*To His Grace, Archcount-Khagan Urlic Ego-Estrin-Romanakov of the UEGNA,
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We, the Leading Council of the Cerulean-Vorantine-Aqulio-Pheasantine Union (CVAPU), are truly ashamed that it has become necessary to send this communication to Upper Empyrea, but we must act to restore the balance of the world. That is why we of the Leading Council have voted unanimously to declare, as of this day in 80 EH, that the Union is at war with the Umbracresti-Estrinite-Glacian-Narcissian Archregion (UEGNA). It pains us all to tear Empyrea asunder, to make it bleed white a Second Coalition War, but the people of the Theocratic Confederacy of Cerulea, Technocracy of Vorantis, Meritocracy of Aquiloria and the Second Pheasantine Republic have had more than enough of the passive-aggressive diplomacy, sabre rattling, fleet flaunting, and quiet hostility between Upper and Lower Empyrea.
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The Southwest, South, Southeast, and East shall not rest until the balance of power is restored, and the leadership of the Archregion is humbled. It is probable that your so-called "Grand" Army and Fleet will be defeated, that Your Grace will finally be compelled to listen to the calls for reason that the Union has been screaming for two decades. The most famous of the Grand-Generals, Charles Alexander Worce III, said after the Coalition War had ended, "Narciss must never be allowed forget those that bled," yet it is evident that you all have done just that.
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We know that UEGNA projects an image of strength that is nothing more than an intricate façade that crumbles under the harsh gaze of our analysts. Consider this: it required nearly two centuries for the Umbracresti factions to set aside their differences and unify after the collapse of 25 YBP. The Dominion, once a roaring titan of Empyrea, is now a mere shadow of its former self, having lost its significance not once, but twice when the East was wrested from its grasp. The slumbering giant will not awaken ever again.
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Meanwhile, the Glacier Electorate, though possessing vast resources, is a fledgling power with a sparse population and lagging industry. The joke, "The North learns last," is not hyperbole—it is the cold, hard truth.
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Lastly, the Earldom of Narciss, while most definitely wealthy and influential, has slept on a pile of many laurels for far too long. Its position as the second smallest of Empyrea’s regions has not been a hindrance to feeding its ego; rather, it has bred a lethal combination of entitlement and an inflated sense of superiority that it does not deserve, evident in an inability to adapt and respond to change. CVAPU would like to remind the Narcissians that they do NOT live on an island.
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With all of this in mind, the unified regions of Lower Empyrea wish His Grace the best of luck. Modern Ceali and Osrin Laws of War mean that we will give you two weeks to prepare.
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Møgu ljósið frá Stjørnuni leiða tín veg gjøgnum myrkrið / May the light of the Star ✵ guide thy path through the darkness,
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- Francis Grantè, General of the Combined Army
- Nwarth De Corsair, Counter Admiral of the Combined Fleet
- His all Holiness, ecumenical Archbishop Vance of Ecclesia (Cerulean Rep.)
- Thomas Norik, Technocrat pro tempore of Austerium (Vorantine Rep.)
- Ezra Mylo, Meritocrat of Artè (Aquliorian Rep.)
- Catherine "the Red Tiger" Rawrchart, Prime Minister and Leader of Revolutionary Dawn / the Aurora Party (Pheasantine Rep.)*
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Urlic`s hands shook, his eyes dampened and his jaw clenched. A righteous Wratting slowly filled him up until he was overwhelmed with clarity of purpose. Without stopping to consider the magnitude of his actions, he picked up the phone (which operated via Æther and had no need for lines) and dialled 5-5-5 (an emergency number to the Grand Vizier`s office)
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Rachel Rêverie-Montclair immediately picked up the phone. "Your Grace, I heard we received a communication from CVAPU...are we at war?" Came her voice on Urlic`s end.
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Urlic was calm as replied, "Yes, contact Marshal Blücher and tell him to order Grand-Generals Augereau, Massaena, Carrier and Grosso to mobilise their Army Groups. We must be ready to invade Cerulea and Pheasantine in two weeks."
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"Tomorrow is the 2nd Decennial address of the Archregional Assembly, which is to be held at the Hemicycle in Gloucestershire. You must announce the war there."
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"Who...who will be there?" He asked timidly, not sure he wanted to know.
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"You and the Archcountess-Khatun plus the 162 members of the Archregional Assembly: Me, the 11 Viziers of the Conclave, the 5 High-Exarchs of the Subregions, the 10 Stratocrats of the Stratocraties, 4 Maleks of the Major Islands, 8 Emirs of the Minor Islands, the Governor of Ostov, the Warden of Skála, the Marshal, the Areoadmiral, 2 Herzogs / Herzogins, 4 Margraves / Margravines, 3 Grafs / Gräfins, the Commisar-Viceroy of Umbracrest, the Archcomital Viceroy of Estrin, the Elector of the North, the Vice Elector of the North, 6 Great House Heads, 22 Minor House Heads, 6 Proctors of the Academies, the Lieutenant-Commander of the Ölŕun-Róta Valkyrie Gaurd, 5 Ölŕun Valkyrie Lieutenants, 5 Róta Valkyrie Lieutenants,
159 commoner Rectors / Rectesses, Your 3rd Cousin - Viscountess Roxane Heather Ego - and lastly the Speaker of the Archregional Assembly." She listed lazily, sounding oddly bored despite the circumstances.
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Urlic hung up the Æther Phone. He sent for Archcountess-Khatun Jauna Orlova and his son, the now one-year-old Crown Prince Rionault.
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The pair arrived in his bedchamber soon after. Urlic slumped into the chair near his desk, suddenly feeling physically as well as mentally exhausted.
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"W-We will be at...at war in two weeks' time and you and our son will not be safe here..." He told her weakly.
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"How could you possibly think that, Husband? The Crown is guarded by 1,250 of the elite of the elite Valkyries, the Ölŕun-Róta Gaurd and they are about to add Geirskögul Marines to enhance security! Where would we be safer exactly?" She exclaimed.
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*(Pronounced Al-rune Roh-ta and GAIR-skoh-guhl respectively)*
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"Have...have you not considered the possibility that we...won't win?" It's highly possible that if the war drags on for years then the enemy will get desperate and resort to bombing civilian buildings to kill our leadership. Mister Chinggis-Dorj was a friend of my father, Jochi Estrin-Romanakov before he went on to become the 51st Khagan of the Dominion and then Archcount-Khagan to my mother. He is now the Warden of the Dependency of Skála, a virtually impregnable self-governing Island Fortress. Skála is guarded by something...spectacular." He ranted, his voice becoming more awed as the mention of Skála conjured memories of his visit to the place.
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"Something spectacular?" Jauna asked quietly.
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"During the Coalition War, the Estrin Dominion of the Northwest and East had a superweapon called the EDS Kraken’s Fury, a gargantuan sea battleship that was sent to the bottom of the sea near Krake Coast in 45 YBP by the Squid Hunter Flotilla." He began, knowing full well that Juana Orlova was not going to believe the next part.
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He continued anyway, "However, Khagan Xanté later commissioned the Umbracresti Adeptus of Bionautical Design to reconstruct some sort of ancient creature and install it in the wreck in 27 AE. After some modern improvements were made, the result was a...a living superweapon. It took a Fleet of airships composed of four Battlecruisers, 4 Heavy Frigates and 5 Light Frigates to send the Kraken’s Fury to the deep the first time, who knows what it might take to do it again?" He concluded ominously in a dark tone.
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Jauna shuddered at the idea of the ghostly living wreck of a massive ship protecting her and her child.
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"You will leave for Skála with Mr Chinggis-Dorj on his craft after I address the Archregional Assembly tomorrow." He told his wife firmly.
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Juana nervously left the Bedchamber as a memory from his childhood resurfaced...
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____________________________________
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*67th Year of the Era of Hope, on Estrin Island in the Northwest of UEGNA.*
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Crown Prince Urlic lay in a comfortable bed, listening to the thunderstorm raging outside. His father, Jochi, limped into the room. His long ebony cane ended in a heavy spike which banged down with every wincing step as the 51st Khagan of the Dominion dragged his bad left leg behind him.
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Urlic may have only been thirteen, but he knew what they cruelly called Jochi Estrin-Romanakov: The Cripple.
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An accident in his youth had ruined not just one of his legs, but his chance to rule on his own. According to Estrin`s code, a cripple may never rule the Dominion on his own, and so Jochi had married the heiress of Narciss and Umbracrest, Lady Vega Calliope Ego.
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His father sat down in a chair next to the bed. A small smile broke on his face when his sad eyes met the emerald green ones of the son who made him so proud.
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"Son...I brought you here to tell you a story that your grandfather told me about his father." He said in his powerful voice. Jochi may have been frail, but his voice belonged to a warrior.
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Urlic knew two things about his Great-Grandfather: Firstly, that he had been a small, cruel man who had met his end at the hand of his son. And secondly, that he had been a cultist.
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"K-Khagan Xantè?" The boy stammered.
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"Yes, him. Do you know where Skála is?"
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Urlic shook his head, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
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"It's the Northwesternmost Island in the Archipelago, it is governed by the Warden," Jochi explained.
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"Like...a prison Warden?"
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Jochi let out a spluttering laugh at this. "Skála was where the worst criminals were sent before Khagan Temujin had it converted into a fortress after the Pheasantine Revolution forced the Dominion out of the East. Skála is still garrisoned by serial killers and rapists to this day. Anyway, Temujin had a son, who only had a daughter, Khani Enyo Estrin, who went on to be the first Khatun Regnant. This was where the trouble began for our family."
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Urlic tried to process all this, unsure where this story was going.
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"Khatun Enyo was known by another name, the Herald of the Æbyss. She was an Ætharch - a leading cultist - in the Covenant of the Void. She had one official child, Gur Khan Xantè and a bastard, Seraph De Michael. Xantè was an anchor for a dark god called Æonex the Tormentor and conquered the East for the Dominion once again as the Age of the Æbyss began." He continued, his strong tone sounding bitter at being related by blood to such people.
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"Xantè had two children, Timji and Jiro, but Temji was murdered. My father Jiro married Jennifer Astrai Romanakov. But he battled with mental issues stemming from neglect for all his life and these sometimes suffered as a different man, Jürgen. Jürgen killed Xantè."
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Urlic`s eyes widened further. He stayed silent, eager to hear more.
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"Jiro became the 50th Khagan of the Dominion and later fathered me. When I was around your age, he told me a story about a giant battleship from the Coalition War being raised from the deep."
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"The Kraken’s Fury?" Asked the young boy in excitement.
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"That's the one. But Xantè had not only raised a sunken superweapon. He commissioned seven cruisers, which sank in a violent storm near the Isle of Styrin. Do you follow me so far?"
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Urlic nodded enthusiastically, making the limping Khagan smile a little wider.
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"Skála has probably had hundreds of Wardens, but ever since the Kraken’s Fury was raised and then scuttled, they have all been buried at sea." He whispered.
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"Why?"
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"Jiro had sworn he once saw a man made completely out of tentacles and eyes wearing a pitch-black robe in a dream. Perhaps Xantè had some sort of agreement with bio-cultists?" He replied, avoiding the question.
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"Why? What happened to them?"
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"Skála has some sort of guardian now, we don't know what it is. Warden Skrimsli wrote back to me warning me of the danger of overstepping my bounds, I was told by an inmate who had killed at least fifty people that the protector of the island fortress is a living wreck." He answered breathlessly.
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"Try to get some sleep Urlic..."
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