Aftermath (AMW)

[Beddgelert]

Lapolis. Or once it was. Now Celea, they said, with a hard C. Was that in the peace agreement? The people of the so-called Republic of Tsagija looked on as former soldiers, clergy, and politicians, all with loops of rope hanging from their necks, shuffled through the streets and, at the behest of armed Celts in the uniform of the Gwylwyr Gelert -the sentinels-, tore down old street signs written in Greek and Slavic characters and replaced them with needlessly ornate Celtic script reading different names altogether.

Most laypeople never had the time -nor were they given the opportunity- to scrutinise the text of Tsalland's instrument of surrender, but some had initially heard that this new creation, "Tsagija" would be -in a more real sense than the international protectorate of Ionia- sovereign, only Montenos annexed to Beddgelert. But if they were alarmed at seeing the old capital given a Celtic name, it was perhaps best that Tsalland's obsolete patriots not think on Montenos at all, for it was already gone.

Mynydddu, declared Akink, had always been such. Montenos was only the name applied under a military occupation by a people who never treated those mountains as home. The absurd migration plans enacted by the Grand Duchy, under which none of Tsalland's subjects were to live near the Geletian frontier, left the little southern territory -always sparsely peopled, and bordering Beddgelert in both east and south- virtually empty of all but the military garrisons of two vast and ultimately useless Semenov forts. When the Geletians had returned -on and under ground across the border in two directions, from the air, and by sea as well- the whole region was quickly isolated, and since that second day of fighting no foreigner -a term now applied to Slavs and Greeks too- had been allowed into Mynydddu, now a region administered from Boiodurum as part of the Republic of Boia.

It was the Slavs, said Chivo, who had begun forced migrations in Mynydddu, and in what was now Tsagija too. Beddgelert could not be held responsible either for that or for new population movements now under way as masses took advantage of the Archduke's fall and sought to redress the imbalances created by his offensive rule.

Either way, in what had been Tsalland's southernmost Duchy the National People's Guard had seen to the demolition of mobile phone masts, jamming of radio frequencies, severing of telephone lines, and closure of external borders with Tsagija and Ionia alike, and was now under-taking 'mopping-up' operations against 'remnants of the feudal apparatus', a task that evidently required the entry from Boia and Brigantia of several hundred trucks and scores of DAG-2/3 Ebol light transport aircraft.

So maybe the Beddgelens were having their Tsalland and eating it too. Having accomplished the destruction of the Grand Duchy and promised to respect the independence of its core territory, Akink was offering little more than shrugged shoulders to the on-going inter-ethnic violence in Tsagija, which had barely abated since the invasion. Countless Slavs from Ionia had packed up and fled inland, expecting already relatively poor Greeks there to step aside and accept their continued supremacy, and Lapolis, or Celea, or whatever it may be, readily supported the claims of these returning Slavs. While this went on here -and similar in Ionia too, no doubt- most of the continent was distracted by events on the Franco-Valendian border and the religious troubles that had now perhaps leapfrogged Central Europe and landed in the Shield, to say nothing of the potential fuel crisis growing out of Depkazia's own strife (which, true enough, concerned Akink as well).

Geletia's foreign ministry chose this moment to launch an international campaign across Europe aimed at 'lapsed Celts' (those who have known or suspected Celtic family connections but do not speak a Celtic language -Cymraeg, Kernewek, Gàidhlig, or Gaelg in Acadzia, Brezhoneg in France, the various Geletian and Cassanotian tongues elsewhere-, or who may have been raised in an otherwise alien manner, perhaps in a Christian faith) who now wish to redeem their Celtic heritage and settle in the virgin valleys of 'Mynydddu', where plots of empty land and unworked mines awaited their cultivating touch and profitable labours.

[Hargravia]

In the city of Borogrod, the capital of the Rus, below the gold-covered domes of Orthodox churches, in left wing of the Kniaz's Palace. In a huge elaborately ornamented room, beneath a gargantuan Neo-Baroque chandelier, the Royal Council sat at a wooden table with a gold emblem of a double-headed eagle in the middle. The Prime Minister was just explaining the recent events in Tsagija, while the nervous nobles listened, and the bored Monarch ate pickles.

"... and that's basically it, Your Highness, the Celts devoured their little puppet" summed up the Prime Minister

"We should do something to protect our Slavic brothers!" declared Count Chelyadnin

"We shall enquire about your nationalist sentiments when We will need them, Nikolay Ivanovich" quietly said the Kniaz without raising his stare from his dish, immediately silencing the noble.

"The Black Hundreds will get upset" the Prime Minister calmly noted

"They always are!" shouted Kirill III, losing his patience, and dropping his pickle "What they would have me do? Start another Great War bacause of some national romantic nonsense? I rule this country, the commoner rabble does not! Lock up their leaders if you have to, just don't let them cause trouble, or get their anger out on some minorities"said the Kniaz, and Rail Kaya, the "Minister of Trade" immediately started whispering orders to one of his confidants.

"Won't we do anything?" asked Chelyadin

"We shouldn't! That part of Europe has no ties to us, and there is no political interest to be gained there" replied Premier Antonov

"No ties? What about the ties of blood?!" Nikolay Ivanovich was a sentimental fool, but the Black Hundreds loved him, and he sure knew how to get those enthusiastic imperialists swarming into the army, "a little too enthusiastic for good soldiers" the Kniaz thought while his advisors shouted at each other "but that's nothing a sergeant's whip doesn't fix". Kirill III himself was a discipline-loving militarist, having served in the army as a young man, yet he didn't share the Count's nationalism, "a subject that pays taxes is as good as they get", and he didn't demand them to be any more Rus than they wanted to. But he was more than willing to use force when it could bring benefit. Listening to them arguing made him wish he could make use of his army, at least to not let them rot in the garrisons anymore, because no training is going to keep them in shape like real action could. But he just didn't see any legitimate excuse to get involved in the Balkan affairs, at least not yet. He silenced the council and declared that Borogrod shall wait for the response of the international community, "...before we act in support of any of the sides" he finished, with his eyes fixed on Chelyadin.

[Cassanos]

[OOC]Small teaser summing up the Nibelungs’ stance on Tsagija.
Munstra, Federal Republic of Nibelunc

The short-lived enthusiasm over the so-called ‘Ahler Agreement’ had wound down. The government’s inner circle had debated about how to react to Beddgelert’s actions.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to be done – under the Munstra Accords, as was the treaty’s official name, Beddgelert had maintained

… the right and duty to create and maintain peace and balance between all ethnic groups in [Tsagija] as the situation demands.

Legally, the Geletians were right – or, at least, not wrong. And even if they had been, many people didn’t care. The media’s main focus was on the multinational force in Ionia and its problems, and while nobody was especially happy with the situation, nobody had much pity for the people of Tsagija, who had, after all, begun this war. The Geletians made just enough effort to suppress violence between Slavs and Greeks that they could state that their resources didn’t allow for more police actions.
And as Akink didn’t allow an international force in Tsagija, the various Nibelung NGOs and relief organizations had to make do with what was available. It wasn’t much.
As for Montenos or ‘Mynyddu’, they were quite right about the fact that there weren’t many people living there now, though they failed to mention that it was the Geletian army’s occupation which had driven out almost all non-Celts of the area. Nationalist Celtic organizations in Bohemia and Cassanos had begun campaigns for “resettling the lands of our fathers” almost immediately, and it was common knowledge (though there was no proof yet) that they were sponsored by Beddgelert.
So far, though, only a very small number of Nibelung nationals had chosen to accept the Geletian offer, life in a country where they could practice their religion and, most importantly, live a comfortable and safe life, was apparently still preferable.

[Iansisle]

Doctor Henry Jessan clamped his hand hard over the mouth of his toddler daughter, who had been looking like she was about to say something. Her hands grasped at his for a moment, then she fell still as heavy boots fell on the riverfront walk just before them. Four men perhaps, walking on patrol. One paused for a moment just in front of the bushes where they crouched – Jessan's heart almost stopped – but it was just to drop his cigarette butt and stomp it out before catching up. There was some chatter about sports (“I'm tellin' yas, I don't care who they added, the Mustangs can't keep up with the Gulls!”) before the quartet rounded the corner.

“Something has gone wrong, Hank,” whispered his wife, Alice, who was clutching their young son by his hand. Little Henry's face was as pale as the moonlight as his dark eyes stared up at his parents. “They said there'd be no guards on the river at this time of the night.”

Hank hesitated, worried. His contact with Gwylwyr Gelert had been very definite. A meeting time had been established beneath the pier outside Brineton-on-Danube, near the Black Sea. For a brief few moments during the Shieldo-Geletian détente following the Great War, Brineton had become a major resort destination. Its former grandeur was still reflected in a crumbling pier, home to a rusted ferris wheel and a boardwalk long since overrun by weeds and the famous grasses of the Shield. In the town proper, the houses of the rich and famous had been subdivided into small apartments for those who remained farming in the countryside and remembering the glory days of the '50s and '60s. Now, nobody came to Brineton outside of soldiers and aspiring Celts. The threat of revolutionary Beddgelert combined with the industrial waste choking the Danube to ensure that.

“They're gone now,” Hank said at last. There was no noise except for the insects. It was about fifty yards from where they were to the next cover. The pilot who was to take them across the river would be waiting along the river, maybe three hundred yards up the river bank in heavy cover. “On three, Alice. One – two – three!”

Little Henry broke cover first, his mother trailing by his wrist just behind him and hunched over double. Last came Hank, clutching tiny Jessica to his chest. They had made it almost halfway and Hank was just starting to hope when a challenge was shouted from further down the road.

“Hey, what's this!? Stop immediately!”

“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Hank tried to urge his legs to go faster and wished that he had spent more time on the treadmill. Shots rang out from the direction of the voice. Hank tried to focus on the muzzle flashes out the corner of his eye. At least they weren't in the direction of the pier. Another ten yards. Then, just before the reeds, he felt a burning pain in his shoulder – just near where Jessica was, oh don't let her be hurt! -- and collapsed. With a stifiled cry – what a good girl, still trying to be quiet – she rolled out of his arms.

“Hank!” That was Alice. Boots were approaching, still a distance off.

“Don't bother with me, just go. Take Jessica and go,” he said, his breath shallow and irregular. “I'll hide somewhere – meet up with you later. Go, for the sake of our children, Alice! Don't look at me like that, just go!”

While they ran off, Hank, levered himself up on one elbow and pulled himself towards the reeds.

[Beddgelert]

Danu Delta, Regnia

The Ysguborion, named for the principle Geletian town on its banks, being the northern distributory of the mighty Danu, acted as the border between Beddgelert and the Shieldian Empire. A fine border it made too, being but one of three major arms into which the river was divided here it accounted for more than half of the total flow that spilled into the Black Sea.

Along the right bank dozens of little mounds that could almost have been giant swamp-bubbles or some manner of fungal monstrosities struggled against innundation by the saturated earth or the ever shifting waters of the delta, but never the less gave border guards on the Shieldian side something to do as, perhaps, bored conscripts wagered duties and perhaps the brash even the odd keneral on which if any might be occupied at any given moment by a member of the opposing border force. Beddgelen sentinels, for their part, liked to leave hints of themselves at one bunker before crawling to the next and watching in dark and silence as the 'enemy' fixated on the glowing embers of a cigarette -which surely nobody would simply discard!- or the sounds of a portable radio, marking each in turn through the image-enhancing optics of their Baner M21 rifles.

Tonights gunfire put paid to any such commonplace activity as it sounded from the left bank, sending the Celts into a relative frenzy of activity. Fiber-optic communications were sent back and forth between the water's edge and area command at the Palace of the Danu Authority deep in the Geletian heart of the delta, and the wide tracks of a TAUA hauled the amphibious armoured personnel carrier across the wet earth as it conveyed a squad of reinforcements to the front.

Some minutes after the first shot was heard, a most unexpected order from the palace had marksmen in pillboxes on a certain stretch of the border fire shots of their own across the river, at no target in particular and indeed with every effort to avoid hitting anybody or anything. This occurred some seven or eight hundred metres from where Dr.Jessan lay and perhaps five hundred from the location at which he had expected to cross the waters, and then gave way to firing another two hundred metres further along the river in the opposite direction from events on the Shieldian side.

Udgorn Rhyddid: Two Gwylwyr, Fourteen Militants Killed in Dúnréimse

A stand-off at a heathen temple in the Tsagic city of Dúnréimse (Tsg. Dubrizje) has ended after terrorists killed a member of the Gwylwry Gelert held hostage since being snatched from a bar in the city over the weekend, provoking security forces to storm the building. A second gendarm was killed by gunfire while breaching the crypt in which the last half-dozen hostage-takers made their final stand. Authorities are seeking three terrorist collaborators believed to have escaped during the gun battle; their descriptions may be found in this article's footnotes, and peace-loving residents of Dúnréimse are being urged to come forward with any information on their where-abouts so that peace may be preserved in the city...

[Jatriqya and Hoya]

Ntoumpróvnik, Ionia (Dubrovnik)

Emperor Tiberius VI had sent a special message to the Ambassador, Consuls, Army generals, retailer and bank managers that were present in Ionia to congratulate them on their achievements in Ionia. Achievements that were achieved without too much work.

The Bank of Constantinople, Bank of the Peloponnese and Pan-hellenic Bank had all bought up struggling Ionian banks that had fallen into disarray after their Slav owners had fled to Tsagija. More than 450 branches of banks in Ionia were owned by Byzantine banks. Byzantine clothing and supermarket retailers have been expanding their stores in the area. The Byzantine Catholic Church expanded it's network by retaking the Slav Orthodox churches that were left behind in their flight to Tsagija. Byzantium had established an Embassy in Ntoumpróvnik and consulates in Lioumpliána, Split and Zantár.

The Byzantine Emperor sent out a memo asking the Byzantine army and all Byzantine stores and Banks implanted in Ionia to use Greek, and in smaller print French, in order to preserve and expand the Greek language in Ionia.

Byzantine Businesses are seen flying Pan-hellenic flag
Constantinople Post

Following a statement by the Emperor in Constantinople for Byzantine businesses and Embassies to fly the pan-hellenic flag, the movement has been heavily followed in much of Byzantium, the Peloponnese Protectorate, and Byzantine retailers around the world.

The movement has been inspired in Ionia by the inclusion of the Ionian Lion, integrating the Ionian Republic into the greater Greek world. Byzantium is represented by the Imperial Flag, and the rest of the Hellenic world by the hellenic motifs in the background.

Ionian businesses were seen in Ntoumpróvnik flying the pan-hellenic flag as well as the Ionian flag. The movement has developed similarly in the Peloponnese. Businesses in Byzantium were slower to fly the flag, but all government building in Byzantium and abroad have been ordered to fly both the Hellenic and Byzantine flag.



OOC: Didn't really know what to say, and my original post got eaten, so it's not as good as it should be, but I have an essay to write.

[Iansisle]

Jessan could only hear shouts, curses, and some gunfire as he lay bleeding in the bushes. A strip of cloth ripped from his jacket produced a tourniquet but, despite several attempts, he could not tie it to himself at quite the right angle. He was losing strength quickly when he heard a voice calling his name.

----

And, wish though she might, Alice Jessan could not call out to her husband. She was crouched under the Brineton pier with her two children and the sooty-faced Shieldian who had been contacted to convey them across the Danube estuary, towards their new life in Mynydddu. The fire seemed to be tracing farther and farther down the river when two large search lights ignited on the Shieldian side. They dated back to the Great War and one almost immediately blew out its fuses and flicked back off after a brief burst of light. The other swept up and down the Geletian side of the river, searching for the sources of the fire.

"We don't want to go yet, ma'am," whispered the mule. "If they see us they'll either think we're runners or we're a Beddy invasion. Neither 'un ends well for any of us."

[Beddgelert]

The Ysguborion

Some way up the border, Geletian troops continued to fire shots against the opposite bank and into the air, hardly the most intense barrage given the sparsity of guards on the Beddgelen side of this relatively defensible terrain and the disinterest of all but a few (in any case unwanted) Christians in crossing to the Shieldian Empire. The order for no deadly fire until baiting-fire is returned remained in force, and there was little more that the Gwylwyr could do.

However, when the armoured personnel carrier arrived at the riverbank almost the first task carried out by its crew involved a Llewpart M6 anti-material rifle affixed to a pedestal on the vehicle. After careful aiming, a single 14.5mm armour-piercing round grunted forth above the chattering of the border guards' 5.45mm rifles, and sailed towards the active searchlight on the far side of the distributary.

Akink

Far from the disturbances on the Shieldian frontier (not that Portemirion regarded territory this side of Afon Chwyrniad to be Shieldian in any case), one of Beddgelert's great cities was feeling the bite of winter particularly uncomfortable as legislators and administrators contemplated the proper response to the rising price of gas. In many rural areas it was known that people were taking advantage of redirected heating coal and huddling together in the roundhouses that still formed the epicentre of such communities. Typical private residences no longer being suited to the use of open fires, this communal strategy was of little use to millions of Geletian urbanites, and power stations were struggling to cope as residents turned to electric space-heaters. Military personnel were being directed to aid mining and power companies as they struggled to keep up with increasing demand amidst road-blocking snowfalls in some parts of the country. Graeme Igo and the League of Communists were leading an assault against the state's continued reliance on foreign market economies, and a frost-bitten public was increasingly willing to listen.

Meanwhile, resentment of accused 'puppet' governments in Tsagija and Macedon was not helped by rising gas prices, a troubling fact that served to increase Akink's displeasure over Central Asian events.

Portmeirion made clear where it felt blame must lie: squarely on the Shield. And, said Council of Ministers Chairman Braeden Apcarr, on its high king, whose meddling agents sought to destabilise sovereign states on the empire's periphery, all in the cause of Christian imperialism. On the other hand, Apcarr stopped rather short of saying anything directly supportive of Chingiz, or anyone else for that matter.

Môr Du

Potentially one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world, with supremacy contested historically by Geletia, the Shield, and Byzantium, this presently seemed a better place to be than the Caspian, at least.

Flagship of the Llynges, the big-gun cruiser Andarta always attracted some attention on her deployments, though it couldn't be said that her relocation to Tomi was particularly unusual, the city being home to possibly the biggest port on the Black Sea and to one of Beddgelert's principle shipyards, where the cruiser had received one of its major refits. More unusual was the arrival of a fourth Brennos Class ship, an amphibious assault craft of a class only five hulls strong. Still rarer the deployment of Drapoel-built Cholima Class hovercraft, though this would be comparatively easy to conceal, as was the military's intention

[Iansisle]

Brineton

The loud report which followed the remaining searchlight's spectacular shattering left little doubt amongst the Shieldian border guards that they were under attack. Beddgelen border troops would see them scurrying for cover while machine gun nests laid down protective fire, trying to keep their opposite numbers' heads down. Frantic wireless messages were sent to the Royal Shadoran Artillery units attached to the Army of the Southern Mans, begging for fire support. In the confusion, no one noticed that no human casualties had actually been taken from the fire. Regimental commanders passed the buck along to the army leadership, which shot back that no fire support was to be undertaken until reports of Geletian amphibious invasion could be confirmed. For now, the only response to the fire was random and helter-skelter small arms.

Combined Parliament, #1 Jameston Place, Ianapalis

"...and how does the government answer Apcarr's charge of Shieldian aggression in Depkazia?"

The Right Honorable Representative of His Grace the Duke of Entex, empowered by his lord to make accusations of Lord Dirwisham's government that no regular commoner would dare level, gripped the speaking platform tightly while he glared at the cabinet sitting before him. The territory of his Grace lay inside the Beddgelen Democratic Republic, meaning that Lord Entex (and his representative) were not allowed to vote but they retained the privilege of questioning government policy. Where this concerned Beddgelert, Entex had charged his man to be especially virulent. There were murmurs throughout the rest of the house at this direct assault. With a motion from Dirwisham, Lord Inswick rose to speak.

"Representative Smith, you may tell your Lord that the foreign ministry's silence on the matter of the unjust and dangerous accusations of some members of the Beddgelen government is not an accident. As the world knows, the failed government in Depkazia resulted in a violent and unstable situation which could affect the economies of Europe as well as the people of that great country. Our intervention was at the request of the local people. Once our peacekeeping mission has succeeded, we intend to offer a seat at the table to the world to decide the future of Depkazia will be open to representatives of all nations. If Beddgelert so wishes, that invitation is extended to Portmeirion as well. However, I would like to express that the government considers these accusations to be highly inflammatory and unfriendly; if Chairman Apcarr wishes for the Republic to have a place at the table, he would be wise to refrain from making such unfounded statements."

Inswick looked around the house, then leaned back into the microphone. "After all, it is highly unwise to throw stones when one lives in a glass house."