[center][h2][color=red]The Sanguine Empire[/color][/h2][/center]

Captain Khurnov had looked into the four dead men. He had initially requested their paperwork, but to no avail. There were literally thousands of documents, two or five for each soldier. Errors were abound, especially after a war. Their papers could not be found.

Khurnov instead went to the source, and asked their companies. He found few similarities in the dead men. 

One was a teenage peasant, who during the capture of the Kapitan capitol, had stabbed a man and raped his wife in front of him and his children. While a terrible act, what seemed most interesting to his company was how he'd skipped over the beautiful young daughters, and went straight for the older matron. 

The second was a freeman, whose family owned enough land to avoid poverty. He had a wife, three children, and a dutiful brother, who now farmed the land. The soldier was thirty, and noted to be of good moral character.

The third was an old man, a bit off in the head, who despite decades in the military, had not risen above the rank of Lieutenant. This was mostly due to his inability to communicate properly with his men, as he would only speak by rambling in a mumble.

The last was an out of shape drunkard, who never spoke with his fellows.

Khurnov stopped investigating the men. If would have been one thing if they'd been marked out for their brutality. This would give him a chance to the show the people of Kapitas that the Sanguine were not monsters, that discipline and conduct mattered to them, and a condemnation could be given out to those who had wronged the local people. But only the first man had any apparent motive behind his death. 

It was as he feared. These killings were acts of opportunity, borne of rage against the occupiers. There was no point to them, beyond violence. 

Khurnov had so desperately wanted to find another way beyond the orders of his superiors. They had told him to make examples of those suspected of nationalist activity. Public hangings. 

Only venom could come from venom. There had to be another way. 

That evening, Khurnov personally went to General Bancaster's temporary residence, and lied about progress being made on an investigation into the nationalists. He'd requested more time before action was taken against them. The General relented. Immediately afterward, Khurnov made orders to have a trap set up. Three soldiers would be posted on guard in the marketplace, with a dozen men dressed in plainclothes waiting nearby, pretending to shop, and armed with pistols. The small number of guards who, Khurnov hoped, prove to be a tempting target, and the nationalists could be captured.

As desperate and risky this plan was, it seemed the best course of action. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to go through with a mass execution.

[center][h3]~ * ~[/h3][/center]

Recruiting officers travelled to villages across the empire. They proclaimed that their neighbour, the United Kingdoms of Dalatrum, was seeking to form a coalition against the Empire, and men were needed to serve. Some volunteered, but most were conscripted. Reactions from each village and town varied. Some were delighted, waving goodbye their fathers and sons with handkerchiefs. Others looked with silent glares at the recruitment officers, speaking only in grunts, if at all.

But if any time were good for recruiting, it was in winter, where men had nothing to do but wait, wanting nothing more than to be indoors. And not without some charity, the officers took every batch of new recruits to the nearest barracks, where a warm hearth and a mug of ale were provided to the men.

The losses from the invasion were not only to be replenished, but to be overcome.

[center][h3]~ * ~[/h3][/center]

The Emperor weighed many things on his mind.

Foreign affairs of the Old World's western nations did not effect the Empire directly, but there were ramifications. The Grand Kingdom of Schulstien had been attempting to reclaim Fulric for years now, and it looked as though this would become another failure.

Private talks with Boleteria through Fall had yielded mixed results, and it seemed non-hostile relations were the best that could be hoped for at the moment. Still, Skeptonia was the enemy of their ally, Sinesia. Did this make Skeptonia the Empire's enemy as well? Was there any reason to get involved.

After finishing a small dinner with those at court, he spoke once more with the resident Boleterian diplomat. An agreement for trade had been sent out via courier to the Palace, as well as with other nations. Boleterian merchants often came to purchase raw resources in Bittle, while selling off manufactured goods, such as tools, refined metal, and various sundries. This pact had few downsides, so there was no reason not to agree. He signed it, and sent a courier off to deliver it before retiring for the night. He went to sleep with the fleeting wonder of how his cousins were doing on their vacation in Vatannia.

[center][h3]~ * ~[/h3][/center]

[b]The Boleterian Trade Pact of 1837[/b]

1) Unrestricted trade between either nation be it land or sea.
2) To provide protection for either nation's trade ships while at it's ports or within it's sphere of influence.
This forming the basis of the trade pact, nations are encouraged to extend the terms of the treaty.

[X] Emperor Damian Gregory Amoury