3289

This would be his last winter, Gengiona Eidaci knew that much. He had caught a cold not a white moon ago, and everything had gone downhill since. He smiled. At least he had been a good King.

Before Father died, a lifetime ago, he had been named the heir, and distinguished himself in the conquest of the Lower Noutezu. However, he knew that was not enough, so when the time came for him to inherit the royal saddle he organised an expedition to the western borderlands. The practical goal was putting some land between the border and the capital to prevent incursions from reaching it, but the underlying reason was also a propaganda campaign. The Miecans followed power, and if Gengiona was to prove he was worthy of following Onera’s tail, he had to lead a grand conquest of his own.

The campaign was a success, and by 3231 Gengiona returned to the great Nadonebu in triumph. From there onwards, he stopped his expansionism and put all his efforts in securing the legacy he had built with his Father endured. He ordered the laying out of roads to connect his growing empire, the improvement of mills and irrigation, and had great stone walls surround every large border settlement. He built fountains and squares for the people of his cities, and tracks for the herders to move between winter and summer pastures.

He still faces the occasional rebellion or foreign incursion, but all were repelled with success. Then, in 3263, he declared Mera Uroni, his second oldest son, as his heir. This angered his firstborn, the popular Mera Eidaci, who rallied his supporters and almost succeeded in unseating his father, achieving early victories in the campaign. Yet, in the end, he died of illness besieging the walls of Angaebu¹.

Despite his rebellion, Gengiona had loved Eidaci, for he loved all his children, and the end of that war saw him lose much of his strength, which would only wither until his final days. This allowed Uroni to take the lead and ensure the Miecans would be loyal to him after his Father’s passing.

And so Gengiona lingered until the winter of 3289, where he was laying in his great longhouse palace, surrounded by his heir and his remaining family. Before the turn of the century, Uroni would go on to conquer many of the eastern steppe tribes, but that was something Gengiona would not live to see. He had lived a long life, but now it was time to dismount and pass the torch to the next generation.

¹The original Angaebu was the capital of the Anginite Dynasty