Greater Commonwealth of SaxahvallThe Reformation
Rolighavn, Province of Vest Hjamland
Out with the old and in with the new didn’t even begin to describe the radical changes that came with the incumbency of the current Premier, Rama Majumdar. The first full blooded Indian to take the Premiership in a nation ruled by an upper class primarily made up of whites. He was first elected in 1848, and has since begun a campaign of undoing what many of the white minority sought so fiercely to suppress; equality.
Many of the nobility, with veins running with ancient and noble blood, pled with the aging Emperor Thror to end the madness and put Majumdar in his place. However, unwilling or unable to do so, Thror sat idly by as new legislation destroyed hundreds of years of tradition.
Race riots erupted in the days following the passing of the legislation, and the streets were awash with death and depravity. Scores of lives were extinguished and thousands more were injured as hate became the weapon of choice on both sides of the equation. It seemed the country would be ravished by senseless bloodshed and potentially the destruction of the nation entirely.
The white minority was asking for the resignation of Premier Majumdar, and some of the most radical were advocating for deposing Majumdar and installing the Emperor as an absolute Monarch. On the other hand, the native populations merely wanted equal representation in both houses of the Parliament, as well as the abolishment of any noble titles within the nation.
While this was all occurring, Premier Majumdar did not languish at the growing prospect of his demise, he called for an end to the violence between his fellow man, if only temporarily. The forefront of the two sides agreed to a short truce, in which time Majumdar took a leap of faith and poured all his energies into writing a wholesome and defining speech that he hoped would give both sides an indication of his intentions, dreams, and aspirations for his beloved country.
Over the course of nearly two hours, and before nearly a hundred thousand people, a number of things were made abundantly clear to those gathered. Majumdar made it clear to his people, both majority and minority, that if they wish the nation to remain whole and their people strong and independent of oppressive rule, the violence would have to stop. Majumdar wanted only for the nation to be unified as one society, one people rather than fractured like broken glass. Even if that unification tore down centuries of tradition, they would be rebuilt piece by piece in a new glorious image. An image of equality, peace, and understanding.
He confided in them his dream of a brighter future for the nation, but that brighter future rested perilously on the edge, and that if the violence continued that dream, the dream of a better tomorrow, would be irreparably torn apart. He had plans for finally uniting all of India under one flag. There were a great many things Majumdar wanted for their country, but if they did not stop their rampant aggression, they would never come to fruition.
By the time the speech was over, the crowd was stunned into silence. A spark had started a fire in each and every person present. A spark of hope, pride, ambition and so many other things, and they knew the man before them would be the one to stoke that spark and create a vibrant blaze. Majumdar was something of a new experience for the men and women of Saxahvall, he at least appeared to care deeply about the country and its people, unlike many of his predecessors, something they would likely only see once in a lifetime.
Somewhere in the crowd a slow chant rose through the ranks, at first it was barely a whisper, but it quickly swept through the gathering and shortly everyone was shouting
“Majumdar! Majumdar! Majumdar!” And shortly after the riots turned to non-violent protests, and the murders turned into brawls, and slowly the country went back to its daily blissful routine knowing that a great man was leading them into a new era of prosperity.
Two years had passed, and Majumdar was re-elected as the Premier with a much higher margin of votes than in the previous election.
After Majumdar was elected, one of the first things he did as Premier was reform the military by dismantling the current system that gave military ranks based upon the noble blood in their veins as opposed to their personal merits. However, reforming the military in its entirety would take an exceptional amount of time, and once it was demolished it would have to be rebuilt from the ground up, starting with the leadership. However, Majumdar was no military man, so he was forced to rely on his Defense Minister, Aake Engen, to select appropriate leadership to revolutionize the dilapidated Saxahvallan military.
Minister Engen exhausted a list of the entire current and past military leadership to look for someone fit for the job. After weeks of searching, interviewing, and researching, Engen decided upon one man, a high ranking Oberst within the army, by the name of Anar Konda. Oberst Konda had distinguished himself on several occasions throughout his career, and from what Engen could tell, he would be an exceptional candidate in leading the military to new heights. And, with oversight from Engen would rebuild the military on a grand scale.
It had been two years and there was still much to be done, however, the results of the radical restructuring could already be seen. The men on the front walked with more pride and enthusiasm, as opposed to the drab and gloomy state they’d been in. Not only Engen, but also the Premier were pleased with the rapid progress that had followed Konda’s appointment, something that wouldn’t have been possible under the previous system’s backwards ways.
It was a well kept secret that at the time of Premier Majumdar’s election that the very Emperor himself was one of the Premier’s greatest confidant’s. Now that that fact was well known at least on the political scene, the Emperor had been all but shunned from many of his usual duties, something that Thror, in his advanced age, was almost glad of. His public appearances were becoming fewer and far between as he ceded much of the limelight to his executive counterpart, something people from both sides of the economic and social spectrum simply ate up, yet often for different reasons. Despite that, when Thror did come out of his Palace walls it was more often than not for good reason. Such was the purpose of his latest visit to Majumdar’s personal residence.
Premier's Residence
Rama Majumdar, Lord Premier of the Greater Commonwealth of Saxahvall and publicly proclaimed as the saving grace of the nation, was enjoying a light lunch of Masoor Dal soup and flat bread. As he drained the last of his bowl, he heard the familiar sound of a moving carriage which could only mean one of two things, either the radicals had decided to finally depose him, or the Emperor had finally arrived. As he peeled back the curtains, he was happy to see it was the latter of the two.
The fabulously ornate carriage of the Emperor was parked just beyond his door, and the old pale Thror was stepping down onto the heat blasted red brick sidewalk, stubbornly waving away any offers of assistance from his loyal retainers. Rama silently chuckled to himself as he walked towards towards the front door to greet the cranky old man. One of his own retainers rushed past to open the door for his Imperial Majesty. Rama stood straight as an arrow, but his face and eyes faced the floor. The door was opened and Rama spoke,
“Be welcome to my home, my lord. Treat it as you would your own.” Rather than say the traditional response, Thror simply walked past him towards the Parlor saying
“you know I hate it when you do that.” A sly grin formed on Rama’s face for a moment before he raised his head and followed the Emperor towards his Parlor, saying
“I know.” As they stepped into the parlor and Rama closed the door he wondered at how he and the Emperor could get along so well. Thror had been born into one of the richest and most powerful families in the nation, and he had the blood of Kings and Emperors flowing through his veins. Rama on the other hand had the blood of dirt poor farmers in his veins, and while Thror was learning to play at politics, Rama was learning to survive in the streets of Mumbai. They were polar opposites, and yet so very much alike.
Rama poured the Emperor his usual drink in silence and seated himself at his desk. The Emperor had already seated himself before him and was silently contemplating, which for him could never be good. Rama set a glass of Akvavit in front of Thror and took a sip of his own. With a slight grin Rama asked
“so, what may your humble servant do for you today?”Thror gave him a great sigh and a scowl before replying with a blunt as ever response
“I want you to convince the country it's time to go to war. Your new military genius has had two years to work his magics, it's time to put him to the test. I’ve been told the Sultanate of Gujarat is in the midst of religious turmoil, and the Gaudan Kingdom of the Ganges is too weak to defend itself for long.”“You know I can’t do that, and besides from what Engen has told me, they’re simply not ready for something like this.”“Engen? Engen knows less about war than he does about administering to the defenses of this country. We can only truly know if they’re ready when they’re tested, no matter how much training they receive, they’ll still know little of real war.”Rama let the notion run through his head, the Emperor could force him, but Rama would receive nothing in return.
“Fine, I’ll do it so long as you do something in return.”“And what would that something be?” Thror asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I want you to sponsor some legislation in the near future, it will be largely minor, but I intend to finish what I started two years ago.”Thror thought for a mere second before replying,
“done. I think its time I left, people might start to wonder.”Thror downed the last of his drink and set the glass down. Both men stood, and Rama escorted the Emperor to his carriage. As the Emperor’s carriage disappeared out of view seconds later, Rama could only wonder if he’d done the right thing.
General Anar Konda
Fort Tønsberg, Province of Pradesh
In his youth the hustle and bustle of a moving army had always filled General Konda with both pride and excitement, and now that he was older and more experienced, it had had a decidedly less profound effect on him. Yet, now that he was the supreme commander of Saxahvall's land forces, Konda felt again like the young lad that first joined up, but now he could feel something else too, it was almost a fear of what was coming for these men that he had come to know and love like brothers. And deep down he knew that many of the men arrayed before him would never make it back. Konda suppressed the notion for now, lest it consume his thoughts.
Wagon wheels creaked, orders were shouted, and many a frightened horse whinnied in distress. These were all things that came with a force of this magnitude marching all together. Over a hundred and thirty thousand men were stretched out over several miles, soon to be split into two armies of eighty thousand, and fifty thousand. Each going their own separate ways towards the dangerous borderlands, then beyond to bleed, and for some die in the name of the Emperor. Such was the life of a soldier.