Clastonian Empire

&nbsp The Clastonian Empire was a Nearth empire that was founded in the early 17th century and lasted until the early 18th century.

The Empire is credited with establishing the central Nearth culture, Clasti and cementing the Nearth rule over Kaitania. Until its establishment, the southern human kingdoms were likely to take advantage of the empty lands, and only after the Clastonians claimed protectorate over the Nearth settlements did any actual advances stop.

Rise (1589-1605)
Nearth nomads that traveled out of the Falling Deserts via Falling Minor found their new homes in the abandoned cities of the late Kingdom of Lorris and eventually established a number of citystates. The strongest of these citystates was Calistinia, that had begun as only 3,000 settlers and had ballooned to a population of nearly 100,000 in the century following its establishment. Spilling out of the city walls all the way to the coast, Calistinia needed more room. Expansionism took over, first starting with small surrounding villages and settlements, then leading to the annexation of nearby Human and Nearth citystates.

After the last king of Calistinia died, the Skaludi seized power with the backing of their new religion, Clasti. The name of the state was changed to a Clasti word meaning "World", making the literal name "World Empire".

Expansion period (1605-1670)
The Skaludi installed a new leader with religious power, the Julitt. Most of the Clastonian leadership had dreams of uniting the Nearth race under one empire and conquering Kaitania and the Falling lands down to the far south Falling Desert. They began by taking the coastal cities and islands, eventually counqering the entire subregion of Eiraisia. The holy city of Konstensus was eventually rediscovered to the east, and taken as the crown jewel of the Empire. The city itself went through a massive refurbishing process that never managed to restore its former glory, but it still remained one of the greatest wonders of the world.

The expansion continued east, while missionaries traveled deep into the southern lands to convert the populance. They succeeded in spreading the clasti culture outside the Empire, and even the southern Human kingdoms adopted some bits and peices that they learned from the non-aligned settlements.

The entire period was fueled by copious amounts of gunpowder, which had been discovered during the reign of the Lorris but never implemented. The Clastonians were scientifically advanced enough to understand the dynamics and ingredients of gunpowder, eventually coming up with a far more potent mix. The massive suppliess of phosphates and nitrates were handled by local farming communities and huge mining operations that tore out entire mountains. It's estimated that at least eight mountains were brought down due to overactive mining, and dozens of others were cleared out to make fortresses or secret military bases.

The Wher War and decline (1673-1679)
The Clastonians had failed to noticed a small influx of Human immigrants from the north regions. These people quietly passed through the Empire and settled in the northern part of the non-aligned Clasti lands. They spent time establishing themselves and eventually raised a small army.

In 1673, the Clastonians sent several military expeditions into the north non-aligned lands, hoping to secure more territory. What they encountered instead were the contagious wolf armies of the Verschin wizards. The hordes of creatures, known as Wherwolves, razed most of the Empire's central southern border and slaughtered any armies they came across. In response to this threat, the Empire mobilized all avaliable forces and dug in all the way to their capital. The final defensive line was 70 km in length and 200 km deep, with some cities cleared out and fortified to sure up the lines. Almost all of the Clastonian army was buried in the central territories, leading to widespread rebellion and anarchy in the outer territories. The Clastonians lost control of most of their eastern territories during this time.

The Calstonian army fared horrifically on the the battlefield, due to the Verschin Witch Engines that spread a black cloud that turned anyone who breathed it into Wherwolves. Countermeasures were quickly devised, and an inventive young scientist in Tankania began production on a filter breathing mask, eventually known as a gas mask. Other inventors in Tankania started production on various new weapons, including new rifles designed to punch through the extremely thick Wherwolf muscle and new artillery shells that could blow apart Witch Engines before they got close.

However, rebels took Tankania and seceded, refusing to export their technology. The new state quickly fell apart and went to war with itself in a conflict known as the Tankan Civil War. Eventually the new state of Bulkast rose from the horrific conflict, but remained isolationist. The Red Flu tore through the central Clastonian states, further dimishing the population there.

At the last moment, the Clastonians made contact with the Eldarien Empire, and implored them for help. The Eldariens consented and reinforced the Clastonian lines as well as sending expeditionary forces to take back Bulkast. They succeeded, and eventually Bulkast technology was being produced in the Eldarien factories and distributed to every division in the two armies. The ewly equipped armies worked in concert with each other, and pushed the Wher right back over their lines and slaughtered their uncoordinated hordes. The war was over, and the Clastonians had a new ally.

Rebuilding period and the Eldarien takeover (1689-1708)
The Clastonians annexed the Wher territory and reinstated their control over their rebel territories. They continued to cautiously exert their influence and only annexed a small number of territories, though they did set up a satellite state composed of Nearth settlements in the southern Clasti territories and the northeast territories.

The slow progress of their expansion eventually prompted the Eldarien Empire to use their influence and political tactics to take control of the Empire out from underneath the Clastonians, eventually annexing most of their non-aligned territory and leaving nothing but a three-province rump state. At the Eldarien Assembly, numerous provinces demanded independence, but only Bulkast was granted autonomy. Tankania province became a duchy firmly under the rule of the Eldariens.

The end of the Empire (1710?)
When the Elderian's control over their territories waned after the Feram War, with their armies depleted and their Ctec slave race nearly extinct, they had nothing to keep control of the lower lands with. They eventually descended into anarchy. The Clastonians tried to make a comeback, but were overwhelmed by raiders, and eventually, Konstensus and Calistinia were sacked, marking the end of the Empire.

Country Stats
Clastonian Empire

Status: Civilized

Technology Level: Late gunpowder

Rule: Theocracy

Majority Ideology: Religion

Minority Ideologies: Rationalism, Falibilism, Liberal, Iron-Fist.

Majority Religion: Clasti

Minority Religion: None

Majority Race: Nearth

Minority Race: Human

Capital City: Konstensus

Major Cities: Lausten, Tankania, Balsheera, Calistinia

Population: (at height) 4 million

Standing Army: (at height) 80 Divisions (800,000 soldiers)

Administrative Divisions: Provinces

Division Names: Dern, Klostar, Numer, Kletas, Havos, Sortie, Liuebun, Bersos, Mevelin, Tormen, Olik, Solcast, Diprov, Arelel, Visache, Monisalk, Manse, Cartomey (capital province).