Dianeos 13th, 687 of the Imperial calendar
The emperor felt himself silently seethe as he listened to Balzig talk, nothing but bad news coming out of this mouth. Ever since the damned Saderan prince gave him the stupid proposal of a military alliance against the Other-worlders and had rejected the offer , his lords had all decided to give gold and precious kanonis away like water. "Lord Pizha has ordered his personal ships to send four thousand hand kanonis, five hundred-thousand balls and an outstanding amount grains of Solin before the winter storms hits." "That rat!" Artus shouted as he slammed his fist onto the armrest of his throne. "How dare he send that much to our rival?! It's bad enough that the Americans have the capability to destroy our fleets with ease! What if they found out about the pact Sadera proposed?!"
Over the course of months, the Other-worlders who called themselves Americans had established diplomatic relations with them, putting on a friendly act while also explicitly warning that any act that went against them whatever that'll be attacking their 'allies' or assisting the Saderans would be dealt with harshly. If a handful of helicopters could destroy an invasion force from the weaker Imperial navy, he dared not imagine what their fleet could do. "Let's just hope it all sinks to the bottom of the sea, I'd rather have them there then in the hands of non-Avionese." As much as he'd like to order those ships to stay in put and the lords in chains, he just couldn't. The royal code that had been written after the unification wars, limited the power of the otherwise absolute monarch and the military was under the control of different lords that only united in times where the emperor declared war. He feared that once the storms had passed that the more pro alliance lords like Ezimaas would send parts of the army and the navy to their deaths, eroding Avion's reputation and further increasing the clear power imbalance between them.
"I suggest finding an assassin to.." He let out a fake cough, "Help sir Pizha sleep better and longer." Artus considered it for a moment but shock his head, "The other fools would quickly catch on. It would send a message but it could also back fire and I'll end up like that fool Molt." He had been shocked to learn that Molt had been supposedly assassinated by the 'pro-peace faction' in hopes to end the war but the wise emperor knew it was Molt's eldest son all along. He thanked the gods that his daughter wasn't anything like that Saderan war hawk.
"Is there by any chance the gods may get angry? The only reason we were allowed those weapons was because we promised not to export them." Artus despite being emperor for just under ninety-six years now was filled with uncertainty now and again, especially with the untouchable gods and their near indestructible apostles. "Fear not your grace,they would've done something by now. Seems their taking enjoyment watching the Saderans being eradicated by the Americans."
Artus felt a great sense of relief fill his mortal, aging body. For later half of his reign the emperor had battled against fleets of pirates, separatist movements, corruption in the high court, and keeping the balance between the human and elf populations that made the majority of the Avionese realm all while preparing his daughter for the throne. One of the many differences was that Sadera only had a hand full of empresses the ruled in it's history while many had led Avion down the path the led to the current events.
"And, is there anything else I should know about?" The servant nodded, "The American ambassador wishes to meet you in three days." The dread came back and with a vengeance. "Is there a reason why?" "No your majesty, the ship carrying the message come only this morning." 'By the gods...' He thought in his head, 'Why of all the time in the world, why did it have to be now?'
"Make sure our guest is given a warm welcome and given the best our lands can give." "Then it shall be." Balzig bowed before leaving the old monarch on his throne alone in his thoughts. 'My dear daughter.' He thought, 'I hope that I'll have enough time on this world to teach you.' He let out a cough, 'Politics is not for the naive.'
December 16th, 2016 of the Gregorian calendar
Samuel Parker gazed outside the carriage window as it rolled pass the Ocean who's waters glistened from the sun despite being December. He had learned that Most of the island nation not got snow except the central mountain ranges and its holdings in the Chiem, an interesting fact considering that in this world the further eadt you went, the colder it'd get. The Avionese had wanted him to see a piece of their navy before they'd be sheltered for the winter.
He was a tall African-American at six and a half feet tall and towered over many like a giant among children. Parker had serve his country well, participating in the invasion of Grenada at age 18 and the Gulf war before leaving the military to represent the united states in diplomacy instead of conflict. With him was four men in this spacious carriage, two were secret service body guards, one was a woman who was a translator and the very adviser to the emperor himself. Behind their carriage was a section of special forces and an AC-130 gunship above on watch.
After a short while they entered a port where it was barren of building except from the looks of it taverns, brothels, sleeping quarters, workshops, and warehouses. "Mr. Balzig, where are we exactly?" The elf woman translated and the old man with the long beard that end by that name nodded before answering. "He says we are at Seirsa port, one of the navy's many bases." Balzig spoke again. "It's also where we store one of our greatest vessels." He raised an eyebrow and formed a small smile to seem curious, in reality he wasn't very impressed. 'It most be some man-of-war or a over glamorous target.' Soon the caravan stopped in front of a large pier where there was at least a dozen warships, all painted white with elegant yellow lining as if prepared not for battle but a parade. Sure they had broadside cannons, ballista and slingshots but they proved no serious threat to either aircraft or warships in the American arsenal.
The group stepped out to further inspect the vessel that sat in their births. "This is the 24th Royal squadron, one of many in the Royal Avionese navy." Balzig boasted as his words was translated into english. "The squadron is one of our most elite ships on the high seas, destroying countless fleets throughout it's history." Parker nodded politely, internally wishing for him to stop so he could speak to the emperor about why he had come in the first place. "Please Sir Parker, follow me. I'll show you the pride of the 24th." He mentality facepalmed, and went along as he was led to the largest building in the harbor, a Giant boat house with two equally massive doors preventing what inside to be revealed.
Suddenly there was a loud accumulation of creaks and groans as the doors were pushed open from the inside by a gang of minotaurs, Parker looked on with absolute bewilderment. A Goliath of a ship rolled out and into the harbor, settling into the water. The ship had the same livery as the others but was about the length of a football field with gigantic sails on three masts including a overhanging deck that ran the length of the hull. 'It's a goddamn carrier..' He well understood that wyverns were a critical part of communications and warfare in Falmart but building less technologically advanced designs that resembled what modern fleets had wasn't something he'd expect. "That's the Drákon, one of our wyvern carriers." "We haves ships very similar back home, only they carry planes." Explained Parker as he was quite surprised. "No wonder you're naval is called the vanguard of the seas." "They are our most important ships, able to spot, harass and destroy fleets idiotic enough to fight against us."
Balzig beamed proudly, soaking in the complements like a sponge. But eventually they had to leave and head straight to the emperor's castle where Emperor Artus the third was waiting. From the few months he had know the monarch, he was reserved unlike the Saderans who bragged about their empire nonstop. Artus instead bargained for things like technology for gold but this was obviously declined. His job was hell of a lot easier then Cooper's who of course had to deal with arrogant nobles who tried to weasel out of the terms given to them.
It thankfully didn't take long for him to arrive at the front of the castle, the carriage stopping in front a massive staircase that held to the front doors, it along with the rest of the castle being made of beautiful marble that would look heavenly to the average peasants in this world. He exited the carriage and he along with his escorts marched up the stairs. Two Avionese royal guards in decorative white and aqua blue armor that stood on either side opened the doors for him. The inside was also made of marble, it had to have been cleaned aggressively as he could literally see his reflection on the walls and floors.
After roughly three minutes they reached the door that led to the Emperor's personal study. There in a medium sized room with shelves filling with books everywhere including a big window that had the view of the ocean, sat Emperor Artus at a modest table with four chairs. "It is nice to see you again sir Parker." He greeted before his words was translated back into english. "It is also nice to be back your majesty." The monarch stood up and shook the ambassador's hand, conscious of the fact that in the culture of America, bowing to someone, especially to royalty was considered very offensive at their pride. "Please, have a seat." Artus, Parker, Balzig, and the translator all sat down at the battle while a hand full of avionese and American guards stayed inside to protect them in the event a hostile force entered the castle.
"Now, what have you come here to discuss?" Parker straighten his tie before answering with, "I have come to talk about your dealings with the Saderan empire." The temperature in the room turned cold and the tension could be felt rising. "I have not authorized any of such." The monarch defended, "It is down to the lords of the individual provinces." He had learned that the Avionese empire worked more like a federation of feudal states that cooperated like a alliance more then a nation, a reasonable alibi but he had another thing to mention. "I fully understand but allowing weapons, ammunition, goods, and supplies to our enemy unopposed is something we can't really tolerate. It doesn't help that we know Zorzal tried to get you to join his side as would be a perfect casus belli for us to act militarily against you.."
Artus turned as white as a ghost, fully understanding the severity of the situation his nation was in. "Avion has no desire to enter a war we don't have matters in, and fighting alongside our rival in a costly war is not very sound sir Parker. I rejected his terms weeks ago though I fear some of the lords believe otherwise." The African-American rubbed the hair on his chin. "Can you remove them from power?" The emperor shook his head, "It's forbidden in the royal codes, If they even think I'm going to do it then they'd force me to abdicate." "Perhaps we could intervene." Offered Parker, "Send in special forces to eliminate these weeds and prevent conflict."
Once again he objected, but this time Balzig spoke. "The lords are leaders of clans that are very loyal to each other. Another member while replace the previous until they are all dead and the destruction of multiple families could force the rest to revolt." He evaluated the situation and thought of an aggressive plan to deal with these out of line elites. "We can once the winter storms pass deploy a contingent of our aviation and naval forces to the Blue sea to prevent anymore shipping reaching Sadera's or propter's harbors. If any foreign vessel attempts to enter or leave the gulf then it will be destroyed no matter it's port of origin or allegiance . Sure your lords and other nations can try to sail to ports in the Alzo and Chiem but it'll take time, money and most importantly precious time to reach the Imperial army of which they don't have."
The other three sitting at the table looked baffled, they apparently had never heard such a move. "While it is considered a little extreme, trade can go unopposed as long as it does no go anywhere near the Gulf Islands." Artus' jaw dropped. "Are you mad? The witch of the Gulf Zeniadi will go to the depths of the underworld before her main source of plunder dries up." "So we're also dealing with piracy huh?." Artus nodded, "For decades we've hunted down those theives but they always pop back up, especially that damned woman." Parker hadn't been the one to propose that idea, much like the ongoing operation Horner it had been made in the event a what-if scenario came to reality. He had to keep himself from chuckling, "Well emperor, consider your pirate problem over..."