[i]Kingdom of Cethos[/i] January 4th, 1910. Letter of condemnation, declaration of support, and urging of caution by Gharn Lask. [b]The attack upon the Reich's prince was one of cowardice and treachery. Cethos and her people fully condemn such actions and offer the full support that can be given the Reich in this dark time. Such actions cannot be stood for. That being said, I urge my fellow rulers and the Kaiser himself to see through the fog of grief and rage and to think clearly about their own actions, and to proceed with caution. Our nations cannot afford to act rashly and must act with clear minds, lest we all suffer grave consequences. [i]Matra Prunak[/i][/b] January 6th, 1910. Gharn Lashk, the [i]Matra Prunak[/i], sat around the table with his closest advisers, a large map of the world in front of them. His faded green fins pressed against the top of his head as he examined it. War was going to ignite. Everyone knew it, despite their public cries for peace and diplomacy. The Reich was not going to stand for the assassination, and the Uruks were not going to stand for any retribution the Reich might take. From there, old hatreds and alliances would force the various powers of the world into choosing a side, and chaos would reign. He was counting on it. "Is everything in place for when war is declared?" His Military Commander, Shalan Gash spoke her dark blue fins standing proudly. She was tall, even for female Cethosi, and young. She had joined his rebellion in its final years, and rapidly risen through the ranks to the place she was now. It was years of her planning and preparation that set the kingdom up to grow in more power and might before anyone else could react. "Everything is ready to go at a moment's notice, [i]Prunak[/i]. Our agents and allies in the islands are all prepared to act as soon as we give the word, and our armies are prepared to land and conquer at your demand. The Hyanids have offered no opposition to the change. I suspect that is because they are already ours in all but name, but nonetheless the transition will be smooth. They are ready to march at our order as well." The Naval Commander, Ferez Paren spoke next, his faded blood red fins idle, as if bored. He had been with Gharn since the beginning and had always been a cooler head than Lashk. "The advance navy is prepping its 'war games' in the areas already. The rest are ready to deploy to defend our and our allies waters in a moment. We've practiced with the Etresnamaden endlessly and as such there should be no issues when we jointly defend the Rotteburg coast. The Kratorians are proud enough to attempt a seaborne invasion against such a force, and we predict high enemy casualties early on. It'll be just like old times, Gharn. " He ignored the Shalan's disproving look. He had known Gharn since well before he became the [i]Prunak[/i]. That afforded him some familiarities. Gharn nodded. "Good. Tell our diplomats in Sidara to secure the games to make them more friendly to Etresna, and to push for a non-aggression pact. I don't want to have their navy to contend with on our flank as well as the Kratorians. Use them as a platform to talk with the Sidaran and Anvegad coalition at large, and anyone they may draw in. Have our diplomats in Anvegad discuss stronger ties as well. Tell the agents we have in Faenaria to keep a close eye on the cowardly traitors as well. We don't want them finally finding their courage, centuries later, against us. And if they do, we want to slow them down." [hider=summary of actions] -Cethos makes a public declaration of support for Rotteburg, denouncing the attacks and urging caution and clear heads to prevail. -Privately, Gharn and his council are counting on war to ignite so they can launch their plans for expanding Cethosi power and territory. -Diplomats in Anvegad and Sidara are to begin pushing for and closing deals on tighter alliances respectively, while agents in Faenaria are to keep an eye out for anything that might look like preparations for aggression against Cethos. [/hider]