[b][u][center]THE YEAR 1900[/center][/u][/b] [b]March 2nd[/b]: At a recent showing in northeastern [b][color=gray]Kalpia[/color][/b], the [i]Sirilt 99[/i] Bolt-Action Rifle was unveiled. A skilled team of marksmen within the Kalpian Army were set before a crowd of military delegates from all over Varius, including two rather ornately dressed Surveak military personnel. With stunning accuracy at range and a smooth bolt mechanism, the Kalpian invention quickly proved itself to be the premier rifle in the Known World. [center][img]http://a66c7b.medialib.glogster.com/media/15/155ced1c5103ed0d80f05e70e7de5dc0e48df11a5015e84afeea41594fbedf01/springfield-rifle-1938-300x235-jpg.jpg[/img] [i]Kalpian soldier test firing the Sirilt Model 99 Bolt-Action Rifle[/i][/center] [b]March 5th[/b]: The [b][color=purple]Soroyan Army[/color][/b] begins an expansion program, accepting an additional 10,000 volunteers to be trained up sometime next year. [b]March 14th[/b]: The investigative committee under supervision of Grand Vizier Ayan Sujjid discover that much of the grain shortage is simply due to a poor harvest in 1899 and preliminary reports indicate that 1901 should be plentiful. Still, regional governors indicate that the people are unimpressed with the current regime in power. [b]March 21st[/b]: The [b][color=purple]Soroyan Navy[/color][/b] lays down the keel of a submarine, expected to be finished and ready for commissioning by the end of the year. [b]April 2nd[/b]: The [b][color=gray]Kalpian Army[/color][/b] hires several [b][color=darkgreen]Deltoran Army[/color][/b] officers to begin instructing them in defense in depth tactics and utilization of trenches to absorb enemy assaults. The Kalpian High Command believes they'll have a better understanding in order to train their troops sometime in 1903. [b]April 25th[/b]: The [b][color=purple]Empire of Zellonia[/color][/b] begins modernizing, laying down the beginnings of several important rail hubs in the city proper. [b]April 26th[/b]: Preemptive raids by [b][color=maroon]Survaek[/color][/b] Marines and Army troops begin raids on several eminent lords who have long resisted centralization in the raid. Most are arrested, their estates seized. A half dozen attempt to resist and are ultimately killed. Without their local dissent in the region, many disenfranchised citizens now turn to the state for aid. ([i]+5 Survaek National Unity[/i]) [b]May 2nd[/b]: The [b][color=darkgreen]Deltoran Colonial Army[/color][/b] reaches Port Vail on the northern tip of Serranthia. Port Vail, with a population of only 480,000, now strains to support a garrison much larger than it ever intended. [b]May 5th[/b]: 51 [b][color=darkgreen]Deltoran Army[/color][/b] soldiers are tried and discharged in a military tribunal after a night of debauchery in Port Vail. Many politicians back in Deltora have gone on to question the leader of the colonial army for allowing such debauchery to go on. [b]May 9th[/b]: The [i]Fedrickson Expedition[/i] lands north of [b][color=darkblue]Anvegadian Sarelia[/color][/b] and begins to scout out the existing land. Unlike the flat and tepid plains of the island, north of the island culminates in mountain range and heavy jungles. [b]May 15th[/b]: The unnamed Pre-Dreadnought of the [b][color=purple]Soroyan Royal Navy[/color][/b] was effectively repaired and would be available to commit to seas on May 21st. [b]May 19th[/b]: The [i]Kalpo-Sorenan Corridor[/i], a swathe of land between [b]Soreno[/b] and [b][color=gray]Kalpia[/color][/b] experiences some tension as several Kalpian citizens are attacked while journeying on the road. While officially owned by Kalpia, the de jure culture is Sorenan; over 120,000 Sorenans live there, while less than 10,000 Kalpians live in the cities there. Soreno offers no response, and has no military presence in the region. [b]May 21st[/b]: The Pre-Dreadnought of the [b][color=purple]Soroyan Royal Navy[/color][/b] is deemed sea ready. [b]May 25th[/b]: The [i]Fedrickson Expedition[/i], a military expedition led by the [b][color=darkblue]Anvegadian Empire[/color][/b] sends reports back to Winterhold that the northern tenants of the island are hospitable Sarelians, numbering about 25,000. The mountains are rich in mineral and ores and if colonized will offer great profits and prestige if colonized. [b]June 2nd[/b]: Sometime during the night, several [color=white]Zellonian Colonial Army[/color] units reported movement from the west. Heavy jungle prevented them from seeing what, or who, was moving around, but several shots were fired through the foliage at the soldiers. The garrison commander, a Sarelian colonial, ordered his men to fire back. A short gunfight ensued. The morning after, the Zellonians investigated and found the dead remains of three [b][color=gray]Kalpian Colonial[/color][/b] soldiers. [b]June 5th[/b]: A messenger was sent on the next ship from Memoth to Evanston, where the Zellonian Foreign Minister received the garrison commander's message. An immediate meeting with the Zellonian and Kalpian Foreign Ministers took place. [b][color=red]Sarelian Border Skirmish[/color][/b]: It is indisputable that, during the night of June 2nd, colonials from [b][color=white]Zellonia[/color][/b] opened fire on garrisoned troops in Zellonian territory. The Zellonian Foreign Minister demands an immediate apology from Kalpia for the mishap. [center][img]http://api.ning.com/files/P5R5pjasN4znAZYtm2kFt5yBNYAiJbqCCROdxNRS5tZEaiFPMc8FROUJ-Y7mqSY3h7kHaxpErRSViGO9OkCeOJFTZUlaldvA/Black_WWI_f.jpg[/img] [i]Alleged Kalpian Colonials killed during the June 2nd Incident[/i][/center] [color=gray]KALPIA[/color] * [[b]Offer Apology[/b]]: What happened was regrettable. Poorly trained Sarelian colonials on a raid believed they were firing on a nearby gathering of bandits. Kalpia offers an apology to Zellonia for having men in Zellonian territory. - [b][color=gray]Kalpia[/color][/b] loses [b]3 Prestige[/b]. * [[b]Stand Firm[/b]]: If the damned Zellonians weren't harboring insurgents and bandits, this issue would have never occurred. Kalpia stands firm that it's men attempting to attack criminal elements that have long been pestering Kalpians in the area. - [b][color=gray]Kalpia[/color][/b] gains [b]2 Prestige[/b]. - [b][color=white]Zellonia[/color][/b] gains [b]Colonial War Cassus Belli[/b] on [b][color=gray]Kalpia[/color][/b].