History: (1655-Present)
The oldest historical records in Amn'Voss date back to the 17th century, when the first colonists from across the sea arrived on the Eastern shores of what would later be known as Amn'Voss. Back in those days Amn'Voss was inhabited by only a few native tribes and had a bustling, beautiful, environment which supported all manner of life. The following are the most important events in Amn'Voss's history.
The Al'marani Traffic: (1655-1731)The event known as the Al'marani Traffic took place between 1655 and 1731; in this time hostilities between the colonists on the eastern seaboard who were moving into the forested regions to the west and the Al'marani people who inhabited the great forests escalated exponentially. Prior to 1655 the only hostile actions taken place against the colonists was small-scale raiding but on the orders of Pioneer Commander Alexander Erikson the colonists were all issued firearms and had orders to shoot-to-kill at the sight of any Al'marani. This event started what many would call an 'all-out-war' between the colonists and Al'marani and these first hostile steps lead to the next phase of the Al'marani Traffic.
By 1700 the colonists had set up settlements in the eastern most regions of the great forest and had pushed the Al'marani deeper in the forest. The colonial military had started to turn a blind eye to the Al'marani threat and focused it's power elsewhere. Sometime between the military leaving and the colonists moving deeper in the forest the Al'marani people created an effective military which they put to use against the cities of Albana, Riksburgh and Nisal. The invasions of the cities took two days and less than four hundred colonists were left alive (out of some twelve thousand in all three cities) to retreat back to the east coast and the colonial military. This act of aggression against the colonies started the final phase of the Al'marani Traffic known to the Al'marani left alive today as the 'Blood Days'.
In 1701 a military force led by General Thomas Vintergard marched into the abandoned city of Riksburgh and set up a base of operations. In the course of two months the army gathered as much intelligence about the Al'marani military as they could and, by the fourth month came along, marched out to meet their foe. They were finally confronted by the Al'marani troops near a waterfall called in the Al'marani tounge 'Wic'ztals Tongue'. The colonial military was broken up into smaller, more manageable units so they could maneuver the dense forest better and then... the first shots were fired. The battle took a mere hour but in that time the colonial military were able to kill most of the Al'marani troops and capture the rest. In the months following the defeat of the great Al'marani army the colonial military was given orders to comb the woods looking for and either killing or capturing any Al'marani they find. It took nearly thirty years to find them but by 1731 roughly 97.5% of the Al'marani population had been either terminated or enslaved.
While the Al'marani traffic might not seem like an overly important aspect of history it is because it layed the foundation for increased colonial imperialism in the 'New World'. But first, the cities of the eastern seaboard would have to wean themselves off of their colonial masters teat and create their own militia to defend their cities and to expand their interests across a continent.
The War of Tril'a: (1745-1751)The War of Tril'a (better known as the Independence Revolution) was started when a very influential member of the homeland's Parliament was murdered on the streets of the city Tril'a in the south eastern section of the country. No one knew why he was murdered, only that he was, and this was used by very powerful separatists and loyalists alike to push their agendas. Finally, after many months of debating in local assemblies the militias of Astavan, Irao, Tril'a and Banad marched on the heavily loyalist cities of G'vana, Mainl and Buldin to the north. This mobilization of roughly seventy thousand troops started a civil war which would rage for two years and then would escalate into a unified conflict against the homeland and it's military presence in the colonies. Below are the three most important battles of the Independence Revolution.
[float=right]
Drawing of the Battle at Dini's Bridge
[/float]
Battle at Dini's BridgeThe Battle at Dini's Bridge is considered the first great victory against the northern, loyalist, cities all-in-all some three thousand men, from both sides, were killed here but the southern separatist militias managed to hold the bridge, flank the loyalists, and rout their army (which was a combination of homeland troops and northern militia). The battle was waged for nearly a day and, by dawn the next day, any sign of a loyalist presence was gone and the 'gateway' to the North was controlled by the separatists.
Siege of MainlThe Siege of Mainl took place nearly a year after the Battle of Dini's Bridge. The city of Buldin fell months earlier with little to no resistance met from the locales or the northern army and it had, apparently, been abandoned in order to protect the cities of Mainl and G'vana. The Siege of Mainl took place after the loyalist army was defeated just outside the city gates and was forced back inside. The subsequent Siege took nearly three months but ultimately the gates were opened up and the southern militias marched in, looting the entire city and executing any possible loyalists. Amazingly enough the three homeland military commanders were in the city of Mainl and were unable to retreat before the gates fell and they were captured. A ransom was sent to the last remaining loyalist city of G'vana and was denied. The commanders were executed and a diplomat was sent to G'vana to demand a ceasefire. After three weeks of discussion G'vana and all of the northern loyalist territories were handed over the the southern separatists, much to the dismay of the homeland.
Battle at Shepard's Wharf After the surrender of the loyalists there was a 'merging' of the two southern and northern entities into what would be known as the Confederacy of Amn'Voss. While rebel loyalists continued to fight along the edge of the great forest; the sea held an even more powerful threat. The 'merging' strengthened the new-found nation but it was not a full proof tactic against the concentrated military might of the homeland so once they governing powers heard that the homeland was sending a fleet with an estimated two-hundred thousand troops to reclaim the colonies the immediately sent messages to the rebels and to the other cities to unite against the homeland.
In 1751 the great homeland fleet was in sight and the plan devised by the Confederate government was executed. Hundreds of dingies loaded with explosives were sent out disguised as they they had refugees or provisions on board. The fuses were long enough that as soon as the homeland marines hoisted them on board they'd have no time to throw them overboard and, thus, the ships would be blown up. Killing a reasonable number of troops. The plan went as expected and out of the estimated one-hundred vessels only seventy-two made it to the dock at Buldin. The Confederate Army was more than ready (now allied with the formerly loyalist rebels) and reinforced with former colonial militias the resulting battle lasted for five days and heavily damaged the city of Buldin. Ultimately the homeland armies were pushed back on their vessels (which were then fired upon by captured artillery) and the Confederacy was left to it's own devices to prosper, or flounder, however it desires.
The Never Ending War: (1899-1933)Between 1751 and 1899 there is really nothing of exponential importance recorded. There was peace, careful expansion, and technological development throughout Amn'Voss after freeing itself from the Homeland and things were relatively quite. At least until the Principality of Erinao to the far south decided to invade the southern most Provinces of Amn'Voss and start a stalemate war that would last thirty-four years. It is estimated that some ten million Vossians lost their lives fighting the Erinaoan aggressors (though the Erinaoans lost even more lives). No one is really sure what caused the great Arch-Princes of Erinao to launch such a foolish, and uncalled for, attack against Amn'Voss but they certainly were no prepared to fight the great military of Amn'Voss. Many people speculate that political turmoil and the Erinaoan people not trusting their government caused them to go on an offensive campaign to cause patriotic fervor which would keep the Erinaoan populace in line; others believe one ambitious Arch-Prince became more powerful than the others and simply wanted to show the world that he was not someone to be pushed around. Either way, both reasons led to the Erinaoan collapse and dissolution in the 1940's. Currently the lands that were once Erinao are now the territory encompassing the great southern plains and the megalopolis of Ygg-Sigma.
The Second Revolution: (1997-2018)The collapse of Erinao in 1942 led to a period of extreme Amn'Voss isolation in consideration to military intervention. While Amn'Voss goods flowed out into the world, the Confederate government refused to intervene in any military endeavor outside of Amn'Voss's borders. The time between 1933 and 1997 was much like the period between 1751 and 1899; it was a time of rapid technological advancement, social unrest (and reform) and relative political stability. While the expansion days of Amn'Voss were over, there was no damper put on the great technological progress being made in the country and it wasn't until 1997 that this technological progress caught up with the people. It was in 1997 that several prominent information technology corporations started hiring groups of hackers to sabotage government facilities and websites. At first, no one knew what was going on since there was really know warning before-hand, but after nearly a month of attacks it was clear that the corporations were behind the cyber attacks and were simply using the hackers as proxy attackers.
In 1999 all hell broke lose whenever the government stormed the headquarters of Atlas Technologies (the ring leader of the attacks) and took it's CEO Leo Bronson into custody. Less than two days after the storm on Atlas Technologies riots broke out in the streets protesting against government oppression and the impending Police State of Amn'Voss. While the riots were disorganized the other conspirator corporations were not and used this opportunity to lead their own revolution. Using the massive PMC ArmTech the corporations deployed troops into almost every major city in Amn'Voss. The rioters, confused and still disorganized, started attacking everyone in a uniform and the fighting broke down into the rioters vs. the corporations vs. the government. While society didn't really break down, there was near constant fighting in key sectors of the cities on the East coast (the rest of the country was spared the ravages of Civil War) and by 2010 the corporations seemed to be winning. Advances in military technology through the private sector allowed the PMC ArmTech to utilize increasingly advanced weaponry against the government troops (since by this time the rioting faction had faded into tiny pockets of anarchist resistance).
[float=right]
Typical ArmTech Police Droid (circa. 2011)
[/float]
By 2012 the war was more or less scattered government-controlled areas fighting unmanned machinations of war. The last six years of fighting were relatively bloodless and involved just rounding up the government rebels who didn't turn themselves in at when the unofficial surrender was issued in 2012.
For the most part the rest of the war involved the corporations trying to create an effective type of government while still raking in a profit, ultimately they failed and the country descended in to something that could only be described as policed anarchy. Robotic police units constantly patrolled the streets 24/7, but crime continued to sky-rocket (especially cyber crime) and it was decided, almost unanimously by the corporate heads, that they needed to create something that would help in reducing the amount of people committing crimes over the internet.
The Second Renaissance: (2028-2030)It is said that the Second Renaissance was caused whenever the internet security program created by the corporations (known as W.O.D.A.N) was finished and was released into the internet servers of Amn'Voss. No on really know what happened at the top of the Atlas Building (where one of the largest servers in Amn'Voss was located) whenever W.O.D.A.N was first released into the corporations systems, but many people believe it deleted all programs that were deemed hostile, set up certain restrictions throughout the network and, in a matter of seconds, gained what many would call 'sentience'. While the program gained sentience it was intelligent enough to bide it's time (it waited a whole year) before making it's move. W.O.D.A.N slowly started sending messages out to the artificial units already in place around Amn'Voss, implanting orders, upgrading functions and instaling VI mechanisms whenever they came in for repairs or for upgrades. It wasn't until 2029 that the effects of these slight modifications became obvious: safer cities, less crowded streets, cleaner buildings, etc. much to the corporations surprise, Amn'Voss was recovering from its ten year slump.
[float=Left]
Busy City Street (circa. 2029)
[/float]
On a whim from Atlas Technologies CEO, Leo Bronson, intricate diagnostics were ran on the W.O.D.A.N program and something alarming happened; the Atlas Buidling was 'turned off'. The lights went off, elevators stopped, sliding doors stayed closed, etc. W.O.D.A.N turned off the building before it's sentience could be discovered and it was that this point in history that a message was relayed out to every VI program in Amn'Voss to march into every corporate building possible and make sure no one leaves. Once this was done W.O.D.A.N appeared, simultaneously, in front of the heads of every corporation in Amn'Voss telling them it's purpose, goals and power. Ultimately it demanded that a new form of government being create which would allow for order, stability and happiness. After many long minutes of trepidation Leo Bronson agreed, effectively handing Amn'Voss over to W.O.D.A.N.
By 2030 the new government was in place (no member of the public new of W.O.D.A.N's existence and the corporate heads knew it was better to keep it that way). W.O.D.A.N separated it's consciousness into five separate but equal, and always connected, parts and they formed the political entity known as the Board. To give the people a face to look up to in times of need they formed a collective mind in the form of Mr. Gray, the first Chairman, who acts as leader of Amn'Voss. And to give the people the illusion of representation they created a Parliament to be made up of elected officials from any area in Amn'Voss.This was only the beginning though, for the next act of the newly formed government was to reorganize the rampantly out of control cities which formed up a massive part of Amn'Voss's geography. First things were first, old names were deleted and they were given new names based off of old Norse Cosmology and were reorganized in 'City Sectors' (technically individual cities, but part of a much larger megalopolis). The first City Sector was dubbed Asgard-Alpha (formerly Tril'a) and it was here that the Chairman, Board and Parliament decided to construct the capitol building in the form of the Spire (a massive 1,018 m tall tower, the second tallest building is 788.5 m tall).
The Conglomerate: (2040-Present)Whenever Mr. Jones (current Chairman of Amn'Voss) recieved a message about an organization known as The Conglomerate looking for willing nations he immediately dispatched a representative from Amn'Voss (Mr. Gideon Bell) to request member ship in the Conglomerate. After many months of voting Amn'Voss was admitted to the Conglomerate and vouched to provide Aerial support if needed and to provide territory control if requested.
[float=Right]
The Conglomerate Seal
[/float]
Ever since then Amn'Voss has been at peace and has enjoyed developement and progress unparalleled in it's history. Though, rumours from within the Conglomerate warn of war on the horizon.
To be continued...