LezraBoard

Introduction

By the end of the 18th century, Korania was no longer the same empire it had been at the beginning of the century. Those 100 years had completely upended the nation to such an extent that the country was almost crumbling under the change and upheaval they had brought. The wars with Ivorica in 1720 made the nation lose the county of Solovis and some other territories and lose its status as the superpower of Southeastern Lezra. The Frederickian Wars, meanwhile, effectively destroyed any last sense of prestige the nation still had and in 1785, the Congress of Scholzburg was held and Korania lost possession of Ballatchia. Korania seemed to be going on the up with their new great emperor Exavier Markov, a military genius who pushed back the Austrontans and defeated Frederick, but he, unfortunately, died at the Battle of Guimone. By the beginning of the 19th century, Korania was not in a good position at all. But what shocks historians the most is not how much Korania was upended in the 18th century, but how it so quickly and effectively managed to recover.

Chapter I: Religious Schisms and an Ambitious Emperor

Koranvistan wrote:

Korania is in the middle of a three-way religious schism: The Orthodox Christians making up a majority of the Christians in West Korania, while Protestantism is taking the lead in the east, and in Sotj Estrj and Bolochia, Catholicism is making and effort to hold on

By the beginning of the 19th century, Korania was ruled by the son of Exavier Markov, Ivan Markov II. As emperor of one of the biggest nations of Lezra, he was not a very remarkable man, but he was regarded by his friends as very ambitious. This is not surprising, as he was the son of a man regarded as a hero by an entire nation and to even live up to him would require a great amount of ambition. When the new century began, Korania was currently in the middle of a three-way religious schism. Christian Orthodoxy had taken a hold of most of Western Korania but the east remained Carsonist, while Bolochia and Sotj Estrj remained firmly Catholic. The nation had been like this for a century, but only when Ivan Markov II ascended to the throne did hostilities commence. Luckily for Ivan, the situation would abruptly and luckily come to a close. All in the same month, Catholicism managed to grab hold of a strong grip in Koranian affairs, only to fall from power just as easily. In a stroke of pure luck, both the Orthodox and Carsonist churches decided to come to an agreement and end the hostilities that had been going on for almost 15 years. The first small crisis of the 19th century was fortunately and luckily avoided. But not a few weeks later, another would come.

Koranvistan wrote:

This just in:
Catholicism has lost in Korania!
Eastern Protestantism and Western Orthodoxy now reign in relative peace

Chapter II: Islands and Disgruntled Family

Koranvistan wrote:

Koranian occupation of the Ivorican South Lezran Islands!
The Emperor of Korania, Ivan Markov, commands the army to encircle the South Lezran Islands (Currently owned by Ivorica) and occupy them. They're heavily armed.

In late January, Ivan Markov II ordered the Koranian army and navy to encircle the South Lezran Islands, also known as the Solovian Archipelago. The motive for this action remains slightly shrouded in mystery. It is very likely that Ivan Markov II believed the Solovian Islands to be rightfully Koranian, and this statement is to an extent true. The Solovian Islands were acquired by Mikalas V in 1285 and the islands remained a Koranian territory until the 3rd Ivorican-Koranian war in 1720, where the Ivoricans conquered the territories. This motive was probably coupled with the motive to gain international attention, something that Ivan desperately wanted. Whether challenging a nation that was at the time, stronger than Korania, was the right move to gain prestige and attention, is… debated, to say the least. This action could’ve ended in disaster. A full-blown war could’ve escalated had the Ivoricans not kept their calm and attempted to negotiate. Ivan, however, dismissed any diplomacy and firmly remarked that he wasn’t leaving without the islands. As Ivorican troops massed on the border, things seemed as if they were going to escalate into war, but once again, Ivan was saved by his son Leon Markov who accepted the offer the Ivoricans had given, which was that the Koranians would receive 5 ports, but they were to be demilitarized. Leon stated that ” The bloodshed on either side will not be worth it”. In letters with the Ivoricans, Leon stated that his father was ‘unwise to do this’. It was here that the first signs of family disunity were beginning to show and the first cracks within Ivan’s reign were revealed.

Koranvistan wrote:

Leon Markov agrees.
"We'll settle for the port cities. My father was unwise to have us do this, but he will have my head if I do not return with anything."
He told the army on the islands to back down, and they did,
"Is it a deal?"

Chapter III: A New World

Free Toast wrote:

Okay, I decided what should be found by who:
Ivorica: on the shore is a half of a fisher boat with blood on the ground, made out of an unknown wood and a piece of paper with boxes on it, in the boxes are symbols. the way it is made, makes it looks like it is a contract
Koranvistan on the shore is the other half of the boat without blood but a bloody knife, a bloody glove and a round necklace with a seal on it (it is openable and it is a picture of a family) are nearby
Flame1: on the shore is a corpse with one glove missing (the hand looks absolutely disgusting) and it is dressed in clothing that looks like it something you would have worn 1000 years ago. in his bag is a small sack with 5 coins inside. On the coins is the face of what seems to be a solider or a king. it is unclear who is on the coins

it is up to you what you think the things on your shore means

In late January, on the shores of Korania, half of what seemed to be a boat washed ashore. The boat contained a bloody knife, a bloody glove and a round necklace with a seal on it. The soldiers who found the boat were careful not to touch the blood. After much investigating, they concluded that the design of the round necklace wasn’t like anything on the main continent and they decided to send an expeditionary force to head south in hopes of finding new lands. As they sailed south, they met up with soldiers from the Kingdom of Flame1, and they reported that they had found a washed up corpse with what seemed to be ancient coins. Elesa Markov, the daughter of Ivan Markov joined the expedition not long after and soon they had found land. A massive coast that stretched so far that the soldiers could not see its end. They were expecting to only find a bundle of islands, but it seemed as if they had discovered an entire continent. The soldiers of Flame1 were the first to step on the soil and they soon found natives of the continent, who called themselves Rednedonians. These Rednedonians were reported to have medieval technology and both the Koranians and the soldiers from Flame1 were baffled.

The expedition continued, and Koranian soldiers stumbled upon what seemed to be another civilization, who worshipped seals. When the Koranians arrived at one of the coastal cities, the people there were supposedly attempting to defend themselves from ‘demons of the sea’. The Koranians offered to help, not knowing the ‘demons’ were actually Ivorican steamships. At the same time, Leon Markov offered to buy a strip of Ivorican coastline. The Ivoricans accepted, in exchange for 15 million dollars. Not long after this, protests broke out in some cities with people urging Leon to take the throne from his father, as he had already done more for Korania in 2 months than Ivan had done in 15 years. These protests were put down obviously, but by the time they were stopped, the seeds of rebellion had already been planted in Leon’s mind. Meanwhile, in the new continent, Koranians established camps on the coasts and began trading with the natives. By the end of the first expedition, 2 civilizations had already been discovered. Those of the medieval Rednedonians, and those of the various Toastian tribes, who although separate, seemed to share a similar culture, language and religion. Who gets to claim the title of ‘Discoverer of Afrique’ is still debated between Ivorica, Korania and former citizens of Flame1. Although, you could argue that it was actually the natives of Afrique who truly first ‘discovered’ the continent.

Koranvistan wrote:

The Koranians set up camps on the coasts and discuss trade deals with the natives

Chapter IV: Colonialism and the Pact of Fire

Old utopia wrote:

The Birth Of Colonialism
With an unknown dead fisher found washed ashore on the Lezran coast movements of exploration commenced leading to the discovery of a new continent. These explorations led by the empire of Korania and the union of Ivorica have birthed a new movement in the empires of Lezra, colonialism. Nations rush to colonize these new lands as quickly as possible, the scramble for new land has begun. But be wary ambitious settlers, for there are others that have already settled in these newfound lands, will you make diplomacy or destroy their nations?

By the time the first expedition to the new continent ended, the news had already travelled all across Lezra. People flocked to the new continent, which was soon given a name by a newspaper from Snowylan: Afrique. Scholars dubbed the movement ‘colonialism’ deriving from the Allan Landian word Colonus which means farmer (it was called this because the practice of colonialism involved the transfer of a population to a new territory, with the arrivals remaining as permanent settlers, but maintaining allegiance to their country of origin). What soon followed was a colonial frenzy. Everyone wanted to get in on the action, and tales of mountains upon mountains of gold only furthered the excitement of the common man. Settlements were quickly founded and their populations quickly boomed. Nations like Ivorica, carved out swathes of territory to take for themselves, but Korania was different. When looking on a map of Afrique today, one will note that Korania holds very little territory, despite being one of the first to discover the continent. Why is unknown as Korania was suffering from famine, and the lands in Afrique were fertile and so could provide food to the starving population. That coupled with the number of resources on the continent, made Afrique very valuable to Korania. Yet the empire would only begin to embrace colonialism a few years later. Perhaps Ivan and his successors to come did not think that Afrique held much value. Perhaps they thought that the land would be too costly to settle and not become worth it. It remains debated. By the time Korania began embracing colonialism, nations like Balticonia and Old Utopia had already beat the empire to it.

While all this was happening, Ivan was participating in diplomatic talks with 2 nations: The Kingdom of Flame1 and the Kingdom of Telders. Telders and Flame1 had recently signed a treaty, creating a military and commercial alliance between the 2 nations. Ivan had already begun diplomatic overtures with Flame1, and the prospect of a triple alliance excited him. He was invited by Flame1 to the alliance, and agreed, so long as Telders and Flame1 accepted the name Ivan had proposed: The Pact of Fire. The other 2 nations agreed and the alliance was formed. Not long after, King Raymond of Telders committed suicide and was succeeded by his son Honmund, an imperialist. So the question remains to be asked? Was the Pact of Fire the right move for Korania? Maybe. The alliance did certainly put the empire on the world stage, Telders and Flame1 were both stable and successful nations with strong militaries and the alliance opened up new prospects for the nation. But then again, maybe not. The 3 nations had different interests, and while the alliance did open up new prospects for Korania, they also closed some too. Telders and Flame1 established ties with Ivorica, a former rival of Korania. Meaning the former Koranian territories Ivan desperately wanted, became closed off. The Pact of Fire received mixed responses from the population of Korania, and from Ivan’s own children.

Telders wrote:

Yes and we make embassies and become militarily allied and commercially allied if you wish but if military and embassies is all you wish then I'm ok. Me and flame are trying to make this alliance and he wanted to invite you.

Koranvistan wrote:

I have an idea for the name:
The Pact of Fire