Fact Box for Pnessa
Added 2021-09-22 18:01:02 +0000 UTC
Here is the fact box for the Socialist Republic of Pnessa. This will be the focus of the next high-res and textless atlas maps that will be published next week, exclusively for Acolytes, followed by the normal version and encyclopaedia entries the week after that. Thanks all for your support :) As always, feel free to point out typos in the comments ;)
This leaves just two nations (Gibeahm and Elekhid) for me to detail before the nations surrounding the Sea of Lethea are completed. Once those are done I'll start work on a large map, similar to the huge Inner Sea map I had done last year. Looking forward to getting that map done over the coming months.
Note: the below history refers largely to the modern age of Pnessa.
An Abbreviated History of Pnessa
- c. 2600 - 3000 RM: the decline of the Sea of Suppa
- c. 2905 - 2950: rise to power of the House of Caia, ending with its total dominance over Pnessa, replacing the old order, establishing what becomes known as the early Modern Age of Pnessian history.
- 3105 RM: the diminishing of the Sea of Suppa over the past centuries has revealed ancient ruins, thought to be from the Third Age, atop a steep-sided rise. The ruins become the foundations of a modern fortress that becomes known as Irut Marka.
- 3243 RM: the capital of Pnessa is moved from Ingrii to Irut Marka, which has developed into a sizeable harbour.
- 3388 RM: Magnate Karan Shur, the ruler of Pnessa, dies, leaving three siblings as his successors. The eldest, brothers and sisters Mortha and Deglia Shur, are captured by their brother Mith Shur and imprisoned in the fortified tower of Eneph, in the far east of Pnessa, and he becomes Magnate. The imprisoned siblings maintain a small but passionate following, and they accompany them to Eneph, where they begin to conspire against the usurper Mith.
- 3388 - 3402 RM: the supporters of Mortha and Deglia Shur work in the shadows to get the rightful heirs of Pnessa released. They slowly gain the support of the city of Eneph as well as individuals close to the royal family in Irut Marka
- 3400 RM: the prison of Ahtii is built through slave labour and is intended for use as a political prison to those opposing the rule of the House of Caia. It will eventually be used as a camp for prisoners during the War of Secession.
- 3402 RM: After years of planning Mortha and Deglia Shur are freed from the tower of Eneph by their supporters. In Irut Marka, supporters of their cause show their colours and a coup is attempted. It is thwarted, though only barely. Fighting breaks out in major cities, devolving into war.
- 3402 - 3409 RM: the war between Mortha and Deglia Shur and their brother Magnate Mith III, drags on, later becoming known as the War of Secession. Fighting in the east is brutal, with Mortha and Deglia’s supporters fighting for their homes. Mith III is killed by Mortha in 3409 RM following a parley, though he is unable to claim the throne as Mith’s supporters bringing further chaos to the events. With Mith’s only heir still a child, leadership breaks down in the capital as allies of the secessionists (as Mortha and Deglia become known) sow discord. A series of military blunders sees the armies of Pnessa falter against Eneph, leading to a ceasefire that ends in the signing of the independence of Eneph and the birth of the nation of Elekhid.
- 3409 RM: Mortha and Deglia Shur are married, starting a new dynasty that will go on to rule Elekhid to the present. In Pnessa the son of Mith is groomed to take over the crown as he comes of age, amid reforms and fortifying of its lands, particularly in the east.
- 3469 RM: An uprising in the city of Hazor in Rhinocoloura saw the ruling citadel attacked. A handful of its Tyranon caste were killed, alongside many more of the Agornons. The capital falls the next year, bringing the house of Neander to an end. Hundreds of its members executed, with the remnants fleeing into the mountains south of Hazor, where they are thought to have eventually settled in the north of Pnessa.
- c. 3470 - 3493 RM: agents of the exiled House Neander are secreted in the north of Pnessa, steadily sowing seeds of dissent amongst the populace. Already destabilised by the outcome of the War of Secession less than a century earlier, this region of Pnessa, being far from the capital, is quickly corrupted by their words.
- 3493 RM: the efforts of House Neander culminate in 3493 RM with the relatively bloodless coup of the northern cities. Members of the House of Caia in the north are killed, their heads sent south. Pnessa is essentially sundered in two, with the north becoming known as the Neanderine Cities.
- c. 3650 - 3700 RM: Cheira sends missionaries and preachers into neighbouring lands, including Pnessa. This is its first major contact with the Church of the Prophet of the Empyrean, which slowly gains roots there and spreads due to its popularity with the ruling House of Caia
- c. 3840 RM: The prison of Ahtii, abandoned for centuries, is occupied by political pariahs and their followers, after which it grows as an independent city that comes to control the west of Pnessa.
- c. 3925 RM: the Hmmen regime emerges in the city of Irmm, in the Neanderine Cities. It solidifies itself as a ruling power in the north, which until now has been fragmented, and begins rallying people against the monarchy, whose stronghold in the south around the plains of Lidarmelan has less influence in the north.
- 3948 RM: the Hmmen regime has amassed a fanatical following around the Neanderine Cities, and is vocal about its opposition to the Pnessian monarchy. Tensions grow in the south, with armies mobilised.
- 3948 RM: clashes between Pnessian and Neanderine forces around the valley of Bellauea culminate in the battle of Bellauan ridge.
- 3948 - 3955 RM: Hmmen armies are pushed back at the Battle of Bellauan Ridge. Despite their defeat, anxieties between the opposing forces are eased, though the Hmmen leaders redouble their efforts against the monarchy - demagogues preach anti-monarchist propaganda in southern cities, and Hmmen-sponsored bandits prey on monarchist merchant and bullion caravans.
- 3955 - 3959 RM: though skirmishes continue across the contested border between the Neanderine Cities and Pnessa, there are few major battles and the south believes that the north is losing impetus. In truth, the Hmmen regime has operatives in all major Pnessian cities and is working in the shadows to overthrow the monarchy. This culminates in 3959 RM with an overnight revolution, where allies and supporters of the Hmmen regime show their true colours.
- 3959 RM: Hmmen revolution overthrows the monarchy, executing the royal family and its direct relatives and supporters. Rumours abound of individual members of the royal family fleeing east into Elekhid. The Hmmen regime is formally established in Pnessa, becoming an Authoritarian Socialist state, with most industries and organisations coming to be controlled by the government. The Hmmen regime retains control of Pnessa, with the Tryptarch - an absolutist ruler who oversaw the collapse of the monarchy - ruling to this day.
- 3960 RM: Elekhid fortifies its borders and puts an emphasis on military defence in light of the Hmmen regime uprisings in Pnessa.
- 3962 RM: the city of Ahtii is taken by the new Hmmen regime, with resistors executed.
- 3971 - 3973 RM: Pnessa, under the Hmmen regime, declares war on Okkham. Though some cities are taken, the war ends with Okkham signing defence treaties that bring Noavatur into the war, forcing Pnessa to ceasefire.
- 3979 - 3997 RM: Pnessa declares war on Elekhid, though little action is taken. Some cities are bombarded and destroyed, leading to a contested region along the two nations’ borders. Pnessian attacks are almost all thwarted and by 3985 RM the war is effectively ended, with only minor skirmishes continuing.
- 3997 RM: Pnessaian coffers are almost bankrupted by the war and after almost two decades of conflict, the Tryptarch is forced into signing a ceasefire, in which most of the contested territories are lost to Elekhid, which agrees to bring trade to Pnessa.