IC:
Autumn, Year 1330 (2011 A.D.) of the Crystallian Calender… Eleven years since the outbreak of the First Astoli War...
A decade has passed since the horrific battles of Belka and Halkenginia, and Astol remains on the brink of total chaos. A tenuous armistice between the Empire of Wolfenium and the Commonwealth of Amythyst remains at breaking point, and peace talks, though still underway, is set to fall apart at any moment. Even Agaria, once an icon of unity and freedom, stands on the edge of civil war, as the two most powerful blocs of the Federation is set on a clash of ideals and sentient morality. As different factions on all sides jostled for power, one unlikely symbol of hope still remains for this world, a hope which once stood as a tropical bastion of debauchery and sin...
Resort World Casino Land, former Confederacy of Casino Land - Hours before arrival
It is the first day of the Astoli Peace Summit, and the island resort was hours away from opening its doors to the world for the first time since the mysterious fog which swept away the employees of the island. Delegates from around the world and beyond would converge on this idyllic tropical paradise, each with their own agenda in mind. But one thing pulls them towards this tourist trap more than anything else – the prospects of a peaceful resolution to eleven years of bloodshed, horror and military standoff.
Once abandoned, time and weather had worn away at the once grand complex. But for the past few weeks, a vast army of construction workers, technicians and engineers, had quickly restored this once ruined tourist hotspot back to the heydays of its first opening. And even as the minutes ticked away, the main arbitrator of this miraculous revival was still hard at work, making the final preparations for the event. Standing at a miniscule 162 cm, the blonde fairytale princess in her pearl white dress, looked extremely odd in her road-cone orange helmet, flipping through her checklist as she jubilantly inquired to her subjects.
“So,” she asked demurely to a technician kneeling next to a set of exposed wiring on the wall, “are the light fixtures ready?”
“Almost, Your Grace,” the young man remarked in assurance, “we still have a few kinks to sort out, but we’re good to go for the summit.”
“Brilliant,” squealed the jovial royal as she marked off on her checklist. However, her escort, decked in standard dress uniform and wrapped in a cloak, was not as pleased.
“My Queen,” she questioned cynically, “must you force yourself to commit to such a mundane chore? We have plenty of grunts who are more than willing to accept the task if you give the order.”
“But Miss Lust,” the queen told her escort bluntly, “that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of them, would it? I’m in charge of this event. I should be the one to make sure everything goes through. Isn’t this the job for a leader?”
“Yeah, just not the monarch of the largest empire in Astol,” Lust insisted, “you should be in your suite, dolling yourself up to greet the arriving dignitaries, not sweating it out like a common peasant.”
“Lust…” she groaned in defence, frowning over the disparaging remarks, “even commoners have their due respect. After all, no nation can be built without its people to shoulder the burden. Can’t you see? It’s this sort of mentality that is dividing this nation. The people are disillusioned. The nobles are deluded. Those who have the power are too concerned about their own hedonistic desires to care for the people they were tasked to care for, and those who need that care the most are forsaken by their leaders. Ultimately, the only people who will suffer in the end will be everyone. If Amythyst succumbs to chaos, thousands of innocents will perish in its wake-”
“-The same way my countrymen paid the ultimate price for your injustice,” interjected a snide female voice, “for a conflict that should never have started at all?”
As the duo turned to face the owner of the voice, they saw a young girl, just slightly older than the Tsarina by two years, her raven hair tied to a twin tail. Sporting a patronizing smirk, she wore a red turtleneck shirt and a miniskirt, typical of modern civilian youths. But the frightened maid hiding behind her indicated that she was no mere commoner.
“Grand Duchess Eva,” Lust rebuked with a snide tone of her own, “such an ‘honour’ for a member of the famed royal house of Wolfenstein to grace us with her presence. To be honest, I’m actually quite surprised… I thought peace is not your cup of tea.”
“Maybe,” the Wolfen girl answered back, “but even I know better than to meddle in the affairs of a nation on the brink of total collapse. My brother had a point trying to draw up a peace treaty. Best to take what you can before your nation gets bogged down in a foreign crisis-“
“Oi,” snapped Lust, her monarch trying to hold her back, “watch your words, Wolfener! Don’t you dare test our patience! Don’t even think for a second you could bully us into handing over Halkenginia! Amythyst is far from finished with you-“
“Miss Lust, that’s enough,” ordered the Tsarina sternly, clearly upset at the confrontation, “there’s no point getting into an argument with her. She’s just trying to provoke you.”
Watching as her maid cringe in fear of the succubus, Eva calmly quipped, “Provoke? Why on earth gave you that idea? I’m just stating my view. Is that a crime? See? You even scared my maid.”
“Eva,” the queen sternly stated, “if you have an issue to raise with me, just say it. No need to be so cryptic with your accusations. Isn’t straightforwardness your family’s best talent?”
Eva could not help but be amused at the challenge. She was quite intrigued at how much this once carefree young girl changed. Playing with her hair, she crooned, “fine, Alice… You want me to speak my mind? So be it…”
“You,” she answered coldly, “are a murderer, plain and simple. You’ve already had the blood of fifteen thousand people in your hands, all of whom your own dear subjects. It’s a far cry from the thirty million people your mother sent to their graves, but it’s definitely a start. Only other thing left to do is to kill a member of a rival monarchy, like mine...
Well, at least one region will not meet the same sticky fate as the rest of your crumbling state. I’m sure my brother will win over the hearts and minds of the Halkenginian people once they realized how much greater their lives are under our benevolent rule; compared to one that stands on the edge of civil war…”
“Oh, would you look at the time,” Eva quipped as she looked over her wristwatch, “I’m sorry, Your Grace, but duty calls. Be sure to put up a good show. It would make losing a lot more dignified than it really is. For now, goodbye…”
On that note, the duchess carried a sly smirk on her face as she brought her maid through the doorway, passing the Wolfen guard at the entrance. Promptly, the soldier dressed in black and a steel helmet saluted the royal as he ushered them through, shutting the door behind him. Watching as her rival disappear behind the mahogany frame, Alice could not help but feel hurt. IT was not by her mother’s own free will to authorize her family’s assassination. She did not mean to get Eva’s sister and family killed. But the Grand Duchess had every reason to blame the Remingtons for that act, and Alice felt that such accusations, however emotionally charged, were rightly deserved. As she turned to her escort, she made a solemn promise.
“Don’t give up hope,” she told Lust, “it’s still not too late to save Amythyst. Once I complete the treaty, we’ll have the means to put an end to the socialist rebellion once and for all. If we can defeat Svetlana… if we can stop her on her tracks… there may still be a chance to preserve the Commonwealth and change the nation for the better. I can only ask that you help me, Miss Lust…”
As the succubus heard her plea, she remarked, “you ask the dumbest things, My Queen… You don’t have to ask me at all. I will do everything it takes for you, if it can save our homeland. I won’t let anyone, not that bitch or the traitor, be proven right. I’ll show her the will of an Amythysian warrior.”
This was the kind of conviction that still held true for many Amythysians. In a land all but devoid of hope, it is the will of those like Alice who were still keeping the dying flame alive. With her dreams of reform and restoration resting on the peace talks, can she truly bring peace to Amythyst with the Empire, or will malcontents once again sow distrust and animosity between the two sides, and bring Amythyst one step closer to utter destruction?...
