[i][b]March 10th 1840:[/b][/i] Volkhard was a humble man, volunteering to join the National Army when he was 18. Coming from a commoner background neither he or his peers expected him to make the rank of General. But surprisingly he discovered an affinity for leading and inspiring men, now 10 years later he found himself standing on the border with the Yllendyr Imperium near the Delwe River. Word had been passed to the general staff that the Yllandyr have been massing on the other side of the border. Probably due to King Aschwin’s declining health, and the three princes attempting to vie for control in the palace. This of course led to Volkhard being sent to guard this wide open plain this was the perfect avenue for a Yllendyr invasion. Unlike the mountains on the northern portion of the national border this southern corridor was a wide open plain with small rolling hills stretching down to the sea. Occasional forests dot the landscape primarily used as fertile farmland by the locals. Not to mention that if unopposed gave one a direct route to the capital of Venris which is 2 weeks away on foot. Looking up from his thoughts Volkhard looked out once more across the plain and started to consider his plan. [i][b]March 24th 1840:[/b][/i] “The Empire enters grieving for the Late Emperor Aschwin, who passed away in his sleep at the age of 87 years. A group of officials led by the prime minister is being organized to plan the funeral, and determine the successor to the throne. The palace is going to be very turbulent these next few weeks.” ~Excerpt from Venris Tribune. [i][b]March 27th 1840:[/b][/i] Volkhard exits his tent after listening to a scout report. Walks up to a soldier and rips the telescope he is holding from his hands and presses it up to his face. Through the telescope he sees a seemingly unending wave of Yllendyr soldiers with their purple caps, and grey uniforms marching into the Empire. His worst fears confirmed he orders the men to the defences, and sends a report to headquarters. Which read as follows: “The Imperium Troops approach, Endless in number, We defend to the end, See you in Valhalla.” ~General der Infanterie, Volkhard VonKilier [b][i]August 12th 1840:[/i][/b] “After months of stiff resistance Imperium troops have entered Venris, the capital of our old enemy the Vaspen Empire today. This is a historic day!” ~Yllendyr Newspaper [i][b]Venris:[/b][/i] As the Imperium troops marched into the now former capital of the Vaspen Empire, Venris. The civilians of the city walked out of their homes into the streets to see the invading army. The many footsteps reverberating down the streets were unsettling. As the troops approached a wave of gasps and screams in terror enveloped the crowd of onlookers. The majority of the army was composed of Lierin Spider-ants that were led by a small percentage of Yllendyr soldiers. These Spider-Ants were sent away by their home nation due to their rapid breeding. In recent years their destination was always shrouded in mystery, but now it would seem that the Yllendyr have been using them as mercenaries to bulk up their forces to dominate the continent! As the Yllendyr Commander Andec entered the city to see and hear the screams of terror from the inhabitants he let a smile creep onto his face. ‘Those Vaspenians for too many years they have been safe and sound here at home. The glory of Yllendyr finally has a chance to shine now that we have defeated you!’ he then gave an order to his commanders to proceed to the palace and inspect the food stores of the city. The food stores had all been requisitioned by the defending troops and transported to warehouses near the center of the city. Upon reaching the stores they found that almost all of it had been destroyed. Barely enough to feed his Imperium army detachment of 100,000 for a week remained. Cursing under his breath Andec proceeds to the palace where the royalty, important documents and gold reserves have been evacuated. Almost as though they were expected to be able to take the city down quickly and had been evacuated months beforehand. Andec then calls his men together and assigns them the task of defending the city until reinforcements and supplies arrive from the border region. Returning to the emperor’s bedroom he sits down in the chair and opens up a bottle of wine from the cellar, a 1810 vintage wine, takes a few sips and goes to write up his report to the Imperial emperor. That evening outside the city Vaspen troops are massing. Under the sight that is burning buildings, and the sounds of screaming from within the city they surround Venris on three sides, the fourth being the lake shore. All of the remaining reserves have been thrown into this battle which will decide the fate of the country. Over 200,000 young vaspen warriors are taking part in this operation with another 1,500,000 defending at the front lines 50 Meile away from Venris. The troops set up camp and prepare to defend. [b][i]August 13th 1840:[/i][/b] The Yllendyr troops quickly notice that they are surrounded, with no method of escape or resupply. The commander immediately orders all Yllendyr troops to search the city for food and to setup some defences at the perimeter of the city, hoping that reinforcements breakthrough soon. However the Vaspen troops know that this is their only chance to turn the tides and defend for all it’s worth. [i][b]August 20th 1840:[/b][/i] “A week has passed since the encirclement, food and ammunition are running low. The surrounding forces have counterattacked everyday with unrelenting ferocity to retake this city. Their constant assaults leave the soldiers tired, and hungry. We have had to stop issuing rations to some of the Spider-Ant regiments due to the lack of food. Those regiments have been ordered to find what they can in the city, but i fear that while they come back full, the numbers of civilians in the city seems to be decreasing. My fellow officers and soldiers have started to take out their frustrations on the populace as well, many look down in shame and self disgust when i ask about where they go at night. So i followed a few last night and i saw two of my men brutally rape and then murder two women. I was disgusted with my men and this morning i punished them both with lashings to set an example, however i doubt it had much impact on the others.” ~Andec’s personal log [i][b]September 1st 1840:[/b][/i] “Upon entering Venris after almost 3 weeks of assaulting it we finally broke the enemy, and discovered the atrocities they have committed within our city. There are corpses scattered on the ground everywhere both civilian and Yllendyr. The civilian corpses are brutally disfigured and naked. Skeletons litter the alleyways bones picked clean of meat. In the parks mass graves have been half filled. The remaining Yllendyr soldiers that have surrendered, and the civilians that are alive tell horrible tales of the Spider ants roaming the streets in search of people to eat. The unfortunate not being found till the next day by the soldiers, and then carted off to the graves to prevent disease. The women tell us of their female friends and family being taken by the soldiers only to turn up dead the next day. It is truly a horrifying and gruesome sight to behold.”~Vaspen commander official report to headquarters on the remains of Venris [i][b]February 1901:[/b][/i] [i][b]Venris:[/b][/i] “The Province of Vaspen declares their neutrality in the current succession war. Due to internal turmoil we will remain neutral until the cessation of our conflict.”~Evrard Sendler, Viceroy of Vaspen When the general populace of Vaspen heard the news of the current succession war in Yllendyr, protests immediately broke out in all of the major cities to declare independence from the Yllendyr. The police forces had some trouble dealing with the protests as they turned violent. Beating the Yllendyr officers, while any Wolfen officers turned on their commanders turning the protests into mass riots. With police officers resulting to using force on the now armed civilians they opened fire into the crowds with their hand guns and old gatling guns handed down by the army. Many civilians were killed but eventually they suppressed the police forces and captured their weapons.The few auxiliary legions that hadn’t dissolved upon hearing the news of the kings death were mobilized to suppress these rebellions. In fact of the 10 auxiliary legions 4 of them dissolved, with most returning to their respective countries and the remainder retreating into the countryside to raid villages and such. The remaining three legions successfully quelled the rebellions in Helmstedt, Emden, and Julich. However they didn’t have the numbers to be everywhere so where the rebels had free reign they looted all military and government establishments. Taking weapons and organizing themselves to fight for their freedom. [i][b]Northern Mountain Range:[/b][/i] In a dark cave like room the walls hewn from stone with very little in the way of decoration, a old man sits on a straw cot. His fur is pure white with many spots missing from what looks like old injuries,his body is thin and frail. Clothed in an old military uniform his face hidden by the shadow from his uniform cap he stands with the help of a cane, and exits the bedroom. Slowly making his way down a similarly furnished hallway he approaches a large room with a long rectangular table with some forty or fifty people seated at it. In this room it has been decorated a little bit more than the previous, the table has a red cloth with gold stitching running the length, the chairs are beautifully carved with red cushioned seats on the table there are wine glasses that are partially full. The people seated at the table stand at the sight of the old man and immediately salute him. The old man hobbles to the head of the table and takes a seat, glances around the table, and takes a swig of wine from the glass in front of him. One of the women remains standing while the others sit, she picks ups some paper and reads the report to them: “One of our loyalists within the Viceroy’s cabinet has informed us of the collapse of Yllendyr royal family, the Emperor, the Crown prince, and the 4th prince have been killed. The 2nd prince, Ecruir, has the support of the northern portion of the country, while the 2nd 2nd prince, Olarth, has support from the southern half. The current whereabouts of the 5th prince, Nidrak, is currently unknown, but he is believed to be in hiding. That concludes my report.” Another man stands up: “There have been mass riots in all of the major cities in the nation, while some of them have been quelled, others have remained strong and taken back the land. I suggest that we take action and let our nation rise again.” Setting the glass down the old general thinks for a moment and then speaks with a soft but powerful voice slowly rising in volume: “Begin operation Ikarus. The people must know who has been working in the shadows for them all this time. We shall act! Send out our troops and activate the commanders take charge! We lead our people to victory!” [i][b]Vaspen Countryside:[/b][/i] A herald dressed in official clothing walks into a small village and proceeds to the center of town: “Hear ye, Hear ye, all ye gather round… The Yllendyr Emperor is Dead! *Cheers from the crowd* he passed away neigh 4 nights ago, and now the princes fight amongst themselves! There are rebels in the major cities! We drive out Yllendyr oppressors as we speak.” The villagers Cheer, whisper amongst themselves while one woman walks away from the group towards the village healer’s house. Upon entering she goes up to the village healer and says: “Mother a herald has come from the city and speaks of how the people have risen up against the Yllendyr. Is it time?” “I have heard. My contacts have also informed me of this, it is time, we depart in the morning.”