Paths of Civilization

[X] Enemies are distracted, take the time to finish unification with the Gylruv
[X] You know who could use a whole bunch of angry philosophers taking about the obligations of the ruled and their rulers? The patchwork nightmare of provinces that is the Tortun

For the People, the gygo in the west was an opportunity to make the push to turn the semi-personal union between them and the Gylruv into a real union with the assurance that their most muscular enemies were otherwise distracted, especially since the Tortun were rapidly quite distracted by their territory going up in revolt from the discontent the People managed to stir up. The People also offered favourable trade with any Kielmyr or Sketch captain who showed up at their ports with Vortuga, Hespranxer, or UPM goods - the former two if they were obviously stolen goods, the latter to indirectly support the rebels there as best as possible. Safe and secure, the People went about the business of unifying with the Gylruv, which mostly involved moving both of their administrative apparati into the winter palace at New Blackmouth.

Slowly, distant war and revolution unfolded, and many considered with glee the results. Tortun went up in flames, allowing the Hespranxer to exploit the situation only to discover that holding the territory had become harder than taking it, and they were also already fighting the Vortuga, their colonies the UPM, and were being raided at sea by the Sketch and Kielmyr. At some point the Hespranxer had come to view themselves as the premier military power in Syffryn and the world, and their pride prevented them from backing down from the challenge of taking on the whole world at once. Unfortunately, they had apparently managed to hollow out a major chunk of their economy over the centuries, their colonies helping them to prop up fundamentally bad practices at home. With trade catastrophically disrupted, Hespranxer state coffers rapidly depleted even as they smashed their neighbours, only to discover that they were occupying territories full of angry revolutionaries who ended up talking to displeased soldiers.

The United Provinces managed to secure their independence and the Sketch stripped the Vortuga of numerous Monsoon Sea and Kus trade posts, and while this was irritating to replace one set of Syffrynites with another, everyone agreed that the Sketch were a far more reasonable people than the Vortuga. The Hespranxer managed to pull off a "win", but had essentially secured none of their strategic objectives and had exposed just how rotten their system was. A bad winter and a crop failure a few years later found the Hespranxer with no ability to pay their neighbours for food, and their peasants stirred up from interacting with the various revolutionaries from among the still smouldering wreckage of Tortun. Revolution was inevitable, and when the first series broke out the People - now unified under the twin Gylruv-Ymaryn crown - were happy to help.

But this revolution was of a different flavour. Rather than some member of the middle or upper nobility stepping up to speak for the peasants and secure the throne for their own on the back of a revolt, or the crown crushing the peasants, the lower classes had no intention of supporting any nobles. Initial revolts against famine and mismanagement soon spiraled out of control and turned into bloodbaths as whole dynasties of nobility were wiped out, the king himself having his head removed by the fury of the mob. While exhaustion from only just fighting off the Hespranxer, many of that sick nation's neighbours decided to send in military expeditions to try and restore the monarchy. It ultimately did not matter who was the monarch of Hespranxer, only that there was a monarch, lest the idea catch hold and unhappy subjects come after their heads.

What did the Gylruv-Ymaryn do?
[] [War] Offered support to the Hespranxer Republicans (no major allies, UPM currently making supportive noises but has no capacity to interfere) (0.1x)
[] [War] Stayed neutral (2x)
[] [War] Joined in on the Alliance to Restore the Monarchy (major participants: Vortuga, Sketch, Tortun, Etal, Halvyni) (1x)

End Lightning Rounds, enter Industrial Age?
[] [Rounds] Keep going
[] [Rounds] Begin Industrial Age play

AN: Was it intentional that the Not!French king lost his head on the XVI Lightning Round update? As of yesterday, yes, yes it was