Book 2: Volume 2

The Rise and Fall§0 §0of the Falaxian Empire §0 §0 §0 Book 2§0 §0 The Tipping Point§0 §0 Volume 2§0 §0 The Siege of Korovak §0 §0As the Qandar war comes to an end, a rebellion grows in strength, and threatens rip the Empire apart.

Copyright 2015 blockhead1110§0 §0 §0All rights reserved.§0 §0 §0No publisher shall reproduce this material by electronic or mechanical means without the explicit permission of the author.§0 §0 §0MCBN: 220193819902

Chapter I §0 §0Ulan nervously paced the floor. Normally very sure of himself, he felt the most uncertain he ever had since he and a few other officers resigned and plotted to overthrow the brutal Empire. He soon came face to face with Dalan, the

leader of the Falaxian Empire, as well as Haraiah, the Queen of the Klisian people and its colonies. §0 §0 §0They as well as their most trusted generals and advisors plotted a final push against the Polisks' naval base. Until now, the Qandar War was

purely naval. They would have to send thousands of foot soldiers to attack the fortress guarding the dock. The Ylandóans were sure this would cause retaliation on the land, but it was their only hope, and they couldn't abandon their Klisian and Falaxian

allies. A plan was soon made: Ylandóan ships, with their superior hulls, would advance, and take most of the fire, while Klisian vessels, with their superior speed and cannons would confuse and bombard the enemy, until the inferior Falaxian vessels would

rush in when they were weak and the combined troop transports would combine the three armies into a single invasion force. The plan was accepted. All the leaders celebrated their plan, but were careful to keep it secret.

However, a disloyal Falaxian officer by the name of Garan sold the information for a high price to the Polisk admiral in charge of the war, allowing them to prepare a defense. Garan was a veteran of the Ylandóan war, and he hated all of

them. It was very unusual for a nation to go from hated enemy to friend in such a short time, and many were uncomfortable with the change. §0 §0 §0As the news spread throughout the land, Garan met with a few other traitors.

All veterans of the Ylandóan War, they hated the Ylandóans, believing them to be disgusting barbarians. They thought that the Falaxians had lost their way, and were planning to stop this change, no matter what the cost. §0 §0 §0Meanwhile, as the treachary

continued, and the Polisks lost more and more water to the combined forces of the allies and pirates, they stepped up their troop shipments. Many troops were rushed out of training and quickly shipped to their bases. Many Tagala people were being put in

chains, building siege machines and fortresses to aid the war effort. They begged for the Ylandóans to free them, but the Ylandóans declined, afraid that they themselves would be slaves. §0 §0 §0Soon, the fleet reached the island of

Korovak. The Qandar war would soon be over for good.

Chapter II §0 §0The news sold by Garan allowed the Polisks to reinforce their fortress from 8000 troops to 30,000.§0 §0They were well-trained and well-equipped, but Polisk soldiers were not strong defenders. They preferred attacking, and often liked

to do unpredictable and downright illogical manuevers at times just to keep their enemy guessing, and to treat their captives cruelly to scare them. §0 §0 §010,000 troops were crossbowmen, a lowly postion in the army. The Polisks trained their warriors

through brutal rituals as much as they did combat training, and those who failed but still showed promise were handed crossbows. It was a mark of shame, and having a crossbow was a sign of being one of the "weak ones." However,

despite this, they were very deadly in combat. §0 §0The joint effort between the three nations had 220,000 soldiers in it, a very large number. 50,000 were Klisian soldiers. The Klisians rivalled the Ylandóan Empire's navy at its height despite being a

third the size, as a strong navy was important for a nation to defend itself from pirates, as well as intimidate the aggressive Falaxian Empire in its early days. Their ground troops were not as good as the other armies, relying on their navy for defense.

60,000 were Ylandóan soldiers, with a third being archers. Their ground troops were excellent in the open field, and their archers were known for their strength and speed. They made sure to value

them, preferring quality over quanity. They refined their archers even more, and they would prove valuable in taking the fortress.§0 §0 §0The remaining 110,000 were Falaxians. The Falaxian Empire was twice as populous as the Republic and had three times

the amount of people the Klisians did. The Falaxians, ever since the Ylandóan war, armored their men more heavily, and fought more defensively as well, and were much more well-organized.§0 §0 §0The three armies soon met at the rendevous point.

450 ships and thousands more unarmed transports set sail, and went to Korovak for the battle.§0 §0 §0The ships soon met 320 Polisk ships over the horizon. The Ylandóan ships sailed forward, launching many deadly volleys of fire arrows,

while the Klisians and the Falaxians stayed back, bombarding them with their cannons. The Polisks sailed quickly into the fire, but it became clear that their outnumbered force would be sunken quickly. They rushed into the fire, and they rushed out of it.

The defense fleet was very clearly broken, and they retreated to their base, unloading their soldiers, reinforcing the fortress before the alliance could destroy them. The remaining Polisk men sailed back to the coast, and soon, 11,000 Polisk men from the

fleet rushed into the fortress, preparing to defend against their enemies.§0 §0 §0Along the way, the three nations torched and shot many ships docked or left behind, and soon landed on the shore, out of range, and would use their

several hours before nightfall to group their forces and to bombard the fortress.§0 §0 §0As more and more transports with more and more soldiers landed endlessly, the guns thundered in the distance, with each hit shredding another chunk of the wall and ripping

out another piece of the Polisks' fighting spirit. Dozens of cannons fired again and again, and the Republic, Klisians, and the Empire slowly formed their messes of troops into several large divisions of men, ready to strike at the Polisks and to send the

message to leave the Ylandóans and the Tagala alone. The combined army marched in formation, ready to strike a blow to these mysterious raiders.§0 §0 §0As they marched toward the shattered fortress, still believing themselves to be out of arrow range,

a volley of small, but very fast bolts hit a Ylandóan regiment near the front. The army charged in response, and the Ylandóan archers lifted their bows, and fired at their enemies in response. The battle had begun. As crossbows and arrow bolts filled the

air, and the fire got thicker and thicker, the Falaxian divisions made contact with the walls, and poured into the fortress easily through the many breaches.§0 §0 §0The Falaxians were on even footing, and fought bravely, but the Polisks fought even braver.

The Polisks poured all of them men in plugging up the numerous breaches, and also fired their crossbows, dealing heavy damage. Despite this, they were overwhelmed with their enemies swarming them from many directions. Most were killed in the chaos.

The remaining Polisks surrendered, and the Ylandóan, Falaxian and Klisian army celebrated a great, but costly victory. Of the 51,000 Polisk warriors, only 23,000 were left alive, but they took down many with them. 58,000 of the invasion force's men were

casualties, many suffering deep puncture wounds from these crossbows. The design was copied, and the Klisians and Falaxians, having inferior archers to the Ylandóans, began to adopt this crossbow, while the Ylandóans still maintained their proud archer

tradition.§0 §0 §0The war was over. Merchants could finally resume trade, and they did so immediately, finally having nothing to worry about.

Chapter II§0 §0A month had passed since the final siege. Although costly, it was still a major victory. Hariah proposed an official alliance, which was accepted. Over the course of a few years, the Ylandóan people and the Falaxian people had went from

being hated enemies to good friends. The Ylandóans knew the combined strength was enough to defend themselves against a Polisk invasion.§0 §0 §0However, some Falaxians didn't like this, still wanting revenge for the war. The rebel movement began

to quietly spread its word, convincing everybody from top-level advisors and generals to ordinary farmers who were looted by Ylandóan soldiers. The rebellion movement was most popular in Kasimov, the city besieged twice. §0 §0 §0The rebel movement gained

several secret supporters such as General Kossav, the man who led the Second Defense of Melchior (which was more of an offense than a defense) as well as Harastok, an influenuential trader who brought the Klisian and the Falaxian nations closer through

his extensive trade missions. The rebels had growing support, and although there were a few incidents, they were careful not to reveal themselves. The rebels quietly gained more and more support, while the Falaxian rulers were mostly oblivious, except for

the ones that were with them.§0 §0 §0Meanwhile, after a few raids by the Polisks threatened them, the Kingdom of Hadathia joined the anti-Polisk alliance formed by the other three nations. The Hadathi were a peaceful people with not very many soldiers,

and they were one of the nations that broke away when the Empire was overthrown. However, as revenge was generally frowned upon, and the new Republic was friendly to them, they left on good terms, and they were willing to fight for their freedom.

Normally a peaceful, spiritual people, they began to pour money into training troops, and began to trade their horses for much-needed armor and weapons, and received some cannons as well.§0 §0 §0Meanwhile, the Polisks were discovering the secrets of

gunpowder. Learning the recipe and having captured several cannons, the forces occupying the Tagala land, now isolated from reinforcements due to the Qandar War's end, were scaling this weapon down and hoping to make a new weapon from it.

Soon, a smaller and long metal tube using gunpowder to propel small balls of metal was made. The World's first gun was finally made, and it would change the world.§0 §0 §0The Ylandóan government said it would rescue the Tagala people from their oppression

soon, and that they wouldn't leave them behind, but the hard truth was none of the nations wanted any war, especially the Polisks, where the actions of several disloyal ships led to a large naval war, and the admiral's refusal to prosecute his men

turned into a full-fledged naval disaster. The siege at Korovak was lost too, and the Polisks lost many men there. To the Ylandóans, the Polisks showing up seemed like the end of their Civilization, but thanks to the actions of corrupt raiders, the Polisk

Empire seemed doomed to lose.§0 §0 §0However, not all was lost for them. These new guns looked very promising, and they were sure to incite fear in the hearts of their enemies. The Polisks were never known for being diplomats, but they secured an alliance.

A secret one, that would be sure to change the course of the World's history...