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Timeline:
- Secundus 509 Lombardi Lista: Serene sailors, blown off course by a typhoon in the Discordant Ocean, run aground on an island. They are able to survive and replenish their supplies with unfamiliar fruits and vegetables growing there, and return home with tales of a new land, strange creatures, and alien horizons.
- Mirikum 509LL: Interested parties in the imperial government petition the Serene Emperor to commission explorers, hoping to confirm rumors of a "new world" in the west. Ships built especially for the endeavor are forced to make port in Lombard and Gvante for supplies, costing time and money.
- Yultueen 510LL: Word of the Empire's plans (and of the New World) reach Regnan ears. The Collegio immediately sets about fundraising for an investigative voyage of its own, with support from the Twinned Throne.
- Bagnueen 510LL: No word is heard from the original Serene pioneers. A second wave of imperial explorers departs on the heels of the Regnan cartographers aboard the Cerulean Dawn.
- Secundus 511LL: A single imperial ship returns, carrying some of the crew of the Cerulean Dawn. Maps of foreign coastline, illustrations of heretofore unknown wildlife, and samples of newly-encountered fish and flora are brought to the Collegio by the Regnan delegation, while the Serene sailors carry similar treasures back to the Empire. News circulates that the remainder of the explorers from both nations stayed behind to establish a base of operations.
- Ticipare 512LL: Armed with greater confidence and knowledge, the Regnan Federation sends a second ship�the Will of Delaros�to accompany Serene surveyors; included in the crew is one of the Collegio's most experienced seers, for communication purposes. Months pass before the wizard sends a grim magical message, along with corroborative visions, to his colleagues in the Collegio: The fledgling colony is dead to the last, wiped out by some unknown disease. Regna immediately recalls the Delaros until safer plans for progress can be made, and the vessel returns with several magically-preserved (and isolated) corpses for study.
- 16 Mirikum 512LL: Geltrude II Regina di Corio signs a lucrative trade treaty with the Serene Empire, allowing colonization efforts by imperials to continue through the ports of Lombard and Gvante, which are significantly more convenient launching points for Serene ships than Serenity, itself. Meanwhile, Regna focuses solely on identifying the deadly diseases contracted by the previous explorers, determined to return to the New World only once a better understanding of its diseases has been achieved.
- 513-514LL: Regna and Gvante experience economic booms thanks to the imperial traffic being funneled through their ports. This wealth is spread across the Federation, creating something of a miniature golden age of prosperity for citizens everywhere. The Collegio receives copious donations to its naval magic and technology departments and to the cause of studying New World flora, fauna, and diseases. Whole new businesses develop to accommodate the Serene traders and shipwrights migrating westward.
- Celsueen 515LL: Regnan scholars who volunteered to accompany the Serene colonists, in spite of the dangers, return with horror stories of rampant disease and exploitation of workers by imperial overseers, but also bear joyous news of contact with indigenous humans. The scholarly world explodes with excitement, and linguists, archaeologists, and historians begin lining up to take their chances in the New World.
- 3 High Summer 515LL: District customs inspector Milana Santodelarossi, dispatched from Lombard to perform a routine annual review of Gvante's local customs offices, unexpectedly discovers natives being transported like cargo inside a Serene vessel returning from the New World. Her panicked report invokes fury in the Federation's halls of power, and the Royal Port Authority impounds the slaver ship and closes Gvante's and Lombard's ports for emergency inspections. Unscrupulous merchants and leaders in Gvante are outraged, but not nearly so much as the queen or the Serene ambassador, both for quite different reasons.
- Alduirwen 515LL: Word spreads of the Empire's activities. The common folk in Gvante erupt in protest at their officials' efforts to reopen the ports, which focus more on mollifying imperial trade than securing human rights. Anti-Serene sentiment begins to grow over several months as tense talks between Regna and the Empire drag on, until the Collegio makes a powerful political statement by independently recalling its representatives from the New World. Federation officials begin to express concern that the Empire's unsavory practices indicate a return to old expansionist tendencies�a worrying prospect, given the size of their military.
- Samueen 515LL: Opponents of colonization in Del'Hanas begin working through governmental channels to limit imperial access to and use of Regnan ports, demanding the queen draft a revision of trade treaties that explicitly forbids human trafficking and anti-indigenous warfare. Talks with Serene representatives grow heated as the Guild of Federation Shipwrights drastically hikes prices for imperial clients. The ongoing capital protests gain momentum, spreading to Greendale.
- Bagnueen 516LL: A Serene caravan, taking colony supplies through Baranda Pass to Lombard, is attacked by dissidents from Arcadia disguised as bandits. No one is injured, but livestock and construction materials are stolen and canvas meant for sails is burnt. Arcadia's duke grudgingly agrees to pay reparations to the Empire, but raises tariffs on imperials in retaliation.
- High Summer 516LL: Caravans from the Empire try to enter Arcadia accompanied by large military detachments. Tempers rise yet again when the queen forbids Serene troops from using Baranda Pass, even for security purposes.
- Caldueen 516LL: In an effort to relax diplomatic tension, Geltrude II Regina di Corio attempts to arrange the marriage of her daughter, Alessandra, to Emperor Imminent Mihaly, heir apparent to the Serene Throne. Anti-imperialist factions throughout the Federation decry the proposal as an endorsement of the Empire's actions and a poor political maneuver; Federation leaders generally remain neutral, hoping to avoid war with their neighbor.
- 11 Veldeueen 516LL: Geltrude II Regina di Corio dies under mysterious circumstances, falling victim to a wasting disease that resembles the illness which previously killed New World colonists and explorers. The affliction resists conventional and magical treatments, and the queen passes away after only a few weeks. Her physicians and attendants attest that the disease had a supernatural component, and national mourning is alternately punctuated by accusations of a Serene assassination and by claims of conspiracy in the government. Most fingers are leveled at the corrupt leadership in Gvante.
- 14 Samueen 516LL: Alessandra I Regina di Corio is crowned queen of the Regnan Federation. She continues with plans to wed Emperor Imminent Mihaly, despite widespread protests fueled by her mother's untimely and suspicious death.
- Mirikum 516LL: As the Federation and the Empire wrangle over Geltrude II's demise from a diplomatic standpoint, several ranking members of the queen's cabinet are imprisoned for sedition, conspiracy, treason, and related charges. Those taken into custody are all from Arcadia, Gvante, and Del'Hanas.
- 7 Mirikum 516LL: Before the cabinet members' cases can be brought to trial, news explodes that Emperor Imminent Mihaly has been assassinated en route to Lombard, on a visit to finalize wedding plans. The gunman eludes capture, but the murder occurs during a resupply stop at a Regnan port citadel in the White Reach archipelago.
- 8 Mirikum 516LL: A large ceremonial fleet is dispatched from the Empire to recover Emperor Imminent Mihaly's body, without alerting the queen or any other Regnan authorities. Accounts are cloudy, but Regnan forces stationed in the White Reach claim that Serene vessels blockaded the seaward side of the island, demanding the heir apparent be turned over immediately. Lacking proper guidance from Lombard�where the queen sat waiting for communication from the Empire�the garrison stalls; angry imperials allegedly try to make landing, and are fired upon by citadel ballistae operating under Geltrude II's standing forbiddance of entry onto Regnan soil by Serene troops. The incident quickly escalates into a full-scale battle, and four imperial ships are sunk before the rest retreat.
- 9 Mirikum 516LL: The Serene Emperor declares war on the Regnan Federation, asserting the enemy nation will answer to the gods for their "acts of aggression." Alessandra I Regina di Corio issues her now-famous quotation, in response: "You first."
- Yultueen 517LL: The vassalry of Regna is militarized as its people prepare for war. Arcadian troops form the bulk of the army as enlistment skyrockets in other areas. The shipyards of Del'Hanas are converted to outfitting stations for cutting-edge warships called "corvettes," small, heavily-armed vessels able to run circles around imperial galleons and sink or capture them with consistency. Gvante, being the least vulnerable to Serene attacks after Greendale, takes on the bulk of Federation industry and manufacturing, churning out gunpowder, armor, and weaponry at breakneck speeds. Greendale focuses on distributing stored grain and maximizing crop yields. The Collegio turns its efforts toward researching and perfecting more advanced firearms, new defensive measures, and combat-grade magical techniques to strengthen the Federation's position.
- Ticipare 517LL: Alessandra I Regina di Corio orders the conversion of the ancient ruins in Baranda Pass to a mighty fortress, seeking to block the Serene Empire's most obvious and effective route of invasion.
- High Summer 517LL: Numerous attacks upon the White Reach are rebuffed by the Regnan navy. A massive overland attack on the new Baranda Gate becomes protracted, leaving thousands dead on the imperial side and killing scores of Federation defenders. The First Battle of Baranda concludes abruptly when the Collegio unveils its new "cannons," which are installed in the fortress and subsequently demolish Serene siege weaponry and forward camps.
- Dotagueen 517LL: The combination of superior technology and magic, on the Regnan side, turns the conflict into a meat grinder: Trench warfare becomes the norm, to minimize imperial casualties by cannonry and Collegio wizardry. The Regnan forces are unable to make any kind of effective push against the Empire's vast numerical advantages, and suffer low but steady rates of attrition. Assignment to and death on the front lines gradually becomes a question of "when" rather than "if."
- Bagnueen 518LL: The Serene Empire callously ignores centuries of unspoken arcane tradition by conjuring demons, using great fiends as living siege equipment in repeated attempts to capture Baranda Gate. More and more spellwrights are deployed to the front to counter imperial summoners, and imperial tacticians quickly learn to make Regnan wizards priority targets. In response, the Collegio petitions Federation officers to provide battlemages with round-the-clock bodyguards, and the new wartime order of the maneggiatori is established.
- Caldueen 519LL: Declining numbers and morale force the queen's hand, and a draft is instituted to replenish the forces holding out against imperial incursion from the north. Baranda Gate starts to become synonymous with execution as unrest grows in Gvante, Greendale, and Arcadia.
- Veldeueen 520LL: The Collegio begins instituting mandatory testing for arcane potential, sending rabdomanti throughout the Federation to locate those with the ability to become wizards. Such individuals are given the choice of a stipend and protection for their family in return for volunteering, or sequestering to keep their talents away from the Serene. The ranks of the Streghe battlemages slowly begin to recover, but only because the Collegio abandons traditional scholarship in favor of churning raw young casters out onto the battlefield as quickly as possible. Results are mixed as youthful inexperience and terror fail where power and quantity succeed.
- Alduirwen 521LL: A small detachment of the Regnan navy departs overseas for the New World, to seize control of the Empire's fledgling colony there and make reparations to the indigenous population. News of their success revitalizes the Federation and enrages the Serene Empire, and "For the colonies!" becomes the ironic and highly effective battlecry of Regnan soldiers, infuriating enemy forces.
- Mirikum 521LL: Thanks to the enormous success by the Regnan navy in holding the White Reach�trapping imperial ships uselessly in the White Sea�massive amounts of labor and resources are diverted from Del'Hanas to Gvante, Greendale, and Arcadia for a number of highly-classified government projects. Preeminent Collegio innovators set up shop in all three states as new, specialized, and highly-monitored factories are erected between the capital and Baranda Gate.
- Celsueen 522LL: Advanced weaponry begins filtering outward from Lombard and Gvante to take up the slack on the Serene-Regnan border. All soldiers and civilian staff are given standing orders to destroy Regnan magic and technology rather than allow it to fall into imperial hands.
- 17 Samueen 523LL: A sizable force�including Cameron, Einar, Lirisha, River, and Willem�is dispatched from Dinead in Arcadia to make its way through a small, treacherous mountain pass to the west before winter sets in. Word comes down from Federation brass that the plan is to sneak behind enemy lines and destroy several critical supply centers, whose loss will cripple the imperial forces right before the cold hits, forcing them to withdraw for the season and giving the Regnans a much-needed respite.
- 23 Samueen 523LL: The Forty-Second Special Battalion is ambushed by a force of Serene infantry. Before the battle can be decided, a blizzard descends from nowhere, filling the pass with snow. Protected by cold-retardant magic, the imperial force crushes the Forty-Second, albeit taking heavy losses. Cameron, Einar, Lirisha, River, and Willem are among those from the battalion who escape, with the help of an innocent bystander and local hermit named Nilila.
- 2 Mirikum 523LL: Led by Captain Myrna Rivers, the remains of the Forty-Second depart temporary shelter to try and complete their mission. River and Infantry Supply Lieutenant Giacomo di Culo do not survive their stay in the remote cabin of the Silverman family, to which Nilila led the soldiers. However, the group stumbles across another handful of survivors and joins forces to continue on.
- 6 Mirikum 523LL: Those few left from the Forty-Second Special Battalion, now numbering a mere eleven plus animals, manages to successfully infiltrate the town nearest their target and form a plan of attack. Under cover of night, they penetrate the cold storage cellars of Fort Varrd, recover Stregone POW Markas Nicoletti, victoriously engage the garrison command, and destroy the fortification in an explosion, thereby eliminating weeks' worth of critical supplies for the Serene army besieging Baranda. Einar is mortally wounded in the battle and stays behind to ensure the detonation, but the remaining eleven escape without further harm.
- 11 Mirikum 523LL: The survivors of the Forty-Second are found by the Sixth Scouts out of Dinead, who had been dispatched to investigate the mysterious weather in the pass and the status of the battalion.
- 24 Mirikum 523LL: Federal Judge-Arbiter Captain Vittoria di Mastroberardino brings formal charges against the deceased Lieutenant Giacomo di Culo on behalf of the Forty-Second Special Battalion, including assault, treason, and conduct unbecoming an officer. Major Daniele di Mocenigo, commander of the Dinead garrison, presides over a court martial to hear the survivors' claims. Thanks to overwhelming evidence in the prosecution's favor and convincing testimony from all witnesses, di Culo is found guilty on all charges by a vote of five to two. His sentencing includes a dishonorable discharge, ensuring that he will be remembered as a coward and traitor rather than a fallen war hero.
Last edited by Morgan Coldsoul, February 25 2019 17:51:15. Secured game article. You most log in to contribute.
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