Arthea
Arthea is a politically united land under the control of one King. The nation was united from three geographically diverse countries in 1342 following a protracted war which followed on from a series of conflicts in which the three protagonists strove against each other for supremacy. Each of the nations have a distinct identity withing the whole, and the inhabitants of each are fiercely proud of their stature and heritage.
The three nations are Ticetia, Caldonacia and the The Empire. The crown is currently in the control of a Ticetian monarch, although this was not the case immediately after the war of unification.
The War of Unification
The War of Unification began in 1329, although at the time this did not seem to be the ultimate goal. The Ticetian army, under the control of King Hugo invaded Caldonacia, this part of the conflict was concluded in 1330 with the death of the Caldonacian King, King Pelarus, at the hands of the Ticetian military. After this there was a short respite during which time the Ticetian ruler imposed his rule on Caldonacia and re-organised the military for a push southwards. During this time the Carrodian Emperor Junus died of old age, and was succeeded by his son, Emperor Thomas II. King Hugo was prepared for an enhanced military threat from the south; he knew of Thomas' schooling and feared that the Empire may invade before he was ready, but this did not happen.
Both sides spent the next two years preparing their military. Hugo had the biggest challenge, maintaining martial law in Caldonacia stretched his army, but by 1333 the Ticetian army was finally prepared, Hugo also had the biggest army, but he underestimated the Caldonacian conscripts that he'd drafted into his army. Hugo tried to maintain a defence of the south of Ticetia, while pressing the majority of his force south from Caldonacia. Progress was slow, but inevitably the army moved southwards.
The situation changed in 1337 when Hugo fell ill. He left the army in the hands of his son, William, who was not the tactician that Hugo was. The Ticetians continued to progress for two more years, with Hugo advising his son, but with Hugo's death in 1339, William was left to organise the invasion himself. Things changed on the battlefield, for the first time the Empire began re-conquering its territory. Caldonacian prisoners, captured during the conflict were keen to fight for the Empire and liberate their lands. William struggled to keep up with the military prowess of the Empire and soon what had begun as a few minor losses turned into a retreat.
William himself was slain in the fighting in 1340, and the Ticetian army was left in tatters. There was no heir to the Ticetian throne and nobody who stood out as a capable replacement for William. The Ticetian army was withdrawn to Ticetia to provide a defence, and the Empire moved northwards; Thomas took the Caldonacian crown for himself while his army pressed west and north deep into Ticetian territory. The capitulation of Ticetia was quick; there was no leader at the top with any political will to organise a coherent defence, and by early 1341, Thomas was in Cellam, and he marched on the palace. There was relatively little fighting around the streets of the Ticetian capital, the army met only small pockets of resistance, and these were soon quelled. Thomas took the crown of Ticetia, he formed a single nation the following year following advice from his senior counsellors.
Political Structures of the New Kingdom
The Empire was constructed on a partly democratic footing, and was formed from six kingdoms in the south. The boundaries of these kingdoms have stood for long years, since the earliest civilisations arose, and this was the model that Thomas desired to repeat for his new Arthea. Initially the six nations of the Empire and the two kingdoms of the north had equal footing, but this changed as time progressed.
Civil War
Thomas himself was succeeded in 1358 by his son, Marcus, but the new Kings reign was not an easy time. The lands were increasingly filled with unrest, and raids of the north east coastline, particularly of Caldonacia, by overseas marauders had begun. By 1377, the situation had deteriorated almost to outbreak of Civil War. This time, Ticetian nobles drove their campaign better, and they had several young, bitter yet capable leaders. The most capable of these seemed to be Robert Lannenhart, who took the throne when his Ticetian faction overthrew the Imperial monarchs. Robert produced evidence of his royal ties, he demonstrated that his family line was connected with both the royal houses of Ticetia and Caldonacia.
Robert, however, was not a successful monarch. He failed to maintain order and impose his will on the nation. He occupied the throne for just eight years, until he was overthrown by another Ticetian, Siegfried Mallart, who demonstrated a much finer grasp of both politics and the military. It was Siegfried that finally imposed order on the lands; some feel that his tenure as king was unduly harsh, but finally Arthea was becoming politically settled.
Siegfried modified the laws continuously, tweaking his systems to allow civil structures to work more effectively as trust grew among his nobles, many of whom he had personally appointed. By the time of his death in 1402, he had achieved what King Thomas had attempted in the 1340's. His son, King James is very similar. Some feel he has a harder edge than his father, though; his will is certainly imposed upon the kingdoms, and there seems no threat of uprising or a recurrence of the civil war for the time being.