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History of Eraphalia: 1797-1900

#1

The Lord
An Account of Duke William Charleston in July 27th, 1797


A man dressed in fine clothes tapped an ink pen on a blank sheet of paper as he rubbed his forehead. The flickering flames of the candle nearby illuminated his face, outlining the elderly structure and the sweat that clung to him. The eyes flickered there and there as the elderly man began to write in smooth yet hurried motions. At times the man’s face will scrunch up, as if holding back the tears and pains that were within him, eating way at his soul.

The calligraphic skills of the man were not to be ashamed of, capable of being considered legendary. That was natural of the man considering his status and position in the Eraphalian Empire. As time passed, as the ticking of the clock denoted each passing sentence, the letter formed a sorrowful message:


Quote:Dear Lilicia,

I’m afraid I will not be able to attend your eighteen-birthday tomorrow due to unfortunate accidents that are occurring in the capital right now. There seems to be disturbances that must be taken care of and I’m rather vexed right now with the conditions of the educated class that shadow us. I do know this isn’t the letter you were expecting or even want from your father today, but be warned.

There are forces in the empire lurking in the darkness. I know what they are but I don’t think I can write down who they are but do tell your mother and your brothers about this issue. I’ve arranged means of transportation for you both to retreat to the northwest part of the empire towards the far provinces. The lords of the place have been informed of this and they will be welcoming of you all.

I do not expect to be alive for very long. I’m sorry Lilicia.

Sincerely,

Your father, Duke William Charleston.


Finished the letter, the duke hurried and sealed the letter with a simple stamp. Confirming the integrity of the seal, he stood up and began making his way towards the exit. With the letter in hand. There was little time, he could feel it. Opening the door, the duke handed the letter to a young soldier who he smiled sadly at. He could trust the young boy with the mission, especially considering the history that the duke knew about him. However, the duke at the same time also felt sorrow for sending the boy out to do satisfy his own selfish desire as he knew the consequences that will be inflicted upon the young soldier once the educated class got a wind of the letter.

Continuing his walk down the hallways, the duke admired the fine architecture of the mansion of Prince Henry. The culture of Ancient Eraphalia is perfectly captured here with many exquisite items, paintings, and sculptures. Prince Henry’s Estate was one of the few bastions of the aristocracy nowadays and everyone in the upper classes knew it for a fact. Every soldier posted here were meticulously screened and only the most loyal were posted here. It took the combined waning power of the nobility to gather a force here.

It’ll be foolish to say that it was done in secrecy. They knew already of this and still allowed such a force to gather, that is an indication of what power they possessed in their hands. The educated class is a dangerous one and not even the emperor himself can do anything against them. A puppet on a throne commanding a decayed nobility. It is a far-cry of the ancient nobility that ruled with an iron fist.

Turning another corner, the duke examined his clothing before continuing onwards. Exiting the mansion, the duke stopped along the large staircase and admired the grand garden before him. His elderly eyes moved towards the large posts of guards and the single carriage that was waiting for him. A hundred years ago, every noble would have the same as Prince Henry but nowadays, only the upper ranks of the nobility can even dream of affording such a mansion and force. The princes of back then would possess large estates that would stretch for miles on end with towns under their control, nowadays they only control small meager farms and villages. The only thing stopping them from decaying into poverty were the generous donations from the Royal Family.

“Sir,” a young maid’s voice broke the duke’s concentration, “my apologies for disturbing you, but your carriage is ready. Prince Henry is waiting for you sir; he says that it is rather urgent.”

Duke Charleston nodded his head faintly as he waved the maid off as he returned his attention to the gardens. With a final smile, the duke descended down the grand stairs and approached the carriage. Nodding at the carriage hand, the duke boarded the carriage and reclined himself against the fine leather. It wasn’t long before the carriage started to move and the duke to close his eyes. In his hands was the glinting of black metal with the outlines of a barrel visible.

The man sitting in the carriage with him turned his head towards the gun before nodding his head, “Smart move Duke Charleston, bravo. It appears we are aligned with our thoughts that they will… ambush us during this trip. My apologies for hastening your death but we had to leave the estate. You and I know of the strangling hold of the educated class. Right now, as we speak…”

“They are scrambling towards us, encircling us like a pack of wolves around a prey,” Duke Charleston finished the prince’s sentence as he stared out the window of the carriage. It was summer right now for Eraphalia. The lushness of the world invited him, to enjoy the moment, but he knew what really laid out there. Everyone knows what summer is to the Eraphalian Nobility. It is a very symbolic thing, a vital part of what makes an Eraphalian noble a noble.

“Documents of Wealth,” Prince Henry mused, noting the duke’s admiration of summer, “signed by the first Eraphalian emperor during a summer in the past. It is where the first Eraphalian nobles began their presence in the world and amongst their fellow people. If it isn’t this summer, it’ll be the next most definitely.”

“No,” Duke Charleston brushed his thumb across the revolver’s barrel, “it’ll be during winter.”

“How?” Prince Henry pressed with a raised eyebrow, “Isn’t summer rather important for you nobles?”

The duke turned towards the prince before replying, “Winter represents end and the beginning of power to us nobles. It’ll be this winter that the end of the nobility will occur. It'll be a rather fitting end for us and a rather symbolic one, to end in winter. Prince Henry, you also know that will also be a rather symbolic end for the Royal Family as well. I'll give them an approval to allow us to die a symbolic death than to be strung up like dolls during summer to be paraded and devoured by animals."

The two didn't utter another word as the carriage moved forward towards Argena-Hersa.

#2

Blood of the Houses
Massacre at the Capital, October 15th, 1797


It was night as the first snow of winter fell upon the cobblestone roads of Argena-Hersa. Following the trickling of white petals were the cold soft winds that breezed through the many alleys and corners. On an average day, even one as cold as today, there would be people still out about. It is a tradition to greet the first of winter as a joy of a new year but this year is a differing story. Recent events have occurred, along with the mixtures of rumors, and people are frightened. Hiding themselves in the warm homes, they peered out into the dark streets to catch anything. Not even the pleasuring women are around, fearing for their lives.

When the bells of the local church sung the chorus of nine did things start to stir on the streets. There were many footsteps imprinting themselves on the soft layers of snow. The rhythmic beat, the marching sounds, all nodded towards soldiers. They wore different banners of allegiance that confused the citizens that were still awake and observing. There was not a single Imperial Eagle donned on their left arms. Where the proud colors of the empire once were, were the colors and the symbol of a different nation. Did Eraphalia surrender to a foreign nation? 

Some knew of the transpiring event. They knew who the soldiers served and they knew of the order that has wrapped itself around Eraphalia. The Technocrats as they like to title themselves. They are the real rulers of Eraphalia, unlike the misguided and naive nobility. As news slowly trickled through the cities as brave neighbors conversed with one-another, their mood only plummeted. The loyalty of the common people were still relatively loyal to the nobility. It was naturally considering the good fortunes that they have brought to them. However, loyalty is nothing but a declaration if none had the will to back it up. The few that did were placated by their families or driven back by the ruthlessness of the soldiers. Not a single riot took place as many hid themselves, unable to watch what was about to stain the history books of Eraphalia.

The first clue of what the new rulers wanted was the dragging of the living bodies of the House of Hickers. Through the snow in their sleeping attire, the struggling family of nobles were nailed to pre-assembled posts. Curiosity brought out the watchers in the snow, despite their beloved ones protest. The captain of the infantry watched as a small crowd of tired and confused citizens formed around the posts. Only ordering his men to keep back the observers, he waited for the trickles to build up. Then, after ten minutes of tension, the captain strolled towards the Head of the House, James Hickers. 

"Citizens," the captain tipped his hat towards the crowd, "tonight is the beginning of a new era in Eraphalia! One which bring prosperity to all of us. For long enough have we suffered under the misguidance of the nobles. It is time for the common men, for the free men, to take control of what is rightfully ours! As by orders of Director Richards, we hereby declare the execution of the nobles of Argena-Hersa as a demonstration of what is to come. We will begin with the House of Hickers and by tomorrow morning, not one single noble soul will live to see the sun. Citizens, here I begin by drawing first blood." 

Without waiting for the response of the terrified audience, the captain drew out his revolver before aiming it at James. The last thing that James saw was the grinning of the mad captain as he pulled the trigger. A burst of fire and not even a single second later, James' head impacted the wooden post. From there, the captain moved from one family member to the next with the audience only able to watch in stunned horror. By the time the captain was done, seven fresh bodies were displayed as their blood trickled downwards to greet the snow. 

"Now," the captain slowly reloaded his revolver, taking the time to observe each round, "you all will crawl back to your little dens and watch as old justice takes place. I warn you all that if you help the nobles, you are a traitor and you will be hang. Now," the captain  pointed his finger towards one of the corpses, "if you help us, you will be a hero. To repeat myself, you all have three choices: help, die, or run. What will it be?"

Carrying on from that, the execution of the nobles proceeded as the streets paved themselves in blood. By the time the first trickles of light greeted the sky, the sewers ran with blood. Along the streets were the corpses of the supporters of the nobles, the terrified innocent, the bastard helpers of the technocrats, and the villainous soldiers. Despite the large support of the citizens, the last noble died from four gunshot wounds. Carrying onwards as the sun rose to take its throne in the sky, the royal family were brutally beaten to death. As the night fell, several hundred citizens joined in the pile of corpses. 

October 15th wasn't even the last day of the massacre. A week later will the rest of the country join in on the bloodbath as citizens turned onto each other. 

Eraphalia plunged itself into civil war.

#3

Pillars of the Weak
Observation from Dr. Hamilton 1797-1798


Civil War is a misnomer in all honesty in regards to the conflict that occurred from October of 1797 to 1798. There was no real war that occurred; it was a one-sided slaughter. Common modern day movies, literature, comics, etc. like to portray that the good common people will win despite the odds. That is false. In war, there is no good or evil--even if you can debate whether or not the Old Technocrats of Eraphalia are villians. The conflict also showed to the world that even with popular support, a faction can still crumble.

The beginning move was from the technocrats with the slaughtering of Argena-Hersa nobles on October 15th, 1797. Captain Williams, a controversial war hero, started the beginning move by performing the chaotic slaughtering of innocent lives. From room to room, from house to house, to street to street, the captain eliminated the nobles and "cleansed" the streets of filth. By filth, what I mean is the slaughtering of noble supporters. From October 15th to the 16th, the death tolls racked themselves up. It is rather bloody in how Captain Williams managed to perform a large-scale blood cleanse. 

Following that in a week, the First Army commandeered by technocratic-general Ben Pillips made the first opening move towards the northern provinces. With skillful movements, the general managed to split the hastily-formed Noble Army into two and systematically tore them apart. Splitting his own army into two parts, the general focused his main group on the southern noble army with a small task force sent to delay the northern bulk. 

While General Phillips was unable to successfully defeat the northern part of the noble army, he landed a crucial opening blow against the Nobility. Even before the war began in full motion, the northern provinces were pushed into defensive tactics. The reason for the slow recovery of the northern provinces was due to the fact that the central provinces, controlled by the technocrats, held the vast majority of industry. Per weapon the north produced, the central provinces produced thirty. The disparity of industrial might became very apparent at the Battle of Sorviska where General Luck faced against Duke Corin. General Luck had, at his disposal, over forty-thousand soldiers while the duke only managed to form a small army of ten-thousand. Using the size of his army to his advantage, General Luck pressured Duke Corin into defensive positions. Unable to perform any significant action, the duke was forced to withdraw before he was surrounded. 

The loses at the Battle of Sorviska were light, but they were harsh against Duke Corin. This is the key part of the industrial disparity. While Duke Corin lost four-hundred men with the capture of another hundred, General Luck only lost sixty men. Why? Quality, weaponry, quantity, and size. General Luck's army were professionals while Duke Corin was a mixture of veterans and militias. Remember the 1:30 ratio? General Luck was equipped with the latest weaponry and each of his men had easy access to munition, supplies, and weapons. On the flip-side of this, Duke Corin was forced to equip his men with outdated weapons and several of them were also forced to use civilians tools and melee weaponry. 

Proceeding onwards from this, General Luck and General Phillips cooperated in the northern front against the ailing nobility. Using the industrial disparity, they forced the enemy forces to engage in heavy combat. It was attrition with one side having a sever advantage. By June 3rd, 1798, the nobles were grinded down to a single pitiful force of four-thousand against seventy-thousand soldiers. With obvious advantages come obvious conclusions. The technocrats had guns, the nobles only had pitchforks. Not even a single hour into the battle, the nobles were pushed into a corner and forced the hand. By the second hour, the northern provinces surrendered.

The southern front was different in regards to how the war proceeded. Unlike the north, the south actually had some industrial abilities, even limited. The ratio was more light being 1:4. Per one weapon and soldier the south produced, the central provinces produced four weapons and four soldiers. What the south lacked to even the fight were trained soldiers to fight. The Army of Eraphalia was firmly under the technocrats even before the war began. While the nobles had the navy on their side, it helped little in the ground battles that occurred.

Battle of Horst began in November 11th where General Yorck (Technocrat) squared off against General Hilsberg (Noble). Charged with bringing down the capital of Horst and gaining the initial momentum over the south, General Yorck moved to capture Horst before being intercepted by General Hilsberg, the only defecting general of the army. There the evenly-sized armies fought in combat. While General Hilsberg utilized his terrain and tactics more effectively than the younger General Yorck, he couldn't overcome the sever quality advantages his rival enjoyed. By the third hour of the battle, General Hilsberg was forced to retreat and allow Horst to fall under the technocrats. 

To argue why General Hilsberg retreated, we must analyze the quality issue. Even though General Hilsberg was the better commander, the lack of coordination in his army made any seizing of the moment impossible. This is opposite for General Yorck whose soldiers overcame the tactical troubles they experienced. This kind of situation played itself out as the war dragged on and by the mid of 1798, they became more evenly matched. Indeed, General Hilsberg managed to form up a formidable army by June 27th of 1798 that was able to score the only victory of the Civil War against the technocrats. Forcing General Yorck to retreat from his string of victories, General Hilsberg seemed to manage to bring fresh air to the nobles. 

However, the capitulation of the northern provinces brought pressing issues on the southern lords. While they have a trained army under their command with a second one being quickly rushed into battle, the technocrats freed their main two armies in the north. It didn't help hearing the stories of the northern lords being beaten and tortured before being executed as a result of their resistance. On August 13th, 1798, the southern nobles communed with the technocrat leaders in Argena-Hersa to debate a treaty. 

By August 20th, 1798, the short Civil War drew to a conclusion as the southern lords laid down their weapons. One may think that the southern nobles had to sacrifice their lives, but they were clear in discussing the terms. They knew that they couldn't force anything on the technocrats as their enemy held the cards, but they also knew that the technocrats would prefer to end the war soon as discontent began to mount. And so, they struck a deal which is summarized below:

The Southern Nobles will relinquish their titles.
The Southern Nobles will be guaranteed immunity from harm.
The Technocratic State will assure the nobles of monetary payment, enough to survive an upper-middle class life.
The Southern Nobles will use their influences to enforce peace on the southern provinces and force them to accept the technocrat's rule.
They will sacrifice their estates, with exceptions, to the state and vow to release their claims to said estates if they were sacrificed.
The Southern Armies will be disarmed and to be dissolved immediately.
The Eraphalian Navy will surrender arms and be under sever investigations.

Pretty good terms right? Indeed, the southern nobles were the only nobles except for the children and the several lucky families of the north to survive slaughter. To this day, you can still find the dissolved houses thriving in their upper-middle class lives. Turning back to the subject at hand, the Civil War lasted less than a year and the most the nobles ever did was drawing a victory and surviving long enough to deal a decent deal that protected the remaining nobles from death. 

There, in random chaos, you have the dumb summary of the Eraphalian Civil War. Is that all there is to it? No, definitely not. Please continue to read the accounts and observations from more coherent historians on how Eraphalia proceeded onwards towards the modern era and how the Civil War really proceeded. Even if the nobles were being slaughtered left and right, there are stories to tell.

#4

The Regime
Upon the bloodied throne they ruled.
Year: August 21st, 1798

There was a different feel in the air, in Eraphalia, that differed from the norms that the citizens used to enjoy or understand. Uncertainty now ruled the consciousness of the people as they attempted a normal life under a differing unknown government. Sitting in Argena-Hersa ruled the regime, the new power over all of Eraphalia. No longer were there nobles, the upper class, and no longer did people have to abide by the rule of law enforced in a specific region. Power under the central government never seen before. While yes, the Eraphalian Empire was very centralized, the nobles had enough influence to sway decisions and are able to impose laws on their own lands. Now, the government in the capital is absolute. 

The first change in Eraphalia was the flag naturally. Where the proud flag of Eraphalia once waved, now a differing unique flag take hold of symbolizing the empire. Or nation? It is rather difficult to discern whether or not they can still call Eraphalia an empire when it is ruled by the the now unveiled government. It did not help that the new rulers were of common blood... from the citizens themselves. Though they were still higher than them by the virtue of being rulers, but the point still stood. Several people took from this joy that even they can hold power. 

They, the Regime, imposed several new laws and reforms once the Civil War died down into quietness. Where the Regime stayed relatively quiet and to the norm during the war, now they took drastic actions. The first of these were the stripping of many surviving nobles of their titles and the using of their lands for public usage. The Regime immediately declared several mansions has "orphanages" and have allocated rather large sums of resources into these new housing areas. Unlike before where they were left relatively on their own, the Regime encouraged education and to bring the orphans a chance. The reason behind this is relatively unclear, though some can tell the signs. While the orphans were being educated, they were also taught of the Regime. It is not a stretch to say that the orphans knew the most of who the Regime is and what their purpose is. It didn't help that the strongest support came from the orphans who were quickly being educated beyond compared to others. 

Following that was the establishment of public schools limited to a few days a week. Like the orphans being taught of the Regime, the children did too that attended such schools. Out came bright children but from those same schools came devout followers. While the parents were concerned of this relative new development, none challenged the Regime in fear of being targeted. There has been rumors spreading around in the public of the darker side of the Regime and of how they made protesters disappear. 


The Military was also revised under the Regime, especially regards to the Eraphalian Navy. Seeking revenge from the humiliation of the navy's refusal to obey the Regime during the Civil War, many of its officers were sacked and some executed. The remaining were also exiled until nearly all of the Eraphalian Navy was stripped away except for skeletal officers. By the end of the year, the Eraphalian Navy no longer resembled the one during the imperial haydays and its future remained uncertained. However, in this turmoil of revenge, several officers made through unscathed and even promoted. The most notable one is Rear Admiral Joseph Orwell, the only higher-echelon naval officer that supported the Regime. Being the only admiral still serving the government, he was quickly promoted to Grand Admiral, filling the seat of the now-deceased Richard Timoth.

Compared to the Navy, the Army came out nearly unscathed except for the few that were sacked. What is notable is the few officers that were sacked, none were part of the upper echelon, an echelon that supported the Regime majorly. Even a blind man can see where the majority of the Regime draws its strength in terms of political power in. The Eraphalian Army as of the Regime has the greatest power in terms of whats capable. Though the threat of another change of government is unlikely, given that several key members of the Regime are also generals of the army itself. 

As the new century approaches, the Eraphalian nation moves forward into dark uncertain times. Under the helm of an untried new government, it is difficult to tell whether or not it will succeed or it will crumble into another civil war. Even after the civil war, new movements that will one day shape Eraphalia again are already growing in the shadows that the Regime once resided in. Though one thing is for certain, the nobility of Eraphalia has been shattered and it is unlikely without the help of a foreign nation that they will ever claim Eraphalia again as a dominant political power.




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