Cyon

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Cyon at its greatest extent, 181 A.S

The **Kingdom of Cyon,** known more commonly as simply **Cyon,** was a kingdom in Truyea that survived for more than 200 years between the first and third centuries A.S. It was formed in the year 9 A.S by nobles from the Middlelands house of Barbo, a storied clan that had migrated north from the southern reaches of the continent centuries ago. It enjoyed more than a hundred years of expansion and was one of the most powerful nations on the continent until cultural and ethnic crises contributed to its decline in the early third century. It was ultimately conquered by the Empire of Sevicia in 243 A.S, with its remaining territories either annexed or separated into dozens of smaller, warring factions,

## History

Founded almost immediately after the Separation of the Realms, Cyon was formed by nobles of the Barbo clan in the territory known as Merta (present-day Imentium), in the Middlelands region of Truyea. A powerful and influential clan in their own right, the Barbos soon expanded their sphere of influence through diplomatic means first and then, when necessary, by military. The central and western regions of Truyea were rife with splintering kingdoms and warring factions which made for easy conquest.

By the year 100, the Kingdom of Cyon had extended as far west as the Twin Cities and as far east as Seham and Orosco, and was one of the most powerful entities anywhere on the continent. It continued to enjoy a period of expansion and growth - both militarily and domestically - for much of the second century. At its height in the year 181, Cyon was home to more than ten million inhabitants and had a standing army larger than any other kingdom. Its capital city of Arno was the largest city by population of any city in Truyea.

## Downfall and collapse

In the late second century, Cyon's strength became its defining weakness. A kingdom that prided itself on its diverse population, it was soon plagued by civil unrest and uprisings that became harder and harder to subdue by force. Cyon had no language or linguistic origin of its own - instead, roughly half the population spoke Erenneese, native to the Kingdom of Erenna further west, and half still spoke Old Tamerian. Similarly, while a majority of the population worshipped the Old Gods, significant numbers of those, especially in the richer northern regions, had no religion at all. These cultural and social schisms began to slowly break the state apart, and for most of the period 180 to 220 the kingdom was preoccupied with ever-increasing civil discord.

By 230, Cyon - while still a leading power - had shrunk in influence tremendously. Five years later, in 235, the Empire of Sevicia would declare war. Led by Ascillion the Great, Sevicia's ambitions had turned westward, with Cyon standing as the only thing between it and Sevician hegemony of the continent. The war was bloody and brutal and last eight years between 235 and 243. In late 243, Sevician forces occupied the Cyonian capital of Arno, signalling the end of the war. The Kingdom of Cyon was officially annexed as a western territorial state of Sevicia in the last month of the year 243. The surviving members of House Barbo, who up until that point had still ruled over Cyon, were rounded up and strangled. Cyon is remember through a number of songs and poems in Sevician and Erenneese cultures.