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Aug 15, 2008
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Les Flammes des Ténèbres (The Flames of Darkness)

Fanion-et-grenades3.jpg

Fanion et grenades - the emblem of the Legion


ImperialFlag.jpg

Imperial French Flag​


Hello everyone, this is the first time I attempt to write an AAR in Vicky, and the second time I try to write an AAR. Anyways Gaia Production proudly presents a new AAR and hopes that people will have a great reading experience from my writing.

This will be a narrative AAR set in the American Civil War about the story of a special Légion étrangère task force sent to America on behalf of the French Empire. As the first half of the title of this AAR might remind some of you, it is set in an Alterrnate History Universe where France, and later Germany, were more powerful than in the OTL. To know more about the Alternate History Universe, please read my other AAR in my signiature, in which this AAR will make strong connections with. Furthermore, this will be an AAR that will also have some small connections with a particular AAR in Vicky as suggested by the later half of the title.

I may not be the best writer around, but please enjoy!


…………………………………………………………………………………………

America in the beginning of 1860s was full of chaos. Civil War had broken out in between the North and Southern states. The French Empire under Napoleon III exploited the chance given by the United States inability to follow her Monroe Doctrine and decided to establish a Latin Empire firmly under France’s sphere of influence,, starting with a French intervention in Mexico. However to gurantee that the United States will never be able to interfere according to the Monroe Doctrine ever again, America had to remain divided and relatively weak. Hence a special task force consisted of French Foreign Legionnaires were sent to the newly created Confederate States of America to assist their struggle of independence.

The time is 1861, the time when the United States of America was beginning to be brutally torn apart by the differences of her people from within. And also a time when the flames of darkness of the era produced Saints et Démons who fought each other for the justice they believed in.

 
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reserved for future use, first update coming up soon. ;)

Chapter Zero

Chapter I
 
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And so it begins... :D

PS, Welcome to Victoria (the most underrated game of all time! :p)!
 
And so it begins... :D

PS, Welcome to Victoria (the most underrated game of all time! :p)!

Underrated? Unthinkable! :p

Count me in! Love a good alternate history, especially about the Foreign Legion.

Welcome aboard!

You didn't post in your hoi2 aar an link to here. :mad:
Do it so get more readers!:rolleyes:

I have it in my sig, and I have a hell lot of posts in my hoi aar, so it shouldn't be missed me think. :p
 
Sorry for the small wait, but here we go!

...​

Chapter Zero


It was a terrible time to be outside. The weather was bad enough with a thunderstorm raging above the heads of all. It was a particular bad time to be out for a man, whose tail was followed closely by those definitely unwanted.

“Get him! Don’t let him get away! That little bastard!”
Multiple shots were being fired from behind, sending wood splinters flying around. Worse yet were the curses and bloody screams that were completely not drowned by the storm and rain above.

“F***! F***!” The running man cursed his own luck. He had just decided to sign up as a Confederate a day ago, and now he faced the ultimate crisis of his life. Union soldiers, those Yankees, a whole lot of them, were behind chasing after him.

“Hah… hah… hah...”

Dressed in his new but now muddy grayish uniform, he was now running for his life. He was running for his life. Of the many bullets that whizzed pass him, one of them grazed his thigh. The deep cut caused by the bullet burned his senses, but his survival instincts kept his legs running.

“Hah...heh...hah...heh...hah”

He was almost out of breath, but the will to live on forced him to make struggled steps forward, until an unseen ditch caused him to fell over.

“End of our cat and mouse game, ehhh?” asked a smirking Union soldier. “You took us a long time to hunt down unlike your comrades, now let's settle...” began the soldier before his head was blasted off by a powerful rifle bullet coming from nowhere.

…​

It was a bloody mess. At first the Yankees were picked off one by one by sniper fire. The men fired blindly at where they assumed the shots came from, but no one was seen, as if they were attacked by phantoms everywhere. The rustling of the leaves, the sound of running footsteps, and the shots that came from every direction caused total confusion and chaos among the Union soldiers.

When someone did appear, it was not before pools of blood were replacing those of rainwater everywhere. Although the thunderstorm were raging terribly above, the thumping sound of their hearts beating against their chests as they faced one lone man. One lone man that had the appearance of Death himself in their eyes.

“Get… get him, he’s just one…” before the Yank who called out could finished his words, he saw a small flash of light beneath him before a blade attached to a revolver slashed through his throat.


GunBlade.jpg

(Something like this, but the blade should be detachable, plus it should have double barrels ;))​


The rest of the Union soldiers defended themselves as best as they could. The scene of the phantom-like man, holding two unique revolvers with blades attached charging at them frighten them all, and they fought back with whatever they could muster. Men drew sabers, fired pistols, and charged with their bayonets in a song of storm and fire performed by Mother Nature above their heads.

Despite their best effort, the Yanks each faced their death one after the other as the phantom danced through them, stabbing, slashing, and firing his weapon with great skills. It was not long before there was only one Union soldier left facing the one who was bringing to him his unexpected death.

The man raised his pistol at him and pulled the trigger, but nothing came out but a small cocking sound.
“No more bullets... ehhh?” smirked the Yank as he wiped his bloody noise.

The Yank slipped his hand to his back cautiously, and slowly reached for a small Colt revolver.

The mysterious man adjusted his revolver in a split moment, and then fired a buckshot from his custom Lemat Revolver at the union soldier and blasted him away. The soldier met his death still having an astonished look on his face.

The mysterious man turned and looked around the carnage he produced. He lifted his head up and rid himself off the blood on his face with the shower provided by the pouring rain. He then walked towards the fallen Confederate and stretched out an arm.

“What is your name?” asked the mysterious man.

“Wha… my name… my name is…” After witnessing the onslaught that just happened in front of him, fear dominated the fallen Confederate’s mind.

“What is your name?” asked the mysterious man again as he pulled up the Confederate with one mighty pull comparable to an oxen.

“My name is... Sam ... Samuel Clemens... and you are?”


382px-Mark_Twain_Brady-Handy_photo_.jpg

(O'Sam (in 1871), give him 10 yrs of youth with your own imagination :p)​


“I am... Capitaine Danjou…Capitaine Jean Danjou.”


Camerone-Danjou.jpg

(The first "Legendary" Legionnaire I'd say ;))​


“Why… why did you help me,” asked Sam weakly.

“It wasn’t my intention. It’s hers,” said Danjou quietly as he turned around to the ridge where he came from. The thunderstorm above their heads had cleared away already, and bright sunshine rained down on them instead of rainwater. Light footsteps belonging to someone could be heard coming down.

“Who… who is there?” asked Sam.

There was no reply, but a pair of blue eyes under the shade of a parasol, looking at him in a most innocent way Sam will never forget.


GirlwithParasolbyRenoir2.jpg

(Sorry, can't help but include some kind of character like the one from this painting by Renoir :p)​
 
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Here I join!

Mmmh... another charming young lady? An American Aria, perhaps?
 
Here I join!

Mmmh... another charming young lady? An American Aria, perhaps?

A bit different, but will still be a lovable one. :p

BTW her name is still not officialy decided. People here around can help name her by sending me PMs. ;)
 
Hers?
Oh well, she asked for it. :p
'Please kill those noisy yanks...'

Nah, think of it like this:
"Please save that Confederate," she said.
"Ok, no prob," replied Danjou.
And Danjou did what was requested his way. :p
 
Haha! That pistol is amazing! :D (Pirates would've loved it!)

Maybe Clemens will have new inspiration for Huck Finn or perhaps a much different story... :p
 
Exciting beginning, to be sure! With foreign men like those, the Confederacy is bound to win.

As to the young lady, I feel she hides more than is apparent :eek:
 
Haha! That pistol is amazing! :D (Pirates would've loved it!)

Maybe Clemens will have new inspiration for Huck Finn or perhaps a much different story... :p

Perhaps Clemens will have a story with a title like this:
"Legionnaires on the Mississippi" :p Just maybe. ;)

Exciting beginning, to be sure! With foreign men like those, the Confederacy is bound to win.

As to the young lady, I feel she hides more than is apparent :eek:

Sooner or later, you'll find the word "lady" won't apply to her status anymore. ;) This is as much as I'm willing to tell now. :p
 
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Phew! Haven't post an update for a while. Well, here's an extra big one compared to the last one. :p

...​

PlaceHolder, still needs revising

Chapter I



Sam could not stopped himself from giggling, something that was unthinkable just a few days ago when he was chased by those Yanks. As he looked at Danjou again, he had to try his best to prevent himself from laughing his guts out.

“This is not funny, Monsieur Clemens,” said Danjou unhappily, while busy cleaning his rifle. His forehead had two large bandages attached, and they seem to give Danjou a great deal of pain.

It was a peaceful setting by the great Mississippi River. The weather was perfect. Although the war had almost completely stopped all traffic in the great waterway, a few steamboat and some smaller vessels can still be sighted sailing in the great river.

“I still can’t believe a man like you can be that easily defeated, Monsieur Danjou,” said Sam still trying to resist the urge to laugh out hard.

“Do call me Capitaine Danjou, Monsieur Clemens. Also, I do not admit defeat.”

“Hahaha, well what is more unbelievable is that she actually poked you with her parasol, and twice. What did you say to her to make her so angry?”

Danjou eyed his little princess closely. The little princess was under the shade of a tree and her parasol. She seemed happily occupied with a pet chick she is holding in her hands. She appeared to be a little girl no older than ten years old, with the most lovable face and sweetest smile. However when she noticed Danjou looking at her direction, she unhappily turned her head away.


699px-Chick04.jpg

(Hmmm... a chick. I think I will name it Chicky.)​


“Do we really have to talk about this?” asked Danjou.

“Come on. It wouldn’t hurt, at least it won’t give you as much pain as what you have now.”

“…. Sigh… You know the little chick we just picked up?”

“Yes, the little chick that seemed to be lost with its hen, right?”

“Right. At first I oppose her keeping it. Since you still can still see her with the chick, you know that I failed in my attempt.”

“Right. Then after that?”

“Then I said perhaps that chick could be some kind of emergency strategic food reserve. That’s when she first struck me.”

“Hohoho! Then what made her struck you twice?” asked Sam almost excitedly.

“After that I was muttering, perhaps we should have chicken for dinner,” said Danjou a bit embarrassed.

“For crying out loud! Mon… Capitaine Danjou you sure have a poor choice of words,” said Sam as he looked at the little princess. She was happily feeding her pet chick with some breadcrumbs with the chick equally happily chirping around.

“I should also ask this again, Capitaine Danjou. Why did she want to rescue me?” asked Sam. The one question that had always been in his mind for the few days since Danjou had rescued him.

“I do not know about her reasons. What I do know is that we have a guide for us, and that is enough,” answered Danjou.

“Don’t tell me that the two of you have travel up this far from New Orleans without a guide at all!”

“We did have a guide before, and a small party of my men. However, a good proportion of them were ill, and the rest were ordered to bring them back to New Orleans. I am the only one left to continue the mission.”

“Make this clear to me again. You said you’re a French Foreign Legionnaire here to assist the Confederacy, yet you are on a mission of escorting your little princess to somewhere that you don’t even know the exact location?”

“Yes, that is correct. I do not ask you to believe my words, but I do desire to have you as our guide.”

“Then let it be then, since I do owe you my life,” said Sam. “Come to think about it, I still do not know her name. Would you mind telling me that?”

Danjou turned to the girl and exchanged a few words in French. The girl seemed to give Danjou consent over something. Danjou then came back to Sam most reluctantly indeed.

“Very well, Monsieur Clemens. You desire her name, am I right?” said Danjou. “She said that if you can help complete a task for her, she can tell you her name.”

~Moments later~


800px-Belle_of_Louisville_2.jpg

(Nice Boat!)​


“Errmmmm… why are we doing this, Capitaine Danjou?” asked Sam.

“Do not ask me, Monsieur Clemens. I do not like this task we have which is now even a must…” Danjou did not look at Sam, and looked as if he was in a terrible, terrible mood.

The three of them had secretly approached a steamboat. The steamboat had been refilling its coal reserve at a small river dock, while the crew was busy on the shore doing their business. It appeared that the little princess wished to have a little ride on the steamer, and was giggling beside Danjou and Sam with her pet chick.

“This is so not funny,” thought Sam. “How the hell are the three of us suppose to get a have a small “river cruise”?”
“Hey! What are you doing?” An outcry could suddenly be heard from the crew. Drawn by the sudden outcry, Sam and Danjou could saw a few of the crew starting to look at their direction.

“Shit! We are discovered! We should run…”

Before Sam could even finish thinking of running away, he was forced to notice that they were surrounded by a group of angry crewmen in a brief moment.

“There are many thieves around here since the war had started… you must be one of them!” One of the crewmen cried out angrily.

“No, no! There’s a misunderstanding. We’re not thieves, we are just…”

“Shut up! Go tie them up lads!” The crew all seemed ready to gang up on their cornered prey.

“I suppose this is your field of expertise, Capitaine Danjou…” said Sam after realizing that it’s useless to speak with his tongue to clear the men’s accusation.

“I believe so too…” muttered Danjou.

Danjou faced off with around a dozen angry crewmen. They were carrying whatever they could find to arm themselves, including shovels, small axes, down to small pocketknife. On the other hand, Danjou was unwilling to draw his firearms, and only had his fists in front of him.

“Hhaaarrrghhh!!” One of the crew swung his shovel wildly at Danjou. Danjou dodged the man’s every attack with ease, before landing a fist on the man’s nose. Just before the man could fall down, Danjou grabbed his shovel and gave the man a good bash to the head with the shovel.

The other crewmen were almost eager to join the fight, and they threw themselves against Danjou. However, one by one they were to fall to the ground battered and bloodied.

After making quick work of the crew, Danjou cried out to Sam. “Let’s hurry up and head to the boat,” said Danjou as he threw away the shovel. It seemed that the crew of the few other steamer noticed what was happening and were gathering to where they were. However, Danjou was unexpectedly stopped by a small tug on his trousers. It was the little princess, and she spoke something into Danjou’s ears that made the man’s facial expression turn suddenly from bad to worse.

“What is it, Capitaine Danjou? We have to move it now!” cried Sam.

“Ermmm… Monsieur Clemens, she wants you to carry her. Carry her onto the vessel,” said Danjou.

“What?!” exclaimed Sam in disbelief. “You mean our little princess wants me to carry her at this moment? This just isn’t the time for that!” He cried unhappily.

“I’m afraid that I cannot defy her wishes,” replied Danjou with a grave face. “She said that she is too used to my back and want someone else to carry her for a change.”

The three of them then just stood at where they were for a moment, not knowing exactly what to do.

Clemens rolled his eyes with a frustrated look on his face. “Alright! Alright! Get on!” Sam then kneeled before the little princess. “Get on, if you please,” said Sam.

The little princess appeared to be a little surprise of Sam agreeing to her request, and was at first even hesitant to get on Sam’s back. However, the little princess did eventually got on smiling sweetly, as if she felt secured on Sam’s back.

With the little princess on his back, Sam ran towards the steamer, with Danjou closely behind him. They quickly got on board of their target steamer without too many curses and swearing yet.

“Monsieur Clemens, you go pilot this thing, I’ll add the coal into the boilers,” said Danjou as he picked up another shovel.

“Got it!” cried Sam. After he let the little princess down, Sam then went to the pilot’s house to steer the steamer. It was an easy task for Sam, as he was himself a pilot before. The steamer was steaming away in full steam only after a brief while.

“Phew! I guess this is it for now…” said Sam relieved after another chase.

Suddenly, from behind Sam’s back, a man appeared with a revolver in his hand.

…​

“Monsieur Clemens, is everything fine?” Danjou asked his question as he entered the pilot’s house after shoveling a few good loads of coal into the boiler. Suddenly Sam appeared before Danjou as being kicked to the ground.

“Hahaha. Well, I think that the rats on board this ship should be punished, huh?” A man appeared behind and lifted Sam up by the neck, while pointing his revolver at Sam’s head. Sam was a bit battered but appeared alright.
“Monsieur Clemens, are you all right?”

“Yes, yes, I am…” Sam’s words were suddenly cut short by a bash to the head.

“Shut up! You don’t speak until I say so!” cried the gunman. “Now…”

Suddenly something appeared out of nowhere, something small and running wildly. It was the little baby chick on the loose.

“What’s with this damn $%^& thing?” The gunman was surprised by the chick’s sudden appearance, and was clearly distracted with the chick dashing around his legs.

Seeing his chance, Danjou immediately charged ahead, and brushed Sam aside to engage the gunman. The gunman reacted by Danjou’s sudden move by pointed his gun at Danjou, however before the man could fire his revolver at Danjou, Danjou knocked the gun off his hand into the water, and bloodied the man’s face with his fist.

“Why ya little son of a bitch!” The bloody man lunged at Danjou once again with his pocketknife. Just as he was about to stab Danjou in the guts, Danjou gave him a good kick in the groin and sent him overboard. A large splash of water wetted the deck.

“Phew… We had quite a day, did we?” said Sam exhausted as Danjou helped him up.

“Yes, I agree with you. What is unbelievable is that that chick actually saved your life,” Danjou spoke.

The two men could then see their little princess picked up her peeping little chick, once again smiling sweetly at them.

The three of them resumed their small river trip on the steamer for some more hours, until the sun was setting beneath the horizon. The sky and the river were painted beautifully with intense red and orange hues.

“I believe I have completed my task, Capitaine Danjou. Now may I please ask for the lady’s name?” asked Sam.
Danjou turned to the little princess and spoke to her in French for a little while. The little princess then turned to Sam. A single word came out of her small cherry-colored lips.

“Adeline…”

Adeline then blushed slightly and quickly turned and ran away in a haste with her pet chick.

“Shy she is, right?” said Danjou beside Sam.

“Yes indeed,” said Sam as he smiled and watch Adeline went to play with her pet chick. “By the way, Capitaine Danjou, I would like to learn some French from you. Would you mind teaching me a few words?”

“Repeat this after me, Monsieur Clemens. Qu'est-ce qu'on mange ce soir? Poulet?” said Danjou softly.

“Wait, let me repeat that slowly…” Sam took a deep breath before he reiterated Danjou’s word out loud.

“What’s for dinner tonight? Chicken?” (French)

Much to Sam’s surprise, the end point of a parasol suddenly appeared before his eyes. Then everything went blank.


Parasol-34in-woodhandle.jpg

(The attack of the deadly parasol)​
 
The Parasol Scourge is on the loose! :D