Micèll Dynasty (1521 - 1897)



'''Julius Micèll: Rise to Power ''' The untimely death of Emperor Constantine Cassian in 1519 led into a massive civil war between three parties. The Republicans, led by James Thorgal, fought for a Republic government to replace the monarchy that had ruled the Merick Isles since birth. The Constancians, led by Habian Constance, fought to reclaim throne in the name of the Constance family, of whom Habien Constance bore enough blood to rightfully claim heritage. Finally, the Military fought both sides to place Julius Micèll, the Supreme Field Marshal at the time, into power.

The Civil War lasted 3 years, a time span in which thousands of lives were lost and even more people displaced. In 1521, a final drastic battle took place on Victoria Island in modern day Top Rock Point. Micèllian forces arrived by ship from nearby Fort Glacer, while Communist and Republican Forces arrived by land.

This massive showdown involved not only all three leaders, but also more than 75% of the Communist and Republican armies.

The first day of battle was purely between the Communist and Republican forces. Each maneuvered around the battlefield with musketeers and pike men, brutally killing both sides.

By the second day of battle, both armies were exhausted. Republican forces pulled off one last successful push and captured the town from Communist control. However, this victory was short lived as Micèll's forces landed on the rocky shores and advanced into town. Both the battered Republican and Communist armies were absolutely crushed and their remnants forced to swear allegiance to Julius Micèll. '''Reconstruction ''' After Julius Micèll's successful capture of the throne in 1521, the new Emperor began a series of programs to reconstruct the crippled country. Cities were rebuilt, water systems refurbished, ports enlarged, and most of all, the military exploded in size.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Increasing the size of the military served two purposes, first the Civil War had ended in the loss of jobs for thousands, and second Julius Micèll had his eyes set on conquering the countless number of atolls and small islands that dotted the outskirts of the Merick Isles. Most of these islands were either untouched or owned by outside empires.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">So while massive reconstruction processes were occurring within the Merick Isles proper, a massive amount of naval and army forces were on a large island hopping campaign. This campaign lasted almost the rest of Julius Micèll's life, but it ended in complete success. Over 250 different islands and atolls were conquered and an effective outer rim of defenses were created. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:22.5pt0in2.4pt;line-height:15.75pt;border-style:none;padding:0in;">'''<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alliance with Kyro ''' <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:4.8pt0in6pt;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although Julius Micèll died in 1543, his legacy that he created through his island hopping campaigns lived on. Outside empires began a relentless storm of attacks to reclaim this stolen land, and possibly gain more.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Around the same time that this was occurring, a Simi-large island chain to the south of the Merick Isles, known as the Kyro Islands, was feeling the sting of outside influence as well. These people, also descents of the massive Cronin colonization attempt during Gelebeth I's time, proposed an alliance between the Merick Isles and the Kyro Islands.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">The formation of this alliance led to the creation of an anti-imperialism doctrine that forbid outside countries to invade Merickian and Kyromanian lands. This in turn led to a series of massive naval war fares throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries between Merick-Kyro Alliance forces and outside empires. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:22.5pt0in2.4pt;line-height:15.75pt;border-style:none;padding:0in;">'''<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maritime Boom (1690 - 1780) ''' <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:4.8pt0in6pt;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Throughout the past, the Maritime Industry had always been huge in the Merick Isles. Ships built here had always been better suited for the high seas and long trips, yet in the late 1600s the Maritime industry truly boomed.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">New sail designs were added to the stellar hull designs already built in the Merick Isles and a new breed of ship was born. Known as the "Austertine" in recognition of the city where it was first built, the new ship was extremely fast and durable.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Austertines in military service were fit with dozens of cannon and built of the same strong Cabinani Wood used for centuries, this Austertines were a the equivalent to a modern day guided missile cruiser, in terms of advancement and fear factor.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where the Austertines brought speed, strength and power to the Military and civilian merchants, they also brought in much glory and gold to pirates who were able to get their hands on them. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:22.5pt0in2.4pt;line-height:15.75pt;border-style:none;padding:0in;">'''<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Industrial Revolution (1810 - 1860) ''' <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:4.8pt0in6pt;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks to maritime inventions such as the Austertine and the later Meriditine fast-sailing ships, the Industrial Revolution spread its wings in 1810, where as some nations waited decades later to begin. Steam engines were used in ships, factories and railroads.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">During this era, railroads also exploded in the Merick Isles. Harsh terrain had kept the nation primarily close to the sea, but new railroad lines connected cities that were formerly separated by mountains and valleys.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Factories sprung up all near ports and major cities. The rich-poor gap spread rapidly, but the large sums of money the rich were taking in worked in part to create the beautiful hotels and mansions that dot the northern beaches and bring in millions of tourists each year in the present.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">The final major change produced during the Industrial Revolution was the introduction of Ironclad warships. In the early 1860s, dozens of ironclad sea-going warships began pouring out of the Cocoes Island shipyards. While these ships were rather slow, and mostly forced to use a duel steam-sail power, they were fierce fighting machines that were extremely hard to take down. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:22.5pt0in2.4pt;line-height:15.75pt;border-style:none;padding:0in;">'''<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">End of the Micèll Dynasty ''' <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:4.8pt0in6pt;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Emperor Florintinus Micèll, born in 1878 and inheriting the throne in 1890, was not the most wise man by any terms. Florintinus was extremely spoiled by his father, Octavian Micèll, and parts of that spoiled life stayed with him as he took the throne.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Kyro Islands, who had been great a great ally of the Merick Isles since the mid-1500s, would often visit the Merick Isles, and vice-versa. On one such visit by Emperor Solomon Hadrian in 1895 everything went wrong. Solomon met Florintinus in the Royal Palace in Palma Arbor on a normal Friday in early October.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">As the two ate supper and discussed the possibility of invading Volkoyia, Solomon accidently bumped his Champaign glass and it spilled onto the table. This red wine then feel off the table onto Florintinus's garments. A very apologetic Solomon quickly offered to buy Florintinus a new set of robes, but Florintinus would not have it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enraged, and heavily influenced by his spoiled past, Florintinus raised a gun to Solomon's head and shot him dead. This one event lead to war being declared on the Merick Isles by Kyro.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">The massive war that followed lasted four years and was composed primarily of naval warfare, although Kyro lost over 300,000 soldiers over a period of 5 unsuccessful invasions of Victoria and Marshal Island. As the war played on, with no real end in sight, Florintinus plotted to invade Kyro himself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">However bold this plan was, it was never realized. As Florintinus set out in his fleet, Palma Arbor, Whitesands, Merival and Willsonburg were stormed by Communist Revolutionaries. Florintinus ordered the fleet to turn around to go fight the Communists, but ended up taking his personal Austertine Clipper and retreated to Coriban Atoll, several hundred miles away.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt0in;line-height:15.75pt;"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;">When the army arrived Emperor-less, the Admirals and Generals of the fleet decided to move to the negotiations table and ultimately allowed the Communists to take power in return that the military would not be dismantled. Florintinus was in exile and the Merick Isles Empire was over.

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