Bastion Prime

Bastion Prime

Flag of Bastion Prime
Motto: "Efficientia mollis pervinco."
Region	SPPf Realms
Capital	Celestiopolis
Official Language(s)	Basic (English).
Leader	Emperor Byzantinius III
Population	1.115 Billion
Currency	Imperial Credit
NS Sunset XML

The History of Bastion Prime.

The Imperial Index: Pre-Empire Events leading up to the Creation of Bastion Prime.

1710

The 1,700-year-old super-state of Sesia, after almost a century of bitter, violent civil war, collapses as surrounding tribes, states, duchies and kingdoms invade and take land for themselves.

However, two regions of Sessites manage to survive the conflict mostly unharmed, their people watching nervously and with great suspicion at the new world rising from the ashes of the old.

1711

The peoples who took the lands of old Sesia for themselves begin to squabble over which state gets which piece of land.

Conflict breaks out towards the end of the year.

1713

Dissent among some of those states at war causes a series civil wars, further complicating the situation.

1720

The war for the territory of what was once known as Sesia ends with all parties turning inwards to face growing civil strife and, ultimately, civil wars.

1720 - 1740

The civil wars continue unabated in most states.

1741

The nearby, expanding kingdom of Arrysia comes into contact with several of the civil war pre-occupied states for the first time.

An Arrysian Envoy is killed after being mistaken for somebody else.

Arrysia’s King, taking this as an act of open hostility, declares war and sends his armies to crush the divided, weak, war-torn states. It takes less than a month for the states, kingdoms and duchies to fall.

Arrysia does not occupy or assimilate these places, however, as a new, greater threat to the kingdom arises elsewhere.

1741 – 1826

The fallen states slowly, over time, re-unite into new states, kingdoms and duchies. This time, however, they are much smaller, and there are 27 of them. Violence sporadically erupts between some of the peoples, who were divided by the civil wars, but generally this is a peaceful time of rebuilding and recovering from the pounding Arrysia gave them.

Amidst the reconstruction and recovery, dozens of city-states spring up along the borderlands. One of these city-states, founded by a large group of refugees of various nationalities, is the city-state of Arbel. It is the first city-state in the whole region to have its own well-trained militia force, scientific academy and school for women.

The city is located on the site of the ancient Sessite trading city of Elumara, and is also sited close to the strategically and economically important river Someş.

The Imperial Index: The Rulers of the Empire and the Major Events which they oversaw.

1841 – 1863: D. Tiberius

1841 – Dorian Tiberius, leader of the Arbel City Council and former leader of the Arbel Militia, officially declares the city-state of Arbel an Empire, and declares himself Emperor. The people of Arbel genuinely loved Dorian because of what he has done for the city so far as its leader, and so they are more than happy for him to rule as Emperor.

First Bastion : Bastion Prime.

As the first ruler of this new Empire, Tiberius I announces to the City Council that the state, as it is a new Empire, requires a name. The name they settle upon after much discussion is Bastion Prime. The reason they give to the public for this choice of name, is that they believe city of Arbel is the first bastion of true strength and knowledge in the entire region.

The Imperial Army is founded by the Emperor, as a replacement for the City Militia.

The Imperial Military Council is created to head up military operations, and to lead the Imperial Army.

1842 – The Empire of Bastion Prime’s population reaches a critical point; one and a half million people now live within its borders by late September.

The Emperor sends messengers to other city-states along the river Someş demanding they surrender to Bastion Prime or be forced into submission.

1843 – 1845 – The city-states resist the threats from Bastion Prime for several months into 1843 before the Imperial Army is sent out to deal with them. They surrender before any fighting breaks out, but General Cracken, unwilling to return home with no great victories to speak of, orders that the city-states must be taught what happens to those who defy the Emperor. Hundreds are killed in the following days, city leaders are summarily executed, and the Empire grows, though it is still small in comparison to neighbouring nations.

The new Emperor has a small, private wedding ceremony in a small chapel on palace grounds. He is formally married to Ms. Rose Arketta.

The Imperial Capitol City of Arbel grows in size as more people settle in and around the city, and before long a thriving commercial district has sprung up along the banks of the river Someş, allowing for trade with peoples all along the river, both inside and outside the Empire. Ornaments and jewellery created by Arbel’s artisans become the city’s first major exports. Their success provides a much-needed revitalising boost to Bastion Prime's previously-stagnating economy, and helps to fund a critical modernisation scheme underway in the Empire's military and industry.

The Imperial Capital’s population passes two million in February of 1844. The budding Empire’s small agricultural system can no longer feed everybody, and cases of malnutrition begin occurring after a couple of weeks, prompting Emperor Tiberius to send his army out again, this time to secure a vast swathe of farmland (along with its towns and villages), to the west and the north-west of the Empire. It takes several weeks to take the land. The Emperor, so impressed by the speed and efficiency of the conquests, grants the Imperial Military Council full control of all military operations and all other aspects of the military, including where to invade and when, from here on – something the IMC had been wanting since its inception.

Great Expansionary Period begins.

After months of planning, in January of 1845 the Imperial Military Council begins the first of over a dozen campaigns designed to secure new lands for the Empire, and to increase the size of the workforce and armies. It also increases the variety of products and produce which the Empire can produce, helping the economy, and keeping war debts to a minimum.

1846 – 1863

The Great Expansionary Period continues. Bastion Prime's growing military forces go from strength to strength, invading, occupying and annexing many of the smaller states surrounding them. Men and some women are recruited into the military from the new domains, and their training is just as thorough and harsh as anybody else's.

Fearful of invasion by the Imperial Army and somewhat jealous at the current state of previously-annexed areas, several large kingdoms submit themselves to Imperial rule. Naturally, Emperor Tiberius accepts these offers, and by 1857 Bastion Prime is the largest, most powerful and most respected state in the region. The Dainebél and Hapem regions, to the south-east and southwest respectively, have now been completely annexed and brought under Imperial rule, along with the southern provinces of Cyprae and Insadessa, both of which are to the north.

Dainebél is renamed Belkadaine, Hapem is renamed Hapes, Cyprae is renamed Cyprium, and Isadessa is renamed Insidustria.

In 1858, a huge storm hits the Empire. Dozens of ships in ports all along the coast are battered or wrecked, and hundreds of houses are ruined. It is the worst storm in nearly a century, and effectively marks the beginning of the end of Tiberius's reign as Emperor.

Late in 1858, Emperor Tiberius, despite being fitter and healthier than most of his underlings, suffers a mild stroke. However, news of it is kept out of the public domain, for fear it might tarnish the Emperor's fine reputation. He is appointed an Official Attendant by the Imperial Council of Moffs, who takes on some of the Emperor's work load, giving him more time to rest.

This arrangement works well for the Emperor, who, for the next two years, spends more of his time at home with his wife and children. However, in 1860 he suffers another, considerably more serious stroke. For the next three years he is bed-ridden, his attendant taking over 95% of his duties as Emperor. The Imperial Council of Moffs is even now choosing a suitable successor to the ailing leader, running through a number of prosective candidates. The name of the successor will not be announced to anybody until approximately one month and one day after the Emperor's state funeral.

August 1863 - Dorian Tiberius, first Emperor of Bastion Prime, dies at the age of 57.

A state funeral for the great Emperor is held at the Imperial Palace in Arbel. Hundreds of thousands of people attend it, most having to stand outside and listen, and millions more mourn for the man who practically created the world they now lived in.

A month and a day after his funeral, the Imperial Council of Moffs formally and publically announces and inaugurates Karanus Vantai as the new Emperor.