained proved enough to drive Tallicus out of Valona for the next few years. When he next arrived at Valone, a few years later at the head of a replenished army, Tallicus would meet his own death attempting to take the city's new, fortified walls. His adult son, Baricles III would succeed him, and rule as emperor until the final years of the conflict. The successor to Jumentes, who is in large part irrelevant, would also die around this time, being replaced once more by a puppet general of Marian, who would out live the Marian War.
The war would in large part be decided by the early 730s, as the Marianite forces repeatedly defeated the Imperial legions attempting to recapture Valone. The economic power house of Valona, was quite simply to much for the Calomanci cities to compete with. Their armies were larger, and more fanatical, devoted through religion to destroying their enemies. The fact that the Imperial treasury, and the Sunarian gold reserve, had also fallen into Marians's hands was an even larger factor though. Marian used the wealth, to provide the bonuses the emperor's had failed to grant. This bought the loyalty of even the more skeptical of legionnaires, who only loosely followed his teachings, and had sided with his Cult, out of a dislike of the emperor, and not true purity. These, false converts as he viewed them, would be dealt with ruthlessly once the conflict ended, but for the time being, served their purpose. He also used a large portion of the Sunarian gold, to massively expand the walls of the capital. Starting after Tallicus' withdrawal from Valone in 724, the new walls, would encompass the entire populous of the city, and took four years to reach full completion, just in time for Tallicus to return and die attempting to over come them. The old wall in addition, was rebuilt and improved upon, to create an inner district of the city, and protect the seat of imperial power, in the core of capital.
In comparison, the Imperial faction had suffered financing problems from the start. Tescili lacked the treasury of the empire, and once turned into the provisional capital for the war, relied almost entirely on foreign trade for its income. Tallicus' bonus payment at the start of the conflict, while necessary to garner support in the legions, had none the less emptied the private pockets of the Virginian elite, and now, as the conflict was nearing its end, the wealth of the exiled imperial family, was almost gone. Once their payments stopped by around 739, desertion quickly left many of the legions undermanned and under supplied. Despite this, the Marian forces hung on until 746, before defeat after defeat, left them scattered, and powerless. Marian would launch a major invasion of the Calomanci region in 741, and from then on the Marianite forces slowly, but steadily conquered every city in their path. When Emperor Baricles III and his son, the heir apparent, perished after being trapped in the siege of Pelossium, word did not reach his relatives in Tescili until several months had passed, at which point internal bickering and dynastic feuds left them unable to promote a successor.
Officially there would be no peace conference to mark the end of the war. Tescili fell, and the Virginian dynasty came to and end. The few family members who did not go into self exile and remained in the city, either converted to the Cult, or refused, and were put to death alongside thousands of like minded pagans. The dynasty would never recover, and those of the blood line who survived, would fade from the public record, their history coming to a slow but bloody end.

Rule of the Templari and the Council of Navido

With their enemies defeated, Marian and the Templari gained what was essentially, absolute power within the empire. Remaining Imperial legions, fought on in isolated pockets, but within a matter of months, most had surrendered in the insurmountable face of defeat. Major purges followed soon after, as enemies and allies during the civil war were put to death. Thousands, from both the new Imperial military and administration, found themselves on Marian's hit list, and were quickly rounded up and placed on the chopping block for their impurity during the civil war. Most of these were the men, who joined the cult either out of personnel gain or were the legionnaires who sided with Marian only after he provided them with a share of the Sunarian gold. Legionnaires, and bureaucrats who had fought for the Virginians were also killed on masse, and many met their end, hunted like animals in the hills of Calomancia by roving packs of Marianite fanatics. Identified for their decedent lifestyles, the wealthy men of the empire, were also targeted by the Cult, for little more than the fact that they possessed wealth. Deemed spreaders of corruption they were arrested, and their property seized by the theocratic state. Most of these men and their families, met their end under Marian's order, put to death to make way for a new imperial elite, who's loyalty was to faith, first and foremost.
Minority religions were to no one's surprise, targeted worst off all. Open worship of pagan faiths had already disappeared in the closing years of the war, as many recognized the dark times ahead for their faiths. The majority, fled to the far provinces of the empire. Sunar and Tantum Valona, especially, became havens were in a few decades, public worship of pagan faiths once again reemerged. The elite of these places, governors, and garrison commanders, largely kept to the old Valo-Calomanci practices of their for fathers; and boldly ignored the demands and policy of the capital; embracing autonomy, but also continuing to provide taxation and "official" fealty to the emperor, while in reality, becoming a sort of protectorate rather than province. Marianite legionnaires in these regions would prove a serious issue, but the formation of provincial militias in 749 SD, and eventually the exile of Imperial garrisons in 811, ensured that Marian and the Imperial state in Valone, had to begrudgingly accept the growing autonomy of Valone's overseas territories, or begin another civil war. Other religious minorities, went underground, publicly worshiping as a Marianite, while in secret, keeping their old beliefs private. There were exceptions to these though. Some, zealously refused to give up their beliefs, and were like all other corruptions, purged from the earth. The old believers in Valo-Calomanci polytheism, faced lighter persecution. Still numerous in 746, when the civil war ended, most had fled for the colonies or begun practicing their faith in secret like many of the minorities. Marian, wisely recognized the threat they could be if they rose and did not immediately undergo a genocidal policy against them. Rather he decided that when his new empire stabilized and the corrupt religious minorities were gone, the Valo-Calomanci polytheists, would be given an ultimatum like all others, convert or be hunted like rats, and sentenced to die for their corruption. This unique policy for the old religious majority, did nothing to protect their religious freedom though. Their temples were torn down, and their religious festivals brought to an end. Public worship of the old gods, would result in death, but unlike all others, private worship was not investigated. The horrific ultimatum, Marian intended to present to the pagans, was never issued. He would die 751, and the empire was likely better for it, having avoided what would have likely erupted into a second large-scale civil war.
Persecuting and purging were not the only changes to come from the Marianite victory in the civil war. Prior to it, Marian had long preached of pure emperors, and demanded the power be given to him and his Templari to ensure just such an aspect was present. Now with absolute power, he brought this dream to fruition officially. For the next one hundred and fifty years or so, emperors, came and went at the discretion of the Templari. Dynasties, ceased to be a factor in succession, as consecutive emperors were rarely related by blood, and frequently came from the ranks of the new, religiously pure, Imperial legion. These were usually fanatics, more than willing to cede power to their beloved Prophet, and after his death, his successors, the Templari. Short reigns would be the hallmark of the first few emperors, with over forty ruling before the close of the century, this would not be an issue, however, as the post had become largely symbolic, true power resided in the Templari for much of the era. During this long period of religious authority in the empire, the administrative bureaucracy, was gradually altered as well. Within only a few years after the end of the civil war, most positions were held by priests, or at the very least, fanatics, who were easily guided by the Templari. A period of theocratic rule would emerge for the next century, as the empire plunged into a new pure age.
Economically, the empire never recovered as many had hoped. Religious rule did nothing to improve the economy, and after decades of war and an entire generation coming and going in economic poverty, the state normalized until the crisis was no longer a crisis but the norm. Overall, the bulk of the empire's citizens were poorer than they ever had been under the Virginian dynasty, but at the same time many, who had legitimately converted, were perfectly fine with this fact. The Templari wisely presented wealth as a bringer of corruption and so amongst many of the faithful, poverty and the suffering it brought, ensured their purity. The majority of citizens, however, had converted out of social pressure, and the inability of the Templari to restore prosperity had left many wavering in faith. For this reason, the purifying revolution that Marian had dreamt off never came. Impoverished and miserable, most citizens took pleasure where ever they could find it and as such, corruption remained strong, even as the priests did everything in their power to stamp it out. Despite the apparent failure of the new government, anger towards them was uncommon. Most citizens were exhausted by years of war, and were willing to put up with far more than the previous generation had under the Virginians. Many no doubt also recognized the sword kept silently at their throats, ready to slice should an attempt be made to undermine the holy authority of the Prophet, and the Templari.
Marian, died expectantly not long after the end of the Marian War, in 751 SD. No single Templari priest would take his place in the immediate aftershock of his death, and instead the Templari agreed to rule as an oligarchy. At this point, its likely a good idea to expand on what exactly the Templari was. Organized in the early days of Marian's preaching, the Templari were the first priests of his new faith. As the number of priests expanded, however, their Templari slowly increased, until by the Prophets death, the group was comprised of just over a hundred priests. This number did not include all the Marianite priests, but made up the most prominent. Most were high priests, operating as religious leaders in their native cities across the empire, others were favorites, of Marian, who had risen thanks in large part to their loyalty and zeal. Collectively the entire body of the Marianite priests, was known simply as the clergy. Following his death, the Templari gained real power over the clergy, acting as the decision making power house behind the their religion and the imperial state. Emperors, gained a small degree more power, in the wake of Marian's death, but by and large, remained firmly subordinate to the priestly this council. The system would work for the next few decades or so, but as the religion stagnated, and infighting between the various priests of the Cult grew more prevalent, the debate over religious reform became an issue of tremendous importance, to the empire as a whole.
The controversy concerned two proposed changes to the faith. Both of which really require, a better understanding of purity than has yet been looked at in this text. To begin, purity, at its simplest, was an aspect of one's soul, and was the ultimate goal of all beings. But the world was an inherently corrupt place, and as such, over time corrupted one's souls no matter how one lived. For this reason repentance was viewed by the faithful as necessary for everyone; as even the kindest and most pure of heart, were ultimately corrupted by the mere fact that they existed in an impure world. Repentance here, means simply any form of suffering meant to amend for one's corruption. Prayer for example, in it the sacrifice of one's time, was a form of repentance that made one purer for the act. Other forms included financial donation to one's local temple, the suffering being the loss of an easier life from wealth. There were of course dozens of other forms of repentance, some of the more radical being, self harm in the form of flagellation or even martyrdom. In any case, upon one's death the balance of their soul would be judged, before they faded from any relevant plane of existence. The incentive to act pure, as discussed in an earlier section, relied heavily, on the Valoni view of one's ties to family and society. A pure soul, could rest easy, knowing they had done its part to prevent the catastrophe, whereas the corrupt, would fade knowing they had failed to protect everyone they had known in life. With this out of the way, the first major idea of reform, was the concept of elaborating on this rather simplistic look at the afterlife.
The new life after death, as reformists eventually agreed, was one of eternal bliss and an escape from the permanency of the corrupted world. Everyone, regardless of the balance of their soul, was promised eventual pleasure and bliss for eternity, the factor that encouraged purity though, was a period of waiting, in which one's scale would slowly grow purer. Purgatory, as they called it, was in this sense a perfectly balanced plane of existence, in which one's soul would over gradually recover from the corruptions of the mortal world, albeit at a very slow rate. As such, a soul deemed corrupt would have to wait as a form of atonement, in a state of nothingness, before being granted access to the eternal bliss of the afterlife. This period of waiting, varied greatly dependent on how the scales found one's life to be balanced. The pure might only have to wait a few seconds, but the corrupt could be dammed to wait a millennia or longer atoning in the mindless, and nothingness of purgatory.
In Marian's eyes, such a matter as what came after death, was trivial and beyond even his knowledge. The priority of his ideas, was instead the salvation of the mortal world, and the prevention of a great catastrophe. Potential converts had been understandably reluctant to accept the idea that they would eventually die, before fading into nothingness. But, joined out of a desire for social change and the charisma of the Prophet. Others, took to the faith out of simple social pressure, joining because their family, friends or neighbors had, and not out of a spiritual embracement of Marian's teachings. In either case, purity, and zeal slowly faded, amongst the worshipers, who in poverty, struggled to just get by. Pleasure, where ever it could be found, was a welcome distraction when one faced a miserable life, followed by next to nothing, but a pat on the back. Consequently, true purity of the body and mind, was rarely found in any but the most zeal of believers. What's more is that in the years after the Prophets death, countless pagans still lived within the borders of the empire. While they practiced in secret, and their individual identity remained a mystery, their existence as a whole, was not unknown to the Templari. Converting these non believers, was a true priority, now that the drive for genocidal purges had lessened with the loss of Marian. Many within the Templari, recognized theses issue and realized something needed to be done if the catastrophe was to be prevented. There was, as always, a minority, who embraced the most radical of Marian's teachings, and insisted a great purge was the way forward. The unfaithful and the heathens amongst them, should be purged without remorse, as the fanatics argued. Most of the Templari, had however, grown more moderate in time, and recognized the impracticality in beginning a new war against so many. It would come from the most innovative of these moderates, that the idea of an afterlife would be proposed; but simply imposing it as new religious dogma was not so easy. Opponents arose even from the moderates, who viewed altering the Prophets teachings as outright blasphemy. Radicals, labeled the reformists heretics, and viewed them and their ideas worse than even pagans, for their betrayal of the doctrine. Reformists, countered this by arguing that the means justified the ends. Winning over the unfaithful, would provide far more purity, than the act of altering Marian's doctrine, whereas in their mind, doing nothing would condemn the faith and its mission to failure. The two sides were at an impasse, unable and unwilling to comply or even compromise with other's argument. Thus, mob violence, spurred on by priests on either side of the debate, would erupt in cities across the empire. The Templari was unable to come to a unanimous decision on the idea and manage the priests, for it too was split fervently down the middle over the concept of a life after death.
The second issue, that had existed ever since Marian's death, concerned the leadership of the faith. The decision to implement an oligarchic rule, had not been made simply or unanimously, and many from both the public, and clergy, still believed singular leadership in an individual was needed to decide religious doctrine. Debates like that over the afterlife, reinforced this idea amongst both sides that a single decision maker was needed, to decide once and for all on all matters of faith.
The decision of single or council rule over the faith, would ultimately be decided, by both sides at the Council of Navido in 771 SD. There priests from across the empire gathered, as the Templari voted to decide the future of the faith. Of the men voting, each agreed to respect the sanctity of the referendum, this would require, by religious law, that whatever the outcome, the Templari would accept the changes voted forth, and settle the issue conclusively. Furthermore, while it was not the purpose of the Council, to decide matters of reform, the decision would none the less be decided there. As it was common knowledge that if council rule was maintained, the radicals would have the power to forever stall any alteration of the original teachings of Marian. But, if council rule were abandoned, a second vote electing one of the Templari to head the faith, would occur, whomever elected then would have the power to decide then and there on the policy of the faith forever after. After several days of bickering and religious politics, the vote came and went, and council rule was brought to an end as Lucanus I, was promoted to the newly formed title of Purissidos.
Lucanus I, would win by a narrow margin, and bring about a new age of Marian's faith. Favoring reform, he would soon after announce new doctrine, establishing the creation of an afterlife. Several other reforms would follow soon after, as Lucanus abandoned the more brutal aspects of Marian's doctrine, most prominently the purges. Banned, along religious grounds, Lucanus used his sway over the emperor at the time, to make the action illegal, and enforceable by the Imperial legions. This was necessary, as many of his opponents were furious over his ascension, and in the case of the radicals, were calling for a new wave of purges to rid the faith of the unholy reformists. The emperor, and his legions, had agreed prior to the Council, to respect the vote of the Templari, and as such, respected the new authority instilled in Lucanus, for this reason, no purges were carried out even when numerous members of the Templari demanded they be undertaken to ensure purity. Violating their word, to respect the outcome, these priests lost much of their power in the weeks after Lucanus' rise. Proven to be liars, they were expelled from the faith, when even after their attempts to purge Lucanus failed, they continued to refuse his right to power. Rather than put them to death though, as Marian had his enemies, Lucanus, chose a path he himself believed to be the purest course, forgiveness. Despite this, most of the radicals, continued to denounce him at every opportunity, to who ever still listened to them. This would ultimately lead to their self imposed exile, as hundreds of priests and their follows within the empire, fled to the more remote region of Taborga, where they could maintain their authority, and enforce the original, true teachings of the Prophet outside the gaze of Lucanus, or his successors. Within the next century these fanatical, little communities would die out as the harsh climate and isolation, drove their descendants back into the Empire and the main Marian faith. These radicals though, were ultimately a minority. Most of the moderates, who had voted for other candidates than Lucanus, begrudgingly accepted his new authority, and put up only a minimum amount of resistance in the face of reforms. Within the next few years, these men had been overcome and most if not all were rendered irrelevant as the masses embraced the changes. The original plan behind implementing an afterlife, had worked, and many began to embrace purer lifestyles as crime rates went down, and more and more people, both pagan and Marianite, came forward hoping for salvation.
The new reforms, however, would have a far wider reaching impact than many had ever expected from them with the apointment of Lucanus. No longer unappealing for its lack of an afterlife, the faith found itself no longer trapped within the boundaries of the empire where it had power. Rejuvenated with religious zeal from the success of the reforms, missionaries, who in truth were simply travelling priests, would in time journey far into the west, bringing with them the new reformed teachings of Marian. There, they would find a small, but faithful number of listeners, from whom they would establish several fervent communities of true believers. These small isolated pockets of Marianites, would linger for centuries, before their presence and zeal began a religious awakening amongst the native Stornish. While it would not be overnight, the wild lands of the west, would in time embrace the glory and purity of the new Marian faith, expanding its influence until it was truly a world wide religion.