The Second Dynasty
Structure
Assets
At its formation:
> 500 soldiers.
No land.
Limited wealth.
Various resources given by secret supporters back in Ecoth.
Once it took control of Ecoth
Around 50,000 soldiers.
Most of the economy, resources and land in Ecoth.
Large supplies of riches from tax paying kingdoms.
History
Beginings...
The Second Dynasty formed when the survivers of the The Old Dynasty fled north after the Dundell took over their capital. Among them was Rezide, who held a luse claim to the Old Dynasty's throne through diststant relations, and Visko Malow, a general for the Old Dynasty. Rezide would establish himself as the emperor of the Second Dynasty whilst Malow would become his top general. Together alongside around 300 other survivors they would spend 50 years in the northern mountains, trying to strengthen their forces and forge more weapons in preperation for their return.
Despite the small number who fled to the north, the Dynasty still had many secret supporters left in Ecoth, with some of them having acess to a large amount of wealth. They helped fund the Second Dynasty's return whilst also sending weapons and supplies. This helped the Second Dynasty grow much faster and survive the freezing tempertures in the North.
Around the year -15 the Second Dynasty was unknowingly discovered by a young Joedofe Hundra. Knowing the Second Dynasty were planning to invade, Hundra began formulating a plan to use the chaos the Second Dynasty would create to put himself in power. At this moment in time though he told no one of his discovery.
The Second Dynasty Emerges
In the year 0 the Second Dynasty started emerging from the north in much larger numbers. They began raiding supply routes and drasticly increaced the number of spies they had placed around Ecoth. General Visko Malow manipulated Representative Joedofe Hundra into giving him detailed maps of the Dundell's capital, planning an invasion that would catch the Dundell of guard. He learned from Hundra that The Dundell was weak and didn't even know of the Second Dynasty's existance. Malow hoped to use this to his advantage.
In the same year it had emerged, the Second Dynasty attacked the Dundell's capital. Elections were being held at the time so all the important figures were inside the Great Dundellian Gathering Chamber (GDGC). Malow's forces had picked up supporters as they had journeyed south to the capital and an extra 100 soldiers had joined the 300 Malow had already committed to the attack. The Dundell had no idea the Second Dynasty was comming and by the time Malow's forces rode up to the city gates it was too late to close them as cavalry rode straght into the city.
The limited soldiers stationed at the Dundell were quickely overwhelmed and Malow ordered for the immidiate execution of all representatives of the Dundell. Representative Joedofe Hundra managed to escape but many wern't so lucky. The Second Dynasty burned the Great Dundellian Gathering Chamber to the ground, brutaly hanging and burning surviving representatives in a symbol of the Second Dynasty's power. Malow then had letters sent to all the kingdoms in the Dundell, telling kings that their representatives were dead, and they would be too if they did not surrender to the Second Dynasty. This was the Dynasty's most brutal demonstration yet, and it marked their retern with blood, death and fire.
Responce to the Second Dynasty
After the events at The Dundell most kingdoms commited absolute loyalty to the Second Dynasty without hesitation. The Dundell had been growing increacingly unpopular at the time and many people in Ecoth had seen it as corrupt and inneficient. This meant many people agreed with the butal actions of the Second Dynasty and cheered when their horses rode into the Dundell's capital. Many argued the Dynasty's events were neccesary in the long term improvement of Ecoth.
The Dundell still had supporters though. Some representatives such as Joedofe Hundra and Sinric Leroy escaped from the Dundell's capital and started movements against the Second Dynasty. King Harald Hundra of Vacana even prepared a full army to defend Vacana's capital from Second Dynasty forces. Despite these few resitance pockets the Second Dynasty was mostly met with joy or fear, both of which kept most of its new citizens at bay.
The Second Dynasty Establishes Control
From the begining the Second Dynasty faced the same probelm as the The Dundell, it had just taken over an entire continent but had less than 2000 official members. The Second Dynasty immidiatly began recruting supportes, mostly in the form of soldiers, to grow its influence. It also alowed the independence of kingdoms and empires which had not been part of the Dundell to limit the ammount of teritory it had to operate in. Despite this the Dynasty struggled to get a foothold in Ecoth especially when Malow had to take an army to put down a rebbelion in Vacana, days after the Second Dynasty had taken the Dundell. The Dynasty also allowed the continuation of independent kindom spesific defence guards such as the Vacanan Guard
or the Order of Phaloh which helped with their numbers problem. Thankfully for the Second Dynasty its widespread support across Ecoth meant the problem of control only really become an issue in a few small cases, at least in the begining.Several months after it established his new rule in Ecoth, Eperor Rezide ordered the documentation of every citizen in every kingdom. This was an attempt to gain a greater understanding of the reasources the Second Dynasty now posesed but also make it harder for fugatives (such as the now exiled Joedofe Hundra) to find places to stay without being discovered. Rezide hoped to use this document to help efforts to remove potentual traiters and anti loyalists. It had a limited level of sucsess, flushing Hundra out of hiding, (though this became irrelivent when he established a military invasion of Vacana City) but other targeted groups, such as Sinric Leroy's Rebbels had already been deatroyed by the time of its completion.
Crisis in Vacana
The first majour threat that had the potentual to overthrow the Second Dynasty was Joedofe Hundra's newly created empire in Vacana. In the year 1 Joedofe Hundra came out of hiding to retake his kingdom of Vacana. He did this using Cytonknic in the Vacanan Guard which he made loyal to himself. After a year of the Second Dynasty failing to adress the threat, Joedofe had already invaded two more neutral kingdoms, increacing his influance.
At this point Rezide became fearful of Hundra's influance, sending him a letter which offered him to keep his captured teritory and remain independent, as long as he did not interfear with the Dynasty's territory. Jodofe quickly broke all hope of peace when he invaded the Dynasty ocupied kingdom of Phaloh which he took within a day. Visko Malow was present at the Battle of Phaloh and explained to Rezide how Hundra had no intention of keeping good relations with the Second Dynasty. When Rezide failed to act upon this Malow launched a military coup, taking Rezide out of power and declaring himself the ruler of the Second Dynasty.
Malow's first action as leader of the Second Dynasty was to declare war of Hundra's empire, amassing an army and marching west to Vacana. By the time his forces arrived Hundra had already prepared a formidable defence. The first encounter was when Dynasty forces tried to take Hell's Gate, a key position and entery point on Hundra's Wall. They sucseeded but took heavy casualties due to Hundra's use of Cytonknic women and children to defend this position. Unfortunatly the losses were not over for the Second Dynasty as once they approached the capital of Vacana, they were flanked and Hundra's forces retook Hell's Gate, trapping them. Cut off from his supplies, Malow was forced to accept Hundra's offer to talk in his pallace which soon became a duel resulting in Malow's death. Although the Second Dynasty's forces had began to lay siege to Vacana things looked grim for them. This was why it was such a surprise when Hundra's forces finally surendered after they broke into the main city. Had Joedofe Hundra not surendered he could have destroyed the Second Dynasty and Ecothnic historians still debate to this day why he was lead to such an action.
Aftermath
Despite their victory in Vacana the Second Dynasty was wounded, with two leaders being deposed within such a short space of time, it fell into internal conflict where it still lies to this day.
"I stand here before you in the void that was once the insolence and corruption of the Dundell. They slowly slunk from their caves and hiding spots into this city where they thought that they could overthrow the might of the ancient Dynasty. May these ashes at my feet remind us of their foolish ambitions. The Dynasty was an organisation that had ruled Ecoth for thousands of years, engrained into the very soul of this continent and they thought that they could just kick it out without consequence. I ask you loyal subjects, where did that get them? They lost over half its teritory to independence then sat apon their communal thrones and screamed into the ears of Ecoth expecting the same obediance that the Dynasty had once wheilded before them. And when they didn't get it they began to grow corrupt, arrogant, stubborn. I ask you without the intervention of the Second Dynasty how long would the Dundell have lasted before it crumbled away, a few years perhaps, a decade if optimistic. The people of Ecoth have spoken, and they say Dundell is dead." -Emperor Rezide
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