Jelbe

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Istalian Messenger Blinded
March 13, 4175

Ties between Jelbania and Istalia, which are already well frayed, have been worsened by revelations that the H'an had an Istalian embassy messenger blinded for delivering a message to the royal court which called on the H'an to apologise and retract his statements on Istalia. The H'an described Istalia as “imperialist, depraved and rude” when he announced the new isolationist policy. There was some confusion and chaos as foreign diplomats were expelled and the man did not immediately return to Romula, being only a lowly messenger. He was released from police custody a few days, with the H'an having found him guilty of "illegally remaining in the Purple Realm when we have expressly forbidden such and also insulting the dignity of the throne by accusing us of lying." The H'an said that he had in fact been merciful as the standard sentence is death by crushing for such an offence.


Grand Shaman Azi Trisrmko Jeztri


The move to blind the messenger, believed to be influenced by the fanatical Grand Shaman Azi has annoyed a growing party at court led by H'ansrmko Jeiri the Wrntusrljikai and heir-presumptive who oppose the new isolationist policy and virtually all changes carried out since the Grand Shaman acquired supreme influence over the H'an. The Grand Shaman is not only chief confidante but now also father in law to the H'an since his daughter Kezmai was taken as a lesser wife by the H'an in 4173, producing a son Shlajkai the following year.

Genzi II Declared A God


Genzi II, H'an, war criminal...god?

Following a Great Divination (a mass divination ceremony by the 99 presiding shamans) the Grand Shaman has proclaimed that the ancient spirits have declared that the founder of the Jeztri royal clan Genzi II H'an has ascended to the pantheon of the gods who serve the Sky Father Lord Tanhri. He is to be the god of destruction and chaos. Thus the Jeztri royal clan is now to be considered to be of divine origin and above all others. Such a decision will not be very welcome in the northern half of the Khanate where Genzi II committed what many historians consider to be war crimes during his brutal war of conquest (4043-4051)

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New H'an Proclaimed
May 24, 4182

Following the death of Shlajkai IV H'an at the age of 99, Grand Shaman Azi Trisrmko Jeztri has proclaimed his own eight year old grandson (the late H'an's youngest son by Kezmai, a daughter of the Grand Shaman) Shlajkai V H'an, the fourth of the Jeztri line. The proclamation followed a series of strange events in the Khanate. First the Grand Shaman produced a decree which he claimed had been signed by the H'an on his deathbed, naming the prelate, commander in chief of the Blue Horde. Next, he ordered the confinement of all 23 of the H'an' sons, save for his own grandson in steel cages while he sent a small force to secure the Shrine of the First H'an - the traditional site for the installation of H'ans.


Shlajkai V H'an

He moved even swifter, naming his daughter the Hatun Dowager (official widow of the H'an) From then on Hatun Dowager Kezmai became the nominal ruler of the Khanate until the next H'an can be formally crowned. As expected, she named her father head of government along with several other honours and offices. The Grand Shaman, long considered the power behind the throne has now stepped to the forefront and is expected to take advantage of the opportunity to vigorously promote Tanhrism and shamanism.

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H'andin, state authority, grow
October 16, 4184

Grand Shaman Azi Trisrmko Jeztri has embarked on a campaign to formally esablish the royal cult H'andin as the state religion in the Khanate. H'andin which he founded and promoted himself from March 4175 is now officially supported and enforced by the state. Hundreds of Ahmadi and Hosian clerics, atheists and have been arrested and executed for refusing to take part in so-called ''veneration ceremonies" where members of the public are expected to more or less praise and worship the H'an and the Jeztri royal clan. Thousands of H'andin shrines are being constructed all over the Khanate and citizens are expected to spend six hours daily venerating the royal clan. The Grand Shaman has repeatedly declared that he does not intend to destroy the established religion but his methods point towards such intentions.


The Genzi II Shrine in Jeztridomura, it is dedicated to the divine ancestor of the royal clan


His government is striking on all fronts in a mad rush to centralise power. According to Jelbek political watchers, the government has become more centralised than at anytime since the fall of the Sebastian Empire six centuries ago. Taghe and clan governments have been stripped of most of their powers, clan militias are now rigorously regulated and limited in size and it is believed that the Government may soon reintroduce the income tax which has been mostly absent since the late 38th century. Such a step would allow the centralised yet still small government to fund its totalitarian aspirations according to Jelbania experts.

The Grand Shaman shows little hesitation to arrest and execute political opponents - all of the senior royal princes he confined to crow cages when he seized power have died of exposure leaving his grandson the H'an as the only surviving male of the senior line of the Jeztri clan. Not all are opposed to his tyranny, infact many would appreciate a "return to stability" in the Khanate, something rarely experienced due to the oft-anarchic conditions caused by chronic political instability.

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Grand Shaman Falls
October 29, 4186

Grand Shaman Azi Trisrmko Jeztri has been dismissed from office and arrested, ending a four year term as head of government and more than 15 years as the main powerbroker in the Khanate. The fall came after two weeks of protests and riots which saw many settled Jelbeks and minorities protesting the many and oppressive demands of the royal cult H'andin. The Grand Shaman had carried on adding new requirements for all citizens and executing dissenters with much glee. At one point, he even attempted to arrest his own son Azi Jr who fled to Deltaria after he criticised his father's policies.


Taj Azi Jeztri and his sister the Hatun Dowager Kezmai

When the protests began on October 14, the Grand Shaman in a rare moment of indecision, had failed to respond. It was only some 12 days later when he ordered the commanders of the Blue Horde to send troops and put down the protests with force. Upon presenting the papers for his daughter the Hatun Dowager, Kezmai to sign, the H'an's mother refused and instead ordered the arrest of her father. She instead summoned her brother Azi back from exile and appointed him Wrntusrljikai (head of government) and commander-in-chief of the Blue Horde. Azi, 32 and newly ennobled as a Taj, approached the leaders of the protests and negotiated a settlement which promised liberalisation of the political and economic systems in the months to come along with reform of the H'andin venerations, making them less time-consuming. Political analysts believe that the royal clan moved fast mostly due to a fear of the recent fall of the Vanukean monarchy being replicated in the Khanate.

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H'an Seizes Control of Government
September 10, 4200

H'an Shlajkai V has dismissed the democratically elected Mystic Clan government and appointed himself head of government and Mnistr of Foreign Affairs. The 26 year old monarch who is widely viewed as of the "Grand Shaman Azi's school of public policy" rejected the liberal democratic consensus which has been in place for the past 14 years, implemented by his maternal uncle Taj Azi Azisrmko Jeztri who has been running royal affairs and is one of the most renowned liberals in the country. Shlajkai V dismissed the Cabinet and appointed one of his choosing and when his uncle protested, he was exiled from the Khanate on the pain of death.


Shlajkai V H'an


The H'an's actions are viewed as puzzling. He has not shown any interest in political affairs since coming of age twelve years ago and was content to let his uncle and mother Hatun Dowager Kezmai to continue running royal affairs. Some believe that his behaviour is both a protest against his maternal grandfather the notorious Grand Shaman Azi's near-destruction of the entire senior branch of Jeztri royal line by killing dozens of royal princes who he viewed to be a threat in the early 4180's while at the same time, the H'an's actions appear to endorse the same Grand Shaman's political stance of ultra-royalism and totalitarianism.

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Riots Rock Nemawar
November 11, 4202

Violent protests, looting and rioting has gripped the far western regions of the Khanate. Protesters are angry about increased requirements for daily H'andin veneration which will now see some spend up to four hours daily venerating the royal clan and its divine ancestor Genzi II H'an. Some are protesting about the economic meltdown that has touched the country and seen many politically connected banks simply refuse to pay depositors and close down their operations indefinitely. The riots are especially disruptive in Vrnestrap, the far western capital of Nemawar and elsewhere in the more rural regions which fall under the rule of the great Vrn clan, rivals of the royal Jeztri clan for millennia.


Rioters attacking security forces

The H'an has promised to "punish" the rioters and their supporters following reports that some of them stormed into the regional Governor's office and clubbed him to death. The Governor was the H'ansrmko (Prince) Lazr Lazrsmrko Jeztri a third cousin twice-removed of the H'an and of the H'an closest living relatives. The Beije and his elder brother Beije Genzi are widely viewed as the heirs presumptive to the wolf's throne as the H'an is still both brother and son-less. They are/were the great grand nephews of the H'an's father Shlajkai IV through his brother H'ansrmko Kezkai. The Jeztris are not known for kindness especially where their mortal enemies the Vrns of Nemawar are involved and a harsh response can be expected.

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The Blue Horde Going West
September 5, 4203

H'an Shlajkai V has ordered his cousin and heir presumptive H'ansrmko Prince Genzi Lazrsmrko Jeztri to begin preparing for a "march to the west" with orders to wipe out the rioters who have paralysed that part of the country. Sources in the Blue Horde (the national army) say that the Prince might lead a force as large as 60,000 and it would have some aerial support to carry out "installation strikes" The Blue Horde remains feared from its old legacy of utter brutality in the Jelbek civil war of 4043-4051 often massacring civilians and selling others into slavery at the command of its founder Genzi II H'an. The economic crisis which has now become unhappily joined by a budgetary crisis as well is creating several points of rebellion across the Khanate, though none are as concentrated or organised as the one rising in the west.


Blue Horde troops

The H'an has apparently ordered Prince Genzi to bring the heads of every single Vrn chieftain - the powerful clan is suspected of being behind the protests and riots which are after all located in its territories and the city of Vrnestrap. The H'an doubtlessly hopes that the Prince's enduring prestige as a Horde officer for many decades will see the campaign succeed and order restored swiftly.

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Khanate Furthered Destabilised By Failed Coup
March 3, 4204

Jelbania's already fragile political stability has bee further weakened following a failed coup in which senior military officers attempted to arrest and depose the H'an. The officers led by General Emed Omrsrmko Grakkrt briefly managed to take over the H'an's palace quarters in Jeztridomura and proclaimed his cousin and heir-presumptive Prince Genzi Lazrsmrko Jeztri as the new H'an. A counter coup was carried out shortly afterwards by troops who remained loyal to the H'an. The coup lasted all of 45 minutes but the consequences for the failed plotters.


Relatives of executed plotters


Upon regaining power, the H'an as supreme judge and autocrat, decreed that the officers, their families, the entire Grakkrt clan leadership, Prince Genzi and several Jeztri royals be executed through boiling in vats filled with scalding hot water, the traditional punishment for treason. All in all, 683 were executed in the capital. An estimated three thousand lesser plotters had been dismissed from the Blue Horde and many quietly executed without due process of any sort. With 24 Princes executed, the already thin Jeztri royal clan found itself robbed of every male eligible for succession to the throne.

The move also destroyed the long running alliance between the Jeztri and the Grakkrt clan which has supported the Jeztri royal clan for the past four decades and helped restore the H'an father Shlajkai V in 4166. One of the three most powerful clans along with the Jeztris and Vrns, the clan is known for its devout Ahmadi and often produces many high ranking Imams and muftis. The alliance had been uneasy for a long time as the Grakkrt disliked the royal cult H'andin intensely.

The H'an has proclaimed that he will lead the campaign to restore order in the west himself. His popularity has fallen even further and his half-hearted and often misguided measures to respond to the economic crisis have been greeted with rising contempt and sporadic protests across the country. Many believe it is only a matter of time before more competent plotters manage to oust him.

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Western Campaign
August 28, 4204



In a massive show of force,the Blue Horde has regained control of the western city of Vrnestrap. Thick green clouds still envelop the city following an extensive bombing campaign by the Blue Hawks (the air wing of the Horde) which flattened much of the city centre. An estimated 2,000 people died in the week long attack and tens of thousands have been treated for chemical burns and breathing difficulties in the aftermath of the bombing campaign. The H'an followed with a 60,000 strong land force and has proceeded in occupying much of the city. The rural areas around the city remain riddled with rebels who are increasingly adopting guerrilla methods. The H'an has confirmed his intention to scour the western countryside in search of rebels.

Mnistrs Executed

Finance Mnistr Hrsto Hemzesrmko Pshamazrk and Trade&Industry Mnistr Baron Viliam z Kiska have both been executed by kicking to death after the H'an declared them to be sabotaging the economy in alliance in rebels, protesters and Vanuku. The H'an declared the sentence upon the publication of letters from the two Mnistrs to their counterparts in Vanuku exploring the possibility of acquiring cheap loans and closer cooperation on dealing with the economic crisis. The H'an has appointed himself to both Mnistries, a step which fills no one with confidence. The Stock Exchange's negative response to the executions of two well liked and relatively competent Mnistrs enraged the H'an who sent a small battalion to the Stock Exchange which administered severe whippings to "all involved in the decision." The Jelbek tenge has fallen to a record low following these events and many wonder just how much more the country can take.

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Rebellions Rock Jelbania
November 1, 4205

The Khanate finds it torn part by two very different rebellions in the northern and western parts of the country. Several northern clans have renounced their allegiance to H'an Shlajkai V, citing incompetence, war crimes and tyranny. Led by the powerful "cross-border" Salyzr clan, 17 clan Beks and numerous other lesser chieftains and local politicians signed a "Declaration of Freedom" in which they called for an elective monarchy, "very" limited central government and the ouster of the Jeztri royal clan.

The defection of two commanders of the Blue Horde's Northern Border Army and the bulk of their men to the rebels has more or less secured the two northern taghes of Turadrad and Baniray and perhaps a quarter of the entire Blue Horde and the clans are arming their militias and many tired of Jeztri despotism are flocking under the banner of the rebel army. Bek Aldrkai Juhnsrmko Salyzr has been elected Regent-Atabek and commander in chief of the rebel army and has appealed for international aid, particularly from neighbouring Vanuku. He has also presented this as a repeat of the historical Corpse War of 3600 where allied clans removed the Jeztri corpse president from office.


Green: Rebel held areas, Blue: Government held areas Red: Areas with reported Meztist guerilla activity


The northern rebellion could not have come at a better time. The economic meltdown continues and some economists believe that the Government will default on its debts in the next six weeks. The H'an remains the same, leading with ever erratic energy and disorder. He has announced his intention to "ride north" and exterminate the rebels and burn down everything as his ancestor Genzi II once did in his own war of conquest.

The odds are not in his favour, with trouble popping up almost everywhere whether it's anti-H'andin protests, guerrilla fighters in the west, guerrillas who now seem to be Metzist influenced and nationalistic, are demanding a total revolution which would see the entire social and economic structure torn down. Radicalised following the recent bombing attacks on the western city of Vrnestrap by the Blue Horde, the so-called Red Claw movement so far focuses on hit-and-run attacks on government installations and has seen its influence spread fast particularly in the rural areas out on the steppe where the economic crisis has driven many to the point of near-starvation.