Timeline of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia (1230-1320)

This is the Timeline of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia, which serves as a resumption of the General History of Laurasia, Part VII. It covers the history of the Stellar Kingdom from 1230, shortly after the birth of King Artabanus, to the eve of the Laurasian Empire's establishment, and the end of the Great Briannian War (1320).

For the history of Laurasia after 1320, see Timeline of the Laurasian Empire (1321-1500) and Timeline of the Laurasian Empire (1501-1700).

=Timeline of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia (1230-1320)=

13th century (1201-1300)
The thirteenth century commenced on January 1, 1201, and ended on December 31, 1300, of the Hyperdrive Era system.

1230-1232

 * Following the birth of Grand Prince Artabanus in March 1229, celebrations had ensued at the Royal Court, on Laurasia Prime, and in other important star systems of the Stellar Kingdom. As had been noted in the General History, King Leonidas greeted the birth of his son with much joy, believing that he had ensured the continuing existence of the Leonidian Dynasty. Pope Filaret and Abbess-General Martha, the Grand Prince's grandparents, had extended their blessings to him; the Pope, moreover, had presided over his baptism ceremony. Indeed, during the course of the next three years, the Kingdom's dominions continued to reside in a general state of peace and prosperity, continuing their recovery from the travails of the Time of Troubles. In July 1229, King Leonidas and Queen Valeria embarked upon a progress from Laurasia Prime, and through the strongholds of the Laurasian Purse Region. Charasia, Americana, Taurasia, Vetta, Volta, Sarai, Lusculum, Tusculum, Oxia Vixius, Augis V, Apathama Vixius, Janesia, Maroni, Dearton's Gateway, and the strongholds of the Constantine Cluster were among the worlds visited by Their Majesties, over a progress which continued until their return to Laurasia Prime on October 1. The King then commissioned the construction of the Leonidian Obelisk in the City of Christiania; construction on it began in November 1229, and was to finish in January 1231. In January 1230, King Leonidas embarked upon another progress, this time to Darcia, where he presided over the dedication of St. Suthulmus's Cathedral in Corcae City.
 * By that point, Queen-Consort Valeria was pregnant once more, this being announced on Ascentmas Eve, 1229. The Queen's pregnancy proceeded with little complication, and at Fortunata Mansion on Darsis (July 14, 1230), she gave birth to their fourth child, who was christened Anna. Leonidas had hoped for the birth of another son, to provide another sibling for Artabanus, and more insurance for his dynasty. However, he decided to accept the fact of Anna's birth, and ordered for lavish celebrations to be held to mark the occasion. In August 1230, the King embarked upon another progress, this time into the Malarian Provinces; his visit to Malaria Prime, conducted from August 29-September 7, was particularly notable. During these months, moreover, Pope Filaret and the Royal Council continued to implement a series of policies beneficial to the Royal Laurasian Government. In November 1229, the Pope ordered for the establishment of a legal commission to review all orders, regulations, and manifestos issued relating to military tenancy, the apportionment of military obligations upon noble and ecclesiastical estates, and the levying system employed in the Purse Region. This commission, which had begun its work on December 11 of that year, continued to meet until April 14, 1230, when it produced its final report for the Council. The King, acting on his father's persuasion, then convened a session of the Aristocratic Duma (June 1, 1230), and ordered them to prepare a new and uniform military obligations code.
 * The Duma proceeded to its work, and after some effort, the Uniform Code of Military Obligations and Tenure appeared (September 19, 1230). This code compiled all laws, regulations, and statutes relating to military tenancy, obligations, and levies; established an Office of Military Provision, in the Royal Chancellory, to take charge of all future reports and disputes concerning military appropriations; and mandated an annual accounting of military obligations by the Duma, so as to determine noble responsibilities in regards to levying and conscription for the forces. The Uniform Code served to improve the efficiency and professionalism of the Laurasian armed forces. In October 1230, the Pope sponsored the establishment of the Papal Archives of Colombia, which was to become one of the chief academic centers of learning on Laurasia Prime. Two months later, by the decree of December 7, 1230, the Ecclesiastical Chancellory was reorganized, with the Pope and his secretariat gaining additional responsibilities over wills, probates, heresy, sexual deviancy, and other moral cases. The Chancellory was now organized into four departments: Judiciary, Civil, Treasury, and Palace. The first became responsible for the affairs of all ecclesiastical courts; the second took charge for the affairs of "the church decorum"; the third became responsible for all clerical taxes, obligations, tithes, and offerings; and the fourth became responsible for the management of all papal estates, chantries, monasteries, and landholdings. In January 1231, moreover, Filaret was to order for the compilation of a uniform inventory on all ecclesiastical properties, and in 1232, he would revise the Charters of Monasterial Administration, redefining land claims, service terms, and economic activity rights by the Carthusian, Cistercian, and Augustinian Orders.
 * King Leonidas and Pope Filaret were both, however, now dealt a personal blow. On January 27, 1231, the King's mother, Abbess-General Martha, Duchess of Cassanova, died at the Vemay Monastery on Jenny, aged 70. When Leonidas was informed, at the Celestial Palace, of his mother's death, he was sent into a fit of bewailment, and had to be comforted by Prince Pozharkius, who had been made Mayor of Christiania and Commander of the Celestial Palace Control in November 1228, in recognition of his earlier services during the Time of Troubles. The Pope took the news much more calmly, and ordered for a solemn mass to be conducted in his wife's memory. The Abbess-General would be buried at the Vemay Monastery on March 8, 1231, in a ceremony attended by the King and Queen, along with Grand Prince Artabanus and the magnates of the Royal Court, and presided over by the Pope. In April 1231, Filaret reshuffled the positions on the Royal Council. He now appointed Theodosius Licharia (1181-1236), as the new Secretary of the Royal Chancellory, and placed him in charge of the Bureaus of Correspondence and Foreign Affairs. Licharia, however, would fall out of favor with the Pope in due course, and in January 1232, he in turn would be replaced with Honorius Grazania (1187-1234), who was more supportive of his policies.
 * Indeed, by September 1231, Filaret was engaged in preparations for renewed war with the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth. Ever since the conclusion of the Treaty of Deulino in 1218, the recovery of the Central Core had been a major goal of the Royal Laurasian Government. Filaret believed that the concession of that region to Polonian authority was only temporary, and that to restore the Stellar Kingdom's prestige, it would be necessary to drive the Polonians out. Consequently, he embarked upon a major expansion and revitalization of Laurasian military ranks; continued with his administrative innovations, and in a speech of September 27, 1231, to the Duma and Royal Council, declared that unless action were taken against Polonia, the "spirits of the ancestors of Our Lords would never be appeased." In November, the Pope conducted a tour of Maroni, Janesia, and Dearton's Gateway, overseeing the re-mobilization of Laurasian military forces at that strongholds. And on December 12, he issued instructions to the Royal Headquarters, ordering for the drafting of plans for campaigns into the Clancian Provinces.
 * The Pope was now further encouraged in his schemes by the declining health of King Sigis'ac of Polonia-Donguaria. The King, who had once held such high ambitions in Laurasian territory, and had acclimated himself to the loss of his hereditary Briannian Crown, spent the last years of his reign focusing on the affairs of his personal household, on the patronage of the arts and sciences in his dominions, and on securing the succession for his son, Prince Wladyslaw. The King continued to clash with the Polonian Parliament, and in November 1230, he was forbidden by the Parliament to implement any future executive directives relating to royal estates, honors, or orders without first obtaining consent from the Magisterial Court. Nevertheless, Sigis'ac was able to maintain a modicum of respect with the Polonian-Donguarian nobility, and all of his actions were pursued in their interests. On July 10, 1231, Queen-Consort Constarra of Donguaria, to whom Sigis'ac had been married for twenty-six years, died. The death of Constarra greatly affected the King, and his health now began to enter a general decline. The King now experienced severe psychological and mental problems, and in September 1231, suffered a attack of nervous prostration on Polonia Minor. He now delegated most of his governing responsibilities to his son, though in October 1231, the Parliament refused to offer a guarantee of the Prince's election to succeed his father during his lifetime. In January 1232, Sigis'ac returned to Polonia Major for the last time, and now retreated to the Royal Palace.
 * On April 23, he suffered a major heart attack in his private quarters, and was now rushed to the Royal Hospital of Polonia. The King's physicians failed to restore his condition, and he fell into a rapid coma. Finally, on April 30, 1232, Sigis'ac II Vasa, King-Emperor of the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth, and formerly King of Briannia, died at the Royal Hospital in Warsanian City, Polonia Major. He was sixty-five years old, and had reigned over the Commonwealth for forty-four years, which was to be the longest reign in the Commonwealth's history. At the time of his death, he was the most senior monarch in the Caladarian Galaxy, having held that status since the death of Theodoric the Great in August 1226. Condolences for Sigis'ac's death came from many of his fellow monarchs; Gu'starai Adolphus of Briannia, then engaged in the War of the Manorsian Succession, along with Queen Mother Christana of Venasia, Solidaritan Sultan Chosroes II, and King Theudis of Ashlgothia all sent communiques, lamenting the Polonian King's death. King Leonidas of Laurasia too, sent his respects, though they were less genuine than those of other monarchs. Indeed, his father's preparations for renewed war with the Commonwealth continued to proceed apace. Within Polonia itself, the process for the election of a new sovereign now got underway. The Primate of Polonia, Jan Wezyk (1175-1238), now assumed his position as Interrex, and presided, on May 17, 1232, over Sigis'ac's burial at the Vault of Polonian Kings.
 * Then on June 22, 1232, the Interrex summoned a Convocation Parliament. This Parliament met until August 17 of that year. Prince Krzyzstof Radziwill, who had been one of Sigis'ac's leading military commanders during the wars with Briannia, was made Marshal of the Parliament. Radziwill advocated for the extension of greater rights to the Polonian nobility and for measures of religious toleration. He was supported by the magnate Boguslaw Lesczynski (1214-59), but was opposed by the Voivode of Galich Major, Tomasz Zamoyski (1194-1238). Nevertheless, it was clear from the beginning that Prince Wladyslaw was the leading candidate for the throne. Some of the Commonwealth's magnates and clergy did favor his younger brother, Jan Kazimierz. He, however, had less support than Wladyslaw, and his candidacy was never officially posed. The King of Briannia did not pose a candidate, nor did the Queen Mother of Venasia; Laurasia, as mentioned above, was secretly preparing for war with the Commonwealth, and therefore did not present a candidate. By August 1232, therefore, it was clear that Wladyslaw was completely unopposed.
 * The actual Election Parliament convened at Wronzaz on September 27, 1232, in order to consider the royal election and various legislative items. The indecisiveness which now marked the Polonian Orderlist faction now allowed for Prince Wladyslaw to align himself with the Galician Heretics and the Zesian Cultists, thereby obtaining their support. At the same time, his evident religious tolerance did not lose him the support of his Orderlist supporters. Nor did his breaking custom to go to Polonia Major during the election arouse noticeable disapproval. The Prince also took part in the drafting of "Measures for the Appeasement of People of the Almitian Faith who live in the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth", by which Almitian prelates were granted additional, legal jurisdiction. Wladyslaw, furthermore, was lobbied by the Almitian Archbishop of Goldaria, Peter Mogila (1196-1247), and the Parliament guaranteed the right of the Royal Almitian Church to its own hierarchs, subject to the candidates' confirmation by the government. The religious freedoms which had been established by the Polonia Major Confederation in 1173 were reaffirmed, and a new tax was adopted, the kwarta, exacted from 1/4 of the starostowo's (Polonian colonial) revenues, and sending these to the Commonwealth Treasury. It was decided to fortify Puck, which had been colonized in 1176, and to create a new naval starbase for the Commonwealth Navy. The Ivorian delegation's proposal for increased funding and a Ivorian register was rejected; similarly, requests from the Polonian Royal Army were rejected. Some of the Diet's requests were rejected by the Magisterial Court.
 * On November 8, 1232, the Parliament formally elected Prince Wladyslaw as King-Emperor of the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth. His pacta conventa, which was now drafted, was officially announced on November 13. In this document, which the Prince signed the following day, pledges were made to expand the military education system; to provide funds for the Commonwealth Navy, which was undergoing a major program of expansion and modernization; to maintain all current treaties and alliances; not to raise forces; give offices or military ranks to foreigners; to not negotiate peace treaties or declare war without the Parliament's approval; not to marry without the Court's approval; to convince his brothers to swear an oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth; and to transfer all the profits of the Royal Mint to the Commonwealth Treasury, rather than a private treasury. Wladyslaw also signed the Hensioran Articles, which had been required of every new Polonian sovereign since 1173. Thus, his election as King-Emperor was now confirmed.
 * Yet even before the end of the election process, the tensions between Laurasia and Polonia finally exploded into full-scale war. On October 9, 1232, King Leonidas had issued a formal declaration of war from the Celestial Palace. In this proclamation, the King of Laurasia decried the actions of his Polonian counterpart, declared his attention to redress the insult to his dominions and to the honor of his ancestors, and asserted that his moves were meant to preserve the "galactic balance of power." Laurasian forces were now placed under the operational command of the hero of Goldaria, Prince Michaelius Shetius, who had since his release from captivity in 1219, rendered loyal service to the Royal Laurasian Government. Shetius now directed a series of offensives in the Clancian Worlds. Brithium was the first to fall (October 9-11, 1232), being followed by Reoyania (October 13); Condtella (October 16); and Dramis (October 19-21). On October 22, 1232, Shetius obtained a victory over a Polonian defensive convoy in the Battle of Antennes. From Antennes, Treosha fell into Laurasian hands (October 25, 1232). Three days later, the Prince began the siege of Clancia.
 * The Laurasian force which approached Clancia was comprised of the 2nd and 4th Royal Laurasian Fleets, in conjunction with the 3rd Royal Laurasian Army, which included a contigent of Malarian, Metallasian, and Gordianite conscripts. All told, it had some four million soldiers and personnel, along with sixty warships and a complement of 2,300 starfighters. The Laurasians therefore outnumbered the Polonian garrison of the star system. That garrison was comprised of the 22nd Commonwealth Army, the northernmost military force stationed in the Commonwealth, along with six orbital defensive outposts and the Clancian Task Fleet, with thirty warships and 500 starfighters. The garrison of Clancia was commanded by the Deputy Voivode of the region, Samuel Drucki-Sokoliński (1196-1259). Shetius, understanding that it would be unwise to launch a direct assault against the star system, now settled for a siege. His units now established a line of circumvallation around the star system, preventing all traffic to and from Clancia.
 * Using corvettes, turbocannons, and hyper-charges, his forces harried the orbital defensive garrisons, inflicted damage upon Clancia's shields, and penetrated to the very orbit of Clancia itself. In December 1232, Laurasian heavy artillery was bolstered with the arrival of 50 new Camanius-class units, which fired 35-ton projectiles at a rate of one every two minutes. Further reinforcements would arrive, in the form of 25,000 Royal Guards and a set of frigates, in March 1233. Shetius also pushed Laurasian forces beyond Clancia, seeking to gain advantage elsewhere. Risa I was stormed by the Laurasians (November 1-9, 1232); from Risa I, the Prince's forces drove through Gatty, Nurdas, and Narisces, securing control of all these strongholds by the end of November 1232. On December 7, 1232, Shetius obtained a further victory in the Battle of the Drixus Nebula, 130 years after Laurasian forces had stormed the region, in the midst of the Honorian Clancian War. Harmony and Tunga fell into the hands of Laurasian forces on Ascentmas Day, 1232, thereby capping off this year's offensives. Indeed, as 1232 ended, the Laurasians were confident that they would be able to move farther into the Central Core. These hopes, however, were to be disappointed.

1233

 * 1233, the 33rd year of the thirteenth century, commenced with the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia and the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth now engaged in the Clancian War, fought in the Northern Central Core. As 1233 began, Laurasian forces obtained some further successes against their Polonian adversaries. On January 7, 1233, the Battle of Pramis ended in a victory for Prince Shetius's subordinate, Major-General Carolus Bransaeta (1192-1256), who captured 75,000 Donguarian troops and disrupted Polonian strategic positions in that star system. Goss Beacon then fell to a Laurasian expeditionary force (January 18-29, 1233), and Laurasian expeditions penetrated to Haudjrau, Hydapses, and Taxiles the Great. By this point however, the Laurasian momentum was fraying. On February 5, 1233, King Wladyslaw was formally crowned on Polonia Major. The King now convened a emergency session of the Parliament. The Parliament now decided to sanction a formal declaration of war against Laurasia (February 11, 1233) and authorized a large payment (6.5 trillion Polonian zlotys) to the King, to conscript additional units for campaigns against Laurasia. Moreover, the King was granted the authority to impose marital law in the Clancian Provinces, to use "all measures necessary to repel the Laurasian invaders from our realms", to quarter on properties and businesses in the affected regions, and to confiscate the "necessary" resources, for use in the conflict. On March 1, 1233, the King would be given a patent of authorization by the Magisterial Court, allowing for him to take direct command of Polonian forces in the field, and to delegate government on Polonia Major to his Council of State for the duration of his absence.
 * Wladyslaw now exploited his mandate to the full, and during the next several months, he would be engaged in vigorous preparations on Polonia Major. The King also took more direct measures to stymie and reverse the Laurasian offensives. With the approval of the Court, he now charged the Donguarian Field Hetman, Prince Radzwill, with the responsibility of relieving the Siege of Clancia. Radziwill was partnered with the Viceroy of Clancia, Alexander Gosiewski (1186-1239), who had been away from the star system at the commencement of the siege. Radziwill and Gosiewski combined their forces together at Constancia on February 24, and began their advance from there on March 5. They now halted a Laurasian expedition against Daala (March 5-12, 1233), defeated Bransaeta in the Battle of Williams (March 19), and on March 22, drove Laurasian units from Hydapses and Taxiles the Great. On April 5, Bransaeta was forced to retreat from Goss Beacon; Radziwill now established a new operational headquarters in the star system, and by April 14, he stormed the colonies of Basow and Krajne, which had fallen into Laurasian hands earlier. By June 1233, they had assumed command of the 7th and 14th Royal Armies, and on June 15 of that year, Radziwill and Gosiewski advanced to the outskirts of the Clancia star system. They harassed the strategic positions of the Laurasian forces, broke through their lines on numerous occasions, and provided supplies, reinforcements, and communications to the garrison of Clancia.
 * On July 7, Condtella fell back into Polonian hands; Dramis was also recovered by the Commonwealth's forces. Then on July 22, King Wladyslaw finally departed from Polonia Major, and proceeded with his forces up into the Central Core. These forces included substantial Donguarian, Polonian, and Galician reinforcements. The King was then forced to suppress a series of uprisings and social revolts at Ivoria, Maschinga, and in the Goldarian Shadow Worlds, which kept him occupied until August 10. But finally, on August 16, the King moved to Orsha, located eight light-years to the northwest of Clancia. He dispatched expeditionary forces against Depp, Oxia Vixius, Wroona, and Fitzsimmons (August 27-27, 1233), hoping to disorient Laurasian supply lines, and to put their forces off balance. Then on September 5, the King's forces approached the outskirts of Clancia. They numbered three million personnel, and their arrival gave the Polonians a slight numerical advantage over the Laurasians. It was only when Ivorian reinforcements, led by Master Timofiy Orendarenko, numbering two million personnel and one hundred warships, along with a complement of specialized Ivorian troops, arrived (September 17, 1233), that the Polonians gained a definitive numerical and tactical advantage.
 * The Ivorians, commanded by Orendarenko and his associate, Galician Prince Macin Kazanowski (1166-1236), raided the Laurasian rear lines, freeing the main forces under Radziwill and Gosiewski to join the King's effort to break the Siege. The King's brother, Joh'saw Casimir, commanded one of the wings in the Polonian forces. The King himself, who was an advocate for the expansion and modernization of the Commonwealth's military forces, proved to be a good tactician, and his innovative use of artillery, the Winged Hussars, and the Polonian starfighter corps proved critical to his ultimate success. The Hussars in particular, significantly restricted Laurasian mobility, hampering their movements. In a series of fierce engagements in the Clancia star system, Commonwealth forces gradually outran the Laurasian field fortifications, and by late September 1233, the Siege was reaching its final stages. On September 28, the Commonwealth's forces penetrated the main supply points of the Imperial Laurasian Navy.
 * The morale of the Laurasian forces was now driven down further by an event on Laurasia Prime. On October 1, 1233, at the Old Royal Palace in Christiania, Pope Filaret (formerly Theodosius Cassanova), Duke of Cassanova, father of Leonidas I, and brother of the late Queen-Consort Anastasia Cassanova, died, aged 80. The Pope had, for fourteen years, been the chief influence in the Royal Laurasian Government. King Leonidas saluted his father in a manifesto, declaring that he would now be "joined to the embrace of the Lord Almitis", and that his example was one to be emulated in the future. On his orders, the deceased Pope was laid out in state at the Old Westphalian Cathedral; he remained there for over a month. On November 6, he was interred there. For that month, a period of mourning was observed at the Royal Court. Just three days after the Pope's demise (October 4, 1233), Prince Shetius was forced to terminate the Siege of Clancia, and the system was now secured once again by the Commonwealth.
 * Shetius's forces were now pursued to its original headquarters at Maroni, which was besieged by the Polonian forces, beginning on October 18, 1233. The Siege of Maroni therefore, represented a renewed Polonian thrust into Laurasian territory. The besieged Laurasians now sought relief, but none arrived, as the forces of Prince Radziwill and Ivorian Master Orendarenko harried their supply and communications lines. During the last months of 1233, while Shetius was bottled up at Maroni, the Polonians made other advances. Janesia fell to Viceroy Gosiewski (October 22-27, 1233), followed by Depp (November 2), Chesrone (November 6), Chesham's Star (November 11-14), and on November 22, Dearton's Gateway. By December 8, Polonian expeditions had also sacked Kelby, Chloe, Merandaz, and Mercedes, and were threatening the defenses of the Station of Dosch, Katie, and Lusculum. On Ascentmas Day, 1233, Gosiewski defeated a Laurasian task force under the Prince of Arias in the Battle of Lalna, capturing 200,000 Laurasian troops. 1233 ended therefore with the advantage having shifted to the Commonwealth.

1234

 * 1234, the 34th year of the thirteenth century, began with the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth's forces continuing their advance into the Laurasia Prime Purse Region. On January 8, 1234, Wes was overrun by Viceroy Gosiewski's forces. From Wes, his units besieged Rainnan and Ietas, inflicting further damage upon Laurasian military forces (January 11-22), although Laurasian forces ultimately retained control of both strongholds. But by the middle of January 1234, it had become obvious to King Leonidas and the Royal Laurasian Government that no further benefit could be derived from this conflict. Leonidas was now looking to extricate himself from this conflict. Thus, on January 25, 1234, he communicated, through Shetius, an armistice offer to King Wladyslaw. Wladyslaw himself, entertaining ambitions of a war against Briannia to reconquer the Duchy of Schaueria Prime, and also seeking to turn his attention to affairs on Polonia Major, decided to accept this offer. The Armistice of Osama was signed on February 15, 1234, thereby suspending hostilities between the forces of the Kingdom and the Commonwealth. On February 28, General Radziwill withdrew from the Siege of Maroni, thereby freeing up Shetius's forces. Polonian forces, however, continued to occupy their relevant strongholds in the Purse Region.
 * A diplomatic conference was not opened until April 30, 1234, when delegations from the two governments convened at Polyanovka, a Polonian colony thirty light years northeast of Lublin. The conference lasted for over a month, culminating in the conclusion of the Treaty of Polyanovka (June 10, 1234). By the terms of this treaty, the territorial status quo ante bellum was restored between Laurasia and Polonia. Polonia agreed to evacuate all strongholds it had occupied in the Purse Region, to reaffirm Laurasian jurisdiction over the Malarian Provinces, and to acknowledge Laurasian rights of campaign in the Wild Marshes. In exchange, King Leonidas agreed to reconfirm the terms of the Treaty of Deulino, recognizing Polonian authority over the whole of the Central Core. He also agreed to pay a war indemnity of $6.5 trillion Laurasian denarii, in order to compensate the Commonwealth for the expenses incurred in the Siege of Clancia.
 * All prisoners of war were to be exchanged, and the two governments agreed to the conclusion of new trade arrangements, with "most favored nation" status assured for the merchants, navigators, and starhoppers of each respective side. And finally, in what was the most important provision of the Treaty, King-Emperor Wladyslaw formally, and finally, renounced his claim to the Royal Laurasian Crown. This occurred twenty-one years after the end of the Time of Troubles. Wladyslaw also agreed to restore all insignia and honors which he had been granted by the Aristocratic Duma, back in 1210, to the custody of the King of Laurasia, and to abjure the claims of any who would challenge the authority of Leonidas. Thus, the legitimacy of the Leonidian Dynasty received a further boost, and the King's position was strengthened immeasurably. Wladyslaw agreed to this renunciation in the hope that it would lure Laurasia into an anti-Briannian alliance. Those plans, however, would come to nought; the Polonian Parliament was totally opposed to the resumption of hostilities with Briannia, while the Laurasians themselves were not in favor of military alliance with the Commonwealth. Nevertheless, the Treaty did further stabilize relations between Laurasia and Polonia.
 * The Treaty of Polyanovka was ratified by King Leonidas on the day that it was signed, and by the Polonian Parliament (then in plenary session), on June 12. On June 14, 1234, in a ceremony at Natasi, King Wladyslaw formally divested of his claims to the Royal Laurasian Crown, and arranged for the transfer of the relevant insignia back to Laurasia Prime. By the end of August 1234, all Polonian forces had withdrawn from the Purse Region, and the diplomatic situation had stabilized. The conclusion of the Treaty of Polyanovka thereby ended the almost continuous series of wars which had embroiled the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth since the commencement of the thirteenth century. Laurasia and Polonia would not go to war again for twenty years (that is, until 1254). King Leonidas, on his part, now turned his attention to internal affairs. With the death of his father, he was now advised once again by Theodosius Licharia, who was Chief Secretary of the Royal Chancellory and Correspondence, and by his cousin, Prince Honorius Cherkassia of Taurasia (1180-1242), who had charge of the Royal Guards, Personal Secretariat, and Treasury Departments. Acting on their advice, the King implemented a new Code of Conduct in September 1234, relating to the servants and servitors of the Royal Household, and he ordered a revision of all accounts, obligations, and liens on the Royal Estates (this survey was completed in July 1237). The King also established three new regiments of the Royal Guards, and he reformed the municipal administration of Christiania, creating a greatly expanded Public Services and Security Bureaucracy.
 * Leonidas also turned to the matter of his father's successor, as Pope of the Royal Almitian Church. On February 6, 1234, the Archbishop of Christiania and the Metropolitan of Laurasia Prime, Joasaphus (1175-1240), was formally nominated and elevated as Pope, in a ceremony at the Old Westphalian Cathedral. Joasaphus, who was one of the most respected and intellectual clergymen in the Stellar Kingdom, had been recommended for the position to Leonidas by Pope Filaret, shortly before his death. The new Pope received, as was custom, his mitier, cross, and staff of authority from the hands of the King himself. One of Joasaphus's first deeds upon assuming the papal dignity was to order for the punishment of the Archbishop of Colombia, Josephus Kutzverania (1188-1251), for his indecent behavior. The Archbishop was compelled to engage in a series of penance rituals at the Monasteries of Jenny, Windowia Photis, and Sarah, and he was also obliged to pay an extensive indemnity on the revenues of his see. This was in accordance with the Pope's drive to maintain conformity, moral standards, and unity among the clergymen of the Church.
 * In 1236, he composed the Memo, issued to all clerics and subordinates in the Church throughout the Galaxy, in which he expounded the obligations expected of them, and emphasized the settlement of all discords. This was followed by his Treatise on the Hierarchy of Power, published that same year, in which Joasaphus explained the hierarchy of Almitian prelates and functionaries during divine services and church councils. In 1238, he sponsored the publication of a New Almitian Ordinal for the liturgy, and ordered for the compilation of all of his predecessor's decrees, sermons, and bulls (this appeared in 1242, after his death). Moreover, Joasaphus sought to expand the Church's educational system, sponsoring the establishment of a new Papal Communications and Training Center on Heupdermia, centralizing academic curriculum, and issuing charters to the Cistercians, Augustinians, and Carthusians to establish new academies, institutes of learning, and private schools.
 * As Pope, Joasaphus devoted all of his time and effort to his duties in the Almitian Church, refraining from interference with state policy. He aimed for the effective implementation of the resolutions of the Council of the Hundred Chapters, which had been convened under Honorius the Terrible in 1150-51, and whose Church Code had since that time served as a general compilation of church procedures, beliefs, and practices. The Pope regulated arrangement of worship in accordance with its provisions, forbade the custom of simultaneous execution of worship passages and prayers in the service, and prosecuted those suspected of proselytizing, which he viewed as being in contravention of Almitian dictates. In this, he anticipated the great drive against proselytizing which was undertaken by Aurelia the Great more than five centuries later, and which lead her into a great dispute with Chief Procurator Demetrius Grindalius. The Pope's efforts, therefore, served to strengthen the position of the Almitian Church. In October 1234, King Leonidas presided over the dedication of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Osraninpolis, a ceremony also attended by the Pope. He also conducted a tour of the cities of Laurasia Prime, its moons, and its outposts. As 1234 ended, Laurasia continued to remain at peace. This, however, would not last for long.

1235

 * 1235, the 35th year of the thirteenth century, began with the dominions of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia residing in peace, with the end of the abortive Clancian War. King Leonidas, who continued to hold a position of high regard with his subjects, presided over affairs at the Royal Laurasian Court with his customary vigor. Yet during the early months of the year, the King, Prince Cherkassia, and his other ministers were engaged in vigorous preparations for the planned invasion of the Kelvanian and Morganian Provinces. Those territories, renowned for their mythological histories, their strategic value, and their extensive natural resources, were to be an easy target of Laurasian expansion. This was due to the circumstances in the Galactic Borderlands, affecting the Amelianian kingdoms, which are now to be explained in short order below.
 * Following the death of Attila in May 1153, the Brestord Kingdom had undergone the civil struggle between his sons Ellac, Dengizich, and Ernakh, which had then been followed by the successful revolt of the Armanes and Halegothicans in 1154 (culminating in the Battle of Nedao, which had seen the destruction of Brestord military power), who had established their independent kingdoms in the northern Outer Borderlands. The Brestord Kingdom had then lingered on, through civil conflict and a ruinous war with the Solidaritan Sultanate, before it eventually succumbed to the Neo-Xilanian Empire (1169). At the same time of the Succession Civil War and the Barbarian Rebellion, King Penda of Marcia, still the most powerful sovereign in the Galactic Borderlands, had focused his efforts upon the recovery of Donna, Billy, Latrice, and the Tof Borderlands from the Brestords. By June 1155, he had accomplished his goal, and those territories had been restored to Marcian authority. Penda had then become engrossed in a struggle with King Oswiu of Northania (r. 1142-58), who sought to gain revenge for the death of his brother Oswald a decade earlier. Oswiu aligned himself with King Cenwalh of Amelianian Cordania and Hengist, who sought to recover the Hypasian Provinces from the Marcians; Penda, on his part, was supported by his vassal, King Ethelware of Amelianian Lavella, who had succeeded Anna upon his death in October 1154.
 * The ensuing war, which had begun in July of that year, witnessed a series of military campaigns among Marcia, Northania, Hengist-Cordania, and Amelianian Lavella, focused upon the Eastern Kalbachan Provinces, in Kania, and in Rhedita. On November 15, 1155, the Battle of the Winwaed, which was fought at Winwaead Nebula, located eight light years to the north of Deira, had ended in a decisive victory for Oswiu and Cenwalh; King Penda was seriously wounded, and died at the end of the battle, while Ethelware was slain during the battle. For a time thereafter, Northania and Hengist-Cordania had enjoyed a period of resurgence. Penda was succeeded to the Marcian throne by his son Peada, who struggled to repel coalition counteroffensives, suffering defeats at Teller, Imegina, Karlong, Kumong, Sherry, Seeben, Bane, and Cognus (November 1155-March 1156). On April 10, 1156, Peada himself was assassinated by his wife, Celadfleda. He was then succeeded to the throne by his wife's paramour, his cousin Wulfhere. Wulfhere oversaw a great revival in Marcian fortunes, and over the course of the next year, he instigated a drive back into Northanian and Cordanian territories. He forced Cenwalh to terms in the Treaty of Zannah (November 9, 1156), confirming the Marcian conquest of the Hypasian Provinces, and in February 1157, received another oath of allegiance from King Ethelwold of Amelianian Lavella, who conceded Dejan, Carrie, Fisher, Sissy, and Spacek as a token of his submission. Finally, on May 4, 1157, Wulfhere and Oswiu came to terms in the Treaty of Lenderia, which restored the status quo ante bellum between them; Oswiu, however, did grant another acknowledgement of Wulfhere's supreme position in the Galactic Borderlands.
 * On June 2, 1157, Wulfhere was assassinated at Kennedy by some of his personal bodyguards, and he was now succeeded to the throne by his cousin and chief chamberlain, Offa. Offa was the nephew of the late King Penda. Twenty-seven years old at the time of his accession to the throne, King Offa reigned for thirty-nine years (1157-96). His reign saw the Marcian Empire, as it became informally known, consolidate its position of ascendancy in the Galactic Borderlands, and come close to being the only Amelianian state. Between 1157 and 1164, Offa focused his efforts on repelling Brestord and Solidaritan raiding expeditions and reconnaissance parties in the Donnian and Billian Provinces; reorganizing his chancellory and civil service on Marcia Prime (Arachosia Prime); and reasserting his supremacy over the Melanite dependencies of Fraiser, McFadden, Wesley, Crusher, Janeway, and Wheaton, establishing a uniform Amelianian administration in those star systems. In 1163, Offa also compelled the concession of Summers, Vargara, and Sofia from Northania. After 1164, the King's attention turned to the affairs of the subordinate Amelianian kingdoms. Hengist and Cordania were once again under the rule of different monarchs. King Cenwalh's death in September 1157 had left a complicated situation in those two kingdoms: his sons Etherbertht and Eadeberht became joint Kings of Hengist, still confined only to the Muggal Cluster, while his nephew Cynewulf became King of Cordania. Etherbertht and Eadeberht had clashed constantly over the affairs of government, and in June 1162, Etherbertht was assassinated by his brother's agents at Crimea. Eadeberht himself was then poisoned by his son, Eardwulf, in October 1162. Eardwulf held on to the throne for just over a year, until he died on Kagul of natural causes in January 1164. Offa now intervened.
 * He installed Eardwulf's chief military commander, Sigered, as King of Hengist, and compelled the concession of Pyongyang, Dilojong, Sackrandis, and Ayensdord to Marcia. Sigered, however, conspired against his new overlord, and on June 7 of that year, he was deposed by Offa, who had him exiled to Kylantha (where he died in April 1165). Offa then installed Eanmund on the throne. Eanmund, however, lasted just over two months, and he was killed by Torfian pirates at Chardis (August 19, 1164). Heahberht was then confirmed as King, and in November 1164, he paid a visit to Offa at Vector Prime. Heahberht died of natural causes in June 1165, and Offa then installed Ecgberht on the Hengistan throne. For eleven years, Ecgberht was a Marcian vassal; in April 1167, he signed the Treaty of Kalbacha Minor with Offa, granting him military transit, free trade, and intelligence privileges in his dominions. Between 1170 and 1174, Offa intervened numerous times into Hengist's affairs, suppressing anti-Marcian revolts on Karlong, Seoul, and the Stations of Ung, and destroying the Hulagian Pirates of Riababia Mogila. But in November 1175, Ecgberht, receiving support from King Cynewulf of Cordania, erupted in revolt against Offa. The Ecgberhian Revolt proved successful, and culminated with a Hengistan victory at Otford in July 1176, with Offa suffering severe losses. In January 1177, after a series of successful moves by Ecgberht against Donna, Billy, Kia, Sly James, and Pelaski, Offa recognized Hengistan independence in the Treaty of Meneia.
 * This proved to be only a temporary reverse, however. Ecgberht continued to reign as King of Hengist until his death in August 1179. He was then succeeded to the throne by his son Eahlmund. Eahlmund contended with a series of constant Torfian revolts, social unrest on Imegina, economic decline, and in 1182-83, with the conspiracy of Orthat. All of these tensions were aided and abetted by King Offa, who sought to gradually recover Marcian predominance in the Donnian Provinces, and his own jurisdiction over Hengist. Eahlmund held on until his assassination in March 1184 by the agents of Prince Beaeonred, who had long been opposed to his authority. Beaeonred then proclaimed himself King, but in August of that year, Offa, having made extensive military preparations, launched a vigorous invasion of Hengist. The ensuing Hengistan War lasted for three years; vigorous battles, operations, and raids were waged at all of the Torfian Throne Worlds. The war ended with the conquest of Imegina by Offa in November 1187; Beaeonred himself was killed in the final confrontation. Offa then proceeded to directly incorporate Hengist into the Marcian Empire, and in 1190, he assumed the title of "King of Hengist" for himself. Hengist remained under Marcian rule through the end of his reign, though he was faced with an uprising of Torfians and Amelianians at Seoul and Sackrandis (1195), which he suppressed.
 * As regards to Kthexox, Offa extended Marcian authority over that realm at a much earlier date. Ecgberht of Ivanna, who had been installed by King Oswald of Nordania in July 1142, continued to rule over Kthexox until his death in 1166. Already in 1159, the Treaty of Camerania had been signed by Ecgberht and Offa, by which the King of Kthexox pledged himself as a vassal to Marcia in exchange for Offa's guarantee of the continuance of his sovereignty and for protection against outside threats. Offa then, in 1163, 1165, and 1168, launched expeditions against Angela Masia, Tiesting, and the worlds of western Hospallia, repelling expeditions by the Kingdom of Alexandria into Kthexox, and suppressing challenges to the authority of his vassal. Ecgberht, upon his death from natural causes in July 1166, had been succeeded by his son Oswald. Oswald, however, entertained ambitions of his own against Marcia, and he now negotiated with King Cynewulf of Cordania, seeking a common alliance against Marcia (1169). In April 1171, Offa, seeking to forestall this threat, declared Oswald contumacious, and launched an invasion of Kthexox. Marcian forces defeated the Kthexoxians at Hastings (May 19, 1171), and on June 6, Lwheek fell to them. By June 1172, when Oswald was captured by Marcian troops at Ivanna, the whole of Kthexox was under Marcian rule. Offa, proclaiming himself King of Kthexox, now installed his counts and representatives throughout those territories, the most notable of whom became Ealdwulf, who represented him from 1175 until his death in July 1191. From 1176, the Kthexoxian patriots Oslac and Elfwald waged a guerilla war from Destina against King Offa, but they were ultimately defeated and killed at Cierce by Count Ealdwulf in July 1185. Offa retained control of Kthexox to the end of his reign.
 * Amelianian Lavella too, fell under the direct sway of the Marcian Empire. King Ethelwold of Amelianian Lavella died in September 1158, and was succeeded by his son Beonna. Beonna pledged a renewed oath of allegiance to Offa at Ladelle in March 1159, and he named his brothers Alberht and Hun as his co-regents. Beonna died in November 1160, after reigning for just over two years, and was succeeded by Alberht. Alberht died in May 1161, and Hun, taking the name of Ethelred I, became King. Ethelred reigned until his death in March 1179. Throughout his reign, he continued to remain a vassal to Offa, paying him homage in ceremonies at Ompus Septimia, Neustron, and Jadaurine in 1166, 1169, and 1174. Following his death, his son Ethelberht II became King of Amelianian Lavella, and in 1182, he paid homage to Offa at Washington. In 1186, he married Offa's daughter, Elthyfryth, a union in which Offa's wife, the formidable Queen-Consort Cynethryth (1136-98), played a major role. Yet as the years passed, Offa intervened more and more into the affairs of Amelianian Lavella; in 1187, he took control of the newly established colonies of Orion, Ernie, and McIntyre, and in 1189, he intervened on Flournoy, suppressing a rebellion against his overlordship there. In April 1190, Offa even proclaimed himself King of Amelianian Lavella, demoting Ethelberht to the status of a co-regent.
 * Ethelberht, who found himself pressed by his nobles, under surveillance from the King of Marcia, and his independence curtailed, began plotting rebellion in December 1191. During 1192 and 1193, he continued to build up his military resources. Offa, however, was aware of his plans, and he now used his daughter, Elthyfryth, as well as his intelligence agents at the Court of Lavella Major, to his advantage. Finally, in January 1194, Ethelberht erupted in formal rebellion against his Marcian overlord; he briefly managed to recover control of Carrie, Sissie, Spacek, Ernie, and Orion, and besieged Flournoy. On May 20, 1194, however, he was assassinated on King Offa's orders at Black-Chandlier. Following Ethelberht's death, Lavellan resistance collapsed; Offa, now sole King of Amelianian Lavella, occupied Lavella Major in July 1194 and proclaimed the Kingdom's annexation into Marcia. He directly ruled Amelianian Lavella for the last two years of his reign. Now, as to Amelianian Cordania, Cynewulf's accession to the throne in September 1157 has already been noted. Cynewulf, from the beginning of his reign, was hostile to Offa, and much conflict ensued between them. The two Kings fought three wars (1164-68, 1172-74, and 1176-79), waged primarily in the Hypasian and Eastern Kalbachan Provinces. Cynewulf also provoked rebellion against Offa in Kthexox, Hengist, and Amelianian Lavella. In August 1179, Offa decisively defeated Cynewulf in the Battle of Bensrangia, and annexed the Immortalized Cluster, Angelica Major, and the worlds of the Priestest. In 1183, the two monarchs came to terms in the Treaty of Etienne, and Cynewulf recognized Offa as his overlord. Cynewulf, however, maintained hostile views about Marcia, and in 1185, failed in a conspiracy to assassinate his overlord. The following year, in October 1186, Cynewulf was murdered at Mordan by his steward, Prince Beorthic, who was supported by Offa. In September 1187, Beorthic paid homage to Offa at Hypasia Minor; Offa returned the Priestest to Cordania, but annexed Corfu, Prima, and Iverman in recompense. In 1189, Berorthic married Offa's daughter, Eadburh, and in 1191, agreed to a new commercial treaty with his overlord. Cordania remained under Marcian domination until Offa's death.
 * And finally, Offa exerted his jurisdiction over Nordania as well. Oswiu, who had challenged the power of King Penda, and been checked by Wulfhere, was assassinated by disgruntled courtiers in July 1159. He was now succeeded to the throne by his former Chief Guardsman, Ethelwald Moll, who had no hereditary claim to the Northanian throne. Ethelwald Moll reigned until his deposition from the throne in October 1165. During that time, he had peaceful relations with King Offa, signing the Treaty of Garancia with him, regulating diplomatic and commercial intercourse between their two realms. Ethelwold, after being deposed from the throne, was forced to take Amelianian orders, dying at the God's Establishment on Bernicia in 1171. He was then succeeded by Oswiu's son-in-law, Alhred. Alhred reigned until his own deposition in April 1174, and in 1168, he recognized Offa's dominant status by the Treaty of Francia. Ironically, however, it was Offa who sponsored Alhred's overthrow. Alhred was assassinated three months after his deposition, and Ethelwold's son, Ethelred, became King (r. 1174-79, 1190-96). Ethelred, unlike his father, was hostile to Marcia, and in 1176-77, the two powers engaged in territorial disputes over Nagosh, Rhedita, and the Tashian dominions. Ethelred was then deposed by Elfwald in May 1179. He now fled to Arachosia Prime; in a twist of irony, Offa, seeking to take advantage of his predicament, granted him sanctuary, and refused to recognize Elfwald's regime. Elfwald and Offa remained at loggerheads until the former's death in April 1188, at Deira. His first cousin Osred then became King, but in July 1189, Ethelred and Offa launched a joint invasion of Northania. In February 1190, Osred was deposed as King of Northania, and Ethelred reclaimed his throne. Osred would eventually be murdered on Ethelred's orders in April 1192. That same year, in September, he married Offa's daughter, Elfaeed, and recognized Offa as his overlord. Ethelred was assassinated, however (April 18, 1196), by some of his nobles. His chief ealdorman Osbald became King, but he died less than a month later, on May 14, 1196. Eardwulf reconfirmed all existing treaties with Offa, though he had opposed Ethelred in the past.
 * As mentioned above, Offa engaged in expeditionary wars against the Kingdom of Alexandria, the Brestord Kingdom (before 1169), the Neo-Xilanian Empire, and the Solidaritan Sultanate throughout his reign. His most persistent adversary was Ashlgothia, ruled in turn by Theodoric II, Euric, and Alaric II during his reign; in 1160, the Amelianians and Ashlgothians waged a short conflict at Hermenia, and the King of Marcia engaged in hostilities with them over the possession of Nicole, Redia, and Sejucia in 1178, 1184, and 1196. However, the Marcian Empire did not engage in any consistent conflicts outside of the Galactic Borderlands, and Offa remained at peace with most monarchs. He negotiated commercial treaties with Theodoric the Great of Halegothica in 1184 and 1189, and in 1190, was one of the first monarchs to recognize his claim to rule over the former territories of the Huntite Khanate. He exchanged embassies with Honorius the Terrible of Laurasia (whom he succeeded as senior monarch upon his death in March 1184), and with Honorius's son and successor, Theodosius I; in 1181, the Treaty of Sauvania formalized navigation, transportation, and other privileges along the Metallasian Trade Corridor, and in 1194, Offa negotiated a border settlement between Cordania and Laurasia in the Wild Marshes.
 * In 1191, the Treaty of Massanay with the Solidaritan Sultanate under Malik-Shah solved all outstanding territorial disputes in Angelica and Hypasia between the two states. And between 1189 and 1196, he exchanged correspondence with the Homidinian Khans Biligtu and Shidebala. But during the last years of Offa's reign, a new force emerged, which was to eventually pose a major threat to the Amelianians; the Donathians. The Donathians, who hailed from the Sombrero Galaxy, were among the last of the barbarian peoples to migrate to the Caladarian Galaxy, arriving in the Galactic Void in 1172. During the next two decades, they had conducted numerous expeditions through the Void and into the Angelina Spiral. Then in July 1193, they launched their first recorded raid into the Galactic Borderlands, sacking Onasi, Dehner, and Waxefield. This was followed by an assault upon Kathy Minor in 1194 and a more serious assault against Bucharina, recently colonized by the Amelianians, in 1195. In May 1196, a Donathian expedition harried Marson, Kerch, and the northern outskirts of the Muggal Cluster. Offa was forced to divert more forces to those regions, and to sponsor a fortifications program in the Galactic Barrier.
 * Offa died on July 29, 1196 at Arachosia Prime, after a reign of thirty-nine years, and as the most powerful King of the Amelianians ever to reign. At his death, the Marcian Empire encompassed virtually the entire Galactic Borderlands, having directly incorporated Kthexox, Hengist, and Amelianian Lavella. Cordania and Northania were both its vassals. He was succeeded by his son Ecgfrith, who was forty-two at the time of his accession to the throne. Ecgfrith however, died on December 8, 1196, after a reign of barely four months. He was in turn succeeded by his cousin and brother-in-law Coenwulf, who now became King of Marcia. Coenwulf proved to have less of the capability of Offa, and the early years of his reign saw a reduction in Marcian power, territory, and influence. In July 1197, after a series of uprisings on Lavella Major, La'delle, Dequan, Denizel, and Washington, Eaedwald became King of Amelianian Lavella. He ruled for just over a year until his death from the Angrames malady in August 1198. Coenwulf then reasserted control over Lavella, but from 1202 to 1205, and again from 1211 to 1214, was forced to contend with the rebel Beowulf, who posed a substantial challenge to his authority, and held control of the Lavellan Borderlands for much of that time. In August 1196, Eadberht had proclaimed himself King of Hengist, and by June of the following year, had taken control of the Muggal Cluster, taking advantage of a series of revolts against Marcian garrisons, and their weakened supply lines. Coenwulf now engaged in a vigorous struggle with Eadeberht, beginning in July 1197, and lasting for more than a year. In September 1198, he was finally defeated at Rimjang by Coenwulf and captured; he would die in exile at Kalbacha Minor in 1205. Coenwulf then installed his brother Cuthred as client King of Hengist; Cuthred then ruled over Hengist until his death in May 1207, at which time Coenwulf re-assumed direct control, and held it until his death.
 * King Beothric of Amelianian Cordania rejected Marcian overlordship in July 1200, and in May 1201, he aligned himself with King Eardwulf of Nordania, who had likewise renounced Coenwulf's dominance. From June 1201 to August 1204, Coenwulf engaged in a bitter struggle with Nordania and Cordania. Beothric died in March 1202, and was succeeded to the throne by Prince Egbert, whom he had earlier forced into exile. Egbert intensified the war against Marcia, and he succeeded in recovering full control of the Immortalized Cluster, Corfu, Prima, and Iverman. The war ended with these gains recognized by Coenwulf. But tensions between Marcia and Nordania persisted, and in May 1206, Coenwulf provoked Eardwulf's deposition from the throne. Eardwulf fled into exile at the Cordanian court on Angelica Major, and was briefly succeeded by Elfwald, who recognized, in December 1206, renewed Marcian overlordship. This made him unpopular with his subjects, and Eardwulf, with Egbert's assistance, ultimately recovered his throne in July 1208, defeating and killing Elfwald at Paecia. He and Coenwulf then engaged in another armed struggle, which ended in October 1212 with the Treaty of the Iswill, which acknowledged the status quo ante bellum. From 1213 to 1221, Coenwulf was distracted by Donathian expeditions in the Galactic Barrier and Northern Reaches, by the domestic affairs of his household, and by the rebellion of the Kthexoxian noble Culf, who was finally defeated and killed at Essie in November 1220.
 * King Coenwulf died on June 17, 1221, as the last powerful monarch of the Marcian Empire, which, by the time of his death, was already gravely weakened. He was succeeded by his brother Ceolwulf, who ruled as King of Marcia, Kthexox, and Amelianian Lavella until his own death just two years later (October 2, 1223). Boernwulf then became King of Marcia and Amelianian Lavella, but failed to maintain control of Kthexox, which broke away in July 1224, with the assistance of Egbert and Eardwulf, under the leadership of Balred. Egbert and Eardwulf were now planning a second conflict against Marcia, suffering from economic decline, constant Donathian raids, and overextension of its military and diplomatic resources. War finally began in September 1224, and saw a series of decisive Cordanian and Northanian campaigns into Donathian territory. Boernwulf lost control of the Hypasian and Eastern Kalbachan Provinces, including Bane, Cognus, Zannah, Seeben, Sabinia, and the Iswill Colonies, to Egbert, and of Kylantha, Essie, Jadaurine, and Jacquentha to Nordania.
 * Then on July 26, 1225, he was decisively defeated by the allies in the Battle of Ellandun. As a result of this loss, the Marcian Empire lost its supremacy. In November 1225, Boernwulf was forced to terms in the Treaty of Rasdalla Minor; he now conceded Garama, Kathy Minor, Rasdalla Minor, Jakarta, and parts of the Gate Solarian Cluster to Nordania, and all of Lavella, Donna, Billy, Latrice, Hypasia, and Eastern Kalbacha to Cordania. In May 1226, Beornwulf was assassinated, and was succeeded as King of Marcia by Ludega. In Amelianian Lavella, Ethelstan seized the throne. Ludega attempted to subdue him, but in July 1227, he was defeated by Ethelstan in the Battle of Shashanaya, and was killed in a starship collision shortly afterwards. Ludega was then suceeded by Wiglaf, who was forced to terms (September 5, 1227) with Ethelstan at Irving. Wiglaf then suppressed a series of uprisings at Arachosia Prime and Vector Prime during 1228. In January 1229, Egbert invaded Marcia again, seeking to take advantage of Wiglaf's weakness. He secured a series of swift victories, captured Kalbacha Prime on May 15, and in the Battle of Rhedita Major (June 22, 1229), inflicted a decisive defeat upon Wiglaf. Wiglaf was forced to flee to Partsia, and Arachosia Prime was conquered by Egbert, who proclaimed himself King of Marcia in September 1229. Egbert also consolidated his control over Kthexox, where he had, in September 1226, deposed Balred. But by December 1229, the tide was turning.
 * Egbert himself had dealt with continual revolts in Kelvania and in Angelica; with Donathian incursions into his dominions, beginning in 1214; and with conspiracies on Angelica Major. And he found himself unable to keep control of all of his Marcian conquests. In July 1230, Wiglaf won back control of Arachosia Prime, and then cleared Cordanian units from his central territories. After another two years of struggle, Egbert was forced to acknowledge Wiglaf's continued independence by the Traty of Barching (August 19, 1232), but secured recognition of his full control over Hengist. In 1233-34, he faced a further series of nationalist uprisings by the Angelicans, which weakened his position to a greater extent than before. And in Nordania, Eardwulf had died in November 1230, and been succeeded by his son Eanred. Eanred contended with his own financial difficulties, and with increasing Donathian raids, directed especially against Deira, Essie, and Camerania. By 1235, there were four remaining Amelianian kingdoms: Amelianian Cordania, ruled by Egbert, the most senior of the Amelianian sovereigns; Nordania, ruled by Eanred; Amelianian Lavella, ruled by Ethelstan; and Marcia, ruled by Wigulf.
 * Circumstances were now ripe for an intervention. Ever since the conquest of Malaria in 1182-98, it had been a goal of the Royal Laurasian Government to engineer the further expansion of the Kingdom's dominions into the Wild Marshes. Until now, due to the Time of Troubles and to other distractions, that had not been possible. King Leonidas, however, now sought to take advantage of the opportunity. The first task which confronted Leonidas was to choose the commander-in-chief of the planned military operations. He now found that commander in Prince Arasces Butalarania (1191-1254), of Capital. Prince Butalarania was a veteran of the Polonian-Laurasian War of 1210-18 and of the Clancian War, and had also, from 1221 to 1226, commanded government forces in the Maluyta Operations, directed against the Maluyta Pirates, who resisted Laurasian authority in Malaria. Due to his prior military experience, his declared devotion to the Kingdom, and his perceived strategic tact, he was the perfect choice for Leonidas. On January 14, 1235, in a formal ceremony at the Diplomatic Palace, the King formally announced his elevation of Butalarania to the rank of High-General of the Royal Laurasian Forces, and entrusted him with responsibility over command of the 5th and 6th Malarian Royal Armies, along with their associated flets. Butalarania was then briefed by the Royal General Headquarters, and received his instructions from the Aristocratic Duma in February 1235. Then on March 8, he made his leave from Laurasia Prime, and proceeded rapidly to Malaria Prime, arriving there two days later.
 * Butalarania now took more direct oversight of the military preparations being conducted in the Malarian Provinces, and he launched a series of reconnaissance expeditions into Kelvania, seeking to obtain more information about Amelianian resources, garrisons, and strategic positions. He was also helped in this by the efforts of the King's Intelligence Bureau, and by the information provided, from Kalbacha Prime itself, of the situation within Amelianian Cordania. By June 1235, Laurasian forces were finally prepared, and poised, for a direct military intervention. On June 16, King Leonidas issued a manifesto from Caladaria, declaring that the "will of the Lord Almitis has not yet been satisfied", and that this could only be done through territorial aggrandizement. Ten days later, he dispatched a ultimatum to King Egbert, demanding for the concession of Kanjur, Mordan, Kelvania Minor, and the Rojani Colonies to the authority of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia. Egbert, whose attention was now fixed upon rebel tensions in Kalbacha (which were to soon usher in the Villhadian Rebellion), and by intensified Donathian raiding expeditions into the outskirts of the Galactic Borderlands, did not respond to the ultimatum. He also neglected to shore up the defenses of Kelvania and Morgania, a decision which would have consequences for him.
 * Thus it was that on July 14, 1235, Leonidas issued an official declaration of war against the Amelianian Kingdom of Cordania, and Laurasian forces, under Prince Butalarania, now launched a series of striking offensives forth into Kelvania. The Kelvanian colony of Bouchet was the first to fall into Laurasian hands (July 15-19), and was followed by Barbara (July 22), Lielle (July 26-August 3), and Parkins (August 5). On August 12, 1235, the Amelianian General Ethelwald, seeking to arrest the further advance of the Kingdom's forces, intercepted Butalarania at Rojia. The ensuing Battle of Rojia, which lasted for four days, ultimately ended in a strategic stalemate, as neither Amelianian nor Laurasian units could gain a definitive advantage over the other. As a result of this confrontation, Butalarania was forced to retreat from Parkins, and on September 2, 1235, a Laurasian offensive against Anjun failed in the Battle of Parkas. September 1235 saw Amelianian forces attempting a series of counteroffensives against Siri, Acabania, Takrania, the Narvet Corridor, Ettleman, and Evans in the Malarian Provinces; none of these bore any fruit. On October 5, however, Ethelwald and Butalarania clashed again in the Battle of Clarence; this time, the battle ended in a decisive Laurasian victory, with nearly 200,000 Amelianian troops and personnel dying, and with Ethelwald himself barely evading capture. Parkins then fell into Laurasian hands again (October 9-15, 1235); Rojia followed on October 22, and on November 1, 1235, the Battle of Parlan ended in another victory for Prince Butalarania. By November 17, Mordan was under threat by Laurasian forces, who then focused on subduing the colonies of Loegria, Kambria, and Orius III. It was on December 8, 1235, that the Siege of Mordan was instigated by General Butalarania. Laurasian forces installed a series of stockades around the star system, cut off its communication lines, and harried the orbital defensive garrisons. Ethelwald now launched a series of counteroffensives, aiming to disrupt the Laurasian momentum. His efforts failed, but the Siege was to continue into the following year.

1236

 * 1236, the 36th year of the thirteenth century, was dominated by the continuation of the First Laurasian-Amelianian War, as this conflict would become known in later centuries. It was marked, first of all, by the Siege of Mordan. On January 19, 1236, Amelianian General Ethelwald, seeking to once again disrupt Laurasian efforts in that star system, launched a major offensive against Bouchet, Barbara, and Malaria Outer. Although he briefly recovered Bouchet (January 19-24), he was hampered by a Laurasian starfighter squadron, under the command of Fleet Captain Titus Andrescae (1200-71), at Rielle (January 29, 1236). Ridley and Sorina became scenes, in February 1236, of further Amelianian defeats. On March 9, Ethelwald was forced to yield Bouchet, and on March 18, Andrescae's forces defeated his chief subordinate, Oglald, at the Straits of Felicity. Then on March 29, 1236, Mordan finally capitulated to the forces of Prince Butalarania. From Mordan, Butalarania proceeded to the subjection of Kelvania Minor (April 5-14), and then besieged Kanjur, beginning on April 22, 1236. King Egbert, who continued to struggle with the forces of Kalbachan Prince Villhad at Seeeben, Sabinia, Kalbacha Minor, and Cognus, was now contemplating reshuffling command responsibilities, and himself taking command of the effort against Laurasia. In May 1236, however, at Onasi, Waxefield, and Kane, Donathian forces under the command of Rag, the first Donathian warlord of note to appear within the confines of the Caladarian Galaxy, launched a penetrative offensive into Cordanian territory. McFadden, Wesley, Crusher, Janeway, Barching, and the Bereoyeze Asteroids all fell before the Donathians. Egbert, therefore, had another, more serious threat to contemplate. And this allowed for the Laurasians to make yet more advances.
 * On June 8, 1236, Kanjur fell to Prince Butalarania's forces. He treated the conquered Kelvanian and Morganian inhabitants of the star system with much generosity, but ordered for all of the officers and surviving personnel of the Amelianian garrison to be kept under imprisonment. Butalarania then proceeded to the main task: the conquest of Kelvania Major. Defeating Amelianian forces in successive confrontations at Ranjun, Kelvin, and Melvin (June 10-17, 1236), the Prince then moved to within range of the Kelvania Major star system. General Ethelwald now launched another offensive, in his effort to halt this latest Laurasian advance. He now cut off Butalarania's advance squadrons at Jessmaine (June 24, 1236). At first, Ethelwald enjoyed some success; he damaged or otherwise disabled seventy of the Royal Laurasian Navy's Circus-class transports, captured 50,000 Laurasian troops, and hampered its communications with the newly-established headquarters on Kanjur. Butalarania, however, had a reserve force in place at Welch, Johnald, Odika, and White, under the command of Admiral Aeneas Totnaria (1195-1253). He now, on July 4, ordered Totnaria to proceed post haste to Kelvania Major, bypassing the Amelianian forces at Jessmaine. Totnaria did as ordered, and his appearance in the chief Kelvanian star system (July 7, 1236), caught the Amelianians completely off guard.
 * Ethelwald was now confronted with a choice: either he complete the elimination of the Laurasian forces at Jessmaine, or he relieve the defenses of Kelvania Major. He now chose the later option. On July 12, the Amelianian General's forces appeared at Kelvania Major, and in a series of running engagements, his earldormen and jarls (Marines), managed to push Totnaria back through the Kelvanian Outskirts. However, this move worked in Butalarania's forces. Breaking the token forces left at Jessmaine by Ethewald, Butalarania now moved up to the south vector of Kelvania Major (July 19, 1236). Totnaria, who was now reinforced by several of the advance squadrons, then turned back and confronted Ethelwald from the Northern Vector. Kelvania Major was now completely enclosed by Laurasian forces, and Ethelwald found himself completely surrounded. The Amelianian General now attempted to call for reinforcements, and he launched a series of desperate offensives against the Laurasian operational lines, seeking to break out from his predicament. These offensives failed, causing the loss of more then 75,000 Amelianian troops, including most of his jarls.
 * On July 24, the defensive perimeter of Kelvania Major was broken, and the world was now subjected to a full-scale onslaught from Laurasian troops. General Ethelwald himself led the final defense of the stronghold against the invading force,s but all of his efforts proved to be in vain. On August 5, 1236, the Siege of Kelvania Major was concluded, and the system now fell entirely into the hands of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia. Ethelwald died during the final offensives, by the Royal Laurasian Army, against the Citadel of Panjun, which had been constructed in the ninth century AH and had since then, served as the world's chief defensive headquarters. With the fall of Kelvania Major, the greater part of the Kelvanian Provinces had fallen under Laurasian general. Prince Butalarania now directed his efforts into Morgania, which was to prove to be a tougher, more arduous conquest. Goneril fell under assault from Laurasian forces (August 19, 1236). The garrison of that star system was commanded by Amelianian Prince Wehha, who had been Ethelwald's son-in-law. Wehha was determined to leave nothing to chance, and he now waged a vigorous defense of the star system.
 * The Siege of Goneril continued throughout September and October 1236, as Laurasian and Amelianian forces clashed ceaselessly in the star system, at the neighboring colonies of Gorbudia, Belenda, and Karlind, and also at Kanjur, as the Amelianians fought, in vain, to regain a stronghold in Kelvania. Yet Butalarania again displayed his skills of command, not yielding with his pressure upon the garrison of Goneril, carefully coordinating his forces, and remaining in constant communications with the King and his Royal Council. On November 5, 1236, he launched a final, decisive offensive against the star system. Within two hours, Goneril Outpost had been stormed by Laurasian troops, and Butalarania now staged a series of landing on the planet's surface. The cities of Gloucester and Worchester were overrun, and the defenses which had been erected across the Low Valley were destroyed by a series of turbolaser and ion orbital attacks. Wehha suffered the same fate as Ethelwald, falling in battle with the enemy. By the end of the day, Goneril was in Laurasian hands. Within a short time, Butalarania subdued Cordelia and Regan (November 9-17, 1236), and on November 24, won the Battle of Maldroon. On December 5, Lancelot fell under siege by the Kingdom's forces; it's fall on Ascentmas Day, 1236, highlighted the continued success of Laurasian forces.

1237-1238

 * The years 1237 and 1238 saw the gradual subjection of the Morganian Provinces to Laurasian authority and efforts by Butalarania's forces to also maintain control in Kelvania. In January 1237, King Leonidas, at the Celestial Palace, ordered for his subjects to celebrate the victories being obtained by his military commanders in the Wild Marshes. Moreover, the King issued new instructions through the Aristocratic Duma to Prince Butalarania, ordering for him to consolidate the Laurasian hold of the Morganian Sister Worlds by clearing out all Amelianian forces, criminal bands, and other units from their vicinity. Butalarania did as commanded. He now defeated Amelianian garrisons in successive confrontations at Krasknia, Yerkeril, and Nekrania (January 8-19, 1237), and on January 23, 1237, won the Battle of Lear. On January 26, Amelianian General Edmund Pasarcae was defeated in the Battle of Curan; captured by Laurasian troops, he was presented before Butalarania, who ordered for his life to be spared, and for him to be deported to imprisonment at the Jar Asteroids. The fall of Curan yielded the Morganian colonies of Caius, Leir, and Dalmutio to the Laurasians (February 1237). On March 8, 1237, Gunevere was besieged by Prince Butalarania's forces; in spite of the efforts of the Amelianian Earl of Mercia, Eorpwald, and of his subordinate Ethelhere, the stronghold fell into Laurasian hands ten days later. Butalarania defeated Eorpwald and Ethelhere again at Mordred (March 25, 1237), and in April 1237, cleared Amelianian units from the Outposts of Eair Star.
 * Culwich and Waleran fell in May 1237, and on June 7 of that year, Butalarania obtained another victory in the Battle of Camelot. Arthur was then assaulted (June 16, 1237). Eorpwald, however, managed to repel this first Laurasian offensive, and he even briefly reconquered both Lancelot and Gunevere (June 22-July 1). On July 8, Eorpwald also dispatched a raiding expedition which sacked the Laurasian defenses erected at Goneril and Cordelia. On July 15, however, Butalarania turned his counteroffensive back at Hoel; then on July 22, he destroyed Eorpwald's auxiliary force of jarls in the Battle of Sagramore. Lancelot and Gunevere were back in Laurasian hands by the end of August 1237, and on September 7, Merlin was blockaded. Twelve days later, after subduing Amelianian bases at Bedivere, Breunor, and Bers, Butalarania launched a renewed assault upon Arthur's defenses. The Second Siege of Arthur, as it became known, lasted until October 15, 1237, when the stronghold finally fell to the Laurasians. On November 5, Merlin too buckled; its conquest was a source of major pride to Leonidas, who took credit for the victories earned by his commanders. The Morganian worlds of Gawain, Galahad, and Gaheris were then subdued (November 9-24, 1237), and in December 1237, Camelot was conquered.
 * On January 7, 1238, Prince Butalarania commenced his offensive against Morgania Minor. He overcame Amelianian defenses at Excalibur, and on January 15, defeated Eorpwald in the Battle of Kent, inflicting serious damage upon his supply lines. Laurasian forces then cleared the Amelianians from Edgar, Edmund, and Cornwall (February 1238). Finally, on March 1, Morgania Minor itself fell under siege. Eorpwald's forces now engaged in a "guerrilla" strategy of sorts, hacking through Butalarania's transports and Malarian conscripts; penetrating out to the outposts of Meleagant and Uther Pendragon; and laying counter-mines to stall the enemy advance. As a result of these efforts, Morgania Minor held out for over two months. Its final conquest (May 15, 1238), was a major blow to Amelianian Cordania. Morgania Major then became the next target of the Laurasians; it was not finally subdued until August 28, 1238. By October 1238, Laurasian forces had subdued the Morganian colonies of Eric, Lionel, and Feirefiz, and were at the boundary of the Galactic Borderlands. King Egbert, who had won a major victory at Hingston Down (July 1238), at the Galactic Barrier, over the Donathians and Kalbachan rebels, nevertheless realized that he would drain his military resources with a renewed struggle in the Wild Marshes. He still had to contend with rebellion in Kalbacha and with the disputes concerning Wiglaf of Marcia. Consequently, on November 9, 1238, he requested for an armistice, and for negotiations to begin. Leonidas accepted, and the Armistice of Agravain was signed (November 24, 1238). On December 9, a conference opened at Kamachina for the conclusion of a formal treaty. This conference lasted into the following year.

1239

 * 1239, the 39th year of the thirteenth century, opened with the First Laurasian-Amelianian War coming to an end, as negotiations were underway on Agravain. The Royal Laurasian Government was represented by Pope Joasaphus, Prince Cherkassia, and Prince Butalarania; Amelianian Cordanian interests were represented by the King's Chancellor, Eadbald of Bane, by General Eorpwald, and by the six chief magnates of the Cordanian Witan. It was on February 19, 1239, that negotiations reached their conclusion, and the Treaty of Agravain was signed. By the terms of this treaty, the Amelianian Kingdom of Cordania made territorial concessions to the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia in the Wild Marshes. Laurasia now obtained possession of the Kelvanian Provinces; this included Kelvania Major, Kelvania Minor, Anjun, Rojia, Barbara, Bouchet, Parkins, Kanjur, and Mordan. King Leonidas, in return, agreed to restore the Morganian Provinces to the authority of Amelianian Cordania; to recognize Amelianian possession of the Kalbachan Worlds; and to refrain from any further aggressive territorial endeavors in the future. All prisoners and captives of war were to be exchanged, and diplomatic, as well as economic, relations restored. No side was to pay a financial indemnity. All Laurasian military forces were to withdraw from Morgania by no later than December 1, 1240. The Treaty of Agravain was ratified by King Egbert on March 7, and by King Leonidas on March 22.
 * Egbert did not have much longer to live following the conclusion of peace. He died at Kalbacha Prime on April 15, 1239, after having reigned for thirty-seven years. He was now succeeded to the throne of Amelianian Cordania by his son, who became Ethelwulf I of Amelianian Cordania. Ethelwulf had served as his father's Governor of Kthexox (1231-39), and had gained much practical experience in this position. He would later attempt the recovery of the Kelvanian Provinces from Laurasia, but would also be confronted with a yet more vigorous Donathian challenge, both at the Galactic Barrier and in the Northern Reaches. As for Leonidas, he and his Court continued to celebrate the exploits of their military commanders. Butalarania, when he returned to Laurasia Prime (June 8, 1239), was greeted with much ceremony, at the moons and in the cities of the capital world. A mass was sung in honor of his successes at the Old Westphalian Cathedral, and at the Diplomatic Palace, he was congratulated by the assembled nobles and gentlemen of the Kingdom. The King conferred upon him the Order of Valor (July 1239), awarded him estates and annuities throughout the Purse Region, and had his portrait mounted in the Stall of Heroes.
 * During the remainder of 1239, Leonidas focused his efforts on beginning the development of the Kelvanian territories now won by Laurasia. In June 1239, he issued a series of decrees, reiterating the rights of freedom of transportation, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition, and freedom of religion, granted to all who colonized or otherwise moved to star systems in Kelvania. The King encouraged the Stroganias and other Laurasian nobles to invest money, resources, and time into nurturing the mineral, agricultural, and industrial wealth of the Kelvanian star systems. Between July 1239 and April 1241, more then 25,000 star systems would be colonized in Kelvania, on the initiative of the Royal Laurasian Government. These included Tetskia, Kekhskia, Omohska, and Naryania. The King's Bureau of Space and Transport would sponsor the chartering of the Kelvania Major-Melarnarian Trade Highway (August 1239), a realignment of the Metallasian Trade Corridor in those regions, and the creation of a new centralized hyperspace travel hub at Kelvania Minor. In October 1239, the King divided the region into districts and viceroyalities, in accordance with the Laurasian administrative model, and he encouraged the immigration of nobles and gentlemen to those territories. He also established six new Almitian dioceses in Kelvania, including that of Rojia (December 7, 1239). By the end of 1239, therefore, Laurasian efforts in Kelvania were fully underway.

1240

 * 1240, the 40th year of the thirteenth century, commenced with the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia, having succeeded in accomplishing the conquest of the Kelvanian Provinces, having returned to a condition of overall peace, in regards to the Wild Marshes. King Leonidas, whose military forces had been frustrated by the unsuccessful endeavors of the Clancian War, and had gained renewed vigor and reputation, in the eyes of his subjects, by its successful campaigns against Amelianian Cordania, was still held in high regard by his subjects, and continued to look after their welfare. The King was determined to continue with the reorganization of the state bureaucracy and of the Royal Household which had been begun by his father. In February 1240, he decreed the establishment of a common Hereditary Exchequer, which now assumed responsibility for the financial administration and jurisdiction of all royal estates, patrimonies, and other properties in the realm. Two months later (decree of April 16, 1240), Leonidas created an Office of Budget and Management, subordinated to the Aristocratic Duma, which became responsible for the annual production, revision, and distribution of all state financial reports, surveys, and analyzes. The Office also assumed responsibility over the organization and proposal of an annual budget, which was to remain within the King's purview to approve and to promulgate. In August, the King, on the advice of Prince Cherkassia, abolished a series of mundane taxes which had been imposed on agricultural seed, steeds, and fisheries, thereby alleviating burdens upon the Kingdom's agricultural and manufacturing industries. This would be followed by the manifesto of September 12, 1240, which pegged all municipal and colonial bonds, loans, and tax obligations in accordance with a common schedule published by the Office of Budget and Management. The Office also gained authority over the Bureaus of State Income and State Expenditure, both of which were now required to issue annual reports to the Hereditary Exchequer and to the Duma. All of these moves served to improve the financial administration of the Kingdom.
 * At the Royal Court, Leonidas and his wife, Queen Consort Valeria Flacca, continued to reside in a state of domestic tranquility and happiness. By this point, Leonidas had four surviving children: Artabanus, Irina, Anna, and Octavia. Octavia (1236-1306) had been born at the Diplomatic Palace in Christiania, Laurasia Prime, on January 5, 1236. Artabanus, his father's only son, was continually groomed by the King in the responsibilities of state. In April 1236, the King had appointed Count Seleucus Ansaries (1188-1252), as his son's chief tutor. Count Ansaries, who was the Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Laurasia Prime, and renowned for his Muses on the Galactic Mind (1230), considered to be a milestone of Laurasian scholarship, assumed his duties eagerly and faithfully. Under his direction, Artabanus gained a firm grasp of six languages, including besides Laurasian, High Galactic Standard, Solidaritan, Dasian, Arachosian, and Briannian. He also gained a great passion for history, archaeology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theology. Artabanus also became a master of the physical arts, excelling in hawking, track, and shockball, among other sports. He was, however, known for his docile nature and kindness to others, though this would by no means preclude him from, as King, exerting his autocratic authority when he deemed it necessary. From October 1240 onwards, King Artabanus would have his son sit in at sessions of the Council and Duma, and would entrust him secretarial responsibilities, so that he could gain a better understanding of the affairs of state.
 * The last notable event of the year was the death in Mendelevium, on November 28, 1240, of Pope Joasaphus. Joasaphus's health, following the conclusion of the Treaty of Kamachina in February 1239, had entered a steep decline. In July 1239, while visiting the Peschenga Monastery on Sarah, the Pope had suffered a major heart attack. He had been rushed to treatment in the Monasterial Hospital, and a emergency artery surgery saved his life. Joasaphus was then advised to rest, to exercise, and to limit the extent of his duties by his physicians. He did so, though in October 1239, he did deliver a speech to the Conference of Almitian Prelates, and ordered for the composition of a new memorandum relating to monasterial-community relations. In July 1240, he also ordered for an investigation of the Carthusian Order, and established a commission to strike against sexual and monetary abuses among the clergy. Joasaphus's death, therefore, was in some ways expected, but was still received with the due lamentations at the Royal Court. Leonidas ordered a period of mourning for the prelate, and had him displayed in state at the Old Westphalian Cathedral. He would be buried there on New Year's Eve, 1240, in a funeral service attended by the King personally. For more than a year, however, the King would leave the Papacy vacant.

1241

 * 1241, the 41st year of the thirteenth century, commenced with Laurasia still in a state of peace. In January 1241, King Leonidas conducted a tour of Caladaria, Chancia, Americana, Charasia, Osama, Apathama Vixius, Oxia Vixius, Ralina Vixius, and Augis V, hoping to demonstrate the continued unity and tranquility which pervaded his dominions. Laurasia, at this time, was to now be brought to the brink of military conflict with the Solidaritan Sultanate, with which it had managed to remain at peace since the close of the previous century. Solidarita itself had undergone many tribulations over the course of the preceding two decades. In 1221-23, Sultan Chosroes had continued to launch a series of vigorous offensives into the Lacian Cluster; Sonny, Kacee, Englestrom, Shaelynn, and Dromund fell under the control of Solidaritan forces during that time. Solidaritan expeditions blockaded Halassion and continued to harry Alyssa, Chalassion, and Chalassia, seeking in vain to break through these strongholds, which would have spelled the death knell of the Homidinian Khanate. Khan Ambaghai, however, had continued to place all of his might into resisting the Solidaritan offensives; reorganizing his military forces; and extorting as much from the financial resources of his realms as he possibly could. He also managed to maintain control of Homidinia Major, and was able to prevent the Armanes of King Trascerius, who had been forced out by Solidarita, from joining the conflict on Solidarita's side.
 * In April 1222, the Khan finally departed from Chalassion with his military forces, and launched a series of vigorous counteroffensives to the Kledis Var Trade Line, Maxwell, and Markis Prime. But he also sought the support of the Neo-Xilanian Empire, which was then under the rule of Uthari II (1219-25, 1229-36). Emperor Uthari had remained neutral in the conflict up to to this point, but he now saw it as an opportunity to expand Xilanian power at the expense of the Sultanate. In September, Uthari had issued a declaration of war against Sultan Chosroes, and he now launched his own offensives to the Dali Trade Run. Roxuli, Abraham, Zoe, Skyler, Eaidon, Koniak, and Iphsilion had all fallen into Xilanian hands by the end of the year; in conjunction with this, Kledis Var, Markis Prime, Maxwell, Kara, Perry, and Wakino, along with their associated colonies, were recovered by the forces of Khan Ambaghai. Between January 1223 and July 1225, the allied offensives had continued, with the Xilanians and the Dasian Homidinians both making substantial gains against Chosroes and his Solidaritans. The Battle of Dara (April 15, 1223), was particularly notable, and saw the destruction of an entire Solidaritan force under Shahrbaraz, who had continued to remain Chosroes' chief military subordinate. Ambaghai also defeated the Sultan's other military commanders, Generals Shahin and Sharaplakan, in confrontations at Abitia, Mir, Derek, Drake, Rutherford, and Dromund, and cleared Solidaritan forces from the Lacian Cluster. The Xilanians, on their part, ranged as far as Massanay, Sassanay, and the Western Redoubt, poising a serious threat to the integrity of the Solidaritan realms.
 * But from July 1223, Chosroes had been in contact with the Rashanian Mellorites in the Galactic Void. These Mellorites were to be the last of the barbarian peoples to enter the Caladarian Galaxy during the Galactic Dark Age. The Mellorites, originating from the Whirlpool Galaxy, had arrived in the Northern Galactic Void in 1214, but had operated primarily from their headquarters at Bessarabia in the Great Tesmanian Cloud. Since June 1222, the Rashanian bands had been under the control of Emir Muhammad (1170-1232). Muhammad, who was an ambitious and intriguing figure, was determined to carve a place for his marital, war-like species within the confines of the Caladarian Galaxy. He saw an alliance with the Solidaritans, to whom his own species had a distant genetic relation, as the best means of accomplishing this goal. Chosroes, on his part, believed that the Mellorites would serve as a means of speeding up the dissolution of the Homidinian Khanate. In November 1224, the two monarchs had come to an agreement in the Treaty of Pashtun. By the terms of this treaty, Muhammad agreed to ally himself with Chosroes against Xilania and Homidinia. In exchange, Chosroes promised to secure for the Mellorites their own territory along the Larkian Way; specifically, Felix, Sierra, Glassia, and the strongholds of the lower Corporate Trade Corridor. The two monarchs also agreed to a future partition of Xilanian and Homidinian territories, once the war had been concluded. It was in June 1225 that Muhammad's forces pushed into the Caladarian Galaxy, and that he announced his declaration of war against Xilania and Homidinia. Xilanian Emperor Uthari had been overthrown at Jin Minor (May 19, 1225), and his predecessor, Maulgaria, had reclaimed the throne. Maulgaria, however, had continued to contend with challenges to his power.
 * Homidinian Khan Ambaghai was also faced by the overextension of his military resources, and by disputes within his royal household, as his wife and consort Morte clashed with his chief religious adviser, Dasian High Priest Talaghai, on Chalassion. As a result of these varied troubles, the advantage now swung to the Solidaritans and to the war-like Mellorites, who proved themselves ferocious, dedicated, and vicious in battle. Mellorite forces quickly overran Nandia, Calrissian, Varta, and the Marauder Colonies, and from thence penetrated into the Xilanian Worlds (November 1225). By January 1226, Xilania Minoria, Xilania Secondary, Ursula, Guin, Jin Major, Jin Minor, Juxles, Bingley, Orkhan, King, and Morg were all within the Mellorite power. Mellorite and Solidaritan forces also combined to drive the Xilanians from their conquests at Massanay, Sassanay, the Western Redoubt, and along Dali (August 1225-February 1226). By March, the Homidinians were in head-long retreat from Abithia, Wakino, Perry, and Drake, and on April 5 of that year, a joint Solidaritan-Mellorite force penetrated to and besieged Chalassia. The Siege of Chalassia, which imperiled the Homidinian Khanate's very existence, lasted for over four months. Khan Ambaghai however, had placed his chief lieutenant Ogul in charge of his forces at Kledis Var, and Ogul now defeated Shahin in the Battle of Daxwell (July 14, 1226). This, compounded with the failure of Solidaritan moves against Homidinia Minor, Gibbs-to-Lester, and Calms, led to the termination of the Siege of Chalassia on August 7. Throughout the remainder of 1226, enemy and Homidinian-Xilanian forces continued to clash in the Lacian Cluster, along the Larkian Way, and in the Xilanian Home Worlds, with the conflict settling into a general stalemate.
 * In January 1227, Ambaghai was able to lure King Trascerius of Armania into repudiating the terms of the Treaty of Tyson, and to reenter the war effort against the Solidaritans. Armanian forces now clashed with the Solidaritans at Felix, Glassia, Syr-Daria, and along the Corporate Trade Corridor, and also lent assistance to the Homidinians and Xilanians fighting at Charlie, Norah, King, and in the Home Worlds. Morg, Bingley, Orkhan, and Juxles were back in allied hands by April 1227. Then in July 1227, after Ogul secured a series of further victories at Ryan, Gwendolyn, Brent, Demebezaic, Digette, Dominic, and Homidinian Wyatt, Chosroes was confronted by the outbreak of rebellion on Vindictoria, Big Twinny, and Frederickslandia, by the Vindictorian patriot Qamalis. As a result of this, Ambaghai now, from the Satian Provinces, launched a daring and penetrating offensive into the Istantius Home Region, aiming for the quick end of the war. Homidinian and Xilanian forces, moving through Massanay, Sassanay, Cibourney, the Western Redoubt, and to Dennis, reached Sair towards the end of November. On December 5, 1227, the Battle of Sair ended in a decisive victory for the Khan. Following this battle, his forces overran Dennis, Shannon, Rastaborn, Turnquist, Virginia, Wendy, and Coen, and even threatened Impania.
 * It was this, along with the general exhaustion which afflicted both sides, after nearly two decades of almost continuous conflict, that drove Chosroes to begin negotiations. In January 1228, the Truce of Berhamia suspended military hostilities. But on February 25, 1228, at Istantius, Chosroes was deposed from the Solidaritan throne by his own son, Prince Nizim, who had been imprisoned by his father at Sheryl for three years. Chosroes was then taken to the Belts of Mantin for imprisonment, but he died on March 5, allegedly of injuries which he had sustained in battle. In reality, Nizim had ordered for his father to be strangled by the guards accompanying him. With the deposition and death of Chosroes, negotiations to end the war now came to a speedy conclusion. On May 19, 1228, the Treaty of Zoe had been agreed. By its terms, the territorial status quo ante bellum was restored among the Solidaritan Sultanate, Homidinian Khanate, Neo-Xilanian Empire, and Kingdom of Armania. However, Sultan Nizim agreed to restore all plunder and captives captured by his forces during the military conflicts; to pay a major financial indemnity to Homidinia and Xilania; and to agree to a general demobilization of his military forces. Moreover, the Rashanian Mellorites of Emir Muhammad were now granted the Oirat Complex, Glassia, Houston, and Tyson, as their territories to rule. Thus, the guarantees for territorial gain, made to them by Chosroes, were borne out.
 * Nizim I himself ruled over Solidarita only until his death, from an outbreak of Merhedian plague, on Istantius (September 6, 1228). He was then succeeded to the Solidaritan throne by his son Mahmud II. Mahumd, only seven years old at the time of his accession, was dominated by his Grand Vizier, Mah-Adhur Gushnasp, who had served in the Solidaritan Court since 1222, and been one of Chosroes' trusted subordinates in his later years. Grand Vizier Gushnasp, however, was unpopular, and Istantius, Sair, Berhamia, Solidaritan Doris, and the other worlds of the Istantius Capital Region continued to suffer from further outbreaks of the Merhedian plague. Moreover, General Shahrbaraz, who still had a high reputation with his fellow military commanders and among the magnates of the Solidaritan Court, was determined to assert himself. In January 1229, from his headquarters at Canterwell, he announced his rebellion against Gushnasp, and allying himself with Piruz Khorsow, one of the Subordinate Viziers of Istantius, he made swift progress, overrunning Candlewell, Thompson, Sheryl, Laronn, Methusalah, the Belts of Mantin, and Deanna by April 1229. He also completed the suppression of the Vindictorian Revolt in Eastern Solidarita. On April 27, 1229, the General besieged Istantius itself. With the assistance of Khorsow and of Admiral Nahmdar Jushinas, he captured the capital world. On his orders, Mahumd II, Grand Vizier Gushnasp, and Prince Kardarigan, who had been a supporter of the youthful Sultan, were all killed. He then took the name of Suleiman II, but ruled only until June 9 of that year, when he was assassinated during a public audience at the Palace of the Sultans.
 * The Solidaritan Princess Soran was then elevated to the throne as Sultana Regent (June 17, 1229), becoming the only female ruler of the Solidaritan Sultanate in its history. She managed to hold on to the throne for just over three years. Throughout that time, the Solidaritan realms were ravaged by further rebellious outbursts at Vindictoria, along the upper Rebeccan Galactic Trade Route, and at Patsy. But finally, on September 12, 1232, she was assassinated at Eaidon, and was replaced on the Solidaritan throne by Chosroes II, nephew of his namesake (r. 1232-40). Chosroes, who was an energetic, vigorous, but cautious and realistically-minded ruler, threw his efforts into the recovery of the Solidaritan Sultanate's dominions from Chosroes' Homidinian War. Suppressing renewed disturbances in Vindictoria and at Patsy, he, in 1234-36, embarked upon major efforts to reorganize the Solidaritan bureaucracy, redefine the responsibilities of the Grand Council, to encourage economic development in the Home Region, and to expand his military forces. By the middle of the decade, with Homidinia faced with a more menacing threat from the Mellorites, Chosroes was able to renounce all indemnity payments to the Khanate, and ordered the occupation of Kara, Perry, and Dara (June 1235). He also launched a brief expeditionary war against Xilania (July 1236-January 1237), compelling the concession of Charlie, O'Donnell, and Gayle to the authority of the Sultanate. But in April 1237, Patsy, O'Neal, and the Solidaritan colony of Azov fell under attack from the Metallasian Cossacks. The Cossacks were a mercenary and piracy force, who had been operating at the Laurasian-Solidaritan boundary since 1145. They controlled their own base at Voronezh, in the outskirts of Angelica, a region vaguely under Amelianian authority. At times, they allied themselves with the Royal Laurasian Government, such as at the Battle of Molodi (1172). In 1174, 1192, 1220, and 1226, they launched their own offensives against Azov, seeking to gain control of the colony, but each of these assaults, instigated without Laurasian support, had failed. This one too, launched by the Cossack leader, Vaarg (1182-1244), was also without the aid of King Leonidas. This time, however, the Cossacks had succeeded, taking advantage of Solidarita's still-ongoing recovery from the Homidinian War.
 * For more than four years, the Cossacks were able to maintain possession of the Patsian Worlds, as they were known. But throughout that entire time, Sultan Chosroes, who had continued to be engaged in efforts to strengthen his government, and to maintain the Sultanate's position vis-à-vis the Neo-Xilanian Empire, the Amelianian Kingdom of Cordania, and the Homidinian Khanate, had also been engaged in plans to expel the Cossacks. To Chosroes, and then his successor Nizim II (r. 1240-48), who succeeded him upon his death in February 1240, allowing them to retain control of those Worlds would be an insult to his honor, and a danger to his position. It was on June 9, 1241, that the Sultan, announcing his intention to drive the Cossacks from the Patsian Worlds, ordered the Deli of Massanay, Hassan, to take advantage of the offensives. Pasha, assembling his forces at Massanay, Sassanay, Cibourney, Virginia, and Dennis, began his advance on June 17. He defeated a Cossack force under the command of Tarrg in the Battle of the Straits of the Don (June 22-29, 1241), and on July 5, won the Battle of Charlee. From thence, O'Neal was besieged by Solidaritan forces, beginning on July 17, 1241. The Siege of O'Neal lasted for over a month before coming to a successful conclusion on August 18. Two days later (August 20, 1241), Solidaritan forces moved against Azov directly. It was in September 1241, which Solidaritan efforts at that star system were ongoing, that the Cossacks sent a formal request for assistance to King Leonidas on Laurasia Prime. In this request, Ataman Vaarg pledged to recognize the authority of the King of Laurasia, and to swear a formal oath of allegiance to the Royal Laurasian Government. In exchange, he asked for the King to dispatch reinforcements to shore up his position in the Patsian Worlds, and to consider the commencement of hostilities against Solidarita.
 * Leonidas, however, was wary about the prospect of embarking on war with the Sultanate. He still wished to consolidate Laurasian rule over the Kelvanian Provinces, and did not want to get bogged down in conflict due to some border strongholds. The King now decided to turn to the Consultative Assembly, which had been assembled at the Diplomatic Palace since March 1241, and had been called by Leonidas to tender him advice on reforms in the military and in the tax collection system. The Assembly received its formal orders on October 9, 1241, and was commanded to take a motion on whether or not Laurasia would derive benefit from entering the war. It did so on October 24, deciding, by a overwhelming two-thirds majority, that Leonidas should refrain from any entanglements that could lead to war with Solidarita. Leonidas decided to now take their advice into consideration, and on November 4, he responded to Vaarg's request, formally rejecting it and declaring that he would not aid or abet the Cossacks in any form. The King, moreover, sent a note to Sultan Nizim (November 15, 1241), denying any association with the Cossacks. Nizim, assured that the Laurasians would do nothing, now decided to make a swift end of the Cossack threat. Azov was again assaulted (December 9, 1241), by the forces of Deli Hassan. The Siege continued through the end of the year.

1242

 * 1242, the 42nd year of the thirteenth century, commenced with Solidaritan campaigns against the Metallasian Cossacks coming to a swift conclusion. On January 9, 1242, Azov's defenses, after over a month of blockade, were breached by the forces of Deli Hassan of Massanay. He now led his troops in a series of armed operations on the planetary surface, recovering the Azov Command Citadel and capturing more than 75,000 Cossack Warriors. From Azov, Solidaritan forces subdued Patsy (February 11, 1242), and then overran Maykop (February 19-22). On February 28, Voronezh, headquarters of the Solidaritan Cossacks, was besieged by the Deli's forces. In spite of the efforts of Ataman Vaarg and of General Tarrg, the world ultimately yielded before the superior Solidaritan power. It was on March 7, 1242, that Voronezh was captured by the Solidaritan Sultanate. With the fall of Voronezh, the Metallasian Cossacks had effectively been crushed. Vaarg and Taarg would be captured by Deli Hassan's forces in September 1242. On the orders of Sultan Chosroes, they would be blinded, bound in chains, and deported to Zoe, where they would both die in March 1243, overworked at the world's chief prison, Hamain Fortress.
 * King Leonidas, though discomfited by the ruthless methods employed by the Solidaritans against the Metallasian Cossacks, was nevertheless still of the opinion that war with the Sultanate would not be a wise move at this juncture. And indeed, he now shifted his attention to an internal matter: filling the vacancy in the Almitian Papacy. On March 20, 1242, the Dean of St. Katherine's Monastery on Laurasia Prime and Archbishop of Christiania, Callixtus (1180-1252), was elected Pope by the Conference of Almitian Prelates at the Old Westphalian Cathedral, in accordance with the instructions of King Leonidas. Seven days later, he was formally enthroned as Pope, receiving, like his predecessors before him, his mitier, cross, and staff of authority from the hands of the King directly. Callixtus, who was known for his conservative theological beliefs, his loyalty to the King and the Royal Government, and his religious devotion, proved a moderate pontiff during his ten years on the papal throne. He continued with the reform and codification policies of his predecessor, Pope Joasaphus. The Pope supported the practice of academic debates on theological matters at the Cathedral and at the University of Laurasia Prime; in 1250, he was to issue a decree mandating that every year, a theological "discussion" be organized among the Conference of Prelates, in order to resolve discrepancies over the liturgy and interpretation of the Almitian Scriptures, books, and orders among members of the clergy. Callixtus poured vast sums of church wealth into the expansion of its educational and training institutes; he sponsored the founding of a new Learning Academy for Almitism at the Cron Drift (1249), encouraged the publication of all future church works in High Laurasian, and ordered, in 1251, for the establishment of a Church Office on Archeological Discoveries, aiming to provide more support for scientific research. The Pope's reign, oversaw, saw an intensification of the Church's publishing and proselytizing activity. The Pope also mandated, from 1245 to 1248, the compilation of new manuals, to be issued in all dioceses, concerning the psalms, psalters, breviaries, and primers utilized within the Church service.
 * He was also concerned about the beautification and the glorification of the Almitian Church's chief edifices. Between 1244 and 1246, he conducted a renovation of the Old Westphalian Cathedral, convinced the King to issue a new mandate for church and monastery construction in Kelvania and Malaria, and in 1250, was present at the dedication of St. Asterius's Cathedral on Malaria Outer. The Pope also provided, in July 1245, for the publication of new instructions to all priests, deacons, deans, and reverends, concerning the recitation of adverbial singing, the use of sacred vestments in the services, and of dedication rituals. He made a habit of making an annual speech to all lay subjects of the Kingdom, to keep them informed of their religious obligations, whether under Almitis or the gods to which they adhered. And in April 1249, the Pope, acting on the instructions of Leonidas's son and successor, convened a general Church Council in Christiania, which issued the Code of Liturgy, making further regulations in regards to singing, reading, and canon rituals performed during church services, ceremonies, and festivals. All of his reforms laid the groundwork for those conducted under his successor, Nikon, during the 1250s. Besides the elevation of Callixtus to the papal throne, Laurasia also dealt with the death of a national hero. Prince Demetrius Pozkharius, who had been one of the Kingdom's "saviors" against the Polonians during the Time of Troubles, died at his estate on Tarravania (April 30, 1242). The Prince's death was received with much lamentation on Laurasia Prime and throughout the Purse Region. King Leonidas ordered for a period of mourning. On his orders, Pozkharius was given a formal state service at the Old Westphalian Cathedral in May 1242, though he was ultimately interred on Osama. Eighty years after his death, in July 1322, he would be re-interred at the Old Westphalian Cathedral on the orders of Leonidas' grandson, Seleucus I.
 * In October 1242, Leonidas was confronted by the outbreak of a renewed conflict with Amelianian Cordania, as it sought to regain control of the Kelvanian Provinces. King Ethelwulf, during the first three years of his reign, had sought the consolidation of his rule over Cordania and Kthexox. In October 1239, King Wiglaf of Marcia had died on Arachosia Prime, and been succeeded to the throne of Marcia by his son Berthwulf. Berthwulf recognized the value of maintaining positive relations with Cordania, and in July 1241, he had agreed to the Treaty of Neustron with Ethelwulf, by which a definitive border settlement was agreed upon between the two states. Kalbacha, the McFadden Dependencies, and Hypasia remained under Cordanian control; Marcia held Kania, Onasi, Rhedita, and Arachosia Suprema. Friendly relations between Marcia and Cordania were to persist for the remainder of the decade. A series of further Donathian raiding expeditions, in the Northern Reaches, Tof Borderlands, and the Muggal Cluster, held Ethelwald's attention through January 1242. But now, the King, who felt confident in his position, and secure in his rear with both Marcia and Nordania, sought a resumption of military hostilities against Laurasia. He was determined to recover Kelvania, and to reverse the humiliations suffered by his father Egbert in that region. On October 17, the King of Amelianian Cordania issued a ultimatum to Leonidas, then with his court on Laurasia Prime. In this ultimatum, he demanded the restoration of all the Kelvanian territories to Amelianian Cordania; for the Royal Laurasian Government to pay a substantial royal indemnity; and for Leonidas to agree to recognize Cordanian dominance in the Galactic Borderlands. Leonidas, who was alarmed by these terms, refused to respond to them.
 * Thus it was on November 1, 1242, that Ethelwulf issued a declaration of war against the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia and launched his forces into Kelvania. During the last months of 1242, Amelianian forces, commanded by the King's eldest son, Ethelstan, Governor of Morgania and Eastern Kalbacha, made some headway against their Laurasian adversaries. Kanjur fell into Amelianian hands (November 2-9, 1242), being followed in short order by Mordan (November 14), Rielle (November 16), Ridley (November 22-December 2), and Bouchet (December 7). The Battle of Rojia (December 18, 1242), ended in another victory for the Amelianian Prince. Yet Amelianian forces were already overextending themselves. King Leonidas once again assigned Prince-General Butalarania to take command of the Kingdom's offensive moves in the Wild Marshes, and he issued a series of instructions through the Aristocratic Duma, calling for the complete subjugation of the Morganian Provinces. On Ascentmas Day, 1242, Butalarania humiliated Ethelstan in the Battle of Michael. By the end of the year, the momentum was again swinging in the direction of the Laurasians. Leonidas, however, had been affected by Prince Cherkassia's death on April 4, 1242. Cherkassia had been succeeded in his position as the King's leading minister (with control of Correspondence, Chancellory, and the Treasury), by Prince Theodosius Sheremovia (1170-1250). Sheremovia was to hold the predominant position in the King's service until the end of Leonidas' reign.

1243

 * 1243, the 43rd year of the thirteenth century, was marked by the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia gaining the advantage in the Second Laurasian-Amelianian War, as this conflict became termed, and with Laurasian forces once again conquering the Morganian Provinces. This was aided by another Donathian invasion effort, launched in the Northern Reaches and through the Muggal Cluster, which for the first time established a definite territorial sphere for the Donathians within the Caladarian Galaxy. On January 7, 1243, Prince-General Butalarania defeated Prince Ethelstan in the Battle of Wauking, capturing 40,000 Amelianian jarls and over a third of the Amelianian war-craft. From Wauking, Rielle and Ridley were both reconquered by Butalarania's forces, and by the end of February 1243, he had also recovered Bouchet. On February 18, 1243, Butalarania launched a decisive offensive against Kanjur; his victory at Bach proved especially decisive. Ethelstan's attempt to halt the thrust of his general offensive met failure again at Inguheria (March 9, 1243), and on March 19, Mordan and Rojia fell back into Laurasian hands. By April 1243, Laurasian forces were crossing the boundary into Morgania again. On April 9, 1243, Maleagant fell to General Butalarania's forces. During the course of the next two months, he defeated Ethelstan in successive confrontations at Gorbudia, Belenda, Goneril, and Karlind, inflicting one humiliation after the other upon overstretched and strained Amelianian units. Regan then fell to him (June 10, 1243); Cordelia followed on June 16. On June 22, 1243, the Siege of Merlin commenced.
 * That world too, proved no match to the Laurasian onslaught, and its fall on July 7 was a major humiliation for King Ethelwulf. Lancelot, Gunevere, and Arthur were all in Laurasian hands by the end of July 1243. On August 9, Ethelwulf suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Donathian Warlord Gudfred in the Battle of Carmponia, fought near Bucharina. Two days later, Morgania Minor fell into Laurasian possession, and on August 14, Prince Ethelstan was crushed by General Butalarania in the Battle of Lear. Caius, Leir, and Dalmutio fell (August 16-22, 1243), followed by Curan (August 26); Mordred (September 7-18); and Gawain (September 25-29). The Battle of Excalibur (October 9-14, 1243), represented another unsuccessful effort on the part of the Amelianians to halt the Laurasian momentum; Galahad and Gaheris fell in November 1243. Finally, on December 1, 1243, the day that Amelianian forces were annihilated at Karlong by Warlord Gudfred, Morgania Major fell under the Laurasian hammer. The Siege of Morgania Major lasted for more than a month, as Laurasian forces successfully repelled all of Ethelstan's varied attempts to reverse their offensive and dislodge them from their positions.

1244

 * 1244, the 44th year of the thirteenth century, commenced with Laurasia having once again having occupied virtually the whole of the Morganian Provinces. On January 18, 1244, Morgania Major fell to the forces of Prince-General Butalarania. With the fall of Morgania Major, Laurasian triumph in the Wild Marshes had received a new height. King Ethelwulf, still engaged in a vicious struggle in the Muggal Cluster and Tof Borderlands against the Donathians, and also confronted by yet another outbreak of nationalist sentiment on Kalbacha Prime, decided to extricate himself from this latest conflict in the Wild Marshes. On February 8, he sent a armistice request to King Leonidas. Leonidas, who had then moved to Vetta with his Court, and pleased that, having avoided a tough conflict with the Solidaritan Sultanate, his forces were obtaining easy successes against the Amelianians, decided to quickly accept this request. Ethelwulf now made it plain that he would recognize Laurasian jurisdiction over the whole of the Kelvanian and Morganian Provinces if in turn Laurasia agreed not to align itself with any of Cordania's enemies; to grant Cordanian merchants free-travel privileges through its territories; and to provide a financial subsidy to the Court of Angelica Major. Leonidas, viewing these terms as reasonable, and wishing a return to peace as soon as possible, decided to accept them.
 * The Armistice of Lear was signed on February 22. Negotiations commenced at Cordelia in March 1244, and proceeded rapidly between the governments, with these terms providing the basic framework. They were finally enshrined in the Treaty of Cordelia (April 19, 1244), which brought the Second Laurasian-Amelianian War to a close. By the terms of this treaty, Amelianian Cordania now conceded both Kelvania and Morgania to the authority of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia. These territories, which had never been directly subdued by the Dasian Golden Horde or its successor states, had now fallen under Laurasian jursidiction. The Stellar Kingdom's dominions, which now reached nearly 20,000 light years into the Wild Marshes, to the very boundaries of the Galactic Borderlands, and encompassed nearly a million settled star systems, had been further amplified as a result. All prisoners and captives of war were exchanged, and diplomatic relations restored. Laurasian and Amelianian merchants each gained free-trade privileges in the territories of the other, for a period of twenty years (to conclude May 1, 1264). Moreover, the King of Laurasia pledged to provide, for a term of five years, an annual subsidy of $2.1 trillion Laurasian denarius, to the support of the Royal Treasury of Cordania, and to refrain from signing any treaties or alliances with states hostile to Amelianian interests. The Treaty of Cordelia, ratified by both monarchs by the end of May 1244, marked a major success for Laurasia. Throughout the remainder of the century, Laurasia would be engaged in additional efforts to subsume its new, easily-won conquests in the Wild Marshes, and they were to provide a substantial base of manpower and resources which the Kingdom would utilize to its advantage during the War of the Polonian Deluge. Prince-General Butalarania returned to Laurasia Prime once again, on June 4, 1244, and received even greater praise from the Royal Court. King Leonidas now conducted another tour of the cities of Laurasia Prime; in September 1244, he made a pilgrimage to the Monastery of Windowia Photis, in order to offer his praise to the Lord Almitis for the victories obtained in the last two Amelianian Wars. In October, the King formally dissolved the Consultative Assembly; it would not be called again to meet for another decade. On December 9, in a ceremony at the Celestial Palace, he presented his son, Grand Prince Artabanus, to the assembled courtiers of the Royal Court, and confirmed him his status as his heir-apparent. 1244 ended, therefore, with Laurasia restored to peace.

1245

 * 1245, the 45th year of the thirteenth century, commenced with the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia, having emerged from the Second Laurasian-Amelianian War, still under the rule of King Leonidas. Yet Leonidas' reign was now reaching its conclusion. The King of Laurasia, who had been so energetic, alert, and vigorous during the early years of his reign, had over the course of time experienced a gradual decline in his physical condition. This had accelerated following the death of his father, Pope Filaret, in October 1233. In May 1236, at Lusculum, the King had suffered the first of a series of panic attacks. The most serious of these occurred while he was visiting Aquilionia, in August 1242, and had aroused the concern of many of his courtiers. Headaches, heat strokes, and back pains now compounded his earlier troubles, and in July 1244, Leonidas had been forced to seek treatment at the Royal Hospital. Then, on January 20, 1245, the King suffered a major fall in his quarters at the Celestial Palace, as he was attempting to descend the stairs connecting his bedroom with his private entertainment complex. This fall rendered the King immobile in both of his legs, and confined him to a mobile chair, whilst preparations were made for an extensive bone operation to repair his injuries. In March 1245, Leonidas suffered another panic attack, and he now refused to allow for the surgery to proceed, declaring that he would instead find comfort in the arms of the Lord Almitis, and did not need any other operations.
 * On April 12, 1245, Leonidas made his last public appearance, at a dedication ceremony held at the Post Settlement of Hepudermia. He then retired for good to his quarters at the Celestial Palace, refusing to show his face before his subjects any further. His other health issues now intensified, and the King of Laurasia wallowed in great pain. By May 25, when Leonidas made his final will and testament, it was clear that his death was fast approaching. In his will, the King enjoyed his son and soon-to-be successor, Grand Prince Artabanus, to look after the concerns of the Laurasian State, and to refrain from neglecting the welfarre of his subjects. Moreover, he entrusted his son to the care of his new tutor, Count Boethius Morovinus (1190-1261), who had assumed his position in November 1244, and been appointed to the Royal Bureau of Correspondence and Petitions in February 1245. On July 1, after over a month of agony in his quarters, the King was moved to the Royal Hospital. It was there that he died on July 13, 1245. Leonidas was only forty-nine years old at the time of his death, but he had reigned over Laurasia for thirty-three years, the second-longest reign of any Laurasian sovereign since Honorius the Liberator, during the Third Laurasian Period (later to be surpassed by his grandson, Seleucus the Victor). His reign, which had ended the Time of Troubles, had seen the restoration of peace and internal prosperity to the Laurasian realms; its further expansion into the Wild Realms; and further beneficial reforms to both church and state.
 * King Artabanus, as he now was, ordered for his father's body to be laid in state at the Old Westphalian Cathedral. It remained so for over a month, while Pope Callixtus issued a series of injunctions and manifestos through the Royal Almitian Church, lamenting the death of the late monarch. He now became known to his subjects as the "Restorer", and his reputation was to remain high throughout the next five centuries. Leonidas was finally given a formal internment at the Old Westphalian Cathedral on August 29, 1245. Eleven days earlier, on August 18, Artabanus's mother, Queen-Dowager Valeria Flacca, had died on Calaxis II, just over a month following the death of her husband; she too, was now interred with him. On September 16, his son formally crowned himself King and Autocrat of All the Laurasians at the same edifice, with the Pope presiding. Artabanus, only sixteen years old at the time of his father's death, nevertheless proved himself to be a mature, humble, and capable monarch, much in the manner of his father, and dedicated to the service of the state. Adhering to the arrangements in his father's will, he listened to the advice of Morovinus, who now obtained the predominant position within the Royal Laurasian Government. In October 1245, Morovinus was made Chamberlain to the King, Chief Secretary of the Chancellery and Correspondence, and Adjunct of the Royal Guards. Laurasia continued to remain at peace throughout the last months of 1245, rapidly adjusting to the governance of its new master.

1248

 * The first years of King Artabanus's reign saw the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia continuing to reside in a state of peace and general tranquility. These years also saw the enactment of further military and financial reforms, meant to strengthen the position of the Royal Laurasian Government and to enhance the unity of the state. Some of these reforms, however, were to eventually lead to the outbreak of violence in the city of Christiania itself. In February 1246, Prince Sheremovia, who had already lost his position of predominance within the government with the rise of Morovinus, resigned from his position in the Bureau of the Royal Treasury; this office was now conferred upon Morovinus, who thereby accumulated more power and influence within the state. With the encouragement and guidance of Morovinus and of his associates, King Leonidas now proceeded to the enactment of that additional program of reform. In April 1246, the King issued instructions through the Census Bureau for the commencement of a general survey of all estates, landholdings, and other properties, both private and public, within the Kingdom, and in conjunction with this, a general census of all households. This census lasted until May 1247, and determined that within the Stellar Kingdom's dominions, there were nine hundred trillion sentient beings, spread across more than a million inhabited star systems. The total value of the Kingdom's economy was determined to be $1 quadmillion denarii, with the most economically productive zones to be found in the Eastern Purse Region and in the Malarian Provinces, both of which had escaped many of the ravages of the Time of Troubles.
 * With this information in his hands, Leonidas then ordered Morovinus and the Chancellery to devise a new, uniform commodities tariff, in order to replace the varying charges and internal fees on spices, "livable" goods, and agricultural produce which had been levied previously. This tariff was published in the schedule of October 9, 1247, and mandated for a flat 20% rate on all agricultural, industrial, and mineral products of note produced and circulated within all Laurasian territories. This rate was meant to provide a more equitable revenue stream for the Royal Treasury, giving little regard to discrepancies in status or social condition, did lead to a sufficient increase in governmental income, but also aroused dissent among segments of the population, as noted below. In November 1247, a less controversial reform, relating to the differentiation of the public from the private state budget, was implemented. The motivation for these financial moves, from the view of Morovinus and his associates, would provide a proper groundwork for further revitalization in the Kingdom's military structure. Deficiencies in the Royal Forces had been revealed by the Clancian War, and further underlined by the two Amelianian Wars, though, due to the distractions and overextension of the Amelianian foe, Laurasia had been victorious in those conflicts.
 * To Morovinus, it was essential that these deficiencies be corrected for Laurasia to be able to continue the extension of its influence; he was also thinking about the possibility of renewed war with the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth. In May 1246, Artabanus ordered for the establishment of a commission in order to review the strategy, tactics, and organization of the Royal Forces. This commission, which was chaired by Prince-General Butalarania, produced its official recommendations in a report of January 7, 1247. The King now proceeded to enact these recommendations. In March 1247, he ordered for the revision of the Recruitment Charters, mandating that in the future, recruitment was to be based upon levy per household, rather than levy per property claim, as had been the prior basis. This change enabled for the number of conscripts to be greatly increased; between 1247 and 1254, the Royal Forces would experience a threefold increase in numbers of personnel. Two months later, the Royal Bureau of Defense published a series of new instruction manuals for the Royal Guards, the Army, and the Navy, which included many updates to the operational procedures, training drills, and exercises, bringing these more in accordance with Polonian, Briannian, and Melorkian practice. The cap on use of alien and foreign conscripts was raised; the Guards underwent another expansion of their ranks; and in September 1247, the administrations of all officers' institutes and training academies in the Kingdom were reorganized. Artabanus also ordered for the establishment of new arms factories on Kamachina, Melarnaria, N'zoth, and Williams, and ordered for an increase in the level of funding devoted to military equipment. He also sponsored the creation of a uniform Strategic Planning and Coordination Board, which assumed responsibility for incorporating technological innovations into the forces. In January 1248, the Army was reorganized into divisions, regiments, and squadrons; naval and army officers were given separate chains of command; and the General Headquarters' staff was streamlined, with a decentralized command model emphasized to improve flexibility in the battlefield.
 * As a result of all these innovations, Laurasia would find itself far more prepared for the military conflicts that were to come. But by early 1248, Morovinus was seeking to gain yet more influence over the affairs of King and Court. He now saw that the best means of obtaining this additional influence would be to procure for the King a wife who would be under his influence. One of the Prince's associates was Lord Numerian Marcella (1194-1268) of Tusculum, who was a respected gentleman at the Royal Laurasian Court. Lord Marcella served in the Diplomatic Service, and had already been dispatched on missions to Solidarita, Polonia, and Venasia during the course of the preceding twenty years. He was also a man of some wealth, owning estates throughout the Purse Region, and having a stake in Christiania Colonization Firms, one of the chief corporations responsible for the ongoing development efforts in the Wild Marshes. Marcella's wife was Katharina (1201-65), who was herself the heiress of Lord Nicaeolaus Narvarina (1175-1244), the founder of Narvanian Cybernetics. The Marcellas had two daughters: Claudia (1225-69) and Anna (1227-72). It was Morovinus's intention that the King would marry Lady Claudia, while he himself would marry Lady Anna. Through this, therefore, he would become Artabanus's brother-in-law. Through his new wife, he would be able to influence her sister, the Queen. The Marcella family would believe themselves indebted to him, and consequently would not challenge his authority. Morovinus now had the two sisters included in the bevy of ladies who were gathered from throughout the Kingdom, in accordance with the traditional bride-selection process. This process began in August 1247 and concluded on December 9. Ten days later, two hundred select noble and gentle ladies were gathered at the Celestial Palace in Christiania.
 * All of the ladies were "decorated" so as to make an impressive display of their qualities to the King. King Artabanus, who was now eighteen years old, did not, however, have the same intentions in mind as his chief minister. He now presented his favors (a handkerchief and a ring), to Lady Euphemia Varania (1230-57), indicating that he had selected her to be his future bride. Morovinus, however, was determined to let nothing get in the way of his schemes. Consequently, he bribed a courtier, Anacletus Sarus (1204-59), to make the Lady faint, and then had one of the royal physicians, Dr. Marcellinus Resius (1195-1274), diagnose the Lady with "random" epilepsy. She was subsequently deemed physically unfit, and was therefore disqualified from becoming a fiancee to the King. Lady Varania and her father, Lord Marcellus Varania (1201-62), were moreover banished from the Royal Court and exiled to Jenny, accused of having deceived the King as to her physical condition. With Morovinus's encouragement, therefore, Artabanus now selected Lady Claudia Marcella as his second choice to become his wife. Lady Marcella was by all accounts, a beautiful woman, and after a short examination, was declared perfectly healthy by Dr. Resius. Within a short time, the two had fallen in love, and there proved to be no difficulty to hasten their marital union along. They were formally betrothed on December 28, 1247.
 * On January 16, 1248, Artabanus and Lady Claudia were married in a formal service at the Old Westphalian Cathedral. Pope Callixtus presided over the ceremony, and conducted the exchange of the vows. Vigorous celebrations were held in the city of Christiania, in the other cities and moons of Laurasia Prime, and at prominent public locations throughout the Kingdom. Numerous gifts were bestowed upon the Marcella family; Lord Marcella himself was made Prince of Tusculum, and awarded a seat on the Royal Council, in addition to being made President of the Aristocratic Duma. Prayers were said in all of the cathedrals and churches of Laurasia Prime to celebrate the wedding. On January 26, Morovinus himself married Lady Anna, thereby marking the supreme fulfillment of his plans. On February 11, King Artabanus crowned himself and his wife at the Old Westphalian Cathedral; the coronation ceremony had been deferred until after he had been married. During the course of the next four months, Morovinus continued to preside over the affairs of Laurasia Prime, supervising the enforcement of the military and financial reforms already implemented. But tensions continued to build during that entire time.
 * Indeed, the inhabitants of Laurasia Prime became exasperated by the perceived haugtiness and insolence of Morovinus, Prince Marcella, and their associates, and eventually decided to take action. On June 1, 1248, the King, accompanied by his wife, Queen-Consort Claudia, by Pope Callixtus, and the chief figures of the Royal Laurasian Court, went in procession to St. Katherine's Monastery in Christiania. Many of the inhabitants of the City assembled to see him pass. At the Monastery, the King spoke with the monks and friars mendicant, had lunch with the Abbott, Eleuterus Searis (1184-1272), and participated in the worship services, dedicating a set of new sacred tombs. On his way back from the Monastery, after these ceremonies were concluded, the assembled crowds (estimated to number over 100,000 individuals), broke through the ranks of the Royal Guards surrounding the Court, came upon the King's personal repulsorlift, and entreated him to listen to their complaints concerning the outrages perpetuated by his advisers. Artabanus, alarmed by this outbreak of insolence, now listened impatiently to their requests. The crowds protested the implementation of the uniform commodity tariff, denounced the greed and exactions of the Mayor of Christiania, Count Sabinian Plescheria (1205-48), and proclaimed that Morovinus was "turning Your Royal Majesty against his subjects, and your subjects against Your Royal Majesty." They resented Morovinus for having, in their view, usurped power from the King and thereby upset the divinely appointed system of autocracy.
 * Artabanus, hoping to break up the crowds, now promised to satisfy all of their complaints. They professed themselves pleased, and began to disperse when some of the King's court servants and Guards rode among them in their repulsorlifts and honorary steeds, assailing them with abusive language, preventing their easy passage, and even striking at them with their electrowhips and blaster handles. The populace, incensed, began to pelt them with whatever objects they had at hand. The officials were barely able to escape with their lives, being rescued by some of the King's regiments. The crowds were now thoroughly aroused. With more and more people joining them (the crowd now numbered more than 500,000), they now rushed to Morovinus's private residence, Morovinus Estate, in the Residential Quadrants. They burst through its defenses, comprehensively looted it of all its possessions, and then set it ablaze, leaving it a smouldering ruin. From thence, they proceeded to Marcella Palace; that residence, too, was sacked and destroyed. More then one thousand servitors and servants of Morovinus and the Marcella family were killed or seriously injured during the course of these attacks.
 * Throughout the remainder of that day, the mobs rampaged through the thoroughfares and neighborhoods of Christiania, sacking, damaging, or threatening hundreds of noble, gentle, government, and ecclesiastical buildings, residences, and fortified places. The Christiania Police Force and the Royal Guards found themselves hard-pressed to maintain order, and civil disorder dominated the city. The King, who was startled, and found himself incapable of stirring up to crush the challenge, remained within his private quarters, quaking with fear. He entreated his servants and subordinates to strengthen the palatial defenses and to secure the Celestial Palace from the rampaging crowds. During the early hours of June 2, the King sent one of his officers, General Cornelius Fusco (1208-48), out to restrain the crowds, assuring them that the injustices of which they complained would be speedily corrected. The crowds, however, now surged to the outskirts of the Palace. They now demanded that Morovinus and his two chief subordinates, Seleucus Takarania (1202-48), Head of the Palace Guard, and the Chief Clerk of the Aristocratic Duma, Count Nicanor Stranius (1199-1248), be handed over to them. They also wanted Mayor Plescheria, who had taken refuge in the Palace. Morovinus now ordered the Royal Guards to drive the rioters away from the Palace, but they, in an act of insubordination, now refused.
 * The Guards, sympathetic to the crowds' anger with Plescheria, decided not to "work against their interests". The King, finding that he had no choice, surrendered Takarania, Stranius, and Plescheria to the crowds early on the following day (June 3, 1248). In their fervor, the crowds did not wait for these officials to be executed, instead taking them, stripping them of their clothes and belongings, and them torturing them to death with electrically-charged stakes. They then sacked the surrounding Palatial Gardens and the Nobles' Courtyard; more than 10,000 structures were destroyed during the course of the next three days, and another 100,000 individuals were killed or injured. On June 6, Artabanus was able to finally get the Guards to desist by promising to increase their salary. Then on June 11, he managed to convince the crowds to allow Morovinus to be exiled to the Monastery of Windowia Photis. The riots now gradually dissipated, and gradually the authorities took back control; by June 19, the Morovinian Rebellion of 1248 was officially over. Yet nobles, and many of the chief personages of the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, now petitioned the King to summon the Consultative Assembly, in order to discuss salary distribution, punishment of criminals, and matters related to the commodities tariff. They could not, however, articulate common goals, and Artabanus refused to summon the Assembly.
 * Morovinus was now placed into custody, chained, and transported to his place of exile at Windowia Photis (July 1248). He was deprived of all his dignities and offices; his wife, Lady Anna, was ordered to remain on her father's estates at Dearton's Gateway, Janesia, and Maroni. The King now appointed Prince Constantine Cherkassia and Count Sergius Cassanova (1207-54), the King's cousin, as his two chief advisors; Cherkassia became Secretary of Chancellery and the Correspondence; Cassanova took charge of the Guards and the Treasury. With their firm backing, Artabanus now proceeded to harshly punish the ringleaders and chief actors in the Morivnian Revolt. On July 12, 1248, the King issued a manifesto from the Celestial Palace, declaring that all who had participated in the Rebellion would be liable to punishment unless if they swore a renewed, direct oath of allegiance to him and his government, received absolution from the Church, and did penance for their sins. Of more than 500,000 individuals, only thirty did not take advantage of this amnesty. Those thirty were tried by the Aristocratic Duma, convicted of treason, conspiracy, and les-majestie, and in August 1248, executed at the High Tower of Christiania. Artabanus also conducted a purge of the Guards, ordering for more than 25,000 officers to be fined, dismissed from the service, and replaced with new recruits from the Royal Army. He also implemented new disciplinary and surveillance regulations for the Guards in September 1248. Then on October 22, Morovinus was pardoned, allowed to return back to Laurasia Prime, and resumed his old posts within the Royal Laurasian Government. He was also reunited with his wife. Thus, all that the rebellion had sought to accomplish was effectively reversed. On Morovinus's urging, King Artabanus reversed himself, and on November 9, 1248, issued orders for the convocation of a new Consultative Assembly.
 * The Assembly met in Christiania on December 7. The King himself now addressed it, and announced his intention for the compilation and promulgation of a new uniform legal code. The Codex Honourisus of 1150, implemented by Honorius the Terrible, was now outdated, and Artabanus believed that the legal and judicial innovations of the preceding decades, since the end of the Time of Troubles, needed to be laid down in a new, revised form. In fact, during the years 1213-1248, more than 40,000 decrees, statutes, edicts, and charters had been issued, contributing to the growth in bureaucratization within the state. Many of these laws contradicted each other, and were obsolete. This chaos was intensified by the scattering of normative acts through the various bureaus, as well as the Aristocratic Duma, the Royal Council, and the Assembly itself. Each bureau possessed its own code of laws, and made its own interpretation of them. There was therefore an absence in coordination of the law, as only that particular bureau's officials were aware of any pertinent revisions to their regulations. Also, there was no uniform governmental standard for the application of legal rules.
 * The King now created a sub-commission within the Consultative Assembly, in order to work on the compilation of a new legal code. This commission was now to be headed by Prince Atahansius Odaneria (1176-1253), who served as Chief Magistrate of the Court of Royal Enforcement. The commission, overall, had thirty members; Morovinus, Marcella, Cassanova, and Cherkassia were among them. Pope Callixtus was also associated with the commission, providing it legal documents relating to the Almitian Church. The Assembly itself, now organized into two houses, one comprising the King and the Aristocratic Duma, and the other, the elected or appointed delegates of the Kingdom's viceroyalities and districts, was charged with overall supervision of the commission's efforts. The commission began to meet on December 15, 1248, and continued its work for over seven months. It consulted the Honorian Codes of 1097 and 1150, petitions submitted to the Assembly, and the law codes maintained by the various bureaus.

1249

 * 1249, the 49th year of the thirteenth century, commenced with the Codification Commission, as had been established by King Artabanus, continuing its work on the compilation of a new legal code. On January 26, 1249, King Artabanus issued new instructions to the Commission, ordering them to also take into account the legal "instructions" and rulings passed down by the Court of Royal Enforcement and the Common Court, in devising the code. Prince Odaneria proved to be an effective superintendent of the commission, and work on the code now proceeded through its relevant stages. In the first, that of codification, the commission worked through all of the sources presented to it, carried out revision work, and gradually created a synsthesized code. In the second, that of discussion, the commission reviewed its work, made further adjustments, and incorporated interpretative and legal material as it deemed necessary. In the third stage, that of overview, the commission submitted its work to the Aristocratic Duma and the King (May 1249), who then conducted their own revisions of the code. The fourth stage, that of decision, saw the commission iron out all contradictions or disagreements over the provisions embodied in the code. And in the fifth, completed on July 1, 1249, the Commission came to agreement on the final version of the Code and submitted it for approval to the Consultative Assembly at large.
 * The Assembly passed resolutions in support of the Code on July 7, and on September 1, 1249, King Artabanus announced the promulgation of it as the Codex Artabanusius. The Code was now formally published by the imperial presses, circulated through the Holonet, and stamped with the King's seal and signature, announced to all authorities throughout the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia. In its final form, it comprised more than 20,000 pages of material, embodying all laws (decrees, edicts, statutes, charters, orders, instructions, proclamations, etc.) which had been passed since the end of the Dasian Yoke (1080). The Codex Artabanusius was divided into five categories: state law, civil law, criminal law, punishments (and their forms), and family law. The Code reiterated the absolute authority wielded by the King, the critical importance of the Almitian Church, and the unity of the Royal Laurasian Government. It laid out a comprehensive system of crimes. These included crimes against the Church (such as blasphemy, interruption of the services, heresy), state crimes (rebellion, conspiracy, treason, actions against the monarch and his family), crimes against the order of government (such as unauthorized departure abroad, counterfeiting, false testimony, slander), crimes against deanery (brothels, harboring of fugitives and vagabonds, sale of stolen or foreign property, unlawful imposition of duties), official crimes (larceny, injustice, forgery, military crimes), crimes against the person (murder, mutilation, assault and battery, rape), property crimes (theft, robbery, fraud, arson, spoilage), and crimes against morality (fortification, parential and familial disobedience, pandering, etc.) The Code mandated the death penalty for treason, attempted treason, and failure to denounce treason; the monarch's ability to levy this punishment, however, was confirmed in full. Corporal punishment, imprisonment, banishment, exile, imposition of fines, deprivation of property, and excommunication were all precisely defined and categorized. The Code covered the law of contracts, the law of obligations, the statuses of the two genders, property rights, and laws governing commodities, transactions, and bankruptcies, among other things. Finally, it emphasized the extent of parental authority over their children, provided regulations relating to property possession among couples (as well as the subordination of wives to their husbands), and wills, divorces, and other such settlements.
 * The Codex Artabanusius was the most significant domestic achievement of Artabanus's reign, and it provided a firm legal foundation for the Royal Laurasian Government. This Code was to remain in effect for more than a century, until the legal reforms of Antiochus the Great beginning in the 1350s. 1249 by itself was, besides the compilation and promulgation of the Code, a relatively peaceful and uneventful year. King Artabanus remained on Laurasia Prime throughout that year, continuing to preside over the affairs of the Royal Court. On October 6, however, his first child with Queen-Consort Claudia, Grand Prince Demetrius, who had been born on August 22, 1248, died at the Royal Hospital. Artabanus was stricken by the death of his son, and he ordered the Court into a period of mourning. The Grand Prince was interred at the Old Westphalian Cathedral on November 1, 1249. 1249 ended, therefore, with the Stellar Kingdom still at peace. This was to remain the case for only a few more years, however.

1250

 * 1250, the 50th year of the thirteenth century, commenced with the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia, still in a state of general peace, both internally and externally. It was now five years into the reign of Artabanus I, the son of Leonidas the Restorer. By the middle of the thirteenth century, Laurasia had recovered substantially from the tribulations and turmoils of the Time of Troubles. The Kingdom still maintained its place as one of the central states in the Core Regions. With the exception of the two Amelianian Wars (in the Wild Marshes) and the Clancian War, Laurasia had managed to remain at peace with its neighbors for more than thirty years, since the Treaty of Deulino in 1218. Laurasian dominions now spanned from the Kelvanian and Morganian Provinces in the Wild Marshes, through Malaria and the Laurasia Prime Purse Region, and downwards into the Eastern Central Core, embracing the Murphian Provinces in addition to Saray and Senna, the former capital worlds of the Golden Horde and the Sennacherid Empire respectively. Laurasia Prime itself now had a population of more than sixty billion; during the second half of the thirteenth century, that population was to rise ever higher. The Leonidian Dynasty, in spite of some of the domestic challenges which it continued to face (such as the Morovinus Rebellion of 1248), had nevertheless firmly consolidated its grip over the Laurasian people. The Royal Almitian Church, at this time in a relatively stable condition, was soon to be rent by radical innovation and by internal division. And other tensions were now looming, which were soon to thrust Laurasia into renewed military conflict with the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth to its south; that Commonwealth still controlled the whole of the Central Core, with Polonian forces stationed less than 4,000 light years away from Laurasia Prime. And in the outer regions of the Caladarian Galaxy, there had been much change and much strife, to be described below.
 * Indeed, as the middle of the century dawned in the Caladarian Galaxy, the Commonwealth was now beset with a new internal challenge: that of the Ivorian Rebellion. Since 1182, the territories once belonging to the Ivorian Order had been under Polonian jurisdiction. Yet the complaints of the Ivorians against their alien overlords, as had been exemplified in the Election Parliament of 1232, was now brought to the fore by the rise of the Ivorian nobleman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Khmelnytsky was born on November 9, 1193, in Subergeth, which was a Ivorian colony located thirty light years to the northeast of Storgath. His father was the Ivorian Prince Mykhailo Khmelnytsky (1163-1220) of Subergeth, was a courtier of General Zolywieski, later commander of Polonian forces during the Laurasian Time of Troubles. His mother, Misata, was descended from the Ivorian Priestess of the Orthodox Balia of Dasinae, who had lived in the fourth century AH. Educated in traditionalist Ivorian schools, Khmelnytskly joined the Polonian Royal Forces in 1215, aged 22, and participated in the Merlite Frontiers Wars. After a brief period of captivity on Merilash, he returned to the Central Core (1223), settling back at his home world of Subergeth, marrying Lady Halida Misyntsky (1196-1264). They had four children together. Khmelnytsky then participated in campaigns for Zolywieski's successor as Grand Crown Hetman of the Commonwealth, Stanislaw Koniecpolski, led Ivorian delegations to King Wladyslaw on Polonia Major, and was generally well respected by his fellow Ivorians.
 * Things changed for the worse however, when in April 1247, the Crown Hetman's son, Alexander Koniecpolski, attempted to seize Khmelnytsky's properties in Ivoria. He utilized the services of one Daniel Czaplinski (1205-56), who launched two raids upon the nobleman's Subergeth residence, inflicting substantial damage upon its defenses. Khmelnytsky now attempted to gain the assistance of King Wladyslaw, but found him willing or unable to assist him. Having received no support from the Polonian officials, Khmelnytsky now turned to his fellow Ivorian friends and subordinates. His mistreatment at the hands of a Polonian nobleman found sympathy among all of the Order's ranks. Throughout September and October 1247, he traveled throughout the Ivorian Provinces, holding conferences with a variety of Ivorian leaders and garnering further support for his cause. His actions aroused considerable suspicion from the Polonian authorities, and on November 2, he was arrested at Ergeme. With the assistance of Ivorian Colonel Mykhailo Kyrchevsky (1197-1249), Khmelnytsky was able to escape from imprisonment at Montel (November 23, 1247), and made his way to Alton. Securing control of that garrison, he now assembled military supplies, Ivorian soldiers, and equipment, and in December 1247, successfully persuaded the garrisons of Alladoria, Burderia, and Redderson to defect to his cause. Then on January 25, 1248, leading a substantial contingent of Ivorian warriors and naval personnel, he approached the outskirts of Maschinga.
 * Within a short time, he had scattered the Polonian patrols assigned to keep control of Maschinga's defenses, and he now won over the population of the world, angered by the harsh treatment of the Commonwealth government, and lured by his promises of autonomy, freedom from obligations, and "common purpose". On February 5, the Ivorian Rada of Maschinga formally elected Khmelnytsky as the Hetman of Ivoria, announced that they were in a formal state of rebellion against the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth, and rejected the authority of King Wladyslaw. Within a short time, Khmelnytsky, who was receiving more support, more supplies, and more associates by the day, was able to secure control of Montel (February 17-24); Braeley (February 28); Paura (March 3); and Deena (March 9). Dasinae too, defected to the Hetman's cause (March 17, 1248). By April 1248, the news of the Ivorian Rebellion had became alarming news to many throughout the Commonwealth. The ailing King Wladyslaw, who was in delirium at his palace on Polonia Major, now commanded the Grand Crown Hetman, Mikolaj Potocki (1195-1251) and the Field Crown Hetman, Marcin Kalinowski (1205-52) to organize a vigorous response to the Rebellion. They obliged, and from Galich Majoria now dispatched the 2nd and 4th Polonian Royal Armies, under the command of Potocki's son, Prince Stefan Potocki (1224-48), without waiting to gather additional forces from Prince Jeremi Wisnowiecki (1212-51). Khmelnytsky marshalled his forces and met Potocki in the Battle of Zhotvi Vody (April 29-May 16, 1248); the battle ended in a decisive victory for the Hetman, who took Potocki prisoner and wiped out nearly two-thirds of the Polonian force (more than 600,000 troops, including almost all of the Winged Hussars, and thirty warships of the Polonian Royal Navy).
 * King Wladyslaw, devastated by the news of this disastrous defeat, entered the final stage of his illness. On May 20, 1248, the King died in his sleep at the Royal Palace of Polonia Major, aged 52. He had left no children. Six days after Wladyslaw's death, Khmelnytsky obtained another, more decisive victory in the Battle of Korsun. This battle saw the capture of both the elder Potocki and of Field Hetman Kalinowski, along with the loss of more than 300,000 Polonian and Donguarian troops. Following this victory, Micenta and Storgath fell into Khmelynstsky's hands (June 1248); he then proceeded to capture Doris (July 2-5); Frogglesworth (July 10); Watson (July 12); and Sherlock (July 16). At Daniel (July 22, 1248), the Hetman issued a series of demands to the Polonian Crown, asking that the number of Registered Ivorians in the Polonian Forces be raised, that all Ivorian soldiers be fully compensated for their services, and that a charter of self-government be granted to the Ivorian Provinces. The Polonian Parliament, however, which entered Convocation on August 1, refused to consider his demands. Khmelynstsky, angered by this, then turned his attention to the subjection of Jahraes. The Siege of Jahraes began on August 12, 1248, and continued until September 5, when it fell into the hands of the Hetman's forces.
 * Esther and Hammond were both in Ivorian hands by September 29. During October 1248, Khmelynstsky's forces also launched further operations southwards; New Nosauria, Zesia, Zutagia, and Zennethia were all harried by Ivorian rebel expeditions during that time. Then on November 4, 1248, the late King's younger brother, Joh'saw Casimir Vasalio, was formally elected at Wronzaz by the Polonian-Donguarian Parliament. He signed his pacta conventa and the Hensior Articles four days later, and on November 24, was crowned on Polonia Major. Khmelynstsky, ironically, had favored this Prince's election to the Polonian throne. Joh'saw, on his part, now sent a communique to Khmelynstsky, offering to negotiate a status of autonomy for the Ivorian Provinces and to recognize the services rendered by Ivorians in the Polonian Royal Forces, if Khmelynstsky in turn would terminate his military campaigns against the Commonwealth. Khmelynstsky, believing that he had someone whom he could work with, agreed. On Ascenmas Day, 1248, having halted further expeditionary moves into Galicia, the Hetman and his forces made a victorious procession onto Ivoria, which welcomed them with open arms, and established their command headquarters there. He was hailed by the Ivorians as their liberator and as the rightful ruler of their dominions.
 * Negotiations commenced at Maschinga in January 1249. The Polonian delegation to Khmelynstsky and his subordinates was led by the Voivode of Clancia, Polonian Senator Adam Kisiel (1180-1253). At first, the conference proceeded in good order, and it seemed as if the two sides would be able to reach an agreement. On February 7, however, Khmelynstsky suddenly declared that he was the "sole leader of Ivoria" and that he "possessed enough power in Ivoria, in Maschinga, and across the Central Core to Galicia." It now became clear to Kisiel and his compatriots that Khmelynstsky now considered himself the leader of an independent state, and expected to be treated on such terms. Consequently, the Senator recommended to the King and Parliament that negotiations be terminated, and that a vigorous effort be made to crush this rebellion. King Joh'saw agreed, and on February 25, 1249, the Conference of Maschinga officially closed. In April 1249, Joh'saw obtained formal authorization from the Magisterial Court to take personal command of the military offensives against Khmelynstsky and his supporters. He departed from Polonia Major on May 7 and joined with Prince Wisnowiecki at Anthony, determined, more than ever before, to suppress the Ivorian "rogues". Though he recovered Watson, Daniel, Sherlock, and Frogglesworth (May-June 1249), Joh'saw was unable to make any conclusive gains within the Ivorian Provinces themselves. And in two successive battles, at Zbarazh (July 10-August 22) and Zboriv (August 25-27), Khmelynstsky ruined the Polonian Royal Forces, taking advantage of his superior knowledge of Ivorian stellar space, his innovative use of his warriors and Knights Cossack, and the grassroots intelligence of his own troops. King Joh'saw, after further futile assaults upon Storgath, Jahares, and Kentuckia, eventually realized that negotiation was the only avenue. He and Khmelynstsky ultimately agreed to the Treaty of Zboriv (September 27, 1249).
 * By the terms of this agreement, the number of Registered Ivorians was increased in accordance with the Hetman's demands; the Hetman himself was acknowledged as the chief governor of the Ivorian Provinces, receiving absolute authority over its legislative, judicial, and executive affairs, and advisory powers in regards to the foreign and military affairs of Ivoria; all Ivorian soldiers and warriors in the Polonian Royal Forces received full compensation for their services; and the privileges of the Ivorian Religious Order were guaranteed. King Joh'saw agreed also not to station any government agents, tax collectors, or Polonian-Donguarian garrisons upon Ivorian territory. In return, Khmelynstsky accepted the King of Polonia as his ultimate overlord. The Treaty of Zboriv was ratified by the Polonian Parliament in December 1249, and entered into effect on January 5, 1250. For the rest of the year, in fact, the Ivorians remained at peace with the Commonwealth. Yet such a peace was a turbulent one, and very weak.

1251-1253

 * The years 1251-53 saw the continued tribulations of the Ivorian Revolt within the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth. They also saw the installation of a new Pope in Laurasia. The Treaty of Zboriv managed to maintain the peace between Ivoria and the Commonwealth government for just over a year. Yet throughout that time, Hetman Khmelynstsky continued to plot. Still dissatisfied by the terms of subjection to the Commonwealth, he now searched for a way by which he could secure the autonomy of Ivoria, while at the same time seriously weakening the Commonwealth's position. By July 1250, he had arrived at the conclusion that an appeal to the Royal Laurasian Government, and to King Artabanus, would be the best means of doing this. The Hetman was very well aware of the persistent Laurasian wish for the recovery of its lost territories in the Central Core. Khmelynstsky sought, therefore, to allow a way for Artabanus to project his power southwards, while agreeing to free his own species from the Commonwealth. As early as June 1248, he had sent a series of communiques to the Bureau of Correspondence on Laurasia Prime, containing his formal greetings to the King of Laurasia, his hopes for his good health, and his belief that future cooperation would be beneficial to both the Laurasians and the Ivorians. In July and December 1248, the Hetman also sent communiques to the Laurasian Viceroys of Dearton's Gateway, Metallasia, and the Constantine Cluster, attempting to arouse their interest in the matter. In March 1249, the Ivorian Councilor Suluyan Muzhylovsky (1201-55), met with the Royal Council at the Celestial Palace, holding a series of discussions with them over the Revolt.
 * In April of that year, Khmelynstsky himself met with an agent from the Royal Bureau of Security, Gregory Unsaria (1205-70), at Browne, and had secured from him assurances of sympathy by King Artabanus for his cause. Then in August 1249, the Hetman began a regular correspondence with the Royal Bureau of Foreign Affairs, in which he hinted to them the possibility of recognizing Laurasian suzerainty over Ivoria. Artabanus, himself still caught up in his legal codification efforts, was not yet ready to move this far. But early in 1251, he began to reconsider, for the Ivorian Revolt now flared up in full force again. On January 22, Ivorian Marshal Danylo Nazchai (1212-51) broke the terms of the Treaty of Zboriv by launching a raiding expedition against Sherlock. In response to this, King Joh'saw now declared Hetman Khmelynstsky a contumacious traitor, and he ordered Hetman Kalinowski to launch a series of renewed expeditions into Ivorian territory. Kalinowski now clashed with Marshal Nazchai in the Battle of Krasne (February 20, 1251), which ended in a Polonian victory. Marshal Nazchai himself was killed. Jahraes, Hammond, and Burderia then fell to the Polonians (March-April 1251), and on May 20, Kalinowski secured a further victory in the Battle of Kopychyntski. King Joh'saw himself, having gained another patent of authorization from the Magisterial Court, then embarked from Polonia Major to take command of operations against rebel forces once again.
 * Ergeme fell on June 7, 1251, and on June 28, the King, Marshal Kalinowski, Prince Wisnowiecki, and Marshal Potocki clashed with Hetman Khmelynstsky in the Battle of Berestechko. The result was a decisive Polonian victory; more than one-third of the Ivorian Warriors (some 350,000 men), died in the battle, and another third were seriously injured or captured. Eighty Ivorian warships, including twelve of their automated tupertines (sail vessels), fell into Polonian hands, and the Hetman himself barely evaded capture. Dasinae, Redderson, and Montel fell back into Polonian hands following this confrontation, and on July 6, Khmelynstsky was defeated again in the Battle of Loyew. By September 1251, Alladoria, Braeley, and Alton were also back in the possession of the King's forces. On September 25, with the Battle of Bila, Khmelynstsky was forced to seek terms with King Joh'saw. These resulted in the Treaty of Bila (October 28, 1251). By the terms of this agreement, the number of Registered Ivorians was reduced by more than half; Polonian forces were once again to be stationed across the Ivorian Provinces; Khmelynstsky agreed to limit the size of his forces, to swear a direct oath of allegiance to the King, and to recognize Polonian rights over Ivorian religious, military, and fiscal affairs.
 * The Treaty of Bila, however, never took effect, for in January 1252 it was rejected by the Polonian Parliament. King Joh'saw, who had returned to Polonia Major to advocate for its adoption, was desolated when the agreement failed to reach cloture in the Magisterial Court. Consequently, he was forced to renew the offensive against Khmelynstsky. Khmelynstsky himself regained the advantage; Alladoria, Braeley, and Alton were recovered by him that month. By May 1252, Dasinae and Redderson had also been recovered by the Hetman's forces. Then (June 1-2, 1252), he inflicted a decisive defeat upon Crown Hetman Kalinowski in the Battle of Batoh. Kalinowski himself, along with his son, Quartermaster Samuel Kalinowski, both died in the confrontation, along with all of their Hussars and Donguarian Shock Troops. With this succession of victories, therefore, Khmelynstsky was immovable. By the latter months of 1252, he had definitively consolidated his authority over the whole of the Ivorian Provinces.
 * Throughout all of this time, the Royal Laurasian Government continued to watch events closely. In March 1251, King Artabanus had summoned the Consultative Assembly to him at the Old Royal Palace. This Assembly had recommended to the King that he refrain from recognition of the Ivorian Hetamanate, as the rebel state was beginning to be called, at that stage, but also advised him to look into any avenues of exploiting the Commonwealth's troubles. Beginning in August, Artabanus authorized the dispatch of Laurasian "mercenaries", agents, military supplies, and financial aid to the Ivorians, and in January 1252, he issued a proclamation from Laurasia Prime condemning the actions taken by King Joh'saw and the Polonian Parliament. In March of that year, Hetman Khmelynstsky dispatched Ivan Iskra of Alladoria (1210-78) as his official envoy to the Royal Laurasian Court, which had then moved to Darsis. Presented before King Artabanus and his courtiers at Fortunata Mansion, Iskra declared that the intervention of "Your Majesty's forces in this conflict will avail us greatly against the Polonian mongrels, while at the same time enhancing the reputation and status of your state." Artabanus entertained the Envoy and his entourage for some days, but continued to declare, in public, that he could not abet the actions of one such as Khmelynstsky. In private, however, the King told Envoy Iskra that "my full sympathies are with your cause", and that the Stellar Kingdom would intervene when it was deemed "prudent" to do so. Artabanus also gave the Envoy a secret communique, addressed directly to Khmelynstsky himself, containing these assurances of his.
 * Throughout the remainder of 1252, and into 1253, correspondence would continue to be exchanged between the King and the Hetman, and Artabanus gradually inched closer, and closer, towards intervention. Yet he had other concerns to take care of. On April 15, 1252, at Chloe, Pope Callixtus died, aged 72. King Artabanus ordered the Royal Court into a period of mourning, and had Callixtus's body laid out, in state, at the Old Westphalian Cathedral. He was eventually interred there on May 9. The King then proceeded to the selection of a successor to the Throne of St. Paul. His choice now fell upon the Metropolitan of the Eastern Core and the Archbishop of Meaganian and Arias, Nikon. Nikon had been born in Mordovia, Reese, on May 7, 1205. He was the only child of Numerian Minunus (1166-1231) and his wife Atia (1172-1205). His mother, however, fell ill with the Angrames malady soon after his birth, and died on June 10. His father, who was a common agriculturalist and owned a a cow-processing center in Mordovia, shortly afterwards remarried, in October 1205, to Julia Nessmania (1179-1245). Julia became pregnant twice during the two years following her marriage, but both pregnancies ended with miscarriages. Consequently, she vented her wrath on her stepson, whipping him, depriving him of food, and allowing him little time outside of the household. Nikon's father, Numerian, who was himself a alcoholic, did little to arrest his wife's antics. Growing up in a miserable household, the boy became rebellious and vengeful. Eventually, when he was twelve years old, he ran away and, taking advantage of the Almitian Church's custom concerning abused and mistreated children, found sanctuary in Makranian Monastery, which was also located on Reese.
 * Nikon became a novice there, and received his education from the Chief Commissary of the Monastery, one Appian Eorsius (1163-1241). Under Eorsius's tutelage, he became proficient in High Laurasian, Briannian, Millian, Arachosian, Dasian, Marauder, Polonian, Lacian, Galician, and Venasian, obtained an intensive love of philosophy, history, anthropology, archaeology, and sociology, and was well-acquainted with all of the chief theological works and treatises of the Almitian Church, and of various foreign faiths in the Core Regions. Nikon remained at Makranian Monastery until 1224, when he reconciled with his parents, was released from the Church's service, and married, to Cornelia Fusca (1198-1263), who was seven years his senior. During the course of the next ten years, they had three children: Nikon, Cornelia, and Atia, all of whom did not live past the age of three. Nikon attended the University of Reese, obtained his degree in Business Administration, with Minors in History and Galactic Languages (1227), and took over Minuian Agricultural Operations following his father's death in April 1231. But in July 1235, soon after the death of his daughter Julia, he had an epiphany, and came to the resolution that he was to enter the service of the Almitian Church.
 * His wife, who had long been a religious woman in her own right, agreed to enter the Monastery of Windowia Photis, thereby freeing Nikon to pursue his own ecclesiastical career. He now returned to Makranian Monastery, and in March 1236, after passing the Trials, was admitted as a Monk of Almitis. He was allowed to retain his birth name, as it was a consecrated name of the Church. During the course of the next decade, Nikon gradually worked himself up through the ranks, distinguishing himself by his intellectual aptitude, his vigor in adhering to all of the appropriate procedures and rituals, and his ability to work effectively with his fellow monks. He was rewarded in July 1243 by becoming Abbot of the prestigious Vemay Monastery on Jenny. Three years later, in August 1246, he attended a meeting of the Conference of Almitian Prelates in Christiania, and at that time, first came to the attention of King Artabanus. Artabanus was impressed with him, and on November 7 of that year he made Nikon Prior of St. Katherine's Monastery on Laurasia Prime, and Archmandrite of the Almitian Monasteries, which gave him general supervisionary duties over all such establishments, both in the Kingdom and throughout the Caladarian Galaxy.
 * During his service as Prior of St. Katherine's and Archmandrite of Monasteries, Nikon became a member of the Zealots of Piety, a circle of ecclesiastical and secular individuals on Laurasia Prime, which had been founded in 1239. This circle, which included many of the most prominent prelates and nobles within the Kingdom, wanted to enhance the Royal Almitian Church's authority and increase its influence upon the Kingdom's subjects. Other goals of the circle included a drive against the shortcomings and vice of the clergy, revival of church summons, and encouragement of other means that could be used to influence the masses. They also aimed to improve the Church's proselytizing, welfare, and community outreach programs. Nikon's work within this group, and his support of various regulatory and admission reforms in the organization and procedures followed by St. Katherine's and Vemay Monasteries, led to his being made Metropolitan of the Eastern Core, and Archbishop of both Meaganian and Arias, by Pope Callixtus (on the King's orders), in September 1249. During his three years in those positions, Nikon carried out his episcopal duties with great rigor, strongly enforced the regulations of Callixtus and of his predecessor Joasaphus, and sponsored innovative modifications to the organization of church processions and rituals.
 * Thus it was that he was singled out by the King for the Papacy. Nikon was at first reluctant to assume the supreme dignity, declaring that it was not within him to take direction of the Almitian Church's affairs. It took the personal pleas of the King, along with several of his own colleagues in the Dioceses of Meaganian and Arias, and from the Vemay Monastery, to break down his resistance. On August 1, 1252, he was formally elected Pope by the Ecclesiastical Conclave of the Conference of Almitian Prelates. Ten days later, at the Old Westphalian Cathedral, Nikon received his cross, mitier, and staff of authority from the hands of the King, as was custom, and was formally consecrated as Pope. In his inaugural speech to the assembled crowds, outside of the Cathedral, the new Pope declared that all his effort would be applied to "maintaining and extending upon the status, glory, and position of this Holy Church" and that the Kingdom could not survive unless if it had a strong theological and ecclesiastical foundation. By this point, Nikon had become convinced that vigorous reforms were needed, in the church liturgy and administration, in order to revive the institution, and that without these reforms, it could not continue in its mission. He now proceeded down that path. In October 1252, the Pope convinced King Artabanus to allow for the canonization of Pope Philip (1165-68), that great enemy of Honorius the Terrible, who had been deposed by that King and executed by his subordinate, the infamous Skurata, in December 1169. Since Philip's remains had been incinerated on Honorius's orders after his death, they could not be borne in official procession to the Old Westphalian Cathedral, as was custom for a canonization ceremony. Instead (November 15, 1252), Nikon had a model of the deceased Pope crafted, decorated with his ring, robes, and artifacts, and then placed into a coffin. The ceremony itself was lavish, winding from the Celestial Palace, to the Diplomatic Palace, to all of the Offices and residences of official Christiania, and then to the Old Westphalian Cathedral. Nikon himself, wearing his formal robes, bore a cross, chanted the words of canonization, and delivered an address to the people, noting the facts about Philip and his life. The Conference of Almitian Prelates confirmed Philip's elevation in a conclave shortly thereafter.
 * Soon after the canonization of Pope Philip, Nikon, in December 1252, announced that he would be forming a commission to conduct an exhaustive study of all the service-books, including missials, prayer books, sermons, lectures, worship compilations, and anthologies, than in use in the Royal Almitian Church. His own study of these works during his years at Makranian Monastery and the University of Reese had convinced him that they were in sore need of revision. Indeed, the books contained many transcription, factual, and formatting errors, which had accumulated over the course of many centuries. Some of them, such as the Hours of the Blessed Virgin Didymeia, the Ecclesiastical Histories of Eusebius, the Epistle of Clement, Against Heresies, and The Virtue of the Trinity of Paul, Almitis, and the Prophets, dating from the 3rd millennium BH, were in great need of clarification, exposition, and expansion. On January 5, 1253 (the day that the last Khan of Hunt, Genghis-Timur, died on Jasonia), the Conference of Almitian Prelates issued, on the Pope's initiative, instructions to all reverends, pastors, and deacons that they were to append "clarifying lessons", composed by Nikon himself, to each of the works which they consulted, and to remind their flock that "the material contained within these works are authoritative, so long as they are accurate." Clerics were encouraged to educate their congregations on the errors, and to keep them informed of the work which would be done to fix those errors.
 * It was in March 1253 that the Clarification Commission, as it was called by Pope Nikon, formally convened at the Monastery of St. Euesbius on Laurasia Prime, in order to begin the process of revision. The Commission was comprised of seventy prelates, one hundred deacons and deans, and thirty secular representatives of the Church, selected from the Church's dioceses and sees from throughout the Caladarian Galaxy. The Pope himself addressed the body, and declared that their meeting was "essential to the future prosperity and success of the Church." The Commission was to work for more than a year, ultimately combing through more than 5,000 works then in use by the Royal Almitian Church. In the meantime, Nikon introduced other reforms. In July 1253, he ordered for a review of the ritual regulations put in place by Pope Joasaphus, particularly of the Treatise on the Hierarchy of Power and the Memo, ordering for all injunctions or regulations found to be at odds with the revisions of the Commission to be revised or repealed. In August, he issued new instructions to all Almitian clergymen, redefining their obligations in accordance with his Treatise on the Duties of the Clergy, which he had composed in July 1249, while still Archmandrite of Monasteries, and ordered for the condemnation of any officials who insisted on the validity of earlier works. In December 1253, he was to issue a new set of Ceremonial Regulations, ordering for minor changes in the conduct of Communion, Baptism, the Mass, and Divine Service. These included modifying the conditions governing the use of the word Alleuia, changing the number of fingers employed for touching and for anointment from three to two, and providing precise transcriptions for the spelling of Paul, Almitis, the Angels, and the Prophets. All of these changes contributed to a building furor which was now mounting from among segments of the clergy and populace against the Pope's innovations.
 * While Pope Nikon was embarking upon his program of reforms, matters with the Ivorian Revolt, and with Laurasia's connections to Hetman Khmelynstsky, continued to evolve. Throughout the early months of 1253, the Hetman continued to consolidate his position in Ivoria by launching a series of renewed offensives southwards, into the Zennethian and Galician Provinces. His forces stormed Zesia (January 7-14); New Nosauria (January 22); and Angel Hycrania (February 1-19). On March 2, 1253, Khmelynstsky obtained another victory, this time over Prince Wisnowiecki, in the Battle of Clure. From Clure, he stormed into Watson (March 7-19, 1253) and menaced the defenses of Anthony, Doris, and Frogglesworth. Though an Ivorian assault against Zennethia failed (April 1253), the Hetman did succeed in harrying Commonwealth positions in the vicinity of that star system. Stenbock fell to him on May 19, and by June 2, he was harrying the defenses of the Goldarian Shadow Worlds. Then in August 1253, Khmelynstsky instigated the Siege of Zhavnets. Zhavnets was a Galician colony (first colonized during the seventh century AH), eighty light years to the northeast of Frogglesworth. Its conquest would give the Ivorian rebel forces a avenue from which to assault Volodormia, which had until this point remained out of their power. The Hetman, however, found the Siege to be more difficult than he realized. Ivorian forces, although successfully circumvallating the system, failed to cut off its communication lines, and could not penetrate through outer defenses.
 * The Siege of Zhavnets dragged on for over four months, as the garrison of the world, commanded by General Stefan Czarniecki (1199-1265), who had been one of Hetman Kalinowski's chief field subordinates, successfully resisted all rebel assaults and maintained their defensive positions. During the course of that time, Commonwealth forces recovered Watson, Zesia, Angel Hycrania, and New Nosauria, thereby reversing the Ivorian Hetman's line of advance. It was on December 16, 1253, that Khmelynstsky was finally forced to terminate the siege and to retreat back towards Ergeme. Nevertheless, he managed to maintain his grip over the Ivorian Provinces, and Czarniecki found that he was completely incapable of launching effective counteroffensives against the Hetman. During those same months also, King Artabanus of Laurasia finally came to the definitive resolution that an intervention in the Ivorian Revolt, on the behalf of the Hetman and his forces, and against the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth, would be in his interests. In October 1253, the King had summoned the Consultative Assembly to meet again. The Assembly, by this point, was overwhelmingly in favor of commencing hostilities with Polonia, and on November 2, it sent a petition to Artabanus, urging him to take action on the matter as soon as possible. Artabanus decided to heed their advice, and on November 17, he sent a communique to Hetman Khmelynstsky, offering to open negotiations with him over the possibility of a Laurasian protectorate for Ivoria, and Laurasian intervention in the war. Khmelynstsky hastened to accept, indicating his willingness to hold negotiations five days later.
 * On December 1, the King dispatched an special embassy from Laurasia Prime, led by Prince-General Butalarania, whose health was entering a severe decline by this point. Butalarania himself, however, had insisted upon the mission, and Artabanus had not demurred. The embassy proceeded at a gradual peace; on the King's orders, it was not to be given any special distinctions, and it was to conduct its travels discreetly, so as to not arouse any undue attention. Artabanus still pretended to be on friendly terms with the Commonwealth, and in a note of December 10, 1253, even assured King Joh'saw that he harbored no ill-will or evil intentions against his dominions. This, however, was a lie. The Special Embassy crossed the boundary of the Central Core on December 14, and on December 19, it finally reached Ivoria. There, it was received with secrecy by Hetman Khmelynstsky, who nevertheless commanded that the Laurasian emissaries be treated with all of the respect and honor due to their rank. Butalarania was impressed with the Hetman from the first, and believed that he was someone whom Laurasia could depend on. Actual negotiations, however, would not commence until the next year.

1254

 * 1254, the 54th year of the thirteenth century, commenced with the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia now engaged in secretive negotiations with the rebel Ivorian Hetmanate over the possibility of intervention in the Ivorian Revolt. On January 18, 1254, Hetman Khmleynstsky summoned a session of the Ivorian High Council to the Warriors' Palace. The Council, in addition to its thirty normal members ("Councilors"), also included the Hetmanate's chief military commanders, diplomatic representatives, and civil officials. By summoning this council, Khmelynstsky hoped to impress upon his Laurasian guests the unity and strength of the Ivorian species. He also underlined this in his speech to the Council, emphasizing both the glory of the Ivorian species and the need of seeking Laurasian protection. At this, the members of the Council responded with applause and consent, and left it to the Hetman's discretion to negotiate the necessary terms. Two days later, he formally commenced discussions with Prince-General Butalarania. These discussions lasted for nearly to weeks, as the Laurasians and Ivorians ironed out the exact terms of their agreement. Finally, on February 11, 1254, the Treaty of Ivoria was signed. Ratified by the Hetman and the Ivorian High Council the day that it was signed, it would be ratified by King Artabanus on March 13.
 * By the terms of this treaty, the Ivorian Hetmanate, recognized as independent of the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth, now became a protectorate of the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia. The Royal Laurasian Government agreed to recognize the autonomy of the Hetmanate. The Hetman, Khmelynstsky, was recognized as the head of government and head of state of his dominions. He and the Council were to exercise authority over all of the Hetmanate's internal affairs. The cap on the number of registered Ivorians, now to be considered as such within the Hetmanate, was lifted. The existence of the Ivorian Sacred Order was guaranteed, and it was confirmed as the official state church of the Ivorian Provinces. The Hetman remained commander-in-chief of the Ivorian Forces, though he was not to decide foreign policy. All foreign policy and defense matters now became the responsibility of his suzerain, the King of Laurasia. No treaties were to be signed by the Hetman without the consent of the King, nor any alliances or commitments entered into. Ivorian Forces were to be placed at the disposal of Laurasia whenever it was required; the King gained the right to free transit through Ivorian territories for his forces, the right to station garrisons at Ivorian strongholds, and the right to intervene in Ivorian domestic affairs, particularly to quell challenges to his or the Hetman's authority, when necessary. He also agreed to protect the Hetmanate against all outside threats; all enemies of Ivoria were to be enemies of Laurasia, and vice versa. The existence of the Ivorian Hetmanate was now formalized; it was to remain a protectorate, first of the Stellar Kingdom, and then of the Laurasian Empire, until 1364.
 * The Treaty of Ivoria now paved the way to the outbreak of war between Laurasia and Polonia. King Joh'saw, when he learned of the Treaty's conclusion, was outraged, and declared himself enraged at the perfidy of the Laurasian power. The Polonian Parliament was not then in session, but the King issued orders, on May 1, 1254, to call it to order. Because the previous session had been dissolved, elections were necessary to select the Dietary delegates; it was not until June 2, 1254, that this process was completed. Joh'saw now pressed the Parliament to issue a declaration of war against Laurasia. Parliament, however, still believing that a peaceful settlement was possible, and aware of the Commonwealth's weakened internal situation (due to the Revolt, to social disturbances, and to the ongoing Meredian Rebellion in Donguaria), decided instead to send a ultimatum to King Artabanus (June 11, 1254). The King of Laurasia, however, ignored this ultimatum, and had by this point completed his preparations for war.
 * Prince-General Butalarania had died at Murphy on April 29, 1254, while making his return back to Laurasia Prime. The King, deprived of the services of the conqueror of Kelvania and Morgania, now placed Princes Cherkassia, Seleucus Odaneria (1202-65), and Honorius Khovankia (1210-82) in command of the intended offensives into the Central Core. Artabanus now envisioned the final conquest of Clancia, which his father and grandfather had failed to accomplish two decades earlier; the subjection of Melarnaria, Marshia, Teth, Evelyn, Ruthania, Goldaria, Carina, and Seejay Prime (in effect, the whole of the Central Core besides the Ivorian Provinces), and penetrative moves into the Galician Provinces, to secure the Laurasian protectorate over Ivoria. Thanks to the vigorous military reforms of the past two decades, the Royal Laurasian Forces were now far more prepared for conflict against Polonia than they had been previously, and they sought to take advantage of their tactical advantages. With the support of the Ivorians, moreover, Artabanus expected to make far more substantial progress against the Commonwealth. Finally (July 1, 1254), the King of Laurasia issued a formal declaration of war against Polonia-Donguaria from the Celestial Palace on Laurasia Prime. In his declaration of war, the King declared that it was necessary to provide for the "continued maintenance of the balance of power" by providing for the autonomous status of Ivoria, and by recovering all Laurasian territories in the Central Core, which had been lost to Polonia at the end of the Time of Troubles.
 * Soon after his declaration of war, Laurasian forces pushed into the Central Core. The Laurasian-Polonian War of 1254-67, also to become known as the War of the Polonian Deluge, had commenced. From the first, the Stellar Kingdom made significant gains. Treoshia was the first to fall (July 2-7, 1254), followed in short order by Dramis (July 9), Condtella (July 12), and Brithium (July 14-15). On July 18, 1254, the Battle of Gatty ended in a decisive victory for the forces of Prince Cherkassia, who captured 150,000 Polonian Hussars. At the same time, Hetman Khmelynstsky seized Constancia (July 10-13, 1254), and secured his control of Stenbock, thereby hampering Polonian supply and communication lines through the Goldarian Worlds, and to the Galactic Center. Reoyania was besieged by a Laurasian force, beginning on July 23, and fell into Prince Cherkassia's hands on August 5. Then on August 11, 1254, Clancia itself was besieged by the Prince's forces. Yet the Laurasian position at Clancia was endangered so long as the Great Hetman of the Central Core, Prince Janusz Radziwill (1612-55), held control of Harmony, thirty light-years to the west. On August 18, Prince Cherkassia advanced against Harmony's defenses, and within a short time, he had forced Radziwill to retreat from the stronghold, yielding it to Laurasian occupation. On August 22, Prince Khovankia defeated Radziwill in the Battle of Brixum; nearly one-third of the Polonian Prince's elite troops were captured or killed in that confrontation, and thirty Izwill-class ion disruptors fell into Laurasian hands. On September 9, Radziwill was defeated again in the Battle of Sheveria. With this defeat, the defenses of Clancia were now completely exposed to the Laurasian onslaught. Clancia capitulated on September 23, 1254, marking a major triumph for the Laurasians. From Clancia, Laurasian forces stormed Tunga (September 29-October 8, 1254), and on October 17, Radziwill was defeated again at Huma. The bases of the Drixus Nebula then gradually fell into Laurasian hands (November 1254), and on December 2, Hydapses was seized by a Laurasian expeditionary force. Haudjrau followed on December 14. Basow and Krajne were then overrun (December 18-21, 1254), and on Ascentmas Day, 1254, Nurdas also fell into Laurasian hands. Narisces and Risa I were besieged, beginning on the last day of 1254.
 * While Laurasian offensives were underway into the Polonian Central Core, Pope Nikon's reforms on Laurasia Prime reached a new stage. The Clarification Commission presented its final recommendations to the Pope on July 14, 1254. These recommendations recommended comprehensive revisions or redactions of more than 3,000 manuscripts and official works of the Church, the elimination of 1,000 from the church liturgical and academic services, and the creation of a common Dossier, with annotations and references, to clarify theological and divine services, and to provide an overall outline of all the sources used. Nikon followed these, and by October 1254, the Papal Chancellory had completed the Dossier of Services of the Royal Almitian Church. On October 16, the Pope summoned a special session of the Conference of Almitian Prelates. Through a series of motions and regulations, issued during October and November 1254, the Conference confirmed Nikon's textual and service reforms; authorized the official publication of the Dossier; and anathematized any who challenged the Pope's innovations. Moreover, it ordered for the removal of all icons, objects, and church decorations found to be contradictory to the revised services. This program, instigated in November 1254, would not be completed until 1256. On December 11, the Pope also issued a revised Register of Church Veneration through the Conference, and ordered the revision of the Church List of Forbidden Materials. By the end of 1254, therefore, Nikon's reforms had been officially enshrined by the Church.

1255

 * 1255, the 55th year of the thirteenth century, began with the Stellar Kingdom of Laurasia's campaigns into the Central Core proceeding in due order. On January 8, 1255, Goss Beacon was attacked by Prince Cherkassia. In spite of the efforts of Hetman Radziwill and of the Garrison Commander, Sausz Kladziwill (1199-1258), the world fell into Laurasian hands ten days later. From Goss Beacon, Laurasian forces quickly subdued Pelleaeon (January 12-19), Natasi (January 24), and Daala (February 7-15). On February 24, Ivorian and Laurasian forces had direct contact with each other at Constancia, thereby establishing a coordinated line of operations. Radziwill now launched a counteroffensive into the Clancian Provinces, seeking to break the Laurasian momentum. He managed to reconquer Harmony (March 1-7, 1255), harried the bases of the Drixus Nebula, and on March 22, humiliated Prince Odaneria in the Battle of Nersices. On April 1, he defeated Odaneria again at Dramis, briefly reconquering that stronghold. The Polonian momentum did not last for long, however. Narisces finally fell into Laurasian hands (April 4, 1255), and on April 11, Prince Cherkassia ended Radziwill's counteroffensive in the Battle of Brithium. He then reconquered Harmony in turn (April 15, 1255), and on April 21, stormed the defenses of Ruthania. Evelyn and Hannah succumbed to Laurasian forces in May 1255; on May 19, moreover, Prince Khovankia distinguished himself in the Battle of N'zoth, defeating a superior Polonian force through use of circular assaults and subterfuge. Williams was firmly in Laurasian hands by May 29, and on June 5, the Siege of Melarnaria commenced. Melarnaria too, ultimately fell on June 14, 1255. Ecreutus (June 19), Pearl (June 20), Pasquarillo (June 22), Paradine (June 23-25), Palimisiano (June 27); and Teth (June 29-July 5) followed. Simultaneously, Mommica was stormed by a Laurasian force (June 24-29, 1255), and by the beginning of July, Goldaria had been cut off.
 * Yet now, with this series of Laurasian successes in the Central Core, the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth was confronted with another, even more formidable challenge: that of the Celestial Kingdom of Briannia. During the course of the past quarter-century, Briannia had consolidated itself as a leading power within the Core Regions, through its triumphs in the Great Barsarian War. Indeed, by the middle of the thirteenth century, the picture in the Outer Galactic Regions was much changed. These changes had taken place within the context of the Great Barsarian War (which brought with it the collapse of the Devianiani Confederacy and the Kingdom of Alexandria); the disintegration and collapse of the Kingdoms of Halegothica and Kuevia, with the Huntite Khanate, Rudorite Kingdom of Kimania, and Kingdom of Jageronia asserting themselves over the further, and the Neo-Venasian Consortium projecting itself into the territories of the latter; and the final fall of the Homidinian Khanate to the Rashanian Mellorites, who also overran Armania and the Halegothican territories of the Burglais Arm.
 * The first to be explored is the Great Barsarian War. Following the conclusion of the Treaty of Monderon, it seemed as if the Confederate Kingdom of Melorkia under Childebert I, and his ally, the Kingdom of Jarjanica under Rechila II, were predominant. However, the success of the Melorkian-Jarjanican forces had aroused the mortal fear of King Gu'starai Adol'phac of Briannia. The King of Briannia, who had acquired parts of the Horacian Provinces from the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth as a result of the Treaty of Altmark (1229), signed the same year as that of Monderon, now saw intervention in the Great Barsarian War as a means of extending Briannian prestige and influence. The King was also encouraged by the pleas of the exiled King of Manorsia, Fre'dakh of the Devianiani, and by King Godomar of Alexandria. Securing the aid of the Briannian Rikstag, and leaving his trusted Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, in charge of government affairs on Briannia, Gu'starai, from August 1229 to July 1230, prepared his military forces for an invasion of the Crimeanian Provinces, which had been conquered by Clovis in 1186, and which Briannia had long eyed.
 * It was on July 4, 1230, that the King of Briannia issued a declaration of war against Jarjanica and Melorkia, and launched his invasion of the Crimeanian Provinces. He was aided by the fact that King Childebert, having fallen out with his commander-in-chief, Albrech't Wallansgad, had dismissed him from his service two months prior the commencement of the invasion. Consequently, Gu'starai was able to advance over overstretched, unprepared Melorkian garrisons. During the course of the next two years, he obtained a series of military successes over the Melorkians and the Jarjanicans. The Battles of Crimean IV (1230), Hooper (1230), Acamaria (1230), Cadaria (1230), and Brietenfield (1231), all stood out as decisive victories for the King of Briannia. At the same time, Alexandrian and Devianiani forces under Fre'dakh penetrated back into the territories of the occupied Confederacy, recovering Beverly Hereidu, Winehouse, Woolestone, Armenia Major, Cal, Simon, Morley, and Stahl. By January 1232, they had also seized Harrison, Preena, and Novina from the Jarjanican forces. By November 1232, King Gu'starai had also occupied Drennan, Sanegeta, and Chappelle, and his forces were penetrating into the territories of Upper Melorkia, threatening Algaica Belguica, Merovech, and Tournacia. King Childebert, who was suffering from this string of military resources, recalled Wallansgad to his service. The Melorkian General now clashed with the Briannians at Kentaborn (November 6, 1232). The ensuing battle ended in a decisive Briannian victory, but King Gu'starai was killed. He was now succeeded to the Briannian throne by his daughter Christana (r. 1232-54, not to be confused with the Venasian Queen Mother of virtually the same name), who was only five years old at the time of her father's death. The regency of the Briannian State was taken over by Chancellor Oxenstierna, Gu'starai's loyal and long-time servant, who proved to be a vigorous and energetic leader, sustaining the Briannian war effort.
 * For a year after the King's death, the Briannian momentum continued; Algaica Belguica, Merovech, and Tournacia were all in the Kingdom's hands by March 1233. Briannian forces soon penetrated to the Borderlands Territories, overrunning Matthew, West, Mirohassani, Jennings, Thelma, Tea, Baiteman, Tahon, and Bryce in a series of coordinated moves with their Alexandrian and Devianiani allies. King Childebert grew increasingly frustrated with General Wallansgad, and in February 1234, the General was assassinated by one of his agents. Ironically, following Wallansgad's defeat, the tide turned to the favor of the Melorkian-Jarjanican Coalition. King Rechila defeated a Briannian-Alexandrian force at the First Battle of Allen (September 5-6, 1234), and in due order recovered Harrison, Preena, and Novina. Jarjanican forces were soon attacking Skye I, Meridu, Sharon Alfonsi, Hamackai Barka, Stewart, Beatrice, and Trieste, overrunning all of these strongholds by the end of the year. Kentaborn, Merovech, and the strongholds of the Borderlands Territories also had to be abandoned by the Briannians, and Melorkian forces launched penetrative raids to as far as Bartello and Kingpin. In May 1235, Fre'dakh was captured by Jarjanican forces and was forced to sign the Treaty of Morley, by which he renounced his claims to the Manorsian throne and recognized Melorkian jurisdiction over the Devianiani. Briannia, however, refused to recognize this agreement. So did Ashlgothia, which was alarmed by its terms. King Amalaric had died in June 1231 while fighting the allied forces of Merlita and the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth at Nicole and Sejucia. His Melorkian wife, Queen Consort Clotilde, followed her husband in death just three months later.
 * Amalaric was succeeded by the former ceremonial sword-bearer of Theodoric the Great, Theudis (1170-1248), who had acted as his master's agent in Ashlgothia, and had continued to remain prominent in Ashlgothian affairs following Amalaric's assumption of full authority in August 1226. Theudis, again like his late master, was strongly opposed to Melorkia, and believed that unless its power were checked, it would eventually threaten the very independence of Ashlgothia itself. By January 1235, having concluded the Nicolan War with Merlita and Polonia-Donguaria on the basis of the status quo ante bellum, Theudis was able to turn his attention to events in the Barsar Regions. That month, he concluded the Treaty of Allison with the Briannian Government, pledging to provide financial aid and diplomatic support to the Briannian-Alexandrian cause. The treaty had also stipulated that neither Briannia nor Alexandria would make peace with Melorkia and Jarjanica without Ashlgothian approval. In the aftermath of the Battle of Allen and the conclusion of the Treaty of Morley, Briannia's ability to continue the war seemed doubtful, and Theudis now decided to enter it directly. In August 1235, Ashlgothia declared war against Melorkia; this would be followed up by another declaration, against Jarjanica, in January 1236. Initial Ashlgothian offensives into the Borderlands Territories, to Beverly Hereidu, and against Khagia proved to be largely indecisive.
 * In March 1236, the Treaty of Shiloh established a formal military alliance between Briannia, Ashlgothia, and Alexandria. But in June of that year, Melorkian and Jarjanican forces, under Rechila and Melorkian General Chlothar of Riparia, launched an intensive invasion of Ashlgothia itself. Leslie, Larkin, Nandia, Greg, Warren, Sanger, Jeopardy, Gigi, Sejak, and Vanna were all overrun by the coalition forces, from June to October 1236, and they penetrated as far as Ashlgothia Minor and Trebek. In October, Briannian forces won the Battle of Xxi, but this did little to relieve the pressure on the Ashlgothians. But in January 1237, King Theudis won the Battle of Ashlgothian White, and he recovered Gigi, Sejak, Vanna, and Jeopardy in due order. In April 1237, King Childebert I of Melorkia, whose desire to secure his rule over all of his father's realms had instigated the war, died on Melorkia Prime. He was succeeded to the throne by his son Childebert II. Childebert's accession was remarkably unchallenged, and he was determined to revive Melorkian fortunes.
 * Between April 1237 and June 1240, fighting continued unabated among the adversaries: Ashlgothian and Melorkian forces clashed constantly in the Allisonian, Nandian, and Cyrian Regions; Cambrina, Resmania, and Obathia were conquered by the Briannians, who also sent expeditions into the Roastafarian Provinces; and at Anastasia Major, the Anastasian Nationalists of Prince Culia announced (July 1238), their rebellion against the Kingdom of the Alexandrians. The rebels quickly gained control of Hospallia Major, Anastasia Minor, Caesearea, Angela Masia, Borgia, Meridu, and Tiesting, seriously weakening the Alexandrian war effort. Then, from June 16 to August 9, 1240, Ashlgothian forces conquered Cyrus III, Roastafaria Minor, and Dumbgwita from the Melorkians in a series of hard-fought offensives. This marked the definitive swing of the war to the advantage of the Ashlgothians. In December 1240, Lesia Major and Lesia Minor, occupied by the Jarjanicans, erupted in revolt under the leader of Pudlana; seeking to weaken the Jarjanican position, King Theudis quickly recognized the independence of the Great Kingdom of Lesia. The Ashlgothians and Briannians now embarked upon a series of major campaigns through the Borderlands Territories and the rest of Lower Melorkia; Khagia, Matthews, West, Mirohassani, Tea, Jennings, Thelma, Emily Deustiania, Brooke One, Woolestone, Winehouse, Armenia Major, and Tolbiac all fell into allied possession between January 1241 and April 1243. In October 1242, the Briannian victory (under Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson) in the Battle of Benztir V secured their control of the Crimeanian Provinces; then in April 1243, the Battle of Rocroi saw a smashing Ashlgothian victory over the Jarjanicans and Melorkians at Harrison. Preena, Plath, Skold, Jarman, Heather, Novina, and Bidsell all fell into Ashlgothian hands by July 1244; most Jarjanican territories at the outlet of the Denveranian Trunk Line, and near the Wild Marshes, were now in their hands.
 * By 1245, with the Second Battle of Allen, fought in May of that year, resulting in a Pyrrhic Ashlgothian victory, and with economic pressures building for both Melorkia and Ashlgothia alike, to say nothing of Jarjanica and Briannia, it was clear that the war was drawing to a close. By that point also, the Kingdom of Alexandria had been effectively overthrown; King Godomar was captured and killed at Brennan by the Anastasians and Lesians in January 1245, and by April 1247, with the destruction of the last Alexandrian holdout at Rixcelis II, the Neo-Anastasian Empire and Great Kingdom of Lesia had been restored. It was in September 1245, that negotiations commenced at Courtney, among the warring powers, in order to bring an end to the war; Ashlgothia and Briannia agreed to acknowledge the independence of Lesia and Anastasia as an accepted fact, and they were invited to the conference in August 1247. For nearly three years, negotiations dragged on, as numerous disputes poisoned the discussions. In June 1248, King Theudis of Ashlgothia was assassinated by some of his guards, and was succeeded to the throne by his general officer Theudigisel. This, however, did not halt the conference. Finally, on October 24, 1248, the Treaty of Courtney was signed. Ratified by all powers by the end of November 1248, it established a new order along much of the Kimanian Trade Run, and in the Barsar Regions.
 * The Treaty of Courtney's main beneficiary was the Celestial Kingdom of Briannia. Briannia now acquired the whole of the Crimeanian Provinces (with Crimean IV, Nathaniel, Sanegeta, Chapelle, Drennan, Brittany, George, Osriana, Hooper, Eutagia, Acamaria, Benztir V, Osiana, Ogla, and Meris V), in addition to the systems of Winehouse and Woolestone, which now became known as the Briannian Barsarian Enclaves. Briannia also became the protector of the Duchy of Trieste and Beatrice, which had emerged in 1246 during the collapse of the Kingdom of Alexandria, and had also been involved in the latter stages of the conference. Through these acquisitions, the Briannian Empire (as it was informally labeled), now projected its power from the Core Regions, down to the Kimanian Trade Run, and into the Barsar Regions. This made it one of the most formidable states in the Caladarian Galaxy. Ashlgothia too, made territorial acquisitions: it obtained hold of the Borderlands Territories, thereby bringing Matthew, West, Mirohassani, Tea, Thelma, Jennings, Kane, Baiteman, Bryce, Tahon, Emma, Imma, Courtney, and Kathryn under its control. Jarjanica was restored to its pre-1218 territorial status, but was obliged to pay a substantial financial indemnity to both Briannia and Ashlgothia. The independence of the Great Kingdom of Lesia (controlling most of the former Devianiani territories) and of the Neo-Anastasian Empire (in place of Alexandria) was acknowledged. Childebert II's rights as sole King of Melorkia were guaranteed. Full economic and diplomatic relations were to be restored among all powers, and prisoners of war exchanged.
 * The conclusion of the Treaty of Courtney thereby brought an end to the Great Barsarian War. But beyond those regions, troubles remained elsewhere. Kuevia and Halegothica were, in the course of those troubles, destroyed. The fate of Kuevia must be analyzed first. King Hilderic, who had ruled over Kuevia since 1223, had managed to restore Kuevian jurisdiction over the Hookiee and Vickian Worlds (1226), a result of King Hilderic's War, which had been the last conflict of Theodoric the Great's reign. Hilderic himself maintained peaceful relations with the Homidinian Khanate, and he pursued no further territorial ambitions. However, his favoritism towards the Venasian Consortium of Queen Mother Christiana, as seen by his agreement to the Treaty of Temperance (1228), in which he granted Venasia "favored-nation" status, and by his demilitarization of Way'tosk, Borenraz, and Martina Sirtis, eventually aroused the fierce opposition of the Kuevian nobility. This opposition was rallied at Shenandoah (Kuevia Prime) by the King's cousin twice removed, Prince Gelimer (1180-1253). On June 9, 1230, Gelimer led a conspiracy against the King, which resulted in his overthrow. Gelimer now imprisoned Hilderic and his associates at Boydaria, revoked the Treaty of Temperance, and declared that he stood first and foremost, for the interests of his Kuevian subjects.
 * Queen Mother Christiana, having extricated herself from the Great Briannian War, was enraged by this, and in September 1230, she had issued an ultimatum to the Kuevian Court of Shenandoah, demanding Hilderic's restoration and that of the Treaty of Temperance. Gelimer refused to oblige by her demands, and in January 1231, expelled Generaless Eetheia, who had become the Queen Mother's Ambassador to his court. Christiana now conceived the idea of an invasion of the Neo-Venasian Consortium, so as to extend Venasian power across the Middle Territories, and thereby compensate for her failures in the Barsar Regions. In May 1231, Venasia launched its invasion, and the Venasian-Kuevian War commenced. During the course of the next three years, Venasian forces made steady and sustained gains, gradually subduing Temperance, Way'tosk, Bor'say, Par'say, Mariana Sirtis, Borenraz, On'diray, Bacturis Invictis, Deborah, Wayne, Grand Junction, Jonathania, Boydaria, Deschanel, and Zooey. In September 1233, Venasian forces under Generaless Eetheia breached the defenses of Shenandoah and took possession of the world; they subdued Majoria Schall in January of the following year. In January 1234, the Venasian victory in the Battle of Griffith resulted in the annihilation of virtually the entire Kuevian force; the Kuevian Navy was now virtually non-existent. Two months later, at Pooch (March 1234), Gelimer surrendered to the Queen Mother, aware that further resistance was futile.
 * Christiana now declared Gelimer deposed from his throne, proclaimed herself Queen of Kuevia, and had him transferred to imprisonment at Phyllis (July 1234). Gelimer would remain there until his death in September 1254. By October, Nottingham and Fats had also fallen under Venasian control. But the Venasian Queen Mother found that she could not assert her dominion over all of Kuevia's former territories. This was seen in April 1235, when Artavasdes (1200-77), Melanite Posuh (Prince) of Ruthelaine, announced the formation of the Kingdom of Melanie Major. By 1238, he had secured control of that world, and of Morrison, Ardahat, Pailbirth, Kathanovich, Ardahat, Endaker, Burdaker, and Floriana. Christiana now engaged in a vigorous struggle with King Artavasdes, attempting to break his resistance. The King of Melanie, however, receiving covert financial and diplomatic aid from Briannian Chancellor Oxelstierna, was more then capable of resisting her, and scored a major victory with his capture of Nottingham (January 19, 1240). He then humiliated Christiana at Deborah (February 4, 1240), and proceeded to subdue Toni, Volorum, Resnatia, Fats, Rhandeia, Griffith, and Boydaria (March 1240-December 1241).
 * In July 1242, the Hookiee leader Pafful Baffoo, establishing himself on Hoohshikk, proclaimed himself Patriarch of the Hookiee Confederacy. Hookiee forces quickly secured control of Predosur, Mytaranor, Transdosha, Whoppi, Goldberg, Hasselbeck, Shepherd, Beharis, Walters, Tyria, and Kara (July 1242-January 1243), and in April 1243, Pafful Baffoo signed the Treaty of Herrera with King Artavasdes, forming a common military alliance against the Neo-Venasian Consortium. Matters were worsened for Venasia when in December 1243, the Briannian Rikstag, on Chancellor Oxelstierna's urging, issued a declaration of war against the Queen Mother. Briannian forces under Field Marshal Lennart Tortensson then invaded the Decapolian Provinces; Decapolia Minor, Uber-Commerce, and Agac were in Briannian hands by April 1244, and on June 7, Tortensson humiliated Lady Executrix Malia in the Battle of Cole. In August 1244, Briannia joined the Treaty of Herrera; Aflac, Podrac, and Decapolia Major then fell into Briannian hands, and on October 7, Malia was defeated again in the Battle of Aso. By that time, Shenandoah and Majoria Schall had fallen into the hands of Hookiee-Melanite forces. By April 1245, Hannis, Colla, Ka, Organia, and Permi were also in Briannian hands. Under pressure from two fronts, Queen Mother Christiana now recognized the futility of continuing the war effort, and requested for negotiations. A conference was opened at Desulima, where (August 13, 1245), the Treaty of Desulima was signed.
 * By the terms of this treaty, the Celestial Kingdom of Briannia acquired the Decapolian Provinces (Decapolia Major, Decapolia Minor, Agac, Aflac, Podrac, Uber-Commerce, and Aso), and was allowed to temporarily occupy Hannis, Permi, and Colla for a period of ten years (to conclude September 1, 1255). Christiana now acknowledged the independence of both the Hookiee Confederacy and the Kingdom of Melanie Major, along with the respective territories which they had occupied. Shenandoah and Majoria Schall were restored to Venasia, whose authority over Temperance, Way'tosk, and the Millian Home Regions was also recognized. Venasia, therefore, managed to retain hold of part of the former Kuevian territories; Christiana, moreover, was permitted to continue styling herself as Queen of Kuevia. The Treaty of Desulima maintained peace between Briannia and Venasia for the following twelve years. Christiana, who was hurt by the loss of Decapolia to Briannia, and by her failure to obtain control of all Kuevia, entered a severe decline in health during the last 2.5 years of her reign. Her daughter, 38-year old Princess Kendura (she had been born in 1209), now assumed increasing responsibility for the affairs of the state; in April 1247, her mother made her Chairwoman of the Venasian Council of High Ones. In August 1247, at Maxiliana, the Queen Mother suffered a severe stroke, which rendered her partly incapacitated. She was now confined to the Fountain Palace on Venasia Major, and experienced a series of minor strokes into January 1248. Finally, on February 28, 1248, Christiana I died, aged 70, after having reigned over the Neo-Venasian Consortium for fifty-nine years, having held effective authority for forty-two of those years. Hers was the second-longest reign of any Venasian Queen Mother (surpassed only by Kalamania I, r. 372-00 BH, who had reigned for seventy-two years, and died at the age of 99), and the longest of any Queen Mother in the Hyperdrive Era. Her daughter now became Kendura I of Venasia (r. 1248-70).
 * Just as with Kuevia, the collapse of Halegothica produced a new geopolitical picture. Following the death of Theodoric the Great in August 1226, his grandson Athalaric had become King of Halegothica, aged ten. As mentioned in the General History, his mother, Princess Amalasuintha, daughter of Theodoric, had been made Regent. In November 1226, the end of King Hilderic's War had resulted in Halegothica conceding Whoppi, Goldberg, Choir, and Shephard back to the authority of Kuevia. In addition to this, the lack of a strong heir caused the network of alliances which surrounded the Halegothican state to disintegrate: Ashlgothia went its own way under Amalaric (and Theudis after 1231); relations with the Kuevians remained poor; and the Great Barsarian War disrupted Halegothican influence in the Barsar Regions. Moreover, the entry of the Rashanian Mellorites into the Homidinian Provinces, and the disruptions of the Chosorian War there, eroded the Halegothican hold over the Burglais Arm, and influence over the Kingdom of Armania. The position of predominance in the Outer Borderlands which Halegothica had enjoyed under Theodoric now dissipated. This dangerous external climate was now exacerbated by the regency's weak domestic position. Amalasuintha intended to continue her father's policies of reconciliation and union between Halegothicans, Dasians, and Huntites. To this end, she maintained diplomatic contacts with Homidinian Khan Ambaghai, negotiating the Treaty of Iego with him (August 1227), and promising to intervene on the Khanate's side in the struggle against Solidarita. This, however, did not find much favor with the Halegothican noble elites, who in addition to this, resented the idea of being ruled by a woman.
 * They protested when Amalasuintha attempted to provide her son a civil education, instead demanding that he be raised as a warrior. By January 1228, the Regent was forced to desist with this idea; Athalaric now turned to a life of dissipation and excess, which would send him to a premature death. Halegothica also began to crack under economic, social, and nationalistic pressures. The Huntite Stock Exchange experienced a severe crash in April 1228; virtually all of the Kingdom's leading entrepreneurs, investors, and brokers suffered a loss of some kind. This in turn lead to contractions in the mining, manufacturing, agricultural, and navigation sectors; to the abrupt halt of colonization efforts in Morsia, Gedrosia, and the Wild Marshes; and in January 1229, to the devaluation of the Halegothican mark. Amalasuintha and her government, in 1229-30, pursued a series of vain policies, in an attempt to alleviate this economic decline. This included regulation, re-decimialization of the Halegothican currency, measures against tax fraud and peculation, and the sale of offices, as well as public properties and estates, to raise additional revenue. She also imposed elevated tariffs upon foreign products, attempting to encourage domestic manufactures within Halegothica. None of these, however, could stop the decline. Gabriella, Sheldonia, Henderson, Cox, Banks, Kimanis Mooria, Samantha, Messalina, Gardiner, Chobania, and Christopher were all hit by major civil uprisings against government garrisons (1230-32); Jasonia itself was devastated by a series of riots and natural disasters; and the Royal Household was rent by internal division.
 * In November 1232, the Halegothican nobles Amalafrid, Gibal, and Godas launched at Samarkand, a major conspiracy against the Regent, hopping to depose and assassinate her, to gain possession of the King, and to obtain elevated positions of state for themselves. Amalasuintha, however, was able to suppress this conspiracy; on January 9, 1233, she had the three Princes executed at the Caroline Asteroid Belt. From February to September 1233, the Regent contended with the activities of Mackenzian, Edmundian, and Mellorite pirates, raiding bands, and criminal organizations in the Burglais Arm; with a near-fatal gamma ray disaster at Clarise, Jodie, and Northrop; and with the revolt of Brestord, Halegothican, and Rudorite colonists at Leo's Redoubt and Hutsia Major. To this was added the destruction of the Halegothican military fortifications at Morlan by the Mellorites of Abu-Bakir, and the rejection, by King Mundonus (t. 1231-40, who succeeded Trascerius in December 1231) of Armania, of Halegothican claims to overlordship (August 19, 1233). But as long as Amalaric lived, Amalasuintha had a legitimate basis for power, and continued to maintain her position. But by December 1233, her son's health was in serious decline. In January 1234, Amalasuintha appointed her cousin Theodahad (1180-1236), to be her Chamberlain; with his assistance, she was able to gain a declaration of loyalty from the Halegothican High Council (April 1234). But on October 2, 1234, King Amalaric died on Jasonia. Amalasuintha was now proclaimed Queen of Halegothica, the first and only female ruler of that realm in its history. In December 1234, however, seeking to consolidate her position, she made Theodahad her co-regent.
 * Theodahad at first feigned loyalty to Amalasuintha, and professed his gratefulness to her for his position. But in reality, he was determined to assert himself as the sole King of Halegothica, and began engaging in conspiracy against her. Finally, in February 1235, he was ready to act. The High Council now declared Amalasuintha deposed from the throne, and marked her as an outlaw of the Hereditary Line. Theodahad now ordered for her to be imprisoned on Izonza. She was brought there on March 9, 1235. But just over a month later (April 14, 1235), the former Queen was suffocated to death in her private bath; Theodahad had dispatched agents to finish her off. His authority was now completely unchallenged. But Halegothica was now plunged into new troubles. As mentioned above, the Rashanian Mellorites had begun, from their strongholds along the Corporate Trade Corridor, as well as from the Galactic Void, launching expeditionary moves into the Halegothican Burglais Arm from as early as February 1233. Yet it was not until after the death of Emir Abu-Bakir (August 23, 1234), and the accession of Umar (r. 1234-44), that the Mellorites formalized their plans of invasion against Halegothica. Umar now delegated command of the forces thus assembled to Sub-Emir Mithna ibin Haris. It was in August 1235 that Sub-Emir Haris, having issued a series of ultimatums to the Court of Jasonia, and having received no satisfaction in his demands, crossed from the Corporate Trade Corridor into the Burglais Arm. Mellorite forces also ranged to the south, directed at Capone, Mocktrialis, and Greyson, which were Halegothican enclaves. Haris now secured a quick victory in the Battle of Firaz (September 9, 1235), annihilating a Halegothican force under General Godebut.
 * By October 1235, Capone, Mocktrialis, Greyson, Sierra, Lizaragga, English Star, and Jacobs I had all fallen into Mellorite possession; on November 9, General Godebut obtained a temporary triumph in the Battle of the Crosses, but this only slowed the Mellorite advance, and did not halt it completely. Felix fell into Mellorite hands on November 17, and by the end of December 1235, it had been joined by Coronadia, Edmundia Major, and Edmundia Minor. Scanlan and the Corporate Sector were overrun in April 1236; Mackenzia Major followed on May 19. Lawson was conquered by a Mellorite force in June 1236. Bronson, Sheehan, and Gehring followed in July, and by October 1236, Mackenzia Minor was in danger of falling into Mellorite hands. On November 9, 1236, the Battle of Taraning ended in a decisive victory for Haris. Ian fell into his hands shortly thereafter; Mackenzia Minor was finally overrun on November 14; and by the end of December 1236, Garner was in the Mellorite possession.
 * On December 15, Theodahad was assassinated at Negro, and the Halegothican Prince Vitiges was proclaimed King. Vitiges hastened to peace with the Mellorites; the Treaty of Sofia, signed in January 1237, recognized the Mellorite acquisition of the Burglais Arm and of the Kingdom of Armania, and Mellorite rights to campaign against the Homidinian Khanate. Vitiges was then confronted with a new, more serious challenge: that of the Huntites. For nearly four centuries, this proud and ancient species had simmered under Halegothican dominance. But now, with Halegothica having been humiliated in the Burglais Arm, with internal and economic troubles rendering the state apart, and with the collapse of the Kingdom's prestige, they saw their opportunity. In April 1237, at Claithbourne, the Huntite Prince Mithadia of the Aranid kajidic announced his rebellion against the King, and proclaimed himself to be Caliph ("Highest Lord", a title once held by Boontha the Huntite), of Hunt. The Huntite Caliphate was therefore established. Within a short time, Mithadia secured control of the Sk'aatha Cluster, the Caroline Asteroid Belt, and Negro.
 * A serious struggle now ensued within Halegothica, as Vitiges and his authorities sought to suppress this challenge to their power. But in the course of time, matters turned more and more in the favor of Mithadia and his fellow rebels. Between June 1237 and November 1239, Huntite rebel forces, bolstered by the defection of many members of the ancient nobility, by the addition of mercenaries and Huntite deserters from the Halegothican Royal Forces, and by the support given to it by agents on Hunt Major and elsewhere, made considerable gains. In November 1237, Vitiges suffered a humiliating defeat in the Battle of Timur's Star. That opened Gargonia and Jabul to the Huntites; Mithadia then conducted a successful siege of Lorna (December 9, 1237-January 7, 1238). He defeated Vitiges again at Ber Bachman (February 14, 1238), and subdued Garnett, Akamaar, and Downs within short order. Gabriella revolted in July 1238 against its Huntite authorities, and within a short time defected to the cause of Mithadia. Hunt Minor was then stormed by him (August 12, 1238), and by November, he had also gained possession of Izzia, Pella, and Estella. In July 1239, the Battle of Izonza inflicted another serious defeat upon Vitiges' forces. In November of that year, by which time Sheldonia, Vickis, Uris, and Choir were also in Huntite hands, the Rudorite garrison of Kimania erupted in open revolt against Vitiges. They had control of Derangy, Morangy, and Kimanis Mooria by April 1240.
 * Then in August 1240, King Vitiges was defeated and captured by the forces of the Huntite Caliph at Lavy. He was placed into chains and transported to the Caroline Asteroid Belt on Mithadia's orders. Vitiges remained there until his death (May 11, 1241), at the hands of his guards. Hunt Major itself was then captured by the Caliph's forces (September 9, 1240), and he was greeted with acclaim by his subjects in the star system. But the Halegothicans were not yet broken, and the High Council on Jasonia elevated Ilidbad, who had been Vitiges' second-in-command, to the Halegothican throne. Ilidabad managed to recover Sheldonia, Downs, and Estella (September 1240-January 1241), to contain Rudorite rebel forces at Kimanis Mooria, and to maintain control of Bookman in the face of Huntite offensives. In May 1241, however, he was assassinated by some of his Armane bodyguards, and succeeded to the throne by Eraric, who was elected by the Halegothican military commanders themselves. Eraric ruled for only two months, when on June 8 of that year, he too was assassinated at Dickinson, being succeeded by his general, Totila. Totila (r. 1241-52), would prove to be the last formidable King of Halegothica. He now reversed many of the gains made by the Huntites, coming close to suppressing the rebellion altogether. In December 1241, he repelled a Huntite move against Clarise, and by April 1242, had recaptured Kimania and Leo's Redoubt. He then cleared Derangy, Morangy, and Karangy of Rudorite forces, suppressed a uprising on Leo's Redoubt, and recovered Gabriella in a surprise offensive. From there, Totila reconquered Izonza (June 9, 1242), and received the renewed allegiance of the vassal King of Jageronia, Waltari (r. 1239-46); in 1236, Jageronia had rejected Halegothican overlordship.
 * Rolle, Haset, Narra, Christopher, and Gilestis then became scenes to confrontations between Totila and Mithadia, all of which Totila won (July-November 1242). He then proceeded to reconquer Samarkand and Hunt Minor (December 14, 1242), defeated Mithadia again at Akamaar (January 7, 1243), and then cleared Huntite units from Little Maurya, Amira, Ashanti, and Dovani (February 1243). Claithbourne was then besieged, falling into the Halegothican King's hands in July of that year. By the middle of 1244, Totila had secured Halegothican authority over the Jasonian Regions, Gedrosia, Maurya, and the lower Kimanian Trade Run, and had made gains into central Hunt. Mithadia now dispatched his chief general, Aoontha, against Totila. The two clashed at Jeanne, Meredith, Iego, Xander, and in the OsonBoka Nebula during the course of the next two years, with Totila holding the general advantage, and in April 1246, the King of Halegothica even sacked the outskirts of Hunt Major itself. By 1249, when Hunt Major's outskirts were sacked a second time, Totila had managed to recover control of all but the Hunt Home Region, the Vickian Worlds, and the Electronics Worlds. But during 1250 and 1251, Totila was again distracted by Rudorite, Kimanian, and Morsian rebellions in the Barsar Regions and to the southeast, allowing Mithadia to recover his position. By November 1251, Huntite forces had recovered Akamaar, Samarkand, and Hunt Minor, and during the next few months, they advanced to Northrop, Clarise, and Jodie. Totila, having again asserted Halegothican authority elsewhere, now clashed with General Aoontha and Caliph Mithadia in the Battle of Taginae (July 2, 1252). The result was a decisive Huntite victory; Totila himself was mortally wounded, and died shortly after the battle.
 * With the death of Totila, the Halegothicans lost their resolve. Kimania revolted yet again, under the Rudorite General Buntha (August 1252); Buntha now proclaimed himself King of Kimania, and by January 1253, he had secured control of all the chief strongholds of the lower Kimanian Trade Run, down to Leo's Redoubt. In October 1252, King Audoin of Jageronia again asserted his kingdom's complete independence, and seized control of Iego, Jeanne, and Brenda. That same month, Totila's successor, Teia, was decisively defeated by Mithadia in the Battle of Horne. Jodie, Clarise, Northrop, and Horne itself now fell into Huntite hands; Little Maurya and Gedrosia Max followed in November 1252, and on December 9, so did Estella. Henderson, Cox, Banks, Filorean, Newman Victoria, and Nikki Lowell were then subdued in January 1253, and on February 7, Teia was defeated again at Ozagardana. He was finally captured at Grumman's Star on April 19, 1253, and executed on Mithadia's orders four days later. Jasonia was besieged beginning on May 1; its fall (June 12, 1253), virtually completed the destruction of the Kingdom of Halegothica. For the next nine years, however, Mithadia continued to contend with Halegothican factions and bands in Upper Maurya, Gedrosia, and throughout the Wild Marshes. It was not until 1262, with the capture at Veliky of Halegothican Prince Widin (1210-62) in July of that year, that all Halegothican resistance ceased.
 * The curtains too, fell on the Homidinian Khanate in the year 1253. It's fall came at the hands of the Rashanian Mellorites, who had occupied some of the strongholds of the Corporate Trade Corridor and Dasian Heartland, beginning in 1228 with the Treaty of Zoe. Muhammad continued to rule as Emir of the Rashanians until his death (June 8, 1232), at Houston. He had then been succeeded by Abu-Bakr, who ruled until his own death in August 1234. Umar (1234-44) then followed him to the Rashanian throne. It was under Umar that the power of the Rashanian Mellorite Emirate, which became the Rashanian Empire in July 1236, expanded considerably. Umar directed the conquest of the Halegothican Burglais Arm, Corporate Trade Corridor, and Mocktralian Enclaves in 1235-37, as already described. In January 1236, he instigated the invasion of the Homidinian Khanate, taking advantage of the Lacian Rebellions, which had taxed the energies and the attention of Khan Ambaghai. The Battle of McDowell (August 9, 1236), was a particularly significant victory for the Mellorites, and by November of that year, they had overrun Englestrom, Sonny, Dromund, Kacee, Shaelynn, Chalassion, Alyssa, and Halassion. In January 1237, Mellorite forces pushed into the Kingdom of Armania; King Mundonus proved completely incapable of halting their offensives, and within a short time, Syr-Daria, Vandross, Tataria, Nandi Diri, and Elbing were in the Mellorite possession. These offensives were commanded by Khalid ibin Whalid (1185-1242), who became renowned as one of the leading military commanders of the thirteenth century. 1238 and 1239 witnessed the fall of Dion, Yutzy, Brlla, Elijahana, Gibbs-to-Lester, Wyatt, Homidinia Minor, and Homidinia Major into the hands of the Mellorite forces. In April 1240, King Mundonus of Armania died, and was succeeded by Elemund, who became the last King of Armania. In July 1240, he was forced to sign the Treaty of Belkadan, recognizing Mellorite overlordship. From 1239-43, the Mellorites also fought the Neo-Xilanian Empire, conquering Varta, Nandi, Calrissian, and the Marauder Colonies, harassing the Xilanian Worlds, and penetrating as far as Charlie. Xilanian Emperor Uthari III (r. 1236-55) was forced to territorial concessions at the Treaty of Bingley, signed in August 1243.
 * The death of the heirless Khan Ambaghai in February 1241 left his chief general, Ogul, as the penultimate Dasian Khan in the Caladarian Galaxy. Ogul was able, in September 1242, to bring the Mellorites to the peace table. By the Treaty of Wakino, he was forced to concede the whole of the Inner Homidinian Provinces, Lacian Cluster, McDowell, and the Upper Larkian Way to the Rashanian Empire. Great King Umar, who had thereby staked out for the Mellorites a definitive empire within the Caladarian Galaxy, spent the last two years of his reign implementing reforms to his bureaucracy, digesting his conquests, and reorganizing his military forces. He died at Sierra on November 6, 1244, and was now succeeded to the throne by Uthman (r. 1244-56), who would be destined to complete the destruction of the Homidinian Khanate. For the first five years of his reign, however, Uthman continued the consolidation of his dominions, though he did launch a series of reconaissance expeditions into the territory of the Solidaritan Sultanate, and demanded further economic concessions from Xilanian Emperor Uthari (1247). Things changed however, with the sudden death of Ogul in January 1249. He was now succeeded to the throne of Homidinia by his younger brother, Talaghai (r. 1249-53), the last-ever Dasian Khan, and the last successor to Genghis Khan. At the time of his accession, the Homidinian Khanate was a shadow of itself, consisting of only Chalassia, Chalassion, Halassion, Alyssa, Markis Prime, Maxwell, the worlds of the Kledis Var, Derek, Sharman, Drake, Rutherford, Abitia, Perry, Wakino, Mir, Kara, Peters, Joseph, Curry, Kallista, Julie, Karen, Gwendolyn, Ryan, Kupferer, Dominic, Digette, and Demebezaic. Uthman, viewing the Homidinian Khanate's weakness as an opportunity, now decided to secure his rear. In November 1249, he declared war against King Elemund of Armania, and launched a series of swift operations into his territory. Sernapasia, Belkadan, and Honcharania were conquered quickly; Gonchan, Pandi Diri, and Trans-Glassia followed in January 1250. On March 7, 1250, Karakorum was besieged by the Great King's forces. Its fall two months later spelled the end of the Kingdom of Armania; Elemund himself was killed during the final stages of the siege on May 10.
 * Following the final conquest of Armania, Uthman demanded the submission of Khan Talaghai to him. Talaghai had no choice, and at Kupferer (July 19, 1250), he paid homage to the Great King of Rashania. From July 1250 to November 1252, the Homidinian Khanate continued as a vassal state of the Rashanian Empire. But Talaghai simmered throughout the whole time, and he maintained contacts with both Uthari and Solidaritan Sultan Ibrahim I (r. 1248-87). It was in November that Uthman learned of these contacts, and reached the determination that it would be necessary to terminate the threat before it was too late. Having heard of the great Genghis Khan, of Ogedei, Mongke, Chomqauan, Subutai, Batya, Kublai Khan, Toghun Temur, Timur the Devastator, and Tokugaistus the Great, he now considered it proper that another barbarian, marital species extinguish the last remaining state of the race of these great progenitors. On November 24, without warning, he launched a sudden invasion of the Homidinian Khanate's remaining territories. Between November 1252 and March 1253, his forces swiftly overran all of the Khanate's chief strongholds outside of Chalassia itself. The Battle of Sharman (January 5, 1253), was a especial victory for the Mellorites. It was on April 6, 1253, that the Siege of Chalassia commenced. This siege lasted for over a month, as Talaghai and his remaining forces resisted the Mellorite invaders fiercely. It gripped the attention of the Caladarian Galaxy, as the species once subject to the Dasians, particularly the Laurasians, Polonians, Briannians, Venasians, Anastasians, Lesians, and Hookiees, watched its progress with glee. Finally (May 29, 1253), Chalassia's defenses were breached, and the system was overrun by the Mellorites. Khan Talaghai himself, refusing to surrender, died, plunging into the hordes of Mellorite troops bursting into the Great Palace. Chalassia was now comprehensively sacked on the orders of Uthman; all of its treasures were robbed, and its population scouraged. With the fall of Chalassia, the Homidinian Khanate, which had existed for some 190 years, had ceased to exist. 426 years after the death of Genghis Khan, 359 years after the death of Kublai Khan, 248 years after the death of Timur the Devastator, and 158 years after the death of Tokugaistus the Great, the last remnants of the Dasian Empire had been swept away. 29 years after the death of the last Dasian Khan, the founder of the Laurasian Empire, Seleucus the Victor, would become King of Laurasia. About three centuries later, the core territories of the former Homidinian Khanate would fall under Laurasian jurisdiction. In all, more than five centuries would pass from the final collapse of Dasian power (1253) to the final unification of the Caladarian Galaxy under Laurasia (1774). Uthman himself continued to rule until his assassination (June 17, 1256), at Taraning. During the last three years of his reign, Mellorite forces suppressed rebel sentiments throughout the Homidinian Provinces.
 * With all of this having transpired, therefore, Briannia was now embarking upon its interventions within the Commonwealth. And as it was doing so, it had a new ruler. Queen Christana had been declared an adult in December 1244, when she had turned eighteen, and had from that point on assumed effective authority. However, she had differing policy views from that of Chancellor Oxelstierna, and there were certain conflicts between them relating to the negotiations with Venasia (at the end of the Tortensson War), and to the affairs of the Royal Council. Moreover, Christana's masculine-like behavior, her uncharacteristic manner of dress, and her preference for the arts and sciences over the cares of state further colored affairs at the Briannian Royal Court. By the beginning of 1254, the Queen's extravagance, her pettiness, and her vanity had aroused much distaste from her subjects. Christana herself, furthermore, wished to be relieved of the responsibilities of state, and to live out her life as a private noblewoman. Consequently, in February 1254 she had announced to the Royal Council, in a plain and forward manner, her intention to abdicate. Oxelstierna, whose health was by then ailing, told her that she would regret her decision, but she refused to listen. The Briannian Rikstag then discussed the implications of her abdication, and in May 1254, decided to confer upon her the Duchy of Nystadia, estates at Caroline, Jem, Dill, Boo, Finch, Atticus, Robinson, Ewell, and Harper, and an annual annuity of $123.55 billion Briannian crowns. Finally (June 6, 1254), the Queen of Briannia formally abdicated, in a ceremony held at the Royal Palace of Briannia. Her regalia was removed from her, and she was now succeeded to the throne by her cousin, who became Char'lac II Gustav (r. 1254-60).
 * Christana then made her leave from Briannia, and within a few days, Char'lac was formally crowned King of Briannia. The new King, who was an ambitious and intriguing figure, now turned his eyes upon the Commonwealth. King Joh'saw of Polonia-Donguaria, having failed to suppress the Khmelnystky Revolt, was now very unpopular with segments of the Polonian-Donguarian nobility. Among the magnates who were the most ardently opposed to him were Hieronim Radziejowski (1212-67), Deputy Chancellor of the Crown of Polonia, Bogusław Leszczyński (1212-58), Grand Treasurer of the Crown of Polonia, the Viceroy of Clancia, Prince Radziwill, and his cousin, Prince Bogislaw Radziwill (1220-69), Duke of Pressburg. From August 1254, these notables entered into secret contact with King Char'lac, and encouraged him to assert his claims to the Polonian Crown. The two Princes Radziwill now encouraged dissension within the Polonian Provinces against King Joh'saw and the Polonian Parliament, sparking revolts on Lublin, Wawer, Grochkov, and Olzyska Grochowska (November 1254-April 1255). In February 1255, moreover, they opened secret negotiations with the King of Briannia at Kedainai, though they were unauthorized by the Parliament to do so.
 * These negotiations resulted in the Treaty of Kedainai, which was concluded on May 9, 1255. By the terms of this treaty, the two Radziwill Princes accepted the protection of the King of Briannia. Char'lac agreed to assist the brothers in re-establishing the separate independence of the Donguarian Stellar Empire, with all of the territories that it had controlled prior to its 1169 union with the Polonian Commonwealth. In exchange, they promised to use their forces against King Joh'saw, to provide no support to the Polonian Parliament, and to recognize Briannian acquisition of the remainder of the Horacian Provinces. With this treaty concluded, King Char'lac now felt confident to move forward with his plans. The King made his departure from Briannia (May 19, 1255), having secured the Rikstag's consent to a formal declaration of war against Polonia, the imposition of a recruit levy in order to bolster Briannian military forces, and full authority to impose war taxes, implement marital law, and conduct all military operations as were necessary for the successful conclusion of the war. By June 1255, Briannian forces had been assembled throughout the Duchy of Schaueria Prime and in Briannian Horacia, being now poised for a move into Polonian territory. It was on June 27 that Char'lac sent an ultimatum to the Polonian Parliament on Polonia Major. In this ultimatum, he demanded that the Parliament concede the remainder of the Horacian Provinces to the authority of the Celestial Kingdom of Briannia; that it demobilize the Commonwealth's military forces; and grant the King unlimited rights of intervention in Polonian and Donguarian affairs, on the behalf of the nobility.
 * The Parliament, rightly viewing these Briannian demands as a threat to Polonian independence and territorial integrity, rejected them the following day. Thus it was, on July 2, 1255, that the King of Briannia announced the declaration of war against the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth, and launched his forces across the border into Polonian territory. Polonia was now at war with both Laurasia in the Central Core, and with Briannia in the Horacian Provinces. Briannian forces now made substantial gains, helped in part by the arguments between the Polonian Viceroy of Horacia, Krszystof Opalinski (1211-55), and the Viceroy of Wronzaz, Andrzej Karol Grudziński (1207-58). Gorzno became the first to fall to them (July 2-4), followed by Donald (July 6); Nowy (July 7-8), Dan (July 10), Malbork (July 11), Cageo (July 12-13), Daguvapils (July 15), and John (July 17). On July 20, 1255, the Battle of Uljzie ended in a decisive victory for the King over Viceroy Opalinski; in its aftermath, Momma, Levinston, and Theresa all capitulated to the Polonians, and on August 7, Horacia itself was besieged. The Siege of Horacia lasted until August 14, when that world fell into Briannian hands. Briannian forces then overran Gniew, Grownono, Brodnca, Kearns, Lisa, and Parnal in short order (August 17-29, 1255). Moreover, on August 20, the forces of King Char'lac and Briannian General Arvid Wittenburg joined together at Konin, and now moved headlong into the Polonian Provinces.
 * On September 2, the Polonians lost the Battle of Sobota; two days later, the Briannians captured Lowicz and Cieple. Pruliana fell on September 7, followed by Tczew (September 11) and Kokenhausen (September 13). Then (September 17, 1255), Briannian forces broke through the defenses of Samoutiz, inflicting a humiliating defeat upon Viceroy Grudziński. The following day, at Chemeri, Viceroy Opalinski himself surrendered to the King of Briannia, thereby yielding that stronghold and its neighboring star systems of Tursk, Wolbroz, and Polonia Minor to the Briannians. Polonia Major itself was now in imminent danger; Polonian counteroffensives against Samoutiz, and from Lublin could not change the situation. On September 20, 1255, the Briannians defeated the Polonians at the Battle of Zarnow, and proceeded to the conquest of Lublin, which fell into their hands by the following day. Briannian forces also thrashed the Polonians in successive confrontations at Porck, Masan, Draguilli, Kaida, and Wroclaw (September 21-October 2, 1255), subduing all of these strongholds. Whilst all of this was going on, the Laurasians farther north had made further substantive gains of their own. The garrison of Goldaria, realizing further resistance was futile, surrendered to Laurasian Prince Cherkassia (July 3, 1255). The capture of Goldaria now opened the way to a further Laurasian advance, through the Shadow Worlds, and into the Carinan Provinces. Laurasian forces also continued their advance in the Marshian Provinces. Marcania fell on July 6, and was followed by Elainsborough (July 10-11), Bainsborough (July 14), and Marshia itself (July 22, 1255). Teller and VoRoon were occupied on July 26, and on July 31, 1255, so was Olivia. Muppet was also subdued that same day. In August 1255, Maxck-casi, Sipp, Cooonia, and Barty were all subdued by Laurasian forces.
 * On June 17, Prince Odaneria had defeated a Polonian force in the Battle of Gordasis, thereby preventing Polonian expeditions into the Core Worlds. By the end of July, all remaining Polonian forces in the vicinity of Williams, Melarnaria, and Palimisiano had been expelled. Odaneria now joined with Cherkassia in the attack upon Seejay Prime (September 9-24, 1255). The Polonian garrison of the world, which was cut off from its communications lines, nevertheless posed a fierce resistance to the Laurasians. Polonian forces also clashed with the Laurasians at Chany, Merkelis, and Seenay, though they failed to prevent those strongholds from falling into Laurasian hands. Finally on September 24, Odaneria and Cherkassia were able to breach Seejay Prime's defenses, and the world fell into Laurasian hands. A Laurasian-Ivorian force then pushed through the Sort Drift (October 1, 1255), and on October 7, they occupied Dernik, Rusania, and Nargathie. Carina itself fell on October 13, 1255. The Laurasian subjection of Mucahucher, on October 17, completed the Stellar Kingdom's conquest of the Central Core. On October 22, Laurasian forces crossed into the Galician Provinces. Anthony fell first (October 24, 1255), followed by Doris (October 26), Volodormia (October 27-29), Watson (November 1), Sherlock (November 6), Rupert (November 10), Matlock (November 11), and Wayne (November 13-14). On November 16, Prince Cherkassia won the Battle of Daniel, capturing 250,000 Galician and Donguarian troops.
 * By November 1255, the situation in the Polonian Provinces was dire. On October 3, following a Briannian victory in the Battle of Wolcginz, Polonia Major itself was besieged by them. King Joh'saw, the Royal Council, and the Polonian Parliament had already fled to Pest in Donguaria; Pressburg, Kaunas, Mohi, and Rohi, however, were in the hands of the Radziwill Princes. The Siege of Polonia Major lasted for ten days, concluding with a Briannian victory (October 13, 1255). The world was now occupied by King Char'lac's forces. Yet Briannian successes in Horacia and in Polonia proper itself now alarmed King Artabanus of Laurasia. The King did not wish for the Briannians to gain all of the advantage at Polonian expense, and feared that the Briannians might decide upon an invasion of the Laurasian-occupied Central Core. Thus, on November 19, by which time Legnica was in the hands of Briannian forces, the King sent an armistice request to his Polonian counterpart at Pest. Joh'saw quickly agreed to this, and on November 22, the Secretary of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Laurasian Diplomatic Service, Count Athanasius Ordania-Nashokina (1205-80), held a conference at Galich Majoria with the Field Hetman of Donguaria, Korwin bin Gosayah (1220-62), who then commanded the garrisons of Central Galicia. Ten days later, the Truce of Galich Majoria was agreed, thereby suspending hostilities between Laurasia and Polonia. By the terms of the truce, Laurasia was permitted to continue occupying all of the territories which it had thus far ceased. At the same time, however, the King of Laurasia secretly pledged to make preparations for declaring war upon Briannia at "the soonest available opportunity." Once Briannian forces had been pushed out of the Polonian and Horacian Provinces, a formal conference was to be held to end the war between Laurasia and the Commonwealth, on terms favorable to both. The Truce of Galich Majoria, which entered into force in December 1255, allowed now for both states to turn their attention to the Briannians.
 * During December 1255, the Polonians experienced a revival. Beginning on November 18, Briannian forces had besieged Jasna Gora, which was one of the chief Commonwealth fortifications in Southern Polonia. Led by General Augustin Karlowcki (1203-73), who was also a Prior of the Polonian Faith, the garrison successfully resisted the Briannian onslaught, and galvanized the spirit of the Commonwealth's belaguered military forces. On December 7, Polonian Colonel Gabriel Wonjoliwicz defeated the Briannians and their Radziwill collaborators at the Battle of Krosno. On November 13, Wonjoliwicz's forces recaptured Polonia Minor, Draguilli, and Roni, and by the end of the month, the Briannians had been driven from Cieple, Poirck, Masan, Wroclaw, Dula, Bielka, Wielickza, Mohi, and Legnica. On December 16, 1255, at Lublin, now back in the hands of Polonian forces, members of the Commonwealth nobility urged all Polonians to fight back against the Briannian menace. Two days later, King Joh'saw reestablished his chief headquarters at Lublin, and delivered a speech to the Parliament, declaring that he would stop at nothing until the Commonwealth was cleared of foreign invaders. On December 27, the Briannians terminated the Siege of Jasna Gora; four days later, Prince Janusz Radziwill died at Kaunas, thereby seriously weakening his rebel effort. By the end of the year, the Polonians were reviving against the Briannians.

1256

 * 1256, the 56th year of the thirteenth century, commenced with the Polonian-Donguarian Commonwealth now engaged in the War of the Deluge, as Briannian forces continued to occupy substantial portions of its territory. On January 12, King Joh'saw left Lublin, and three days later arrived at Lvov, which remained in the possession of Commonwealth forces. Soon, Polonian military units began to concentrate at Lvov, including militias from Lublin, Farther Donguaria, and the Denveranian-Murphian Bend, as well as forces under Marshal Stanislaw Potocki (1189-1267) and Prince Jerzy Lubormirski (1216-67), two of the magnates who were now supporting the King. King Char'lac now ordered for his forces to concentrate at Lowicz, hearing of these movements. On February 8, the Briannians defeated Marshal Stefan Czarniecki at Borilla, and from thence continued their move towards Lvov, reaching its outpost of Zamoria on February 25. On March 1, realizing that it would be impossible to capture the stronghold, the Briannian forces retreated and moved towards Belzec. At the same time, Briannian efforts to seize Cossack, Donguaria Secunda, and Storzek failed, and Donguarian forces under Jan Sapieha began to advance towards Lowicz.
 * On March 11, Briannian forces arrived at the Polonian colony of Jarsolaw. The King now sent some of his forces to re-capture Legnica and Mohi, but on March 16, they returned to Jarsolaw without success. On March 22, Briannian forces moved back towards Polonia Major, managing to isolate the garrison of Polonia Minor along the way, and even recapturing Draguilli. They were followed by the units of Czarniecki and Alexander Koniecpolski; during that retreat, Polonian and Galician defectors to the Briannians switched sides, returning to their loyalty towards King Joh'saw. On March 30, Briannian forces stopped near Samoutiz, already back in Polonian hands. The Briannian 7th Fleet now encamped near the system's outskirts, and was quickly surrounded by a larger Polonian-Galician-Donguarian force, the 2nd Royal Expeditionary Fleet. King Char'lac's subordinate, Fre'dakh of Gdov, now left Polonia Major to aid the besieged 7th Fleet; Joh'saw, in response, ordered Czarniecki and Prince Lubormirski to face him. On April 7, Fre'dakh was defeated in the Battle of Gorky. On April 5, however, King Char'lac broke from Gorzow, and by April 13, he had returned to Polonia Major. By April 19, the forces of Czarniecki and Lubormirski had recaptured the Polonian colonies of Naklo and Bydaria. A similar Polonian effort to recover Masan failed, however (April 22, 1256).
 * On April 21, however, Wronzaz was freed by the Polonians, and two days later, they approached the outskirts of Polonia Minor. The forces of Czarniecki and Lubormirski joined with other Polonian units near Ula, but on May 7, 1256, they were defeated in the Battle of Klecko, despite their numerical supremacy. Polonian forces then recovered Gniezno, and on May 24, 1256, they united with Polonian forces at Polonia Minor. On June 4, Polonia Minor capitulated to them, and they soon laid Polonia Major under siege. The Siege of Polonia Major lasted for over a month, until its recapture by the Polonians (July 1, 1256); Briannian General Wittenberg became a prisoner of theirs. By this point, King Char'lac had come to realize that it would be impossible for him to control the Commonwealth. He now decided to find allies, and turned ironically, to Briannia's late enemy in the Great Barsarian War, Melorkia.

14th century (1301-1400)
The fourteenth century commenced on January 1, 1301, and ended on December 31, 1400, of the Hyperdrive Era system.