Kingdom of Arapovoltios

The province of Upper Volty

The **Kingdom of Arapovoltios** was a short-lived state formed in rebellion against the First Theddite Empire in 15489. Its existence indicated a wider cultural shift among East Theddite speakers in Osthedia away from the Theddite heartland.

## Background

The Upper Volty region had been a part of the Theddite Empire for around 1,400 years by the time of its revolt, ever since the conquests of Emperor Aderitas I. Its capital, Bolfurt, was one of the largest cities within the Empire. The large distance of the province from the capital meant the people of Arapevoltia and the other eastern provinces (Antilostheda, Arapostheda, Transtheda) spoke a different dialect of Theddite and developed their own regional culture, influenced in part by that of the Delian kingdoms. This inevitably led to a rise in regionalist and separatist sentiment within those provinces, a sentiment that ultimately manifested itself in the creation of the Kingdom of Osthedia in the 161st century. The kingdom of Arapovoltios was a precursor to the united nation of Osthedia.

In 15489, the ambitious longtime governor of Upper Volty, Apsacas Volitrias, declared himself King of Arapovoltios in Bolfurt, seceding his province from the rest of the Empire. This move was made mainly for personal gain, not for the intended purpose of creating an East Theddite nation-state, but the move nonetheless accelerated Osthedian nationalism toward new heights.

## War Against the Theddite Empire

*Main article: Arapovoltian Revolt*

Following the Arapovoltian secession, the Theddite Emperor, Sandras II, immediately began to march his army toward Bolfurt. He entered Arapovoltian-held land in October of 15489, but his army was heavily harassed by Arapovoltian soldiers accustomed to fighting around the forest. Apsacas' army attacked Sandras II in the Battle of Tefalotsipas, which ended in an indecisive victory for the Arapovoltians. This defeat, as indecisive as it was, encouraged other uprisings against the Empire in the spring of 15490, including the secession of the Duchy of Eserias and numerous Folondite revolts. Sandras II retreated back to Theddias to raise even more legions of soldiers. In the meantime, Apsacas traveled to the cities of Miscomias and Kalnover, which both defected to him. A diplomatic envoy was sent from Bolfurt to Eserias, establishing a treaty of friendship and alliance between the two fledgling states.

By early '491, Sandras II was once again marching against Arapovoltios. He laid siege to Bolfurt in March, which would end in May of '492 with the surrender of the Arapovoltian garrison. The city would remain under Theddite hands for two years after that, but Apsacas and his army failed to surrender as Sandras expected. Joined by the Eserian army in the winter, Apsacas instead decided to fight a war of attrition against the Theddites. Sandras II was unable to secure supply routes up the Volty, and often the people of Bolfurt refused to supply his army with rations. In 15494, he was forced to withdraw his armies from the Upper Volty. By this point, major rebellions were popping up across Osthedia Minor and the Lower Volty, and the vast forests of Osthedia Major had been abandoned to the local Folondites. Bolfurt returned to Arapovoltian hands without bloodshed. Despite the unstable state of the empire, Sandras was still being supplied by the enormous income of the Gulf provinces and their wealthy trading routes, which he used to employ thousands of Nordish mercenaries and Carboqi bandits-for-hire. In the winter of '494, he captured and sacked the city of Tampalic, to the south of Bolfurt. Sandras' army, newly bolstered by hired warriors, numbered over 100,000. He caught up to to Apsacas and his forces in April '495, winning his first decisive victory in the Battle of the West Bend. The Imperial Army then laid siege to Volyter, which fell within a month thanks to the Army’s massive numerical advantage and the presence of multiple siege engines. Imperial soldiers looted the city at Sandras’ command, killing and raping civilians with impunity. Sandras then defeated the forces of Eserias and Apsacas in the decisive Battle of Trovas in December '495. This put an end to the Duchy of Eserias and led to the capture of Apsacas by the Theddite army. Apsacas was forced to surrender his kingdom to Imperial rule, and the war was officially ended. Some rebellions in the East and in Arapovoltios continued to hold out for months after the end of the war, but no major battles occurred.

## Impact of the Kingdom

Despite the destruction of the Kingdom of Arapovoltios, much of the population continued to support an Upper Volty separatist movement. The province became a hotbed for anti-Lobancas violence, especially in Volyter which had been the city most negatively affected by the war. Later on, this separatism gave way to a wider feeling of East Theddite or Osthedian unity, and the Arapovoltian revolt faded into distant memory.