[h1][center][b][u]The World as We Know It[/u][/b][/center][/h1]

[center][[b]Turn 5[/b] -- January, 1900 to March, 1900][/center]

[center][b]Discord Chat[/b]: https://discord.gg/f6n4B8[/center]
[hider=Great Power Privilege]
1. [b][color=green]Osladian Empire[/color][/b] - None
2. [b][color=skyblue]Kalpian Republic[/color][/b] - - Increased [b]Stability[/b] by 1. ([i]August, 1899[/i])
3. [b][color=beige]Empire of Tara[/color][/b] - None
4. [b][color=purple]Tyro-Redanian Empire[/color][/b] - Increased [b]Die Roll[/b] of [b]Action[/b] by 1 ([i]October, 1899[/i])
5. [b][color=lavender]Empire of Violette[/color][/b] - Increased [b]Stability[/b] by 1. ([i]October, 1899[/i])[/hider]
[hider=Rules to Know]
- 1. For your [b]Political Clout[/b] actions to take effect, you must post IC.
- 2. Whomever posts first has precedence. [Example: Nation A declares war on Nation B. Nation C signs Defensive Alliance with Nation B. If Nation A posts first, this means Nation C cannot effectively sign said alliance and be 'called to arms.'
- 3. Once your orders are sent, they cannot be altered or canceled.
- 4. [b]Declaring War[/b] without an [b]Event[/b] or [b]Cassus belli[/b] incurs -2 Stability.]
- 5. All [b]Actions/Events[/b] are open to interpretation by the GM.[/hider]
[hider=Game Mechanics]
I. [b]Clout[/b]
1. A [b]Turn[/b] represents 3 months (Jan-March, April-June, July-September, October-December)
2. Every [b]Turn[/b] a nation has [b]4 Clout[/b].
3. Clout can be used on the following:
- [b][color=green]Colonization / Imperialization[/color][/b]: Advance your culture in the world.
- [b][color=yellow]Economics[/color][/b]: Strengthen your own industry.
- [b][color=blue]Politics[/color][/b]: Pass laws, appoint ministers, generals, admirals and stabilize the government.
- [b][color=red]Army [or] Navy[/color][/b]: Bolster a section of your armed forces.
- [b][color=gray]Foreign Affairs[/color][/b]: The pen is mightier than the sword.
- [b]Home Front[/b]: Listen to the people, or shut them up.
4. So at the start of a turn, you select where you'd like to spend your political clout.
- If you spend 1 Clout on a single action, you roll 1d6.
- If you spend 2  Clout on a single action, you roll 1d6 and receive a +1 on that roll.
- If you spend 3  Clout on a single action, you roll 1d6, receive +2 you lose 1 Stability.
5. If you get a [b]7[/b] you may receive an [b]Innovation[/b].

Results occur on a 1d6. 1 is an abysmal failure and 6 is a resounding success.

6. When you use Clout, give an example of what you're hoping to accomplish. (IE: Foreign Affairs: hope to achieve an alliance with Nation X, or Colonization: Set up a minor colony in Settumu.)

II. [b]Great Power Status[/b]
[list][*]There are [b]5 Great Powers[/b] in [b]The World as We Know It[/b].  [Every 10,000 Active Duty soldiers = 1 Point] + [Number Pre-Dreadnoughts multiplied by 25] + [-1 Point for every $1,000,000 of Debt.] + [1 Point for every 1,000,000 Population] + [Number of Colonies multiplied by 20] + [1 Point for every Infrastructure].

[b][u]Great Powers[/u][/b]
1. [b][color=beige]Empire of Tara[/color][/b] = [Army = 52 Points] + [11 Pre-Dreadnoughts = 275 Points] + [Zero Debt] + [30,890,000 Population = 30 Points] + [5 Colonies = 100 Points] + [85 Infrastructure] = [b]542 Prestige[/b].
2. [b][color=green]Osladian Empire[/color][/b] = [Army = 58 Points] + [2 Pre-Dreadnoughts = 50 Points] + [Zero Debt] + [71,000,000 Population = 71 Points] + [0 Colonies] + [69 Infrastructure] = [b]248 Prestige[/b].
3. [b][color=purple]Tyro-Redanian Empire[/color][/b] = [Army = 38 Points] + [0 Pre-Dreadnoughts = 0 Points] + [Zero Debt] + [91,000,000 Population = 91 Points] + [0 Colonies] + [42 Infrastructure] = [b]360 Points[/b]* (*+189 for [b]Wolfram Prestige[/b]. -1/Month). 
4. [b][color=skyblue]Kalpian Republic[/color][/b] = [Army = 75 Points] + [0 Pre-Dreadnoughts = 0 Points] + [-17 for -$17,400,000] + [64,600,000 Population = 64 Points] + [0 Colonies] + [52 Infrastructure] = [b]174 Points[/b]
[hr]
6. [b][color=lightgreen]Imperium of Hiron[/color][/b] = [Army = 13 Points] + [4 Pre-Dreadnoughts = 100 Points] + [Zero Debt] + [54,600,000 Population = 54 Points] + [0 Colonies] + [77 Infrastructure] = [b]144 Points[/b]* (*[b]Non-Continental[/b] -100)

[*][b]Great Power Privileges[/b]: Once per Year, a Great Power may use one of the following:
- May call a [b]Conference[/b] for other nations to attend.
- Increase Stability by 1.
- Increase any die roll by 1 [Before it's rolled]. (Can be used to achieve an [b]Innovation[/b] or [b]Major Success[/b]).
- Increase/Decrease Relations by 1 with a non-Great Power nation.
- [b]Mobilize[/b] or [b]Demobilize[/b] without the use [b]1 Clout[/b].[/list]

III. [b]Designing Weapons of War[/b]
[list][*]During the game, a nation may require new weapons of war. They may do this by using [b]1 Clout[/b] to [b]Request a Design Competition[/b]. [Only 1 Clout can be used].
[*][b][u]Request a Design Competition[/u][/b] [Only 1 Clout can be used].
* Please use the [b]Following Form[/b]:
- [b]Type of Weapon[/b]: [Rifle], [Machine Gun], [Field Gun] [Naval Ship (Specify Class)]
- [b]Companies Involved[/b]: [Name of Company] [Skill of Category], [etc, etc]
- [b]Design Requests[/b]: [What general specifications are hoped to gain with this design]

[*][b]Design Process[/b]:
- After you submit a Design process. 1d12 is rolled for a "Prototype Design" to emerge. This is added to the Company's [b]Skill[/b] and Private Companies will submit always theirs 2 months faster.
- Each design will be randomly named and have an approximated design strength of 1 to 6 + [Skill of the Company]
- If you select the [b]Design[/b] of a Company who developed a [b]Weapon[/b] initially higher than their Skill, they will gain +1 Skill.[/list]

IV. [b]Building a Fleet[/b]
[list][*][b]Design a Ship[/b] (Use the following form below) [Requires 1 Clout]
[hider=Minelayer Designs]
- [b]Name of Minelayer Class[/b]: [Name Here]
- [b]Intended Ships in Class[/b]: [Ship 1 Name Here], [Ship 2 Name Here], [etc]
- [b]Displacement[/b] (in Tons): [Tons Here. Starting Maximum is 400 Tons.]
- [b]Hull & Fittings[/b]: [-125 Tons.] [Can be altered with future Naval Advancements.]
- [b]Machinery[/b]: [-35 Tons.] [Can be altered with future Naval Advancements.]
- [b]Naval Range[/b]: [Coastal. +15 Tons.] [Short. No Change] [Long. -18 Tons.]
- [b]Speed[/b]: [Base Speed is 15 knots. +1 Speed is in increments of 12 Tons. +1 = -12. +2 = -24, etc]
- [b]Engine Focus[/b]: [Reliable. -4 Tons]. [Speed. -3 Tons]. [Normal. No change.]
- [b]Mines[/b]: [6 Mines. -6 Tons.] [12 Mines. -13 Tons.] [16 Mines. -17 Tons.]
- [b]Accommodations[/b]: [Cramped. +5 Tons] [Normal. No Change.] [Luxurious. -6 Tons]
- [b]Main Guns[/b]:
- 2' Single Gun [-2 Tons]
- 2' Double Gun [-6 Tons] [Requires [i]Double Gun Technology[/i]]
- 3' Single Gun [-3 Tons]
- 3' Double Gun [-9 Tons] [Requires [i]Double Gun Technology[/i]]
- 4' Single Gun [-4 Tons]
- 4' Single Gun [-12 Tons] [Requires [i]Double Gun Technology[/i]]
[b]Main Gun Ammunition[/b]:
- 2' Shells [-1 Ton per 10 Shells]
- 3' Shells [-1 Ton per 8 Shells]
- 4' Shells [-1 Ton per 3 Shells]
[b]Fire Control Stations[/b]:
- 1 Station Per Caliber of Guns (2', 3', etc) [-10 Tons]
[b]Cost[/b]: [Tons Actually Used x $80 = Ending Cost][/hider]
[hider=Destroyer Designs]
- [b]Name of Destroyer Class[/b]: [Name Here]
- [b]Intended Ships in Class[/b]: [Ship 1 Name Here], [Ship 2 Name Here], [etc]
- [b]Displacement[/b] (in Tons): [Tons Here. Starting Maximum is 600 Tons.]
- [b]Hull & Fittings[/b]: [-175 Tons.] [Can be altered with future Naval Advancements.]
- [b]Machinery[/b]: [-105 Tons.] [Can be altered with future Naval Advancements.]
- [b]Naval Range[/b]: [Coastal. +24 Tons.] [Short. No Change] [Long. -27 Tons.]
- [b]Colonial Service[/b]: [No.] [Yes. -35 Tons.]
- [b]Speed[/b]: [Base Speed is 16 knots. +1 Speed is in increments of 19 Tons. +1 = -18. +2 = -36, etc]
- [b]Engine Focus[/b]: [Reliable. -28 Tons]. [Speed. -24 Tons]. [Normal. No change.]
- [b]Mines[/b]: [0 Mines.] [6 Mines. -6 Tons.] [12 Mines. -13 Tons.] [16 Mines. -17 Tons.] [24 Mines. -30 Tons.]
- [b]Accommodations[/b]: [Cramped. +29 Tons] [Normal. No Change.] [Luxurious. -18 Tons]
- [b]Main Guns[/b]:
- 2' Single Gun [-2 Tons]
- 2' Double Gun [-6 Tons] [Requires [i]Double Gun Technology[/i]]
- 3' Single Gun [-3 Tons]
- 3' Double Gun [-9 Tons] [Requires [i]Double Gun Technology[/i]]
- 4' Single Gun [-4 Tons]
- 4' Double Gun [-12 Tons] [Requires [i]Double Gun Technology[/i]]
- 5' Single Gun [-8 Tons]
- 5' Double Gun [-20 Tons]  [Requires [i]Double Gun Technology[/i]]
[b]Main Gun Ammunition[/b]:
- 2' Shells [-1 Ton per 10 Shells]
- 3' Shells [-1 Ton per 8 Shells]
- 4' Shells [-1 Ton per 3 Shells]
- 5' Shells [-1 Ton per 2 Shells]
[b]Torpedoes[/b]
- Port Swivel Mount [1x Tube] - [-18 Tons]
- Port Swivel Mount [2x Tubes] - [-38 Tons]
- Port Swivel Mount [3x Tubes] - [-58 Tons]
- Starboard Swivel Mount [1x Tube] - [-18 Tons]
- Starboard Swivel Mount [2x Tubes] - [-38 Tons]
- Starboard Swivel Mount [3x Tubes] - [-58 Tons]
- Centerline Swivel Mount [1x Tube] - [-18 Tons] [Can rotate Starboard or Port]
- Centerline Swivel Mount [2x Tubes] - [-38 Tons] [Can rotate Starboard or Port]
- Centerline Swivel Mount [3x Tubes] - [-58 Tons] [Can rotate Starboard or Port]
[b]Fire Control Stations[/b]:
- 1 Station Per Caliber of Guns (2', 3', torpedoes, etc) [-16 Tons]
[b]Cost[/b]: [Tons Actually Used x $80 = Ending Cost][/hider]
[hider=Submarine Designs][/hider]
[hider=Light Cruiser Designs][/hider]
[hider=Armored Cruiser Designs][/hider]
[hider=Pre-Dreadnought Designs][/hider]
[/list]

V. [b]Mobilization[/b]
[list][*]There are three stages: [b]Demobilized[/b], [b]Partial Mobilization[/b] and [b]Full Mobilization[/b].
[*][b]1 Political Clout[/b] in [b]Army[/b] must be used to move from [[b]Demobilized[/b]] to either of the two forms of Mobilization as well going from [b]Mobilized[/b] to [b]Demobilized[/b].
[*][b]Demobilized[/b] is a state where your Active Duty and Reservists are at their local garrisons distributed throughout the nation. In this state, you may only control your Active Duty soldiers. You may not give orders to Reservists.
[*][b]Partial Mobilization[/b] calls up your Active Duty soldiers into a coherent force. They receive a bonus to military operations and you may give orders to Reservists.
[*][b]Full Mobilization[/b] calls up your Reservists, turning them into Active Duty soldiers.[/list]
VI. [b]Civilian Industry[/b]
[list][*]Each Civilian Industry is listed in the following way: [i]Name of the Company[/i] [Skill of the Company], ([i]Category of the Company[/i]) and [Status of the Company]
- [b]Example[/b]: [i]Imperial & Royal Railways[/i] [1] ([i]Railways[/i]) [Nationalized]
[*]An Industry can only build the units of the category it's in.
[*]Civilian industries are either [b]Private[/b] or [b]Nationalized[/b].
[*][b]Private Industries[/b] generate work based on requirement.
- Every Turn, your Private Industries perform according to the number of the [b]Global Economy Roll[/b].
[*][b]National Industries[/b] generate work when ordered to.
[*][b]Civilian Categories[/b]: [Shipping] [Heavy Industry] [Rail][/list]
VII. [b]Armaments Industry[/b]
[list][*]Each Armaments Industry is listed in the following way: [i]Name of the Company[/i] [Skill of the Company], ([i]Category of the Company[/i]) and [Status of the Company]
- [b]Example[/b]: [i]Guntherson & Co[/i] [1] ([i]Small Arms[/i]) [Nationalized]
[*]An Industry can only build the units of the category it's in.
[*]Armaments industries are either [b]Private[/b] or [b]Nationalized[/b].
[*][b]Private[/b] Companies fulfill Production Orders using [b]Economic Clout[/b]. 
- [color=0054a6][b]Creating a Private Company[/b][/color]: Every turn, roll 1d100 then subtract [b]Global Economy Roll[/b] and 1 for every [b][color=red]-$500,000[/color][/b] debt you have. Once you accumulate 400 points, you may spend [b]1 Clout[/b] to generate a [b]Private Company[/b] based on demand or spend [b]2 Clout[/b] to pick the starting category and Skill 2.
- They receive a +5% Production Bonus based on their Skill. 
- They receive a +/-10% Production Penalty based on the [b]Global Economy Roll[/b].
- When they fulfill an order, there is a 1d20 chance of their skill increasing on a roll of 12+ with [b]Skill[/b] and [b]Global Economy Modifiers[/b]. On a roll of 18-20, a [b]Private[/b] company will add an additional Category to its repertoire.
[*][b]Nationalized[/b] Companies fulfill Production Orders using [b]Economic Clout[/b].
- [b][color=red]Creating a National Company[/color][/b]: Spend $7,500,000. Begins Skill 1. May pick the category.
- They receive 0% Production Bonus based on their Skill.
- They receive +/-5% Production Bonus based on the [b]Global Economy Roll[/b].
- When they fulfill an order, there is a 1d20 chance of their skill increasing on a roll of 16+ with [b]Skill[/b] and [b]Global Economy Modifiers[/b].
- To add an additional category to it's repertoire is [$X0,000,000 with X being the current Skill of the company.]
- To add a Skill level to the company is [X,000,000+$10,000,000 with X being the current Skill of the company.] 
[*][b]Armaments Categories[/b]: [Small Arms] [Field Guns] [Machine guns*]
* Requires that [b]Technology[/b] or an [b]Export License[/b].[/list][/hider]
[hider=Waging War]
[list][*][b]I.[/b] Given the difficulties in managing an immense war, especially between player nations. War will be delegated by Random Number Generators buoyed by modifiers such as your Army and Navy's Training, Supply and Morale.
[*][b]II.[/b] Waging war will occur in the following timeline.
[list][*]I. [b]Create Armies & Fleets based on Theaters[/b].
[list][*][b]Create Armies[/b]: When war is declared, the GM will alert you of which Available Theaters and Potential Theaters you have. From these Theaters you must create an army in which Available Theater.
[*][b]Available Theaters[/b]: A theater of war where soldiers can actively be deployed to fight.
[*][b]Potential Theaters[/b]: A theater of war that can be opened by spending the appropriate Military Points. This could be a naval invasion, or attacking a colony.[/list]
[*][b]II. Assign Commanders[/b]: When war is declared, you will have to select from your available General Staff which commanders will command which army/fleet.
[*][b]Theater Objectives[/b]: Once a commander has been appointed, you may assign a theater objective that your armies will attempt to fulfill.
[*][b]IV. Military Points[/b]: At the beginning of a war, you begin with 15 Military Points. Great Powers begin with 20 Military Points. Military points are spent on the following. Each Turn you gain 4 Military Points. [b]Each Month, your nation will have 2 Issues/Crises/Decisions[/b].
[*][b]V. Military Points Timeliness[/b]: If a month is completed before your IC response is posted, the event is simply skipped.
[list][*]Opening [i]Potential Theaters[/i]
[*]Addressing [i]Commander Issues[/i]
[*]Addressing [i]Military Crises[/i][/list][/list][/list]
[code][b][u]Theater Command[/u][/b]
- [b]Army/Fleet Name #1[/b]: [Army Name Here]
- [b]Commander[/b]: [Name of Commander Here]
* [b]Commander's Loyalty[/b]: [Loyalty Here]
* [b]Commander's Trait[/b]: [Trait Here]
* [b]Commander's Weakness[/b]: [Weakness Here]
* [b]Army/Navy Objective Here[/b]: [Objective Here]
* [b]Army Composition[/b]:
* Army: [Division Name Here] - [Number of Men Here] - [Number & Type of Weaponry Here]
- [b]TOTAL[/b]: [Total Here]
* Navy: [Ship Name Here] - [Ship Type] - [Ship Class] - [Maximum Speed]
- [b]TOTAL[/b]: [Total Here][/code]

[b][u]Supplying your Troops[/u][/b]
I. All [b]Colonial Troops[/b] and [b]Overseas Troop[/b] (during war), require [b]Supplies[/b].
II. These Supplies can only be sent via [b]Convoys[/b].
III. Convoys are sent via [b]Merchant Ships[/b]. A Merchant Ship is a 3,000 ton ship. [b]1 Merchant Ship[/b] can send 1,000 tons a week.
IV. While at [b]Peace[/b], you must simply assign Convoys to keep your colonial ships supplied.
V. While at [b]War[/b] you must send Convoys.

[b]Convoy Form[/b] (You may fill out as many of these as necessary)
[code]
1. [b]Name of Convoy[/b]: (Convoy 513, Task Force Y, etc)
2. [b]Number of Convoys Attached[/b]: [The more convoys, the easier it is to find.]
3. [b]Total Tonnage[/b]: [Number of Convoys x 3,000]
4. [b]Supplies / Soldiers[/b]: [Determine how many are sending Supplies (1,000 Supplies per Ship) and if any, are carrying Soldiers. A Merchant Ship carrying soldiers can carry 1,500 soldiers and zero supplies.]
5. [b]Start Date of Convoy[/b]: [Start Date Here. Arrival time depends on distance. Inquire as to distance if necessary. Supplies are updated at the beginning of every week, and can be stockpiled.]
6. [b]City of Departure[/b]: [Where is the Convoy Leaving From]
7. [b]City of Arrival[/b]: [Where the Convoy is Arriving]
8. [b]Ships Assigned for Defense[/b]
- [Name of Ship] - [Ship Type] - [Ship-class] - [Maximum Speed]
[b]TOTAL SHIPS[/b] [X DN] [X DDs] [X CLs] [X CA][/code][/hider]

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/XNKXEZb.png[/img]
[i]The Continent, March, 1900[/i]


[b][u]Global Economy Roll[/u][/b] 3 (-1 to [b][color=skyblue]Kapian Market Deregulation Act[/color][/b])[/center]
[h2][u][b]March 8th-15th[/b][/u][/h2]

[hider=WAR SUPPLIES | Updated to March 10th, 1900]
[list][b][color=green]Osladian Empire[/color][/b][*]146,000 Supplies [-114,000/Week][/list]
[list][b][color=skyblue]Kalpian Republic[/color][/b][*]35,325 Supplies [-10,675/Week][/list][/hider]

[b][u]March 8th[/u][/b]
[list][*]Tarantese citizens in Orison celebrated as Empress Liliana made a rare visit to the city in celebration of the Tarantese peace made with the Mauwanti.
[*]The Survians, who were having a diplomatic crisis of succession regarding Prince Regent Joan VI for the last six months, finally see the issue end when the Opposition Party Leader of [i]La Republica Nationalé[/i], José Maquin is shot and killed by an unnamed man who approached him as he left his hotel in Almeida. While an ongoing police investigation attempts to discern the truth of the matter, Prince Regent Joan VI is installed to the throne to avoid a potential civil war or coup d'etat.

[center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/SMF_Manoel_II.jpg/220px-SMF_Manoel_II.jpg[/img]
[i]Prince Regent Joan VI, Crowned King Joan VI on March 8th, 1900[/i][/center]


Joan VI was one of few political minds in Survia that was not against the recent "seizure" of Madasta from the Tyrians. "[i]A nation that cannot rule justly, is a nation that does not deserve to rule at all,[/i]" he said in a Parliamentary meeting in early February. In fact, King VI believed rather adamantly that Tyria-Redania was among the most prestigious of the Great Powers on the Continent. Free from it's single colony, a long standing friendship with the Tarans was erased with the Tyrians seizure of Madasta, and any potentiality of an amicable agreement with the Veletians was swept when the [color=lavender][b]Pro-Veletian[/b][/color] José Maquin died on the steps of the Hotel de Almeida.

On the steps of the Parliament, King Joan VI gives a brief speech: "[i]It is today, as your first act as King, lest the Lord be my witness, that I promise a reign of stability, freedom, justice, equality and peace. I would assign to this Parliament, that as the first act as my King, that a [b]Non-Aggression Pact[/b] be signed with the Tyrians for a period of 5 years, to be extended to a mutual defensive pact in 1905 if they have not entered a war in that time, as an investment to peace now and in the future.[/i]"
- [[b]Event[/b]: This requires an [u]IC Response[/u] by the [b][color=purple]Tyro-Redanian Empire[/color][/b].][/list]

[b][u]March 9th[/u][/b]
[list][*]The [i]Gloire[/i] was a 3,600 ton merchantman laid down in 1889. She'd made the trip from Confluence, to La-Bastide Clairence in the South Serranthian State to Sandao over three hundred and thirty six times. She had carried tea mostly, but given recent military communiques from Confluence regarding possible subversion in the Kikitomi Isles, she had aboard her ship on the arrival to Sandao on March 9th, orders from Veletian High Command of a significantly classified level. These communications were being brought via civilian vessels to ensure that there were no visible levels of heightened military command.

Her registry indicated she was carrying 1,400 tons of tea for consumer sale. When military police boarded her at 1950 hours that night--minutes after she docked--they found thousands of cases of ammunition, grenades, artillery shells, mines. This was intentional, and a very, very intelligent move by the Veletians--who understood now that it was a real possibility (although no tangible proof was evident) that additional Hironese personnel were present and recording every detail of Veletian movements on the Settumese island chain.

[center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Photo_of_the_SS_Kaiser_Wilhelm_der_Grosse_at_sea.jpg[/img]
[i]Merchantman[/i] Gloire[i] in 1900, days before her explosion[/i][/center]

The [b]Explosion of the Gloire[/b] was thus a subject of intense (albeit private) debate between local authorities on the island. While an investigation currently gets underway, and without the possibility of Confluence being aware until sometime later in the week, a significant majority of military commanders--especially army--in Sandao believed very firmly that the Hironese were up to this. The more cautious naval commanders, who were far and few in between, raised skepticism that the Hironese could know such detailed information and further more have any justification to attempt to destroy the [i]Gloire[/i].[/list]

[b][u]March 10th[/u][/b]
[list][*]Convoy [b][color=skyblue]KRC.23[/color][/b] leaves from the port of Liubeth. Expected to arrive on the 12th or 13th at Xerotith, the closest allied held port. KRC.23 was a large fleet of over a dozen merchant ships with 3 light cruisers and 6 destroyers protecting her. The hope was that the Imperial Fleet of Oslad would rendezvous with her halfway across the Inland Sea and take her the rest of the way to Xerotith.
[*][b]Task Force A[/b] of the Osladian Merchant Navy leaves Voskreyra and reaches Xerotith later that afternoon. Over 26,000 supplies and 15,000 soldiers unload there, with both being hauled to the front immediately.
[*]In Zellonia, the [b][color=pink]6th Army[/color][/b] under Kenway Hawthorne (90,000 men, 80 field guns, 44,000 Z.88) begins falling back. The city of Kreogen is opened and the Osladian Army Group North enters from the North and South. The city of Kreogen, after months of warfare and thousands dead, has fallen to the Osladians. Similarly in the South, the [b][color=pink]8th Army[/color][/b] under General George Harrison (32,000 men, 60 field guns, 21,300 Z.88) also retreats, this time falling back to the city of Vorl with orders to: "[i]Make a stand inside the city and make the Osladians pay for every inch of land they take. Along with support from the coastal fleet that will pound the advancing Osladians forces should weaken the Osladians.[/i]" [Zell, PM]

The 8th Army falls back with ease--though fails to tell the [color=darkblue][b]Radenan Volunteer Corps[/b][/color], leaving 6,000 men to guard the entire Southern front. The Radenans under General Leventy Gerasimov similarly ordered his troops back to Vorl, establishing defensive lines along the northeastern edge of the city.

[center][img]http://cache.controlweb.me/cache/montecassinotours.com/files/ortona__1140x0.jpg[/img]
[i]The ruined prize of Kreogen, after months of fighting[/i][/center][/list]

[b][u]March 11th[/u][/b]
[list][*]Convoy [b][color=skyblue]KRC.23[/color][/b], with it's escorts, 3 light cruisers and 6 destroyers, attempts to make contact with the [b]Imperial Osladian Fleet[/b]. Bad storms the night of the 10th and the 11th delay and then slightly impair the fleet, who find navigating a maelstrom slightly unnerving. The destroyer [i]KRN Kronprinz[/i] is separated from the convoy, unable to take on the swells and rampant downpour.

[center][url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsD5u6k6dKI[/url]
([i]Listen to for effect.[/i])[/center]
Amidst the darkness, observers on board the [i]KRN Tarist[/i] identified a ship to their starboard side. "[i]The Osladians[/i]," one of them said, almost a question. The other sailor wiped clean his binoculars and took another look, then turned and bolted from the deck toward the cabin. It was the Zellonians. The [b]1st Light Fleet[/b] under Admiral Boch was not as large as the Kalpian fleet, but the presence of the [i]ZRN Gathering Storm[/i], an armored cruiser that had already sunk three other Kalpian vessels in the war, could easily turn the tide. The Zellonian 1st Light Fleet possessed an armored cruiser, four light cruisers and a destroyer, the [i]ZRN Avenger[/i].

[center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/S.M._kleiner_kreuzer_Gazelle_-_restoration.jpg[/img]
[i]Lithograph of the KRN Tarist, Kalpian light cruiser, flagship of 2nd Escort Fleet, 1900[/i][/center]
"Battlestations, battlestations," a voice on the [i]Tarist[/i] called. Waves swamped the deck as men ran to their assigned quarters. Their clothes were soaked. Waters splashed up from the waves below and fell from the skies above. It wasn't but a minute later that the [i]pom-pom-pom-pom-pom[/i] of the Tarist's 3" and 4" guns opened fire one after another. Men looked ahead for hits against [i]Gathering Storm[/i] but in the depths of the black sky and the dark waves, determining where a shell landed was [u]impossible[/u].

Flashes of orange haze in the black dark of the night flicked into life--then out just as fast--as the [i]ZRN Gathering Storm[/i] opened fire with her 8" guns. Men silently braced themselves, hoping to be killed quickly, painlessly. There was no explosion, no fire. Just off the bow a wild splash that rained a deluge of water across the men meant that a shell impacted just there. Reloaded, the [i]Tarist's[/i] guns opened fire. Behind her, the destroyer [i]KRN Albrech[/i] turned hard to starboard, then a pair of torpedoes leapt from their tubes and dove into the water.

A break in the clouds saw the moon cast her light down onto the world, and for the briefest of moments both sides saw the enemy. The three rows of merchant ships, dipping and rising and diving with every wave that crashed against them. The battle line of ships led by the [i]Tarist[/i]. For the Kalpians, the glean of the moon off the [i]Gathering Storm[/i] and her escorts as they moved on a direct intercept. The moon disappeared beneath a blanket of swollen clouds again, the ships hidden in near darkness until the next strike of lightning.

[center][img]http://eskipaper.com/images/storm-35.jpg[/img]
[i]Zellonian sailor's later rendition of the seas during the [b]Battle of Convoy KRC.23[/b], 1900[/i][/center]
"Concentrate fire on the cruiser," the Kalpian admiral said. The men attempted to signal these orders to the battle line, to no avail. A second attempted ended when the wind and rain ripped the flags right out of the signalman's hands. The [i]ZRN Gathering Storm[/i] was nearly across the front of the convoys, her own light cruisers in tow. The Kalpian battle line turned South to match with the Zellonian's and both sides opened fire. In the 14 minutes before the explosion of the [i]ZRN Gathering Storm[/i] (predicted by military historians who studied the battle decades later to be by torpedoes launched by the [i]KRN Albrech[/i]), both sides fired nearly 670 shells at each other with 3 recorded hits. The Zellonian light cruiser [i]ZRN Heavenly Might[/i] scored a hit on the [i]Tarist[/i], knocking out her rear 4" gun while two Kalpian destroyers pinged hits on the [i]ZRN Gathering Storm[/i], to no effect.

The [i]ZRN Gathering Storm[/i] went up like a merchant ship carrying fireworks. The Kalpians would never know the ship limped into battle, already wounded from a previous engagement. The Zellonians, who chose not to dock her for repairs, took a risk. The burning wreck of the [i]Gathering Storm[/i] illuminated the seas, which suddenly became to the detriment of the Kalpian Merchant fleet, who came under withering fire from the Zellonian light cruisers [i]ZRN Heavenly Might[/i] and [i]ZRN Hidden Weapon[/i]. Within twenty-two minutes, five of the thirteen merchant ships were hit, with four of them sinking.

The Zellonians, outgunned and without orders to continue on, turned about and fled north under the cover of the storm. Three hours and seventeen minutes later, they returned. This time, with a battleship. The Kalpian destroyer [i]KRN Tritten[/i] was picking up survivors from the sinking merchant [i]Kumar[/i] when observers spotted the incoming ship. They turned their 2" guns on the monstrosity moving toward them. [i]Pom. Pom[/i].

The light cruiser [i]Tarist[/i] and the others were nowhere to be found. They had turned south with the rest of the merchant fleet to try and move out of the storm. The loss of the [i]KRN Tritten[/i] would be remembered only by the men who died while serving aboard her.

[hider=Battle of Convoy KRC.23]
- [b][color=pink]Kingdom of Zellonia[/color][/b]
* [i]ZRN Gathering Storm[/i] [Heavily Damaged > Sunk]

- [b][color=skyblue]Kalpian Republic[/color][/b]
* [i]KRN Tarist[/i] [CL] [Lightly Damaged]
* [i]KRN Tritten[/i] [DD] [Sunk]
* [i]KRN Kronprinz[/i] [DD] [Discovered to have sunk. Survivors picked up.]
* 4 Merchant Ships [MS] [Sunk x4] [-4,000 Supplies][/hider][/list]
[b][u]March 12th[/u][/b]
[list][*]Osladian soldiers march into Kreogen after packing their gear and hesitantly advancing to discover that the Zellonians pulled back. The Kreogen municipal building now hoists an Osladian flag. Officers--those privileged few--are given sanctimonious assignment of any available bed. The wounded are given priority in several hotels, many of which were nearly destroyed during the fighting.
[*]The [b][color=pink]Zellonian 6th Army[/color][/b], acting from orders from Zeel, begin crossing into the Marnish Kingdom, without their permission. Their hope to make a large sweeping maneuver back into Zell and commence a huge flanking attack to smash the Osladian force there.

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/ZQhgO8o.png[/img]
[i]Zello-Osladian War, March 12th, 1900[/i][/center][/list]

[b][u]March 13th[/u][/b]
[list][*]Kalpian convoy [b][color=skyblue]KRC.23[/color][/b] arrives at Xerotith, unloads it's soldiers and supplies and heads toward the front.
[*]The [b]Kingdom of Gojong[/b] accepts the Hironese embassy in Zhumei.  King Yi Ja-chun, a staunch [b][color=lightgreen]pro-Hironese[/color][/b] supporter immediately admonishes the Dragon Emperor's visit to his nation, citing "the Hironese attempts to rile up a continent that might as well be a powder keg." In response, the [b][color=brown]Grand Kingdom of Meung[/color][/b] stations [b]2 Infantry Division[/b] on the Gojong border.[/list]
[b][u]March 14th[/u][/b]
[list][*]The [b][color=orange]Marnish Kingdom[/color][/b] announces that due to trespassing, it is now at a state of war with the [b]Kingdom of Zellonia[/b]. Though not officially allied with the [b][color=green]Osladian Empire[/color][/b] or the [b][color=skyblue]Kalpian Republic[/color][/b], they announced to their local embassies that Marnish lands would be open to troops from either side. The Marnish Army has only two available infantry divisions, which are far away from the Zellonian front. They begin moving South, toward the new front, immediately.[/list]