Anderith

Anderith
Anderith, or also sometimes known as the State of Anderith or Kingdom of Anderith, is a partially recognized state in the north of New Gwyn. It is primarily known for it's army of Mercenaries and Meritocratic way of government.

Prelude
In 1198 AAWE, Joseph Ander, a young but experienced sailor and soldier coming from an isolated fisherstown in the north of New Gwyn, founded a band of naval mercenaries. Having fought local bandits and having waged small-scale battles against nearby tribes, Ander became inclined to carve out a greater future for himself. After establishing a small mercenary navy of only three small ships, he set out around the continent to fulfill odd jobs and became embroiled in local conflicts. As time progressed, Ander's band of mercenaries grew in numbers, and so did the number of ships under his command.

By 1203 AAWE, the band's large size was no longer sustainable by simply traveling from coastal city to coastal city, and it was deemed a permanent settlement had to be founded.

Establishment
The band of mercenaries under Ander eventually settled in the region of Osmis, a region that had previously been inhabited by humans. Here, Ander founded a coastal city and named it 'Anderith', naming it after the band of mercenaries he led. As time progressed, the city and harbour expanded exponentially, which led to eventual expansion into the mainland.

By 1207 AAWE, Anderith had grown out to become a decent sized city-state, and became known as being a haven for other nations their undesirables. Other mercenaries, bandits, exiles and those looking for a better life began to settle within Anderith itself. Because of this, Anderith's reputation as being a state of criminals and rogues was cemented with the other nations of the continent, despite it not being that known by all. Ander, realizing that Anderith becoming a state of criminals was anything but desired, issued the Declaration of Neutrality in 1208 AAWE. This declaration clarified that Anderith was a state which wouldn't involve itself in grander affairs, and would simply offer it's army and navy to the highest bidder. To put action behind his words, Ander made sure that known criminals were expelled from Anderith, satisfying Arkadia and Lomal into a status of uncaringness towards the small city state.

Evolution
As decades passed, Anderith managed to properly entrench itself as a stable nation. Having dispatched of dissenters, the system of having a Ruling Council was implemented. Joseph Ander became the Head of the Council, having complete authority over the Navy and the Army. Other council members were known as Directors; each having authority over branches like Finance, the Guilds, the Harbour and Magic. Ander made sure that the appointed Directors were experts in their fields, and he did not tolerate forms of aristocracy being formed. Employing upon a system of merit and worth to decide one's position, Anderith became seen by it's citizens to have one of the fairest systems of government around.

Anderithian entry into the World (Server rp starts here!)
By 1231 AAWE, Joseph decided to open the nation up to the continent. By sending out a few diplomats to Arkadia and Lomal, official communication had been established. Arkadia, by this time unified and led by Alexandros Numerius, accepted the diplomatic overtures and established trade with the small city-state. In contrast, the Lomal Imperium's relationship with Anderith remained somewhat lukewarm, with Emperor Kigut still clinging unto Lomalian isolationism. Despite this initial setback, trade was eventually established, after the Lomalians realized Arkadia had already accepted them.

By 1232 AAWE, a war breaks out between Dreanor and Arkadia, which dragged in the Lomalians and Dragans alike. At this time, Goblin delegates from Dreanor reached Anderith, seeking to hire it's entire navy and army. Joseph, ever suspicious and paranoid, demanded to be granted a part of the payment in front before the deal was made. He questioned whether the Dreanorians had the funds required to hire the entire army and navy, and was also aware that neither Arkadia or Lomal would tolerate their entry into the war on the Dreanorians their side. Because of this, negotiations broke down and Dreanorian representatives departed from Anderith empty-handed. Alexandros, catching wind of this revelation, sought to quickly ensure the Anderithians their loyalty and hired a portion of their army to fight alongside the Arkadians. In the end, the recruitment was not necessary, as the Dreanorians succumbed to an unknown disease that plagued their islands. Durotar was thereafter declared an Arkadian colony, bolstering Arkadia's prominent position on the continent.

King Alexandros, realizing Anderith could play a crucial role in future conflicts, went out of his way to thank Joseph and ensured that Arkadian-Anderithian relations reached an unforeseen peak. Several treaties were signed, under which a non-aggression pact and an act of friendship between the two nations. Alexandros, seeing Anderith as a mere city, accepted their existence under the pretense that they were no crowned state. The 'Arkadian-Anderithian Friendship' was born, a friendship which would have lasting consequences.

New Rulership
After the fall of Draga, rogue Aenist priests scoured through the continent, one of them reaching Anderith. The priest, causing quite a ruckus, made Joseph and several guards appear to meet him. Joseph, being curious and uncautious, pressed the priest for interrogation; ending in tragedy. The mad priest eventually sacrificed himself to explode into a massive fireball, killing Joseph and his surrounding guards. This event shook Anderith to it's core, as it's longtime ruler and founding father had now died. Joseph's appointed successor, Thalia Cypher, succeeded him as Head of the Council. Thalia, who was traumatized by Joseph's death, became a lackluster ruler at first, leaving a power vacuum in place. This power vacuum was handily exploited by a shapeshifter succubus named Daemeria, who became the Director of Finance in Thalia's stead.

Transformation to a Kingdom
By 1234 AAWE, Thalia recovered from her traumatized state, and began to focus on ruling Anderith. As time went on, Thalia became convinced that Anderith had not properly entrenched itself in the continent, and desired to reform Anderith into becoming one of the Great Powers. Envisioning transforming into a Kingdom as the first step towards greatness, she restlessely began convincing the Council to back her plans. She was met with stiff resistance at first, as several Directors wanted to maintain the Status Quo and play safe. She eventually pressed through her plans, with the support of Daemeria (who took on the alter ego of Freya Fyoria) and Anderith officially declared itself a Kingdom. Plans for a grand coronation were set in motion, and invitations to Lomal, Vesperizia, Kurashi and Arkadia were sent out. In contrary to Thalia's hopes, however, the news was not warmly received. Much to the opposite.

Anderith, a 'King'dom?
As the news reached Arkadia and Lomal, an immediate uproar was sparked. For Arkadia's part, Anderith becoming a Kingdom would mean it standing on the same level of prestige as itself; which was seen as unacceptable. Furthermore, having exiled peoples declaring themselves royalty was seen as blasphemy and libel against the very principle of the Droit Divin. As a result, Alexandros fiercely rejected the invitatation and declaration, and demanded Thalia to present herself in an audience to himself. For Lomal, the motivations were more pragmatic. Emperor Kroenen, seeking to break up the Status Quo, long desired a pretense to invade and annex Anderith. This sudden declaration of being a kingdom (and renouncement of neutrality) meant that Kroenen (rightly) assumed that Arkadia would not support the city-state anymore. As a result, a trade embargo against Anderith was imposed; hoping to break the Anderithians into submission or revolt.

This, in contrast to Kroenen's hopes, did the opposite. When news of the embargo struck, Thalia immediately departed to Arkadia, in order to discuss Alexandros' possible terms. When meeting the Arkadian King, it became clear he did not want Anderith to become a Kingdom; preferring to keep it at a Principality or Grand Duchy. Furthermore, it was stated that the Anderithian Ruling Council should choose to elect an Arkadian noble to become the hereditary head of state. While this greatly angered Thalia at first, she eventually caved and told the King to move the proposal forward with the Council.