Morladron Mysterlu

Morladron Mysterlu is a mostly-oceanic, democratic, maritime nation located roughly around southern Leifmyrr and eastern Serrona in Eldham. It was formed on 03/03/22 following the unification of the Black Isles, Netvia and Eldercrest. It's capital is "Porthnegys" - which hosts many points of interest, such as the first football stadium in Eldham alongside a memorial to the first warplane ever used (during the Morladron - Sylvania War). It is said to be on of the greatest nations in southern Leifmyrr and has a long and deep history and culture - ranging from it's original founding and civil war up to it's climactic conflict with the Eldham Alliance!

History
[for most earlier history, see The Black Isles]

Unification of Morladron Mysterlu
Proclamation of the Spice Commission

In order to expand the trade relations of the Black Isles, Commodore Trelanganack of the Black Isles began reaching out to smaller oceanic nations around Eastern Eldham in order to build a spice-focused trader company - this company would combine many nation's spice resources into one, meaning they could effectively sell every spice. The nations of Netvia (led by Mqthijs and Lincis) and Eldercrest (led by 9Unlimited) agreed to this proposal and formed the Spice Commission. Business was slow but it did serve to bring the 3 nations far closer together, leading directly to the Unification of Morladron Mysterlu on 03/03/22.

 The Omen of Three 

On the 3rd day of the 3rd month, the 3 nations united. Netvia, The Black Isles and Eldercrest and realised - through the Spice Commission - how similar their nations were (culturally, economically, religiously, etc) and had been undergoing talks to unite into one, strong union. Trelanganack Kowklopen spearheaded these talks and used her knowledge of the local area along with strong promises of legislatory, governmental and military reform to win the nations over. This union became Morladron Mysterlu (roughly translating to "sailors union") and all of the nations within began to prosper. The laws and government were reformed (although the government structure remained largely the same as the Black Isles), new diplomacy was opened up, a national newspaper (the Morladron Packet) began printing daily issues, the religions of Voidsail from the Black Isles and Order of Nihattan from Netvia merged into a syncretic religion Voidmun, and a the Morladron Buccaneer Corps was formed to defend the nation from foreign threats. All was well and everyone celebrated; the phrase "Morladron Bys Vyken!" (roughly translating to "Morladron Forever") became commonplace in the streets as well as in government - nationalism spread like plague and the nation was tightly gripped by the disease, which led them down dangerous paths.

The Kragmen Dispute It was not long after the Unification of Morladron that the Kragmen Dispute occured. The town of Kragmen, which had long been settled on Nexus' land, was finally bought by Commodore Buck from the local governor of the area and incorporated into Morladron. However, the Emperor Reaps of Nexus was not pleased - he had not authorised his governors to sell land and was outraged. He immediately took the land back and negotiations began. Morladron sent Commdore Trelanganack and Commander GuardReady as diplomats (a fatal error) while Nexus' affairs were handled directly by their emperor. Trelanganack and GuardReady were uncompromising, demanding that Nexus just leave the land to them and all charges to be dropped; Reaps did not agree, he sought for the land to return to Nexus by all means necessary. Situations worsened when Uraki officials appeared at the negotiating table, sent to aid their vassal in diplomacy. Finally, Alfred "Buck" ap Vaha stepped in and apologised to Reaps and Nexus, dismissing Trelanganack and GuardReady. Reaps was sympathetic and they managed to agree to jointly administer the town under Nexus banner. Conflict had been avoiding however the two nations relations were greatly harmed by the poor negotiating on Morladron's behalf and it would take a long time for them to rebuild their friendship.

Crisis of the Netvian Throne

It was a complete shock when, shortly after the Kragmen dispute was solved, Pirate Lord Mqthijs (King of Netvia) coronated his son Olary as the new king and ordered himself executed at the hand of his own flesh and blood with his own personal blade; his son obeyed and suddenly Netvia would change forever. Lincis, Netvia's second king, demanded Olary to be an illegitimate heir and demanded that he be crowned as Pirate Lord of Netvia. Olary argued that his father had wished for his ascension and had even stated it in his final will and testament, hence he was entitled to the throne. Netvia began to split down the middle between Olary's and Lincis' supporters until - finally - it was decided that Olary was the rightful heir and Lincis' was forced to abdicate as co-monarch, becoming a Commodore. Lincis soon forgave his people and accepted the situation as it was, saving his reputation in future and thrusting him up the ranks of populist systems.

Fosdinas Crisis

Once again, Morladron was immediately faced with another crisis. Prior to the unification of Morladron, the Black Isles went through a several conflicts with the Grand Archonate of Sylvania. One of these was a territorial dispute over a region that came to be known as Fosdinas. After occupying the abandoned town in the region with the support of Novastonia, who formerly inhabited it, the original owner of the town (who had been kicked from Novastonia) immediately sold the region to Sylvania without permission. This territorial dispute grew and tensions rose over the course of many hours until a last minute diplomatic decision was reached in which Corsair Tyr Leuxos would pay 420k over the course of a month in exchange for Sylvania dropping their claim and giving the land to the Black Isles

The day before the money was to be handed over, Leux cancelled the purchase of the Fosdinas territory in protest to alleged mistreatment by the sitting council - primarily at the hands of Trelanganack - and defected to Sylvania, becoming a citizen immediately. Trelanganack and Pirate Lord EarlGreyT3a contacted SirLadBubblepop of Sylvania to renegotiate payment. However, SirLadBubblepop raised his asking price threefold to 1.2M, way out of Morladron's budget for land they believed to fairly own. Due to this, Morladron refused to back down and demanded that they would pay the fair sum of 420k and obtain the land (which they had already settled a town with citizens on). Tensions grew and grew until it became clear neither side would back down - leading both to reach out to allies and begin to prepare for the worst.

Morladron's Darkest Hour Conflict almost came many times. Trelanganack was thrown in jail for misconduct and was not released for 3 weeks, leaving all negotiations to Corsair Pawnch Oldguard. The Morladroners did not want to give in to Sylvania but, as the days dragged on, it became harder and harder to "negotiate" with the Sylvanians - especially given that Sylvania threatened to to attack Morladron in tandem with the entire army of their ally, Aristios. An attempt was made to make Sylvania back off by temporarily becoming a vassal of a sympathetic Scylding, who offered to protect Morladron through their network of military alliances, however this failed. Slowly, the demands became less outrageous (but were still far from reasonable) but the damage had already been done; with Trelanganack out of the picture and EarlGreyT3a lacking in political skill, the third triumvir Alfred "Buck" ap Vaha passed "Buck's Law" - effectively instating martial law across the nation. The Pirate Lords protested but Buck spoke thus:

Morladron Civil War
The Many Factions Buck's "reforms" did not go down well with the people - they felt as though their ideals and principles had been betrayed. Tea and Trelanganack also felt undercut by their old partner (though they did respect his confidence) and went on to form the Morladron Civillian's Opposition (M.C.O). Other factions formed and threw in their lot with the M.C.O while others chose the Communists, with the tables eventually swaying in the M.C.O's favour.

The Siege of Mesara

The major Communist strongholds were found to be the towns of Kragmen (the birthplace of Buck's P.R.M) and Mesara (in Netvia). The Mesaran mayor, who went by the name of crimsoncatt, was a staunch Communist supporter and vowed - with the support of ex-Pirate Lord Olary - that Mesara shall never be taken by the M.C.O; with their sights set, the anti-Communists sprang into action! The M.C.O had managed to take full control of the Morladron Buccaneer Corps before the collapse, giving them the military advantage, and were joined by the P.S.F, who promised the people of Morladron a centralised republic if they won - they were also joined by supporting soldiers from Nexus, sent by Tyrus "reaps" Olmero to aid his husband Lincis. The M.C.O's forces split into 2 teams, offensive and defensive, and prepared for attack.

Birth of the Republic The attack never came, however, as crimsoncatt and Olary immediately surrendered Mesara and submitted to the anti-Communists. The remaining factions all put their lot in with the M.C.O and Buck's P.R.M were left totally alone in the town of Kragmen. Seeing the writing on the wall, Buck surrendered and gave up Kragmen to the new government. Following the victory of the P.S.F/M.C.O in the First Morladron Civil War, the citizens had a taste for republicanism and Lincis answered their call. He formally dissolved Morladron Mysterlu and, in it's place, established the Morladron Repoblek. Though Tea and Trelanganack both disagreed with this move, both were unable to stop it due to the signing of the "Treaty of the Kraken's Fall Sea", which brought many restrictions onto their freedoms and the freedoms of the nation in exchange for peace with Sylvania.

Morladron Repoblek
The Provisional Government

The P.S.F had successfully taken control of Morladron and their leader, Lincis Von Bimbo, had some major reforms planned; as he had promised, he dissolved Morladron Mysterlu as well as it's constituent states of Netvia and the Black Isles (Eldercrest, hearing news of this, requested independence and was swiftly granted it by the central government). Next, Lincis proclaimed the new nation of "Morladron Repoblek" - a totally centralised republic centred around representative democracy. He totally scrapped the old legal code and called for Pawnch Oldguard, a previously insignificant religious scribe within the nation, to aid him in drafting a new legally-binding constitution. The nation's laws were massively expanded and clarified, strengthening justice and allowing for a judicial court system to be founded - which it swiftly was, with tc being appointed as the first Magistrate. Lincis also worked tirelessly to repair the damages of the civil war as well as renovate many old towns and cities. He put LilGhostling in charge of Porthnegys (which remained the capital city) and had her oversee the expansion of city-limits all the way to the Rohkian border. He also put his former co-king Olary von Mqithjis in charge of military reform, which Olary quickly bungled up, leading to Morladron becoming one of the most militarily incompetent nations in Eastern Eldham. Most importantly, Lincis worked to avoid creating or harbouring the seeds that had led to Morladron's problems of the past...

National Centralisation Efforts

One of Lincis' main priorities in preventing unrest was his centralisation efforts. He used the "1st Morladron National Census" as a base for his statistics and worked to destroy all national identities within the nation. He began hiding Netvian monarchist artefacts, such as the diarchical crowns and countless documents, as well as massively prohibiting the use of Netvian and Black Islander flags. He, using social engineering, made the use of words such as "black isles", "pirate", "sailors", "federation", "old morladron", "council of the corsairs", "netvia", "mqthijs", "crown", "king" and "secede" taboo and their utterance began to make many feel uncomfortable and unloyal. He promoted the use of words such as "unified", "republic", "democracy", "strong", "north morladron", "south morladron", "morladroner", "independent" and "law" to reinforce his policies and make people proud to be Morladroners over their original national identities...

Due to these efforts, national identities were almost entirely forgotten. The Black Isles became "North Morladron" while Netvia became "South Morladron". Most entirely forgot the long Netvian traditions of diarchy and ice-sheet settlements as old towns were terraformed and flags were removed. Lincis, to verify his successful efforts, commissioned the "2nd Morladron National Census", that detailed that every local citizen identified as a Morladroner over any regional identity - zero people voted that they felt they were a Netvian nor a Black Islander.

The First Election

Following on from Lincis' work, the first true democratic elections were held. Pawnch Oldguard, Lincis' old secretary, won presidency with Sovietsky Axolotl becoming his vice-president. Many of the old governors from Lincis' cabinet retained their positions into Pawnch's cabinet (if it ain't broke, don't fix it)! The presidential inauguration took place on the one month anniversary of Morladron's unification and doubled as a celebration of both events. It was hosted in Morladron's largest city, Vallava, and most citizens made an appearance. Tea Brewtaker, who was still forbidden from government by the Sylvanians, arrived at the inauguration and attempted to rob a few citizens, however was repelled by a small citizen-made militia due to the military's incredible incompetence due to Olary's continued neglect.

Work of President Pawnch

Pawnch's first, and best, action was sacking Olary from his position as military leader and reappointing GuardReady instead. However, Pawnch's term is marked with a black stain by many due to his general lack of action nor policy throughout. Pawnch's only notable achievements are the numerous pacts he formed with many nations - such as Amarillo - however the validity and usefulness of these pacts was questioned greatly at the time and has been questioned greatly since. Potentially the greatest thing that came from Pawnch's term as president is the groundwork it laid for a new political order to rise in it's wake...

Discontent With Government

During the later half of Pawnch's presidency, Trelanganack was partially pardoned by the Sylvanian government with approval from full Iris Kratoras in Aristios. This allowed the politician to speak freely on political issues and even run for government. Alongside this, sentiment against Pawnch was growing rapidly. Two competing political parties had formed: the Morladron Socialist Party (led by Sovietsky) and the United Morladron Party (led by Dyncreulon). Trelanganack's return and newfound outspoken-ness against the presidency greatly accelerated Pawnch's decline in popularity - especially with the catalytic aid of Trelanganack's "Morladron Packet" newspaper.

Before long, the governors in Pawnch's own cabinet unanimously voted to impeach Pawnch and remove him and his vice, Sovietsky, from power; the governors cited inactivity and lack of effective policy making as their rationale, for his removal however it was evident that the massive unpopularity with the nation's citizenry had pressured them into the decision. With interim powers being handed back to Lincis, as the most decorated sitting governor, a new election was held.

Age of Reformation
Election of Pennsevik Trelanganack Popular support was behind Trelanganack from the beginning. One of the founding members of Morladron, she was proficient in cohesion and charisma and her use of propaganda was undeniably effective - Trelanganack ran for president virtually uncontested by any other candidates. There was some scandal, however, as many citizens questioned the appointment of Trelanganack's vice as Buck - the main instigator of the Morladron Civil War; most citizens worried that Buck's old communist ways would return and he would once again thrust the nation into unrest, anarchy and infighting with his radical economic policies. Trelanganack assured them: Buck had changed his ways and had since joined the United Morladron Party, he stood for Morladron's aims over any of his own personal beliefs and - as such - his personal beliefs in communism would have little effect on the nation's future. The citizens worries were mostly quelled and the pair won a unanimous vote by the governors.

The 'Five-Day Reforms'

Immediately upon election, Trelanganack and Buck initiated their great new plan: the 'Five-Day Reforms'. This major political move strived to reconstruct the entire fabric of the nation by reforming every aspect of Morladron over the course of just five days - with each day exhibiting a different reform.

The first day was colloquially referred to as the "Cosmetic Reforms" and involved mainly superficial yet important changes to promote Morladronian identity and make navigation of official institutions intuitative. Some of the changes included: renaming "Governors" to "Menysters"; renaming the "President" and "Vice-President" to "Pennsevik" and "Islewydh"; changing the official name back from "Morladron Repoblek" to "Morladron Mysterlu"; changing the official flag back to it's original design; and encouraging more creative, stylised and specialised architecture for Morladron's cities.

Next came the "Legislatory Reforms", in which Trelanganack totally rewrote the entire national constitution and law book to make it all much more clear, concise and thorough. Crimes like corruption and harassment finally became illegal while official protocols were put in place for regional constituencies (the system through which Menysters are represented), their jurisdiction and the processes of their joining and departure.

Thirdly was the biggest of all the reforms, "Military Reforms". These saw the military totally rebuilt from the group up with new corps systems - splitting the army into the Cannon Corps, Buccaneer Corps and Police Corps - as well as a new, thorough ranking structure and promotion of tactical/strategical-minded officials rather than strong soldiers, who were instead placed in more on-the-ground positions.

Then came the "Economic Reforms", which simply encouraged more trade and marked the beginning of development for the "Morladron Economic Exchange" - a system in which citizens can exchange their materials for equal amounts of money.

And, finally, came the "Educational Reforms", which saw the introduction of the Morladron state exam (the M.C.H.E) alongside the construction of the University of Morladron under former-President Pawnch Oldguard.

The 'Five-Day Reforms' are often regarded - internally and abroad - as one of Morladron's most successful and revolutionary programs. Trelanganack won over a landslide of support early on in the new government's term and Morladron saw major revitalisation away from the start of a downward trend. Many still believe that the 'Five-Day Reforms' mark the high-point of Morladron's history while almost all regard it as being the most successful government program ever introduced, with it's effects still felt today...

Football and Michael Imperium Shortly after the 'Five-Day Reforms' and, delivering on a personal comment made during jail time, Trelanganack began construction of a giant football stadium in Porthnegys - with the permission of LilGhostling, the local Menyster and her daughter. With the help of another child, Feblu, the Eldham Football League was built and the "Founder's Cup" began with 4 teams: Morladron FC, Manz City, Sylvania FC and Alodia Athletic. Morladron went on to win the cup in a devastating final, in which they beat Alodia 11-0, and the Morladron FC team is still regarded today as one of the best (especially with their star player Steak "Morladron's Maradonna" Dyncreulon").

Reconciliation With Sylvania

Following the re-election of "TrelangaBuck", the situation with neighbouring Sylvanians got severe. Military action was being threatened almost every week, with Sylvanians "peacefully invading" Porthnegys regularly and the Morladronian Alert System being raised to "2" often for months on end. This period of intense relations would prove to cause too many issues for both sides and Menysters would agree that a "policy of ignorance" should be instated, allowing both nations to co-exist in relative peace for the first time in years.

The movement had been headed by the then Sylvanian Prime Minister "pafric", who met with Trelanganack in the fort atop Porthnegys to discuss the destruction of Luxwind's outer wall. This tremendous day is still regarded as the peak of Morladron-Sylvanian relations, with citizens from both nations gathering en masse for the deal to be sealed by a handshake from both officials; the rabid crowds, crazy with jubilation, rushed to the outer wall (a historic point of contention due to it's proximity to Morladron's Scurvy Shores island) and tore it down - while both pafric and Trelanganack looked on, proud of their peace-making efforts.

The Phony War

It became clear towards the end of May that Lunaris was amassing a coalition against the Eldham Imperium. Immediately, due to Pennsevik Trelanganack's personal and business relationship with Caesar Shay Healy alongside the Imperium's aid during the Freemen Uprising, Morladron contacted the Imperium and pledged it's full loyalty and support. As the cold war grew and grew, it became clear that the Lunari Empire was not messing around, and millions were being invested into mercenaries and defences prior to any declaration of war. The biggest scandal of the "war" was the leaking of Lunaris' southeastern-front plan, which detailed how Sylvania would personally lead a land invasion of the U.S.S.E and attempt to knock-out the Imperium's strongest region. This offensive plan against one of Morladron's closest allies at the time wrecked all chance of Sylvanian-Morladron reconciliation in the future and cemented Morladron's position as a pro-Imperium, anti-Sylvania keystone.

As weeks and weeks progressed, it became clear that mass leaking of Lunarii plans and the professionalism and dedication of the Imperium's troops had widened the military gap significantly. Due to this, Lunaris called off their invasion - leading the Imperium to demand steep reparations; as a major keystone in the southeastern front, Morladron was invited to the Sylvanian reparations talks where Pennsevik Trelanganack helped iron out an official armistice, which saw Sylvania pay $1,000,000 to the U.S.S.E and sign a Non-Aggression Pact with the Imperium. This major win saw Shay Healy retire from the Imperium, leading to a major power struggle leading to the communist duo of "Krakhov" and "Van'la Gaboliver" inciting revolt and reorganising the Imperium into The Union. Krakhov then created the Veladan Bloc, in which Morladron was a founding member, creating a sphere of peace in the south-east only threatened by Sylvania.

Era of Uncertainty
The Alsaryan Dispute

In early June, a minority group from within Nexus (a longstanding rival of Morladron since it's unlawful sale of the jointly-administered Kragmen territory) declared independence. They declared the "Pirate State of Zaidan" and, almost immediately, Nexus was thrust into total turmoil - the nation had long been decline before however it seemed as though it may finally see it's end. Amid this confusion - as the story goes - the Nexan territory of New Olmeria declared it's independence, partitioning itself into it's constituent towns of Thalassos and Alzaria; the town of Thalassos voted unanimously on joining the U.S.S.E State of Andrimar while Alzaria joined Morladron Mysterlu. Immediately, it was renamed "Alsarya" and an election was run.

However, Nexus narrowly saved itself by integrating into Arkaenum, a vassal of The Lunari Empire. With this added aid on it's belt, Nexus' leader Tyrus "reaps" Olmero sent Arkaenum's diplomats to deliver Morladron an ultimatum: hand back the land or face war. Initially, the diplomats hit it off, with Myers and Trelanga-buck discussing cordially a peaceful outcome. However, when Myers failed to deliver the results he wanted, reaps called Empress Amaranthine Luon herself to get the land back. Morladron's leadership did not appreciate Amy's stubbornness, with Trelanganack infamously stating "Morladron could take Lunaris in a 1-on-1". This led to an official declaration of war against Morladron by Lunaris. Weeks passed and, while Morladron prepared, Lunaris only seemed to stall. Suddenly, Arkaenum - facing major internal strife due to Oceanum's declaration of independence - became independent of Lunaris. Without such strong support, they began to ignore reaps' pleas and sought a white peace with Morladron. For a fee of $100,000 (₥371,000 at the time) and an official Non-Aggression Pact, Arkaenum officially dropped it's claim to the land and withdrew it's declaration of war. This major win for Morladron saw it's land area increase by around 80% yet it was dulled by the newfound hatred from Lunaris, a major denouncement from Sylvania and a national election scandal - as every candidate for Alsarya was found to be corrupt in some way - leading to massive internal election reform, spearheaded by the up-and-coming Menyster Pringles.

Bloody Thursday and the Siege of Noxwind

On the 16th day of June, multiple Sylvanians - following on from their denouncement of Morladron's actions during the Alsarya Dispute - entered Porthnegys and started provoking Morladroners by uploading photographs of monuments in the city with the caption "New Riverheim" (Riverheim being a northern province of Sylvania). Following the policy of ignorance, the locals decided not to engage initially, but it became clear that one of Sylvania's most well known enemies, Buorny, was present, and so prominent member, EarlGreyTea, decided to engage the party. The battle that ensued would result in the death of many Morladroners, with the Sylvanians having the war surplus that they brought with them, signalling that they had prepared to obtain a response from the Morladronian people. This heavy toll would cause the garrisoned soldiers to chase away the raiders, all the way back to the Sylvanian capital of Noxwind.

The siege of Noxwind would be a tremendous Morladronian victory, with the battered soldiers from Porthnegys successfully scaring the raiders all the way back to their homes. The local governor of Noxwind proclaimed martial law and advised locals to remain in their homes while Morladroners marched down the streets of the Sylvanian capital, before returning home victorious. Although the day would be a victory for Morladron, it came at a cost and the events of "Bloody Thursday" - as coined by Islewydh Buck in a speech to the nation - would be remembered as an act of agression by Sylvania towards Morladron.

Alodian Collapse & Andrimari Integration On a quiet day at the start of July, the world was shocked to see Dorvarosia (an integral founding state of Alodia) secede from the Nimean Union. Alodia had previously been a small federal state to Morladron's west, stricken from day one with infighting and unrest; in an attempt to ease such problems, their controversial leader Dj integrated them into the promising new Nimean Union. However, the people and government were not informed of this decision prior and vehemently demanded a referendum of "Alodexit" from the Union. The vote was a straight tie, ending in 16/16. With no precautionary measures taken in case of such a draw, the state collapsed into anarchy as all authority was lost by the government. Slowly, it's states began declaring independence while the Nimean leadership did nothing to stop it. One such state was "Lyriatell", led by Trelanganack's son Jonebin. Though contacted by Dj to form a new nation, Jonebin ultimately decided (via the flip of a coin) to integrate into Morladron, securing it's first foothold west of Sylvania...

Seeing the establishment of this foothold, Alvertex (the leader of the U.S.S.E's State of Andrimar) begin discussing integration into Morladron. Andrimar had been facing a major depopulation and economic crisis, as development stalled entirely with only two options presenting themselves: join another nation or integrate fully into the U.S.S.E - which Alvertex did not favour, as his Barbossan comrades had fought the U.S.S.E for Andrimar (formerly the DVR's) independence! Ultimately, he decided that Morladron would be perfect and began discussing total integration.

Though on-board, the U.S.S.E denied the request to have all of Andrimar ceded to Morladron, citing it's historical value. Alvertex fought as best he could however, ultimately, it was decided that Morladron would gain half of Andrimar (originally including the capital, Al-Bassad, before Phillip Brewtaker sent a strongly-worded letter to The Union's Politburo) for a price of just $700,000 - just ₥2,667,000! The deal went through and, much to Sylvania's dismay, Morladron now had a strong foothold around Sylvania. Immediately, the land was internally divided into new constituencies and a host of new elections were run, with Alvertex winning Paloma; yet, Morladron's two territorial halves remained divided and Morladron's government inherited a massive new debt-drain in the many towns scattered across Andrimar.

Death of Jamesey & The Stickmanite Uprising

Though a controversial figure, Jamesey had served his country well. Following the Andrimar Integration, Jamesey single-handedly raised millions which were spent across Lyriatell, Paloma and Alsarya for the benefit of the people. He worked his way up the military to become Kapten and, in death, was remembered fondly with a grand funeral. He was found dead on the beach of Scurvy Shores, being found suspiciously by his "friend" Menyster StickmanPrime of Alsarya. His funeral was a grand occasion, with whole towns of people turning up to witness his casket be lowered into the sands of the beach he once called home; however, as the remembrance was drawing to a close, Stickman rose to make a speech: ''It is sad to see Menyster James "Riddlerrs" Polar, My deepest Friend.. The "Hero" of Morladron Dead. He and I shared a lot of moments together and we had planned to have many more. While Jamsey was a good friend I must apologize for what I have to say next. He was not a good person at all; He stole, scammed, schemed, pillaged, murdered, and so much more. Many of the people who scolded Morladron for hosting a funeral for Jamsey are still feeling the after-effects of his Rein of terror. It came to a shock to me but Morladron supported everything he did fully as long it brought wealth to the nation. The corruption in Morladron Is rampant and must be dealt with swiftly if Morladron is to survive. This is not the Morladron I know, I may end up being silenced by the Government for this but this has to be said. I denounce Trelanganack and the Goverment of Morladron for corruption and not upholding to their own laws in our Democratic Government. If you have not saw in the Morladron Packet, I have started my own movement; the so called Stickmanite Movement. I aim to extinguish the Corrupt Officials and restore balance to the central Goverment only through me shall Morladron and her people thrive in these dark times we are experiencing, I call upon all democratic nations to support my claim and help my noble goal. I love Morladron and will do anything to to bring her to prosperity, but the Government must be restored to order for the people.''

The government removed Stickman from the stage before he could say any more but the damage was done. Before the night was over, Stickman declared Alsarya a rebel zone and began pushing south through Lyriatell and into Paloma. The central government were quick to remove him from his position and mobilise the military, cutting the Stickmanites off at the great river separating south Alsarya from Paloma - protecting the military's primary HQ and storehouse from seizure. This began what became known as The Stickmanite Uprising.

Seizure of Porthnegys

Stalled at Paloma and deterred from the southern constituencies, the Stickmanites began reviewing strategies when SirLadBubblepop (the leader of Sylvania) reached out to them. He promised to allow them safe passage across the border into Hitulu, reinforcement from Sylvania's "Iris Grand Army" and passage through the stolen Fosdinas into Porthnegys - the capital city! Not about to waste the opportunity, Stickman took his forces away from Paloma and moved north, passing through Sylvania into Morladron again. The Stickmanites arrived in the north of the capital bolstered by the Sylvanian military and government (changing the makeup of the rebels to 80% Sylvanian); they walked through the streets and slew any citizens who stood in their way.

When word reached the government, who were temporarily stationed in Paloma with the military, Pennsevik Trelanganack issued a supreme order not to dispatch troops; though the capital was under attack, the Sylvanian force was far too prepared and strong - ultimately, their best play would be too sacrifice the capital and protect Morladron's thriving south. Though the military was ordered to remain in Paloma, Kapten GuardReady and Pennsevik Trelanganack personally journeyed to the capital to assess the situation. There, they found mass civillian executions and huge numbers of Sylvanians, who had begun leading the troops themselves, occupying the city completely. Trelanganack narrowly escaped by aircraft while GuardReady remained and picked off a few troops with his trident, before being captured and held ransom.

 Declaration of War Against Sylvania 

Morladron was left humiliated for having lost it's own capital. Internally, however, the people began to turn against the Stickmanites. It had become clear - even to Stickman himself - that the Sylvanians were attempting to utilise the rebels to instate a puppet state under Stickman, leading Stickman to begin plotting against his own movement. Meanwhile, the central government relocated it's operations to Mesara (in Netvia) and began preparing for an all-out siege. The U.S.S.E personally sent troops to help while Menyster Pringles commissioned Mayor "tc" to construct defences all around the city. When the battle came, Mesara's defences were immense yet all the troops still feared the oncoming hoard. However, a sheepish Stickman approached the walls alone, calling the group down to meet him. He explained how Sylvania had attempted to manipulate his revolution into a new puppet civil-war to finally end the 'Morladron nuisance' once and for all. The whole group were outraged and threatened to execute Stickman on-the-spot however he continued on: if the government and the rebels came together to re-unify Morladron, they could finally take down Sylvania and end the months and months of hostile diplomatic actions that Morladron had to bear.

Unanimously, the troops declared their intention to invade Sylvania seeking retribution. While a small group of soldiers ventured to Noxwind, Trelanganack and the rest of the government met to discuss their next course of action. They demanded that Sylvania acknowledge their wrongdoing in the rebellion and finally apologise for all their past misdeeds - such as stealing the town of Fosdinas. Sylvania's response was written entirely by their Foreign Minister Logui Fielinya Olmero, who instead of apologising, accused Morladron of being "manipulative", "double-faced" and "disappointing". Completely outraged and without a sufficient response, Morladron declared war 3 days later.

The Great Sylvanian War
 Pre-War Rearmament & Diplomacy  On the 21st July 2022, - citing unaccounted Sylvanian transgressions - Morladron declared war on Sylvania. Immediately, Morladron began seeking aid and rearming - with Sylvania following suit. After only a few days, Morladron had just two allies: Samora and Merkonis. Meanwhile, Sylvania had amassed a mighty coalition of Sylvania (themselves), the Lunari Empire,the Velerian Empire, Helsia, the Empire of Simulami, the Vulperium, Scylding, Varn Torum, Astrya, Vintas, The Pale, the Crownlands of Raiyuna, Aragotha, The Brotherhood of Ulfaeng and many more.

Following the democratic institutions, Trelanganack resigned from her Pennsevik position to run as a Menyster in the government with the mantle was passed down to Buck, who would lead the nation until the upcoming elections. This would be known as the "Short Government" and would see the shift from a peacetime to wartime economy; Buck would use propaganda and other developments to mobilise the population and create the biggest military surplus of armour sets and potions possible to help Morladron through the war.

Morladron failed to win public support, with people such as Imperius and Amy peddling the narrative of "Morladron declared war, they must be in the wrong", leading to a massive fall in international public standing - from which Morladron has never recovered. However, internally, the war was a massively popular move with almost 100% of the citizens supporting the decision and aiding in the pre-war armament. Over ₥72,000,000 ($15,000,000) was raised for the first battle alone while further work continued in Mesara - which became Morladron's primary industrial town, producing over 80% of the armour, potions and brews used in the entire war.

First Battle of Vermillion

The 31st July 2022 marked the first battle of the war. Morladron and Sylvania both invested over ₥33,600,000 ($7,000,000) on mercenaries for the first battle - both armies measured armies of over 100 soldiers each. The battle began and the Morladronian army pushed westwards from Alsarya towards Vermillion however met tough resistance due to the vast coalition of highly-trained soldiers Sylvania had ammassed. Within minutes, the Morladron front-line had been broken and (lacking sufficient communications between their various groups) a great massacre began. The mercenaries abandoned the effort and fled while soldiers like Feblu and GuardReady returned to their homes to protect them - as Sylvanian raiding parties began scouring towns across the whole nation; Trelanganack and Buck boarded a small plane and flew to Kaxkaya, U.S.S.E where they met Van'la Gaboliver, who agreed to hold onto Morladron's valuable artefacts and national treasures in case of total defeat.

Ultimately, Morladron suffered approximately 150 casualties compared to 30 on the opposing side - making the battle of the most catastrophic military defeats in Eldham history. With the government in ruins and national communications down, the newly elected Pennsevik Pringles and Islewydh Alvertex reached out to the Sylvanian government to discuss surrender; however, SirLadBubblepop made it clear he wanted to carve up Morladron as Trelanganack had pledged to do to Sylvania before the war, which was not acceptable for their surrender. Anti-war leaders (most notably ex-Pennsevik Pawnch Oldguard, who left the nation entirely for the duration of the war) did not help Morladron's morale in this time, either. Shay Healy of Eleanor then contacted them, giving a speech in a meeting which lasted multiple hours to motivate the Morladron troops. Once it was done, it was clear that Morladron would not surrender.

Second Battle of Vermillion Morladron played it's war much lower-key after the humiliating defeat of the first battle. Pringles authorised the expulsion of all foreign diplomats and dual-citizens and ceased all foreign policy, making the nation appear to have collapsed to the outside world. Internationally, everyone (including Sylvania) believed Morladron had collapsed and they began to stake their claim to chunks of it. The most notable pre-battle event was the formation of the Eldham Alliance - a coalition of Sylvania, Velerin, The Union and Scylding with the purpose of attacking the Vulperium - which resulted in the dissolution of all of it's constituent member's prior pacts and agreements. Morladron saw unprecidented production rates following this, producing 50 armour sets and 30 barrels of Instant Health II in 2 days.

The battle began on the 13th August 2022. Morladron was outnumbered 20 to 80 yet, due to their sole hired mercenaries at "Paragon", they managed to defeat large swathes of the enemy army. This battle also saw the first military application of aircraft in Eldham, with the Morladron Air Force using an M-11 Dynfighter aeroplane to deploy paratroopers into Vermillion, where they destroyed Sylvanian supply depots and tunnels. By the end of the battle, Morladron had won - killing 47 opponents and suffering 41 casualties - and successfully repelled Sylvania from Alsarya, which they had aimed to seize and occupy. The Eldham Alliance was humiliated by this defeat and began re-arming en masse while Morladron took the opportunity to relax and enjoy their victory.

 Third Battle for Vermillion 

Morladron had perhaps grown too cocky by the third battle and a slurry of bad press led to the termination of destruction of a lot of positive international relations (primarily with Scylding, Vanshire and Helsia). Morladron hired the Brotherhood of Ulfaeng to aid in their offense of Vermillion and aimed to seize the town entirely; meanwhile, Sylvania - aided by the exponential wealth of Imperius - invested in multiple mercenaries alongside gaining the support of the Eldham Alliance to defend them.The battle was another devastating defeat for Morladron. The Morladron Air Force once again proved themselves by obliterating Vermillion's government outpost and exposing the traps laid beneath it, however the disorganisation of the attacking forces on the ground (led by Ulfaeng and Vatiraia) led to a tactical retreat into the desert. Both sides clashed for vast duration of the battle, with General Secretary Lethe of the U.S.S.E making a surprise appearance to attack Alsarya. In just the last 10 minutes of the battle, the Sylvanian forces made a giant push towards the town. They were halted at the wall however a small group rotated around to the back wall, infiltrated and occupied the pyramid of Alsarya. With the government building of the town occupied, Morladron forces withdrew as Sylvania moved in to occupy it.

The occupation of Alsarya was, surprisingly, not a massive morale blow to Morladron with citizens still wildly supporting the government and decrying Sylvanian actions. Pringles and Alvertex were, once again, invited to Sylvania to negotiate; they met Logui Fielinya Olmero, Aaronx4b (who had been personally responsible for Sylvania's war effort) and GenSec Lethe (U.S.S.E) in Pompaelo and, though multiple plans were discussed, Morladron's leaders ultimately refused any of the Sylvanian peace agreements. Instead, they enraged the Sylvanians by proposing a joke agreement in which they would pay a total of $3,250,000 in payment of $100,000 every three weeks, which would have meant receiving reparations over the course of 1.875 IRL years. Lethean's presence at the battle and negotiations led to a total breakdown in Morladron-U.S.S.E relations and the end of their long friendship.

 Battle of Vallava 

The Battle of Vallava was different in that it was the first full offensive against Morladron. Before the battle, Morladron had already begun to run low on cash and - as such - hired only Haligdom mercenaries. Kapten Trelanganack, returning to her position as commander, planned to allow the capture of Vallava's south island before fighting heavily in the north and - ideally - recapturing it. However, uncertainty was further compounded by logistical issues caused by heavy losses Morladron had suffered (including the death of Alfred "buck" ap Vaha). Sylvania had begun to recieve full aid from Velerin/Shirokaneza and the U.S.S.E due to the surrender of the Vulperium to the Eldham Alliance at the Serrona War. When the battle began, Eldham Alliance forces pushed from the west into Vallava's south islands and were unexpectedly bombed by the Morladron Air Force, wounding a few soldiers and destroying some Sylvanian capture points. However, these aircraft were quickly overwhelmed by the shear size of the Eldham Alliance force (who numbered about 60 strong), forcing them to return to Paloma. The Sylvanians quickly captured the south island and pushed up to the north where they began to meet resistance from Haligdom and Morladron. U.S.S.E soldiers attempted to bomb the island however were thwarted by Tea Brewtaker, who successfully bombed a large group of troops and injured U.S.S.E General Secretary Lethe; Sylvanian commander Aaronx4b and Shirokanezan leader Elkool were also badly injured by Morladron's forces, winning a large morale boost among the men. Ultimately, the Eldham Alliance withdrew from the town however it was left ravaged by explosives with no building left fully standing.

Though bringing Shirokaneza and the rest of the Eldham Alliance, the Sylvanians only secured a 34 kill lead - a surprisingly tight gap considering the horrendous reputation of Morladron's military. However, Sylvania had clearly won and problems began to arise. Morladron general GuardReady refused to hand over his share to be paid to the mercenaries while workers like MinerMickey went on strike from the factories in protest at paying off debts. Morladron managed to raise another few million for another battle however, catastrophically, Sylvania readied their next attack in record time and most Morladron troops and mercenaries were underprepared or pre-occupied, hence unable to fight. Seeing this, Kapten Trelanganack finally advised Morladron's government to negotiate a peace and the Treaty of Vallava was signed.

Post-War Recovery
 Signature and Reaction to the Treaty of Vallava 

On 24/09/22, Alvertex and Pennsevik Pringles joined Logui Fielinya Olmero and SirLadBubblepop in signing the Treaty of Vallava. It mandated that the two nations agree to an absolute cease fire of any kind of aggression to the other (including: knowingly helping a rebellion, invasion of a third party or directly participating in; scamming, raiding or theft against citizens of each other's nations; any form of squatting, proxy claiming and illegally settling on each other’s land; and any active military attack with the intent of war), the land of old Andrimar from Lyriatell up to Vermillion would be ceded to Sylvania, the trial the of: Trelanganack, Tea Brewtaker, StickmanPrime AND $2,000,000 in reparations for the war, a first $500,000 paid upfront upon signature of the document and the rest paid every week with installments of $500,000.

The general Morladron public were shocked at this deal, however Kapten Trelanganack reassured them with a speech: Following this speech, GuardReady and other workers from Mesara (such as Slimesickle and Minermickey) unfroze their assets and wealth, donating millions. Before the next day met dusk, Morladron had fulfilled all debt obligations it wracked up throughout the course of the war and covered the full total of reparations 4 weeks early and still had enough left over to invest in reconstruction projects. Once the dust had settled, many realised the incredibly light sentence Morladron had recieved for the shear international disruption it caused across the Eldham Alliance, Vulperium, Simulami, Raiyuna and many other nations.

 Post-War Nationalist Boom  The embarrassment and trauma the war caused to the troops and younger politicians during the war led to a massive surge in nationalistic beliefs. Mainly spearheaded by Wilhelmina (leader of the Morladron Legion Party), many - deluded by propaganda - began to question the government's rationale in ending the war. The following general election certainly reflected these beliefs, with the Morladron Legion Party serving as a major block to the United Morladron Party's long-standing domination of the Unyans Kuntelles (aided by the Worker's Party of Morladron and True Santonian Party).

Furthermore, the release of Morladron's first studio album "i sleep i work i dream of summer morlie fields" spurred on nationalist sympathisers with catchy tunes and melodies that rapidly spread across the Black Isles and, primarily, Netvia. The album celebrated Morladron's great war effort against Sylvania, which many still cite as incredibly impressive despite the ultimate loss. Nationalists like Wilhelmina, Breizhcoincoin and MinerMickey utilised this album as a great propaganda and morale tool throughout post-war Morladron to martyrise the soldiers who fought and glorify the war. In addition, Morladron's trial of ex-Chairman of the Union "Krakhov" restored much faith in Morladron's legal system and solidified - to the citizens - the nation's stance as a paragon of democracy and anti-authoritarian beliefs. The trial was heavily publicised in the Morladron Packet newspaper. leading to a turnout of over 20 people - who could barely all fit into the courtroom at the same time! Krakhov was found guilty on 7/10 charges and was sentenced by Barner CaptainSnap to death by guillotine. He was taken outside to the street and, following a grand speech in which he attested his pride in all of his ventures, he was executed. The crowd was outraged at the trial, claiming the government lacked sufficient evidence to convict him and a small skirmish broke out. Generally, the event was regarded as positive by the people, showing the solidarity of Morladron's institutions despite military failure and civil unrest.

The October Election Scandal The October election began pretty typically as any other however with one, big over-arching difference: the population's newfound split between the incumbent United Morladron Party and the up-and-coming, nationalist Morladron Legion Party. The first few constituencies ran as normal as Feblu retained his safe-seat in Porthnegys for the Worker's Party of Morladron and GuardReady (as basically the only resident of the constituency) won Scurvy Shores. Breizhcoincoin took the Porthmorgan seat from EarlGreyT3a on account of his death, winning it for the Legion Party; meanwhile, the United Morladron Party took a clean-sweep of Netvia as both Trelanganack (for Vallava) and Dyncreulon (for Mesara) won landslide votes.

The Pennsevik election was where the events in October began to differ. The main contenders were the encumbent Pennsevik Pringles and Islewydh Alvertex of the UMP, who were contested by Wilhelmina and her Islewydh-appointee Michael Imperium on behalf of the MLP. It seemed as though the election would secure another UMP majority however - to the shock of everyone - Wilhelmina soared into the lead with 11 votes to Pringles' 9. People began to watch closely as it seemed the nationalists would take control of the Unyans Kuntelles. People who usually strayed away from national politics even threw their votes in, sensing the magnitude of the possible results.

As the first 12 hours of the 24 voting period drew to a close, it was exposed by ex-U.S.S.E immigrant Magnolia Sweete that Wilhelmina had been altering her policies mid-election to sway voters (promising things like free scholarships for art colleges and so on). Without delay, Islewydh Alvertex suspended the election while Pennsevik Pringles and Menyster Dyncreulon - who were, interestingly, all members of the United Morladron Party - called Wilhelmina to trial.

People attended from across the world to witness her trial. CaptainSnap provided over the case and was very maticulous in his judgement. The UMP accused Wilhelmina of bribery and corruption while Wilhelmina plead innocent citing the shaky grounds of the law in regard to promised policy. The trial was long and, as a delegation of Sylvanians arrived, grew rowdy. Inevitably, skirmishes broke out between Sylvanians and Morladroners and even a group of Aristii raiders visited the courthouse to attempt to attack the public. There was major outcry over the event however, through all the dust, CaptainSnap pronounced Wilhelmina innocent on all charges and demanded the election proceed. However, the damage to the reputation of Wilhelmina (and the MLP) had already been done and, as the election drew to a close, Pringles solidified his position as Pennsevik with a 3 vote lead. Wilhelmina later remarked in regard to the election:

Despite Pringles' win, it became abundantly clear that the days of the UMP's massive majority were over and the people of Morladron were beginning to seek new, real change from new, real politicians. The MLP retained massive support throughout the ensuing months and the UMP's own support only wained as more and more fault was thrown on them for ending the war against Sylvania. The massive voter turnout for the MLP was a sign of the future to come and Pringles knew he had to massively set to work to even stand a chance at re-election.

 Work of Pennsevik Pringles 

Following his shaky election and the scary state of the nation, Pringles opted to focus his policy on strengthening 3 key areas: culture, economy and standing.

Feblu was commissioned to focus on the nation's cultural situation. He began by renaming Porthmorgan to "Alsgorhel" alongside a host of other name changes to promote Morladronian national identity, culture and language. He restocked the Porthnegys Library (which had been emptied of books during the war to avoid damage) and refilled it with books from abroad; he also commissioned and purchased further books, paintings and sculptures for abroad to bolster Morladron's artistic scene. Furthermore, he worked closely with other Menysters and construction crews to rebuild war-torn cities (particularly Mesara and Vallava) with unique architectural styles to make Morladron stand out from the rest. Finally, a Culture & Lore Society was established to endorse and encourage the upper and middle classes to induldge and educate themselves on Morladron history. By the start of November, nationalist media like maps of Morladron irredentism and extremist posters became commonplace alongside the catchy slogan "remember what they took from us" - a nationalist dog whistle.

Trelanganack was commissioned to focus on the nation's economic situation. She began by founding the Bank of Morladron, an international commercial, credit and investment bank headquartered in Porthnegys. The bank got off to great success with it's enhanced deposit and loan programs - which were notably used successfully by Empress Alessandra of Aldovir to fund her war in Rathnir. The early success of the bank led Trelanganack to implement a thorough stock market; utilising a never-before-seen system (partially created with the help of former Manzland bankers), the Bank of Morladron stock exchange monitored stocks regularly and allowed for fast-trading, a massive improvement on the old, arduous peer-to-peer trading methods employed by Imperius' Stock Exchange and others. Furthermore, Trelanganack increased the density of shops across all constituencies while funding a grand market in Vallava to restart the war-torn city's economy. Due to all of this, Morladron paid off all of it's wartime debt in a matter of weeks and quickly became a rich, financial powerhouse in the east.

Wilhelmina was commissioned to focus on the nation's international situation. She began by launching massive diplomatic missions across all of Eldham. She successfully reconciled and rebuilt relations with Scylding (which had been damaged by slanderous diplomats on both sides) while proving essential in defusing Saisei Rohkian relations during the GIR-DonFuer Crisis. She launched further successful missions to previously uncontacted nations such as Simulami and Redoriv while massively strengthening Morladron's already positive relationship with the Vulperium and Anglunia under a policy of "the enemies of our enemies are our friends". After all was said and done, Morladron - a previously untouchable and widely hated nation - had friends in high places with which Pringles and Wilhelmina hoped to avoid the disastrous predicament of fighting a war alone as they had mere months before...

 Zombuck Crisis and Pringles' Resignation 

[to be expanded]

Federative
Council of the Corsairs (03/03/22 - 26/03/22)

Provisional
Peace & Stability Foundation (26/03/22 - 03/04/22)

Democratic
President Pawnch (03/04/22 - 01/05/22)

Pennsevik Trelanganack (01/05/22 - 04/06/22)

Pennsevik Trelanganack (04/06/22 - 03/08/22)

Pennsevik Pringles (04/08/22 - 03/10/22)

Pennsevik Pringles (04/10/22 - 03/11/22)

Laws
Morladron has 11 main laws:


 * 1) All citizens are entitled to a trial - prosecution or defence
 * 2) Stealing is forbidden
 * 3) Assault is forbidden
 * 4) Murder is forbidden
 * 5) Unauthorised foreign attack is forbidden
 * 6) Taxes/tarrifs are forbidden
 * 7) Discrimination is forbidden (we are all equal)
 * 8) Trial-by-combat is legal if authorised by a judge
 * 9) Unwarranted mutiny, infighting or coup is forbidden
 * 10) Abandoning of legal duties is forbidden
 * 11) Violation of someone's freedoms is forbidden

The full document is attached here: An Laghas a Morladron

Location
All regions/jurisdictions in Morladron are located along the eastern border of Eldham.

The Black Isles (or North Morladron) is located in and around the Kraken's Fall Sea, surrounded by the nations of Sylvania and Rohkia.

Netvia (or South Morladron) is located south of Sylvania and just north of Vanshire.

Regions
Morladron features 2 main regions named after the nations that previously existed there. The first region, The Black Isles, is an island and the historical founding point of Morladron as a nation. The second region is Netvia. The third region was Eldercrest, but it later gained independence.

The Morladron Packet
See: Morladron Packet Archive

Historic Pacts
See: Netvia-Black Isles MDP

The Tale of The Black Isles
Main article: The Legends and Tales of The Orange Poet

Chapter 1: "Black Eyes"

When the pirate lord made his bed in the island of The Scurvy Shores, he heard ,with one ear, a light conversation from two natives. a mysterious artifact left by the former Barbossian fleet, a figure made in a darken metal probably worth millions, in the far border of the sea. Of course, there were merchants after all, always thinking about gold. However, The pirate lord imagined the object in his hands, caressing the object, imagining his first treasure, not as something to sell, but as something to be proud of, his eyes were turning black. He ran to the shore, is vessel, washed into the beach, was a stolen one, damaged by the escape. The burning wood was still cracking to the weigth of the steel cannons and the sails felt like paper, the ones that no one could read. Not even a second later, not prepared at all, the crew was already running and pulling ropes in the middle of the blue waves.

They arrived, at last, to their destination. It was night, The crew, nervous, holding the boat to not crumble underneath them, looked in the distance. A mere patch of sand, tinier than a plume, was surrounding them in a U shape. The pirate lord, controlling the wheel, ordered the bark to be dropped and the shovels to be ready. He went with two of his men and touched the land with is feet, strange, the sand was black. "Like a mere shadow of itself", said the pirate Lord. him and his men, shovel at hand, started to dig. Hours passed and nothing was found, the island was almost gone, the treasure was gone. The sun rose in the horizon, revealing the yellow sand that was left. Wait, yellow sand? "was it not black earlier", the crew noticed. The pirate lord, turned his head to his ship, it was now black, like a mere shadow.

Clouds were forming on top of them, rain started to crash, dark rain. The islanders rushed to the vessel, which was in the middle of giant tentacles, waving around like if it was showing off his prey. The pirate lord gripped on a loose board on the front and, that was when he started to fly. The others on the ground were small in seconds and the air was getting thicker. He climbed up to the ship, he saw his crew, terror in their poor souls, screaming for mercy, looking down at the mouth of teeth and the eclipse in his black eyes.The lord, on the contrary, was furious. "This ugly ass monster will not be my end, come and get me you pathetic scum!" The giant squid did not move an inch, and then started to rotate his plate. Men and women were dropping, miserably, one by one, like grains of salt trickled onto a perfect dish. The pirate Lord, the last on the ship, held the cracked main mast with his life. He then had an idea, he reached his sword and sawed the mast, finishing the job. The pole fell, with the pirate lord on top, penetrating the monster's mouth. We heard the shriek from miles. The vessel was free from his grasp, to sink, finally, in the abyss. The blue of the sea turned black

What rose from the sea was something of a fairy tale. An immense ship appeared, with at least twenty-four shining canons, ready to tear apart the hardest wood, black rims going around the vessel and a mast so large that it pierced throught the dark clouds and saw the sunlight. "The Eclipse, this would be the name" the Pirate Lord said, wheel at hand, seeing his crew laughing and enjoying life, seeing with his black eyes, stolen to the Kraken. However, the tale is not over yet, because the artifact is still at large, travelling in the dreams of many.

Chapter 2: "The Artefact"

A winter night, the sea was becoming ice, a blueish white, frozen by the absence of heat, the Kraken had a cold heart. Instead of black rain, it was snowing, snowflakes of the purest colour. The Black Isles, blocked by the icebergs, were the most silent, in the strong winds. One of the corsairs entered the empty bar, she saw the pirate Lord, sipping in tea. "Hey Tea, you want company?" The pirate Lord slowly turned his head, showing his empty dark eyes, and accepted with a slight nod. Tyr Leuxos sat on the chair next to him. "I never asked but, your eyes, they are not so pleasant to look at." "I know, that Kraken wore them; now it’s my turn." Leux demanded a jug of beer and started to chug it. "The artifact is lost Leux, lost underneath the frozen sea, forever gone in time. I feel like I’m becoming more and more blind." Tea sipped his tea. "I abandon this doomed search." "Woah, wait. I knew Tea the boy, washed up surrounded by crates of tea. But now, I know Tea the Pirate Lord, slayer of the Kraken and captain of The Ecplise." She pointed to the massive vessel outside. "This war machine is yours, Pirate Lord, yours to conquer all the islands and become the richest man alive. Do you understand that?" Tea looked at her. "No, you don’t understand. The artifact is the only thing keeping me alive, that is why the Kraken was there, searching the same treasure as me." Leux was confused. "How do you know that?" "It is not important, what is the use of a boat when there is no destination in sight, I am cursed to turn into a monster." A crew member suddenly entered the bar in a hurry. "Pirate Lord, the artifact was found!" "Where?" said Leux, Tea was silent, drinking his tea. "Near the northern lands, on a floating corpse, an armada of ships covered with red." The pirate Lord spitted his drink, he turned his head. "Barbossa..."

The Barbossian captain was looking through the mysterious object's preciousness. An all dark metal monkey statue destined to be on a pedestal in an ancient temple. He was scared because he knew that this artifact will be the reason of his end. "Not this. Everything but this!" He screamed alone in his cabin. "What have I done?I wanted to start fresh only to be destroyed the next day?" A crewmate opened the door, curious about the noise, he saw the captain, Rossa, almost laying on his chair. "What is the problem, captain?" Surprised, he looked at the visitor. Shit, he cannot know we are doomed. "Uhm...nothing. We will go south, near the Black Isles, we are here to get our land back from..." He paused, the fear to say his name. "The Eclipse? Oh, do not worry Ross, we will end their reign, to the deep blue sea they will go, haha!" The boy was an innocent one. He did not know the danger of the Eclips. That they will perish soon. "What is your name, boy?" He hesitated, for he was confused. "My name is David..." Rossa stood up to his chair and approached the boy, grabbing his stressed shoulder. "Kid, The Ecplise is something else, the captain has become a monster. If we are not careful, we will be ripped apart by his ferocity and anger, cursed forever to be lost in memories." He stopped. And then, with an heroic voice, "But The Goliath will best them, David, we will make them pay for what they did to our land! Oh boy they will pay!" David looked up at the giant man, now raising his only fist in the air like a fairytale hero. He smiled with his gross teeth and left the cabin. Rossa sighed and returned to his chair, turning it to the other side. "Poor boy...Everybody will forget his name. The name of a brave boy."

The Eclipse was already prepared for the long trip. The sails were dropped, the cannons were ready to destroy the enemy, and Tea, the pirate lord, had his hands grasping his wheel. He yelled to his friends. “Let’s go on in an adventure boys! We know where’s the artifact, let’s destroy some Barbossan jerks! Haha!” They laughed and screamed with greed and joy, ready to make history flourish with their names. The ice was still present, blocking the smaller fishing ships, but not the Eclipse, because they finally had a goal to follow. Hours passed, and Leux saw the crimson Barbossan fleet coming right to them. “Tea! They are here!” He smirked and saw it, the big bastion of a vessel with his followers ships. “The artifact is mine now.” They both approached and stopped. The two captains had so many decibels in their voice, that they could hear themselves yapping insults. The Barbossan captain started. “What do we have here! Is it a lost soul that I see!” “Rossa, we meet again!” Tea responded. “I was told that you have what I rightfully deserve, you stole it from me Rossa, and I need it back!” Snow started to fall, like ashes from the clouds, covering the brown wood and the iron swords. “Are you talking about this?” Rossa showed the treasure, raising it like a prize that contrasted with the white air. Tea’s black eyes started to shimmer, like if the kraken was fuelling in him. More snow was falling, “You scum! Do not drop it like a fool!” Rossa laughed. “Well, that is an option, but no, it is free gold after all. Haha!” A screeching roar suddenly emitted in the storm above and the wind started to push them into battle. The gods were impatient. “It’s time to die Rossa!” “Haha, you will see your end!” Oh boy he is doomed. The two captains returned to their station. And the fight began. The other Barbossan boats were the first to attack, shooting The Eclipse from afar. The cannonballs arrived with force, wooden planks were falling into the water below. Tea harshly turned right to avoid the rest coming after the boat and shot one of the vessels down with a massive explosion. The other one came closer, ripping the other side with their bullets and howling bliss. Ending it fast with them eating a volley back. David ran to Rossa. “Captain, they already destroyed the Firelover and the Laughing Made, what do we do now?” Rossa then thought of the impossible. Tea was raising his arms with pride with his crew when he saw The Goliath hitting The Eclipse with a devastating charge, piercing it with a giant hole in the side and, for the attacker’s side, a heavily damaged front. Fire spread on the two vessels, the crews were everywhere on the ground, dead or unconscious, while the boats were now one. The rest who were alive was already starting to fight each other with steal and gunpowder. Rossa woke up, the carnage of a suicidal act. He noticed the artifact was not with him, but with David that was ahead of him, standing there, crooked like a winded sail. “David…” Then David turned around, with a red mark on his chest. “What. No…” The boy, mouth open, fell in the water with the artifact in his hands. Transforming the water black. “NOOOO!!! DAVID!” Rossa never screamed this much for someone, his eyes were now red with vengeance for a boy he only knew existed yesterday. He immediately shot the killer in his fury. “TEA!!! Come here and fight me!” Tea woke up with his name ringing in his ears. “Your artifact is gone in the sea Tea! You are eternally cursed!” “No… Not again. I CANNOT LOSE IT AGAIN!” The pirate lord yelled and, with his black eyes twitching in rage, ran to Rossa. What followed was an epic battle, blades sparked in the presence of the other, red and black eyes were fighting to lead the pain away. They were exhausted, bloody and in agony. The ice was gone, now replaced with rain, black rain.

"You will pay for this Rossa." Tea said to Rossa who responded with a single "no". Then the world shook, Tea remembered this feeling. And as he was reminiscing. A tentacle rose up through the rough sea. "What....is that?" Rossa was confused. Tea noticed something strange, he saw that the monster was holding the artifact. He understood. Tea ran to the Eclipse side and quickly remove the ship to the side while Rossa was focused to the monster's arm. Rossa gasped, "No." The tentacle descended into the Goliath and broke it in half, taking away Rossa with him, now cursed forever to be lost in memories.

Tea, Leux and the rest of his crew left the storm, now artifact at hand. The Eclipse now roams the Kraken's Fall sea, with Tea at his helm and a young kraken below, helping them like a brave boy.