Layloma Empire

Founded about 1,000 years before the Golden Age by Kubliah Ren, the Layloma Empire was one of the most enduring monarchies of the Dynasitc Period. Layloma is centered on the Gorbash Steppe and was most famous for it's mounted troops, even into the modern era where they fought alongside tanks.

History

Dynastic Era

Late in the Dynastic Period, the peoples of the Southern Reaches were making efforts to fight off the yoke of Marconian rule. Much the the Agras Plains, the reaches had never been fully subjugated, an achievement oweing to wide and varied strategies.

Layloma was the most recent effort. Much like fighting fire with fire, Kubliah Ren sought to fight empires with an empire of his own. He did this largely through conquest of neighboring city-states and tribes. Also marrying off his various sons and daughters to secure political allegiances. While it's true some of the understanding of the era is colored by Kuliah and his descendant's propaganda, it is true that, for the most part, the conquests were not severely violent, and little will was imposed on the newly gathered territories. They were allowed to retain local custom and even the local rulers often kept their seat(and their heads) if they agreed to submit.

In all, Kubliah conquered seven major nation-states and 137 city-states, along with an unknown number of nomadic and semi-nomadic warrior tribes. What made his empire endure in large part was how he managed it. He did not expend resources building elaborate palaces for himself, or demand the worship of his new subjects. Instead, he raised vast armies, built fortifications, and perhaps most importantly, he organized food cooperatives. War and Food were the mainstays of his reign; he knew that ensuring a new generation of soldiers grew up strong and healthy was just as important as feeding the armies he already had.

Cities near the straight were fortified and standing armies maintained, cities further away were taxed. Local populations were relocated to safer regions. In a way, the Layloma Empire pioneered the notion of defense-in-depth on a massive scale. Kubliah himself was meticulous, under his rule he believed taxes were an integral component of the common defense, but decreed no man should be made to pay more than his fair share, or beyond his means. This made him quite unpopular, as the poor often paid little to no taxes(and received free food in exchange for a meager amount of labor), while the wealthy were quite heavily taxed.

It seemed, for a brief window, that the empire Kubliah had built would not last much beyond his years. While he himself had few indulgences, his chief son Wabaki Ren was notorious. It seemed that, above all else, he desired a grand and splendid palace for himself, and commented frequently that when he was leader, it would be his first priority.

Uninterested in letting his empire crumble, Kubliah quietly had Wabaki's throat slit, and decreed that hie chief daughter Seteshi Ren would succeed him as emperor, and immediately made her his co-regent. This was not an all together popular decision as women were still treated like property across much of the empire. Kubliah himself was not overly fond of this option, not because he believed women were unfit to rule, but because he felt he had failed to instill in Seteshi the appropriate kindness so needed in a monarch.

The decision was still the right on, however, as Seteshi had little trouble holding the empire together, and was still reigning strong when the chief enemy, the Marcon Alliance, was largely savaged by Lelerough in 901 B.G.A.. Local custom holds that Layloma was spared because it had a woman as emperor, and Lelerough approved of this(and Seteshi was in no small way responsible for propogating this rumor), but the Accepted Histories hold that the empire was spared due simply to not being Marconian. As H.P. Galactis wrote "It's highly unlikely Lelerough knew or cared what sort of parts were sitting on Layloma's thrown. They weren't Marconian, and that's literally all she cared about."

Still, life under Seteshi was not as comfortable as her spinners would claim. With the Marcons effectively defeated, she focused her army's efforts on conquest, beginning campaigns in Iami to the south and into the rugged and mountainous western lands. These were especially unpopular with her people, as Iami had previously been an ally; and while most subjects were content with defending themselves, few were excited about waging a war of aggression.

Seteshi's inroads to the west were highly successful, conquering numerous gold and precious-metal producing regions, which further fueled her war machine. The campaign in Iami, strengthened by the influx of gold, conquered a large portion of the region.

Her reign was not well-liked. She was known for her violent temper, her rigid demands, and a general indistinct attitude when it came to human life. Still, she had little trouble maintaining power, as many of the programs began under her father remaining in practice. While she was much hated by the nobility, it was difficult to inspire insurrection when everyone's mouths were full.

In B.G.A. 897, Seteshi, then aged 64, began a co-regency with her son Magreth Ren, himself 31. Magreth, who was mostly raised by his paternal uncle, sought to fashion his reign more on what he had heard of his grandfather. His results were mixed, and by the end of his life he had lost all of the territory conquered in Iami. His chief defeat came when his armies began to encroach on the lands of the Sun and Sands Flight of dragons, who did not take kindly to his antics at all.

The Ren Dynasty lasted another two hundred years before being succeeded by the Rets Dynasty, who ruled until the region was attacked by the old Gudersnipe Army at the start of the Second Chaotic Period. What followed was nothing less than the dissolution of the empire.

Second Chaotic Period

During the Second Chaotic Period, the Layloma Empire existed as a series of waring states. The old boundaries completely forgotten and the old ways lost, it was far more tumultuous than it had been even before the empire's founding. Add in that centuries of endless campaigns had largely depleted the region's natural resources, and the recipe was ripe for a few truly horrific acts.

At the time, the Gorbash Steppe was a rich and fertile region fed by many great rivers. These were all intentionally dammed or diverted in an effort to starve the people of the steppes. While the region still saw too much rainfall to be entirely turned to desert, there was no longer the water needed to support large-scale agriculture. This forced much of the population on the northern side to retreat south, and caused many "wars of last resort" that generally ended pourly.

However, by this time the people of Layloma had generally found a mutual cultural identity, and while the warring states lasted across the second chaotic era, it was seen as an internal conflict, and in fact when word of Eieber's March reached Layloma, they were quick to solidify and join the new Alliance.