MysticYourHeart

Lethe of Laria - known in-game as MysticYourHeart - is a former mercenary leader & politician residing in Sylvania. Joining national politics in May of 2022, Lethe would go on to become one of the leaders of Paragon - an influential but divisive mercenary group that greatly swayed wars & global politics on Eldham & Rathnir.

Arrival on Eldham
After arriving on Eldham, Lethe joined with DeathByCannabis in the Mercurian Republic to build the city of Gol. Gol was founded by DeathByCannabis following the defeat of the U.S.S.E. by Vanakunir & the occupation of Laria by Welpish - his island refuge following the stinging defeat. His time in Gol was short, as DeathByCannabis maintained his friendship with the founders of Laria, Kato & Sorray. The duo would visit & build in Gol infrequently due to their hiatus, but friendships quickly developed.

In later months, the Mercurian Republic would fall to invasion. DeathByCannabis was left homeless for the second time, Lethe for his first. The U.S.S.E. in the meanwhile had been on a rebound from the defeat in the Kunir War & purchased back its lost territory - including Laria. With the return of their home, Kato & Sorray returned to Eldham and gave an open invitation to DeathByCannabis & Lethe to live in Laria.

Joining the U.S.S.E.
Laria is one of the oldest cities on Eldham - recognized for the immense detail & architectural beauty of the city. Laria was recognized for having a notably distinct community from the rest of the U.S.S.E., often bucking party orthodoxy in favor of their own perspective.

Lethe came to the U.S.S.E. at the time of the Red War - an invasion of Kaladinia by the Barbossan Caliphate for the U.S.S.E.'s interventions in the Confederation of Garxijos. The U.S.S.E. would again be defeated in this war, losing the entirety of Kaladinia to Barbossa & Kolssonafell to Manzlander separatists who seceded as a result of the defeat.

While Lethe was not present for the Red War itself, the war left a lasting impact on Lethe’s political development. Seeing the desperation around him as the population dwindled & the mood desperate - he realized the cost the war had taken & resolved to never let his friends fall to this fate again. At this time, the Vulperium is declared war on by Atlechia over a dispute in Ahalia, & the U.S.S.E. after initially taking a position of neutrality committed to supporting the Vulperium. Lethe & Kato attended the Battle of Lazodi, where the Atlechian forces were quickly beaten back & the city successfully defended.

The Battle of Lazodi was the first war Lethe had fought in, & after witnessing the tactics & defenses utilized by the Vulperium, Lethe returned home with an active interest in re-organization of the military. With much of the old guard having retired from national leadership, the stars aligned perfectly for the increasingly close knit Larians to form their own political bloc & take leadership.

The Larians Join Politics
With the election of Kato of Laria to General Secretary, the U.S.S.E. would undergo a dramatic shift in its diplomatic & political posturings. Specifically over the issue of Manzlander separatists, the Larians would adopt a hardline posture which outright rejected the recognition of independence by former General Secretary Gaboliver Urabon. They would openly threaten the Manzlander state - provoking fears that their independence would be short lived.With the hardline stance on Manzlander separatists came a geopolitical realignment. The Barbossan Caliphate had undergone multiple transformations to the DVR, Dandelion Empire, & finally the Soleannan Imperium. With each new government came increasingly warmer relations between the Imperium & U.S.S.E. Eventually, Emma Brewtaker would approach Kato with the offer to join the Imperium as a full member state. With revenge on the Manzlander separatists fresh on the mind, the Larians were quick to jump at the offer - drafting a treaty & joining the Imperium within days of the offer.

This move would cause the end of the U.S.S.E.’s diplomatic ties to Yaszria, Aristios, & Sylvania. Recognizing the obvious signs of what was coming, Manzland opted to join the Vulperium in response to be afforded their full protection. Outraged by this move, the U.S.S.E. opened up diplomatic negotiations with the Vulperium only for relations to fully collapse overnight with both states leaving bitter & resentful of the other. Where they had once been closest allies - the special relationship was broken & animosity would build for months. For the next 5 months, the U.S.S.E. would work to undermine the Vulperium & prepare for the largest war in its history.

General Secretary of the U.S.S.E.
With tensions mounting with the Vulperium & war anticipated by all members of government, Lethe would run for General Secretary of the C.P.U.S.S.E. Lethe had previously been the Commissioner of Security in Kato's cabinet - giving him a large amount of military credibility & quickly clearing the field. Lethe would be elected with an overwhelming mandate & begin work reorganizing the state towards the coming war. The Eldham Imperium would become The Eldham Union - the same nation under the leadership of Urabon & Krakhov. During this era, the Eldham Union would go on to occupy over 20% of all of Eldham with the annexations of Arktania & the Confederation of Garxijos. Likewise, the Union would become involved in the NDA-Aurora War & Prisma Rebellion. These interventions & annexations would greatly increase the animosity against them by their rivals, but they would also increase their power projection Lethe would preside as General Secretary during the Eldham Alliance, where the Velerian Empire, Scylding, Sylvania, & The Eldham Union formed a large alliance that dominated Eldham politics. Originally the idea of Logui Felinyia as a proactive, cooperative alliance network, the alliance would turn to coalition when Imperius Aurelian took leadership of the organization. The Eldham Alliance would originally consist of the Velerian Empire, Sylvania, Scylding, & Raiyuna, but when Raiyuna became dissatisfied with the growing anti-Vulp sentiments of the alliance, they were replaced by the Eldham Union.

The Great War & Scars of Serrona
Towards the end of Lethe's first term as General Secretary, a war erupted in the east between Morladron & Sylvania. Morladron had been one of the U.S.S.E.'s longest standing friends, & members of high government sympathized with the Morladron cause. Morladron would be humiliated in the first Battle of Vermillion, with over 100 casualties more than the Sylvanians. Recognizing the reality of the situation, Lethe would commit fully to the Sylvanian side from the Second Battle of Vermillion onward. Meanwhile, with negotiations for the Eldham Alliance finalized, work began on preparing for the coming war against the Vulperium. Casus belli would present itself quickly, when the Vulperium sponsored a raid on the U.S.S.E. border town of Sanguinople. The U.S.S.E. would immediately move to suspend all Vulp dual-citizenships & began an explicit Anti-Vulperium policy.

The National Assembly of the U.S.S.E. quickly approved a motion to build a border wall with the Vulperium due to Vulp sponsored raids in U.S.S.E. towns. A crew of over a dozen people worked & erected thousands of blocks worth of wall within a few hours. Fights would break out between garrisoned soldiers on the border regularly between the two sides. Wasting no time, the newly formed Eldham Alliance issued a demand for 15 million dollars in reparations from the Vulperium for treaty violations & violations of national sovereignty. After the Vulperium refused to pay, all members of the alliance declared war. The theater of the war was Kolssonafell, where the U.S.S.E. captured the city of St. Nilsburg & proclaimed the restoration of the Republic of Kolssonafell.

An invasion of Manzig was launched, & 3 battles were fought over the city. Each battle involved highly coordinated attacks from the Alliance & rock solid defenses from the Vulperium. While the first two battles of the war were technical draws with victory being claimed by both sides, the third battle proved to be a decisive victory for the Eldham Alliance.Following the Third Battle of Manzig, the Royal Court of the Vulperium began to negotiate their surrender with the Eldham Alliance. A two week negotiation ensued for the Vulperium's negotiated surrender. Without an official treaty signed, a fourth battle was still planned to happen. Negotiations continued until finally, an hour & thirty minutes before the battle, the Vulperium surrendered. It wouldn't be for a few more days until all members of the court signed & the Eldham Alliance's victory was publicized.

As the Vulperium war concluded, Morladron also surrendered following Sylvania's victory in the Battle of Vallava. The Eldham Alliance emerged victorious from both of its major wars, but resentment boiled among the leadership in their victory & the groundwork for its undoing would be laid.

Loyalist Rebellion, Mars Exulte, & Larian Secession
With the two major wars of Lethe's term over, Lethe had concluded his terms as one of the most politically successful General Secretaries of the U.S.S.E. - seeing the restoration of their lost territory & reaching a peak of diplomatic & military power never before or since experienced by the U.S.S.E. Intending to settle down, Lethe endorsed Bhutch Fienlinya as his successor, as Bhutch was a close political ally & friend.

Lethe left U.S.S.E. national politics to join mercenary work after retiring, becoming a Helite in the Paragon mercenary group. Lethe would quickly become an Enolite in the group, & developed close friendships with the other Helites, Orolites, & Enolites. Lethe had become very skeptical of the Eldham Union towards the end of his tenure, & would increasingly make hostile remarks & moves against their partner state Eleanor. Lethe in particular was dissatisfied over the secret aid to Morladron provided by Eldham Union & Eleanorian officials, as well as a secret plot to annex New Dorasterrock during the Ryzani counter-offense. These moves would be in done in violation of official state policy.

Lethe would deliver ultimatums to the Eldham Union alongside political leaders friendly to his view - demanding that Eleanor be brought into state-policy or the U.S.S.E. should withdraw instead. The ultimatums would be accepted, but never followed through. When both ultimatums failed, Lethe would plot with Bhutch to have the U.S.S.E. withdraw from the Eldham Union. This attempt would fail, resulting in Bhutch & Lethe's arrest & prosecution.

During the lead up to the show trial, Lethe worked with Paragon leaders to prepare an attack on the U.S.S.E. should they move to prosecute him. After Lethe's show trial ended, when asked to transfer Manzig, he refused & launched an open rebellion against the U.S.S.E. The cities of Manzig, Nielsensbyian, & Al-Basaad would all publicly announce rebellion, while Gehnezzar & Laria were owned by people sympathetic to the rebellion.

A day after the trial, the Zaidan Rebellion began against Eleanor & Lethe made a public appearance at the rebellion alongside member of the Paragon mercenary group. They had gone only to cause havoc, but wound up successfully sieging the city of Phoenix. Following the first battle of Ikoria, the groups Paragon, Kartek, Drackar, & Requiem formed an alliance called Mars Exulte. Mars Exulte would directly intervene in the following Battle of Phoenix, giving a decisive victory for the Eldham Union Rebels.

The Eldham Union & Eldham Alliance would silently dissolve following the war, & the U.S.S.E. would be annexed by Scylding.

Lethe would use this opportunity to push for Larian secession. With the threat of war on Kazkaya, the U.S.S.E. accepted & peace was finally signed. While the Larians had plans of an independent republic, they had quickly realized the scale of the task against their age. While the dream of independence was held dearly, the founders decide that Laria would join Sylvania as the fallout from the Mars Exulte war left them as the Larians closest friends. Sylvania would keep the city safe, and the founders would finally go in peace. Lethe would be the last remaining Larian, with the city eventually being granted to his stewardship.

Final Years
With the Larians who he had joined this world with now gone, Lethe took the path of vengence after leaving national politics forever. Lethe would become a Zenith in Paragon, where he became very familiar with war metas & war leadership. Using the experience he gained as a mercenary leader, Lethe would wage wars against Morladron, the U.S.S.E., Scylding, Bardonia, & Vinovian Khanate - all people who had at some point or another crossed Lethe during his political life. Maybe I'll finish this part later - probably not.