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Archcountess-Khatun Jauna Ego-Estrin-Romanakov (Née Orlova) did her best not to throw up - she got violently seasick on any ship.
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It was difficult to reach Skála by airship due to the near-constant thunderstorms it experienced. No one mentioned that the Sea of Tears was so aggressive that it tossed ships around like corks.
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Chinggis-Dorj offered her his hand respectfully. "Your Grace, it may be better if you stay in your cabin until I say otherwise, yes?" He said, his snarling voice like the tempestuous gale battering his ship, the EDS Carcer.
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"Yes, thank you," She said before curiously asking, "Warden, how safe is the Isle of Skála? Wouldn't Ostov be better for me and Crown Prince Rionault?"
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Chinggis-Dorj laughed a fruity laugh in that cabin before replying, "Archcountess-Khatun Jauna Orlova will find that nowhere is safer than Skála. We are protected by nature - the Sea of Tears and the many jagged rocks around the island - by the divine - Septentrionalem the Northwest has watched over the Dominion for nine hundred and twenty-three years - and by our fleet."
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Jauna was confused by that last part, she peered out the porthole at the Isle of Nyro suspiciously. "Would the Emir of Nyro, Mr. Darhan-Medee, not object to having the Fleet of an autonomous Province once used as a prison so near to his island?" She asked.
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Again, Chinggis-Dorj laughed - louder this time.
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"Darhan-Medee knows that Nyro is under our protection as well." He said with a shrug of the shoulders.
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The waters around them darkened rapidly. A rushing noise could be heard.
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The Island fortress of Skála loomed into view. "There it is. A truly menacing place isn't it?" He remarked.
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The captain of the EDS Carcer appeared. "Sir, we need you on deck if we are to get past the Fleet alive."
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"Come." He ordered.
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Chinggis-Dorj, Warden of Skála; Jauna Orlova, Archcountess-Khatun of UEGNA; Rionault Ego-Estrin-Romanakov, Crown Prince of UEGNA; and Requir (the Captain) all stood uneasily on the deck.
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The tension building was palpable: something was about to happen. The question was....what?
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"Warden, what in Empyrea are we waiting for—"
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The question was cut short as six splashes erupted from the depths of the Sea of Tears, sending freezing jets of water into the air.
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"That," the Warden replied, his tone flat and lifeless. He must have seen this often.
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A low horn sounded, frightening the woman and her child. Jauna feared not only for the safety of the one-year-old Crown Prince Rionault, but also of the unborn Princess Gloria.
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The Crew of the EDS Carcer seemed largely unfazed by what was happening.
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Emerging agonisingly slowly from the depths, six sunken ships broke the surface. The closest ship was the largest yet a skeletal remnant of its former glory. The ghostly vessel loomed ominously, its hull riddled with the scars of its last battle; jagged holes and scotch marks painted the rusted armoured titan.
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The superstructure, at least what was left of it, rose from the hull proudly despite being in ruins. The ship bristled with guns - Jauna counted 8 large ones in 4 dual turrets and at least 16 smaller weapons - ending in oddly-designed, pronged barrels.
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Nearby, the other five had come to a halt in a line. The smallest vessel, possibly a destroyer, was the most intact. Its torpedo launchers aimed directly at the Carcer, waiting to spit fast-moving, explosive death at it. A Cruiser, with its badly warped hull, resembled some sort of twisted monster frozen in perpetual agony. The remaining four ships were in good condition, suggesting they had not sunk in battle.
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Jauna remembered Urlic`s warning. She froze, not because of the frigid Northwestern climate but rather due to fear, when she read the lettering on the largest ship: E.D.S KRAKEN’S FURY. From its splintered mast, a flag flew: a red diamond on black. A flag called the Gemma sanguinea (Bloody Gem) which was used by 46th Khagan Zultan Estrin during the Coalition War.
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The EDS Kraken’s Fury was an Estrin Superweapon that had participated in some of its famous aeronautical-naval battles between airships and warships. At the Battle of Narca Gulf, it destroyed the Heavy Frigates GNA Jörmungandr and Jötunn. At the Battle of Mara Sanguinis (the Sea of Blood), it inflicted serious damage on Grand Commodore Aer`s Flotilla by destroying two battlecruisers (GNA Skye and Aer`s Flagship Juno), two destroyers (GNA Aloe and Vola), and two heavy frigates (GNA Aer Nora and Countess Nyctra), killing the Grand Commodore and obliterating Port Asparanshire in the process. The last battle it fought in was the Battle of Krake Coast. A Flotilla under the command of High-Commander Skybreak sank the Kraken’s Fury and its sister ship, the Leviathan`s Rage.
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Lub-dub! Lub-dub!
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From inside the bowels and internal workings of the Superbattleship, the sound of a booming heartbeat could be heard. Urlic had been right: the ship was alive!
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Or rather, its occupant was: An eye around the size of a manhole cover opened where the anchor should have been.
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A deep, angry voice came through on the radio. It was a low, menacing growl.
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"This...is the EDS... Kraken’s Fury Reborn, Flagship of the Warden`s Fleet. Identify yourself or be destroyed!" It snarled.
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Chinggis-Dorj clutched his staff and closed his eyes.
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"Flotin, lýðið harra tykkara, stjóran Chinggis-Dorj á Skála!" (Fleet, obey your master, the Warden Chinggis-Dorj of Skála!) He shouted in the ancient tongue of the Ayerians - an extinct people that had once lived in Cerulea before Duxeière Osric of the Colestis Imperii annihilated them all in 2,854 YBP.
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The creature in the big ship seemed to respond to the words.
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"We tried every language we could think of - Empyrean Basic, Old Empyrean, Ancient Estrinese, Iska - but it only responds to Ayerian. Which means it must be at least four thousand years old..." He said while leaning in closer to whisper darkly, "The previous Warden was Fengel-gu, can you guess what Xantè did to him for this post to be open for so long until I filled it?"
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"No. Do I want to know what happened to him?" Juana nervously replied.
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"Xantè Estrin, the forty-ninth Khagan of the Dominion, had him fed to whatever lives in that old wreck. Without someone controlling the Warden`s Fleet, it would bombard anything it came into contact with. Hence why I, an Apprentice of the Adept, was brought in to become Warden. The prisoners fear the wrath of the Fleet, I am all that protects them from it and thus they will not harm anyone. Ironically, Your Grace is safer among murderers than among the citizens of Worcester."
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"Oh, Creati-"
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The voice of the Kraken’s Fury Reborn cut her off. "Warden Dorj, is it true that the Union will come for...us?"
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"Ja, tey fara at koma eftir hennara náði, Jauna Orlova. Tú og flotin skulu patrullera oftari í Tárahavinum. Oyðilegg eitt og hvørt skip, luftadmiral ella sjóskip, sum stillar seg upp við Cerulea, Vorantis, Aquiloria ella Pheasantine."
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He then repeated it in Empyrean Basic, "Yes, they will come for Her Grace, Jauna Orlova. You and the Fleet are to patrol the Sea of Tears more frequently. Destroy any vessel, Aeroadmiral or nautical, aligning itself with Cerulea, Vorantis, Aquiloria or Pheasantine."
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"The EDS Kraken’s Fury, Leviathan`s Rage, Khani Anu, Scylla, Lusca, and Rusalka salute the might of Chinggis-Dorj!" It replied.
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The guns swivelled away from the Carcer before firing an eardrum-shattering broadside into the air in unison.
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The ships cleared a path and the Carcer landed on the Isle of Skála.
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All along the prison side port, men peered at them.
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"The Warden is back!" Shouted a man triumphantly.
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"The Warden at last!" Replied the rest as one.
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Jauna held her son nervously. She leaned in close to the Warden and whispered, "Are these your prisoners? Is this place safe for the Crown Prince?"
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"The Viceroy has sent you Tumen Elite Guards because the Grand Army and Fleet both refused to spare any Valkyries or Geirskögul Marines."
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Jauna was stunned into silence.
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"Come." The Warden of Skála told her.
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______________________________________
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Office of General Francis Grantè of the Combined Armies in Ossau, Vorantis
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Francis Grantè winced as Thomas Norik and Ezra Mylo entered his office.
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Thomas James Norik was the Technocrat pro tempore of Austerium, a position that gave his seat of power total control over the Technocracy of Vorantis. Norik specialised in municipal engineering and had helped design the latest settlement in the southern region: the self-governing technate of Quintessencena and Nouveau.
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Ezra Ceilo Mylo was Meritocrat of Artè and represented Aquiloria for CVAPU.
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The presence of one was bad enough, two meant this was a strategy meeting.
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"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" The General beamed, knowing full well what they wanted.
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Technocrats are not easily fooled, it would seem, as Thomas J. Norik pulled out a full-colour map of Empyrea. It included the eight sovereign regions and all fifty-six major subdivisions.
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"The war begins in a week, we want to forward your strategy and predictions for what actions the Archregion might take to our counterparts in Cerulea and Pheasantine." Norik intomed in his flat monotone. The man might as well have been an organic robot.
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"Very well," he muttered, plucking a pencil from his desk to point and draw.
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"This," he pointed to a small semi-exclave on the Cerulean map, "is the Grand Duchy of Golgi, once part of Umbracrest. It revolted and joined the Theocratic Confederacy of Cerulea during the Umbracresti Civil War after a biological superweapon was used on the Exclave of Eukaro by the BCU for joining the free Umbracrest movement."
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"I thank you for the History lesson, Mr. Grantè, but can we skip to the useful part?" Asked Ezra innocently.
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"Fine. Golgi is part of Cerulea and Umbracrest will want it back along with the Grafinate of Squide. From these provinces, the Archregion could attack Aur, Worshi or Teocrazia. We should tell the Council of Seers and Order of the Dragoon to focus their defence on the Centuria Subregion or attack Mestae and By Rissau places such as Mitchon or Bronch." He informed them neutrally.
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The two men looked down on the map and nodded. "If the Umbracresti capture Squide I will order the Technocrat-Controllers of Ravillion to assist the Technocrat of Geari in warding off a possible assault." He muttered.
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Ezra turned his attention to the smaller map. "What of Pheasantine? I expect that the Prime Minister anticipates an invasion."
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"The Red Tigress will not be able to maintain her majority if that happens. The last thing we need is an emergency election handing Clean Slate or Sevitan Blood a cushy majority: they will pull the second largest region in Empyrea out of the War or even join the Archregion!" Cried the Vorantine Leader.
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"The Second Pheasantine Republic is not quite prepared for War, the Narcissians are predicted to have at least 1 million troops. Well-trained and equipped ones, I might add. Tell Rawrchart to be careful of the Aurin Province - they border three separate Narcissian subregions and are not to be trusted."
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"Where would those sneering green eyes attack?" Snapped a new person, Counter Admiral Nwarth De Corsair.
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Corsair commanded the CVAPU combined Fleet, which was larger than the Grand Fleet but lacked its technological advantage.
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"Zephyr, Aurin, Cystin, Hestyn and Oralyne are all at risk. Could we beat the Grand Fleet, Counter Admiral?" Questioned Grantè anxiously.
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"In Pheasantine and Umbracrest at the same time? No. We would need to sacrifice aeronautical support in either the Western or Eastern front to rival their Fleets. Where is more important?" He said carefully.
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"Pheasantine is projected to become more populated, has more resources and isn't subject to the authority of Seers, Sages, the Archbishop, Bishops, Abbots, and the leadership of the Order of the Dragoon. We would be wiser to defend them over Cerulea for this reason."
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Counter Admiral Nwarth De Corsair mulled this over for a moment, calloused hands stroking his chin.
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"It will be done but if the second Republic capitulates, I want you to guarantee that the Combined Army will not withdraw from the East.
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Francis Grantè, thinking of his son - who was stationed in the town of Sisi in the Sai Province of the East -, nodded sadly.
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"Let's say we do win in the air...how would we invade Narciss?" Ezra asked cautiously.
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"The Earldom would be a challenge to invade but we could ignore the Subregions of Luxequinox, Xyrolith, and Chalcrystis to hit the heartland of abundance - Valerium - and Worcestershire hard." He thought aloud.
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"All of you leave and deliver the information to Vance and Rawrchart!" He hissed.
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Corsair, Mylo and Norik scurried out of the room like furious termites swarming from a disturbed nest.
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There was a factor that bothered General Francis Grantè that he had kept quiet about. EUGNA had a wildcard: the Biotechnological Commission of Umbracrest.
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The incumbent Chairman of the BCU, Margrave Anuax Hessen of Mestae and by Rissau, would make for a dangerous foe in an optimistic scenario.
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Unfortunately for CVAPU, this wouldn't be one because Altgraf Horiato the Elder had died and his will had been published recently
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That will have caused a shock in CVAPU because of how it would altar Umbracrest: Anton Jassau would be given Cellula on the condition he allowed Dexorine to become part of Biogi along with Horiato`s other territory of Fehler. Wafful had been taken away from the House of Kaiserin and given to Biogi.
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This was immensely important because the ruler of the current Grafate of Biogi happened to be the Chairman`s daughter. The House of Hessen - already quite powerful in Umbracrest with their strong influence on the Commissar's government via the BCU - was set to rule directly over 44% of Umbracrest or 3.6 million square miles of territory.
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This would be an absolute disaster for the Union`s war plans: the new Grand Duchy that spanned the entire Umbra-Cerulean border was ruled by an infamously ruthless family that had proved themselves more than willing to wage biological warfare on anyone in their way.
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General Francis Grantè sighed and returned to war planning.
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