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Oh snap. Moria survived… I guess Za Warudo, Uhh I mean… The World just got Z’d, as Super Gamer “Gecko” Moria is about to bring his Zombies into the African and Persian Frontlines!
I just saw the next chapter after this is called “Remain Calm” If that‘s referencing what I think it’s referencing, then it looks like the clock has finally struck midnight for Jerusalem. I wonder if there will be much of a Reich for Wihelmina to rule when Jerusalem falls?
I remember you said Elias was partially based on Amon, so it’s very fitting that Gertrude pulled a Tarrlock at the end. You’re also right that this, tragically, isn’t a redemption for Gertrude, since she just made sure Elias won’t be made to answer for his crimes and likely triggered a bloody power struggle at the top of Jerusalem‘s government that could harm millions of Romans.
Or it could just be people telling each other to stay calm. You never know.
Getrude has just allowed Elias to escape justice even more than if she drove out of Isfahan like everyone else. And you know what the worst thing is? She also ensured that nobody will ever know the full story behind why all this happened. Nobody will know Elias’ role in creating Jerusalem and going to war, his background, his motivations, and his central role in making the world what it is today.
I appreciate this flawed, almost selfish attempt at redemption from Gertrude. She had her golden opportunity to make things right and refused it, her getting another perfect opportunity would be a stretch.
Getrude’s always thought of herself as above the rules she places on others and never thinks about the consequences of her actions. She thinks she can redeem herself not only because it was within her grasp before but also because she thinks she is still above consequences. If only golden opportunity fell into her lap before, then why can’t another one? Unfortunately, things don’t work out like that. Especially for someone with as bloody a record as hers.
Welp, there goes that notion of Elias answering for his crimes. And the engine that everyone's been working for is destroyed, further setting back the future for now. Yeah I agree with CaptainAlvious alright, Jerusalem is gonna go the way of the Holy Russian Empire in TNO, only God can save the Romans now, and hopefully, one Dandolo general. Maybe this is the moment the universe finally corrects another inevitability eh? A Dandolo that's about to be the cause of Jerusalem's demise. Regardless, things aren't looking good. Not at all.
Sucks that that Impala's gone though, that car was a tough old thing, sad to see it gone now along with the original X-Division crew
For the record, that’s an older model of the reactor, the one that was prone to exploding at the slightest imbalance. That one used a fission-fusion hybrid design. The one Alexandra and the team have been working on lately is a pure fusion reactor. Originally it was going to have the same design flaw. Then I researched how actual fusion reactors worked and learned that in the worst case scenario, they would just turn off instead of exploding, like how a lightbulb will turn off if overloaded. Still, it would have been extremely dangerous if the fission-fusion hybrid reactor fell into Jerusalem’s hands, as it wouldn’t be that hard to jump to a pure fusion design from that one.
Alexandra might still have the blueprints for the current reactor, but it’ll be a while before she can set her equipment back up at her lab and rebuild the prototype.
Expect more Heinrich in the next story batch, in addition to more Jerusalem-focused POVs.
RIP Impala indeed. It now joins Diana’s motorcycle and Olga’s gauntlets wherever hero objects go after destruction. Let’s hope Angela’s coat and Walkman don’t meet the same fate.
Getrude has just allowed Elias to escape justice even more than if she drove out of Isfahan like everyone else. And you know what the worst thing is? She also ensured that nobody will ever know the full story behind why all this happened. Nobody will know Elias’ role in creating Jerusalem and going to war, his background, his motivations, and his central role in making the world what it is today.
Nor only that, but also the image of the Hohenzollerns will forever be tainted due to Elias blackmailing Wihelm Karl into being a tyrant and then putting the legitmacy of the Hohenzollerns into question. No matter how good of a ruler Wilhelmina ends up being, people will fear another tyrant being around the corner the moment she passes, since they will not know the truth about Wilhelm Karl.
True, but I still find that other nickname funny. Also, I'm tempted to call the Commitee the "cringemitee" now.
With how much this TTL’s Russia is influenced by OTL Ukraine due to its more direct Kyivan Rus connection, I wonder if something like the Holodomor would still happen here? I don’t think the Soviets would be so incompetent and malicious that they would let a famine on their heartland go unchecked, but I could see a famine like that happening in Yavdi instead.
This is scary for me to think about as a Bengali, but considering that Eastern India/Bengal demographically consists of non Rajput pluraties, and there are still a lot of Muslim communities there in TTL, as indicated by Chapter 453, I could see the Rasa regime doing something like Operation Searchlight during WW2 and the Holocaust. I did use Yahya Khan as a stand in for Himmler and Eichmann in my Holocaust update after all, even though he would be rather young for those roles in the 30s/40s.
On second thought, I think it would be better if I post Part 16 on Sunday (April 2) because it would be nice if one part of the events happening on April 2 in universe was uploaded on real life April 2. Then I'll upload again on the next Thursday.
Getrude has just allowed Elias to escape justice even more than if she drove out of Isfahan like everyone else. And you know what the worst thing is? She also ensured that nobody will ever know the full story behind why all this happened. Nobody will know Elias’ role in creating Jerusalem and going to war, his background, his motivations, and his central role in making the world what it is today.
Nor only that, but also the image of the Hohenzollerns will forever be tainted due to Elias blackmailing Wihelm Karl into being a tyrant and then putting the legitmacy of the Hohenzollerns into question. No matter how good of a ruler Wilhelmina ends up being, people will fear another tyrant being around the corner the moment she passes, since they will not know the truth about Wilhelm Karl.
For the record, that’s an older model of the reactor, the one that was prone to exploding at the slightest imbalance. That one used a fission-fusion hybrid design. The one Alexandra and the team have been working on lately is a pure fusion reactor. Originally it was going to have the same design flaw. Then I researched how actual fusion reactors worked and learned that in the worst case scenario, they would just turn off instead of exploding, like how a lightbulb will turn off if overloaded. Still, it would have been extremely dangerous if the fission-fusion hybrid reactor fell into Jerusalem’s hands, as it wouldn’t be that hard to jump to a pure fusion design from that one.
Alexandra might still have the blueprints for the current reactor, but it’ll be a while before she can set her equipment back up at her lab and rebuild the prototype.
This is scary for me to think about as a Bengali, but considering that Eastern India/Bengal demographically consists of non Rajput pluraties, and there are still a lot of Muslim communities there in TTL, as indicated by Chapter 453, I could see the Rasa regime doing something like Operation Searchlight during WW2 and the Holocaust. I did use Yahya Khan as a stand in for Himmler and Eichmann in my Holocaust update after all, even though he would be rather young for those roles in the 30s/40s.
I did not remember that there were still Muslims in Bengal I thought that they were limited to the Caucuses. Also it looks like there is a shade of green between India and Persia. This got me wondering if there are Muslims there as well or is it the Zunist?
Lastly Zen I think you might have not updated the Tianxia updates to include the "Central Europe" update on page 394 since it only goes up to the "Balkans and Anatolia" update.
Nor only that, but also the image of the Hohenzollerns will forever be tainted due to Elias blackmailing Wihelm Karl into being a tyrant and then putting the legitmacy of the Hohenzollerns into question. No matter how good of a ruler Wilhelmina ends up being, people will fear another tyrant being around the corner the moment she passes, since they will not know the truth about Wilhelm Karl.
On the other hand, if Heinrich makes it out of this alive, he would know the truth behind Wilhelm Karl and Elias, since he not only was in Elias' inner circle and instrumental to the events of Bloody Tuesday but also later helped gather the evidence needed to restore the Hohenzollerns' legitimacy. Still, all of the evidence he could provide would not overcome his very public reputation of being a regent, one of the founding members of the committee, the official head of Jerusalem's army, and being involved to some degree in all of Jerusalem's atrocities so far. And the people probably would still hate the Hohenzollerns and Wilhelm Karl regardless of the facts. First impressions are everything, especially when Jerusalem is so adept at controlling media narratives and information. There will be a reckoning.
With how much this TTL’s Russia is influenced by OTL Ukraine due to its more direct Kyivan Rus connection, I wonder if something like the Holodomor would still happen here? I don’t think the Soviets would be so incompetent and malicious that they would let a famine on their heartland go unchecked, but I could see a famine like that happening in Yavdi instead.
Probably not. The Holodomor happened under Stalin's leadership, and while it's debatable how much of it was due to his policies, I think our Soviets, who were led by Trotsky and Molotov, wouldn't have gone down the same route. I probably will significantly rework Soviet Russia in a definitive edition so it's not an almost 1 to 1 analogue to the USSR. For example, I learned OTL Molotov (and Zhukov) seemed to have been in favor of nuclear arms control after World War II, and I would like to rewrite our Molotov as being more diplomatic than saber rattling. The same goes for Trotsky, as I handwaved away the permanent revolution doctrine he was known for in real life and made him instead advocate for Stalin's socialism in one country. I would also like to ditch the names CSSR and Soviet Commune entirely, along with the Soviet state apparatus that I almost entirely lifted from OTL with some references to anarcho-syndicalism/anarchism I admit I lifted from 2016-17 Kaiserreich (for example, marriage being abolished on paper). And don't get me started on the Warsaw Pact, the Occupied Territories border, and the whole deal with East Berlin that even I have trouble justifying. Now that I think of it, I should really define equalism as an ideology better, so that it isn't just communism with another name but something that would justify having a different name. But anyways, the Holodomor as we know it probably wouldn't happen in a Russia which is culturally, politically, and economically centered on Ukraine. The name "Ukraine" wouldn't even exist, since it comes from the Old Church Slavonic word for borderland. On the other hand, there could be a "Ukraine" in northern or eastern Russia, on the Scandinavian or Yavdian borders.
A famine in Yavdi isn't out of the question though.
This is scary for me to think about as a Bengali, but considering that Eastern India/Bengal demographically consists of non Rajput pluraties, and there are still a lot of Muslim communities there in TTL, as indicated by Chapter 453, I could see the Rasa regime doing something like Operation Searchlight during WW2 and the Holocaust. I did use Yahya Khan as a stand in for Himmler and Eichmann in my Holocaust update after all, even though he would be rather young for those roles in the 30s/40s.
I'm hesitant on making those cultural maps fully canon. There are areas that I know are accurate because I've talked about the cultural distributions of those areas long enough (for example, Iberia), but there are many other areas where I just adjusted populations in the files without much to go on. It wasn't helped by the layout of the population files not telling me much about where each province was and being organized according to OTL borders, which made me have to do an extra layer of translation. I'm even thinking of retconning a lot of the religious and cultural distributions of previous parts too. I'm not a fan of how I had the Paramara AI convert everything in India to Hindu and Rajput. Not only does that go against how I'm reimagining Jayasimha I as a contemporary of Saint Wilhelmina (because not even Saint Wilhelmina tried to make everybody in the Reich a Christian German), but it's plain impossible due to how big and diverse the Indian subcontinent is.
I could put Khan in the Rasa government, but I'm pretty sure the Himmler and Eichmann analogues were filled by original characters generated by the converter.
"Remain Calm" will be posted on Thursday. I would like to post gameplay chapters on Sundays going forward, followed by a short break on the following Thursday since I've done extended gaps between uploads for gameplay chapters.
I did not remember that there were still Muslims in Bengal I thought that they were limited to the Caucuses. Also it looks like there is a shade of green between India and Persia. This got me wondering if there are Muslims there as well or is it the Zunist?
I think you're referring to the caliphs who were confined to the city of Tabriz. Muslims weren't confined anywhere, but Saint Wilhelmina had them scattered across Europe like the Jewish diaspora.
That NWO map is also a cultural map, not a religious one. Victoria 2 doesn't have a religious mapmode if I remember correctly. Which made it even harder for me to set up the religions in the population files since I can't check on a map. I ended up just winging it.
What you're seeing on that map are probably Balochs, who live in that general area.
Lastly Zen I think you might have not updated the Tianxia updates to include the "Central Europe" update on page 394 since it only goes up to the "Balkans and Anatolia" update.
On the other hand, if Heinrich makes it out of this alive, he would know the truth behind Wilhelm Karl and Elias, since he not only was in Elias' inner circle and instrumental to the events of Bloody Tuesday but also later helped gather the evidence needed to restore the Hohenzollerns' legitimacy. Still, all of the evidence he could provide would not overcome his very public reputation of being a regent, one of the founding members of the committee, the official head of Jerusalem's army, and being involved to some degree in all of Jerusalem's atrocities so far. And the people probably would still hate the Hohenzollerns and Wilhelm Karl regardless of the facts. First impressions are everything, especially when Jerusalem is so adept at controlling media narratives and information. There will be a reckoning.
Yea. Even if Heinrich and Wilhelmina work together to shed light on the crimes Elias committed there is also the "ideas" that Karl had without any influence from Elias at all. So in a way it will be difficult for many Romans to know for sure what policies were coming from Elias and which ones were coming from Karl.
In regards to the legitimacy of the Hohenzollerns' I agree that even despite the best efforts of Heinrich and Wilhelmina there will be many that still believe the Committee. Not only because of brainwashing but also due to the fact that as the old saying goes "behind every good lie there is a kernel of truth".
Probably not. The Holodomor happened under Stalin's leadership, and while it's debatable how much of it was due to his policies, I think our Soviets, who were led by Trotsky and Molotov, wouldn't have gone down the same route. I probably will significantly rework Soviet Russia in a definitive edition so it's not an almost 1 to 1 analogue to the USSR. For example, I learned OTL Molotov (and Zhukov) seemed to have been in favor of nuclear arms control after World War II, and I would like to rewrite our Molotov as being more diplomatic than saber rattling. The same goes for Trotsky, as I handwaved away the permanent revolution doctrine he was known for in real life and made him instead advocate for Stalin's socialism in one country. I would also like to ditch the names CSSR and Soviet Commune entirely, along with the Soviet state apparatus that I almost entirely lifted from OTL with some references to anarcho-syndicalism/anarchism I admit I lifted from 2016-17 Kaiserreich (for example, marriage being abolished on paper). And don't get me started on the Warsaw Pact, the Occupied Territories border, and the whole deal with East Berlin that even I have trouble justifying. Now that I think of it, I should really define equalism as an ideology better, so that it isn't just communism with another name but something that would justify having a different name. But anyways, the Holodomor as we know it probably wouldn't happen in a Russia which is culturally, politically, and economically centered on Ukraine. The name "Ukraine" wouldn't even exist, since it comes from the Old Church Slavonic word for borderland. On the other hand, there could be a "Ukraine" in northern or eastern Russia, on the Scandinavian or Yavdian borders.
A famine in Yavdi isn't out of the question though.
As for the rework of equalism I remember you saying you were inspired by Amon and his equalist from Korra and maybe you could take more on that? What I remember about them in the show was that the equalist believed that non-benders were equal but they seemed to have a relationship to benders that was similar to OTL's Nazis and Jews which would make sense in TTL due to the anti-Roman polices the Soviets perused in the Occupied Territories.
Another idea on how you can make equalism different from OTL's Socialism could be that equalism is more like OTL's Trotskyism?
That being said I am interested in see how you balance Trotsky's "Permanent Revolution" and the Anti-Roman Policies.
Lastly since you plan to rework the Soviets I would recommend you do the same for China and the KMT. The reason for this is that in OTL Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek did not get along so having him succeed Wang does not make a lot of sense. I would recommend having Chen Gongbo be his successor.
My idea for a rework of Chinese chancellors could be:
Wang Jingwei 1943-1944
Chen Gongbo 1944-1950
It can be up to you who rules between 1950 and 1988
Lee Teng-hui 1988-2000
Chen Shui-bian 2000-2008
Ma Ying-jeou 2008-2016
Tsai Ing-wen 2016-2032
Han Xianyu 2032-present
Not only does that go against how I'm reimagining Jayasimha I as a contemporary of Saint Wilhelmina (because not even Saint Wilhelmina tried to make everybody in the Reich a Christian German)
I have to ask, how long did Jayasimha's reign last, because previous parts made it seem like he unified India around the same time the two Fredrichs unified the Reich and reigned as Emperor of India around the same time as Saint Wihelmina?
Lastly since you plan to rework the Soviets I would recommend you do the same for China and the KMT. The reason for this is that in OTL Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek did not get along so having him succeed Wang does not make a lot of sense. I would recommend having Chen Gongbo be his successor.
I mean, Lenin didn't plan for Stalin to become his successor, so I think it's still possible for Chaing to become the leader of China as long as he's the most influential general after Wang's death. I would rework most of the Soviet General Secretaries and Roman chancellors in the 20th century to not be the same as OTL Soviet and German leaders tho.
Yea. Even if Heinrich and Wilhelmina work together to shed light on the crimes Elias committed there is also the "ideas" that Karl had without any influence from Elias at all. So in a way it will be difficult for many Romans to know for sure what policies were coming from Elias and which ones were coming from Karl.
Wilhelm Karl was publicly known to have held his views since long before Elias showed up, and that would have been common knowledge to most Romans. He remained completely consistent with his beliefs up to the end, at least publicly.
Then again, with how much Jerusalem has waged war on truth and memory, the people might have forgotten or stopped caring for what amounted to celebrity gossip in Otto's time.
In regards to the legitimacy of the Hohenzollerns' I agree that even despite the best efforts of Heinrich and Wilhelmina there will be many that still believe the Committee. Not only because of brainwashing but also due to the fact that as the old saying goes "behind every good lie there is a kernel of truth".
Or they genuinely sympathize with Jerusalem. Christian fundamentalism and Roman ultranationalism didn't start with Jerusalem, just like misogyny and American puritanism did not start and end with Gilead.
As for the rework of equalism I remember you saying you were inspired by Amon and his equalist from Korra and maybe you could take more on that? What I remember about them in the show was that the equalist believed that non-benders were equal but they seemed to have a relationship to benders that was similar to OTL's Nazis and Jews which would make sense in TTL due to the anti-Roman polices the Soviets perused in the Occupied Territories.
To be honest, while Amon's Equalists very heavily borrow from left-wing symbolism and rhetoric, they have little in the way of actual political ideology other than overthrowing the ruling class. Most fans, myself included, do not consider them communist or any other left-wing ideology, and I even threw in a joke referencing that in the production notes of my LOK posts. The Equalists were a vehicle to explore the social inequalities between nonbenders and benders created by industrialization as well as a way to help Korra develop as a character by being the embodiment of what she fears.
If I were to rework our own small-e equalism, I'd incorporate more from historical left-wing movements, with a focus on minor ideologies instead of the usual Marxist-Leninist vanguardism or syndicalism. Or I come up with something completely original that's better suited for this world, like how Slavic paganism syncretized with Eastern Orthodoxy, a Ukrainian-based culture and society, and political institutions borrowing more from Kievan Rus' would give rise to a left-wing ideology separate from the Leninism and Stalinism that emerged out of the ashes of Tsarist autocracy.
On the subject of Slavic paganism, I'd want to explain just how the Pagan Resurgence hit Russia, since the conversion of Vladimir the Great was in 988, about 80 years before the Pagan Resurgence. The current explanation is that the population still remained largely pagan (which was true in a way), and the Christian rulers were pushed out by pagan ones during the Pagan Resurgence. As for why Russia didn't convert back,
Good point. I had been trying to work permanent revolution into my depiction of equalist Russia since Victoria 2, but I got lazy and defaulted to reskinned Marxist-Leninism-Stalinism.
Deromanization was Molotov's doing, not Trotsky's. While Molotov would continue permanent revolution (explaining the spread of equalism in the Eimericas and Asia throughout the Cold War), he diverted much of the state's attention and resources on deromanization and the Occupied Territories, and his successors would have to choose between the strategically important but extremely expensive to maintain Occupied Territories or spreading the revolution overseas. Eventually the Party would organize into two factions supporting either permanent revolution or deromanization, culminating in Varennikov supporting...both? Since he carried out deromanization to its logical conclusion and targeted the Reich itself as part of permanent revolution.
Lastly since you plan to rework the Soviets I would recommend you do the same for China and the KMT. The reason for this is that in OTL Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek did not get along so having him succeed Wang does not make a lot of sense. I would recommend having Chen Gongbo be his successor.
I've been floating around ideas for reworking China, since I wanted to move past the Imperial Japan/Nationalist dictatorship analogue I drew in early NWO. However, Chiang Kai-Shek is too major of a character to outright replace at this point.
My idea for a rework of Chinese chancellors could be:
Wang Jingwei 1943-1944
Chen Gongbo 1944-1950
It can be up to you who rules between 1950 and 1988
Lee Teng-hui 1988-2000
Chen Shui-bian 2000-2008
Ma Ying-jeou 2008-2016
Tsai Ing-wen 2016-2032
Han Xianyu 2032-present
I have to ask, how long did Jayasimha's reign last, because previous parts made it seem like he unified India around the same time the two Fredrichs unified the Reich and reigned as Emperor of India around the same time as Saint Wihelmina?
Looking at the save file right now, Jayasimha lived from 1068 to 1131. His reign as emperor of India began in 1084. He strangely has more overlap with Friedrich the Great than Saint Wilhelmina.
I mean, Lenin didn't plan for Stalin to become his successor, so I think it's still possible for Chaing to become the leader of China as long as he's the most influential general after Wang's death. I would rework most of the Soviet General Secretaries and Roman chancellors in the 20th century to not be the same as OTL Soviet and German leaders tho.
In HOI3, I had Chiang succeed Wang after the latter was assassinated by military hardliners when a ceasefire was signed to end WW2. He was already Wang's right-hand man throughout the war and a hero of the previous war, so it makes sense he'd succeed Wang. Though there could be rumors that Chiang secretly masterminded the assassination so that he could take power for himself.
I actually have been floating around ideas for completely original Soviet, Roman, and to some extent Chinese leaders in a rework. I tried doing that in Victoria 2 by giving original first names and OTL last names to Russian leaders like Kerensky and Kolchak off the top of my head. This was initially a nod to an obscure OVA called Konpeki no Kantai I watched clips of in high school, where Yamamoto Isoroku after being killed in WW2 gets isekai'd into his younger self during the Russo-Japanese War and teaches the Japanese military advanced technology so that it wouldn't lose WW2. There, all of the historical charaters had original first names but OTL last names, like "Henry Roosevelt" and "Heinrich Hitler." I didn't commit to that bit and completely reverted to fully OTL names by the end of Vicky, though. If I do a rework, I'd try to give my historical characters original names. At least the ones where I can get away with it. I can't change Gandhi's name to something original as that would ruin the reveal at the end of Vicky, and I'll be damned if I remove Hitler Disney and Scheel the meme but Witko would still be Tito. It would also open up a can of worms of renaming historical characters from CK2 and EU4. Though there it might be easier, since I already did it in some cases (Prince Nikephoros being Napoleon and all). I definitely would like to rename Merkel, Scholz, and the modern chancellors like how the Russian chancellors became completely original (or unnamed) from Petrov on. I definitely want to rename Thierry Baudet at this point due to what the real Baudet has said and done lately, while I'm hesitant on renaming Tsai since she's an important character.
This won't be happening soon, though, to remain consistent for readers in these threads. Probably will do it in the definitive edition, if I ever start that.
With that in mind, Due to Jerusalem’s nukes around the world, It’s possible that most of the leftists in The World died out thanks to Jerusalem and all of the right wingers remain.
Do you think that Progressive Conservatism, Right Wing Nationalist Populism, and Classical Liberalism will fill in the void Traditionalist Ultranationalism created?
With that in mind, Due to Jerusalem’s nukes around the world, It’s possible that most of the leftists in The World died out thanks to Jerusalem and all of the right wingers remain.
Do you think that Progressive Conservatism, Right Wing Nationalist Populism, and Classical Liberalism will fill in the void Traditionalist Ultranationalism created?
Leftists and moderates are on the decline in most countries due to the war. There are many who died, yes, but there were also survivors who became demoralized by the general global trend towards authoritarianism. China descended wholeheartedly into dictatorship, the populations of India, Russia, Scandinavia, and Livonia got genocided, and the Eimericas are dealing with a horrible epidemic. Famine, nuclear winter, and plague kill millions every week. Surviving governments have turned to nationalism and militarism just to keep things together.
Classical liberalism probably won't die out, seeing as it's survived from the 18th century in various forms. It'll return eventually. Right-wing populism will always find supporters in any era. But traditional conservatism will likely be stigmatized due to association with Jerusalem and China.
To be honest, while Amon's Equalists very heavily borrow from left-wing symbolism and rhetoric, they have little in the way of actual political ideology other than overthrowing the ruling class. Most fans, myself included, do not consider them communist or any other left-wing ideology, and I even threw in a joke referencing that in the production notes of my LOK posts. The Equalists were a vehicle to explore the social inequalities between nonbenders and benders created by industrialization as well as a way to help Korra develop as a character by being the embodiment of what she fears.
If I were to rework our own small-e equalism, I'd incorporate more from historical left-wing movements, with a focus on minor ideologies instead of the usual Marxist-Leninist vanguardism or syndicalism. Or I come up with something completely original that's better suited for this world, like how Slavic paganism syncretized with Eastern Orthodoxy, a Ukrainian-based culture and society, and political institutions borrowing more from Kievan Rus' would give rise to a left-wing ideology separate from the Leninism and Stalinism that emerged out of the ashes of Tsarist autocracy.
On the subject of Slavic paganism, I'd want to explain just how the Pagan Resurgence hit Russia, since the conversion of Vladimir the Great was in 988, about 80 years before the Pagan Resurgence. The current explanation is that the population still remained largely pagan (which was true in a way), and the Christian rulers were pushed out by pagan ones during the Pagan Resurgence. As for why Russia didn't convert back,
Since you’re planning on reworking Equalism to be different from OTL Communism, I‘m now curious about how different the fascism of TTL‘s Axis would be from OTL? For starters, since the movement started out in Persia instead of Italy here, I’m not sure if the name “Fascist“ would really work here, unless we are talking about Angelos’ movement which definitely had nostalgia for classical Rome.
Since you’re planning on reworking Equalism to be different from OTL Communism, I‘m now curious about how different the fascism of TTL‘s Axis would be from OTL? For starters, since the movement started out in Persia instead of Italy here, I’m not sure if the name “Fascist“ would really work here, unless we are talking about Angelos’ movement which definitely had nostalgia for classical Rome.
I'm going to keep fascism's name, but I'll make distinctions for the variations each country follows. India has Rasavad, Persia would probably have something fire or eagle related due to Zoroastrianism and my previous descriptions, and the Angeloi would have plain fascism because "Angelism" and its variants never sat well with me. I haven't thought too much on the specific ideological differences with OTL fascism, but it's close enough to still be recognized as fascism.
I'm going to keep fascism's name, but I'll make distinctions for the variations each country follows. India has Rasavad, Persia would probably have something fire or eagle related due to Zoroastrianism and my previous descriptions, and the Angeloi would have plain fascism because "Angelism" and its variants never sat well with me. I haven't thought too much on the specific ideological differences with OTL fascism, but it's close enough to still be recognized as fascism.
I could also see Twaintinsuyu’s fascist dictatorship taking some ideological elements from Peronism and Vargas era Brazil too, while the post war dictatorships remain inspired by Latin American military dictatorships. As for Persian fascism, perhaps It’s name could draw from the Faravahar.
Also, despite what you said before, I think we can delete Red Square (which doesn’t really fit in a Ukrainian inspired Russia, let alone in Kyiv) and add back Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) as long as we use one of its older historical names, like Khreshchatyk Square. Rada Square or Liberty Square (or however you would say those in Ukrainian) could also work.
I could also see the Romans using the name Ruthenia in the medieval era to describe the united pagan Rus state in the 12th-15th centuries, with the name “Russia“ showing up later like OTL.
I could also see Twaintinsuyu’s fascist dictatorship taking some ideological elements from Peronism and Vargas era Brazil too, while the post war dictatorships remain inspired by Latin American military dictatorships. As for Persian fascism, perhaps It’s name could draw from the Faravahar.
Sure, I've been meaning to flesh that one out more. I'm pretty sure WW2 Tawantinsuyu ended being a complete joke reference to the name "Inca Empire" not being historically used by its own people.
Funny enough, I have lots of Faravahar and Zoroastrian imagery referenced in the next story batch.
Also, despite what you said before, I think we can delete Red Square (which doesn’t really fit in a Ukrainian inspired Russia, let alone in Kyiv) and add back Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) as long as we use one of its older historical names, like Khreshchatyk Square. Rada Square or Liberty Square (or however you would say those in Ukrainian) could also work.
I could also see the Romans using the name Ruthenia in the medieval era to describe the united pagan Rus state in the 12th-15th centuries, with the name “Russia“ showing up later like OTL.
With The Scandinavians and the Livonians Butchered, it’s time for the East Africans, Roman Africans, and Malians to push back Jerusalem!
with that in mind, with the red square idea, I’d say that the red square is how it’s named officially in the Russian government, and is the dominant use in northern Russia and the rest of the world. South Russia has its own regional name for the red square, that is recognized by the official Russian government as an equally valid name that never caught on with the rest of the world.
The moment Leyla entered the command center, Gulichi’s face lit up, and Billy and Ruby rolled their eyes. I would too, but then I’d be a hypocrite, Samir thought.
“Leyla!” Gulichi ran over to her. “You made it.”
Leyla shrugged. “It’s nothing. I was already the area.”
“It’s nice to see you’re okay, though.”
“What?” Leyla was confused. “What do you mean?”
“Gulichi was thinking since you weren’t answering the comms yesterday, they did something to you,” Samir said.
“They?” Leyla said. “Oh, no, I was in transit.”
“In transit?”
“To deliver the message to me,” Börte said.
“You could’ve at least told us,” Gulichi said.
“I couldn’t tell you over the comms, because it would have destroyed morale,” Leyla said, “So I drove out of the base towards Börte’s troops. Got ambushed by Crusaders on the way, but her soldiers rescued me.”
“Deception…” Samir muttered. “Frakking deception. Is that all our lives amount to, huh?”
“Believe me, I felt the same way when I got briefed,” Leyla said.
“If we were supposed to be bait, then why didn’t give us more ammo or reinforcements?” Gulichi said.
“Perhaps they sent them to Isfahan instead,” Billy said, “The whole crux of the plan was to lure the Crusaders there and destroy them deep inside Persia, right?”
“Well, yes, but there’s more to it,” Leyla said, “Even after sending most of the ammo and reinforcements to Isfahan, they had plenty left over.”
“Then where did they go?” Ruby said.
“The rest of Operation Huma,” Börte said.
“Huma?” Gulichi said. “They were active while we were holed up here?”
“The reinforcements went to fronts further north,” Leyla said, “They fed Jerusalem false information that said you were the weak link in Huma, so they threw everything they had against you. While they were distracted, Operation Huma launched a full-scale offensive all across the Mesopotamian front. They broke through the weakened enemy lines and took Tabriz, Ahvaz, Kirkuk, Erbil, and Babylon. The front lines have been pushed all the way to Baghdad and Mosul.”
“A breakthrough in Mesopotamia?” Ruby said. “Forget Baghdad, we’ll be in Damascus by August!”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Billy said, “We still have to take Baghdad.”
“A breakthrough, but at a cost,” Samir said, “We lost too many men at the citadel.”
“But at least we bled the enemy just as much,” Ruby said.
“For what, though?” Samir said. “Thousands of us died for a distraction. We were cannon fodder for Isfahan and the rest of Huma. They expected us all to die.”
“I…I admit I wasn’t informed of this,” Börte said, “Otherwise I would have gotten here sooner. Such tactics are callous and cruel towards the common soldier.”
Why does she make so much sense?! “Agreed. It’s sickening.”
“So what can we do?” Leyla said. “The whole thing’s over.”
“I think we should hold the people who ordered this operation accountable,” Gulichi said, “Like Gunduz.”
“I doubt Gunduz was aware of this,” Billy said, “It seems she was focused entirely on Isfahan.”
“Like it or not, she’s the shahbanu,” Samir said, “She represents her people, and the people represent her. Regardless of her involvement in the plan, it reflects on her.”
“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Börte said, “We have a war to fight. And I intend to win it before we repeat such disasters like yesterday.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” Leyla said.
“I’m going to take Baghdad before the Persians.”
“You?” Gulichi said. “Take Baghdad?”
“She liberated most of Taurica before coming here, so I can see it,” Samir said.
“What good will taking Baghdad do?” Billy said. “And how does it relate to yesterday?”
“If my army positions itself correctly, it’ll take over the most important front in Mesopotamia,” Börte said, “The Persians will then have to follow my lead. They’ll have no choice but to conduct the war on my terms.”
“Certainly would be better than whoever’s in charge in Isfahan,” Samir said.
“I’m all for it,” Gulichi said, “As long as I don’t get stuck in a citadel outnumbered ten to one.”
“Count me in,” Leyla said.
Billy and Ruby said nothing.
An aide ran into the room. “General!”
“Yes, Lieutenant Gurkani?” Börte said.
“Urgent news from Yavdi!” She handed Börte a letter. The general scanned the words typed on the paper, and then her eyes widened with shock.
“What is it?” Samir said.
“It’s Astrakhan,” Börte said, “It’s fallen.”
Everyone gasped.
“To…who?” Gulichi said. “Jerusalem or China?”
“Neither,” Börte said, “A warlord named Otso Bielke.”
Samir remembered that name from four months ago. He recalled the confrontation in Takomaan where Wilhelmina first unleashed her powers in defense of the village. How he had stared Otso in the face and was ready to die for his ideals. And now that man had not only escaped justice but had succeeded beyond his wildest dreams? “…may Ukko strike down that tyrant.”
“He executed the entire provisional government after they surrendered.” Börte’s hands were shaking. “Everyone who hadn’t already died in battle against him. That demon. How could he do this?!”
“What does this mean for Yavdi?” Gulichi said.
“The provisional government is no more,” Samir said, “The warlords will establish their own tyrannical regimes and fight with each other like the khans of old, and the people will be caught in the crossfire.”
“That’s terrible,” Leyla said.
“I knew we should’ve gone back,” Gulichi said, “We should’ve gone back when we had the chance.”
“We didn’t know it would happen,” Samir said.
“But it happened! And we’re here while Takomaan and who knows how many other villages are about to be wiped out by these warlords’ greed?”
“I know you want to go back, Gulichi,” Börte said, “Believe me, I really want to go too. But we have a war to fight here. Jerusalem is the bigger threat, the cause of far greater suffering. We must defeat Jerusalem first. Then we can take back our home from those warlords.”
“She’s right, Gulichi,” Samir said, “If we leave now, it won’t change much. We have to focus on Jerusalem first.”
“But Takomaan!” Gulichi’s voice grew distressed.
“Remain calm,” Samir said, “Don’t worry. We’ll take down Otso Bielke eventually.”
“That tyrant will get what’s coming to him,” Börte said, “For the people of Yavdi.”
Kuhpayeh refugee camp
Tania missed the beds of Isfahan, but she adjusted fast to those of the camp. She had spent two months sleeping on various things across Europe, so at least she still had a bed here. The food was also decent. But she admitted it lacked a certain flair to it that she could only find in the capital’s restaurants.
It was early morning in the camp. She heard no birdsong, only the beating of helicopter rotors and the crunching of heavy tires over dirt. As she passed the alley where she had touched down yesterday, she saw the remains of the drones she shot down still being inspected by Persian engineers, hoping to figure out any weaknesses they could exploit. Sorry if my bullets destroyed some vital systems, but it was either me or them.
She finally reached the command center. There, Izinchi and Julian sat at a basic plastic foldable table more suited for a picnic than the base of operations of the Roman government in exile.
“Quenamicatzintli, Tania,” Izinchi said.
“God morgon. How are things?”
“The usual. Thinking tae meself how the ‘ell I ended up ‘ere again.”
“Again? But this camp didn’t exist before.”
“She means that she always seems to end up in a shoddy tent running a government that only consists of about four people,” Julian said.
“At least you’re safe,” Tania said, “So, what do we have for today?”
“A bunch of stuff,” Julian said, “Tania, you’ll be glad to hear Tingvalla’s safe. They repelled the Crusader attack. They still had to evacuate afterward to escape a reprisal, but it’s better than nothing. Their resistance bought themselves more time.”
Tania was surprised. After Olga had died and she spent weeks not knowing, she kept up with news on her family and homeland as best as she could, despite the breakdown in communications between Scandinavia and Persia. She was aware of the Crusaders’ advance through Scandinavia recently, but when she searched for her mother’s whereabouts, she found nothing. So it was nervewracking to hear the Crusaders were about to attack Tingvalla, the one place she suspected her mother could possibly have ended up. But now that anxiety was gone, and she felt like she could relax again. “I wonder how they did it.”
“Same ‘ere,” Izinchi said.
“Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Astrakhan,” Julian said, “The provisional government has been destroyed.”
“Them?” Tania said. “The whole thing?”
Julian somberly nodded. “They shot everyone involved. Mass execution in the main square.”
Tania bowed her head. “My gods.”
“And d’ye ‘ear who did it?” Izinchi said. “Otso Bielke.”
She said it like it was someone Tania was supposed to know, but she didn’t. Her attention was on Scandinavia, not Yavdi. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
“Ach, right, s’pose ye wouldn’t ken. Otso Bielke was a right dastard and a bloody lunatic we met a few months ago…” Izinchi explained their previous confrontation with Otso in Takomaan. “…an’ tha’s why he’s scum o’ th’ earth.”
Due to the accent, Tania only got about half of what she was saying, but it was enough. From the picture she painted, I can imagine why giving this guy any power would be bad. Especially for us. “So what can we do about him?”
“Nothing for now, unfortunately,” Julian said, “We lost a valuable ally. General Börte’s status is up in the air now. We don’t know what she’ll do. There’s a good chance she’ll return to Astrakhan.”
“She won’t find him there,” Izinchi said, “He left the city, back tae go kill some more warlords.”
“Damn,” Tania said, “We’ve got to deal with him.”
“We’ve got more pressing matters at home to deal with first, though.”
“You guys ‘ear ‘bout Mesopotamia? With Samir’s group?”
“What?” Tania said.
“Godsdamned Majlis, went behind our backs, they did.”
“They were willing to sacrifice five entire Artesh divisions, including Samir’s group,” Julian said, “They fed the Crusaders false information to lure them there and direct all of their firepower to bear on the citadel, while Huma sneaks behind them.”
“Nae, I dinnae hear a thing! If I did, I’d have given them a real telling off!”
“I was left out of the briefings. National security issues, they said.”
“That’s a load of skitsnack,” Tania said.
“I ken!”
“We know.”
“Y’ken what the most excruciating thing is?” Izinchi said. “The bloody eejits ‘ave already gone an’ claimed the credit!”
“It’s all over the news,” Julian said, “I’d recommend against turning on the TV, because we only have one of them. I watched some of the news earlier. Minister Mozaffar was on.”
“Same senator bloke who was yelling at me before! Why’d they promote ‘im? He’s saying all the victories are his! Said nothing ‘bout us Romans!”
“So I guess the Majlis wants to claim credit for all of the good and push everything else onto us,” Tania said.
“They already are,” Julian said, “As the Shahbanu, Gunduz will take the blame for all of the death and destruction inflicted upon Isfahan and Persia. Just like everyone blamed Cyrus II. Or Helmut Schmidt. Or Merkel. Or the tyrant Wilhelm.”
“We need to apologize to Samir and the others. Call out the Majlis.”
“No use, Tania. It wouldn’t do much. We’re just four people. The Majlis would just say we want attention and laugh while they quietly revoke all of our privileges and kick us out. And nobody would notice.”
“Sometimes, I ‘ate politics,” Izinchi said, “Forgot how bad it could get.”
“What about apologizing?” Tania asked.
“I’ll try contacting Börte, but it might not do much,” Julian said.
Tania pounded the table. “Föbannat! They really pulled the rug out from under us!”
“That’s politics for you. Doesn’t matter if it’s in peacetime or a war for the fate of the entire world.”
“Well, what can we do about it?”
Izinchi shrugged. “Beats me.”
“You’re the chancellor, and you don’t know?!”
“Tania, the office of Reichskanzler means jack scheiße these days,” Izinchi said, “Majlis idiots won’t even give me the time o’ day. The bloody ‘ell you expect me tae dae?”
”Remain calm, Izinchi,” Julian said, “Look, once we get back to Isfahan, we’ll tell Wilhelmina. She’ll figure something out.”
“Aye, I hope our lassie puts ‘em in their place!”
Still need to check in on the others. Hope they’re doing alright. Frak, even after we won, it still feels like we lost.
Julian flipped through his briefing papers. “By the way, Izinchi, it says here that apparently…Kresge’s back?”
“HE WHAT?! DINNAE TELL MAE HE WANTS HIS JOB BACK!”
---
Friedrich patiently waited on the swings for Ilyana. He was extremely glad the attack yesterday had missed the swings. Otherwise he and Ilyana would have been really sad. Speaking of which, where was she? She usually got there first. He recalled the many times over the last week when she complained about his tardiness. But despite all that, she always welcomed him with a smile. So where was she now? He was starting to miss her, even though it had only been a few minutes. Nervous thoughts raced through his mind? Did she get bored of him? Did he say something wrong yesterday? Did something bad happen to her? What about nothing coming between us?
He decided to search for her. Getting off the swing, he traced back the route they usually took from their shelter. Soon, he heard Ilyana’s voice from around the corner, as well as the crying of a child. “Don’t worry, remain calm. I’m here.” He rounded the corner and found Ilyana consoling a little girl. From her size, she seemed to be about three. She was bawling without end, her hands trying to wipe tears from her eyes. Friedrich looked behind her and saw two dead bodies there. Probably the girl’s parents. Ilyana lifted the girl onto her shoulder and patted her back. “I know how it feels. I’m sorry.”
“Why won’t Mommy and Daddy wake up?! WHY?!”
“I’m sorry,” Ilyana said, “I’m really sorry.”
“Why did they leave me?!”
Ilyana hesitated. Alarm spread across her face. Friedrich could tell she didn’t know how to answer the girl. Friedrich flashed back to a memory he would rather forget. He still couldn’t—or didn’t want to—see the vast majority of it, but he remembered watching Ilyana shake her grandfather’s dead body, screaming out in much the same way.
“Your Mommy and Daddy loved you very much,” Ilyana said, “But bad people took them away from you. I’m going to make them pay.”
The girl looked at Ilyana. “You are?”
Ilyana nodded, and Friedrich spotted a rekindled fire in her eyes. “I’ll make them pay. Nobody should have to go through what we did.” Her fierceness was very different from the stubbornness she usually showed. Honestly, it was a little scary.
Then she noticed Friedrich, and her face lit up. The fire disappeared, replaced by a smile. “Hi, Ricky!”
“Uh…hi, Ilyana,” Friedrich said.
“What are you doing here?”
“I was waiting for you so we can go play.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be there soon. Then we can play!”
Friedrich mustered the courage to ask her something. “Are…you okay?”
Ilyana’s smile widened. “Never better! Why do you ask?”
Friedrich could feel his cheeks burning up. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even expect to get this far. “Nothing. I just wanted to know.”
“Okay, Ricky! I’ll meet you at the swings!”
Friedrich slowly went back the way he came. As he returned to the swings, he heard Ilyana and the girl resume speaking.
“Am I going to be alone?”
“No, you’re not,” Ilyana said, “I’m here for you. I’ll be your new friend.”
“Really?”
“It’s a promise! You can join me and Ricky!” Her smile reached all the way to her ears.
“…okay.”
“You won’t be alone, uh…what’s your name?”
“…Shirin.”
“You’re not alone, Shirin. Not anymore. I’ll make sure of that.” Friedrich could hear the fire in her words.
Which one is her true face? The smile, or the fire?
Ali Qapu Palace, Isfahan
The instant Alex, Alexandra, and Angelica entered the empty lab, Thea and Magnus shot out of their seats and immediately hurled themselves into their arms. Alex was relieved to not only see Thea, but also to feel her arms against him…and, weirdly, the smell of her hair, for some reason. He patted her on the back and smiled, feeling safe again. To his side, it seemed Alexandra and Magnus were sharing a moment.
“God, that was terrifying,” Alex said, “We almost died so many times.”
“Tell me about it!” Thea said. “Same with us! But Magnus here bailed us out.”
“It was nothing,” Magnus said, “You activated Argeiphontes, Thea.”
“I wouldn’t have made it to Argeiphontes and gotten enough time to fire it up if not for you distracting Theodor like that. Seriously, that was a brave move.”
“Really?” Alexandra said. “My dear Magnus stood up to Theodor?”
Thea looked at a pistol on a nearby table. “Held that gun to his face. Actually pulled the trigger.”
“He actually…killed him?”
“Oh, no, he didn’t. Theodor’s still alive.” Thea looked a little disappointed. “But Magnus’ EMP round disabled his exosuit and paralyzed him long enough for me to do my work.”
“I can’t believe those EMP rounds worked,” Angelica said, “I thought they were only for sniper rifles.”
“You can thank Tania for that…” Magnus’ voice trailed off.
“Where is she anyways?”
“She flew off to stop the drones heading for Kuhpayeh. That’s all I know.”
“Well, they say no news is good news, right?” Alex said.
“Alex, after everything we’ve been through, I don’t think that applies anymore,” Alexandra said, “We’ve got no news on where the Impala went.”
“Actually…” Magnus said, “You can remain calm.”
“What, they found it?” Hope glimmered in Alexandra’s eyes.
“Well…” Thea said. “In a way. They found wreckage outside Cyrus Stadium.”
“The Impala…exploded?” Alexandra said.
“Apparently so,” Magnus said
“How do we know it’s the actual Impala?”
“From the wreckage,” Thea said, “Or lack of it. There isn’t much, and what we did get was terribly warped and melted. Same went with the surrounding area. Scorched and melted, as if by…”
“A fission reactor overload,” Alexandra realized, “Just like the simulations.”
“Not just a simulation anymore, it seems,” Alex said, “Looks like we made a good choice, switching to pure fusion.”
“Cheer up, Alexandra,” Magnus said, “We don’t have to worry about it being taken back to Jerusalem.”
Alexandra’s expression lightened. “I suppose so. But do we know how it exploded?”
“Not really. Best they could tell is that it wasn’t set off by a bomb or anything. Explosion came from inside.”
“Guess some idiot flipped the switch by accident,” Alex said, “We really dodged a bullet there.”
“You could say that again,” Thea said, “We dodged lots of literal bullets.”
“So did we,” Angelica said.
“So is it done?” Thea said. “Is Josh…”
“In custody,” Alex said, “He won’t harm us again.”
“For the record, I want to state I was in favor of killing him, but Alex made me stand down,” Angelica said.
“Why?” Thea said.
Alex repeated the reason he gave to Alexandra and Angelica.
“I see,” Thea said, “Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. In any case, as long as he’s locked up, we won’t have to worry about him again.”
“Finally,” Alex said, “I’d call this a victory. They can’t do anything where they are now.”
“Why don’t we go out for a nice lunch?” Magnus said. “Whatever we want. And then dinner, too.”
“Frak it, why not throw a party for the whole day?” Alexandra said. “After what we went through, I could sure use a lot of stress relief.”
“Sure, I could go for that,” Alex said, “I need to relax. Thea?”
Thea nodded. “I’d say we earned it. But who’s paying?”
“Not it!” Alex, Alexandra, and Thea quickly said.
Magnus threw up his hands in exasperation. “Oh come on! You know I can’t put it on Gunduz’s tab right now!”
Hospital
Wilhelmina stirred awake and heard the sound of medical devices beeping. Her eyelids creaked open, and she found she was in a sterile hospital room with white walls and a third-story window overlooking downtown Isfahan. Outside, everything looked remarkably intact. The streets were still empty, but there were a few cars making their way in from the east as some evacuees had been cleared to return. Her attention returned to the room as she noticed the state of her body. Her right arm was held in a sling, while bandages wrapped around her chest. She felt thick gauze pressing into her back. An IV drip was attached to her left arm. And to her left was…
“Gunduz?” she muttered.
Gunduz laid in her own bed to her left. Her eyes remained closed, but her bandaged chest gently rose and fell. Her vitals were stable. If not for the splint her leg had been wrapped in, it would have looked like she was sleeping. At least she was alive. They had both made it out of that battle in one piece. Well, largely.
A door opened, and Shayan walked in. “Morning, ma’am.”
“General,” Wilhelmina said, “What day is it?”
“The 3rd,” Shayan said, “You were out for a while.”
“You’re okay?”
Shayan nodded. “For the most part. I came over here as soon as I heard you had woken up. Her Majesty, though…”
“What about her?” Wilhelmina’s heart dropped.
“She went into a coma soon after you passed out,” Shayan said, “She hasn’t woken up since then.”
“Is it bad?” Was I jumping to conclusions just now? Is she worse off? Was it because I gave up too soon in Sedeh? If I had just not done that, I could’ve gotten to Gunduz sooner…
“Fortunately, she seems fine,” Shayan said, “Physiologically, she’s recovering at expected rates. But it seems like she doesn’t want to wake up just yet. Or at least that’s how I see it. I’m not a doctor, so…”
“Oh, thank goodness. So when is she going to wake up?”
“We…don’t know. Could be tomorrow, could be in two months. Not sure.”
Well, at least it’s better than nothing. “If she’s out like this…then who’s going to lead Persia?”
Shayan pulled over a chair and sat down. “That's what I was planning to talk to you about.” He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Wilhelmina. She immediately noticed the Seljuk royal seal stamped on the bottom, next to Gunduz’s messy signature that better conveyed the concept of “I don’t give a frak” than her actual name.
“It’s a royal edict,” Shayan said, “I haven’t seen one of these in decades. This one is supposed to only be taken out of the archives should the shah be incapacitated, in order to designate a regent.”
Wilhelmina knew where Shayan was going with this. “You mean…”
Shayan nodded. “Yes. She wants you to be her regent.”
Wilhelmina was taken aback. Shouldn’t one of her kids be regent? Or Shahrokh? Why did Gunduz choose her? “But I’m not even Persian.”
“Technically, there’s no law saying the regent has to be Persian,” Shayan said, “And in any case, you do have Seljuk blood, don’t you? I suppose that counts.”
“Still, this is all so sudden,” Wilhelmina said, “I just woke up, and now you want me to lead Persia?”
“Look, I felt the same way when I read the edict,” Shayan said, “But if Gunduz trusts you, then I will as well. You’ve done so much for us over the last four months. I don’t think anyone will have a problem with you taking charge for a little bit.”
Wilhelmina looked at Gunduz, who was still where she was. She looked back at Shayan, who was expecting an answer. “Are you sure?”
“Persia needs leadership in these times,” Shayan said, “We’ve dealt a massive blow to Jerusalem. Most of the Gaugamela invasion force has been wiped out. The enemy is weak and divided. Elias Anhorn is dead.”
Wait, what?! “Elias…is dead?”
“We found remains outside the stadium,” Shayan said, “DNA tests confirmed it was him. He apparently got blown up by a bomb while trying to escape.”
“That’s…a shame,” Wilhelmina said, “I was hoping we could get him alive.”
“Me too,” Shayan said, “But at least we captured Theodor Tesla. Jerusalem lost two regents and over a hundred thousand of its best men yesterday. They’ll no doubt spend months recovering from that, if they even can. We need to press the advantage while we still can. And I think you’re best qualified for the job. Apparently Gunduz thought so as well. So what do you say?”
There’s a lot I still need to process. I still need to know what’s going on with the war, with Persia, with Gunduz…aargh, it’s all so confusing! She shook off her panic and steeled herself. No, I need to remain calm. It’s all doable. You survived yesterday. Politics and military strategy is nothing compared to that fight with Elias. I think I can handle it.
Wilhelmina nodded. “I’m in.”
The Majlis Building
Gebhard and Kresge sat on a bench in the lobby. They were getting annoyed by how long they had been stuck there.
“I shouldn’t have woken up so early…” Kresge complained, rubbing a drowsy eye and downing a cup of coffee.
“Blame the Majlis for scheduling the conference at the worst possible time,” Gebhard said, “You really need your sleep.”
“Seriously, when are they going to call us? It’s been how long? Two hours?”
Gebhard looked at a clock on the far wall. “I think so…is the hour hand supposed to move that far?”
“I don’t know, my eyes are still trying to wake up.”
“You don’t have to try,” Gebhard said, “Get some rest. God knows how much torture you went through in Jerusalem.”
“Actually…”
Gebhard sighed. “Then again, you don’t look as beat up as Borislav. Or Jayasimha, the poor guy.”
The other hostages were doing fine. The Livonians had been discharged and put into protective custody, while Borislav remained in the hospital for some checkups. Jayasimha and Lakshmi remained in intensive care. Fortunately, the doctors were confident all would recover.
“Yeah, it was the usual stuff you’d expect from the secret police of a theocratic totalitarian dictatorship.” Kresge said it with a casual and detached tone that made it seem like literal torture wasn’t a big deal. “Beatings. Electric shocks. Metal bars. Concrete blocks…you learn to tune it out after a while. I do not want to talk about it.”
“Okay” Gebhard said.
“But I’m doing better now!” Kresge put on a smile.
“I sure hope so.”
“The hospital said I’m fine, so here I am.”
Gebhard looked at the doors to the chamber. “If only those idiots could hurry up…don’t they know time is of the essence?”
“After being locked up for four months, Gebhard, I lost track of the time,” Kresge said, “I really don’t know much of what’s happened since the bunker, other than what you told me. Still reeling from what you said about the smallpox. And Atoc Sopa Atoc, I’m gonna miss that guy.”
Damn, the old man finally went down, but a virus got him, not any bullet. Just learned the news this morning. No fanfare or anything out of the ordinary. Just a UPM press release saying he’s gone. That’s going to deal a heavy blow to the Muscogean front he was commanding.
The doors finally swung open. Both men shot off the bench only for two police officers to block their way. “You are not cleared to enter the legislative chamber.”
“What do you mean?” Gebhard said. “We have a meeting to attend! We checked in with the receptionist!”
“Seriously, I’ve been waiting here for…” Kresge checked the clock. “Wwo hours. I did not survive four months of torture to be held up by slow-moving bureaucracy.”
The cop didn’t waste a beat. “Your meeting was canceled.”
Both men’s jaws dropped. “WHAT?!”
“Canceled?!” Gebhard said.
“Couldn’t you have told us before we started waiting?!” Kresge said.
“It was just decided five minutes ago, by Minister Mozaffar.”
“Mozaffar?” That guy who was giving Izinchi lots of trouble in the Majlis lately. Heard he was some no-name average politician until the war happened. “Frak, this is bad.”
“Mozaffar?” Kresge said. “Who’s that?”
“Best you see for yourself.” Politicians began leaving the legislative chamber, surrounded by reporters pointing recording devices, microphones, and cameras at them. Among them was Mozaffar. He was tall and had an imposing posture that couldn’t help but draw in attention in a stately and dignified way. He wore round-rimmed glasses and had his white hair combed back in an old-fashioned style. He kind of reminds me of Lothar Lorenz, from before. Only infinitely more punchable.
“Minister Mozaffar!” a reporter said. “Following the success of your plan yesterday, what’s on your mind today?”
YOUR plan?!
Kresge had the same idea. “His plan?!”
“We came up with it! Us and Gunduz and Wilhelmina and the lab crew! His sorry face was nowhere near us!”
But nobody paid them any attention. Mozaffar took a reporter’s microphone and cleared his throat. “Good question, sir. A really complicated one, I must admit. But a good one nonetheless. I’ve been thinking about the people of Persia. Everyone that I’ve saved with Operation Slaying of Zahhak.” Somehow, he came up with a name more grandiose than anything Jerusalem has, in my opinion. “And the people I couldn’t save.”
“Slaying of Zahhak?” Kresge said. “Is that what the whole operation was called?”
“No! We didn’t even have a name! Especially not one as ridiculous as that!”
“So you do remember where things didn’t go so well,” the reporter continued.
“How could I not?” Mozaffar said. “I have to remember all those we’ve lost in the last five months, but we can’t lose ourselves in nostalgia. As the living, we have a duty to carry on their last wishes and win this war for them.”
“Do you believe Slaying of Zahhak was a success?”
“Slaying of Zahhak was a massive success which exceeded all of my initial expectations. Though the plan was jeopardized by our impulsive and unprofessional Shahbanu rushing out into battle on her own in a tank she was not qualified to drive, I managed to save her life and maintain the momentum of our counteroffensive with a sudden assault on Sedeh. Unfortunately, her rash actions have cost the lives of 12,471 of our brave Artesh troops—four whole divisions—both as a direct result of the operation and afterward.”
“Are you kidding me?” Gebhard said. “Calling your own Shahbanu like that?! She was an instrumental part in the plan! And that wasn’t your plan!”
“Their sacrifices were not in vain, though. We are still here, after all. Persia hasn’t become another district of Jerusalem. We haven’t become slaves of Berlin, no matter what the so-called loyalists want. We’ve secured the greatest victory today, the one I hope can turn the war around. Isfahan in 2039 will become as Vienna was in 1985, or Constantinople in 1941. This would not have been possible were it not for my pragmatic and cautious leadership.”
Shut the frak up…
“Still, the war hasn’t been won yet. Things haven’t changed much for Persia. Jerusalem still looms in the west, and China is making inroads in the east. And when can we expect to see you address the economy?”
You’re worried about the economy right now? Seriously?
“I’m getting flashbacks to Burkard,” Kresge said.
Mozaffar laughed. “Well, I didn’t say yesterday would’ve singlehandedly won the war and solved every problem we have. But Slaying of Zahhak is the first step towards lasting peace. Merely the first step—we’ve still got a lot of hard work to do.”
The reporter nodded. “How much do you think we have left to do? Have we gotten closer to the end?”
“It’s only been five months.” Mozaffar didn’t miss a beat. “But I do believe progress has been made. Just a few weeks ago, Jerusalem had declared victory—either through itself or the actions of its allies—in Russia, Scandinavia, Yavdi, Korea, the Republic of Japan, Ainu Mosir, Bhutan, and India and had effectively neutralized Livonia, Turkestan, Afghanistan, and the Eimerican Federation as a whole. Crusaders had their jackboots on every continent except Antarctica and Penglai. The Holy Marine had a presence in every ocean. The free world was on the verge of collapse. It came down to us against tyranny. But somehow we turned the tables. We made Jerusalem bleed. And if it bleeds, it can be killed.”
He’s not mentioning what the rest of Schengen and Ryukyu have done. Especially Ryukyu.
“Yes, but they’re not exactly dead yet.”
“I know that. A single battle isn’t going to destroy a massive globe-spanning empire that’s been around for two thousand years. We’re just plain old Persia. We have a reputation for spending upwards of two thousand years fighting the Romans, but there’s a reason that rivalry’s gone on for so long. We’ve never been able to win. But if we want to keep hope alive for a future free of Jerusalem, we’ll have to win. We’ll put an end to two thousand years of war, here and now.”
“He’s conflating Jerusalem with the old Reich,” Gebhard deduced, “Trying to associate the current regime with the old one.”
“With us,” Kresge realized.
“You think Slaying of Zahhak will accomplish such a feat?” the reporter asked.
“I have confidence that it, and the next step of my plan, will pave the way for that outcome,” Mozaffar said, “The people cry out for deliverance, and I will bring it. We all understand that we must make great sacrifices in war. Whatever it takes to slay the dark eagle.”
“Speaking of sacrifices, that brings me back to recent news out of Mesopotamia. People are asking about the reasoning behind sacrificing five whole Artesh divisions for little strategic gain.”
Mozaffar nodded. “Yes, that. Allow me to explain. Our Ryukyuan friends were able to break the encryption codes used by Jerusalem after capturing the Holy Marine’s Miracle of Galilee in Sumatra. They passed it on to us, allowing us to learn, before the codes changed, that Jerusalem was planning an invasion of Persia. More importantly, we learned Jerusalem’s spies had compromised many of our lower-level encryptions. Our most important communications remained secure, but the enemy had a general idea of our positions and movements in Mesopotamia. We immediately moved to patch this vulnerability, but I saw an opportunity in this. We could send messages using these encryption codes, knowing that the enemy was listening in.”
He’s not mentioning Argeiphontes.
“False information to lure the enemy into a trap.”
“Right. We wrote messages implying we were amassing troops in a certain nameless citadel of Mesopotamia, in preparation for an offensive against the main Crusader base at Basra. The citadel was chosen due to being completely insignificant to our overall goals. Its loss would not have set Huma back in any way, and the enemy would not gain anything either. There were multiple candidates on the shortlist, but we decided the citadel worked best due to the number of troops stationed there. Once we set the citadel as the target, we made as many references to it and its coordinates as possible in our messages, so that the Crusaders couldn’t ignore it. They’d have to divert troops from Isfahan to take this tempting target. And they did. They fell upon that old citadel with everything they had. Well, when I say everything, I mean everything they didn’t send to Isfahan already. A few tanks. Limited air support. I was told they even ran out of ammunition by the end and started fighting with bayonets and rocks. Still, that taught us a lot about the state of Jerusalem’s army. Troop strengths, supply lines, tactics, equipment…even though they eventually caught on, and we can no longer make use of this advantage, we learned much from yesterday’s battle.”
Why wasn’t I told about this? Those men…were just sacrifices?
“Once you had obtained that data, why didn’t you send reinforcements?”
“I decided that we could get far more intel if we kept the deception going for as long as we could. Jerusalem blindsided us weeks ago when they started employing those zealots and prisoners in human wave tactics. Of course, we adapted to such simple tactics immediately. We came to the realization that if they were relying on such sources of manpower and extremely simple tactics, their professional army and officer corps must have been thinned substantially by now. We could thin it even more with this battle of attrition, while we also learn more about how it works.”
Sure you did…
“So you left those five divisions to die.”
“I wouldn’t say their sacrifice was in vain. The kill to death ratio was on average 5 Crusaders to 1 Persian. We gathered valuable intel on how the Crusaders operated, and we took down thousands of them with us. Thousands of soldiers who would have otherwise rampaged through Isfahan.”
Gebhard gritted his teeth. “Those were my men out there. Of course he has no qualms sacrificing my troops.”
“We still lost almost five entire divisions, totaling fifteen thousand men and women,” the reporter said, “Out of fifteen thousand Persian soldiers stationed in and around the citadel, only 381 survived. If not for Börte’s intervention, those 381 survivors would have been killed as well.”
“I know. And that’s something I have to carry with me throughout my career. But I assure you, their sacrifices will have paved the way to our ultimate victory. We’ve recovered many of Jerusalem’s technological secrets from the remains of their failed Operation Gaugamela. Our scientists have begun reverse engineering them, and soon our brave troops will be able to fight the Crusaders on even technological footing.”
“But at what cost? Almost fifteen thousand men and women died just so you could gather intel. It feels like you’re playing fast and loose with people’s lives.”
“Your frustrations are noted. Understandable, even. Those are fifteen thousand Persians who won’t return to their families, especially so soon after Nowruz. Personally, if I could have avoided it, I would have. But think of it like a game of chess. You can’t win without sacrificing a few pieces. The hard choice is choosing what to sacrifice. These are hard decisions I’ve chosen to make so that nobody else would have to be burdened by it. Difficult decisions with a price in life. But I’ll repeat again that their deaths are not in vain. Because of them, Operation Gaugamela turned into a modern Cannae. Eighty-three thousand Crusaders lie dead across Mesopotamia and western Persia. We’ve blown a hole in Jerusalem’s eastern defenses and taken out two of their regents. We are now poised to simply walk into Anatolia, the Levant, and Arabia, all thanks to Slaying of Zahhak.”
“What’s the significance of that name, anyways?”
“Well, every Persian child grows up learning about the story of Zahhak, the tyrant with two snakes growing from his shoulders which demand to be fed in human brains every day or else he dies. He overthrows the shah Jamshid, who had become arrogant and corrupt, with massive popular support. But once he takes the throne for himself, he turns on the people, ordering two men to be sacrificed every day to appease the snakes. Naturally, the people grow fearful of him. The last straw comes when a blacksmith speaks out in anger about his children being sacrificed. Fearing his last remaining son will be sacrificed, he rebels and creates a flag out of his apron out of defiance, beginning a revolution that strikes down Zahhak and restores peace to the world. You can draw parallels between the myth and yesterday. Jamshid is the old Reich, Zahhak is Jerusalem, the snakes are Jerusalem’s oppression against its own people, and the sacrifices of the children is the same as the heroic sacrifice of the Artesh divisions, paving the way for the revolution which ultimately topples Zahhak.”
“Uh…” Kresge said. “I’m not familiar with Persian folktales, but I think that’s a stretch.”
“You’re receiving harsh criticism on the operation from important factions in the Majlis,” the reporter said, “They say there are reports of war crimes in western Persia and Mesopotamia.”
“I don’t deny the Crusaders commit them,” Mozaffar said, “That’s kind of what they do.”
“I was referring to Persian war crmes.”
Mozaffar cleared his throat and continued as if nothing was wrong. “I say that eighty-three thousand Crusaders dead, captured, or otherwise neutralized yesterday has been a massive strategic victory for Persia, albeit one only brought about by the hastiness and short-sightedness of the so-called Kaiserin in exile. We made the most of our situation. Although I believe that the thousands of Persian civilians who lost their homes, families, and livelihoods during yesterday’s events will no doubt demand accountability. We will look into each allegation with the seriousness it deserves and punish those responsible. I have already dismissed General Tahmasb from his position on the Artesh General Staff and am personally looking into others who may be responsible for how things turned out, including General Remmele, possibly.”
“He’s not even being consistent now,” Kresge said.
Oh, God. It’s even worse than I expected. They purged Shayan? And he wants to investigate me? “Great, now he’s pinning all of the bad stuff on us.”
“I’m getting flashbacks to Roland Wilson,” Kresge said.
“Now that you mention it, so do I.”
“What about General Börte? She has requested an audience with the Majlis and a meeting with the General Staff to discuss Operation Huma. In light of General Tahmasb’s dismissal, will you integrate her forces into the Artesh?”
“My heart goes out to the people of Yavdi, but we can’t afford to divert attention and resources to Yavdi at the moment. We must focus on pressing the advantage against Jerusalem, and I intend to do that with Börte’s support. I will shortly begin integrating her Yavdian units, as well as the separate loyalist units, into the vanguard of Operation Huma, so that they can become the spearhead for further offensives into Mesopotamia. I appreciate Börte’s enthusiasm and initiative, but I think she is better suited as a battlefield commander than a strategic planner like I am. She didn’t spend the entire Taurica campaign holed up in a conference room, but she was at the front lines! I think she would be a great example to all of her soldiers as long as she stays there. Her talents would be wasted in Isfahan. And as I have already said, we don’t have time to bring her or any of her soldiers here. Many of our men and women selflessly gave their lives at that fateful citadel in Mesopotamia to create an opening for the rest of Operation Huma. We must press the advantage, and who better to smash through Jerusalem’s inner defenses and drive to Baghdad than the brave men and women who cracked open Taurica?”
Great, he’s piling on the flattery and patriotism. He really doesn’t want Börte and her troops coming here and calling him out on his BS, huh? Wait, he also reassigned my units? Frak, that’s Samir and his group too! He can’t take away my men! Gebhard couldn’t take it anymore. He stormed over to where Mozaffar and the reporters were.
“Mozaffar, shut up!” A few heads turned in his direction, but only a few. “You just want to make my troops and the Yavdians your cannon fodder, don’t you? Just like you set up the fifteen thousand at the citadel to die! As Megas Domestikos, I won’t allow it!”
The heads turned back a second later, and nobody answered him. The reporters continued asking their questions, and Mozaffar continued answering them with a confident grandfatherly smile on his face.
“Answer me, Mozaffar!” Gebhard tried pushing his way into the crowd, but an officer dragged him away, unceremoniously tossing him into the lobby. “Damnit!”
Kresge ran over to him. “You okay?”
“Only thing bruised is my honor,” Gebhard said, “Damnit. This guy’s really going to erase all of our accomplishments to make himself the hero?”
“Looks like it,” Kresge said.
“Samir’s never going to forgive us,” Gebhard said, “We need to get in touch with him, before Mozaffar sends him into the meat grinder.”
“I sure hope we can,” Kresge said.
They could still hear Mozaffar talking from the lobby, and a few key words prompted Gebhard to listen in again.
“Minister, have you done anything regarding the incapacitation of both Her Majesty the Shahbanu and the Kaiserin in exile?”
“Ah, yes. Let me see. Regarding the Kaiserin in exile, I do wish her a speedy recovery. But I must remind her, she is still an honored guest of our government. She must respect our laws and decorum as long as she is here. And in light of her selfish and unprofessional actions yesterday, I should also add that she should leave affairs of war to the experts, like me. Persia is a nation of laws, and everyone must be held accountable, royalty or not. Regarding Her Majesty, I have a lot to say about her conduct yesterday and whether or not it crosses the line, but I’ll save that for when she wakes up. In the meantime, the Majlis has just concluded a vote on a regent. After all, in these dark times, we need strong leadership at the top, which we sadly have been lacking.”
“Who did the Majlis choose?”
Mozaffar smiled.
Oh…no…
“I have already accepted the nomination of the Majlis. I will humbly serve as your regent until Gunduz recovers.”
Gebhard clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Kresge quickly noticed Gebhard’s rage building and shook the general’s shoulder before he could charge Mozaffar again. “Remain calm, Gebhard. We’ll figure something out. We always do. We beat Burkard in Russia, didn’t we? Deep breaths. We’ll beat Mozaffar the same way. Deep breaths.”
Gebhard took deep breaths. Slowly, his heart rate slowed. His fists and jaw relaxed.
“Better?” Kresge said.
Gebhard nodded.
“Let’s get going before you do something that gets us deported.”
“Yes, of course,” Gebhard said.
We’re frakked.
Berlin
The committee’s meeting room felt different now. Heinrich nervously watched Moria and Josiah, trying to figure out what they were planning. Occasionally, his eyes wandered to the two empty seats. Seats that would remain permanently empty.
Gertrude…what the hell did you do? This wasn’t in the plan…you’ve set my own back a fair bit.
“Well, I think it’s time to address the elephant in the room,” Moria said.
“Yes,” Josiah said, “The missing regents.”
“I’ve confirmed the deaths of the Anhorns. They’re gone.”
Josiah sighed with relief. “Oh, thank goodness. They were getting on my nerves. The guy finally got himself killed, and he took his stupid wife with him.”
“I would’ve liked a simple RSB job,” Moria said, “Would’ve been less messy, and we’d still have 83 thousand Crusaders.”
“What’s done is done,” Josiah said, “We can still recover from this loss. Especially since we no longer have to worry about their interference.”
“Agreed,” Moria said, “It’s time to repair the clock that is Jerusalem.”
“I think a reorganization of the committee is in order,” Josiah said, “There are only three of us. Heinrich?”
Heinrich blinked. It was the first time they had acknowledged him in a while. “Yes?”
“Are you in favor?”
“Why of course. We should probably slim down the committee. Remove unnecessary bloat. You understand, right?”
“Yes, I do,” Josiah said, “Unnecessary bloat and bureaucracy was what defined the party cartel. We would do well to avoid the same fate. I propose that we simplify the committee to a triumvirate. Us three, and only us three.”
“I second that,” Heinrich said.
Perfect time to eliminate all of the other minor regents below us. I know they haven’t done much, but things will be much easier with them out of the way.
“I suppose I’ll assent as well,” Moria said, a little disappointed.
“What about Theodor?” Heinrich said. “The spies haven’t confirmed his death. What if he returns?”
“Then that’s his problem to deal with,” Josiah said, “He was always saying how everyone should deal with their problems on their own, right? Let’s give him what he wants.”
Anything to weaken Jerusalem further… “I’m all for it.”
“Moving on,” Josiah said, “I believe we should address economic issues in the coming months. Our war machine was dealt a serious blow with Elias’ stupid detour yesterday. The men we can easily replace. But their guns and bullets and vehicles? That will take much more. We’ll need to adjust the quotas and production rates to make up for it. Can I count on you and Bysandros to get the masses in line?”
“Definitely,” Moria said, “Can you get an economic plan out as soon as possible?”
“Already working on it,” Josiah said, “I anticipate there will be some complaints as we roll out the new schedule, but I turst you’ll take care of it.”
“It won’t be a problem for my men. We’ve handled far worse.”
“And you, Heinrich?”
Admit it, you just need me to maintain the fiction that I have the military under my control. And in a few months, hopefully that will no longer be a fiction. “I’m ready to suppress any rebellions that escalate that far.”
Moria stood up and held out his hand. “Gentlemen, we stand on the verge of a new age for Jerusalem. Together, we will repair the clock that is God’s holy empire, and it shall run in perfect harmony, just as the angels run heaven.”
Can you please stop with the clock analogies? Everyone shook hands. Josiah and Moria laughed like old friends. Heinrich put on a smile, pretending he had no objections. I still don’t know what else they’re going to do. That’s the most terrifying. Not anything we talked about, but the anticipation. What the hell was Gertrude thinking in Isfahan, getting herself killed? Now I’m all alone and don’t know who to trust. I have a really bad feeling about this…
---
REMAIN CALM
THE REGENCY ENDURES
THE KAISER LIVES
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE OF JERUSALEM ENDURES THERE IS MUCH TO BE DONE
---
Bit of a late upload today. I was busy.
Babylon was mentioned as it was still an inhabited settlement in the 11th century, albeit as a small village eclipsed by newer cities like Baghdad. In OTL it was abandoned later that century, but here it survived and remains a minor village in the modern day with only its name left of its past glory. I also mentioned Susa earlier, another important city in ancient Mesopotamia which survived well into the medieval era. In OTL, it entered an irreversible decline after being sacked by the Mongols in 1218 and was abandoned in the 15th century after most of its population moved to Dezful. Neither of those happened here so it is still inhabited.
I just want to say about the ending: it’s your fault for telling me about TNO.
Mozaffar is becoming a Persian Han and Moria and Josiah aren’t at each other’s throats. At this point, with the way this war looks due to Samir due to how Mozaffar is reframing the narrative, I fear Samir will end up being the one to betray and kill Wilhelmina, as warned about by Sophia. It seems the bittersweet optimism our heroes had early on this update has given in to a despair that the villlains may still have an upper hand.
Babylon was mentioned as it was still an inhabited settlement in the 11th century, albeit as a small village eclipsed by newer cities like Baghdad. In OTL it was abandoned later that century, but here it survived and remains a minor village in the modern day with only its name left of its past glory. I also mentioned Susa earlier, another important city in ancient Mesopotamia which survived well into the medieval era. In OTL, it entered an irreversible decline after being sacked by the Mongols in 1218 and was abandoned in the 15th century after most of its population moved to Dezful. Neither of those happened here so it is still inhabited
Intresting, but surely Jerusalem would’ve razed both cities by now as part of Tabula Rasa, no?
Also, I remember Diana and Olga visited a town in the Nineveh province that was under the Worm’s influence, so I’m wondering if the actual city is still inhabited here since it was abandoned in the 13th century in OTL? Same question applies to other ancient cities like Palmyra, which was a minor city until being sacked by the Timurids and then had its population moved out under French colonial rule.
Perfect time to eliminate all of the other minor regents below us. I know they haven’t done much, but things will be much easier with them out of the way.
RIP LKR Guy then. It would been funny if he somehow manage to lead Jerusalem after all the orginal Commitee leaders died off or were removed from power, but I guess that’s no longer possible.
Also nice TNO reference at the end. I‘m now also wondering if you could reference this WW2 Disney short film and the book it was based on in the context of this universe as well, since it seems to fit really well with Jerusalem’s propaganda machine and education system.
Mozaffar is becoming a Persian Han and Moria and Josiah aren’t at each other’s throats. At this point, with the way this war looks due to Samir due to how Mozaffar is reframing the narrative, I fear Samir will end up being the one to betray and kill Wilhelmina, as warned about by Sophia. It seems the bittersweet optimism our heroes had early on this update has given in to a despair that the villlains may still have an upper hand.
Also, I remember Diana and Olga visited a town in the Nineveh province that was under the Worm’s influence, so I’m wondering if the actual city is still inhabited here since it was abandoned in the 13th century in OTL? Same question applies to other ancient cities like Palmyra, which was a minor city until being sacked by the Timurids and then had its population moved out under French colonial rule.
RIP LKR Guy then. It would been funny if he somehow manage to lead Jerusalem after all the orginal Commitee leaders died off or were removed from power, but I guess that’s no longer possible.
Also surely Elias’ death would‘ve been reported immediately by the soldiers who saw it, unless the explosion was big enough that they were blown up too?
Also, after looking a bit into the Zahek and Jamshid story that Mozaffar mentioned, I must admit that I actually disagree with Kresge and say that Mozaffer comparing Jamshid losing his divine glory (farr) and then being overthrown by Zahek to the Reich's Hegelian based complacency after the 1980s (when it triumphed over the Soveits and Chinese) leading to Jerusalem is pretty on point, as much I hate to admit it.
With how heavily Jerusalem's propaganda's techniques takes from Russian propaganda, I could see Bysandros making simlar claims to the ones Russia makes to justify its war crimes in Ukraine, like claiming to “Derasaify” India for example.
By the way, I think you missed the last part of my post in your response, just a heads up.
Also nice TNO reference at the end. I‘m now also wondering if you could reference this WW2 Disney short film and the book it was based on in the context of this universe as well, since it seems to fit really well with Jerusalem’s propaganda machine and education system.
Also surely Elias’ death would‘ve been reported immediately by the soldiers who saw it, unless the explosion was big enough that they were blown up too?
The ones surrounding the car at close range were blown up, but there were others further away who saw the whole thing and survived. The dead soldiers also probably had body cameras which would confirm the Anhorns were in the car when it exploded.
Also, after looking a bit into the Zahek and Jamshid story that Mozaffar mentioned, I must admit that I actually disagree with Kresge and say that Mozaffer comparing Jamshid losing his divine glory (farr) and then being overthrown by Zahek to the Reich's Hegelian based complacency after the 1980s (when it triumphed over the Soveits and Chinese) leading to Jerusalem is pretty on point, as much I hate to admit it.
With how heavily Jerusalem's propaganda's techniques takes from Russian propaganda, I could see Bysandros making simlar claims to the ones Russia makes to justify its war crimes in Ukraine, like claiming to “Derasaify” India for example.
It looks like Moria, King of the Digital Pirates is the new power player, and he’s chummy with Professor Bookworm, Josiah, The Braincell of Jerusalem. This is pretty bad now that we have a semi competent Jerusalem now and a Persia that went NPCmode.
