The War of the Two Empresses OOC/Signup Thread

[Vrijstaat Limburg]

Is this still open?

I mean technically, but its in the closing stages. I'm sure you could find a place if you still wanted to join. We've also got a sequel in the works if that sounds more appealing.

I'll definitely consider it. Thanks!

[Libraria and Ausitoria]

Just to echo the comments above, you’d be most welcome, but we are approaching the closing stages and because it’s all set in the past the plot is now fairly constrained, so we’ll let you know when we get anywhere with the sequel.

There are a few other sequels as well, but one is finished, one is also finishing, and the other is rather private and extremely legal, so probably best to wait for the one Mizrad’s leading on, which will also probably be closest stylistically.

Mizrad, you wanted an “oh, shit” moment before the Ausitorians pointed out they could engage in mudslinging deterrence too. So, once again, I’ll delete my post for now!

Pax Prosperitas - Gloria in Maere

By Order of Their Imperial Majesty's Government

---

Notice regarding the Sword of Sanctification

The Aestorian Commonwealth has noted that Zathalon has created a bioweapon known as the Sword of Sanctification, designed to wipe out everybody who does not possess a particular type of gene, known as the Rosea gene.

We would like to thank the unknown questers who made this information available to the free world.

While we sort out how to defeat this barbaric nonsense, we would like to announce that we have completed a bio-weapon called the Sword of Pontification which will wipe out everyone who does possess the Rosea gene. It will be released from various locations in the event that it does not receive continuous signals from us.

In the event that this fails, we will of course obliterate whatever portion of the planet seems to need obliteration by nuclear means. It is to be expected submarines will be fairly safe from bio-weapons due to being enclosed.

This is Mutually Assured Destruction. This is deterrence. This is peace. This is the Pax Prosperitas.

We will, of course, limit the number of locations of the Sword of Pontification upon discovering a more effective counter to the bioweapon in question, in order to avoid accidentally activating it. We are currently also developing an antidote to our own bio-weapon.

We note, generally, that biological weapons are terribly uncontrollable and extremely inefficient. We hope that all parties and observers will agree not to bother developing them, as we will either simply counter them, or counter them more simply.

Notice ending the blockade of Rhodesea

The Commonwealth hereby ends the blockade of Rhodesea and would like to announce it is currently re-establishing conventional relations.

Richard (VII Terefort-Kazpia, Serene Maharaj and Viceroy of the Chattakang Empire, Acting President of Panessos, Foreign Secretary) and (Imperial Princess) Victoria (Deputy Prime Minister, Archduke of Merlibre) were whispering in each other’s ears in High Auxitorian, a language absolutely perfect for romance and double entendre.

But, before we turn our eyes aside in respect for their privacy, let us remember Auxitorian is also the language of intrigue and versatility, and if anyone could use love as a disguise, it was the Ausitorians.

“Eig aem tsi devilles,” said Richard to Victoria. (I am so evil).

“Nu’ tu erntaitden,” replied Victoria. (No you aren’t).

“Tsierntai nu’vi ei thalotden wit ilto’erntai l’tri. Tubuquhore witu’thalo probabos habt ilto fixmd penitus ena witk olnivi.” (There’s no way they won’t know it’s true. To be quite honest we’ll probably have it fixed inside a week anyway.)

[As very few people can read High Auxitorian, for brevity I have translated the rest directly to the common tongue].

“We don’t have a biopharma industry for nothing, and we can do anything a pack of pathetic genocidal super-racers can do. And it’s way easier to attack something with a gene than attack everything without one: you just target the gene. The scientists assure me they’ll have it fixed in a jiffy. Anyway you know that we’ve been experimenting with xenocidal gene drives so there’s plenty of experience. Some snakes are positively dangerous.”

“If Lara finds out, or suspects too much…”

“This is the first time I have ever knowingly lied.”

“You said you liked my mother.”

The pair smiled at each other.

Richard corrected himself. “Ok, this is the first time I have ever knowingly lied in a professional capacity.”

“Have you told the Prime Minister?”

“No. Only those working on the area know, and they’re all scientists. You can always trust a scientist. For a week, anyway.”

“You’ve told them?”

“Yes. A scientist will talk about anything they don’t know. They’ll keep quiet about what they do know. If the story breaks we’ll release that they’re just researching a secondary solution to be absolutely sure. And in the meantime I’ve sent some green slime under the highest possible security from the garden pond into warheads earmarked for twelve different submarines around Zathalon. I just hope none of them break, that would be embarrassing.”

Victoria smiled.

“I think we’ve spoken long enough…”

Now it is time to turn our eyes aside, far, far, far over the seas to the war…

(Or thereabouts. Ok, still some way away, but a lot closer).

Free Zathalon Forces Command
Panessos City
Ailanor/Heilanor, depending on who you ask
Some time later

“IRRRRR! Bloody Empire-building!” exclaimed Pontifex-Tribune Elizabeth Van Oranje, Acting Strategos for the Free Zathalon Command, as she threw her pen down on the desk in her office. (Seventh Floor, 5 Panessos Government Complex, Panessos City). Her pen was the only thing in her office which she could throw without breaking.

“Why do I get the Governor-Generals in Junitos and Tenebros and Gilesholm all trying to out-empire each other? It’s bad enough having my own side of blasted Aes-Chattakang Imperialists making off with this very island from Heilanor, but now, I learn our own bloody capital Alexandria and that pontificating turquoise pea-cock prince sitting in the Twit Palace^{(The Winter Palace, sometimes called the Whitt Palace)} far away on the other side of the planet in Decis has decreed that the Commonwealth should maintain the bases in Junitos and a Governor-General there distinct from the Free Junitos Government. As though all this is just a game. And I have tales of monsters, people are sacrificing their lives to tell us what we’re up against, and they just instantly magic up a solution and then go straight back to their endless intrigue! How on earth is Junitos meant to recover from war without a central government? How on earth are people supposed to work together? What is meant to stop the whole show disintegrating before our eyes? IRRRRRRR!” she finished with annoyance.

Her guest, Philip Fitzwilem, the Borethnian Admiral, C-in-C of the Helian Littoral Fleet, and now (by dictact from the Turqoise Viceroy Maharaja Richard VII Kazpia himself) Governor-General of the Helian Bases, clicked his tongue and looked at her sympathetically.

“What can I zay,” he said. “That is ze Chattakang way. What did you expect when you gave me ze order to take command of a Corps, a Fleet, and an Air Flotilla to convert all the Helian Islands into basez, encourage links with occupied Junitos and Gilesholm, and use both to harass the enemy coastline by any means I vought fit? Obviously I waz going to set up a string of extremely useful (and very expenzive) hidden coastal bases and provide supplies and leadership to a column of warmongering saboteurs and launch stealth raids to destroy enemy units. Zat was what you wanted. Only now zese things have taken a life of zeir own and ze treasury doesn’t want to gift all zose very expensive and very valuable military bases. And obviously Kazpia wants to keep Borevnia enmeshed in the Commonwealth, which is why he wants to show that he can give us an chain of bases on the Helian ocean to go with our chain of pearls in the Antesalian sea.”

“You’re saying there’s nothing I can do about this?” replied Elizabeth, sassily.

“No,” said Philip.

Elizabeth continued regardless. “Because I bloody well can. I have authority over any and all issues of the Commonwealth’s conduct of the war against Lara which have not been regulated on by the Aestorian Commonwealth or the International Commonwealth Agency or the Panessos Senate. So even as “Governor-General” I am placing you under my command. You will co-operate with the free governments. You will respect their sovereignty everywhere except the bases and give them every assistance in those bases. You will pay them rent equivalent to their lost revenue – prewar lost revenue,” she clarified, aware that this would annoy the treasury, but revelling in the fact that she could force them to do so. “They need that money. They’re fighting for their lives in a war that gets instantly forgotten in Alexandria.”

“Aye aye, Ma’am,” said Philip, a laconic smile. “It will be my pleazure to assist.”

“Good. Thank you,” replied Elizabeth, smiling. Then her face relaxed and she sighed. “How are the Mizradians getting on?”

“Oh, fine, although the Junitos and Gilesholm governments petitions for them not to destroy infrastructure or kill any civilians is making zeir advance rather tricky.”

Elizabeth facepalmed. “Yes. And naturally Mizrad won’t be happy at being asked to sacrifice their soldier’s lives and nobody else’s. Perhaps we might have to special-ops our way through remaining cities with a drone force like we used in Bluewell. I shall ask the Pea-Cock.”

“Quite,” said Philip. “And ze Mizradians are also not quite sure who’s in charge of liberated Heilanorean territory.”

“Join the club. Heilanor, if they ever get round to taking charge. I’ve never seen such an ineffective government of goatherders, but I’ve made clear that the Commonwealth has no further ambitions on their east coast. Although goodness knows whether Mizrad is going to try to nab a base anyway. They did in the Mizrad-Rhodesean war.”

“Republics tend to be less aggreszive. Although they think they’re God’s gift to the world, destined to lead the way to the promised land.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “And how about Gilesholm?”

“Well, as you’ll have seen, zere’s the new area of operations we’ve opened in the south-western mountains. Ze Air Fleet Marshal is very enthusiastic. He says his aircraft are buzzing around setting up hidden basez, left, right, and centre, liberating those taking to the hills. We’ll probably have another ten million refugees here before you can say ‘Aestorian Aid Fund’.”

“How’s the Marshal?”

“He says he’s never been happier. I think he’s quite happy to have ezcaped from the world of ships and admirals. The Walrus^{(The head of the Commonwealth Air Forces)} is planning a visit.”

“Interesting,” said Elizabeth. “So much for the end of the Air Force’s independence. And how’ve you been?”

“Oh, now that we’re most of the way through reclaiming that island base off the coast of Tenebros, my family’s finally moving over.”

“What about schooling for the kids?”

“We’re setting up a school. There’ll be a few thousand people on ze island soon, so it’ll be like an embassy compound, with a year size of a hundred or so kids.”

“And how’s the location?”

“Well, we’ve had a bit of bother with the Department for the Environment, of course, what with ze destruction of the eastern triangle of the reef, but the operational imperative for having a base at Helia reef is very strong, and we’ve made arrangements to compensate ecologically with an artificial reef on ze south-west side of Helia isle itself, and we’ll reinforce the reef to the south by adding a couple of islands on either end, which we might as well equip with minor listening facilities and lighthouses and a secret submarine dock, but nothing more intrusive. But anyway we’ve finished half of both ze runways, so we can operate anything tactical.”

“Jolly good. When will all that be finished?”

“Third phaze reclamation should be done by the end of ze year. Fourth phaze – that’s the additional couple of islands – six months after. The final building work can be completed within two years of whenever we decide. Here.”

There was a pause. Then Philip continued.

“Months and years… may I ask what our endgame is?” he asked. “Lara has a deterrent. Is it reasonable to expect her to surrender the northern countries? I don’t want to push her over the edge.”

“She must have a chance, and no option, but to be gradually less and less capable of trying to rule the world,” said Elizabeth, picking her words slowly. “And by extension, we must push gently. Mizrad’s operation clears the way in the East for an attack on the north. But this is not the time for us to push northwards. I know you want to take Cruxberg fortress in southeast Gilesholm, and I know the Gilesholm free army has loosely surrounded it. But let the town surrender of its own accord: apply pressure, and then draw the enemy into a successful break-out so they can’t break back in again.”

“That makes sense. It fits in with the whole “advance by stealth” campaign we’ve been running. They need to be able to look at a map and not feel completely insecure. The facts on the ground can be very different, but they need to think themselves safe.”

“And that’s what our intelligence network is also up too. Bribing the enemy Generals with the aim of maintaining Lara’s stability. They know Lara won’t be there forever, but they mustn’t make her insecure.”

“So we’re left bribing enemy Generals to support Lara,” smiled Philip.

Elizabeth smiled in reply. “We’re bribing enemy Generals to keep calm, ignore all escalation, and keep the war as far from a total war as possible.”

“No wonder it’s usually a forgotten war,” replied Philip. “Every move Lara makes, we counter, and we only ever dare tiptoe towards her.”

“War is hell,” replied Elizabeth. “That’s why we isolate it from our lives like a nuclear warhead in a submarine. Or a bioweapon on top of a missile.”

She lowered her voice.

“You’ve got yours, I suppose?”

“Yup.”

“Make sure to keep it safe, there are quite enough refugees in this city who aren’t very happy with it…”

“Your adoptions?”

“For example. They’re well, a bit scared, but who isn't?”

“All the world beneath our feet, all the one’s we’d like to meet,” quoted Philip from the Chattakang musical.

“I know what you mean. War brings people together, but let’s try to bring peace together too. Take care of that reef.”

“It’s beautiful,” replied Philip. “Before they would let us reclaim it, zey made sure to take us zere to see what we would destroy. And zen see where we would bring new life to ze ocean.”

“I hope you sent some photos to Alexandria.”

“Yes.”

“I hope it stirred some emotion there?”

“A few paragraphz in the news, nothing much. Nobody cares about a reef being demolished and successfully replaced with a new one. We keep zem safe so zey don’t need to worry, and when we are most successful, zey will never know.”

“Someone noticed, though. ‘We would like to thank the unknown questers who made this information available to the free world’.”

“Bit of an understatement.”

Elizabeth’s eyes’ glistened. “In High Ausitorian, the word “quester” means honorary Ausitorian.”

“Ah… an honour indeed.” Philip smiled, his eyes glinting in return. “Perhaps nobody notices ze people who notice,” he said, as his parting shot.

Elizabeth smiled and rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the update, Governor-General. Now go make some fish happy.”

[Mizrad]

Hey everyone!

Just letting anyone that is still paying attention that I will be getting my next post up soon. Not necessarily anything too juicy but certainly enough to get things moving along once again. Let's finish this thing up once and for all!

[Mediama]

Ah dang, sad to see I'm too late for this one. What happened to Sofia? I was planning to create relations and provide her with Mediaman support to provide a nationalistic, neutral "third force" to ensure democracy in the country, and to curb the influence of radical elements on both sides.

[Mizrad]

Ah dang, sad to see I'm too late for this one. What happened to Sofia? I was planning to create relations and provide her with Mediaman support to provide a nationalistic, neutral "third force" to ensure democracy in the country, and to curb the influence of radical elements on both sides.

I'm sure now that Ausitoria has left the website we could use another hand and we'll just pretend you were invovled from the start. I would be fine with that unless somebody else objects. I am also going to be hosting a sequel sometime in the near future if you are interested.

[Mediama]

Yeah, I heard. Can’t wait for the sequel. Soo is Sofia still alive then?

[Mizrad]

Very much so! I believe Ghant can refresh you on the details, though I can assure you a lot of the characters will be recurring.

[Crysuko]

a sequel eh? maybe i'll throw my hat in.

[Mediama]

Not sure if retcon might be good idea, any issue with starting new and fresh with establishing relations with Sofia’s government?

[Mizrad]

Post will be up by Saturday, very excited!

[Ghant]

Post will be up by Saturday, very excited!

I'm looking forward to it. Chapter VIII is coming in the coming weeks too!

[Mediama]

Just wanted to know Ghant, what happened to Sofia’s faction so far? Might consider supporting her in the sequel.

[Mizrad]

Post will be up by Saturday, very excited!

Update: Now editing to coincide with Ghant's upcoming post, so a ssssssssslight delay. Gonna be good though!

[Mizrad]

Post up soon, long and boring but covers Mizradian preparations for the final attack.

[Mediama]

Hey, soo... any word on the sequel, or a link?

[Ghant]

At long last, the third to final chapter to the RP has been posted. In summation, the forces of Empress Lara of Zathalon, augmented by advanced technology from "other worlds" originating from the Janus Facility have overrun the continent of Zathalon, and are closing in on Osserheim, which is the last stand of the Resistance. These forces descend upon the city with their machines of war, advanced soldiers and futuristic technology, and nearly crush the Resistance once and for all. Then the forces of the Alliance arrived in the 11th hour with air and sea superiority and defeat the advancing forces of Zathalon.

Martin and his Ghantish companions arrive with allied forces and receive the surrender of Fendulias of Gaemar and his treacherous forces, who betrayed Emperor Nathan at the Baby Shower and sided with Empress Lara openly, and joined the attack on Osserheim. To spare the remaining Gaemarian soldiers lives, Martin and Fendulias agree to a Trial of Seven, involving seven champions fighting on either side to determine the fate of all. Ultimately Martin and his companions prevail even against an augmented Fendulias, who enhanced himself with the Serum of Sanctification.

After the battle is concluded, Empress Selena and Martin are reunited and share a tender moment, before deciding to attack Letople in an effort to end the war once and for all. Selena is aware of a secret entrance into the Janus Facility that remains unknown to all but herself, and decides to lead the attack despite her weakened state. To aid her in the upcoming mission, she drinks the Serum of Sanctification that was on Fendulias's body, restoring her body to strength and giving her the power she needs to defeat her sister Lara. She swears to end the War of the Two Empresses, and proclaims her love for Martin of Dakmoor, and her intention of ruling Heilanor once again, with him by her side.