In front of the Savior Enyas, as he sat upon the Throne of Makorth, his followers and servants knelt down as one but divided in two. To his left knelt those who devoted themselves to the lord, and to his right knelt those who swore eternal allegiance to the Savior.

In front of his servants, four figures knelt down. To his left knelt the Saint Ecienor, the Blade of God, and Saint Antosixor, The First Among Equals. To his right knelt his most loyal general, Agotam, and his oldest son, Enyasir.

The Savior stood from his rightful Throne, bestowed upon him by God.

"To my Loyal Servants, I give thee the fertile fields of our destined land.

To my Faithful Servants, I give thee the sacred lands.

To my Bravest General, I give thee the Sword of Light.

To my most Zealous Commander, I give thee the Holy Spear.

To my Oldest Son, I give thee the crown bestowed by God to rule his lands.

And to my most Pious and Virtuous Follower, I bestow upon thee the Sacred Scepter, to represent the word and will of God on these lands."

- Arsoriem 1:10-26

.

.

.

"All you need is a single spark, and the entire house will come crashing down"

-  1864, Murdoch Caden, Courburian Minister of Foreign Affairs

.

.

.

The Divine Empire of Enyasin was an absolute monarchy, where the administration was centered on the Emperor, and the armed forces only responded to their divine rule bestowed by God. Yet, the Eternal Empire was also a theocratic state, where the laws of God were absolute above all else, laws administered by the Church and its leader, the Erenkashur, who also commanded the various military religious orders spread throughout the Empire.

The Enyan system was one that in the past was necessary to ensure the defense, expansion, and unity of the Empire by splitting the administration between the State and Church. But once the continent was united, the Eternal Empire slowly centralized around the Emperor, and the Church grew more powerful as the Cult of Enyas spread, the system slowly began to show its critical flaws.

Both sides would begin a millennia-long tug of war, as the Divine Emperors and Erenkashurs tried to undermine the other. Be it by bribing important administrators or clergymen, to full-on military clashes, and at times, even holding the opposing leaders as hostages or even assassinating them. But neither side became able to fully control the other or tip the balance of power critically to their side.

It was a pendulum; sometimes the State was stronger, sometimes the Church was dominant, and at times both had the same sway. For years, decades, and centuries, that was the Enyan cycle, a never-ending state of internal conflict that would only end when one side became absolute, yet neither side could afford to push it.

If the State lobotomized the Church, its populace indoctrinated by centuries of religious teaching would revolt, and if the Church ended the State, the powerful nobility would revolt to preserve their power. This was a game where no one could win, and everyone would lose.

But it was manageable; the Eternal Empire would always fall inward and into internal chaos, lose its influence abroad, but a few decades later, it always rebounded back to prominence. No other kingdom or state was ever able to defy Enyasin, not even when the Eternal Empire was at its weakest.

That was how the Enyan cycle was and how it would always be. Rise and fall, rise and fall, rise... And fall... That was how it had been and how it should have been for all eternity... That was how it was supposed to be...

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Three shots...

All it took was three shots to kill the Divine Emperor on the 1st day of the 5th month, the date celebrated as the day when the First Emperor proclaimed the foundation of the Empire. A day characterized by the scene of the Imperial Family parading through the main avenue of Mylasea, always on the same route and always at the same time.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Three more shots were fired, one killing the heir apparent to the throne, one gravely injuring the consort and one missing. Yet, one bullet remained...

"May the Lord cleanse this land from the sinful royalty!"

Cried a man as he pointed a gun at his jaw.

Bang.

A seventh shot, killing the perpetrator... A lone shooter, possibly a crazy fanatic, nothing else worthy of mentioning. That was all that there was to him, that was how it was supposed to be...

The death of the Divine Emperor and his heir apparent sent shockwaves through the Eternal Empire. Many emperors in the past had brutally met their ends, but none as publicly as this.

As the people mourned, the Empire found itself in crisis, as it stood on the precipice of a succession war. The heir apparent was an only child, and his death meant that the throne would pass to the Divine Emperor's oldest sibling; that was how it was supposed to be...

However, the second son of the previous emperor was now a high-ranking member of the church, and if he got the throne, the church would finally break the stalemate and achieve absolute power. That was what many loyal to the state feared would happen, so in turn, they chose the youngest sibling of the Divine Emperor to assume the throne. This was allowed by the Imperial laws if the second in line was found unable or unworthy of assuming the throne, but it was a clear breach of the succession laws as stated by the sacred book of Qrylen.

Accusations were almost immediate to appear from both sides. The Church accused the nobility of breaking the laws created by Enyas himself, and in turn, the nobility accused the church of inciting and allowing the regicide to happen. After all, it was the Holy Order of Mylasea, the one responsible for providing security during the Dy of Proclamation.

Officials loyal to the State ordered an investigation into the church to find the conspirators. But, of course, the investigators were prohibited from entering any of the Church premises; more accusations were made, as the Church began accusing that the death of the Divine Emperor was instead a plot by the nobility to depose the Erenkashur.

In turn, a demand was sent for the "False" Divine Emperor to abdicate and let the rightful successor inherit the Crown of God. The response of the Emperor and his Nobility was a simple one: they sent the envoy of investigators a second time, escorted by the Divine Guards Order, the Elite troops under the direct command of the Emperor.

Just like the first time, the investigators were demanded to go back, but the Emperor would not take no for an answer this time around. The Divine Guard aimed their guns at the clergymen, and in response, the soldiers of the Holy Order of Mylasea aimed their guns back.

Silence ensued for moments, then seconds, until finally...

Bam.

An explosion reverberated, then gunshots. No one knew who fired first, or what caused the explosion; all they knew was that the Divine Empire of Enyasin was once again at war with itself.

.

.

.

The Enyan Civil War didn't come as a shock to the surrounding nations; they all knew that it was only a matter of time. With the Eternal Empire now completely distracted with itself, the floodgates were opened. There was no turning back anymore; the old order was finally dying.

The government of the United Republic of Great Courbury acted swiftly at the news of the Civil War in Enyasin. Ever since the Empire had begun its internal power struggle, the newcomer republic had played it safe. Supporting revolutions through supplies, waging a series of low-scale wars in Solriha, enacting unequal treaties with local states, and exploring this new world without claiming any land. But now, that was over; with Enyasin unable to project its power or threaten Courbury, the Republic showed its true colors.

With a trail of iron and blaze, the Republic forged its way into the heart of Solriha and down the Anku Inland Sea. Destroying many of the native kingdoms, who refused to sign the imposed treaties, that populated the region and forever crippling the Empire of Oryajia, the once mighty superpower of the continent, that was only met with defeat after defeat by the Courburian army, as the Empire failed to modernize and its aristocracy fell to Courburian treachery.

Losing all of its lands east of the Orjika Mountains and falling into internal chaos from the mounting losses, the last piece that could ever stop the expansion of Courbury deeper into Solriha was gone. In less than a decade, the Republic's colonial empire had gone from small outposts and ports to a contiguous territory that went from the Northern coasts of Solriha down to the Tail of Solriha in the south.

Yet, for all its prestige and glory, their conquest and expansion had brought, it also had greatly overstretched what their administration could afford. The Republic's expansion had to stop, or at minimum, greatly decrease. Even more so, as The Divine Empire of Enyasin was just coming out of its 20 years long civil war. The Divine Emperor had secured power around himself for the time being, and in stark contrast to many of the previous emperors, he was ambitious.

The Eternal Empire was exhausted, but it could still exert its influence abroad; it always could, but this time its sphere of influence was contaminated, smeared... It was corrupted by the presence of Courbury and the rapidly spreading Revolutionary ideals. And the Eternal Empire was the only power that could stop it, and it would do so.

Using many of their existing outposts spread across Solriha and its near-constant influence in the region, the Eternal Empire would plunge itself into the continent's interior for the first time in history. Kingdoms, duchies, and tribes were brought into the Enyan mantle, either peacefully or by war, and just like Courbury, the Enyan forces were unmatched against the petty native kingdoms. Yet, Enyasin's expansion would stop in Solriha, as troubles back in the mainland were already brewing once more, and the State resources had to be diverted away from Colonial expansion and development.

With their much-loosened grip, Enyasin was able to expand much more rapidly and larger than Courbury. However, that same loose grip gave the government in Mylasea very little power and interest in the continent, aside from the region known as the Horn of Solriha. While the native monarchs, now under the nominal protection of Enyasin and lax supervision, grew complacent and ever more corrupt, the native armies, as weak and unmodernized as they were, became even weaker, and their economies fragile.

While in the Courburian Colonies, the government in Norwick began expanding its administration to become capable of handling such a vast territory. At the same time, the Republic's necessity to protect its grip on the Inland seas of Anku and Oradakuli made it necessary to invest in many of the so-called sister republics. These investments required careful supervision to prevent rampant corruption from consuming them for vanity uses.

The necessities and interests of both powers were now starting to shape the continent in a way never seen before. And so was their growing rivalry, with both sides increasingly attempting to undermine the other. Border clashes were growing, and the once intricate system of trade in Solriha was disrupted as the continent was split in two, between Courbury and Enyasin.

However, that was not the end of Courburian expansion. Far from it, now with a free and safe passage from east to west, north, and south in the form of the Solrihan Inland seas and their tributaries, and a readily expanding network of ports and outposts through its entire length. The Courburian explorers could now explore even further.

Departing from the Tail of Solriha, some would go north, only to find themselves in the eastern regions of Nartika and the very sought-after yet treacherous Strait of Soltirrie, which connected the Penatrian Sea to the Solqatian Ocean. Close to the Strait, the Courbin Explorers would find the Kingdom of Rorumia, an island kingdom that prospered thanks to the trade flow coming and going from the strait. To its east was the Kingdom of Amesia, which had much of the same circumstances as Rorumia.

As for the explorers that chose to sail east, when they left the new ports from the Tail of Solriha, their first discovery would be a sizable island right across the Sea of Taha. After the last landmass belonging to the Solrihan continent, there was a string of islands leading east and towards another continent, called Ardaqatia.

This continent, differently from Solriha, was almost equally divided between harsh deserts, open grasslands and steppes, warm savannah, and lush rainforests. Its geopolitics were much different from Tsacria and Solriha, which were dominated by mostly small states and a few more sizable ones. Solriha was primarily dominated by the Empire of Almura to the west of the Urbr mountains, and the Ardaqatian Confederation encompassing all of the Great Plains located right in the middle of the continent.

To the east and south, a few more states could be found, but none were as influential as the other two. Much like the other two continents, this continent had managed to keep up technically due to its own species of pack animals and staple crops, alongside an existing trade network with Nartika and Solriha. Like Tsacria, Courburian expansion on this continent was nil due to the ongoing situation in Solriha and the still overextended administration. However, Courburian explorers managed to force one of the few independent kingdoms in the southwestern part of the continent to become a protectorate of Courbury.

From the newly found continent, the explorers would go north and find the tropical paradise of Hodiqatia, an insular region dominated by thousands of islands with varied sizes, and most importantly, spices not found anywhere else.

This region became highly sought after by the Courburian government after its discovery. Unable to settle in it, they had to let it go for the time being, at least until their Solrihan holdings had established themselves enough for the Republic to continue its expansion.

Most Courburian explorers would settle with their findings of Hodiqatia and Hodikane, as the resources of those regions alone were enough for them to make a fortune for a lifetime. However, others would continue. Those who had traveled north from Solriha, and those who chose to continue their journey north of Hoditia, would both reach the same destination...

An archipelago, home of a nation that would become the centerpiece of a rapidly changing world.

But that part of our journey will have to be left for another time, as a continent becomes more divided by the day, as a revolution expands across continents, as the Old Order begins to awaken from its slumber, and as the seeds of chaos, conflict, and imperialism are sown across the world. As the years pass, the closer we are to the zenith of this journey.