Renaissance of Fire

[Ark]

July 24
Nervin
Neu Arkia

Nearly a year of careful planning, garnering of public support, and absolutely meticulous strategizing have all culminated in approximately 90 minutes of utter chaos throughout the already politically unstable nation of Neu Arkia.

When the Prätorianer, the most elite troops of the Neu Arkian armed forces and the personal guards of the Autocratic Council, entered the massive circular Chamber of the Council as they did every day, the 12 men sitting in the chairs around the table suspected nothing. It was then of great surprise to these men, the group of dictators in charge of Neu Arkia, when the Prätorianer began firing their assault rifles in precisely aimed bursts of three shots to the head. In a matter of seconds, the entire head of Neu Arkia was dead, slumped in their chairs around the council’s table.

The gilded mahogany doors to the council chamber swing open, and a tall, striking figure of a man in the dress uniform of the field marshal of Neu Arkia strides in, walking in a regal fashion. He tips his officer’s cap to the Prätorianer, who salute in return, more soldiers in dress uniform pouring into the room behind the field marshal. The marshal pulls back the thirteenth chair of the council’s table, the one reserved, by old Arkian tradition, for the leader of the nation. It had since remained empty due to the council dictatorship of Neu Arkia owing it’s fragile stability to the group workings of the council.

With one gloved hand on the top of the throne-like thirteenth seat, the field marshal, a man named Julius Augustus Karling, addresses the room at large. “Ladies, gentlemen, comrades. Today is not only the day of the revolution, but a day of rebirth.” Julius spins around, gesturing out of the glass dome of the council room. “Rebirth, my friends, is why we must seize the initiative, seize power, and reform the nation. ‘Neu Arkia’ was once an integral part of Arkalarius, our glorious formal nation. We were once a growing economic powerhouse, a region rich in resources, industry, and people. See how under the previous management-“ this he says with distaste, a bitter look on his face, “-this once glorious land has fallen into economic and political strife. This in turn brings us back to rebirth. Renaissance. If the people of our nation will not seize power from the corrupt dictators who ruled the country to reform it, we just do it ourselves.” He puts a foot up on the chair, and stands up above the crowd of soldiers and guards, raising his hands. “All will be bathed in a renaissance of fire.”

Cheers echo through the room, but Julius is not finished, not nearly. He steps down from the chair, and heads for the door. “In approximately 15 minutes the world, all of Urth, will hear of this. The people will rejoice, and our enemies will fear us. Begin the final operation plans, the government—and the nation—is ours.”

[Ark]

(NOTE: This is an open RP, feel free to post your nation’s responses to the military coup, or other related roleplays!)

July 24
Nervin
Neu Arkia

In a public broadcast to all of Neu Arkia, and by extent, the world, the new military takeover of the nation is announced by it’s new dictator, Julius Augustus Karling, who was declared Autocrator by the military after their successful takeover of the government, which was apparently orchestrated entirely by Julius himself.

“People of Neu Arkia, and people of Urth. My name is Julius Augustus Karling. You may know me as the field marshal of Neu Arkia, or as the eldest son of the Karling family, one of the seven noble families of Arkalarius. Today, the so called council of Neu Arkia was deposed by me and my men. The military is now in the midst of reorganizing the government to try and rid it of the autocratic corruption it once had. As your new leader, I hereby declare the Stratocracy of Karolingia, after the old name of our capital city Nervin, from which my family hails. The city will remain the capital, but it’s name will be reverted, as it should be.”

The recording ends, and Julius stands up immediately nodding to two of his men. “Come quickly. We drive to Karling Square. I have spoken to the people, but now the people must speak to me.” he says, walking out of the grand office inside of the capital building. Outside, two more men and an official car are already waiting for him. He slides into the passenger seat, and prepares himself for his first interaction with the public as their new leader. As the vehicle drives away, he chuckles to himself.
“Ahh… this is going to be fun.”

[Ark]

July 24
Freyaelv
Arkalarius

Steeling her fingers, Ilse Erika raises an eyebrow at Ludwig Noske, who is sitting across from her at the large desk in her office. “So, Ludwig, can you explain this?”

He shakes his head angrily, and gestures to another man standing across from the desk. “Even the Intelligence Director had no idea this was coming. Whoever planned this coup, likely the Karling man, he must have been a damned genius, or at least very good at keeping a secret. Our informants say they couldn’t even have guessed this would happen.”

“So, this man, from a noble family I might add, takes over a nation with the help of it’s military. A nation that once was, and is rightfully, part of Arkalarius.”

Ludwig coughs, “Well, yes my lady, what are you getting at here?”

“Do you not think the attitude of this new government towards certain nations such as the Kingdom of Tretrid might be different? It is abundantly clear by the broadcast that this man is an ideologue, and it seems a nationalist too. Getting crucial support from a nation he’s thought as an enemy for half of his life surely can’t be easy for him, especially if that nation occupies land that should rightfully be part of his state.”

Ilse pauses for a second, and then looks back up from the papers on her desk. “Ludwig. I have a plan. Arrange this to be sent to the new leader of Neu A- sorry, ‘Karolingia’. I wish to see his reaction.”

Ludwig Noske takes the piece of paper, nods respectfully, and heads for the door, the other men in the room quickly following. As they leave, Ilse Erika leans back in her leather chair, closing her eyes and allowing a smile to cross her face.

[Tretrid]

(OOC: Joint post with Ark)

Cynebury, Tretrid
July 24, 2020

At this point, Prime Minister Eoforwine was starting to think that he was going to need to take a break from his work. The last couple of weeks had just been so hectic, what with the two conferences in Sani Bursil and the war in Irnac.

So, as if he wasn’t already flooded with important matters, he got the news that the Neu Arkian government got overthrown by Julius Karling.

Well, he would have to get into contact with this man, since he still wanted Neu Arkia, or as it was now called, Karolingia, to be aligned with Tret against the Arkian Empire.

He picked up his phone and called the former Neu Arkian council’s office.

Karling had been anticipating the call, and he quickly picked up the phone. “Prime Minister Eoforwine, I presume? This is Julius Augustus Karling, but you can call me Julius.”

“Ah, so you’ve been expecting me? We have a lot to discuss.” Eoforwine took a deep breath.

“Indeed we do Mr. Eoforwine. Where shall we begin.

“Well, first of all, I want to know about how you will handle relations, both with Tretrid and with Arkia.”

“I once considered myself a proud citizen of Arkia, and I still think of myself as Arkian. However, I shall not allow them to annex my nation. It’s independence must persist. My renaissance cannot be birthed from invasion, but diplomacy. As for your country, I am no friend of Tretrid. However, your guarantee of our independence has been… useful, and unless another power can be counted on to protect us I will have to rely on you. Unfortunately my predecessors saw fit to relinquish our claims on Schlesia, rightful Karolingian land. I wish to see that returned to my nation, as it should be.” said Julius, a hint of anger entering his voice through the telephone.

“Ah, yes, I was hoping to enter a settlement over Schlesia at some point. I believe that we can enter a mutually beneficial arrangement over the area, then.”

“If by ‘mutually beneficial’ you mean splitting it in some way, you may encounter resistance, Mr. Eoforwine. You can probably guess why. Additionally, it would not look good for me to assume office and then immediately claim land, only to settle for half of it.”

“I’ll be okay with recognizing your new government as the rightful rulers, then, since I hope to deal with Schlesia at a later date.”

“That is at least acceptable for the time being. I do not pretend to like you, Prime Minister, nor the nation you represent. However, I can be persuaded to do so for just a bit of diplomatic support. I believe our adversaries in Arkia will be making a move soon. From what I know of Kaiserin Ilse she will no doubt wish to see what I am made of first. I fully expect her to play a game on the border. We cannot allow this.” Julius Karling stops, and thinks to himself for a few seconds. “From what I can guess, Arkalarius will either press their claims on Karolingia as a whole, or try to extend their border by sending troops through, or something of the sort. They’ll want to try and threaten me, but if you and the League of Novaris give Karolingia support, we can stop this Arkian aggression.”

“Okay. I’ll go write a statement publicly supporting Karolingia, and I’ll also ask Secretary-General Æthelwine to lift your country’s temporary suspension and recognize your nation as legitimate. I want Arkia to know that we will be supporting your country, and once we’ve finished those problems we can go back to dealing with Schlesia.”

“We can definitely agree there. No doubt Arkia will want to push for my nation’s exit from the League… your help there will be extremely useful. Hopefully when this conflict has all blown over we’ll be able to settle our little issue peacefully.”

“Okay, then. We’ll certainly have to talk again later, once things change.” And with that, Eoforwine hung up, and thought to himself about how this would affect the political situation in Novaris.

[Ark]

July 25
Freyaelv
Arkalarius

Emblazoned on the front page of the newspaper, everyone who was anyone knew what had happened within minutes of the announcement. In a recent speech, Kaiserin Ilse Erika had announced that in a move to "secure Arkian borders against a dangerous revolutionary” Arkalarius would be pushing it’s border claims with Karolingia slightly. Instead of the border going through the center of the lakes, as it had previously, the lakes and the river that flowed between them now belong solely to the Arkian Empire.

Meanwhile, on the Arkian/Karolingian border…

It was another day in the Arkian armed forces. Well, today was a bit different than the usual training and exercises. Instead, Derek Müller and his squad were helping to patrol the border… in Karolingian land. Along with around 10 other squads of men, his squad were patrolling a new border inside what was legally sovereign soil of Neu Arkia- that is, the Kingdom of Karolingia.

Apparently the empress had announced Arkian claims on the lakes. Derek had to stop himself from laughing. Just the lakes? No, that was only for the public to hear. Her actual claims were far more aggressive, multiple miles past what she said they were. And here was Derek, just a Soldat, patrolling inside enemy land. He very well knew he and his squad could be shot on sight by the Karolingian soldiers, and they’d not even be in the wrong if he was shot dead, for this was no border patrol, this was an invasion.

Up ahead, the squad leader, a thirty year old Feldwebel with a well groomed black beard named Adrian Kranst, raised his hand and had the squad come to a halt. He quickly called Derek, one of the riflemen, up to the front next to him. "Müller, look over there, please tell me I’m not the only one seeing this.”

Derek shaded his eyes, and then used his scope to look in the direction Kranst had been pointing. After a few seconds of searching, a gasp escaped his lips. “Mein Gott… Sir, I see it, but I sure as hell don’t like it, if you’ll excuse my Lissian.”

Kranst nods grimly, and lifted his radio to send a message to the troops on the border. “Hello group theta? This is Feldwebel Adrian Kranst, with squad F. We’re going to need some backup, I see Karolingian troops coming towards us, though I don’t think they’ve seen us yet, over."

“Roger that squad Friedrich, we’re rerouting another border patrol squad to back you up, and sending a fresh squad from back here. Stick in there, over.”

Kranst put his radio back on his belt, and then cursed angrily. “Scheiße! These damned Neuers won’t quit will they. Support’s coming, but they won’t be here for at least five minutes more. Stay in cover.” he said, hunkering down against the rocky outcrop. “Now we wait.”

EDIT: The border Arkian troops are patrolling:https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200804/94d43c05e6835b3e81f2f651421b6792.jpg

[Ark]

OOC: Joint Post with Tret

July 25th
Freyaelv
Arkalarius

Bent over her desk, Ilse Erika wrote down the final word, and leaned back, satisfied with her completed crossword puzzle. “Otto, what was the time on that one?” she said to her secretary and personal assistant, Otto Schlutze.

“Two minutes thirty-four seconds, my lady. That’s a two second gain from last time.”

Ilse smiled, and tapped her temple. “One must keep one’s mind sharp, Otto. This one was not particularly difficult anyways, the Times only does the crossword justice on the weekends, it must be who writes them.”

Just as Ilse was putting the crossword to the side to begin work on the day’s paperwork, one of the official phones on her desk begins ringing. She glanced up, smiling to herself as she saw which one, and picked up the phone. “Ah, Eoforwine. I should have predicted this. How is your day?”

“Madam von Freyaelv. Most of my day has been somewhat ordinary, besides those reports on the counterattack in Irnac. But enough about that. I’m almost certain you know what I’m here to talk about.”

Ilse leaned back in her rolling chair, and closed her eyes as she responded. “You have me at a disadvantage sir, I have no idea why you’re calling me. Surely, you can enlighten me as to why you have?”

“Hmmm, maybe it might have something to do with that address you made today about those claims on Karolingian soil?”

“Technically our claims did not in fact touch a single piece of Karolingian soil, my dear Eoforwine. You must understand that the claim on the lakes is not an issue you or your nation must be concerned with. This is merely a small push into land—and indeed water—that is rightfully Arkian.”

“Ah, you see, that’s the problem here. ‘Rightfully Arkian.’ Tretrid sees this territory as part of Karolingia, and also has reaffirmed its alignment with Karolingia. And many politicians, within the government and out, will likely push for Tretrid to take action against Arkia’s newfound aggression, whether or not I wish to do so myself.”

Ilse’s eyes snapped open. “Newfound? Eoforwine, do not speak to me about ‘people in the government’. There are politicians in Arkia who do not even wish for me to recognize Karolingia as an independent nation. This land, and the people who live in it, are indeed rightfully Arkian. Most of them still consider themselves Arkian. They speak our language, they’re part of our culture, the only reason they aren’t part of our nation is the damned civil war and this man Karling.”

“I’m not sure most Tretridians would view it that way, and ‘rightful’ or not, this strongly appears to be a pretext for an Arkian incursion into Karolingia. And I think several other nations, including those in the League, may also see it this way. You probably will find it… prudent to move forward carefully.”

“The League is not your puppet, Eoforwine. Although it has been under the heel of Tretrid for far too long. I appreciate your advice, but while I am the Kaiserin of this nation I will not back down. Neu Arkia, now Karolingia, shall once again be part of Arkia, be it peacefully or else.”

“Well then, you’ve decided that you won’t back down, and I’ve decided that I will not myself. Tread carefully.” And so the Tretridian Prime Minister hung up.

Ilse places the phone back on the desk distastefully. Otto gives her a look from his desk by the door. “Carry on with it, Otto. Exercise extreme caution.”

[Tretrid]

(OOC: Joint post with Ark)

July 25

“Well then, you’ve decided that you won’t back down, and I’ve decided I will not myself. Tread carefully.” As Eoforwine finished the sentence, he hung up the phone.

Well then. Since von Freyaelv didn’t seem to be backing down, he started thinking about what next to do.

He then proceeded to call Julius Karling.

Miles away in former Nervin, now Karolingia, Julius Karling picked up the phone, having finished his paperwork. “Eoforwine? What is it, I thought you said we’d work out our issues later.”

“I’m calling to discuss Arkia’s recent… actions.”

“If you’re referring to the border claims,” Karling said grimly, “then we’ve already began to mobilize our forces to make sure the Arkians don’t overstep their boundaries. I’ve made it clear to my troops that they shall not engage unless Arkian soldiers clearly pass the land border. By now, the troops should be at the border. Unfortunately we cannot enforce the lake border nearly as well, I suspect that is one of the reasons their damned Kaiserin claimed them.”

“I will order the Tretridian troops in Schlesia to be on standby, and will be ready to send them to Karolingia’s aid if so needed.” Eoforwine paused a moment. “But I have something important to ask of you first.”

“What is it? And I would prefer if you did not speak of Schlesia at the moment. Sending the troops you have there to assist me would be rather inappropriate, do you think not?”

“Well, I’m going to need you to gather evidence that Arkia may be planning an invasion of Karolingia, to press these claims, so that we can present this to the international stage and show the world that Arkia is far more aggressive than they appear to be.”

“I have no doubt that your suspicions are correct. As of now, my intelligence teams are already working on it. I’m sending aircraft to try and take some pictures. I guarantee there will be Arkian troops massed Just begins the border, ready to attack.”

“Thank you, and please send me a copy of any proof you find that Arkia is preparing to invade. Through an encrypted channel, of course.”

“Of course. I’m sure our friends in the LoN will not be happy when they hear about the aggressive and unreasonable actions the Arkians are taking.”

“Well, I look forward to when we can show them that. Please keep me posted.” And so Eoforwine hung up the phone.

[Ark]

July 25th
Karolingia
Arkian Patrol Zone

A few minutes had passed, and it seemed like the Karolingians had passed them by. Derek peeked out from behind the rocky outcrop, and saw the shapes of the soldiers still, but now they were headed past them, towards the Arkian border. *Well, at least, Derek thought to himself, the former Arkian border. I’m standing on the new one right now.

While Derek Müller thought glumly to himself, the rest of his squad got ready to move again. Just as they were doing so, the sound of booted footsteps rolled in from the west. The backup squad had arrived, although it was already too late for them to be helpful.

Even so, the squad leaders talked, until Kranst pointed in the direction the Karolingian troops had walked off in.

“Sir,” he said to the other officer, a Hauptmann from a different platoon, “they just missed us. I’d be surprised if our troops aren’t noticed by the end of the day. What should we do?"

“That’s not for me to say, I’m sorry. All command has said is to keep out of sight and patrol the line given to us." responded the Hauptmann, sitting down on a rock. “I don’t know what will happen next, but we have to be ready for anything. You and your squad should keep moving in your patrol. I’ll take mine back to the border."

“Understood. And, sir, do you know how long this will last?”

"This show of force shouldn’t last more than a day I think. We can’t stay here or outside forces will call it invasion, but we can linger for a day to show them we have the power to in fact invade.”

“Understood sir.”

The reinforcement squad walked away towards the Arkian border, and Kranst could only imagine the number of Karolingian civilians who had already reported the invasion online. By the time his squad got back, no doubt the situation would already be escalating.*

[Tretrid]

(OOC: Joint post with Rico)

July 25

Eoforwine was quite taken aback by Ilse Erika’s confidence. After all, she was making a very risky move, one that threatened Arkalarius’s international position.

Of course, he had to take advantage of it. He had already called Julius Karling and asked him for recon, and the needed intelligence would be obtained soon. Now, he needed to talk with his allies.

First of all, Kuthernburg. They were good, reliable allies, and had plenty of influence within the League.

So, he called Queen Naomi II.

Naomi had been looking at new laws that the Royal president wanted advice on, she would soon hear the phone ringing asking him to step out.

“Good Afternoon”

“Ah, Queen Naomi, it’s Eoforwine. I presume you’ve heard about the developments with Arkalarius and Karolingia?”

Naomi’s eyes would open wide, it was always good to hear from Eoforwine she considered him a good friend.

“Of course, though we may seem to be always focused on Kuthern global influence, we never turn our eye to regional events that will affect the national security of the East. I have been monitoring it very closely with our regionals allies, Nacata, Duelland, Alythunia, and the Veridian Union, we support Karolingia freedom”

“How do you feel about Arkalarius’s recent claims on Karolingian territory?”

“I believe they go against everything Kuthernburg stands for, you can not simply claim another country that has already made clear they want nothing to do with them. Kuthernburg can not allow for that type of Gondwana style of government in Novaris, its pure greed.”

“Very well. I intend to get evidence that Arkalarius is preparing to invade Karolingia, so that we could confront them in the League of Novaris. I take it that we have Kuthern support in this endeavor?”

“You can count on the entire East to back you my dear friend” Naomi would say as she sipped her tea.

“Good to know. Soon, Arkalarius will have to reckon with their outward aggression, and I intend on making them pay for it.”

[Ark]

July 26th
Arkian Border Patrol Outpost
Arkian-Karolingian Border

The Karolingian diplomat gave the Major a suspicious look, and crossed her legs under the table as she picked up one of the printed photographs in front of her.

“So, Major, you’re telling me these photos of soldiers wearing what appears to be Arkian military uniforms taken in Karolingia are all either fakes, in fact from Arkalarius, or much older pictures?”

The major cleared his throat, staring at a point slightly above the diplomat’s face. “That is indeed correct ma’am. Also, from our studying of these photographs we can see no evidence that these are Arkian soldiers as you seem to think. In fact, they appear to be wearing the old Arkian uniforms from the civil war, which are still commonly used in Karolingia. Additionally, there are no distinguishing markings on these soldiers.”

A moment of silence passed, and the diplomat gave the major an appraising look, his face still giving away nothing.

“Well then… sir. It appears you would have me believe that these are Karolingian soldiers being falsely reported as invaders from Arkia. This is not so.” Here she pulls out a sheaf of papers from a briefcase at her side. “You’ll find here in these redacted public copies of Karolingian patrols in the past week, no soldiers were in these locations when these photos were taken.”

“I do apologize ma’am, but records can be altered, and redactions may be over clarifying parts.”

“Quite. As it appears you have no wishes to help clarify this unhappy misunderstanding, I will be on my way now. Keep the photographs.”

The diplomat walked out of the outpost with her small military escort. As she disappeared into the distance, the major leaned back into his chair, wiping his forehead. He turned to one of the other people in the room, a man in a black suit and sunglasses with no apparent military standing.

“I did as directed, although I’m sure they have their suspicions, nothing can be actually confirmed.”

“Good.” Responded the man in the suit, “I’m sure they’ll rush to tell their friends in Tretrid. The military has no more part in this, leave this to the diplomats now. Oh and, in fact, the military never did have any part in this. Remember that.”

[Ark]

July 27th
Karolingia City, Karolingia

Julius Karling inspected the documents before him, and looked closely at the photos that had been provided. After a few minutes of silent scrutiny, he looked up into the eyes of his newly appointed head of intelligence.

“So, Heinrich, you’re telling me that in the past two days you’ve not been able to get any reliable photo evidence? We have the testimony of multiple Karolingian citizens, as well as some of our soldiers claiming to have seen foreign militants. Yet, even with the odds in your favor, not one photograph we have can actually differentiate these Arkian invaders from our own soldiers?"

Heinrich Altmann waved his hands around assuringly, trying to muster a smile on his face. “Sir, I-I’m sure it’s not all in yet, my agents should be finding more data as we speak right now. The invaders are wearing uniforms identical to ours, and if we can prove these weren’t our soldiers, we could use the point that only Arkalarius has mass access to these uniforms, which were in service during the Arkian civil war.”

Karling let out a sigh, and laid the photos back down on his desk. “Whatever you say Altmann, but I expect concrete evidence by the end of the day. If you cannot find any, then I may have to resort to other means. Now leave me. I have a call to make."

As Altmann nervously scrambled to leave, Julius Karling leaned back in his chair, thinking to himself. If the Arkians didn’t want to play fair, then he didn’t have to either. As Karling made up his mind, he reached out for one of the phones on his desk, this one serving as a dedicated hotline to the Prime Minister’s office in Tretrid.

[Tretrid]

Tretridian High Command
Cynebury, Tretrid

Prime Minister Eoforwine and Defense Minister Eadweard looked at the rather detailed military plans.

After a minute, Eoforwine strongly shook his head. “No, I am not going to do that to our own allies, even if it gives us an edge. We should have enough evidence on our own without resorting to make stuff up.” And with that he left.

When he returned to his office, he noticed that he had missed a call from Julius Karling. Well, hopefully this should be about our evidence. Karling hadn’t left a message, however, likely because of the extremely sensitive nature of the call.

Eoforwine went and returned the call.

Within a few seconds, Karling picked up the call from his office in Karolingia. “Ah, Eoforwine. It seems you’ve gotten my call. There is something of utmost importance that I must discuss with you. Unfortunately, it isn’t because I’ve made a breakthrough. Quite the opposite really.”

“Oh, really? What’s preventing you from gathering the needed evidence?”

Karling responded in a sardonic tone. “Mr. Prime Minister, I have just orchestrated a coup. Although my takeover of the nation is beneficial to the state as a whole, some level of chaos is expected. Unfortunately, it seems the Arkians have been exploiting this, and their troops were in uniforms identical to our own. The only evidence we could provide for these not being our own soldiers are documents detailing patrols, and those of course can be faked, as the Arkians most certainly will say.”

Eoforwine sighed. “On a very similar note, my military command recently gave me plans for a false flag operation intended to manufacture dirt on Arkia. While normally I would never consider such a thing, it appears that we may have to actually consider putting it in place.”

A few moments of silence followed Eoforwine’s comment, but after what seemed like a moment of thought, Karling responded. “Eoforwine… what you’re proposing could very well work. This could give us the evidence we need to condemn and defeat Arkia once and for all. However, the ramifications for failing, especially if we’re caught, those ramifications are incredibly immense.”

“Yes, I agree. If we’re not exceedingly careful in executing this operation, we very well could start a massive war that could consume the continent, if not escalate into a repeat of the Great War.”

“I am willing to go through with this, and assist your operatives in this mission. However, I must see sufficient evidence that we can do this properly before we execute anything of this scale.”

Eoforwine took a deep breath. “I’ll look forward to having you cooperate with our agents, then.”

“Indeed. Oh, and Eoforwine. One last thing before you hang up.”

“Yes?”

“Remember, we only need to produce enough indisputable evidence that we can put the Arkians on trial in the LN. Any more could endanger our operations.”

With that, Karling hung up, their plans formulated.

Eoforwine took a moment after the call ended. He needed to think for a moment, about how momentous, and how dangerous his following actions could be. Perhaps even risking a situation that could devolve into a repeat of the Great War, the massive slaughter that destroyed empires the world over.

The things I do for the sake of my country.

He took a deep breath. His countrymen would never forgive him if he saw Tretrid losing its high standing in the world to Arkalarius. Eoforwine steeled himself and called the High Command.

Eadweard picked up the call. “Oh, Eoforwine!”

“Ah, yes, Eadweard. I’ve had a discussion with Mr. Karling. We’ve agreed that it was for the best that we do that false-flag operation.”

[Tretrid]

Off the Karolingian Coast

The ÞCS Fealcen was stationed off the coast of Karolingia. But that was a closely guarded secret. Like the rest of Tretrid’s submarines, their location was a closely guarded secret.

Captain Cynesige had received some most curious orders from the Admiralty. He gave the crew the necessary orders, and the Fealcen started their operation.

He ordered that the Fealcen hoist the ensign of the Arkian Empire. At this point, for all most people could tell, this was an Arkian submarine now, not a Tretridian one.

The Falcon then sailed in Karolingian waters, trying their best to act like Arkian aggressors intruding upon Karolingia. Meanwhile, in the torpedo bay, crewmen were busy readying the torpedo tubes.

The submarine eventually arrived at a specific location at a specific time, as was specified by the orders from Cynebury.

As expected, there was a Karolingian ship. It wasn’t a particularly large ship, but it certainly was there.

And they were on orders to sink it.

After getting close enough to the ship that the crew almost certainly could identify the Arkian flag, the Fealcen submerged.

“Sir, the torpedos are armed and ready to fire at your command,” an officer told Cynesige.

Cynesige hesitated for a moment. He knew that what was about to happen would have major implications throughout Novaris. “Fire.”

[Ark]

Off the coast of Karolingia

Captain Erhardt Armbruster couldn’t believe his mind. It had been ten minutes since the radar on the KKS Konstantin Böhm had detected the submarine. They’d tried contacting it with radio, and informed the vessel that it was in Karolingian waters, and would be fired upon if it did not leave, but got to response.

Five minutes after that, the vessel had been spotted above the water, flying the flag of the Arkian Empire no less! Erhardt ordered his men to ready the guns, but hold their fire. He sent the same message over the radio once more, and again, nothing happened.

He was about to order his men to fire a warning shot from the light cannon on the small frigate, when suddenly one of the sailors started screaming, and within seconds people were running around on decks.

“Captain!” One of the new recruits shouted, as he raced up the stairs to the upper deck. “Sir! Torpedoes!”

For just a split second, everything was silent, but the resounding crash of the first torpedo hitting it’s target ended that swiftly. Erhardt was thrown down the stairs, while a long fragment of the metal railing hit the sailor in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious.

The second torpedo struck the bow of the ship a few moment later, and the second devastating blast did even more damage than the first. Within minutes, the ship was sinking, and casualties were mounting, with the submarine nowhere to be seen.

As the water slowly claimed his ship, Erhardt was dragged back onto the deck, half of which was now burning. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the face of the bosun, helping him to one of the lifeboats.

[Ark]

Karolingia City,
Karolingia

“-after widespread speculation about the attack, it has been confirmed by multiple of the survivors as well as emergency photographs taken of the submarine that this vessel was part of the Arkian navy. It was spotted flying both the Imperial flag and the Reichskriegflagge of the nation of Arkalarius only minutes before the Karolingian frigate KKS Konstantin Böhm was struck twice by torpedoes. Unfortunately, there were many fatalities, and it has not yet been confirmed if-”

With a sigh, Julius Karling turned off the television, and leaned back in his chair. Was it really worth it? The operation had been a resounding success, and the sailors hadn’t even thought of photographing the submarine itself, they only had two pictures showing the flagpole. The loss of loyal Karolingian sailors was regrettable… a shame that captain Armbruster survived, he was known to be an Arkian loyalist at heart, but at least he obeyed orders.

The doors to Karling’s office opened, and two men and a woman entered his office. The men were High Admiral of the Navy Georg Beckmann, and his second in command, Arnold Müller, while the woman was Air Marshal Johanna Spitzer, the commander of the Karolingian Air Force.

“Sir!” Barked Beckmann, laying a sheaf of paper on Karling’s desk. “The last reports have come in, it appears the submarine has disappeared without a trace. For some reason, even when we got on high alert, we did not spot a single vessel crossing back towards Arkalarius or Arkian Irnac.”

“Strange.” Said Karling, lying through his teeth as he thought about the submarine making it’s way back to Tretrid as he spoke. “Perhaps it circled far around to land in southern Riesigfels.”

“That seems likely sir.” Responded Müller.

“Indeed. Now, I’m going to have to make a public response to this in a few minutes. Is this all of the info we have?”

“I’m sorry sir, but I’m afraid so.”

“So be it then, I can make something of this. Now, you two.” He said, gesturing to Müller and Beckmann. “Get back out there, I need you to organize your navy and get boats out there. We are on high alert, make sure we have constant patrolling.”

"Understood sir, we will get right to it.” Said Beckmann, he and Müller turning sharply and walking out the door.

With the two naval officers dealt with, Karling turned to Spitzer. “Now what news do you have for me Air Marshal?”

She saluted, and handed him her own sheaf of papers, adding to the pile on Karling’s desk. “We didn’t manage to get any aerial photographs of the submarine, it must have submerged and retreated once it was too far underwater to be detected by any means like that.”

“Predictable, but still disappointing. At least it seems like it’s gone, and not making any more attacks.”

“Indeed sir. However, it we did intercept a heavily encoded message being sent, and the odd thing is that it seems to be using a different encryption system to the Arkians. We can’t crack either of them of course, they’re both very advanced, but it’s like this message was encoded with an entirely different program.”

“I’ll take that into consideration Spitzer, you may go now.” Said Karling, internally cursing the captain of the submarine for reporting back before he arrived in Tretrid.

Well, at least he could pass it off as a new Arkian encryption system if anyone asked about it. It’s not like the public would hear of this detail, and there’s no way to confirm it’s Tretridian at all.

With that out of the way, Karling rose, and walked out of his office, and down to the front steps of the government building to deliver his address to the nation. And this address was going to end with an official condemnation, hopefully soon backed up by the League of Novaris. The Arkians stood no chance now, they were going to be completely diplomatically isolated.

Freyaelv,
Arkalarius

After watching the Karolingian news go wild, and soon the rest of the world’s news teams joining in on the excitement, Ilse Erika was not exactly in a good mood. She was feeling sardonic, maybe even mordacious.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Reichssenat, Reichstag, Reichsrat, and the Arkian government and people as a whole, events have transpired today beyond any reason or plans we could have had.”

“Earlier this very day, a Karolingian light frigate was attacked and sunk by a rogue submarine purported to have been flying the Arkian flag.”

She paused for a few seconds, and then continued. “People of Arkalarius, and people of Urth, I was just as shocked and surprised as you were when I heard this. Before continuing, I must say that I, and the nation of Arkalarius, publicly and officially condemn the actions of this submarine, and whatever nation or people are behind it. Flying a flag does not mean your vessel is from that nation. False flag attacks have happened before, and that is exactly what I believe this to be.”

“We have no records of any submarines actively patrolling, much less invading and attacking sovereign waters at the moment, and I will have our records of submarine activity as of the attack partially publicized to at least show where all of our submarines were at this moment. Of course, we cannot fully release records for national security reasons, but I am willing to go this far to help clear up the current situation.”

“We will return to this topic once more information is disclosed about the event by the Karolingian government and press, but as of right now this is all we have on the subject. Thank you, that is all.”

As von Freyaelv walked away, ignoring the hundreds, of not thousands of reporters asking for her to answer their questions, her mind was racing, and by the time she returned to her office in the Königskammer, she had already prepared her next moves.

“Otto, fetch Noske, I need to have a talk with him about how to move on from here.”

“Of course my lady.” Responded Otto, and he dropped the papers he had been reading on his desk, before getting up and preparing to leave.

“Oh, Otto, and one more thing."

“Yes my lady?”

“It’s Ilse, or Ilse Erika, not ‘my lady’. You know I hate it when you call me that.”

Otto nodded, and swiftly retreated out the door.

[Tretrid]

Prime Minister Eoforwine was holding a press conference. It was one like any other, with the usual statements on the doings of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. However, this time Eoforwine was feeling unusually nervous. He knew reporters would ask about the attack on the Karolingian ship, and Tretrid’s future essentially depended on how well he could conceal his involvement.

He pointed to one of the reporters with their arm raised.

It was Eadgar, the correspondent for the Cynebury Herald. “Mr. Eoforwine, do you have any comment on the sinking of the Karolingian frigate KKS Konstantin Böhm by an Arkian submarine?”

Eoforwine replied, “This is a blatant attack on Karolingian sovereignty by the Arkians, much like their earlier claims on Karolingian territory. While we currently don’t know where the Arkian submarine went, we have our suspicions.”

Eadgar had another question. The Prime Minister chose to oblige him. The reporter said, “Do you have any response to the Arkian claim that the sinking of the Konstantin Böhm was a false flag operation perpetrated by another nation?”

Eoforwine took a quick breath before responding. “Von Fraeyelv’s claims are completely unsubstantiated, and there is no evidence that the submarine was operated by any party other than the Arkian Empire. She is merely trying to deflect blame from herself.”

When Eoforwine got back to his office after the press conference, he picked up the phone. He needed to contact Ambassador Beohrtsige, to now present their case in front of the League of Novaris.

[Acronis]

The phone did not even finish the first ring before the soldier picked up the receiver. There was only one person who could call it.

“Ma’am?”

“Move Blade of Storm and Carrier Battle Group 1 to Rodoka, Sinajarv Sector. Move to submarine surveillance sweep plan six in the north, with sitreps twice daily. Fifth and Sixth Air Forces on standby. For the home islands, pull back Zhavrazhan and CBG2 to Anara Sector. We’re reducing the Ragea-Flame Channel Group to treaty minimums. One frigate at each entry point. Move destroyers to replace Zhavrazhan at Port Oculus Sector, move the rest to replace CBG1 in the Capital Sector. Rodoka to Threat Readiness Level 3, all other sectors Level 4.”

“Acknowledged,” replied the soldier, who had been typing the Prime Minister’s orders into the command system as she said them. Above her head, a set of five indicator lamps that had been in place in the Command Center for decades switched on. The amber light labeled 4 shone steady, and the one above 3 flashed, indicating a partial readiness increase. The soldier looked above her head for a moment and it occurred to her that it was the first time in fifteen years the third light had ever been lit.

---

Ministry of External Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Non-Classified

STATEMENT REGARDING MILITARY SITUATION IN ARKALARIUS AND KAROLINGIA

Acronian Minister of External Affairs Atra Lanash Metravar has released the following statement regarding the military situation in Arkalarius and Karolingia:

“The Acronian Empire is incredibly concerned to learn of the attack and sinking of the Karolingian vessel KKS Konstantin Böhm by what reports at this time indicate was a submarine flying the flag of Arkalarius. While the situation is still being investigated, if true, this represents an unacceptable violation of Karolingian sovereignty and a severe escalation of tension in an already tense environment. The Acronian Empire unequivocally and whole-heartedly condemns any act of unprovoked violence against Karolingia, and affirms its recognition of Karolingia as a sovereign state.”

“That said, the exact details of this event are still unclear. The parties involved must act quickly and with conviction with the goal of peace in mind and at heart. If allowed to continue to escalate, this conflict threatens the safety and security of the entire region of West Novaris. Acronis encourages its partners in the League of Novaris to act now to de-escalate the conflict.”

“We must act now to ensure that this conflict is resolved as quickly and as peacefully as possible. With five million people living on Rodoka, West Novaran security is Acronian security. We ourselves are still reeling from a deadly terrorist attack on Rodokan soil not even a week ago. Security and peace in West Novaris are tenuous and fragile. We must work together now, with conviction and with haste, to protect this peace that has been paid for with the blood of thousands. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and each other.”

[Tretrid]

Tretridian High Command, Cynebury

“Have you made sure that there are no records of the Fealcen in Karolingian waters?” The Prime Minister almost seemed worried.

Eadweard nodded.

“Good. We’ll need to do our best to cover our tracks. If the international community finds out who actually perpetrated this, we’re essentially doomed. Heck, even if internal investigators find out, the resulting scandal would badly damage Tretrid.” And so Eoforwine left the building.
[hr]
Later that day

Eoforwine flicked the news on. “Several mass gatherings have arisen all over Tretrid, calling for Tretrid to take more stringent action against Arkalarius. Some of the more hardline demonstrators have been calling for outright war-” He turned off the television.

One of the side effects of “Arkian” aggression was that the old hatred of Arkia had been revived for the first time since the Arkian Civil War. It appeared that nationalist elements in Tretrid had reawakened, and Eoforwine figured they could only get louder from there.

Was it worth it? He wasn’t too sure. He still felt really bad about having to resort to trickery to make Arkalarius look bad, and now he had to bear the secret of the false-flag operation. Only he, the Tretridian High Command, and the officers on the Fealcen knew.

But politics was all about trickery and lies. After all, if you didn’t resort to deceit, someone else will, and they will get an advantage over you. This applied to diplomacy as well. In the end, the only thing that mattered was Tretrid.

Eoforwine sighed. He had vowed at the start of his tenure as Prime Minister to keep Tretrid’s place in the world at any cost. But he hadn’t foreseen how deep the cost of leading a nation was. But now, it was all too clear. He had to lie to Tretrid’s own allies, he had to deceive everybody back home. He had to sacrifice his own morals to keep Tretrid at the top. After all, if you’re unwilling to resort to questionable things, others will and will gain the advantage. Such was the true cost of power.

He slumped as he sat down into his chair. Tretrid, much like himself, was changing, and he did not like where the country seemed to go. Sure, it would still be one of the main Novaran powers, but at what price?

Eoforwine was interrupted from his own guilt by a phone call

“You’ve reached the Prime Minister,” he said, his voice unusually weary.

“Ah, Mr. Eoforwine, it’s Beorhtsige.”

“Ah, yes, Beorhtsige. What did the Novaran Council decide?”

“They’ve decided to create an independent commission to investigate both the alleged border incursion and the submarine attack. One run by neutral parties. And they’ve agreed to hold a referendum on Karolingia.”

“That’s… not ideal, but I suppose I could work around that.” Eoforwine hung up the phone.

At least he had covered his tracks the best he could. For all anyone knew, the Fealcen was in the Atlantian Sea and had been there for the past few days. But the Karolingian refendum? An absolute recipe for unrest and disaster, no matter which ways it went.

[Ark]

July 31st
Karolingia City,
Karolingia

Karling slammed his fist down on the oak wood of his desk, his anger visible to all in the room. “You’re saying even after all of the evidence we had, after they overtly attacked one of our ships and killed our men, even after all of that they got away with only an investigation? Not to mention the fact that we’re being investigated as well."

“Well, yes sir… and, um… there’s one more thing.”

“Yes? Don’t be so timid, what is it?” said Karling, and it seemed clear he was trying to calm down.

“They’re going to force us to hold a referendum to rejoin Arkalarius, sir.”

A few seconds of stunned silence filled the room as Karling took in what his advisor had just said. “They WHAT?” He said, any attempts at regaining his calm disposition thrown out the metaphorical window. “You’re telling me that not only do we have to be subject to foreign agents investigating our nation, but they’re going to make us vote on our independence? I cannot believe this. You all, leave my office at once, I need to make a call.”

As Karling’s advisors shuffled out of his office, he furiously picked up the direct line telephone to Eoforwine’s office in Tretrid, and waited for him to pick up. “Those low down pieces of filth in the League will pay for this…”

[Ark]

August 5th,
Karolingia City,
Karolingia

The polling booths were being erected in the square, directly below his office window. This was a direct insult from the League of Novaris, Karling was sure of it. They had the gall to put their voting tents right next to the statue of Eckhardt Karling, the Revolutionary War hero and Julius’ direct ancestor.

As cars drove by outside and a gathering crowd collected around the League of Novaris referendum workers, Karling’s brooding was interrupted by a short series of sharp knocks on the oak door to his office. “Come in.” he said distractedly, but didn’t look up from his view of the square.

“High Lord Karling, it’s the League of Novaris diplomat sir.” said the attendant, as he opened the door for the woman in question.

“Hello Mr. Karling.” she said to him, making a point of not glancing at the four armed guards on either side of the door.

Karling turned to face her, a welcoming, if rather tired and forced, expression on his face. “And you must be Jeanne Cadieux, the League of Novaris emissary from Lissia.”

“Indeed I am. Progress on preparing for the referendum has been going well, we are starting polling in major cities and have been collecting votes in person and through mail in more rural areas for a few days now. Results will be ready in two months, at the beginning of October.”

“All seems to be in order then.” responded Karling, “I do hope the League isn’t working itself too hard.”

“We try our best, Karling.”

A few seconds of silence passed, and the two size eachother up, both completely poker-faced.

“Indeed… don’t we all. Very well then, in the name of democracy and peace, let us carry on.” said Karling the mocking tone barely detectable.

Cadieux merely nods, and exits the office. One of the guards gives Karling a meaningful glance, but Karling signals back negative. It wouldn’t look good to have the ambassador from the League of Novaris killed on Karolingian soil, that would merely… complicate things. Eoforwine had a plan after all. Eoforwine always had a plan.