Second Empire of Uldarash

The Second Empire of Uldarash, also known as the Empire of Uldarash or simply Uldarash was a political entity in Haven. A successor state to the Empire of Uldarash, it was founded on March 5, 2021 when all the former nations of Haven, except for the Kingdom of Trafalgar, united to remove all eastern influences from Haven, namely the Imperial Archonate of Viodoxa.

The Second Empire of Uldarash was regarded as one of Rathnir's most powerful and stable states, given its large population, well-equipped military, relatively large economy, and generally stable political landscape.

The Second Empire of Uldarash was a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic state. The government of each state varied drastically and each state had a unique culture but most people could unite under the sense of being "Uldarashi."

On March 22, 2022 the Second Empire of Uldarash dissolved due to a vote from its own high council. The reasons why are very complex but were mainly because of disagreements on the Uldarashi high council.

Circumstances of formation
The circumstances of the Empire's sudden expansion on 3 March has its origins in the participation as a founding member of the Golden Ring of Haven, a mutual defense alliance of the states on the continent of Haven. The seminal event which lead to the First Empire's collapse and the subsequent expansion and formation of the Second Empire was the Battle of Sanctuary and subsequent battle of Hapatmitas.

The Battle of Sanctuary and the dismantlement of Uldarash
The Battle of Sanctuary started with the declaration of the formation of the Sewor Mafia by a few of the members of the Handy Helpers, who claimed much of the south of Ummarnu and the north of Haven, all territory of the First Empire. After proclaiming the Empire of the Sewor Mafia, the warriors of the Sewor Mafia launched an attack on the city of Sanctuary, and the Golden Ring assembled in response. However, in the middle of the battle, the Imperial Archonate of Viodoxa launched an attack on Sanctuary, and the immediately subsequent Battle of Hapatmitas, citing their reason for attacking as Aurora having allegedly violated their previous treaty by inserting spies into Viodoxa. This claim is disputed by Aurora as being baseless, as the Viodoxan leaders have not forwarded any proof of such actions, with Aurora further claiming any information they have gotten on Viodoxa are those available to the public. The Golden Ring held their own against the Sewor Mafia as more Ring reinforcements poured into the city, that is until the Mafia was suddenly reinforced by nearly 20 players from Viodoxa, heavily tipping the battle in their favor. The Ring forces quickly retreated to the capital of Hapatmitas in its defense as the timer on the land war had neared its end, and the land war on Hapatmitas had just begun. The dwindling forces of the Ring were quickly routed, and individual Uldarash and Aurorans were chased around the city by hoards of the iron armor equipped Viodoxans led by their netherite clad leaders. The Ring forces were further hampered by the fact that, as a sizeable part of their forces were neither part of the land war attack on Hapatmitas or residents of Hapatmitas, they could not break, place, or interact with blocks whatsoever, leading to many deaths.

Aftermath
In the aftermath of the war, Haven erupted into chaos, with the many polities that once formed the First Empire having declared independence and the fate of the continent unsure. In the days after the conflict, Aurora and Viodoxa attempted to pursue negotiations. During this period, the various leaders of the newly independent nations of Haven that were already participating in the Golden Ring came together at a summit in the capital of Aurora, Fornost. There they declared the formation of the "True Empire of Uldarash", that soon after came to be known as the Second Empire of Uldarash. During the summit, all the nations of Haven, with the exception of Trafalgar and the Viodoxan client state of Aruna had joined together in the new Second Empire, naming the King of Aurora, Aurelian, the Regent-Emperor. This event further complicated the already ongoing negotiations, which had evolved from negotiations with just the states of Aurora and the Imperial Archonate, but into that of the whole of Haven, with new Empire.

With the changes in the circumstances and the new political goals of either state, the negotiations further degenerated and fear of an outbreak of war again swelled. Soon after however the Republic of Soumere, the Imperial Archonate, and Bardonia met at the Atlas Accords seeking a non-aggression pact with Uldarash along with the demands that any claims Uldarash on Aruna and the Eastern Duchy (lands claimed by Soumere) had to be bought by mutual agreement if any change in the ownership of the lands were to occur, and the new Emperor of Uldarash could not be an Auroran, and that both sides were to cease any and all espionage and propaganda efforts. This lead to a freeze in negotiations, as the Uldarashis had to quickly choose a new emperor in place of the current regent, and ran against the Uldarashi goals of reabsorbing Aruna. Offers were given from both sides, with rumors of initial offers for Aruna at nearly one million, to two hundred thousand, and denied payment. The tense freeze in negotiations in once again increased fears of war, with the war weary population of Haven once again worrying for the possibility of war. This fear was soon assuaged by the sudden ultimatum issued by the Doge of Kush that either side was not to engage in antagonism, and if seen as antagonism by the Doge, he would personally deliver over 15 sets of Prot IV Diamond Armor, two hundred thousand, over a stack of ancient debris (around 16 or more netherite ingots), over a hundred golden apples, a mending netherite pick, and various other gear that he had collected to the antagonized party, and that he would leave the server, and a declaration of secession from the Second Empire in order to maintain neutrality.

This Hail Mary by the Doge of Kush then allowed the Uldarashi and Viodoxan governments to negotiate for peace eventually sign a treaty.

The Farmland Bandits
During the peace process between Second Empire of Uldarash and Viodoxa, some players of unknown origin had launched an attack on Uldarashi city of Sanctuary, and were quickly defeated by the Uldarashi. However due to be tipped off by an unknown source, the Hand had appeared and attacked the raiders and the Uldarashi. The Uldarashi, seeking not to further escalate the conflict and waste equipment in such a tense period quickly retreated, leaving the raiders to be massacred by the The Chancellor's Hands.

Beginning of Entropy's era
During the events following the destruction of the moon, Emperor Aurelian began to prepare The Order of Aurora to combat this new threat. Sensing this threat to her power the continent of Haven appeared to have caught the eye of this Goddess as she attempted to turn trusted allies and even high ranking members of Uldarash to her side. To what extent this succeeded is unknown, however Timeken was known to have come under her control.

After the emergence of Entropy, Athaz and Carpicious visited Fornost to speak with Aurelian about ways to suppress her from taking control of Carp. During this process Queen Red, the wife of Aurelian made friends with Carpicious, and they spent time together talking about ways to help Carp deal with Entropy, and the various problems they dealth with in daily life.

Laying the spirits to rest
Following the collapse of the old empire Emperor Emeritus Rumknight and a few remaining members of the old council of lords gathered in Loremere to construct a peaceful town and live out the rest of their days in peace. However, at the arrival of Entropy Rum forsook this oath and created a great armory to assist in this war, consisting of 4 sets of protection 4 netherite, and at least 6 sets of protection 4 Diamond armor and a sizeable amount high valued weapons and rare equipment. Unfortunately, Entropy caught wind of this and launched an attack on the armory. Bravely Rum held her at bay as Aurelian, Athaz, Theodore, Tyler, Valen, and ex-Archon Zelious escaped. Sadly she overpowered him, ending the life of the final ruler of the First Empire. Many members of the party that had escaped swore vengeance against the Entropy for her killing of one of the most august figures in Rathnir.

Entropy Raids
Entropy has launched 3 raids at Fornost, with the latter two being the most intense. These assaults consisted of hordes of giant slimes both inside the walls, and outside, the summoning of Ravagers, and small minions of Entropy that took the form of rabbits. During the second assault, Entropy enlisted the aid of the legendary corrupted warrior BackToTheHub, who strengthened by Entropy, was able to withstand the counterattack of many knights of the Order, and many other well known warriors who had come to help defend Fornost from the assault by Entropy. Eventually he had escaped, teleporting out of the battlefield with Entropy magic.

Inbetween the first and second raid, Hub had returned to Fornost, and kidnapped Queen Red after Emperor Aurelian and his daughter Nikephoros gave chase to him, and like during the second raid, he teleported away to his home in The Abyssal Isles where he sacrificed the Queen's arms, leaving her blind and bleeding before leaving her at the front door of the Emperor's home. Upon returning from searching for any sign of where Hub could have went, Aurelian returned home, only to find her injured and losing blood on the steps of their home. Chaplain of the Order TheMrFURB upon hearing the screams quickly ran towards their home, rendering aid to her, saving her from death.

First Empress Elected
Shortly after the defeat of Entropy Tequilaknight Steps down from his position as Emperor. Shortly after the Imperial High Council convenes. During the meeting four candidates were recommended or volunteered themselves for the running these being: Polystralian of the Chevkri Republic, Caterina of Montroig, Crispy Schnoz of Boulderov, and Al-Surii of Alokhrad.  The election resulted in a 66% victory of Caterina becoming the first Empress in the History of Uldarash.

Minute man war
Around mid July the King of Falnir, CiderKnight of the SpiritKnight family uncovered a plot to overthrow him from the throne of Falnir. Deciding that fighting to keep his position on the throne was not worth fighting for, CiderKnight signed away his powers and fled the nation to avoid violence against him. Due to this sudden development and instability in Falnir the Empire of Uldarash declared war on Falnir to annex the nation.During the war, Uldarashi troops breached the walls of Journeys End with explosives and pushed the Falnirian troops out of the city before the dust of the blast even settled. The Falnirian troops quickly fled into an ocean keep where close quarters fighting broke out. At the end of the battle Uldarash suffered zero casualties while Falnir had suffered 60, one fighter killed for each minute of the battle inspiring its name. After the war had been won the Empire gave Falnir a choice Become its own state under the Empire or join an already existing Uldarashi state. The leader of Falnir, Midgeape, chose to join The Kingdom of Boulderov, a prominent state within the Empire.

Second Minute Man War
Much time had passed since the first Minute Man War, the State of Boulderov which Falnir joined was violently broken into two, now Boulderov"s lands were split between the Kingdom of Boulderov and the Kingdom of Savernia. Shortly after the two states split the Ex-Leader of Falnir, long banished for working with the Bardonians during the Third coalition, returned and sparked rebellion in Falnir and took control of the largest city in Falnir, Journey's End. The current king of Savernia Olly Ashwood quickly sent word to the Empresses asking for the Imperial army to step in and route this rebellion. Shortly afterward the Imperial army marched onto the city, but this time there was no need to breach the city with explosives as a Savernian that lived in the city let the Uldarashi army into the city. When Uldarashi troops entered the city they found no opposition. The second Minute unlike the previous was a bloodless war and was resolved after they retook the city.

Uldarashi Schism and Civil War
On October 18th, 2021, several members of the Uldarash military High Command, and members of the prominent SpiritKnight family of Uldarash deposed the elected Empress Caterina of Montroig due to a conflict of interest in how the Imperial government should be run. The legality of this act was highly contested. Some of the people heading the deposition include Scotch Knight, WhiskeyKnight,and Canine14. In response to this, Empress Caterina had attempted to gain the support of any states she could to join her cause in an attempt to reinstate herself in her former position of the elected Empress of Uldarash, the self dubbed "Loyalist Uldarash". However, the forces of Aurora, Boulderov, Chevkri, and Sanctuary declared themselves as supporters for Empress Nikephoros, staying under the banner of the 2nd Empire, also called "Imperialist Uldarash" during the conflict. Only the nations of Montroig and Alfheim seceded to join Caterina, while every other nation besides Nullaria and Mithusu, which stated that they would be neutral, remained to back Nikephoros. Thus began the Civil War, a conflict which lasted two months. The civil war ended on January 2, 2022 with a Loyalist defeat, and is the longest and largest-scale war in the history of both Rathnir and Eldham to this day.

Dissolution
The dissolution of Uldarash was a complicated crisis lasting from mid-February to March 22, 2022. The events and actions taken by all parties during this crisis largely took place in private meetings which can no longer be accessed, and as such a fully comprehensive summary of the events of the breakdown is not possible. An overview of the dissolution is as follows.

Background
In late February 2022, important figures across Uldarash were made aware of an attempted coalition being formed against Aurora by DrachCiv. An estimated 5 million was spent on equipping the army, and Drach claimed to have 100 fighters ready in the coalition. While this number was certainly an exaggeration, the threat to Uldarash (and Aurora specifically) was still considerable. This was compounded by the shaky internal situation in Uldarash, as the grudges of the Uldarash Civil War were very much still present in the Empire. Given the chance, it was likely that the former states of Loyalist Uldarash would rebel again. Uldarash once again began preparing for war, but it is at this point that the collapse truly began.

Crisis
Records of what exactly happened next are non-existent, and as such the only accounts that exist come from the people involved, who each provide their own spin on the events that unfolded. The facts of the situation are that on the 21st of February, Aurelian removed Ganeffs as a council member in Aurora. A meeting of the Auroran Council quickly reinstated his position, but this was followed up by a meeting between Aurelian, Scotch Knight and Robert Vorpes. They demanded that Ganeffs become replace Canine as Uldarashi emperor to resolve the oncoming crisis, as he was considered a more capable diplomat. Aurelian protested, arguing that Ganeffs had no right to be the emperor, but at this point he effectively had no choice, facing both external pressure and internal threats of a coup. Aurelian reached a compromise, as Ganeffs was made temporary regent set to reign in Aurelian's place for exactly one month. Things quietened down for a while, as the threat of a coalition temporarily subsided. Ganeffs largely left Aurora and instead began spending all his time with Montroig and Alfheim, quickly gaining their loyalty. As the date at which Ganeffs' regency was supposed to end closed in, the former Loyalist states began voting in favour of making Ganeffs the official second emperor, deposing the Aurorii line and replacing it with house Ganeff. The motion received 9 votes for and 6 against, but it required the approval of both emperors, which was not attained. The council then voted to extend Ganeff's regency by another month, once again attaining a majority. Regent Ward blocked the proposal again, and Aelin an Aurorii replaced Ganeffs as acting Uldarashi emperor. By this point, however, the central government had lost all control. Ganeffs openly began attacking the Aurorans, and several Uldarashi states threatened secession. Any attempt to stop them would at this point certainly cause a coalition war, as Ganeffs was no longer making any attempts to prevent this from occurring. On the 22nd of March, 2022 the Imperial High Council voted to dissolve the empire. No official announcement was made by the imperial government. Instead each individual state announced its succession and bid farewell to the empire. Upon hearing the news of the empire's dissolution, cries of Imur Uldarash erupted from assembled crowds in every corner of the empire.

Aftermath
Though most of the events here are undisputed, the secret actions of all sides during this time remain largely unknown. These disagreements regarding the exact nature of collusion between groups and the motives of all involved ensured enough ambiguity to cause disputes that persist today. Parts of the controversy regarding Ganeffs' involvement even served as the justification of the Northport War three months down the line. As preparations were not made for the dissolution a brief period of chaos ensued. The newly founded Hearthstone Yuldai assumed responsibility for the imperial armory, and for carrying on Imperial military traditions, however Hearthstoni officials found that most of the equipment had already been taken by Aurora.

Chevkri, Alfheim, and Montroig banded together to form the Union of Haven under Ganeffs' leadership leading to the continent being temporarily split between three powers, the Kingdom of Aurora, the Hearthstone Yuldai, and the Union of Haven. Several pan-haven summits were held with mixed success, while they helped to repair Auroran-Alfheimi relations they made no progress in a more permanent diplomatic solution to the continent's woes. The collapse of Uldarash led to a power vacuum which contributed to instability in Chevkri and allowed the Horde to grow in Haven. While peace and even friendly ties would form between the Uldarashi successor states, Havenite blood would eventually be spilt in conflicts arising from Horde claims over Savernia.

Emperors
The head of state of the Second Empire of Uldarash was shared between two emperors, one being elected while the other being a hereditary monarch from House Aurora. The Constitution of the Second Empire of Uldarash placed very little limitations on the powers of the Emperors.

List of emperors
The following people served as Emperor or Empress of Uldarash, or as Regent for the position.

Military
Uldarash had the largest, best equipped and most skilled non-mercenary army with around 100 combat qualified (by Uldarashi standards) fighters at it's peak. The army was generally the most unified part of Uldarash however it was composed of various state armies and corps were usually separated by state of origin.

High Command
The high command was the highest ranking body on matters of national security, war, and diplomacy, only accountable to the emperors themselves. The high command often functioned as a political body and sometimes even like a deep state, pulling the strings of Uldarashi politics in order to preserve the empire and its interests. The high command was led by the Marshall of Uldarash, a position exclusively held by Robot Girlyman. At the end of the empire the high command consisted of Robert Vorpes, Hasufel, Rakia Ganeffs, and Zairei from Aurora, Ted Hastings from Boulderov, and Endshade from Alokhrad. The high command was meritocratic in nature, but also hostile to outside interference, even from its members home states or the high council.

General Staff
The general staff was a body of ranking military officials from various states which was nominally in charge of training and logistics. However it was really used as a place to coordinate with military officials from states who had fought from the loyalists in the civil war and who weren't trusted as full high command members. The general staff never really took off as a concept but still existed up until the dissolution of the empire. Its notable members included Ren, Argon Retter, and CookieMan12.

Training and Combat Standards
Uldarash had a rigorous training regime, with around 20 of its best pvpers and teachers being employed to test the skills of and train new recruits. Before seeing combat all personnel had to be ranked at least a C tier. The trainings would frequently include war games and team fights to improve the ability of Uldarashi troops to coordinate, adapt to battlefield conditions and to build comradery amongst them. Many trainers were also famous mercenaries leading to the joke that Uldarash won every war as Uldarashi soldiers would be fighting on both sides. These mercenary trainers helped popularize Imur Uldarash as a battle cry known around the world.

Corps
The Uldarahsi army was arranged into corps, squad sized units usually arranged along state lines and led by a bannerette (usually a high command member). The corps format was adopted from the order of Aurora and retained by several nations following the collapse of Uldarash. Each corps usually consisted of 8-10 members, however some were smaller due to the size of the state military, most notably Boulderov's "killer Capybaras" corp, which placed particular emphasis on teamwork and small unit tactics. * Endshade was an Alokhradi citizen, but given control of the First Chevkri due to his skills and place in the high command.

High Council
Below the two Emperors, was the High Council of Uldarash. The High Council consisted of the leaders of each of the constituent countries of Uldarash, from the King of Alokhrad, to the Apex of Chevkri, the respective ministers appointed by the Emperors, and the Uldarashi High Command. The High Council was given the power by the Constitution to write and pass legislation through it.

Low Council
With the passing of the Low Council bill by former Empress Caterina, the lower council was formed, consisting of elected representatives proportionate to State population. Low Council representatives are theoretically given the the power to write and vote on legislation, and be voted on every month by the citizenry, however due to the events of the Civil War, this has been put on hold. If the Low Council passed the legislation, it would move to the High Council who would vote on it. If both chambers pass the legislation, the Emperors then have the power to approve or veto the bill.

The low council was a controversial institution for its entire existence, especially in non-democratic states. The first version of the low council required all nations to hold democratic elections to choose their low council members whether they wanted to or not. This shift to a more democratic system went against the will of the majority, and widened the divides that eventually resulted in the Uldarashi Schism. When the Low Council returned post war, member states were allowed to decide how their councillors were elected. This was an improvement, but issues remained owing to the divides of the civil war and power playing by Councillors. The most notable action of the Low Council before the dissolution was a tournament which the low council wished to be hosted in and paid for by Aurora. When questioned, the councillors who proposed the tournament openly stated that the tournament was designed to cause problems for Aurora.

Diplomacy
Diplomacy in Uldarash was typically done through a ticket system by the Uldarashi Diplomatic Corp, who keep a specific channel of communication for every point of contention or diplomatic item that must be attended to, and to embassies sent government to carry out the Emperor's will. One such diplomatic embassy can be seen in the form of the visit by the, at the time, King's Ambassador to Aurlûnor Velande, Nikephoros, to establish diplomatic contact. On occasion, when both Emperors are occupied by other business, diplomats would be assigned to certain countries.