| History: |
## **The Saga of the Empire of Carthagena**
### **Origins: The Pirate Lords (800 BC – 700 BC)**
Carthagena’s history begins with a tide of blood and gold. The first settlers were not farmers or artisans but ruthless pirate clans who ruled the seas, striking fear into merchant fleets. Among them, **Captain Balzareth the Red**, a feared corsair, forged an uneasy truce between warring pirate factions, founding the first fortified village along the rocky shores in **800 BC**.
As pirate settlements grew into organized ports, a young warrior named **Tiras "Stormborn"**—so called for his birth during a raging tempest—rose to power. He led the pirates in raiding inland villages, capturing slaves, and amassing riches. By **700 BC**, Tiras united the settlements under one banner, naming the capital **Carthage**, meaning "The Forge of the Strong."
### **The Rise of Carthagena: Fire and Iron (700 BC – 600 BC)**
Carthage transformed from a pirate haven into a bustling trade hub, its harbors brimming with gold and exotic goods. The ruling class, known as the **Council of Corsairs**, sought to expand their influence beyond the sea. They forged alliances with desert tribes, recruited mercenaries, and tamed wild beasts for war.
It was during this time that the **first Highdragon cavalry was formed**. Legend speaks of warriors who drank the blood of a slain Highdragon, believing it would grant them speed and fury in battle. Whether myth or truth, the Highdragons became the most feared cavalry in the known world.
### **The Birth of the First Carthagenian Kingdom (600 BC – 550 BC)**
By **600 BC**, a ruthless warrior-king named **Zalanthos I the Iron-Fanged** emerged from the Council of Corsairs, crowned as the first **King of Carthagena**. He abolished the council, declaring that only a sovereign ruler could forge an empire. Under his reign, Carthagena built its first great army—cavalry clad in black armor, their banners emblazoned with golden Highdragons.
Zalanthos’ reign saw the rise of the **Great Foundries of Tanit**, where alchemists and smiths worked tirelessly to create weapons of unmatched quality. His rule also birthed the **Pillars of Zalanthos**, massive stone obelisks erected to mark every conquest.
### **The Wars with Valmeria: A Kingdom Forged in Blood (550 BC – 500 BC)**
In **550 BC**, the neighboring **Kingdom of Valmeria** grew jealous of Carthagena’s wealth. King **Orvandis of Valmeria** sent an army to crush the upstart kingdom. However, at the **Battle of Zilath Pass**, the Highdragon cavalry charged through the narrow cliffs like a tempest, decimating the Valmerian infantry.
Carthagena’s counterattack was swift. Zalanthos led a campaign of terror, burning Valmerian strongholds and crucifying enemy generals. Orvandis sued for peace in **540 BC**, but in **530 BC**, he returned with an alliance of five neighboring states.
Rather than wait for an invasion, Zalanthos rode into Valmeria himself. The **Siege of Arkanium** saw Carthagenian engineers collapse the walls with fire-laced catapults. With Valmeria and its allies crushed, the **First Carthagenian Empire** was declared in **500 BC**.
### **The Empire’s Golden Years and the Great Betrayal (500 BC – 100 BC)**
The empire flourished. Grand temples to **Tanit, the Goddess of War and Prosperity**, rose in every city. Massive amphitheaters hosted games where captured Valmerian nobles fought for their lives.
However, expansion bred discontent. In **300 BC**, a general named **Varek the Viper** betrayed the empire, leading a coalition of vassal kings in rebellion. Though Varek was ultimately slain by a Highdragon knight named **Seraphius the Unyielding**, the empire never fully recovered.
By **100 BC**, the empire collapsed under civil war, its lands divided among ambitious warlords. The once-mighty Carthagenian Empire became a fractured kingdom, ruled by squabbling noble houses.
### **The Slave Revolts and the Dark Centuries (200 AD – 600 AD)**
Carthagena’s aristocrats relied heavily on slave labor. In **200 AD**, the first great slave revolt broke out, led by **Zyros the Unchained**, a former gladiator who wielded twin axes. Though his rebellion was crushed, the spirit of defiance remained.
In **600 AD**, the **Second Slave War** erupted, engulfing half the kingdom. This time, the slaves were aided by exiled Carthagenian nobles seeking vengeance. The war raged for a decade, until King **Thalorius the Wise** negotiated the **Slave Rights Treaty**, granting former slaves land and limited freedoms.
### **The Golden Age of Science and the Second Conquest Era (1000 AD – 1200 AD)**
By **1000 AD**, a new dawn arose. Scholars like **Elandros the Illuminated** pioneered breakthroughs in medicine, architecture, and war technology. The first **fire-lances** (primitive gunpowder weapons) were developed, giving Carthagenian armies a fearsome edge.
In **1100 AD**, King **Varian III the Stormcaller** launched the **Second Conquest Era**, forming the **Greater Carthagenian Empire**, spanning vast territories. At its peak, the empire rivaled the old kingdoms of legend.
### **The Fall of an Empire (1600 AD)**
The expansion, however, brought arrogance. By **1600 AD**, corruption, treachery, and a **coalition of enemy kingdoms** led to the empire’s fall. In the **Battle of Sundering Skies**, Carthagenian warships burned in their own harbors, and the once-mighty Highdragon cavalry was shattered. Carthagena was reduced to its original homeland, licking its wounds.
### **Foreign Rule and the War of Liberation (1700 AD – 1822 AD)**
In **1700 AD**, Carthagena was conquered by the **Kingdom of Zendaris**. For over a century, the people lived under foreign rule. The nobility plotted in the shadows, passing down secret war chants and forging hidden caches of weapons.
By **1822**, a warrior-prince named **Raelus the Phoenix** led the rebellion. His forces **stormed the Zendarian palace, executing their tyrant king in the Great Fire of Liberation**. The First Republic was born.
### **The Chaos of the Republics (1822 – 1910)**
Ten republics rose and fell. Corrupt politicians, warring factions, and foreign interference left Carthagena in chaos. Assassinations were common, and civil wars erupted like wildfire.
### **Restoration of the Kingdom (1910 – 1939) & World War Expansion (1939 – 1945)**
Seeing the instability, noble families conspired to **restore the monarchy**. In **1910**, King **Malcador the Just** reclaimed the throne. By **World War II**, Carthagena seized the moment, forming a **smaller but formidable empire**.
### **The Rise of Emperor Hazardil – The Return of the Pirates**
After a brutal inheritance war, **Emperor Hazardil** took the throne. Declaring the republics a failure, he sought to reclaim the legacy of Carthagena’s pirate ancestors.
He **revived the raiding culture**, sent warships to pillage distant lands, and **reformed the Highdragon cavalry**, forging a new era of conquest. The empire now stands on the brink of another golden age, its sails unfurling toward destiny.
### **The Future: Blood and Glory Await**
With Hazardil’s reign, one question remains—**will Carthagena rise once more as an unstoppable empire, or will history repeat itself in betrayal and war?** |
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