Lazorian Empire

Lazorian Imperial Flag, commissioned 14SE.

Northhold

Port Xeldarion

The Lazorian Empire is a Human empire that famously lead the Uprising against the Plytharian Ascendancy in the closing stages of The First Era. The Lazorian Empire is the prime Human empire in Xartia, boasting the largest military and population of all Humanity. Because of this, Lazoria has immense power and for years has dominated almost all aspects of Xartia, from warfare to trade and more. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, Lazoria saw a successful period of growth, going from a small population of only 20 million to 60 million. This, combined with the military reputation of it's people would enable then Emperor Titus I the ability to annex various other empires, both Human and Elven alike. At it's height in 550SE, Lazoria controlled astronomical amounts of land, boasting almost 25% of the total landmass on Xartia, roughly 10 million kilometers squared. At the time, Lazoria boasted a total population of 130 million that included Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Lizardmen.

During the 7th century, Lazoria would fall quite far from what it once was. Under the leadership of Emperor Joseph I, Lazoria suffered great setbacks after the co-existence of Humans, Dwarves and Elves proved to be hard to manage for the young Emperor. Thus, in 669SE, the 'Great Split' occured which saw the formation of new Elven and Dwarven empires.

In 700SE, the Great Human War occured, which saw longtime Lazorian rivals, the Flamorian Empire invade the Lazorian city of Fief. In response, Emperor Lasorkus II declared that the Flamorian's were to be 'utterly, and brutally destroyed.' Almost every major Human nation would fight in the war, including Anvia, Vietuda, The Nordlands and Duneriders. Following the deadly but pivotal Battle of New Lazoria, Lasorkus II lead 650,000 troops to Flamoria where a year-long battle occured that saw over 2 million perish in the streets. Despite not being able to conquer the Flamorian Capital, Lasorkus II forced the Flamorians to the peace table which saw Flamoria's reign as a global super power end and Lazoria still hanging on.

After the catastrophic Great Human War, Lazoria had lost over four million men in the fighting and a further 600,000 civilians. Unfortunately for Lasorkus II, he will be remembered only for his inability to capture the Flamorian capital and win the Great Human War.

In 730SE, after the reign of Ryan II, the current reigning Emperor, Lasorkus III took charge of the nation and in the thirteen years that Lasorkus III has ruled, the Emperor has reformed the Council and has placed new reforms to slowly rebuild the Lazorian Empire in the years after the war. Lasorkus III has also restructured the military and alongside the Shadow Clan, is looking to solidify Lazoria for the future.

## Early Years (0SE - 79SE)

Following the defeat of the Plytharian Ascendancy at the end of The First Era, the huge power vacuum left in the wake of their defeat was enormous and the Human War Council of TFE that had just beaten the Plytharian's wanted it all. The majority of the council voted in favour of forming a new Empire, with the elected head of the council becoming Emperor of the Council while the other six would rotate the Supreme Councillor position. Unfortunately, there was a disagreement and the Human forces were split. It took merely a few weeks for war to begin brewing... and brew it did.

After the fragmentation of the Human War Council, three major factions formed. The bulk of the Human population sided with the Lazorian Empire as the Lazorians from Lazoria had been the key driving force behind the Rebellion. The second major faction were the Flamorian Empire, a dictatorial state that was mostly populated by Humans and Orcs. The Flamorians were the de-facto rivals to the Lazorians and border-friction has been a large issue for centuries. The third and final major faction that formed was the Vietudan Dynasty. The Vietudan Dynasty are a unique culture and are vastly different to the Lazorian and Flamorian empires. Vietuda founded itself on peaceful values, however, it maintained the third largest fighting force in the world.

There were many other factions that formed after the First Era, however, the power vacuum was largely filled with humans. The only contender to these factions were the ancient Grand Elves and the Lizardmen of Deleth. The both of which had no interest in Human politics.

## The War Years (80SE - 95SE)

The Founder's War was a thirteen-year-long conflict that took place between the Lazorian & Flamorian Empires. The two years leading up to the Founder's War and the conflict itself are generally referred to as the 'War Years' due to the immense build up and technological advancements that took place.

In 81SE, the total human population had reached 80 million and almost 25 million of that were armed soldiers. With such a large vacuum left by the defeat of the Plytharian Ascendancy, the empires that had formed threw bodies at eachother to claim the top spot. The Founder's War officially began in 82SE with the 1st Battle of Heldarian where three million soldiers died in just seven days. Ultimately, Lazoria emerged victorious from the war and technological advancements such as the Pulsar Shield, the Crag-Blade and Dwarfocopter were made.

## Building Phase (96SE - 450SE)

Following the Founder's War, Lazoria had established itself as a contender to be a global superpower and as such, had a reputation and world to manage. Emperor Justinian had elected to use this newfound influence to expand the Empire. Local states such as Justinian City, the Kingdom of Xeldarion and the Kingdom of the Crag were absorbed in the first eighty years to boost Lazoria's power.

Justinian continued to expand Lazoria until his natural death in 150SE. Justinian's son, Emperor Xeraph II elected to continue his father's legacy, however, Xeraph preferred a different method to his father's vassalisation techniques. Xeraph II invaded local kingdoms such as Fiefdom, Arakai and the Assinians in the Five-Year-War. The war saw Lazoria emerge victorious with little opposition however in 165SE, Xeraph II was killed in battle while fighting rebels in the Fiefdom region and when his brother, Emperor James I took the throne, the Kingdom of Fief was established as a vassal state, bringing the rebellion to an end.

In 200SE, the Lazorian Empire began to organise their military under branches seperate to the Imperial Council. This was to avoid corrupt leaders of the Imperial Council taking control of the state. With the re-organisation of the military, new species were permitted entry with large contingents of Dwarves and Elves being recruited into the forces. Emperor James I even had a Dwarven general among the Military section of the Imperial Council which had been unheard of previously.

After Emperor Titus I came to power in 330SE, the Lazorian Empire had experienced over two-hundred years of continuous growth, however, it had plateaued when the young Titus came into power. Titus was the great-grandson of Emperor James I and had come into power at a fortunate time. Lazoria wanted change. The small Elven and Dwarven populations wanted more recognition and other Kingdoms surrounding the Empire were desperate for leadership. Using his grandfather's Military reforms and administration skills, Titus I peacefully annexed the Dwarven kingdoms of the Indianus Mountains which saw new technological advancements from war contraptions & mining equipment to new ways of constructing cities.

Following the annexation of the Dwarven kingdoms, there was a large landslide in Elven emigration from Lazorian borders. This was due to the Elven Civil War that was taking place during this time. Titus I elected to support the Eastern Elvarian Kingdom and by the end of the war, Titus I was forced to step in and save Eastern Elvaria from destruction. As such, much of the Elven population elected to merge with the Lazorian Empire and over the next fifty years a large influx of Elven magic, culture and people would come to Lazoria.

In 380SE, Titus I began the construction of what would become the jewel of the Lazorian Empire, New Lazoria. The city took over one hundred years and three Emperors to see it's construction complete, however Titus I has always been credited with it's construction. New Lazoria was constructed with Elven magic, Human ingenuity and Dwarven technology. It was the first multi-race settlement in Xartian history.

## The Rise of Lazoria (450SE - 550SE)

The Lazorian Empire saw enormous levels of economic growth and prosperity during the years that followed Emperor Titus I's reign. Titus I is largely regarded as the sole reason for the large period of dominance that the Lazorian Empire had throughout these years.

In 500SE, the Lazorian Empire had effectively established itself as the Global Superpower. This was due to a combination of things, however, the key aspect was it's cooperation between races. Where the Flamorian Empire maintained it's power was due to the Human value of perseverance and always striving for power and The Grand Elves maintained their large empire with magic, Lazoria had the best of not only those empires, but the Dwarves too. If a Lazorian legion was in battle on one side of Lazoria and needed to communicate to the capital, Elven and Dwarven communication arrays, a mix of magic and technology had allowed for delays of merely a few hours rather than the old ways of sending runners or pigeons.

In the year 540SE, Emperor Lasorkus I attempted to solidify Lazoria's global position by establishing a 'world-council' known as the Xartian Accord. The Accord attempted to allow free-movement of trade and technology between key Empires and unify the world in an event of Plytharian return. The organisation was initially a success, however, due to a breakdown in diplomacy between various factions, the Accord was abandoned before the end of the decade.