Second Empire of Plagatéa

The Second Empire of Plagatéa was a diarchical state that covered the majority of the continent of Plagos in North-eastern Rathnir and also part of Arsine, in South-west Eldham. The last ruler in Rathnir was Tagavor Pepek Tchangsui and in Eldham, Tagavor Leon Olsen-Tanaka, though he was removed before the end by the temporary military dictatorship imposed during the Eldham collapse. It consisted of multiple Lordship provinces ruled by feudal Lords, all united under the Tagavors, and was a member of the Sapphire Commonwealth. Its capital was Tengaesal, located in the province of Seivija, Rathnir, seen as the central uniting location of the Empire. The Royal ruling houses were for the main duration of the Empire House Numachi from Rathnir and House Tanaka from Eldham, but by the end House Tchangsui and House Shigetada. The longest serving rulers were Tagavor Numachi S. Alexander (97 SMP - 113 SMP, 16 years) and Tagavor Leon Olsen-Tanaka (86 SMP - 115 SMP, 29 years). The Empire itself lasted from the spring of 86 SMP to the spring of 121 SMP, a duration of 35 years.

After the Empire was dissolved, the northern provinces (Sakura, Seivija and Tempo) of the Second Empire would be annexed by Simulami, as the Empire begin to break down, in an attempt to protect its core lands.

Provinces and Meishu
At the height of the Empire, there were 6 Lordship provinces and two Meishu (protectorates) in the Empire in the world of Rathnir, as follows:


 * The Lordship of Aljazair
 * The Lordship of Sakura
 * The Lordship of Seivija
 * The Lordship of Sakurai Tempo
 * The Lordship of Valreign
 * The Lordship of Veldion
 * The Meishu of Lunaris
 * The Meishu of Donfuer

At the height of the Eldham side of the Empire, there were six provinces and four Meishu (protectorates):


 * The Lordship of Kardivia
 * The Lordship of Morelia
 * The Lordship of Minatocho
 * The Lordship of Shiroyama
 * The Province of Alboria
 * The Lordship of Soltsu
 * The Meishu of Donfuer
 * The Meishu of As'ria
 * The Meishu of Iron Freeholds
 * The Meishu of Bai Federation
 * The Meishu of Soolia

Houses
There were numerous noble houses and one royal house from each province, usually the House of the ruling Lord. After Tagavor Numachi S. Alexander's rewriting of the constitution during the regency, it became law that a Tagavor must be a member of or be sponsored by one of these Royal Houses in order to succeed to the throne.

Royal Houses

 * House Numachi (Sakura) {Ruling Royal House}
 * House Tchāngsiú (Seivija)
 * House Tempo (Tempo)
 * House Zerkalo (Veldion)
 * House Remen (Valreign)
 * House Akihiro [Royal branch of Shigetada] (Aljazair)

Noble Houses

 * House Shigetada (Tempo, Aljazair, Seivija)
 * House Ravdrac (Veldion)

Formation
After the sale (under duress) of the former Empire of Plagatéa colony in Eldham, Plagatèan Michinaru, which then became Kardovia, during the succession crisis and collapse of the Empire, Kardovians had been distrustful of the new government. They perceived it as a traitorous, and weak, especially the Kardovian leader, Leon Olsen-Tanaka, known as the Magistrate of the Eldham colonies in Plagatéa.

On the 5th of September, Leon, after witnessing discussions in the Senate of The Realm of Asarakaen over the new guild economy system, saw their economic and military fragility, and chose to act. He announced the establishment of the Second Plagatéan Empire on Eldham, and stated he was taking his rightful claim to as Tagavor and would be "retaking what is ours", with the Simulami Empire quickly backing them. His claim as Tagavor would be heavily disputed, with letters of the last orders of the former Tagavor Nero published by the Royal Advisor, Eli Akihiro, that showed the only two rightful Tagavors on Nero's death were Aisuru Numachi and Doom (Leon would later admit while in negotiations with the Senate of the Realm that his right was through his military and those that had infiltrated the Asarakaen government that were loyal to him).

Leon Olsen-Tanaka then opened negotiations with the Senate of the Realm of Asarakaen, stating that there would be war unless Asarakaen agreed to the terms he laid out, and that his military would crush The Realm of Asarakaen in this event. He stated that 1) Kitaichi would become the Capital of the Second Plagatéan Empire, 2) Asarakaen would be renamed to the Second Plagatéan Empire and 3) That Asarakaen would be forced to pay a weekly tribute of 1 block of gold to the Empire in Eldham. He and the Senate, primarily lead by Advisor Abigail Akihiro, would proceed to negotiate these terms to an eventual settlement that stated that there would be a return of the Tagavor diarchy, with Leon ruling over the Empire in Eldham and Queen Aisuru ruling over Rathnir. However, the Senate throughout all of this had been forced to act without their Monarch, due to her being away on a diplomatic visit, and still required her approval.

When she returned, she was horrified by the seeming acceptance of the situation, and the fact that negotiations had immediately begun, under the pretence that intervention from Asarakaen allies elsewhere in the globe would result in the end of any hope for unity in Plagos, which would be worse than ceding control to Leon. Both the potential return of Skittles Alliance to counter the Empire and the at the time new Confederation of Plagos were greatly feared by Leon, who had not calculated the possibility of the either intervening to save the Queen. She was given the opportunity to finalise an rule jointly, but she did not feel she could do so in good faith, as she had sworn Plagatéa would never again become an Empire under her rule, and was disgusted by what she called a coup by Leon Olsen-Tanaka in her official abdication announcement. She instead chose to abdicate the throne, announcing in a statement she would travel to live with her relatives, the McSpiegels, in Viodoxa with her husband, King Techno Numachi. Upon hearing of this, Leon mocked the Queen, branding her weak in his own statement, and announced the existence of the new Empire, replacing what he branded as the weak, ineffective previous government of Asarakaen.

Leon proceeded with establishing the terms of the agreement with the Senate, appointing Lord Tempo as his Tagavor, and Lord Revo as the Royal Regent. He also merged the governments in Eldham and Rathnir together, though with officials primarily based in Plagos. He also announced the Senate would be used as a purely advisory council with senior government leadership, though would have no legislative ability, and Lord Tempo returned as a Tagavor on a temporary basis. He also appointed Why as the Provincial Manager, to oversee the provinces more generally, and Shigetada Suron as Deputy Provincial Manager, positions seen as a replacement for the former Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister within Asarakaen.

Confederation of Plagos
On September 7th, 2021, the Second Plagatéan Empire re-entered the Confederation of Plagos under their new name. They were officially recognized as the successor state of the Realm of Asarakaen. After the loss at Duran, Tagavor Leon proposed in a speech a reform to the previously existing Plagosi Confederation Charter, resulting in the creation of the Constitution of the Confederation of Plagos by the National Representatives and leaders at a convention a few days later. Veldion was later proposed and approved to be the region where the new capital of the CoP would be built, which was to be named Requiem. However, the conflict of interests within the Confederation would bring about its collapse less than a month later, with frequent arguments between Plagatèa, Alamayn and Lunaris representatives.

Initial Joint Government Reform
Joint Ministers for Economics Alexander S. Numachi and Lord Lieutenant Joseph drafted a new Guilds system, heavily influenced by the previous Ravdrac Reforms and Alexander’s write-up of them within Asarakaen, a few days after the formation of the Empire. After the necessary administrative work had been carried out, primarily by the Tagavors, the Guilds were announced and formalised on the 20th of September. The Guilds involved were the Mining Guild, the Druids Guild (Enchanting and forging armour), the Builders Guild and the Plagatéan Army, which began training soon after it's formation. The Miners Guilds began purchasing large quantities of diamonds from its miners for the national stores in preparation for military build-up.

Tagavor Tempo was eventually replaced by the Lord of Valreign, Lord Revo Krieger, as he had no wish to stay long term in the position and instead preferred to remain and govern in his province of Sakurai Tempo. Tagavor Revo would appoint the former Asarakaeni Prime Minister, Why?, as his Royal Regent, thanks to his loyalty during the coup.

Expansion of the new Empire
Roughly a week after the formation of the Empire, Seaside re-joined as a Lordship, though this proved to be only a temporary arrangement, as they would secede again on the 26th of September. On the 22nd of September Lunaris joined the Empire as a protectorate state, though was later purchased by Baronov.

On the 28th of September, Plagatèa united with the Emirate of Najer and the Second Empire of Simulami to form the Sapphire Commonwealth, represented as one nation on maps by cartographers and acting as one militarily while coordinating foreign policy. Domestic issues are largely left to try individual countries to figure out however, something that would lead to Najer and Simulami’s neutrality during the Plagatèan Provincial Revolt.

Plagatèa continued its claim to the remaining lands of Czervoslavia, after the King attempted to hand the land over, feeling Plagatèa would protect it better than the militarily weak United Commonwealth, but was prevented from doing so by the laws of the United Commonwealth. He later retracted his request, but Plagatèa would continue its claim, also citing instability on the border, the need for a link to the rest of the Sapphire Commonwealth, its inability to protect itself as seen by its unsuccessful defence against the O.P.T.C and the way the land looked on the maps. The Regent Tagavors retracted this claim on the 3rd of October with support from the new Jōin after the Plagatèan Provincial Revolt.

The Plagatèan Provincial Revolt
On the morning of the 3rd of October, after several weeks of extreme discontent with the government and its leadership, 2 of the 5 Plagatèan provinces in Rathnir, Sakura and Seivija and a vassal state, The Kingship of Veldion, declared their support for a new ruler who had announced their claim, Princess Futo Naho of the North, the last true heir by blood to the throne. The spark for this came from the attempt by Revo days earlier to remove Lady Aisuru Numachi and Lord Pepek Tchangsiu from their positions as Lords of the provinces of Sakura and Seivija, seen as a flagrant attempt to consolidate power and remove any form of dissent, as well as several comments and actions made by Leon and Revo that were seen as aggressive and against the people of Veldion and Sakura. Lord Pepek Tchangsiu joined the planning for a revolt that Lady Aisuru Numachi and King Glurak I. Ravdrac had already begun a week prior. Little is known about the planning, due to the events afterward, only that the revolt was assured of Najer and Simulami's neutrality in any conflict and that a large majority of the nations of Plagos had privately pledged support.

Upon hearing of the revolt, and the announcements, Tagavor Leon Olsen-Tanaka declared a state of martial law, aiming to mobilise to crush the revolt. Meanwhile, in a bid to prevent conflict, high-ranking officials from both sides, including Lord Pepek Tchangsiu, King Glurak I. Ravdrac, Lady Aisuru Numachi, Alexander S. Numachi and a senior diplomat overseeing named Sterling met for negotiations. This eventually resulted in the signing of treaties with the two provinces and the vassal laying down arms, the most significant effects included the reintegration of Veldion as a province, a 50,000 fine for the province of Sakura, the removal of Tagavor Revo as Rathnir Tagavor, the establishment of a temporary Regency for the Rathnir Tagavor, with complete separation of government between Rathnir and Eldham and Leon Olsen-Tanaka to govern solely in Eldham.

Regency and Restoration
As the Regency came to a close, after the second week, Alexander S. Numachi was the only nominated candidate, nominated by Lady Aisuru Numachi of Sakura, Lord Pepek Tchangsui of Seivija and Lord Dug Zerkalo of Veldion. On the 19th of October, the Tagavor election began, with the Lords casting their votes to Tagavor Leon Olsen-Tanaka. 5 of the 6 electors (the 5 Lords, plus the regency of Lord Tempo and Sterling of Arcop as one) were needed for a candidate to ascend the throne. All cast their votes, and all cast their votes for Alexander S. Numachi, who assumed the role of Tagavor from the moment the votes were confirmed. Many Kanryō also cast their vote symbolically for Alexander, though they were not able to be counted. He was soon after confirmed as a ruling Monarch in the Sapphire Commonwealth, and was announced to Rathnir. He would give a speech the next day, receiving congratulation messages from many leaders of Rathnir nations.

The Kanryō (senators) of the Jōin (senate) were revised and some new Kanryō were appointed to balance the senate between provinces, following the format of 2 Kanryō and the Lord of the Province from each individual province. With this new Jōin, in tandem with the survey conducted to assess the population and where they stand politically, reforms began, such as the Zavtranian Pantheon no longer being the state religion in Rathnir, after a survey indicated 80% of the population wished for a secular state and the Jōin voted for this to be enacted in to law, and as such was signed in to law by Tagavor Alexander.

Lord Pepek Tchangsui of Seivija was appointed as Royal Regent to Tagavor Alexander S. Numachi, and Daimyo Techno Numachi of Sakura was appointed as the Daijin of the Jōin, presiding over the Jōin’s day to day functioning. Other reforms occurred, such as the recognition of citizens from Eldham and other Meishu (the name for vassals and protectorates of Plagatèa) becoming all equally recognised as a citizens alongside those who lived in Rathnir Plagatèa. In addition, an alliance was signed with Baronov with the Treaty of Baronov.

The Alamayn Crisis
Disputes over the newly elected Grand Sultan of Alamayn, Cusless of Cuslandia arose near instantaneously after he announcement on the 21st of October, with Rexaria of the Silver Citadel declaring war and stating he did not recognise Cus as the Grand Sultan, expressing his desire and dedication for himself to rule the nation instead, and his fears over Cusless’s lack of policies. The Kingdom of Varandoy-Aestryria initially then signed a deal with Rexaria, one of peace, and allowed Cusless to rule his own vassal state, Cuslandia, while the rest of Alamayn was reorganised into Neo-Alamayn under a diarchy, which itself was subservient to Varandoy-Aestyria. This caused outrage within Plagatèa and the Sapphire Commonwealth, who had been negotiating with Varandoy-Aestyria to bring peace, part of Plagatèa's long running policy of no external influences (supra-continental) within Plagos.

Several of Alamayn's provinces on the Plagos continent revolted, turning to the primarily Eldham religion of the Zavtranian Pantheon after being visited by Sterling of Arcop, and de-facto becoming allied with and joining Plagatèa to keep them safe from what they saw as an illegitimate land-grab. Varandoy-Aestyria were perturbed by the amount of autonomy neo-Alamayn acted with and so dissolved it, signing a landmark agreement with the Sapphire Commonwealth negotiated by the Commonwealth Monarchs ZenoHUN of Simulami and Numachi Alexander of Plagatèa with Varandoy officials. The agreement placed Varandoy-Aestyria in to a military alliance with the Sapphire Commonwealth, laying groundwork for it to join, and divided what was Alamayn into Varandoy-Aestyria and Plagatèa, with the Plagosi continent lands going to Plagatèa and the rest to Varandoy. The Plagosi lands became a province in Plagatèa, the province of Aljazair, under Lord Akihiro Oda. This frightened many smaller Plagosi nations, who begun to fear the Sapphire Commonwealth as a result, though some also for likely competitive reasons, as the Commonwealth dominated Plagos, preventing any conflict from taking place it disapproved of.

The Arrival of Zamotz
After the collapse of Alamayn, Tagavor Numachi Alexander negotiated a non-aggression pact with the Osteri-Plagos Trading Company, or O.P.T.C., on behalf of the Sapphire Commonwealth, in a push for a peaceful and stable Plagos and using the Commonwealth's influence and diplomatic weight to achieve this. However, this push was interrupted by the arrival of the Zamotz Union, part of the Eldham Entente, making the Kingdom of Varandoy-Aestyria into a vassal in an agreement, which shocked and outraged the Sapphire Commonwealth (and most of Rathnir), especially with the rhetoric of 'civilising Rathnir' from a powerful Eldham country right on their borders.

The signing of a 30 day non-aggression pact between the Sapphire Commonwealth and the then Eldham Entente in November put an end to the tensions over the region for its duration, and the landscape of Rathnir and Eldham was very different when it ended.

The Quest for Governmental Unity and the Abandonment of Religion
There began to be increasing calls for greater governmental unity, with the two sides feeling like different nations and not at all united. Political advisor Suron Shigetada and Lady Eli Akihiro of Soltsu led calls for this, Lady Akihiro quietly advising Tagavor Numachi S. Alexander in her push for this while Suron Shigetada pushed far more openly. He led a march from Tempo to Kitaichi, prompting Lady Aisuru Numachi, seen as one of the Lords more against greater unity, to maintain Sakura's political neutrality and uphold long-standing anti-political laws within the borders of the city, there since the time of Ieon and the first Empire.

Seeing this, Tagavor Alexander convened multiple sittings of his Round Table (the high government chamber in Rathnir, attended by personal appointees of the Tagavor such as his Regent and Royal Advisors) and attended many Senate sessions in Tengaesal, in order to hear arguments. Whilst, despite his aura of neutrality seen by his populace, he privately initially held views against leaning against unification, preferring the status quo, he soon began to see the benefits and potential necessity of such a move, prompting him to consult to decree alongside Tagavor Leon Olsen-Tanaka that a new united Jōin (senate) chamber be formed consisting of Kanryō (senators) from both sides, to be known as the Tōitsu Jōin, convening both in Tengaesal and Kardivia alternately.

With the further integration of the two sides of the Empire, the view widely held amongst nearly all Kanryō was that religion, despite the Zavtranian Pantheon still being endorsed by the Eldham side (the Rathnir side had become secular soon after Tagavor Alexander's election) was no longer appropriate to endorse, and as such the Religious Freedoms Act (written by Shigetada Akuji) was passed by the Tōitsu Jōin and signed into law by Tagavor Alexander, making the entire Empire officially secular.

The Donfuer Annexation Crisis and Sapphire Commonwealth-Aurora Novum War
Following an escalation of tensions with Aurora Novum after the Donfuer annexation crisis, in which Aurora Novum were perceived to have illegally annexed the Plagosi city-state of Donfuer, and Aurora Novum's assistance of squatters and raiders during the war on the Aljazair raiders, Alexander and the Plagatèan government became convinced Aurora Novum could no longer stand as an independent country, as they threatened Plagatèa and the Sapphire Commonwealth's stability and reputation. Especially for Alexander, the claims of Plagatèan warmongering, despite his clear action to remove this reputation, were unsubstantiated and insulting, as well as damaging diplomatically across Rathnir, prompting the issuing of a statement to shut down the claims by an Aurora Novum official. Thus, the Sapphire Commonwealth as a collective requested that Aurora Novum either submit to their demands, of peaceful integration into Plagatèa, or face war. After a referendum in Aurora Novum, their citizens voted overwhelmingly for war, widely seen as a suicide note.

Despite an Aurora Novum government officials initially believing they could win the propaganda war, and score a damaging moral victory, the Monarchs of the Sapphire Commonwealth, coordinated by Alexander, would each release statements condemning the lies spread by the Aurora Novum government. Alexander in particular took care to address every accusation levelled at Plagatèa, and the lack of a response after this from the Aurora Novum government demonstrated that this issue had been put to rest.

Thus, a state of war was declared, and Sapphire Commonwealth forces massed in Valreign, before marching for Black Hollow, one of the two Aurora Novum cities. Aurora Novum would initially plan to meet the forces in battle, however it soon became clear that the war was not winnable, and they would be crushed. They submitted with 24 hours before the planned battle, surrendering unconditionally and signing a peace treaty proposed by Alexander and Imperare ZenoHUN of the Simulami Empire. This sparked massive victory celebrations across the Empire, as Aurora Novum were seen as the last toxic remnants of what had toppled the first Empire.

Tagavor Alexander’s decline
Alexander would begin to spend increasing amounts of time with his family in Sakura, in their residence in Ieon Castle, away from the capital Tengaesal. This marked a symbolic shift away from the Jōin and the centre of government as Alexander became less involved in day to day affairs, finally able to trust leaving smaller details to ministers and the government he had set up. He was all too aware of its convenience, as despite his youth his health began to fail, which physicians that attended to him attributed to the unknown long running illness that had struck members of the Numachi family, causing them to fall in to comas. Whilst he did not himself fall in to a coma, he was severely weakened by it, forcing him to consider his position.

Only his closest advisors and friends knew of his predicament, and it was kept secret, for fear of composing the government. Eventually, for fear he would expend his energy and not live to see his children grow up, he summoned his Regent, Pepek Tchangsui, where he explained and informed advisors that Pepek would gradually be assuming leadership over the next few months. Later in a Jōin meeting, he announced his abdication as Tagavor to shocked Kanryō. Upon his exiting of the chamber, all Kanryō would bow their bodies deeply in respect, as a final goodbye. This transfer of power prompted nerves, over whether Tagavor Pepek was an adequate ruler, though all followed Alexander’s trust in him. The transfer would come at a poor time, as a month later the Soolia crisis would emerge in Eldham, threatening the entire Eldham side of the Empire.

Decline of the Second Empire
The accession of the Meishu of Soolia to the Empire angered the A.WE, who saw the province of Stone in Soolia as their territory, and therefore Plagatea’s protection of them as annexation of their territory. The high tensions, despite negotiations in the name of peace, eventually led to war. Whilst Plagatèa offered not to call allies if the AWE did not either, this was ignored, and the AWE called in other Eldham nations such as Goonguard, Uraka and Aristios, many of whom (Goonguard especially after the falling out of Leon Olsen-Tanaka and Onetapped, the respective leaders) held grudges against Plagatèa and saw this as an opportunity to curb the power of the Empire and the Sapphire Commonwealth or were simply called in as part of the Triple Entente, as allies of A.W.E.

During the conflict, Tagavor Leon became increasingly sidelined by senior government and military officials, as he was seen in part as the origin of the issue, allowing too many protectorates to join the Empire whilst neglecting the core territories in Eldham and thus lacking the capability to protect these new territories. This culminated in a military coup of the Eldham government, which was then ruled by a military junta led by until the collapse of the Empire. This Junta consisted of Shujin for War, Shigetada Futushu, Daijin of the Rathnir Jōin Shigetada Akuji, Tagavor Pepek Tchangsui and General Tempo Yamato. Former Tagavor Alexander also continued to advise, while his health allowed it.