Zurkerx- The Empire Shall Grow Read online

  After the unification, the newly formed Empire adopted a currency:

  Zureu(Ƶ)[10]. This helped the nation to develop its fast-growing economy, becoming an economic powerhouse. The new economic might in turn led to a population explosion, forcing Zurkerx to expand its borders.

  By the year AD 872, Zurkerx controlled land as far north as the Teal Mountains and as far south as the Meiku Rainforest. The population at the time was roughly 55 million and its economy was self-reliant. While expanding their lands, the Zurks believed they would eventually meet new people, whether those people turned out to be good or bad. Then sometime around August of 872, an army of tall, white warriors paid a visit.

  They were looking for a new place to settle and conquer when they encountered the Zurks. They ransacked the northernmost town of Meinstrone, killing some of its people before being driven out by the military. These invaders would later be identified as people from the City-State of Kardenia. At the time, Kardenia was considered one of the strongest civilizations because they would effectively extract resources from other City-States before conquering them if they failed to supply them with the required resources. News spread of these tall, pale invaders as Zurkerx moved troops to the north. Joining the troops were hundreds of war elephants as they met their foes in a hilly part of the land.

  The battle proved to be a Zurk victory when the Kardenians were caught off guard by the large presence of the Zurks. They were also surprised by the elephants, a creature they had never seen before. For the next seven years, skirmishes occurred on the northern border, annoying the Zurks. Tired of the skirmishes, Chieftain Maral Demes ordered a scouting party to find these pale white invaders. Sometime in June of 879, they finally found Kardenia, although the scouting party were caught in a fight with the Kardenian people, but managed to escape.

  By February of 880, however, the Kardenians stopped coming. Chieftain Maral decided to send a large army to investigate and in March, they discovered that the Kardenians lay dead in their own nation. They learned from the few survivors that the people of Kardenia had died from a bacterium to which Zurks were immune: The Red Crescent Disease. This bacterium attacks the host’s body, leaving red crescent-like shapes on the body. It breaks down the body’s cells, causing internal bleeding that leads to the host eventually suffocating on their own blood. The Zurks pillaged and killed any Kardenians that were left, bringing back new goods and materials.

  As the years went by, the Empire continued to expand its borders, encountering practically no enemies along the way. However, the Empire was beginning to divide into two sections: The North and South. Years after the war with the Seperia, a new religion emerged in Zurkerx sometime around the year AD 612: Reyso[11]. Reyso was a monotheistic religion that held that there was a Re[12] and that Re wanted order and peace among the people.

  To maintain stability, Re demanded that a fixed portion of goods from everyone be considered sacred to him. These sacred goods were given to him each year so that the people were blessed by his words and to ensure the next year brought peace and stability. The remaining goods that weren’t given to Re were to be bartered between neighbors to equalize everyone’s standing. This was an attempt to safeguard the community against theft and murder. Failure to give to Re or to your neighbor resulted in death by the community.

  For the words of Re to be communicated to the masses, a manuscript was written. The Resue[13] stated that all people must follow a code of morals. This code of morals stated that people shouldn’t smoke or drink alcohol, and must practice monogamy, value life, and believe in hell. It condemned polygamy and equal recognition of women, and enforced a system of care and giving.

  Re also segregated the roles of males and females. The woman’s main purpose was to bear children and teach them Re’s words while the man had to provide sanctuary for his family. Disobeying one of the codes meant defiance of the authority of Re and was punishable by death.

  At its height of popularity, particularly in the South, 85% of the population practiced Reyso. The people saw the need for a moral code to preserve order to ensure that society would not decay. While the Chieftain ruled the land, it was Re that gave him his moral codes to enforce on the populace, undermining the authority of the Verfa Zurk.

  Reyso by 1155, however, had begun to lose support from the Northern part of Zurkerx. Advancements in medicine, technology, and science led many in the North to question the validity of Reyso and its superstitious beliefs. The North became more progressive and egalitarian compared with the traditional and conservative South. Yet, people in the North were lost ideologically due to these new occurrences, and weren’t sure how to uproot Reyso.

  The Northerners soon found an answer: Einnerism[14]. Believing that Reyso eroded the founding principles of the Empire, Jon Einst sought to find a way to reverse the damage of Reyso, which he believed undermined the natural rights of the individual. A practicing doctor, he believed that the individual was most powerful when he or she was free, the individual’s sovereign rights being paramount. This made people more flexible on solving problems, which led to innovations that went beyond what a centralized figure could impose.

  Einst stated that while an individual may need to take sanctuary within a government, the government must do all in its power to never undermine that individual. This means the government shouldn’t embrace a system that dictates how people live, such as Reyso did. He also believed that goods and services were best handled by the private hands of individuals, and not the semi-bartering system in place. After introducing his ideas in an article called Invis Souv[15] in 1152, people living in the North believed they had found an answer to the advancements within the Empire.

  By 1158, the Northerners demanded changes to the original Verfa Zurk. They wanted greater autonomy, a secular state, and the entirety of the Council elected by the people. They would become known as Northern Reformists, who were influenced by Einnerism. At first, there was resistance from the South to implement such changes, believing that the North was trying to ban their beliefs.

  However, on June 6th, 1212, newly elected Chieftain Sango Yursh endorsed these reforms, leading to the creation of Clauses Four and Five. Clause Four would rename the Council to the Miktsrod[16]. Like the Council, the Miktsrod’s job was to craft legislation and to serve as a check and balance to the Chieftain’s power. However, it differed in that the Miktsrod had 61 members who were elected every five years on the first Sunday in October, putting an end to serving for life.

  Then there was Clause Five, which established that the Empire wouldn’t endorse or establish a state religion. This clause was to ensure that the government held no bias against minority faiths. It also ensured that the principles of Reyso wouldn’t override and undermine the Verfa Zurk. These clauses were voted on later that year and passed, becoming the law of the land.

  Fearing that the document attacked and undermined Reyso, the Reysts in the South took control of local governments and by 1213, had established a new monarch government called Reylo[17]. This effectively divided Zurkerx into two, with the military demanding they intervene to reunite the nation.

  However, Chieftain Yursh decided it was best for the South to secede, and he told the military to stand down. This stance was widely popular since the North perceived the South as senseless regressive radicals who undermined the individual. To the people of the North, it was good that Zurkerx was no longer tainted by them.

  To keep the Northern Reformists out, Reylo built a barrier to separate the North. The 528-mile border was fortified to prevent anyone from coming in, or anyone from leaving. Reysts trapped in the North feared they would be persecuted. But they soon learned that the North was very tolerant of their religious views, given the North believed in protecting one’s individuality as long as one didn’t violently force their beliefs on others.

  As time went on, the North and South became more distinct. The North was making further advancements in the fields of science, math, medicine, literature, and
economic growth, improving the quality of life significantly. This helped create a highly educated population where ideas flowed freely. These advancements would also lead to the development of a new sub-language called Neo-Zurk Tech[18], a simplified language that would replace most of Zurk Tech. This changed many words, such as Re to “God,” although remnant words like Einnerism and Miktsrod remained in place. This simplified language would eventually spread across Zentari, forcing other nations to adopt it as their official language, their native language becoming a lingua franca.

  The South, on the other hand, was regressing. Reyso viewed the world in a traditional fashion and was reluctant to accept change. The South had poor living conditions where disease ran rampant and poverty was high due to an agrarian society, despite the hygienic practices that Re preached. Reyso was taught involuntarily and sinners were put to death if they refused these teachings. The people were forbidden to cross the fortified border and fundamental rights were suppressed. Given that the land was less arable, the people couldn’t meet the demands of Re, which caused widespread famine. Thus, the people began to lose faith in the King and Re as their protector.

  As time went on, the North implemented reforms such as the Tito Clause, known as Clause Six in 1455. It was named after Judge Darlen Tito, who believed in the notions of innocent until proven guilty, due process, rights to a lawyer, and a defendant judged by his peers. This further helped to define the rights of the individual, something that addressed the broadness of Clause One. Yet, the people from the North would soon betray a valued principle within Einnerism.

  The people of the North began to develop strong jingoistic views for a united Zurkerx. They viewed that a divided Zurkerx was detrimental, believing it would weaken the nation, feeling they needed to bring the principles of Einnerism to the South. In their quest to reunite the Empire, the North made innovations in technology such as gunpowder and new weapons, like the cannon in 1286 and the gun in 1484. They also designed new armor made of leather, cotton, and thin sheets of metal, the new armor much lighter and more flexible than its predecessor.

  On June 6th, 1491, Chieftain Jon Hopes was elected. Like many people during that time, Chieftain Hopes believed in a unified nation. He wanted the military to lead an assault into the South, believing diplomacy wouldn’t be able to reunite Zurkerx. Yet, the North lacked sufficient military organization due to the military’s surprisingly hard stance on traditionalism and its rejection of modernization.

  Believing this halted any progress for unification, Chieftain Hopes removed his generals and appointed ones who favored him. With these new generals, they adopted the gun and cannon and reorganized the military. By December of 1492, the generals informed the Chieftain that the North was ready to conquer the South. Pleased with the results, Chieftain Hopes ordered the military to attack the South by March of 1493 and began to secretly plant cannons facing the South’s wall.

  On March 8th, 1493, the cannons opened fire, followed by 80,000 soldiers who stormed the wall. Wielding their swords, the South fought back, but to their shock, the North’s new weapons unleashed smoke and fired a projectile that could penetrate their armor. The North was just as surprised on how ill-equipped the South was, as the latter wielded long swords, bulky armor, and used catapults.

  The North quickly marched through the devastated South, witnessing the widespread poverty and disease that ran rampant. They also learned that the South had established a monarchy, which was overthrown by the time the North marched into the capital, reuniting the broken nation. This would become known as the Zurk Civil War, where two years of fighting resulted in the deaths of 12 million people.

  Yet, Reylo was in decline well before the Civil War. The land had been struck by a drought that resulted in a famine. Fearing the famine would undermine their rule, the King had ordered an expedition to find a new land. In 1472, he selected a man named Captain Richard Ausch, whose voyage lasted until 1475. When he reported back, he told the King that he found nothing, that there were no new lands to explore. Disappointed, the King hired other expeditioners to explore inward, hoping to find the resources needed to relieve the starving population’s anger against him.

  However, the King was unaware of the fact that Captain Ausch did find an island, a fertile one that is. He was also unaware of the fact that Captain Ausch was a believer in Glaunism[19]. Unlike Reyso, Glaunists were more tolerant of others’ ideals, tolerated drinking, embraced technological advancements, rejected the idea of offerings to Re, and believed women should work alongside their husbands. They believed that Reyso was too strict and regressive on society, blaming the faith for holding back its people. These Glaunists were persecuted, tortured, and killed because they were viewed by the King and other Reysts as sinners, traitors to Re.

  Seeing this new land as an opportunity to escape the nation’s persecution, Captain Ausch secretly brought with him believers of Glaunism to the island to establish a new and free home. Yet, many died on these grueling 52-day trips given many weren’t seafarers; many risked their lives to escape, though, hoping for a new life. From 1475-1495, he managed to bring roughly a million people to the island, creating a new nation called Halusnek[20]. The capital of the island would be called Auschwenderburg, named after the heroic bravery of Captain Ausch.

  As this secret nation grew, peace gradually returned to Zurkerx. After the Civil War and reunification, the Empire continued to expand its size by land and sea in its quest to find raw materials and arable land. This would lead to the discovery of Vespikta[21] around 1610, an island with an almost entirely elevated coastline, being above a hundred meters in some areas. Vespikta was surprisingly fertile and had an abundance of natural resources. Believing the island would serve as a perfect outpost, the Empire moved some of its people to the island, which served later as a military base and midpoint for many ships slated for commerce and the militaries of other nations.

  Then in the 1650s, a new faction of warriors emerged within Zurkerx that would change its military forever: the Krenma[22]. Founded by a man named Truskuis, the Krenma traced their roots to their ancestors of the Wusu Tribe’s Grohters[23], an assassins’ organization specializing in warfare. The Krenma, however, were perceived as a threat to the Empire due to their secrecy; some believed they were plotting to overthrow the government, and viewed them as rogue mercenaries. It wouldn’t be until 1782 when the Krenma would be recognized by the Empire, when an attempted coup took place.

  On October 6th, 1780, Grover Huns was elected as Chieftain and enacted cuts to the military budget. The military was upset with the Chieftain’s defense spending cuts, which the Chieftain believed were necessary given the peaceful times, while the military believed they should always be in a constant state of alert. Yet, most military leaders decided to accept these cuts given that the Empire would endure.

  However, General Omo Jackale believed the nation was being weakened, and he decided to launch a coup against the Chieftain. On April 15, 1782, General Jackale led a small army of 2,000 loyal partisans to overthrow the Chieftain. Using the cover of night, they would attempt to sneak to the Chieftain’s home and kill him. At first, it seemed that General Jackale would succeed: no one knew he was coming. However, Marshall Crowns, the new leader of the Krenma, caught wind of the coup and decided to warn his friend, the Chieftain himself.

  The Chieftain refused to believe his words, equating it to nonsense. He then saw General Jackale marching in the distance with his partisans. Feeling betrayed, the Chieftain fell into a panic and screamed loudly as he tried to figure out what to do. To keep him quiet, Crowns knocked out the Chieftain, fearing that he would blow the cover of his fellow Krens[24] who were waiting to ambush the rogue general. When General Jackale got closer, Crowns and his Krens charged in.

  Caught off guard, General Jackale panicked as his men were slaughtered. He couldn’t understand how someone knew he was coming. When he saw Marshall, he realized that the Krenma knew of his plans. In a tense battle, General Jackale fought
back, only to be overwhelmed by Crowns and his soldiers’ superior fighting skills. The guns used by the partisans were ineffective as they couldn’t penetrate the armor the Krens wore. When the Chieftain woke up, he saw several Krens guarding him. He was awestruck by their loyalty and commitment to protect the Empire, and would immediately incorporate them into the military, where they served as the Chieftain’s Bodyguards and special forces.

  The attempted military coup d’état in 1782 not only incorporated the Krenma into the military, but would lead to the strongest political and individual rights reform in the Empire’s history. Fearing another coup, Chieftain Huns proposed several clauses that would help shape modern-day Zurkerx: Clauses Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten.

  Clause Seven would establish the checks and balances of government by adding a third entity: The Royal Court. The court consisted of nine Justices, with one of them being the Chief Justice that presided over them. These judges were nominated by the President and approved by three-fifths of the Miktsrod. The Royal Court’s role was to interpret the Verfa Zurk and determine whether any law passed violated Verfa Zurk, deeming it contradictory.

  Then there was Clause Eight, which increased the size of the Miktsrod to 120 members[25]. However, the 120th member had to become the Speaker of the Lodge, which required a simple majority of the Miktsrod’s approval. The Speaker could only vote in the event of a tie-breaker. It gave the Miktsrod the ability to override the Chieftain’s Consent, which required two-thirds to do so. But Clause Eight also renamed the title Chieftain to the President, who was now to be elected every five years on the first Sunday of October.