GATE: and so the Iron Pact Fought (a GATE: and thus the JSDF Fought fic)

[Aaron Fox]

Ok, sorry for the god-forsaken long hiatus. Real Life was a complete and utter bitch. Subway took a lot of my energy (especially since it was doing Amazon BS), meaning that I had less time and energy for anything more than snippets. The only reason that I'm getting back into it now is because I've quit that job.

Now, this snippet can be considered a bit boring, as it deals with something that isn't that far from the game Papers Please, but it builds the world a little and deals with some of the problems of a world like Falmart interacting with our world. Like, say, new nasty strains of fucking Smallpox and its deranged bacterial cousin Depetheria.

---

Joint Remus-Alnus Customs Office; October 9th​, 2017

"Let me get this straight," I asked as my apprentices sat behind me, "due to some hacks selling poor quality potions and elixirs, you're putting every single potion and elixir into quarantine?"

The bureaucrat simply nodded yes despite the surprise of me being reasonable. "This is just a precaution, sir," the bureaucrat answered, "We take the health of everyone seriously around here." I sighed in understanding, knowing the problems of shoddy elixir and potion-making. Some of the problems faced by the Empire were because of such shoddy work in various transformation elixirs and potions. That's why the Alchemic Council and the various Alchemic Colleges were created, to ensure some level of standards and safety.

"I can understand that," I answered, "and my apprentices and I are more than willing to help you in that regard." The bureaucrat raised an eyebrow at that statement. "If you can give us the descriptions of the maladies, we can help you through the treatments. You've got my honor and my degree from the Salderan Alchemic College on that." My apprentices nodded in acceptance at that statement.

After that statement, there was a short, pregnant pause as the bureaucrat digested what I said.

"I'll have to get authorization from my superiors," the bureaucrat replied. However, you'll still need to undergo screening, just as a precautionary measure."

"That I can understand completely," I commented, "I've seen enough people suffer to live several lifetimes…"

---

"Well, at least these guys are not trying to curse me out because of those incidents…" Daniel Rodriguez thought to himself as he finished up the required paperwork on his desktop, "something different than the annoyance of the last four dozen guys." Daniel remembered the litany of curses that several groups of alchemists spewed when he told them that their regents were to be under quarantine. "… and there, the last of the paperwork is done. Just follow the yellow line, and you'll get a medical screening." With that, the small group of 'Alchemists' followed the yellow line towards the medical pavilion.

"Well, that's the third group this week," my superior stated on the CyberComm, "What we've gathered from Cato is surprisingly on the money. We'll be going to expedite their process to get them to be the local advisors in the little epidemic we've been having; the faster we get that under control, the better."

"That's good to hear," I commented, "The group in question is already heading to medical to undergo inspection. If all goes well, then they'll be putting their minds to the problem within the next 48 hours."

"It might be longer than that. We've got a variant of smallpox in the current crop of arrivals that has everyone in a tizzy," my superior replied, "While it isn't as bad as some of the crazy weaponized variants that our or the Soviet bio war programs produced, it's causing problems. Thankfully, we stopped a diphtheria outbreak yesterday, so we'll be forcing everyone to undergo immunization testing." I sighed. That sort of thing is going to push things for several days. While our computers are good, the laundry list of required immunizations still takes most of the day to complete, and given that Alnus Town or Remus Town has been drawing roughly a hundred people per day, that means legit days before everything is taken care of.

"I'll have to send word to our future advisors, then," I complained, "Why does our job get harder?"

"… from what I've heard from Wolfenstein, you don't want to know," my superior stated, "Let's just say things are going to go bad to worse right now, especially since the local players are making their move." I tried to restrain myself from beating my head against the desk in frustration. "Just continue on and make sure things go smoothly."

I sighed before I began processing the next person. It's going to be a long day indeed…

 

[Ryan Lozano]

This is not threadmark

 

[Aaron Fox]

This is not threadmark

Click to shrink...

These snippets are not the final product. I'm taking a page from @Kiyone4ever and his Gate fic (The Janus Campaign), where I post snippets of the next chapter to gauge the reactions of the snippet and get any help with anything that my spellcheck and whatnot misses.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Now, this next snippet centers around Pina, with Hamilton gone to meet with a Speculatore*, trying to make sense of the situation surrounding Italica as she and the Rose Order are forced to play wack-a-mole against bandits instead of gathering intelligence on the Men in Green.

*
Speculatore are Rome's spies. Despite the popular history that Rome wasn't good at spycraft, they're damn good at it historically.

---

Italica, Italica Province; October 10th​, 6729

Piña frowned as she surveyed the pin-studded map she brought with her to Italica, adding yet another pin -this time orange, representing banditry- upon its surface. "By the Gods, this isn't getting us anywhere," Piña muttered to herself, cursing whatever cruel twist of fate had her acting like the only sane woman in the royal family. "Ever since the Gates opened, it only brought bloodshed and migraines," Piña thought to herself, "at this rate, the southern provinces are going to collapse, leaving us weaker than before." While the collapse of the armies was problematic at best, if the southern provinces were to collapse financially, then the Empire would descend into anarchy as funding and resources for the military dried up. With the situation requiring the Rose Knights to split up to suppress this massive increase in banditry, Piña can't get intelligence on the Men in Green.

Without that intelligence, then the Empire would fall; Piña was certain of that.

"Yet another case of banditry, Princess?" Beefeater asked. She was currently taking over as Piña's assistant while Hamilton met with a Speculatore who managed to return to Imperial lines. While not as effective as Hamilton, she kept Piña's head right where it should be, that is, if she weren't worked up herself.

"Yes," Piña groaned as she put the pin on the map, "It's been months, and we've been consistently losing." Piña looked at the map. "I'll probably have to send your century southwest to eliminate another band of bandits before they get too strong."

"… at this rate, we're going to be spread too thin to do anything," Beefeater sighed, "This is far too coincidental to be simply a rise in banditry." Piña frowned, thinking the same thing. "If my century leaves, then you would only have what remains of the City Guard and your century."

"I know," Piña complained, "but it can't be helped. Italica is one of the Empire's biggest sources of tax revenue, especially since the cities bordering the Great Divide are falling at an alarming rate to the Men in Green." Piña sighed in a mixture of disbelief and dread. "If we lose Italica, the southern provinces will collapse, leaving the capital vulnerable."

Beefeater practically screamed in frustration at this situation, nearly tipping over a nearby table. "This can't be the doing of the Men in Green; everything we've seen and analyzed has the Men in Green not able to control people's minds," Beefeater complained, "and the banditry is well beyond the usual for remnants of defeated armies."

"That, you and I can agree on," Piña noted, "given the circumstances, I would say that at least some of these bandits are actually mercenaries paid to theater as bandits."

"… that means we've got a small number of possible people for such a conspiracy," Beefeater realized, "Though it might also be a part of a scorched earth policy, though given what few Speculatore that we've met said, the Men in Green are more than willing to undo that policy as they traveled across the empire."

"And that means they've got engineering capabilities to spare," Piña sighed, "It's like the Gates spat out someone that could counter our every move." That was when the door flew open.

"Piña!" Hamilton exclaimed as she panted for breath, "I've met with the Speculatore and we've got two messages." Piña turned around, nearly dumping the containers for the pins as she did so. Hamilton looked like she tried to fight off a full contuberium of legionaries.

"Hamilton!" Piña exclaimed in worry, "What happened to you?" Hamilton panted for breath as she tried to regain her bearings. "You look like you fought off a contuberium and had a pyrrhic victory."

"Sorry Piña, but I had to fight off several bands of bandits before I managed to ride back to Italica," Hamilton explained between pants, "but I've brought us a tressure trove of intelligence. The Legates sent to retake the Holy Hills had sent a recongnoscere century to act as impromptu Speculatore, and they've been doing well." Hamilton walked towards the table where the various intelligence reports were laid and then started placing stacks of scrolls onto the left end of the table. "… and everything is what we feared and more, Piña. They're far more advanced than us, Azibal came through for us with information worth more than mithril."

"Wait, Azibal was sent?" Piña questioned, "If she is acting like a good Imperial subject, then something has her spooked." Hamilton took out a package to answer Piña's growing list of questions.

"She managed to convince the Men in Green to make translated copies of a few books," Hamilton explained as she passed the books to her, "and one of them that need to get to the Council of Mages as immediately as possible." Piña opened the book in question, and already started to see the implications. While her father's side of the 'family' didn't know it, she was the only one to truly understand the intricacies of magic despite not being a mage herself. It's one of the reasons why she is so close to the current head of the Council of Colleges, Grand Magus Tiberius Nasennius Calpurnianus.

"This level of detail of the various beings of Falmart is impossible," Piña stated flatly, "… and the only reason that I know this is that the astral projection experiments were banned when it was discovered that it could cause possession." Hamilton raised an eyebrow at the latter statement. "I should know, I was there when that little problem was discovered." Hamilton knew better than to dig into that incident. "Get a wyvern rider and have this to sent to Grand Magus Tiberius and tell the rider that he is not to take no for an answer, use my name if he has to." Hamilton knew the underlying reasoning of that order and quickly took the book and prepared it to be sent out immediately.

"… something has to get you scared if you're sending it to the Grand Magus himself," Beefeater stated in a subdued manor, "What is it?"

"Either one of the worlds the Gates connected to is similar to ours, or someone has been undertaking astral projection experiments despite the ban, and I don't know which answer is worse!" Piña near-hysterically explained, "This entire invasion and the events from it hasn't made sense since the outset! The Men in Green have been ripping our forces like scythes through wheat and have been regularly outpacing our ability to respond." Beefeater frowned as she listened to her superior's rant in understanding, as she too understood that nothing about this invasion and the events that sparked from it hadn't made a lick of sense. "When one report comes in, we find out we're too late for ten others! I mean look at the map!" The map was absolutely studded with the various colors used to represent what the Men in Green accomplished alongside the reports of Great Dragons, X+ grade monsters, and banditry.

"BREATHE Piña!" Beefeater exclaimed as she hugged her superior, "BREATHE!" Beefeater knew what to do if Piña got this worked up and her specialist slave or Hamilton weren't around, though the former was due to her reading about the Gracchi Brothers, specifically the younger one. "You can't lead if you get this worked up." After a few deep breaths, she calmed down.

"Thanks Beefeater," Piña thanked as she recentered herself, "I needed that." Then she went to sit on one of couches in the room, grabbing a chalice of watered-down drinking wine. "Grey always said that you're only as good as your subordinates, and thanks for reminding me of that. Yet I can't help but have an anxiety attack with what we've been dealing with!" Beefeater understood where Piña was coming from, she too had problems when dealing with the enormity and mind-twisting nature of the invasion from the two Gate-connected worlds. She felt so small, so insignificant, so useless.

"That's why you have Hamilton and I," Beefeater soothed, "Remember when we started the Rose Order? What Grey told us about leadership?"

"… that your most trusted subordinates are the ones that carry you through even through the realms of Hardy hirself," Piña answered, "It's just so hard to remember that with what has been going on." Beefeater sat beside Piña as she comforted her.

That was when the two of them saw Hamilton standing in the doorwell.

"Did Piña have an anxiety attack again?" Hamilton asked, the only response that Hamilton got was a pair of heads nodding.

 

[RedWard99]

Damn, it's been a while. Good to have you back!

Also, poor Pina. She's doing a lot more work here than in the manga/anime in the form of putting out fires (bandits everywhere) using her knights, giving them a lot more combat experience. A better explanation for their absence compared to the splitting up thing they did in canon.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Damn, it's been a while. Good to have you back!

Also, poor Pina. She's doing a lot more work here than in the manga/anime in the form of putting out fires (bandits everywhere) using her knights, giving them a lot more combat experience. A better explanation for their absence compared to the splitting up thing they did in canon.

Click to shrink...

Well, elements of splitting up do happen here, too; it's just that they're meeting up with the Speculatore (Roman military spies) instead of splitting up to cover more ground.

You wouldn't believe how much of my real-life frustrations and anxiety pushed this snippet over the finish line. I was metaphorically screaming at what amounts to a conspiracy board when it just clicked.

 

[Aaron Fox]

So, sorry about this, but between real-life events and hopping between two sections, this is what got prototyped.

Now, one of the things that keeps bugging people who read/watch the series is why didn't the Warrior Bunnies didn't go into guerrilla warfare mode. Well, a close-to-canon reason is that the Warrior Bunnies got Carthage'd, i.e., their people slaughtered and the survivors made into slaves. Here, it's far more insidious: while the Empire enslaved their mortal bodies, the Salderian pantheon effectively enslaved their souls. If they did try to rise up in revolt, they get a direct taste of Divine Intervention.

My thoughts on Tyuule are that she defied conventions and was punished, which was made worse by Zorzal making sure every Warrior Bunny would kill her if she escaped to lead a revolt. By the time the events of this fic (and OTL) happen, she has lost hope and faith.

So, when writing this, I tried to think of how a person would think and feel in that mental state.

---

The Platinum Palace Slave Quarters, Sadera Royal District – October 11th​, 6729

Tyuule detested Zorzal with every fiber of her being. He is the worst sort of being to be a leader. Arrogant, ignorant, hate-inducing, brutal beyond acceptable reason, these and more made him highly unsuitable as a leader. If it weren't for his father's intervention, the Luftyn race would have been effectively exterminated…

… and now she was caring for a girl from another world that 'caught' the monster's attention -no, daemon- in human skin. From the looks of things, he put her through the ringer.

"Damn that daemon," Tyuule complained as she used a few ointments on the poor girl, "he's been brutalizing these poor souls pretty hard." Tyuule continued to work as her 'bunk mates' kept an eye out for guards coming to drag them to Zorzal. "… I keep failing them; he's becoming more interested in the others than me…"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," one of the new girls replied as she helped, "you aren't some divine that can do everything; you're a simple mortal, and what you've been doing has been more than anyone could ask for." Tyuule sighed as she continued doing her people's healing practices. "I should know; I'm friends with a girl adopted by a young divine." Now, that got Tyuule's attention.

"What?" Tyuule asked, trying not to attract attention with her outburst. "Are you pulling my ears?" The girl shook her head.

"No, though that poor divine's tale is tragic," the girl answered, "A bunch of apocalypse cultists undertook a ritual that birthed her and caused her powers to be extremely unstable. When she was found, the cult was exterminated, the goddess was mercy-killed, and she was born. Her father -who killed everyone but the newborn- called her Elora, and she was whisked away to a convent that took care of her. Still, when her divine powers manifested, she was taken to a containment unit for everyone's safety." Tyuule was astonished at the tale but kept working on the poor girl before her. "She was in that containment unit for a better part of five years before Wolfenstein decided to use one last method to help her before attempting to mercy kill her. From what she described, she initially felt a crushing dread, but that quickly became an aura of hope. Her savior told her it would be painful, but it had the highest chance to help her, so she took the chance, and her divine powers were reset to a more manageable level." It then hit Tyuule right between the eyes; the description of the savior had only one correlation with Luftyn lore: the Divine Fire, chosen explicitly as protectors of both the divine and mortals. They are capable of healing and death with equal measure and are always selected for their fair but pragmatic sense of justice.

Tyuule finished her work before asking, "… that sounds like something from my religion, the Divine Fire." The girl smiled in understanding. "This savior sounds very powerful to reset a goddess's powers."

"Well, he is," the girl said, "The funny thing is that her savior didn't know how divine powers work, despite him dissecting peoples' paranormal powers in a better part of a year; he called two divines -Hades and Persephone Olympus- to help her." That was further evidence that the savior was a Divine Fire, given how it was set up. A Divine Fire is to be chosen, not born, and those names sounded like gods. "While she isn't well known -and she would like to keep it that way- she decided to adopt until she can convince her savior to marry her, though if what I've heard is true, he has someone in the royal family eyeing him too, among others."

"… he sounds like a lady's man," Tyuule spat out but noted that the girl shook her head no.

"It may sound like that, but I've met the guy," the girl responded, "He's the exact opposite of a lady's man despite sharing many of the physical features and charm, especially not anything like that demon prince. For one thing, he's the ultimate gentleman and never took advantage of any lady, even when he was drunk as a skunk." Tyuule gave the girl a weird look. "… it's a phrase for someone who was extremely intoxicated. Though, if I heard right, he started a bar brawl because a lady he was escorting was insulted while he was drunk, though she really didn't need an escort given that she's one of the tallest people on our planet and built like an Amazon." Tyuule's imagination took root as she pictured the tallest human she ever encountered and then made her an Amazon. "Though, one word of advice: never make him angry."

"… in our lore, making a Divine Fire angry is literally the last thing you would ever do," Tyuule mentioned, "even divines fear a Divine Fire that has gotten angry." Tyuule shuddered as she remembered the tales of angry Divine Fires and the aftermath of such events.

"You know, I only saw him angry once," the girl explained, "it was when I was visiting a friend of mine who Elora adopted. A bunch of crazy Revanchist Frenchmen kidnapped my friend and me; I don't know why they did it, but I think they wanted us so they could draw him out. The group leader had us watch how their 'greatest triumph' unfolded." Tyuule could feel the 'finger quotes' in that sentence. "Instead, we saw him angry. His face was marred with the most righteous, furious yet tranquil anger you could imagine, and his vengeance was biblical in both thoroughness and brutality." That was when Tyuule swore she could hear some odd, metallic feeling music as if it was some motif. "When he saw us, his face morphed into an angry disappointment, though his blood-stained face ruined that. The maniac tried to use us as hostages and threatened to kill us if he didn't surrender, but he wasn't having it. One moment, he was in the door well; the next, he had grabbed him and smashed him into the opposite wall. The madman couldn't even react before his demise."

"Is the girl treated yet? Because I hear a guard coming," one of the lookouts shout-whispered. Tyuule nodded as she prepared for yet another round of degrading brutality.

That was when Tyuule felt a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry; things will work out," the girl soothed, "I know they will, especially since I know that he's here." That was when Tyuule felt… relief—something that she hadn't felt in years. Maybe, just maybe, there is some hope after all…

 

[amimai]

Missing threadmark! Also need to re-read this, I hear the doom guy music!

 

[Aaron Fox]

Missing threadmark! Also need to re-read this, I hear the doom guy music!

Click to shrink...

As I said before, I'm using how the fanfic The Janus Campaign does things. Basically, I post prototypes of chapter segments to gauge reactions and discover any missed spelling and grammar problems. After compiling the chapter segments, I post the entire chapter with a threadmark. Threadmarks are for a) complete chapters, b) informationals, or c) side stories that explain parts that couldn't fit into the actual chapters due to length, unable actually to fit into the chapter as posted, or are just 'fluff' segments that give a viewpoint that isn't part of the plot.

Also, Doomguy music is intentional, for the character described is very unhappy when you use bystanders or people close to him as bait or to draw him out... and goes full-on Doomslayer if you threaten aforementioned bystanders/people close to him.

 

[amimai]

Also, Doomguy music is intentional, for the character described is very unhappy when you use bystanders or people close to him as bait or to draw him out... and goes full-on Doomslayer if you threaten aforementioned bystanders/people close to him.

Click to shrink...

did I ever say not to use the chainsaw on the idiot rapist? But if your asking for pointers start from the legs and go up!

 

[Aaron Fox]

did I ever say not to use the chainsaw on the idiot rapist? But if your asking for pointers start from the legs and go up!

Click to shrink...

I have... plans... for Zorzal. Special plans. So be patient.

 

[ATP]

I have... plans... for Zorzal. Special plans. So be patient.

Click to shrink...

We could wait.
P.S i once had cruel idea - send Zorzal to WH40 with no better strenght,but being immortal only/but still could be captured/ and with twist that he still learn nothing and must try rape everything.Then,send him to meet Sororitas,then Elder banshees,then DE wytches...not Slaaneshi cultists,thought,they would like to be raped.

 

[last admiral]

*sigh*

At this point it much easier to count what Zorzal havent been killed/tortured with throughout fandom. Rather silly to treat this guy as some big bad that need to be shoulder the whole pain(insert joke about Pain from Naruto) when the MF were barely even responsible for the shit warhawks was done(even the whole plans and tactics wasnt his's but by the likes of Tyuule and Herms) and even then the whole masterminds that is Molt and Hardy were literally got away scott free. The guy is not even that good as antagonist, much less villain to even make any sorts of torterous death & fate to be anything beyond than being borderline ITG.

 

[Aaron Fox]

*sigh*

At this point it much easier to count what Zorzal havent been killed/tortured with throughout fandom. Rather silly to treat this guy as some big bad that need to be shoulder the whole pain(insert joke about Pain from Naruto) when the MF were barely even responsible for the shit warhawks was done(even the whole plans and tactics was his's but by the likes of Tyuule and Herms) and even then the whole masterminds that is Molt and Hardy were literally got away scott free. The guy is not even that good as antagonist, much less villain to even make any sorts of torterous death & fate to be anything beyond than being borderline ITG.

Click to shrink...

If it weren't for the fact that the author is, frankly, an ultranationalist idiot, Zorzal would likely be a combination of Caligula, Nero (fun fact: Nero came out the way he did because of his mother, Agrippina), and Mark Anthony. Like in canon, Zorzal is running around with a portion of the idiot ball because of Molt, but unlike canon, he has political and military acumen that would surprise people. While the Platinum Palace is known as the 'brothel of the nobility', it is also where Zorzal's political allies met. Politics is all about those connections, especially in Roman and medieval politics. It's who you know more than your policies.

As for the Warhawks and the royal line outside of our beverage-named Princess and Zorzal (who will get an apt punishment after Hardy is removed from play)? Well, the Iron Pact will force the issue, and the punishments will not only punish them but ensure maximum emotional damage. What better way to punish a noble or royal than punishing them like commoners?

 

[last admiral]

Which Caligula and Nero since we know that the popular version which were the propaganda version, which isnt what the actual are.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Which Caligula and Nero since we know that the popular version which were the propaganda version, which isnt what the actual are.

Click to shrink...

It's kind of both. People forget that the best type of propaganda is just an exaggeration that isn't overboard instead of something made up wholesale or far out of proportion (for example, a lot of the propaganda that Britain and France did against Germany was so ludicrous that it kept the horrors of the Holocaust from being realized until the WAllies got to the camps themselves).

To give you an idea, when he ascended to full-on Emperor, Nero wanted to keep family business out of politics, respect the Senate, and do similar things while getting closer to the publeans. Agrippina was against that, leading to the matricide. While Rome burned (and he used many of the city's burned sections to build his mega-palace), we've got reports that he was directing the firefighting efforts. After the fire, he allowed displaced citizens to use the (future-old) palace as a refuge. At the same time, he rebuilt Rome, made new building codes, strengthened the fire department, and increased the water capacity of the city while blaming the Christians. Let's say Nero is a ball of '... what...' when you get to it.

Caligula, on the other hand, had basically all his male family members die under suspicious circumstances, then Tiberius put him under house arrest, after Tiberius bit it he tried to be a 'good emperor', then he got so sick (as in 'he might not live' sick, and it's a coinflip of if it was poison or not) that it likely screwed with his brain, said sickness likely caused him to get paranoid as heck leading to going into Tiberius's habits, added his own habit of giving the aristocrats ludicrous bribes every year which seriously drained the treasury, making the Empire more democratic and egalitarian (which royally pissed off the Senate and patricians), and then there is hearsay/rumors/stuff we can't fully substantiate like the reasons for running his horse as Consul and why he decided to declare war on a god of the ocean.

The dynasty that Caligula and Nero belonged to had serious issues, issues that future propagandists used as fuel and canvas for their propaganda.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWX7GQ2GuCI&ab_channel=HistoryAbridgedwithJackRackam

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfJNmYuFFL8
The biggest problem is peeling away the layers of propaganda.

 

[ATP]

It's kind of both. People forget that the best type of propaganda is just an exaggeration that isn't overboard instead of something made up wholesale or far out of proportion (for example, a lot of the propaganda that Britain and France did against Germany was so ludicrous that it kept the horrors of the Holocaust from being realized until the WAllies got to the camps themselves).

To give you an idea, when he ascended to full-on Emperor, Nero wanted to keep family business out of politics, respect the Senate, and do similar things while getting closer to the publeans. Agrippina was against that, leading to the matricide. While Rome burned (and he used many of the city's burned sections to build his mega-palace), we've got reports that he was directing the firefighting efforts. After the fire, he allowed displaced citizens to use the (future-old) palace as a refuge. At the same time, he rebuilt Rome, made new building codes, strengthened the fire department, and increased the water capacity of the city while blaming the Christians. Let's say Nero is a ball of '... what...' when you get to it.

Caligula, on the other hand, had basically all his male family members die under suspicious circumstances, then Tiberius put him under house arrest, after Tiberius bit it he tried to be a 'good emperor', then he got so sick (as in 'he might not live' sick, and it's a coinflip of if it was poison or not) that it likely screwed with his brain, said sickness likely caused him to get paranoid as heck leading to going into Tiberius's habits, added his own habit of giving the aristocrats ludicrous bribes every year which seriously drained the treasury, making the Empire more democratic and egalitarian (which royally pissed off the Senate and patricians), and then there is hearsay/rumors/stuff we can't fully substantiate like the reasons for running his horse as Consul and why he decided to declare war on a god of the ocean.

The dynasty that Caligula and Nero belonged to had serious issues, issues that future propagandists used as fuel and canvas for their propaganda.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWX7GQ2GuCI&ab_channel=HistoryAbridgedwithJackRackam

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfJNmYuFFL8
The biggest problem is peeling away the layers of propaganda.

Click to shrink...

Agree.German war crimes in WW1 were not so bad, except burning one or two towns in captured polish territories.Yet they still was showed as raping nuns and bayonetting infants,which,as far as i knew,never happened.

As a result,when germans send Eisetsgruppen to Poland in 1939 and made concentraction camps there,nobody belived polish envoys.
When polish envoy ,Karski,meet FDR in 1943 and start taking about Holocaust,he stopped him and ask how many horses Poland would buy in USA after war.

And at least Neron was not as bad as he was described.Althought he really murdered christians.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Agree.German war crimes in WW1 were not so bad, except burning one or two towns in captured polish territories.Yet they still was showed as raping nuns and bayonetting infants,which,as far as i knew,never happened.

Click to shrink...

This is a prime example of how bad (aka overexaggerated in this example) propaganda screws you over. British propaganda of the Germans was so over the top that it caused a sort of 'why we're even fighting the enemy' effect with the troops and stained anything bad afterward.

As a result,when germans send Eisetsgruppen to Poland in 1939 and made concentraction camps there,nobody belived polish envoys.
When polish envoy ,Karski,meet FDR in 1943 and start taking about Holocaust,he stopped him and ask how many horses Poland would buy in USA after war.

Click to shrink...

People forget that Jews were never accepted in the vast majority of the planet. Progoms and killing Jews? Standard practice historically, especially in Europe. While Imperial Germany wasn't a good guy with the Jews, it was a saint compared to France or Britain. Even the US wasn't exempt from this, mind you. I may point to the KKK's repeated anti-Semitic (mainly in the former CSA) sprees during the 1930s as just one example.

 

[ATP]

This is a prime example of how bad (aka overexaggerated in this example) propaganda screws you over. British propaganda of the Germans was so over the top that it caused a sort of 'why we're even fighting the enemy' effect with the troops and stained anything bad afterward.

People forget that Jews were never accepted in the vast majority of the planet. Progoms and killing Jews? Standard practice historically, especially in Europe. While Imperial Germany wasn't a good guy with the Jews, it was a saint compared to France or Britain. Even the US wasn't exempt from this, mind you. I may point to the KKK's repeated anti-Semitic (mainly in the former CSA) sprees during the 1930s as just one example.

Click to shrink...

1.Yep,british propaganda was really over the top - which it made even more funny when brits from 1919 till 1938 supported germans again!
This time writing bullship about polish pogroms which never happened.

2.Only place which never exiled jews - Poland.And in case of France - jews still were only exiled and robbbed,when templars were robbed and burned by the same king....i really would prefer to be french jew compared to french templar then !

And USA - yes,democrats were antisemites - but also anti-catholics,anti-irish,anti-mexicans and anti-italians.
Basically,anti-everybody who is not WASP !

 

[Aaron Fox]

Now, for the next snippet, I'm introducing the (Iron Pact) Poles that would be the tip of the spear for the Siege of Italica... but it's taken from the viewpoint of Giselle. In one part of the scene, the Poles start singing in a tavern.

I've narrowed it down to two right now (although, suggestions are welcome):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igqGJc2CNxI&ab_channel=Z%D0%9F%CE%9B%D0%9F

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fur0rfdzAU&ab_channel=KameradKosmos

So, would either of them work or do you guys have a suggestion that would work better?

 

[bryanfran36]

What about the My, Pierwsza Brigada?


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X6y87XNApsM&pp=ygUTbXkgcGllcndzemEgYnJ5Z2FkYQ%3D%3D

 

[Aaron Fox]

What about the My, Pierwsza Brigada?


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X6y87XNApsM&pp=ygUTbXkgcGllcndzemEgYnJ5Z2FkYQ%3D%3D

Click to shrink...

... and this is why I ask people; they find things you wouldn't normally find. [nicks it and starts prototyping using it]

 

[bryanfran36]

... and this is why I ask people; they find things you wouldn't normally find. [nicks it and starts prototyping using it]

Click to shrink...

This was from the Eastern Front Songs DLC pack of Hearts of Iron 4, but it was instrumental so I had to find the vocal version.

 

[Aaron Fox]

This was from the Eastern Front Songs DLC pack of Hearts of Iron 4, but it was instrumental so I had to find the vocal version.

Click to shrink...

... which is a song pack I don't have for HoI 4, surprisingly enough (stopped playing HoI 4 when it went whole hog on the DLC train and kept slowing down to a crawl).

The great thing about using the The Janus Campaign style 'prototype to actual chapter' posting is that you can ask people what you can use to make the fic perfect.

 

[ATP]

Now, for the next snippet, I'm introducing the (Iron Pact) Poles that would be the tip of the spear for the Siege of Italica... but it's taken from the viewpoint of Giselle. In one part of the scene, the Poles start singing in a tavern.

I've narrowed it down to two right now (although, suggestions are welcome):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igqGJc2CNxI&ab_channel=Z%D0%9F%CE%9B%D0%9F

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fur0rfdzAU&ab_channel=KameradKosmos

So, would either of them work or do you guys have a suggestion that would work better?

Click to shrink...

I would try to find something.And i hope,that polish troops would get here a lot of waifus!

 

[ATP]

... which is a song pack I don't have for HoI 4, surprisingly enough (stopped playing HoI 4 when it went whole hog on the DLC train and kept slowing down to a crawl).

The great thing about using the The Janus Campaign style 'prototype to actual chapter' posting is that you can ask people what you can use to make the fic perfect.

Click to shrink...

I have problem with finding song with english text.here,one from poznań about fighting prussians:

- YouTube

Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.

www.youtube.com

 

[ATP]

... which is a song pack I don't have for HoI 4, surprisingly enough (stopped playing HoI 4 when it went whole hog on the DLC train and kept slowing down to a crawl).

The great thing about using the The Janus Campaign style 'prototype to actual chapter' posting is that you can ask people what you can use to make the fic perfect.

Click to shrink...

Here,marsz lwowskich dzieci - version from 1914,when city belonged to A-H.

- YouTube

Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.

www.youtube.com

But,it was sung by poles who lived there,becouse before 1939 there was practically no ukrainians living there,only poles,jews and armenians.

 

[ATP]

Now, for the next snippet, I'm introducing the (Iron Pact) Poles that would be the tip of the spear for the Siege of Italica... but it's taken from the viewpoint of Giselle. In one part of the scene, the Poles start singing in a tavern.

I've narrowed it down to two right now (although, suggestions are welcome):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igqGJc2CNxI&ab_channel=Z%D0%9F%CE%9B%D0%9F

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fur0rfdzAU&ab_channel=KameradKosmos

So, would either of them work or do you guys have a suggestion that would work better?

Click to shrink...

Another proposition:

- YouTube

Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.

www.youtube.com

 

[Aaron Fox]

First off, life has been constantly giving me grief over the last six months. My hours at my job have been unstable (fluctuating from barely enough to too little), trying to find a new job on top of writing, got new RAM for my desktop... which -after doing some troubleshooting- caused my desktop to need to go to the nearby shop for more delicate troubleshooting (guy is a miracle worker, even if his rates are $100/hr plus any parts... let's just say he's worth every cent), and my brain is going in three trillion different directions. Still, got this little number out... which is something for you folks.

This little side story is set during the Battle of the Holy Hills when the human vassal leaders show up to reinforce the remaining forces besieging the Holy Hills of Alnus and Remus. Here, we see some dynamics between the Empire's various human and non-human vassal states and how they perceive the situation, while also touching on the fact that these guys aren't idiots, incompetent, or fanatical. Why didn't I put it in the original Battle (later Siege) of the Holly Hills chapter? Because I was trying to keep my chapter lengths within 10k words for effective readability.

The two characters we'll see the most on the Gate side are canonical (Dulan of Elbe) and non-canonical (in this case, Great King* Samuel the Red Beard of Ardania), two of the more competent leaders of the entire continent. Dulan is a renowned general as much as a shrewd and competent king. At the same time, Samuel is not only the Great King of Ardania (with the required competency and political acumen that it implies for a mini-empire that ruled over humans and non-humans alike) but also an accomplished mage himself (sure, he's not on the same level as Cato and those similar to him, but he's still a force to be reckoned with).

While the various vassal states have an increasing hatred of the Empire (and those who have correctly read -i.e., accept that he's a realist who was the head diplomat of a Republic and The Prince is realism wrapped around insightful yet sarcastic wit and not the soundbites that butcher what he was trying to teach you- Machiavelli** will note this is the worst thing that the Empire could do), they know it holds their lands hostage, meaning they must send what the Empire considers a serious force or have their lands sundered in retribution. So, they had to march with a significant portion of their troops to the Holy Hills, leading to this.

---

10 Mille from the Holy Hills, Falmart Basecamp -21st of Iunius, 6729 of the Salderan Reformation Calendar

It had been a long three-and-a-half months getting to the Holy Hills. When two Holy Gates appeared on two separate hills, the Empire had made a call to arms for every vassal to send their armies to ensure that nothing from the other side broke out into the wider Empire. It had been four months since the initial legions went to the other side of those Gates, and what came out was pure irony. The Empire's veil of invincibility has been completely shattered, though the apparent death of that invincibility hasn't resonated well enough.

"By the gods," I -Great King Samuel the Red Beard- commented as I surveyed what used to be a force numbering 500 thousand soldiers scattered across the massive base camp. "I'm already not liking this at all, Dulan." Dulan's face was one of horror as he surveyed the forces here. Both of us were assigned as leaders of the vassal armies, and seeing the remnants of several dozen legions -imperial and vassal- was heartbreaking and horrific.

"I agree," Dulan replied, "this does not bode well for our forces." I nodded in agreement, as he knew my immediate mental assessment well. "We'll have to get to the Council Tent to see the full extent of the damage here and gather what little information the others can give us to produce a viable plan."

It was a short walk to the council tent, and the sight that awaited us was grim indeed. There were only a handful of broad-striped tribunes and various leaders of the demi-humans, nowhere near enough to command a force of 500,000... and they were all arguing.

"... and we've been trying!" the Orc general exclaimed, "Their defenses are highly effective despite their ad hoc nature, and they've got the areas around the hills zeroed in with whatever magical artillery they have. We've already lost almost a quarter of our forces in the last few assaults, and simply charging at them will not change things."

"Do you think I don't know that?" the lead broad-striped tribune slammed back, "We've got to keep these other-worlders pinned down so they can't get into the Empire proper! So far, besieging them is keeping them pinned, but if we are to succeed, we need to push them back to the other side." The various demi-human leaders couldn't argue with that bit of logic, as this battle resembled more of a naval invasion than anything. "So far, even illusion magic isn't helping us any."

"If anything, the few times we used illusion magic made them fight that much harder," the leader of the sirens sighed, "I mean, we did open up with the first assault on Remus Hill under an illusion roughly decuple its number. They unleashed such withering fire that we were only lucky to retreat with only a fifth of the initial force as fatalities." The other leaders sighed in agreement. "We've been lucky only to suffer a quarter of our force to their weapons thanks to illusion magic, but they can resupply and bring in more troops; we can't."

"I thought things were bad when we saw the state of the armies, but this is actually worse..." Dulan quietly commented as we continued to listen to the situation being parsed.

"Oh, King Dulan and Great King Samuel, sorry about the current state of affairs, but, as you may have noticed, things have gone to Hardy lately," the broad-striped tribune apologized, "The Legates were sent out to meet up with several legions sent to reinforce us two days ago." Surprisingly enough, Dulan and I met one of the legates in question on the way here, so that checks out.

"So, we've got the Lion of Elbe and the Wizard King of Ardania joining us," the Orc general sighed in relief, "New perspectives would do us a lot of good as we're at our wit's end trying to achieve victory."

"Only half a month into a siege, and we haven't gotten close?" I asked, "That doesn't bode well from what we've heard. Do you know how far you need to go before they send their magical artillery against you?" That put everyone in a tizzy.

"Well, we have no high-level mages in our ranks, but we did take some notes on the craters of the explosive magic they've used," the siren general answered before motioning a scribe to get the notes, "Though, apparently, they've been expanding the zone where they use their magical artillery." The scribe handed me the notes, and I frowned as I parsed through them. Diameters were roughly a factor of 7 from the average explosive spell at the minimum, with the largest recorded being approximately three orders of magnitude. In addition, metal fragments were recorded in the craters and wounds, indicating that these spells were designed to kill via a mixture of concussion and physical trauma.

"That is disconcerting," Dulan said as he looked at the pages I had already skimmed through, "I might not be a mage, but I understand magic enough that this shouldn't be possible." Dulan had taken the words out of my mind as I continued skimming through the data. "So, what have you tried to dislodge the other-worlders?"

"It would be far easier to tell you what we haven't tried yet," the orc general answered, "The forces on both hills have been countering all of our attempts so far with ruthless efficiency and well outside our range. Even our trebuchets don't have the range, and the few attempts to get them into range have been disasters. We've already lost ten teams and their trebuchets in our last attempt."

"That is bad news," I complained, "and it would explain why there are far fewer siege engineers than there should be. So, what is our current supply situation?" The map on the table had whatever earthworks the other-worlders dug etched across the holy hills like elaborate ant hills. This entire battle is starting to resemble a fusion of a naval invasion and a siege.

"I'm afraid we've only got enough food to last us another month and a half," the broad-striped tribune said, "When we tried to use our trebuchets, most of our alchemical weapon reserves were eliminated." ... that shouldn't be possible. Everyone keeps alchemical weapon stockpiles a fair distance from the siege engines that utilize them for safety reasons. However, given the power of the other-worlders' explosive magic, the script has been completely shredded. "Fortunately, we're not underwater regarding anything medical***. From what we've gathered, both other-worlder forces do not go after medical staff as long as their stature is visible, given the lack of fire when our medical staff went to retrieve the few wounded they could. Our scouts also saw what looked like their own medical staff sallying out in their armored wagons, looking for survivors."

"Now that is interesting information," Dulan commented as he read through the various reports given to him, "They put those who practice medicine on high stature and apparently give them protection." If these other-worlders are anything like us, then they probably have various rules regarding medical staff, given what we've seen... which is good for everyone because the last thing anyone wants is a good old plague ravaging the countryside. "With that in mind, we need to ensure what norms of war they will and won't respect."

"Are you suggesting that we... parley, Dulan?" the thick-striped tribune asked with disdain, "Has the Lion of Elbe gone soft in his old age?"

"Have you forgotten history?" Dulan replied, "We need to know what they consider taboo in combat lest we accidentally break it. May I remind you that Ardania's path to becoming a vassal would have been smoother had your ancestors not broken several taboos, or have you ignored that part of your history class?" The thick-striped tribune shuddered at the thought of being responsible for something akin to the Ardania War. "If they have taboos that ensure they fight without quarter, then we'll be doomed to annihilation. We must ascertain their limits before we trip over a taboo."

"To that end," I added, "We'll have two representatives of the vassal armies and the Empire each, escorted by eight men. One will be one of my high-level shield mages, and another will be a high-level healer. Outside of that, we must have people with nerves of steel, cool temperament, and an understanding that they are not to land the first blow." Dulan smirked, knowing that I was backing him up on his idea. "We need information, first and foremost, and the most relevant information now is their war taboos."

"... and the reason why they're here in the first place," the Orc commander budded in, "If the forces that went beyond the Gates caused this, we need to know." That, in particular, would be of immense help to us. Knowing the reasons why they want to kill you helps in understanding their thought process.

"That would be extremely helpful," the thick-striped tribune commented in agreement, "To be honest, this entire affair is extremely irregular now that the point has been raised. Normally, the Senate and the Emperor would have a joint session to declare war, but that hasn't happened yet."

"Now that is strange," Dulan contemplated, "things aren't adding up. Yet, we're faced with two unknown forces encroaching on the lands of the Empire." The thick-striped tribune nodded in agreement. "It's almost like there's something conspiratorial in our mist."

"That will have to wait, I'm afraid," I frowned as I signaled one of my scribes to get two of my best shield mages, "If what is implied is true, then things will be far more problematic for all of us..." With that, we prepared for the parley and the consequences.
_______________________

GATE Hilltop, Observation Post #112 [Alnus Hill]; June 21st, 2017 - 12:55AM (Japan Time)

"So, any movement from our medieval fantasy LARPers?" the American sergeant asked as he checked his radio for the twentieth time.

"... nothing yet... wait," the Japanese recon specialist answered, "I'm seeing a group of ten on horseback flying a white flag.****" Everyone in the squad quickly roused from their activities and readied their weapons. "From the looks of things, it might be surrender or parley."

"I see it too," the American sergeant stated as he looked through his binoculars, "I see what looks like a king and a tribune of some kind; can't tell if it's thick or thin striped, though." The American sergeant was using his military history lessons to the fullest. "Base Camp, this is OP-112; we've sighted what looks like a possible entourage on horseback looking to parley or surrender. Please advise."

"Base Camp to OP-112, repeat your last."

"We're seeing a possible entourage with a white flag on horseback for a parley or surrender," the American sergeant repeated, "From the looks of things, they're high-ranking officials with an escort." I kept my eyes on the group, ensuring they weren't up to any shenanigans.

"... Base Camp to OP-112, this is completely unexpected. We'll send a team to engage in parley. Orders are to provide overwatch and surveillance."

"Wilco," the American sergeant acknowledged, "We'll continue surveillance." The sergeant got off the radio, his face showing his perplexed thoughts on the situation, "Ishikawa, get the rest of the platoon on alert and observing." The Japanese recon specialist nodded as he put down the binoculars and went to get the rest of the platoon to stations. "Everyone else, I want as many eyes on those guys as possible. I want to know if they so much as twitch aggressively." The squad replied in a chorus of 'yes sir' as they got their scopes and reconnaissance equipment trained on the enemy.

"So, could we see an early end to this entire shitshow, sergeant?" asked one of the sergeant's subordinates.

"Given that we're dealing with Romans? No chance whatsoever. Remember, Romans lost two-fifths of their adult male population at the time in one battle and literally told the guy who did it, 'See you next year' without skipping a beat," the American sergeant answered, "and given how Rome operated, these guys are probably 'allies' they're throwing into the meatgrinder."
-----

Portal Patrol Waypoint Post #5-11 (outermost perimeter) [Remus Hill]; Roughly the same time

Reinhard frowned as he looked through his electronic reconnaissance unit*****, noting the mounted leaders and their entourage. "Well, damn, we've got a king and a broad-striped tribune in there," Reinhard tallied, "with an escort as well. If I were a betting man, the likely makeup of the escort would include a mage." Two of Reinhard's comrades nodded as they did their observations via their binoculars.

"... great. The few we faced two weeks back were already tough nuts to crack, and facing more is going to be problematic," Kimiko sighed, "Hell, one ARP described a mage taking a 128 HE round to the face and still able to fight." Everyone shuddered at the truthful statement, given what they've seen some of the mages do. "Is the ERU showing any hidden friends?"

"No," Reinhard answered, "there are just 10 dudes out there waving a flag of parley. Kimiko, get command on the horn and tell them to prepare an envoy team. I've got a feeling that they'll not try perfidy shenanigans on us."

"While I share in your sentiment, history is a little fuzzy on the subject of perfidy in the ancient and medieval world," Klaus commented as he watched with his binoculars, "Though, given the tendency of accounts making perfidy a surefire way to get everyone to be paranoid of your ass at the minimum, we might have a better chance for an optimistic path this round." Everyone hoped it was optimistic because this situation would cause so many problems.

"Just got off the radio," Kimiko said as she grabbed the StG-92S from its perch, "General Forsythe is going to lead the envoy group, given the apparent makeup of the envoys out there."

"Now that is going to be problematic," Reinhard complained. That means we'll be working octuple hard. I hope Steve will be part of the envoy team because, given the circumstances, there are only a few people any sane person would trust with the general's life."

"So, no Hauptmann Aaron Neumann?" Klaus half-joked.

"I would trust the guy with the general's life, but he has the most schizophrenic luck a man can get without guaranteeing getting everyone around him killed," Reinhard answered, "I've read some of his files, and I swear that good and bad luck follow him around like lost puppies."

"Do we want to know?" Kimiko timidly asked, knowing the man's reputation.

"... let's just say with my rank, I got to see deeper into his mission files than most, and to say that it is a shitshow is understating it," Reinhard answered with a shudder, "Sure, there's plenty of black ink, even with my rank, but I'm surprised that the man hasn't committed suicide already." Then, he looked at the others in a somewhat conspiratorial tone. "Don't tell him this, but every time I see him, I want to walk up to him, hug him, tell him everything is going to be all right, then make sure he gets a God damn vacation. I've been in the military for longer than he's been alive, and he looks like a veteran of the worst fronts thrice my age."

"It's good to know that one of my best friends has someone who would do that," a new voice said, "Still, your attempt would be for naught, but he'll appreciate the gesture." Everyone turned to see the 2.2-meter-tall unit of a woman, a woman who would have been compared to ancient fertility-war deities by people of ages past.

"You've got to be kidding," Kimiko complained, "how did they drag you back to frontline duties, Kiesha? I thought they got you chained to some hospital in Saim."

"My credentials," Kiesha answered, "combined with the paranormal shenanigans that have been happening. The higher-ups want to be prepared for anything, so the Dead Six got orders to deploy." That got everyone but Kiesha spewing expletives at a rate that even a sailor would blush.

"... wait, you said they want to prepare for anything," Reinhard contemplated, "What has gotten our leaders hinging their bets?"

"Sorry, classified," Kiesha answered flatly before returning to her peppy tone. "If it makes you feel any better, the fact that Aaron is here is a sign that things aren't that bad, well, at least from our end." Everyone looked at Kiesha in confusion. "Let's just say that in the paranormal world, Aaron's position must be respected."

"... alright then, let's just get back to keeping an eye on these folks," Klaus suggested. Everyone else nodded and went to work.
-----

5km from the Foot of Alnus Hill - 1:30 AM (Japan Time)

The Humvees slowly skidded to a stop a fair distance from the edge of the deployed earthworks, and the crews kept their wits with them as they constantly searched for signs of perfidy. Their opposites started to dismount, keeping their wits about them, likely continually searching for signs of perfidy.

"So, what do you think is going to happen?" Major Hammond asked as he and General Hazama exited the command Humvee.

"... at this point, I don't know," Hazama answered, "I mean, we're here because of a magical gate, fighting literal mages, wizards, and fantasy folk on another planet entirely. At this point, anything can happen." Hammond couldn't argue with the Japanese man's logic, as the US and Japan are literally fighting in uncharted territory here. "And that's why we've got enough firepower to stop anything less than armored assault."

"Well, that means we'll see what happens when we get there," Hammond remarked as he motioned the protection detail to escort them towards the middle, noting that their opposites did the same. The two groups walked until they were roughly 25 meters apart, close enough that talking was possible while far enough that no one got stabbed easily.

"As a representative of the Holy Empire of Alnus, we come to you for parley," the man who is clearly a thick-striped tribune stated, "My name is Secundus Arsinius Agrippa, the lead thick-striped tribune of the 55th Legion, and my associate's name is Dulan of Elba, king of the Kingdom of Elba."

"My name is Kōichirō Hazama, General of the Japanese Self-Defense Force, and this is Major James Hammond of the United States," Hazama stated in his best Latin, noting that one of his opposite's escorts was furiously writing things down on parchment on top of what looked like a clipboard, "We represent Japan and the United States, respectively."

That was when Dulan motioned one of the escorts and whispered something before the woman took out a bag and literally started digging out a table set via something that looked straight out of Disney's The Sword in the Stone.

"What the flying fuck," one of Hammond's escorts exclaimed in a hushed tone, "Is it just me, or did she pull an entire table set out of her bag?" Hammond didn't correct the man because he simply stated what everyone else was thinking.

"It is customary," Dulan explained, "that the party initiating the parley bring the furnishings, especially if they're going to take a while." Hammond raised an eyebrow at the statement. "A common courtesy and a sign of respect." Dulan noticed the contained faces of astonishment and surprise at the sight the mage was producing, as if it were impossible to them.

"Sorry," Hazama apologized, "it's just we're strangers to this land and, well, back home no one can pull a table set out of their bag." The tension eased slightly with that statement. "However, we appreciate the fact that you're willing to furnish us with acceptable stationery." Hazama, Hammond, and the escorts looked on as the mage put the final touches on the setup.

"... I see," Dulan commented in an understanding tone, "If you would take a seat on your side of the table, we can begin." Hazama and Hammond -clearly out of their element- slowly walked towards the table, their escorts shuffling around behind them. After Hazama and Hammond sat down, Dulan and Secundus took their seats while the mage took out a quill and paper.

"This is different," Hammond started, "We half-expected that you would have just continued the siege instead of doing this. I'll have to admit, the leaders of the siege up to this point did surprisingly well despite the circumstances." Dulan and Secundus chuckled a little.

"Given the circumstances, that's high praise," Dulan responded, "but alas, we're not here to share pleasentries."

"That's sadly the case," Hazama calmly answered back, "So, let's begin with why you're willing to parley..."

5km from the Foot of Remus Hill - 4:25 AM (Berlin Time)

"... and that is how things evolved so far," Forsythe answered in his best Saldarian.

Samuel's face was mired with a frown as he absorbed the information given. While Samuel was skeptical, the info given added the finishing touches to a rather conspiratorial picture. He looked to the thick-striped tibune that accompanied him, and even he was dismayed about the situation.

"This is not what I thought would happen during my last year as a tribune," the thick-striped tribune, a man named Proculus of the powerful Scipio family, commented in a disparaging tone, "to think that a conspiracy would inadvertently reveal itself right in our laps." Samuel was in muted shock, as he knew the implications of what everyone here had just heard. "There are only a handful of people within the Empire that can pull this sort of stunt, and fewer still with the means and resources to do so, and many of them are not pleasant company in the least."

"What sort of company are we talking about?" Forsythe asked, "Because, if what you're implying is true, then my superiors will need to be informed."

Proculus looked at Samuel for a moment, then he answered, "Several of the candidates for this conspiracy are either close allies to the Imperial Family or its members, and both would be trouble." Forsythe knew what Proculus said between the lines, and he didn't like what it represented: it goes all the way to the top. "With that in mind, we're going to..."

"Proculus," the barrier mage interrupted, "I've just received word from our mages at camp that scouts to our rear have identified four legions coming this way, led by Legates Titus and Tertis."

"I see," Proculus sighed, "Tell them that, when the Legates get into camp, we're parlaying with the otherworlders, and they've given us some fascinating information about this whole affair, alongside their taboos." The barrier mage nodded as she used the communications crystal to relay the message. "Depending on how fortune greets us, either this is going to be a boon or a curse."
-----

Falmart Basecamp, Halfway into the 10th Hour (i.e., 4:30PM)

"... and that's what we've gained in terms of information so far," the mage reported, "In the grand scheme of things, the entire situation here stinks." Legate Tertis frowned as he processed the information given to him. This was worrying, as it meant that two of the most competent leaders of the vassal states were likely discovering that this wasn't entirely above board. Tertis mentally cursed at this, as parlaying to get taboo information is well within their parameters of assisting the Empire.

"That is worrying," Tertis sighed, using the acting skills his grandfather had insisted he learn, in addition to the usual skills of debate and rhetoric, while mentally cursing his luck, "It would also mean that there's a conspiracy afoot, which is the last thing we need." I quickly nodded to my praetorian to prepare the legions to... get rid of the witnesses... while I read what had been uncovered by two of the most dangerous vassal leaders in the history of the Empire. The two otherworlder forces' taboos are pretty similar, and some of their taboos are entirely common sense, like no harming medical staff or those under their care. Others... are more extreme versions of common taboos, like no mistreatment of prisoners (though, in the otherworlders' case, it's the common soldier on up), forbidding the use of disease as a weapon, a long list of protected buildings (including places of worship and medical facilities), and minimizing the suffering of those not in military service. Then there are the ones like slavery (how could their economy function without slaves or serfs?!?) and genocide being illegal (how would they deal with things like Cursed minotaurs?!?). The otherworlders are... uncanny... all in all.

"So, what will be our next step?" the mage asked.

"Well, we can't let them get into the greater Empire, that's for sure," Tertis expertly conned, "They've done enough damage as it is. If they press further, then the damage to the economy will be incalculable. So the only way forward is to ensure that they're pinned here."

"... but that is looking more and more impossible by the day," the mage countered, "It won't be long before they could hit our camp with their weapons, and once that happens, it'll be all over..."

"Yes, it would," Tertis agreed as he pulled his special dagger and cut the throat of the mage.

---

* Ok, here is some backstory of why the leader of Ardania is always called the Great King. It dates back some 650 years to when a sovereign, Leonard van Issinbard, also known as Leonard the First, united Ardania. Leonard the First wanted the position to be called something plain, like Majesty (leaving the Great as a title of excellence); however, everyone kept calling him Great King Leonard, despite his and several generations of descendants' efforts to squash it. Why did Leonard the First want the Great King not to be the title? Because he (and many of his descendants) knew it would cause a complex situation with future throne-holders, which became true with Leonard the Eleventh.

However, in Leonard the Eleventh's defense, he had nothing to do, which went against his lineage's innate desire to fix problems. The economy? If the Empire showed up during his reign, Ardania's economy would be the envy of the continent and thus become the Empire's next target. Politics? Nothing needed serious politicking, and the worst his predecessor had was a bunch of patent fights. Defense? Even the usual Ardanian nuances were well under control at this time, and the Empire (which was busy conquering what would become the Southern Territories at the time) wouldn't show up for another 75 years after Leonard the Eleventh's downfall and the short inter-king period that followed. All in all, it was quiet for a fantasy medieval kingdom... which was precisely the problem.

Depending on which school of Ardanian historians you ask, Leonard the Eleventh either did Ardania a favor by causing the storm that the quiet was the prelude to early (not as far-fetched as one would believe, as Ardanian history had several instances where Ardania being quiet was a prelude to a significant upheaval, and the quieter Ardania is, the worse the upheaval would be, an example being the peace (nicknamed 'The Long Peace') that both Leonard the Sixth and Leonard the Seventh presided over, which ended with a literal daemon (not to be mixed up with the demi-humans type designated as demons) invasion during the middle of Leonard the Seventh's reign) or was so consumed with his inadequacies and short-sightedness that he proved why the title Great King is terrible as the standard title. However, a minority of historians argue that the reality lies closer to the middle of the two extremes, as his diaries were released to the chroniclers and historians of Ardania so they could understand what led to the summoning of the greater daemon.

** Note, the often repeated quote about whether it is better to be feared or loved has been butchered over the centuries, painting Machiavelli as an amoral monster of a politician (... the funny reality is that he's more technocratic and realist than amoral, though he states that being willing to be amoral in your job as a leader is rather prudent (just in moderation)... what he considered to be one of the best tools for a job of a leader is history and thus understanding, of all things, and have underlings that can do their job as well). The real lesson of the quote with its whole context, should be that it's preferred to have both, fear if you can't have both, and above all else, never be hated... with the implication of the latter being that if you are hated, then those who hate you will do everything they can to make sure you're six feet under. In addition, in Italy, there's Machiavelli and Machiavello; the former is someone who understood what Machiavelli was trying to teach people, while the latter is the term they call anyone that is a curvature of Machiavelli.

*** As a historical note, the Romans were one of the big-league cultures in medicine. They not only went after diseases as they broke out but also heavily invested in preventive measures like preventive medicine, nutrition (probably why they used lead so much despite the problems it comes with; they had, comparatively, phenomenal nutrition to counter them in addition to allowing mineral scaling to cover the lead), their water and sewage networks, and garbage collection. Oh, and they understand the need for things like aesthetics, too, meaning their surgery and amputation survival rates were incredible for the time. That ended in 160 AD when the Antonine Plague happened (and given the evidence, this plague was either Smallpox or Measles), which continued for 15 years. The Roman medical community threw itself at this plague and also died trying to save people suffering from it (this is not hyperbole; the Antonine Plague literally killed off the medical community of Rome and its provinces, and with it all the institutional knowledge). The Antonine Plague killed somewhere between a quarter to a third of the Roman Empire's population. Apocalyptic doesn't even begin to describe the aftereffects of this plague. The economy essentially collapsed, setting in motion the events that led to the 3rd-century crisis, the Fall of Rome, and the medieval period. I've assumed this 'lost legion' came to Falmart before the Antonine Plague, which would have given them the best chances of survival.

**** No one knows when the entire 'white flag means surrender/parley' thing started, with records going well into the millennia BC/BCE (the oldest being 4,000 BC/BCE from my readings). Hell, one of the most common unspoken rules of war was concerning surrender and parley (and sieges). This would be surprising to many moderners because of the brutality of combat in antiquity and ancient eras of human history. Yeah, those are things that come up in the research.

***** Also called the ERU for short. Essentially, it's a combination of a laser rangefinder, LLTV, and thermograph, with newer models incorporating AESA and PESA radar sets. They're similar to the Soviet/Russian man-portable radars if they've got the AESA and PESA radar sets, though not man-portable enough that you can fit them to your emplaced weapons. While not as powerful as vehicle-born sets, the infantry sets are still a nasty surprise, and that is why even (modern) infantry armor of the Iron Pact timeline has a radar warning system as standard.

---

Yeah, I tried to make our Falmart locals not be idiots. This leads to the realization that a crime has been committed, and with the two legates being 'in' on the conspiracy/crime, well, things will get messy. It also ensures that politics isn't too heavily in favor of the two Earths, as the more experienced operators are still alive.

 

[ATP]

Thanks for chapter.And do not worry,your RL is always more important then delivering here your stories/which are good/
You should think about yourself first.

And it is good,that vassals in your story are not idiots - in Gate they should run,or made deal with japaneese,when they undarstandt that there is no roman forces there.
Here,they still could made such deal.....

P.S when they undarstandt,that their enemies really are nt monsters,and treat prisoners well,they should just surrender to hurt their logistic - if they die,Earth forces just need to bury them,but as prisoners they must be feed.And need guards.