Kingdoms and Colonies [IC]

[Royal Britannia]

Kingdoms and Colonies

Kingdom of Francia
Empire of Norden
Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik
Sicilian Empire
Kingdom of Espaniata
Empire of Fortograd
Mideonan Empire
Gregantine Sultanate
Shotan Dynasty
Ming Song Dynasty

---

The year is 1815. The world is a very different place. Empires are beginning to forge; Kingdoms gain power and lose power. The balance is shifting. The European mainland is becoming crowded, and as countries look to expand their territory overseas, some also look to expand their territory at the expense of their neighbours. You take on the role of one of these great nations, as you attempt to lead them to victory and forge an indomitable empire that is to span a thousand years and more. Will you leave your mark on history?

Just a quick reminder...

- No Godmodding!
- No flaming, trolling etc etc
- Keep OOC posts to the OOC thread, please!

OOC thread

[Nova Imperius]

http://kinge-wan.deviantart.com/art/Anh ... -328101348
1 June 1815. Anhk-Durnik Parliament

The King walks at a regal pace along the long, beautifully sculpted stone corrider. As he walks he glances to the sides to see the statues and Portraits of his Predeccesors. He wears a turquoise military uniform with a red sach and many dozens of medals with the Iron cross with the Anhk in the centre being the focal point a pinned near his heart. Upon his head sits the satin and gold Crown of State which is embedded with thousands of diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. A majestic red robe drags along behing him and in his hand he holds "The Orb". He reaches the massive doors that are complely ajar and he makes his way to his central throne. Around him sits 500 men from around Anhk-Durnik whom are eagar to question the King and Propose ideas. The room is silent as King Alexander XVI finally lowers onto the throne, but contrary to the usual routine he stands back up again to speak,

"Good Evening Gentlemen. Today war brews in Europe and Powers are preparing to rise to heights never seen by man before. In years aheaad we must take action to avoid invasion and obliteration by these rising forces by, ourselves, rising to the world stage. We have all seen Empires rise and fall but soon a mechanism shall be put in motion that shall shoot us towards the very height of wealth and power. If we do not put this mechanism in motion soon then the fires of war shall rise and engulf it in death and poverty. Soon, gentlemen, a plan shall be taken out that shall put us at the top of the world and further inflate our power. Soon we shall rebuild our former empire, reclaim lands lost, and forge an empire that shall span the world!!!"

This was unexpected as the King usually had little to say in Parliament but clearly had full control. After a further second of silence the members of Parliament rose to thier feet and gave a thunderous applause.

[Len Hyet]

The Empire of Espaniata

---

Emperor Jorge Luis Martinez the IVth, Ruler of Espaniata and her Colonies, the thousand and fifth of his line, Lion of Spain, Shield of Bella Espana, and Commanding Officer of the Royal Army of Espaniata, paced the room back and forth.

Troubled brewed on the continent. Trouble the likes of which had been seen not before. It was 1815, and the world was restless. The Sicilians were growing antsy again, imagining the conquest of Africa once more. His own people were happy and prosperous, the army was large and well equipped, hardened in the wars of conquest which had won them North-West Africa. Her gold and diamond mines provided an unending stream of wealth to the people, but it was too much. The rest of the world was greedy, they wanted to take whatever they could not make themselves. Thankfully, the massive guns of Gibraltar still controlled entry and exit to the Mediterranean. Massive guns that pointed both across the narrow stretch of Sea that could sink a ship on the other side with but one volley, or wreck an invasion fleet with a sustained barrage. Equally impressive guns pointed inland, defending against attack from the landward side.

Still Emperor Martinez was worried. The Sicilians were warlike, and wanted the bounty of Africa. Which in principle Espaniata had no troubles with, they were more than happy to have another nation deal with the warlike tribes that the center of the continent held, and for another nation to be bled dry by constant warring with the Empires that inhabited the center.

But if they succeeded, if the Sicilians managed to fight their way through the center, if they did, then they would become the wealthiest nation in the world overnight. That was something Emperor Martinez was not going to let happen. He summoned a page and gave him a note, detailing instructions to the Council of La Fuerzas Armadas Españolas, the Spanish Armed Forces. They were ordered to begin an expedition into the heart of Africa, with the intent of finding new lands to colonize, and to establish new cities along the coast. Then he dispatched a letter to Royal Treasurer, telling him to offer a hundred golden Pesetas to any person who willingly settled in a new city on the African Coast, two hundred fifty to married couples, and four hundred to families with one or more children.

That done, Emperor Martinez sat back and went over some official paperwork. Now there was nothing to do but wait for the people to begin to move, and for the Army expedition to return.

[Benutanairan]

The White Palace-Slave Auction

Auctioneer " Here are the slaves we have today. I know they aren't much but oh well. Let the bidding begin"

Suddenly the crowd roared out numbers and continued to but the back of the room was quiet.

Abidera " Why do you insist on taking me to these auctions Mrs. Monterra."

Mrs. Monterra" Dont speak nonsense" she said. She was clearly an older french noble wearing a blue dressed her husband gave her used with the indigo plantations in the colony of carolina. Her face was covered in white make up. With rose blotches on her cheeks. She wore a light veil customary fashion among french women. She had seen violence when she was young. The peasent rabble killed her Father King Charles the II during the rebellion. Abidera had been with her since the women was born serving as her makeshift mother since the short lived republic.

Abidera " I bet 50 francs on the young slave boy" she spoke for Mrs. Monterra who watched silently at the event. The auction was soon over and the overseer of the event loaded the slaves on the carriage to the take the to the individual houses. Both walked into a large dining room across them was a large table filled with individual guests on one end was the King of anglo-saxonia William IV and his daughter Victoria. Abadera pulled out the chair and went to the side where the slaves ate.

[St Lucoa]

Madagascar 1815

The King seen that this was now a time of expansion, especially for the nations of Europe. The King knew Madagascar could not build its own empire, rather they should try and stop themselves from becoming part of an empire. The King looked at Madagascar's army, it consisted of mostly men in traditional dress with spears and shield, while other countries had muskets and cannons. He knew Madagascar needed to upgrade its military dramatically, he knew this also meant calling for support from other countries.

Letter to: The Kingdom of Espaniata

Dear, Emperor Jorge Luis Martinez the IVth

I write to you today for one matter only. Weapons.

I and my people wish to see an overhaul of our nations military, therefore I ask you to send us 5,000 of your finest muskets. Upon arrival we will pay you the desired amount. We thankYou.

From the King of Madagascar.

The overhaul of the military had begun. The King also ordered for a cavalry brigade to be formed. Currently they are still training and should be combat ready in 2 months. Madagascar's military strength is 2,500 men.

[Eastern Kirgyzstan]

___________________________________________________________________________________

Empire of Fortograd

Emperor Vladgetsky was looking out the window, with a certain amount of stress on his mind at a quiet little village that is newly acquired in the east. "We cannot afford to lose any land right now, but we will not stand back if the moment arises". (Making a phone call, he puts out his cigarette in his black diamond ashtray and starts giving out orders.) *Comrade, I would like our 7th, 13th, 9th and 5th northern divisions to start offering peace to every single ethnic group or tribe they encounter, and the ones we already found, thank you.* He then called in and ordered two loyal soldiers to spread the "special protocol" across the empire. "Heavy, very heavy guns in the mountains...they will not know it, and they will be the less knowledgeable ones in the end..." he ended up saying, then left without another word. Going through the back, he was quickly transported safely to an undisclosed facility in Noregorod for a special conference.

*Greetings Emperor!*, the first and only words that were said by the generals when they saw their leader arrive. As he gets off his transport the first words he said were; "Hey! What is this? No men guarding the door? We need some here, there, and everywhere, what are you people doing, start the damn national conscription plan already!" He opens the entrance with his military commanders behind him, goes to the main room with the discussion table, and drops a world map on right on top of it. He said; "If we take that spot, that spot, and that one we could supply our Empire and ourselves for over 30 years!" They were astonished because they quickly realized he hit it right on the dot, and each of those spots were massive resource supplies. "We need to think, before they act, and were gonna need to act, before they get to think!" he pounded his fist on the table and finally said; "There shall be peace on this earth, until a crazed mogul gives his firsts orders." with everyone in the room agreeing with him. Time really wasn't a worry for anybody that night as the alcohol was coming out, they ended up calling it a pre-victory celebration. He ends up saluting his generals the next morning and gets transported to another, undisclosed location.

[Nova Imperius]

1 June 1815. Outside Anhk-Durnik Parliament

King Alexander XVI left the parliament several hours later after answering the smaller questions of State but mainly the topic was Empire. A series of plans and charts were drawn up by the select few that the King had chosen to join him to head this term in his cabinet,

King Alexander XVI- Head of State
Grand Visier Cornelius Maldovich- Head of Parliament
Archduke General Sebastian Kitchner III- Chief of Army
Lord Admiral George Peytrovich- Chief of Navy
Chancellor Vladamir Fordje- Chancellor of the exchequer
Baron Charles Malloy- Secretary of Foreign Affairs

They left together bound for "The Palace of Light", a collosal beautifully built palace best known for its collossal glass domed roof which doubles as an observatory. There the new plans of The Anhk-Durnik Empire would unfold.

1, June 1815. Greek Borders

A vast force of 20,000 men along with the 3rd and 4th mounted cavalry stood by waiting for the courier with the order to invade. Though the Parliament was given the impression that Empire was a new notion on the Kings mind they had been decieved. As a matter of fact the king had been meeting with the 5 new cabinet members for months now, all colaborating and planning. Recently the small West-southern coast fleet had been expanded to a very large size. Many of the ships were fitted with the new 20 cannons on each side and had the ability to go at 50mph with decent wind. These are considered state of the art. The order was expected any moment now.

[The Blazing Aura]

The Empire Of Sicily

Palermo

"Sire, our troops are gathering in North Africa as we speak, we'll be able to launch an attack to capture the rest of Egypt by the end of the year" General Marcio said, "Though I doubt we'll need too many Muskets or Cannon to take down the Afrikaans."
"Never underestimate the locals" Emperor Roger the 12th replied, "They still have gunpowder weaponry and for all we know the Gregatine Sultanate could be handing them weapons and troops, our aim to expand into Egypt can't have gone unnoticed"
"Yes Sire" Marcio replied, "The full numbers of the force are still coming in, but we're making sure to use lots of soldiers from our African Regions, and we're sending in Italian replacements to guard those regions if they're undermanned. If another nation decides to attack us during this we will certainly not be undefended."
"Good" Roger mused, his ancestors had always ridden into battle with their troops but the times had changed and Emperors were too important to potentially lose in battle. Instead he had to listen to Generals describe the victory, some generally the more competent were down on the front commanding the actually battle, whilst those who claimed the title through money or ancestors normally stayed close, guarding home regions or acting as important messengers for the Emperor, God forbid if they were let loose on the battlefield.

The meeting dragged on, Marcio's report on the preparation of the troops had been by far the most interesting topic to discuss, the others ranged from the Pope asking for more of Muslim Africa to be Christianized, to the Agricultural Minister complaining that lamb production was down by 8%. Eventually the meeting was over and Roger could return to his quarters, to plan and message General Ezio who was to lead the expansion into Egypt.

As Roger relaxed a messenger burst into his room "Sire sorry for the intrusion but our spies in Espaniata have come reported that a military expedition is being organized into Central Africa"
"Thank you, gather the council again, this time we must decide what to do"
Roger walked back to the chambers where he met with the committee, the group of men and women who governed each part of the lives of his people, they spoke to him and sent his messages down to the Governors of the major regions. If Espaniata were prepared to send an expedition into Africa it meant war with a major nation could start brewing, He'd have to send diplomats in to try and stall the Espaniatans, at least until his army returned from Egypt, then a smile spread across his face, an alliance, he'd make sure to have the best bits of Africa of course, but he could sacrifice a few tidbits to keep them happy. As the committee entered into the room Roger began to speak to them, a way forward had to be found and it had to be beneficial for the Empire.

[St Lucoa]

Madagascar 1815

The newly formed army was nearing the end of their training, soon they would be able to put up a fight against any army, they may not win but they would definetly put up a good fight. The cavalry brigade were also nearing their training aswell. The King asked men from all over the country to sign up for the army. This call was answered by 6,000 men. With the military size increasing the demand for weapons also increased, the King hoped that weapons from Europe would come soon. For now they would just have to make do with what they had.

Now around 8,500 men were in the armed forces, newly made uniforms were created for the men. The uniform was matching light blue trousers and coat with a light blue helmet. The light blue was used a the smokey battlefields made it hard to see who was who.

Slowly but surely the Madagascarn military was growing, the King wanted an army of 100,000 men to be trained and armed within a year. This of course would be including cavalry and possibly artillery. The King the put out a call to all the nations of Europe.

To the nations of Europe,

Madagascar is calling on you for support in this time of uncertainty, we now need around 15,000 muskets for our armed forces. We need these to defend ourselves against the savage tribes of Africa.

Please help us in our time of need.

From, The King Of Madagascar.

The King did not want to reveal to the nations of Europe the true intentions of the growing military, as they may think of it as a threat. He thought it would be best to let them think that the weapons were for the "savage tribes of Africa", when they were really for the colonial nations of the world.

[Nova Imperius]

Madagascar 1815

The newly formed army was nearing the end of their training, soon they would be able to put up a fight against any army, they may not win but they would definetly put up a good fight. The cavalry brigade were also nearing their training aswell. The King asked men from all over the country to sign up for the army. This call was answered by 6,000 men. With the military size increasing the demand for weapons also increased, the King hoped that weapons from Europe would come soon. For now they would just have to make do with what they had.

Now around 8,500 men were in the armed forces, newly made uniforms were created for the men. The uniform was matching light blue trousers and coat with a light blue helmet. The light blue was used a the smokey battlefields made it hard to see who was who.

Slowly but surely the Madagascarn military was growing, the King wanted an army of 100,000 men to be trained and armed within a year. This of course would be including cavalry and possibly artillery. The King the put out a call to all the nations of Europe.

To the nations of Europe,

Madagascar is calling on you for support in this time of uncertainty, we now need around 15,000 muskets for our armed forces. We need these to defend ourselves against the savage tribes of Africa.

Please help us in our time of need.

From, The King Of Madagascar.

The King did not want to reveal to the nations of Europe the true intentions of the growing military, as they may think of it as a threat. He thought it would be best to let them think that the weapons were for the "savage tribes of Africa", when they were really for the colonial nations of the world.

To: The Kingdom of Madagascar
From: The Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik

We shall supply 10,000 of the muskets along with 200 barrels of gunpowder and plans for the production of ammunition for a 10x10 mile area of land at the tip of Madagascar for a military base and trading post for our kingdoms. ALso we believe it would be fitting if an Embassy was bit in each others capital. This would be mutually benifitial for both our Empires.

[Eastern Kirgyzstan]

___________________________________________________________________________________

Fortograd Central Strategic Command

Our Empire's current interests are in the north, where we could establish a couple more naval bases along the Norwegian & Finnish coast lines. Though the Emperor knew that this would make him look bad, he states that either way, if we don't take the north, someone else will. "We are in absolute need of taking back what's ours, we wouldn't be defending our cultural pride and history if we didn't do anything about it!" said the furious leader.

At the Capital, 500,000 men are marching around the Fortogradian government facilities, then all get into place in front of the newly built "Koschzcho Kapitol Kchenter" to hear the leader speak for what it seems like, one last time. "Welcome comrades, brothers, people I have been fighting alongside my entire life." "We are here today for one reason only, that reason is quite apparent, our Northern heritage and the right to reclaim what is really ours." "These days are quite difficult with tensions raising worldwide, but we seem to be the only ones that are not in denial about it all." "I want 7 artillery, and 4 cavalry divisions to join the ranks of the men that I'm currently addressing, immediately, that's an order." *11 divisions began quickly getting in with the ranks of soldiers*

[Len Hyet]

The Empire of Espaniata

---

Emperor Martinez looked down at the note in front of him, brow furrowed, and pondered the situation ahead of him. Apparently some tiny African nation on the Island of Madagascar, which his adviser has correctly pointed out could not sustain a large army, was begging for Muskets. Muskets, to gain an edge on rivals apparently. However, the nations of Africa had never before asked for such a thing, preferring to wage war in a more traditional manner. A sentiment that the Emperor understood, but did not agree with.

Now however, they wanted Muskets. Presumably powder and shot as well, unless they had managed to find Saltpeter and Sulfur on their island, which was doubtful considering it was almost entirely jungle. Seventy Five percent Charcoal, Fifteen percent Saltpeter, and Ten Percent sulfur was the typical mixing ratio, although others had been experimented with. He'd ordered the Royal Gunsmiths to come up with something better, that didn't obscure the field of vision, and didn't foul the guns so much that they had to be cleaned after every round. So far, nothing.

But, back to this little African Kingdom. The Emperor had been toying with the idea of giving the Egyptian tribes muskets, powder, and shot, but every nation's muskets were distinctive, and his own gunsmith's couldn't produce anything that looked similar to that of other European nations. They couldn't even take away their distinctive style so that the guns looked as though they could be from anywhere. No gunsmith could. If he had given the Egyptians muskets then the Sicilians would have known after the first battle, and Espaniata had no interest in being dragged into a war over the god forsaken deserts of Egypt.

This African Nation however... send two ships, not ships of the line, god forbid they be captured, but perhaps two fat merchantmen and a sloop as an escort. Five thousand muskets, five hundred barrels of powder, a hundred fifty thousand rounds, thirty rounds for each musket, enough so that a steady trade might be established, and perhaps if the Africans got reliant on them, an ally in the south of the continent.

The Emperor had a scribe quickly take down a note.

Addressing: The Scion of the Royal House of Madagascar
Concerning: The Sale of Musket, Powder, and Shot

We would be delighted to equip your nation with five thousand muskets, along with five hundred barrels of powder, and one hundred and fifty thousand rounds of ammunition. All we ask in return is that an Embassy be established in your capitol, and at least the consideration of our offer of a continuing trade partnership.

Sincerely,
Emperor Jorge Luis Martinez the IVth, Emperor of Espaniata, Shield of Bella Espana, etc. etc.

Even as that letter went out, to the ships who were equipped as specified, and set sail within the day. Carpenters and diplomats aboard, along with marines and embassy staff, create the embassy in Madagascar. Then, a messenger entered the room. He whispered into the Emperor's ear that a Sicilian delegation had arrived to see him.

"Send them in." The Emperor said quietly, moving to his throne in the grand entrance hall. A moment later, the double doors swung open, and in walked the Sicilian delegation.

[The Blazing Aura]

Espaniata
Palerno had been a DIplomat for almost twenty five years, and it still scared her when she was told to meet with the head of another nation, the smaller dignitaries were far easier, and the job had certainly become more difficult with age. Palerno was part of the 25% of Sicilian Diplomats who were female, as equality meant men and women could work the same jobs though it was still more common to see men doing jobs like this one. Walking into the Emperor's main hall Palerno bowed, "Your majesty" she began "Our two Empires may have had difficulties in the past but we wish to put that behind us now as we both know that our areas to expand lie mainly to the south, further into Africa. We would like to propose a joint Sicilian-Espaniatan expedition into Africa." Palerno let that sink in before continuing, "We have also received a letter from the royalty in Madagascar, the Island near the southern tip of Africa, our two nations could work together to either ally with them and claim valuable resources that are reported to be found in the southern tip." Palerno waited, hoping the answer would be favourable."
Tubruq Region
General Ezio looked out across his troops, 27,000 Soldiers from all their regions in Africa, there lighter cotton uniform more suited to the heat than the metal armour Ezio was used to his fellow Italians wearing. The soldiers mainly used Muskets with bayonets though about 2,000 were Grenadiers, throwing grenades at the enemy from behind the musket lines, for Close combat they were armed with traditional swords and bucklers. They also had 3000 Camel riders, all armed with both lance, sword and shield for close combat and charging, along with their rifles which made them excellent skirmishers, the use of Camels of horses was almost obvious, besides the Camels being used to the desert their smell frightened horses, which would be very useful, almost too useful as two separate stable areas had to be used, one for the camels and the other for the Horses, mainly used to pull the cannons, though they wouldn't be seeing much actions here, instead they along with all 100 of the cannon, which included Culverins, Field Guns and Gatling Guns, amongst others would be put onto the ships that would accompany the force, The Sicilian Empire had absolute control of the seas around but there were still a twenty ship escort in case of Pirates or any of the other major nations backing Egypt, lead by Admiral Abdioun on his Man O' War flagship Storm of Mdina. The only artillery being bought along were 15 mortars, carried by teams of four men who would swap with some reserves throughout the day, though the force was mainly Africans, Elite Italian Artillery crews and Maltese and Knights of St John foot Soldiers were being used as a backbone.

OOC: Don't know how large/small the above force is, could you tell me if I need to adjust the numbers.

[Len Hyet]

The Empire of Espaniata

---

The Emperor looked down at the delegate in front of him. If she was nervous she hid it well, something that suggested a well trained and experienced diplomat, as was fitting from such a nation as Sicilia. It was a statement as much as a compliment that they would send an experienced diplomat to deal with him, something that was not missed by the canny ruler.

He drummed his fingers on his throne for a moment, content to sit in silence. No need to rush such a decision. Clearly their spies had informed them that he had sent an expedition south, otherwise why ask for a joint one. A delaying tactic, but was there anything genuine beneath it. That was his job at this moment. To discern the honesty of the offer, to look deeper, beyond the skin, beyond even the hidden meaning, into the simplest of questions. True or false.

In this case, he doubted it. More than likely, a delaying tactic. Although, one that could be useful. If his own party returned soon, which he believed they would, then he would know which parts of the territory he wanted, something that could only be good.

"Perhaps... a joint expedition. Fifty men from each nation shall we say? One gun each. Personal weapons besides."

[The Blazing Aura]

Espaniata
"Hmm Fifty men on each side, one hundred overall, I think that should do" Palerno mused, it was below what Emperor Roger had expected, but it should be worth it, "We should also take some riders as scouts etc. Unfortunately our best Camel riders are engaged at the moment, but we could use some of our Maltese Cavalry, say five Riders as well on each side to compliment the foot infantry?" Palerno looked as her scribe began jotting notes down, she could read and write but she needed to use all of her brainpower at the moment to both satisfy and challenge the Emperor, he was more than likely suspicious that a diplomat had arrived to talk about an expedition so soon after he had ordered one to be sent out. "Moving away from the manpower, I think it would be fair to split the lands seized half and half, obviously all lands on the West Coast should be under your control, whilst any land on the East Coast would go under Sicilian rule, we could split the landlocked regions between ourselves, say, from the southernmost point of our borders, down to Central Africa, and them straight south." Palerno stopped again, trying to think of the next move, she needed to please two Emperors here, both her own, and the one before her. More permanent peace with a major European nation would be good, allowing Sicily to consolidate control of the Eastern Mediterrean, whilst it also allowed expansion into Africa with relatively little to stop them.

[St Lucoa]

The King had recieved two letters from the European nations, one wanted a military base and embassy and one only wanted an embassy and trade. He had made up his mind, he did not want any sort of military base to be established on Madagascar. What would happen if a war broke out and the military base was attacked, this would possibly mean an occupation of the whole country.

Either way the King did not want any military bases to be built on the island, especially if it was a European country.

To: The Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik
From: The Kingdom of Madagascar

I am happy that you have answered our call for new military equipment, but currently we feel that we do not want any military bases to be built on our island. We hope this decision does not effect trading between our two nations. We would also like to tell you that you do have permission to build an embassy in our capital city, but once again you do not have permission to build a military base.

We thankyou again.

From The King Of Madagascar.

To:Emperor Jorge Luis Martinez the IVth, Emperor of Espaniata
From: The Kingdom of Madagascar

We thank you and your nation for supplying us with weapons and various other peices of hardware. As soon as your ships arrive we will pay your men the required amount. We would also like to notify you that you have permission to build an embassy in our capital city.

Thankyou.

From The King Of Madagascar.

The King was pleased with the new weapons his country would be recieving. He looked at charts of figures which showed the increse in men signing up for the military, this made him even more pleased.

Now the Madagascarn military had incresed in man-power to 16,000 men. The army was simple with most of the men in the standard light infantry, but some were also in the cavalry which also had increased in number.

Light Infantry: 11,000
Cavalry: 4,000
Medical: 1,000

Now the army was starting to take shape, but it would be a while before the 100,000 men mark was reached. The King expected this to happen.

[Nova Imperius]

To: Kingdom of Madagascar
From: Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik

We understand your wishes entirely. We shall, due to the lack of a military base be only supplying 5000 muskets. A Ship of our finest masons and architects shall be ariving at your Capital ASAP to construct the Embassy. It shall be inkeeping with typical Alexandrian Style opposed to your traditional architecture. We also give permision to you to build an Embassy in Durnovaria. After completion we shall discuss further Trade and repayment for the Muskets.

*Ship with Masons and Architects sent to Madagascar

Djibouti

Several months ago the King had sent forth a large fleet comprised mainly of Iron plated, 30 cannon Warships. The Fleet were now off the coast of the small State of Djibouti. This was considered to be the enterence into the Red sea along with the tip of The Yemen. The Fleet flew the Anhk-Durnik flag with pride and began blasting the costal Capital. The Capital was half equipt with almost Medeval cannons, cast offs of the European Empires. Few ships took damadge but one was on the verge of sinking with a lucky hit to the Hull. The Bay was entered and the ships docked, unleashing the 37,000 troops equipted with curved blades and Muskets. They were ready for action after traveling for so many months and were hardened from battle in Europe. The superior technology cut through the enemy like bread. The Red and grey of Anhk-Durnik was raised above the Tribal Palace after a day of battle. The death toll was 817, a small number considering the port gained. Along with the Country the scouting army claimed a further 90 miles in all directions from the Borders. Half of the Redsea gate was in control of Anhk-Durnik.

Tip of the Yemen

The Fleet arrived, but no cannons were fired. The Emperor had aranged weeks ago without consultation for an meeting to take place between the Sultan of Yemen and Major Admiral Holsley, second in command of the Navy. This request was obliged. The Sultan sat on a plush aray of bright coloured cushions and was growing anticipated towards the arrival of Holsey. The doors elegantly opened and in walked the Major Admiral in White formal uniform with a red sach with 4 stipes of threaded gold. The meeting began before Holsey even sat down in a blunt manor,

"Ill be frank with you sir, We offer you two options. One- We give you the latest Muskets, cannons, and a state of the art Warship that would protect your borders from the looming Gregatine threat. In return for our... generousity you gift us the west coast of your nation going 50 miles inland. Two- We attack and take your whole nation."

The Sultan expected this and was pleased,

"We shall agree with your first option sir. Long has our nation lacked the ability to efficiently protect our borders and believe that we need to do so ore than ever. However we still wish access to the Red sea. We propose a 10 mile wide strip along the northern border with the Gregatine Empire shall remain Yeman."

Holsley replied,

"Indeed sir. The ships shall arrive within the Month."

As soon as the Admiral was there he was gone and had already left the room with nothing more than a tip of his head.

Northern tip of the Mediterranian sea

A section of the fleet now purveyed the very tip of the sea. There orders were to watch ground movements and shoot any foreign military body on sight. This was to be Anhk-Durnik territory soon enough with attacks left right and centre, literally.

*Djibouti (and 90 miles around it) and the western coast of the Yemen in Anhk-Durnik control.

[St Lucoa]

To: Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik
From: The Kingdom of Madagascar

We are glad that you are building an embassy in our nation and that you are still giving us the muskets. We will pay you the required amount when the party from your country arrives. We hope this is the start of a healthy relationship between our two countries. Your party will be welcomed with open arms.

From, The King Of Madagascar.

Madagascar 1815

"Forward to canter!" Shouted the Cavalry officer.

"Present swords!"

".....CHARGE!"

The brigade charged at targets that resembled scarecrows and the men stabbed them with their swords. This was one of many training exercises going on throughout the country. Often they were demonstrated in fornt of Cities and small towns to encourage men to sign up. It has some success, as later that month a futher 1,000 men signed up for the cavalry. The King was pleased.

Embassies were soon to be built and Madagascar was prospering, although still the 100,000 men mark was still a long way away.

[Eastern Kirgyzstan]

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Arkhangel'sk, Russia

Houses were being set on fire, civilians were getting slaughtered, businesses were getting robbed, all to simply strike fear into the hearts, minds and souls of the defenders. 122,000 men, 7500 cavalry soldiers, and about 2000 mobile cannons were literally destroying this small city to be able to afterwards, establish a military base and then aid to push forward in the great conquest of the north.

"Grouppe A and Grouppe B are going to be leaving tomorrow to start pushing towards the Russian/Finnish border and Moscow. Grouppe C is currently forcing the local militia to retreat, and Grouppe D will arrive here around noon next week."

It was hard to hear anything over the sounds of the invading soldiers and constant shooting, but the Emperor still made sure that the plans were ready to reclaim the rightful ownership of the Greater North.

[St Lucoa]

It was taking too long, with only 500 men joining the army every month the King was displeased. He had to take action. A force of only 16,000 men could not stand up against the might of an European army. He needed the military size to increase rapidly and quickly. He ordered conscription, it would not make him popular, but he knew it had to be done if Madagascar was to put up any sort of fight. By putting conscription in place this would mean that around 75,000 men would be drafted in to the army. Of course the King wanted to leave some young men to tend to the farms and livestock.

Word quickly spread around Madagascar that conscription was in place, superisingly many men were happy to join up. The new draftees were entering their first stage of training. The King divided them in to the different corps in the Royal Army.

45,000 - Royal Army - Light Infantry
20,000 - Royal Army - Cavalry
10,000 - Royal Army - Labourers

The Labourers built basic defence systems around the coast line, it would buy the army some time in the case of an invasion but it would not guarentee safety. The King was please the total number of men in the armed forces totalled around 85,000. His target had nearly been met.

Including the new draftees the Royal Army numbers looked like this:

53,000 - Royal Army - Light Infantry
21,000 - Royal Army - Cavalry
1,000 - Royal Army - Medic Corps
10,000 - Royal Army - Labourers

The King was very pleased.

[The Blazing Aura]

Cairo, Egypt

"General the whole of Egypt is now under Sicilian control, we received reports from our fleet that Ras Mohammed surrendered this morning"

"Good, very good" General Ezio replied, "Italian military forces our moving in to consolidate with our new Militia Units, they'll be ready by the end of this week, Gather the forces, we're moving south into Sudan."

"Yes General" The Messenger replied, "There is one problem though, spies report somehow the Empire of Ankh-Durnik has claimed control of Yemen and Djibouti."

"That's not a problem we can beat their fleet, if all goes well in Espaniata we can stop them from entering or exiting the Mediterrean, then they will have to sail from their harbors in the north sea, We shall deal with them at once, tell Admiral Abdouin to get the Sicilian fleet to blockade any ships that bears the Ankh-Durnik flag from passing through our waters. Though this news makes it all the more apparent that we must move south and claim the rest of the East coast of Africa as far south as Djibouti as soon as possible. How long will it take to mobolize the main body of our force?"

"It should take only a few days, the majority of our force is consolidating in Aswan"

"Good, let's make haste then"

"Yes sir"

A Fortnight Later. Port Sudan

General Ezio looked through his telescope, the white flag was a sure sign of surrender, they had laid siege to the Port two days prior, and the attack this morning seemed to prove successful, the cannon use to protect the harbour could not be bought around in time to defend the Northern wall, it was a shame that part of the wall had been bought down, but with the ease of getting inside the African Musketeers of the Sicilian Empire had proved their worth again, the main might of the Sicilian Military, about 20,000, now looked East, however a force of 3,000 was to stay here to make sure that no Ankh-Durnik forces would try and take it.

Palermo
Emperor Roger read Ezio's latest report, it was a few days out of date of course, but it clearly stated what had been happening, and another Diplomat was to be sent to Ankh-Durnik, this one ot have more sterner words withe the Emperor, however word was also to be sent to Palerno in Espaniata, this type of information if twisted correctly could force the Espaniatans hand. Roger agreed with Ezio's more rushed decisions, and had sent two fleets to Egypt to protect their new territory, if Ankh-Durnik wanted war, they could have it, they had just forgotten Sicily's most powerful weapon. The Pope.

[Eastern Kirgyzstan]

_____________________________________________________________________________________

St. Petersburg, Russia

*Take them down in the name of the Empire!!!*

Bullets and cannonballs were flying in every direction, it wasn't until Grouppe A discovered the St. Petersburg militia that the crossfire began. Most of those men were barricaded inside civilian and government structures, and had to be vanquished fast and easy, which cannons could do at any time of the day. One by one, buildings, homes, and shelters were taken down and started crumbling to pieces, the locals even turned to refugees and ran away from the fighting. But at the end of the day; 1100, was the shocking, combined number of casualties of both foot and cavalry soldiers on the Fortogradian side. Luckily, no more deaths were reported and the town is cleared,
Grouppe A shall remain stationed here until further notice.

Yaroslavl', Russia

Grouppe B has not met any sort of resistance, except for a couple angry crowds of civilians that ended up all getting neutralized. This town is empty, and useless, but we have captured it and we will keep some of our soldiers here to keep patrol, until a better, useful solution is found for this place. *This is only our launchpad, and today comrades we are the rockets!* said Field Commander Nikolai Markov. Morale is at an all-time high, and the Empire will soon begin the march towards Moscow!

[Nova Imperius]

Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea

The past three weeks had been full of bloodshed, on the defending side. The full 37,000 men from the fleet had been engadged in intense combat through Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea for three weeks now and along with coastal bombardment of two of the three the nations were becoming weaker. It seemed that a race had begun between The Anhk-Durnik empire and the Sicillian Empire that would surely end in war. This could not happen if plans were to be maintained. The fighting was still intense in the two coastal capitals but was beginning to fizzle as rebel groups began to leave the city as they came to a disadvatage. Local tribes in Eritrea were tricked into loyalty to the crown of Anhk-Durnik through gifts of jewels but mainly weapons. All military were put on high alert and units were to be cautious in the area of Sicillians. The Emperor wanted no war though so a boat was sent to Sicily

To: The Kingdom of Sicily
From: The Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik

Greeting. We are both aware that tensions are high between our two great nations and a compromise is believed to be made. Anhk-Durnik proposes that everything south of South Sudan on the coast is to be claimed by Anhk-Durnik and everything above including the states of Syria and isreal may be taken by Sicily. We wish no hostilities and shall take action if neccissary.

*Eritrea mostly in Anhk-Durnik control

[The Blazing Aura]

Palermo
Emperor Roger read through the letter once more, he was getting on a bit but that didn't mean he was losing any sense of control, nor would he bow before some of the newer nations,

To: The Kingdom of Sicily
From: The Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik

Greeting. We are both aware that tensions are high between our two great nations and a compromise is believed to be made. Anhk-Durnik proposes that everything south of South Sudan on the coast is to be claimed by Anhk-Durnik and everything above including the states of Syria and isreal may be taken by Sicily. We wish no hostilities and shall take action if neccissary.

Roger called for a Scroll and pen before starting a reply.

To: The Kingdom of Anhk-Durnik
From: The Sicilian Empire

Greetings indeed. I was unaware of your obsession over The Eastern spine of Africa until my spies reported it, I have no quarrel telling you I've had spies in the region for a while now to help my Army which you must know about as it is coming in from the north. I would like to question why you have suddenly chosen to claim areas of land so far away from your own borders when your last plans were to unite the area around Greece and potentially start a war with the Mideonan Empire. Especially as your majors harbours are in the Baltic sea to the north. I too believe a compromise should be made however I believe you are in no condition to make the conditions, as you are outnumbered at every turn. I propose that Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia will be under Anhk-Durnik control, as well as the Arab states of Yemen and Oman, Whilst the Sicilian Empire claims Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, we would be willing to also give you the East coast of Kenya, however from Tanzania down would once again be under Sicilian control. This offer is more than fair, giving you outposts to both the Red and Arabian sea.

From
Emperor Roger 12th

The desert, South-West of Port Sudan

It was unsurprising really, Ezio had known that not all the armies would hide inside their cities, and indeed these ones hadn't, 15,000 irregulars had marched out to face him, mainly native warriors still used to charging in with swords and shields, though some guns had been used, no artillery had been fielded against him, in total the enemy had lost almost 90% of its fighters, those not dead were now fleeing back to their homes, the Camel riders hot on their heels, at least for a bit. Fear always made dealings so much easier. In response Ezio's army had to bury about 50 dead, with another 200 odd wounded, those wounded with more serious injuries would be taken back to Port Sudan, where they would recover in the hospitals set up there. the less serious wounded would continue, but that was the way of war. It had already been decided that they would rest for a bit in Atbara, the next major place on the conquest list, it would give time for the reinforcements to arrive, 20,000 men, mainly from Italy, though the Knights of St John had a more serious presence in this one, as more horse cavalry units were to be used. Ezio wiped the sweat from off his brow, he'd been raised in the Tunis region, but even out here he was sweating like crazy, it was suicide to go out in the heat at midday, work or marches had to be stopped for fear of exhaustion and sun stroke. The route for them was laid out, after taking Sudan's main towns they would head for Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, were they would rest and consolidate for a couple of months, to let the supply train and reinforcements catch up, before marching south for Nairobi, hopefully were the campaign would end, taking the rest of Kenya, apart from the East Coast, according to the Emperor's latest plans at least.

[Halleon]

City of Mideonan

The sound of the military drums continued its beat as the regiments marched in parade fashion down the main street of the City of Mideonan. The regiments marched in unison to the beat of the drums as they marched past King Alexandros who noticed each foot soldier held his head high in pride, that each cavalry men sat high in his saddle, and the sounds of cannon fire in the distance were the pride of the Empire. The show of Strength was always entertaining to watch as it showed that the Empire was still strong and the Empire stood united. This was shown as the many regiments participating in the parade were from all over the Empire. Men from Greece, Muslims from Turkey, and even men from the Balkans marched side by side as comrades at arms.

King Alexandros saluted each regiment to march past him with his sword as he crossed the sword over his body. Unlike other leaders his sword wasn't just for ceremonial purposes, more then once he had cut down his enemies on the field of battle with the sword. The roaring cheers of the crowds echoed throughout the city as the diverse citizens of the Capital City of the Mideonan City were showing their support of their beloved King and their pride in the defenders of the Empire. With a wave of his hand the crowds would erupt into a frenzy of applause and shouts of "Long live the King!"

With a smile on his face he left the viewing stand, surronded by his Elite Bodyguards as they made their way on horses back to the Grand Palace. Preparations were underway for possible expansion of the Empire as the King had grown tired of watching Africa be torn apart between European Powers bent on dividing Africa between themselves. It would be a insult to his Nations Glory and Honor not to get involved in the race to expand colonial holdings and power. As his eyes roamed across the current map of the World commissioned by well known map makers throughout the world, the Kings eyes fell on several possible areas of the World that might benefit the Empire to colonize or to even seize.