Alessandrea

Alessandrea, also known as Alexandria or Aexandrei, is a large city within the Duchy of Varmerion in the Soleannen Empire of Escharia. It was known for it's library, the largest by area in all of Rathnir until it's ruin in December of 2021. The city straddles the border between Escharia and Yimmu-Audal. It was briefly inhabited by squatters, but has been Escharian since the 23rd of January 2022.

Ancient Era
AJDx12 founded the city of Alexandria, at precisely 12:21 a.m. PST on the 2nd of December 2020. Within the Free Cities of Corthaidh it was one of the major settlements but remained irrelevant during the age of the Escharian Empire due to the western part of the country being eclipsed by the eastern realm.

Classical Era
When MaxKeyOfficial, Hunderbar and Safaviyya found it on the 17th of July 2021, the city was an absolute ruin with only a small wooden coastal wall and three broken houses. The three companions refounded the city with the new name of Alessandrea and Max becoming the ruler. The coastal wall was mostly destroyed and the only surviving Ancient Era building was the Town Hall. The city rapidly grew in population and was at its peak from late August to early October 2021 after the construction of the Great Library of Alessandrea, which was the largest library in all of Rathnir by area. Constructed from sandstone, quartz, granite, gold and diamonds, the library was truly a sight to behold. The city had many homes for its inhabitants and was walled off behind 20 block high stone walls, reinforced with obsidian. Inside, there was also a 43 block tall monument to the city, made from prismarine, quartz, gold and blue terracotta.

Towards the end of the golden age, Hirreath the Evangelist converted many inhabitants to Auralism. A schism occured days later and the new religion of Pheonism was founded by preaching the devil, Pheonix. He had manifested in the form of one of the inhabitants, jupixter20xo_ and was armed with the legendary sword Auralius' Will. Hirreaths band from Pheonisia fought skirmishes with Alessandrea and were on the brink of war until Max, Akesor of Alessandrea was temporarily banned for 3 weeks and the city began it's decline. Max returned in early November 2021, but did not come back afterwards and the city began to ruin, with the claim disbanding in mid December.

Period of Decline
On the 23rd of December 2021, the ruins of Alessandrea were claimed by the squatter city of Athellos. Athellos was founded by Lithranorians, a people from Lithranor, which was another squatter settlement between Lostesrei and Alessandrea. The Lithranorians were in a three-way alliance with Athellos and another nearby squatter town, New Lockinge. This alliance was also friendly with the neighbouring Yimmu-Audalese settlement of Thera. Believing Escharia to be weak, the alliance planned to secede and declare independence as their own nation of Lithranor.

In Alessandrea, many buildings from the Classical Era survived the looting including the Ancient era Town Hall, but were in differing states of disrepair. The city had been stripped of all valuable materials including the large quartz pillars of the library and all of the books that were once held inside it. The squatters intended to demolish all of the buildings and build a new town on top of it, disregarding the history of the city. Under the rule of Athellos, the city did not progress much. Some small houses were demolished and new ones built upon them. The squatters made empty promises to rebuild the city more magnificent than ever before to make it seem like progress was occuring.

The Reclamation
A delegation from Escharia arrived in Athellos on the 22nd of January 2022. It was former Akesor Max, who had been sent on behalf of Escharia to negotiate the return of the city back into Escharian hands. With the full support of the Imperator, Max said to the Senate of Athellos: "'The Aesperium Niedea (formerly Escharia) has sent me, MaxKeyOfficial, on a diplomatic mission to the city of Athellos demanding that it's leadership be surrendered to the Niedene Akesor of Alessandrea. This diplomatic mission is sponsored by the Imperator of Niedea, Hadrian Vorpes-Delgrenzar and backed by the Niedene ally, the Empire of Bardonia. The combined military might of the Aesperium Niedea and the Empire of Bardonia stands ready to attack the city of Athellos if you do not comply with our demands. However, we are willing to negotiate a deal to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, for example allowing all current citizens to remain in the city or small amounts of payment.'"The mood in the senate went from shock, to outrage and finally to fear. Max gave the senate 16 hours to vote on departure from the city, but the senate reached in a conclusion in only 3. The city was to be handed over. However when departing, the senate gave the order to grief the ruins which resulted in considerable damage to many historic Alessandrean buildings. Minutes after the departure of the squatters, jupixter20xo_ and joel_zombie refounded the city under the name Jupixtia in order to preserve what was left from raiders.

The city would be officially refounded in the early hours of the 23rd of January 2022 when Akesor Max was transferred leadership of Jupixtia, renaming it Alessandrea and ending the 1 month long decline. A great terraforming program would begin, resulting in the destruction of almost every building in Alessandrea, except for the Ancient era Town Hall. Many new buildings would be built during the Reclamation, such as the Monument to the Reclaimers of Alessandrea, the banquet hall, many houses, a sea wall and a new road. The foundations of the Church of Alessandrea were also laid.

After Athellos was thrown out of Alessandrea, the three-way alliance was broken, spooking many Lithranorians. Days later, the city of Lithranor was disbanded, with many residents fleeing to Thera while others would seek new paths in Rathnir. When the Alessandreans got word of the disbandment - motivated by the belief that Lithranor had looted their library - they descended upon the remains of the city; pillaging, burning and destroying whatever they could. New Lockinge would also be similarly disbanded and destroyed. The destruction of Lithranor was so thorough that as of today, only small portions of the Lithranorian wall remain.

The Stagnation
Approximately a month after the city was reclaimed, the Alessandreans became less and less active, spending more time alone in their houses. The vengeful spirits of Lithranor had cursed them, pulling them all into a trance-like state. They were stuck in a never-ending nightmare of an alternate world, filled with 'assignments' and 'university'. As a result, progress slowed as February dragged on and was completely halted during March. The city was disbanded, again, in March of 2022. Fortunately, the neighbouring Akesor of Karannatia, Bel Amir, set up a claim to preserve much of the city and its artifacts. Amir also finished much of the terraforming which had begun months earlier. From March of 2022 until the 17th of November 2022, almost nothing occurred in the city, save for the construction of a fort by the builder Andre Valios and a nearby temple to calm the angry spirits of Lithranor.

The Restoration
On the 17th of November 2022, the Alessandreans suddenly broke free from their trance. Max emerged from his residence and was granted the title of Akesor of Alessandrea by Bel Amir, who conceded his claim to the city and returned their valuables. For this, the Alessandreans are eternally grateful to Amir.

The Alessandreans immediately got to work - Max, joel_zombie, Safaviyya and rhomatic resumed construction on the city, completing many more houses, a warehouse, farm and extending the existing road. Joel and Andre Valios also finished constructing the magnificent Church of Alessandrea.

As of today, much is planned for the city, including a new, bigger library, a dock, a military training complex, more houses and finally finishing the months-long terraforming process.