Tolorian Troubles

[Asendavia]

Litvírec, Grand Tolorian Union
1027 Hours, December 5th, 3758 AA (2021 AD)

Adelard tapped his foot as he patiently waited for his Foreign Affairs Minister to finish talking. Something about the man just made him feel uneasy. Unlike most of the rest of his ministers, which he had complete freedom to appoint and dismiss as he liked, his Foreign Affairs Minister was more often than not a choice he had little say in, his Asendavian advisors having most of the say in who held the position. Most of the time he didn’t really mind, they usually had solid choices for the position, and if he really didn’t like who they had selected, his advisors often listened to him, more often than not at least. It wasn’t that Adelard disliked this FA Minister, he was nice and all, but he was almost… too nice. His name was Theodor and he had been appointed only a few months ago after the old FA Minister was discovered having illicit relations with a number of women of dubious age and was forced to announce his early retirement the next day. At the very least he was competent and Adelard could rely on him to get the job done.

“Viceroy Palatine, Sir, how do you want us to respond?” Theodor asked him, snapping Adelard’s attention back to the meeting.

“Inform the Talusians and… Hausberg, that we’re interested but that we’ll need to discuss it further among ourselves before we come to a final decision,” Adelard idly said.

Theodor nodded. “Thank you, Viceroy Palatine. I’ll make sure to have a message sent as soon as possible.”

Viceroy Palatine, Adelard caught himself before he frowned. He’d always hated the title. To him, the title just frankly sounded ridiculous, as if it had come right out of the Middle Ages. Nonetheless, that’s the title the Asendavians had chosen to give the leader of the Union Council after they had overthrown the old government in the mid 90s and installed their own regime. His predecessor, Emmerich Kovar, had been the first Viceroy Palatine, handpicked by the Asendavians, and Adelard had served as his Defense Minister. When Emmerich died in 2004, the Asendavians chose him to be the new Viceroy Palatine, largely against his own will and blatantly ignoring Ludvik Malik, Emmerich’s Minister of Health and preferred successor. Ludvik had been the first issue on his plate, but once he had been dealt with, Adelard still had an entire country to repair. Although Emmerich had mostly restored the capital and the area around it, large parts of the countryside had gone neglected under his rule. The southwest in particular had been hard hit due to the Talusian invasion in support of the Asendavians. Still, despite all of Emmerich’s faults, at least he had secured the return of the Olodim exclave, which had been occupied by Talusi since the 1970s, shortly before his death.

Adelard sighed. “Alright then, what’s next on the agenda?”

[Asendavia]

Litvírec, Grand Tolorian Union
1935 Hours, February 3rd, 3759 AA (2022 AD)

“Look, Kuno, it’s not my problem to worry about the Talusians and the Reikti, that’s for the Asendavians to sort out. It’s not even the people or the governments we have to be concerned about, for the most part. It’s their fucking kings. Arnulf and Adolar hate each other beyond reason. Arnulf’s stuck in the past and Adolar’s just an arrogant prick. If both of them were just out of the picture, there’d be a hell of a lot less issues. Of course the Asendavians won’t allow that though, they want to keep both of them in power. Maybe when Arnulf finally dies things will settle down some, he probably doesn’t have that much long left what with how he’s been drinking after his daughter’s death,” Adelard rubbed his temple as he spoke into his phone.

“But what if another border dispute or some other idiotic conflict breaks out between them before that?” Kuno’s naturally gravelly voice came through the speaker.

“Then the Asendavians will deal with it as usual, just like how they did with Kadur, though I can’t say a three-way condominium was their best idea to be frank, that can lead to far too many complications. Either way, when Siegmar takes the throne of Talusi after Arnulf dies, things will go so much smoother. Adolar may be obnoxious, but he doesn’t hate Siegmar like he does Arnulf.”

Adelard heard Kuno sigh from the other side of the line. “Yes, I suppose so. I’m probably just being too cynical that Talusi and Hausberg can ever really get back together.”

“I don’t blame you, to be honest, but they are still one people, as much as Talusi tries to deny it. It’s a slow process filled with ungodly amounts of hurdles, but it’ll happen, what with the Asendavians pushing for it and all.” Adelard glanced down at a document on his desk. “Oh, and in other news, we’ll be officially switching to the Stymnar within the next few months. Tibor told me yesterday that the final arrangements with Talusi and Hausberg are almost complete, and we’re almost ready to begin minting Stymnar over here.”

There was silence for a few moments before Kuno began to speak, “I don’t particularly care that we’re switching over to the Stymnar, though I will miss our old designs, but are you really certain that we want to go through with the rest of the integration?”

“Yeah yeah, I remember history class just as well as you Kuno. I signed off on it though, and it’s not really like I can back out of it now without upsetting the Asendavians. Besides, we’ll be an equal partner and a leading voice in the new system, we’re not going to be trodden upon like we were for hundreds of years. I’ve been personally assured by the Jalkorevala of Asendavia himself that things will largely stay as they are now, and we’ll all get to keep our positions. We’re going to have to give up some of the decision making, but the things we’ll have to give up are mostly the things the Asendavians control anyway,” Adelard reassured Kuno.

“Alright then, Adelard. Hail to the Grand Union.”

“And to the prosperity of its people,” Adelard ended the call.

[Asendavia]

Litvírec, Reiktic Empire

1320 Hours, March 29th, 3646 AA (1909 AD)

Duke Kazimir II of Olodim, the Viceroy of Toloria, put on his glasses, and unfolded a copy of the Litvírec Chronicler . After a morning of dealing with trivial matters, he finally had his first chance to catch up on the news. Vistaraland was still in the process of electing its new monarch, tensions were beginning to rise in Norgsveldet’s Gondwanan holdings, some fighting between Tavaris and Vaklori, and–

There was a series of quick, sharp knocks on his door. “Enter,” Kazimir called out, exasperated.

One of his aides entered the room, his face pale and his lightly trembling hands clutching a piece of paper. The aide glanced back out into the hallway and then shut the door behind him. “Sir,” the aide gave a slight bow and approached. “We have just received a message from the capital. The uh, the governorates of… the Talusians have declared independence.”

A chill went down Kazimir’s spine. “All of it?” he croaked.

The aide nodded. “Kleinfeld was the first, around 7 AM. Krakouer followed half an hour later, and then the rest soon after. Only Amelung hasn’t followed, but he’s surrounded by those who’ve declared independence. There’s already reports of huge clashes in the streets of Rappersstadt and Rheinlingen.

“What about the capital?” Kazimir reached for the bottle and glass in his desk.

“There’s already been calls for Gaozrich to abdicate and let Irmingar take the throne. No statement from the Emperor yet, but knowing him, he’ll keep holding on until he dies. I… wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an uprising to depose him, he hasn’t been popular with the nobility or citizenry for some time now.”

“Ademar preserve us,” he muttered. Kazmir hesitated and grabbed a second glass. “Sit down and have a drink with me, we’re going to need it. If all of Talusi is revolting, we’re cut off from the capital except by sea. And Olodim, it’s cut off from the rest of Toloria. Is there any indication that they’re going to invade us?”

The aide took a seat and poured himself a small glass. “It’s too early to tell. Olodim has always been a point of contention, but the current Talusian governors have never had that much of a problem with us, at least as far as I’m aware, it may be different behind the scenes…” he looked expectantly at Kazimir.

Kazimir shook his head. “Krakouer has always maintained the official position that Olodim should be part of his governorate, but there isn’t any bad will between us, especially since his sister is married to my brother. I’d never have thought he’d go as far as to break away from the empire though. Kleinfeld though, fucking Kleinfeld! Why? That fucking up jumped peasant should’ve never been given a governorate, the slimy bastard. May he be reincarnated as a slug! If he has any inkling of intelligence though, he won’t invade us and he’ll keep his fight with the capital alone.”

The aide drained his glass and wiped his mouth. “Does that mean you’re not going to support the capital?”

He thought for a moment and then poured himself a glass. “I think that what’s best for Toloria is if we voice our support for the capital but otherwise try to stay out of the fighting.”

“Is that even possible with the soldiers and military bases we have here?”

“The soldiers within Toloria are bound to my command. Nonetheless, it’s possible that they’ll listen to the capital instead of me. And that’s what I fear. Because if they do that, I’ll effectively have lost control of the military and they’ll be a rogue element. In that scenario, I fear that our government here may collapse entirely and that the Talusians or other outside powers may invade us. I worry about Norgsveldet in particular, the Meremains claim our eastern lands and they may choose this opportunity to invade us despite our neutrality in the Great War,” Kazimir downed his glass and poured himself another.

“And at that point it would be every man for himself, possibly the end of Toloria, with each group carving out their own state.”

Kazimir nodded. “So let’s just pray that doesn’t happen. Please go send a message to the capital. Tell them that we cant spare any soldiers or else our borders would be left undefended and we wouldn’t be able to quell any unrest if it broke out.”

“Yes, Viceroy, right away,” the aide got up and left the room, leaving behind the message from the capital.

Once the aide was gone, Kazimir began to pray.

“Great progenitor, master of the urth, sky, and water, they who begot time and space, grant us strength to make it through this time of hardship. Let he who slew the traitorous angels and proved himself worthy, Ademar Uktavas, the scion of fire, guide our aim. Let him provide us his wisdom, that which allowed him to pierce the veil and see through the world. Let there be an end to this damned war and all others, for was it not he who said that war must be waged for a just cause, and that it must be waged justly? This war is not the first, and the second is yet to be seen. The Great War is neither. So why do you hold him back and allow these wars to be waged? Have we lost your grace? How may we gain it back then? Shine your light upon us and show your children the way. Praise be to you, master of all.”

[Asendavia]

Litvírec, a quickly-crumbling Toloria
1843 Hours, August 2nd, 3650 AA (1913 AD)

From a great oak tree near the center of the city, the former Viceroy of Toloria’s body swayed with the wind. His lifeless eyes stared into the distance, forever searching for an answer. A week ago he and other members of his government were lynched by a mob after Olodim was seized by Asendavia. In the following week, the remainder of the government lost control of the country as mass desertions plagued the military and inter-ethnic conflict between the Tolorians, Rikalianans, and other smaller groups began. While the Reiktic Empire protested the seizure of Olodim by their Asendavian allies, Toloria had effectively been independent since the beginning of the Talusian Independence War, and the Reiktic Empire was powerless to stop the Asendavians anyway while the war in Talusi raged on.

Vlastimil Marek stared up at Kazimir’s body. As the most senior member of the former government still alive, he had been outside of the capital when the lynchings occurred, Vlastimil saw it as his duty to restore order to Toloria. While order was able to be restored to the capital within a day of the viceroy’s murder, the rest of the country was split between countless groups seeking one goal or another. Toloria’s military was already weak from desertions that began with the onset of the war in Talusi, and the lynching of most of the senior members of government only caused the desertions to get worse and for some units to defect entirely, beginning their own campaigns in the country. Marek’s lips pressed together tight. Toloria had to be restored. For too long it had been under foreign oppression, perhaps, by the grace of Ademar, they could have their own state when this was all over with. A state for the Tolorians and all others who lived in their lands. One where they could be free.

“Cut his body down, he doesn’t deserve to hang up there like that. Let’s give him as good of a burial as we can. Maybe when this is all over, we can rebury him back home in Olodim, under that mahogany tree he loved so much.”

[Asendavia]

Tenec, Grand Tolorian Union
0722 Hours, May 20th, 3759 AA (2022 AD)

“A free Toloria, once thought impossible, is now a reality. Our people, long trodden on by the Reiktic, the Meremain, and the Asendavians, now stand tall, no longer chained to the urth. A united Toloria, divided no longer. From the Olodim to Porlavy, one state rules, beholden to no authority other than its own. Noble and commoner stand together, arms linked, prepared to defend the republic. For peace, for prosperity, for the continued well-being of the Tolorian people, may the Republic last 7000 years!”

-Vlastimil Marek, first President of the Tolorian Empire, to a gathering of people outside his home in 1922

Kuno Adámek was a simple man. He liked his coffee black, he went to bed early most nights, got out of bed early most mornings, and he liked staying in one place. Unfortunately, his job often took him out of the capital and often required him to stay up all night as well. Thankfully, while he’d been out of the capital for the past week, he hadn’t been made to do any all-nighters. So, on this early morning day, Kuno decided to treat himself by going to a coffee shop. After placing his order and having only slightly hesitated on fishing out a few stymnar from his wallet, Toloria was still in the early stages of completely transitioning currencies after all, Kuno sat down at a table with his coffee and began to relax.

Then his phone buzzed. Ignoring it for the moment so that he could enjoy himself first, Kuno began drinking his coffee. His phone buzzed again. And then again. Frowning slightly, he took his phone from his pocket, which buzzed yet again as he took it out, and checked his messages. They were all from Addy.

“I’ve just received news from the Talusian government that King Arnulf II died in his sleep, most likely from a heart attack.

“His death has yet to be publicly announced, but it likely will be sometime later today.

“I’m going to need you back in Litvírec, cancel any meetings you might’ve had for later today.

“Siegmar, King Siegmar I suppose now, requested that we talk via video conference. He wants to talk in roughly four hours from now. I’ll have a car waiting for you once you get back to Litvírec.”

“Fuck,” Kuno muttered under his breath.

While not formally a member of the government, Kuno was more or less Adelard Gwernig, the Viceroy Palatine of Toloria’s, right-hand man. He traveled around the country, and occasionally outside of it, handling various matters for Adelard that the government may not want to deal with directly, his status of being officially outside of the government, yet supported by it, allowing him leeway in his actions. It also helped that he was a personal friend of Adelard’s since before they both served in Emmerich Kovar’s government.

Kuno gulped down the rest of his coffee and stood up from his table. The train station was about a ten minute walk from here, and the train that would take him to Litvírec would arrive in twenty or so minutes, and then that train would take about two hours to get there, so he figured that he’d better leave now in order to have some time before the video conference. Kuno ran a hand through his thinning hair and sighed. With a bit of reluctance, he began the walk toward the train station.

[Asendavia]

Rheinlingen, Talusi
0929 Hours, May 20th, 3759 AA (2022 AD)

Siegmar sat next to the body of his father, holding his hand in silence. Though they had discovered the body a few hours ago, it had been decided that they would leave Arnulf II’s body in his bed until after his surviving children were ready to have it moved. Next to Siegmar were his older sisters Kirsa and Sigune, and on the other side of the bed was his younger sister Diomira. His younger brother Hadebrand had been in the room earlier, but had since left and was standing outside in the corridor. Siegmar knew that his father had taken Adelhelma’s death hard, what with how he’d begun drinking after her death, but he didn’t think that he’d lose him this quickly, not even half a year after her death. He looked at Diomira, tears streaming down her face in perfect silence. Siegmar imagined that Hadebrand was crying out in the hall as well.

Siegmar ran his thumbs over his father’s fingers, feeling the bones underneath his skin, his cool, lifeless skin. His face was peaceful though, his white beard still dominated his face, and his closed eyelids hid the vacant eyes behind them. Arnulf II’s body would have to be moved soon, but his grandchildren were still yet to see him, and after them, each of his children would have some more time alone with the body of their father. Kirsa reached out and put her hand on top of Siegmar’s, her other hand squeezing Sigune’s. He looked at both of his older sisters. Kirsa was the eldest, six years older than himself and already a grandmother, her son having had a daughter born just eight months ago. Sigune was closer to Siegmar in age, only two years older than him, with no children of her own but a young, adopted Feline son. Both of them, usually so bright, talkative, and jovial, sat silently, staring. Back across the bed, Diomira began drying her face with a few tissues and abruptly stood up, moving to leave the room. Siegmar absently nodded at her as she moved past and left the room, quietly opening and then closing the door behind her.

Siegmar stirred in his seat and broke the silence, speaking in a soft and quiet voice. “I think we should let the kids see him now. Who wants to stay with them, Hadebrand, perhaps?”

“If he wants to,” Kirsa nodded. Sigune nodded along.

He rested his father’s hand back on the bed, lingering for a few moments before letting go. Standing up, he squeezed Kirsa’s shoulder and left the room. Out in the hall, Hadebrand was leaning against the wall, staring at the ground in front of him. Diomira was nowhere in sight.

“Where did Diomira go?” Siegmar asked, looking around.

Hadebrand gestured vaguely to his right. “Somewhere that way, not really sure where she intends on going,” he muttered.

Siegmar grasped his shoulder and leaned in. “We’re going to let the kids see him now. Do you want to be with them while they do that? We figured it’d be best if at least one of us was with them there, and since you weren’t in there that long…”

Hadebrand looked Siegmar in the eyes, his own red and swollen from crying. “Yeah, yeah, sure,” he straightened up, wiped his face down with a tissue from his pocket, and blew his nose. “I’ll go grab them now, I suppose.”

Siegmar nodded and gave Hadebrand’s shoulder a squeeze. “I have a meeting in a few hours anyway, so I need a bit of time to myself to get ready. Be strong for them,” Siegmar wrapped his arms around Hadebrand and gave him a quick hug before disentangling himself and walking down the hall to what had been his father’s old office. He had to be ready to talk with the Tolorians.

[Asendavia]

Hokolov, Tolorian Empire
0413 Hours, March 17th, 3731 AA (1994 AD)

The Asendavian invasion was in its fourth month now. Though the incident at the Asendavian embassy in October raised tensions to the highest they’d been since the Great War, President Jan Musil’s extremely careful handling of the situation was able to avert war, until he was overthrown and imprisoned in early December by Ladislav Kohout of the Tolorian Unity Party. It was Ladislav’s halting of the investigation into the incident and his open antagonism toward the Asendavians in regards to the Meremaa Civil War which led to the invasion. It was in the southwest that it began, from the Talusian border. Asendavian soldiers had been periodically stationed close to the border ever since the Meremaa Civil War had began, but it wasn’t thought that they would invade from Talusi itself, as they were neutral in the whole matter despite being an Asendavian ally.

Nonetheless, with the invasion being staged from their territory, and with Talusi’s occupation of the Olodim since 1971, Ladislav saw them as being a combatant in the war as well, with attacks and missiles being launched into Talusi. With one thing leading to another, this led to the current situation of the invasion, with much of the west under joint Asendavian-Talusian occupation and heavy fighting in the streets of Litvírec, which the government had long since fled. In Hokolov, Adelard Gwernig, an MP from the small party We Are One, paced around his living room. On the couch behind him, Kuno Adámek sat, smoking a cigarette.

“Stop pacing, for fuck’s sake, you’re gonna wear a hole into your rug. We’re far from the front, pretty damn inland at that, and Ladislav, if he’s got any sense left, will surrender long before the fighting reaches here,” Kuno took a drag from his cigarette.

Adelard stopped and scowled at Kuno. “You don’t know Ladislav like I did. He doesn’t have any sense, never did. He’s the type of person to fight to the last. But, I suppose the soldiers out on the front won’t have the will to fight for as long as he’d like them to. Still, I’m worried about what will happen once we surrender. It’s only a matter of time, maybe a few more months at most, probably less.”

Kuno shrugged. “Things won’t go back to the way they were before, that’s for damn sure. Think Jan will get reinstated?”

“No, and that’s if he’s even still alive. No one’s heard from him since he was imprisoned. I have no fucking clue what the Asendavians will do, and that’s what scares me. Worst-case scenario is that they occupy us eternally, and we’ll just be under another oppressor. I don’t think they’ll do that, but who knows?”

“They’ll almost certainly set us up with a new government, they wouldn’t be able to handle the PR of just eternally occupying and essentially annexing us. Hell, they got enough flak even starting the invasion. Best-case, they set up a pro-Asendavian government and leave us more or less alone. Or they could set up a puppet government. What do you think will happen to Ladislav in the end?” Kuno asked.

“If he doesn’t get killed or kill himself first, he’ll either get executed or imprisoned for life. He started this war, and he’s going to pay for it, the motherfucker,” Adelard began pacing again.

Both men were silent for a time, Kuno continuing to smoke and Adelard wearing a hole in his rug. Then, Kuno spoke again.

“You remember Kovar, right?”

“Emmerich Kovar?”

“Yeah, yeah. He’s always been a bit pro-Asendavian. He was really outspoken against Ladislav’s seizure of power. Think we could contact him?”

Adelard’s brows furrowed. “Why?”

“Well, if we can contact him,” Kuno put his cigarette in the ashtray next to him and leaned forward, “then maybe we could organize something. Get off easy, maybe even a bit of a reward…”

“You want me to be a collaborationist?” Adelard raised his voice in disgust.

“Look, the way I see it, the Asendavians are better than Ladislav, and if we talk with them, we might be able to negotiate something more favorable. And I see Kovar being the key to that. His pro-Asendavian tendencies would give him a better position in negotiations because, let’s be honest here, you can’t negotiate for jackshit. Hell, he might even already be in contact with the Asendavians! Why not get in on it and possibly get a piece of the pie when this is all over?” Kuno stood up.

“I don’t hate the Asendavians, but to be a collaborationist! I’d be known for betraying my country to the enemy.”

“You’d be known for saving your country from further death and devastation, and for helping to overthrow a man who brought ruin to his country,” Kuno corrected Adelard.

Adelard closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “For the good of Toloria, I shall bear this shame.”

“For the good of Toloria, we shall both bear this shame,” Kuno smiled and clapped Adelard on the back.