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May 18th, 1907

It should have been a hot and muggy day, for how high and bright the sun was, but it was never unpleasantly hot in this tiny part of Vitelia. The sea was a glittering, deep blue that stretched into the horizon and became one with the sky- from it, a pleasant breeze whisked away the heat before it became anything worse than fireside warmth. From here, on the white cliffs, the rest of the city fell into the ocean, the port, the stony shores, seas of whitewashed plaster with brightly painted roofs that became like a mosaic of antiquity from afar. Lapizlazulli might not have been Donom Dei, but many would say it was better blessed by the Judge than the Capital, the Holy City, in spite of that being the seat of both the King and the Will of Saints both.

The heavy clamor of bells echoed in the distance, from the city’s heart- the Cathedra’s call to the faithful, for this week was the Ascendancy- when the Saints of Holy Judgment were recognized, canonized, and acclaimed. Many Vitelians would be flocking to the churches to celebrate, give praise, to solemnly contemplate how they might improve their lives by following the example of those whom were undoubtedly looked well upon by the Judge of All Things for their devotion to morality and order.
A new saint had not been canonized for a long time. You and your friends knew this- and thus were already in attendance at a different sort of temple.

You were not originally of Lapizlazulli- you had come here to its markets and schools to attend university, to learn about history, culture, and society. There you had made fast friends with like-minded young men that had perspective that those at home lacked. You were from…

>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.
>The Holy City and Capital, Donom Dei. Your dusky, olive hue marked you as a Sea Vitelian, but you had returned to your kind’s coastal origins in search for something the stuffy capital couldn’t provide. You were well used to society, at least- as your family were of means, and you were worldly and well educated to the degree expected of a well to do youth of the capital even before heading to university.

“Looking out to sea when the bells are calling?” One of your friends jabbed facetiously, “That’s not very devout of you, Bonetto.” Palmiro Bonaventura was your name- but nobody called you by your true first name for very long. This group preferred a cognomen based on your surname, and this man had started that trend, a man quick to make fun but never one to hurt, as he was near cripplingly caring. Cesare, tanned by the climate but his light hair marking him as from inland. Any cultural enmity between Hill Vitelians and Sea Vitelians had faded away since the First Empire, let alone all that followed- but they had remained distinct peoples nevertheless.

Your “church” was a humble, but trendy coffee house on the edge of the cliff. The owner and staff would have gone to morning service- in this part of town, university students of the sort as you and your company gave too much business to attend church later- not that many students of your ilk shared such an obligation in schedule anyways, given their relationship with the faith. With your recent graduation, though, some of you had even more free time than before. For now. Some of you would soon have little choice but to go back home for lack of proper employment befitting your education…

It was a beautiful place, and the owner of the café surely was made a rich man by you haughty intellectuals of the Futurist Club- people who believed that the path to grasping glory for Vitelia was to charge forward into the future at all costs, to bring modernity forth even if the past had to burn for it. A Utopian theory, though one your philosophy instructors had balked at even when they praised the idea of Utopian Socialism. Though the idea of what the utopian future would be was often debated amongst you.

“Bonetto?” Cesare pressed, “You asleep with your eyes in the sun?”

“You shouldn’t have stayed up at night studying so much,” your other close friend here, Leo, joined in teasing. He had the tone of a Sea Vitelian, and he was a huge, bulky man that was built like a stone tower, but he was deceptively intelligent despite his appearance- though the flinty angles of his body were much like his sense of reasoning. Sharp, yet inflexible.

“The battleship,” you gestured an excuse towards a bulky shape that treaded water a fair way away from the city’s edge, coming in from the southwest. It had a single escort, a slimmer ship that near vanished behind the other. “I wouldn’t have thought they’d have it coming over here yet. Who would be sailing it during Ascendancy Week?”

“A battleship,” Leo said slyly, “Is a far better temple for the times to come than some old pile of stone, don’t you think?”

A topic of controversy for everybody. King Lucius the Fourth, an outspoken modernist back when he was Crown Prince, had ascended to the throne ten years ago and had set to work, above all else, making Vitelia’s military a modern and powerful one. This battleship was one of the more expensive endeavors, and while it was assuredly as powerful as its four sisters, the money for them, as well as all the other procurements and investments, had come from heavy taxation and debasement of coin. The army and navy were once again strong- but the people had grown much poorer since the last king, especially in the cities. Lapizlazulli was only an exception by nature of the generosity of the wealthy rather than true prosperity.

Leo’s query, though. You were close enough that he already must have known the answer, but there were new people here. People he wanted you to announce yourself to.

>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.
>A battleship? A temple to excess, perhaps. Perhaps the people might be better served if instead of using his wealth on battleships, the King used it to put bread on tables. Guns are of little use with no people who will bring them to battle.
>Other?

>>5687490
>The Holy City and Capital, Donom Dei. Your dusky, olive hue marked you as a Sea Vitelian, but you had returned to your kind’s coastal origins in search for something the stuffy capital couldn’t provide. You were well used to society, at least- as your family were of means, and you were worldly and well educated to the degree expected of a well to do youth of the capital even before heading to university.

This is going to be a one shot of sorts, more like a prologue to a quest that'll come later. Mostly running this to get my writing and drawing back up to tack after a change in schedule. The setting is that of my other quests, in Panzer Commander, but it takes place before any of those. So you shouldn't need to have read those- though you'll probably get a lot of setting context if you have.

That said, if you have any questions that you feel the player character would be informed about that would affect decisions you've made, feel free to ask questions. I'll be ready to answer them, in the context known by the player character.

>>5687492
>>5687494
>A battleship? A temple to excess, perhaps. Perhaps the people might be better served if instead of using his wealth on battleships, the King used it to put bread on tables. Guns are of little use with no people who will bring them to battle.

>>5687492
>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.
>A battleship? A temple to excess, perhaps. Perhaps the people might be better served if instead of using his wealth on battleships, the King used it to put bread on tables. Guns are of little use with no people who will bring them to battle.

>>5687490
>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.

>>5687492
>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.

>>5687490
>The Holy City and Capital, Donom Dei. Your dusky, olive hue marked you as a Sea Vitelian, but you had returned to your kind’s coastal origins in search for something the stuffy capital couldn’t provide. You were well used to society, at least- as your family were of means, and you were worldly and well educated to the degree expected of a well to do youth of the capital even before heading to university.

>>5687492
>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.

>>5687490
>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.
>>5687492
>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.

>>5687490
>>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.
>The Battleship is a waste of time. It's all bling and no substance sure we have the they look nice and every other nation fawns over them but how long can we field them? How far can we sail them? How much money does it cost to maintain it? and could that money be better used to fund something worth while such as guns that actually shoot straight.

>>5687490
>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.

>>5687492
>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.

>>5687495
Glad to have more PCQ while waiting for inevitable death in Ashen Dawn. What's the uniform in the OP art (great stuff, btw)? Doesn't look like anything I remember from Luftpanzer, so is it some pre-civil war thing?

Question QM
Do aircraft carriers exist in this universe?

>>5687494
>>5687550
Hailing from Donom Dei- the seat of power both earthly and not. Or so is claimed.

>>5687500
>>5687507
>>5687554
>>5687558
>>5687559
A country boy. Gone to a place that was bigger and better and new in all ways.

>>5687497
>>5687500
>>5687558
A pretty heap of steal, but nothing so great to refer to with reverence.

>>5687507
>>5687550
>>5687554
>>5687559
A symbol of martial might- something that will be needed for a glorious future.

I'll finish the update in the morning- though I didn't fill the OP with them, I am intending to try and increase my proportion of illustrations in my work, though putting them out at a reasonable pace probably requires a more efficient strategy of doing it.

>>5687559
>What's the uniform in the OP art? Doesn't look like anything I remember from Luftpanzer, so is it some pre-civil war thing?
That is the case. It is the Vitelian infantry uniform in use during the Emrean War, and somewhat after. The Vitelians in Luftpanzer use a rougher and simpler sort- for this one's association with the Kingdom, of course. Though that's getting far ahead of things.

>>5687561
>Do aircraft carriers exist in this universe?
Not yet- mostly because at the present in-universe date, aeronautics are still quite new. Powered heavier than air flight is only about fourteen years old.

>>5687490
>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.

>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.

>>5687495
Can we get a brief summary of Vitelia's northern neighbours? Kallec, Halmeggia and Paelli we roughly know from PCQ and Luftpanzer.

>>5687490
>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.

>>5687492
>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.

>>5687490
>A rural village near the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva, theoretically a subject of the Kingdom of Vitelia, but in truth a nation within a nation. Pale Hill Vitelians like Lindivans, your hometown’s beliefs did not reflect similar appearances and culture. Such liberal Republican beliefs had your sympathy- but the scorn of your family and folk. At least your upbringing made you rugged and tough.

>>5687492
>Indeed. In these times, a country cannot exist, let alone become great, by being pacifist. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding, and what will smash apart his Grossreich will be the thunder of cannons, not appeals to heaven.

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>>5687581
tanq, in the time between threads, I have once again developed a fixation for mostly inconsequential minutiae that only you can assuage. halp pls.

As of the most recent date in setting, has any one standardised man-portable liquid vessel found a place across multiple armies on the continent, or is most everyone still making do with a local pattern?
Bigger military history nerds than myself assure me that the production and ergonomics of little metal cans was more crucial to war winning than the large ones with people inside, so I'm a little curious as to the situation in PCQ.

I know there's not much in a pressed, watertight can, but I do love to see when the little historically inspired - but still slightly skewed and fantastical original designs show up to fill out the lore (Vynmark and their berets, alternatives to strictly prop driven aircraft, that time Richter found a TV in a hotel and the implications for amplification and radar tech it gave, so on).

You've built up such an appealing setting (particularly for obsessive weirdos like myself). It bears mentioning that we all really appreciate your work and it's good to be back in a thread with everyone again.

>>5687659
Can we get a brief summary of Vitelia's northern neighbours? Kallec, Halmeggia and Paelli we roughly know from PCQ and Luftpanzer.
Sure, though that big old mountain range tends to separate them quite efficiently from Vitelia- it's quite a tall and thick band.

Trelan is an new union of an old people- people who came from the north and east, (westerners tended to flow south into Paelli- when the way was open) Vitelian pioneers, and in the past three centuries the numerous Mountainfolk came down en masse and mingled with them. It being ringed by mountains as it is both isolates it and protects it, but its culture is quite comparable to Kallec in that there is a much higher proportion of the Mountainfolk in its population than anywhere else, but rather than venturing south, their business tends to be in the northern seas. Their similar mountain men ancestry gives them a sense of camaraderie with Kallec- though they do not historically share an inclination to work together in war, they are steadfast traders, even if Kallec much preferred to take its own access to the sea rather than being fed through a northern line.

Holherezh, Ohtiz, and Wezkatinbach make up a territory called Pohjanask, which was once one land that included the mentioned lands as well as a large portion of Trelani territory. Pohjanask was a relic of the Second Vitelian Empire, and met the same fate in an event called The Shattering which, while far too complicated the summarize effectively, can be accurately called a thirty year series of extremely destructive conflicts all over the continent that set up the chance for Kaiser Alexander to pick up the pieces. The descendant nations were either gobbled up by the Reich, or exist as small principalities with little influence in the north- Wezkatinbach is most significant in that they seized the opportunity to make an alliance with the Kaisers rather than be conquered by them, in exchange for accepting the culture shifts imposed on them, such as migration and settlement treaties and language impositions. Holherezh and Ohtiz did not do this, though these two countries are plenty busy squabbling with each other instead of the northern collaborator. Notably though, Wezkatinbach will break from the Reich later- unlike, say, Halmeggia.

Anyways, you'll get much more in depth information about them when you actually go there when it's time to go back to Richter.

>>5687750
You have odd timing for such things, but I can indulge. The question of containers largely applies on the penetration of influential doctrines and army styles, so for example, much of Sosalia (basically everybody but Valsten and Ellowie and Twaryi) uses Naukland's patterns of such things, understandable given their heavy usage of their other materiel. Meanwhile, northern non-Reich aligned territories use Emrean patterns (though through the happenstance of being a Reich territory during the entry into more modern times, some Reich and Emrean things share an eerie resemblance), and Twaryi is stuffed to bursting with Caelussian logistics materiel. Though, this sort of thing only started displacing local stuff at a large scale during and after the Emrean war.

>>5687649
>>5687662
>>5687707
While I probably should have closed the vote, these are pretty much what was going to go through anyways. Just letting you know I hear it.

Anyways, updating.

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>>5687750
PCQ has cans, alright.

>>5687489
Fuck, I've gotta finish catching up on Panzer quest. Oh Tanq is this supposed to be Commies or Fascists?

>hey bro I heard you like hiatus, so I put a hiatus in your hiatus so you could enjoy a hiatus while you were on hiatus

Update soon.

>>5687844
>is this supposed to be Commies or Fascists?
As Young Futurists, the answer for this clutch of university students is...well, both and neither, really. Their ideas are still crystalizing, but they and you are most certainly leftist, though what that means in-universe tends to be more heavily Anti-Reich rather than strictly anti-capitalist.

To summarize, they're still figuring it out.

>>5687862
pls

>>5687871
Reading up on Italian Futurism right now and all I can say is their idea of art is.....quite something.

“Indeed,” you nodded, “A country cannot exist, let alone become great, through pacifism. Alexander drove the Cathedra into hiding with guns and armies. If we are to triumph, it will be through force of arms, not whether or not heaven has us in their best esteem.”

Kaiser Alexander had famously held particular spite towards the Cathedra. Once, it had been the head of religion on the continent. Now, though the continent still belonged to the Judge of All Things, it was in far fewer places that men entrusted the Cathedra to be their conduit to God. Once Emre, now Vitelia, was the center of Cathedra influence, but plenty at this luncheon thought as little of the Cathedra as Alexander did.

Cesare frowned slightly at your statement. “Still, though. How much does a battleship cost? How much to keep it maintained? It’s not a very efficient way to demonstrate superiority of arms, is it?”

This was actually your doubt as well- and you had discussed it with Cesare prior to today. Yes, a battleship looked and sounded very impressive- but dominance of the sea ill mattered if the land was lost because it was forsaken for battleships.

“Well, the Reich isn’t exactly going to give away its battleships,” huffed the Futurist Club’s primary naval proponent, Gracchio, a two-year student that had insisted on remaining pale as chalk even in this sun- his pallor even put the people of your home to shame. “The Emreans fight in their north seas because they have battleships they stole out of Reich harbors in their lands. If Vitelia is to fight the Reich in the southern seas, then we need battleships too.”

From there, conversation shifted to that particular popular subject. The Emrean Uprising had started two years ago in earnest- and for the first year, everybody assumed it would be crushed, as the rebels were fought against by the territorial forces of the Emrean Protectorate. Yet, after a year of fighting one another in brutal affairs of machine gun and artillery shell, the Emrean Protectorate and the Rebels set aside their differences, and joined into the Emrean Republic. The Grossreich, alarmed, finally sent forth its own troops, and once again, the world expected Emre to be crushed.

Only, it was not. Instead, the Emreans used what they learned from the bloody lessons they exacted upon themselves to reap a terrible toll from the Reich. The Kaiser’s armies still advanced, yes, but in other place, the Emreans made their own assaults- and gains. Young men such as yourselves sifted through every bit of news, every rumor, trying to glean a little more color for the picture of what was happening up in the Reich’s northern territories, their richest and most sophisticated provinces outside of the direct possessions of Zeissenburg.

The table launched into a quartet of rapid speeches, discussing the tensest battles, what people would do if they were in command, weapons that seemed particularly valuable- and who the finest fighters were on either side. That war was so very far away, that even though you had all heard of the blood, the trenches, the terrible toll in lives wrought, none of that was real compared to this war of justice and liberation against the oppressor of the last hundred years, the Reich.

“The Reich has a secret weapon, I’ve heard,” another graduate said in the circle including you, Leo, and Cesare. “Something to break through the fortifications. Some sort of armored ship, but on land. A tractor with steel plates on it.”

“It isn’t so secret if you’ve heard of it, is it?” Cesare said, “I’ve heard the same thing, but from the Emreans. They’ve more interest in a quick and decisive victory, after all, and the trenches are in the way of that. What do you think, Bonetto?”

The idea had been brought up before, and some people thought it was silly. However, you actually had some familiarity with tractors…or rather, you wished you did. Farming in most of Vitelia, including your hometown, was done by hand. Hard work might have given you a strong body that was the envy of most here save for the utter giant that Leo was, but seeing the farming tractor at work elsewhere made you wonder why they weren’t everywhere.

“If they do not want their armored tractors,” you said, “I’ll take them off their hands.”

“I think they’ll want everything they can get,” Cesare mused. “Good luck with that hunt.”

“Will they be the new strongest, I wonder?” Leo joined in.

“Artillery is ever the strongest, I think,” Cesare said in a well-practiced reaction- one he knew Leo had little fondness for.

“Yes, yes, artillery,” he waved a hand, “So too is food and water more potent than any weapon. Man against man, is my question. What do you think, Bonetto? I wonder if your answer has changed from our last discussion…”

It hadn’t.

>The Stormtrooper, was what made the crack. The crack becomes the split- the split, the breach, and then victory. All of which would not exist without the most intrepid.
>The Irregulars had been looked down upon- until Emre. If a frontline’s lines of supply were unsafe, if the enemy could never sleep soundly, then the source of such chaos was undoubtedly most significant.
>This era was the age of the Machine Gun. If you had to pick any place to be in a battlefield, you bet, it’d be in the place where you were behind the machine gun and the other man was not. Even if such lacked romance, the strength of position was what denied the enemy victory, and thus guaranteed yours.
>Some other thing?

Young men as you all were, of course, once one group brought up the topic of women, the entire table reunited into one discussion. The turning point had been talk of some Emrean Belle of the Sky- though there was confusion on what side she was actually on. Then it switched over to other Emrean women- the tomboyish revolutionaries who were supposedly as passionate as they were fierce, the sort of young woman that particularly excited the reclusive youths.

Leo had his own interjection on that matter. “Come on now,” he admonished good naturedly to people like Gracchio and Horatio, “I’ve seen how you act around the fisher girls that come around to the market. If you want for tough and strong women, they’re right here, and they wear next to nothing when they work!”

“They are not Emrean Revolutionary Fighters,” Gracchio muttered bitterly, “Their minds and beliefs lack the forward thought more cultured men prefer…”

Cesare raised a finger. “But they are here. Your precious Emrean women are far to the north. I wonder…is it because you prefer pale skin to the bronze of the coastal lady?”

Young Futurists who would have agreed on everything else were suddenly at one another’s throats over this subject- though the most venomous subject was how Vitelian women were depressingly materialistic in these times. As everybody grew poorer, the men with money were the more valuable ones…which wasn’t true in your experience, especially in the fields back home up north, but some of these boys had never known any place than cities.
As for you…well, you had other concerns right now. Such as that, soon, you would be out of money to stay in Lapizlazulli, and it would be once again time to either be stranded on the streets, or return home…to where people cared about as much about Revolutionary and Social theory, the progressions of history, and all such important things, less than they did about the rain and the win and the Judge Protect the King…

An answer was required, though. One did not simply answer in the negative when questioned about such preferences…

>An Emrean Revolutionary Woman? What an adventure that would be. What a challenge, too, but firebrands were better than some simpleton who wanted for nothing…
>Bronzed working women were the ideal- fit, healthy, and unafraid of toil. Anything else could be learned, but the best iron could not be brittle, could it?
>You’d prefer somebody like the girls back home, if you had a choice. A perfect housekeeper and one who knew intrinsically how life worked. Maybe some of these men did not find value in having peace at home, but eventually they’d learn one way or another…
>Other?

The conversations about girls came to a close when the softly tanned half-Sea Vitelian daughter of the owner, working as a waitress at the café, came by the conversation and made a comment making fun of one end of the table’s continued insistence on the superiority of various sorts of foreign females. Things petered out from there as the most energetic side lost the will to potentially further embarrass themselves. Just in time, as when everybody seemed about ready to agree to head on out, Leo had an announcement for something he had seemed to have been waiting on the whole time.

“Gentlemen. I believe,” Leo said as he stood up, towering, his hands on the table making it creak, “That a time’s coming where we can do very little from a place of comfort and safety. A time of heroes is coming- one where our kind will find little respect, let alone adulation, from sitting in coffee houses and talking about what should be done, rather than doing it.”

Cesare picked up on it immediately- but he didn’t seem pleased at the implication. “You think that we should go help the Revolution in Emre? None of us are soldiers, we have nothing to aid with. We’d be naught but a burden, maybe a hindrance, as some of us see fit to bother the Emrean Tomboys.”

Leo smiled as he raised a finger. “No, no. I don’t propose something like that. Vitelia is ill helped by some far-off Revolution. We are Vitelians. We ought to fight for our motherland, shouldn’t we?” He pointed to the battleship in the distance. “The Emrean War hasn’t gone unnoticed by our government, you see. I’ve heard that the army is looking for recruits. Heard that the Kingdom is getting ready to take this opportunity to take on the Reich. One they’ve been preparing for, that Vitelia has been waiting for.”

Concerned murmurs around the table. Yes, many talked big about fighting the Grossreich, but a simple look at a map told of how horrifying the odds might be…yet Emre was doing it. Emre was, rumor had it, even winning, in spite of having fought against itself for a year prior.

“Fight the Reich?” one of the newer students in your club announced, a bespectacled boy barely into adulthood, “Would the King do that? He allowed Lindiva its compromise…”

A bitter note for people of your home. They still paid taxes- Lindiva, in its threat to secede, now paid very little. For all your respect of their Republic airs, the Sovereign Republic of Lindiva was held in contempt by most anybody not of a Utopian Revolutionary inclination.

“Lindivans are Vitelians still, Horatio,” Leo said confidently, his confidence undimmed. “He had an army to put them down with, and did not. Because this new army and navy have a purpose- to strike down the Kaisers. And we should have a part in it. If we sign up of our own volition, we will have preferable positions to those who must be conscripted.”

Further muttering. Cesare cocked his head, and thought about it. “If there is to be a war…” he said, “Though I can’t much say I’m fond of the idea of getting into the sort of fighting I’ve heard about in Emre…Though on the other hand, girls do so love the uniform…”

“Volunteering abroad would mean an Emrean woman, though, yes?”

“More importantly,” Leo harshly took the rudder again, “We should all go and do it. Lapizlazulli and the Azure Hall University aren’t going anywhere, but our opportunity will. So…I expect everybody who wants to see a Utopian future to drop what they’re doing and come sign up with me in three days. That’s when the recruiters will be at the City Palace. The Young Futurists Club will be no more. It’s time for us to become the future.”

He spoke it as though there should be applause at the end, but there was only silence and discomforted glances. It was all so sudden- but nobody could deny it. Awkward seconds passed, until finally, Leo added a conclusion.

“At least consider it,” he said, turning about, “I can’t force anybody here to do it, but I think it’ll be the most important thing any of us do.”

Cesare slowly sipped the last of his coffee as Leo trudged off, and the rest of the Futurist Club murmured amongst themselves. He set it down, and stretched out as he stood. “Come on, Bonetto,” he said lowly, “I think he expected a different response. Let’s go talk with him.”

-----

At the bottom of the hill, you and Cesare didn’t find Leo dejected- merely contemplative. In the shade at the bottom of the hill, the deep shadow cast by the slight angle of the cliff’s steep descent down its other face.
“To tell you the truth,” Leo said, “I expected you both to come here. To talk about that.”

“It was reckless, Leo,” Cesare criticized as he walked up from behind you, “Plenty of those guys hardly know what they’re doing now, not only did you say there was going to be a war, but that they all ought to fight in it. They might as well think you’re taking coin from the Royal Army! Tell me you at least believe in what you said.”

Leo blinked in surprise. “I…of course I did. But…it isn’t just that. I do think some of us stand to gain more than others, but…” He looked to you. “I didn’t want to shame you in front of the others,” Leo said to you quietly, leaning in as best a big man like him could. His face wasn’t well suited to plaintiveness, but the feeling was genuine. “I know about your…money situation. I’m in a similar boat. My family only let me come here for schooling if I went into the army…I thought about alternatives, but besides there being few, I also thought, perhaps they did have a point.” He leaned back again. “Please. Both of you. Won’t you come with me? I believe it is the start of greatness, yes, but also…I wish not to be alone. Away from anybody of like mind to myself.”

Cesare stared, scratched his chin, and finally sighed heavily. “I’d rather not drag anybody into a war they believe will be something glorious instead of awful, but you are right on one thing. If there’s to be a war against the Reich, there will be conscription. It’ll be far better to choose our path than be assigned to it.”

Leo smiled a broad smile befitting of his cliff of a face. “Thanks, Cesare. What about you, Bonetto? Will it at least be us three, even if nobody else comes along?”

…In the end, there wasn’t really a choice. You were going to sign up for service in the army; it was just a matter of what you told yourself the reason was.

>High minded philosophy had no place in this. Your friends would be going; therefore, you would be going to. It was the right thing to do, the thing any good friend would do, to be with one another in the times of greatest peril.
>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.
>Well. Women did love a man in uniform, didn’t they? The budget of the army at least meant you’d be getting paid, too.
>Other?

>>5687895
Futurism had...a lot of interesting proposals, and was definitely a product of its time and environment. This band of Futurists is decidedly less extreme, granted- nobody here wants to burn down museums to completely unshackle society from the past. Yet. If you want a real trip, look up Futurist Cooking. Somebody watched The Menu a hundred years early.
I did have the consideration in planning to imitate futurist art when I get to drawing updates (it'll happen), but then I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to purposely make my stuff harder to look at just for the sake of it.

>>5687938
>The Stormtrooper, was what made the crack. The crack becomes the split- the split, the breach, and then victory. All of which would not exist without the most intrepid.

>An Emrean Revolutionary Woman? What an adventure that would be. What a challenge, too, but firebrands were better than some simpleton who wanted for nothing

>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.

Got to have some youthful idealism before it gets shattered in the trenches.


Also what's the whole Lindivian dispute about, do they see themselves as different from the rest of Vitelia?

>>5687938
>This era was the age of the Machine Gun. If you had to pick any place to be in a battlefield, you bet, it’d be in the place where you were behind the machine gun and the other man was not. Even if such lacked romance, the strength of position was what denied the enemy victory, and thus guaranteed yours.

>You’d prefer somebody like the girls back home, if you had a choice. A perfect housekeeper and one who knew intrinsically how life worked. Maybe some of these men did not find value in having peace at home, but eventually they’d learn one way or another…

>High minded philosophy had no place in this. Your friends would be going; therefore, you would be going to. It was the right thing to do, the thing any good friend would do, to be with one another in the times of greatest peril.

>>5687932
>This era was the age of the Machine Gun. If you had to pick any place to be in a battlefield, you bet, it’d be in the place where you were behind the machine gun and the other man was not. Even if such lacked romance, the strength of position was what denied the enemy victory, and thus guaranteed yours.

>>5687933
>Bronzed working women were the ideal- fit, healthy, and unafraid of toil. Anything else could be learned, but the best iron could not be brittle, could it?

>>5687938
>High minded philosophy had no place in this. Your friends would be going; therefore, you would be going to. It was the right thing to do, the thing any good friend would do, to be with one another in the times of greatest peril.

They are all gonna die, aren't they?

>>5687932
>The Stormtrooper, was what made the crack. The crack becomes the split- the split, the breach, and then victory. All of which would not exist without the most intrepid.
Vitellia isn't the Grossreich, and the Futurists aren't the Republics. Irregulars are good for fighting against an advanced and trained, but thinly stretched occupying force. But in Vitellia, elite troops will probably win the day. Also everyone has machine guns, it's not that they lose their efficiency in killing because of that, but they're better for pitched battles or in occupied cities; we're not quite there yet.
Semi-related but is Vanguardism a thing yet?

>>5687933
>Other?
Disregard women, obtain Vitellia.

>>5687938
>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.
Wait hold on. Leo? Radical idealist to the point of ineffectiveness at the beginning of a revolution?

>>5687938
>The Irregulars had been looked down upon- until Emre. If a frontline’s lines of supply were unsafe, if the enemy could never sleep soundly, then the source of such chaos was undoubtedly most significant.

>Bronzed working women were the ideal- fit, healthy, and unafraid of toil. Anything else could be learned, but the best iron could not be brittle, could it?

>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.

>>5687932
>>This era was the age of the Machine Gun. If you had to pick any place to be in a battlefield, you bet, it’d be in the place where you were behind the machine gun and the other man was not. Even if such lacked romance, the strength of position was what denied the enemy victory, and thus guaranteed yours.

>>5687933
>>You’d prefer somebody like the girls back home, if you had a choice. A perfect housekeeper and one who knew intrinsically how life worked. Maybe some of these men did not find value in having peace at home, but eventually they’d learn one way or another…

>>5687938
>>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.

>>5687932
>The Irregulars had been looked down upon- until Emre. If a frontline’s lines of supply were unsafe, if the enemy could never sleep soundly, then the source of such chaos was undoubtedly most significant.

>>5687933
>You’d prefer somebody like the girls back home, if you had a choice. A perfect housekeeper and one who knew intrinsically how life worked. Maybe some of these men did not find value in having peace at home, but eventually they’d learn one way or another…

>>5687935
>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.

>>5687932
>The Stormtrooper, was what made the crack. The crack becomes the split- the split, the breach, and then victory. All of which would not exist without the most intrepid.

>>5687933
>You’d prefer somebody like the girls back home, if you had a choice. A perfect housekeeper and one who knew intrinsically how life worked. Maybe some of these men did not find value in having peace at home, but eventually they’d learn one way or another…

>>5687938
>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.

I'll be calling the vote in a couple hours.

>>5687943
>What's the whole Lindivian dispute about, do they see themselves as different from the rest of Vitelia?
Not particularly- at least, not in a way that any other region or district wouldn't also think of themselves as distinct. The dispute isn't one of race or culture- but one of money. Lindiva is the breadbasket of Vitelia, but also a heart of no small amount of industries. A lot of money flows in and out of the place, so it was seen as a natural decision to tax it in a way to maximize revenue to the Kingdom's aspirations.
Lindiva, suffice it to say, refused this decision, and moreover, threatened everything short of outright secession.
When the King mobilized troops to enforce the new tax rules, the Lindivans took up arms, and a standoff took place- one which the government backed down on, and an agreement was negotiated that treated the region more as a trade partner than a subsidiary to be directly taxed. This took place in 1903, and the Sovereign Republic has been an autonomous region ever since, though some would argue that it was one even before that, but more subtle about their dealings.

So in short the average Vitelian would look to Lindiva and ask what the fuck they think makes them so special.

>>5687955
>They are all gonna die, aren't they?
Well, they were bound to die eventually.

>>5687957
>is Vanguardism a thing yet?
Depends on where you are and who you're associated with, but as far as the present cast are aware of at the moment, not in Vitelia. Not that there are no other revolutionary organizations or thought circles, but the idea of unifying and directing them from a central nervous apparatus is...nebulous at the minute.
This will change as things progress. There's a lot of ground to cover in one thread.

>>5688021
Do you think you can hold votes for longer periods in the future? I missed the first one because it was 12 - 5 am and I was sleeping, and I don’t want to miss future ones by virtue of being a human being.

>>5688021
Not directly related but did the Sosalian states participate at all in the Emrean War (even if indirectly), if only just to spite the Reich?

>>5687932
>The Irregulars had been looked down upon- until Emre. If a frontline’s lines of supply were unsafe, if the enemy could never sleep soundly, then the source of such chaos was undoubtedly most significant.
>A sister in arms you can rely on to have your back
>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.

>>5687932
>The Stormtrooper, was what made the crack. The crack becomes the split- the split, the breach, and then victory. All of which would not exist without the most intrepid.

>>5687933
>An Emrean Revolutionary Woman? What an adventure that would be. What a challenge, too, but firebrands were better than some simpleton who wanted for nothing…

>>5687938
>High minded philosophy had no place in this. Your friends would be going; therefore, you would be going to. It was the right thing to do, the thing any good friend would do, to be with one another in the times of greatest peril.

>>5687932
>The Stormtrooper, was what made the crack. The crack becomes the split- the split, the breach, and then victory. All of which would not exist without the most intrepid.

>>5687933
>You’d prefer somebody like the girls back home, if you had a choice. A perfect housekeeper and one who knew intrinsically how life worked. Maybe some of these men did not find value in having peace at home, but eventually they’d learn one way or another…

>>5687938
>High minded philosophy had no place in this. Your friends would be going; therefore, you would be going to. It was the right thing to do, the thing any good friend would do, to be with one another in the times of greatest peril.

Good to have you back tanq, surprised this showed up honestly.
Can't wait to see our idealists get jaded by the absurd Emrean War hellscape.
If the Skirmish quest is anything to go by, we are in for some real crazy shit being deployed by all sides

>>5687932
>This era was the age of the Machine Gun. If you had to pick any place to be in a battlefield, you bet, it’d be in the place where you were behind the machine gun and the other man was not. Even if such lacked romance, the strength of position was what denied the enemy victory, and thus guaranteed yours.

>>5687933
>An Emrean Revolutionary Woman? What an adventure that would be. What a challenge, too, but firebrands were better than some simpleton who wanted for nothing…

>>5687938
>What Leo said was true. This coming war would be a time for heroes, and for the great work you intended to be a part of, you needed to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.

>>5687943
>>5687957
>>5688014
>>5688116
>>5688121
Stormtroopers, though they'll be known by another name.

>>5687954
>>5687955
>>5687974
>>5688141
The man with the machine gun.

>>5687971
>>5687986
>>5688073
Gorilla Warfare.

-

>>5687943
>>5688116
>>5688141
Emrean girls are considered the most beautiful women in the world, according to experts. You might be able to guess who these experts are.

>>5687957
My wife is the Motherland.

>>5688073
You know what I want, is some blonde shorty who's good with weapons to watch my back.

>>5687974
>>5687954
>>5687986
>>5688014
>>5688121
Pale housewife for my farm, please.

>>5687955
>>5687971
Dark and golden- life by the sea demands an investment in the people of it.

-

>>5687943
>>5687957
>>5687971
>>5687974
>>5687986
>>5688014
>>5688073
>>5688141
A time for heroes is nigh, what are you?

>>5687954
>>5687955
>>5688116
>>5688121
This isn't about what is great, but rather, what is right.

Updating. These seemingly innocuous choices were for stats; don't worry about it being clear, it will be when it's necessary.

>>5688038
>Do you think you can hold votes for longer periods in the future?
It'll depend on how long would be ideal. I'd like to have a pace of two updates per day- though I can try and revolve around timescales. I know the average is one a day, but this is all going to be done in one thread after all.

>>5688053
>did the Sosalian states participate at all in the Emrean War (even if indirectly), if only just to spite the Reich?
Besides independent volunteers, no. Though Naukland definitely directly provided aid, while not participating.

>>5687932
>The Stormtrooper, was what made the crack. The crack becomes the split- the split, the breach, and then victory. All of which would not exist without the most intrepid.
>>5687933
>An Emrean Revolutionary Woman? What an adventure that would be. What a challenge, too, but firebrands were better than some simpleton who wanted for nothing…
>>5687938
>High minded philosophy had no place in this. Your friends would be going; therefore, you would be going to. It was the right thing to do, the thing any good friend would do, to be with one another in the times of greatest peril.

You had thought about how you had proclaimed acceptance, no pride even in doing so, as you lay in bed that night, in a little room whose main fixtures were the place to sleep, the place to study and write, and a place to keep clothing and personal items. What the university gave to those enrolled for a cheap price- but you would not be tolerated even these meek accommodation for much longer, given that your time in education was finished.

”This coming war will be a time for heroes, and for the great work we intend to be a part of, we need to be made greater for it by being an instrument of Vitelian Victory.”

You did believe those words, and they were easier to with how Leo smiled at it, even if the more skeptical Cesare did not react so strongly. Yet when you thought about it deeply, you wondered how much of it was acceptance of another, simpler fact. If you didn’t earn glory in war, what would keep you from returning to the farms, and being forgotten by time, perhaps even by yourself?
It was hard to deny that, even after years of not even visiting, and letters home being a mere obligation, that the old town still had a pull to it. Even if the common folk were ignorant of how society could be better structured, they were earnest and hardworking, and for all your disagreements, they still considered you as one of them. You were even a part of that place right down to your baser instincts- when you imagined yourself in the future, married, it was not to some foreign ideologue or a olive toned southerner, but to one of the pale-haired girls, perhaps only lightly tanned to a hue of coffee and cream at most, who knew how to make a house a home, how to cook and raise children. Those at the university who didn’t know them scoffed at how they, as some put it, were handmaidens to their own oppression, but a Hill Vitelian rural woman only placed herself below a man because they expected them to be at their best. Nothing was more shameful in northern culture than to earn the scorn of a woman for laziness; for that would be to pull down order.

So you thought when going off yourself- you could never be the best man you could be if you did nothing with your life but till soil and herd goats. Yet, in the years you had been away, you had lost something. When you were growing up, you had always been friends with one of the girls in the same part of the village, a dusty blonde and strong-willed girl only a year younger. Her name was Elena, and while you had bullied one another in your adolescence, both of your families assumed you would be together some day- even if the only kiss you shared with her was at the age of 11.

Yet, the only boy she hung around was you, and she bit at you constantly, and you were the ever only barely willing partner in dance at country balls…it had taken you until a fateful day to realize just how much of a fool you were, in hindsight. A couple years after you left for the Azure Halls, your family had sent a letter saying to put off what you were doing, come back, and get married- for young Elena was to be married, and if you didn’t come back, there would be a second choice at the ready.

Refusing that call back home had become a stinging regret. You turned over restlessly at the thought- you couldn’t go back with nothing to show for it all- it would mean this was for nothing, and worse, as you’d have crawled back with even less than you had gone out with. The pathetic prodigal son.

The dream that night was warm, but trite. Transported forward in time, you and your friends ran across the fields, chasing spike-helmed soldiers of the Reich. They were insensible cowards, somehow, and nobody died- you’d catch them and they’d throw up their hands and you kept on running forward until, somehow, Zeissenburg was on the horizon- or at least, that’s what somebody in the dream said it was. You didn’t know what it looked like.

The next couple days, the café meetings of the futurist club were much like the first day- the topic of joining the army was carefully avoided, but Leo brought it up again, and this time, he had vocal support. Then the day after that, the topic of enlisting was there from the start. When the time came to head to the recruiters, then, while not all of the Young Futurists were marching to the city hall, you could count the exceptions on a single hand.

The officers who signed you all up were dressed in the dark green and red piping you all expected to be in soon, though they wore bicorns rather than the shakos of the enlisted. They weren’t particularly enthusiastic at the sight of most of you- save for Leo and yourself. It was true that everybody besides the two of you were rather weedy and bookish sorts, but, as Leo put it when convincing everybody further, the army would be able to toughen them up more so long as they took advantage of heading in early.

The place where you were all sent only the day after was a place called Monte Nocca- a training camp apparently rumored for its harshness, as it was situated between a twin pair of mountains that, while not so high, were rough enough in character that merely walking to and from the barracks to the mess hall was a rough hike for the average urban citizen.

The first month was a blur. A chaotic mess of lectures, memorizing inventory numbers, weapons training, yes, but most of all, marching. Marching, marching, marching, up and down the mountain trails, until the whole group was groaning in the barracks massaging blistered feet and aching knees and backs. Dig, march, dig, march- there wasn’t a single one of you that didn’t grumble at it over supper, though you admittedly ate just about as well as you did when you were still in Lapizlazulli. The Monte Nocca training camp was supported by a colorful town half made up of Vitelians and half made up of the strange folk of the mountains, who were pale like Hill Vitelians but whose hair could occur in striking shades of emerald that were seen amongst no other kind of people. When you and your fellows went into town on break, these unusual people would be distant, but kind, and they seemed to hold you in a particular sense of camaraderie for roughing it up on the mountains that they were well used to. Sometimes, a generous donation from the town would include culinary creations of mountainfolk origin- and everybody, oddly, got a taste for it despite its rural nature.

Some of it reminded you oddly of home.

These moments of comfort were small moments between enduring the initial rigors of training. The soldier’s first ally, you were told by the dark and leathery drill officer, was the spade. Your spade had been beaten and sharpened repeatedly by the time you were done, as though the steel shovel had to go through training too. The second was the mess kit, similarly dinged after it all, but spotless and shining- anybody who presented their mess tin to a drill officer with it in any other state was cracked across the back with a riding crop. Smart aleck responses had been similarly beaten out of the lot of you- the only words in the language of command that you were permitted were Si Signore and No Signore, and may the Judge have mercy upon your soul if you had to ask for anything to be said again.

What helped make up for it was two things- one, that while the Young Futurists had once thought themselves above leaders, there were now unquestionable a triumvirate of such in Leo, Cesare, and yourself, as those less able to keep up with training found both reassurance and advice in you. The other was the final ally of the soldier- your rifles. Nobody complained during marksmanship training or bayonet drill.

The M00 Rifle, as it was called in inventory, but the “Luci” as it was referred to outside (the King had purportedly had a hand in designing it), was a simple weapon. It came apart and went back together again easily again for cleaning, and no piece of it brought scratching to the head of its function. For being named after royalty, it was about as easy to use as the spade on your hip. Its simplicity of construction and function was elegant in and of itself- all the glamor seemed to have gone into the bayonet instead, which even the basic infantry model of which was practically a saber both in decoration and length.

A small fact you’d learned once from the armorer idly talking to whoever gave him the time- apparently, a shipment of M00 rifles had one to Emre last year- and the newer batches had been improved upon after such rough testing, but moreover, the Emreans wanted more of them- so many more that they had to be denied, as the Vitelian Army had yet to replace its stock of outdated rifles completely. It gave you no small bit of smugness- Emreans were the haughtiest, proudest people on the continent, and to earn their praise was no small thing. At least, so you had heard.

After three grueling months, basic training was over- and while you were glad for it, you couldn’t deny that you had improved afterwards in one area over others…

>When it came to fighting drills, you found yourself a natural. Only Leo could best you in physical strength, and only matched you in combat coordination.
>You were a natural leader- people came to you more than any other when they needed help, and the officers noticed this.
>The lectures here compelled you better than any at University- you were a sponge for information, and drank in more even outside of what was required. You were nearly as sharp as Cesare.
>Other?

Also during your time on Monte Nocca, you had become aware of a few particular figures. Sergente Maggiore Cappretto was the harsh applicator of crop and dressing downs. Nobody liked him, and he came down hard especially on some of the more bookish men in your group, but when training time was over, he vanished- predictable like a particularly wretched storm cloud.

Then there was Colonello Stefano, Conte Di Zucchampo. A noble battalion officer, he had been visiting one week, and didn’t stand out particularly from any other noble tourists besides that he had gone around and asked each member of your training group an unusual question.

“Can you type?” he asked you out of the blue, once.

What a question that was. Of course you could type. What were you supposed to do, write your thesis in paint with your finger? “Yes, sir,” you answered more politely with your voice than your thoughts, “I wrote several papers in university that would be rather dense pamphlets, and drafts before then. I had to learn the typewriter well.”

The Colonel nodded, and left with a simple and polite farewell, leaving you rather puzzled until you commented on the encounter to your friends, and they all replied that they had had similar encounters.

Finally, there was the most troublesome man. A young lieutenant, another noble, as officer commissions were purchased more frequently than earned, with a substantial bonus towards the state for such. So, the leadership was made up of no shortage of sons of landed nobility, and your first personal experience with one was Tenente Julio Di Portaltramanto.

Julio arrived after the second month of training, and he was an attractive, confident young man- young as the youngest amongst you. His hair was a messy series of waves, like Leo’s had once been before he was made to cut it short, and he was a Sea Vitelian, but of a rather pale sort- the sun seemed to not have touched him much at all, and his flaxen hair made it unclear what his ancestry truly was. However, the heaviness of the eyelid and soft angles of his features hinted, perhaps, at some Paellan influence. It was with his arrival that the gifts from the locals began to dry up- though gifts from the young Lieutenant increased in proportion.

Even a fool could see what he was doing when he gave generously to the men and acted so gregariously among the lot of you- he was trying to purchase friendship, but especially amongst the educated young men of the Futurist Club, who he actually conversed with rather than some of the more common trainees. He boasted frequently and without care, and Sergeant Major Cappretto hated his guts, but couldn’t do anything to the son of a prominent family as Julio was. The source of his gifts, as well, was not necessarily agreeable, as he often boasted of abuses he heaped upon the locals.

“Bonetto, Bonetto,” he seized your attention once, and his thuggish guards flanked him, making him more intimidating than his slim frame might suggest as an individual. So you let him call you by that name. “I’ve heard you had poor luck in romance, aye? Life had other plans for your sweetheart back home?”

Where the hell had he heard…it was wrong anyways. You shook your head. “I’m doing fine.”

“You’re doing fine, my lord,” Julio corrected. “Regardless, if you’re feeling quite lonely, the local girls can be readily convinced to be accommodating, you know. Especially the mosshead girls. They have softness to them, and the funniest thing, they have different ideas of purity about them. They believe a woman is a virgin until she bears a child. Isn’t that funny? Something to take advantage of for a lonely man. If you’re ever interested, I know who to talk to…Ah, and you bunch are far too clever to be wasted as fusiliers, don’t you think? There are some commissions that I could arrange for purchase quite easily, too…just let me know when you tire of marching and digging holes.” He wiggled his finger in goodbye, and you frowned to yourself. It was unquestionable that he was a vile little sprog, but could he be useful? Some of the Young Futurists already had such logic, much to the distaste of Cesare and Leo…

>What, were you trying to be a saint now? He was a member of the upper class, and being untouchable by being around him could be useful…
>You already had friends- you ill needed to be paid to be somebody else’s. You wouldn’t associate with such a poisonous cretin.
>Other?

>>5688597
>You were a natural leader- people came to you more than any other when they needed help, and the officers noticed this.

>You already had friends- you ill needed to be paid to be somebody else’s. You wouldn’t associate with such a poisonous cretin.

>>5688597
>When it came to fighting drills, you found yourself a natural. Only Leo could best you in physical strength, and only matched you in combat coordination.
>You already had friends- you ill needed to be paid to be somebody else’s. You wouldn’t associate with such a poisonous cretin.

>>5688597
>The lectures here compelled you better than any at University- you were a sponge for information, and drank in more even outside of what was required. You were nearly as sharp as Cesare.
>What, were you trying to be a saint now? He was a member of the upper class, and being untouchable by being around him could be useful…

>>5688597
>You were a natural leader- people came to you more than any other when they needed help, and the officers noticed this.

>>5688599
>You already had friends- you ill needed to be paid to be somebody else’s. You wouldn’t associate with such a poisonous cretin.

>>5688599
>The lectures here compelled you better than any at University- you were a sponge for information, and drank in more even outside of what was required. You were nearly as sharp as Cesare.
>You already had friends- you ill needed to be paid to be somebody else’s. You wouldn’t associate with such a poisonous cretin.

>>5688599
>You were a natural leader- people came to you more than any other when they needed help, and the officers noticed this.

>You already had friends- you ill needed to be paid to be somebody else’s. You wouldn’t associate with such a poisonous cretin.

>>5688597
>>You were a natural leader- people came to you more than any other when they needed help, and the officers noticed this.

>>5688599
>>What, were you trying to be a saint now? He was a member of the upper class, and being untouchable by being around him could be useful…

>>5688600
>>5688614
>>5688678
>>5688717
Natural Leader

>>5688604
Combat Drills

>>5688612
>>5688641
Compulsory Academic

>>5688600
>>5688604
>>5688614
>>5688641
>>5688678
I don't hang out with people who might be from a place that that sounds like a Spanish seafood dish.

>>5688612
>>5688717
I do need more rich friends...

I'll call it in a couple hours maybe? I'm not sure what times work for people, but ideally, the twice a day deal will coincide with morning and evening for people, though I know when people from across the world are involved it's sort of a futile balancing act.

>>5688597
>You were a natural leader- people came to you more than any other when they needed help, and the officers noticed this.

>>5688599
>What, were you trying to be a saint now? He was a member of the upper class, and being untouchable by being around him could be useful…

>>5688763
Does this guy not have any other nobles around to schmooze with rather than trying to bribe a bunch of commoners?

>>5688777
There are other officers around who are mostly aristocracy, though they are mostly senior to him, as well as you.
It could be reasonably assumed that he isn't trying to climb a social ladder with this sort of stunt.

>>5688597
>The lectures here compelled you better than any at University- you were a sponge for information, and drank in more even outside of what was required. You were nearly as sharp as Cesare.
>>5688599

>You already had friends- you ill needed to be paid to be somebody else’s. You wouldn’t associate with such a poisonous cretin.

>>5688763
So in addition to this, these-

>>5688767
>>5688791

Updating.

>>5688837
what are our stats now?

>>5688843
After this vote and in the course of the next update?
Not that I've said what they do, per se- sometimes I've decided it's nebulous and other times coming up I'll put it in a more hard and fast language, but:

Strength- 2
Ardor-4
Guile-0
Wit-1

Strength is self explanatory. 2 sounds like a small number, but every point above 0 is actually above average.
Ardor is leadership, bravery, and nerve. Suffice it to say, Bonetto is extremely charismatic.
Guile is cunning and trickery, deftness at such and sleight of social hand. You are presently very genuine, for better or worse.
Wit is self explanatory too, but while Guile would be a deceptive intellect, Wit is a straightforward one. Book smarts and analysis.

Yes, your taste in women had an effect on this. No, I will not say what stat it affected, because I'm sure that many would have different opinions, and that's not even the fun kind of waifu war.

>>5688846
How much is char gen is going to cover for this thread? Everything up to the present day?

…However, there wasn’t a price tag on this particular judgment. You kept well away from Di Portaltramanto, as you had well enough friends, and did not respect them merely because they showered you with gifts like some admirer. Especially considering you had developed a knack for drawing people to you- and inspiring them into action. You were ever the decisive one, the one looked to for advice in a pinch, and while your input wasn’t always the best in retrospect, or even at the moment, you could be trusted to carry it out and make people do it.

It was an odd moment when, towards the end of basic training, old and incorrigible Cappretto could be heard praising you when he thought none of the recruits were listening.

“The Bonaventura boy,” he said gruffly as he talked to the other non-commissioned officers, at a moment you happened to be unwittingly around the corner of the storehouse they ate against, “There’s a proper soldier in there. The army needs more of him, and the other one. The huge one. They’ll make fine squad leaders. The rest of them ought to be in front of desks like the Conte was talking ‘bout.”

“You’ve driven them rather hard for them to put them against paperwork,” the quartermaster said, “Are they unsuitable? Looked fine to me.”

“Fine and little else.” Cappretto said with a scowl, “Just like any other bunch of boys that come this way. They’ll do, but they’re nothing exceptional. Up in Emre their sort gets mown down like grass, and more come up from behind. Grist for the damned mill.”

Perhaps you should have left satisfied with only the first sentence.

-----

In the last days, when your basic training was officially over and it would be time to move on to…whatever would come next (your superiors hadn’t been quite clear on what training was next for all of you), trouble reared its head. Of an unavoidable and ugly sort- the kind that technically had very little to do with you, but unfortunately was not something you could ignore.

Leo had been set off.

“Damn him!” Leo grit his teeth and suppressed a roar, “He has gone too far this time!”

“The Lieutenant,” Cesare knew immediately, “He was not already distasteful? He wasn’t already a scoundrel, yet he still walks among us? Be a little more patient, Leo. We’ll be gone from here soon.”

“If it were merely his normal.” Leo pursed his lips, but sat on his bunk. The huge man was a terror when he was enraged- any other recruit would have fled, but not you nor Cesare. “Then I could pretend he did not exist. He would give me a wide berth as he has known to, and the world would continue to turn. But he has reached a new low!” He punched the steel bedframe- and it bent, shifting the top bunk over. “He raped Yena!”

“He wouldn’t dare,” you blurted out. Yena was the daughter of the Mountainfolk community’s elder; an equal to the town mayor himself- and Leo had befriended her. “It would be foolish as it would be evil.”

“He believes he is untouchable,” Leo said in a rumbling rage that he was managing to chain down again.

“Then our course is clear,” Cesare said, his chip up and pointing to the door, “We will report this up the chain of command. With witness testimony, he will surely be censured and punished.”

“No,” Leo said, “No, he won’t be, and you know it.”

“What are you suggesting, Leo,” you shook your head, “That you teach him a lesson? That’s suicide and you know it.”

“I…I know,” Leo swallowed, “but something has to be done, something beyond what society will bring upon him, that he’ll just shrug off like a wet jacket. Besides, do you think he will not find out if we report him? He will find some other way to make us regret doing the right thing. Unless we make him unable to.”

Quiet, and another look around to make sure nobody was listening, before Cesare said flatly, “So you want to kill him, then? And with his bodyguards, you’ll want help?” Leo was silent. “Don’t be a fool,” Cesare rebuked the big man sharply, “Do you think that will help Yena? Even if it works, do you think that everybody will just forget that a noble officer was killed, and let it all go? Judge Above, Leo, have you looked at the shadow you cast when you stand in the sun? There won’t be a soul on the mountain that wouldn’t know it was you if they saw, no matter the disguise. Comfort the poor girl, come with Bonetto and I to sign a statement, and let things take their course. We’ll not have done anything wrong no matter what that piece of garbage tries.”

Yet Leo was unmoved. “You don’t have to help if you don’t want to,” he told Cesare, “You never heard this. But, Bonetto,” he looked to you, “Please. Something has to be done. I don’t know what yet…but we have time for it, before we leave. We can make him vanish if we work together, this is the middle of the mountains, the paths are not patrolled and there’s lots of places an accident can happen. Like Cesare said, I can’t do it alone, but…”

“Leo!” Cesare stepped up and grabbed his shoulder, “You selfish lout, don’t hide what you’re asking him to do!”

“I know what I’m asking him to do!” Leo grabbed Cesare’s wrist and the smaller man cringed as his tight grip squeezed- only for Leo to realize he was hurting his friend, and he let him go. “Forgive me, Cesare, I just…” He snapped his head aside, “It’s why I’m asking. He knows he can decide for himself what is right.”

This wasn’t what you had expected at all, and you already knew you’d rather have no part of this…but you knew that suggesting the safest course of action would enrage both of your friends, and chill your heart regardless. That option still had to be thought about to have a full spread, though…

>An ugly crime deserved an ugly end. There’d be no downside if you didn’t get caught- you’re in.
>A murder was a murder, no matter who it was. This was not something for you to handle- you’d all do what Cesare said and leave it in the hands of people who could do something about it.
>Tell Leo and Cesare to forget about it. This was no time for you to sabotage your futures. You would simply have to bear it, as awful as it would be. Far worse sins took place every day.
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.
>Other?

>>5688855
>How much is char gen is going to cover for this thread? Everything up to the present day?
Pretty much- or at least, up to the starting date for when this begins in earnest.

>>5688879
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.

>>5688879
>>An ugly crime deserved an ugly end. There’d be no downside if you didn’t get caught- you’re in.

>>5688879
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.
Save murder for assassination.

>>5688879
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.
I trust Leo to dismantle this ponce. This is my first time posting ITT but this is an excellent quest and I'm very engaged with the setting.

>>5688879
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.
Could there be a poison or maybe something the mountainfolk can cook up to coat a blade with? An infection or illness can end him as surely afterwards as any blade or bullet.

>>5688879
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.

We need to frame it not just as a duel for the honor of Yena, but also of the army itself. Even if one loses against this scum, which of course wouldn't occur, the public nature of such of a thing will make villains of the Lieutenant in the eyes of the townsfolks, who will have the chance to see men of the army with integrity, deal with such disgusting elements of their own instead of shady internal courts. Honorable army comrades will be on our side, even if outwardly the politics of status chokes close the legitimate means pursuing justice. We must stress to all outsiders that we are doing the army a service with this, and of course, Leo MUST not lose.

>>5688879
>>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.

>>5688879
>Duel him! WE MUST HUMILIATE THE MAN!

SOUTHKOREA
씨발 파주금릉초경기도 윤종원이새끼 니
아들래미씨발교통사고로 콱 디져뿌라 ㅋㅋ

>>5688879
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.
Crush this fucker Leo

>>5688879
>They were thinking of it all wrong. They had to think in different terms. This did not demand an ambush- it demanded a duel.
I can't really cook up a scheme to have him disappeared in the mountains effectively without his heavies getting involved, duel it is.
>>5689014
what the fuck is this lmaoooo

>>5687750
This brand of autism...J-3, is that you?

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>>5689093
Am I that obvious?

>>5688891
>>5688900
>>5688925
>>5688943
>>5688944
>>5688966
>>5689012
>>5689018
>>5689030
It's time to D-d-d-d-d...
D-d-d-d-DUEL.

>>5688893
Kill

Updating. I reduced my hours but I still work so tonight is only a one update day. Which is how it's been sometimes anyways but not intentionally.

>>5689210
Oh yes, do the mountainfolk know about the matter yet? Is the elder/community going to do anything or stay silent?

Don't think it'll happen but it would be hilarious if the mossheads somehow managed to get a soulbinder to sic on the Lieutenant

>>5689216
>Oh yes, do the mountainfolk know about the matter yet? Is the elder/community going to do anything or stay silent?
They do- but, they are not in a position to object or protest in effective manner, as Mountainfolk are not particularly seen as a part of Vitelian society, even if they exist alongside it here.
Hence the desire to circumvent such a position by your compatriot.

>>5689236
Can't they petition someone to duel the officer on the town's behalf?

>>5689236
>Mountainfolk are not particularly seen as a part of Vitelian society
You need to be civilized to be part of society.

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>5689394
Cease your dishonorable behavior. On a nat 100, you will commit sepukku

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>5689444
Nice digits, but your roll is weak.

Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>5689394
I support his digits with mine!!!

>>5689394
Found the Twaryian.

Sorry for the delay, update's coming soon. Best laid plans and all that.

“I have an alternative,” you said, voice as sure and clear as the idea seemed in your head, “This is nothing to resolve with an ambush in the dark, or with letters and censures. It is a crime of honor above all else, and that demands a duel.”

Leo looked at you like it was a complete revelation- Cesare’s look was one of annoyed incredulity.

“Alright, a duel,” he shrugged, “I knew that people in the north could be old fashioned but I didn’t expect that from you. Regardless, there’s a big problem with that. One is that dueling is illegal, not that that was something we were concerned with, but the other is that a duel must be consented to in order to progress. What will you do if he says no thank you? Even done with first blood with blades, that could still be a serious wounding.”

“He won’t refuse,” you said. You already were thinking of how to do it. He talked frequently enough with Young Futurists- people he was surely the societal better than, even though he spent quite a bit of time and effort getting theirs and others’ approval. Mostly, you thought of whether you would, in his place, crimes aside. You couldn’t even imagine refusing.

Cesare squinted at you. “He won’t? When Monte Leo here walks up to Di Portaltramanto, ground quaking with every step, and asks if he’d like to have a fight, you think that man will accept for the sake of his honor? The man who raped a slight little thing like Yena and like as not bragged about seducing her?” He shook his head roughly, like shaking off water. “You’ll need more than an assertion of honor, I think.”

Leo deflated somewhat- he had really liked that idea- and so did you, considering how easily a man who was easily around two meters tall could dismantle the subject of discussion. “I’ll ensure it,” you said, “There’s time to be certain. If he didn’t care about anything of what people thought of him, he wouldn’t act like he does around the Young Futurists. It’s possible for him to be caught, easily.”

“Possible, perhaps, but not easily,” Cesare gave a bit, “Leo, we need to know more about the situation. Do the mountainfolk know of this? I assumed they would, if you knew, but…”

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Leo bit his lip and smoldered. “They do,” he said, “In a…different way. Not that they would risk making an enemy of that noble family anyways given what could be done to them in reprisal, but especially in this manner. You’re right. He would likely claim that he bedded her without violence, but,” he clenched a fist, “It is violence of a sort. Coercion, manipulation. She told me that he isolated her with promises to lessen his abuses on her people, and then drugged her with vile Blackflower. Cesare, I-“ he threw his head up, “I’ve never seen a woman so ashamed, so miserable at her existence, for acts that weren’t her fault. It curdles my blood black to do nothing that she could not see as recompense. I know your heart is larger than mine, no matter how your logic protests. You know the right thing to do, and want to do it. Help us. A duel is happening.”

Cesare breathed in, then out slowly. “It is not that easy to weigh the morality of the present versus that of the future, Leo. But you’re right. I can’t let you two do this without my help. Yena is my friend too.” He looked to you. “She truly is a sweet girl, Bonetto. I know you haven’t talked much, but you know her cooking.”

“Then it’s all the more important that we not allow this to be let be merely because of societal protections on the undeserving and immoral. As Ange wrote. The Forthcoming Dawn will only be eclipsed by the darkness of the eldworld if we allow it to be.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Leo beamed. Though you weren’t going to interrupt him to say it, you agreed. His booming voice didn’t have the infiltration your words could. “So how do we do it then, Cesare? I admit I’m not in a…proper place to think deeply.”

“It is a battle like any other,” the slim man said, closing his eyes, “…I remember a story from Zhantao, where a general was trying to hunt down an enemy raiding party, who would not face him in battle because he had many more men in his force. As could be expected, but he couldn’t catch them with this superior force as they would flee whenever he approached with the whole. So, he sought to catch them in a trap. He began to ride out at the same time each night with a small escort. Each day, he rode further and further, bright torches lighting him and his escort each time. Finally, the raiders caught him in ambush…only this time, they discovered many more outriders than they expected, because in the dark of the night, the general had his best horsemen ride in darkness just out of the torchlight, and he won a great victory. Or so the story goes.”

File: scene_02_cesare.jpg (159 KB, 636x760)

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He crossed his arms over one another and pointed a finger at you, then Leo. “Not in a thousand years will the Lieutenant accept your challenge. The only person our age here who could beat you in a physical contest is Bonetto. God knows everybody’s had to have a try to see if they could. It’ll be much easier to trap him if he thinks he stands a good chance at winning.”

“Makes sense,” Leo said slowly, putting his own finger to his chin, “Actually, that made me think…he has those two brutes with him all the time. He’d just send them in to take care of his affairs as always. Even if we beat one of them, that wouldn’t hurt him more than any obligations to the surrender of the duel, would it.” Not that winning was so assumed if it was one of them. The Lieutenant’s bodyguards were such that even Leo would probably have a challenge.

“It would be easier if he agreed and expected to win that way,” Cesare said, “But I was thinking of another possibility. Duels taking place one on one is the assumption, but there is also the idea of Seconds also taking part. Up to three. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

You finished the idea. “If it was three on three, he’d have no choice, especially if he thought he could seize a win. Except…” you gazed over Cesare, “I presume he’d think of taking you as his match, wouldn’t he.”

“He would think that,” Cesare said, “And he would be wrong. I would be matched against one of his goons, and I’d lose for certain. But by obligation, that would mean he would face one of you. Even somebody with no honor whatsoever could afford to call off a duel while it is still in progress, after they have already taken their shot, as you might say.”

“That’s dangerous, Cesare,” Leo said with a concerned hitch, “I don’t mean any offense, but your combat drill isn’t particularly impressive…”

“Which is why I’d appreciate it if the method of dueling was decidedly non-lethal, if I’m to participate,” Cesare said with a nod.

>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>A one on one against one of his proxies wouldn’t wound the Lieutenant- but it would shame him. That would be good enough.
>Challenge the Lieutenant directly- even if it might not work depending on the opponent due to his lack of honor… (Who to do it?)
>Perhaps this depended on too much working out in your favor. Go for another plan? (Which?)
>Other?
Also, if dueling-
>Knives and blood were the classic way of doing things- and could leave suitably nasty scars, even when a single round out of three or more was won with a single strike each.
>A contest of ranged weaponry was less intimidating where size was involved. Even if it was most certainly deadlier…
>An old-fashioned match of fists against fists. Most wouldn’t consider that anything more than a bout, that sort of method couldn’t even be called illegal in any fashion…
>Other?

>>5690187
>Other
Bonetto and Leo against his goons

>Knives and blood were the classic way of doing things- and could leave suitably nasty scars, even when a single round out of three or more was won with a single strike each.

>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>Knives and blood were the classic way of doing things- and could leave suitably nasty scars, even when a single round out of three or more was won with a single strike each.
Oh no oh dear the lieutenant has been stabbed in the eye however could this have happened.

>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.

>Knives and blood were the classic way of doing things- and could leave suitably nasty scars, even when a single round out of three or more was won with a single strike each.

>>5690187
Challenge the lieutenant to a duel and let the chain of command know why you're challenging him to a duel. If he accepts and you die everyone chalks it up to you rabble rousing, if he refuses he looks weak to the other officers and it makes it look like he is unable or unwilling to refute the allegations leveled against him.

>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>Knives and blood were the classic way of doing things- and could leave suitably nasty scars, even when a single round out of three or more was won with a single strike each.

>>5690404
I'd rather not. The chain of command is likely in the pocket of establishment interest, which is why we're skeptical in the first place of allowing army courts to deal with this. Plus what we're doing is undoubtedly illegal. It's likely they will take action against us. Better to ask for forgiveness after.

>>5690185
His skin seems outright grey

>>5690187

>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>Knives and blood were the classic way of doing things- and could leave suitably nasty scars, even when a single round out of three or more was won with a single strike each.
RIP Cesare

>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>An old-fashioned match of fists against fists. Most wouldn’t consider that anything more than a bout, that sort of method couldn’t even be called illegal in any fashion…
While I would gladly cut up that dog, we must be also wary of our friend Cesare and the fallout this will create. A beaten up noble is better than a cut up on paper. But I'm not saying we should be easy on him, a beatdown is needed.

>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>An old-fashioned match of fists against fists. Most wouldn’t consider that anything more than a bout, that sort of method couldn’t even be called illegal in any fashion…
More opportunity to cause damage without killing.
A cut is a cut.
But leaving the rapist bloody and brutalized can be far more satisfied

File: black on black violence.png (1.14 MB, 959x597)

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>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>An old-fashioned match of fists against fists. Most wouldn’t consider that anything more than a bout, that sort of method couldn’t even be called illegal in any fashion…

I am ambivalent the idea of Cesare living up to his namesake and getting stabbed 23 times, then the futurists being arrested if they take him to a hospital

>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.
>An old-fashioned match of fists against fists. Most wouldn’t consider that anything more than a bout, that sort of method couldn’t even be called illegal in any fashion…

>>5690187
>Three on three sounded like it had the best chance of working out. You’d go with that.

>An old-fashioned match of fists against fists. Most wouldn’t consider that anything more than a bout, that sort of method couldn’t even be called illegal in any fashion…

Cesare made his stance on participating pretty clear.

Will be calling the vote in an hour.

>>5690450
>His skin seems outright grey
Well, it is. In the picture not in actuality. It's a conceit of it being meant to mimic painted black and white photographs of the sort where flesh tones weren't usually put in. Every other time before this the characters have been rather pale, and this is the first time I've used it to portray somebody who's particularly dusky toned. I probably could just move to flesh tones since I do that in extra stuff anyways, but at this point it's tradition.

>>5690216
Two on two.

>>5690289
>>5690294
>>5690426
>>5690450
>>5690473
>>5690502
>>5690557
>>5690668
>>5690711
Trois a trois, everybody joins in on the fun.

>>5690404
Take it personally..?

>>5690216
>>5690289
>>5690294
>>5690426
>>5690450
Get the knives out.

>>5690473
>>5690502
>>5690557
>>5690668
>>5690711
Fisticuffs.

Alright, rolling off, 1 will be knives, 2 will be fists.

Either way, updating.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5690830
Ahem.

>>5690830
OI DO WE HAVE A LICENSE FOR OUR KNIVES?

RIP Cesare.

“We’ll need you for this to go off the way it should,” you said, “And…” you hesitated on the method, digging in your pockets for a coin. A disc of dull silver- it had the image of the First Vitelian Empire on the reverse and the first King Lucius, founder of the Kingdom, on the face- yet it lacked the glint of unadulterated precious metal. “Heads, it’s knives. Tails, it’s boxing.”

“I can’t say I’m too enthusiastic about either,” Cesare said out the side of his mouth, “But if this is what we’re doing, at least I don’t have to worry about catching a bullet.”
A soft plink as you shot the coin off your thumb, before letting it fall neatly into your palm. “Knives it is.”

“One strike from a knife can do quite a bit,” Leo mused, his tone having gone cool. Perhaps progressing along a track of a plan had shaken enough of the heat for him to focus again. “A scar is a healthy reminder.”

“A scar?” Cesare snapped his head over incredulously, “Here I thought you wanted to kill him.”

“I do,” Leo said with his voice rising again, “But if you’re going to help, I’m not trading your life for his. Your plan means that you fight, and that means, more likely than not, you’ll be wounded. Punto Opaco restrictions means no stabbing, no stabbing means you’re not as likely to suffer a fatal wound. If we fought with Bastone rules, if you fought one of the Lieutenant’s oxen, they wouldn’t try to have an honorable graze, they could stab you through your ribs to spite us.” He glanced to you, “If we’re doing knives, it’s edges only.”

That meant resorza gilizia- Gilician Razors, from the northmost province. Folding knives of that sort were mostly used for just about anything besides fighting, as their tips were squared instead of sharpened, due to the Gilician traditional beliefs that a sharp point only belonged on a weapon of war, and using a weapon for anything but a weapon’s work was to be deceitful. Tailors and fishermen might have disagreed with such a philosophy, but then, Gilicians were odd, holy natured folk, and if Cesare was to be believed, utterly insufferable. Regardless, Gilician Razors were popular as hunting and utility knives even outside the province, and near every local here could be seen with one on their belt.

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…Though, personally, you believed the chances of properly winning your duels was more likely if you used your bayonets; besides the pieces made to fit on the M00 Rifle, it was basically a long knife anyways, and you had plenty of practice drilling with them in that capacity. Not so with the resorza- and worse, if Di Portaltramanto’s thugs fought how they looked, they’d have plenty of practice with such unassuming knives, as they were favorites of street toughs in places where pointed knives were banned precisely to neuter them, rather than doing so out of some odd country belief.

>Agree to use the hunting razors. Less risky, plenty effective.
>This was a fight- and you had to take it seriously and maximize your chances. Use bayonets.

“Either way,” Cesare swirled his hand- move along. “I’ll have to throw my match before the Judge to ensure that Di Portaltramanto is forced to come out, but that leaves a question. Which of you is taking him on? Either of you could, I’m sure, but if he wins two matches, he might claim that he need not fight a third when the majority of victories are his. Which means the second fight is the most important.”

“Is this truly a question?” Leo bristled.

“It is,” Cesare gave Leo a stern look, “I think you’re much more likely to win against his second goon. All the planning and effort in the world won’t matter if Bonetto loses, and besides,” he looked back to you again, “He’s more likely to be coolheaded about dealing with the blueblood.”

He assumed much.

>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.
>It wasn’t about who did it, it was about justice being done. You’d take on the Lieutenant- and punish him suitably.
>Other?

>>5690958
>>Agree to use the hunting razors. Less risky, plenty effective.
>>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.

>>5690958
>Agree to use the hunting razors. Less risky, plenty effective.
>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.

>>5690958
>Agree to use the hunting razor, But have the knife in your back pocket?
>>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.

>>5690958
>Agree to use the hunting razors. Less risky, plenty effective.
>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.

>>5690958
>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.
Leo needs to win fast to help us out lol

>>5690958
>Agree to use the hunting razors. Less risky, plenty effective.
>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.

>>5690958
>Agree to use the hunting razors. Less risky, plenty effective.
Hope we don't get punked for wanting to play it safe. Cesare is probably losing either way, so I'd rather not have him live up to his name.
>It wasn’t about who did it, it was about justice being done. You’d take on the Lieutenant- and punish him suitably.

>>5690958
>Agree to use the hunting razors. Less risky, plenty effective.
We are meant to scar, not meant to kill eachother.
>The duel was important to Leo, not you. You’d take the hard fight so he could destroy the Lieutenant.

>>5690974
>>5690978
>>5691029
>>5691046
>>5691149
>>5691254
>>5691481
Take the harder one.

>>5691276
Take the cut yourself.

Updating.

>>5691560
Inb4 Lieutenant comes at us with an officer sword, I'm telling you we need to hide a knife or something as a backup

There was no debate to be had about using the resorzas- this had already cooled to a matter of scars, and not taking of lives. As for the order of fights, though…

“I’ll take the second,” you declared, “Taking on the Lieutenant isn’t my fight, and I won’t claim to be doing it for another. Leo, you can have him.”
Leo nodded, took a deep breath, and finally lay back on the bunk. “Alright then. So what next…”

“We act immediately,” you said, “When he’s supping with the others, we’ll confront him and force him out. He won’t dare refuse in front of those he’s trying to impress, especially if he doesn’t acquiesce immediately and I get to say all I can. If he won’t respond to a demand for satisfaction, then he surely wouldn’t ignore more direct attacks upon him.”

“Until then,” Cesare said, “Leo, you don’t mind some last-minute practice, do you? I’d rather not embarrass myself too much in my rounds, when I inevitably stumble.”

“I’ll help too,” you said, though it wasn’t as though Cesare didn’t try at combat drill- he was certainly no civilian when it came to fighting after all the training- but he didn’t have the aptitude you other two did.

It was practice for all of you, in truth. Using the resorzas you easily obtained was unfamiliar and awkward- the Vitelian Royal Army focused on the long reach of weapons to stab rather than to cut, and the Gilician razors were both short and incapable of piercing. A learning experience for all of you, you ended up resolving to keep a knife with an actual point in your back pocket. Just in case. After all, being prepared for anything, as Cesare liked to advise, was better than expecting everything to go your way.

-----

As expected, Lieutenant Di Portaltramanto was dining with a clutch of other recruits from the Young Futurists Club on a rocky overlook over the training fields- those had gone unused in the past couple days, as training was officially over until you were all assigned somewhere else. The pickings were extravagant- these past few days had apparently spurred him to declare some sort of unofficial celebration, as the local pillaging was supplemented by luxuries from all over the country, including what you were almost certain was cheese from where you grew up. His two thugs were not part of the socializing- they kept a wary watch from ten paces away.

“Ah, Bonetto!” he waved as you approached, “Good of you and your friends to finally come to join us. We were just having a riveting talk about the obligations of state. Did you know that the amount of tax money they flows from farm estates could easily be diverted just for a few years to fully mechanize the country’s agriculture? The Lindivans have already made tremendous gains doing just that, and-“

“I’m not here for talk, Lieutenant Di Portaltramanto” you cut him off, “I’m here to present a challenge. Leo wishes to duel. I and another will aid him, as I expect you would have those two,” you pointed off, “As seconds.”

The Lieutenant looked incredulous. “A duel? Whatever for?”

“You already know,” you said darkly, “Unless you would like me to say it in front of the others here, but I don’t think you want that, do you? Now, come with me, or have the others here be gone.”

“Or they can stay,” Leo added in, “And see how we will do right.”

The noble frowned, and the other Young Futurists were confused at the sudden dour atmosphere. A few left on their own, and a quiet dismissal from the Lieutenant sent the rest along. “I shall send for you,” he said to the last few, before tilting his head at you, Leo and Cesare. “Pardon me, but I am truly unaware. How ever have I given offense?”

“Yena,” Leo said in a now shaking voice, “You have given plenty of offense there.”

Di Portaltramanto blinked. “Oh, the mountain elder’s daughter? That of all things?” He laughed, “What did she tell you? If you were trying to charm her, I do genuinely apologize, but I didn’t see nor hear any implications towards romance.”

“She had shown us nothing but kindness!” Leo’s voice rose.

“She gave kindness of the hearth,” the Lieutenant said, “And she gave me the kindness of her bed. What of it?”

“You know damned well,” Leo pointed accusingly, “That what you did was coercion. Perhaps you can argue otherwise a hundred different ways, but to any reasonable man of sound judgment you are guilty of rape.”

“She did not cry out like it was,” the Lieutenant said unapologetically.

“You-!”

File: scene_04_julio.jpg (199 KB, 860x715)

199 KB JPG

“Really, Leo, all this over a woman? A moss headed mountain girl at that? You are a Futurist, are you not?” Di Portaltramanto offered his hands plaintively, looking utterly unapologetic. “The past and all things not driving towards progress are but waste. Concerning women especially, they are for the household or for pleasure, and she was glad to give it, after some persuasion. If she has regrets now it is hardly my fault.”

“You threatened her with-“

“Stop,” Cesare interrupted Leo, “This is going nowhere. There is only one way to resolve this, Lieutenant Sir, and we will accept nothing more.”

“If you are so certain of a crime of mine, then present it to the Judiciaries,” the Lieutenant was still calm and passive, “Why escalate this in such a way? I’m willing to forget it immediately as a mere lapse of judgment.”

“No.” you said with a twist to your lip. “We duel. Not only for the honor of a woman, as you put it, but for the honor of Vitelia and its Royal Army. Your three against us three, in singles, using resorzas. First blood to a round, three rounds in a match. Best of three.”

The Lieutenant frowned, and gestured for his goons to come forward. “You are committed to this, then? To bleed for the honor of a woman with none? So be it.” He shook his head, “I truly believe we could all be friends, you know.” It was easier than you thought it would be. He must have had supreme confidence in his lackeys- though it was true that you didn’t properly know his own fighting capabilities either, other than that he didn’t look intimidating whatsoever. “Perhaps we can put this all behind us after you’ve been humbled. As fascinating as Futurist Utopianism is, perhaps Ange was wrong when it came to dealing with matters of Class. Sometimes, logic and reason are simply insufficient. Callus, Bruno,” He beckoned behind him with two fingers, “You heard the gentlemen. Do what you are best at within the set limits, but there is hardly any need for restraints beyond the rules.”

As though they were slumbering standing up, the two men straightened to attention and strode forward stiffly. They might have had different names, but they honestly looked no different from one another- not helped by how they dressed with scarves like bandits.

“Who first,” the one called Callus said gruffly, already pulling a resorza from his pocket. No need to provide any, it seemed…

Cesare stepped forward, twirling his resorza, but failing to flip it out in a way that looked good instead of…well, like crap. “Me,” he said with confidence that was in stark contrast to what he displayed as a demonstration of skill.

“Huh!” Callus let out a huffing sound that might have been a bark of laughter.

The Lieutenant squinted and smirked. “Signore Cesare, it might be prudent for you to simply forfeit and not be hurt. I think I already see your gambit, but you are also overconfident of its odds, I think.”

“You never know,” Cesare kept up a bluff of being relaxed and indifferent, “I might get lucky.”

>Roll three sets of 1d100. Each represents a round- DC 95 Roll Over.

Rolled 49 (1d100)

>>5691829
>DC 95 Roll Over.
Lmao

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>5691829
I have no words

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5691829
Oh boy

>>5691831
>>5691833
>>5691834
If it's any consolation, it's what was expected of Cesare anyways.
It'll be a bit before I can update again tonight, but the next set of rounds will be yours. I'll write it up when I get back.

Damn.

When you and Leo had instructed Cesare on how best to fight, you had tried to show how an opening could be made- and what movements an opponent made might be vulnerable. That was not advice that was panning out- instead, it was Leo’s rather pessimistic evaluation of Cesare’s abilities that was proving more useful, as he was properly using it.

He lashed out, and the much larger Callus flicked his blade out and caught Cesare on the arm. An easy first blood- but not a move for the throat or the ankle, or the thigh.

“You’s a fool ‘f you think y’ can avoid bein’ bled good,” Callus said as he readied his stance again, “One outta three.”

“I can survive another cut,” Cesare said as he grit his teeth and grasped at the slice on his arm. These razors were seriously sharp- even what looked like a nick was quickly staining his sleeve.

“You’ll live,” Callus agreed, and he suddenly bounded forward rather than letting Cesare get the first move, and he swept the blade across Cesare’s cheek, laying it open in a flash. Cesare gasped and put his hand to his cheek.

“Gh,” Cesare grunted, “Fine, that’s two-“

Callus disagreed, as he moved behind Cesare and swiped at the back of his knee, sending him tumbling backwards with a cry of pain and surprise.
“Bastard!” Leo shouted, but Cesare held up his hand as Callus folded his resorza once more.

“Yous asked fer a duel,” he said with a scowl, “Think it was a game? If m’lord didn’t say so you’s be suckin’ down yous own blood. Three outta three. It’s over.”
Callus went back, and Leo ran forward to help Cesare- you’d had the foresight to bring bandages, given the nature of the weapons here.

“Should have known better,” Cesare cursed, “Let my guard down…”

“It’s done now,” Leo tried to reassure, “Damn it all, I shouldn’t have let you…”

Di Portaltramanto leaned against a stone and sighed breathily. “Is that enough, then? I won’t ask Bruno to go any easier. Bonetto, you barely know this woman. Don’t make me responsible for scarring you.”

“If you call me anything, it will be Soldato Bonaventura,” you declared, “And I will not shirk from a duel I challenged after my friend has been wounded in it.” What an insult that was. What kind of person would back down from what would at least be their obligated turn at battle? “Signore Bruno. I am waiting.”

Bruno wasn’t a talkative one. He was practically silent, in fact, as he flicked out his resorza and assumed a fighting stance, his knife hand forward and one foot behind the other, his knees slightly bent. You matched him- and waited. Both of you looked into each other’s eyes- it seemed you would make the first move.

>Roll three sets of 1d100. Each represents a round- DC 50 Roll Over. Describe a tactic or action you take with a roll- depending on the effectiveness of the action, it will lower the base DC required to beat.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>5691995
Use fainting strikes!
Look em in the eye, telegraph false moves, then strike somewhere you conditioned them not to notice.

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5691995
Grapple the legs and attempt to get him on his back, once he's done cut him like a pig, Also cripple him if possible so the next round is much easier

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>5691995
Kick him in the balls

>>5692020
Wow.

>>5692020
Arrivederci, bastardo

>>5692020
based

>>5692020
The tradition still survives. I wonder of the Lieutenant brought any pianos with him.

You sized up your opponent. Bruno was larger than you, yes, but not by so much. His reach was greater, but this was not so much a contest of strength as reflex and tactics- his reach would not avail him if you tricked him into exposing a blind spot.

So that was your first move. A snap forward and a snap back, like a boxing jab. He dodged it easily- but it was never meant to hit. As you drew back, though, Bruno’s arm flashed out, and you felt the wind from the speed of his attack- he had tried to catch you on the arm, and barely missed.

No time to breathe or gasp or do anything but hop back and hunch yourself again. You were more wary of one another now, surely. You sprang forward and back again- a safer feint this time, but rotating towards the right. Right-handed as you were, it would be the natural target. Once more, he whipped at air, and then continued his counterattack, stepping forward.

Though you were already weaving to the left, and caught him instead, cutting across his knuckles in a slash you hadn’t even intended to do anything but buy you some distance. Blood dripped down Bruno’s hand, and he blinked down in surprise, not even vocalizing pain.

“One,” you said, catching your breath, and Bruno cracked his neck, switching hands, and stances. So he was good with both hands? Here you were hoping this would become easier…

The second round. Hopes raised that you would get out of this without a scratch- and your confidence led your mind to assume. Feints worked before- this time you would be aggressive from the start. You charged in, resorza flashing, and began to move to his weaker side. From there, you would grab his legs-

A hot searing pain across your chest- a backstroke from Bruno’s resorza had caught you while you were moving, and you stumbled and fell, quickly scrambling to pick yourself up as you touched your chest and felt blood welling up, the sting of a good cut.

Too clever, Bonetto, you thought, remembering a match with Leo once. You’re trying to be too clever, he had said, Your body isn’t thinking with your mind. The best trick doesn’t work if you’re too slow. If you aren’t fast enough, then think of something faster, quick.
Alright then. It only took a moment to think of an idea. A feint you’d accidentally developed. A trap for Bruno, as so far, you had only been fighting with knives.

This time, Bruno seized the initiative, doing the same thing you did the first round. Leaning in to make a snatching cut, then pulling back. Yet your plan was already in motion. As he approached, cut, and leaned back to evade your counter cut, his eyes were on your half-assed strike, looking smug at your slowness, maybe thinking to catch your slow slash with a quick enough movement.

He missed that your leg wasn’t rising to take a step forward. Instead, your foot drove forward- straight into his groin.

“Hhff!” The first sound the man made as he doubled over, and with the same step that your foot left heading down, you made a hasty cut towards the shoulders, and the resorza bit into flesh, tearing across the collar and back as you drew it back to yourself with a spray of blood clearly announcing your victory. Bruno gasped and clutched the meat between his shoulder and neck, and clicked his tongue. Fury flashed in his eyes, but this was the third match. The duel between the two of you was over…and you had won.

“Good show, Bonetto!” Cesare cheered, though he had a strain in his voice from his wounds.

“You fool!” Di Portaltramanto cried out as if he had been cut himself, but then his eyes flicked to you, a now terrified wideness to them as Leo stepped forward, cracking his knuckles loudly. “Wait,” he said, “Soldato Bonaventura, call away your friend, I yield! There is no need to do this, I can reward leniency-“

“Scum!” Leo shouted over the whimpering noble son, “I am your opponent, and I demand satisfaction for the honor of Yena of Monte Nocca. Know that whenever you think of her from forever on, you will remember a day of pain! Now get up off of your knees and face me like a man, you slime!”

There must have been some level of pride still in the Lieutenant’s blood, as he shut up, and shakily drew a knife- not a resorza, but Leo didn’t care, as he didn’t address the mismatch in weapons.

“You had best not believe that your size will decide this, sirrah,” the Lieutenant said, stiffening his stance, “For my speed is certain to-“

Leo was much, much faster than he could have anticipated, for he had not even finished his taunt before the big Sea Vitelian had gotten in his face and had crossed his resorza across his smug face.

“EEEEEICH!!” Di Portaltramanto screeched, “My e-e-eye! You d-”

Leo dropped his Gilician Razor in the same motion of his first attack, cocked back his arm, and buried his fist into the noble’s face. A crack and crunch of a nose being reduced to powder, and the defeated blueblood was sent flying back at least five paces- he must have been unconscious before he hit the ground from the way he crumpled upon impact with the dirt.

Leo began to move up, but the young noble’s guards intercepted him, Bruno standing in the way while Callus checked the limp body.

“He’s alive,” Callus said as he hauled the Lieutenant over his shoulder. “It’s over.” He cocked his head to you and Leo, “Don’t think he’s forgettin’ this. Count y’self lucky his pops won’t have you hunted down. Far as we’s concerned, and he oughta be, this was fair and square. C’mon, Bruno.”

The man you defeated looked over his shoulder, huffed, and turned his back. They left without another word…leaving you and Leo and Cesare sighing with relief.

“I was afraid that you might have killed him for a moment, Leo,” Cesare tried to push himself up.

“Don’t rise,” Leo said, “A cut across the back of your leg…Judge Above, what have I done…”

“Stop that,” Cesare’s face turned cross, “I volunteered. I knew the risks. I’ll trade a limp for that little shit’s eye any day.”

Leo had no response for that. Admittedly, you were already thinking about how you’d explain what had happened to the medical officer when you had to visit him. A strict punishment was certain…there was no hiding this, certainly, even if the Lieutenant’s men didn’t rat you out…

Somebody was approaching, you realized, and you turned your head with a start. Ah, the Lieutenant was popular amongst a few of your friends, if they saw this, then-

“Yena,” Leo said with a hint of surprise, “What are you doing here?”

The young mountainfolk woman wore traditional dress for her people- a long sky-hued wool dress covered with geometric shapes and a shawl hemmed with white fringes. A slight thing of around twenty with a long braid of green hair and tall for a mountain girl, as tall as Cesare, her eyes were heavy even before now, but where they once bubbled over with warmth, she looked hollow and drawn now.

“You’re hurt…” she said wispily to you, then her eyes wandered to Leo, “I told you that you didn’t need to…” She looked down again. “This doesn’t change anything. When I told father, he said that it was better not to make an enemy of a son of lowland nobility. He would have left, and all would be fine for…everybody else. Now he is surely the nemesis of you all.”

“He has been punished lightly for what he deserved,” Leo scowled, “He ought to be thankful he wasn’t killed. Bonetto argued for leniency. Yena…how long were you watching?”

“From the start,” she said, as she walked to Cesare and knelt beside him. “You are badly hurt…I can take you to my father’s. He will have his best healers work on you.”

Cesare squinted at the mountain girl. “No offense, Yena, but I would rather have modern medicine look at these.”

“Please,” Yena insisted softly. “Leo, will you help him to walk?”

“Of course,” Leo said as he pulled up Cesare by his unwounded arm. “Come on, Cesare. The sooner we have this looked at, the better.” As you began to walk with them, perhaps to try and get Cesare’s other side, Leo cleared his throat. “We’ve got this, Bonetto,” he said, “Stay behind and let Yena take care of you some. That wound’s nasty.”

Yena froze. “Leo, you didn’t tell-“

“I said nothing,” Leo said, glancing at you. “We’ll see you at the elder’s house soon enough. Just best to break up our arrival, I think.”

File: scene_05_yena.jpg (264 KB, 800x798)

264 KB JPG

He left you and Yena standing in the dry clearing, scrubby grass blowing softly in the wind, blood darkening on the ground where it had been spilled. Nothing was said- Yena just fumbled with a satchel, drawing from it a poultice that you allowed her to apply…though you really should have taken your shirt off, she hadn’t allowed the chance.

“We haven’t spoken much,” you said finally. “I’m not sure what I should say.”

“It’s alright…” the green headed girl sighed, pursing her lips, “I never knew what I should say either, so I just…didn’t…”

“You won’t have to worry about that monster any more, at least,” you said. “He’ll regret what he did for the rest of his life. He can try what he wants. He’ll just be defeated again, and again.” You let that trail off, and she silently continued to treat you, until she had nothing more to do.

“Why?” Yena finally asked, not looking at you as she spoke, “This does nothing for you. No matter what you did, I would still be…despoiled. And all of the village would know. No matter what, none will marry a woman taken as I was by a lowlander.” She shivered, “I…” she paused, “I would not have wanted any of you to be hurt. I’m sorry for this. Surely, at least, you did this for something better than just me…”

>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.
>Yena was a sweet and kind girl, and this being done to her was evil. Wasn’t her honor a good enough cause in and of itself, no matter what she thought of it? That you fought to defend it was proof enough against any claim of her being worthless.
>It wasn’t anything difficult to think about or hard to explain. Leo asked you to help him, so you did. There wasn’t anything else to it. As far as you were concerned a friend was always there for a friend, no matter what.
>Other?

>>5692116
>>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.

Evil will triumph if good people do nothing.

>>5692116
>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.

>>5692116
>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.

>>5692116
>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.

>>5692116
>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.

I did it for me.

>>5692116
>It wasn’t anything difficult to think about or hard to explain. Leo asked you to help him, so you did. There wasn’t anything else to it. As far as you were concerned a friend was always there for a friend, no matter what.
Leo was set on going and killing this bastard, it was the duty of his friends to make sure he didn't go out and get himself killed instead.

>>5692116
>>Yena was a sweet and kind girl, and this being done to her was evil. Wasn’t her honor a good enough cause in and of itself, no matter what she thought of it? That you fought to defend it was proof enough against any claim of her being worthless.

>>5692116
>Yena was a sweet and kind girl, and this being done to her was evil. Wasn’t her honor a good enough cause in and of itself, no matter what she thought of it? That you fought to defend it was proof enough against any claim of her being worthless.
We might believe the first option more but I think this is a more useful thing to say to her.

>>5692116
>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.
As funny as it would be to call Yena TRUE AND HONEST let's just go with the LARP.

>>5692116
>You did this precisely because of the expectation that this would all pass, that nothin would happen. This was justice, and a step towards showing the evils of society that they could not plunder as they pleased.
Ah yes, pre-war idealism.

>>5692116
>It wasn’t anything difficult to think about or hard to explain. Leo asked you to help him, so you did. There wasn’t anything else to it. As far as you were concerned a friend was always there for a friend, no matter what.
we have our friend's back, always

>>5692117
>>5692120
>>5692125
>>5692173
>>5692177
>>5692263
>>5692279
Spoken like a true vanguard of Utopian Futurism.

>>5692206
>>5692324
I did it for my guys.

>>5692213
>>5692222
I did it for you, my lady.

Updating.

“I did do it for something better,” you told Yena, “I did it precisely because of that expectation that the world would move on and nothing would happen to make things right. This was for justice. A step towards the future, where the evils of the present society cannot plunder as they please. A day that will come so long as we fight for it tirelessly.”

It was talk that would readily raise the spirits of Young Futurists. The mountain girl didn’t seem very cheered, though.

“…I thought that, maybe…” she looked more crestfallen than before, speaking softly. “That seems childish, doesn’t it? To set yourself against the world because bad things happen, and try to fix it with force? When your solution is violence, it looks to me like a golden path to the darkest pit.”

Childish? “It’s for a cause that’s worth doing whatever it takes. No matter the odds. There are many things that must be done for the cause that have no solution besides violence.”

“…I suppose this turned out to be good for your cause, then.” Yena caught herself right at the end and choked. “…I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t ask for anybody to do this. I didn’t think this would happen, and even though I asked against such a thing, it happened anyways. Now it’s all over, and all I can see is people hurt for something that won’t help. Even that man…he is responsible for the worst day in my entire life, but the price for what was gained is…” Her voice cracked and she sniffed, and wiped her eyes quickly. She had nothing more to say, though, as she turned aside and walked three steps. “We should go back,” she said quickly, “I was hoping for…I don’t know.”
What did she want to hear? “I’m sorry this happened to you,” you said, “But I think everything will get better. We won, after all.”

“I hope so.” Yena said wearily, continuing to walk on as you followed. It was something easy to say, but you admittedly had no idea how true it would be.

It’d be true, you thought, so long as you and your friends continued your path to the Forthcoming Dawn.

-----

Traditional medicine had its comforts, but ultimately, Cesare ended up taken to the camp doctor anyways. The cut to the back of his knees had been bad- and he would have to have surgery to treat it properly. So, he was bid a glum farewell, and the task of explaining what had happened to the other Young Futurists was an awkward affair- especially as being denied a satisfactory explanation made them ever hungrier for the truth.

When a call for you and Leo to appear before a higher officer came, you agreed that it was no good news. Colonello Di Zucchampo had called you up, assuredly because of the incident with Di Portaltramanto, but when you both stood stiffly at attention before his table, he seemed unperturbed.

“Soldato Buenaventura,” he said, “Soldato Leone. I trust you know why I called you here.”

“Yes, sir,” you both said, one after the other.

The Colonel picked up a wide brimmed cup of coffee from his desk- it was capped with foamed cream and syrup, more a dessert than a beverage. He sipped loudly from it, then set it back slowly. “Legally speaking, both of you should be court martialed and potentially sentenced up to five years hard labor or penitentiary duties. Not only for dueling, but for assault upon a noble. However, this is not going to happen, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I had already had people investigating the Lieutenant for prior abuses of the local population. They are an important part of this training camp’s support structure, and making an enemy of them invites unnecessary trouble that we ill need when preparing for the near future. Then recent events occurred, and as I have found out with brief investigation, they came to a sort of resolution.” He sipped his coffee again. “I have sent a letter of agreement along to the Comte Di Portaltramanto concerning his son. In exchange for me allowing him to manage the discipline of his family himself, he will accept that his son’s injuries are the result of an accident. Perhaps the judiciaries would not have inflicted punishments you two might have agreed to be suitable on the Lieutenant, but I must insist that the next time this sort of besmirching of official procedure is done to attack an officer, you will not be rescued from the consequences. Am I clear?”

“As crystal, Signore,” Leo said, voice heavy with relief and resentment both.

“…But this favor is surely not for nothing,” you followed on.

“Correct.” Di Zucchampo said coolly, “You remember that I have investigated your training several times now. Cappretto believes you and your friends would make mediocre soldiery at best. While his standards for fighting men are extremely high, as is expected of somebody of his duties and caliber, I must say I agree that you and your university club members would be utterly wasted as line riflemen. Not that you would be incompetent at such, but young men with university education and skills at typing, analysis, and similar matters of staff have much better potential than digging holes and sucking down gunsmoke.”

Leo smothered a cough. “…Signore?”

“I have already arranged for you, Buenaventura and Primore to receive secondary staff training and to be assigned as adjutants to my Special Battalion Headquarters,” Di Zucchampo declared, “and I will hear no requests for exception. That is my price. All your other friends will be able to deny my request for their service, regrettable as that would be, but you three have already been assigned. Understood?”

Leo had turned to a strange shade of olive, from how the blood fled from his cheeks. “I…Signore if you would reconsider, we intended to-“

“You will have your chances,” the Colonel said, “There is no war and no fortifications to storm yet. Which is even more reason that you are best off in staff. I’ve heard plenty of how you Young Futurists see your part in the army. There is no time like the present to pour the cold water of reality on your heads. You’ll be the better for it, I assure you. Now…you are dismissed.”

-----

“Feh.” Leo kicked a pile of pebbles down the mountainside from the path, “Paper pushers. I thought we had enough of that in University. The Army is a place for glory, not for note taking. Manifestos written in powder and blood, not ink and sleepless nights.”

“It is a remarkably light punishment, at least,” you said. “I thought we might be sentenced to penitence.”

“Penitentiary soldiery would at least see plenty of action,” Leo muttered bitterly. “I fear that all the other Young Futurists will go off to battle, and I will have condemned us to do naught but watch as the moment of triumph comes. Nobody sings songs of the runners and adjutants, no matter what Cesare thinks of their necessity.”

You couldn’t say you weren’t disappointed, either. More relieved that punishment had passed you by- at least, anything more severe than the physical injuries you and Cesare had taken. But, indeed, putting on the uniform to just do paperwork was…a grim prospect. Perhaps it was merely a menial step in the ladder that could be taken care of before the violence finally began…and Vitelian victory would find you as one of its heralds.

…Of course, you could try and convince everybody to stay together, too…

>Don’t try and hold anybody back. The other Young Futurists would undoubtedly be going to Advanced Infantry Training to become proper riflemen, and you wouldn’t stop them.
>The Colonel said he needed educated men for his “Special Battalion’s” Headquarters. Maybe you could convince them all to stay together with you?
>Other?

So that hung over your heads for the next couple of days. Finally, when it was time to march down the mountain back to the train station that would send you all on your way, there was an unexpected sending off- from the village elder and his daughter. Yena still looked drawn and haggard as before- and her father was no better.

“Signore Bonetto, was it?” He called to you, “And Leo? We have a request for you.”

Was something missed in your farewells earlier that day? “Anything,” Leo said.

“Take Yena with you,” the elder said, pushing Yena forward- you now noticed a pack’s sling hanging from her shoulder. “I believe it would be best for her. She has been…unwell. When you leave, she will not have much company that will ignore what has happened. She is very useful, as you know, and she can care for herself well enough.”

Leo looked at the Elder with an eyebrow cocked, and then to Yena. “Is this what you want?” he asked the girl.

“If he would accept,” Yena said.

Leo looked down to you. “Well?”

“Didn’t you already say yes?” you replied, squinting with puzzlement.

“She didn’t ask me you river stone,” Leo said with a new annoyance in his voice, “Didn’t you talk with her a couple days back? About anything?”
“About the Forthcoming Dawn, yes,” you said.

“Ggh,” Leo rubbed his forehead with a massive hand, “She won’t help herself, even…” You shook your head at him, not knowing what he was getting at. “Alright, look, Bonetto. Since Cesare isn’t here, you have to be the practical one, and you either want her along, or not.” His eyes rolled skyward. “Judge Above, the tightness of the bonds of some oaths…”

>No. You really didn’t know what you’d ask of her anyways. Shouldn’t she stay home where it was safe? Even a battalion headquarters was close to a line, potentially…
>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.
>Other?

>>5692658
>The Colonel said he needed educated men for his “Special Battalion’s” Headquarters. Maybe you could convince them all to stay together with you?
>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.

We should probably get her an abortifacient soon

>>5692658
>The Colonel said he needed educated men for his “Special Battalion’s” Headquarters. Maybe you could convince them all to stay together with you?

Flex that high Ardor stat.


>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.

Her dad doesn't want her to become ostracised in the village, take her with us.

>>5692658
>Don’t try and hold anybody back. The other Young Futurists would undoubtedly be going to Advanced Infantry Training to become proper riflemen, and you wouldn’t stop them.
The revolution needs good men on the front lines.
>No. You really didn’t know what you’d ask of her anyways. Shouldn’t she stay home where it was safe? Even a battalion headquarters was close to a line, potentially…
I'm so sick of women... we can't even have tanks in this quest because it's so early.

>>5692658
>The Colonel said he needed educated men for his “Special Battalion’s” Headquarters. Maybe you could convince them all to stay together with you?
>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.

>>5692658
Ahh, I would feel bad trying to convince the Futurists to join a position they probably wouldn't be happy with, but I also feel like letting them go is a mistake that will bite us later. I hate to do it but I think I gotta vote to convince them to come. Taking Yena with us is a no-brainer, she doesn't have much place left in the village from what it sounds like.

Now we have Hilda part 2, this time with 75% fewer scars?

>The Colonel said he needed educated men for his “Special Battalion’s” Headquarters. Maybe you could convince them all to stay together with you?
>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.

>>5692658
>>The Colonel said he needed educated men for his “Special Battalion’s” Headquarters. Maybe you could convince them all to stay together with you?
>>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.

>>5692658
>Don’t try and hold anybody back. The other Young Futurists would undoubtedly be going to Advanced Infantry Training to become proper riflemen, and you wouldn’t stop them.
What sort of leader would we be if we denied other people their dream just because we can't have it?
>Other
Sure, but not because we want a camp follower, but because her social status in her village was basically ruined.

>>5692658
>Ask them what they want to do if they want to stick together good, If they don't want to at least keep in contact with them
>Sure why not, Welcome to the fellowship yena.
>>5692685
Fingers crossed we get a tank that looks sexy

>>5692658
>Don’t try and hold anybody back. The other Young Futurists would undoubtedly be going to Advanced Infantry Training to become proper riflemen, and you wouldn’t stop them.
Can't break up the club just yet.
>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.
Well come to the club, Yena.

>>5692870
Messed up the first vote. This is what I meant to pick:
>The Colonel said he needed educated men for his “Special Battalion’s” Headquarters. Maybe you could convince them all to stay together with you?

>>5692658
>Don’t try and hold anybody back. The other Young Futurists would undoubtedly be going to Advanced Infantry Training to become proper riflemen, and you wouldn’t stop them.
>Sure, why not. Camp followers existed for a reason. Not having to do your own laundry or cooking was a luxury.

>>5692672
>>5692674
>>5692705
>>5692718
>>5692776
>>5692872
The Special Battalion HQ needs volunteers- Are you in, or are you in?

>>5692685
>>5692817
>>5692870
>>5692957
Don't chain anybody else to the desks.

>>5692672
>>5692674
>>5692705
>>5692718
>>5692817
>>5692845
>>5692870
>>5692957
Let the mosshead come along. Where else would they go?

>>5692685
"I'm so sick of women... "

Updating.

“I don’t see any reason why she can’t come along,” you said out loud, then more quietly to Leo, “We don’t need to expect anything from her right away. Where else would she go, if she’s willing to head off with a pack of soldiers?”

Leo nodded. “Thanks, Bonetto.”

“Though, Leo,” you whispered to your friend, “Should we not procure some sort of…medicine? She was raped, after all. The last thing any of us need is…”

Leo shook his head. “I know what you’re thinking, but, trust me, there isn’t a risk of it.”

“You’re sure?”

“I don’t need to have the camp doctor explain, do I?” Leo said in a clipped tone, “That’s not to be worried about. It’s everything else.”

So with Yena clanking sadly behind you, the training group filtered down the trails down the mountain again to the train station at its bottom. You’d have been tempted to slow your pace for Yena, but the girl was a mountain goat as should have been expected. She was more concerned with her own thoughts than any rigor of the march. On the other hand, you marveled at how easy this once exhausting sort of trek had become.

At the station, a whole new group of trainees seemed to have just arrived- fresh faced, ununiformed, wide eyed as your lot of about a hundred had been once. You were going out, and they were going in- like a toy workshop that made soldiers out of wood blocks.

“So where’s the training camp?” one youth asked another while you happened to be passing by.

Leo cleared his throat and pointed to Monte Nocca. “Up there,” he said, “About halfway up, in the saddle.”

“Really?” another young man asked, looking up at the mountain. It wasn’t that high of one compared to its brothers, but it was still a great pile of rock. “Is there a lift?”

“Nope,” Leo said with relish, “Enjoy your stay.”

Many of the new arrivals gawked at Yena like they’d never heard of Mountainfolk, let alone seen one. Not all mountainfolk had green hair, but enough did to shock any person who’d somehow not heard of their odd genotype.
Nobody asked why she was getting on the train save for the ticketer, who raised an objection at first, but a few coins convinced him that there was plenty of room on the train. It wasn’t as though any of the escorting officers had raised an issue- they, after all, had attendants expected of nobility. A few more hangers-on raised no fuss at all. Yena herself didn’t seem impressed with the steam locomotive as you might have expected- perhaps she had come down from the mountain and seen it before, but when you asked if she had ridden it, she said she hadn’t.

The seating was three to a row- on the way here, Cesare had been with you. Now, it was Yena at the window, but otherwise, it would have been the same, with Leo so huge that he was forced to straddle the walk lane between seat rows- though you noticed that Yena took up more of her seat than Cesare had, as well.

It made you think of home, reminded you of Elena. When would you go back there? Moreover, you had a dim thought. It had been assumed you would go back at some point, but truthfully, what if you didn’t? Not that you expected to die, but already, it felt even further away than it had before, especially since your correspondences home had lessened in frequency.

With Yena leaning on the window, staring dully, and Leo preferring to snooze on the train car, you were left with little more than such thoughts.

-----

Your assignment was provided to you while still on the train, and the station you pulled into was far more a bustling place than Monte Nocca. This place was called Sella Castella, and somewhere in the large town, there was the sight of an old Vitelian Empire castle that lent its name to the place, even if it was half collapsed and many buildings in the settlement now dwarfed it. This town was where many supplies and men arrived for the border forts with the Reich, and it was apparent that, while already quite something, the further activity had bloated the town to bursting with both new martial population and its support, as well as entrepreneurs seeking to take advantage of the new arrivals.

Your unit, that was nominally headquartered in this boom town, was the 5th Eastern Division- a polyglot of various units assembled from the newest wave of recruitment, but more specifically, you were with the Battaglione Speciale- what was so special about it wasn’t particularly clear, though, and nobody bothered to tell you specifics, though it was theoretically tasked with unusual operations.

Hopefully the term “special battalion” wasn’t just a condescending backhanded insult.

File: scene_06_tothefront.jpg (282 KB, 1200x857)

282 KB JPG

The 5th Eastern Division itself was responsible for the border north of Halmeggia, firmly against the border with the Reich, the land around you called the Auratus region- so called for Lago Aurafolio, the lake between the mountains to the north and to the south of here. It was said that long ago, after the First Vitelian Empire had been overrun and scattered by the hordes of Dheg, Lago Aurafolio was where the people who would found the Kingdom of Halmeggia were blessed with great strength and weapons, which they smote the Dheg with, causing their Khanate to collapse. What that meant was foggy- all that was certain from records was that the ancestors of Halm-Auric did raise forces and defeat the horse-lords in a string of shocking victories, and now all that remained of the Dheg on the continent were contained in a protectorate of the Reich, so mixed with the local population at this point that one could be forgiven for assuming that all it took to be a Dhegyar was to claim you were one.

“That castle has seen quite a bit,” you commented to Leo as the unit trickled over to the base proper on foot. The timing of arrivals hadn’t been strict- you were told to be present within two days even, though nobody would be caught dead arriving beyond the first night. The hills of the region were gentler on the knees than Monte Nocca, but there was no need to hurry.

“I’d want to check out the lake myself,” Leo said as you both had stopped for a break on a faraway hill overlooking the Lago Aurafolio, a little sea that glittered gold as its name with the setting sun, “But I suppose the Imperials would take exception to that.”

Indeed. The Monte Auro River to the north provided a natural barrier to both sides, and where you were on the other side of the lake was a hilly region to the south of the lake that was the only logical place for an attack- and it had been fortified heavily in anticipation, though many of the forts were old, and from what you had heard, the Grossreich had been lax in manning these defenses. Just as well- your people weren’t ready for a fight yet either, no matter how the Young Futurists may have spoiled for one.

So things settled into routine. Staff Adjutant training was a far more relaxed affair than basic training, though you were still expected to keep fit in drill- Leo certainly didn’t shirk such duties, even when it became clear many staff officers had a bit of a paunch- not necessarily because they were lazy, but because they very obviously prioritized certain tasks over others.

The other Young Futurists had been readily convinced to join the Special Battalion’s Headquarters staff with you and Leo, as well as Cesare, once he recovered enough to come back. Many grumbled- but few denied that they would be well suited to the tasks demanded of them. All of them slipped back into university habits like putting on an old coat and brushing it off- when Colonel Di Zucchampo heard from a few that you had convinced them to take up staff training and duties, he wrote you a missive detailing his great appreciation.

Colonello Di Zucchampo may have been a noble, a breed little known to you and often criticized amongst the Young Futurists for obstructing progress, but he also appeared different from other nobility. Perhaps he could become a friend of the cause…but that assumed much. Older men often thought little of Utopian Futurism, and even the Utopianist-inclined university professors looked down their noses at what they saw as radicalism in Lapizlazulli.

Being kept busy was also the new female companion, who argued little when asked to do chores, and often did them without even being approached for it. Yena was gloomy, and asocial, but she was among people who knew her and did not hassle her, so over time, she grew warm again. Leo said her smile was not as bright as it had once been, but that she did it at all seemed a great improvement to you- and she was always on top of helping with housekeeping matters. Some of the men from other units started referring to her as your mother that you had brought along collectively from your homes- though it wasn’t hard to notice who she devoted the most attention to. Try as you might otherwise, it was impossible not to see that she lingered around you the most. As did all the Young Futurists anyways- being magnetic was something you had been accustomed to, but not in regards to the opposite sex.

The place talked about as the site of any future operations was the Gepte region, as the Czeissans called it. I had once been a part of the Second Vitelian Empire, and the First before it- but when Kaiser Alexander first rose from whatever hell he crawled from, and defeated the Kingdom of Vitelia in battle and seized Gepte as a protectorate for what would become his Grossreich- and he had held it ever since. The Vitelians of the protectorate yearned to be liberated, and if rumor was to be believed, were ready to rise up whenever the Kingdom marched on the Reich. To capture it back after all this time would be worth any cost...

…So the passing of weeks, of months, set you and your friends on edge, especially with the lot of you constantly handling information of all kinds, and passing about theories about what would happen and when, feeling greatly frustrated when what you were sure would happen, did not, especially when it seemed particularly logical from your points of view to go for it.

So much idyll couldn’t be occupied with any amount of work or lecture. Every time you looked over the border, it was like waiting for a fireworks show to start- and wondering if the night was dark enough for it to just start already… so you had to do something, as summer passed into autumn. Both to improve yourself…

>Fighting Drill was clearly something you needed to improve on- since even if you were at the top of the cadets at Monte Nocca, you still had quite a ways to improve, and a peerless sparring partner in Leo. (If taking this, also pick a preferred weapon)
>You had fallen behind in studies of the world and theory. What more respectable method of self-improvement was study, given the time and resources to do it? You didn’t even have to pay tuition for this.
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.
>Other?

…and to keep yourself sane.

>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.
>Maybe it wasn’t advised, but you weren’t shot at when you went out. Nightly expeditions further and further out were ever looked forward to when you could make time for them.
>The Officer’s Club wasn’t where somebody like you was meant to be- but you hung around there anyways, with the Colonel’s blessing. First because they needed odd jobs done, then later, as a guest proper. Though it meant drifting away from the Young Futurists...
>Other?

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to contend with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.

Learning New Nauk seems useful in the long run, though the second option is also tempting.

>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.

Gotta keep up the bond with the other Young Futurists.

>>5692652
I had assumed that choosing this option would translate to "my cause, is your cause" against this heinous act, instead of some abstraction. More so, this is a systemic issue that effects you and it's abhorrent, rather than, my cause is separate from your safety. Oh well.

>>5693319
>You had fallen behind in studies of the world and theory. What more respectable method of self-improvement was study, given the time and resources to do it? You didn’t even have to pay tuition for this.
>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.
Bit of a Trotskioli.

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.
>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.


>it was impossible not to see that she lingered around you the most
Why is she hovering around us? Wasn't she Leo's friend? Especially after how that conversation went with her.

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.
A bit of a toss up between this and the option to study.
>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.

>>5693319
>>You had fallen behind in studies of the world and theory. What more respectable method of self-improvement was study, given the time and resources to do it? You didn’t even have to pay tuition for this.
We must study utopian futurism
>>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.
We must spread the gospel of utopian futurism to the locals

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.
>Maybe it wasn’t advised, but you weren’t shot at when you went out. Nightly expeditions further and further out were ever looked forward to when you could make time for them.

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.

>Maybe it wasn’t advised, but you weren’t shot at when you went out. Nightly expeditions further and further out were ever looked forward to when you could make time for them.

>>5693319
>You had fallen behind in studies of the world and theory. What more respectable method of self-improvement was study, given the time and resources to do it? You didn’t even have to pay tuition for this

>The Officer’s Club wasn’t where somebody like you was meant to be- but you hung around there anyways, with the Colonel’s blessing. First because they needed odd jobs done, then later, as a guest proper. Though it meant drifting away from the Young Futurists...

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.
>Maybe it wasn’t advised, but you weren’t shot at when you went out. Nightly expeditions further and further out were ever looked forward to when you could make time for them.

>>5693319
>You had fallen behind in studies of the world and theory. What more respectable method of self-improvement was study, given the time and resources to do it? You didn’t even have to pay tuition for this.
>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.

>Maybe it wasn’t advised, but you weren’t shot at when you went out. Nightly expeditions further and further out were ever looked forward to when you could make time for them.

>>5693319
>Did you not expect to content with the Reich? You didn’t even know their language…this could surely be rectified in the abundance of time you had.
>The local town became a frequent destination, along with the other enlisted and adjutants. It had everything a young man could want- friendly people, affectionate dancing girls, cheap drink, cards and dice…many a Young Futurist was readily tempted by at least one thing.

>>5693324
>>5693350
>>5693351
>>5693383
>>5693456
>>5693533
>>5693590
>>5693599
Time to become bilingual.

>>5693349
>>5693378
>>5693472
>>5693567
Nerd shit.

>>5693324
>>5693349
>>5693350
>>5693351
>>5693378
>>5693567
>>5693599
The out in the town sort of man.

>>5693383
>>5693456
>>5693533
>>5693590
Walks in the dark.

>>5693472
The O Club is where to B

Updating.

>>5693603
Just curious, how far east did the First Empire stretch? Did it also stretch beyond the map during the periods when the Westland Maelstrom wasn't blowing?

>>5693609
>how far east did the First Empire stretch?
The lands that would eventually make up Emre and the core of the Reich were their clients and not technically incorporated, but if one counted such a relationship, it stretched all the way to the edge of modern Strossvald to the east, and to the west...
>Did it also stretch beyond the map during the periods when the Westland Maelstrom wasn't blowing?
Yes. All the way to Zhantao, which is no petty amount of land. An extended absence of it marked the rise and flowering of the First Empire, and its reappearance could be argued to have been the start of the collapse, as when it rose again, the Dheg found an instable and weakened Empire ready to be rolled up. Before then, linking the east and the west made the First Vitelian Empire astoundingly, near unbelievably wealthy in both money and the marketplace of ideas. The Dheg ruined the west arguably worse than the east, though. Some might say that Zhantao and Vitelia have similar sad falls from grace, but then, in this era, Zhantao is too far away to pay much more mind than an acknowledgement of its existence.

>>5693614
Cool, also is the Emrean language descended from Vitelian (being represented as not-French and Italian) or are they separate tongues in-universe?

I assume it'd be quicker to pick up than New Nauk for a Vitelian speaker so I was wondering on whether our friend Bonetto could go as far as being trilingual even.

Question
How common are Democracy and Republicanism in this World?

>>5693626
>is the Emrean language descended from Vitelian (being represented as not-French and Italian) or are they separate tongues in-universe?
Emrean is descended from Vitelian, yes- and New Nauk incorporates plenty of Emrean too. Not similar enough for one to be a mere dialect of the other, but the Emrean and Vitelian tongues are practically sisters.

>>5693636
>How common are Democracy and Republicanism in this World?
On the continent (since that's what's most relevant) it's decently common, though none are as dominant as the Reich is. Democracy after a fashion isn't uncommon, as the Reich is a Constitutional Monarchy (albeit one where the Kaiser is not particularly threatened by the representatives of the general populace), but for a brief list, Netilland, Valsten and Ellowie are democratic Republics, Twaryi does not function in a democratic way but is still a union of states, Strossvald and Vynmark are unions of aristocratic territories, as is Plisseau, though the latter does not have a central authority that "rules" its constituents. Rourmark and Delsau and Baou are absolute monarchies (Delsau will transition into a Republic following the Emrean War).

Sosaldt is a giant mess.

Tl;dr it's rather all over the place and honestly would take forever to properly explain. For the purposes of the protagonist's perspective and place in the story, though, the most democratic it gets west of the Reich is the Constitutional Monarchy.

Being this close to the Grossreich, there were plenty of people who spoke their language. The Imperial Language, as it was called- Kaiser Alexander had hoped to make it the one language of a united continent. That hadn’t quite worked out, but throughout his Reich save for the Emrean territories, there was indeed one language. Though when you asked about it, you found that most people called it New Nauk- “Imperial” had a stigma to it.

Still, no matter what it was called, it was what the people here- as well as the people of the Reich- spoke and communicated in. If you were going to take fighting them seriously, learning their language seemed a crucial step. A step that had been neglected, you noticed, among most of the officers and soldiery. Perhaps because Gepte folk were very similar to the Auratus ones, and thus spoke both languages, but there was no reason to think that the Imperials would do the same courtesy. So, you sought out learning materials and sought to teach yourself.

It was rough going. There was a shortage of such instruction materials to go about whatsoever, not even phrase books. The only advantage was that Vitelian and New Nauk used the same alphabet, and that certain words had similar roots. After all, New Nauk was a strange blend of Emrean and the ancient language of Old Nauk, and a few other purged tongues, but the Emrean part had its roots in Vitelian.

The slow pace and frustration was helped with good company and recreation. Sella Castella had most of what could be demanded by young men. It didn’t have Lapizlazulli’s beachfront, of course, but it had dance halls, cabarets, gambling dens of varying upstanding, bars with cheap drink… it was the premier holiday spot for the entire Division, and the streets were always swarming with dull olive and red piped uniforms. It could be forgiven for thinking that the numerous young men were not there to make war at all, for how money flowed and where.

The Young Futurists were no different, and you banded them together into expeditions with yourself at the head of them- frequently spreading the word of your Utopian beliefs, as well. For the first time in a while, then, the Young Futurists club had a surge in growth, even if most of such were eccentric soldiers rather than locals. The people from the region itself had a quaint view of life. They were like Yena in that regard- they had difficulty imagining a world like the Utopians thought was on its way, and responded to your manifestos and debates with the look of parents who had to tell their children that there no Blemmys over the mountains. Some noble officers took exception to your proselytizing- but other younger ones, oddly to the lot of you, shielded you from their meddling, though they didn’t participate in your club directly.

Particularly receptive were the young women who worked the houses of entertainment, often from out of town as the lot of you. The most popular of your lot amongst the young women of the song and dance halls, though, was no soldier at all, but your green haired companion. To locals, an example of the mountainfolk was probably not unheard of, but the pretty young girls marveled at Yena’s emerald hued locks- whenever the Young Futurists went out, it had become obligatory for Yena to come along entirely so that she and the cabaret girls could talk, and while they brushed, braided, and decorated her hair, the other young men would try and make their own moves.

Yena had noticed, too, that you were trying to learn New Nauk, and actually helped you quite a bit by finding a local cabaret girl of Reich decent. Helgalene, as she was called, said she came from the Emmerach, the region between Emre and the Reich’s heart, and spoke three languages, the better with which to sing many songs. She was a slim faced and bodied pretty girl with bright red hair, and she gladly accepted teaching you New Nauk…though Yena always insisted on attending such lessons too. Yes, Helgalene was her friend like many performing girls had become, as well as yet another hairdresser, yet…

There were places Yena didn’t go, though. The seedier cabarets that practiced burlesque, for example, or any other place of much baser intents. You went to them a few times because your friends insisted, but Leo had seen fit to tell you that you going to such places made Yena upset.

That was about the last straw of that.

“This is out of hand, Leo,” you complained to the man who was easily your closest friend- though Cesare would be coming back soon to round out your group. “She’s been acting in a way that makes it impossible to be polite to not say something. I don’t recall commanding her to go or not go anywhere. I thought she was your friend above others, shouldn’t she be acting this way with you?”

Leo gave you a baffled look. “Friend, yes, but fancier? No. I’ve other things to devote myself to more than fair company, Bonetto,” he said, “Besides, we’re not each other’s type.”

What made you different, you wondered. Besides the obvious- the fairer skin and lesser physical imposition. It wasn't like anybody had bothered telling you what she saw in you- as far as you knew, you'd hardly spoken before the fateful incident that had put you both together, but it had come from before then, too. As far as you had seen it, you hadn't exactly tried to win her favor then, either.

“If you don’t like her, Bonetto,” Leo said, “Then just tell her. She’s the sort that hopes forever until told otherwise.” He glanced ahead past you. “It’s a frame of mind the world at large is infected with, isn’t it.”

“That’s a frustratingly vague answer, Leo,” you pointed out with exasperation.

“I’m working around an oath, Bonetto,” Leo snapped back, “Even if it’s obvious now, I won’t reveal secrets trusted to me to keep, especially not after keeping them this long. All I can say is…she deserves better than she got. She thinks of herself as some discarded toy, now. She wants to be something else.” Leo crossed his arms tightly. “That’s nobody’s obligation, though. She’ll either get what she wants, or she’ll discard it and learn to find something better. That’s the course of Futurism. To not depend on the world to give freely what you desire, especially not the Forthcoming Dawn.” His bristling calmed. “Just think about it, Bonetto. You could do worse. Hugo, if God exists might he help him, he thinks he’s in love with a prostitute.”

>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.
>Make your lack of interest clear. Now was not the time nor place, and ultimately, not the person.
>Other?

Dealing with Yena would have to come later, though. That very night, you were approached by four dozen members of the Young Futurists Club- almost all of the original members, plus some new recruits to the cause. They were excited- and agitated. Not with you, but for a reason they wanted to bring to your attention, as you had unwittingly, but not unwillingly, become the de facto leader of the Young Futurists where Leo and Cesare had once seemed to be- though Leo was still not your subordinate at all, but your equal and your friend. That couldn’t be said of most of these men, who were yes friends, but also not nearly as willing to debate or cross you.

Perhaps that meant they weren’t truly friends.

“We’ve had enough of sitting around, Bonetto,” Gracchio complained to you as you all sat in a smoke-drenched dice den, “You must have noticed, you’ve done a little walking around. The Reich’s defenses are so sparse they might as well be empty. We could probably take several forts ourselves. They’re weak right now, but they’ll get strong if we let them build up.”

“That’s right,” another young man called Tybalz said- a new member. “The officers in command just want to sit on their hands. They don’t have the tonus to do what needs doing. So if we make a move, they’ll follow. Even if we could be more ready, the Reich is even less ready than us.”

Some rabble was roused in agreement. Leo sat with his arms and legs crossed a few seats down from you- he didn’t seem to like the impulsiveness on display here- and if he wanted to, all he had to do was stand up and any of these smaller men would sit down, but he was waiting. Undecided, perhaps. The feelings of the vocal Futurists here were, after all, felt by everybody at the table. Just to differing degrees.

You certainly wouldn’t object to some action, but this was being framed as your decision. It was true enough, though- the Reich’s fortifications seemed empty, and whoever garrisoned the Reich’s side of the border, you hardly ever saw them sending out patrols. They seemed to be trusting minefields more than men, even though you had effortlessly seen places where such precautions hadn’t even been taken. It was as though the Kaiser himself thought Vitelia was incapable of raising its hand in anger, in spite of the assembled forces here, regardless of the arrival of the heavy and medium guns both, with more to come, if the communiques you perused in your normal work were right…

The volume of the club raised. Regardless of what you thought was best, they were whipping themselves further and further towards running out with nothing but bottles and razors to try and storm the opposing trenches. If you made no decision, they certainly would…

>Yes, the Reich was weak, and now was the time to make a preemptive strike. Gather your volunteers here and arm yourselves- it was time to start this war yourselves, in taking the sparsely garrisoned fortress that commanded the enemy’s initial defensive line…
>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…
>Something would be done- but you couldn’t do it as soldiers. Organize a raid- it would weaken the enemy without tempting retaliation, so long as you did it correctly. After all, the people of the Gepte were ready for rebellion…right?
>Convince everybody to stand down. They’d have their hour soon enough. (Stalls any action…but assuredly not forever, or necessarily for long enough…)
>Other?

>>5693709
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.
Nothing wrong with going on a few dates with her. If Bonetto doesn't like it, we can just dump her, or better, she'll decide on her own if MC is what she wants once she gets a taste.

>Something would be done- but you couldn’t do it as soldiers. Organize a raid- it would weaken the enemy without tempting retaliation, so long as you did it correctly. After all, the people of the Gepte were ready for rebellion…right?

>>5693708
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.

>>5693709
>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…

>>5693708
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.
Clinging to the past and longing for a girl who's already been married off doesn't sound very Utopian to me. Let's see if we can't sway this mountain goat into becoming Bonetto's ideal woke, trad wheatfield farmer waifu. She'll have all the time in the world to appreciate the Forthcoming Dawn after we win/are dead.
>>5693709
>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…
The consequences for flubbing an armed probe and an unarmed raid seem about evenly bad if anyone gets caught in the retreat and forced to talk, so I'd sooner the lads involved be able to defend themselves if things go south.

>>5693709
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.

>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…

For example whether the locals are actually receptive to rise up.

>>5693708
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.

>Convince everybody to stand down. They’d have their hour soon enough. (Stalls any action…but assuredly not forever, or necessarily for long enough…)
Because if this comes to light, we're all be court-martialed and unable to further act for the cause. The fight is inevitable, so it'd be stupid to miss it by trying to hasten it.

>>5693708
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.

>>5693709
>Yes, the Reich was weak, and now was the time to make a preemptive strike. Gather your volunteers here and arm yourselves- it was time to start this war yourselves, in taking the sparsely garrisoned fortress that commanded the enemy’s initial defensive line…

>>5693709
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.
>Something would be done- but you couldn’t do it as soldiers. Organize a raid- it would weaken the enemy without tempting retaliation, so long as you did it correctly. After all, the people of the Gepte were ready for rebellion…right?

>>5693709
>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.

>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…

>>5693826
Support

>>5693709
>>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.
>>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…

>>5693708
>Make your lack of interest clear. Now was not the time nor place, and ultimately, not the person.

>>5693709
>Something would be done- but you couldn’t do it as soldiers. Organize a raid- it would weaken the enemy without tempting retaliation, so long as you did it correctly. After all, the people of the Gepte were ready for rebellion…right?

>>5693709
>Make your lack of interest clear. Now was not the time nor place, and ultimately, not the person.
>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…
Although the reconnaissance mission could synergize well with us learning the language.

>>5693708
>>Give her a chance- what was the harm? She did help you enough…even if she was rather unreceptive to your ideology. For now.
>>Action had to be taken, yes, but carefully. A reconnaissance mission in force could secure precious intel- perhaps a couple of abductions to secure a source of information that could talk. An aggressive probe to make the inevitable attack easier…

>>5693709
What's the difference between the reconnaissance in force and raid besides whether we're dressed in uniform or not?

>>5693722
>>5693750
>>5693858
Raid

>>5693724
>>5693725
>>5693726
>>5693826
>>5693841
>>5693851
>>5693975
>>5693987
Recon

>>5693743
Stand Down

>>5693745
Full blown attack

>>5693858
I will note you as the singular dissent against allowing for escalation in mountain warfare.

I will call things in two hours and begin updating then.

>>5693990
>What's the difference between the reconnaissance in force and raid besides whether we're dressed in uniform or not?
Recon is solely information gathering.
A raid will have destructive intent as the priority. Basically the raid's results are much louder, but unlike the all out attack, does not have the intent of taking and holding ground.

Alright, calling it for recon and for giving grass a shot. Updating.
No I won't make you devote three choices to going on dates we don't have time for that

>>5694049
You think we don't want that? Well we better get three updates worth of dates then.

>>5694049
based on her past experience it sounds like it doesn't take that much effort to get her to put out anyway

“Action must be taken, yes,” you said, taking hold of the impromptu uprising’s rudder, “But carefully. Acting recklessly won’t help anybody, and may even help the Reich. Stop and think about the best way to do things for a moment, there’s many wrong things to do if we settle for just anything.”
It sounded as though you had a plan- and that was more than many of these people swept up in the energy of their mob actually had, so they quieted down and listened.
“Our goal above all else should be to not make trouble for ourselves while also helping Vitelia and the army,” you said first, “So we can’t act too aggressively.”

This was a subject you’d talked with Leo about plenty- and he was quick to add something. “Any of you who’ve been working with the operations planners know that we don’t know much about the Reich’s defenses and garrisons besides what balloons can spot from our side of the border. That’s no good, is it?”

Murmurs of acknowledgement. Rationality was returning.

“So information is the best thing we can obtain by ourselves, and if we fail…” Yes, failure at reconnaissance still could have terrible consequences, but not as ones as guaranteed and deadly as an outright attack. “We will be in a better position to extract ourselves with what we sought to get. I propose a reconnaissance in force, able to push our way deeper while still staying light on our feet. Besides, force would be a last resort. After all,” you switched into New Nauk, ”How many of you can understand what I’m saying right now?” It was heavily accented, and Helgalene had felt no shame in letting you know how badly, but it was indeed the Imperial language- though Yena had been outpacing you in learning it.

Gracchio raised his hand. One more than you expected. “As Cesare said, and hopefully as he’ll say when he comes back soon, knowledge makes every weapon more powerful than it might be expected, and words can be a potent weapon if the right ones are picked. Gracchio and I’s knowledge won’t be very useful if we don’t use it well, and words don’t tend to work when the first spoken are rifle shots.”
When this all started up you didn’t actually have a plan- yet you were convincing everybody that you had a masterful scheme. Thankfully this was just a delaying tactic- you could figure out the details later. All you needed for now was enough to stimulate the imagination.

After that showy meeting, which you were thankful wasn’t loud enough in the resolution stage to turn heads, a few rounds of dice were had, and you indulged as you thought. After all, the centimisi up for bets were nothing compared to the true gamble you were planning on. Though, unlike rolls of the dice, you bet that you could guarantee a win on this. After all, Gracchio had been right with his initial statement- you had seen the state of the Reich’s defense, and it was so full of holes that if you wanted to sneak in, you probably could even with the whole of the Young Futurists club. How far beyond that you could go was to be seen.

-----

“Tomorrow night then,” Leo said to you as you were walking back to the tent city that was your supplemental barrack, “I’d feel better waiting for Cesare.”

“There will be plenty of missions to take,” you said.

“This might sound odd, but I’m apprehensive, as well,” Leo said with pursed lips, “Cesare has eyes as sharp as his head. He’d notice something the others might not. All that I’m thinking is that what might be easy for us, won’t be for the others. Makes me think we should only take the best for this. The more of us there are, the more mistakes can be made. I’d rather us start on a strong foot.”

You looked over at Leo oddly. “You wouldn’t have said that back in Lapizlazulli, I don’t think.”

“Maybe not,” Leo said, “But I’ve had to think a lot about what happened to Cesare. How that was me. I’ve a broad body, my father always said, that means it’s my responsibility to shoulder more weight. Feel I haven’t done much of that so far, and part of that is making sure I can keep people out of trouble that isn’t a problem for me.”

“Sounds like you’re going to take the Reich on all by yourself, big guy.”

Leo laughed at that. “Haha-har, maybe I will. I’ll run all the way to Zeissenburg and throw Kaiser Pieter from the top of his palace myself. Raise a flag of dawn over the place. Then I’ll run up north and find myself an Emrean revolutionary tomboy, and charge on back here. You want to set a watch for the time?”

You clapped him firmly on the back. “I can’t time you if I finish before you, can I?”

“Hah,” Leo clapped you back hard enough to make you stumble, “We’ll see. You’ll get to skip a step, maybe.” He looked upwards. “You think about it?”