March 31, 1001 AC
"Our loyal subjects.
"We come to you today with sad tidings.
"The tragedy in Jaburo that took the lives of so many of our allies remains unredressed. Peace talks with the Amazon Territories were rejected summarily by their government, with even the idea of a ceasefire rejected out of hand without the unilateral capitulation of our expeditionary forces. Our offer of mercy and reasoned diplomacy was spurned. Why do you suppose a nation facing military annihilation would turn down an outstretched hand? Pride, perhaps? Or anger, because they truly believed themselves the wronged party? No, as much as that would speak to the character of the Amazonians, positively or negatively, it has become clear in the course of this regrettable incident that, like so many others, the Amazonian people are mere pawns of that sinister force that calls itself 'World Revolution', headquarted in Manila with agents spread throughout the world, seeking the destruction of organized society itself. Amazonia, instructed from afar to spurn peace, will be sacrificed by them in the name of spite and hatred toward the monarchist powers of the world, an act we find pitiable as well as deplorable.
"Events in Euro-Asia have made it clear that the attack on Jaburo was a mere precursor to a worldwide resumption of hostilities by the nihilist powers of Republicanism, with the rebellious territories of the Caspian Sea declaring war on our brother monarch, the Emperor of Siberia, over a sanctioned salvage operation in neutral territory. Not satisfied with the conquest of 80% of the Ebrahimi State, the Caspian Sea Republic now desires hegemony over all of Asia, and on the flimsiest of pretexts! As of this moment, we are fulfilling our obligations as members of the Holy League and committing to the defense of Siberia, as well as our southern neighbors. This is a war of a scale unprecedented since the initial wave of rebellion 50 years ago, and indeed, perhaps even greater still, thanks to the advancements of industry since then. It thus becomes necessary that I call for the full mobilization of our loyal populace, and command in the name of Apollo-Mithras that our nation shall not rest until the fire of anarchy is quenched!
"Would, our family, that we could leave the speech there. But of course, the assault on our society by the brigand-states who call chaos and permanent war 'freedom' comes in the context of an even greater upheaval, that of renewed contact with human beings living in space,whom we collectively call Spacians. We have, as a whole, extended an open hand of diplomacy and trade to our siblings in space, but space has as many nations as the Earth does, and not all are created equal. The Lunari, those who live on the moon, have proven amenable and reasonable partners, with whom we have developed a plan to share the fruits of the Earth for the advancement of both our peoples. Conversely, the empire calling themselves the Seraphim have chosen to become arms dealers to anarchists and terrorists with one hand, while offering 'miraculous' scientific advancements with the other. Such hypocrisy has no place in the honest society of CanMexico, and we will be enforcing strict controls on the flow of 'Seraphic' medical goods until their true intentions can be known. The stars bring great bounty to our people, but also great dangers, and we will fulfill our promise to you to protect you from harm and chaos.
"It does not take an oracle to see that the two strands of change, war and contact, could become intertwined. Let us assure you, our family, that CanMexico has no quarrel with the people of space - even ones who spurn or insult us will be met with a proportionate response. All of us share the divine form of Apollo-Mithras, and all of us have our place in the divinely-appointed order of being. We will not bow to those who are not our superiors, nor do we expect those not of our kingdom to bow to us. We will be treated as equals, not pawns in Spacian games of power and prestige. The Crown protects you, as it always has, and always will.
"In the name of Apollo-Mithras!"
The Divine Monarchy of CanMexico is in a state of declared war with the following nations as of April 1, 1001 AC
The Amazon Territories
The Federation of Pacific Islands
The Caspian Sea Republic
The Free Republic of Egypt
Algerian Socialist Republic
[NPC members of OSRA who have declared war on CanMexico]
Millennia had passed since the invention of chess, and the game largely remained the same. The pieces may have been different in shape, but the standard colors remained black and white, the board remained a concise 64 tiles, and everything moved the same, barring the addition of en passant some time before the Collapse and squirreling some time after. The timelessness of it was, to a large degree, the appeal. There were, of course, also rule variations to keep things interesting, like Blitz chess, which two young people were playing on a tree-shaded veranda without the aid of clocks or timers. They could keep time well enough in their heads.
"Interesting speech today," the younger of the two said. "How much of that did you write?"
"None of it. I just cut some of the longer paranoid ranting about crypto-republicans as unproductive, and told him to ignore that union's posturing and blockading as the Lunars' problem," Prince Javier sniffed, covering his white pawns' advance with a bishop. "Father thinks I've been taking a bit too much on myself lately."
"It has been pretty busy diplomatically. Besides the world war, I can't help but notice that you sold the entire island of Cuba."
The white bishop moved forward to maintain control of the board's center. "That's why it's not a
worlds war. Frankly, I think we're long overdue to normalize compromises that make everyone happy."
"The Spacians gave you weapons tech for it, then."
"Indeed. And logistics, which is something that's always been a problem for us."
Bishop traded for knight traded for another pawn. The black queen wasn't out yet, and Javier was pleasantly surprised by his opponent's unusual circumspection.
"This war is entirely in Spacian interests, you realize," Black's player observed. "They're supporting weaker states so that the large empires exhaust themselves, and the small ones are in their debt."
"Obviously. But as Father said, this great war was inevitable. The fact that it's reached its zenith so soon is frankly the best possible outcome. Less time for the Spacians to pump more weapons into their chosen proxy states."
"You honestly think this is as bad as it's going to get? Ah, that's right. You've never been to the Fallow Zone."
Black had gotten aggressive again. Javier could see the rest of the game play out now, black pawns and queen swarming forward in a valiant, doomed charge. His rooks were free now, though, so it was only a matter of time until it was ground down.
"Speaking of Fallow Zones, how is Vae Victus?"
"Progressing. I would have liked more time, to be frank."
"Don't worry so much. It's not as if Islander ships can go on land."
"It's not them I'm worried about - not after Siberia's salvage coup, anyway. It's the Seraphim. They're targeting everyone, and even the other Spacians don't seem to be interested in stopping them. We're just a new front in a war they're already winning."
"I don't disagree," Javier replied, finally eliminating the black queen, "especially since they seem to be in full cooperation even with states that disavow them. What would you have me do, then?"
His opponent shrugged. "You're the diplomat. I'm just here to make sure that we have a way to 'restore order' that doesn't collapse civilization again."
Javier looked at the board in consternation. That was...a lot more lost materiel than he'd expected. He could still see a path to victory, a fairly certain one, but being forced into endgame this early was...annoying.
"You
are getting better at this, dear sister."
The Third Princess smirked. "But not good enough, right?"
"Not yet."
