Several months ago LeonMorado started a thread in which he made a timeline of a war between a number of "nations" that was really a metaphor for the shipping war. Having seen the remaining episodes of Avatar, and since LeonMorado himself isn't around to do so, I thought that I'd finish it. As it turned out, I added a bit to the end that I think yuo should find interesting. Tell me, What do you think?
| LeonMorado wrote: |
| editor's note: i am a historian, but also a shipper. as such my veiws are tarnished by my own ship. as a historian i seek to view ships neutrally in this endeavor, but even neutrality itself can be subjective. the water era the republic of kataang was the first, established in 101 W.E. as the earliest unified civilization in avatar shipping history, it rose to power virtually unopposed. there were those who opposed the rise of kataang, but they were few and had no organization or aleigance. though obscure at the time, historians now place the birth of zutar roughly around 102. in 104, the free nation of sukka (more commonely known to its citizens as george) was established. though rarely militant, its open diplomatic policy helped george become what is now the most stable of all avatar shipping civilization. many people held dual citizenship with george and kataang. 109, the prophet zutar declares his first vision. with a small cult of followers the self-declared prophet forms a small colony well outside the borders of kataang. drawing followers from george, the zutarian colony was labeled an enemy by kataang, and zutar is declared a blasphemer and a madman. kataang's various attacks on the colony were unsuccessful against zutarian guerilla tactics. kataang's inability to erradicate the zutarian colony, and zutara's obvious inability to win an all-out lead to a cold war. the shipping world was saturated with kataang propaganda, while zutara resorted to less frequest sensationalist tactics. in 110, the jetara tribe is formed. kataang troops are stationed nearby, to guard agains them in the even that they would become a threat, but there is no open hostility. 114, violence breaks out between kataang and zutara. zutar has discretely gained a much larger following since his cult's humble origin, the conflict would be an ongoing one and although no real winner would be declared declared, zutara's casualties were noticable greater than kataang's. 115 saw a small boost in zutarian morale and the prophet zutar declares another vision and rallies his troops onward. Tradition holds that future kataang leader Kataan Ger was born in 114, but the actual date remains uncertain. 118-120 saw the rise and fall of yuokka. most yuokkans were assimilated into george, though many retain a strong sense of yuokkan patriotism. despite its short span, it is still rememmbered historically as the only true threat to the nation of sukka. 120 W.E. marks the end of the water era. the earth era 201 E.E. marks the beginning of the earth era. zutara-kataang violence continues. in 202 the violence intensifies as a kataang increases its military efforts several particularly crafty strategists rise to power in the cult of zutar. zutar declares another vision, and begins writing his zutarian manifest in an attempt to express the vague deeper meaning in his his prophecies. a minor and innefecticve ship appears in opposition to zutara, though records of its name and eventual fate are sketchy at best. it is believed by some to be a covert colony of the republic of kataang. in 203 maiko is formed, though small, it recieves support from kataang in exchange for aiding in the conflict with zutara. in 204, a small group begins plans for the establishment of a new ship in oposition to kataang, and in 206, taang is formed, allying itself with zutara. in 208 a new radical group know as ty-lokka declares itself an enemy of george. in 212, yet another radical group appears in opposition to both goerge and ty-lokka. tokka is by no means powerful enough to take on george, but they are seen as a much greater threat. the nation of sukka mobilized the national guard to protect its borders from tokka, and remains the most stable of all ships. 215, jinko is formed. though loosely allied with kataang, its isolationist policy has little impact on global politics. 217 marks the fall of jetara, and the assimilation of its land, resources, and a portion of its citizens into zutara, the cult of zutara is renamed the zutarian empire. in 220 E.E, emperor zutar dies. few zealots remain from his old following, remembering him as a brilliant prophet. kataang still regards him as a blasphemous lunatic. in truth, many modern zutarians agree that emperor zutar was indeed mad, though most regard him as a bit of both. upon zutar's death, the zutarian empire was reformed as a legitimate ship with the morals and teachings of the emperor as its foundation, rather than his prophecies and visions. the kataang senate refused to recognize the legitimacy of zutara's new government, claiming that no government built upon "the ravings of a madman and his cult of delusional followers" would be recognized by kataang. transcripts of the zutarian manifest were banned within kataang's borders. this is the first recorded use of the word "delusional" as a zutarian epithet. with its newly found political and military stability, neutralizing the "zutarian threat" became a top priority for kataang's government. the kataang military further increased their efforts and, for the first time, made psychological warfare a crucial point in their military strategy. to this day zutarians have not fully escaped the "delusional zutarian" stereotype rooted by kataang propaganda campaigns. the reformation of zutara marked the beginning of the zutara-kataang war (previously classified as a "conflict") the fire era in 301 F.E. the newly reformed zutarian empire endured the greatest joint attack in shipping history. maiko stuck first with the larger invasion force, to be joined with support from kataang in 302. zutara suffered heavy casualties; by 303 the fledgling empire had all but fallen, and zealots of the former cult of zutar rallied in the streets in desperation. a minor but noteworth attack on george by tokka occured in 304. it was easily repelled. in 305 the advancing maiko troops were halted at the zutarian border. though lacking the recources and manpower to attack, zutara's military was efficient in defending its borders from maiko's slowly weakening forces. kataang provided increased support in 306, but as zutara's geographical allowed its military to effectively defend its borders with minimal recources the oncoming attacks were repelled. the empire slowly rebuilt and maiko's attach camgaign was called off in 310. |
The year 309 F.E saw chaos reign in the heartland of the kataang republic as its citizens, infuriated by their government's preference for relying on maiko to win the war and end the threat of zutara, rioted, demanding that greater action be taken. It was in this year that the radical politician Kataan Ger began his rise to power, promising his supporters that he would finish the war once and for all. Riding a wave of popular support, he had soon seized ultimate power. With a new puppet senate at his back he reaffirmed the alliance with maiko and began plans for an invasion of zutara.
In 310 the kataang invasion began as Kataan Ger lead his forces to confront and defeat the zutarian army. The battle that ensued was one of the most ferocious in shipping history. The zutarian forces fought with tremendous courage and determination, but despite their superior numbers and home ground advantage they were ultimately routed, defeated by Kataan Ger's brilliant generalship and the superior canon war technology of kataang. The survivors soon rallied however, and launched a retaliatory attack on maiko. Not quite recovered from the losses they had sustained during their own invasion of zutara, the maiko army was driven into retreat. The victory was a small and temporary one, but gave a tremendous boost to zutarian morale, which after their loss to kataang had begun to sag dangerously.
In 311 george, provoked into action by the continued threat of tokka and ty lokka, began plans for a covert operation that would cripple their rivals and secure their territories.
With the zutarian military crippled, many assumed that Kataan Ger would now launch a final campaign to annex the empire, and zutarian citizens braced themselves for the worst. Unexpectedly however, he turned his troops around and returned home, mindful not to overstretch his supply lines, and wary of the zutarian guerrilla tactics that had been the death of many previous kataang and maiko invasion efforts. His decision would prove to be an unpopular one among the kataang citizenry, but after the success of 310 most were content with the new leadership. Katan Ger would spend the next 2 years stabilizing kataang, as well as overseeing efforts to restore the infrastructure of maiko and planning a new attack in the years 314 and 315
During the years 312 and 313, kataang continued to make raids on zutara. Although relatively small compared to previous invasions, the raids added to the devastation, complicating zutarian efforts to recover and reform. Just when it seemed that zutara was doomed to collapse by itself however, an event occurred that reignited the zutarian war effort. Emperor Zutar III, grandson of the original prophet, claimed he had recieved a vision from his grandfather, in which he foresaw both a great zutarian victory and a terrible kataang defeat. Tales of the vision grew with each retelling, and before long zutara had made one of the most sudden and unexpected come-backs in shipping history. Hordes of fanatical zutarian citizens launched desperate crusades against kataang. Displaying brilliant generalship, Kataan Ger managed to halt the crusaders at the border and was able to keep kataang secure, winning great renown doing so. However, the extent of the zutarian attacks had stretched kataang defence forces to the limit, forcing the planned invasion of 314 and 315 to be modified to be carried out by maiko, which had by this point recovered sufficiently to launch one last attack of its own.
In 314 and 315 maiko launched the attack, which was a stunning success. With all of its remaining miliatry forces commited to attacking kataang, zutara was left defenceless, and was ravaged by maiko.
In the same year, george's plan for the elimination of tokka and ty lokka was executed, and succeeded brilliantly, absorbing the lands of both nations. Citizens of the two nations rebelled furiously against their new leaders, but ultimately capitulated. Several of the more fanatical citizens went into self-imposed exile, refusing offered clemency.
In 316, zutara launched one of its last major attacks on kataang. Seeing that disaster was near at hand Emperor Zutar III urged his forces onward, claiming that the great victory he had seen in his vision was finally arrived. The battle was ultimately a victory for zutara, but it was a Pyhrric victory; the kataang troops had fought to the death, and most of the zutara army had been decimated. When Kataan Ger arrived leading a joint kataang-maiko relief force, Zutar was forced to retreat with his surviving forces.
zutara's resources had been drained, its countryside had been devastated, and most of its population had died in the various invasions. Zutar's prophecy had been proven false, and several of his more doubtful followers began to defect to kataang, maiko, or george. kataang and maiko were both strong, safe, and secure, and their citizens celebrated victory. in george to, the war was declared to be all but over. In the year 317 however, disaster struck. Kataan Ger, the brilliant leader who had driven zutara to the brink of collapse, kept his country safe from its vengeful retaliation and helped restore maiko was assassinated by members of the old kataang government that he had overthrown. kataang was thrown into chaos for the next three years. As its citizens rioted, calling for the blood of the people behind the murder, the government desperately tried to restore order and decide what form their leadership would take with Kataan Ger dead. Acting on their own initiative, kataang generals attempted to attack zutara and were decisively beaten. Knowing that if kataang fell they would not be able to hold out for long against zutara, maiko too was forced to temporarily abandon the war effort to deal with domestic concerns.
Ironically, it was zutara that put an end to the chaos. Thinking that he could use the confusion of his enemies to his advantage, Zutar III launched a final assult against his enemies in 321. Far from ending the war however, the attack served to reunite kataang and maiko and quiet their citizens, who were reminded that as long as zutara existed they could never have peace. The two nations gathered together armies of unprecedented size and launched a final joint invasion near the end of 321. What was left of the zutara military made its stand against the maiko army, and was soon crushed. Soon afterwards, the kataang army marched into the capital city of Zutaria. Emperor Zutar III was captured and executed, his death marking the offical end of the zutarian empire.
Despite their obvious and total defeat, many zutarian citizens remained loyal to the ideal of zutara, and over the next few years multiple large-scale uprisings would be held. As time went on however, many accepted their defeat and became used to the idea of being kataang citizens. Those that didn't soon departed, retreating beyond the borders to live in small isolated communities, in the manner of their ancestors; the original followers of Zutar I.
After 321 the Fire Era ended. The world then entered a time of relative peace. The three nations of kataang, maiko and george were later joined by a fourth nation, a race of nomads who were descended from the exiles of defeated nations such as zutara, tokka, ty lokka, jetara, etc. the other nations regarded them with some suspicion initially, but the new nation was a benevalent, peaceful one.
As time went on the four nations evolved, settling into suitable territories. Although no one is certain when the process began, over time the nations began to take on the characteristics and names of the four ancient elements. kataang, which had been weakened somewhat by the death of Kataan Ger, eventually shifted the bulk of its population to the poles. Certain spiritual people eventually began the art of bending water, claiming to have learnt the technique by studying the moon, and the way it pushed and pulled the tides, and the Water Tribes were created. george would ultimately spread out over the continent that formed the bulk of the worlds landmass. Although never politically unified, its people remained united by the common practice of earthbending; an art begun by two lovers whose villages had been in conflict with eachother. Thus was the Earth Kingdom created. The one part of the central continent that remained loyal to the Water Tribes was a small area of swamp that had been the original birthplace of kataang. The people of maiko preferred a warm climate and settled in the volcano dominated landscape of a large archipelago to the west of the earth kingdom. A branch of this civilization known as the Sun Warriors would learn the art of firebending from the dragons who populated their land. After a false start with the country being run by a fundamentalist government known as the Fire Sages, a monarchy was founded under a leader known as the Fire Lord, marking the true begining of the Fire Nation. The nomads who were descended from defeated ship exiles were the last to find a home. Determined to right the wrongs of their ancestors, they held themselves to a strict moral existence. They eventually founded an order of monks based on the mountains and in the gorges around the world that were the home of the Sky Bison, whose peaceful ways and instruction of the freedom of the air soon lead to the creation of the Air Nomads.
The final event that would shape the world into its current form occurred some 400 years after the creation of the Air Nomads. After centuries of peace, old quarrels were threatening to return the world to the chaos of the shipping wars. The disagreements were ultimately settled by a man who publicly went by no name, simply calling himself "The Avatar". He was almost unique in having ancesstry among all four nations; his mother was the daughter of a man from the Water Tribes and a woman from the Fire Nation, and his father was the son of a woman from the Earth Kingdom and a man from the Air Nomads. He was unable to bend any of the elements until he was 16, when in an unrecorded incident he made a journey into the Spirit World. He returned with the unique ability to bend all four elements with unprecedented strength, as well as a natural affinity for the spirit world. Unaffiliated with any of the nations, he was the perfect man for keeping the peace, and at a meeting between the leaders of all four nations, it was voted unanimously that he be respected universally as a mediator between the nations.
After the death of the first avatar, a baby girl was born into the Air Nomads who as she grew showed that she had all the abilities of the previous avatar. An assembly of sages and monks eventually declared her to be the reincarnation of The Avatar, and it was decided that she, and in future years her own reincarnations should be trained to take over the position. As the years went by, Avatars began to develop the ability to channel their past lives, heightening their powers.
For millenia, the Avatars were able to keep the four nations at peace with eachother. But then, everything changed when the Fire Nation, taking advantage of the recent death of the most recent Avatar, used the power of a centanially returning comet to launch an invasion of the rest of the world. For 100 years, Fire Lords Sozin, Azulon and Ozai devastated the natural balance of the world. The war did not end until Avatar Aang, the last of the Air Nomads, put an end to the fighting by choosing to peacefully take Phoenix King Ozai's firebending away rather than perpetuating the war with further killing. With Zuko, a friend of the Aang's, and a descendent of one of his past lives, installed as the new Fire Lord, the world was returned to a state of peace. Zuko did not rule alone; he would soon marry a girl named Mai, whom he had loved for a very long time. The two were married in a joint ceremony with Sokka and Suki, friends of Zuko and Aang who had also fallen in love with eachother. As for Aang, he too found true love in the form of Katara, the waterbender who had found him trapped in an iceburg whom he had loved with all of his being ever since that day. Their children and their children's descendants would go on to repopulate the Air Nomads. Thus had the "ships" of Kataang, Maiko, and Sukka (or as people liked to call it; "George") triumphed for a second time, once again bringing an end to a war and balance to the world.
Doesn't history just love to repeat itself?
Edited 17 total times.
