For the past 150 years, humanity on the world of Terre has been experiencing a formative period of societal evolution. Historians would one day call this time The Age of Luster, and it began when industrialization began to sweep across the nations of the world. Initially the factories and mills of this industrial revolution were fueled by the kinetic movement of rivers or wind, and though prosperity reached many, it wasn’t until steam was harnessed that the true revolution occurred.
As steam power was mastered, it spurred an explosion of technological advancement and economic opportunity never before seen. The promise of this new frontier took roots in all facets of life; from agriculture, to medicine, and for the next fifty years the people of Terre were a part of a socioeconomic shift that has yet to be replicated. The upper and middle-classes boomed to the point where members of the lower class were almost unheard of. Trade and cooperation between nations was free and fair, and as a result peace reigned. The utopian era seemed as if it would never lose its momentum. Ironically however, the first crack that signaled the crumbling of The Age of Luster was brought about by humanity’s next great leap forward: flight.
A Friduhelmian physicist named Dr. Oscar Akoyev discovered a substance that when mixed with several common chemicals produced an inert gas so buoyant that it could lift units of mass thousands of times heavier than itself. This element came to be known as Levincium, and though no one could have anticipated it, its discovery tolled the death knell for peace across Terre. Airships soon followed in the wake of Dr. Akoyev’s discovery, and for a time the boom in trade and commerce that resulted surpassed the expectations of even the most optimistic of Terren. The fire of opportunity was burning as hot as it ever had.
Unfortunately, the fuel for this fire was dwindling, especially when it soon became apparent that only a scant few nations possessed naturally occurring Levincium deposits. Coupled with the now unsustainable rate of expansion, countries soon began to panic as they realized that their newfound prosperity was at stake. Relationships between some nations began to erode quickly; free trade was replaced by tariffs, regulation, and distrust. Wishing to project power in a world that was changing once again, military spending across the globe rose exponentially. Technology was focused on the creation of machines of war. Though peace still held, it was held together by gossamer thread.
The thread of peace was finally cut on a brisk morning over the Searsan city of Morse, when Friduhelm forces invaded. With surprise and numbers on their side, the Friduhelm army soon took the city, along with its precious Levincium refineries. Over the next seven months the entirety of Searsa was conquered, and as a result Friduhelm became the largest holder of Levincium in world. Unwilling to stand against the might of Friduhelm, the nations of Doorster, Terahon, and Inglor, soon allied themselves with the imperialist power, forming the Fri Imperium. Among the nations on the Amarc continent, only Carodie held its ground.
Though outmanned and outgunned against the Imperium, Carodie possessed a strong and determined military that led the leaders of the Imperium to seek another option besides an all-out invasion. Using their powerful air armada, the Imperium blockaded Carodie from the rest of world, essentially laying siege to the proud nation. The countries of Frith had little interest in involving themselves in a war with their now powerful neighbor across the ocean, and the island nations of Quindith, Sta-Loudi, and Bellonat likewise feared entanglement with the Imperium. It appeared that Carodie was on its own.
With hope waning, the Carodith leaders knew they had to act boldly against the Imperium, or not at all. A young naval officer, Commander Tabor Reid, approached the leadership with a daring plan that would hopefully break the grip of the Fri Imperium on Carodie…
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Originally Posted by DarkShadowmark