The Third Odyssey - An Elysian Tale [Redux]

[Crimson Lionheart]

Chapter 28: A Game of Thrones (1575-1580)​

Between the years of 1560 and 1575, Elysian expansion would be characterised by a relentless aggression to venture westward along with a coinciding desire to bring all of the undiscovered and untamed wilderness of the continent under the illuminating light of the Imperial torch. Elysian colonies would explode in size and numeracy within this period, further encouraged by a supportive government that focused much of its energies on expansion in whatever form it took. Demetrios I’s reign began with the same relentless force that he shared with much of the Empire’s inner ethnos during this period, yet the drive for his ambitions was shared among like-minded allies in the form of militarists and expansionists.

Years of animosity against the enemies of the Empire and increased aggression on all sides would be spent quietly pushing for the expansion of the armed forces, quietly building up their proficiency and capabilities to outpace and utterly defeat their enemies. Demetrios I would spend a large portion of his life towards expansion and a sense of domination through blood and iron. While not a capable fighter nor commander in his own right, the Emperor was a ferocious political leader and held immense popularity among his subjects. With the changing world around him, it was fortunate for the Empire to have such a leader who was open to change, yet it remained to be seen whether the invisible hand of providence that Elysia had been protected for so long began to see the Empire’s momentum finally slow down.

Moctezuma Spartakon of Spartania, the last direct descendent of the now legendary warrior-king of the Neo-Spartan realm, had ruled a domineering realm built around domination, oppression and submission of the bloody lands of Lakonia. Having been a sickly child, the Kyriarchos was young and inexperienced, and through a tragic upbringing that was common in his realm, knew that the lineage of his ancestor was to end with him. Lacking any immediate heirs due to his youth, a potential dynastic crisis unfolded that would be marked by internal conflicts.

With his throne being disputed by several claimants, the strongest of the claimants were from the Palaiologos themselves, upon whom the entire House of Spartakon was descended through the lineage of Leonidas I. In 1575, the noble lords from across Spartania would be assembled to decide upon an heir if Moctezuma would die childless. Elysian representatives would be attending this assembly, gaining the attention of the Kyriachos directly and persuading much of the inner assembly about pushing for a member of the Imperial Family to be installed as Moctezuma’s heir. Elysian ties to the throne were legitimised, and importantly, carried an immense weight through the intertwined history between both royal houses.

Demetrios I of Elysia would bring the aristocracy of Spartania to advocate support for the Elysians. A member of the Palaiologos on the throne, or a personal union with Elysia, would prove highly profitable for Spartania. Elysian wealth and trade connections would provide immensely lucrative for the Spartans, while the Emperor would seduce the Spartan aristocrats for the Elysian cause. Swaying the young Kyriarchos to the Elysian cause, Monctezuma’s cousin would be appointed as his heir apparent. Tiverios Palaiologos would be held as the legitimate heir and held a strong claim to the Spartan throne, claiming descent from the younger brother of the future Leonidas I of Spartakon. With the Spartanian throne secured for the time being, the alliance and bond between the aristocracy of both continental realms would continue to flourish.

Decades after decimating the Norse during the Northern War, Elysian supremacy would remain unchallenged through several smaller conflicts across the continent. Relations between the Empire and the North would never improve between the rival powers and were further exacerbated by colonial tension and genuine animosity between one another. Emerging victorious within two prior conflicts against the Northern realm, Elysia would spend years preparing for another Northern War against Vinland for what had long been an important region that would determine the balance of power upon the Elysian continent, the Borealian Lakes.

Split between the three dominant powers of the continent, the Borealian Lakes was a vital stepping stone for the dominance of the continent as a whole. Cahokia, Vinland and Elysia would all have a presence around the lakes. Control over the Lakes would result in a drastic shift within the balance of power on the continent, something that the Elysians looked heavily into to secure their existing dominance in their homeland. Following the end of Winter of 1575, the Elysians would invade Vinland, beginning the Third Northern War.

Elysian preparation and allegon would prioritise the Norse settlements and regions around the Borealian Lakes, capturing fortified settlements or outright destroying Nordic fishing villages around the Lakes. The remainder of the Imperial Army would work in its familiar pattern of laying siege upon the fortresses near the Elysian border, while the Imperial Navy would scour the seas to ensure naval dominance. Within the three decades since the first Northern War, the Elysians had adapted and heavily improved upon its military structure to counter against the North, while simultaneously crippling Vinland with every successive victory. Vinland, lacking the resources and manpower to fight against the Elysian behemoth to the south, would become focused on the defensive with every passing war.

With organisation and expert leadership, the Elysians and their native subjects would sweep through across the Borealian lakes, capturing territory with little manpower that far exceeded their size. Within the first month of the war, the war was already decisively in the Empire’s favour.

Capturing and occupying villages and fortifications around the Errikson River, the important fortress settlement of Odawa would fall to the Empire within a siege that lasted just over a hundred days. Elysian-trained generals under the Haudenosauee would be the ones responsible for this victory, where both the native and Elysian armies would swiftly occupy the fortress settlement and lock down the rivers. Vinland’s response to the fall of Odawa would be a horrifying one, where the road to Vinoss was now left completely wide open to the Elysians, scrambling to muster a defence of the capital.

Within two months, the Borealian Lakes would be completely occupied, leaving the Elysians to prioritise their forces upon laying siege to the Norse heartland while the Empire’s many subjects focused on capturing vast amounts of territory within the sparsely populated lands to the Nordic lands to the north. Thousands of soldiers would begin to march towards the east, making the long journey to aid the core of the main army that would soon descend upon Vinoss.

Once the Imperial Army appeared on the horizon, the inhabitants of Vinoss would descend into a panic. Memories of the First Northern War were still fresh on many of the survivor's minds, where much of the capital was destroyed and starved into surrender from bombardment and siege. A brief battle on the Eriksson River would see some of the heavy ships of the Norse be destroyed, further shattering the willpower among the Norse to continue the feasibility of fighting on. The Norse armies that would journey to liberate the capital from an imminent Elysian siege would never arrive in time, as the panicking Vinlandic government would sue for peace.

As soon as the war had begun, it would quickly come to an end in an Elysian victory. All of the coastal territory along the Borealian Lake would be ceded to the Three Fires, with the Elysians believing that their native subject would govern the region with a light hand to appease the still heavily indigenous population within the recently annexed territories. Vinland would be forced to renounce claims on Elysian territory and pay enormous war reparations to the Empire, while importantly, annulling their treaty with Cahokia which guaranteed their independence. The Third Northern War would be over within a year, yet the victory would leave long-lasting impacts across the North that would reverberate for far longer.

With the Imperial Army still flush with their victory, the entire might of the Empire would be redirected and unleashed towards Cahokia. No longer having their Nordic allies to protect them, Cahokia still possessed a formidable military and multiple capable allies in their own right. Elysia would march multiple armies to their western borders, overwhelming the barbaroi forces and hideously outgunning them with modern weaponry and equipment.

Emperor Demetrios I would personally take part in the campaign, crossing the Apalesians and joining the fray alongside his commanders with his personal warhorse. The Emperor would make his objectives to his commanders incredibly clear, along with the motivation for the campaign. This was nothing short of an imperial conquest for what had long been the hidden jewel of the continent, and the last major obstacle to Elysian expansion to the West, Cahokia itself.

Cahokia would be rapidly overwhelmed as tens of thousands of Elysians marched into their territory, unable to make any resistance against such an overwhelming force. Thirty thousand men would encircle Cahokia, squeezing the life from the capital as Elysian gunpowder bombarded and crashed into the walls of the city. Demetrios would personally lead the offensive against the native metropolis, protected by a meagre force that was hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned many times over. Nevertheless, the natives were able to withstand impossible odds for nearly forty days

Once the city finally fell, Demetrios arrived in the native metropolis at the front of the Imperial Army. Alongside him were his generals and leading men, entering into the scattered hellscape of Cahokia to the sound of eerie silence from its inhabitants. Famine and disease would run rampant among the shocked inhabitants as tens of thousands of Elysian soldiers marched into the conquered capital in triumph, resulting in a drastic population crash that would hemorrhage the native willpower to stop the unstoppable Elysian onslaught. With the loss of the city and with their warriors elsewhere, the war would be decided as barbaroi supplies began to dwindle. Demetrios I would remain in Cahokia for the remainder of the war, staying alongside his loyal legions of followers and soldiers to transform and clean the fallen metropolis to serve as a supply centre for the war effort.

With the loss of their main city, the campaign had rapidly turned against the barbaroi as the Empire made swift work of the collapsing resistance. Cahokia would be preserved as a city, but the radical shift in demographics and a token force of Elysians to maintain order would see an Elysian majority among its new population. The Empire would stop its advance within the immediate borders of Cahokia’s allies, not risking a conflict in unknown and still uncharted territory.

Several months of conflict would continue, where skirmishes would continue and battles would be fought. Before the end of winter in 1578, the Cahokian Federation cracked and agreed to peace with the Elysian Empire. Demetrios would personally oversee the enforcement of the treaty that was to follow, surrounded by the Epilektoi and heavily armoured Varangians to intimidate and cower the broken leadership to agree to peace. This was a deliberate choice by the Emperor, ensuring the message went out far and wide that Cahokia’s era as the dominant barbaroi nation in Elysium had come to a crashing end.

The resulting peace would be absolutely brutal to the Federation, controlling nothing but their most undeveloped settlements and barely viable colonies in the aftermath of the peace. The Elysians would conquer the remainder of the Federation, transferring the coastal territories to the Three Fires while the Empire annexed the interior. Its most prized possession was Cahokia itself, where it would be annexed outright into the Empire. No wealth or treasures would be taken, only blood and soil would be more than enough to solidify the peace that was to reign.

Flushed with its victory, triumphs would be held across the major cities of the Empire in the ceremony of the triumph against Cahokia. Demetrios I would return to the capital with his thirty thousand behind him, crossing beyond the Apalesians and into the Imperial Capital where only the most jubilant and decorated ceremony would take place. Festivities would take place over the capital and many of the major cities across the Eastern seaboard, prolonged by several days of public games and entertainment. Demetrios’s popularity would continue to soar among the masses and his loyalists, as a wave of jubilation washed over the Empire following two successive victories against their adversaries.

The Metropolis of Cahokia before the Elysian conquest, c.1575​

The annexed territories would be maintained by local garrisons and a nearby contingent of the Imperial Army, located on the outskirts of the city where a temporary fort was constructed for their newfound gains. Cahokia would suffer immensely through the conquest, losing over two-thirds of its population of thirty thousand during the Elysian conquest. The outskirts of the city would be devastated and left in utter ruin, while the inner core of the city centre would survive despite the heavy bombardment it took from Elysian cannons. With the collapse of barbaroi rule over the city, Elysian rule would begin shortly after the conquest.

Having lost so much within such a short period of time, the soul and character of Cahokia would survive into the new era. Demetrios I would organise the transformation of the native city into an entirely new city of its own, settled by Elysian and Symmachoi settlers from all corners of the Empire. Resources and materials would begin arriving to lay the foundation of the new city that was to be built upon the old, where it was destined to become among the largest cities in the entire Empire. The metropolis would be reborn and refounded under a Hellenised rejuvenation as Kahokia.

The influx of resources onto the new city and the attention it would receive from the Emperor itself would lead to some outside curiosity and gossip around the Emperor about the nature of his action. Pragmatic minds would argue that Demetrios I had long seen the importance of Kahokia as a whole and sought to rejuvenate the city under the civilisational goal of building upon the Third Rome, serving as a model provincial city for the modern age. Some more emotional and poetic minds envisioned Demetrios I for his efforts of restoring Kahokia as being a means to atone for the destruction he himself had wrought to appease his own soul and to make amends.

None would know of the true motives of such a transformation aside from the Emperor himself, but from 1578, the modern history of Kahokia would begin under the Elysian banner. It would take years for the surviving inhabitants to adjust to Imperial rule, but the redevelopment of Native Cahokia into Elysian Kahokia would take generations even with resources flooding into the new city.

The Elysian Empire would rapidly continue its outward expansion at breakneck pace and vigour through its dominance against its enemies, and with domestic growth across its society that far outpaced its rivals and neighbours. Pushing ever westward towards the ocean, its hegemony across the continent would be further solidified. The gap between itself and its competitors would erode to the point of irrelevance as the Empire continued to break beyond its boundaries.

Beyond its immediate borders, what had once been a drink associated with the Muslim world had become more and more commonplace in Christian Europe. With an increasingly interconnected world, Portuguese merchants would arrive in Elysium to sell and further incentivise upon the emerging Coffee Boom that was occurring across the Atlantic. No longer being as inaccessible as it once was, coffeehouses were being established across Europe as the exotic beans rapidly rose in demand.

Once having become a niche and expensive interest across markets across the wealthiest of Elysian cities, the allure of coffee would travel across the Empire and begin to spread across its many territories. Finding favourable climate conditions to produce their own supply, Coffee Planations would begin to appear upon the Kykladies to secure a piece of an increasingly lucrative market. Although not the dominant good that was produced by the Kykladies, the plantations would see almost immediate results as demand and prices began to soar on the mainland.

With the relentless drive to venture across the continent, the environment would begin to transition from the fertile rivers of Andronika into vast and empty plains, until Elysian settlers and frontiersmen began to arrive on the edge of the Western Desert. Encountering a higher amount of barbaroi and hampered by the hostility of the land itself, much fewer would make the long and difficult journey. With a lack of infrastructure and poor transportation further westward, the West remained a high priority for settlers and politicians of the Empire, despite socially conservative attention to focus on the needs of the settled East.

As settlers continued to venture westward in smaller numbers, what had only been an established first contact between Elysian explorers and the natives of the region would become far more common in the late half of the 1570s. With the difficult politics and environment of the region, some of the Barbaroi like the Apache would see the value in finding allies in the form of the Empire. The clash between the settled natives among the west, and the settled colonial nature of the Imperial east, had inadvertently begun a new era that began as early as the 1560s.

The Elysian Frontier had ventured into the Wild West.

With extended contact among the region in the form of distant diplomats and missionaries existing shortly after first contact and before the wave of Elysian settlers arriving in the years following, the Empire had already seen success in the Christianisation of the Apache and the alliance that would gradually evolve into willing vassalage into the Empire under gracious terms. Several years after this, the same would occur among the Navajo.

Incentivised with protection and safety from their rivals, along with a natural evolution of an established friendship that evolved into an alliance, the Navajo would soon convert to Elysian Orthodoxy. Aligning themselves to the Elysians and already embracing an extension of brotherhood, it would take little convincing for the Navajo to accept the offer of vassalage under the same terms as the neighbouring Apache. Adding another capable allied tribe into the fold, the region was seeing a rapid shift in the balance of power as Elysian influence and colonists inched ever-closer in an almost omnipotent influence across the region.

1580 would prove to be a monumental year in the shift in Portuguese politics, where the deaths of King Sebastian I and Prince Manuel de Aviz would occur within a month of each other. Lacking any immediate heirs, a dynastic crisis would unfold between contenders vying for the Portuguese throne. Succession would inevitably pass to the Joao V of Portugal, who lacked an heir of his own, but held the strongest claim among the other claimants with direct lineage between the Palaiologos and de Avis royal families and a shared Elysian-Portuguese heritage that had characterised much of Portugual’s modern history. The Cortes would be assembled in Almeirim to decide upon an heir, whereas a council would decide upon an heir for the Kingdom.

Through passive, and sometimes heavy, influence from the Pro-Elysian Cortes within the Kingdom, the succession would be passed onto the strongest claimant to the throne. Joao’s cousin, an Elysian-Portuguese prince simply known as Prince Manuel of Sortelha, would become the King’s immediate heir. With a strong connection to both of the royal houses, should the King die prematurely, the throne would pass directly to the Elysians. The de Avis would lose the throne in such an event, and the Elysians would gain full control of the throne, much to the horror of the independent movement among the more nationalist elements of the Portuguese upper class.

Lisbon in the late 16th century. In part due to the Treaty of Elpida, it had become one of the wealthiest cities in the world. It would become a battleground between Pro-Elysian and Pro-Independence factions throughout the 16th century. ​

With the succession secured in Portugal, the decision would prove to be controversial within Europe itself. Although the succession was legitimate in the eyes of Portuguese law, many would view this act as the Elysians securing a permanent foothold in Europe. Even through passive means and royal marriage, the partnership between the Portuguese and their Elysian allies had evolved to the point of near vassalage on their own behalf, even if it had become accidental. More concerning was the event of the Portuguese throne falling completely under personal union with the Empire, and the Arkadian colonies that would now be all but de facto Elysian colonies. Such controversy would alarm the European world, yet they were powerless to prevent it, as the Portuguese succession was entirely legal and legitimate.

Gaining two important alliances and a hand upon the throne of their most important allies, the invisible hand of Demetrios I and the royal house now had its influence secured in both Lakonia and Portugal. Looking towards the West once more, the Emperor looked outward once more as the drums of war began to beat once more. Carrying the momentum of victory behind them, the Legions of the Third Rome would begin to venture towards the grand goal of their next conquest.

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Elysia is exploring the west. I think they've reached my home state (Arizona) now?

Are the Atlas Mountains the Rockies? Won't that cause confusion with the Atlas Mountains in Africa?

Elysia has arrived roughly around New Mexico and Arizona. As for the Atlas Mountains, that will be further expanded upon in future chapters.

 

[Crimson Lionheart]

Chapter 29: The Deserts of Kyniska (1580-1585)​

With the dynamic ties between themselves and their allies, Elysian influence had spread outward at an alarming pace to its enemies. Having entrenched themselves in foreign courts through diplomacy and courtly intrigue, the Empire would see greater success through its mercantile dominance across the Atlantic and the immense amount of sway that it would hold onto economic matters between the Old and New Worlds. Coinciding with their relentless expansion on the continent, alliances that were shared and bound with blood and gold were starting to prove to be worth their weight as the Elysian Empire took a far keener interest in diplomatic affairs during the latter half of the 16th century.

Through creating subjects through allies with peaceful intentions along their Western frontier, the real prize was the thrones of Spartania and Portugal. Generations of royal and aristocratic blood would be shared between the three kingdoms, along with the prized wealth of these dominant powers of the New World. Decades upon decades of intertwining with one another had granted them an unbreakable brotherhood, yet the weight of Elysian influence was unmistakable. With succession of both thrones through the intricacies of royal marriage, and with a member of the Imperial House as the heir to their thrones, Spartania and Portugal were falling under the sway of the Elysian juggernaut. Playing through the dynastic politics and navigating through the storm of a succession crisis, Demetrios I had placed the Empire on the cusp of a monumental political and diplomatic victory.

Taking the principles of wealth accumulation and power through trade and embracing it, the Imperial Senate would pass reforms to ensure Elysian prosperity through strategic economic practices on its domestic trade routes and markets. Taking a focus on fostering a robust domestic production of Elysian goods and building upon emerging industries, while maintaining a favourable balance of trade in markets where Elysian merchants held a balanced or leading advantage, this embrace of mercantilism was primarily focused upon the Empire remaining self-sufficient in a world that was becoming increasingly connected.

These reforms would be known as the Palamas Reforms, named after Artavasdes Palamas, the Senator from Kalydon and the primary architect of the economic reforms. By reducing its reliance on foreign markets and focusing heavily upon domestic trade reform, the Palamas Reforms would usher in a double-edged sword of prosperity for the growing nation. While Elysian trade power would become heavily reduced abroad, Elysian tariffs and domestic trade would flourish under these new laws. The value of the Hyperpyron would strengthen, while the already powerful mercantile guilds and families within Elysian society would see a significant boost in wealth and prestige. The Palamas Reforms would become a significant economic and political success and would later form the basis for Elysian economic policy for the next two hundred years. Public opinion for the Imperial Government would skyrocket, and its newfound wealth would be used to further enrich the Empire as a whole and to finance its expansion further out beyond Andronika.

Within the previous decade, the Apache and Navajo would both align and submit to the Elysian Empire as willing subjects for the new regime, embracing Christendom and becoming among the newest subjects of the Empire. The reason for the willing submission, aside from the close ties and shared wealth it would bring to their tribes, was also one of security. Within the harsh deserts and unforgiving heat of these lands, would exist a nexus of barbaroi tribes that often fought against one another. These lands, along with the arid deserts to the north of Lakonia, were named Kyniska. Named after a Sparta princess who was the first woman to win at the Olympic Games, these lands were known but very rarely explored by Spartan explorers until expansion into the region began during the 1540s.

Elysian explorers would chart the local area during the 1560s, sending diplomatic and missionaries to engage with contact and diplomacy of these tribes. Decades later, the Elysians would make an offer to the Apache and Navajo that couldn’t be refused. In aiding the Empire in the pacification of this region of the continent, the Elysians promised the rights and culture of their people would be guaranteed. They offered them autonomy beyond what was normal for symmachoi. In addition, along with a shared influx of riches, the Empire was to grant the Apache and Navajo territory and power to them to the point of small kingdoms, much like the Three Fires to the far north.

With armies being drilled relentlessly in combat and acclimating to the terrain of the lain, the Elysians would invade the isolated people of the Mescalero, beginning what would soon come to be known as the ‘Conquest’ of Kyniska. While not seeking to rule the territory directly, a single standing army would be sent to launch a campaign of the region for semi-direct Elysian rule. Led by Tiverios Rhadinos, an Elysian general who had prepared to fight in desert combat and personally leading with highly aggressive tactics, he would lead Elysian allagia to an overwhelming victory at Mashgalende. The Mescalero would be destroyed in a single battle with little to no losses from the Elysians.

Shortly after the battle, the Mescalero would be annexed and occupied by the Empire. Imperial forces would begin to establish a supply depot within the surrounding region, creating a large military camp in the process and funnelling supplies from the nearby Elysian frontier to supply the soldiers for the campaign. The location would also be chosen to oversee the defeated Mescalero, keeping them under observation to prevent rebellion.

Upon reaching the Western Frontier and its changing environment, the beginning of the 1580s would see the age of the super-heavy cavalryman armed with lance and blade come to an end. The term ‘Kataphrakt’ would survive and gradually evolve to denote any armed rider in the Elysian language. Reaching the terrain of Kyniska would see Elysian calvary evolve to match the terrain and its needs, along with technological advancement seeing the gradual phasing out from the heavy cavalrymen of the past.

It would be during the campaign that the beginning of the modern Cataphract would begin to emerge. Unarmored horses would bear lightly armoured riders armed with bows and swords to do battle as effective medium cavalry, using superior agility and firepower that made them incredibly difficult to combat against. These riders would also serve as expert scouts and explorers along the frontier during periods of peace.

Despite all of its efforts across the vastness of its domain, much of the Empire still retained a significant part of indigenous faiths among the Barbaroi across many of its recently conquered or colonised territories. Even with all of the resources of the state assisting the Church, missionary efforts were still stretched thin due to the sheer territorial size of the Empire and the isolation of some of its more remote barbaroi regions.

To harmonise and strengthen the sacred church, the Imperial Senate would focus its efforts on Christianisation efforts upon nonconformists and barbaroi elements within society. Conversion efforts among the conquered or the isolated would be greatly increased, while in the shadows, the Elysian Inquisition began to turn its attention towards preserving and maintaining orthodoxy in an uncertain age of reformation, rather than serve as the boogeyman they had once been during the Plethonist Revolts.

Elysian explorers ventured further beyond the lands of Kyniska, making the difficult journey along the undiscovered interior of the continent with far more interest than any previous generation before them had ever imagined. Their knowledge along the frontier would prove to be invaluable to the colonial bureau and Elysian settlements that appeared along the west, providing local knowledge about indigenous fauna and contact with undiscovered tribes.

Konstas Choinates would spend much of his life beyond the westernmost territories of Andronika, never venturing beyond the rivers for decades until returning to the major harbour of Ponteichos almost twenty-five years after he had departed. Taking up a residence within the bustling commercial harbour, Choinates would chart and create a magnificently detailed map of the new domains of the Empire and all of the lands ventured along the West. Copies were painstakingly replicated among cartographers before being sent to Nea Konstantinopolis, aiding the Imperial government in directing its settlers among friendly or settled territory to the far west.

Making preparations for a campaign and training its Legions for months for the conquest ahead of them, the Conquest of Kyniska would begin in 1581 with the aid of Najavo and Apache auxiliaries and warriors. Stacked with provisions and armed to the teeth, Elysian Alligia would launch the first moves on the barbaroi of the deserts, maintaining hope that the campaign would conclude before the beginning of summer and its unforgiving heat.

Making use of the local politics and playing alliances among each other, the Elysians would choose their targets carefully before striking. Before the end of the year, all of Kyniskas barbaroi were in arms against the encroaching might of the Elysian Empire.

Success would occur early into the campaign, where Tiverios Rhadinos would secure a great victory at the Battle of Kinyaa’aanii. An assembled barbaroi force would be soundly defeated in open battle by Elysian gunpowder and shock tactics, landing a deep blow against barbaroi morale and manpower. Taking their own maneuverability into effect, Rhadinos would order Elysian Katapracts to flank the natives and cut them down before forcing them into a rout.

With an early decisive victory, the enemy tribes were forced into a rout and had largely left the region to regain their strength. Their morale and manpower had been decisively crushed, leaving the Empire’s auxiliary forces to begin laying siege to the now defenceless tribes while Elysia concentrated upon only the most fortified areas. Once Elysia’s other subjects made the long journey into Kyniska, numerical superiority began to overwhelm the sparsely populated barbaroi tribes.

Holding the tide of the war rapidly against their opponents, Rhadinos would push dangerous offensive tactics during siege warfare that would force a submission. Fighting with unorthodox but ruthless aggression, his tactics would see an Imperial victory in every engagement that he would command. His actions, however, were highly controversial. Rhadinos’s marauding force was intent on breaking the will of the enemy and their people by using any form of cruelty and malice that could be thought upon. Through his own ruthless yet efficient command, thousands of barbaroi would be massacred or put to the sword as the Elysians swept through the deserts. Their people would be sent across the Empire in chains while their homes and villages would be utterly eradicated from the earth.

Despite his methods, Rhadinos would bring results for the Empire. The Barbaroi would begin to be occupied rapidly and conquered by the weight of his iron fist. Rhadinos would personally oversee the peace that was to follow, terrifying the enemy representatives and even his own officers through sheer intimidation. One by one, the Empire conquered and completely severed the status quo that had existed in the region for countless generations.

Northern Kyniska following the Imperial Conquest of the region, c.1584
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In return for their loyalty, the Elysians would grant the conquered lands to their new subjects. The Navajo and Apache would be granted enormous territories, forming their own Kingdoms among the harsh desert that served the Elysians to govern the region as their own fiefdoms in the same manner as the Three Fires to the far north. Annexation would be set to occur in the years to follow, yet through the intricacies of politics and imperial bureaucracy, the Elysians would satisfied with letting their allies rule over the territories. Even centuries after the conquest of the region, Kyniska retained one of the largest symmachoi populations in the Empire.

Methodically pacing itself between expansion and consolidation of its resources and settlers, the harshness of Kyniska’s environment would see these new settlements taking priority with development rather than creating numerous colonies along the frontier. Expansion efforts would be directed towards the northwest rather than extending towards the West, leaving the Apache and Navajo realms at the edge of the Elysian world for several years.

Few settlements would be created with small populations along the Kyniskan frontier, but these new villages were noticeably more developed with greater resources and infrastructure at their disposal. Many of these would never number more than a thousand settlers but were spread out and were important along the developing trade routes that existed towards the Western Ocean

Between Kyniska and Andronika, a developing town within the vast plains would grow and develop into an entirely new city. Sybaris, through investment and hard work, would rapidly develop into a major centre of trade and exchange as an important centre of the continental fur trade. Traders from all around Andronika and beyond would gather here, important and exporting to the growing network of cities and towns that began to dot the countryside.

In 1584, the city would be officially recognised as one of the most important cities in the Elysian Empire. Within a generation, Sybaris would see its population balloon, becoming an oasis of civilization surrounded by an ocean of grasslands along the steppes.

Running from the western stepps to the edge of the Apalesians, the Andronika river would serve as the primary trade artery for much of the interior of the continent. The region would quickly become one of the major economic and agricultural centres of the Empire, a region that would be protected as a vital part of Elysias westward expansion. Controlling a large foothold along the river and with a thriving network of towns and cities being established along the developing breadbasket, Andronika would be tamed in the later half of the 16th century.

Completing what had been his father's work, Demetrios I felt a sense of accomplishment as the Empire rapidly spread outward across the Riverlands, yet he would rarely mourn his father for the man he became in the later half of his life. Already a multicultural melting pot of both Elysian subcultures and native influences and with the land now settled, it would become the work of the following generations to build upon their forefather's work and create civilization.

The world beyond the shores of Elysium is both vast and filled with threats, both familiar and new. Ever since the earliest memories and days of arriving upon Elysium, so much had already changed. An entirely new world, filled with mysteries and curiosities that were yet to be discovered. After long having turned its attention inward to create a homeland for itself, which later became an identity for itself, Demetrios I would continue the work of his forefathers in continuing to look inward for the Empire.

Colonial ambitions began to transition away and became far more invested in homebound ambitions, focusing on claiming the frontier and the homestead for itself. A nation was to be built as the innocence of its colonial past would begin to fade away towards the end of its century, for the Elysians now focused on cultivating their lands and building cities and wonders that were the envy of the world.

If Elysium was to truly fit the name it was given, it was the mission of the Third Rome to unify and transform the continent into a new promised land. A paradise of civilization and prosperity that would become destined to lead the world into a better tomorrow. Demetrios I looked inward for the Empire to perfect itself, and only then once this long and difficult task was completed, would the Third Rome stand as an exceptional beacon to the world.

With the rediscovery of the old European kingdoms and the discovery of Kauda, the Elysian Empire began a heated race for control of the Kykladian Isles to prevent any of the European realms from gaining a foothold upon the Elysian continent. Diplomacy and trade, combined with the rapid settlement of the islands, would see the noblemen and women of the Empire rest easy as the Kykladian Isles belonged to the glorious control of the Empire, yet this was only the beginning.

With this new jewel in the imperial crown, the Empire would control the gateway to the entirety of Elysium. Any trade that occurred in the new world passed through the hands of Elysian merchants, giving some measure of control over the Frankish and Iberian kingdoms through the wealth and dominance of Elysias own regional trade. Decades of investment, through enticing development among wealthy coastal cities or developing enormous plantations that were worked by slaves, had made the Kykaldian Isles one of the most lucrative markets in the world through a combination of blood and gold. This wealth would be fiercely guarded by Elysia and their autonomous Kykaldian subject, building an unrivalled encampment to defend this new position or risk losing it towards the perfidious Europeans.

After spending many years during his reign, Demetrios I had become an older and more mature leader through his decades of experience. The Emperor would, despite his controversies, ensure that Elysia was set up towards success in the generations that would follow beyond his mortality. Demetrios would spend the last few remaining years of his life building upon the fortune and success that the Empire had achieved within a relatively short amount of time, playing politics upon opportune times to secure outside influence and enacting policies that would ensure that Elysia would benefit.

It would be fitting, in a moment of Greek tragedy, that he would not live long enough to see what was set to become his masterpiece in the next few years…

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Congrats on seizing Cahokia!

Will Spartania ever enter into a personal union with Elysia? Is that a long term Elysian goal?

What does Arkadia (South America) look like right now? Also, there are no European colonies that share a continent with Elysia, right?

Arkadia is dominated by the Portuguese and Castilians since Elysia had locked the Europeans out of Elysia proper. Its less of a colony and more of a battlefield between the colonial powers in establishing a foothold on the continent. More will be explained in future chapters.

Spartania is pivotal to Elysian interests domestically. Along with holding an extremely strong claim to its throne, Spartania owes its existence and practically everything about itself to the Elysians. Should a personal union occur, it will likely be a seamless transition except for a few annoyed claimants and nobles who would live under the increasingly large shadow that Elysia is casting over them.

Just spent the last week reading through your AAR. It's been ages since I've tried the Third Odyssey mod, but the concept of the Byzantines fleeing across the Atlantic in a desperate bid at survival is a fascinating one. It's certainly been an interesting read so far, and I look forward to seeing Elysia continue its dominance of the New World.

Thank you for your support! I've got much more planned to go ahead. The foundation for Elysian success is being built during this century as it eclipses everything within its reach. Things are going to snowball during the 17th Century into an avalanche

 

[Crimson Lionheart]

Chapter 30: In the right place... (1585-1593)​

Victory throughout the expanse of the Kynsikan deserts would bring the edge of Elysian civilisation closer towards the looming but tantalisingly distant edge of the Western Ocean. With the frontier becoming increasingly settled by the thousands who made the long and difficult journey beyond Andronika, the frontier spirit remained strong among the Elysian settlers and colonial wave that ventured to build their new lives. Far away from the frontier, Senators and other politicians began to argue about the nature of westward expansion, agreeing on the need to settle the new territories yet debating on the motivation and nature of the new colonia.

Many conservative senators would argue for a moderate pace for expansion and would be primarily focused upon profit motive as the Empire inched closer to the Western Ocean. More progressive senators would debate for the building of infrastructure to aid in the ease of travelling along the west, a key issue for both trade and army transportation, and pushed for the larger colonies along the increasingly connected network of settlements to be connected to the Empire by a series of pathways. A small but vocal minority of populists and radicals would advocate and push for an aggressive push for western expansion and to secure Elysian supremacy in any form, seeing growing support around the political sphere of the Elysian Heartland from dissatisfied senators and even among the public.

Elysia had already accomplished incredible feats within her relatively youthful existence. All of these groups of senators would be united in their belief that the Elysian Empire was preordained to expand from the Atlantic Coast to the Western Sea, and efforts within a century and a half of success and expansionist doctrine would see the Elysians become the continental great power it had evolved into.

With an overwhelming presence around the Atlantic and their domestic trade, the Palmas Reforms would begin to see the fruit of its labour truly begin to flourish after their enactment in 1580. Transforming both the Elysian economy and its domestic trade power, while drastically strengthening the Hyperpyron and allowing its domestic markets to flourish, its enactment across the Empire and Kykladia would see the Empire transform into do had never quite expected.

The Empire would control the most precious resource in the whole world. Trade itself. The Gateway to Elysium would be recognised across the Atlantic worlds as the dominant economic and mercantile centre across both the New and Old Worlds. Elysian markets would continue to strengthen drastically as the Imperial monopoly on Atlantic trade would only fuel the furnace of their economy, continuing to soar to unprecedented levels. Reducing its reliance on foreign markets and focusing heavily on improving its economy, the wealth of Elysium and the jealousy of the nations of the world only strengthened the Elysian economy as it began to skyrocket with its newfound wealth.

Long having embraced the wisdom of his forefathers in securing the survival and prosperity of his people, Demetrios I would be among the first to truly begin to utilise the Elysian potential to its fullest. From its very founding all of those years ago as a refuge camp, Nea Konstantinoupolis had always been the centre of Elysian culture and commerce, and it has since grown into the most prosperous city in the new world. Yet as the Empire had long turned inward to build upon itself, there was much to be done if Elysia was to truly earn the respect and admiration of the nations of Europe and beyond.

With the economy seemingly unlocked from whatever invisible shackles it had been holding back, the Emperor focused much of his energy on improving the Elysian economy and truly transforming his Empire into a shining jewel. Markets and workshops began to appear in almost every single town and city across the empire, while estates and factories began to emerge from the settled provinces in much greater numbers. Infrastructure was being heavily improved and incentivised as Demetrios I worked in tandem with the Imperial Senate, both expanding the Empire outward while retaining its inward progress.

During these pivotal years, the Elysian Heartland would see a flurry of architectural development and rapid growth that had not been seen since the reign of Theophilios II over a century ago. Nea Konstantinopolis itself, as the cultural and political centre of the Empire, would see rapid development from the wealth that was now pouring into the city as part of the Palmas Reforms. While many different churches and cathedrals had already dotted the city, none of them was comparable to the grand churches of the Old City. It was a lasting question on the minds of Elysian architects, for as the inheritor and successor of the old city, the capital deserved to have its own Great Church.

Looking upon the ancient designs of the Hagia Sophia as its primary inspiration, along with an assortment of churches and cathedrals from the Empire's distant past, architects began to lay the plans for the design of a Great Church of Elysium. Divided opinions would follow over the form it would take, but this Grand Cathedral had already been designed to serve as the episcopal see of the ecumenical patriarch of Nea Konstantinopolis. It would, in addition to the grandeur worthy of such a monumental project, was to become one of the largest cathedrals in the world.

With the wealth flowing into the Elysian Bay and from across the many markets and ports of the Empire, the treasury would be overflowing with an abundance of gold and wealth that would be invested into infrastructure and architectural marvels across the most developed lands of the Empire. With such an influx of wealth, Emperor Demetrios I would invest heavily into redeveloping Nea Konstantinopolis as raw materials and labourers arrived to construct and build anew. One of the most significant developments in this would be the expansion of the Theophilian Walls, named after his famous ancestor, extending beyond the river and including the new districts and zones that had long overgrown the original urban designs.

It would become the final development in the Theophilian Walls, having served their purpose in protecting Nea Konstantinopolis and ensuring the safety of the metropolis as an impenetrable centre of wealth and prestige. No further expansion would occur upon the defence of the city, as all existing zones would become reinforced and transformed as the capital continued to grow beyond all expectations.

Along with the influx of wealth flowing through its coffers, Demetrios I would launch an ambitious enlargement of naval reform and modernization of the Imperial Fleet to come with the growing demands of the Empire's rapidly growing dominion across the continent and beyond. Thousands of sailors would join in a growing enlistment campaign and take to the seas, while formidable ships were being constructed or upgraded to bolster the wooden wall of the Empire. These new ships were to be spent on combatting piracy, protecting the arteries of trade from across the Empire or simply patrolling the waters.

Far towards the south, holding border disputes that developed into a bitter rivalry between each other, a bitter conflict would be declared against the Vinlandic colonies along the southern isthmus by a motivated and expansionist Spartania. The Norse colonies would fall rapidly to the onslaught of the disciplined and aggressive Spartan force, capturing them with ease as Vinlandic warriors and traders abandoned the region and their own settlers to their fate after realising the futility of defending the region.

Much to the horror of the Norse settlers who remained behind or couldn’t escape in time, only death and subjugation would await them as the Spartans completely swept through their villages and cities. Abandonment and resentment filled the hearts of the Norse who survived against their new masters, now enslaved and feeling bitter for the betrayal of their countrymen.

With the frontier remaining stable along the west, Elysian colonists would begin moving towards the Northwest in droves into the vast interior of the continent. Surrounded by grassland and steppe, Elysian settlers would be overwhelmed by the sheer emptiness and scale of their surroundings. Some of the barbaroi would migrate and settle within this region over the span of thousands of years, although contact between them would remain limited and confined to their territories. What the region lacked in the populous settlement, it would make up in exotic fauna and a wild range of differing climates.

It would be among these lands that another developing culture would emerge within the developing Elysian world, located on the vast steppe between the Andronikan River and the Atlas Mountains. Being reminded of the Scythian lands of Europe, these lands would be known as the Skythian Plains among the settlers and the emerging societies in the region. These settlers would live in relative isolation away from large cities, except for those on the riverbanks, and would instead prefer to live among the many small towns and villages that served as a small island oasis surrounded by an endless sea of prairie and grasslands.

The Elysian settlers and their Symmachoi allies of the region would become known for their semi-nomadic and semi-militarised lifestyle while retaining a fierce amount of self-governance that only a vast distance could create. These Elysian Cossacks would hold onto their way of life with pride, calling themselves the Freemen of the Steppes, or simply Freemen/Eleutheroi for short.

The Eleutheroi people and their way of life would occasionally skirmish with the half-subdued barbaroi tribes across the steppe, and also amongst themselves periodically. Sparsely populated and living within isolated communities, the Eleutheroi would quickly earn a reputation as experienced and skilled horsemen.

Pushing beyond the forests of the coastline and through mountains and rivers, Elysian settlers would venture deep into the interior of the continent and arrive in the vast expanse of steppe and grassland that the Elysians would now call ‘Skythia’. Quickly emerging as the largest of the fortress cities within the Steppe as an important economic centre, Sybaris would rapidly grow in importance and numbers as a centre of the fur trade where traders from Andronika and Skythia would gather.

It would also be here that the local bishop of the growing city would establish himself and named himself the ‘Patriarch of Skythikon’, dedicating his life and pleading himself to convert the dispensed and unruly natives of Skythia into becoming loyal Orthodox subjects by any and whatever means necessary. The Ecumenical Patriarch would confirm his status, establishing a new Patriarchate and bolstering the influence of the Church as it spread alongside the Empire. Already differing from its Old World counterpart, the Elysian Orthodox Church would adapt and reform its Patriarchates to adjust and adapt to its immense size.

Following the wave of expansion across the Skythian frontier, the Empire would briefly wage a conflict against the Pawnee. In little more than a few months, the Pawnee would be decimated by warfare and infectious diseases brought by the expanding Elysians and Symmachoi. The Pawnee would lose their sovereignty as their territories were annexed into the Empire, sharing the fate of the conquered.

During the late period of the 16th century, the Elysians of the North would begin to emerge as a developing cultural identity within the Elysians that would settle around the Borealian Lakes and further towards the north. Simply known as the Borealians, who inhabit the large inland lakes from which they get their name, they would speak with a noticeably thick accent and local language that was almost barely considered to be an Elysian dialect. During times of peace, they were excellent merchants and provided much of the Empire’s fur and timber trade, while during periods of warfare, the Borealians would excel as scouts and trackers.

Despite this, the Borealians were known as a loyal and faithful people. Their mixed heritage of both Elysian-Vinlandic settlers and Barbaroi descent would further add to their developing identity, where their inherited native and Viking traditions were treated with scorn by their more ‘respectable’ brethren to the south, something that the Borealians themselves hold with pride.

Maria I Palaiologous, later known as the ‘Iron Lady’, the First Empress in Elysian history.​

Long having reigned for decades as a popular and exalted leader, Demetrios’s scandals and open degeneracy in matters of sexual and hedonistic love had made him both many enemies and friends during his long reign. Embracing this reputation and being infamous for his immense charisma, the Emperor would spend his last remaining years within his older years as a shameless adulterer, a talented rider and a growing love of hunting.

On December 18th 1588, the Emperor would leave the Imperial Palace with a group of trusted courtiers on a deer hunt organised by one of his oldest friends. Demetrios would ride on his personal horse Harpagos, a stallion of immense size that Demetrios raised from foalhood. Accompanied by his trusted courtiers, the Emperor would lose his footing during a moment of inattention when his horse would trip upon the wet ground, throwing the Emperor into a ditch violently, before Harpagos would land on the top of him. His spine would be shattered while the Emperor was crushed under almost a ton of weight by Harpagos’s sheer size directly onto his torso. His condition would rapidly deteriorate as his courtiers frantically tried to save him. Despite their attempts, Demetrios would die within minutes of the fatal accident to the horror of those who witnessed the tragic event. He would be sixty-two.

Succession would pass to his daughter Maria, who would become the first Empress in Elysian history before she was thirty. Born from the incestuous union of her father and his sister-wife, Maria would inherit some of her father's charismatic charms and was interested in creating strong alliances and diplomatic ties with the Empire's allies and interests. Her greatest weakness would, however, come in the form of noticeably poor health that would trouble the new Empress for the rest of her life.

Following her coronation and ascension to the throne, Maria would never have her father's masterful talents in natural talent and leadership. Instead, Maria would inherit her father's desire for a stronger and more prosperous empire after growing up alongside him during her youthful years. Maria was an expansionist at her core and went to work almost immediately at the beginning of her reign in this matter.

Her stubbornness and unbreakable will would later characterise her future reign for an indomitable spirit she possessed. Maria was determined to not be a footnote within the history of her nation, nor was she interested in sitting idle in doing nothing despite all of the luxuries afforded to her position. Maria’s expansionist tendencies would lead to a significant period of Elysian history that would, in future years, become pivotal for the destiny of the Empire as it entered near the brink of the next century.

Beginning her reign with a wave of reforms, the Empress would primarily focus her efforts upon the long-neglected Barbaroi Council and focused on integration with the still vast number of Barbaroi and Symmachoi that lived within the territories and provinces of the Empire at large. Reforms were kept with relative simplicity yet would hold immense importance to this pillar of Elysian society. Beginning in 1589, the Empire would enact a reform of their citizenship laws to extend towards the natives of the continent and would come into effect the following year.

Building upon the Roman model, any native that would serve within the Imperial Army would be granted citizenship for twenty-five years of service that would extend onto themselves and their families, conferring significant rights and privileges that many natives except the Symachoi subjects of the Empire would simply not have. At the cost of reducing some discipline to accommodate for the influx of the new inclusive laws, this would solve the long troublesome problems of securing manpower within the Empire and allow for the ease of tribal integration into Elysia.

This reform would quickly earn the gratitude of the Barbaroi Councils and be popular among the Dynatoi for solving a multitude of their issues around the military, yet it would be argued against among the more conservative elements of the Imperial Military who wished to protect the traditional military and racial makeup of the Elysian armed forces.

After several years of expansion along the Skythian Steppe, the Western Frontier would see an explosion of settlement as the Empire pushed for settlement along Kyniska once more. Desolate territories of harsh deserts and mountainous terrain would be inhabited by small communities who migrated into the region, heading towards the Western Ocean at a calculated pace. Some of these new communities would quickly find themselves as regional centres of commerce, becoming an oasis of civilization in a vast expanse of scorched earth.

Accommodating the rapid growth along the Skythian and Kyniskan territories, an expansion of bureaucracy was made to transition these territories into organised and settled provincial regions of the region. Jurisdictions and governors would migrate into these new communities from the East, building upon the Theme System alongside a restructured central bureaucracy among the desolate isolated territories. These Western Themes would be considerably larger than the older ones towards the east, comprising of only a single fortified settlement and its immediate area along the frontier.

The Apache would spend a generation of servitude to the Elysians after being blessed with extensive territories and autonomy on the fringe of the Empire. With Elysia turning towards the frontier once more, the Apache would be annexed directly into the Empire, yet would retain their privileged status among the symmachoi and hold great autonomy within their region. As the Theme system would extend into their lands, the Apache Chief would appointed as Strategos.

Beginning at the end of 1592, Moctezuma Spartakon passed away from illness at the age of twenty-eight without an heir. The line of royalty that had descended from Leonidas I would come to a quiet and undignified death as succession would pass onto the Emperors of Elysia, upon whom their Imperial House had descended and was legally supported as the successors of the Spartan Kingdom. Demetrios I would originally organise to place a member of the Palaiologos as the new Kyriarchos, yet destiny would have different plans for when Maria would ascend to the throne.

Swearing complete allegiance to the Elysians and recognising the House of Palaiologos as the sole legal successors to the throne, Maria would be acclaimed as the Kyriachos of Spartania on January 29th 1593. A personal union would exist within Spartania, where Elysia and their Lakonian cousins were now ruled under the singular rule of the Empress.

The political shift within the New World would be transformed overnight. Politics within the Capital would be driven into a fever pitch as the Imperial Senate would erupt into an uncontested frenzy at the development, while the Imperial Palace would become a hornet's nest of ceaseless attention as countless advisors, senators and visitors would travel inside and outside of its corridors endlessly. Only the Empress was left in bewilderment at the development of ruling of the dual crowns she now had authority over, now ruling uncontested as the most powerful woman in the western hemisphere.

Spartania’s status would be maintained due to its distance and loyalty to the Union. Spartania would maintain its independent law, currency and government while the Empress would give excellent positions to Lakonian nobles within the Elysian courts and Senate. On the outside, little would be observed to have changed from the perspective of an outside. Internally, however, the balance of power would be permanently altered as loyalists and the combined might of the Elysian behemoth would be strengthened drastically by the inclusion of the new crown.

Within Nea Konstantinopolis, the Empress would establish a ‘Council of Lakonia’ to advise her on Spartanian affairs while appointing her nephew to act as her viceroy to aid in the governance of the region. While not as capable of a leader as her father was, Maria had still inherited the spirit and ambition of the man who had led the Empire into greatness before her. While beginning her reign with a level of innocence, the coming few years would cement the reputation of the Empress into stone.

Nobody would know it yet, but the following generation of Elysians under her guidance was going to change the world.

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Congrats on your expansion! The Navajo and the Apache are probably happy with their decision to become Elysia's vassals, given all of the new territory that they're getting.

Did any of the European powers express interest or establish outposts on the Kykladian Isles?

They certainly tried, but Elysia would take the Kykladies before they gained an interest in creating their colonies. It would be fortunate that the Europeans were far more interested in fighting among themselves, otherwise, had they gained a position in the Kykladies, war would have certainly occurred over control of it.

 

[Crimson Lionheart]

Index: State of the Empire (1515)​

In its earliest moments upon their arrival in the New World, the Romans that would abandon the Old World would settle into their new lives with the promise of a new beginning. Within the expanse of their new homeland, the exiled Romans of this new continent would thrive in their surroundings, strengthened by a desire and ambition to improve upon itself, until its political and cultural evolution into the Elysian Empire. From its humble beginnings and most tense moments, the Elysians would survive through its greatest victories and most troubling periods of unrest within its young history that would only strengthen its newfound resolve. Seventy years after the Grand Fleet arrived in the Elysian Bay, the world had become unrecognisably different since the earliest years.

Alexios VI Palaiologos, Emperor of the Elysians and among one of the very first to embrace its newest identity, governed a wealthy and expansionist realm that could punch far above its meagre weight. As the successors to the Romans, the Palaiologos of the New World would build upon a blank slate to create a strong centralised government with the Imperial Dynasty sitting on top of it all. Elysia was a land of limitless potential, fueled by ambition and ingenuity to leave their mark upon the world.

Although starting with practically nothing other than the means for its survival, what had originally formed the earliest councils of the exiled Romans would create and build upon a centralised monarchy, retaining much of the former governmental system of the Hellenic Romans. The Imperial Senate would be reestablished during the reign of Theophilios II, granting substantial powers to the dynatoi and governors who comprised much of the ruling class of the empire at the cost. At the cost of imperial authority, the Senate would allow for easier governance and higher stability while allowing for access and opportunities to arise within the government.

Left to their own devices and holding a monopoly upon almost all goods outside of Vinland, the bounty of Elysium and the rapid growth of a mercantile class would see its economy rapidly climb during its expansion along the eastern seaboard. Reallocation of the expenses of the state and the maintenance of the military had proven expensive, while lucrative trade deals with the Portuguese due to the Treaty of Elpida would allow a controlled surge of growth as European and Elysian interests aligned.

In part due to its rapid growth and the overwhelming dominance of its markets, trade and mercantilism would thrive within the markets and ports across the cities of the Empire. It would become unsurprising to European merchants that the Elysians would dominate trade upon the continent as it gravitated towards them, while the Treaty of Elpida only allowed the Portuguese to reap the rewards of cooperation that forced the Old World to conduct trade with the Norse.

Yet despite its growth, much of the Imperial economy wasn’t reformed or prepared to reap the benefits of its newfound wealth. Lacking any reliable form of coinage and primarily concerned with expansion and settlement, economic reform was still generations away from the interests of the Empire.

Existing as a separate entity of the Orthodox Church of the Old World, the Elysian Orthodox Church would reaffirm its commitment to the faith while committing to ecclesiarchial reform to the structure of the church. Becoming increasingly independent in both mindset and structure, a frontier mindset would commonly occupy the priests and missionaries of the developing church within the Empire that encouraged evangelism.

The Elysian Inquisition, once having hunted the Plethonists to extinction, would work tirelessly in rooting out heresy and protecting Christendom across the wide expanse of the Empire. The Inquisition would prove to be unpopular and even feared, and while answering to the Emperor of Elysia legally, were often viewed as overzealous agents of the Church. Carrying a legacy of brutality that followed them long after the Plethonist Revolts, the Inqusition had long maintained a statement that only heretics had anything to fear.

Within the seventy years of their existence within the New World, Elysian Orthodoxy would spread along the frontier and beyond to encompass a large amount of territory from both native converts and Elysian settlers. Christianity would become a powerful unifying force among the Elysians and a part of Elysian identity. Surrounded by pagan barbaroi and the Norse Vikings to their north, faith became an important pillar of Elysian civilization.

While small, the Imperial Military was a professional and disciplined force that had long prioritised quality over quantity. Existing as the Legionaries of this new world and led by a militant warrior elite from the dynatoi, the Allegia was terrifyingly efficient in the battle against the barbaroi. Along with taking the latest innovations and equipment, the Elysians would always maintain and invest in their soldiers' fighting spirit and equipment. As Elysian military tactics gradually evolved, the “Elysian Way” of war was encouraged in its structure as it became more sophisticated and refined like their Roman forefathers.

Reigning over a collection of vassal states in addition to its territory, Elysia’s subjects were made up of a diverse background that ranged from Hellenised Natives on the periphery of its territory to Varangian warriors living within fortified solitude. Kykladia’s increasing mastery of the waves from its humble size would also aid the Empire in conflict and peacetime periods.

Balanced among the pillars of Elysian society, the myriad of factionalism and self-interests would play an important role in the politics of the developing nation. Alexios VI had done much to curb the growing influence of the Dynatoi, much to the displeasure of the aristocratic elites of the Empire, while aligning himself with the rapidly growing Emporoi that had grown increasingly wealthy and powerful due to their stronghold of trade and wealth.

Within several generations from the initial arrival within the New World, Elysian culture and civilization would begin spreading outward as waves of colonial settlement and assimilation into the Empire. What had been a destitute and desperate gathering of thousands of exiled refugees would form the backbone of a formidable empire with limitless potential. Nea Konstantinopolis would begin to climb in population as the centre of the empire, while wealthy coastal cities such as Kalydon and Prosporion would rapidly balloon in population and importance as major centres of maritime trade coming from the Old World.

Surrounding the Elysians themselves were the many barbaroi and natives from across the continent, documented carefully by explorers and inquisitive scholars. Towards the far north were the Pagan Vinlanders within their rigid homeland, while the Varangians lived within their Order as converts to Christianity. Elysium was still a vast land of wonder and curiosity, surrounded by a plethora of cultures and differences from one another.

Imperial diplomacy would play an important role with trade and outward relations, where both Vilnand and Elysia relied upon each other for trade and resources. As waves of expansion and conquest began to see Elysia rapidly grow in size, alongside having an open and blossoming relationship with the Portuguese that served as Elysia’s lifeline towards Europe, the necessity of maintaining the relationship and a quietly growing rivalry between the realms started to be questioned.

Towards the south, the Elysian Empire looked towards the southern valleys and mountains of Apalesia. Swords would be sharpened and troops would be raised as an army was assembled to march towards the south, ready to wage war and to conquer the region.

The Elysian Empire would appear homogenous from the outward glance of an outsider, yet it wouldn’t be any further from the truth. Within its provinces and territories was a nation that was growing and playing towards its strengths without hindrance. Elysians would make up just over 71.9% of its population, while the remainder would be made up of several smaller barbaroi identities within the Empire. Evangelical efforts along with the coincidence of waves of settlers from migration would also see the religious makeup of over 80% of the population following Elysian Orthodoxy from both Elysian and converted natives, while the remainder would be the target of missionary efforts.

Its economy would become radically diverse, primarily dominated by Tobacco and Fur production and trade while also being a noteworthy producer of naval supplies. Originating within Elysium itself and having been long used among the natives, Tobacco would become popular as a trade item and was increasingly lucrative within Europe. Tobacco would become a primary product that would fuel Elysian slave labour as plantations began to appear in agricultural areas.

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Authors Note: Originally wasn't going to post this index, namely because of various rewrites and a loss of files from this early in the save would have largely made this redundant. Alongside that, I'm sorting through and creating folders for the next 150-200 years of the AAR, which so far I've made up from among almost 10,000 photos that I must cut down to per chapter. So while I sort through that, chapters will be far and few between and would primarily be index-focused.

In addition to that, due to a series of drastic calamities within my personal and social life, along with creative burnout with this AAR, I'm heavily conflicted about continuing this AAR on this scale any further. I've had a brand new AAR idea revolving around a Roman Restoration within Ante Bellum, but I don't know what you readers would enjoy more. In the meantime, I hope you have had a good day

Basilissa Maria is probably the most powerful woman on the planet not just in the western hemisphere. How close are the culture and religion of Elysia and Spartania? 5 to 20 transports, is a small naval invasion planned? Thanks

Culturally distant but somewhat related. Religiously, pretty much identical aside from Elysia and Spartania having two independent churches.

Maria is going to be a special case. Just like her father, she will be important, although for different reasons.

Maria is going to have a lot of pressure on her to have an impressive reign, what with being the first empress of Elysia. Fortunately Elysia is already in a good state that she can build upon.

A personal union over Spartania is a nice development. If they keep expanding south, they'll greatly expand the empire once inherited.

The Personal Union is very nice, in addition to Spartania focusing far more inward than outward. Combined with Elysia, the Empire now stretches from Maine to Panama. It's a special kind of colossus now.

It's nice to see that Elysia will finally have its own equivalent to the Hagia Sophia.

RIP Demetrius, and long live Maria I and Elysia-Spartania! What world-changing acts will she do? Is Elysia-Spartania moving on to a reclamation of Europe?

Skythia is OTL's Great Plains, right? What happened to the OTL native inhabitants of the region, like the Lakota?

Skythia is the Great Plains. The OTL native inhabitants are largely assimilated into the Empire, while in-game, the Lakota have migrated northward I believe.

Demetrius may be gone, but his legacy will remain forever. His daughter also happens to be far more expansionist than he ever was, so it will be interesting to see what happens going into the next century.