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Nilrandell

To say that the Shogunate Navy, much less the military as a whole, overestimated its capabilities was an understatement. Being bombarded in the middle night by both sides definitely gave a huge shock to the Yamato sailors and naval officers as their ships were being pounded like a fish in a barrel. After getting over their initial shock, the Admiral of the Yamato fleet quickly resumed focus and ordered a retreat, leaving a light cruiser and two destroyers sunk and all heavy cruisers badly needed of repair.

Meanwhile, the artificial tsunami pretty much forced the Yamato soldiers to give up their siege of the city to avoid heavy losses and instead adopted a land containment of the peninsula. They had to stay away from the coastline in case of another tsunami but the colonel deployed small bands of sharpshooters and snipers at the edges to pick off any Imperial squad that was brave enough to skirt around the coastline. The siege was over until further reinforcements arrived and that meant the two Legion Auxiliaries manage to disembark from the port city and be relocated elsewhere.


Yamato forces retreating to to higher after the tsunami flooded the area

However, the biggest insult the to injuries was that this entire ordeal could've been avoided. Due to the Mind alignment that was present in the vast majority of the mages and exorcists, the Shogunate Navy could've foresee the Imperial Navy hours before hand by deploying seagulls and other sea birds to scout for incoming ships.

Minamikyo

When news of this attack reached the capital, a wave of embarrassment hit the newly formed General Staff. This was their first failure in organizing the expulsion of Yllendyr. Thankfully, Emperor Eikou was in a forgiving mood and ordered the General Staff to begin organizing mages to serve as military recon to prevent further blunders of attacking blindly. Given the Mind Alignment to see through the eyes of animals, it will be crucial to gain sight everywhere to track down the whereabouts of the Imperial Navy and the movement of the Imperial land forces.

The first ever mage-only recon squad was hastily assembled by nightfall and quickly sent to aid the cavalry brigades tasked with hunting down the bandits.

Elsewhere, starting from February 19th, the Yamato soldiers that weren't already engaged in subduing the remaining Imperial forces were transitioning from militia regiments into a proper infantry divisions. Armed with modern rifles, machine guns, and artillery, 6 infantry divisions were assembled out of the remnants of the Yamato conscripts of the defected Auxiliary legions in February 22nd. A further 18 more were upon near-completion by the end of February as those divisions were waiting for artillery shipments from the factories.


Shogunate's 1st (Jade) Division after reorganization is complete


Meanwhile, during the days of brutal close-quarter fighting in the cities and surrounding area, the attack Yamato soldiers were ordered to hold position in February 27th as Emperor Eikou wanted the remaining Imperial Auxiliaries to surrender. Leaflets made their way into Imperial positions offered amnesty to the Imperial Soldiers as well as free transport back to their respective countries. However, the leaflets said nothing about the Dark Elf Officers though it has been heavily implied that they would be taken as prisoners of war. The four Auxiliaries were given until tomorrow morning to give their response at 8:30 am before the Yamato resume their attacks.

Outside of the world, it was commonplace where Yamato conscripts that were stationed in foreign countries took matters into their own hands after reaching to the conclusion that they would probably never see home again and began murdering their Dark Elf commanding Officers ever since news of the Kitagawa's War of Independence was known. Few soloed their attempts by cutting the throats of the officers in their sleep during the dead of night, others strapped grenades to their bodies and burst into the rooms where the Imperial Officers were meeting before detonating themselves, and many Yamato conscripts banded together to simply ambush the Dark Elf Officers with their pistols and rifles as they shot them from the bushes, trees, and even from behind.

Just as these attempts would fail, others would also succeed before being executed for treason. But before they carried out these kamikaze missions, the Yamato conscripts told their comrades, the ones that were trusted enough to not rat them out, to desert and make their way back to their own nations for freedom. The Yamato conscripts that didn't rebel would soon feel the heat of the Imperial retribution.

Of course, the Yamato conscripts were also equally killed in foreign nations despite trying to surrender to the rebelling nations.

The Olarth Question

The reason for the small ceasefire was that when the Shogunate government and Emperor Eikou heard of Emperor Olarth's message of granting independence on the same day it was announced. As to be expected, the government was was very skeptical of his offer. No one could completely know or trust Olarth enough that he would fulfill his promise. To be fair, the Kitagawa Shogunate would be fighting the Imperial regardless if they sided with Olarth or not.

Finally, on February 28th, Emperor Eikou took the gamble after much discussion with the government and sent a encrypted telegram to Olarth stating that the Kitagawa Shogunate would back Olarth's claim to the throne. An hour later, encrypted telegrams were sent to the Fibor Dynasty and to the Tokushima Daimyo requesting them to back Olarth's claim to the throne. The messages went on to great lengths talking about the grievances all three countries shared under the rule of the previous Emperor and that Ecurir will simply exacerbate the unfair treatment of the previous status quo.

20 minutes to sunset, Emperor Eikou officially announced to the Shogunate that they would support Olarth in his war for the throne in return for self-determination and he called that "all nations to thrown off the chains of Tyranny" and "Support Olarth in return for autonomy and self-governance". This announcement was purposefully broadcasted to the Fibor Dynasty and Tokushima as well as the other neutral nations still on the fence in hopes of swaying them against the Emperor Ecurir. Even the loyalist nations had access to this broadcast. All except Ecurir's side of the Imperium. Emperor Eikou went on and further declared that if the nations wanted "the respect and goodwill it deserves..." and that "Ecurir is the leech that would further deteriorate the already low integrity the Imperium has for its subject nations."

Going further, Shogun Emperor concluded his world address by speaking to the nations loyal to Ecurir: "I say this to you, the nations who declared for Ecurir, what has he done that deserves your loyalty? What did he offer that is superior to greater autonomy and self-rule? Do you even trust that his rulership will be just, fair, and not corrupt with arbitrary judgement and wanton reparations? Even you if you support Ecurir in the beginning, what would he do to the defeated nations? Simply, he will carve them up and cast their flesh for his minions to eat. Ecurir is using you for his own gains. Olarth promised change, change that will grant greater freedom to all nations even the ones that wish to remain to the Imperium. I'm not asking the nations loyal to the Imperium to secede, no, I'm asking you take this chance to achieve better representation in the Imperium. Please, I request that your nation's leaders to reconsider the backing of Ecurir's throne and join forces together to secure Olarth's rule for the chance for all nations to live proudly as lions rather than to survive like vultures."
I made a mistake an accidentally posted twice when I was trying to edit. Can someone please delete it: https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/175130-the-fading-light-of-vlandriel-an-industrial-fantasy-rp-interested-in-f/ic


March.

And so the month of February has ended with the official proclamation of the independence of the Kitagawa Shogunate. February 26th will forever be known as the day Emperor Eikou officially denounced the Yllendyr rule over the Shogunate and declared that all previous treaties with the Yllendyr null and void, including the Treaty Port of Nilrandell.

Of course, the Shogun Emperor was already a week behind schedule as February 19th already saw army divisions, battalions, and regiments forming from militiamen and defecting Yamato conscripts. The "The Shogunate Army" existed in all but in name. The Shogunate Navy, however, had already took the liberty of blockading Nilrandell in February 5th to starve them of overseas supplies.

Not all cities were easily taken by the eve of March and this newly formed army had tasked the nearby regiments and divisions to recapture the coastal cities of Yakumo, Bihoro, Erimo, Nanporo, Mori and Ono (Nilrandell). Thankfully, by March 1st, out of the ten Imperial Auxiliary forces stationed in the Shogunate, two defected to the Emperor Eikou, one dissolved and surrendered to the Yamato army while the fourth killed their officers and became bandits. Nearly a dozen cavalry brigades led by Samurai officers were dispatched to hunt down them down.

Urban warfare were fought ferociously between the two forces as Yamato officers and infantry fought to gain every inch using katanas, revolvers, pistols and bayonets. Every house had to be retaken, every sewer had to be searched and every Imperial soldier had to be killed or captured when possible. Even then, the fact that the Shogunate Army was simply brand new meant that these attacks led to little or no ground gained at all.

As for the Nilrandell, it was placed under siege with moderate bombardment from the heavy cruisers of the Shogunate Fleet. February 6th finally saw the city being surrounded by both land and sea when 4,000 Yamato soldiers, with varying quality in training and equipment, arrived in preparation to take the city. March 3rd saw an additional 10,000 reinforcements, including six captured artillery pieces, to the besieging forces.

As ordered by the Samurai colonel directing the siege, numerous leaflets were delivered to the city demanded that the Imperial Forces to surrender and be taken as POWs. Given the already hostile perception the Yamato had against the Yllendyr, it was unclear to the colonel if the Imperial officers would ever consider his demands.

Everywhere else, cities and towns that haven't been disturbed by the fighting were transitioning their industries into wartime productions producing material ranging from bullets to heavy siege artillery. Dockyards also started drawing up plans to build up the Shogunate's first battleships with four being ordered by the Shogun Emperor himself to beef up the current Navy.

Casualties were already began to climb well into the thousands as the Yamato were absolutely determined to kick the Yllendyr out of the Country with whatever means necessary. Though many Samurai generals did enforce a strict code of respect on when treating non-Yllendyr soldiers when they surrender.

Just one more month and all of the Shogunate shall be free of Imperial rule.


To understand the political and social situation of the Kitagawa Shogunate, we first must understand the history of the Yamato during 1837 War of Human Subjugation. Historically, the land was divided between warring states of Samurai and Daimyo as each faction aim for total control of the Home Island, Ookijima or "Big Island". When a Daimyo did succeed in unifying the homeland, a shogunate would be proclaimed and would rule until his dynasty was overthrown and sent to live as peasants. This was the status quo that occurred for many centuries until the Yllendyr Empire showed up. This was a complete overhaul of the status quo as gunpowder and iron-clad ships were introduced into the conflict. As you can imagine, swords and bows against cannons and rifles make for a very one-sided war. A very humiliating war for the Yamato. And when the Shogun Emperor surrendered, the Yamato expect him to be exiled but instead the entire island was shocked to hear that he was executed. A punishment only reserved for the most dishonorable or despicable ruler, which the Shogun EMperor was neither of those.

So this should come to no surprise that when it was known that the Conqueror of the Yamato died from illness in February 2nd 1901 (Takagi 12), the entire Shogunate erupted with two emotions. As one Yamato historian would put it: "Half of the nation was celebrating his death through the joy of Sake. The other half took this as an opportunity to organize the independence of the Shogun Emperor."

Indeed, so ferocious was the celebration nearly 40% of all villages, towns, and cities of the Shogunate literally ran out of sake and other alcoholic drinks. Meanwhile, the more diligent citizens of the Shogunate began to immediately organize a near-future "restoration" of the Shogun Emperor's throne and began drawing plans for expelling all the Yllendyr armed forces from the country. The levels of discretion range from highly covert to the painfully obvious as militias began to reorganize into more professional army divisions.

Even the Shogun Emperor Eikou was risking his life and the integrity of his people by secretly issuing Order 17, a secret plan to weed out the spy network of the highly feared Securitariat. Only the most trusted Samurai were given this order though it will not be carried out to its fullest extent until the entire Imperial Military stationed in the Shogunate was captured and/or expelled.

To the world, this inevitable nation-wide revolt will be known as the Boshin Plot or the Samurai Powderkeg. 60 years of unjust rule has finally reached a boiling point as rebellion was as thick as fog and independence as clear as diamonds. By nightfall, there are planned attacks on Imperial camps and forts by overzealous militiamen armed with modern artillery and rifles, but first, the Yamato need their countrymen to get sober and stop being drunk. February 3rd will witness 24 hours of constant fighting as very known Imperial camp will be attacked at some point during the day and night.

---

Outskirts of Treaty Port of Nilrandell, Imperial Province of Kitagawa

Suda Totoya was quietly drinking Chrysanthemum tea as he sat cross legged in front of his dorm as if he was meditating. Like many of his Yamato brethren, he spent the entirety of yesterday screaming his lungs out in celebration and crying tears of joy when the news of Emperor Naerzo finally succumbing to his illness.

Patience Suda thought as he relaxed his breathing, Soon, we will be free of Imperial yoke. He already knew that three of his Yamato comrades have deserted the camp the night before after hearing of the news. No doubt they will be returning with pretty much two divisions worth of men to take this port city by force if necessary.

The day went by like a blur and Suda went on with his usually routine of personal training and inventory management. The moon was bright when he finally got bored and he secretly wondered what's taking so long for this port city to be captured. By all rights, he should've deserted as soon as he heard of the news but Suda is a Totoya and Totoyas don't backstab. Instead, he planned to surrender when the Shogunate forces arrive.
Nation Name: Kitagawa Shogunate
Flag:


Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy
Head(s) of Government: Shogun Emperor Eikou Takagi Kitagawa
Economy: Heavily industrialized with access to coal and iron ore deposits, Still exports agricultural products such as tea, incense, and rice.
Primary Species: Humans
Population: 88.7 million citizens
Culture: Split between three branches: Honor, Loyalty, and Duty. Easy to please and quick to anger, the inhabitants, called the Yamato, in civil life are raised on a code of conduct on justice and wisdom based on class. Inevitably, Yamato are very disdainful of the Yllendyr ever since they executed Emperor Toshiko's grandfather. Social classes, from highest to lowest, is split between the Shogun, Kazoku (comprised of the Daimyo), Samurai, Merchant and middle class, and farmers and lower class workers. Due to Kitagawa society heavily militarized, a Yamato male is expected to serve at least 2 years in the military when he reaches 18 years of adulthood. Yamato are very respectful of another race's culture since they expect the same level of treatment back. Only the Yllendyr are the only exceptions of this etiquette.
Language: Yamato, equivalent to Japanese
Religious and Other Beliefs: Traditional Yamato religion, Kami-no-michi, is the worship of ancestors and nature spirits and the belief in sacred power in both animate and inanimate things. Under Kami-no-michi, the Shogun Emperor is revered as a descendant of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-omikami. This is why Yamato was utterly shocked when the Dark Elves executed the Shogun Emperor after he surrendered. This is the official religion of the Shogunate.
Location/Territories:


Climate: Has all four seasons with mild, temperate weather. Lots of hills and mountains with plenty of plains, marshes, and natural harbors around the coastline. There are forests present but not very dominate of the region.
Military: Even though its still traditional where the Daimyo and the Samurai are officers and generals of the Shogunate Military, promotion through the ranks are becoming more based on merit rather than lineage but this is more apparent on a company and battalion level. Even though the Shogunate military is not as elite as the Yllendyr, it makes up for it through its sheer Fanaticism and undying loyalty to the Emperor and the Shogunate. This would lead to extremely dumb but exceedingly brave Kamikaze soldiers and sailors.
Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: Seen primarily as a tool in civic society mainly used by exorcists to weed out demons. Occasionally, magic would be use in combat but only if deemed necessary. Mind Alignment
History/Background Info: Prior to the Kitagawa Shogunate, the territory was ruled by warring factions of Daimyo and Samurai that fought petty feuds and civil wars over the centuries. Even though a Shogunate was proclaimed, it was quickly split apart after a Shogun's death. It wasn't until the Dark Elves arrive when the Yamato Warlords band together and formed a Shogunate to drive them out. Due to the Dark Elves's superior technology and tactics, the newly-formed Shogunate was defeated in every battle and the subjugation ended with the Shogun Emperor executed and his son taking his place as a puppet ruler to the Yllendyr. Despite the humiliating defeat and the outrageous treatment of previous Shogun, the Shogunate quickly adopted technology from the Dark Elf overlords at the cost of its pride and ethnic treatment. So vicious was the anger towards the Dark Elves that numerous uprisings occurred, especially the Samurai class, under the guise of restoring national pride. The revolts were crushed but the perpetrators were secretly pardoned and lightly punished due to the fact that everybody despised the Yllendyr for their treatment of the Yamato people.
Nation Name: Kitagawa Shogunate
Flag:


Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy
Head(s) of Government: Shogun Emperor Toshiko Kitagawa
Economy: Heavily industrialized with access to coal and iron ore deposits, Still exports agricultural products such as tea, incense, and rice.
Primary Species: Humans
Population: 88.7 million citizens
Culture: Split between three branches: Honor, Loyalty, and Duty. Easy to please and quick to anger, the inhabitants, called the Yamato, in civil life are raised on a code of conduct on justice and wisdom based on class. Inevitably, Yamato are very disdainful of the Yllendyr ever since they executed Emperor Toshiko's grandfather. Social classes, from highest to lowest, is split between the Shogun, Kazoku (comprised of the Daimyo), Samurai, Merchant and middle class, and farmers and lower class workers. Due to Kitagawa society heavily militarized, a Yamato male is expected to serve at least 2 years in the military when he reaches 18 years of adulthood. Yamato are very respectful of another race's culture since they expect the same level of treatment back. Only the Yllendyr are the only exceptions of this etiquette.
Religious and Other Beliefs: Traditional Yamato religion, Kami-no-michi, is the worship of ancestors and nature spirits and the belief in sacred power in both animate and inanimate things. Under Kami-no-michi, the Shogun Emperor is revered as a descendant of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-omikami. This is why Yamato was utterly shocked when the Dark Elves executed the Shogun Emperor after he surrendered. This is the official religion of the Shogunate.
Location/Territories:


Climate: Has all four seasons with mild, temperate weather. Lots of hills and mountains with plenty of plains, marshes, and natural harbors around the coastline. There are forests present but not very dominate of the region.
Military: Even though its still traditional where the Daimyo and the Samurai are officers and generals of the Shogunate Military, promotion through the ranks are becoming more based on merit rather than lineage but this is more apparent on a company and battalion level. Even though the Shogunate military is not as elite as the Yllendyr, it makes up for it through its sheer Fanaticism and undying loyalty to the Emperor and the Shogunate. This would lead to extremely dumb but exceedingly brave Kamikaze soldiers and sailors.
Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: Seen primarily as a tool in civic society mainly used by exorcists to weed out demons. Occasionally, magic would be use in combat but only if deemed necessary.
History/Background Info: Prior to the Kitagawa Shogunate, the territory was ruled by warring factions of Daimyo and Samurai that fought petty feuds and civil wars over the centuries. Even though a Shogunate was proclaimed, it was quickly split apart after a Shogun's death. It wasn't until the Dark Elves arrive when the Yamato Warlords band together and formed a Shogunate to drive them out. Due to the Dark Elves's superior technology and tactics, the newly-formed Shogunate was defeated in every battle and the subjugation ended with the Shogun Emperor executed and his son taking his place as a puppet ruler to the Yllendyr. Despite the humiliating defeat and the outrageous treatment of previous Shogun, the Shogunate quickly adopted technology from the Dark Elf overlords at the cost of its pride and ethnic treatment. So vicious was the anger towards the Dark Elves that numerous uprisings occurred, especially the Samurai class, under the guise of restoring national pride. The revolts were crushed but the perpetrators were secretly pardoned and lightly punished due to the fact that everybody despised the Yllendyr for their treatment of the Yamato people.
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