Third Empire of Bardonia

The Third Empire of Bardonia, also known as the Third Empire, the Bardonian Empire or simply Bardonia, was a collection of nations in Syltör. It was the sixth government of the nation of Bardonia. Widely regarded as the peak of Bardonia as a nation, the Third Empire saw Bardonia reach its territorial height, as well as its highest population percentage. It would pose a genuine threat to the nations of the south alongside the Allium Alliance, with tensions between the two culminating in the Third Rathnir Coalition & the Allium-Coalition War.

Etymology
Bardonia is named after the pre-existing discord server of its founder members, The First Republic of Bardonia, which is called "Dank Bard". The community largely theorized that the name of Bardonia was actually inspired by a hamlet in the real-world United States, that uses the same name, located in the State of New York within the city of Clarkstown in Rockland County, which is the same state that BackToTheHub is confirmed to have admitted in a Discord conversation. However, this may of just have been a coincidence, as this has been denied by Unic0rnb0i.

In Aurlûnoren, it is called "Orchendor", which literally means Dandelion Land.

The Prophet's Arrival
After Mobius had calmed the chaos of the Second Empire, the last remaining Prophet of the 5 that originally brought Bardonia to Rathnir stepped up. The Prophet spoke to Mobius, showing Mobius visions of a Bardonia in a golden age, walking the Path of Prosperity. Mobius, striving for this future, did anything he needed to in order to make it happen, even stepping off the throne. The Prophet became the Emperor of Bardonia with promises to guide Bardonia into a golden age, an age of prosperity, an age comparable to the Second Republic. The first thing passed was government reforms, adding government jobs and spreading out the workload.

The Path of Prosperity
Starting immediately after the Prophet came to power, Bardonia began looking outwards towards their neighbours, expanding as part of the Path of Prosperity. Under the Second Empire they had already invaded some of their neighbours, such as Vallia, Halge, Andorn & Heli. The occupation of these countries was not particularly welcomed by the general population, especially in Vallia & Halge. It was during this time that the Third Tsardom of Ryzan, under the Zefirov Administration, began extending their support to nations occupied by Bardonia under the previously established Air Ryzan initiative, a service independent of the Ryzani government transporting weapons & other supplies to rebel groups. While this had previously extended only as far as Andorn, a region which Ryzan had heavy stakes in keeping on their side during the Avaleskei Administration, it now expanded to Vallia, Halge, Baykonia & later Lennox when they were invaded and occupied by Bardonia on June 10th.

Alongside this, Bardonia began extending further support to their allies, the Allium Alliance, to help them grow their influence. They assisted in acquiring Mudrokpektai as a vassal of Niedea, and they expanded their own influence through the Abyssal Isles, Carvay, & Leythe, as well as finally reintegrating Auron’s Peak on June 13th. In response to the Viodoxan collapse and the SRDA being rendered practically useless without a core command structure that could lead in a Viodoxan absence, Bardonia began to finally prepare for war against the Second Ryzani Republic, and declared war against them on June 23rd.

The West March War
Full Article: West March War

The Bardonians marched on Tossagrad instead of the much closer capital of Carthya. As the Bardonians marched around Carthya & surrounded Tossagrad, Aurlunoren forces occupied Deutzan, and Baykonian garrisons seized Ryzan’s colonies in Helmia. Despite warnings of a potential attack in Volkoregrod, the three-pronged attack on Tossagrad went underway, with the fighting descending into house-to-house combat in a bloody mess. Task Force Volkoregrod was redirected to assist in Tossagrad, followed by Task Force Carthya. The Bardonians would later seize Carthya, with only a few reserves left in Carthya to defend it. The Bardonians would finally seize Tossagrad in the early hours of June 26th. After this crushing defeat, the petty kingdom of the Csardom of Nebskoslavia would secede from Ryzan, and later that day President Zefirov, in violation of the constitution, would sign an unconditional surrender in Volkoregrod which allowed Bardonia to occupy all of Ryzan’s territory, and resigned from his position as President.

After Ryzan
The Nebskoslavian secession would be brutally suppressed, one of the first of many acts of extreme violence against native ethnicities in Ryzani territory. During the month-long occupation of Ryzani territory, the Bardonians and the Westreach government would order one of the largest mass genocides in world history, executing 113,000 ethnic Ryzanis and erecting mass graves across the Vonskyri & Nebskoslavian countryside to bury the dead. Displacement and executions of ethnic minorities also have traces in Lennox, Valle, Baykonia & the former Sand Republic. The killings during this period would stunt Ryzan’s population growth to the point where it would never recover to pre-occupation numbers.

The Second Ryzani Occupation
While the Bardonians initially split Ryzan into Fiterèi Province in the north, a ‘free’ zone which contained the majority of Ryzan’s wilderness, and Ostrehèmme Province in the south, a zone directly administered by the Bardonian government containing most of the country’s major cities. From Fiterei, Jacob Azurov would eventually proclaim the new Tsardom of Westreach, a Bardonian provincial government spanning all of former Ryzan. This was confirmed on June 30th, with the leaders of the Allium Alliance attending his inauguration as the new Tsar. This new government was made up of many former Ryzanis, who had returned to help govern from nations like Barbossa. The Westreach government would control most of central Ryzan and the population centres, with the IRGC being located in the outer rim of the country where the occupation was harder to enforce.

Beyond Syltor
With the Bardonians now in total hegemony over Syltor, the Prophet began looking outside of his homeland, to the other continents of Rathnir. The new foreign policy aims were to bring stability to the north and gradually bring the globe under their heel, one nation at a time. This new foreign policy began almost immediately after Westreach was established, in the continent of Plagos.

The Plagadonian Emergency
The Plagadonians would approach the Allium Alliance and seek closer relations with the new Bardonian Empire under the Prophet & the Huitca Federation, allowing them to be involved more and more in Plagos affairs. This already destabilised Plagos, however the Plagadonian’s internal troubles would make the situation worse when an anti-interference faction of the government would overthrow the pro-western rulers. This began the Plagadonian Emergency, an event which resulted in the Allium Alliance sending in the troops on July 4th, 2021. The nation was occupied by Allium forces, led by Bardonia, to restabilise the region. The anti-interference groups took up arms and fought back against the Allium forces, before the Plagateans would intervene alongside the Allium and crush the rebellion for good. Allium forces would eventually withdraw on July 9th, leaving the Plagateans to occupy the territory alone. This, despite being a small event on the world stage, would have major ramifications, as it was the first time that the Allium Alliance acted as a single entity to intervene in a foreign country, with Bardonia leading the charge and ultimately occupying the territory during this time. It was an early taste of Bardonian expansionism beyond Syltor.

Into Sparwood
As the Viodoxans acquired more land in Sparwood during the Avarian Deal, the UBSR would ultimately follow the same path, and unify with Viodoxa on July 8th, 2021. This was a major change to Sparwood’s environment, as the most politically active southern power had just gained a large chunk of territory in Central Sparwood. The Union of Free Kingdoms, or UFK, a western Sparwood nation which had been forged out of the Leythe-Greenstem united effort to combat Akratian imperialism, now felt cornered by Viodoxan expansionism into the continent, and, as Viodoxa had claims to the majority of their territory, they ultimately decided to join the Bardonians, reaching the Third Bardonian Empire’s territorial maximum on July 8th, 2021. Upon reaching this all-time high, the Bardonians would begin trading land to bargain good relations with other countries. Plagadonia was traded with Plagatea, the Western Mesa was traded with Uldarash, Bardonian Tatonia traded with the newly-formed Magisterium, Bardonian Akratia traded with the Inquisition, and finally Bardonian Serifini traded with Viodoxa. All of these land trades were in return for neutral or positive relations, and while all was good on the surface, below the thin layer of political jargon, a war against the Bardonians was developing, and the rise of the Third Rathnir Coalition began.

The Allium-Coalition War
Full Article: Allium-Coalition War

The Third Empire was a major expansionist power before the war, conquering roughly 15% of Rathnir's land surface. Such conquests made Bardonia's position very tenuous, as they quickly drew the attention of many of the more established major powers. The actual war almost started several times before the final date, and by July 26th, all knew that the war was going to happen one day or another. Bardonia was not only facing problems from outside its own borders. The large number of conquered peoples in the Empire meant that many of its people were not exactly the most loyal subjects, and certainly not ready to fight a war to preserve their own oppression. Facing so much external pressure, the Bardonian Empire's internal governments began to collapse, and on the 26th of July, Kringal, Lennox, Ryzan, and Baykonia declared independence during the Bardonian Spring, while at the same time, Viodoxa, Uldarash, Tortuga, Plagatéa, Alamayn, The Aldovir League, Simulami and Yimmu-Audal declared war on Bardonia.

The Allium Alliance would back Bardonia initially, however, with the number of nations turning against the north, they began to drop out of the war, one by one, until Bardonia was left alone defending New Dorasterrock. During the subsequent Battle of New Dorasterrock, what remained of the Bardonian forces alongside international volunteers would be annihilated by Coalition forces, despite attempts to retake the city by the Hands. Despite the major loss at New Dorasterrock, the Hands would put up a considerable fight against the Coalition at the Pillars of Sun. The Prophet was slaughtered in a sewer during the battle, leaving Crezyman as the incumbent Emperor to oversee what remained of the Empire. Despite the Prophet's initial plans to embark on a guerilla campaign across the Bardonian interior, Crezyman would begin peace negotiations with the Coalition the day following their defeat, signing the Treaty of New Dorasterrock on July 30th, dissolving the Third Empire in place of a much more southern-lenient Republic.

Government
The Third Empire of Bardonia was an autocratic oligarchy, with all government positions elected by the Grand Council. The Grand Council consisted of 10 members, including the Emperor & 9 executives which cover all of Bardonia's internal & external affairs. Members of the Grand Council served for life and were elected based off their ability & their allegiance to the Chancellor. There were also 6 elected officials which represented regions of the Empire, as well as its culturally significant minorities & religions, as well as members elected to the government based off family ties to the Grand Council.