Princedom of Levanesse

The principality of Levanesse was an autonomous city, or more precisely an autonomous city-state in Aurlunor Velande, within the province of Tamaka Waralande until its independence towards the end of Rathnir. His special status upset the balance in the region, even spilling blood
== Lore ==
The region was largely uninhabited until the conquest of the region by the Kingdom of Almador in 3,829BCA, where a small trade outpost was established to help fabricate trade between the eastern and western parts of the realms. This outpost would be abandoned prior to Queen Hellenis the Wise's reign. Remnants of the trade outpost was said to have been pulled away from the region to help with construction projects elsewhere.
The fall of the Kingdom of Taral would see the mass wave of migrants that would come and settle around the region as well as local Yi'yen. This settlement would become known as Huacorn, while the Yi'yen would settle nearby and name their settlement Chi'sai. A series of fortresses and defense fortifications were established, and were attacked multiple times by the Krow Horde. In 913BCA, the final settlement of this magniture would be destroyed by the Krow Horde, and would see subsequent sacking and slaughter of over a hundred thousand Almalie and Yi'yen. Out of the entire original settlement, only Chi'sai remained.
The Krows would erect walls, and turn the city into what was known as Amxchokzel. This would serve as a major fortification, where it would serve as a forward post to attack the other warring states to the west.
For many centuries, the fortress would remain apart of the Takumakken Empire, with Chi'sai being the larger settlement outside of the fortress, up until the fall of the Empire during the Partition of Takumakken, where much of the land would fall under Ryzani control, and the remannt state. Following the Velande's conquest of the region, Amchokzel was abandoned, and was used as a minor trade hub, until the Barbarian Rallies, where barbaric invaders caused the region to be abandoned, and barbarians to inhabit the region. the Favoians would see construction of crude structures, and attempted to make a home for themselves.
The modern Levani people would arrive at an unknown date, and would pacify the Favovians, and would reach an agreement with the Chi'sai residents to allow them to settle in the fortress. This was not well received by the Velande, considering it an invasion. The Levani would attempt to increase ties with the First Velande, but was met with failure. In the middle of this, the Red Sun Campaign would break out, with the Velande putting the rally on hold to defend their lands. The Levani would pledge support for the Velande, for the Red Sun Campaign aimed at total genocide of the denizens of the Velande.
Following the abdication of Sareariel, and the end of the campaign, the Levani and Aurlûnorens would remain silent on eachother until the rise of the Second Velande, where tensions reached a peak, where the newly declared Tamaka Waralande Kingdom within the Velande rose, and wanted total eviction of the Levani people off the land. These tensions sowed distrust between the Levani and the Aurlûnor Velande as a whole, claiming them responsible for the instigations.
As the days passed, the situation between Levanesse and Aurlunor deteriorated further and further. Tamaka Waralande wanted either the total integration of Levanesse or its exclusion from Aurlunor's lands. LordCorn, knowing that the only thing he could do was negotiate, tried to convince Aurlunor to give his city a little more autonomy. An autonomy that wasn't going to come immediately because of the many Levani nationalists who wanted much more than autonomy, they wanted total independence. Aurlunor, and in particular _Chaos_Creeper_, leader of Tamaka Waralande, felt that giving autonomy to a city that originated from a squatter was unwise.
At the same time, the principality made a most curious transition, having authorized the creation of political parties, bringing together people with the same idea and goal for Levanesse. This led to the creation of a number of groups, the two most important of which were the Levani National Party (LNP) and the Levani Royal Party (LRP). The LRP was a more moderate group, and more popular with the King. The LNP, on the other hand, wanted an Independent Levanesse, and being a nationalist group, Aurlunor soon heard of it.
Levanesse found itself in a tricky situation, as Aurlunor had little faith in Levanesse and therefore didn't want to give it autonomy. On the other hand, LNP amassed more supporters under the tutelage of Poney LEJUGE and Sentinel. The latter could be recognized by their uniforms, which were the same for all party members. The small principality was more isolated than ever, while LNP members had prepared an act of protest with the sympathy of Prince LordCorn in Aurlunor's capital, Lhûmar. More precisely, in the city temple, where a religious event held by Coffee was about to take place.
After the events of the Lhumar massacre orchestrated by the Chancellor's hands, Levanesse felt provoked, especially LNP members who believed it was a move by Aurlunor. Relations between the nationalist party and Prince LordCorn and Aurlunor therefore began to deteriorate even further. LNP banners and a memorial to the victims of the massacre appeared in the city. The massacre had left a deep impact on Levanesse society, one that would start an even stronger desire to break away from Aurlunor.
== History ==
==== The initial village of Lillia and the Duchy of Lillia ====
The beginnings of Levanesse can be traced back to mid-late March of 2023 when Snowwolf and three other original founders of the city created what was essentially a squatter claim in the then Second Aurlunor Velande. Appealing to the wider Rathnir community for new members the player LordCorn31 joined the four two weeks later. The then village, known as Lillia at the time, was led by Snowwolf who quickly learned of the claim's location within Aurlunoren borders. Feeling threatened, Snowwolf looked to other nations for support, even trying to become a quote on quote 'vassal state' of the Lordship of Ruska in the Phagosian Sea - renaming the village to the Duchy of Lillia to try and affirm this idea. The situation soon became bleak as Snowwolf began to realise the blunders that had been made: the claim was well within the borders of a relatively large nation, was hemmed in by three other claims and had a series of mountains and hills going right through thre middle of it. One by one the four began to leave the city and go inactive, until only LordCorn31 - a relatively new player who had joined Stoneworks in February of 2023 - remained and took charge of the city at the beginning of April.
==== The transition to Levanesse and its early life ====
LordCorn31 took charge of an empty village made up of a gatehouse, two houses and a couple of walls and towers and it was evident that the situation needed to be remedied immediately if Lillia was to survive and prosper. Having been a part of the Kingdom of Mithusu since he had joined the server in February of 2023, he naturally looked to Mithusu initially to aid his plight. When leaving the Duchy of Lillia, Snowwolf had assured LordCorn31 that the village was an autonomous state - although this would evidently prove to not be the case - so LordCorn31 approached Mithusian leaders and trusted friends Redfin99 and Evutra to possibly establish Lillia as a colony of Mithusu in order to ensure its security. LordCorn31 also approached a player named XurioTried, whom he had also met in his days in Mithusu, to help assist him with the project of building up Lillia into a city and establishing it on the global stage. It was through Evutra that LordCorn31 found out that Lillia was actually in Aurlunoren territory and so Redfin99 quickly shut the project down. This did not demoralise LordCorn31 who made it his mission to make Lillia prosper and he decided that the claim needed new inspiration and a fresh attitude so the claim of Lillia was renamed to Levanesse - a name more distinguishable from neighbouring TheLillypad.
LordCorn31 opened negotiations with the Aurlunoren authorities on the 4th of April 2023 under the impression that perhaps a gradual process of independence could be reached through diplomacy, however, Tamaka Waralande leader _Chaos_Creeper_ understandably shut the proposition down. LordCorn31 was new to Stoneworks and leadership and this naivity towards Stoneworks politics showed in these early days. It was not until the 10th of April that he reasoned it was their land and there were advantages to being within a larger state, so he renounced his previous position in favour of integration. There is no specific date where an official acceptance into the Seconde Aurlunor Velande was made, it sort of just happened for Levanesse. Some argue that the 5th of April is the official date due to it being the day after contact with Aurlunor was made, some say the 17th as this was when LordCorn31 got the claim transferred to him from Snowwolf and yet others say the 22nd-23rd of the month as this is when the leader of Aurlunor at the time, paleozoey, contacted LordCorn31 to affirm integration and also when the mayor of Esteconmar, ysariell, toured him around the nation. The 22nd-23rd of April theory tends to be the most generally accepted as this was also the date when LordCorn31 was approached in Levanesse by an unknown individual claiming to be an old Aurlunoren who had logged on simply to see how the nation was faring since their departure. It is unclear who this was as at the time of writing this the ign of this individual has been forgotten but the conversation held between them and LordCorn31 greatly prompted him to actively approach and seek integration with Aurlunor. They had been 'shocked' and 'amused' at seeing Medieval architecture in the Velande and they provided banners to LordCorn31 so he could further demonstrate his commitment to Aurlunor by hanging them up around the village.
==== Levanesse's transition into a town and rough integration ====
On the 26th of April 2023, the Second Aurlunor Velande integrated with the Ryvenate of Ryzan to make the Second Aurlunor-Ryzan Empire with Deutzan also becoming a member state. It was also around this time that tensions began to establish themselves between the village of Levanesse and the Aurlunoren authorities. XurioTried and LordCorn31 embarked on a recruitment campaign in global chats and official advertisement channels to attract people to the young claim and get some activity and momentum going. XurioTried's advertising throughout her time in Levanesse proved to be highly effective and there was a rapid influx of new players joining the small claim. This posed an issue to _Chaos_Creeper_ who made it clear that towns cannot post nation advertisements, sparking a row between her and LordCorn31 who stated that this would make it impossible for new members to be attracted to the area more generally as advertisements would be limited to official ones that occurred 'once in a blue moon'. LordCorn31 also still believed that the town still had autonomy as there had been little active intervention in Levanesse's management from Aurlunoren or Tamakan authorities and there was contradicting responses to Levani actions. For example, the response from _Chaos_Creeper_ to nation advertisement on the 29th of April was, "Towns can't post nation ads," whereas Ysariell's was, "You will still have full reign on what you do in your city as long as you follow the rules set out in this nation. You can recruit all you want, and we encourage that." A follow-up question on the status of the City Defence Forces was responded to by ysariell again stating, "you can incorporate them into the national army, but no problem having a national militia just in case." These differing responses gave different impressions to those in the Royal Council at the time.
Side note: Late April also saw LordCorn31 reach a deal with Hoperibo, a player who aspired to run a mercenary group, that would be mutually beneficial. LordCorn31 believed that the town's City Defence Forces were weak and in need of beefing up. The deal reached meant that Hoperibo and his mercenaries would be allowed to reside in Levanesse in exchange for providing protection and a 10% cut in profits if they got hired. The arrival of Hoperibo and those mercenaries who needed housing led to the construction of the building now known as the Redleaf Bar by Druidsage and Goofyyew (themselves in Hoperibo's group at the time) to house them.
On the 30th of April _Chaos_Creeper_ and LordCorn31 discussed how a full integration of Levanesse into the Tamaka Waralande might look, however, there were two principle issues on which the two couldn't agree, these were: the replacing of freedom of religion in Levanesse with only Lunatwa/Twin Dragon sects and the fact that towns could not conduct their own diplomacy. LordCorn31 disagreed with these two rules as he argued that the town had many people migrating from across Rathnir who wanted to maintain their other faiths - a point particularly echoed by XurioTried at the time - and secondly, LordCorn31 still had ties to Mithusu and as a result of the lack of Aurlunoren activity, potential for economic growth was limited as Levani would not be able to conduct trade or commerce with any other faction.
The 4th of May saw the addition of Nightshade to the small town of Levanesse (the village having grown and reached almost 40 members at this stage, marking what I believe to be a transition into a more significant claim). Nightshade, having previous experience at government in Ryzan, was quickly promoted to a position in the Royal Council and was unfortunately thrust into the midst of heated debate and discussion which was rapidly coming to boil. It was at this time that multiple events in Levanesse seemed to happen very fast and led to a combination of factors making the Crown Prince (official title for LordCorn31's leadership role over the town) and the Royal Council very on edge and especially short-tempered. Raids from raid groups and individuals on Levanesse became increasingly frequent and occurred every other day by some faction or other. Hoperibo randomly decided to start griefing the town for entertainment and blaming it on random citizens, leading to a fairly large skirmish between Levanesse and his mercenaries in which players Druidsage and Goofyyew turning into Levani citizens and joining the town as they felt abandoned by Hoperibo's lack of appreciation and sudden betrayal. Furthermore, talks with Aurlunor were not reaching their intended objectives of peaceful integration, despite Nightshade's best efforts and exemplary diplomacy, and the increasingly toxic nature of these negotiations led to increasingly infrequent communication between the two parties and the misconception of many Levani citizens that Aurlunor was standing by and watching Levanesse get torn apart by raiders and griefers.
LordCorn31 tried a new approach to integration with Aurlunor from the 25th of May onwards by deciding to no longer argue on the internal management of Levanesse and to agree to disagree with Aurlunoren perspectives. Levanesse had almost 60 members at this point and daily activity in the claim was at its peak and so Levanesse could no longer simply be dismissed by the region. LordCorn31 wanted to exploit these numbers and the activity to expand infrastructure in Aurlunor and participate in the rest of the nation's workings. However, he did not factor in the bitterness withheld by some Aurlunorens from the toxic negotiations earlier that month and potential fears of expanding Levani influence and culture that could threaten the internal stability of Aurlunor proper. Construction of a metro system was pioneered by player lejugeponey from Levanesse to connect up the key cities in the Aurlunor Velande and Deutzan saw initial successes and hopes that Levanesse would finally be able to demonstrate its unique approach to supporting the Velande but this project was shut down by Aurlunoren officials. On the 28th of May, there was even a proposition, backed by paleozoey, to place the province of Nir, adjacent to the west of Levanesse, under the leadership of the Crown Prince of Levanesse as the new province leader of Nir. Compelling arguments were made by paleozoey: Levanesse was the most consistently active place in the region, there was a general willingness in Levanesse to do the labour necessary to restore the area and there was the population to go around. However, upon proposing this to the national government the idea was shut down. XurioTried also believed it to be a good idea to claim an abandoned castle just to the north of Levanesse, which was locally known as Colline, in order to develop the Northern Tamakan countryside into an idealistic agricultural landscape, but he was banned following the opening of a ticket for proxy claiming. The shutting down of these attempts to help the immediate area around Levanesse angered Levani citizens and both sides failed to grasp the opinions of the other.
In the end, following yet further failed negotiation attempts hosted by Coffeecubus in Lhumar, LordCorn31 decided to go straight to centralised Aurlunor-Ryzan authority and asked EoinGeo to weigh in on the difficult Levani-Aurlunoren situation. Geo promised reforms would come soon and there would be greater representation for active towns more independently of their states' authority in the form of a Crown Council.
==== The Battle of Fort Westlich, the Levani-Umbravien conflicts and the Lhumar Temple Massacre ====
===== Battle of Fort Westlich =====
On Sunday June 18th 2023 a player by the name of VonBravien (known as Doggo657 at the time) joins the city of Levanesse. He announces himself to be a defector from the nation of Norfthorn (a nation that lined Aurlunor's northern border). His arrival to the city will have a great impact on the history of Levanesse and therefore it is important to comprehend VonBravien's situation upon his arrival.
VonBravien left Norfthorn following a spat with the leader of the nation (Schwarzerwolf) and several Dukes of Norfthorn. From various accounts Levani historians have been able to peace together that VonBravien believed Norfthorni values to have been infringed upon by Schwarzerwolf and so began to plot a rebellion in Norfthorn aimed at removing Schwarzerwolf from power and protecting the values he felt had been brushed aside. Norfthorni accounts claim that VonBravien raided and destroyed many homes in the city of Brittleskeep before his departure - leading them to place a bounty upon his head. Levani police forces, assuming that this newest citizen was under threat, were quick to make plans to ensure the safety of him and the city - with Druidsage in particular promising to organise security around the matter.
On Monday 19th June VonBravien announced he wished to work for the benefit of the wider empire (referring to the UCS) and told Levani officials of a spy network he had set up in Norfthorn. VonBravien soon began extensively mining around the city - accumulating vast sums of wealth which he used to purchase the city of Umbravien (purchased around July 8th 2023) in Northern Aurlunor which lay alongside the Norfthorni border. Upon his purchase of the city VonBravien quickly came to loggerheads with some of the more influential members within Levanesse. Nightshade, LordCorn31 and Druidsage were taken aback at the sudden U-turn in personality as VonBravien began issuing orders and making demands of the Levani government officials. He was housed outside the city and began growing more distant from the rest of the community, preferring to start building up a new community in his newly acquired town of Umbravien.
Meanwhile, VonBravien had also been getting friendly with other members of the Aurlunoren and Ryzani government and had been added to government chats, further frustrating Levani members who felt backstabbed by this citizen becoming so friendly so quickly with people who wished to see Levanesse removed from the face of Rathnir. Soon most Levani citizens were no longer on talking terms with VonBravien who fell silent and became more self-centred. 
Tensions came to a peak on Thursday 13th of July when LordCorn31 found some Umbravien locals in full gear wandering throughout the city. Player XurioTried found VonBravien himself looking through chests and removing items. XurioTried confronted VonBravien and an argument ensued. LordCorn31 interceded and proposed a discussion in the Levani Senate in the Elven District to resolve these issues. VonBravien never turned up to the talks and instead some of his goons in full armour showed up. These goons followed up with remarks stating Levanesse will soon no longer exist, we will be forcibly removed and the graceful VonBravien will accept some people he likes as refugees in Umbravien. These actions and comments understandably infuriated Levani officials who flocked to Umbravien to demand an audience with VonBravien in Umbravien to get answers to his prepostrous actions and questionable attitude. 
VonBravien assumed this to be a raid and fell back to Fort Wistlich on top of a nearby mountain in the outskirts of the town of Umbravien. LordCorn31, XurioTried, onemanarmy_rob and King_ofhearts001 approached the fort - the latter two dressed in full gear - and demanded an explanation and discussion to understand the comments made by VonBravien and what his intentions towards Levanesse truly were. In response VonBravien and two Umbraviens in the fort with him opened fire on the delegation, forcing them to fall back across the bridge away from the mountaintop fort. The Levani were soon joined by Druidsage and Reslavv and a ranged engagement ensued with both sides shooting each other. At this point no casualties were reported on either side and a stalemate formed for 20-30 mins.
The Levani decided that VonBravien had overstepped his boundaries and he needed to be silenced with a show of force so they opted to assault Fort Westlich directly. The Levani encircled the Fort and began shooting arrows and flinging poison potions through the windows. The defenders were forced off the roof as onemanarmy_rob and LordCorn31 focused fire on the top of the fort. Reslavv and Druidsage attempted to find a way to breach the Fort's defences. Attempts to push the Levani away from the doors and windows resulted in the defenders almost being killed so they soon chose to simply block the openings. The conflict soon became a siege and VonBravien called upon Kori and the Syltori Rangers (a UCS paramilitary group) to come and help him. The Levani, having already committed to such an extent, realised to flee at this point would make them lose face.
10-15 minutes later the Aurlunoren leader, Kori, managed to sneak his way into the fort and was angered at the Levani. He believed them to have come unprovoked and demanded them to leave. The Levani put forward their demands - shouting back that Aurlunor was oppressing them and treated Levanesse much more harshly than Umbravien, a town who's mayor had only come to power a few days prior. The Levani refused to budge and decided to camp out next to the Fort.
The Levani became complacent and assumed they had the upper hand with their numbers and prior success forcing the defenders to lock themselves up within the Fort. However, they had failed to notice the force of Syltori Rangers sneaking up on the other side of the mountain behind the Fort and they had just started joking around and mocking the defenders. Some Levani had gone to explore the town of Umbravien and others were considering heading back to Levanesse - further demonstrating the lack of engagement at this point in the battle. It was at this point the defenders made a sortie, killing the Levani who were idling on the other side of the bridge and forcing them back down to the main city. Other Syltori Rangers appeared from the North-East, creating a pincer movement and slamming into the Levani's flank from the main city as they were forced down the mountain. The slaughter led to an estimated 12 Levani deaths and 4 Aurlunoren (yes these figures account for people who died more than once). This concluded the battle with a decisive Levani defeat.
All in all, this battle cemented Levani bitterness towards Aurlunor as Kori had refused to recognise VonBravien's provocative actions in Levanesse. Meanwhile, the Umbraviens, Syltori Rangers and elements from the Republic of Bardonia felt empowered to bully Levanesse and raid them for fun - knowing that Kori was on side and that much of the UCS hated them anyways. This led to a series of raids and other battles fought throughout July, August and early September referred to now as the Levani-Umbravien raid wars - an internal conflict between two cities in Aurlunor proper.