Alexandrian Flu

The Alexandrian flu, also known as the Flu Pandemic of 1651 AN, was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic that circled Micras from 1650 AN to 1651 AN. The pandemic infected close to 600 million people, almost all of them Alexandrians and Hammish people (Caputians). The death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 300 to 400 million and led to the complete collapse of Alexandria, making it one of the deadliest epidemics in the history of Micras.

Backgrounder

There was a prior episode of a similar nature, which the Empire of the Alexandrians was able to recover from. This is documented in Alexandrian history as the prelude to Operation Eternal Steel.

Hypothesis and source

The same disease unleashed by the Nameless in Hamland that wiped out everyone in the country except for a small 2% of the original population prior to the Hammish Civil War spread to Alexandria when the peacekeepers came home. The disease wiped all of Alexandria out pretty much overnight. This disease, despite starting in Hamland, is called the Alexandrian flu.

Spread

The modern conveniences of international airline travel - of which Cibolan Alexandria was a major transit hub - exacerbated the spread of the Alexandrian flu to Alexandrian offshore territories such as Terrenoire, Leifgrad, Luthoria and Anglien.

Secondary outbreaks, in areas with mixed populations and a history of intermarriage with Alexandrian ethnic groups, also contributed to the decision of the Natopian government to evacuate it's holdings in the Skerries and north western Eura.

Aftermath and Legacy

Consul for Defense Jaime Augustin Joaquin Primo de Aguilar initially attempted to establish a government-in-exile at Palais de Saint Louis le Protecteur, the Imperial Alexandrian Embassy in Haraldsborg, in the High Realm of Stormark, in accordance with Article 5 of The Regency Act 2014, but the pandemic was too virulent for the remainder of the Alexandrian government to react and respond in time. Some officials, such as Third Consul Juana Beazcoetxea Hernández and Rear Admiral Helena Chevalier were able to escape, to Natopia and Shireroth respectively, while Primo de Aguilar fled to Constancia. At the time, the fate of the members of the Imperial House was unknown, and all its members were presumed dead.

The Frenzy of the Bovic Empire of the Natopian Nation unanimously adopted a resolution directing and commanding the Imperial Natopian Government to grant Natopian citizenship to Alexandrian refugees who had fled to asylum in Natopia.

When the Empire collapsed, many Alexandrians (approximately 10%, or some 36,000,000) that survived out of the 360 million that lived throughout the Empire, went to Natopia. Almost 90% of them settled in the Natopian demesne of Thalassa.

Research

Because only Hamland and Alexandria were affected heavily by the illness, several research groups - including the Jingdaoese Unit 666 and the Shirerithian Decimae - are known to have had an interest in acquiring samples of the virus for the purposes of conducting further research.