The Debt All Men Pay

[Thaumantica]

Off Shore from Sveasund

"This is our final warning dear authorities of the Sveasund, heed us now!" the Nievish armada beckoned over radio waves towards the small island city's ports and naval stations. "Surrender this port, join in Communal Order , or duly prepare for judgement! Listen now and hear us true: we can aid and protect you or we can righteously destroy you, Sveasund, the choice is yours!"

Missiles were being primed on board the Nievish vessels now and guns were being trained, their targets triangulated for a mass destruction to leave the city uninhabitable over the course of the next few hours. Pilots boarded their jets atop the Nievish carrier with orders to fly beyond Sveasund to raid villages beyond the city, striking their tallest buildings and exhausting their guns on anything above the earth.

"Respond by the witching hour, Sveasund, pray now and consult your heart. Think of your wee ones and what befalls the wicked, cross ones and the disorderly, pray now and seek the hands of grace we offer you. Do not deny us, Sveasund, do not ingratiate yourself with our crosshairs!"

Coastal Villages of West Gutarike (known as the West-Central by Thaumantica)

The Engwahlian Republic Marines were ordered to cease their devastation of the West-Central by their Clover devices in orders from the homeland. Their message of was very well sent to, but not received with any fanfare by any party in this conflict. A message of denial and reconstruction of the narrative of what they had done, what they were proud of after nearly century since ravaging a place as Imperial Marines in the time before, as they were ordered out and inland towards the center.

A series of helicopters, less than had lifted them in country, arrived to leap them further. Still, many of the Marines were asked to commandeer their own way of travel from near waters inland to the central pinpoint of Sjokoping.

"They read like Nievish zealots, delusionals, and cultists!" Captain Reynolds confided as his platoon boarded the spearhead of the crafts that would meet."

"Corporal Curry, use that Clover and mark me: we are approaching weapons unsafe, fingers off trigger, but I am advising this battlegroup to prepare for wickedness!" Reynolds ordered.

It would be ideal for the Nieves to meet those in the Gutnish Bible Belt first, a common language of faith between them, but the Engwahlians were approaching to verify whether the 5,000 Christian rifles had manifested as Josefine Almstedt of the Kristdemokraterna did claim.

"Speak up if you know verses and believe in any of that crap," Captain Reynolds asked over comms as their helos hurdled towards the meeting point.

"God is with us, sir, I'm a Nievish transplant and I recite the King Padraig!" Lieutenant Shane replied, "I would speak to them from my own pocket bible . . If it's allowed."

"It's allowed, Shane, would you have the bravery to approach them first unarmed with that King Padraig while we cover you?"

"Of course!" Lieutenant Shane rattled back, "I know of their tongue from missionary work to say the Lord's Prayer, in this I will . ."

"Great Shane!" Reynolds interrupted, "Just hit the dirt if the shooting starts!"

​

 

[The Federation]

Waters Near Ulrikasborg

Rear Admiral Anson Munroe watched as the glow of battle dissipated over the city as the sun came up and bathed the Gothic sea region in warmth and light. The past few days he had gone without sleep as the invasion was in full swing. Two divisions had landed in the capital city under heavy bombardment from both missiles and aircraft. His forces had done short work of the air defenses around the city, The pirates had managed to get a few fighters out before the airbase had been disabled, they were destroyed but one of the fighters of the carrier air wing had been shot down. Luckily the pilot had ejected over friendly held territory and did not have to brave the streets behind enemy lines by himself.

News had been coming in of the strange goings on around the Communal Order's movements. Data from AWACS and drones had shown they were moving up the coasts almost like pirates themselves, firing indiscriminately into small coastal villages and surrounding a small island up to the north called Sveasund. Everything was moving so fast, experts had expected that without Tarusan support, the pirate forces would fold quickly, but not this quickly. Some where fighting to the last man and others were giving up at first contact with Federation troops.

Munroe wanted to do something about the way the Nieves and Engwhalians were conducting their operations, but orders from on high put a stop to that before anything could be done. These things would need to be dealt with after the capitulation of the pirate government and the subsequent aftermath of this invasion. Anson Munroe took the CIC and ordered two Frigates, the FNS Dagger and FNS Greene were dispatched to monitory the Communal Order's doings around Sveasund and the coast. He might not be able to do anything, but he could gather better intel as to what was going on up there.

Ulrikasborg

While the quagmire of the post invasion order was developing all over the Gutnish land, Federation troops of the first infantry division were closing their ranks around the government quarter of the city. The holdouts here were much larger in number, the government was surely paying them extra or had been diverting spoils to them in an effort to protect themselves and the integrity of their rule. The mission was to capture the high ranking members of the government, President Alfredsson and his cabinet. Intel had told the Federation soldiers that they were still within the city, possibly hiding in a bunker nearby as traveling out of the city during the invasion was too dangerous with Federation aerial patrols making sure that nobody was able to leave via the major highways and streets.

Waldemarsudde

The Marines of First MACo Division cut through the city like a knife through hot butter. Their strike had been sudden and violent, power had been cut to the city before the morning came, plunging the area in darkness. Now that it was light, the destruction that the MACo's had wrought was apparent. but that was left behind them now. The city fathers of Waldemarsudde had been captured during a night operation that saw them quickly surrounded and held up by airborne elements of the MACo's any pirate military that had been in their pocket quickly gave up after the MACo's forced the officials to order a surrender. After leaving a security detachment behind, First MACo Division was moving like lightning Sjokoping, they did not know that Nievish and Engwhalian forces were also cutting their way through to Sjokoping.

 

[Thaumantica]

Sveasund

So it was that silence reigned from the home port of Sveasund. Nievish missiles flew before the warhawks of their carrier. They were enraged at being held back for so long, and did ruin to the port city before calls for calm were ordered from home and from the War Department attache in The Federation.

Had the Tarausans stood none of this would be possible. Had the Rheinbunders, Ebrians, or Southmen joined this conflict none of this would be possible. Instead the Nievish raged, bombarded the Sveasund and launched half of their army to capture the island while the other half peeled west towards the uncertain prize of Sjokoping where Engwhalians met first the Christians of the Gutnish Bible Belt.

 

[Thaumantica]

Sjokoping

Nieveland's Revolutionary Army replaced their Engwahlian counterparts in Sjokoping with a sigh of relief from both Thaumantic contingents. The Engwahlians were finding the Christian Democrats of Gutarike intolerable, and the Nieves were ever so excited to engage with potential kindred zealots. Still, to the chagrin of all Nieves, the books on Communalism being handed out and all dialogue with the local nationals was indeed a mix of Gutnish and Engwahlian rather than Nievish.

"Surely we know who they are, why it's all of you, but what is the Gutnish Commune and her values?" Chaplain William Mannix asked from behind a lectern in a city gym. "Please turn to the book of Tiburans. . ." he asked, waiting for a translator to repeat the request in her microphone while a radio, tv, and online broadcast instructed others in Gutland and the world to do the same.

Glancing down at his own script he read from the first and second passages: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

"You are not accountable to us, the Thaumanticans, you are not accountable to that broken European Forum - for we and they will come and go while two elements are eternal: God and the Gutnish Commune . . ." he continued before taking a glance out the gym's windows, "This is a fine city, is it not? It is. Let's thank on high the Feds did not rain their missiles here as they ordered on Ulrikasborg, Waldemarsudde, Sveasund, Kremylov, and the rest . . This is a place of hard work, serene architecture, and strongly knit community . . But you know what? I am happy also to step outside of town with times of rest, or when we buggy north to meet in the villages."

"This is a land of Northern Splendor; be it the long influence of nature or God's will, design or by circumstance, we are so very blessed to have the opportunity to visit and share our vision of Order." Chaplain Mannix said, watching closely to see how the domestics were reacting while Nieves nodded with glee at the chance to spend time inside a heated hall with so many warm bodies.

"We have felt your warmth and spoke with your elders about how your Commune was before the fallen Piratical Reich. The remnants of that Reich we will destroy and order we will restore! Let us, your communal comrades from Nieveland, take on that burden while you seize upon the issue of communal governance."

Mannix coughed for a bit and then slammed a fist upon the lectern, bemoaning his point that "The Westermen, that Federation has posted here with no intent to leave! Just wait: the goods are coming, the goodie goodies, bribes for ye. They will bring materials to butter your bread, trick your mind, and bewitch your soul! From what did we read, Thaumantica, a Bible which called upon you to do good upon your own hard work and reinvention . . . Gutland will owe us NOTHING when we go to port and leave, we will station NO MINUTEMAN AND NO MISSILE to be left behind . . . We wish to restore ORDER to your GUTNISH commune and . . . and Matthew 6:24, listen and read then: 'No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.'"