Nascent Power [ Kithium League IA ]

[VoxApocrypha]

The letter arrived, sometime in the early days of Bellien.

It was transcribed and translated into a Kithium exclusive derivative of Rosark commons, as was procedure, and then sent up the chain by a number of couriers through Clan Manaan, to Clan Gaalsian, the two governing partners that administered the nation on a day to day basis and as well, jointly handled most diplomacy. Every clan could in theory practice diplomacy independently and even exercise a form of sovereignty but the League itself deferred true political and foreign actions potential to the Gaalsian and Manaan as a matter of pride, and as well - tradition.



The war had been raging for months, and the League had not sat idle. It had been watching the conflict with great interest - its regional rival economically and militarily committed to fighting rebels at first, and then to fighting a coalition of two other Touli states and rebels. The League itself hadn't taken an official stance in public - but it was pretty plain what they considered the next step. The League intended in no uncertain terms to involve itself.



The reply came in mid Bellien.

...


Still, when the Empress received the letter, she had considered it only worth deferring to someone else.

She had no intention of cooperating with the Franerri. They were not allies to the League and in all likelihood, were more than anything, an opponent in the making.

The policy that had been laid out in the 'Hylotl Conference' held not long after receiving the letter.



"Franerre is not an ally, neither is Ashinara. They will take a mile the moment they think they've gained an inch. They're impulsive, and foolish. Their actions just benefit us indirectly - soon, directly too. We will deal with Franerre and Ashinara in due time but we must for a time put forward an illusion of being willing to engage with them in any considerable terms. We will consider things, but stall. Once winter comes around we will go to war and retake out last lands, the Shrine of Razina, and then we will burn the Union's coast to the ground and conquer the land in the north we need to establish additional space to convert to farmland."

This had been decided a long long time ago - a lot of Clan Gaalsian's efforts had been directed towards this eventual goal. The natural extension of retaking lost ground, was a war of conquest and retribution against their rival. 
Nothing was going to get in the way of a ultimate endeavor. 

The Kithium league's army was massing at various staging areas, including in the two pockets on the Island that would be their jumping off points for their retaking of the island, and then two whole army groups being massed in preparation for an invasion of the UST coastline, and parts of the northern UST that might be worth seizing to build agriculture on. 
Already, 150,000 troops were preparing to storm the southern Island of Razu.

With another 250,000 soldiers in each army group, and another 100k in the reserves for both.

[VoxApocrypha]

Prelude: "The Razu Reconquest"

---

 General Aver Gaalsian sat inside of the cramped interior of the multi-purpose sort of wagon that they had been living out of for the past two weeks, their legs pulled to their chest as the thin sprinkling of snow fell from the heavens again. It was soon to be winter, of which they had been planning on, but their schedule was likely soon to accelerate. The red furred Kithium wore a thick tunic with fleece lined leggings, a rifle resting behind her against the wall. Her staff, similarly, were relaxing within the wagon, the horses they were supposed to be supervising resting beneath the cover of a makeshift hut at the end of the road. 

 The rest of the army was making due with tents, and thick sheets to act as insulators. 
Their own fur was an effective insulator as well, and despite the cold air, they were relatively warm so long as they wore their clothing - but being warmer didn't hurt.
She rested against the back wall, a makeshift pillow made up of fabric sheeting meant for a bed being her only other object of comfort.
People like her were not picked because of their preference in treatment, they were picked because they were hardy, skilled leaders and willing to do whatever it took within the bounds of honor and effective leadership to ensure that the objectives were met, the enemy defeated, and the goals of the state achieved. 

 She was only now waiting for a courier to arrive with their orders. 
With any luck the next train into the city would be carrying them and she could tell her commanders to start the wind-up and advance the force to its proper jumping off point, where they'd be able to launch the invasion of Razu from.
Her eyes closed as the light breeze shifted back to blowing cold air into the inside of the wagon through small gaps in the front tarp covering the entrance. She laid there, eventually falling to sleep before she heard footsteps approaching the wagon, and quiet talking. 

 Then she heard the voice of a soldier, the familiar voice of one of her Command Communication's Clickee. 
She opened her eyes, and would lift the tarp. 

 "..What is it?" She'd ask, her tired eyes fixating on the soldier standing in the falling snow. 

 "The courier has arrived, by truck. They bring orders and news." She'd say, as she approached and would lean in, the Kithium grabbing the envelop while listening to their words. "Orders are to go to the launch point, and to wait two days - then launch the attack and retake the island - including if it means knocking the Franerri off the island by force if they cannot be told to leave." She'd tell her. 

"Mm." She'd set the envelop in her pocket on her tunic. "Thank you, soldier. Disseminate the orders to the rest of the commands and have them prepared to step-off in seven hours." She'd say, before moving back and letting the tarp cover the wagon again, closing her eyes to lay back against the wall. 

She heard the soldier moving away, and would close her eyes to try and get sleep, before she might be interrupted again.

[VoxApocrypha]

"..The invasion will be taking place on three fronts, though initially these first two fronts are where the conflict will kick off." The Field Marshal would say, pointing at the map as the Empress stood over her, looking down at them.

She wore a ornate fur lined cape and body armor made from iron and chainmail, as well as a tunic to which was interlaced with it. Her fur, despite her having Sneppian origins was of a red complexion with a pink underbelly, and black spots - Festria DNA changing her fur tones. The Field Marshal by comparison was almost 'fun sized', barely even reaching her chest.

"The invasion of Razu is the secondary priority of this campaign. It is for propaganda purposes, and for religious ones. I want to know more about the invasion of the mainland UST - particularly the assault against Veneshy."
She would say.

"We have scout teams already across the border collecting information as we speak, and the First League Tactical Group, or 1st Army, is preparing already to launch their assault. Once they know what the defenses look like, they'll work around trying to overwhelm them as best as possible with as strong a concentration of force as they can apply."

"How many do we have in 1st Army?"

"If you mean infantry, we have around seventy five thousand light infantry men belonging to the first and fifth Infantry Tactical Forces, they'll be supported by a force of Dragoons and Cav Infantry around fifty five thousand strong, with almost 700 field artillery guns and 1200 mortars. They have logistical support from the Eighth Logistical Unit." She told the Empress, the Field Marshal using a stick to point out these areas and units on a map.

"What about the Razu invasion?" The Empress would ask.

The Field Marshal would move another map out onto the table, laying it over the other.
"50,000 In the committed combat contingent - more than enough to overwhelm the UST garrison by itself, with another 100,000 in the reserves and logistical components. Due to it being winter we cannot use our fleet to invade but that's a blessing too, the UST fleet cannot sail out to meet us." She said. "We have around 1000 mortars and 300 field guns with the Razu force, and around twenty five thousand of those troopers are dragoons, though I don't know how much value they'll be on the island in this snow and ice."

"And the coastline assault force?"

"FLTG 3 is going to have around 1000 field guns, 2300 mortars, and almsot 300,000 soldiers. They're either going to storm the coast, or if the fighting becomes intense enough and reinforcements are needed, they're going to reinforce the first army by storming Veneshy from the south, thunder-running their way up the road and destroying anything belonging to the UST military on the way." She would tell her.

"When does the invasion begin?"

"Six hours for Razu. Veneshy, soon. Days at most. The marshal there just needs to know what she's facing."
With a nod of her head, the Empress would look out the window of the cabin serving as the command center for the invasion of Razu. "Let's hope this plays out how we wish it will."

[VoxApocrypha]

Winter in the South - Kithium League
Ishu'Gaalsia, Imperial Capital 

---

The war was effectively over. Large numbers of Kithium soldiers were now being pulled back from posts in various parts of the UST and abroad to return home. Some portion of that fighting strength would be sent north to further assist Valdera in its war with the Xagreau, but the Kiithid were disinterested in any more foreign engagement in a military capacity with the UST, at least in that moment they needed to return the majority of the UST deployments back to the League itself to have them return to work. 

 The economy had begun to hemorrage with the lack of so many able bodies - Humans, Kithium, Ursa, and others among them all were relatively important. As well however, the Empress and her various regents in the Greater Court of the Kiithid clans had begun to discuss a number of developments internally and as well, abroad. Particularly these focused on the mil'nor and Valderans to which they were allied with, and of whom they were closely cooperating. Many things were coming back from the front and from Noscovo via courier chains to which relied information back and forth between forward units, backliners, and as well other assets of which were involved in foreign action. 

 The Cult of Mars had similarly been deeply involved.
With a fair lot of the coming information from Noscovo a general consensus was formed that any future alliance with Kumosenkan was off-the-table. 
This left the UKUG as likely the best foreign trade partner after Valdera, and Valdera too was a new and interesting conundrum. 
They had a massive Mil'Nor minority, and the two nations were closer now than ever before, though the two had always been somewhat close. Proximity and a pourous border created notable integration between the two parties and the League by itself was not actually a massively productive, or economically prosperous country - it simply made a lot of money off of its exports. 

 The idea was floated by a Mil'nor Clan, Clan Gruvar. 
Or a member of it in a meeting of the lower clans. 
Unification. Though the idea was appealing the concept of ceding their sovereignty was unappealing, and a barrier. However this sparked debate that spread through the lower halls, and into the upper halls as time passed.

 Confederate unification was considered one of the leading opinions in the Diamid's debate, and the other that had formed was a total merger of both nations into one united country. 
Though for a time these were a minority opinion and largely a undertone. Even still it began to rise among the population itself, forming a question among the Colonials, and soon the natives, of if the two would be able to unify and prosper together in a far more significant fashion. 
  
 

[VoxApocrypha]

The 'Unification Question' as it came to be called was a largely academic one.
The sentiment had not gained much traction after it had first spread, and with the many victories and overall success of the war in effectively every aim there was not a great deal of drive towards the formation of any sort of super-state, though those that wanted something of such a nature continued to argue in support of it. Kithium being stubborn, and League born peoples, in general, being Roskanan in decent - and thus, stubborn, would argue for the point so long as they believed in it.

But as well there were other forces that were aiming for something that had similar aims but wasn't as wide-reaching, which would be basically a pan-Toulian trade union with Valdera, some former UKGU states, and Zedonia. No want for a surrender of sovereignty remained, but opening access to immigration and trade further between Valdera and the League would be an economic plus, and as well Zedonia was a decent economic outlet into the wider world, which the country would have to connect with in order to be able to shift into a greater global presence and as well, to help push itself towards modernization like Valdera was in the midst of doing.

To that end some new plans were being drafted, though the shadow of the UST question lingered - do they completely ignore the economically fragile UST, or do they attempt to mend some of the rifts with the UST. More questions then followed.