Brass Kingdom

The **Brass Empire**, formerly known as the **Brass Kingdom**, is a kingdom inhabited by the Brass people. Its king, King Tuba II, declared war on the other kingdoms of Orchestria and successfully expanded it through imperialism.

## Geography

The heart of the Brass Empire is Bass Bay. The bay provides a large coastline, increasing trade and causing many settlements to appear along the coast, most notably Tuba Town, the capital of the empire. A small island known as Alphorn Island can be found off the coast of the kingdom.

The west of the kingdom is separated by the Cornet Mountain Range, which is near the Old Brass Palace. This caused the area to become a hard place to colonize and prevented most attempts to control the area. However, once the area was colonized it became a population center as the land is flat and perfect for farming.

The north of the kingdom is mostly encompassed by the Soprano Steppes, a large wasteland with little to no wildlife. Water is scarce and so are settlements. However, this area pushes the borders to the western mountain range, controlling the passage of armies to and from the String Kingdom.

To the south of the empire is the Cacophony Strait and further south is the Southern Lands, a large unexplored land.

## Political System

The Brass Empire's political system has greatly changed over time. Prior to the Trumpet dynasty it was similar to the Percussion Kingdom's political system. There was the Brass Landsmeet, a meeting that was called every year to make new laws and to rule the civil side of the government, while the monarch would have complete control over the military.

The Trumpet Dynasty reformed this system, requiring all new laws to gain the approval of the king before being passed as well as granting the monarch other minor powers. The Tuba dynasty took this further, reforming the system once more. This time, the kingdom became an absolute monarchy, with all power invested in the king.

## Culture

Brass culture has changed the most out of any kingdom in Orchestria, often reflecting recent events in its history.

At the beginning of the first Stanza, under the reign of the Cornet family, the Brass Kingdom's culture, above all else, valued material wealth, whether that be in the form of land, material, animal, or coin. This view very much mimicked the Woodwind Kingdom, hence why matters went so smoothly between the kingdoms during this period. Bass Bay and the brass mines worked well with this culture, establishing a lot of material gain for the Brass Kingdom.

Eventually, when the Trombone family took over due to a severe pestilence this viewpoint changed. Starting around the death of King Cornet VI, great strength and health began being highly valued over anything else. Some even would sell entire mansions just for a chance at magical cures. This disease triggered a major change in culture. Following it, magical prowess began to be valued as well, many believing it to be the only way to survive the disease.

This view of highly valued strength and magical prowess eventually filtered into King Trombone V's reign. During the reign of King Trombone V, the brass culture began to become more imperialistic when the military was reformed into a professional force. This only hastened when the Woodwind Kingdom and Brass Kingdom invaded the Key Kingdom. The following defeat in this war caused the brass people to become more suspicious of other kingdoms, resulting in the Trombone dynasty being overthrown and the new Trumpet dynasty encouraging this change, perhaps too much. This encouragement made the brass people widely suspicious of other kingdoms and openly calling for assimilation of all other people.

This suspicion among the Trumpet family even spread to magic with the Trumpet family completely banning the concept altogether in the kingdom. Overall, under the Trumpet rule, the kingdom valued physical power over mental power.

Under the reign of the Tuba's, this ban on magic was lifted and mental power began to be valued yet again. However, the Tuba family sought to further strengthen loyalty in the kingdom, creating more propaganda.

Overall, in its current state, the Brass Kingdom requires of its people to possess at least one of these 3 things: Absolute Loyalty, Physical Strength, or Educated Intelligence.

## Royals

### **Rulers**

**King Cornet l** [1S 0 - 1S 2]

**King Cornet ll** [1S 2 - 1S 43]

**King Cornet lll** [1S 43 - 1S 68]

**King Cornet lV** [1S 68 - 1S 119]

**King Cornet V** [1S 119 - 1S 164]

**King Cornet Vl** [1S 164 - 1S 165]

**King Trombone l** [1S 165 - 1S 202]

**King Trombone ll** [1S 202 - 1S 234]

**King Trombone lll** [1S 234 - 1S 267]

**King Trombone lV** [1S 267 - 1S 292]

**King Trombone V** [1S 292 - 1S 342]

**King Trombone Vl** [1S 342 - 1S 396]

**King Trombone Vll** [1S 396 - 1S 421]

**King Trombone Vlll** [1S 421 - 2S 52]

**King Trombone lX** [2S 52 - 2S 72] (Died in 2S 95)

**King Trumpet l** [2S 72 - 2S 102]

**King Trumpet ll** [2S 102 - 2S 127]

**King Trumpet lll** [2S 127 - 2S 159]

**King Trumpet lV** [2S 159 - 2S 163]

**King Trumpet V** [2S 163 - 2S 179]

**King Trumpet Vl** [2S 179 - 2S 195]

**King Trumpet Vll** [2S 195 - 3S 25] *(ALIVE)*

**King Tuba l** [3S 25 - 3S 26]

**King Tuba ll** [3S 26 - 3S 46] *(ALIVE)*

## History

By 1S 0, the Brass Kingdom was founded by King Cornet I near the Bass Bay. This allowed for quick initial growth due to the favorable lands for agriculture.

### First Stanza

#### Initial growth and contact with Woodwind Kingdom

The Brass Kingdom grew quickly around the Bass Bay due to the terrain and climate. While King Cornet l would die shortly after founding the kingdom, King Cornet ll would go on to create the Brass Palace in Tuba Town. Soon contact with the Woodwind Kingdom was made. Relations were peaceful and, in 1S 15, the woodwinds were quick to grant trade rights to brass merchants and the Brass Kingdom did the same for woodwind merchants. This laid the ground work for a future alliance between the two kingdoms and enriched both of the kingdoms. Bass Bay once again helped, as its large coastline allowed for fast transportation of goods between both kingdoms.

#### The collapse of the Flugelhorn Mines

In 1S 73, the Flugelhorn Mines collapsed, killing thousands of miners. This made the Brass Kingdom desperate for new workers, after losing so many people. And so, they struck an agreement with the Woodwind Kingdom. This agreement eventually became known by historians as The Saxophone Agreement. The Saxophone Agreement stated that Woodwind people will work the mines for the Brass Kingdom and, in exchange, the **Brass Kingdom** will give the Woodwind Kingdom a cut of the mineral product. Many historians believe this to be the reason why saxophones, despite being from the woodwind kingdom, wield brass, hence the name.

#### Battle of Hornpipe Heights

In 1S 100, the Bassanello Bandits went to war with the Woodwind Kingdom, and King Oboe l called to the Brass Kingdom for help. Despite the fact that their army was mostly untrained, King Cornet lV valued the Woodwind Kingdom and agreed to send out a small amount of troops to aid King Oboe l. The Bassanello Bandits had made their base of operations in Chalumeau Castle, found in the Hornpipe Heights.

The woodwinds would charge up to Chalumeau Castle from the road, while the brass troops would attack the bandits from behind the castle in a pincer movement. The plan worked perfectly, as the Bassanello Bandits weren't expecting brass troops, and most of the major bandit leaders were killed at the start of the battle. Under King Oboe l's strategic leadership, the Bassanello Bandits were crushed and fled to the Keyboard Kingdom. This was the first major battle that the brass military had tasted, but it would be a long wait before the army reached their true potential.

#### Rusted Brass Disease Spreads

In 1S 163, the fatal Rusted Brass Disease would go on to kill thousands of people from the Brass Kingdom. This disease was similar to the Tarnished Brass Disease, a rare throat disease that would force victims to speak in whispers, however this disease was much more fatal. The disease was spread through both air and moisture, and would slowly rust the victim's insides. Severe cases would be unable to eat, eventually dying of starvation. King Cornet V would die from this disease, and King Cornet Vl would only last for a few months before falling victim to the disease as well in 1S 165.

Since King Cornet Vl had no heir, King Trombone l was appointed, and would go on to take serious measures to eradicate the disease, appointing all researchers, doctors, and even some shamans from the Woodwind Kingdom to find a cure. After several months, a cure for the disease was created using medicinal plants from Bagpipe Bay, and the Brass Kingdom was saved. The Tarnished Brass Disease still exists, unfortunately, but it is not fatal.

#### Military reforms

Prior to 1S 338 and King Trombone V, the brass military was a simple levy of untrained civilians and it was not seen as prestigious. King Trombone V reformed the military into a professional fighting force, capable of projecting brass power over other parts of Orchestria. However this did not make the Brass Kingdom a global power, rather a regional power. Now that the military could fight abroad, it was seen as a legitimate career choice and the brass army grew. Although King Trombone V did not live long enough to see the fruits of his labor, as he died in 1S 342.

#### Three Nation Alliance

Alarmed by the growth of the Key Kingdom, in 1S 418, the Woodwind Kingdom and Brass Kingdom formed a secret alliance to shrink the kingdom. In 1S 424, King Melodica V died with no heir, both kingdoms invaded. This initially went well for the invaders, with the Key Kingdom not being well versed in war, even killing King Glockenspiel I. In 1S 425, word of the massacre reached the String Kingdom and Percussion Kingdom, who, along with the Key Kingdom, formed the Three Nation Alliance. Their armies mustered and marched to Mt. Fortissimo, which was under siege. This resulted in the Battle of Mt. Fortissimo.

##### Battle of Mt. Fortissimo

The capital city of the Key Kingdom, Organ City, was under siege for two months when the reinforcing army of the Three Nation Alliance appeared. When in sight, the gates of Organ City opened. Hoping to take the city's walls and use them against the incoming army, the Brass-Woodwind army rushed into the gate, only to find three barricades with keyboard troops on top. The besieging army attacked these barricades but the defenders held their ground.

Seeing the gate open, the Three Nation Alliance's army presumed sabotage and rushed to prevent the fall of the walls. When they arrived at the still open gate, they found the besieging army still at the barricades and that they had accidentally surrounded the invading army. This led to disaster for the Woodwind Kingdom and Brass Kingdom. A few pockets of men, including both kings, managed to fight their way out, but the rest of the army was not so lucky and was slaughtered. King Harpensus of the String Kingdom was killed in battle by the brass, but this was only a small victory compared to a massive loss.

Soon after a peace treaty was signed, but this had little impact on the state of Orchestria as little land was taken, much to the Key Kingdom's chagrin.

#### Era of Instability

In 1S 426, the Era of Instability began. For the Brass Kingdom, the Era of Instability was not a story of internal strife but instead of external turmoil. Both the Brass Kingdom and the Woodwind Kingdom began colonization of the Soprano Steppes. This resulted in multiple small skirmishes between both the settlers and small armies in the region. This made relations sour between both kingdoms and nearly drove them to the point of war. However, due to the rebellion in the Woodwind Kingdom, this didn't happen.

### Second Stanza

#### The Sentinel Project

In 2S 65, a researcher form the Brass Kingdom stole 2 powerful weapons away from the Key Kingdom in hopes of studying their inner workings. These weapons would come to be known as Synthesizer Sentinels.

Originally greenlit in 2S 24 and created in 2S 32, these 2 Sentinels, Gramophone and Tape Recorder Sentinel, were some of the most powerful wielded under the Key Kingdom's grasp. Furthermore, they represented an entirely new kind of weapon, one that could think and make decisions entirely on its own. This, however, proved to be an issue, as the beasts revolted against their own creators in 2S 46, killing both of the Key Kingdom's rulers at the time. However, one of the following rulers lead a successful manhunt against these Sentinels before disabling them all outright and sealing them away in a tomb.

In 2S 67, King Trombone IX purchased these Sentinels away from the researcher with an attempt to weaponize them for the Brass people, now aware of the issues it entailed, hoping to not fall prey to them like the Key Kingdom did.

#### Brass-Woodwind war

In 2S 41, King Flute II invaded the Brass Kingdom, beginning the Brass-Woodwind war. This war lasted 30 years and was very bloody. In 2S 71, the Brass Kingdom was defeated, ceding the Soprano Steppes to the Woodwind Kingdom. This ended the good relations between the two kingdoms and caused Brass views of other kingdoms to sour and to become more suspicious.

#### Civil War

After the Brass-Woodwind war, the popularity of the Trombone dynasty plummeted. Seeing this, the powerful Trumpet family began to rally supporters for a future coup, with the goal of removing King Trombone IX from power and installing a Trumpet ruler. Soon, the majority of the nobles defected and, in 2S 72, a civil war began.

Due to the civil war, resources were diverted away from the Sentinel Project in 2S 73, eventually leading to its cancellation.

The Trombones were vastly outnumbered and when the rebelling forces arrived at the capital, they were forced to abandon it. With this success the Trumpets proclaimed victory and named King Trumpet I as the ruler of the Brass Kingdom. The Trumpets immediately began reforms, intended to help the Brass Kingdom resist invaders. These reforms included an abolition of the Brass Landsmeet and the empowerment of the monarchy, transforming the kingdom into an absolute monarchy.

The reforms caused some of the neutral nobles, afraid of losing their power, to join the Trombones. The Trombone supporters quickly fled to these nobles and their army was bolstered. The Trombones were still outnumbered but were no longer vastly so. Recognizing this, King Trombone VII decided to wage a guerilla war. This caused the beginning of the Trumpet dynasty's rule to be very unstable.

The Trumpet army almost never knew where the Trombone partisans were, mostly due to the loyalty to the Trombones and regularly moving around the kingdom. Reports of Trombone activity were common and were scattered across the kingdom, preventing the location of the guerillas being found. The validity of these reports were often doubted by local commanders too, due to a tactic of sending in false reports of Trombone activity elsewhere, in an attempt to move troops away from the area they wished to attack.

This war lasted for 23 years. There was never a large scale battle, since after King Trombone IX died in 2S 95, support for their cause evaporated. The war is widely considered a pyrrhic Trumpet victory.

#### Trumpet Reforms

In 2S 130, King Trumpet III continued the reforms that his dynasty began. This time they related to the civil aspects of the kingdom which, according to the Trumpet Dynasty, were long in decay. These reforms included state funded schools, which were used to teach the children of the kingdom "Pro-Brass views". Another reform would be to the bureaucracy of the kingdom. From now on, suitable bureaucrats would be found via a series of exams, rather than being appointed by the local commander.

#### Key invasion of the southern kingdoms

In 2S 183, during King Trumpet VI's reign, the Key Kingdom and the String Kingdom invaded both the Woodwind Kingdom and the Brass Kingdom, forcing the two into an alliance. The invasion caught both kingdoms off-guard and they advanced deep into the Woodwind Kingdom.

##### Battle of Harpsichord Pass

In 2S 184, both armies met at Harpsichord Pass, a narrow mountain pass found in the Cornet Mountain Range. Being the defenders, the Woodwind Kingdom and Brass Kingdom set up a shield wall and, knowing the land, sent a small detachment to climb the mountains. The String Kingdom and Key Kingdom set up three wedges and advanced, underestimating their enemy. As they advanced, the Woodwind troops that climbed the mountain began throwing rocks down at the wedges, breaking the tips of them. Seeing this, the Brass-Woodwind line charged, inflicting heavy casualties. But this did not break the String-Key lines as they had hoped it would and a brutal melee broke out. After a few hours of a stalemate, a few Brass troops began to flee. This prompted the remaining troops to panic and retreat, winning the battle for the Key Kingdom and String Kingdom.

After this war the String Kingdom annexed most of the Woodwind Kingdom's northern lands, while the Key Kingdom, once again, gained little. This nearly caused a revolt in the Key Kingdom, but it was avoided after a speech by Queen Celesta IX.

#### Great War

In 2S 199, the String Kingdom's soft power became too much for the other kingdoms to bear, every nation of Orchestria formed the Alliance for String Containment (ASC) and declared war on the String Kingdom, beginning the Great War. Percussion troops merged with the Key Kingdom's army and marched through the Kettledrum Outlands, taking the small garrison by surprise. Meanwhile the Brass-Woodwind army began their march to Lentando Lagoon. Both armies were harassed during their march by string detachments. This slowed their advance and allowed the String Kingdom's army to muster just north of the Mezzo Plateau.

##### Battle of Lentando Lagoon

In 2S 200, and after the Battle of Tremoloa hill, the String Kingdom's army marched south towards Lentando Lagoon and picked yet another battleground, this time for the Brass-Woodwind army. The battlefield had Lentando Lagoon to the string's right, blocking off any flanking attempts, and a small stream in front. Once the two armies met, they both deployed for battle.

The strings placed their wounded units in front, fooling the ASC army into thinking the battle would be quick. As a result of this, both sides deployed in a standard shield wall formation. Once the brass and woodwind units were close, the strings pulled back their wounded and charged. This caught the ASC army by surprise and forced them to give ground.

Due to the Battle of Tremoloa Hill, the String Kingdom's army was outnumbered and so once the surprise wore off, it was the String Kingdom's turn to be pushed back. After heavy fighting, an element of the string army began routing. This caused the String Commander to order a general retreat, once again denying the decisive victory the ASC wanted.

##### Skirmishes

In 2S 201, the String Kingdom employed hit and run tactics and fought multiple skirmishes similar to the Battle of Tremoloa Hill, being defeated but ultimately never losing their army. This slowed the ASC armies and they gradually wore them down. The Brass-Woodwind army preferred to damage the String Kingdom as much as possible by pillaging the land they entered, successfully rallying the southern strings to use guerilla tactics, sabotaging the supply lines. This was countered by the Brass Kingdom as they diverted a detachment of units to protect the supply lines. The Percussion-Key army preferred to use a more honorable form of warfare, where conquered land was treated with respect, even more so if they fought back.

Both armies turned north towards the String Kingdom's capital of Stradivarius. They merged south of the city, while the String Kingdom's army sallied forth and chose their place of battle.

##### The Battle of Harp River

The String Kingdom chose a plot of land near the Harp River, forcing the ASC to cross it if they wished to attack. The river was in a valley and so the wooded hills on either side of the river severely slowed flanking maneuvers. They had picked their place well and caused the ASC army to hesitate as they approached.

Once the plan was decided, the Brass Kingdom's troops made two wedges on the left flank, the Woodwind Kingdom formed two more wedges in the center and the Key Kingdom formed a standard shield wall on the right. This was to prevent the String's left from being pushed too far back, since the Percussion Kingdom's troops were sent to climb the hill to the right and to flank the String Kingdom's army. If the String's left was pushed too far back, the Percussion Troops would not be able to flank the strings because of the rough terrain slowing their movements.

When the percussion troops were halfway across the hill, the rest of the ASC army advanced. As the troops stumbled through the river the String Kingdom's units charged them. This assault killed many ASC soldiers, but once the alliance's troops regained their footing, they began to push back. Slowly, the String Kingdom's units were giving ground, except for the string right. This was because the Key Kingdom's units were only in a standard shield wall and were not trying to push.

As the battle became a stalemate, the Percussion units descended from the hill undetected due to the forest. They slammed into the String's left and trapped them, killing almost all of them. This caused String morale to greatly plummet. Some units attempted to flee while others stayed and fought, as chaos reigned in the String Kingdom's army.

Thoroughly humbled by the result of the battle, King Cello IV began negotiations.

##### Peace treaty

The Brass Kingdom and Woodwind Kingdom argued for large land concessions in the center of Orchestria, but the Percussion Kingdom and Key Kingdom argued that the String Kingdom should have minimal land concessions and instead limit their diplomatic abilities. The Key Kingdom hoped to keep a strong ally doing this, while the Percussion Kingdom were afraid of the Brass Kingdom and Woodwind Kingdom and wanted to preserve the balance of power.

Eventually, the Percussion Kingdom and Key Kingdom won the argument and the Brass Kingdom and Woodwind Kingdom begrudgingly signed the treaty. This marked the last time the kingdoms of Orchestria were united and the end of the second Stanza.

### Third Stanza

#### Rebuilding

After the Great War and the large amount of casualties it caused, King Trumpet VII began rebuilding the kingdom. This was a period of unprecedented growth in the kingdom, although this was mostly just rebuilding. Remembering the Woodwind Kingdom's betrayal, the Brass people wanted to declare war on the Woodwinds. Not being strong enough yet, the Trumpets refused to entertain the notion. This enraged the populace, who decided the only cause for the denial was the Trumpet dynasty being infiltrated by the Woodwind Kingdom.

#### Rise of the Tuba Dynasty

Sensing a chance to seize power, the Tuba family sided with the people and claimed to have evidence of the Trumpet's infiltration, although what this evidence was was never specified. This "evidence" was widely accepted as the truth, even convincing the heir apparent, Prince Trumpet VIII, to support the Tubas. This led to a peaceful revolution, in 3S 25, where the Tubas took control of the kingdom.

#### Reigniting the Brass-Woodwind wars

Doing what they promised to do, King Tuba I instantly declared war on the Woodwind Kingdom and proved the Trumpet's prediction about the relative strength between the two kingdoms, almost immediately suffering a decisive defeat at Piccolo Pass, where King Tuba I was captured. This embarrassing defeat caused King Tuba I to commit suicide before being released.

King Tuba I's brother King Tuba II ascended to the throne. King Tuba II spent a year recovering from the previous war before the Woodwind Kingdom, wanting to take advantage of the weakened Brass Kingdom, invaded in 3S 27. King Tuba II, however, proved to be a much better general than his brother and defeated the Woodwind army at the Pianissimo Plains and the Vibrato Valley. During the retreat back to Woodwind territory, the Woodwind army were, ironically, routed at Piccolo Pass. After the Woodwinds' ironic defeat at Piccolo Pass, they surrendered to the Brass Kingdom, losing the Soprano Steppes to the Brass Kingdom and becoming a client kingdom. King Tuba II declared an end to the Brass-Woodwind wars and a new age for the newly formed Brass Empire.

In 3S 29, an explorer in the Brass Kingdom discovered within the Crumbling Cassette Catacombs the old Gramophone and Tape Recorder Sentinels. Just a year later, King Tuba II procured the Sentinels and began a project to revamp and reweaponize the sentinels. This project eventually gained the name of "Project Remix. " In order for this project to be done correctly, space was needed. And so, King Tuba II had an entire facility built inside of the Flugelhorn Mines just for this purpose.

In 3S 33, a revolt by Clarinet IV was brutally suppressed. Most of the kingdom was now annexed into the Brass Empire; the Woodwind Kingdom was demoted to the Woodwind State, removing the Clarinets from power and installing the Brass friendly Saxophone Dynasty as their new heads of state.

In 3S 35, King Tuba II launched his all out war against all of Orchestria, also known as the Tuba Wars.

Eventually, after inability to enable the Sentinels, King Tuba II cancelled the project in 3S 41.