800 Years Later

[Alteras]

Near Greenville, Baton Outpost?

The commander waved his hand. Weapons could be heard sliding back into their sheaths. There were now only about 150 of them standing directly in front of the man speaking. The rest had set up a border (or really a patrol) up the river and across all the way to a very small community called Little Rock, a place the where the Western Expedition had crossed. To the east, they patrolled up to the old I-55 highway. They weren't taking any chances. Regardless of whether or not these people were simple southern folk, if they passed the expeditionary force and made their way to Memphis, it would be the greatest folly the cities's army has ever had.
"My duty bounds me to my blade. If you are a knight like I am, then surely you also know that to not have a blade by your side is the same as surrendering. We will certainly partake in your generous meal nonetheless." As he finished this, shuffling could be heard among their ranks, then followed by the sound of marching from the north. As the commander turned to look, he saw 100 cavalry men bearing the colors of the City of Nashville. His men opened a path as three of the 100 slowly came forward. The two in the back carried the flags of the Kingdom of the Four Cities and the Royal Traylor Insignia. At this, he knew that the Princess herself has come.

The men bowed while the Commander-knight struck his own blade into the ground and knelled. One of the flag bearers declared loudly that the princess was here. "Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of the Four Cities, Chevalia Trish Traylor, has returned from her Western Expedition and has come to open diplomatic ties with those that the Southern Expedition has met." The princess, riding a magnificent brown stead spoke in a gentle and cheerful voice. "Please, rise."

She then climbed down her stead herself. Upon seeing this, every man riding a horse immediately stood on flat ground, paying respect to Chevalia. Still wearing her horse riding outfit, she turned to face the other party. Lightly touching the tip of her helmet and moving her left hand behind her back, she made a slight mix between a curtsy and a bow. "I am Chevalia Trish Traylor. I apologize for my appearance and my short notice, but I do insist that you allow us to see your... Emperor... The kingdom has conducted many crusades alongside smaller communities and sovereignty in the fair land of the South, but we had no explicit knowledge that an emperor resided on the Mississippi.
EmperorAzazel

 

[EmperorAzazel]

Outpost Cain, Greenville MS

"I am Sir Gregor, and if you stand at peace I do as well until my lord demands otherwise." He said to the group his own men putting away their swords as the peasants slowly began to disperse back to the normal life, it was obvious that the baton where trying to reach far and claim what of the river they could and this outpost in Greenville would certainly make a good addition with the ones set up more south in Tullula and Lake Providence. During the short stand off a lone rider had doubled back to quickly try and inform the Emperor of what was going on ahead of the expeditionary force, "We have plenty of food in many a variety. My men must stay here to defend this territory but I was just on my way back to the capital, welcome to the Empire" He said as suddenly horses rode up, it was a suprize to suddenly see so many horses and it not be part of and raiding party, Sir Gregor gave a quick bow to be certious but did not wait to be told to rise. While a guest she had no power over him or his men, "a pleasure to meet you your grace, as I was telling your caravan I shall escort you all back to the capital for a nice meal and you may dicuss whatever you with with our Emperor. If you have any questions in the meantime I would be more than happy to answer them on the way" Gregor said as a horse was brought up to him, "it is pleaseing to see a fresh face that isn't trying to kill us, most of the south has become rather calm now days. All of Louisiana is now under the banner of the Empire and we already make advances into Texas and Alabama' he said mostly bluffing about it but they had no way to know if this was true or not and eventually it would be.

Alteras

 

[Pat]

The revitalization of the Kingdom of Columbia's infrastructure progressed smoothly into winter and was nearly complete, Vivian proudly observed. The workers, close to the end of their job, seemed to only accelerate once more of the struggle was behind them. In the years and decades to come continued growth and expansion was all but ensured for future generations.

Which was why it was now time to turn his attention to the incessant question of water in the Los Angeles Basin. Many hundreds of years before his time the ancients used great aqueducts to supply the same thirsting city he ruled now, but they had all irreparably broken down due to neglect and the destruction of old world black magic from the lands of North America. Vivian's predecessors attempted to construct their own, the remains of which are scattered throughout the desert, but they had never fully completed in light of the lives and gold that they consumed as astonishingly quick as leaves in a forest fire. The Kingdom of Columbia could now with many hundreds of thousands of men at it's disposal, at the height of it's power, finish what it's past selves have been forced to abandon and discard part-way through in order for exponentially greater harvests and water supplies to more comfortably weather famines and droughts.

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The Kingdom of Cascadia and it's seat of Seattle was impressive, although noticeably smaller in scale than his lordship's, Ambassador Roland of the Kingdom of Columbia and representative of his majesty King Vivian Wylmot found. The timber and fishing industries appeared to be the mainstay of the peasantry, and a profitable one at that. Still, he thought, it paled in comparison to the bustling marketplaces and crowded ports of his homeland. Documenting the size of the Cascadian navy and army wherever he found it only further confirmed reports that the military strength of King Edward I while notable appeared to be at a glance heavily parceled to the sea to the detriment of it's land forces. In other words, a serious contender and possible challenger of Columbian dominance of the coastline and the ocean beyond it, yet an almost equally matched opponent on the common soil they happened to share should Columbia's advantage in numbers not prove a deciding factor in the conflict rather than the widely held experience of Cascadia's men in the art of warfare. Regardless, the current objective he held was to achieve a trade agreement and a military alliance between the two realms, be they Protestant heathens or not.

Over the next hours he and his escort of knights disembarked from the carrack that facilitated their journey and patiently waited for the reception party of their many splendored host to receive them.

 

[Ghost Toast]

Edward sat on in his chair in the discussions room. As he sat there, he peered out into the city and soon saw the Great Libary of Seattle. It was a marvel and one of the greatest achievements the city had ever made in its existence. Constructed 200 years ago by King Maximillion II, it held the knowledge of the entire realm, containing books of history, religious texts with commentaries by different preists, works of fiction, paintings (which include every king ever to rule Cascadia), sculptures , and pre-war relics, which included a rusted pole that had some sort of flame that was powered by a long lost concept called electricity (hough some said it was powered by magic lost when the Great Plauge came through), some sort of old sign that had in yellow letters "Mc" but the rest had long ago been washed away (some believe it was a place of learning called a university), old pieces of paper and cloth with an odd transcription of "E Pluribus Unum", with many historians beliving it used to be something meaning unity in a language long dead and lost to the plague. There were numerous other artifacts, but the most prized one was a metal barrel in a caseing with a handle with a trigger on it. If you flipped the barrel open, it had holes in it. Some belive it to be it fired the "fire arrows" spoke in Indian legends while some belive it was nothing more than a child's toy

Edward shook himself from his stupor, and looked to his navy. It was impressive, and quite powerful in the region. After all, the remnants of the slaves in Vancouver always did want to extract sweet vengeance on them and tried to raid their ships for supplies, and a large and powerful navy was needed. Meanwhile, their army was powerful quite powerful, while the standing army was decent, most of the population was in reservers and every male who was not nobel at the age of 18 was forced to be in the military for 2 years, meaning the population was trained and ready for war. His gates were open and he sat in his seat, waiting for the ambassadors to arrive

 

[Alteras]

Greenville

Chevalia smiled, "Of Course." She turned to her own knight-commander and told him to keep his men here. She'll bring along her 100 men. Of course, that included her maids and servants who refuse to let Chevalia leave their sights. She climbed back onto her horse and her 100 Calvary and Flagbearers trotted forward in columns of 4 behind Chevalia. She beamed a child like smile to Sir Gregor. "Shall we depart? Oh! and may I ask the full title of your nation?" It would be worrisome for Kingdom to have to deal with another nation as powerful as itself, and one who controls the southern part of the Mississippi river.

When she returned to Nashville, she declared that the lands crossed by the Northern Expedition (Kentucky) would become part of the Kingdom. She knew that she was gonna have to expand south, closer to the communities of Birmingham and Atlanta, or at least to cover the entirety of the Tennessee River. Because of that, she was cautious of the bumping into other powerful nations. She knew all this, but she couldn't stop her own excitement at the travel to new lands.
EmperorAzazel

 

[Pat]

Seeing the work on the improved and extended road networks finished and the final segments of the aqueducts on their way to completion, the only thing left to do in Vivian's mind was to encourage the now accelerated expansion and economic growth of the Kingdom of Columbia as best as he is physically capable of. In light of the noticeably depleted royal treasury he turned to tax incentives to draw the attention of the peasantry to the frontier. Peasants or nobles who can double their current amount of cultivated acreage through their own effort or those that establish a new estate or farm of no less than six hundred cultivated acres are to be exempted from their obligatory taxes for the entirety of a year since the day of completion of either of the two tasks.

After the initial favorable responses from his allies and confidantes he enacted the decree and spread the word throughout all the land as to galvanize the subjects of his nation into action taken in pursuit of their own self-interest. To secure additional arable land ten thousand able bodied men are to be levied from the ranks of commoners and trained for a duration of two weeks as pikemen before being sent along with sizeable groups of knights and in the wake of rangers to secure through diplomacy and if necessary through war all the land and villages south of the Kingdom of Columbia all the way to the post-plague borders of the Kingdom of San Diego (encompassing the entirety of San Diego County) and the pre-plague borders of the former and unimaginably great Kingdom of California.

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Ambassador Roland entered the discussion room at the King of Cascadia's leisure. Heading a column of four pairs of attendants carrying a series of gifts for their kingly host, he sat down without the following of the etiquettes or courtesies normally expected of his position in foreign lands. As representative of his lordship Vivian Wylmot, he was to be treated as if it was he who sat on the throne. Anything more or less would imply that the two kings were unequal in stature. Gesturing to his sides as the servants placed chests on the table executed themselves, he opened the containers one by one, showcasing and offering the contents inside them to Edward I before setting them aside. "I've brought an exquisitely crafted yew longbow, a trio of aged wines selected from the finest vineyards of Columbia, ten pounds of roasted Geisha coffee beans, and the latest designs of minimalist Columbian fashion to thank your royal highness for so graciously receiving our diplomatic overtures and hosting our delegation."

He paused in his thrice prepared remarks, his dark eyes scanning the facial features of Edward I. "At your bidding we can transition to matters of business between our two realms."

 

[Fishman Lord]

The meeting with Maria Colombo had been... unfortunate. Tiberio had hoped she'd be civil, but upon the moment she'd met Hala she'd been cold and cruel. She mocked Hala for a full two minutes before exploding into anger and shouts, leaving poor shy Hala sobbing uncontrollably and with a bleeding nose before guards dragged Maria away. Tiberio tended to her wounds softly and carefully. They'd known eachother for only a few months compared to Tiberio's 7 years with Maria, and he already like Hala far more. Perhaps even love could grow between them, eventually. Besides, she would bear his son. Maria would never know Tiberio's bed again, that was for sure, not with Hala around. Maria couldn't grant him a kingdom, not even much else.

The special adviser, Miguel Enseta, entered into the room. "Milord... ah, this must be Hala of the Hualapai. M'lady, you are more stunning than could ever be described." He was visibly uncomfortable at the crying girl. Tiberio smiled. "She cannot understand you. You may go, I'll be out in a few minutes." Miguel awkwardly exited. Tiberio turned back to Hala. "Poor, poor girl... I am sorry about Maria. It won't happen again." After a few more minutes his new wife collected herself and Tiberio went to speak with Miguel. "What is it, Enseta?" "Milord, some ships arrived while you were gone. These ships were greater than any we'd ever seen, and they claimed to come from a land of myth, the great Southern Continent. They call themselves 'Galapagueños' and brought great wonders, like tortoises the size of men and wonderful spices, even gold. They wish to trade with us." Tiberio thought for a moment. "This... this is strange, but if they do have such exotic wares it would be good to trade. I'm sure we can offer some of our finer product in exchange for these wonders. We shall trade with the 'Galapagueños'."

Ghost Toast
Pat
The Pacific is visited by the Galapagueños, worshipers of the life-giver Darwin. They offer exotic idols, art, and creatures for trade.

Drakorphobia
EmperorAzazel
OrenjiGatsu
The lower Atlantic is visited by the Nortebrazilianos, worshipers of the Amazons. They offer amazing pelts and delicacies for trade. Also, EmperorAzazel claiming all of Louisiana at once is too much. You can conquer maybe along the Mississippi, but you'll need to conquer the land. It isn't empty, villages and fiefdoms are everywhere.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Port Washington, Alaska
Early Winter, 2834

It was just after midnight in the recently founded town of Port Washington located in a strategically chosen area in southeastern Alaska, far from the Mountain Complex but relatively close to the lower forty eight states. A town that was to be the capital of Directive 40's surface operations and their program to resettle all of the former United States and a new beginning for the old world and the American citizens that were now being vaccinated for the Plague and sent back out into the world they had fled from over eight centuries ago. Port Washington, named after the first President of the United States was a small but booming settlement, growing immensely by the day as construction continued day and night and for the most part twenty four hours a day seven days a week with crews from both civilian departments of the Directive and the Army Corps of Engineers being rotated in and out with the benefits of their hard work being that them and their families were the first ones to be resettled into the outside world again. The natural calmness of the surrounding forests, mountains, rivers and oceans was interrupted by the harsh mechnical whirring and buzzing of the various construction sites scattered around the growing town that occupied a small corner of the coastline of Baranof Island. Bright floodlights ensuring that those working on the sites could keep doing so no matter how dark it got and with sufficient warm clothing and heat sources being provided to the workers to also ensure that they could work as comfortably as possible regardless of how low the temperatures dropped.

So far the fledgling albeit as mentioned before rapidly growing town had a population of around 2,200 and rising. With the majority of the population being made up of the construction workers, Army Engineers and their families however others had also been brought out into the world to join Port Washington as well, a small selection of medical staff and a detachment of Army Rangers had been stationed in the town to both protect it and make sure if there were any injuries that they could be treated. So far the town had it's own hospital, the Port Washington Medical Center. It's own park that had been named Freedom Park, like the town's name implied a rather large port along the river the town was being built on that was large enough to hold container ships and US Navy vessels with expansions being made so that it could be the homeport of even the William F. Halsey aircraft carrier. A smaller port for civilian fishing and luxury boats and yachts, a waste, water and energy facility all in one to supply essential utilities to the town, a small residential district filled with lovely suburban homes modelled after those in pre-Plague America for the workers and their families, a barracks for the military personnel stationed in the town with plans for those barracks to be expanded into a fully fledged US military installation with it's own airfield for the F-15's and helicopters that the Air Force were eager to bring out of storage, the town also had it's very own Town Hall which was to be the center for the Directive's civilian governing in the outside world and the town was even host to a small commercial highstreet in the center of town just next to the town hall.

As for what the future plans for what the town was to have included were it's own nursery and elementary school for both the prepubescent population of the Directive alongside future children once the embyros had begun being unfrozen and grown, alongside these facilities would also be a middle school-high school combination as to acommedate both those age groups and an actual university which was to be named the University of America or UAM for short. Other plans also included a police station to restore a sense of civilian law and order for the citizens of the Directive rather than the military dealing with security and justice. A fire station for obvious reasons, a church, a cinema, a small sports stadium that would also be home to a leisure complex equipped with swimming pools and large gymnasiums for the civilian population to use, numerous large farms that would be on the outskirts of the town and also once Port Washington was deemed to be mostly complete a transportation network of roads and railway tracks to begin connecting the town to all of the other towns that would soon begin being set up along Balanof Island as well, a civilian airport was also on the list of priorities so that the population could travel between the towns on Balanof and the Arcadia Mountain Complex further up the state.​

 

[General Deth Glitch]

(Sorry this is a little shorter then I would normally provide but I was not receiving notification and am really busy the next few days)
While he knew not why, many hosts and messengers had arrived to meet with him and discuss relations with the Rust Belt. He mused 'Heathens they may be, but many follow the false faiths those before the great calamity followed and so I shall grant them audience, I suppose.' He had messengers meet them at the many points they were being held to keep foreign forces outside Belt Heartland. They sent the following message 'The Grand Fabricator invites you all to meet with his court in his palace. A feast will be held and the markets will provide their finest wears for your browsing pleasures.' With that they granted them entrance to their lands and all the information they would need to find the palace. Meanwhile the palace was emptier then before. The lords of the realm had return to their own halls and palaces and expansion plans were being drawn. He hoped to retake the rest of Michigan so that they could have a more secure northern border.

 

[EmperorAzazel]

Greenville

Chevalia smiled, "Of Course." She turned to her own knight-commander and told him to keep his men here. She'll bring along her 100 men. Of course, that included her maids and servants who refuse to let Chevalia leave their sights. She climbed back onto her horse and her 100 Calvary and Flagbearers trotted forward in columns of 4 behind Chevalia. She beamed a child like smile to Sir Gregor. "Shall we depart? Oh! and may I ask the full title of your nation?" It would be worrisome for Kingdom to have to deal with another nation as powerful as itself, and one who controls the southern part of the Mississippi river.

When she returned to Nashville, she declared that the lands crossed by the Northern Expedition (Kentucky) would become part of the Kingdom. She knew that she was gonna have to expand south, closer to the communities of Birmingham and Atlanta, or at least to cover the entirety of the Tennessee River. Because of that, she was cautious of the bumping into other powerful nations. She knew all this, but she couldn't stop her own excitement at the travel to new lands.
EmperorAzazel

"We are known simply as the Empire of Baton. We are a rather simple people but our Emperor will be more than happy to regale you with the tale of our people. After all his family has lead is through many hardships and it is with his knowledge and power that we continue your grow to expand and spread the wisdom of the mighty church." Sir Gregor would lead the expedition south to the current capital of the Empire at the delta plantation where the dignitaries could better speak with the Emperor.

In that time as well the Emperor had opened his doors to the southern people eager for further trade. Eager to fully control all the lands in lousiana as quickly as possible, and fulfill the bluff sir Gregor had stated now with his knights returned from the north or at the least some of them. He focused all of his manpower on taming the south. It would be a long endeavour. However he was willing to do whatever it tool to unify this state he called home. To that effect he solidified his standing and began to march his forces south 4,500 knights all a very large number of peasant levy (about 50,000) southwards where they would try to make contact with and subjuate any fiefdoms who would challage his claim to the throne of the Mississippi river.

All this however would only come after terms where dictated between the southern traders and the northern diplomats. Both seemed very interesting especially the woman sir Gregor had told him after but upon his return to the capital

Alteras

 

[Alteras]

near Baton, Louisiana Delta Plantation,

While riding her stead beside Sir Gregor, Chevalia nodded to his explanation. "If I may so ask, what is the church that the Empire prays at? Most of the south follows some form of Protestantism, is that not the foundation of your church?"

As Chevalia asked with childish curiosity, her two flag bearers behind her shifted in their saddle. The citizens of the Kingdom all follow Southern Hospitality, a form of Southern Protestantism. All forms of Protestantism is tolerated, any other forms of Christianity is viewed with disdain. And god forbid, any religion beyond the word of Christ is simply barbaric. If the hundred cavalry heard an unfavorable answer from Sir Gregor, there would certainly be a ruckus. At this point, the flagbearers, acting as Chevalia's aides, placed all their hope in the drowning noise of their march.

EmperorAzazel (if you want, we can go ahead and speed up their march all the way to the capital.)

 

[Fishman Lord]

The trade with the Galapagueños had proven to be a good choice. The things they offered had quickly become quite the fad among the Cartel nobility, and owning some of the things they offered was quite the status symbol. For example, Tiberio himself had purchased a small collection of the gigantic tortoises they offered, which now meandered through the royal gardens. Hala enjoyed them immensely, which in turn meant that Maria Colombo had tried to kill them once. Maria was quickly turning from a mildly annoying arranged marriage to a full jealous psychopath. She now had to be accompanied by guards at all time to stop her outbursts.

Tiberio lay back on a cushion in the shrine to Pablo Escobar, one of the greatest gods of Psicodélico. He supposedly had run a massive cartel empire, controlling all the way from Colombia in the Southern Lands to the Dragon Peninsula in the east. Tiberio was using a very potent cocktail of drugs and plants, a very strong hallucinogenic concocted by the priests. Already the world began to swirl around him. In front of him his father climbed out of the floor, melting his way upwards and becoming solid as he fully exited the bricks. "Tiberio, beware of the westerners. They come for your kingdom." The dead king morphed into a pine tree the size of one of the Old World's steel pinnacles, and the small room around Tiberio morphed into a strangely twisted mountain view. It was both day and night; the world was lit like it was daytime, but the sky was black and starry and had no sun. Tiberio felt as if he were being watched, and as he looked around he realized the mountains had eyes. They watched him silently for what felt like years until the ground below him collapsed and Tiberio fell into a dark hallway in the castle. A window was nearby, and outside he saw La Paz burning in the night, while wolves made of stars and fire, hundreds of feet tall, bound slowly away to the horizon. He heard a screech and saw Maria Colombo, twisted into a monster with claws and sharp teeth, charging and hobbling towards him, making ungodly noises as she did. Tiberio ran, navigating the castle, but it was not the castle he knew. It was endless, with new doors and rooms popping up, the castle changing and rebuilding itself as Tiberio ran. Eventually he could run no longer, and the world went black as the monster-Maria pounced on him.

When he woke up, he was in the shrine's sleeping room with a bad headache. A priest sat beside him. "Ah, you awaken. What visions did the spirits send to you, my Cesár?" Tiberio explained the events of his hallucinations, or maybe dreams, to the priest. The priest stood up, mildly concerned. "Very good, Cesár. I will consult the tomes and spirits to find the meaning of these visions the gods sent to you." Tiberio stood up and left silently. The westerners would take his kingdom? What could that mean? All that was to the west was endless sea, unless you believed the scholars who said that there were lands far, far to the east, so far that they were west. No, there was no proof of those infinitely distant lands. The westerners... Tiberio would have to consult the geographers and the mapmakers.

 

[EmperorAzazel]

near Baton, Louisiana Delta Plantation,

While riding her stead beside Sir Gregor, Chevalia nodded to his explanation. "If I may so ask, what is the church that the Empire prays at? Most of the south follows some form of Protestantism, is that not the foundation of your church?"

As Chevalia asked with childish curiosity, her two flag bearers behind her shifted in their saddle. The citizens of the Kingdom all follow Southern Hospitality, a form of Southern Protestantism. All forms of Protestantism is tolerated, any other forms of Christianity is viewed with disdain. And god forbid, any religion beyond the word of Christ is simply barbaric. If the hundred cavalry heard an unfavorable answer from Sir Gregor, there would certainly be a ruckus. At this point, the flagbearers, acting as Chevalia's aides, placed all their hope in the drowning noise of their march.

EmperorAzazel (if you want, we can go ahead and speed up their march all the way to the capital.)

They would arrive at the capital shortly after Sir Gregor finished explaining the jist of the religion he followed, it was rather simply. "Well we follow a path from the southern Protestantism but also what once the world called Catholicism, We choose to think that there is only one true god and that his word shall bring us to the promised land upon our death. Our works shall see us through to that world, no man or women poor or wealthy all shall be judged equally by the lord. So all of us work to the best we can each day to spread his word, our Emperor or Empress the divine leader who helps guide our hand and bring the good faith to the people." He made sure to choose his words carefully, keeping out that they viewed him as a sort of pope and instead simply as a guide, once they where all brought to the capital there was a nice feast prepared for them, the river was very plentiful to the plantation, a great number of fresh fish had recently been caught and cooked along with some fresh Maze and green beans.

The Emperor was waiting seated up on a balcony overlooking the massive compound that was the Delta Plantation. "Welcome Welcome" he shouted down at the visitors as the great gates where opened allowing in the merchants the great Emperor eager to hear of news from the north only around 500 of his guards in attendance for the feast the rest helping with the slow pacification of the rest of the state it would take a long time but it would be worth it as things progressed.

Alteras

 

[Alteras]

Baton

Chevalia nodded and was generally satisfied with the fulfillment of her curiosity. The flagbearers were relieved that Sir Gregor had seemed to pick up on the sensitive topic of it. When Chevalia was part of the Western Expedition, their meeting with the first Mormon King didn't go so smoothly.

As they entered, three of the four men carrying the flags of Nashville switched them out to their respective cities. One of the flag bearers rode up beside Chevalia and whispered something in her ear. After some conversation, Chevalia pulled back on her reins and allowed the her guard commander to take her place instead, riding alongside Sir Gregor. "My apologizes for not introducing myself earlier. I am Tyron Astler, Commander of Her Highness's Guards. Please do not take offensive to our actions. Even if we are a diplomatic envoy, we would like our esteemed princess to refrain from appearing to be equals with anyone other than royalty, even if she herself actively seeks to engage with the populous." The man remained in a high posture, exhibiting not an attitude of arrogance, but rather one of dignity.

To be fair, this was a problem they encountered during their travels to Las Vegas. Those Mormon kings had assumed Princess Chevalia to be one of lower status, and this resulted in a fair bit of sword rattling between the men. Well in anycase, the new formation is as follows: At the front are Sir Gregor alongside Guard Commander Tyron Astler. Followed by two Flagbearers, carrying the flag of the Kingdom of the Four Cities. Then Crown Princess Chevalia Traylor herself, two more Flagbearers carrying the Royal Banner of the Traylor Family. Behind them were four more flagbearers, each one carrying a banner of one of the different cities, and in four lines of men, cavalrymen.

Certainly they garnered some looks among the people. Chevalia herself waved to them with a cheerful smile. If it wasn't for the fact that she was part of a procession, she would immediately jump of her horse and start exploring the place. When they all came to an eventual stop, Tyron Astler would loudly declare Chevalia's presence.
EmperorAzazel

 

[Pat]

The pikemen had excellent discipline and could march and form into shield wall and square formations as impressively as any man he had ever seen, Vivian noted. Mechanical movements that would hold up in battles no matter how dire with the weight of their faith and the emotionless resolve of their people. In short, it was everything that was needed of them before they set off for the southern expansion as commanded by their lord. The columns of men-at-arms rapped their halberds against the cobblestone of his castle's courtyard in unison before finishing with a final uniform crash of hobnails against the ground they stood upon and beginning their march out of the city and towards the wild frontier in the company of knights and rangers, followed by hundreds of those wanting to make their fortune in lands yet untamed.

Vivian returned to the dockyards and finished the trade dealings with the Galapagueños, gaining much from the heathens with the loss of relatively little, in particular achievement of a ratio of one of the giant tortoises for a tenth of it's weight in wine. He even took his master shipbuilders to the negotiations in order to throughly document the innards and secrets of the foreign vessels. Their attempts at reverse engineering the crafts would begin immediately and offer a great boon to the merchantile fleet and perhaps even the Columbian navy itself in time if successful.

 

[EmperorAzazel]

Baton

Chevalia nodded and was generally satisfied with the fulfillment of her curiosity. The flagbearers were relieved that Sir Gregor had seemed to pick up on the sensitive topic of it. When Chevalia was part of the Western Expedition, their meeting with the first Mormon King didn't go so smoothly.

As they entered, three of the four men carrying the flags of Nashville switched them out to their respective cities. One of the flag bearers rode up beside Chevalia and whispered something in her ear. After some conversation, Chevalia pulled back on her reins and allowed the her guard commander to take her place instead, riding alongside Sir Gregor. "My apologizes for not introducing myself earlier. I am Tyron Astler, Commander of Her Highness's Guards. Please do not take offensive to our actions. Even if we are a diplomatic envoy, we would like our esteemed princess to refrain from appearing to be equals with anyone other than royalty, even if she herself actively seeks to engage with the populous." The man remained in a high posture, exhibiting not an attitude of arrogance, but rather one of dignity.

To be fair, this was a problem they encountered during their travels to Las Vegas. Those Mormon kings had assumed Princess Chevalia to be one of lower status, and this resulted in a fair bit of sword rattling between the men. Well in anycase, the new formation is as follows: At the front are Sir Gregor alongside Guard Commander Tyron Astler. Followed by two Flagbearers, carrying the flag of the Kingdom of the Four Cities. Then Crown Princess Chevalia Traylor herself, two more Flagbearers carrying the Royal Banner of the Traylor Family. Behind them were four more flagbearers, each one carrying a banner of one of the different cities, and in four lines of men, cavalrymen.

Certainly they garnered some looks among the people. Chevalia herself waved to them with a cheerful smile. If it wasn't for the fact that she was part of a procession, she would immediately jump of her horse and start exploring the place. When they all came to an eventual stop, Tyron Astler would loudly declare Chevalia's presence.
EmperorAzazel

Baton Capital, Delta Plantation

As they came up the plantations roads they would see row upon row upon hundered of row of various vegetable and fruit stocks. The entire plantation was a fortified garden, if it was ever seiged there would be no telling as to how long the plantation could last able to grow their own food inside ment while they had a larger area to protect the odds of them going bindery where very slim, and even if them he outside did fall they would burn the crops and fall back to the secondary wall built around the home of the Emperor. A large circular wall which encompassed the house would be the last line of defense should the need arise, for now all enemies had been pushed to far away to be a real worry.

Alistair von baton the 6th was the current Emperor and the man to welcome the group past the secondary wall and into the great plaza that made for the imperial palace, the palace itself stood atop a small hill a perfectly white house with some additions here and there mostly made of wood but with some stone buildings attached, it was the best for the moment Baton had to call a palace but it had made due for a long time. "Announcing the presence of his imperial magesty, Emperor of Baton and Louisana, Alistair von Baton the 6th." A speaker shouted as the emperor stepped from his home to go out and great the new arrivals with open arms. "Welcome to my humble home, It is a pleasure to meet you all" Alsiter said stepped down towards them his guards flanking him on each side another 20 with bows now covering the exit. You always had to be careful when allowing others into you our home these days.

Alteras

 

[Alteras]

Baton Capital

Everyone got off their horses and bent forward in respect to their host. Chevalia, gave a light nod, considering that her attire was still one of a horse rider's. After the initial exchange of respect, Chevalia walked forward to the Emperor while her aides rushed forward to make her more presentable, replacing the overcoat with a clean one and her helmet with headwear similar to the ones that her mother would wear when she was out in public, or so she was told. Chevalia's face strained ever so slightly in protest to the sudden change of attire. By the time she was several paces before Emperor Alistair, the aides had done their duty and returned quietly to their posts in the demonstration. As she lifted her right hand up to her chest, she noticed that they had also changed it to a clean one. In any case, she placed her hand to her chest and bent forward ever so slightly. "I am Crown Princess Chevalia Traylor of the Kingdom of the Four Cities. We have come from the north seeking to open diplomatic ties with your sovereignty." Raising back up, she smiled a gentle smile. "We would like to thank you for your hospitality."
EmperorAzazel

 

[Pat]

Vivian delegated the task to breed the massive tortoises for their meat and shells to the lower officials of his court before setting off for San Francisco in his carriage, protected by an escort of a dozen of his knights in order to safely shepard the young king through the relatively calm countryside from feared assassins in the employ of the Mormon Kings. After his rendezvous with his promised he could return and see the beginning of the much anticipated and no less needed northern expansion of the Kingdom of Columbia and the beginning of preparations for the undoubtedly inevitable conflict with the eastern heathens of the Great Salt Lake.

 

[RIPSaidCone]

Port Washington, Alaska
Late Winter 2834

It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning for the still growing American coastal town of Port Washington. The various song-like sounds of the town's surrounding nature mixing with the loud, mechanical whirring and buzzing of the construction sites that laid scattered all across said town as the construction crews from the night before begun finishing up their shifts and heading to the homes that they had built all those months ago, being swiftly replaced by newly awoken workers ready to take their place for the rest of the day as work on America's first town in eight hundred years could not slow nor stop at all, it would continue going non-stop until it was completed. Soon every man, woman and child would have a home in the outside world but that goal was still a short ways away and even now in these early stages of construction, Port Washington was not being designed and built-up to house all the tens of thousands of personnel of the Directive but merely a small percentage of the overall population for it would be the capital city. Other towns were to be built all across Baranof Island, where they would then be connected to one another by roads and railways. But again, this would begin happening across the coming months and was not the subject of today's first 'outside-world' meeting between the leadership of the Directive, no today they would be discussing at the Port Washington Town Hall the status of Canada and the Continental United States and what their joint military-scientific expeditions to those territories had brought back.

The conference room in the west wing of the town hall was filling up rather quickly with men and women of varying professions but all sharing one common trait of being high-ranking no matter what profession they were in. Those included in the room were the commanding officers of the 10th US Army Mountain Division and 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, the Colonel of the 2nd Battalion Army Rangers, Admiral Kainsley of the Naval Fleet alongside the Captain of the William F. Halsey and the Chief of Staff of the USAF. These were the men and women representing the Directive's and America's military intelligence gathering and interest over the outside world, for the civilian representation of what was more or less the same thing there was Director Tanwell herself, the chief medical officer for the Directive, the leading Anthropologist of the Directive; Professor Martin Lee, along with him there were the Directive's leading experts on psychology, sociology, jurispurdence, political science, economics and religion. There were also various members of both civilian engineering expertise and those from the Army Corps of Engineers but those two groups chose to mix together to better discuss the situation of the outside world with one another and so were counted as neither solely military or solely civilian. Director Tanwell taking her seat at the front of the room, the Admiral on one side of her and Professor Lee on the other side, the room's once bustling sound of chatter and intellect quickly dying down as the three prominent figures were now seated.

"Thank you all for coming, I know all of the people in this room have many important matters to attend to." The older woman started off with in her eloquent English accent. "As you all know this will be our first meeting outside of the Mountain Complex. Which I believe is both a symbolic and practical achievement that we all should be very proud of, the town that this building is in is only the start of our operations in the outside world, and will be remembered decades from now as the place where America was reborn after centuries of rest. But alas, myself and the good Admiral here did not arrange for this meeting to be held to simply pat ourselves on the back, no. Again, as you all know our military and scientific services have been carrying out intense reconnaissance operations across Alaska, southern Canada and the Contiguous United States for the past few months now, and the results of their reconnaissance have been...interesting to say the very least of it." She spoke, her tone suggesting a mutual knowing around the room of what she was talking about when she said interesting. That being confirmed when she recieved slow nods in response from various personnel around the octagon shaped table. The Director tapping a small touchpad looking device next to her as a near-solid looking projection appeared in the center of the room for all to see. It showed a map of North America with both the Mountain Complex's and Port Washington's locations dotted on it, but with various other dots as well.

"What you see here is very clearly a map of our continent, ladies and gentlemen. But pay close attention to the locations we have pointed out on this map for these are all of the civilizations that we have as of today found and recorded. Does anyone notice anything about the location of these civilizations?" She questioned, much like a teacher would to her class full of students but in a manner that signified her recognization of them as peers rather than learners. A man in a multicam camouflaged uniform speaking up to answer, "A lot of them are located around former cities?" He answered in a questioning tone, certain that what he said was the right answer but not knowing if it was the one his superior currently wanted though recieving confirmation on that with a nod from the older woman who turned her attention back to the screen in the center of the room. "Indeed, and from continued observation and reconnaissance of these civilizations we have discovered that many of them have adopted many of the same religions and cultures of our time before the outbreak, albeit there have been many changes, depending on the civilization these changes can range from minor to drastic. We have also noticed a largely increased number in the population of Native-Americans as well, with countless dozens of tribes now inhabiting locations all across the continent though they are mainly concentrated in the lower forty eight. And although unconfirmed we do suspect that there is cultural and racial tension between the Native-American tribes in the countryside and the Caucasian-American civilizations that are centered around former metropolitian areas."

"Now this--" Professor Lee spoke up with, the Director giving a gesture with her hand indicating that he could speak without fear of being rude as the man now chose to continue on with what he was saying unopposed. "Along with various other economic, military, cultural and religious rivalries between many of the larger and smaller powers in the lower forty eight and southern Canada makes it very difficult for us to establish a peaceful foothold and known presence in those regions in the future without stirring shit, if you'll all pardon my French. As we all already know, the technology of these factions is all very comparable and almost exactly alike that of medieval Europe, their cultural tendencies also reflect their medieval counterparts in that regard which makes diplomacy very difficult and military domination very easy, now I know that is obviously a good thing to the uh..more war-minded individuals in this room but it does make our Directive's job a lot harder. So far we have gathered a lot of information on these factions in a comparatively little timespan and this is a very good thing for us but we all know that the end goal of our program is to resettle and rebuild the United States, this is an achievable goal but one that I and many of my peers would like to see done peacefully and with the support of our descendents who are now living among the ruins of our old world not whatever the opposite of that may entail. Which is why I propose we begin more in-depth analysis of these civilizations, their governments, their economies, religions and social norms."

"Obviously an unmanned drone can't do any of that, but neither can a team of Army Rangers hiding in the bushes a mile away from the city walls. So my plan is to begin sending in teams of experts from various fields into the factions of our choice, we can give them cover stories, disguises, train them in how to engage with people who very clearly have entirely different societal standards and ways of behaving and speaking to us and have them report in to Directive command on any events that occur or any developments they make in their learning of these people and their way of living. It is not uncommon in these factions to have roaming bands of travellers and traders that go from city to city, bringing valuable commerce with them so I believe that we could very easily get away with this, especially with the superpower known as hindsight given the medieval nature of these factions." And with that there was an array of nodding around the table as small murmured conversations broke out between a few groups of civilian and military representatives before there was more nodding, it seemed as though the leadership of the Directive had agreed on what the Professor had said, adding that to the approving nod from the Director and the content or rather neutral expression of the Admiral and it would appear that the Professor would get his wish of more in-depth studying of the people of North America. "If there are any objections to the Professor's proposal, please bring them to the table now." The Director spoke with, recieving only silence in response, a good sign for the Professor sitting next to her. "Very well, we will begin preparations for a joint research venture between our military and scientific services. Very well done, Martin."​

 

[Fishman Lord]

The sea was cold and restless under the grey sky. It was just as beautiful as any bright summer day in the opinion of Tiberio, the dulled colors having their own kind of allure. It matched, too; a brooding sky for a brooding king. The message from the gods had disturbed Tiberio greatly. The westerners were coming to take his kingdom? What westerners? The coast of the Pacific was as far west as anyone could be, unless you believed in magic slant-eyed yellow men from across the sea who worshipped dragons and built great walls, which of course Tiberio didn't. The only people farther west than here were fairy tale-men and bedtime monsters. But then what could Tiberio's father have been trying to warn him of?

This got him nowhere. He would have to focus on something else, or this would drive him insane. It was time to prepare for the upcoming wars in the western Arid Zone, and the Kingdom needed to prepare. The Cartels were already organizing their troops and were beginning training, which was good. The Hualapai had also confirmed that they were preparing their armies to come down south. All were making sure in their plans to avoid the cursed city of Firebird, the city of thirst, the city of pinnacles of gray bone. Even Tiberio dared not disturb it, despite his general disdain of magic and superstition. His armies would make sure to stay far away from the city of ashes, the city of dark rebirth.

Things were getting stranger. Several villages on the west coast had reported seeing dragons moving at impossible speeds, and some had said it had screamed a great scream that boomed across the land. There were always a few sightings of dragons and chupacabras, but these were eerily consistent and close together. A dragonslayer would have to be sent to the region, to hunt beasts that nobody had seen for hundreds of years. Dragons, cursed cities, strange traders from the south, attackers from the West; these were strange times.

RIPSaidCone
General Deth Glitch
Locklaklazarii
Pat
EmperorAzazel
Drakorphobia
Ghost Toast
S Shabazz
Alteras
OrenjiGatsu
The next timeskip is soon, a skip to mid-summer. Get any projects you want to start started and any business taken care of before then if you want it to happen.

 

[EmperorAzazel]

Baton Capital

Everyone got off their horses and bent forward in respect to their host. Chevalia, gave a light nod, considering that her attire was still one of a horse rider's. After the initial exchange of respect, Chevalia walked forward to the Emperor while her aides rushed forward to make her more presentable, replacing the overcoat with a clean one and her helmet with headwear similar to the ones that her mother would wear when she was out in public, or so she was told. Chevalia's face strained ever so slightly in protest to the sudden change of attire. By the time she was several paces before Emperor Alistair, the aides had done their duty and returned quietly to their posts in the demonstration. As she lifted her right hand up to her chest, she noticed that they had also changed it to a clean one. In any case, she placed her hand to her chest and bent forward ever so slightly. "I am Crown Princess Chevalia Traylor of the Kingdom of the Four Cities. We have come from the north seeking to open diplomatic ties with your sovereignty." Raising back up, she smiled a gentle smile. "We would like to thank you for your hospitality."
EmperorAzazel

"It is an honor to house one of the faithful northern kingdoms. We are always wiling to open our doors to a nation that while not the same interpretation as ours. Follows a form of the true faith. You are welcome in my kingdom as long as you wish my doors are open to you so long as you speak of peace. Never the less why have you come to the south? We command the southern crusades against any heretics that would dare spread their filth to the people and Damn their souls, what would gain the attention of the north?" He asked curiously speaking with their princess, he assumed she was here to speak of something important such as trade or a new threat, the Emperor had made it his policy that under his rule the whole of the state and beyond would fall under his banner, that he would take control of the mississipi and create a bulk work against the west. "We have much to discuss and possibly a way to benefit the both of us if your willing to hear me" the emperor was mostly business, he had a lot to do and very little time to do it all. Things needed to be precise and and andnlliance with the north would go along way to further it.

Meanwhile to the south the cities of baton Rouge was being reconstructed. Outposts rising along the southern kingdom to form a border for continued expansion south. They would crush any kingdom that got into their way, they would join the state under the imperial banner and rebuild from the ashes, the food gained from the rest of this state not to mention with the goods and location new Orleans once captured and rebuild would become the trade hub like it was in the old times. Baton would grow strong, all it needed was a bit more time to get there.
Alteras

 

[Alteras]

Chevalia Traylor
Baton Capital

"Ah... I think you misunderstand how far north we hail from. If I remember correctly, the Kingdom currently occupies a place known as Tennessee. Our many knights of Knoxville and Chattanooga have also held Crusades with the communities in Georgia, Atlanta, and Kentucky into the Carolinas and up north towards the Ohio River." Chevalia waved her hand as she spoke towards the right most columns of men. The flag bearers of Knoxville and Chattanooga each stepped forward and back as they were named, while the knights put themselves to attention and relaxed.

"We recently had a few expeditions, this being one of them, and have came across several notable civilizations. However only the sovereignty that you reign over has the might to stand with our kingdom as equals. It is because of that that I came down here to establish a treaty, a trade pact, and our border in the hopes of avoiding conflict. I would very much like to hear what you have to say."
EmperorAzazel

 

[Tiny Cosmic]

As tensions rose and fell in the east and north, alliances came and went, and wars fought and won, a new regime rose in the west. Hailing from the ancient city of San Francisco, the Norvanic order rose. It’s banners hung high from the remains of what once was a bridge spanning the frigid bay,upon which sat a bustling market, the noble people of the order, trading with coin forged from the scrap of what once was.

Below the bridge sits a grand palace, built up from what once held the scum of the city that once beheld it. The great citadel bustles with nobles and Barons, as well as the elite Honor guard of the great Archon, whom spoke for the one and only god.

The mainland of the town consisted of the built up remains of what once was the crowded apartments and shops. Small business and residence bustled in this area, the lesser folk of the order bustling about the streets to man their workplaces for the day.

Border towns consisted of a similar structure, with a citadel in the middle next to a grand bazaar, surrounded by the residential districts.

Few had heard from this quiet stronghold of a dominion, and it became clear that any who wished to speak with them would have to establish the initiation.

(I don’t want to tag anyone uneccesarily, just tag me in your reply and I’ll start tagging everyone active in the situation afterward lol)

 

[EmperorAzazel]

Chevalia Traylor
Baton Capital

"Ah... I think you misunderstand how far north we hail from. If I remember correctly, the Kingdom currently occupies a place known as Tennessee. Our many knights of Knoxville and Chattanooga have also held Crusades with the communities in Georgia, Atlanta, and Kentucky into the Carolinas and up north towards the Ohio River." Chevalia waved her hand as she spoke towards the right most columns of men. The flag bearers of Knoxville and Chattanooga each stepped forward and back as they were named, while the knights put themselves to attention and relaxed.

"We recently had a few expeditions, this being one of them, and have came across several notable civilizations. However only the sovereignty that you reign over has the might to stand with our kingdom as equals. It is because of that that I came down here to establish a treaty, a trade pact, and our border in the hopes of avoiding conflict. I would very much like to hear what you have to say."
EmperorAzazel

"Ah yes it does seem, never the less a trade pact and a treaty would serve to both our benefits, it has long been the want of our people to take control of the river that so brings us life further south, perhaps with your help we can accomplish that in due time. If you would be willing to help us with that goal of taking the river known as the Mississipi from any heathans that would dare lay claim to it and place it firmly in the hands of the faithful. Then it would only be right to share its bounty with the true of faith would you not agree?" he asked as he looked back at the girl curious. "To a treaty and trade i say let the gates be opened, and no war be spread amoungst the faithful it is the blood of the heretic that must be spilt not ours my fair lady" he said offering a bit of fresh food from the gardens.
Alteras

 

[Alteras]

Chevalia Traylor
Baton Capital

Taking the food and lightly eating it, Chevalia nodded. "Of course. Then all that remains to be discussed is our lands. The rest can be discussed by our diplomats. As for a crusade up the Mississippi River, we would certainly allow it but would like to be very cautious. Just as it is the life blood of your empire, it is ours as well. The two rivers that flows through the Kingdom's lands flow to the Mississippi, in fact the City of Memphis, lies on it and watches a bridge that crosses into the land formerly known as Arkansas." Chevalia turned and waved once more to her flagbearers and men, where the far left column performed the same action as before, signifying themselves as Memphis. "We have also just concluded an expansion towards the Ohio River. We see no problem with raising your borders up north, but would very much like to keep Memphis and our route to the west safe, regardless of whether or not we are off the same faith." Chevalia let out a sigh. "This will certainly require several months of proper negotiations, so for the time being, we respectfully ask that no crusades be conducted up past where our two armies have met. We cannot turn our attention to people beyond our horizons until our neighbors have become civilized. The kingdom is certainly willing to open a crusade to the south, so I feel that we should first discuss the border between our nations east of the Mississippi."
EmperorAzazel