[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]Autumn of 1801[/h2][/center] [img]https://i.ibb.co/JttwKW7/Country-Labelled.png[/img] [b][i][u]2nd of July[/u][/i][/b] Keen to suppress the aggression of [b]The Shuren Dynasty[/b], or to at least challenge it, [b][color=00aeef]The Empire of Attolia[/color][/b] officially grants Letters of Marquis to any Attolian sailors who wish to take up arms against the Shuren, allowing them to raid and pillage with no reprimand from the Empire. It is the Attolian East India Company that most readily takes to this opportunity, always looking for chances to further expand their power. Preparations are quickly made. [b][i][u]5th of July[/u][/i][/b] For too long have the people of Suveren been forced to sit and watch while their neighbors, the Western Territories of [color=f26522][b]The Republic of Toubres[/b][/color], have grown rich. Feeling that they are being sorely neglected by [b][color=2e3192]The Kingdom of Aontas[/color][/b], who seem far more concerned with wars on the continent than sparing any thought for their colonies, protests begin across the small province. Although it is the citizens of Aontas that light the torch, it is the natives, the Suvereni, that fan the flames. While their cultural brothers, just across the sea, have gone from strength to strength, the Suvereni have been given nothing. The meagre garrison of the island are almost obscenely outnumbered, and it is in panic that the first shot is fired. Protests turn to open riots, and rebellion. [b][i][u]9th of July[/u][/i][/b] Wary of the espionage that is quickly becoming rampant across Europe, [b][color=007236]The Three City's Republic of Ianian[/color][/b] creates a new Investigative Bureau, with it's sole purpose being the rooting out of spies attempting to infiltrate the Republic. This is no doubt a reactive move, and it symbolises that the dread of espionage is spreading beyond the borders of those already affected by it. A new age of spying is dawning across the continent. [b][i][u]13th of July[/u][/i][/b] The European Trading League continues to grow in strength. Much like [b]The Holy Territories of Edoniras[/b], the joining of [b]The Redcliff Empire[/b] is largely thanks to the Empire's already strong relations with a current member, [color=f26522][b]The Republic of Toubres[/b][/color]. Regardless, it is [b][color=007236]The Three City's Republic of Ianian[/color][/b] that extends the invitation, and Redcliff readily accepts. While the Continental Alliance burst into life, the steady growing of strength by the European Trading League now challenges their strength, perhaps even trumping it. As the Ubren-Attolia War Summit continues, many are starting to consider the possible outcomes of a potential war in Europe. [b][i][u]17th of July[/u][/i][/b] [b][color=007236]The Three City's Republic of Ianian[/color][/b] continues it's active month. Now, their attention is turned to the excess spending that is threatening to dig at the Republic's wealth. Sweeping reports are made, reaching every corner of the Three City's, and their overseas colonies, rooting out any opportunity to cut down unnecessary spending, or where spending can be made more efficient. Despite it's sprawling trade routes steadily pouring gold into the Republic's coffers, a string of projects have begun to seep away that money, and the Republic seems determined to not stand for it. [b][i][u]21st of July[/u][/i][/b] Finally, [b]The Empire of Rubrus[/b] rouses itself. It's ally, [b]The Kingdom of Claidor[/b] has been bloodied while the Empire has sat idle, but no longer. Some force seems to grip them, and they leap into action. They issue a proclamation to [b]The Kingdom of Ilastiri[/b], demanding that the Kingdom retracts it's forces from the conflict, and returns to their own territories. If the proclamation is ignored, they claim, they will call upon the Continental Alliance. For now though, they focus on [b]The Kingdom of Vendsyssel[/b]. Soldiers march through the ever snowy reaches of the far north to heavily re-enforce the territories of Claidor's remaining lands, while the army group under General Klavdiy Levin, still encamped in the Claidor province of Lohoya march west, crosses into the Vendsyssel province of Rogosz. The war escalates yet further. [b][i][u]24th of July[/u][/i][/b] Realizing that they are effectively out of options, the massed fleet of [b][color=00aeef]The Empire of Attolia[/color][/b] launches it's counterattack against the besieging fleet of [b]The Shuren Dynasty[/b]. Attempting to wrong-foot the Dynasty, instead of heading towards the relatively safe ports to the South, the Attolian fleet sails north. What follows is a frantic and brutal conflict, cannon-fire merging into a single roar as the two fleets collide. However, the Attolians were right. The Shuren fleet expected them to move south, so the bulk of their fleet is there. Although it is hard-fought, the majority of the Attolia fleet manages to break through the line. Fort Tian falls less than an hour after they depart, the remaining citizens left there slaughtered. For now, the Attolian fleet sails along the coast of the Shuren Dynasty, raiding and pillaging, hounded by the Shuren fleet. [b][i][u]26th of July[/u][/i][/b] Attempting to improve the fracturing relations across the nation, stemming from the catastrophic situation in the province of Belgae, [b][color=00aeef]The Empire of Attolia[/color][/b] calls upon the ruling councils of the Empire to gather in the capital, Attolia. The intentions of the meeting are simple, to receive the opinions of those on the ground, in order to better understand how the various regions of the Empire can be most helped. The meeting in itself, as is anything in bureaucracy, is clunky and slow, easily side-tracked and highly opinionated. However, slowly, progress is made. [b][i][u]29th of July[/u][/i][/b] The army of [b]The Empire of Rubrus[/b] reaches the port city of Norzeg, deep in [b]The Kingdom of Vendsyssel[/b] province of Rogosz. The Vendsyssel navy is far from it's greatest strength, but it is substantially more than [b]The Empire of Rubrus[/b] or [b]The Kingdom of Claidor[/b] can bring to bear, and it begins exacting a bloody toll on the besieging Rubrus army. The Empire is quick to call on it's ally [b][color=2e3192]The Kingdom of Aontas[/color][/b], imploring for the Kingdom to send their own fleet to aid them. If their call will be answered, still stands to be seen. [b][i][u]31st of July[/u][/i][/b] Civil unrest continues to become more and more of a common theme. In the province of Suveren, the garrison of [b][color=2e3192]The Kingdom of Aontas[/color][/b] finds itself severely stretched attempting to contain the increasingly aggressive natives. Firefights break out, and riots spread like wildfire. In Belgae, the same almost open rebellion continues, as the Sentinels of [b][color=00aeef]The Empire of Attolia[/color][/b] continue to fight their vicious battle against the insurgents that have infested the province. Even in [b][color=708090]The Kingdom of Ubren[/color][/b], dissent rises. In events eerily similar to the initial events in Belgae and Torrik, the murmurings of rebellion begin to spread. Although they are faint, they are growing louder, something, or someone, is amplifying them.