The Second Zekran - Ilania War

by Steldranuk

When the Treaty of Corinweld ended the 1st Zekran - Ilania War, this brought peace only to the enemies of the Zekresh Empire, not to the Empire itself. Emperor Ardimuk I signed the treaty because he was beseiged at Corinweld Castle and his army was cut off from the Empire by the rebellion of the Kikali tribes. The treaty allowed him to withdraw his army from Corinweld, but the retreat back to the Empire was a foray into hostile territory. Emperor Ardimuk's war-weary troops marched into Argan Iluva (South Fireland) to find it wholly in the hands of rebels and a powerful army of Kikali tribesmen arrayed against them. The leader of the rebels, a man named Ralan, offered the Emperor and his troops free passage out of Kikali lands on the promise that the Empire would never again try to rule them or Sishan.

The Emperor refused. Enraged, the Kikali rebel army attacked. The Emperor's army withdrew to positions centered on a hill known as Ardin Most ("Round Hill" in Kikalan) and the village of the same name beside it. Kikali forces outnumbered the Imperial troops at the Battle of Ardin Most and were stout of heart and desperate to win their freedom and avenge the wrongs suffered by their people under the Empire. But the Kikali men had not been allowed to follow their peoples' warrior traditions. Instead, they were learning anew the ways of battle and trying to relearn from elders the skills needed for battle.

The Emperor's soldiers were battle hardened by over five long years of war and had just come from fighting enemies far more deadly than the Kikali rebels. Ensconced on the high ground, the Emperor and his men repulsed every attack and the Kikali ferocity only worked against them as they continued to throw themselves against a strong defensive position. The Kikali rebels broke their strength and the next day, the Emperor struck back, driving the rebels before him and scattering them. Ralan narrowly escaped capture and went on to lead Kikali resistance for years to come, but the rebellion was thrown down by the Battle of Ardin Most and subsequent battle of Tarmat ee Taval in which Imperial forces retook the city of Tarmat ee Taval from the rebels and re-established Imperial rule over Argan Inuva. From the port city of Tarmat ee Taval, the Imperial troops were able to re-establish contact with the rest of the Empire with the assistance of the Imperial Navy. Reinforcements were soon pouring in and the Emperor began a ruthless campaign of crushing the rebellion and killing all who had been associated with it. He advaned from Argan Inuva to Argan Tros, then to Sishan.

At the Battle of Serat Trayakir in Sishan, the Emperor met a new enemy. Not only were there Kikali rebels who had fled there and Sishan rebels, there was also a small army that had marched there from Logoran. The army from Logoran consisted of some soldiers recruited from Logoran, but others had come from other parts of the Empire and even from Ilania. The Ilanians had, indeed, withdrawn their troops from Logoran as required by the Treaty of Corinweld, but they had left in their stead, the grandson of Alimuk the Pretender. Alimuk had fled to Nysarinda at the beginning of the reign of Tarno I, over half a century earlier. There, he had maintained his own Imperial court in exile for the rest of his life and his son had done the same. Alimuk the Pretender had taken the "reign name" of Yatyva IV, denying the legitimacy of all the Marivuk Dynasty Emperors including Yatyva IV - Yatyva IX. He denied also the legitimacy of all the Tarno Dynasty Emperors including Yatyva X. Thus, when Alimuk passed away, his son took the reign name of "Yatyva V". The Pretender Yatyva V was, by the time of the 1st Zekran - Ilania War, an old man, so his son, went to fight Ardimuk the Avenger. The son was also named Yatyva and called himself "Naltor Kervus Yatyva" (Crown Prince Yatyva).

For Crown Prince Yatyva, this seemed to be a chance to defeat Ardimuk and overthrow the Tarno Dynasty, putting his father on the throne and restoring, once and for all time, the original Iyatyva Dynasty to the throne of the Zekresh Empire. It was not to be. These high hopes did not make up for a smaller, less experienced army, demoralized allies and inferior tactics. Ardimuk's army easily defeated the army of Crown Prince Yatyva, the Sishan rebels and the remnant Kikali rebels who fought with them. Crown Prince Yatyva was captured and Ardimuk beheaded him with Ardimuk's own sword which was thence forth known as "Naltor Trivak" (Prince Killer).

With the Battle of Serat Trayakir, the rebellion in the South Peninsula was reduced from a dire threat to a chronic irritation. The Battle of Serat Trayakir took place in the 7th year of the reign of Emperor Ardimuk I. After that battle, Ardimuk appointed a new Gurikan for Sishan, marched into Logoran, scattered the remaining rebels there and appointed a Gurikan for it as if it had always been a Gurikanan (Captaincy) when in fact, it had been an Aylorkernan (Warlordship). But the Aylorkern ya Logoran was dead and all his family slain in the war and the subsequent rebellion so there was no one left to inherit the title anyway.

Ardimuk renamed Logoran as "Logoria" when he made it a Gurikanan because that was the name for it that the local people used. For the same reason, when Ardimuk re-established Imperial control over the lands of the Fire People, he changed the name of both provinces from Argan Tros (North Fireland in Zekresh) to Kikalan Tros (North Kikali Land) and Argan Inuva (South Fireland in Zekresh) to Kikalan Inuva (South Kikali Land). He also changed some of the practices of the Imperial government so that they would be less oppressive to the Kikali and hopefully make the idea of rebellion less popular there in the future.

Ardimuk I used the peace that followed the suppression of the South Peninsula rebellions to build up the military forces of the Zekresh Empire on land and sea as much as possible. He also made every effort to establish strong alliances that would be helpful in the event of a future war with Ilania.

In Nysarinda, the Iyatyva Dynasty pretender "Yatyva V" was enraged at the death of his eldest son at the hands of Emperor Ardimuk. Though Prince Aran of Ilania may have welcomed peace, the pretender Yatyva V thirsted for vengeance. His younger son was named Zekryva in honor of the founder of Zekran. This Zekryva was now called the "Naltor Kervus" (Crown Prince) by the Iyatyva exiles. While Ardimuk built up his military forces, Zekryva sent spies and agents into the Empire to stir up rebellion. His men found the Kikali rebel Ralan and made an alliance with him.

He also made an alliance with people of the Forest Tribes near Lorekan who plotted rebellion. Then he hired Slythian assassins to kill Emperor Ardimuk I. Three times, the assassins struck, first with daggers, then with arrows, then with poison, but on each occasion, Ardimuk emerged unscathed.

Ardimuk's guards captured some of the assassins and eventually determined that the House of Iyatyva in Nysarinda was responsible. He also blamed the warlords. There were three warlords left, the warlords of Kast Yvar, Yormukan and Flitran. They were still too powerful for an Emperor to oppose. Though the Imperial Army now was even more certain than before to prevail against them in armed conflict, the warlords still possessed significant armies and the fortresses of Kast Yvar and Kast Yormuk were strong and would require lengthy sieges to capture. The warlords were well aware that every Emperor of the Tarno Dynasty had sought ways to abolish their titles and strip them of their power. The three remaining warlords were firmly allied with each other and the warlord of Kast Yvar had a marriage alliance with one of the leaders of the Bear Tribes. This made it too dangerous for the Emperor to move against the warlords directly. A war between the Imperial Army and the warlords could not be resolved quickly since it would require besieging Kast Yvar, the strongest fortress in the Empire, and also Kast Yormuk, another strong fortress. The Imperial Army could not do this and also defend against an attack by the powerful Bear Tribes. The possibility that Ilania or the other Principalities would enter the war was a further deterrent. Therefore, the Emperor took no action. Zekryva in fact was rebuffed by the warlords. They rejected his offer of an alliance against the Emperor.

Ardimuk built up Imperial military forces and contemplated a way to break to the power of the warlords. He realized that the primary reason he was worried about the warlords was because Kast Yvar and Yormukan were so close to the capital. The danger could be removed simply by moving the capital. Though Zekran had been the capital of the Empire and home of the Zekresh people before that, there was nothing to stop him from moving his court to some other location.

In the 8th year of his reign, Ardimuk I had a new fortress constructed at Serat Trayakir. It was called Kast Trayakir, the Gateway Fortress. Though Zekran remained the official capital of the Empire, the Emperor took up residence at Kast Trayakir and moved all the high officials of the government there. This move allowed him to keep a closer watch on developments in Sishan, where the fortress was located, and also in neighboring Logoria and Kikalan Tros. Most importantly of all, the fortress was on the South Peninsula where there were now no warlords left. The warlords were not much farther away than they had been, but now a thin strip of sea separated their armies from the Emperor's residence. None of the warlords had any naval forces at all and the most powerful of them, the Aylorkern ya Kast Yvar, was landlocked. The Emperor had already been building up the Imperial Navy throughout his reign and since the Peace of the Fens had been building larger ships using the style and techniques of the Ilanian Royal Navy in hopes of someday matching them. There was no danger that the warlords could match the growing power of the Imperial Navy and without the ability to cross the Gateway Waters, their troops could not threaten the Emperor. Just to be sure, Ardimuk issued the Warship Decree in the 8th year of his reign, prohibiting any Aylorkern or Gurikan from building his own warships. Notably, the Bear Tribes also were now separated from the Emperor's residence by sea. Of course, the Emperor was now vulnerable to attack from the South. It was in that direction that he once again turned his attention.

The emphasis on increasing the strength and sophistication of the Imperial Navy was not only to thwart the warlords. It was also the cornerstone of the Emperor's strategy to defeat Ilania and win mastery over the Principalities. Ardimuk intended to bypass Grogia and Corinweld which had stood in his way before. This time, he would strike Ilania directly from the sea. It could only be done if the Imperial Navy were more powerful than the Royal Ilanian Navy. But the Zekresh Empire was far larger than the Principality of Ilania and possessed much greater resources. Ardimuk was sure that if he devoted sufficient resources to the task, that he could make the Imperial Navy the greatest naval force the world had ever seen and by that means conquer Ilania.

Ardimuk strengthened his alliance with the people of Clam Island and, by means of generous payments, convinced them to allow him to build an Imperial Navy base at Lisatrom. He copied the designs of the bireme ships used by the Ilanian Royal Navy. He also made a marriage alliance with the Ogdalin of Warna which arranged the marriage of Ardimuk's daughter to the son of the Ogdalin of Warna. Ardimuk did not mention the Decree of Tarno which precluded any children of that marriage or their descendants from ever ascending the Imperial throne. Also, since Ardimuk's daughter was only twelve years old, he had plenty of time to break the treaty before the actual marriage was to take place four years later.

In the 9th year of the reign of Ardimuk I, all was ready and the Emperor himself boarded a ship called "the Sword of Vengeance" and set sail for Ilania. The fleet carried with it a vast army of Zekresh Imperial troops.

Ardimuk was still not entirely confident that his navy could defeat the Ilanians so as soon as the fleet reached the coast of Ilania, he ordered the army to land and begin marching to Nysarinda. The attack caught the Ilanians by surprise. They had been prepared for a war, but not an army landing from the sea. The Ilanians scrambled to defend their country while the Ilanian Royal Navy set out in force to defeat the Zekresh Imperial Navy and prevent any more landings of troops. A running naval battle between the two fleets took place all the way from the landing sites back to Clam Island with both sides maneuvering among the small islands in between. This became known as the "Battle of the Islands". Losses were heavy on both sides. The Zekresh Imperial Navy lost far more ships and men, but the Ilanians had less ships to lose and were so weakened by the battle that they dared not engage the main Zekresh fleet again for the rest of the war. Both the Ilanians and the Zekresh continued building ships throughout the war, but the Zekresh shipyards produced far more ships and the Ilanians fell further and further behind.

Unfortunately for Ardimuk, the Battle of the Islands had given the Ilanians temporary control of the waters along their coast while the Imperial Navy fleet anchored at Lisatrom and repaired damaged vessels.

The Ilanian Royal Army fought a delaying action and slowed the advance of the Zekresh forces until the Corinweld army under Prince Darin arrived to attack Ardimuk's left flank. Ardimuk retreated back to the sea and fortified a position there. Once again, he found himself far from the Empire and cut off by hostile forces as he had been in the previous war and in the Kikali revolt.

Fortunately, the Ogdalin of Warna entered the war and advanced on Nysarinda, forcing the Ilanians to retreat towards their capital and freeing Ardimuk to deal a crushing defeat on the Corinwelders and then resume his advance. The Zekresh Imperial Army and their allies from Warna reached Nysarinda and lay siege to the city. Once again fearing the specter of Zekresh domination of the Principalities, Prince Elgan of Ravelonia entered the war on the side of Ilania. The Zekresh Imperial Navy had by then returned in strength and was trying to impose a blockade on Nysarinda. Though they prevented resupply of the city and its defenders by sea, they were unable to stop the Ravelonian Navy from bringing food, arms and Ravelonian knights and soldiery by means of the Lion River which meets the sea at Nysarinda.

Ardimuk continued the siege for four months and the Zekresh Imperial Navy strove mightily to block Ravelonian ships from reaching the city via the river, but they were unsuccessful. Ultimately, Ardimuk had to give up the siege when an army of Groglinthers and some Grogians arrived with a new army from Corinweld. The war raged all across Ilania and would have been lost but for the constant supply of reinforcements brought in by the Zekresh Imperial Navy which increasingly had mastery of the sea. The fighting slacked off during the Winter months, but resumed again the following year. Again Ardimuk advanced on Nysarinda and besieged it with the help of an army from Warna. This time, Prince Elgan of Ravelonia invaded Warna and the Ogdalin of Warna withdrew his troops to defend his lands. Ardimuk was again thrown back from the very gates of Nysarinda. Leaving his army to hold its position in Ilania, Ardimuk sailed to Lisatrom where his navy had brought more reinforcements. Among these were soldiers of the warlords which had been conscripted on orders from Ardimuk. Ardimuk met with Elindana, the Eka-dalan (high chief) of the people of Clam Island and proposed to him a joint attack on the Grogians, ancient foe of the Clam Islanders. The Eka-dalan agreed to this and Ardimuk sailed for Shalthan, capital of Grogia with a new army of new Imperial recruits, conscripted soldiers of the warlords and Clam Islanders. Since Shalthan is surrounded on almost all sides by water, the strength of the Imperial Navy was brought to bear and it quickly fell to the attackers.

Gilatanda, the Ek-talan of Grogia, abandoned the fight in Ilania and returned home with his warriors. In the meantime, the Zekresh Imperial Navy sailed up the Grog River and raided the city of Groglinth, capital of the Principality of Groglinth, provoking Prince Thon XIV of Groglinth to call back his own soldiers from Ilania.

Ardimuk left Elindana, the Eka-dalan of Clam Island, in command of the allied Zekresh and Clam Island forces at Shalthan. Ardimuk then returned to the main Zekresh army in Ilania and resumed the offensive. Again he besieged Nysarinda, this time for eight months during which famine struck the besieged city as the Zekresh Imperial Navy made it more and more difficult for Ravelonian ships to get through. At the same time, Grogian and Groglinther forces besieged the occupation forces at Shalthan, but could not make their siege effective because the Imperial Navy provided supplies to the troops so that only the populace suffered. The Grogians soon abandoned this tactic and instead began infiltrating warriors into the city from the nearby swamps. Shalthan was retaken by the Grogians and there were heavy losses amongst the Zekresh and Clam Islander forces. Not coincidentally, almost the entire military forces of the warlords of the Empire were lost in that battle which was known in Imperial records as the Third Battle of Shalthan. The first was the raid on Shalthan by Clam Islander forces in the First Zekran - Ilania War, the Second Battle was when Shalthan was captured by Ardimuk. Of course, many other battles had been fought there previous to Zekresh involvement in the area and the battle is known to the Grogians as the Battle of the Liberation of Shalthan. Elindara, the Eka-dalan of Clam Island was killed in the battle.

Two months after Shalthan was retaken by Grogian forces, Prince Aran of Ilania attempted to escape his besieged capital in a Royal Ilanian Navy ship and head upriver to exile in Ravelonia. He was captured by the Zekresh Imperial Navy and forced to order the defenders of Nysarinda to lay down their arms. They were on the verge of defeat anyway which is why Prince Aran was trying to escape.

With the fall of Nysarinda and the capture of Prince Aran, Ardimuk thought he had achieved victory, but the war was not over. Ravelonian forces had advanced deep into Warna and were still on the offensive. Prince Darin of Corinweld was still in the field against Ardimuk in Ilania with an army of Ilanians under the command of Lord Talan of Rondinia who also promptly declared himself Regent of Ilania. The Grogians and Groglinthers soon returned to Ilania to join the fight there.

The war dragged on for another year, but Ardimuk held on to Nysarinda. With the Ilanian Royal Navy virtually destroyed, the Imperial Zekresh Navy now turned its attention to Ravelonia. The Ravelonians suffered defeats, but were not destroyed. They were unable, however, to prevent the Zekresh Imperial Navy from raiding their coast and drawing troops away from the invasion of Warna. Only the rapid action of Varl cavalry in the service of Ravelonia prevented several Ravelonian towns from being captured by Zekresh troops who attacked by sea. The Ogdalin of Warna repulsed the Ravelonians and he and Ardimuk forced Prince Elgan of Ravelonia to agree to a peace treaty. The warriors of Warna then invaded Corinweld, forcing Prince Darin of Corinweld to leave Ilania and agree to peace. Ardimuk was now free to use all his strength against his three remaining enemies: Lord Talan's Ilanians, Ek-talan Gilatanda's Grogians and the knights and soldiers of Groglinth, who were now commanded by Thon XV, the new prince of Groglinth who had just assumed the throne.

Unlike his father, Thon XV had no desire to continue the war. His country had lost many men and he considered victory impossible. Ardimuk offered Prince Thon a separate peace and despite hysterical objections and death threats from Gilatanda of Grogia, Prince Thon agreed and withdrew his forces from the war. The Imperial Army and the warriors of Warna, as well as more warriors from Clam Island, now battered the army of Lord Talan, encircling him and besieging him at Tanikia Castle in Southern Ilania. Ek-talan Gilatanda of Grogia refused to join Lord Talan there. Gilatanda's strength had always been in the ability to maneuver and to resist enemies in swamps, not in castles. Gilatanda reluctantly withdrew Northwards into Groglinth, pillaging as he went in retribution for what he considered Prince Thon's betrayal. Gilatanda raided Imperial forces repeatedly from Groglinth, but Lord Talan soon surrendered and Gilatanda retreated across the Grog River into Grogia. Thus, the 2nd Zekran - Ilania War ended with all of Ilania in the hands of the Zekresh Empire.

Ardimuk the Avenger then imposed crushing taxes on Ilania, forbid the construction of large ships there, and made the Principality of Ilania into part of the Empire as the Gurikanan of Ilania. He appointed his son, the Imperial Crown Prince, as the first Gurikan of Ilania.

Upon his return to Kast Trayakir, his first act was to issue a decree limiting the number of soldiers that warlords could have in their service. Since the warlords had all lost nearly all their men, they dared not resist. The Emperor, however, dared not abolish their titles because they still had enough men to hold their castles against the Imperial Army long enough that the Emperor had to fear foreign attack, especially from the Bear Tribes. Unlike every other major power in the known world, the Bear Tribes had remained neutral in the Zekran - Ilania Wars. While the Imperial Army had suffered grievous losses that would take years to replace, the warriors of the Bear Tribe had been untouched by the fighting and could unleash vast numbers of warriors on the weakened and weary Empire if Ardimuk provoked them by moving against their allies, the warlords.

The Emperor contented himself with limiting the size of the Warlords' armies. He also made minor reforms that increased the jurisdiction of Imperial magistrates at the expense of local judges appointed by the warlords. New Imperial taxes collected by Imperial officials left the people with little ability to pay taxes levied by the warlords. The Emperor took over the maintenance of roads and bridges and with them the collection of tolls. This had been the prerogative of the warlords. Little by little, the power of the warlords was being eroded. At the same time the smoldering rebellion in the Kikali lands was being suppressed, the Imperial Army was being rebuilt and the Imperial Navy was being made larger than ever before.

But as Ardimuk consolidated his power and built up his military forces, the world changed. Everywhere, people beyond the borders of the Empire woke up to the danger that one day the expanding Zekresh Empire would come to their lands. The Bear Tribes began to build their own fleet of small ships. All of Grogia became an armed camp. Southern tribes beyond the Imperial frontier began assisting Kikali rebels. Above all, Ravelonia, the most ancient civilized nation, used all its knowledge and experience to turn the world against the Empire. Little by little, the nations of the world allied themselves with Ravelonia and formed an alliance against the Zekresh Empire.

At the same time, the occupation of Ilania required a large number of troops and became a drain on the Imperial treasury. The Empire soon found its own allies tied down or unreliable. Warna found itself surrounded by enemies. Clam Islanders began to talk of ending their alliance with the Empire and the removal of the Imperial Navy base at Lisatrom.

The conquest of Ilania had shocked the world. The Principality of Ilania was already ancient before the Zekresh Empire was founded, before Zekran was even built. Ilania was old even before the old Frayeth Empire was founded. Ilania and Ravelonia were the two pillars of ancient civilization that had always stood and it was thought would stand forever. Now one of them had fallen, but the older one still stood. Prince Elgan of Ravelonia gathered about him as allies all the nations that feared further expansion of the Zekresh Empire. Grogia, Groglinth and Corinweld now made alliance with him. So, too, did the Ag-dolin (paramount chief) of Om-ulawa whose realm lay in the White Mountains to the south of Ravelonia. The Og-dalin of Ana-dron joined this cause, threatening Warna from the East. The Ag-dolin of Om-lokotra also joined this alliance, threatening Warna from the South. Yenthitia and Pilania also joined this alliance. They were distant kinsmen of the Kikali tribes and inhabited the lands just to the south of them along the coast. They were in a position to invade the Kikali lands and assist the Kikali in any new rebellion. If the Zekresh Imperial Army attacked Ravelonia, the Yenthiti and the Pilani could jeopardize three provinces and threaten Kast Trayakir.

Beyond the White Mountains in the West, the tribes of the Fox People and the Dog People also joined the alliance. The Fox People were ancient allies of Ravelonia whose warriors had assisted Ravelonia in the recent war. The Dog People were kinsmen of the Fox People. In addition to this formidable alliance, Prince Elgan sent his ships far and wide bearing diplomats to find other nations threatened by the Zekresh Empire and bring them into the alliance. By this method, the Fog People whose lands lay on the East Coast of the North Peninsula, joined the alliance. Most alarming to the Zekresh, the Bear Tribes joined the alliance.

Ardimuk had no doubts that if he should attempt to gain any further territory, that he would be at war with the entire alliance and that its strength was vastly greater than what Ilania had ever been able to command. It was entirely possible that such a war would destroy the Empire. Ardimuk, though famous as a warrior, wisely kept the peace.

Any ambitions he may have had to further expand the Empire were entirely thwarted. For the rest of his reign, he did not attempt to conquer any new territory, but focused instead on consolidating what he had.

The occupation of Ilania destroyed an old order that had stood since the beginning of history. Emperor Ardimuk ordered the imprisonment of the entire royal family of Ilania, but they were more numerous than he imagined. The entire nobility of Ilania was related to the royal family and the royal families and nobles of the other Principalities were related to them as well. Such was the result of many centuries of marriage alliances. A few members of the Ilanian royalty became outlaws in their own country and were hunted down by Imperial troops. Others fled to Corinweld, Groglinth and Ravelonia. An Ilanian government in exile was established at Corinweld. It was led by Lord Avern of Trevania who was a member of the royal family and declared himself Regent of Ilania while Prince Aran was imprisoned by the Zekresh.

Ancient temples of several religions at Nysarinda and other parts of Ilania were pillaged by Imperial troops during the war and the occupation. Some of them were demolished. Others were turned into temples of the Zekresh religion. Ancient orders of priests and priestesses were slaughtered or made into refugees. The noblemen were thrown out of their manor houses and castles and killed. Their families were brutalized and shipped back to Zekran as slaves. Vast riches, accumulated in Ilania by the royalty, nobility, merchants and bankers of Ilania were pillaged. Artworks of great sophistication were destroyed or looted and shipped to other parts of the Empire. The ancient library at Nysarinda had been burned down when Imperial troops looted the city after its surrender. Much ancient knowledge was lost forever. Scribes and scholars braved the flames to salvage as many scrolls as they could. But these were divided up among the scribes and scholars and what was left of the great library was now scattered and hidden away in cellars or taken abroad to other countries. The bankers and merchants of Ilania joined the diaspora and were scattered among various nations. The greatest banking houses of the ancient world and the greatest merchant families lost fortunes that had been built up over the course of fifty generations.

Amidst all this chaos, the poverty-stricken population of Ilania had to adjust to a new way of life as a province of the Zekresh Empire. The institutions of their society were destroyed or went underground to continue in secret what had formerly been proudly displayed in the open. Remnants of the royal family became rebel leaders. High priests became the leaders of secret outlawed cults that were denounced as blasphemous by the official religion. Bankers who had lost everything became murderers, stalking soldiers of the occupation for revenge. Scholars of arcane secrets became beggars on the streets.

In the midst of all this, the Iyatyva Dynasty's Imperial Court in exile also went underground when Nysarinda fell. They became one of the most desperate underground organizations. Unlike the Ilanian royalty, they had no real support among the Ilanian public and little financial resources. They turned to crime. This was the origin of the "Tiva" organization.

Ardimuk I reigned for 33 years, the last 23 of those years were peaceful, but he is primarily remembered for the conquest of Ilania. Upon the death of Ardimuk I, his son ascended the throne as Emperor Ardimuk II. In the second year of his reign, he inadvertently admitted publicly that Prince Aran of Ilania had been killed in the dungeons of Kast Trayakir years earlier. This outraged the Ilanians and, more importantly, cleared the way for Aran's son, Duran, to proclaim himself Prince of Ilania. Duran was in exile in Corinweld, but returned to Ilania and led a rebellion against the Zekresh occuptation.

Ardimuk II suppressed the rebellion ruthlessly and Duran again fled abroad. During the suppression of the rebellion, he ordered a renewed hunt for all members of the Ilanian royal family, especially Duran. He threatened Corinweld with war for harboring Duran and some of the others. He ordered all members of the Ilanian royal family who were captive in the dungeons of the Zekresh Empire to be executed as well as all noblemen and their families, not only those in captivity, but all of them. Most of the nobles fled Ilania to foreign countries, especially Corinweld and Ravelonia, but many were killed.

Corinweld dared not risk the wrath of the Zekresh Empire by again welcoming Prince Duran after the Ilanian rebellion failed. Now Duran went instead to Vizartan in Ravelonia. There he continued to scheme against the Empire, but now his schemes turned not towards rebellion, but to directly striking the Emperor. A year after the rebellion in Ilania had been crushed, a group of Ilanian rebels managed to sneak into Serat Trayakir and to attack the Emperor's carriage as he passed through the streets of the city. The attack was unsuccessful, but the Emperor ordered harsh reprisals. 500 Ilanians were killed in retaliation. The next year, another Ilanian was caught trying to climb the walls of Kast Trayakir. He was taken to Nysarinda and publicly tortured and executed. One hundred other Ilanians were also killed as retribution.

Then, one day, in the sixth year of his reign, Emperor Ardimuk II was found murdered in his bed, stabbed to death. His guards were also dead, their throats had been cut. The assassins appeared to have managed to get into the castle, kill the guards silently, murder the Emperor in his bed and get out again without being seen. It was an impossible feat. It also probably didn't really happen that way. Rumors spread that the assassins were invisible ghosts who could walk through walls. The Emperor's younger brother promptly took the throne as Emperor Ardimuk III and vowed revenge for his brother's assassination. He immediately ordered 1,000 Ilanians slaughtered in retaliation. This was done.

Some months later, as the new Emperor carefully reviewed the precautions taken against assassination, he discovered that three of the personal bodyguards of the Lord of the Exchequer were not who they had said they were. Before they could be arrested, they fled the castle, but the Imperial Army and Navy were called out to search for them on land and sea and prevent them from getting far from Serat Trayakir. One was recaptured while crossing the Gateway Waters. The prisoner revealed nothing, even under torture, but the master of the vessel he had been a passenger on revealed much. The three imposters who had been hired as bodyguards for the Lord of the Exchequer were known to be Slythians. The Lord of the Exchequer himself was a Slythian. They were thought to be members of families long loyal to the Empire, partly of Zekresh blood and veterans of the Imperial Army. It was discovered that the men they claimed to be had disappeared and that the three men who took their places and then obtained employment as guards for the Lord of the Exchequer were actually members of a Slythian cult called the "Keevalista".

The Keevalista was an secretive sect of the Slythian Cult of the Viper God. "Keevalista" means "secret fang" in Slythian. The Keevalista was known for assassinating its enemies and trained many of its members in the ancient Slythian arts of assassination. Though the captured imposter had died under torture without revealing anything, unusual weapons found in his possession were later discovered to have been made by and for members of the Keevalista. The Imperial Army descended upon the Keevalista in Slythia, but they were hard to find. The Keevalista had always been secretive, but now disappeared completely. Only a few were captured and those few revealed nothing. Other Slythians who were neighbors and family members of the Keevalista members told Imperial inquisitors about meetings with foreign visitors and Keevalista members paying off old debts with Ilanian silver coins. Exactly what happened may never be known, but Emperor Ardimuk III concluded that his brother had been slain by three Slythian assassins sent by the Keevalista who infiltrated the bodyguard of the Lord of the Exchequer in order to get inside Kast Trayakir. On the night of the assassination, they did not sneak into or out of the castle undetected. Instead, they began their midnight mission from the Lord of the Exchequer's room, just one floor below the Emperor's. After the deed was done, they did not attempt to flee, but merely returned back downstairs to their jobs as guards of the Lord of the Exchequer.

It was assumed that the Keevalista had carried out the assassination in exchange for a large payment from Prince Duran of Ilania. Many years later, additional information came to light which indicated that the sum paid to the Keevalista was truly vast, a king's ransom. The Keevalista became more powerful after this incident despite the Imperial government making every effort to find and kill every last member of it. Keevalista members were discovered to have suddenly become heavily involved in financing plots and rebellions throughout the Empire. Now it was clear that the vast amounts of wealth that they had suddenly acquired were payment for more than just the assassination of the Emperor. Though nearly all of the Keevalista's money was in old Ilanian coins, it became less clear exactly who had paid them and for what. Though the Emperor had assumed Prince Duran was behind the assassination of his brother, there is no doubt that it was the Tiva, not Duran, who were conspiring with the Keevalista to finance rebellions and treason throughout the Empire. The assassination increasingly appeared to be just the first step in a much larger scheme to destroy the Empire. It is unknown where the Tiva could have obtained such large sums of money and it is widely speculated that the conspiracy did include Prince Duran who contributed what was left of his family fortune to the plot. Likely the objective was not only to kill Ardimuk II, but to overthrow his whole dynasty and return the original Iyatyva Dynasty to the Zekresh throne as well as to regain independence and revenge for Ilania.

After eight years of hiding from assassins, suppressing rebellions and attempting to kill off the Keevalista, the Tiva and Prince Duran and other Ilanian royalty and nobility, Emperor Ardimuk III himself died. There were no marks on the body and he had not been known to be ill. The cause of his death remains a mystery. Some say it was a sudden illness, but of course, there is speculation that he was poisoned.