Half an hour later, the mercenaries, now free and no longer under the thumb of Matilda - with young Ciera and the shady Alec, agent of the rebellion - have sailed away from the Isle of Kretos. The ship creaked and its sail fluttered on the wind as the skilled bunch of sailors, with help of Renault, have set course for the city of Moss.
They were yet unaware of the calamity that they have unleashed upon the continent in the last few hours...~~Intermission: Inferno of the Civil War~~
When the news reached the mainland Empire that half of the western lands is rising up in fiery, bloody rebellion, the citizens were in shock. The shock turned into pure hatred when the other news arrived - Reinhard Eul, a noble commander, and popular hero of common folk, has been slain by the dishonorable rebels.
The aristocrats of the Empire, with a surge of commoners' outcry to punish the assasins of Eul sounding around them, have mustered their forces and the Imperial Army convened a council. Ironically, the rebellion in the west have strengthened the Empire to such state in which it wasn't since the end of Succession Wars.
The young Emperor was sheltered in the chambers of the Troian Castle despite his protests, while a War Council of remaining Imperial Commanders has been declared the new leaders; Archbishop Sothor of the Dragon Cult joined them to supervise the military conscription of monks and healers of the Cult into the army ranks.
General Carlinn is the only one who have not been indicted into the council, following an argument of his with General von Vaughn. Commander Fyra entered a period of mourning after the death of Eul, but week into it she dissappeared and nobody have seen her since.
In the northwest part of the continent, the Syrans, under guidance of their Lady, have joined forces with the Mireosian Rebels. The pegasi riders have managed to keep their territories intact, but the recent arrival of young but brilliant Commander Pfilz saw numerous casualties and, first time since the rebellion began a month ago, a push into Syran territory.
Free Port Setine was reinforced by a contingent of Imperial soldiers; pirates and mercenaries were driven out or put back to jail, or forced into army ranks. The short period of freedom for Setine was gone.
As for the rebels of Riem and Mireos...
Mirr have fallen to the Empire a day after the Eul's death. Incidentally, a contingent of wyvern riders under Commander Oggal was visiting the city and tried to barge into Castle Mireos. As the flames of rebellion erupted, Oggal managed to kill Duke Sigismund Mireos, but have not been able to locate Matilda, his daughter and heir.
Duke Neuthart Riemond have since taken control of the Rebel forces, with his stronghold at mining city of Devar, with his young son Mark helping with the tactical situation. Unfortunately, the island off the coast of Mireos has been turned into major encampment of Imperial forces; attacks coordinated from there were very successful, and the Imperial forces conquered a long strip of the coast; Riemondian forces in the meanwhile besiege the city of Mirr, hoping to crack the Imperial garrison and retake the city before the reinforcements from Fort Retaliation manage to arrive and turn the tides.
Across the channel, Duke Sepin of Masalla declared that he will have nothing to do with this silly war, and decided that his city will be haven of little ones and travelers. Because of his vast coffers and his ties to the Imperial Family, he have so far been spared from pressure; albeit a small group of military advisors - spies and agents, to be honest - is constantly dwelling in Duke's castle to keep an eye on him.
In the southern waters, the mighty fleets of Kretos and Garaz waged constant warfare. Garaz and his three sons, after short moment to calculate risks and gains, fully supported the Empire. With a surprisingly fast strike through Akerna, the Garaz soldiers besieged the Red Castle of Kretos, but did not manage to capture it. Within a week, the Garaz armies were pushed away from the castle.
Port of Arma has been taken over by Kretosian soldiers; the Imperial governor was slain and the smugglers, criminals and pirates that had Arma as their home were given two choices - join the rebels or leave. Most have left, not feeling like risking their lives for someone's cause, but few remained. Those few became mercantile moguls, smuggling information, spies and weapons to the both sides.
The City of Tyll - city of slaves - was reinforced and the slaves were pushed into servitude in the ranks of Kretosian army, but many have preferred this fate over legal slavery; at least the commanders under Duke Yonn of Kretos fed and clothed and paid their slaves regularly. Yonn however had to postpone delegalization of slavery for now, as cheap labor proved to be decisive factor in maintaining the Kretosian powerhouse...
A month have passed. As the flames of civil war engulf the nations, the mercenaries bid their time...
In the city of Moss.
It is a morning of a new day, and no messages have come from Matilda, Yonn or the Duke Riemond since the fateful day on Kretos...
//The Intermission will end on the afternoon of next Friday; till that time, you can RP, rank up supports and do shopping. Make sure to promote using items, if you have those.
Iron weaponry acquisition and promotion without items will be handled in OOC Thread.
