The Fall of Valore

(This is the fall of Valore told by Agetio Sekovich, a former leader)

During the election of the 5th government of Valore, Sen. Nimrond of Gallano and Sen. Aegeus of Elgaia were elected in a tight and contentious race. Sen. Nimrond was popular with the richer, more developed East that had dominated Valorian politics for many years. Sen. Aegeus, however, ran as an outsider. His campaign appealed to the poor and undeveloped, but quickly growing West. With his election, many of the political elites in the East were suspicious of his motives. What worried them also was the fact, with this new election, that the Eastern cities had lost their majority to the Western cities in the Senate chamber. The Elites were worried but hoped that Nimrond would counteract any of Aegeus's moves that they, the Elites, didn't like. However, as inauguration day drew closer, Nimrond became violently ill. As his illness became worse, He eventually went into a coma. It was apparent to everyone that Nimrond would not be able to serve his position as Speaker. In an emergency meeting, the senate decided to make Thayn Choo the speakership until Nimrond was, hopefully, able to get better. This resolved the issue for the time being as both Aegeus and Thayn were inaugurated in time. This prevented Valore from looking weak on the international stage. With this, It seemed like everything would be fine. Thayn had a large base of support from both sides of the nation. However, this was only the beginning of Valore's problems. Many of the Easterners criticized Aegeus's cabinet, as almost all of them were from Western Valore and many of them had no experience in the Valorian government. It would only go downhill from there. Not even a week into the 5th government, Rep. Foerce, an outspoken critic of Aegeus, published in his newspaper, The Weekly Auxian, a report that Aegeus was planning to change Valore into an empire and merge with Rasteria, which was then led by his relative, Choco. This opened up a fundamental split in Valore. This news of a merger outraged the citizens of the East, as they were strong supporters of democracy and abhorred the idea of an empire. The West, however, were supportive of this idea and were believers in a strong government unhampered by government bureaucracy. This ultimately led to an emergency senate meeting in New Auxe, the capital of Valore. This meeting had little to no order, as both Foerce and Aegeus yelled and argued at each other with no clear progress being made at resolving the issue. Foerce called Aegeus a traitor, a person who was only trying to benefit himself and those close to him. Foerce also accused Aegeus of being an agent for Aristios, a major enemy of Valore. Aegeus argued that Foerce had taken his words out of context and was only going to go through with the merger if the senate approved it. Thayn tried his best at moderating this chaotic meeting, but nothing seemed to bring any semblance of either civility or order. Outside the Senate Chamber, it was even worse. Protesters and counter-protesters had gathered and were clashing in New Auxe. Rioting and looting took place, not only in New Auxe but all around Eastern Valore. Many towns and stores were burned to the ground. Many people, East and West, died. Order was only restored when both Aegeus and Thayn demanded an end to violence. After this night of violence, many Valorians began to leave. Many of them, especially Easterners, had lost everything in the rioting and were convinced that the end of a democratic Valore was near. The people fled in droves, going to nearby nations such as Qadakh and Yaszuma. Even Thayn retired from Speakership and went back to his homeland of Paloro. With only Aegeus in charge and the Senate against them, many of the Eastern elites left, convinced that the merger and death of the democratic institutions in Valore were inevitable. Only a couple of days later, the Senate convened for the last time, with their final vote being to approve the merger. With this merger, Valore turned into The As'rian Commonwealth, an empire with Aegeus at its head. Rep. Foerce, in a last-ditch attempt to save democracy, declared the independence of the State of Avant, a group of a couple of Eastern cities who disliked this new Empire. Avant received a great deal of support, as there were still many democratic supporters in Valore who opposed the Empire. Also, many of the Easterners who had left were willing to come back and restore the democratic institutions of Valore. However, before anything substantial could happen, Rep. Foerce disappeared, never to be seen or heard ever again. Feeling scammed and cheated, almost all of them gave up on the hope of Valore ever coming back and they left for good. Thus brings us to today, or at least to the time of this writing. The As'rian Commonwealth, in the beginning, had internal struggles, but now things are stabilizing with them becoming an Uraka protectorate. The West is now the most prosperous and populous part of the country, with new cities and buildings being built every day. The East, however, has become stagnant, with wounds of the rioting many months ago still apparent. The cities there are almost like ghost towns. Cities, that were once the most populous in all of the Northeast, have a population that is around a tenth of what they once were. With little to no construction happening anywhere in the East and signs still reflecting messages of a bygone era, the East's fall from grace is apparent. Thus is the state of the lands in the former Valore Republic. What happens now to this wonderful land is in the hands of Aegeus and his allies. Take whatever moral one so desires from this story, but keep in mind that great things can disappear in an instant. This spectacular collapse only happened in a matter of weeks, so remember, cherish the present, enjoy the good times, and always be mindful of the future.

-Agetio Sekovich, Former Speaker of Valore