Ahalia

The Empire of Ahalia, commonly known as Ahalia or sometimes regarded as Jepola, is a small nation situated on the eastern side of the continent of Arsine. It is a former colony of the Imperial Archonate of Viodoxa and was formed by Viodoxan settlers in Eldham and eventually grew into the modern Empire, currently inhabiting four towns.

Founding
In the early days of Eldham, two groups of settlers from Viodoxa set sail from Rathnir to the new land. Directed by the Archons in their homeland, the settlers formed two outposts, one in Sun's Gate, eventually becoming the Duchy of Klea, and the second at Limenas. The land was already occupied by a tribal hierarchy known as the Aura Tribe, but shortly after the landing of the Viodoxan settlers the tribe disbanded and its members disappeared due to unknown reasons. The settlers constructed a small outpost they named Jepola. The influence of the Aura Tribe would remain with the settlers, as their culture of Viodoxa merged with the natives, forming a merged culture and language known simply as Ahalian.

Early Development
Construction of Jepola began swiftly after the settlers' arrival. Headed by the future Basileus, Theos Zevedeos, the town began building large scale structures, including the famed Library of Jepola. This early period of development was slowed by a lack of settlers, after many seemingly died of various causes. After the main buildings had been created, Jepola suffered a series of unrelated attacks from various bandits, depriving Jepola of resources that it desperately needed. This compelled Theos to order the construction of a large boundary wall, which would go on to surround the entire town. During this period of construction, Viodoxa would merge with the Empire of Yimmu-Audal and Soleannen Empire of Escharia to form the Triumvirate of Denumain, including Ahalia along with it. It was around this time that a second settlement was discovered, lead by the wanderer MineRabbit. It was agreed between the two towns that they would merge together to form the joint governing body of the Duchy of Ahalia, with Theos Zevedeos as it's duke.

Times of Troubles and Advancement
After the formation of the Duchy, reports began circulating about the attack on the other Viodoxan colony, the Duchy of Klea, by the Duchy of Goondium. The Battle of Sun's Gate was a complete disaster for Viodoxa, leaving the Goons with a foothold in Klea. This alerted Ahalia greatly, causing Theos to begin a period of armament and a mass recruiting campaign. Refugees from all over Eldham would come to Jepola and join the Duchy. The population of Ahalia boomed, providing a massive boost to defense and its ailing economy. Subsequently, Ahalia, and Jepola especially developed incredibly quickly, and this prompted Theos to reform the government. He created the guilds system and established a legislative council to advise him on all matters. Diplomatic ties began to be established between the Duchy and several other governments nearby, such as with the Zamotz Union and the Kingdom of Heloisa. The bond between Viodoxa and it's colony was stronger than it ever was, until the Second Goon Invasion of Klea. This resulted in a total collapse of the Duchy of Klea and a swarm of Viodoxan refugees headed for Jepola. This stoked fears that Ahalia was next, and these fears continue into the present day.

Conspiracy and Independence
The Ahalian government began doubting it's connection to Viodoxa due to a lack of support and attention to the Eldham colonies, especially after the fall of Klea. Anti-Viodoxan sentiments spread throughout the populace, and these were only inflamed after a stranger arrived at the town. This was the King of Atlechia, part of the Zamotz Union, who was just visiting the town of Jepola on friendly terms, before he casually stated about his offer to purchase Ahalia from Viodoxa. This confused the government, as no such agreement took place between Ahalia and Zamotz. It was revealed that the Atlechian King had consulted Archonate Yazov of Viodoxa instead of the Ahalian government and reportedly agreed to sell the terriotory for a total of $65,000. This enraged many of the Ahalians, prompting Duke Theos to begin seeking a sponsor for an independence decree. Negotiations between the A.W.E and the Duchy began with the idea of Ahalia joining the Empire as a vassal state being agreed upon. However, before these negotiations concluded, the Viodoxan government suddenly collapsed, fracturing into several splinter states. Without a central government to serve, Ahalia declared independence, declaring Theos as the Basileus.

Purchase of Outer Ahalia
Following the declaration of independence, the Basileus and Nikatoi began solidifying the Ahalian state, beginning by drafting a constitution and reforming the economy. The entire government was reformed with the Nikatoi being reformed into a legislative body, rather than an advisory body. A position of Supreme Judge was invented, as well as the guarantees of the rights of citizens. Alongside this, the population boomed once more, providing a massive economic support to Ahalia, leading to a new set of fortifications to be built surrounding the city. Using the new economic funding, Wambold O'r Cymoedd would negotiate a deal to purchase lands from the Kingdom of Atlechia, negotiating personally with King Swenking, previously being seen as a diplomatic impossibility. The pair negotiated for days, and a bargain was struck. Ahalia would annex the region known as Outer Ahalia for the sum of $70,000. This would double the land size of Ahalia and strengthen the relations between Ahalia and Atlechia even more.

Ahalia Enters Conflict
Proceeding the expansion, Ahalia had developed immensely. This prompted the government to start showing off the might of the nation to it's neighbours, doing so by aiding it's neighbours in wars. The first of these was the First Elbian-Valdreach conflict, where several Ahalian soldiers assisted the Elbian people liberate their lands. After joining with the White Keys and Yakuza, the Ahalians marched into Tvear, the capital of Valdreach. They met no resistance, and swiftly occupied the town and castle, before declaring victory. The second conflict was the Atlechian Invasion into Agoge, where the Kingdom of Atlechia had declared the NMC to be an illegitimate nation and claimed it's lands. Ahalia would send volunteers to assist, and raid the valuable mercenary treasures. Atlechia, being the primary attacker, brought 3 soldiers to the fight, while Ahalia, the assistant in the war, brought 7. The two nations occupied the lands to little to no resistance and earned a lot of war spoils.

Pyramid Dispute
The New Moon Company had an illegally made pyramid in their territory built by the Jabaleans. Since both Jabal and NMC had been long inactive, Ahalian leaders asked admins to remove the claim on the pyramid. After the claim was removed, the Ahalians claimed the pyramid as a part of their city of Dinas.

The Kingdom of Atlechia would later conquer the NMC with Ahalian help. The Atlechian King claimed the pyramid to be a part of NMC and thus his territory. While the Ahalians beleived they had the right to the pyramid since they were the ones to get the claims removed and had developed the pyramid, which now was full of Ahalian Symbology. This dispute is still ongoing however, currently it's in a stalemate with Ahalia controlling the pyramid. The dispute resulted in the breaking off of relations between Ahalia and Atlechia

Government of Ahalia
The Kingdom of Ahalia is currently an autocratic empire, led by Autokrator Theo Zevedeos the First. Autokrator Theos serves as the Head of the Executive powers, as well as the Chief Diplomat of Foreign Affairs for the state. The Porphyrogennetos is the heir to the throne, and upon the resignation or demise of the Autokrator, the Porphyrogennetos will take over and assume the position of Autokrator. The current Porphyrogennetos is Fousas Zevedeos. The government also consists of the Council of Ahalia, consisting of the members:


 * Wambold O'r Cymoedd
 * MineRabbit
 * Haider Sinan
 * Wert

The Nikatoi are led by the Ekprosopos, who is elected by the entire populace of Ahalia. It is a majorly ceremonious role and serves as the Autokrator's mouthpiece to the Council. The current Ekprospos is Wambold O'r Cymoedd.

Diplomatic Relations
The Empire of Ahalia shares a series of diplomatic relations and alliances with it's neighbours and beyond. They are:


 * Kingdom of Helos: Pact of Non-Aggression and Mutual Defense
 * Kingdom of Vanlo: Pact of Non-Aggression and Mutual Defense
 * Divine Kingdom of Solandia: Pact of Non-Aggression and Mutual Defense
 * Valardom of Vulpinia: Pact of Non-Aggression and Mutual Defense
 * Principality of Vladigrad: Pact of Non-aggression and Mutual Defense

Geography
The Empire of Ahalia is located on the continent of Arsine, on the eastern coast. It borders the Zamotz Union, and the New Moon Company. The terrain is entirely desert, with a large mesa to the north, with a river seperating the Empire from the mainland. It consists of four towns, Jepola, Rochdale, Dinas and Kekrifalia. Jepola is the capital, and consists of the main facilities of Jepola, surrounded by a large wall which is the main defense of the town. Jepola has two entrances, to the south which leads to the South Bridge, the Jepola-Rochdale Bridge and the Jepola-Rochdale Highway, and to the east, which leads to the Jepola Docks.

Religion and Culture
The Empire of Ahalia has one official religion Guhenism .Guhenism was introduced to Ahalia by the original Viodoxan settlers, with it being the main religion of Viodoxa. The Guhenist Church sits high upon a hill in the center of Jepola. Ahalians are guaranteed the right to the freedom of religion.