Salutations everyone. In the previous chapter, we examined a story in which Fiore went to war to limit the power of their status-hungry rivals in Pergrande, which resulted in a calamitous defeat. Now we move on to the Sultanate of Desierto, where an exotic tribe lived with their cattle between the sand dune formations mesas, and plateaus. It was known as the Touareg tribe. They were nomadic pastoralists, which meant that during the dry season, they migrated to greener climates and then returned to their native homeland in Desierto during the rainy season. The simplest answer to surviving in such harsh circumstances in this desolate country is trade with other countries in Ishgar. For centuries, this tribe has been extremely picky about who knows they exist, while others have been kept in the dark. The tribe was once recognized throughout Ishgar 400 years ago, in the X370s. Merchants from all over would race to their settlement to exchange their nation's goods for the tribe's culture and beliefs. It was an era of prosperity for the tribe, as they got wealthy over time. Profits from trade were used to purchase younger cattle, sheep, goats, and bison, as well as animal feed for their livestock, in return for the young men and women, who were sent abroad to serve as mercenaries, marry into aristocratic families, or study as exchange students in college. Unfortunately, this all changed when one among their most important trading partners became excessively materialistic with its economic advantages. Out of all the countries that traded with the Touareg of Desierto, the Pergrande Kingdom and the Kingdom of Bellum were their most favored. Business transactions with them enriched the tribe far more than transactions with other nations. But one day, a seller from Pergrande and his sibling from Bellum became hungry for more. They were known as Genghis Khan and Timur Khan. The two brothers were initially from Caelum, an archipelago southeast of Ishgar. When they were old enough to become men, one sibling went to college in Bellum, while the other one went to Pergrande, in which they've resided ever since.
As graduates of their respective nations' most prestigious business colleges, it should have opened the door to limitless business possibilities and wealth. Unfortunately, they were forced to work as mere vendors for the kings of their respective nations. So the brothers waited until the time was perfect. The brothers knew it was time when the tribe opened their markets for commerce. As a result, they started to make standards that some people were unable to fulfill. When that failed, they resorted to intimidation. First, Genghis Khan demanded to speak with the tribe's chief. He was Emir Ahmad, a middle-aged man dressed in typical desert attire. When they convened, in his tabernacle, Genghis stated that the King of Pergrande would be displeased with their situation. So he issued an ultimatum to the emir: sell half of their grain or risk war with Pergrande. It made the emir extremely worried about his people, so he quickly consented to double the grain supply. Satisfied, he retired to his tent. Next, Timur isued an identical ultimatum, but this time with textiles. His paranoia turned into fear, so he consented to double the textile supply. Since their departure, the tribe's producers and weavers have been pressured to gather more grain and produce more textiles for sale. Unfortunately, it was impossible to achieve. The emir's soldiers marched into random granaries and stole their crops, then stormed river factories and forced their weavers to relinquish their textiles. Then there came a catastrophic drought. Farms that used to spring up due to maize harvests have been sold, and former cultivators have moved west to Fiore. The textile factories were also sold. Former weavers moved to the Empire of Alvarez to pursue their careers. They took a railway to Midi, then a ship to Alvarez. As a result, the country's population decreased because some died of starvation while others left forever. The chief didn't sleep a wink for months. When the Khans returned to inquire for their grains and textiles, the Emir stated that he did not have enough. He then advised them to wait until the famine was over. But the brothers were impatient, so they hurriedly wrote a letter urging their respective kings to attack and sent it by courier. Everything was done in secret, so the Emir was unaware of the consequences. After 8 months of back and forth, troops from Pergrande and Bellum invaded Desierto. Their respective commanding officers marched into the tribal settlement, promising to spare the community in exchange for submission. The tribe remained undaunted, so the commanders were so enraged by the reaction that they ordered their men to sackthe village to the ground. Touareg men and women were forced to marry into the aristocracies of Pergrande and Bellum while their sons were drafted as soldiers and their daughters were forced to work as maids.
While negotiating a peace treaty with his business partners, the Emir was assassinated. After producing copies, the siblings allegedly washed the treaty in mercury. The original was signed by the Emir, who choked and perished. As a result, the tribe was without a leader until a successor was selected. Because he lacked the personality of the deceased emir, Genghis and Timur wielded tremendous power over the Turkmen tribe. The tribe has gradually recovered from the conflict since then. The chiefs were, however, cautious about who they trusted. Meanwhile, Desierto was now essentially a client state under the combined influence of the Kings of Bellum and Pergrande. If their interests were jeopardized, they would have formed a platoon of mages to overthrow the current administration and begin again. It had been this way for decades, until Emperor Spriggan, ruler of the Alvarez Empire, made them an impossible proposition. In return for control, he would repatriate the migrant weavers to Desierto. Pergrande and Bellum agreed, so they signed a statute granting Spriggan authority over Desierto and the Touareg tribe. Migrant weavers were abducted by the Spriggan 12, an Emperor-aligned platoon of mercenaries. Using their magical auras, the weavers were intimidated to board ships headed for Desierto, or they would be killed. Those who attempted to flee were slain. Individuals who returned were apprehended by the Sultan of Desierto and compelled to join his army, the Jannisaries, or face execution by firing squad. Guilds in the Sultan's command were ordered to execute stragglers that refused to follow orders. Any mage or civillian that housed them would be executed by firing squad. Almost half of the nomadic tribe's population died, while the remainders were forced to become Desiertan citizens. Previously, the tribe had autonomy in the borders of the Sultanate, but now the tribe was acquired (requested in part, by Spriggan himself). So it essentially ceased to exist. Nonetheless, Ishgarians and Alakitasians lived in joyful harmony forevermore. They were oblivious to the extinction of the tribe. In his meetings with foreign diplomats from other nations in Ishgar, the Sultan did not mention them. Fiore was his closest ally, but he kept the tribe's extinction a secret from their King. As for Alvarez, Spriggan expanded his focus to the entirety of Ishgar. Unfortunately for the Sultan, Fiore was the first to be conquered with the capture of the capital city of Crocus. Followed by Bosco, Seven, Isvan, Iceberg, Dragnof, Joya, Stella, Veronica, Midi, Caelum, Enca, Sin, and Minstrel. Desierto had already been conquered, along with Bellum and Pergrande. So by the end of the 7th Century, the continent was a colony of Alvarez and remained that way for generations to come.
The end.
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The Legend of Immigration
أدب تاريخيFairy Tail (in a dystopian/utopian context) with some Avatar the Last Airbender and Danmachi. Historical Fiction AU. Do not forget to hit the star on the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Your votes help immensely.
