DEONQED

Democratic Empire of North Queen Elizabeth Drive
Flag
Capital	Spoliarium Magna
Government	Monarchy
• Emperor	Adam I (At time of annexation into Adammia)
Population
• (at peak) (+44 vassal members) census	18
Preceded by Succeeded by The Mohawks NED Empire of Adammia Kingdom of Wertonia Borealia

The DEONQED is a state that existed between 2010 and 2014, and was later taken over by Adammia. The DEONQED was a very wealthy state and was relatively powerful for its time, although it never lived up to the glories of old NED. The Empire was built out of the old structure of the NED Republic following The Anarchy which followed the collapse of NED, but was considered to be far more autocratic, oppressive, and increasingly dictatorial. Despite this, the Empire proved a popular rallying point for civilized forces in the Den World sector. The DEONQED succeeded in diplomatic strength in place of NED's military strength, promoting internal conflict amongst its enemies as opposed to trying to wipe them out by themselves.

Etymology

DEONQED is an acronym for the Democratic Empire of Northern Queen Elizabeth Drive. It was made in late 2010 to best describe the new state that was being formed in the top of Queen Elizabeth Drive.

History

DEONQED had a history which was always overshadowed by that of NED. These tracts are taken out of the official history of the Den World. It should be noted it was only until 2011/12 that DEONQED first became aware of other micronations. Until then, the Den World in its entirety had thought itself to be unique, and to be alone in the world.

The Formation of the Empire

The Empire was founded in late 2010, being reformed by Emperor Will I out of the remains of the NED Republic. This was due to a mistrust of the separation of powers, and the growing opinion that a new leader with supreme power was necessary to defend the territory of the old NED Republic. The reforms of the old NED Republic into the Empire were total, with the position of General being merged with that of the President in the new office of the Emperor, and the old NED Army being reformed into the DEONQED Defence Force. All members of the Empire were granted their own office, and economic development and a passive foreign policy were pursued in order to help the Empire survive.

The Rise of the Empire

It was during late 2010 when DEONQED had to face its first challenge, that of the Corn War. The Raiders, ancient enemies of the NED Republic, had also collapsed and had become known as the Down Roaders, a much looser organisation led by Ashley Pottle, a more renowned criminal than Chris Howard. The Down Roaders were frequently raiding into Spoliarium Magna, which was the Empire's only territory and its stronghold in order to get hold of corn, which was used to pollute the street at the bottom of the road. Ben, the main adviser of Emperor Will I, suggested leaving corn at the entrance of the Den as tribute. However, the Down Roaders only took this corn and continued to gather more, continuing their raids. This led to a confrontation which broke the strength of the Down Roaders, causing the Blackburns and Jake Moore to leave their association.

It was also during the period from 2010 to 2012 that the largest micronational construction projects were carried through, including the Barricades, the Offices, the Secret Stores, and the first Underground Bunker. These construction projects were subject to frequent raids from the Down Roaders and a resurgent Avranches. However, in the summer of 2011, the DEONQED was successful in creating a civil war in Avranches, leading to much of their strength being granted territory in Spoliarium Magna. This group became known as the Visitors, who numbered three. The DEONQED did however suspect them of stealing from the Empire's own stores in order to develop their part of Spoliarium Magna.

However, it was in the years 2010 to 2012 that the population of the Empire dwindled from ten members to five, due to expulsions because of suspected fraternisation with enemies and the moving away of some. This weakening of the manpower of DEONQED meant that in 2012, the Empire could not defend itself as the Imperial Defence Force was abolished in place of all members being expected to take up arms in defence of the Empire, and because the whole Imperial Defence Force had left the Empire. This weakness led to increased raids by the Visitors, Avranches, and the Down Roaders and the destruction of most of the buildings in the Empire. Because of this weakness, on the 28th of September, Emperor Will I embarked on a project to increase the strength of the Empire, by launching the Kingdom of Wertonia.

The Reign of Emperor Ben

It was the 17th of October when Emperor Will I handed over the throne to Ben, who became the second Emperor of DEONQED. It was from December the 10th to December the 26th, the den was completely destroyed by the Farmer, the owner of the land. This destruction of the den was completely catastrophic, and made the area unexplorable for a couple of months. The first inroads to recapture the old den were made in February 2013, when the area was explored, and the NED log was located and recovered on the 23rd, although it had suffered a lot of grievous weathering. This artefact was to be kept safe by Emperor Ben I until its deterioration prompted a restoration drive in 2014. It was not long after this, from February to May, a new shelter was constructed on the site of the old Fox Office. It was built in order to house a new headquarters for DEONQED and its 5 members: Emperor Ben I, Veteran Will, Nathaniel, Jasmine and Eve. By now the old rank system had almost completely disintegrated as had the concept of putting “time” in to get new ranks.

Jasmine and Eve were, however, making a nuisance of themselves by cluttering up the new Shelter, and trying to drag in Ben's mother in order to influence how they were treated in the den. A stand was taken, and a new Law Code was written on the 18th of April, which reaffirmed many old laws and also brought in a host of new ones. After the remains of the old den were burnt down on the 28th. A new phase of expansion began, which was called "Operation Incrementa", which involved the sacking and integration of all known Dens in the Den World.

On the 15th of July, Veteran Will recruited a citizen of Wertonia, Sam, to help settle a new fort in the plantation to the east of Avranches, later to be called Fort NED. On the 16th, administration of Spoliarium Magna was handed over to Nathaniel, who was to administer it as a “knight” while Emperor Ben I and Will went off to the east to explore around Barnfield, in order to find more den nations there, although the mission returned unsuccessful. Lumber den was scouted, and the Westernlea den was also scouted, where it was found to be very infrequently used. In the same period, Kieran, Lewis, Akira and Jack joined Will in helping to re-establish DEONQED around Crediton, further recruits from the Kingdom of Wertonia, while Nathaniel recruited five more members to act as a new population for Spoliarium Magna.

On the 21st of July, a new Constitution for DEONQED was written, with the important clauses that all members of DEONQED must be members of the new DEONQED Army, headed by the Emperor. It totally reprioritized the acquisition of territory and a new military outlook. It also restructured DEONQED to become a new, feudal state based around the acquisition of territory. On the 31st of August, the Shelter was destroyed by Ashley and Callum at 11 o’clock at night. This ended DEONQED's physical presence in that region, but also allowed Emperor Ben I to reallocate the resources there to the Fort NED. Despite this setback, on the 3rd of September Emperor Ben I and Nathaniel got into contact with a major Barnfield den led by Oliver Stapley, and it was agreed it would be annexed into DEONQED, and administered by Nathaniel. However, this was the only contact ever made with it.

On the 19th of September, Westernlea was destroyed in the Sack of Westernlea by DEONQED. However, it was discovered that perhaps the Westernlea den had been inactive for months, if not years, but a great deal of wealth was taken from Westernlea to Fort NED. Fort NED was now officially the capital of DEONQED, and it was the most advanced building ever built by den hands, with a second storey and several offices in one building.

The Decline and Fall of DEONQED

However, despite the huge success of the summer and autumn, Emperor Ben considered his mission to rebuild the Empire was complete. He became increasingly inactive, and the communication with the new territories of DEONQED was lost. The new members drifted away, and the Empire began to crumble in its populated areas, meaning that the Empire now only consisted of Fort NED. A new campaign of exploration was begun in the east, which led to the discovery of Natland on the 30th of March, which was potentially inhabited. Further east, they found a very inactive drug den in the midst of Further Natland. This drug den was dismantled and used to give Fort NED further improvements in its defences and comfort. This injection of new wealth meant that on the 5th of April, Emperor Ben I suggested a raft of new proposals, including the creation of brand new equipment for the DEONQED Army, which was to be composed of huge tower shields and spears. However, only the spears were created but the Avranches den was sacked, which won DEONQED further resources, but led to a desire for revenge from the Visitors, who had now completely destroyed the old Avranches Faction.

On the 17th of April, Will wrote an essay detailing that DEONQED was truly overstretched and that it was claiming too much land, and that more members were needed to protect DEONQED's claimed territory, which included all of the dens that had been sacked by DEONQED. However, most of these dens were uninhabited and useless, as now the whole den world had less than an estimated 10 people operating in it in Mid Devon. Emperor Ben therefore made an alliance with the Visitors again, and he told them about location of the until then secret Fort NED. After Veteran Will announced his retirement on the 9th of May, for the 17th of October, Emperor Ben I refused to help out in the den, and despite Will offering help from the time between the announcement and October, Ben responded with inactivity. There was a triumph when Ashley Pottle was finally convicted on the 3rd of June, but still Ben refused to capitalize on this gain. Finally, on the 30th of June, when Fort NED was sacked by the Visitors, Ben declared that was “inevitable”, and he announced his and Nathaniel's plans to retire. Finally, on July 17, Emperor Ben I was deposed and Emperor Adam I from Adammia was invited to become the new Emperor of DEONQED. From then, until July the 22nd, DEONQED was in personal union with Adammia. Finally, on the 22nd, Decree XXVII annexed DEONQED into Adammia, turning it into a territorial claim of the Adammic Empire. The DEONQED Army became the 2nd Infantry Division of Adammia, and Will became the General of this Division.

Economy

DEONQED had an economy based mainly around manual labour. Trade was almost nonexistent and was often subject to diplomatic relations, which were almost always terrible with surrounding states. DEONQED built a lot of buildings and produced its own lumber, coal, bricks, steel and weaponry. It conducted annual censuses to gauge the wealth of the Empire