Official History of the Cennti Empire, 200 to 300 AU
Marcus the Eighth set his gaze on Yeshi, and worked to make it an official part of the Empire, of course the Obronians on the world were very against this idea. Marcus gave the private corporations a choice, either sell to the Cennti Empire, or be crushed, the Obronian Empire itself was not willing to risk another war for a world far on the outskirts of their own borders, even if it meant losing all that crystal mana, Yeshi is officially annexed by the Cennti Empire in 201 AU. Governing the outer worlds was not an easy thing to do, up until then laws were usually decided by the largest landowners, as long as they did not contradict Imperial policy. In 208, a coalition of senators, with the Emperor’s backing, launched the OuterWorld Initiative. Each world was given one representative for every 50,000 people, and these representatives would elect a world governor from among their ranks to rule over them, and an ambassador to represent them on Eot. At the time Gelgoreg had 7 million people(140), Aitov had 3 million(60), Dorthargond had 2.5 million(50), and Yeshi had 600,000(12). This allowed for a more centralized system of government, giving the Emperor more power over the outer worlds. In 225, Marcus the 8th announced the OuterWorld Naval Initiative and the OuterWorld Army Initiative. Every world would have a fleet of ships proportionate to the population and strategic importance of that world, and would be required to raise regiments to fight in all of the Empire’s wars. In 234, a complex series of cave systems are discovered on the world of Briathone. On the surface Briathone is a barren world, it lacks any form of life, not even having an atmosphere, so it had been ignored. Many thought the same of Yeshi, and it turned out to have priceless resources, so a few prospectors decided to explore Briathone more thoroughly, just to make sure there was truly nothing there. Beneath the surface, the prospectors discovered a series of interconnected caves, all looking like they had been carved out by some great worm. Deep enough beneath the surface, there was air, strange moss, and even small animal life! Among this metals such as iron and gold could be found, not much, but enough to attract people wishing to stake their claim, and have land of their own. Mining operations sprout up beneath the surface, and little towns begin to fill up the tunnels. These caves went on for what seemed like forever, every day more and more of the tunnel system was mapped, yet it just seemed to keep on going. Many miners and prospectors would go deep in the tunnels, far away from any of the settlements, making a proper census impossible. Marcus the Eighth dies in 240 AU, and his son his crowned Marcus the Ninth.
Marcus the Ninth is not a very memorable ruler, he conquered no worlds, he did not bring more power to the position of Emperor, he is considered one of the weaker rulers in the Empire’s history. During his reign Briathone remained independent, yet its population continued to grow. Settlements filled the tunnels, and mines sprouted up deeper and deeper beneath the world’s surface. Pirates and raiders were common on Briathone, being outside of Imperial jurisdiction gave them a lot more freedom to pillage the mining towns. In 254, the town of Greyton was burnt to the ground, all of its people slaughtered or sold into slavery, in response to this many towns banded together into a defensive alliance, with each town having a representative on the alliance’s council, this came to be known as the Briathone Broker, and laid the groundwork for a unified government. By 261, the Broker began discussing the ability to pass laws that would apply to all members. When Marcus the 9th died in 266, a few people were even designing a flag for the Broker.
Marcus the Tenth saw his father for the weak man he was, and knew that many in the court believed him to be the same way. In order to assert his authority, he began setting in motion plans for the annexation of Briathone, when the people of Briathone refused, he sent a couple battalions to make them see the error of their ways. The troops marched right into Burrow, the largest city on Briathone with a population of 100,000. When the troops attempted to depose the town’s mayor, things became violent. Vastly outnumbered, the battalions were forced to retreat back to the surface. Many of these people came to Briathone to escape Imperial rule, and were unwilling to be forced back into it. In 267, the Briathone Broker meets in Burrow, and forms the Confederacy of Briathone Settlements (CBS), their flag is of a sword and pickaxe crossing, surrounded by a ring of stars representing the towns and cities in the Confederacy. Knowing that the Empire would come back in greater numbers, the Confederacy turned to the Obronians for support, which they happily provided. The Obronians desired the precious metals Briathone had, and wished to make the Confederacy a client state of theirs. The Cennti invasion of Briathone was separated into three military expeditions, the first was launched in late 267, the Cennti generals believed that if they took the larger settlements like Burrow and Sandtrot, the Confederates would simply surrender. Cennti forces, after a couple months of tunnel warfare, were able to take the larger cities, and the Confederates simply slipped deeper into the tunnels. They knew these tunnels, the Cennti didn’t, so they could hide for months if not years before the Cennti could find them. With covert supply drops from the Obronians, the Confederates were able to wage a guerilla war for several years, while the towns deeper underground remained secure. In 272, the Cennti threatened war with the Obronians, and strong armed them into ending their supply drops to the Confederacy. During this time the Cennti, through Confederate turncoats and their own personal experience, had most of the tunnels mapped out. A second military expedition is launched that year, and several major towns are taken before the Confederates start collapsing tunnels. Cennti forces do not advance into the tunnels for the next few years, instead occupying captured territory, ensuring it is rebuilt and sending metals to the homeworlds. A final expedition is launched in 278, upon reaching a certain depth, the troops were to collapse the tunnels, and trap the remaining Confederates below, left to starve and suffocate. Marcus the 10th declared the war a victory, and Briathone was officially annexed in 279 AU. It is said that there are still Confederates down there, up until the present day, centuries worth of generations who have never seen the light of a star, or even the sky. Countless works of fiction have been written about Confederate mole people, rising from the darkness and kidnapping people. Marcus the 10th had proven himself to be a strong and uncompromising ruler, and he spent the next decade gathering allies. In 289, the Emperor passed a decree, allowing Goliaths to gain Cennti citizenship in exchange for military service, another decree was passed in 291, extending the same offer to Obronians on Yeshi. This decree was vetoed by the World Congresses of the Empire, Marcus the Tenth would die in 294 AU.
Marcus the Eleventh was the new emperor, and one of his first orders of business was to send out exploration missions to nearby worlds. In 298, the first Imperial outpost is established on Himlothland, a rugged world of rocks and oceans absolutely covered in moss. While there already were small settlements on the world, these were mostly quiet backwaters and pirate hideouts.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments