[i][b]Northern Mountain Range: [/b][/i] Over the past 61 years Vaspenians with the dream of restoring their nation to its former glory have fled to these mountains as a place of refuge, at first it was only a few here and there hiding out in the many caves and crevasses. But as their numbers grew a particular individual stood out among them, never giving out his name, only asking to be called “Herr General”. Single handedly he organized all of these small resistance groups into a large organization that would stand the test of time. Initially the group was only focused on entrenching themselves within the mountains, excavating large complexes within the mountains, these complexes would become known as the Bächer Citadels. Most of these citadels consisted of living quarters, a small armaments factory, and multiple bunkers camouflaged into the sides. While the larger ones also included command centers, and troop training facilities. These citadels were built all over the mountain range in relative secret. [i][b]1850: [/b][/i] During the excavation of one of these many citadels, the miners unexpectedly found an underground cave network that expanded out almost endlessly. Seeing this as a great opportunity Herr General ordered the tunnels be mapped to the finest detail. As these tunnels would be a massive help to transport supplies to other citadels without exposing the transport columns to the possible scrutiny of Yllendyr. After a detailed mapping some of the teams reported back that they had seen many other paths that went deeper into the earth, when approaching these passages hieroglyphs would be noticeable on the walls with what looked like warning signs. Retracing their steps they would occasionally see more of this writing on the walls of the passages and other caves. The mapping teams also had the feeling of being watched while exploring the caverns, occasionally hearing the scurrying of feet, or clanging of metal on stone. Taking this information Herr General decided to have the hieroglyphs analyzed while cautiously proceeding with the plan to expand the underground tunnel network. In this way all of the citadels were interconnected with each other, soldiers were posted at the entrances to the tunnels 24/7 to keep a constant eye out for possible trouble from what were now called the Cavern People. [i][b]1860:[/b][/i] After a decade of convoys entering and departing the caverns a ritual had been conceived by the crews. Everytime they would leave a citadel for the next one, typically a 1-2 week trek by horse and carriage, at the first of these “Deep Passages” they would set out some trinkets such as dolls, toys, the occasional candy bar and such. Kneel down and pray for a safe passage through the caverns without rockslides, cave-ins or simply getting lost deep within the maze. After which the crews would leave the site and press on with their journey. If they came to a crossroads in which they were not sure which way to go a barely audible clanking noise could be heard from one of the tunnels heading towards them, progressively getting louder until it stopped just out of their vision. Then two red lights would turn on in the darkness, flash, turn back off, turn around and go back from whence it came. This would tell the crews which way not to go, as those that tried to follow the machine would reach a dead end. Those that did not offer up a tribute to the Cavern Guides would experience this phenomenon and may encounter trouble in the passages. After a decade of watching this go on Herr General has ordered some peaceful expeditions into the Deep Passages to determine the entities behind this. At first as the expedition explored deeper into the caverns they would move slowly, constantly finding evidence of Living beings. First contact with the “Cavern guides” came about 4 months later. [i][b]February 1901[/b][/i] Rebel High Command: Herr General sits at the head of the table once more, the background filled with more tables with soldiers working on stacks of reports and paperwork, or monitoring the radio channels for communiques from their officers in the field. Before him stands a young woman about 5’8” tall grey fur, about 26 years old, with glasses. She’s looking down at the clipboard in her hands and delivering the report on troop deployments and recruitment. “...The Lierin dominion to our north has been surprisingly quiet in the past week, there has been no military movement at all. To our east Kyrennos has not made any moves either. I think we may have some breathing room for the second phase of the operation, sir. ‘In regards to our current troop deployment, we currently have four trained Legions on the northern border, our officers think that we can assemble another two and a half from able bodied young men in the cities that have come under rebel control. Whether we have enough arms to equip them is uncertain.” “Very good Lotte” Herr General says as he looks down on the map spread out over the table. [img]https://image.ibb.co/jxfWKf/Vaspen-2-2-redeploy.jpg[/img] “As for our two neighbors let’s keep on the alert, one of them is still undecided in this battle of alliances, and the other for some reason is choosing not to intervene. However we do need those legions elsewhere... Let’s move one of the trained legions to the eastern border to keep guard, leave one on the northern border, and the other two will move to Dorfen, and Waren, respectively. Meanwhile have the two new legions form in each of those locations as well, the half legion will form in Luka. the equipment for the new legions is to be taken from what we have captured thus far, ex-police hardware, and the 4 defected legion camps in Venris, and Kleve. Any other shortages will hopefully be filled in the future.” Herr General moves some of the pieces around the map gesturing to where they should be moving. “Also Lotte, get the intelligence agent in charge of internal security to send out scouts to ensure those four Auxiliary legions that disbanded made it home alright, and aren’t terrorizing the populace. Let him know he can use whatever resources he needs.” Herr General looks up from the table with a smirk on his face. [i][b]February, 14th, Venris:[/b][/i] After the rebels took control of the city, one of Herr General’s operatives led the masses to march on the viceroy’s villa. Knowing the gig was up he attempted to flee along with the other Yllendyr sympathizers in the government. Unfortunately for them most were caught fleeing the city by the rebels, and taken to the castle jail and the rest were pursued by rioters. Those that were caught wait in the castle jail for their punishments on charges of sympathizing with the enemy, accepting bribes, fraud, murder, and many other counts. A provisional government was then setup to help monitor the day to day occurrences in Venris. [i][b]February 18th, Venris:[/b][/i] On the outskirts of the city, a few rebel soldiers have set up a checkpoint here to monitor the surrounding area. “Hey Ernst, it’s quite busy today innit?” “Well I mean they are sentencing those politicians today Schultz, of course there are going to be people comin’ to see that.” “But i mean c'mon it’s only a few Yllenny sympathizers gettin’ hacked up. Surely at this rate the entire city is gonna be filled to the brim.” “That may well be, but people will always find joy in others suffering. So there’s no point in getting hung up on it… Anyway here comes another cart Schultz, this time don’t let’em run over your foot!” *Muttering under his breath* “ Gee, you slip in the mud one time and that’s all they ever recollect.” A cart approaches from one of the outlying villages the driver looks old and ratty, in the cart there are hand made pots, rugs, and animal hide. In addition two women are riding on the back of the cart, one is in her early fifties, her fur long, and black. Wearing a old ratty dress, but still pretty respectable for a villager. Her eyes have a glint of intelligence in them, and her hands have many little cuts on them. The other woman is in her mid twenties, golden yellow fur, with one green, and one blue eye. Wearing a nice dress that looks to be in very good shape with only light wear, she also has a sun hat with a red handkerchief tied around the center. Like the older lady she has an air of intelligence, but with a bit of youthful joy, and energy. As per their routine, Ernst walks up to the driver while Schultz walks towards the back of the cart to inspect it’s contents. “What’s your name and the reason for your visit to Venris today sir?” asks Ernst “The name’s Otto, and Imma ere to eh sell offa my village’s goods so ah can take back somo that there cotton cloth ya’ll be makin these days. The woman folk love that stuff, can make new dr’esses and such things. Oh… and alsa i came a to get new’e tools and seed fer plantin.” “Alrighty sir, and you ladies?” Ernst says while glancing to the two women in the back of the cart. The elder woman replies, “i’m Adelina and this is Lucy, we are just passing through, heading to family up north.” “Ah very well then then, Schultz! Everything in order back there?” “Ja, all is good back here Ernst.” “Very good” turns to Otto, “Carry on sir, and welcome to Venris” The cart trundles away into the city. Ernst turns to Schultz who has come back to the gate. “I feel like i’ve seen that girl before, Schultz.” “Which one?” “The young, pretty one dunkopf!” “Oh yeah she’s nice.” replies Schultz a little downtrodden but he perks up “But she did give me this chocolate bar!” Ernst looks at the chocolate bar in Schultz’s hands and sighs, staring off into the city scape thinking about where he had seen that girl before.