Empire of Uldarash

The First Empire of Uldarash was a union between various Western states founded on October 9th, 2020. It served as a counterbalance to the many colonial and expansionist empires of the East, such as Yimmu-Audal, Escharia and Valdreach. Specifically, the crux of the empire's formation came from Ardat Mosul, which after the ancient war of Audalian-Ummarnu colonization, became a colony of Yimmu-Audal. The other Westerners resisted this colonization however, with cities such as Taranusha being abandoned in the war, as vast amounts of populace fled from the war-torn lands of Northern Ummarnu, and the Lands of the Eye. The rest of the Westerners resent Ardat Mosul for their decision to kneel, however justified it may have been. Moreover however, they resented Yimmu-Audal, and feared they would continue their expansion all across The Mesa, inviting other Eastern Powers to do the same. With this, the Westerners united together, with over 7 different civilizations and city states deciding to band together and form the Uldarash Empire.

History
The start of the Empire of Uldarash's growth can be dated back to 9/28/2020. On this day, Paloro was founded between Palovina and Sanctuary. Originally based on the idea of simply uniting with neighboring towns of Haven, the nation quickly grew. When the topic of colonialism among Yimmu-Audal sprang up with the mesa, the nation was quickly reformed, changing its banner and name to the ones you see today.

The majority of Uldarash's history has been tied with the mesa and their negotiations with Yimmu-Audal's colony Ardat Mosul. Eventually though, as Ardat Mosul began to break away from their homeland, the subject of the mesa slowly fell into a more secure answer. Split between Uldarash and Ardat Mosul through the Great Barrier, each town was then free to develop as it pleased.

On 10/23/2020, the Minedodge raid began. When Player Minedodge killed an unarmed member of Hapatmitas, a bounty was placed on his head and a manhunt began. This only lead into two more members of Hapatmitas being slain. Sewer Mafia eventually joined in, originally housing Minedodge, but then betraying them as they captured them in a structure. While trapped, they had slain Minedodge. Minedodge later came back with the Minedodge insurgency of Uldarash.

On the same day, 3 members of Uldarash, KingCrafter9K, leader of Cresttown, WhiskeyKnight, leader of Hapatmitas, and Keechoo, the leader of Palovina, found and confronted two figures in the region of Verdania. ProdigyBoy and mace_n654, they spoke a completely unique language, which they called "Small Speak". Translation between the languages is difficult, but the two are capable of understanding the Travelers Tongue, and can say some of the tongue's words. Eventually, they managed to get the people to join Uldarash, but they did not have any official town and had not given themselves a name. Some days later, they claimed to be "builders" sent by "Felsonsvhon" from The Void, they own a temple in the Verdania Mountains, where they fly the banner of Palovina next to their own, calling themselves citizens of Palovina though still recognized as separately the town of Felsonsvhon. On October 27th, 2020, members of Uldarash were patrolling their claims in the mesa, when they stumbled across an unclaimed Bardonian underground base. This came to be known as the Bardonian illegal mining Incident, where the Empire of Uldarash attempted to negotiate with Bardonia the fines that would be paid for such a massive base. However, tensions would continue to rise, especially as the Empire of Uldarash demanded a fine of 100,000 dollars, only to be paid 100 — half a golden ingot — despite the massive amount of gold that could be found in the mesa. This soon escalated into a declaration of war, thus beginning the Great Western War also known as as The Great Golden War to the rest of the world.

After the war Wilusa stepped down as Emperor of Uldarash leaving Dentro and the Imperial council as rulers of the empire. Talks have begun to reform the nation and create a new form of government. Uldarash no longer seeks to expand its borders rather it seeks to consolidate what it has left. The nation still have two capitals but after the war Hapatmitas has taken the role over from Lukka.

On November 4th, due to the loss and engagement in the Great Golden War, Palovina formally seceded from the Empire, taking Felsonsvhon's Landing with it to reform Paloro, entirely separate from The Empire of Uldarash that Paloro had formed into. This was done on good terms and the two nations still have a good relationship and open borders between each other.

Whiskey's Reign
Soon after the Great Golden War, both emperors had stepped down, leading WhiskeyKnight to step up to power as the regent of Uldarash. Upon siezing power, WhiskeyKnight began heavily encouraging nepotism within the empire, his House, that of the SpiritKnights be given key administrative, noble & military positions within the empire, until nearly every position of power within the empire was held by a member of his House. Whiskey would go on to see Uldarash join the VAWR, and form the Crescent Concordant (for a limited time). In the beginning, WhiskeyKnight promoted a firmly neutral, although pro-Ardat agenda, the later aspect slowly taking over the former as time went on. Eventually however, with Uldarash joining of the VAWR, formal allying of Ardat & finally, WhiskeyKnight's accepting of the exiled Kingdom of Aurora into Haven (which would have far reaching effects into the future) would show that under WhiskeyKnight, Uldarash had drifted to a distinctly anti-Trillium position.

Whiskey's time as Emperor would also see the implementation of the Whiskey Doctrine, where Uldarash would, as opposed to previously annexing & integrating their neighbors, would instead propose 'Vassal Contracts', an agreement that emphasized soft power as opposed to hard power. At their height, Uldarash had 5 protectorates under them, namingly Aurora, Wahar, Jcon, Kingdom of Falnir and Nunaje. This would prove to be one of the most contentious points between Uldarash and much of the rest of the Concordant. Many of the other concordant members feared Uldarash would use it protectorates to stack the votes in its favor during Concordant Votes, whereas Uldarash argued that their vassal contracts expressly prohibited them from doing so. Alongside the Concordat's inaction on denouncing the actions of Emperor Siegfriend attempting to usurp the Audalad Throne, WhiskeyKnight announced that Uldarash would leave the Concordant. Upon leaving the Crescent Concordant, Uldarash then went on to found The Crimson Hold Alliance of Defense (CHAD).

The following months were primarlily consistant of a cold between the Uldarashi System (Uldarash & her vassals) and the Crescent Concordant. Osudal would later declare independence, and tensions occur over the Crescent Concordant's Guild City, regarding whether the Concordant or Uldarash owned it. Eventually, after recieving countless threats on his life, Whiskey gave the island back, however in doing so revealed many of the conversations between concordant members, and their threats against Uldarash. Unsurprisingly, the Concordant was enraged, many members vowing to 'burn the empire & hang the emperor'. Surprisingly however, a war between the 2 factions never came to pass, and eventually, Uldarash, pledging loyalty to their vassal Aurora, was brought into the Coalition War, whereupon they would be defeated militarily.

As Uldarash's politics would begin to stagnate, the VAWR was disbanded, Osudal rejoined the Empire, and from then on world politics would see Uldarash slowly drift away from prominence, still regarded as a major power to some, and to others the equivalent of a time capsule, showcasing the oldest of the otherwise entirely collapsed Old Guard, and taking a backseat in foreign involvement.

While Whiskey reign did see the reintegration of the Western Mesa, the stemming of Uldarash's downfall, and the creation of powerful alliances with neighbors, it was only towards the end of his reign where Uldarash would finally begin to truly recover, his wife, Queen Consort Wurmbo having launched a program to revitalize the capital, making it even more populated than it was before. However, this would not last, and alongside other aspects of Whiskey's reign, such as the alienation of their neighbors & the unpopularity of his religion in Uldarash (noxism being a insurmountably small minority in the empire) would prove to be things that would haunt the empire, even beyond his reign.

The Coup of Paloro
Around this time, the Coup Of Paloro occurred. The new king, Loic, requested that Uldarash, alongside other nations would join together to create a new Empire of Haven. The smaller nations involved would agree, though Uldarash and Aurora were notably against the deal. After Aurora sent an ultimatum to Loic, Loic and his supporters fled, leaving Keechoo to reclaim the throne.

After this, on February 11th, WhiskeyKnight would patrol around Hapatmitas, until he was slain by an unknown man, where Whiskey staggered into the river of Hapatmitas and died. This would give rise to the next King of Uldarash.

RumKnight's Reign
The first week of RumKnight's reign, after the Soleannan Spirits attempted to raid Hapatmitas, they were quickly attacked by volunteers and men from across the Empire, including three men from Kush and BackToTheHub. The Spirits, however, managed to escape, following a server crash, and a few members involved are banned.

Keechoo, the King of Paloro, was then killed on February 27th, by the Haven Company. In retaliation, the Sanctuary Raid is launched, successfully driving them out of the disputed lands of Asahiri. The Haven Company then went on to consider other lands, only to resettle again in Haven, though a plain bit further Western. They then began to call themselves the Khanate of Haven thenceforth. The Golden Ring of Haven, a new alliance, would then be forged.

Collapse
RumKnight's Reign would then come to a close, quite swiftly, following a surprise invasion of Sanctuary and Hapatmitas executed by Viodoxa and Sewor mafia. Following a swift defeat at the Second Viper War, Uldarash was dissolved, and the Protectorate of Aruna was made in Hapatmitas, a vassal to Viodoxa. As Viodoxa was lead by Loic, it was suspected by some members of Uldarash that this was purely retaliation for the results of the Coup of Paloro.

The Empire would proceed to go through a period of factionalization, until March 5, 2021, where a number of smaller factions within the former fractured empire, re-united into a Second Empire known at the time as the "True Empire of Uldarash"

Territory
Cities: Former cities:
 * Aldenard
 * Goldtree
 * Eibenburg
 * Hapatmitas
 * Kaahiru
 * Sanctuary
 * Barrier port
 * Carrot-Fort
 * Cresttown
 * Felsonsvhon
 * Kabarria
 * Leafy town
 * Lormere
 * Lukka
 * Palovina
 * Splitland
 * Trigonummari
 * Valkenberg
 * Woodenia

Two Capitals
At the beginning and before the Iram Administration, The Empire of Uldarash had two capitals, each controlling different aspects of government. Lukka is the northern capital and the military capital of the empire. Situated in Southern Ummarnu, near the junction of Ummarnu and Haven, it works to provide resistance to a possible northern threat and to exert control over the Uldarash-controlled portions of the Mesa. There is also the southern capital of Sanctuary, the religious, cultural and geographical capital of the empire, being situated in central Haven as well as the center of the Empire.

Later on, however, the Iram Administration, the capitals have since changed. Hapatmitas became the northern and military capital of the Empire and recently, Splitland became the southern capital. In the case of Hapatmitas, Lukka was never really used or built up and it was given up during the peace talks following the Great Golden War. Splitland became the southern capital as Sanctuary became uninhabited as Emperor Dentro became sick and could not keep the city going so Sanctuary was disbanded and left to ruins. Splitland too, would eventually fall to ruin, leaving Hapatmitas as the sole capital..

Government
The government of Uldarash was a Feudal Monarchy. Noble titles in Uldarash werelimited to either landholders, or those who hold leadership positions in the Uldarashi military. Uldarash was governed by two emperors and the Council of Lords, a legislative body comprised of all the landholding nobles in the country who worked together to determine national policy. Uldarash also had an Imperial Council made up of Ministers appointed by the emperors and confirmed by the Council of Lords. Following the resignation of Emperor Wilusa, and illness befalling Emperor Dentro, the state was governed by the Regent Emperor, King Iram (WhiskeyKnight) as well as his wife Queen Consort wurmbo. However, following King Irams assassination, Minister of War RumKnight became Emperor. Following his recent position change and an open position, the Imperial Council voted SnapplyPie of Faldenburg for Minister of War. A new ministry position opened up for Infrastructure and Knilz1999 was voted in.

Religion
The Empire of Uldarash's majority religion was Asharu. Though everyone in the empire was granted freedom of religion, a temple dedicated to the Asharu religion, or notably each town's patron God.

Simply put, Asharu belief dictates that everything, whether living or not, such as a river, wolf, or fire, has a spirit. The more important they are to humanity, the holier they are. The holiest being light. This is the reasoning for each town's patron God.

Culture
From the very start the culture of Uldarash was very diverse. In the north were desert citys of Hapatmitas, Kaahiru and Lukka, in the center lie the floting city of Sanctuary, the town of Palovina with its fertile marshes and the vally of Leafy town. To the west on the cost of the Haven's Heart were the ports of Lormere and Cresttown and on the southern coast were the mountain town of Valkenberg. Finaly there were the jungel town of Kabarria to the east. Together these towns made up the diverse culture of Uldarash.

Ardat Mosul
The relationship Uldarash maintained with Ardat Mosul was commmonly described as tenuous at best. In ancient times, before the Audalad Invasion, the Ardat Caliphate and the old kingdoms of Talawa coexisted, though territorial disputes in the Mesa and the basins created by the rivers flowing out of it were a regular occurance. Both the races of the Lamiatrophus and Talawans were not prone to the same wars and conflicts that most races sharing the same territory were apt too. Overall the two entities were able to maintain peaceful relations. When the Audalians invaded, a fierce rivalry was struck up between the two nations, specifically in regards to Ardatian submission to the Eastern Empire. The Talawans believed this to be betrayal of the entire West, allowing their lands to be taken and stripped of resources by 'gold-hungry imperalists'. Specifically the relations between the two leaders of the time, Xyla of Ardat and Wilusa of Talawa, remained strained, with the two even being cited as 'unable to stay in a room with the other'. Many Succubi refugees fled Ardat, arriving in Lukka and Hapatmitas, converting to the local cultures, though many still wished to free their homeland. While there are no official sources about the matter, rumors persist that the Talawa as well as many of the Haven City States may have supported the guerrilla rebels in Ardat. Whether the rebels received support or not, their quest for independence has failed and the remnants of the group faded away. Following the death of Caliph Xyla and the coronation of her daughter Caliph Dalatra, relations between Ardat and its western neighbors began to improve. Westerner's view of Ardat improved significantly when Caliph Dalatra declared Ardat's independence from Yimmu-Audal, with many Westerners seeing this as a sign that the west could be independent of eastern influence once more. Further cause for this hope came with Caliph Dalatra and Emperor Wilusa's treaty which settled the millennia-long disagreement over the Ummarnu Mesa. Others remained worried about the stability of this treaty and feared that war for control over the gold-rich Mesa to be inevitable. To make the region more stable the Emperors of Uldarash ordered the construction of the Great Barrier to separate the claims of Ardat and Uldarash more clearly.