Pelasgia
Established Nation
Prinkeponesos, Thracesia
23/09/2018
The Imperial Tomb of the Laskarids was tranquil and modest, through impressive, structure built sometime in the 15th century, right at the centre of the lush and relatively flat isle of Prinkeponesos, by Leo III Kantakouzenos to honour his beloved wife, Helena Laskarina, who had spent much of her childhood on the island. Built from local materials and in the local variety of medieval Propontine architecture, instead of the impressive style of other such similar buildings, the Tomb rose only two floors above the ground, with a colonnade supporting arches on surrounding the first floor on the exterior, as well as in the internal garden at the centre of the building. A combination of golden and otherwise colourful floral and peacock patterns, coupled with Christian symbols, decorated the exterior and the interior of the building, alongside the bare face of brown rocks. The pillars and arches were the only exception, consisting red and white marble. Under the building, long corridors of finely decorated stone corridors housed the remains of countless nobles of the House of Laskaris, including mutliple Emperors and Empresses, as well as a small chapel. Outside the Tomb a mildly sized Church was located, being dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, while tall cypress trees, symbolising death and eternity in Pelasgian tradition lined the gardens of the Tomb and its perimetre, like in many Pelasgian cemeteries and resting places.
The coffin containing the maimed body of the late Emperor had been displayed in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Propontis, the Holy Temple of Divine Providence (Hagia Pronoia), alongside that of the Grand Logothete, for a day, with thousands of Pelasgians coming to lament publically and pay their respects, including every single Senator and countless other officials of the State, Church, and Armed Forces. Countless more mourned in Churches across the Empire, both for the Emperor himself and the over two hundred dead of the attack, with black labels being raised above all flags in Tiburia. The coffin was then transferred to Prinkeponesos upon the flagship of the 1st Fleet, which bore an Imperial flag with a black stripe around it on all four sides, the Tiburian Mourning Flag, and a short prayer ceremony was repeated at the Cathedral of Lygos, the capital of the island. The coffin was then covered in a shroud of Tyrian purple Lycaonian silk and accompanied by a ceremonial guard of the elite 1st Infantry Division, the Emperor's Own, who were all wearing black armbands, like all those attending. The coffin was placed on an elevated platform inside the Church near the Tomb for the presiding cleric, the Patriarch of Cassandris (who had taken over the ceremony due to the Ecumenical Patriarch absence to fulfill his duties as Regent), to say the relevant prayers. After he was done, the coffin was taken out, where every attending person kissed the shroud covering the coffin and placed a pansy flower, symbolising grief in Pelasgia, on it. Finally, everyone made the sign of the Cross and said a short prayer ending with «Ἀναπαύσετω τῶρα μετὰ τοῦ Κυρίου μετὰ δόξης εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων» (Anapafseto tora meta tou Kyriou meta doxis eis tous aionas ton aionon), meaning "May he now rest in presence the Lord with glory 'till the end of time." The sign of the cross was made again, accompanied with a deep bow by all attending, and the coffin was then taken to the underground compartment of the Tomb to be placed in a sarcophagus, with the swords of the honour guard forming a corridor through which the coffin was carried.
The Emperor's son and designated heir, Grand Despot Antipas Laskaris, then thanked all those attending, including foreign dignitaries such as the Monarchs of Eiffelland and Gunnland, leading the party to the funeral repast. The Grand Despot sat down next to the two Monarchs in a place of honour, alongside the Empress Dowager and the rest of the surviving members of the Imperial Family. The menu at the repast consisted of nearly bland fish and bitter cognac, alongside unleavened bread and bitter radices, as per custom in Pelasgian funerals. Thus was buried the Last Emperor of Tibur, at around the same time that his former arch-nemesis, Grand Logothete Anastasiades, was buried in his own ancestral seat, the city of Dekhelia on the isle of Kyparissos.
Propontis, Thracesia
23/09/2018
Leophoros Thriamvon -whose name meant Avenue of Triumphs- was a large avenue of five lanes on each side running right through the centre of Propontis, from the port of Pyrgos to the old city proper of Christoupolis, connecting the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas at Pyrgos to the Forum of Valentian the Great. The Avenue was one of the central arteries of Propontis, alongside Leophoros Agoras (Avenue of the Forum), Leophoros Vasileon (Avenue of the Emperors), Leophoros Oikoumenikou Patriarchiou (Avenue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate), Leophoros Selymbrias (Selymbria Avenue), Leophoros Karabesianon (Avenue of the Seamen), and Leophoros Megalou Doukos (Avenue of the Megas Doux). A large central barrier covered in cypress trees cut the roads two directions in half, while large Imperial banners, currently accompanied by black mourning labels, lined the street, with its tram tracks and dedicated public transport lane. The neoclassical buildings on either side of the street were eight floors tall and coloured in a combination of white, blue, purple, red, and ochre, while the pure white and coloured marble of many of the buildings' surfaces reflected sunlight brightly. The large pedestrian sidewalks of the alongside the road were separated from the road itself by metal green barriers, cylindrical green advertising billboards, and tall green streetlights, while the marble staircases and entrances of several Propontis Metro stations could be found alongside the road.
With the Imperial funeral underway and public opinion increasingly against the Empire's hard left, the EKKP's leader, Demetrios Vitsioris, alongside the recently ejected non-centrist wing of the Social Party, decided to hold a march through the Avenue, towards the forum, then turning to the north onto Leophoros Vasileon to protest outside the Imperial Palace, where the Regency Office was being temporarily housed. The march was joined by the entirety of the EKKP's supporters in the capital, alongside all unionists and unionised workers the party had managed to keep when it broke off from the DKKP. The AMEL units in the capital also attended the march, having refused to obey the Regency's order surrender their arms and disband. All in all, the march totaled 47,000 participants, moving alongside the largely empty streets of the capital during a day of national mourning, which also happened to be a Sunday (most services and businesses being closed on Sunday by law in Pelasgia) in a city under Martial Law. The march begun at the port and moved northward for two hours, reaching the Forum at around 14:00. There, they found the turn to Leophoros Vasileon blocked by riot police and Politarchy and Astynomia officers armed with military-grade Type 3 and Type 4 rifles.
Another contingent of riot police separated the hard left marchers from angry counter-protesters, who were largely outraged at the marchers' perceived responsibility for and connection to the Kastellas Hotel bombing. The two crowds shouted lyrical chants at each other, continuing a long tradition of Pelasgian protesters. At the same time, large public speakers, hanged on wires also meant to support street lights over the city's streets, broadcasted the following message:
"Attention to all citizens. This Assembly has been declared illegal, in accordance with the Martial Law Act of 21 September 2018. Please disperse at once. Attention all citizens. Participation in the EKKP and AMEL has been declared a violation of the Delictum Sui Generis Law as per Regency Decree 2/2018. All members of such organisations are requested to surrender themselves to the authorities peacefully at once. [...]"
Three warnings to comply where given out, and were expectedly disobeyed by the marchers, though the counter-protesters mysteriously withdrew. Then, completely suddenly, fire from the rooftops of nearby buildings started raining into the crowd, with over two dozen people being killed almost immediately. Without warning, the Politarchs and Astynomoi started firing into the crowd, with even two machine-guns being used to disperse the marchers. Even the AMEL members fled in disorder, having no direct line of command or place to take cover, and being out-manned and outgunned. Among the dead was Demetrios Vitsioris himself, alongside most leading AMEL and EKKP members in Propontis, who had been targeted by snipers. Vitsioris had expected repression, but did not think the Imperial forces would draw blood on the day of the Emperor's funeral; clearly, he had been mistaken. The first act of the Bloody Autumn had come.
Trapezon, Danaas, Pelasgia
24/09/2018
Trapezon, a port city largely acting as a district of the larger and older mercantile city of Iolcus, was in many ways an emblem Tiburian industrialisation. Its tight streets, lined by cement buildings up to ten floors tall (except in the segregated high-rise bussiness district) were lit at night by lights suspended from cables running over the road, housing millions of working class Pelasgians. Trapezon was one of the chief ports of call of the massive Pelasgian merchant fleet, the world's largest, which had been built on the back of lax labour laws and a regime of virtual tax exemption. On the flip side of the immense wealth of the Pelasgian shipping magnates, which trickled down only partially through large public works' donations, workers found themselves working long hours for little pay and with few, if any, labour rights. While the regime ruling the Empire since the Constitutional Compromise of the 1980s had done its best to partially improve these conditions through measures such as financial support for working parents, some measures to redress grievances, and a return mandatory eight-hour workdays, the port was still run on exploitative conditions, and was thus always prone to support extreme movements, whether of the xenophobic or communistic variety, in return for promises of reform and for unionisation with the support of the implicit threat of force.
Trapezon had one of the highest per capita police rates in the Empire, including two Politarchy bases within an urban area, one for riot control and one for armed anti-sedition operations, and multiple Astynomia stations. A base belonging to the former General Directorate for State Security's paramilitaries, now falling under the Special Security Detachments (ETA) of the Central State Security Service (YKAK) was also present in its south, near a major avenue as well as the entrance to the port's naval base. Following the massacre of the EKKP and AMEl marchers at the capital, the AMEL militiamen at the city were deployed around Trapezon, guarding the local leadership of the EKKP and its allies, while deliberations were being made on what move should be made next. Suddenly, in the middle of night, the loudspeakers attached to the cables for the street lights came on.
"Attention to all citizens. Evidence of anti-civil activity has been noted in your district. Please prepare for a search and cooperate with the authorities. Please remain indoors. Please be reminded that Martial Law and State of Siege provisions are still in effect, and that violators will be shot on sight. Failure to cooperate might result in measures as harsh as penal relocation. Attention to all local law enforcement units. Code: 1252."
Before long, the APCs of the YKAK's newly unified internal troops started moving into the district. Wearing black, grey and dark blue uniforms, and armed with military-grade weapons, such as the brand new Type 6 Assault Rifle, the men of the Special Security Detachments went house to house, clearing out all EKKP and AMEL members they found. Those in their lists were summarily executed on sight, while others not on the list or found next to the members were dragged out and arrested in the middle of the night. The leaders of the local EKKP chapter listened in terror as short blast of fire from the spread out AMEL watchmen were succeeded by machine-gun fire and screams. The sounds closed in on them, until the door of the third-floor room they were, inside a white-painted cement building with a large EKKP sign outside it, was broken and a flashbang grenade was thrown in. Disoriented and disabled, the leaders were dragged out, with all others in the room being shot on sight, including the wife of the chapter leader, Georgios Gavros. The leader himself was detained for interrogation alongside three others; the rest were taken to a small unpaved field where a demolished warehouse once stood, being surrounded by tall walls on three sides, and the armed ETA troops on the other. They thought they were being held, until the ETA men, flashing bright headlights on them, started lining up segments of the captives against a wall and shooting at them with machine-guns. Some tried to flee or scream; others held their hands open, as if crucified, defiantly waiting for the bullets. Others yet merely stared or tried to plea with the men. By dawn, four hundred men and women had been shot, and over three thousand had been detained. Trapezon held the largest EKKP presence outside of Pyrgos, the port of Propontis, and the Midnight Slaughter as it would come to be known would effectively cripple its command structure and fight-worthiness.
23/09/2018
The Imperial Tomb of the Laskarids was tranquil and modest, through impressive, structure built sometime in the 15th century, right at the centre of the lush and relatively flat isle of Prinkeponesos, by Leo III Kantakouzenos to honour his beloved wife, Helena Laskarina, who had spent much of her childhood on the island. Built from local materials and in the local variety of medieval Propontine architecture, instead of the impressive style of other such similar buildings, the Tomb rose only two floors above the ground, with a colonnade supporting arches on surrounding the first floor on the exterior, as well as in the internal garden at the centre of the building. A combination of golden and otherwise colourful floral and peacock patterns, coupled with Christian symbols, decorated the exterior and the interior of the building, alongside the bare face of brown rocks. The pillars and arches were the only exception, consisting red and white marble. Under the building, long corridors of finely decorated stone corridors housed the remains of countless nobles of the House of Laskaris, including mutliple Emperors and Empresses, as well as a small chapel. Outside the Tomb a mildly sized Church was located, being dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, while tall cypress trees, symbolising death and eternity in Pelasgian tradition lined the gardens of the Tomb and its perimetre, like in many Pelasgian cemeteries and resting places.
The coffin containing the maimed body of the late Emperor had been displayed in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Propontis, the Holy Temple of Divine Providence (Hagia Pronoia), alongside that of the Grand Logothete, for a day, with thousands of Pelasgians coming to lament publically and pay their respects, including every single Senator and countless other officials of the State, Church, and Armed Forces. Countless more mourned in Churches across the Empire, both for the Emperor himself and the over two hundred dead of the attack, with black labels being raised above all flags in Tiburia. The coffin was then transferred to Prinkeponesos upon the flagship of the 1st Fleet, which bore an Imperial flag with a black stripe around it on all four sides, the Tiburian Mourning Flag, and a short prayer ceremony was repeated at the Cathedral of Lygos, the capital of the island. The coffin was then covered in a shroud of Tyrian purple Lycaonian silk and accompanied by a ceremonial guard of the elite 1st Infantry Division, the Emperor's Own, who were all wearing black armbands, like all those attending. The coffin was placed on an elevated platform inside the Church near the Tomb for the presiding cleric, the Patriarch of Cassandris (who had taken over the ceremony due to the Ecumenical Patriarch absence to fulfill his duties as Regent), to say the relevant prayers. After he was done, the coffin was taken out, where every attending person kissed the shroud covering the coffin and placed a pansy flower, symbolising grief in Pelasgia, on it. Finally, everyone made the sign of the Cross and said a short prayer ending with «Ἀναπαύσετω τῶρα μετὰ τοῦ Κυρίου μετὰ δόξης εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων» (Anapafseto tora meta tou Kyriou meta doxis eis tous aionas ton aionon), meaning "May he now rest in presence the Lord with glory 'till the end of time." The sign of the cross was made again, accompanied with a deep bow by all attending, and the coffin was then taken to the underground compartment of the Tomb to be placed in a sarcophagus, with the swords of the honour guard forming a corridor through which the coffin was carried.
The Emperor's son and designated heir, Grand Despot Antipas Laskaris, then thanked all those attending, including foreign dignitaries such as the Monarchs of Eiffelland and Gunnland, leading the party to the funeral repast. The Grand Despot sat down next to the two Monarchs in a place of honour, alongside the Empress Dowager and the rest of the surviving members of the Imperial Family. The menu at the repast consisted of nearly bland fish and bitter cognac, alongside unleavened bread and bitter radices, as per custom in Pelasgian funerals. Thus was buried the Last Emperor of Tibur, at around the same time that his former arch-nemesis, Grand Logothete Anastasiades, was buried in his own ancestral seat, the city of Dekhelia on the isle of Kyparissos.
Propontis, Thracesia
23/09/2018
Leophoros Thriamvon -whose name meant Avenue of Triumphs- was a large avenue of five lanes on each side running right through the centre of Propontis, from the port of Pyrgos to the old city proper of Christoupolis, connecting the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas at Pyrgos to the Forum of Valentian the Great. The Avenue was one of the central arteries of Propontis, alongside Leophoros Agoras (Avenue of the Forum), Leophoros Vasileon (Avenue of the Emperors), Leophoros Oikoumenikou Patriarchiou (Avenue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate), Leophoros Selymbrias (Selymbria Avenue), Leophoros Karabesianon (Avenue of the Seamen), and Leophoros Megalou Doukos (Avenue of the Megas Doux). A large central barrier covered in cypress trees cut the roads two directions in half, while large Imperial banners, currently accompanied by black mourning labels, lined the street, with its tram tracks and dedicated public transport lane. The neoclassical buildings on either side of the street were eight floors tall and coloured in a combination of white, blue, purple, red, and ochre, while the pure white and coloured marble of many of the buildings' surfaces reflected sunlight brightly. The large pedestrian sidewalks of the alongside the road were separated from the road itself by metal green barriers, cylindrical green advertising billboards, and tall green streetlights, while the marble staircases and entrances of several Propontis Metro stations could be found alongside the road.
With the Imperial funeral underway and public opinion increasingly against the Empire's hard left, the EKKP's leader, Demetrios Vitsioris, alongside the recently ejected non-centrist wing of the Social Party, decided to hold a march through the Avenue, towards the forum, then turning to the north onto Leophoros Vasileon to protest outside the Imperial Palace, where the Regency Office was being temporarily housed. The march was joined by the entirety of the EKKP's supporters in the capital, alongside all unionists and unionised workers the party had managed to keep when it broke off from the DKKP. The AMEL units in the capital also attended the march, having refused to obey the Regency's order surrender their arms and disband. All in all, the march totaled 47,000 participants, moving alongside the largely empty streets of the capital during a day of national mourning, which also happened to be a Sunday (most services and businesses being closed on Sunday by law in Pelasgia) in a city under Martial Law. The march begun at the port and moved northward for two hours, reaching the Forum at around 14:00. There, they found the turn to Leophoros Vasileon blocked by riot police and Politarchy and Astynomia officers armed with military-grade Type 3 and Type 4 rifles.
Another contingent of riot police separated the hard left marchers from angry counter-protesters, who were largely outraged at the marchers' perceived responsibility for and connection to the Kastellas Hotel bombing. The two crowds shouted lyrical chants at each other, continuing a long tradition of Pelasgian protesters. At the same time, large public speakers, hanged on wires also meant to support street lights over the city's streets, broadcasted the following message:
"Attention to all citizens. This Assembly has been declared illegal, in accordance with the Martial Law Act of 21 September 2018. Please disperse at once. Attention all citizens. Participation in the EKKP and AMEL has been declared a violation of the Delictum Sui Generis Law as per Regency Decree 2/2018. All members of such organisations are requested to surrender themselves to the authorities peacefully at once. [...]"
Three warnings to comply where given out, and were expectedly disobeyed by the marchers, though the counter-protesters mysteriously withdrew. Then, completely suddenly, fire from the rooftops of nearby buildings started raining into the crowd, with over two dozen people being killed almost immediately. Without warning, the Politarchs and Astynomoi started firing into the crowd, with even two machine-guns being used to disperse the marchers. Even the AMEL members fled in disorder, having no direct line of command or place to take cover, and being out-manned and outgunned. Among the dead was Demetrios Vitsioris himself, alongside most leading AMEL and EKKP members in Propontis, who had been targeted by snipers. Vitsioris had expected repression, but did not think the Imperial forces would draw blood on the day of the Emperor's funeral; clearly, he had been mistaken. The first act of the Bloody Autumn had come.
Trapezon, Danaas, Pelasgia
24/09/2018
Trapezon, a port city largely acting as a district of the larger and older mercantile city of Iolcus, was in many ways an emblem Tiburian industrialisation. Its tight streets, lined by cement buildings up to ten floors tall (except in the segregated high-rise bussiness district) were lit at night by lights suspended from cables running over the road, housing millions of working class Pelasgians. Trapezon was one of the chief ports of call of the massive Pelasgian merchant fleet, the world's largest, which had been built on the back of lax labour laws and a regime of virtual tax exemption. On the flip side of the immense wealth of the Pelasgian shipping magnates, which trickled down only partially through large public works' donations, workers found themselves working long hours for little pay and with few, if any, labour rights. While the regime ruling the Empire since the Constitutional Compromise of the 1980s had done its best to partially improve these conditions through measures such as financial support for working parents, some measures to redress grievances, and a return mandatory eight-hour workdays, the port was still run on exploitative conditions, and was thus always prone to support extreme movements, whether of the xenophobic or communistic variety, in return for promises of reform and for unionisation with the support of the implicit threat of force.
Trapezon had one of the highest per capita police rates in the Empire, including two Politarchy bases within an urban area, one for riot control and one for armed anti-sedition operations, and multiple Astynomia stations. A base belonging to the former General Directorate for State Security's paramilitaries, now falling under the Special Security Detachments (ETA) of the Central State Security Service (YKAK) was also present in its south, near a major avenue as well as the entrance to the port's naval base. Following the massacre of the EKKP and AMEl marchers at the capital, the AMEL militiamen at the city were deployed around Trapezon, guarding the local leadership of the EKKP and its allies, while deliberations were being made on what move should be made next. Suddenly, in the middle of night, the loudspeakers attached to the cables for the street lights came on.
"Attention to all citizens. Evidence of anti-civil activity has been noted in your district. Please prepare for a search and cooperate with the authorities. Please remain indoors. Please be reminded that Martial Law and State of Siege provisions are still in effect, and that violators will be shot on sight. Failure to cooperate might result in measures as harsh as penal relocation. Attention to all local law enforcement units. Code: 1252."
Before long, the APCs of the YKAK's newly unified internal troops started moving into the district. Wearing black, grey and dark blue uniforms, and armed with military-grade weapons, such as the brand new Type 6 Assault Rifle, the men of the Special Security Detachments went house to house, clearing out all EKKP and AMEL members they found. Those in their lists were summarily executed on sight, while others not on the list or found next to the members were dragged out and arrested in the middle of the night. The leaders of the local EKKP chapter listened in terror as short blast of fire from the spread out AMEL watchmen were succeeded by machine-gun fire and screams. The sounds closed in on them, until the door of the third-floor room they were, inside a white-painted cement building with a large EKKP sign outside it, was broken and a flashbang grenade was thrown in. Disoriented and disabled, the leaders were dragged out, with all others in the room being shot on sight, including the wife of the chapter leader, Georgios Gavros. The leader himself was detained for interrogation alongside three others; the rest were taken to a small unpaved field where a demolished warehouse once stood, being surrounded by tall walls on three sides, and the armed ETA troops on the other. They thought they were being held, until the ETA men, flashing bright headlights on them, started lining up segments of the captives against a wall and shooting at them with machine-guns. Some tried to flee or scream; others held their hands open, as if crucified, defiantly waiting for the bullets. Others yet merely stared or tried to plea with the men. By dawn, four hundred men and women had been shot, and over three thousand had been detained. Trapezon held the largest EKKP presence outside of Pyrgos, the port of Propontis, and the Midnight Slaughter as it would come to be known would effectively cripple its command structure and fight-worthiness.