Aeternoli Revolution

The **Aeternoli Revolution(175AO–183AO)**, also known as the **Byzantine Rebellion**, was a war of independence that ended Company Rule in Aeternalis and the First [?] Empire. The Aeternoli elected High King Olefrik Byzas and formed an independent kingdom that drove the Company from most of their eastern holdings, gaining recognition from the West, and established the Byzantine Kingdom as separate nation founded on similar Western principles and cultural values.

The Aeternolion objected to being taxed by the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company, an organization in which they had no direct representation. Before the 160s, the citizens trading with the Company's Aeternalis Mission had enjoyed a high level of autonomy in their internal affairs, which were locally governed by native legislatures. Company soldiers at this time mostly protected the inhabitants from Al Hasa bandits and made the region prosperous from stability and lucrative trade with the West. The fighting prowess of the Western soldiers employed by the Company to safeguard its trade were in high demand in every Aeternoli eparchia, thus "upkeep" was levied from the natives in order to justify their presence. The military assistance against Hasan raiders evolved into gradually exchanging native control and privileges to Company merchants for the presence of Western soldiers.

During the 160s, however, the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company secured a number of mandates that were intended to bring their Aeternoli partners under more direct control and increasingly intertwine the economies of the eparchies with those of the merchant organization.

The implementation of the Ink Tax of 165 imposed internal taxes on official documents, newspapers and most printed things, which led to native protests and the meeting of archons from several eparchies at the Paper Synod. Tensions relaxed with the Company's repeal of the Ink Tax, but flared again with the Lopnort Incident. Company troops under Captain Doud knowingly opened fire on native auxiliaries holding the line against a Hasan ambush, killing the Aeternoli leader Lopnort with friendly fire - leading to mass mutinies of native auxiliaries and sparking the Carmi Uprising in 170. The Directory criticized Captain Doud and apologized for the Lopnort Incident in 170, but did not dismiss the disgraced officer nor signaled any changes in policy. Captain Doud later resigned in 171, citing ill-health but the injustice was still felt among the Aeternolion. The burning of the *Adera* at Roseluck in 172, the Potion Imports of 173 and the resulting Potion Riots in December of 173 led to a new escalation in tensions. The Company responded by closing the Port of Carmi and enacting a series of punitive laws which effectively rescinded Karminople's ancient right of self-government. The other eparchies rallied behind the veteran soldier and nobleman Olefrik Byzas of Kastrokol, and the Archons sent delegates in late 174 to form a Grand Synod in Kastrokol for the coordination of their resistance to the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company. Opponents of the Company were known as "Byzantines" or "Rebels", while natives who retained their allegiance to the Merchants were known as "U.T.C." or "Imperials".

## Origin

From the start of the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company's arrival of Aeternalis, the Directory pursued a policy of mercantilism, consistent with the economic policies of other Western nations. Under this system, they hoped to grow the Company's economic and political power by regulating commerce, gaining access to new natural resources, and accumulating new precious commodities as monetary reserves. Mercantilist policies were a defining feature of several Company-ruled Aeternoli missions from their inception. The original 12AO Charter of the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company regulated trade in what would become Company Abroad. In general, the export of raw materials to Prem lands were banned, imports of Prem goods were discouraged, and cabotage was restricted to Regulean vessels. These regulations were enforced by the Company's Merchant Fleet & Army that grew in power after given mandates to put down Zombie Outbreaks and restore trade and communication with devastated Western nations.

Following the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company's victory in the War of the Last Bandits, the first mercantilist legislation was passed. In 67AO, the Directory passed the first of the Freedom of the Seas Directives, intended to both improve the Company's trade ties with its partners and to address Premic domination of the trans-Emerald trade at the time. This led to the outbreak of war with all Prems the following years. Reactions to these policies were mixed. The Directives prohibited exports of select materials to non-Regulean territories, which prevented many farmers from receiving higher prices for their goods. Additionally, merchants were restricted from importing certain goods and materials from Premic nations, harming profits. These factors led to smuggling among local merchants. On the other hand, certain merchants and Regulean industries benefitted from the restrictions on Premic competition. The restrictions on Prem-made tools also greatly benefitted the Regulean smithing industry. Some argue that the economic impact was minimal on the Reguleans, but the political friction which the acts triggered was more serious, as the Aeternoli traders most directly affected were also the most politically active.

The Castle Cole Expedition was conducted from 81 to 84 between the Company and a handful of indigenous Aeternoli. It ended with a Company retreat from Kastrokol, thereby contributing to the development of a unique Aeternoli identity separate from that of the Western peoples. The June Reforms also accelerated this development as Aeternalis was massively inconvenienced by the reshuffling and sudden reformation of the Company that saw many of its Premic members and assets removed that were a vital part of the industry in the region. Many archons did not recognize the legitimacy of the Directory for more than a year after its onset because of this but relations eventually normalized as common interests against Prem aggression brought the two together again as allies. The Company was even invited into Kastrokol within a year of their defeat in order to shore up the defense against frequent raids from Al Hasa. To sustain its presence, the Directory thus became determined to bring the Aeternoli under a more centralized administration and direct control in the years 85-90AO.

The Directory finalized these efforts in 90AO, establishing the consolidated Company Mission of Aeternalis, which included the formerly separate eparchies of Akadros, Axia, Karminople, Synor and Papoli. Captain Nehmna was appointed its first governor and set the precedent for light-handed rule that placated the Aeteronolions by defining the Company's relationship with the natives as one of mutual advantage. The expectations and political role of the Company were thus established by Governor Nehmna's approach that focused on Western military protection and access to an empire-wide market in exchange for Eastern economic loyalty. The following years saw the Company hire Western soldiers, establish bases such as Roseluck, Rockwood and Forthwind and expand its dominion into Aeternalis, while negotiating favorable terms for their presence.

Though various movements and philosophers at the time warned that Companization would lead to a loss of Aeternoli freedom, the stability and security provided by the Merchant Fleet & Army was seen as a buffer to the exploitative Eastern powers. Ironically, these libertarian notions were imported into the region by the Westerners themselves whose political trends tended towards liberalism, hatred of tyrants and suspicion of big governments and absolutist authorities. Most Westerners did not necessarily see the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company as a "government" as they had powerful governments themselves that the Company answered to, but the Aeternoli were practically governed by the Company which began to be seen as THE potential tyrant. The integration of the eparchies into the Company Mission of Aeternalis also promoted the identity of an Aeternoli people who shared a commonality, and thus a common grievance, through the Company's rule. The freedom of movement provided by the Mission allowed the same liberal ideas to spread and the people began to question their relationship with the UNKNOWN [?] Trading Company.

The constant threat of Al Hasan invasion however was a strong argument against independence during and after the Southern War in 154-164. Others pointed out that during the same war, the Company heavily relied on Aeternoli to fight in Aeternalis, as the militias were not only capable of defending themselves but also quite capable of conducting offensive actions, taking the fight to Prem-held lands alone many times. The Company was far too stretched to come to Aeternalis' aide in considerable numbers to make any meaningful difference in that theatre and they concentrated their efforts elsewhere throughout the war - which further cemented the idea that the Aeternolion are an independent people that are perfectly capable of governing and defending themselves without the Company's protection, which was supposed to be the only real benefit of being under Company rule.

Though the Reguleans were victorious in the war, the debts of the Southern War later led to the Directory drawing up taxes and economic policies from all its territories in order to pay its outstanding balance. These acts fostered resentment as the Aeternolion had no say or representation in how they were drafted and passed such as the Ink Tax and the Potion Imports which led to an escalation of tensions that resulted in the Aeternoli Revolution.