The Tentative Years

The Tentative Years, sometimes known as the Interwar Period, was a period in Andorasi history marked significantly by change in the structure and attempted change of culture in the Kingdom of Andoras under Dragomárus rule, by the king Aeganar IV Dragomárus. Immediately following the execution of Veddel Markwell and Michael Avleston on January 27, 331 AC (although some pinpoint the beginning of the period earlier), the Tentative Years period began. During the 330s and most of the 340s AC, Aeganar Dragomárus sought to restore his authority, and did it in a way that was considered highly tyrannical and cruel; although, by him showing his power and authority by ultimately crushing the Farrowhalt Freehold in the 326 AC rebellion and killing their leaders, no one dared strike against him until it was considered absolutely necessary. For fifteen years, Aeganar had free reign to pass whatever laws or mandates he pleased, and with no council to advise him on these matters (he had fired or executed the members of this council all by 327 AC), Andoras became more and more utilitarianist and authoritative under the chafing rule of Aeganar IV Dragomárus. The realm became entirely centralized, as direct vassals no longer existed and Aeganaexisted and Aeganar directly claimed all land for himself in an effort to quell further rebellion; ironically, this would only be one of the many reasons that a rebellion arose.
During this period, several mandates and laws were passed, all of which slowly limited the nobility and crippled the middle and lower classes. Many of the peasantry died out, being forced to provide almost all of their food directly to the state; the merchants had crushing taxes and fees to deal with, regardless of if they were of Andorasi origin or not; and the nobility, being stripped of many of their former rights and being robbed of the right to speak against the kingdom, led to a domino effect that eventually led to a second rebellion that would crush the Kingdom of Andoras, once and for all.
== List of mandates/laws passed by Aeganar during the Tentative Years ==
In all, fifteen mandates/acts/laws/decrees from 331 to 346 AC were passed. Eight were abolished in 346 AC in an attempt to avoid rebellion, and eight were destroyed with the destruction of the kingdom of 348 AC two years later. Many of the laws were focused on providing central power to invest in Aeganar himself, and only Aeganar himself, and on a wider scale, to make the Kingsland the richest place in Andoras while the rest of the kingdom suffered. One specific mandate, the Mandate of Punishment, was targeted directly at Thyllanor, as 'payback' for waging war against the kingdom, Aeganar thought it to be just, but in reality it weakened the rest of the kingdom, and so on. The sixteen mandates are listed here:
# The Trade Act of Andoras (331 AC): imposed a massive tariff on all goods exported from Andoras and increased tax within the nation. Passed mainly to restore the economy of the kingdom, which had been negatively affected by the war. Later abolished as the first of the eight to be abolished in 346 AC in an attempt to stop the rising movements of rebellion.
# Mandate of Punishment (331 AC): Targetting Thyllanor, this mandate set out to treat Thyllanor as an occupied foreign nation, and to slowly 'de-criminalize' it's way back into the nation, by imposing martial law in certain parts of the kingdom and increasing tax prices there on top of the cruel ones already imposed in the Trade Act passed a few months earlier than this one. This was the fifth mandate to be abolished in 346 AC, but by that time Thyllanor was already preparing to strike against Andoras in the 346 AC rebellion.
# Mandate of Valor (332 AC): effectively cut off all payments sent to veterans of former wars, which angered the former soldiers of the Andorasi army or in some cases even killed them, as they depended on the money. Destroyed with the destruction of the Kingdom in 348 AC.
# Mandate of Substance (332 AC): Required peasant farmers and all who farmed in general to send five-eighths of their crop directly to the state. A food shortage in the Kingsland was the cause behind this mandate, but after two years the region had received enough food to sustain, and was back on its feet. Still, the mandate persisted and many farmers starved to death. One of the last (the sixth) mandate to be abolished in 346, just a few days away from war beginning.
# Lavosi Mandate (335 AC): due to rising tensions between Lavos and Andoras, all trade and contact was cut off with Lavos, an embargo was established, and immigration from Lavos or emigration to Lavos was strictly forbidden, and for some time punishable by death. This was the second mandate to be abolished in 346, partially because Aeganar needed to travel overseas to hire Lavosi mercenaries in preparation for war.
# Mandate of Criticism (337 AC): removed the right to speak against the government in a bad way or disagree with it. While hardly accepted beforehand, this mandate made it an official law, that if broken, resulted in torture. Mandate destroyed with the Kingdom in 348 AC.
# The Imperial Act of Andoras (339 AC): Established a single-ruled, single-manned government in Andoras, led entirely by Aeganar IV Dragomárus. The vassal system became so decrepit as to nearly cease to exist, and soon nobles were even treated like mere subjects. It became accepted that all land belonged to Aeganar alone and the Kingdom of Andoras was his entire domain. While technically the eighth final mandate to be abolished, the government was too ingrained for any immediate effects to occur, and war was declared the very next day after its abolition.
# The Noble Houses Act of Andoras (339 AC): Dictated certain rules as to what houses could count as noble within the Kingdom of Andoras. Many houses which had become noble through recent deeds, such as House Clement, or houses that were noble through their wealth, such as House Mandrom, were no longer recognized as noble houses by Andoras and were not treated as such. Became the third mandate to be abolished in 346 AC, but it changed his opinion little and many nobles still remained determined to fight in the upcoming rebellion.
# Lehald Mandate (340 AC): In reaction to a recent violent outbreak in Lehald, Ember's End, the use of all weaponry or tools designed to harm were banned to the general public, and routine runs to confiscate these items. Guards were the only ones allowed to have weapons, and bodyguards, if one could afford them, were forced to use nonviolent methods of restraining a criminal. Became the fourth mandate to be abolished in 346, but by that time the famous Mandrom Heist had occurred and the Lehald Mandate was directly cited as the reason for its unfortunate success.
# The Mandrom Mandate (342 AC): The mandate, while only meant to be temporary, stated that the government of Andoras would pay back all reparations needed as repayment and a way of apologizing for the Mandrom Heist to House Mandrom, which was successful only because of the Lehald Mandate's existence. The Andorasi government ultimately forgot about this, and it was destroyed with the Kingdom in 348 AC.
# The Traitors' Mandate (343 AC): This mandate made all support of the movement of Con-crownism, any support of the Farrowhalt Freehold (including the flags that many in the movment flew, which were also outlawed in this mandate), and any reference in a positive way to any notable con-crownists or their supporters to be outlawed and punishable by revocation of citizenship and banishment. Destroyed with the kingdom in 348 AC.
# Dragonspire Mandate (343 AC): Required special permits to get in and out of the city of Dragonspire if it could not be ostensibly proven that whoever was attempting to enter was either a citizen of the city, worked in the city, or was a guard. Aeganar made a habit of choosing exactly who could go in, especially those who he thought were plotting against him. In an attempt to ease the riots outside and inside the city, this was the seventh mandate to be abolished in 346 AC. 
# The Dominion Act of Andoras (343 AC): This act was more of an ego stroke for Aeganar, as the Dominion Act had little effect on the day-to-day life of citizens. It merely stated that Andoras was, by law, a kingdom, and little could be done against it to change this by way of revolution, rebellion, or whatnot. The Dominion Act was only exercised once, in a rare court case in which the politician Duimedes Valheidt (who was later executed during the war) attacked the integrity and questioned the legitimacy of his tyrannical rule. Destroyed with the kingdom in 348 AC, if any of the mandates from the Tentative Years are still followed, this would be the one, especially by members of House Brackwater.
# Aeganar's Royal Decree (345 AC): Although not officially a mandate, law, or act, Aeganar issued an official royal decree in late 345 AC, in which he covered many topics, including the prospect of a rising rebellion and how he would combat it if one were to arise. He stated that draft laws would be put into effect, and drew an image of a valiant, crushing victory, in which he would execute everyone who participated in the rebellion and usher in a new era of Andoras. Aeganar was generally viewed as unwise for publishing the decree, citing that the rebels were only spurred on by his arrogance.
# The Abolishment Act (346 AC): The final act of the Tentative Years, Aeganar was finally convinced by his advisors, whom had also convinced him to return to his side, to abolish many of the overly tyrannical or outright harmful mandates, acts, and laws that he had implemented from the ending of the Farmers' Revolution to the present. He chose (or rather, was reluctantly assisted to choose) eight mandates, all listed above, to remove and abolish from the laws. The order of abolition went as follows (all dates 346 AC):
## The Trade Act of Andoras (January 3rd)
## The Lavosi Mandate (January 8th)
## Noble Houses Act (February 14th)
## Lehald Mandate (February 14th)
## Mandate of Punishment (February 26th)
## Mandate of Substance (March 28th)
## Dragonspire Mandate (April 17th)
## Imperial Act (April 28th)
It is worth noting that many of the abolished laws did not take place until well into the war, with word being hard to get out to all corners of Andoras in such a quick time. When Dalan II Karthmere went to Frostfall after the war, he found they were still practicing the Mandate of Punishment and reacted negatively towards the Karthmeres or anything Thyllanorian-related.
Finally, war began the day after the Imperial Act was abolished, and the gates of Dragonspire were being stormed almost immediately, only for the rioters to be driven away. In other places, the Battle of the Pantau Bay was about to begin. The 346 AC rebellion -- the Civil War of Andoras -- had begun.