[i]"If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud. Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, my friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori." [/i] -Wilfred Owen

[center][h2]Summer of 1800[/h2][/center]

[img]https://image.ibb.co/nqf96L/Country-Labelled.png[/img]

[b][i][u]3rd of June[/u][/i][/b]

Colonists of [color=f26522][b]The Republic of Toubres[/b][/color], by now well used to the rigours and trials of settling new lands, sail north from Toubrian Getares. They form a new colony, Toubrian Cabral. By now, the region is well traveled by the people of Toubres, merchants freely trading with the natives even beyond the borders of their colonies. It is only a matter of time before Toubres spreads further, although it will not be long before they begin to venture into unexplored regions. 

[b][i][u]4th of June[/u][/i][/b]

In truth, the soldiers of [b]The Kingdom of Aontas[/b] cannot hope to stand against the overwhelming force of [b][color=708090]The Kingdom of Ubren[/color][/b]. They are outmatched, outnumbered and outgunned. But Aontas possesses two great advantages over their neighbors to the south. The first is their fleet. While it is not as formidable as some of the others that stalk the waters of Europe, it is still an impressive force. But their second advantage is perhaps their greatest of all, and it is provided by nature itself. Between Ubren and Aontas, a deep, cold sea flows. For the Ubren army to reach Aontas unaided, they face a long march. 

[b][i][u]8th of June[/u][/i][/b]

With news of [color=0054a6][b]The Empire of Rubrus[/b][/color] on the march, [b]The Kingdom of Vendsyssel[/b] stops wasting time. With relative ease, they breach the defences of Batko, breaking the spirit of [b]The Kingdom of Claidor[/b] garrison and taking the city. More soldiers of Vendsyssel begin to prepare for the coming war, and the conflict continues to escalate. 

[b][i][u]9th of June[/u][/i][/b]

In a move that unsurprisingly raises morale, [b][color=708090]The Kingdom of Ubren[/color][/b] lowers taxes for trade across it's nation, as well as investing more of it's funds into the construction of roads across the nation. The war to the north is going strongly in their favour, and despite the growing threat of a new war on their western border, the people of Ubren are content. 

[b][i][u]11th of June[/u][/i][/b]

It is the army of [b]The Eternal Hadeen of Dashkatar[/b] that acts first, quickly marching back to the city of Larymnas. As soon as they arrive, they force [b]The Kingdom of Sescos[/b] population to begin rebuilding the defences. In response to this, the combined force of [b]The Kingdom of Ilastiri[/b] and [b]The Republic of Oflua[/b] prepares to make their own move. 

[b][i][u]14th of June[/u][/i][/b]

It appears that others intend to come to the aid of [b]The Kingdom of Sescos[/b]. An army of [b][color=00aeef]The Empire of Attolia[/color][/b] is raised, nearly fifty thousand men strong. Under the leadership of General Ilppo Rehn, the army is dubbed "The Bastion of the Faithful", and they assemble in the province of Centrix. They request access from [b]The Empire of Redcliff[/b], but the answer they receive is not the one they desire. King Marino apologies, but their people are too bloodied to take a side in the war for now, not least by the loss of their provinces to the west and south. Access is denied, the Attolians must find another way. 

[b][i][u]15th of June[/u][/i][/b]

The fleets of [b][color=00aeef]The Empire of Attolia[/color][/b] and [b][color=007236]The Three City's Republic of Ianian[/color][/b] easily capture the island just off the coast of [b]The Shuren Dynasty[/b] province of Tian with no resistance. At the same time, an ultimatum is delivered to the Dynasty. The Dynasty promptly agrees to the demands, perhaps even almost anticlimactically. For the Attolian diplomats, it quickly becomes clear that the Shuren Dynasty is not a meagre power. The province of Tian is far from the only territory that they possess, but for now, the European powers have won the first round. 

[u][i][b]17th of June[/b][/i][/u]

The people of [b]The Kingdom of Sescos[/b] continue to fight their oppressors however they can, and in the northern territories, those that are still in Sescos hands, albeit only defended by a meagre army, a new king is crowned. The newly crowned King Ciro Malas possesses none of the charisma, strength of character or natural leadership of the Mátyás line, only being a distant cousin of the former King, Pieter. Ciro is hardly more than a boy, untested in battle, and unaccustomed to ruling, but he is all that the Kingdom has for now. Sescos does not possess the strength to free itself, instead forced to watch, and pray, that the European powers will triumph. 

[b][i][u]18th of June[/u][/i][/b]

It becomes apparent that [b][color=fff200]The Holy Territories of Edoniras[/color][/b] is not yet ready to sheathe its flaming sword. The ships of the Holy Territories navy docked in the province of Medbia are fitted for the transport of troops, and then sail the short distance to the province of Salid, joining the ships already there and amassing a formidable fleet. It appear's the Pope's gaze has fallen on further afield battlegrounds. 

[u][i][b]20th of June[/b][/i][/u]

Rallying to their ally, the forces of [b]The Kingdom of Claidor[/b] march to join up with the army of [color=0054a6][b]The Empire of Rubrus[/b][/color]. By the time he reaches the province of Lahoya, the Rubrusi General Vadim Rogozin commands a sizable force. How he wishes to use it is still yet to be seen. 

[u][i][b]21st of June[/b][/i][/u]

In a surprising move, [color=f26522][b]The Republic of Toubres[/b][/color] offers the province of Resdian back to [b]The Redcliff Empire[/b]. There are only two conditions. The first, is that the two nations will look to build greater relations with each other, encouraging trade, and building towards working with each other to ensure 'peace' around the Mediterranean. The second, is that the Republic will retain control of Mussara, one of the port cities of Resdian, so that Toubres can maintain an influence over the region. King Marino readily accepts the agreement, seeing an opportunity to both build bridges with a potentially powerful ally, and regain some of the Empire's lost land. 

[b][i][u]22nd of June[/u][/i][/b]

[b][color=007236]The Three City's Republic of Ianian[/color][/b] announce the formation of a Stock Exchange in Rodesia. Following in the footsteps of [b][color=00aeef]The Empire of Attolia[/color][/b], the Ianian Stock Exchange is successfully born. But they go one step further, granting access to all nations within the European Trading League. Due to the Republic's formidable economy, the Stock Exchange quickly proves popular. 

[b][i][u]24th of June[/u][/i][/b]

Obviously concerned that [b]The Kingdom of Aontas[/b] will act against them, [color=0054a6][b]The Empire of Rubrus[/b][/color] maneuvers it's forces so as to re-enforce the border it shares with Aontas. On the same day, a wide-scale commission of propaganda comes into effect. Works that promote patriotism, and national pride, are welcomed, and rigorously distributed to every corner of the Empire. Their intention is to raise morale in the face of the war that Rubrus has found itself dragged into, and this is largely successful. In truth, the marriage between Prince Pashkov Sadoski and Empress Alina Romanovna was a popular one, and the Rubrus population are only too happy for their armies to march to the defence of [b]The Kingdom of Claidor.[/b]

[b][i][u]25th of June[/u][/i][/b]

[b][color=fff200]The Holy Territories of Edoniras[/color][/b] offers the province of Salid the 'possibility' of joining the Holy Territories. In truth, it is hardly a choice. The larger army of Edoniras, still dug in to defend Salid, is showing no intent of leaving, and the population of the province fear that any refusal to join would be simply ignored, so they agree, although thousands flock back to Redcliff-held lands. Those that do remain are offered citizen rights, and they accept, seeing little other choice. 

[u][i][b]26th of June[/b][/i][/u]

In the province of Altubren, [b][color=708090]The Kingdom of Ubren[/color][/b] continues to pour money into the construction of a colossal arsenal. Already months into construction, the project promises to drastically boost the supply for the Kingdom's armies, providing a ready collection of firearms, ammunition and artillery. While this is being built, the Ubren Academy of Ballistic Sciences has it's first major breakthrough, researchers experimenting with iron-cased gunpowder rockets. It will still take some months to perfect the formula, but the Academy is quickly proving its worth. 

[b][i][u]28th of June[/u][/i][/b]

In [color=f26522][b]The Republic of Toubres[/b][/color], the Military Academy of Amzores is founded. The Academy will accommodate the officers and commanders of Toubres' army, both new and old, and push to improve the armies tactics, readiness, and effectiveness on the field of war. This is just another step in the radical and drastic military reforms that Toubres has been undergoing, in response to the wars all across Europe. The old guard of noble sons looking for adventure and being handed high-ranking positions in the army with little to no experience are gone. What is born, is a class of highly-trained, and well-experienced officers, who quickly prove popular with the men under their command, as they tear down the old divides. 

[b][i][u]29th of June[/u][/i][/b]

Desperate to avoid being dragged into a war by their allies, [b]The Akkadian Empire[/b], [b][color=007236]The Three City's Republic of Ianian[/color][/b] hurries to call a conference between Akkadia and [b]The Republic of Oflua[/b], offering them both incentives to attend. Both nations agree to, and the conference is scheduled to begin in the coming month. The Three City's are keen to avoid war, no doubt due to the ever-shifting political powers across Europe, and how Akkadia and Oflua going to war could quickly put Ianian on the wrong side of the line. 

[b][i][u]30th of June[/u][/i][/b]

The combined army of [b]The Republic of Oflua[/b] and [b]The Kingdom of Ilastiri[/b] makes it's move. They decide to break the army of [b]The Eternal Hadeen of Dashkatar[/b] once and for all, and they march for Larymnas. It quickly becomes clear that The Third Siege of Larymnas is imminent, and the streets will no doubt run red with blood once more.