The Emperor sat in his chair,that overlooked the city of Domestica the capital of the Republic. There was a knock on the foor. He looked towards it and said "State your business!" "Your Honor, the dailiy report is here." "Come in then!" With that he turns back,and continues to watch the birds fly by, and the city streets buzzing with life. "What news do you bring?" "O-of course your Honour"

"There are news from the western border intrusions. The Milita holds firm and there has been only a few casualities." "How many exactly?" The Emperor turns back, and as swiftly as the char turned he stands up. He walks to the counter and grabs a bootle, and pours some alcohol in it. "So?" "There are 51 dead and 214 wounded. We have repelled most of the tribes attacks. They suffered many casualities. Around 4000" "Good, let's teach them not to mess with the Domestians. Send out a reinforecemnt team and let the ones who fought the longest come home. Any other news?"

"Ummm...There are news about the Mine in the hills. They are almost done and ready for work any moment now." "The resources we need so desperately, are finally at hand. Order them to start working as soon as possible. Jeoffrey!" The man who has been watching silently in the corner answers in a coll voice "Yes Honour?" The Emperor looks at the asistant who brought the news. "You can go now!. Jeoffrey I have a special task for you. We have uprisings all over the old Hakun kingdom saying that we waste too many resources on the military, and that we leave the common people behind. Whilst as you know it is not true, I would like to end this. Take a squad of the size and quality you see fit, and explore the areas to the west to see if you can find any way to annex or annihilate the tribes. Their territory lies in mineral rich hills.You must understand the importance. You are not a diplomat, use any force necessary." "Very good sir. I will see to the task immidiately" "You are dismissed." With that the doors close and the Emperor sits back in his chair, and continues watching the landscape.

Slowly, but deliberately, the sun peeked out from the horizon, still hesitant to show itself this far north. It was the first sunrise the city of St Drolem in the last three months, the end of winters depth. Arch-chancellor Taniss Cyk watched the light slowly encompass the landscape, first through the thick stone houses, then to what passed for the industrial sector, and finally illuminating the oil fields, where men had worked all through the dark winter to draw the thick crude from the ground. It was no coal mine, but it kept the lamps burning and with a little extra effort the military found use for it.

Turing from the balcony back to his advisers Arch-chancellor Cyk decided he had kept them waiting long enough, "Gentlemen, it has been over sixty years since the unification of this democracy and yet it seems we haven't changed a thing. Today we change that. I have sent a courier to our southern rival, The Irodien Empire in hopes of establishing open trade between our peoples. If successful certain opportunities shall then be open to us, and now that winter is at an end we will be able to send ships to the more distant great powers as well."

The rest of the council remained in Drakun, overseeing the latest batch of enlistees. Most were young men, proud and desiring glory, a few were older, men who had failed to find their calling but still desired purpose, and finally there were those who simply had nowhere else to go. None truly knew what to expect from enlistment, but they would give it their all. Within a few months these men would be soldiers, or employed as menial laborers.

In the far South, Queen Annetan IX was beginning to end her day. As the furthest East kingdom, the sun was setting whilst it was rising in the more Western lands. Today had truly been a busy day for the woman. Now, she approaches the gates of Gods' Keep, a massive, ancient fortress made out of dark stone that was meters thick. It wasn't exactly a pretty structure, with it's odd pentagonal shape, jagged towers, and blocky buildings, but it was nigh impregnable, and the gigantic cannons that gawked down at her with their gaping maws gave her a sense of safety and peace.

Annetan IX took only a few moments to rest in her own thoughts. She draws her mind back to the real world, where her chainmail and leather suit clinked and squeaked and her enormous mare snorted and pounded the ground with great, ponderous steps. That mare was a breed meant for farms and utility work; with Rubania's strength, however, she could also carry a huge Queen clad in several pounds of armor. Even atop the huge white armored mare, Aleit was a big woman. Thick boned, tall, and angular, she was not even considered pretty, but that was not important to the people of Stoludi. She was a strong woman, and that was what mattered. Underneath her armor, Aleit Annetan IX had pale skin, as per usual for Stoludians. Her black hair flowed freely out of the back of her helmet and down to the middle of her back. The helmet framed a weathered face, faded blue eyes, and sharp features that made it look as if she were perpetually scowling. She had thick eyebrows and a pair of thin, hard-pressed lips, which did not help the rid that illusion of perpetual difficult thought.

Combined, Aleit and her mount Rubania dwarfed Annetan's guards, men and women that would have been considered great even as Children of the Righteous Thunder. Annetan swept her eyes across them. They all regularly scanned the horizons, peering at the darkening sky for any threats, even within the range of the Keep's enormous cannons. Good. Caution was never a bad thing. All of them were mounted atop smaller black horses, uniform save for the white markings on their faces. Like their riders, all the horses wore chainmail with steel helmets, with various gemstones embedded in the foreheads.

Annetan looks forward again as the gates swung open and the many chainmail-clad guards stepped aside to let the Queen inside. Inside of the Keep, it was a flurry of serving boys, pages, squires, and stablehands; after many minutes Annetan was finally at her dinner table, enjoying a plate of fish, potatoes, and small, hard, sugary cakes. Her King sat beside her in a smaller chair, the Princess and two Princes further down, and her two closest Guards at the other end. A roaring fire heated the small hall, and lit most of the room with help needed only from a few torches. Tapestries and hunting trophies lined the dark stone walls, and further up, the arched underside of the roof was hidden in shadow.

The fifteen year old Princess Zuzoya didn't take long to start conversing. The main topic of the day was almost instantly brought up, "Is there word on any survivors from the Eastern Wind, mother?" The Queen simply shakes her head, frowning slightly as she cut at a filet, "No... unfortunately not. There's still ten sailors missing."

On that morning, the caravel Eastern Wind had been running trials with the corvette Questing Phoenix. They had lost sight of each other in the fog, however. Without line of sight, both ships got lost. The disaster happened when the much larger and much tougher Questing Phoenix split Eastern Wind asunder, detonating her powder magazines and quite literally fragmenting her. Questing Phoenix herself was severely damaged, but Eastern Wind didn't even look like a ship afterwards. All the other ships in the fleet fled from the fog, afraid of meeting the same fate. A couple of survivors had been found from Eastern Wind, but hope was quickly fading for finding other survivors. Questing Phoenix had managed to find her way back to port, but ten of her sailors were dead and the ship will never sail again. Aboard the Eastern Wind, eleven sailors had died. There was little hope for the ten others. The only evidence that they had survived were reports from the Questing Phoenix of men jumping into the water... but, they did have to contend with the freezing waters, strong currents, and whatever injuries they had sustained.

King Emmerik simply shakes his head and sighs, "May they rest with the Goddess." One of the guards at the end of the table visibly began to shake. He lifted his head and brought his fists to his chest, silently praying. The youngest Prince glanced at him, but his older brother quickly brought his attention back to his food. Aleit looks to him, then to the other Guard, Leiv, and asks, "How goes the construction of Fort Stormcloak?" Leiv wipes his mouth and bows his head, "It goes well, my Queen. The foundations are solid and the walls didn't bounce the cannon shots, they shattered the cannon shells." Aleit lets a smirk tickle her face, a rare and awkward emotion for her, "Good. I am glad that your new type of stone is holding well. Buxiang will never be touched at this rate." Leiv swallows nervously and nods quickly, then goes back to his meal. He was small compared to her, and Annetan's leviathan arquebus leaned against the table between her and the King. He had seen it fired a few times, mostly at bandits and criminals. It wasn't pretty.

The talk shifted about the various topics. Increasing trade, the slow progress with diplomacy, the storms hammering Geitumo, horses, weaponry... it all took a couple of hours. Afterwards, they all retreated to their bedchambers, resting for the day tomorrow. Annetan IX herself had a lot to take care of. Her diplomats had mostly been working with the RNI to try and secure better weaponry and architecture. Already, they had managed to convince the Republic to give the Kingdom a few galleons, though those would have to make a treacherous journey across the sea. Annetan knew she'd have to give them a big escort... there was also small talks going on with the Irodiens and the Drakuns. Those were mostly trying to keep peace, however. Even the warrior Queen knew that her Kingdom had limits. Even with all of these thoughts in her head, Annetan was tired, and soon enough fell asleep. Tomorrow would be more searching for survivors of the collision, more court hearings, more complaints about opening the borders... it wasn't as bad as it could be, and she hopes it doesn't get worse.

In the imperial capital of the Irodien Empire was a gloomy day. Overlooking the rain soaked city was the imposing imperial palace. Inside the the place Emperor Axium was busy with matters of state. Even with the majority of fighting was over there were still bands of rebels in the south are causing trouble. The 35 year long civil war decimated the imperial economy and damaged the infrastructure of the empire.

He had summon the council to plan the rebuild the empire and restore its glory. Arriving at the grand meeting hall the council was waiting for him. "Evening my trusted advisers, 35 years ago that traitor governor tried to take my families throne. It took 35 year of heavy fighting to kill that traitorous swine. Now a difficult task lay before us to rebuild our empire." Once he finished his speech the minster of foreign affairs stood up "My lord the Drakun Republic wishes to establish trade with us we can use it as an opportunity to help revive our stagnant economy." the emperor nodded in agreement "Begin negotiation open trade routs as soon as possible." After that the meeting continue with talks about economic planing, military downsizing, and rebuilding the infrastructure of the empire. Once the meeting for that day had concluded he retired back to his chamber for the next day.

AS the rain fell from the black clouds that occupied the sky on this rainy day, the city of Domestica looked gahstly. The always buzzing city was now empty of all the people walking on the streets. Someone knocked. "Sir the council is ready and waiting for you." The Emperor sighed as he had to attend more babbling today. He decided not to mess around with all the politics and retreat back to his gloomy room as fast as possible. With slow and steady steps he entered the hallway. His secretary bowed as he walked past. Another turn to the right and he entered the Council Room.

The Council stood up as one as he entered the room. "Ladies and Gentleman. Today I have an important announcement to make. Please take your seat!" Slowly everyone sat down and silence fell on the room. Someone coughed. "As you may know, the Stoludian Queen sent ambassadors to negotiate a technological trade. Whilst little to no doubt that there is no technology that can supress ours, there are still things we might want in exchange. We maintain the biggest army, and the biggest Fleet. Yet the Stoludians have far better skilss using these armanents." In a second everyone started talking and questions were raised, filling the room with chatter and disbelief. "Please calm down, keep your questions AFTER I finish my speech. Time is precious." The room slowly fell into silince again, but a few politians sat with unease, unable to stop trying to find the best position on the uncomfortable chairs. "Thank you. I had a personal listen to the ambassador yesterday - He points at a man standing by his right side - and we made an agreement." The room once again began to shout as one, and the politians didn't seem to stop by any means. The Emperor silently left the room.

With the stone cold look left behind he sat down on the couch with a saddened and troubled look. "What is the problem My Honour?" He looked at his secretary who was trying to cheer him up. "It is a rare occasion to see Your Honour so troubled." He looked at his secretary with a smile "There is no problem at all Maya. The game of politics is hard, and I am clearly not playing as the rules tell. I'll be fine just give me time." With that he took a bottlw of water from the nearby table, and drank it all in one. "Showtime."

He entered the room once again. There wre only small muttering around, but they quickly died out. Now he had an unbroken attention of the Council. "Please all sit down. Any questions be raised after the statements. As I was saying, me and the ambassador already made an agreement." He waited a few seconds so that it can sink in. As no one objected he continued. "We agreed that we will provide them with technology of our Concrete and our belowed Brownpowder, both only avaible in our majestic country, in the exchange of several military trainers shipped to our land, who can train our milita. As many of you can see this is a mutually benefical trade on the long run. The council is adjourned." With a small sigh and relief, he left the Council behind, still in the shock of what he said.

"Maya! Come in I have an important task for you!" With a small creek, and the thuds of the high hells against the floor his secretary entered the room. "Yes your Honour?" The emperor stood up, but still looked at view from the hill. "I want you to negotiate a trade route with the Irodiens. They are in desperate need of help from the outside in order to recover quickly to their fromer glory. We can exploit this. Send an ambassador and tell them we would trade food and livestock, if they give us minerals in exchange. Further details when they agreed." He sat down back in his chair, tired after today's speech. Such a mess. With antoher set of thuds and creek, the atmosphere fell still, just like the city outside.

Trade had never been high on the priority list of the Drakun Republic, what with the civil war and prideful people. As such Arch-chancellor Cyk had to admit a certain level of ignorance when it came to specifics on trade and trade routes, fortunately there were quite a few experts to consult with and soon enough a proposal had been drafted.

Drakun-Iroden Treaty of open and secure international trade.

"The nations of The Drakun Republic and The Iroden Empire hereby agree to establish a official lane of trade upon which citizens of both nation and officials from their respective governments may conduct their transactions. Each nation shall only charge up to a maximum tariff of 14% and shall not impose or re-adjust additional taxation upon the merchants. Each nation shall establish 4 state run outposts for the benefit of merchants as a whole. Finally, both nations are required to directly post a minimum of 200 soldiers distributed between the aforementioned outposts and the official lane of trade."

All told, Arch-chancellor Cyk was dubious of this trade lanes supposed benefit to the economy, but again he had never over seen international trade. Assured by the council it was the correct course of action he reluctantly signed the treaty and gave the envelope his seal, should the Iroden Empire do the same he had readied a company of Thunder-Men to begin patrols and construction of the proposed outposts.

___

A regiment of 1000 Lordy Infantry had already been dispatched south to clear the lands of nomad and barbarian, whether the treaty was accepted, rejected or caught up in politics the Drakun Republic wasen't going to wait for the opportunity to secure temperate farmlands when so much of its lands consisted of tundra.

Stoludians never did sleep for long. Even before the sun had risen the Queen Annetan was already up and busying herself. She wanders out to the walls, padding quietly past the guards that were sleepily leaning on their muskets and then mounting the stone steps to one of the palace's towers. At the top, she stares out across the land, bathed in the dim pre-dawn glow of the Eastern skies. She could see the town with the smoke rising from it's many smokestacks, light from many lanterns, the various ships sailing from the nearby harbor... she could see the fleet assembling as she watched. Annetan smiles softly to herself, as she can recognize each ship simply from their appearance.

They were taking ambassadors and military trainers over to the Republic on the Northern Isles. She wouldn't be seeing these ships for a while, she knew, but she also knew that Stoludian sailors never minded a long journey. Four of Stoludi's best frigates of the Whispers of the Wind class, the Dance of the Lightning Harbinger of Snow, Benevolent Typhoon, and Song of the Storms, would be escorting three fat trading sloops across the Wide Sea. Each of these frigates was 115 feet long and outfitted with broadsides of 28 medium-sized cannons. The sloops had ten guns on each side but they were mainly empty, so they could carry cargo and the ambassadors in comfort.

Annetan turns away from the sight of the loading and prepping of the ships as a squire ran up to her. He informed her of things she was already aware of... it did not surprise her that Admiral Virnam cancelled the search for the survivors of the Eastern Wind. Annetan simply nodded her approval and told him to come back in a while after she had planned the funeral.

The Queen, still dressed in her nightrobe, wandered down to the stableyard and sneaked past the sleeping stableboy to find her mare. Rubania was just as much an early riser as her rider was. Annetan smiles sleepily and reaches up to gently pet across her blocky muzzle, staring into her eyes and sharing breaths with the mare for a moment. This would look very odd to a foreigner, but a Stoludian took the bond between them and their mount very seriously. After a moment or two, Annetan finally went through the ritual of equipping Rubania with the ornate tack and seating herself into the dark leather saddle upon the horse's back.

She was about to the gates when a squire stepped into her way. The big white mare obediently wheeled to a halt before Annetan even did anything. He tossed her the gigantic queen's arquebus, then delivered a message: A tower in Geitumo had collapsed. Five soldiers dead, ten peasants dead.

She acknowledged him and rode out of the gates with barely a pause to let the guards open it for her. Unarmored and looking like a peasant, the Queen of Stoludi rode into the forest with nary a purpose. It was all to clear her mind. There had been one disaster after another since she had opened the borders, it was starting to nag at her. Maybe it hadn't been the right thing? Stoludi was by no means prospering under isolation but now it seems that something bad was always happening. Maybe she had angered the gods...

...and there was a group of bandits ahead. They grinned at her and made Rubania stop with a nervous whicker. Annetan simply rolls her eyes and pulls the arquebus off of the saddle and points it right at the head of the bandit leader. Needless to say, a handcannon big enough around to comfortably fit your thumb into it was enough to dispel them. The Queen chuckles softly to herself and stows the gun, starting her mare on her way again.

She'd have to ask her High Priest about it. Maybe this was the wrong thing. Perhaps she did need to close the borders again... but there was also so much prosperity. Katiraka had blossomed and grown into a proud, clean city, compared to the shanty town it once was. Aurorasaki had positively exploded. New technology and people were pouring in, and Stoludi as a whole was growing and modernizing.

Annetan was still troubled when she rode back into the palace yard, but at least she had calmed and reassured herself somewhat. For now, she had a funeral to plan, one with full honors, and a fleet to bless before they were sent on their journey.

The weeks after the signing of the Drakun-Iroden Treaty were busy for the empire. Two chorts of imperial infantry were sent north to clear out the nomadic groups in the region. Once the nomads were cleared out the empire set up the agreed upon forts and outpost along the trade routs. The irodeins also received a deal from the Republic of food for minerals they accepted the deal.

In the present Emperor Axium was in his office listen to a proposition of one of his generals named Isidorus Schal. "I thank you my lord for listing to my proposition. With the death of that traitor I began to think. How many traitors are there of there now in the shadows. With your permission my lord I will create an organization to hunt down these traitors and bring them to light." Isidorus explained his plan to the emperor. The emperor through over the idea for several minutes before he respond. "I approve this plan of yours. This organization would prevent another civil war. I will see to it that you have the resources necessary to create this organization." the emperor said dismissing Isidorus to start to put his plan into action.

The emperor sat in his room. the bad weather has cause many problems for the empire over the last few weeks, making him troubled. He was a man of silence and peace, yet these events forced him to be proactive. Other than that, most diplomatical issues went exceedingly. The new trainers arrived, and the raw minerals were flowing in via the trade routes. Most of the unrests settled, and calmness fell upon the land. Apart from the rain of course. The rain just went on for weeks. It was the season of the year, when it rained all day for months. So he sat in hos room silently. Then the door creeked. Jeoofrey entered. The emperor turned around and looked at the man with cold look.

"Sir, we have a problem! You may know of the trade route between the Drakuns and the Irodiens. Thw trade route cut the territories half, and fled the most of the tribes. This cuts us off from some of the hills to the west, and natives are approaching our border. I have already called back my squad, and reinforced the guards. What do you want to do sir?" The emperor picked up his new revolver. It was a gift from Enson Industries as a present for a trade agreement not so long ago. It was brushed steel with golden bracings. With the gun in his lap he answered. "Dispatch the NIFF!"

The council had been right for once, quite the pleasant surprise for Arch-chancellor Cyk. The new trade route had caused quite the uptick in what had for some years now been the some what stagnant Drakun economy. The average standard of living was up which was leading to more families seeking educations and reinvestment, and with all the newly conquered lands in the south and east there was something of a land-rush for people to spend their money on. Through the magic of economics both the people of Drakun and the treasury had more money without either the Republic or the Irodiens having lost anything.

Despite the poor weather there was a definite air of Spring in the ports of Drakun, the annual thaw was early and there was plenty of fish which with the trade boom were fetching a higher price. It was the shipwrights who found themselves the happiest on this day, for the first time in nearly a decade the Drakun Republic was establishing a fleet and the contracts were going straight to auction instead of being handed out.

However things were not going well in a certain Drakun workshop, "You want to use a windmill to power a boat?"

"No, I was using that as an example to give you an idea of the machinery I am working with. I believe it to be possible to substitute the wind power needed for a mill with steam from a boiler. Furthermore I think that if we can scale down the parts needed such could be used on a boat to turn an oar-wheel similar to the grindstone."

"See, that is where you lose me. You want to take a water mill, except instead of have the waterwheel turn the machinery you want the machinery to move the water. And to power this monstrous machine-boat you want to use a windmill, except instead of using wind it is powered by steam from a boiler, itself powered by burning oil."

"Exactly."

"Well beside such a mess of machinery being to big and heavy to be useful on a boat the general concept is impossible in a number of ways, namely that boilers have to be stationary to work."

"Which is why I need the investment, if we could fix th-"

"Kid, you aren't getting an investment from me or anyone else with an ounce of sanity. You want to take three incredibly large and dangerous machines, find a way around their inherent design, and stitch them together to do something that we can already do better. Beyond that I doubt we have so much as five boilers in the entire Republic when people can simply heat their water normally without risking an explosion."

"But imagine if it could be done! A world-"

"This is the real world kid. We don't have the time or money to waste on the impossible."

For now, us, the bystanders in the story of the Stoludian people, will leave Annetan. She is doing queenly things - riding in full dress garb at the head of the funeral procession, hearing court cases, showing the new military recruits how to fight... she is but one of many people, and many stories, within the shaking Kingdom of Stoludi.

Take, for instance, the scientist Ilirhim Yibini. Yibini was a very big man, some would say a brute. All of the doorways in his small fortress of magic and alchemistry had to be widened just to fit his frame, and the tip of his graying beard was burned and frayed where countless experiments had caught the belly-length bush on fire. That was the only thing keeping it in check. According to his assistants, his voice is so loud, they also had to reinforce the walls so he'd quit shaking the mortar out of it whenever he spoke above a whisper.

In this small, disused castle on this warm day, Yibini was up in the top of the central tower, a prismatic monstrosity that stretched up to the sky. From here, he could see the neatly organized chaos of colors that was Katiraka. These coastal folk were odd. They were very happy to host him, however, and the two assistants around him in the small laboratory are from that explosively colored town. This was not the top of the tower, but it was the second highest point, right below the observatory. There were better laboratories in the fortress, but the subject being studied was unknown and previously undiscovered, so Yibini wanted no risk.

Some well diggers on a farm outside of Aurorastan had been digging a very deep well when they noticed a faint blue smoke seeping from some cracked rocks. They thought it was volcanic activity and nearly evacuated the area when they noticed it was not that hot... and it had a pleasant, if faint, smell. It was a sweet smell. As well, after extended inhalation, their voices dramatically changed in pitch. Suddenly, their words squeaked out, and they began to experience fits of laughter at the smallest provocation.

Now, Yibini had several vials of the blue gas, and was running tests on it. He set a flame to it. It did not burn. He had an assistant inhale it. They found they could not breathe it, and then, after having caught their breaths, found themselves to be having hallucinogenic symptoms. One assistant was taken from the room, crying something about being a magnificent gryphon and soaring above the clouds. This was all noted and that young man's state was carefully monitored.

The most interesting discovery was made on accident when the gas was transferred to a goat's bladder for another test. As the young lad picked up the stretched organ and lifted it, his brow furrowed. He looks to his Master, Yibini, and says, "S-sir... this bladder... it's light..." Yibini turned from the desk and frowned. He chimed, "Maybe you are just hungry, Hirlikin." Hirlikin just shook his head and scattered his blonde hair about, "N-no sir, it's lighter..." Hirlikin tossed the bladder to Yibini. It floated serenely through the air and came down with nearly no impact upon Yibini's hand. The mountain of an alchemist turns on his stool and tosses the bladder out of the window. Instead of plummeting to the ground below, it began a lazy, slothful descent to the ground below. It hung in sight for many seconds before it drifted down out of view. Yibini just stared, then turned to his assistant with a big, joyous smile on his face. Then he broke into laughter. The sound echoed off of the walls like a bell and made one assistant stumble.

After much more experimenting, this gas was deemed Jester's Breath, and it's properties were noted. It was such a discovery to Yibini that he sent a letter to the Royalty itself about this gas. It was just a matter of time until some young designer with stars in his eyes got a hold of it...

...elsewhere, the convoy had been sent off. The group of ships had been blessed, and all was well. Annetan herself was waving to the stern of the mighty ships when something utterly bizarre and unexpected happened. A huge fort in the Buxiang harbor simply exploded. Or at least, part of it. One of the powder sheds went up in a blast that shook the armor on Annetan's shoulders and sent her guards scrambling for their weapons. Annetan sent them to clear the area as she took off upon Rubania, stirring the massive mare on to a rapid gallop.

She soon knew it was in vain once she was there. Body parts and what looked suspiciously like the liquefied remains of regulars was scattered about in the nearby foliage and what remained of the structures. Some soldiers had survived, but they were all stunned and looked as if they were drunk. Many bled from their ears, some from their eyes, and others just cried. Annetan slowly dismounts Rubania and approaches the burning crater where the ammunition dump used to be. She was gritting her teeth, and nearly brained a messenger when he ran up to her and shouted, "Your Majesty! The Song of Storms wants to know if we need assistance!" Annetan turns and roars back, "Tell them to be on alert and to sail swiftly! Someone will answer for this! They will answer and they will regret the day they were set upon this planet!"

It was a regular day. The palace was quiet of any mutter or chatter. Truth be told, the palace of the Emperor was the most quiet place in all Mawei. Much so, that the main hall has been deemed the Hall of Silence. A single cough was like a thunderstorm in this room. And now Robert was walking through here. Releived of all Emperor duties for today, he went for a stroll in the menacing building. A fort of massive size, and of magnificent beauty. He was enjoying the silence, taking it all in, thinking about the next step and what comes after. But every step full of confusion and disbelief.

The NIFF has been deployed to the borders, to protect against the invasion of the local tribes. Yet it didn't came. Intel said that a small nation, once a mighty kingdom in the Early Days era, was once about to rise. They have united all the fleeing tribes, and already amassed an army.They want to attack the trade routes, and unite the tribes on the other side, under a single banner. If this would happen, it could lead to endangerement of the trade roputes going to the Irodien border. Already, a shipment of raw metal was stolen by these bandits calling themselves a kingdom. Yet they already have large settlements scretching as far as the eye can see on the plains of Nal'f AtaiR. The grasslands laying west of the RNI. So the Immortal riders have been tasked with escorting the convoys, and the Milita is laying down a base for a defended trade route, just like the Drakuns did.

For days now, the Hall of Silenece has been place for secret intel. Robert was heading for such a meeting again. The royal guards have been sending in intels about almost magical events. The new gas found around Stoludi. The ships approaching from the small island nation. The explosion that took place yet in the same place. And there has been this strange feeling hovering in the air. He soon got the answer, as Jay entered the room, the leader of the special ops.

"Sir, the balloon just arrived. And we have spotted a faint blue light emerging from one of the warehouses in this city." - With that Jay stepped out of the shadows, and held a small fabric bag, with a piece of metal attached to it. There was a small not attached to it's bottom. It was another piece of the reports Robert got every day. The last few days, the system went haywire, and the routes were buzzing with activity, to provide the much needed intel. But most baloons got blown away by the strong storms. Many sent birds or more baloons. And now he had the answers he needed.

"Your majesty, I am writing this letter with outmost trust in the wind, that will carry this message to you. The matters discussed here shall be burn after reading, and only to be shared with the most trusted. We have managed to acquire a small amount of the blue gas found in Stoludi. It should be with the message. I had to create a diversion in order to deliver it to you, and I might be dead by the time you read this message. The ship convoy is suspected to have a Stoludian Martyr on board, disguised as a military trainer. Please see to it with extreme caution, as if one manages to infiltrate our security, all our secrets shall be revealed. As for the outmost importance, I have managed to get details of the storm above us with some experimenting. It seems that this is no ordinary storm. It prevents our baloons from reaching many locations, so I suggest this idea. We are dealign with something even we, the most advanced nation cannot understand. It reaches so high, and has incredible density, it is possible that we are dealing with a Ghronk. If such is the case, I advise you to find shelter for the upcoming month, and cease all trading. No one knows when will hell be unleashed, but such a planetwide storm is not to be triffled with. All other nations must know of this as soon as possible. I doubt that anyone has knowledge of such. That is all. Long live the Empire!"

With a troubled face Robert grabbed a torch from the wall, and burned the letter. He waited until it was mere ashes, then turned to Jay.
"You are not to tell anyone about the storm. You are also not allowed to tell anyone that we have a sample of the gas." - Robert pointed at the small vial in Jay's hand. "You must take that to the Triad. They will know what to do with it."

Meanwhile somewhere in Drakun territory, Mission Time 0900

Jack hated every part of being with these fanatics. But he could see that this young man was something else. He waited until his target was, once again, kicked out of the shipyard. With a saddened look he packed away his bluprints to head home. Just then Jack decided, it was time to carry out the mission. He walked to the young man and greeted him.
"Good day there sir! May I be so bald to ask you to come with me?"- his talk was sweet, but his face told his partner not to say no. So they went to walk in a place more quiet.
"I have heard of your recent failures in... business. So I will give you a proposal. My employers would pay a lot for your ideas. We would grant supplies and money to bring your dream to reality. A ship that runs on steam. Truly unique. So instead of just thinking asbout it, why not to bring it to life, somewhere where people respect knowledge. So do we have an agreement?"

And so a new story began, full of despair and concern, when all the nations struggle, intrigue is just a daily part of our life, and an age of new discoveries. When people are not afraid to become monsters to survive. And when the rain starts falling, all will try to make it out alive.

The four Drakun forts of the Drakun-Iroden had already seen intense attacks from the so called "Kingdom" to the east, nothing that hadn't been repelled by a few waves of musket shot and cannon fire, but beyond that of what the lesser lands should posses. If it had not been for the presence of the Lordly Infantry it was quite possible that this new bastion of trade could have been extinguished in its youth. Despite the aggression of the tribes trade was still on the rise, if more cautiously. Prices had begun to level out and many opportunists were already pushing for the opening of more trade routes to other nations, ignorant of the costs associated with shipping.

Espionage has held something of a mixed history in the lands of Drakun, seen both as a coward's tool and the victors edge. Eventually with the establishment of the Arch-chancellor position came a unified intelligence branch, a largely unnecessary branch as it turned out. Between the rather isolationist position of Drakun during its civil war and the high sense of honour that drives its able bodied men into the armed forces the need for spies and counterspies was found to lacking. Regardless of this fact the newly minted Republic of Drakun encouraged citizen watchgroups to act as the eyes and ears of Drakun at home. One such watchgroup was currently alerting the local militia to a suspected spy. On paper the man wasn't an illegal, and he had all the requisite records of a Drakun born citizen to go with his lovely papers. However all the papers in the world did not change the man, and this man as legal in appearance as he was held a certain undisguisable disdain for the “fanatics” as he saw them. He was good at hiding it, good at being ordinary but not so ordinary as to be questionable, but as with all strong natured cultures there were some aspects one could not falsify.

A bottle of champagne was broken, and for the first time since the unification of the Republic there was a Drakun navy, in theory at least, as of yet there were but two ships, one flagship for the great world ocean of western Drakun, one for the lesser northern ocean in the east. To most the celebration finished without much ceremony, but Arch-chancellor Cyk could barely contain himself as his dream slowly made its way off the dry-dock. For the longest time he had thought this design would remain one of the many machinations that would be left to future generations, but before him was not a ship of cannons, but of the largest mortars their hulls could float.

Hidden in the land between nations, just outside of the Kingdom of Stoludi a man meets with a Drakun platoon and gives his report. Unsettled by the whispers the man has overheard the two leaders of the mission step aside;

"A blue gas lighter than air which grants visions. Good lord no wonder these backwaters call it magic."

"Perhaps we are the fools to disbelieve, after all the impossible is before our eyes."

"I know you Sons of Drakun are madmen out of necessity but I would ask that you keep it to yourselves."

"One day lieutenant, you might just be so lucky as to glimpse the wheels within themselves, and the design behind the madness. Now send for one of your scribes, I have a very interesting missive for him to take down."

With the emperors blessing Isidorus Schal created his organization and dubbed it the imperial strategic intelligence (ISI) . He quickly put the ISI into action have them with the assistance of the imperial military to begin rounded up "trouble makers". Imperial propaganda when into overtime down playing the disappearances to calm down the normal citizens of the empire.

The response to the raiding of there trade routs were heavy handed. After hearing the first reports of the raiding the emperor mobilized a legion to the frontier to begin operation against the tribes.

Stoludi was basically turned inside out after the explosion at that fort. The fort had impeccable systems in place to prevent a massive detonation... yet it had occurred, and killed six men, including the Fort Master and a lower officer. The investigation was still ongoing, but already, the smell of fish was strong in the air. There was just something not quite right about how one of the best strongholds in Stoludi had been crippled, and on the day that a rather important convoy had left the port. Something was awry.
The responsibility of the investigation had fallen to King Emmerik. Right now, he was seated in front of the Second in Command, Lieutenant Kellii. She was a typical Stoludian soldier woman; strong-boned with a weatherbeaten face and eyes that were like small, glinting green gemstones. Short blonde hair hardly showed under her hat. A sharp nose and a bony face covered by pale skin completed the picture of her, or at least what could be seen underneath her white dress uniform. It was an elegant piece, with black buttons holding it together on her front, and a smooth, white fabric covering the rest of her torso. A similar set of pants covered her legs, and her shoulders were an emerald green. She throws a hasty salute and stands ramrod straight, awaiting questioning. There are freshly dressed wounds covering her face, in several places, and some dried blood remained on her lip.
They were in the office of the fort's commanding officer, the one that had suffered an explosion just a couple of hours ago. It was in the middle of the complex and stood as a squat, square building. The remains of the dead were still being cleaned outside of the shuttered window as Emmerik curtly tells her, "State your duties, Kellii."
Kellii answered as a military woman would, "Sir, I am the second in command, designated to take over command if the Master is incapacitated. I am also his adviser and his link to the personnel of the base."
Emmerik nods slowly and scribbles a note, then glances up to ask, "What were you doing in the moments leading to the explosion?"
Kellii doesn't even bother to swat away a moth that was flapping into her face as if it could fly through it. She seems to not even notice the little ashen grey thing as she fires back, "Your Grace, I was overseeing the mounting of a new cannon. Faster firing and longer range than our previous models."
Again Emmerik nods slowly and asks her, "Was there anything odd you noticed in the moments leading to the blast?"
At this, the woman actually shows some emotion. Her face twists, faintly, into a look of concern as she tells him, "One rookie loader grabbed a few too many cannon fuses... he dropped a couple in the grass, your Majesty."
Emmerik sighs softly and scribbles for several seconds before asking, "And what is the standard procedure in that case, Kellii?"
Kellii, deadpan, answers, "Leave the fuses be, your Grace. They don't pose a fire hazard in the wet grass and they are plentiful."
Emmerik simply scribbles a quick note in the dim sunlight and sighs, staring at the ceiling for several seconds before he finally, slowly, begins to say, "So, Kellii, what was the first sign of trouble?"
She shuffles her feet, just a little, and tells him, "Smoke, your Majesty. The smell of it. It did not smell like cannon fire or a hearth fire."
Emmerik scrabbles more, "And did you ever see this smoke?"
Kellii nodded quickly, "I followed the Commander, sir. We saw smoke coming from the doorway of the magazine, which was open. That is unusual. The smoke was thin and had a white quality to it..." The woman trails off, sighing.
Emmerik tilts his head slightly, "Something amiss?"
Kellii looks down at her feet for just a moment before looking up and saying, resolutely, "Yes, your Grace. It looked like fuse smoke. Those magazines had built in fire protection designed by the greatest minds of Stoludi. The men were drilled relentlessly on safety procedures. I do not know how it could have been accidental."
Silence filled the room then. The calls of men and birds filtered in through the shutters, but it was still quiet enough to allow even the drop of a pin to be audible. Emmerik had scribbled in his notes for a while, but now has gone silent, and instead stares at the ceiling while Kellii kept her eyes focused above his head, standing like a statue. Finally, the silence is broken when Emmerik shifts in his seat, and simply says, "You are dismissed, Kellii. Thank you for your time and I am sorry for your loss."
Kellii just bows and walks out ramrod straight. Emmerik considers the wall opposite him for a few more moments, then pulls out a piece of parchment and begins to scrabble a letter in the strange pictographic language of the Stoludians.

><><><><><><><><><

Oddly enough, at almost the same time, some bad things were happening elsewhere in the fortress. It was to be another incident that shook Stoludi to it's core. A very low ranked guard named Pirearm was leaning on his musket on the outer walls when he saw a man... sending... something... into the air. It was out in a field of thick grass, next to a mountain and accessible only through the rarely used Southern sally port. Pirearm stormed down the wall and burst out into the field so fast he surprised the man, who was about to release another balloon when a deftly delivered shot from Pirearm's musket turned his hand into a bloody, grotesque mess and popped the floating thing. The man doubled over and cursed in a strange language that Pirearm didn't recognize... and the floating thing had dropped a box and a piece of parchment. Another guard, having seen the confrontation, ran out and tried to restrain the man. He turned and delivered three punches to Uritham's face, until he was then delivered a butt-smash from Pirearm's musket that broke his nose and left him bleeding from two places and whimpering in the grass. Two more men ran out and finally got him under control.

Pirearm sighs as Urtham wanders back into the fort, cursing and kicking at random rocks. Pirearm finds the box to be oddly light, and the letter... the letter was written in the odd language the man was cursing in. Pirearm just shrugs and wanders into the base, meandering his way across the courtyard until he found Kellii fresh out of her questioning. They converse for a moment before Pirearm delivers the artifacts he found... and almost instantly Kellii looks particularly alarmed and scurries off with the letter, leaving Pirearm very confused.
><><><><><><><><><

An hour or so later the letter, along with a copy of the hearings, had been delivered to Queen Annetan under the talons of a white-tailed hawk. Per the usual procedure, Annetan blessed the hawk with a kiss to his forehead and some sweet words of thanks before dispatching him back to the aviary where he had come from. The queen was currently mounted on Rubania, making her way to Aurorastan to observe some infrastructure improvements that would hopefully stop the nearly clockwork plagues that always hit the insanely huge city. Not to mention the recent bout of fires... The Queen unrolls the parchment and begins to scan the document as Rubania saunters on without any input from her rider. After a few moments, the Queen's right-hand guard Aleit pulls up alongside her atop a smaller, chestnut mare named Opalik. Aleit looks sideways on at her before inquiring, "What news does the hawk bring, m'lady?" Annetan lets the scroll snap up and tells him, flatly, "Just a transcript from one of my Love's questionings. Just as I suspected, it was a bomb that destroyed that magazine."
Aleit licks his lips and hands her the other letter, this one having arrived on an eagle, and tells her, "We have some more news. The guards captured someone. And they found a letter written in the language of the RNI, and it was being sent by and RNI agent. They are holding him for interrogation but... the worst part is, he was sending some of Jester's Breath along underneath a balloon full of the stuff."
Annetan tilts her head slightly and frowns, deeply, asking, "Yibini can't have been in on this, can he?"
Aleit actually laughs, heartily, for several seconds before telling her with a mirthful smirk, "Your Majesty, excuse my manners, but there is no way in Asphodel that Yibini was in on this. He is an isolated hedonistic hermit, you know that. We give him money for labs and a selection of the finest canine bitches for his deviant desires and he causes us no problems, and gives us some important discoveries."
Annetan shrugs and simply mutters her agreement, and then she tells him, "We will have to keep a weary eye on the RNI after this... that letter is being deciphered, yes?"
Aleit nods quickly, "Yes, your Majesty. As quickly as possible."
Annetan looks forward and watches Aurorastan's twenty foot high walls approaching, sighing softly and remarking, "These are very troubled times."

><><><><><><><><><><

Speaking of Yibini, he was in his observatory at the top of that central tower, peering through a telescope with multiple lenses and observing some cloud movements off in the South. It was looking more and more worrying. This was shaping up to be one of the epic storms described in the records of Stoludi... on the table next to him were stacks of old, crinkled records that described one or two storms of this kind. He begins to compose a letter as well, worried about the tidings this storm may bring.

At the start this Fall, troubling news have hit the populace.
On the northern hemisphere near the borders of the RNI, bloody battles
took place, when local tribes invaded the republics borders. After
further investigation it was discovered that a group emerged and
united all the tribes, leading them agains their neighbors. They call
themselves the True Kingdom, and are threatening the lands around them.
The situation got worse after trade routes opened towards the Irodien Empire
to give help to the still shaking country, after the bloody civil war.
These routes are have been raided several times, and now fortifications are
built. Both the Irodiens and the RNI launched offensive measures
against the locals. The Drakun refused to launch an attack, and declined
our request to provide us any information.


In the past weeks of Fall the weather has been worsening at an unforeseen rate.
Already storm clouds rarely pass away, and all around the globe, the wind reaches
abnormally high speeds. The sun can be seen only once or twice a week, and the
general atmosphere is wet. The forecasts say that the weather won't change much,
but they still have no clue what is this anomaly. We recomend that you take
your parasol with you wherever you go, and put on a nice warm coat! It seems
like winter hits us early this year!


Two weeks ago, a pact has been signed between Stoludi and the Republic of the Northern Islands.
It is said that it traded technology and manpower, making it mutaully benefical. The bonds
between the two country seem to be tightening. As further diplomatic steps, Robert Williams I,
gave one of the RNI's biggest ships to the Stoludian queen, as a gift of gratitude for being good neighbors.
Ont he day of the launch, the weather was still bad on the Stoludian islands, and it was not only celebration.
A week before they have lost the Eastern Wind in a storm How fucked up that is and hit their morale greatly.
It seems that bad luck has hit the small island nation, as the fort in the capital exploded shortly after the convoys departure.
Casualties are still unknown in numbers, and it is unclear whether it was an accident or a terrorist action.
All we know is that huge destruction took place, and many walls in the city collapsed because of the shockwave.
The offical refused to give us futher details claiming: "We are still investigating the case."
Further information on page 4.

Ashes began to blanket the arts district, Arch-chancellor Cyk holding his head in his hands as the opera house burned. So many things had gone wrong leading up to this point he could only keep track because of the small army of advisers and consultants standing in front of him.

To start the weather had been bad, but that was nothing new. In fact that was the only thing that was clear about the situation. There had been a traveling playwright that had just finished the theater circuit in the RNI, and had decided that Drakun would be his new stage. That was agreed upon by both the Intelligence Branch and The Civil Forces, but they were the only ones. As Arch-chancellor he had decided to make an example to his people and attend the foreigners performance. From there no one agreed on anything.

The end result was a small riot that had only been quelled by the need to put out the fires which they themselves had started. Playwright in question was currently being shielded from the Arch-chancellors own guards; having lost their composure during the satire.
___

"Jack" was eventually released, he did have the appropriate papers and despite a stern questioning by The Civil Forces there was no evidence to prove he was anything more than a tradesman who held the Drakun culture in disdain. A copy of his identification was added to the watch list but beyond encouraging him to leave Drakun little was to be done.
___

The Mares of Deliverance received their mobilization orders rather suddenly, divisions of the Thunder-Men where already dispatched to establish supply lines. Not bothering to hide their actions or to make a statement of intent the boarder of Drakun and "The True Kingdom" was soon lined with cavalry.

Sawl was currently doing a whole lot of nothing and that needed to be changed before something bad came to them. Granted no one had caused any trouble for them because they had been in isolation for a long time. On the bright side, they had a large industry that was still growing, their economy was just wonderful for them and everyone was living in relative peace. The military, though not the largest, went through some routine inspection of the men and women of the military. They were put through some hard training which everyone had known how to do since basic training. The natives were not much a problem at their borders but this so called "True Kingdom" may pose a threat to their interests. Nonetheless they sent out vessels to offer trade to any nation who so wished to use their blooming industry.

As soon as the letters from Stoludi ceased to come, the Emperor knew something happened. Usually he would get many letters a week but now he was walking back and forth in his room, thinking about the recent matters. It seemed that stoludians have captured one of his agents by chance whilst he was trying to send information. At least that is what he suspected from the last letter he got about a week ago. This paired with the attack on the massive fort that ultimately left a smoking pile of stone next to the harbour, threatened the two countries relationship. He knew of many agents from Stoludi inside his circles, but their lack of quck information delivery made them less efficent that his counter-agents. Just as he stopped for a second to look out the window and investigate the rain coated city, Jay barged in the doors without a knock.

"I take that as a message finally arrived. Still my good friend, next time please knock." Robert turned around and walked to the armchair. He poured himself some vodka from the lining bottles on the table, that all contained alcoholic beverages, and drank it with a single gulp. He looks at the panting agent holding few transcripts. "So what news do you bring?" He sits down into the chair and crosses his legs as Jay starts talking. "Sir, we have received several mails from Stoludi. They arrived with the usual morning schedule. And we got another one from Drakun." Robert bent over and frowned. "Proceed with the ones from Stoludi!"

After half an hour of reading letters, messages from Stoludi finally had no more unopened participants. It seemed he was right. It seemed his undercover agent got caught, and the other agents were scared to send any balloons not to blow their cover. Stoludi seems to be connecting the accident with the fort to them. Also the agent is in costudy. Some info also came in about that weird blue gas they found. The scientists in the Triad have been experimenting with non stop since the first sample arrived, and now two more small vials also arrived. It seemed that the stoludians called it Jesper's Breath. A weird name to give to such an interesting material. They just call it SES gas for the time being. It seemed that every agent managed to deliver the messages without getting caught, and made their launch with increased caution.

Now there was one letter left from High Guard Jack who has been out in Drakun on a mission for Eldron. They received news about a young individual who was called Holzer, that he was experimenting with a new use of steam boilers, and possibly having improved blueprints for it. They wanted to get this gal under their wings with the help from the Royal Military, in exchange for co-operation with the army for any upcoming projects. This would mean a huge boom in the evolution of the military, new technologies could be directly used by them first, without having to make deals with Eldron. He bowed to Jay who opened the letter with his breath held.

"Your majesty, it is I, High Guard Jack reporting in. I have included the blueprints with this letter, just as the task required. Hovever we have are being constantly watched by Drakun officals. I have sent Holzer to a meeting point outside the borders until I solve the issues with the local governement. We will travel through friendly territory in teh Iro-Domestian trade route, and arrive in the upcoming week. I have sent only one copy of this letter, please make sure to destroy it once it is read." The emperor frowned fro a second, then let out a painful sigh. I am afraid that someone has been marking our agents, and reporting them to the other empires. Find that individual immidiately, and have him executed silently. With a bow Jay threw the letter into the firepit and left the bluprints on a table before exiting the room. Once the doors closed with a creeking noise, the emperor picked up a pen and wrote a letter to the Stoludians, that shall be delivered by ambassadors in the upcoming weeks. The room fell silent, and only the noise of the feather writing on the paper could be heard.

A pair of "sealed" communiques found their way into the rumor mill of Drakun, from there whispers of what they held soon spread across the width and breadth of the Nation, perhaps further. Whether the rumors were true was a debate for many a social circle, as was the nature of the "leak".
___

FROM: Commander Randelrick of the 7th Mares
TO: Drakun High Military Command

6/8/XX : As ordered by our most enlightened Arch-chancellor all military operations began as of 0500 hours this morning just as the sun rose to blind the defending combatants. Accompanying Thunder-Men platoon despite worsening weather conditions was successful in entrapping enemy encampments using Blacksmiths Shot, however due to negligence on the part of the company grenadiers the mortars used were damaged. As of writing phases one through three have been cleared and phase four is under way. Honora cor aquilonem.
___

From: Mountains' Dance, Flagship of the First Drakun Fleet
TO: Office of the Arch-chancellor

The Winter Raven still flies over the fleet. Returning to harbor.