Anasandro

## Overview

Anasandro was an Emperor of the Pylmerian Empire, whom is considered to be its greatest for his many feats as a general and ruler. The city of Anasandros in Kamuhn is named after him, as well as the Palace of Anasandro in Spanaak in Pylmeria.

## Family

Anasandro was born to a nameless, yet prominent commoner family in the town of Aekordai near Spanaak (at this time, only noble families were permitted to have family names in Pylmeria). His father was a merchant, while his mother was a seamstress. He had a twin sister, Anasandra, who became his wife and co-ruler, when he was Emperor.

His parents sent him to a local school for his education, but his sister stayed home. In secret, he taught Anasandra what he knew. When he graduated from the school, he applied to the University of Spanaak. It was there he realized his passion for military history, so he left it for the Military University of Spanaak, where he would learn military history, strategy, tactics, logistics, and more. When he graduated, he was a skilled, well-trained warrior and a cunning, intelligent officer for Spanaak's local defense force.

## Rise to Power

When he joined it, Spanaak's local defense force was loyal to Leritia. But Anasandro, and many others were dissatisfied with the empire. Taxes were high, but imperial spending in Spanaak, as well as all of Pylmeria, were low. Another point of frustration was that Pylmerians lacked any representation in imperial governance; the Emperor had advisors from almost every region but Pylmeria and the Governor of Pylmeria was from Anarmga.

### Pre-Rebellion

Thus, Anasandro joined some of his old classmates who were organizing a local resistance to Leritia in secret. They began to steal small amounts of tax money that would be sent abroad, so that they could use it to buy more weapons and supplies when a larger war came. Then they soon realized that other resistance forces were operating in other parts of Pylmeria, though their numbers were still low and they were disunified in leadership and goals; some wanted to have their local areas be independent, while others wanted to rule all of Pylmeria. But it was only Anasandro who had the idea of taking all of the Leritian Empire.

One night, during another operation to steal taxes, one of Anasandro's comrades was caught by a Leritian guard and as he was about to raise the alarm, Anasandro stabbed him quickly to silence him. But another guard had seen them secretly and recognized them as officers in the local defense force.

### First Act of Open Rebellion

The next day at the local defense force's headquarters, a score of Leritian soldiers showed up to arrest Anasandro and his comrade for theft and treason. But rather than surrender easily, Anasandro raised his spear and sword and called his comrades to fight with him, which they did. This was the first act of open rebellion.

### Rebellion in Spanaak

With Anasandro as a strong voice of leadership, the Spanaak rebels heeded his request to seize the local Leritian armory, citadel, barracks and harbor, before they got wind of what happened at the local defense headquarters. They marched to the armory first, where they easily overpowered a surprised force of Leritians and took control of their weapons, armor, and supplies, establishing it as a headquarters for their next operation to take the barracks, which had now been alerted to the armed rebels.

Anasandro had many of the weapons be distributed to citizens of Spanaak, so that they could fight Leritians themselves. He told them to take the harbor and seize Leritian ships before they set sail and to surround the citadel and barracks so that none of their oppressors could leave.

After a few hours, all of the Leritians outside the citadel and barracks had been captured, killed, or were in hiding. Anasandro praised the citizens for their success and promised them wealth, when they took control of the citadel's vault, but they first needed to make the barracks capitulate so that they would not try to attack the Pylmerians in surprise if they marched on the citadel.

Anasandro went to the barracks himself and asked to parley with the local commander. He told him to surrender, as he would not be able to win. The commander told him the same thing, when archers appeared atop the walls and pointed their bows down. They set loose and made a semicircle around Anasandro's feet. The commander told him that they could aim for his heart next time, if he commanded them too. Many of the citizens began to back away from the barracks, but then a wave of arrows pierced the hearts and eyes of the men atop the walls, and they all fell down. Anasandro knelt over the commander's body and picked up a key, then strode up to the gate and unlocked it. The Pylmerians charged in and overwhelmed Leritians who were mostly eating dinner, as they thought that their walls would hold.

Finally, there was the citadel. Anasandro once again spoke to the commanding officer there, who did not capitulate either. Instead he opened the gates and marched out his forces, one-thousand strong. Thus a fight occurred in the square and nearby streets at the citadel. Many Pylmerians died, but their numbers, eventually won them the battle. When they opened up the vault, they found plentiful riches that Anasandro had distibuted to the common folk, though he kept half of it for the rebellion.

In Spanaak, many called him a "lord." This was only the beginning.

### Establishing Authority in Spanaak

With Spanaak liberated, Anasandro and his fellow officers decided they needed to establish a formal structure of authority among themselves, as well as new local government. It was decided that Anasandros would lead the military here, but Asocles, one of his comrades was jealous and furious of Anasandro's rise to power. Asocles had always been the top fighter and student in their class, but now he was only one of many officers. Thus, he stormed out and left.

As for local governance, some proposed that their be an elected city council, while others proposed Anasandro as a Mayor. A few thought that the military should maintain the government until peace has won. In the streets, people were divided between democracy and despotism. Anasandro was tempted to reach out and rule, but when his sister visited him and told her that she was with the people who wished to have a democracy, as well as being a leading voice among them because of her relation to him, he chose democracy.

Elections were held soon after, with Anasandra becoming Chief Councilor of Spanaak, among a dozen others. But nobles in the city were displeased that status quo was being replaced now that commoners had more power than them and that their Leritian overlords were not there to protect them, so they had their household guards try to free Leritian guards that had been captured. For a few hours during the night, there was fighting in the streets between those loyal to the nobles and Leritians and those loyal to the Council and military, but it was quelled.

The next day, Anasandro had the noble families and guards arrested and gave them to the Councilors, who would have a trial for them. As for the Leritian guards, he had them round up, so that the citizens could stone them.

Spanaak now had peace for a time under the leadership of General Anasandros and Chief Councilor Anasandra.

Hearing what had happened in Spanaak, other cities and towns began to rise up openly, with some even rallying around Anasandro's name, calling him "hero."