«12. . .8,1198,1208,1218,1228,1238,1248,125. . .8,2698,270»
Agent Rahim was the contact, and he was good. He left no paper trail and was as hard to track as he was mysterious. He only showed up when he wanted to meet the Front, and the first meeting went over very general basics: Beans, Bullets and Bandages. They could offer the Front AK-74s of all variants, old T-72 tanks, ammunition, medical supplies and training for all of it. In exchange, they simply asked for a baseline payment, far less than the premium of these items were worth and to be first in line for mining and oil rights before other foreign competitors would be considered.
They had also promised deployment of a whole special operations battalion, numbering no less than 380 combatants... solely for "consulting" with the Front.
The columbine republic, Spiritual Republic of Caryton, and Al wahid
The Start of Civil War
Within days, three prominent warlords who had pledged their support to the Front had ended up dead in a series of car bombs. This had the effect of discouraging other undecided warlords from siding with the pro-democracy rebels.
Initially, no one claimed responsibility for the car bombs. But days later, a hitherto unknown Jihadist group calling itself the ابناء ابو بكر (Sons of Abu Bakr) claimed responsibility, citing the Front’s rejection of the traditions of the salaf—which in their view is Islam in unadulterated, purest form—as the reason behind the bombings. In turn, the late warlords’ households have launched a series of punitive raids targeting mosques in their controlled territories, with the Front deciding not to intervene.
The revanchist strikes are now having the effect of sidelining more moderate voices in the clerics' convention discussing the growing threats socialism and secularism. While having only just begun, the discussions are now dominated by the participants' perception of an existential threat to their faith, as well as to their status enjoyed in society. The salafist view, particular those sympathetic to waging jihad against socialism and secularism, is now gaining traction.
These recent clashes between reactionary Islam and the Front, analysts believe, will mark any future for the moderate rebels as one filled with sectarian violence for years to come. However, more surprising to observers is the fact that the Front has been spotted using AK-74s and T-72 tanks, when the Front has so far only been able to recover RPG-7s, AK-47s and antiquated armoured vehicles like the T-54 and BMP-1s. Although the newer heavy armoured vehicles have not yet been deployed unlike the AK-74 assault rifles, Front tank crews have been spotted training with them.
In other news, with the government refusing to comment on the existence of talks with foreign arms manufacturers, the general strike has now started. Millions of workers around al-Wahid have put down their tools and taken up protest signs instead. In the capital itself just under a million workers have taken to the streets, with more expected to turn up in the coming days.
Finally, though in recent days regime forces have been at the end of a series of misfortunes, the government in the capital of al-Easima has had successes elsewhere. Thanks to the government’s lifting of Internet restrictions, they have been able to closely monitor social media and make a large database of all the activists, along with their political leanings, religious affiliations, and other relevant pieces of information. Through this database, the security services have been able to identify persons of interest and have now placed them under electronic and, where applicable, physical surveillance.
The government is now in the process of deploying advanced persistent threat (APT) groups to engage national security threats—both international and domestic—on the cyberspace. For years they have been putting together teams of hackers and acquiring hacking tools on the black market. Al-Easima now believes that the time has come to put their investments to the test. Some of the APT groups will be working with the security services to target persons of interest; others are to start building up their infrastructure outside al-Wahid, ready to respond to national security threats posed by foreigners.
Imperial Protectorate of Ilgaz, Artarumen Realm
19 September 2019, 04:00
"This is the first announcement of the National Security Council.
The Great Turkish Nation;
As our citizens have been able to witness throughout the last year, the Imperial Protectorate of Ilgaz has been wrought with chaos from enemies both within and outside of it. It has faced treacherous attacks against its regime, its physical existence, and the Turkish nation within it. The State has been subsumed by subversive elements, its constitutional safeguards undermined, weakened, and silenced; its political parties unable to come together to bring the salvation of the State. Perverted ideologies other than those of national formation and strength, of reactionary or subversive natures, have been permitted to proliferate. These ideologies, systematically and treacherously, have been permitted to seep into our education system from primary schools to universities, into our administrative system, our justice system, our security forces, our workers' unions, our political parties, and all other aspects of our society. In short, the State has been left weak and in need of aid.
The Exalted Turkish Nation;
It is under these circumstances that the Ilgaz Armed Forces has carried out the task of safeguarding the Turkish nation granted to it by the will of the Turkish people, and has, within the chain of command and through direct orders, assumed total and complete control of all state affairs.
The purpose of this assumption of government functions is to establish the unity of the State, achieve independence in a manner befitting Turkish national interests, ensure national unity and camaraderie, re-establish the functions and the authority of the State, and remove the obstacles that prevent the functioning of a democratic system.
The Parliament and Government have been dissolved. The immunity of the members of Parliament have been revoked.
Martial law has been declared nation-wide.
All exits from the country have been prohibited.
In order to ensure citizens' safety, a curfew has been imposed from 05:00 onwards until a second order.
It is requested that all citizens listen to the newscasts on their radios and to trust the Ilgaz Armed Forces in all directions and orders they give."
As the civilian newscaster of the IRT, the only radio and television channel in Ilgaz, finished the announcement in his distinctive bass voice, the generals of the "National Security Council" relaxed. The coup had gone flawlessly. Not a single inch of resistance had been faced with, and the leaders of the political parties had been gently escorted from their homes to a military vacation camp on the seaside. Serious resistance had been expected from the trade unions, with the generals having prepared for the possibility of as many as 5,000 armed militants. No resistance had occurred, and the leaders of the largest trade unions - DİSK and MİSK - had also been apprehended, with noticeably less care than was afforded to the party leaders.
Elsewhere, hundreds of kilometres away from Ilgaz, in Liudan, a group of men were also listening to the announcement. When it ended, they too let out a breath of relief, leaning back in their armchairs. The Minister of State for War, Thomas Richard Prenderghast, lit a cigarette and breathed deeply, while Prime Minister Montgomery Walther Rorschach massaged his temples behind his mahogany table. Spencer Wright Lowenthal - the Foreign Minister - stopped pacing around the room and loosened his tie, noticeably relieved.
"So it's not the Islamists, it's not the communists, and it's not the ultranationalists. Our boys in Ilgaz did it." Lowenthal commented, looking at the others.
"Yes," Rorschach began, "they did it. The coup was visible from kilometres away. It was only a matter of who did it, and thankfully, it was these guys."
"We can work with these people," murmured Alastair John Somerset, the Economy Minister, "we can work with these people. A smoother route to independence. We can work with these people."
The Regime's Opening Moves
Not intending on fighting in a prolonged civil war, al-Wahid’s security forces raided the First Islamic Political Convention, ensuring that it would be the only Islamic Political Convention. Because of their indecisiveness and without sufficient foreign backing, the government saw a chance at neutralising a threat and took it. The regime had several moderate imams on their payroll and they had reported proceedings from the very start. This allowed government forces to arrest the Jihadi empathisers, while letting moderate clerics go free—though not before questioning them and underscoring the importance of their continued loyalty to the government.
To the south, the government halted its advances. Having made little inroad past the mountains, the government instead used helicopters to secure the mountaintops strategic to defending the mountain passes against the Front’s advances. This permitted them to withdraw some of their forces to defend the regime against the socialists’ growing influence in big industrial centres across the country.
To fight the socialists, the government hired the assistance of a number of public relations firms widely known in some circles as being highly effective against popular unrest, as well as enlisting the help of foreign businesses specialising in psychological operations. They shared their growing database on political activists with their new friends so that they might better fashion propaganda against the socialists.
Recognising that the socialist movement was coordinating their general strike primarily on social media, the government, acting on advices from the hired help, did not restrict users’ use of social media. Instead, they saturated it with disinformation and propaganda. A meme war was being raged against the country’s youth—the lifeblood of any revolution.
Meanwhile, al-Wahid’s APT groups, using the access granted to them by local mobile network operators and internet service providers through government mandates, targeted persons of interest both in the People’s Self-Defence Force and in the Front. Thanks to their efforts, the government now knew precisely where important insurgents were, who they were in regular contact with, the contents of their communications and a host of other valuable data.
Acting on the APT group’s information, the security forces built entity relational models to better understand the relationships the persons of interest had with their insurgent groups and with each other. This empowered them to identify even more persons of interest to monitor, often passing back this information to the APT groups to target.
It was through these same models that the security forces found links between an armed group and the People’s Self-Defence Force. The security forces were keen on understanding who these volunteers were, so they dedicated considerable signals intelligence resources to intercepting their communications and monitoring them.
Edit: formatting
Post self-deleted by Al wahid.
OOC: oh voided then thanks for telling me
Peachy said, "I'm not much of a preacher, but Reformed Ponyism teaches us that all three Pony Kinds are to embrace the two great virtues of Harmony and Unity. In practice this means that all Ponies should work for the greater good while embracing their inner talents. Alicorns are considered sacred paragons, the living embodiments of all that which is good in the Ponykind. Their word should be considered law, for they see the deepest desires and aspirations of common Ponies and know what is truly good for us."
The Overseer took Tempest and the others into a large movie theater inside the main building. It was empty now aside from a Pegasus projectionist. However, there were enough seats for hundreds of Ponies, probably for everypony who lived in this particular building and worked the surrounding fields.
"You should watch one of the films we show to our Earth Pony workers every day, both to entertain them and to motivate them into working harder," Peachy said. "The one scheduled for today is titled 'The Heroic Sacrifice'. It's one of the most popular ones."
Without waiting for a reply she nodded to the Pegasus projectionist who started the film.
The film turned out to be decently made but blatantly propagandic. It told the story of a misguided Earth Pony filly who dreamed of being a great warrior. She practiced fighting and neglected her work in the fields, forcing her poor mother and father to work twice as hard. But one day their idyllic village was attacked by an Ursa Major. When the Earth Pony filly saw the monster, her courage failed and she fled in terror. But before the Ursa Major could eat anypony, the brave Captain of the village's Pegasus Guard and a tavelling Unicorn Mage faced the monster in combat. Both the Captain and the Mage gave their lives in defending the village, but in the end they managed to vanquish the monster. Inspired by the noble sacrifice of the two higher caste Ponies, the misguided Earth Pony filly decided to sacrifice her dream and became the hardest worker in the village. And on that day, she gained her Cutie Mark: a plow.
Midway through the film, there was a knock on the door. A Pegasus sergeant of the farm's guard entered the darkened theater and came to talk with Peachy Pitt in a lowered voice.
When the sergeant was gone, Peachy explained to Tempest, "Nothing to worry about. Our aerial patrols have spotted a pair of intruders at the outskirts of the farm. They didn't look armed. The guard will take care of them, so we can continue the inspection as planned."
"Welcome back, Your Imperial Majesty."
The Kaiser sat upon the Holy Throne, clad in the steel and cape of his royal armor as he was overlooking the entirety of the Germanian Congress. Many seats were empty from the Halle Putsch as it became known and those who were left immediately turned their backs to him - so radiant was the light of his majesty that they could not bear to even look upon his visage. For indeed, his accomplishments outweighed almost all other leaders in Germanian history: he had brought an unstable nation together, led the crusade on Jerusalem and the rest of Chunwallism even to the very seat of power in Chunwall which was burned out from living memory. Syndicalism was also wiped out completely and Natalya Vilvienne personally executed by his Caravan of Death, the remnants of Agnosicstan left as a failed state and unable to compete with the might of the Reisch. The seeds of his reign stretch far and wide, from the throne of power in Vespergale to the smouldering ruins in former Hansdeltania. Although pockmarked by setbacks and even failures along the way, he'd restored a wounded pride of a proud people. Now it was time to rebuild the Empire however, and so came the time to finally consolidate his power on foreign territorial holdings and to expand to new horizons.
The Raumkommando fleet would be downscaled massively, leaving them for a purely defensive and ceremonial role and the Wehrmacht re-issued Konig-K assault rifles. The military budget may have been cut, but investments were certainly going elsewhere in the meantime, former Starcruiser crew members were being retrained for work elsewhere in civilian and military life and soon enough came the time when the Kriegsmarine made their moves. Northeast of the Circonian Sea, Floating Fortress fleets blocked off the English Channel from both sides as well as trading ships passing through that did not explicitly belong to or have business with Pelomoya or Despoticania. More and more pamphlets calling for unification were printed in English and sent out to Caryton and Lenspheria, mirroring a Germanian ambition of restoring a union of states desiring mutual prosperity and security.
Somehow, however, an anti-Reisch propaganda leaflet was slipped in here and there, showing that perhaps not everything was as well at home as the Germanian propaganda machine portrayed.
A few of the Trottingham soldiers grumbled as the film played, being Earth Ponies themselves. “That’s a load of horse apples. I got a plow on my arse and I can peg a heretic and a xeno as well as any Pegasus or Unicorn.” One complained, hiking up his red coat to show off his Cutie Mark which was a plow as he said. The Lieutenant waved a wing at his subordinate, looking mildly annoyed. “Alright, we see it, Shod. Cover up now, there’s mares about.”
Tempest’s tail flickered as she watched the film, the images of the Ursa making her scars itch as she remembered how she got them. Peachy’s passing remarks on the intruders garnered a grunt from her and she stood as the film ended and the heckling soldier exposed his flank. “Your trooper’s right, Lieutenant. That film is terrible but for those dumbed-down ponies out there, I suppose it might be passable. Shall we move on then?” The last part was directed at Peachy who’d shifted her hat to shield her eyes.
OOC:...Wait, there's a map? I wanna be on the map...
With cooperation from activists, workers and union groups, the Workers Society flooded the emergency services of Artarum with anonymous calls concerning "street hooligans" disturbing the peace and "engaging in agitation". Counterdemonstrators assembled in the streets to protest the Crimsonshirts, standing by the working class and especially with police unions after the attack on the police station. Petitions were being passed around calling on the government to proscribe the Crimsonshirts as a terrorist organization. Their support for the market had been the last straw and the Artarum Workers Society would make it loud and clear that these petty Bourgeois elements would be their allies no longer.
The AWS curtly dismissed the ANPR's statements as anti-Antipodean racist polemic conspiracy theories and reaffirmed their commitment to the welfare of police officers, citing the Social Darwinist attitudes of Capitalism and consumer culture as being the key contributor to institutionalized injustices rather than any inherent nature of law enforcement itself. They furthermore applauded the National Coalition for their efforts at curtailing reactionary aggression and reiterated their calls for the ANPR to be proscribed. Comrade Elsie Murphy commented to the local press:
"If you follow the demented logic of Mr. Dahlman and his Columbine-backed cronies to its natural 'logical' conclusion, he has committed treason surpassed only by the betrayal of Douglas MacArthur in 1941 in the United Colonial States. However, we're not interested in whatever Capitalistic chauvinist conspiracy theories the Fascists have to spin in order to support their contradictory reductionist positions. We are here to build Socialism, to build stronger friendships with workers across the world and to guarantee the people of Artarum the inalienable right of safety, happiness and self-determination. Yet, the ANPR just wants to engage in anti-revolutionary identity politics and alienate sectors of the working class to suit his bourgeois imperialist agenda. The likes of Mr. Dahlman and his anti-worker propagators of terrorism shouldn't waste his time with us if these are the cards he has played, because - let me just say - what a poor hand. Apparently the Prime Minister's entire intelligence network can't find "sleeper agents" but the all-wise ANPR can. Let the public decide which of us is speaking more sense on the matter."
Liudan, Empire of Artarum
The judge hesitated for a moment. There had never been a regency in Artarum before, not one mandated by the elected government. Deciding how to phrase it, he nodded to himself, adjusted his overly fancy wig and robes, and pushed open the doors.
"All rise before His Eminent Lordship."
The small group of people - all of them bureaucrats - stood up in the small, though well-decorated courtroom. The judge sat down, clearing his throat.
"The Government's case regarding the organisation referred to as the Crimsonshirts has been reviewed. On behalf of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor-Regent Euric VI, and by God, this State Security Court has decided the following," he started, as the bureaucrats sat down.
"This State Security Court has hereby decided that the electronic communications and physical communications of the Crimsonshirts and any affiliated groups are to be tracked and tapped as deemed necessary by the Government. The members of the organisation and affiliated organisations can be pressed into service overseas within penal units of the Imperial Navy, throughout the Artarumen Realm. As per the Subversive Acts of 1989, it has been found appropriate that members of the organisation and affiliated organisations can be detained indefinitely without notice and without information being given to their families or next of kin.
This State Security Court shall review the status of the Crimsonshirts and their affiliated organisations within the penal system and the terrorist organisation roster, and will decide upon the Government's second request at a later date. This case is thereby closed." He slammed his gavel on the mahogany desk, rising from his seat - prompting the bureaucrats to stand as well - and exiting the courtroom.
The decision was a secret, not to be published beyond those who needed to know. The Imperial Liudan Constabulary was notified that they could detain the Crimsonshirts indefinitely without any notice given, without anything more. The State Security Courts were a remnant of the old order, but they generally served their purpose very well. The Crimsonshirts were just another would-be dissident group amongst hundreds, maybe even thousands in the entire Empire, within the vast Artarumen realm.
Nobody would care about a few dozen people disappearing, and ending up dead in the Imperial Protectorate of Beyt against Islamist or nationalist gunfire.
WHAT? Ejected from Pacifica!! I will eat their livers for breakfast! My ambassadors will have their skulls for drinking vessels! My armies will drive their women into the desert and I will enjoy the lamentations of their men!
Rats!
I will bring the light of my wisdom to you so that we may crush Pacifica.
Peachy stammered only a little when she said, "Ahem... O-of course. Let's move on then..."
Leading her guests out of the movie theater, she continued, "And if I may add, while you may not think much of our movies, I hope that you at least understood their purpose. We want to provide quality entertainment for our workers. We do not see the Earth Ponies as mere biological machines. No, they are valued workers and an essential part of the Imperium. Reformed Ponyism teaches us that everypony has her place in society, but it also teaches us that everypony has the right to enjoy her life."
She took the extradimensional inspectors to the second floor of the main building, into a large and well furnished meeting room clearly reserved for the commanders of this particular farm. The main feature of the room was a large round table. Three Earth Pony workers, one stallion and two older mares, were seated at the table. They all wore green vests with a pin that identified them as labor group leaders, one of the highest positions an Earth Pony could reach in modern Equestria.
"These are Rocky Field, Autumn Rain and Photo Finish," Peachy said. "They lead three of the hardest working labor gangs in the entire farm. You are free to interview them and ask them any questions that come to your mind. Her Immortal Ladyship hopes that this way you can see with your own eyes that our caste based system is not oppressive or against the true nature of Earth Ponies. I assure you, you'll find no dissatisfaction here!" (The Overseer didn't sound particularly sure about her last statement.)
OOC: oofed, CTE-ed due to IRL reasons
Anyways....
IC:
A distress singal was sent out to the entire region, despite the severe lacking quality of the signal, a bit of the message was able to be transcribed.
It goes like this,
S-send help, *bzzt*, by Fau-*bzzt*-e alicorn gods were r-real!! *Bzzt* They've returned! Someone decided it was best to shoot them and now they're firing back!! *Bzzt*-ve armies with more weapons than us! Send He- OH GOD!
An Equestrian air patrol was immediately dispatched from the nearest military base to investigate the signal. The air patrol consisted of one magitechnological airship of the Third Imperial Airfleet and four attack helicopters. It was commanded by Captain Spring Tide, a veteran Pegasus warrior of many great and small battles.
The air patrol's mission was to find out what was going on in Maripony. They were under strict orders not to fire at any targets unless absolutely necessary to ensure their own survival.
When the patrol was above Maripony, Captain Spring Tide tried to contact Overseer Celestial Embers.
"This is Imperial Air Patrol N-567. Overseer Celestial Embers, are you threre? What is going on in Maripony? Please respond immediately."
Artarumen Radio Television
Hundreds of prosecutors, judges, and barristers no longer permitted to practice; Justice Minister Adam Clive Ashdown states partisan links with the former government and the Royalist party
In a sweeping purge of the justice system, a great number of Artarumen prosecutors and judges were removed from office by the government, stating that they could not fulfill their roles as unbiased practitioners of the law of the land as they had become tools of the former administrations and of the Imperial family. Moreover, the licence of even more barristers was revoked overnight, leaving them unemployed and unable to practice law, with details of their legal malpractices in regards to their handling of politically motivated cases coming to surface.
Overall, the Artarumen people seem pleased with this measure, as one of the chief promises of the government had been to clean the judicial system from corrupt judges and prosecutors, and reform the judicial system itself. The Justice Minister commented that "a large-scale reform of the justice system in Artarum is in the works", and that "laws prohibiting speech and limiting demonstrations would be repealed soon". He further went on to state that "the State Security Courts, a tool of Imperial and ultraconservative oppression over the Artarumen nation and labourer, shall be abolished in due time".
Prime Minister Montgomery Walther Rorschach stated that "the aim of the National Coalition government is to bring together the entire Artarumen nation, heal the great wounds caused by decades of National Party rule, and walk to the future united and strong", and that "these reforms allow us to achieve this goal without causing further injustice and harm to those who have not deserved it. Those who have been hurt by these measures have only themselves to blame in that they could not stand with their honourable colleagues who resigned, or worse, were punished by the governments prior to us."
This was the ART reporting from Liudan, the capital of the Empire of Artarum and the Artarumen Realm.
Being a city stuck perpetually in the Classical Era, the common citizenry lacked access to electrical power - or any kind of power, for that matter - but this did not change the fact that the Antipodeans' superior urban combat skills easily outmatched the cobbled-together defenses of the Zunists. Before long the defensive lines had been pushed back to the Ziggurat, with those capable of doing so fleeing to the safety of it's interior while those unfortunately locked out tried either to surrender or felt forced to fight to the death. Within hours Arghasambadh was mostly under invader control as Antipodean soldiers secured what they could of the city while Pelomoyan Papal Aid workers rushed to assist the disoriented, fearful, and ignorant people. Only Firelord Daras' Ziggurat remained untouched by the enemy, locked down to prevent entry. The resilience of the structure's walls ensured that attempts to penetrate them would take days, while the much weaker entry points were closely-guarded on the other side by entrenched turret positions and furious Zealots whose Staff weapons were primed and ready to blast away intruders. Daras did not believe for a moment that the enemy would be kept out for long, and so unbeknownst to both the enemy and his own warriors he locked himself in his chambers and prepared a bottle of poisoned wine to be consumed soon. First, though, he would enjoy the bodies of his slaves one last time. He would die on his own terms, not at the enemy's hands. Unaware of Daras' intentions the warriors prepared to defend their Firelord to death, as was surely the Will of Zunil. Unlike the other cities Daras' personal guard were comprised entirely of the most zealous warriors at his disposal, ensuring there would be no surrender... and no mercy.
Being a structure, the Ziggurat was not designed with vehicles in mind. When the Lenspherians inevitably broke through the doorway they would be forced to pile in with infantry and infantry alone. Artillery and armor support would be impossible from within the building, but the Lenspherians were in luck. Though the entrance had been heavily fortified with gun positions and scores of infantry, they would meet no resistance upon entry as the fury and force of their bunker-buster had disoriented the defending Zunists without effort. The dust kicked up combined with the shock-wave produced by the force of the impact had sent tremors throughout the interior of the Ziggurat, knocking over soldiers and knocking loose debris onto their heads while dirt and smoke blinded them and choked their lungs. Most would be dead, unconscious, or sensually impaired and disoriented as the Lenspherians approached, leaving very few capable of fighting back. Many chose to run, some attempted to surrender in vain before being put down, and those that fought back resisted only briefly as the now-disorganized guard were routed.
Firelord Baramdur, meanwhile, had gathered what was left of his forces willing to fight and worked on creating makeshift defenses in his throne-room. Arming himself with a Staff weapon, he and his personal guard swore to fight to the death against these invaders. He vowed not to suffer humiliation of capture, as these weak-willed foreigners no doubt intended, and would rather face death knowing that he served Zunil with his last breath. Unlike most Firelords, who quietly doubted Zunil's divinity while maintaining a facade of zealotry in order to preserve their own power, Baramdur truly believed in Zunil's claim to divinity. He would die in His service; it was His Will.
Ondara chuckled. "Oh deary, Pelomoya has never been terribly close with anyone. Such a fact comes with the behavior brought on by a mindset that convinces one they are greater than they truly are." She motioned for a waiter carrying a silver platter of wine glasses over, who upon arrival offered the group the drinks. "Come, have a drink! Straight from the Royal Vineyards - the only good wine left in this sorry country..." Once the Lenspherians had accepted (or refused) the wine, the waiter nodded curtly before disappearing in the crowd. Ondara took a swig of wine. "...and what a sorry country it is. I'm not sure you've noticed, but this place is in much worse shape than it might seem at first glance. Reflection of the United Kingdoms themselves, if we're being honest. Once great; no longer. Pitiful state of affairs, really. 200 years of downfall and decay; 160 years of corruption and instability. What comes next is inevitable, and though some pompous nobles would like to sit in their lavish palaces drawing upon conspiracies while they look down on everyone else and pretending like nothing is wrong... the signs are still there. At this point, change is inevitable." Vassavian smirked a bit as she took another sip. "But I'm sure you probably noticed things around here are much more tense than certain imbeciles would like to pretend otherwise. You've seen them - the soldiers, parading about as if this were a military installation. Ask them why they're here and they'll snidely feed you a line about 'extra security' and bring up the recent assassination of our last king, but just a glance at the palace guard tells an entirely different story. The glaring, the hatred. It becomes apparent, then, that these men weren't invited here at all, at least not by Captain of the Royal Guard. No, no. Their invitation comes from a man of much greater import. Though they claim to be here for the King, it's no secret to any Pelomoyan who they're really here for." She gestured to a man in a dashing military uniform, caped and ordained with medals, who was surrounded by military officials and even a few other individuals of clearly non-military stock. Perhaps most strangely was the fact he wore a helmet that seemed to cover his entire head, complete with a reflective silver shield that covered his face entirely. His posture and indeed his very presence seemed to convey an aura of authority around him as the men and women gathered around him stared at him with a hint of awe and inspiration. Whether it was he or they talking, all eyes were on him.
"Ah, but I take it you have no idea who that is, do you? There's no shame in that. No one knows what goes on in Pelomoya anymore. No one cares. For good reason, perhaps. Hard to believe that once this insignificant country was a great power." Ondara looked around with disgust at the sight of the decaying building. "No more. Now it's past glory is simply a reminder of better times. This place... this country... is little more than a decrepit shrine to ancient history." Ondara looked back at the guests, her beaming smile returning. "Oh dear, how rude of me! I've been boring you, haven't I? My husband says I talk too much."