Book 1: Volume 1

The Rise and Fall of the Falaxian Empire Book 1: The Ylandóan War Volume 1: The Two Empires Many nations are formed as iron and agriculture are discovered, and the Ylandóan Empire rises as greatest of all.

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: 1120293839021

Chapter I §0 §0Many years before our time, things were not advanced as they were now. There were no iron tools or weapons, stone clubs and axes would have to do. There were no rails for transportation, only horses and paths trodden by others.

There were no advanced factories, no redstone machinery, and no gunpowder. Many years before our time, the people of the land lived in small, primitive tribes, spread throughout the land, banding together for survival, and often warring with one another.

One of these tribes, a race of desert people called the Ylandóans, discovered the secret of how to forge iron. Using this, they forged tough iron armor and sharp iron swords, and soon began conquering the other tribes around them. 5000 years before our

time, the mighty Ylandóan Empire was founded, and began expanding rapidly throughout the known world. §0 §0 §0Despite being fierce in combat, they treated their occupied lands well, allowing them to preserve their culture and tradition,

and prevented revolts, giving them great stability in their early years. For 900 years, the Ylandóan Empire enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity, but their strength would soon be tested.§0 §0 §0After annexing a nation fearing for its safety,

many men, coming from a swampy land northwest of the Ylandóan Empire, sailed, and conquered a small city-state west of the Empire, then used that as a base to attack the Ylandóans. They rode fast horses, and sailed in very fast ships. The war was

devastating, and brought the Ylandóan Empire to the brink of ruin, but the Ylandóans turned to the waves to fight back. They captured a few of the raiders' vessels, and using that as a base, made many strong and powerful ships, and formed a defense on the

waves. As the raiders' reinforcements were sunk before they could reach the front lines, they began to lose more and more ground, until they unconditionally surrendered, and left the land for good. §0 §0 §0The Ylandóan Empire rebuilt, and enjoyed another 50

years of prosperity. They began to contact people from faraway lands, and soon established a good trading relationship with the Klisian people, far northeast of the Ylandóan Empire. §0 §0 §0The Klisians bordered another Empire, the Falaxian Empire.

The Klisians were the only nation that was able to resist the Falaxian Empire's rapid expansion 500 years ago. The Falaxians themselves were very warlike people in their early days. Believing that showing strength by overcoming conflict was the way to get

the attention of the Gods, they began to expand 500 years ago, when the Klisians sold them iron. They rapidly expanded, until they conquered all of their continent, save for a large island that the land of Kalisia was on. §0 §0 §0The Ylandóans had yet to make

contact with the Falaxians, and from what the Klisians had told them, had no reason to do so.§0 §0 §0Ten years after the Ylandóans and Klisians first met and became good trading partners, a Ylandóan trade mission got lost in a storm.

The crew of the trade mission read the stars wrong, and after a few weeks of confusion, they landed at the Falaxian coast, near a village. §0 §0 §0The villagers were curious. They knew these were not Klisians, as the Ylandóans had a different language

and had darker skin. The villagers all came out to meet them, some eager to meet them, some afraid. A Klisian translator aboard the trade mission new some of the Falaxian's language, and began interpeting. However, a few words were interpeted incorrectly.

The confusion of the Ylandóans thinking they were in Kalisia and the Falaxians being prejudiced against the foreigners quickly spoiled the meeting. The village demanded the Ylandóans leave, and they soon armed their 100 warriors as a display of force.

The Ylandóans were a proud and arrogant people much of the time, as they were much greater than all of the nations surrounding them, and they showed their large Ylandóan escort as a display of force. The ship itself was very mighty. Having a crew of 300,

a durable hull made from the wood of the Yaala tree, and armed with Ylandóan archers, who were famous for their power and speed, the ship would be sure to intimidate anyone. Still, the Falaxians persisted, and then fighting broke out. It was unclear who

started it, but the Ylandóan archers loaded their bows, and shot most of the warriors, and many civillians as well. The ships soon left, and continued their trade mission.§0 §0

Chapter II§0 §0The young, 13-year old Ylandóan Queen Kalesh, who recently inherited the throne from her old uncle, met with the Falaxian King Zinan, with their advisors surrounding them. §0 §0 §0After three days of arguing and yelling,

no progress was made, and no reparations were made. Both sides were prejudiced against each other, believing the other to be primitive and barbaric for their actions. §0 §0 §0A few more incidents happened. Falaxian pirates began attacking

Ylandóan trade missions headed for Kalisia. The Ylandóans blamed this on the Falaxians, while the Falaxians tried to tell them they were illegitimate, and they were trying to sink and capture them too.

Neither side made any effort to make amends, and fifty years of hatred between the two Empires followed. The Kalisians tried to mediate, but their power was little compared to the two Empires, and they were pushed to the side.

The Ylandóans continued to expand their Empire, needing the room, as their Empire began to suffer from overpopulation, but instead of conquering nations, they soon began to send colonists to small and medium islands.

An undeveloped peninsula, between both Empires, and connecting them with an icy wasteland was soon chosen as a place to expand by both Empires. Colonists began settling there. Soon, a Falaxian settlement sprang up near the coast.

Soon, a territorial dispute came. Queen Kalesh, now 63 years old and hateful from so many years of being threatened by the Falaxians, met with Theodosiy, the heir to the throne after Zinan, and wildly unpopular and often ridiculed.

They treated each other with hostility, and neither side bothered to make amends with the other. §0 §0 §0Finally, the Ylandóans retailiated with force. They began to ship their troops to the land, and then proceed to drive the Falaxian colonists out of their

homes. The Ylandóans started sending troops for what they called security measures, but Theodosiy's advisors were not so sure. They begged him to do something, but Theodosiy was certain this was not a threat, and didn't give it any thought.

However, one village resisted. Having a group of warriors with them, they resisted the small group of Ylandóan soldiers, killing a few, and driving them away. However, the Ylandóans retaliated with force. §0 §0 §0The Ylandóans sent

a large group of 5000 men to burn the village to the ground, and to kill everyone there. They did just that. Most of the villagers ran away, but soon, Theodosiy ordered those villagers to be captured.§0 §0 §0Theodosiy's eyes flared up with anger.

He ordered those villagers killed for not defending their Empire as they should. The Falaxians were outraged at this news. Soon, after this, Queen Kalesh declared war on the Falaxian Empire. They took the peninsula, and as the icy wasteland was unable to

be crossed, they constructed many ships, and started to ship them to the Falaxian's territory. They began to invade the Falaxian Empire, intending to conquer it once and for all.§0 §0 §0The Ylandóans preferred to use brute force and intimidation

to defeat their enemies. They had heavily armored shock troops and archers legendary for their power and speed. Often, the Ylandóans would fire several deadly volleys and charge, making as much noise as possible. Many of their battles were won

before melee combat even had a chance to happen. §0 §0 §0The Falaxians had shock troops too, but preferred to use speed and tactics to defeat their enemies. Their infantry was less armored than the Ylandóans and spread out more

for flanking and maneuverability. Their archers were good, but they were not as deadly as the legendary Ylandóan archers.§0 §0 §0The Ylandóans soon started to escalate their war effort. They fielded 40,000 troops within 2 months.

In the meantime, the Falaxians were struggling greatly. Although the Falaxians were more advanced than most other civilizations, the tribe was still the basic unit of society, and tribal leaders each controlled anywhere from 50 to 2000 warriors, depending

on the size and wealth of the tribe, as well as the culture.§0 §0 §0Most tribal leaders were more concerned with protecting their village than helping the Empire, and two months proved that this would not work. Theodosiy's advisors tried to pressure him

to reform the military, but Theodosiy clung to the traditional ways, and was unable to take responsibility for anything. §0 §0 §0After three months, the Ylandóans increased their number to 70,000, while the Falaxian tribal leaders were too busy fighting

each other to focus on the big picture.§0 §0 §0The Ylandóans soon received a shipment of 30 explosive launchers. These machines were crude, heavy, and often malfunctioned, but were far superior to the old catapults the Ylandóans used.

They would fling a bundle of explosives at a wall, and often, they would take down a section in only one hit. §0 §0The Ylandóans set their sights on a large city named Kasimov, and as the explosive launchers were pulled, the Ylandóans back home toasted their

future victory.§0 §0 §0The Falaxians were fearful for their lives. With an incompetent ruler, and petty disputes among the tribal leaders preventing action from being taken, and powerful enemy, most were their Empire would fall soon.

Many towns were taken, and many men were lost. Kasimov was soon to be sieged. The Falaxians had no hope for victory. It seemed only a matter of time before the Falaxian Empire would finally fall...