[center][u][b]JANUARY, 1836[/b][/u][/center]

A winter that refused to wind down seemed only to intensify as the calendar year turned. Snow falls in particular were particular nasty in the [b]Boletarian Commonwealth[/b], the [b]Kingdom of Vressia[/b] and the [b]Oslad Federation[/b]. While less snow pockmarked the ground further south, even native Skeptonians in the north noticed relatively rare snowfalls this time of year. The winter of 1835 had been cold, and she hadn't yet received any word to dissipate. A blizzard barreled its way through the [b]Principality of Sordogne[/b] into the [b]Boletarian Commonwealth[/b] as the clock struck twelve, turning the New Year into quite a nightmare for the impoverished, while the nobility hunkered down in their high mansions.

So heavy was the snowfall that in many rural areas in the [b]Oslad Federation[/b], [b]Vressia[/b] and [b]Boletaria[/b] that contact with lost for weeks. Not until the heavy winds dissipated could any friends or family venture out into the snow covered roads to ensure their loved ones were okay. Those that attempted to make the journey rarely made it to their destination. The roads being frozen had turned the political situation for these three nations into a quagmire of excuses and irresponsibility. Garrisons went awry, leaving their frostbitten stations to seek warmth at local inns or simply cuddling up into blankets instead of standing guard. Crime however didn't rise, as the criminals themselves seemed held back by the prolific freeze that followed into the new year.

[center][img]http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/30/3031/UBVBF00Z/posters/stagecoach-caught-in-a-prairie-blizzard-1800s.jpg[/img]

[i]A Boletarian artists rendition of a stagecoach stuck in the Blizzard of 1836[/i][/center]


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In the Northwest, the [b]Treaty of Valish[/b] was put up for renewal by the Oslad Federation. The Ville Confederation, a fledgling client state propped up by Osladian coin, had only a paltry interest in the notion of the treaty. Govenor-General Mecik Malenkov offered his signature and had the document removed from his sight almost immediately. Without the support of Osladian firepower, the Ville would have most likely had him hung from a lamppost in the capital of Avillos. The Oslad ruled capriciously, but the Ville way of life was mostly unaltered and so they dealt with it however best they could.
[b]
[X] Govenor-General Mecik Malenkov of the Ville Confederation [/b]

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Life in the rest of the Old World however went on as it normally would, bitter frosts but less snowfall changing little in the grand scheme of things. It wasn't until January 17th that the political peace of the Old World suddenly became threatened. The monarchs of the [b]GREAT POWERS[/b], on a bitter (or not so, in the case of Nehelenia, Dalatrum, Zellon and Skeptini) morning, the monarchs and leaders received this such letter:

[quote][i]To the Powers of the Old World,
For decades, the yoke of hegemony has held the people of Jarelia in the grip of oppression. For too long has the Murelian King maintained the alienation of our people, treating us not as citizens of the Kingdom, but as second rate citizens, no better than the workers of the Western Sides! For our labors, we have found pogroms and work camps, and in the [b]Concordat of 1836[/b], the King has called into act the immediate removal of our rights as citizens of the Kingdom, instead now considered employed workers of the state, without right and only plight! Jarelia has long garnered for independence, and if there has been a better time than the Day of the Faith of January the 17th of 1836 than it has long passed! We will raise our banners, if supported and supplied! Come now to our aid!

Signed,
Heinrich von Luck, Jarelian Nationalist Committee[/i]
[/quote]

The [b]Jarelians[/b] numbered just over 4,500,000 and were an oppressed minority in the southeastern provinces of the [b]Second Kingdom of Murelia[/b]. Heinrich von Luck, the leader of the JNC or Jarelian Nationalist Committee was a writer, lawyer and critic of the monarchy of Murelia, though was kept largely silenced by being under house arrest by the Blackcoats since his proclamation of Jarelian nationalism in 1832. How his letter reached the Great Powers was unknown, and it was likely that the monarchy was at least aware that he had sent the letter. The Murelians under Hans Ludick IV were an oppressive monarchistic regime, whose Blackcoats would find dissidents, abduct them from their homes and put them in front of a firing squad. As the largest exporter of gold in the Old World, few were willing to march against the very nation that supplied them with so much gold.

[center][b]JARELIAN INDEPENDENCE CRISIS[/b][/center]
The [b]Jarelians[/b] are pleading to the [b]Great Powers[/b] for help. They seek independence from a nation that has not only oppressed them, but now revoked their existence as citizens. The Murelians see them simply as dissidents seeking to create anarchy and upset the established order. The Jarelians wish to rid the Murelian monarchy in the southern half of Murelia and establish a democratic republic, one of the first of it's kind.

[b]GREAT POWERS OPTIONS[/b]:
-- [b]The Jarelians are in our prayers[/b] ([i]0 Action Points[/i]: The Jarelians claim to independence against the traditional powers is well deserved, but we simply cannot afford to send aid at this time.
-- [b]We must aid the oppressed![/b] ([i]Choose 1-3 Action Points[/i]): We must send food, supplies and especially guns to ensure the Jarelian independence movement is successful. The Murelian King must not be allowed to oppress others.
-- [b]We support the King[/b] ([i]Choose 1-3 Action Points[/i]): The rightful king of the Second Kingdom of Murelia has Divine Right to rule and protect his people against those that would cause harm. The reactionaries must be put down and the revolution must be halted.

[[b]GREAT POWERS SUBMIT MONTHLY ACTIONS and CRISIS OPTIONS to my PRIVATE MESSAGES. The 3 points you receive per month are the same for this crisis. So aiding the Crisis will also mean less actions to focus on yourself.[/b]

Whichever faction receives the most support after [b]3 Months[/b] will win the crisis.

([i]OOC NOTE[/i]: While this crisis is for the Great Powers, Regional Powers may chime in with their perspective as well, though their support would not be considered large enough to make a difference.)