Ousilian Empire

> *"Today, we stand upon the unified lands of our people; we shall no longer be the barbarians of old. We have forged ourselves a new destiny and that destiny shall lead us to greater glory of humanity! For the Empire!"*
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> *- Emperor Laurien*
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The Ousilian Empire was once the first and greatest human nation/empire ever forged, founded by the various tribes of humans whom have long sought to end the Warring Era of the humans history. It's capital formerly called Daygarde, now known as the bustling Kingdom of Davengarde. The Ousilian Empire would never be forgotten in the human kingdoms as Emperor Laurien's teaching is taught even to this day and his feats of accomplishments are remembered by all Lords/Kings.

Founded during the mid years of the Eldar Age; the Empire held strong against the tyrannical elven empire of Scyeria. Although the two great power never engaged in open war; the tension of hostility lingered close to open war with the constant skirmishes that would plague their relation. Even so; although the Empire was stable, there were plenty of Inter-house infighting and disputes as each Lord had different opinions upon what laws should be proposed and how things should be done to what enemies they need to be dealing with.

By the late to end years of the Eldar Age, the death of Emperor Laurien and the failing of his son's inability to rule; the Empire eventually crumble in on itself; fracturing the unified land into five currently kingdoms and the Knight-State. Despite the end of the Empire; it's history is imprinted into many of the newly found kingdoms.

## History

### Prehistory

During the early years of the Eldar Era, the Elves have long consolidated their power as Kingdom/Empires and ruled their respective lands; the humans had not yet been that advance. Prior to their formation as an Empire, they were tribes of human. Humans were far and wide in the early years of the Eldar Era; there was a vast array of tribes of humans each with their own distinct set of skills and experience. Out of them all, the greatest was once called the Viynth Tribe, though their history has long been forgotten, the man who forged the Ousilian Empire would never be forgotten, his name was Laurien Viynth, the first of his name and the greatest warrior ever produced by the Viynth tribe.

### Kingdom of Daygarde and the Humanic Wars

As the early Eldar Age passed; tribes of humans were dying due to the endless war of the Warring Era that swept the lands for decades. Tribes would hire other tribes to kill and attack their enemies; causing a large rift within humanity itself. Families were wiped out, tribes were wiped out; the most powerful of them all was the Viynth Tribe; renowned for their skill in combat; they were the most feared and hated of them all. However, Laurien Viynth had another thought; he wondered what if he could end the cycle of bloodshed that was the fate of all humans born in this era. Thus it was that he set out to end the tribal ways of human and looked towards the Elves as a model. He wanted to unite the Humans as a whole, to forge the greatest empire ever built. But he did not forge it alone; he looked towards his cousin tribe of Aldraysa; however he had to unite the two tribes to do so and he married his cousin, her name was Liana Aldraysa.

With the union of the tribes, Laurien now had consolidated his rule and with the combined army of Viynth and Aldraysa at his back, his vision was clear in his eyes. He would combine the lands of Viynth and Aldraysa and rename it as Daygarde; laying the foundation for the Kingdom of Daygarde. As he conquered the neighboring tribes he gave them two choices; either join them as vassals or they could live but should they ever attempt to end the Kingdom they would be met with swift justice and death. It was no surprised that they joined them as Laurien swiftly defeated them. His prowess as a tested commander and warrior quickly spread through the human tribes; the Kingdom of Daygarde was formed relatively quickly, Laurien was crowned King for his achievement and the various tribes he absorbed into the Kingdom were changed to Lords, able to rule their respective lands but could not hold armies nor dare attack the crown itself. The Kingdom of Daygarde is the combined lands of Viynth and Aldraysa.

Years have passed since the formation of Daygarde and King Laurien quickly set out to govern the Kingdom; he created the monetary system rather than using bartering like animals, created roads, walls and even helped train soldiers to help defend the lands itself. By this time the tribe system has ended, but rivaling lands of humans had emerged. Many wanted to end Daygarde and plunder it's riches; many kingdoms formed out of greed and desperation as warlords rose to the challenge; but these kingsdoms would come and go. The Humanic War was famous for the endless creation of Kingdoms that would crumple for they lacked the infrastructure and politics to keep them together. Many of these Kingdoms often tested their luck against Daygarde yet failed. Laurien's patience ended when one of their gold minds was ambushed and plundered leading to an uproar of Lords within the council chambers where Laurien often held court to hear out the issues of his Lords. Not taking any chance; Laurien marshaled the Daygarde army and rode out to meet the army upon the fields of battle. Laurien once again proved his worth in battle as he conquered all and any attacks that dared cross into their borders. Kingsdoms came and fell as Laurien swept the land with his army of Daygarde and crushed a vast majority of the warlords that rose up to the challenge.

The Humanic Wars would last for a bitter part of 5 years; by the end much of the lands were ravaged and destroyed. Over time, Laurien set out envoys to the remaining leaders; those that survived the war and gave them a chance to join the Kingdom of Daygarde. People evidently joined by the masses as they knew that Laurien would be able to protect and defend their lands. The Kingdom of Daygarde grew larger as they incorporated the eastern side of the land, all those who bent the knee to Laurien were stripped of their title as King and bowed as vassels/lords to Laurien.

### Ousilian Golden Age

Another 10 years would come to pass as Laurien consolidated his hold and quickly set out to create the Empire he dreamt of. Although he founded and created the Empire from the ashes of war, he looked outward and looked to the horizon for peace. Despite his outward appearance as a soldier and commander, he often held court with his scholars, investigating other lands and races to perhaps form treaties with. Ousilian was self sustained with many of the country side providing food and crops for the cities whereas the cities provided exotic spices and trade to spread throughout the heartland. The army of Laurien was lauded as one of the greatest military the world had ever seen, marshaling hundreds of thousands of soldiers, well trained men whom have held swords and pikes for a living, yet despite their strength as a land army; they lacked the naval power of other Kingdoms. Although he would not know it, his lack of naval strength would cause him grievance in the years to come. With the capital established, monetary system in place and a primary language instated, the Empire seemed to reach new heights, scholars and trade were booming alongside their technological advances were their farming techniques which are still used even after the fall.

The borders and gates of Ousilian were open to all, of course the usual bandits and thieves would slip past the guards but were always met with swift justice and death as per the law of the land.

## Government

The three major elements of the Imperial state were the central government, the military, and provincial government. The military established control of a territory through war, but after a city or people was brought under treaty, the military mission turned to policing: protecting citizens, the agricultural fields that fed them, and religious sites.

### Central government

The Ousilian head of state, and ultimately the most powerful person in the land was the Emperor and was based on the consolidation of his position within Vertwind and the growing prosperity of his lands, and the ability to manipulate the hierarchy of society to secure the ends of his desires.

The Emperor was the ultimate authority in policy- and decision-making, being the ultimate voice of the Empire and ensuring that quick-decisive action can be relieved without censorship and the process of a advisory board. However, much of this is hypothetical of the official extents of the Emperor's power, as Laurien ruled with such grace and prowess that he was hardly challenged for much of his reign.

### Military

The soldiers of the Imperial army were professionals who were conscripted for 30 years of active duty. The transition to a professional military began during the late Humanic Wars, and was one of the more profound shifts away from tribalism and metal age doctrines, under which an army had exercised their responsibility in defense of both nation and head of state.

The primary mission of the military was to preserve the Empire and Its numerous holdings. The three major divisions of the military were the following.

* The Provincial Army, comprising the numerous Imperial regiments that had sworn allegiance to the Emperor and to the people though a oath of loyalty.
* The Navy, which was supplied though Tyrelia and Krynval into fielding a rather small navy in comparison to other major powers but skilled shipboard crews manned the wooden racks.
* The Imperial Knights, the elites of the Military and a subdivision of the Knight-Council.