Ultimately, though the Age of Fury had its troubles, there’s no denying that the ckgard Union emerged from the other side of it better than they did the years before. The Great Chu had been cemented as an economic dependent, and trade agreements were made that favored the ckgard Union. The poption continued to boom under the imperial court’s stewardship as the children of thest age began families of their own. Advances in technology permitted suchrge families, and new, burgeoning fields rose up to offer new opportunities just as old ones died.


    The ckgard Union was highly dynamic, and its younger generation were open—even pursuant of— changes far unlike those seen before the Last Cmity. A great many traditionalist values had been rejected—the notion of staying in the same farm generation after generation, tilling the soil until one day your children pick up the plough had died. The Age of Revolutions was the great explosion that brought to attention this trend, which before had been bubbling under the surface.


    Cities in particr becamerger than they ever had been. Large urban centers—the most prominent of which is the city of ckgard—came to dominate society, in stark contrast to how ruralndholders once did. No longer did nobles iming vast tracts of farnd have unteral influence on society—rather, things were spread out among a farrger number of people, each of whom could pursue amenities that were only the privilege of nobility. Cities were the highest expression of that change.


    If what Argrave said all those years ago in the Age of Remation is true—that he and his wife had always intended on stepping aside—then the point could easily be made that the Age of Revolutions is the crowning achievement of their government’s reign. If that was merely something he said to persuade people, then the fact stands that the people made his words manifest. This time period marked a shift where power was increasingly stripped away from the imperial court, and the ckgard Union turned to a different manner of governance altogether.


    This came to be from a myriad of factors, foremost among them being the notions of philosophy and culture sown in thest age and the rapid advance of technology supported by the crown. Productivity increased tenfold, allowing one man to do what once would take ten, or taking one hour to do what once would’ve taken ten. The Age of Revolutions is named thus because it is not merely one revolution. Rather, it epasses the cultural, political, financial, and industrial changes of the age that buoyed not only the nation itself, but the entire world.


    <strong>Age of Revolutions, 38-92 AC</strong>


    The most notable fact about the Age of Revolutions is that no wars of aggression were started during its 54 years. Even in the supposedly glorious Age of Remation, countless warlords were put down by the might of the imperial army. This time of unprecedented peace made the army stagnate, some suggest, but nevertheless paved the way for an incredible flourishing of other aspects of the nation.


    To exin the dramatic shift, it would be best to begin at the backbone of the nation. The whole of the ckgard Union became better connected as infrastructure improved in quality. The Great Chu had canals allowing high-speed transfer, but these wereborious, expensive to maintain, and not necessarily cost-efficient. Conceptualized in the early 40s, the first railroad wasid in 51AC, bridging the major urban centers of New Relize and ckgard. By 60AC, railroads had be so prominent one could travel from Seteth deep in the Burnt Desert to Quadreign in the heart of the north in a little less than two hours. Railcars, powered by advances in enchanting, were highly-efficient and cost-effective, and proved to be one of the backbones for a revolution inmerce.


    Without war, and with the Great Chu as a solid ally, trade flourished. Veidimen disced by the Age of Fury spearheaded trade routes. Many had lost house and home, had a seafaring tradition that still lived strong, and intimately understood the terrain of the Great Chu; their virtues were natural. Their polygamist practices had essentially died off by 40AC, and were made formally illegal in 41AC. Polygamy had technically been illegal for a long while, but thew was antiquated and difficult to enforce justly without sundering children from parents. They came to be thoroughly integrated.Stolen story; please report.


    Trade was one of thergest instruments for change, facilitating the transfer of ideas, goods, and wealth. Vital trade arteries, as ckgard was, grew by virtue of the volume of traffic. The growth of trade also allowed the pet project of the crown toe into fruition: namely, paper currencies. Bills of credit—or more simply credits—came into prominence in a major way. These papers, imbued with a particr magic signature, could be exchanged for gold coins around the nation. The ease at which these could be used propelled trade to infinitely higher heights, making purchasesrge and small much easier and the transfer ofrge quantities of money more feasible.


    Trade grew in tandem with another tailwind for urbanization—industrialization. Craftsmanship, artisanry, and innovation were hallmarks of the age. With power and wealth distributed more evenly among the people of the age, there was a growing demand for certain outputs—luxury products, entertainment. Industries grew to meet these needs, improving their production methods or putting creative talents to work in grand disys of artistry. What was once the reserve of the King of Vasquer becamemon fixtures in homes, from silk clothing to finely-carved woodworks. Certain production processes were massively streamlined. Workshops of the age came to produce one hundred times the product they had merely years before.


    In the past, knowing letters and numbers was of use to only a few sses of people—merchants, nobles, and spellcasters most prominently among them. With increased urbanization, literacy and numeracy became infinitely moremon things. Now, it wasn’t unusual for the children of farmers to know how to read. Farms required lessbor, while opportunities arose in cities every single day. A baseline education was simply a necessity to handle a great many of new opportunities in the growing urban centers.


    These forces for change, myriad as they were, might’ve faltered. In governments past, innovation andpetition had been restricted by the government. Often, monopoly charters were given to certain factions to cate, win support, and promote stability. The ckgard Union had no such practices—indeed,petition was auded virtue, provided it was done within the realm of what was legal. It was an undoubtedly chaotic, but highly productive sector of life in the nation.


    The importance ofmerce and industry cannot be overstated as a force for the changes of the time. It marked the creation of entirely new sses in society—sses that would prove to be infinitely more productive than those of the past, but also vastlyrger. Society in the Berendar of yesteryear wasrgely focused around agriculture. While farnd remained prominent, it no longer held the heart of the nation in its grasp. Rather, those engaged inmerce and production rose to prominence.


    Also of note is the shift in culture. The rise of cities had the side effect of changing the mindsets of the malleable youth. The Age of Fury in the ckgard Union stood as an example of standing up to the authority of the government. The faiths of the day often directly resisted interference from the government, furthering the idea that governmental authority was not unquestionable. Moreover, some bore skepticism that the war in the Great Chu had been handled properly.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Art, literature, and more expressions of creativity than came be named transitioned from being expressions of beauty to expressions of life’s deeperplexities. Works of the day came to question life, death, and all that takes ce between those two states of being. This represented, once again, the sea change away from the past. Gone were the days where only lords anddies could support art, and only in service of ideas they wished promoted.


    With the rise of a farrger ss of powerholders came the recognition of a need for a new style of living. As people became better educated, more knowledgeable about the happenings of the world, they began to form opinions on what was happening. The natural result of those opinions came the idea that they, themselves, might have a better solution to the problems of the day.


    But before they could even demand liberties… they found them granted. The government of the ckgard Union, like a master gardener, had been carefully tending this growth. It cut away the excess elegantly, provided water where it was best suited, and above all, had amply invigorated the soil from which these revolutions sprung.


    In 38AC, the imperial court was perhaps at the apex of its power. The imperial army was incrediblyrge, and had many able-bodied veterans in its ranks. By 92AC, the entire politicalndscape had shifted. Those changes are best illustrated through the lens of the imperial family, however, and so I shall save the specifics for next section which detail their changing role.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!