The End of a Monarchy
Aleirave 1-0 Tecoia
Eastfield Lodge 1-1 Aleirave
Aleirave 1-0 Tecoia
Eastfield Lodge 1-1 Aleirave
As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end, but when it came to the old Aleiravan monarchy, it wasn't even that good by the time it came to an end. Pahutokalu's second reign brought a sense of stability back to the realm, with the schism between the Seferonists and those few who supported Lufokato and Pavarenu being healed, but after he passed away in 1721, cracks once again started forming in the fabric of the nation.
His son, Katoko V, wasn't necessarily a bad ruler, he just sort of... existed. During his reign, the various holders of the office of the Petakiko started to increase their authority, drawing command away from Katoko. He just stood there and let it happen. Eventually, this would lead to less trust in the Petake, as the Petakiko convinced the people that only elected officials could make for good rulers, and the royal family were all quacks who were only there for historical reasons. Once again, Katoko did nothing. He could do nothing. Control and popular opinion slipped away from him, and when he passed on in 1746, his reputation was gone, and trust in the monarchy was at an all-time low.
His son Vatakoro was even more of a "just kinda existed" Petake. He would only reign for a few months, most of which were taken up battling illness, which he would succumb to by February 1747. His uncle Eneraru would take over for him, and it was during his reign that things would turn really sour. Anti-monarchy protests started springing up throughout the late 1750s and early 1760s, seeking to fully disestablish any of the traditions that were left. Past Petakikos had sowed the seeds of discontent among the people, which only led to the election of even more anti-monarchy Petakikos, until things snowballed into the situation seen towards the end of Eneraru's reign.
Eneraru's son, Pa'ole IV, would take over in the year 1764, and although many hoped, and even expected, given the political climate of the time, that he would be the final Petake, it was not for the reason anyone had expected. In 1767, a new threat to the Aleiravan monarchy emerged, more dangerous than republic-favoring Petakikos or anti-Petake riots. Rather, that threat came from ships appearing over the horizon: those of Fyodor Tereyev, a puteshestvennik from a land known as Klysevia.
The puteshestvenniki, a Klysevian (OOC: Russian) word literally meaning travellers, were a people who were known for one thing: exploring the ocean, finding new lands throughout it. If you think that would make them similar to the Aleiravans, who also enjoyed exploring the world around them, you'd be dead wrong, as the Klysevians also had a habit of doing what Aleiravans would never consider: exploiting the world around them, by any means necessary.
When Fyodor first sighted Aleirave, he knew that taking over wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world. Often, Klysevians would just settle in a region and that would be that, but in cases like these, where there was an established society living there, backup would have to be called. He did so, and in 1769, he would return, now with more of an army, rather than just settlers.
The people of Aleirave could see this coming, they could tell that ship would be hostile, and they spent the two years from their first sighting of Fyodor preparing for the invasion... but there was nothing much they could do. They had all the time in the world to unite, but their differences and mistrust in their figurehead led to their absolute destruction at the Sack of Lahaira. A ship managed to escape for the Kia'u Islands, bearing the royal family and a few hundred native Aleiravans, whereas the rest would be forced into subjugation, living the next 350 years as second-class. The new Klysevian elite would set up their government, led by Fyodor and his family, on Veshnikov Hill southeast of Lahaira, and the Tereyev era had begun.
The "White Star Flag", flown by Tereyev Era Aleirave
As for the escapees to the Kia'u Islands, they weren't that much better off than the Aleiravans who remained on the main island. Pa'ole IV had managed to regain his trust with the people, as he spoke the truth about the Klysevian threat and warned them of the destruction to come; with the former Petakiko being trapped under Tereyev rule, he would become the sole head of state for the rump state once again, and lead a pretender government that would last for around 100 years, but by the end of the nineteenth century, all signs of civilization on the Kia'u Islands were seemingly gone. They had vanished into nothing.
It was at the Sack of Lahaira that the tale of Aleirave goes from unstable to dark. If the end of the monarchy was a horrible time to be around, with the monarchy growing ever-weaker by the decade and trust in the Petake being in the single digits, the Tereyev Era was far, far worse... but that's a story for another day.
13’) (Reeve 58’) - Menard - Hart - Read (
Almwood 29'
