Generally speaking I REALLY like it. But there are a few things that I'm not sure would make this canon



This would be the first. Can Diamond Dogs, even exceptional ones, live that long?

My first impulse reaction was "that's impossible", especially with how much dragons and Qilin are considered exception BECAUSE of their longer lifespans.

Then I stopped, and started thinking. It's possible that this "elder" was cursed with longevity by Discord. He could simply be the exceptional equivalent of Hardbeak or the Canterburians advisors, and the diamond dog "inherent racial magic" basically gives him the endurance of the stone, allowing him to live this long.

In the end, I find a 300 year old Dog unlikely, but not impossible, though I would have expected him to be mentioned in the story. I mean, a 300 year old ANYTHING is a really big thing! He'd be the oldest being in our empire!




Little he knew that the girls actually admired his scars, and when he smiled to them he got them all flustered.


the only other sticking point is... well, the elder is talking a lot like he understands what the crystal ponies can do with their magic more than them. That seems a bit strange considering that Diamond Dogs don't seem to have (active) magic of any kind
Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it. To answer your questions and concerns:

1. Regarding the Elders age... yeah you got me. If @Questor says thats too much, then I will change it to something lower. If not, then a explanation will be given as to why he is so old, which is this: pure, unadulterated and tempered spite and stubbornness to Discord, and his crimes against his pack, and a curse that is the equivalent of hell for any.

2. Now, about the magic part. You are correct in that the Kin do not have any form of external, obvious magic. In this, they are like the Dwarves of Warhammer, except unlike the dwarves, they also have no runes or such. So yes, they have no Magic.

What they do have, is their connection to the Stone.

To them, The magic of the other races is much like the Force from Star Wars, in that it is something in all things. The Kin, much like Early pony or a Pegasus, are inherently connect to Stone, Gems, and Crystal. To Dirt, Granite, and Iron. To them, the Water of Stone is literally potential. It's energy and magic of the Earth, and can be felt by those willing to listen.

So he is not so much teaching a Pearl Crystomancy, as he is teaching her, much like Yoda teaching Luke, to feel the energy, the water and life of the Stone around her. How she uses it, and changes it and manifests it, much like a Unicorn, or a Earth Pony or Pegasus, is up to her.
 
AN: Kept you waiting huh? No? Okay then.


Something New and Old​

'Thump'. "Uugggggghh."

The princess was having another bad session today, it seemed.

Quiet-Moon-Stone- Ahem, Sir Moonstone as he was known now - smiled in sympathy beneath his helm as Princess Gleaming Pearl dropped her head into the weathered scroll before her, groaning in frustration. It had been the third such reaction this morning to the writings, and he was pretty sure it wasn't to be the last.

The old kin shifted from his position near the stone door, armor clanking and groaning as he readjusted his position and moved from one paw to another. Leaning against the wall, he looked on as the Princess expressed her frustration further by raising her head of the table, looking at the Scroll again, and then planting it back down upon the cold surface.

He knew personally how the Elders writings and cryptic messages could inspire such feelings. Many times in his youth he had silently cursed the seemingly obscure and pointlessly complicated advice given to him by his Grand-Sire-Elder. He had wondered sometimes if they did it on purpose.

From the continued groaning and shifting , it seemed the Princess had come to a similar conclusion.

It had been a few cycles since the young Bright-Stone-Pony Princess had approached the Kin in order to understand the Stone. Such a interest had been unprecedented in the Elders Memory and one from a member of the Empires Royal family to boot, and there had been some fierce debate amongst the council as to how much could be shown and understood by one not of the Kin. In the end, they had decided to assign a few elders to tutor the young pony, in the hope that they might further the Princesses understanding.

Speaking of which. 'Thwack!!'

"Ow!!" The Princess cried out and and stared angrily at the offending cane, touching the spot on her head where the blow had struck. " That's was uncalled for!" Cried the Princess, glaring at the one holding the cane, " How dare you strike me-" 'Thwack!' "Ow!" The Princess squealed, grabbing her hoof now and glared sullenly at the bruised spot, and back at the offending party.

Small and shrunken, Elder-Grand-Long-Tooth stood barely above the Princess in height, the old Kin seeming shriveled and frail compared to the young and beautiful pony. This seeming frailty, however, belief the fact that the Elder was, by his reckoning, almost 300 cycles old, and as such was revered amongst the Kin. Ancient beyond belief, the Elder had lived through the Day The Sky Fell, the Discordian reign, and the Rise of the Empire, and was one of the few who remembered the Kins ancient heritage. This age and wisdom, however, did not deprive the elder of a fiery and stubborn attitude, and many Kin feared his anger and irritation. And the Poor Princess was his latest target.

Snorting, the Snow White Kin tapped the scroll with his cane, albeit with less force, and looked at the pouting Princess sternly through sunken eyes beneath wrinkled and scared fur.

"If thoust wishes to act like a pup, then this one will treat you like a pup." The elders voice croaked from his wizened face as he lowered his can back down upon the stone with a decided thump. "Also, remember that this scroll is older than your entire family line, and probably older than your Crystal Empire as well. So try not to damage it with your tantrums, or you may try to replace it yourself if you wish."
" But I wasnt..." protested Gleaming Pearl, but stopped as the Elder raised one writhered and shrunken brow. " Yes, Teacher." She mumbled, and looked back down upon the scroll with a sigh, and resumed studying in silence, sighing every once in a while as she wrote down her notes.

Across from him, on the other side of the room upon a stool, the Princesses handmaiden winced in sympathy at her charges plight. A slender, velvet colored mare, she was one of many servants employed by the royal family, and one, Moon suspected, was on the payroll of Lord Ravensburg. He wasn't surprised, the chief spy master of the Empire probably wanted to keep a close eye just in case.

Moon noticed that the maid glanced at him now and then, looking up from her knitting to look at his frame from the corner of her eye, as if looking for his reaction beneath his helm. Probably wondering if he shared her amusement and worry, or just nervous and anxious at the giant Kin in armor. He smiled, and nodded at her, his scarred face slightly visible through his visor. She flinched, and looked back down in a hurry, seemingly embarrassed or uncomfortable looking at his scarred muzzle. He sighed inwardly, and settled back against the wall, annoyed.

Still scary. Stone it.

He tried to not make others uncomfortable, but his wounds and size made it hard. At 44 Cycles old, he still towered over most Kin, Tall-Winged-Bird-Lions, and ponies, his bulk muscled and Steel-Fur only made it worse. His scars didn't help. Wounded in the War against Sombra, his body was ravaged by scars and old burns. The left side of his muzzle was permanently damaged, the nerves melted and burned so throughly that he couldn't smile or feel that side. His right ear wasn't much better, being a scarred, shredded mess even after all these cycles. Often, during training or guard duty, he often heard and saw Ponies and Griffons looked at him and whisper, sighing or staring in obvious discomfort or mixed awe at his scarred bulk.

Sighing internally again, he looked back towards his charge, and saw her sighing and groaning to herself as she struggled to comprehend the scroll before here. Not much progress today it seemed.

It had taken much convincing on the Empires to allow the Princess to be tutored like this, as the Elder had been quiet reluctant to share any of the Kins secrets, even with a member of the royal family and the councils urging. It had taken even longer to convince him to allow the Princess to bring a guard and one of her servants along to the sessions. But, eventually he had caved, though Moon suspected it was more because the Elder had been charmed by the Princess's genuine interest than any convincing on Ravensburgs or the Emperors part. Pearl has a nack for charming people with her genuine interests and personality.

Though perhaps, Moon thought to himself with amusement as another sighed escaped the young mare, She might be regretting her decision to learn under this particular Elder.

At first, the lessons had gone well, with Pearl seeming to absorb the Elders instruction like a sponge, and the Elder offering, what seemed to Moon, purposefully forced praise. However, they appeared to have hit a road block in her studies of the Stone within recent months. The Princess had grown more and more frustrated at the seeming lack of progress, and what appeared to her unhelpfully cryptic advice on behalf of the elder. This particular session, seemed especially bad, as they had barely been at it for an hour before another roadblock.

Finally, after ten more minutes of sighing and frustrated groaning, Elder Longtooth sighed, and tapped his can on the stone floor, signaling the Princess to stop her studies. "Fine, tell me what is troubling you Princess. All that hemming and hawing is distracting and you obviously have questions." As soon as the Elder was done speaking, Princess Gleaming Pearl seemed to simultaneously relax in relief and then tense, and leaned forward, slamming her hoof upon the table, her eyes seemingly blazing with frustrated curiosity.

"This scroll makes no sense!!!" She exclaimed, tapping the offending piece of parchment. "It says that the Stone is different from stone, but it is also the same thing, but different. And what does it mean when it says, draw the water from the Stone, there is no water! Stone can't produce water!! And draw the Life from a stone and make it grow?!? What's that even mean?!? And furthermore," Pearl cut off the Elder as he was about to speak, and tapped the scroll harder, seeming to grow more frustrated by the second, her carefully groomed mane growing more frayed as she ran her hooves through it, and eyes growing wide. Moon chuckled to himself, amused to see the normally polite and graceful Princess it talks about growing Crystal from a pebble of granite. That's literally impossible, even with magic!! How can you grow Crystal from a pebble, theres not enough-"

"Enough." The elders voice cut through the tirade like a knife, and his cane tapped on the ground sounding like a gavel. "The problem is now clear." The maid jumped, leaping to her hooves in shock. Gleaming Pearl froze, mouth open mid sentence, practically standing on the table. Moonstone blinked, having never heard the Elder like this before. He sounded... exasperated?

"It seems that we have reached the limit of your education at this juncture." croaked the Elder, pushing his cane at Gleaming Pearls chest, pushing her off the table, " the problem is obvious." Gleaming Pearl seemed stunned, allowing herself to settle back down off the stone table. But then Moon saw her shake herself "So you agree?" She asked, seemingly excited to be right for once in her instruction with the Elder. The Elder nodded, his shriveled face stern. " Yes, the problem is quite clear." He repeated, and moved towards the door. The Princess looked bemused, watching the Elder leave with a stunned expression.

The Elder opened the door, and turned back towards the group, who looked on in stunned silence. " What are you waiting for, the Stone to grow a Beard? Hurry up." And with that, he exited the room.

The Princess stared in silence for a moment, then with a yelp, scrambled out of the room, taking the scroll with her. "Wait, Teacher!! What did you mean?!?" The maid followed, moving in a hurry to keep up with her charge, knitting forgotten. Stone chuckled, and moved after her, closing the door behind him, flooding the room in darkness.

Outside, the palace hallway was lit by the afternoon sun in streaks of gold and shadow as sunlight flowed through the windows. Lavish rugs and curtains hung from walls, suits of armor lining down the halls. Servants moved to and fro, heading to their work after their meal. They bowed as the Princess passed by, moving in haste almost at a run to keep up with the surprisingly spry elder, asking questions and for him to slow down and what's going on and why did he just leave and please slow down, her maid not far behind.

Moon chuckled, and jogged to keep up, moving deftly through the crowds of servants and maids. They bowed or curstied as he passed, recognizing the symbol of the Knightly crest upon his cloth tabard. A few maids started whispering and gossiping as he passed, staring out of the corner of their eyes. He nodded and waved, and they started, then turned away and moved towards their work, seemingly embarrassed and uncomfortable. He sighed again, and continued jogging to keep up with his charge, who finally caught up with the Elder, and was pelting him with questions, pausing every now and then respond to a Good afternoon Milady or Princess. The Elder ignored her, continued on his way, gruffly croaking every now and then to be patient and or " Take a breath, girl, or you will faint as you walk." Moon smiled, and hung back just a bit, watching.

It had been cycles since he had been knighted, by Grandmaster Hardbeak himself nonetheless, and he had been assigned to protect the capital and royal family. Cycles since he had been abducted by Slavers aboard that ship, and sent to Maretonia. Cycles since the War of Shadows, where he had been ravaged and broken. He often thought about that time, so long ago. State, his kin-Brother, slain upon the field by 20 shadow-slaves-beasts. Rolandia, that beautiful Griffon, who had broken his heart and soul when she told him the truth. Of the dark days, when he was not himself, and that little Crystal pony filly with the shattered horn. And the fate that befell her.

Moon felt the smile stain from his face. Yes, he would never forget that sight. Or Forgive.

He had been broken and forged anew amidst the tides of chaos and war. He thought he had lost everything, when in reality it was another chapter in his story. Now here he was, a new Kin, a Knight of all things, protecting a sweet Princess with a heart of gold/Crystal, serving the Emperor and protecting his home. Defending the weak and upholding the righteous.

Protecting his tribe. A good life.

"Here." The Elder stomped his cane on the ground and came to a halt. The Princess skittered to halt, surprised at the sudden stop. Moon blinked, coming out of his revelry, and looked around. They had arrived at the entrance to the palace basement, at the entrance to Pearls testing area.

Pearl blinked, looking from the entrance to the elder. " Um... the lab, teacher? Why are we..."

The elder ignored her question and moved forward, opening the door, and looking down the steps, started to moved down into the depths. "Come." He croaked afterwords, beckoning with his cane. Pearl followed quickly afterwards, the maid and moon following close behind.

The group moved down the steps, the air growing musty and damp as they descended. Soon, the corridor widened out, and they stepped in a large stone room. Ceiling, wall to wall, and floor were covered in stone, large pillars providing the foundation. The Princess turned towards the Elder, a question in her eyes, but he was already moving forward, heading to the center of the room. She huffed, and followed after, scroll in hoof, the maid and Moon following.

They soon arrived in the middle of the chamber, and finally, just as the Princess seemed likely to explode from curiosity, the Elder turned towards her, and pointed his cane at her chest. " The problem," he croaked jabbing the cane at her muzzle, " is you."

Stunned silence echoed through the chamber.

Finally, after a minute or two of silence, Pearl spoke. " M-Me?" She stammered, poining a good at herself. "What do you mean, me? How is it..." She stopped as the Elder held up a with paw, and pointed at her head. " You are the problem, because you do not see. You will not see. For you, there is impossible. Therefore, you are the problem."

Pearl seemed stunned, but spoke again. "Teacher, what does that even mean? I don't see? What... what's that even mean?" The elder sighed, and turning, pointed a gnarled hand at a stone pillar. " What is that?" Pearl blinked, looking at the pillar and back, unsure. " A.. A pillar?" The Elder nodded, still pointing. " That's what that is. But what is it?" Pearl tilted her head, confused. "A... stone pillar?" " Exactly," said the Elder, taping his cane on the ground. "Stone. It's stone. Good stone. Strong stone." The Elder walked over, and tapped the stone pillar with his cane. " But it is also so much more."

The Elder beckoned with his cane urging the Princess forward. She stepped, hesitantly, moving forward. The maid made to follow, but the Elder held up a paw, stopping her in her tracks.

Pearl moved forward, unsure, and stood next to the pillar. The Elder grabbed her hoof, and placed it upon the pillar. "What do you Feel?" The Elder asked, looking at the Princess beneath shriveled eyes. Pearl hesitated, unsure how to answer. "Stone..?" She queried, earning a sigh fro the Elder. "Yes, that is what that is." He said, lifting his cane, " but not what this one asked. What do you Feel?" Confused, Pearl looked back at the pillar, then back at the Elder, who sighed again. " Can you turn Stone to Crystal?" He asked, raising a brow. Pearl nodded, which seemed to satisfy the Elder, who nodded. " Good. How?"

Pearl blinked, lowering her hoof slowly, as if not sure where the question was going. Moon was also confused, but kept his peace. Pearl hesitantly said, "Magic?" The Elder nodded again, tapping his cane. "Yes, that is how you do it. But how do you do it?" Pearl opened her mouth, an answer on her lips, but the Elder shook his Snow White head. "No, this one is not ask for the science. This one his asking how. How do YOU turn Stone to Crystal?" At Pearl confused expression, The Elder elaborated. "Do you think about the steps? The Science? The process? Or do you do it naturally, without thought, without doubt?"

Moon saw recognition flash across Pearls face, and he smiled. The Elder saw it too, for he nodded. "Yes, you simply do. Without fear or doubt or impossible. That is why you are the problem. You look at the scroll, and you think impossible. You think about the Water of Stone and Lightning, and you think impossible. You see the Life of Stone, you think it cannot be grown. That," he said, poking at her heart, " is why you are the problem."

Pearl, hesitantly, faintly, nodded, and said, "I, I think I understand-" "No." croaked the Elder, taping his cane once upon the Stone. "You understand. Or you do not understand. There is no Think. Or try. You do, or do not. Understand?" Pearl nodded, more sure this time. "Good. Now answer me." The Elder tapped the stone pillar again.

"What do you feel?"

Pearl closed her eyes. The maid fretted, standing next to Moon and trotting in place. Moon placed a comforting paw on her back, trying to reassure her. She looked up, surprised, and he smiled beneath his helm, trying to seem reassuring. Surprisingly, she looked down, almost embarrassed. Moon sighed, again, and focused back on to the Princess. Silence stretched on, the minutes seeming like hours.

Suddenly, the Princess glowed. The Stone... moved. Moon gasped in his helm, feeling something... twist the air.

The Stone Moved.

"Good. You feel the Stone?" Pearl nodded. "Good. Now, change it."

Silence.

The glow went out.

The wall across from them exploded outwards, Bulging as if water in a bag, and then ripped. A giant Crystal Pillar exploded outwards, growing into the ceiling and floor, and continued to grow, rippling and grown and flowing like water.

Finally it stopped, and a giant wall of Crystal remained, bright and beautiful, impactin the place above and the foundation below. Pearl stared. Horrified and awed. The maid squealed, shocked. Moon felt his jaw drop.

The Elder smiled.

AN: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

So this was supposed to come out a while ago, but, in the words of our QM, how about we don't.

@Questor, take this needlessly long trash. Yeh. My apologies to all.
+10 to a roll! I am continually awed by the omakes that people have been making!
 
Okay, so I tried to put this into an omake but didn't have the time and couldn't figure out how to add an Ender's Game reference. Instead, I'll just say it normally.

So, there's been some talk in the thread about using Blitzkrieg tactics, but not a lot about what that would actually look like in this quest. Here's my thoughts on the matter.

What Blitzkrieg is:
First, let's define what blitzkrieg is, so that we're all on the same page. The blitzkrieg was Germany's return to maneuver warfare tactics after the endless battles of attrition that dominated the WW1 Western Front. Accordingly, the doctrine emphasized staying mobile and limiting the mobility of enemies, as well as breaking enemy morale through the use of this mobility coupled with overwhelming firepower. Enemy weaknesses and vulnerabilities should be attacked, enemy strengths (such as large concentrations of enemies) should be avoided.
Therefore, both mobility and firepower are key elements of the blitzkrieg. WW2 Germany achieved this through tanks and air support, but the basic idea was taken from tactics using cavalry and archers/artillery before WW1. The archers/artillery would soften up enemy lines before the cavalry/tanks charged, creating a gap in enemy lines through which infantry could rush in, breaking the enemy formation and allowing them to attack vulnerable targets such as enemy artillery, archers, or supplies.

How we can apply blitzkrieg tactics to the empire:
We don't have tanks yet, but a large number of our troops can fly. Furthermore, we have armored knights who can spearhead attacks to punch through enemy lines just like tanks would. Our cannons and archers will naturally take the place of air support/archers/artillery, although against ground based enemies we could also drop flechettes and burning oil.
For our knights and other flying infantry, height is vital. If we are above our enemies, we can attack at a downward angle, adding weight to our attack and forcing them to awkwardly try to defend against attacks coming from above them, where their wings will get in the way. A downward angle of attack also adds speed, allowing us to smash our way through their lines and immediately be rushing away from them towards enemy mages and archers. Before our troops hit the enemy, archers and cannons should shoot the enemy in order to soften them up, ideally from different angles than the knights/infantry are coming from. This will cause the enemy to split their attention between the approaching knights and the incoming projectiles, and force them to choose which direction to point any shields they have.

How I think an ideal charge would play out:
The infantry and knights are split into 3 groups, with group 1 containing most of the knights. There are also ungrouped infantry dedicated to protecting the archers and cannons.
Groups 1-3 start out above and in front of the enemy pegasi, and begin dropping towards them as the archers and artillery begin firing from the ground. Group 3 lags a bit behind groups 1-2. The enemy pegasi moves towards groups 1-3, attempting to gain height and speed. Groups 1-2 hit the enemy full force, smashing a hole through them and coming out the other side. From here, group 1 continues towards the enemy mages to make use of their black steel blades, while group 2 splits off to attack the enemy pegasi from behind. While the enemy are in disarray and trying to figure out whether to turn around and fight group 2 or continue forward towards group 3, group 3 hits them from the front. This sandwiches the enemy between two groups of our infantry, ensuring maximum disorder and preventing them interfering with group 1.

Caveats:
This scenario assumes that the enemy pegasi all continue towards groups 1-3 instead of diving towards our archers or splitting their forces. If they attack our archers it leaves their backs completely exposed to attack from groups 1-3, sandwiching them between groups 1-3 and the troops guarding our archers. If they split their forces they weaken themselves and make it easier for group 1 to create a hole, at which point group 1 can counterattack the enemies who are attacking our archers.

This scenario also assumes that we have some kind of numerical superiority, which is pretty reasonable since we're probably going to choose to double our military next turn, and we're going up against an enemy that represents only half of a country, and who has already taken losses in combat against both White Star and the abolitionists.
 
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@Questor sorry to double poke you like this not sure if my last one got through but me and it seems like a lot of others were wondering if we could get like a full view map of atleast everything between us and the emerald isles so we can see this golden triangle we created?
 
@Questor sorry to double poke you like this not sure if my last one got through but me and it seems like a lot of others were wondering if we could get like a full view map of atleast everything between us and the emerald isles so we can see this golden triangle we created?

Apologies. I was looking at a way to do that but it seems that I'm unable to give you a single clear picture of the new "Golden Triangle" without revealing the existence of some currently undiscovered land masses.
 
Apologies. I was looking at a way to do that but it seems that I'm unable to give you a single clear picture of the new "Golden Triangle" without revealing the existence of some currently undiscovered land masses.

Maybe upgrade the current maps with indicators and trade routes routes which direction and roughly how far the next discovered polity is? Would help getting a better mental image of everything.
 
Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it. To answer your questions and concerns:

1. Regarding the Elders age... yeah you got me. If @Questor says thats too much, then I will change it to something lower. If not, then a explanation will be given as to why he is so old, which is this: pure, unadulterated and tempered spite and stubbornness to Discord, and his crimes against his pack, and a curse that is the equivalent of hell for any.

2. Now, about the magic part. You are correct in that the Kin do not have any form of external, obvious magic. In this, they are like the Dwarves of Warhammer, except unlike the dwarves, they also have no runes or such. So yes, they have no Magic.

What they do have, is their connection to the Stone.

To them, The magic of the other races is much like the Force from Star Wars, in that it is something in all things. The Kin, much like Early pony or a Pegasus, are inherently connect to Stone, Gems, and Crystal. To Dirt, Granite, and Iron. To them, the Water of Stone is literally potential. It's energy and magic of the Earth, and can be felt by those willing to listen.

So he is not so much teaching a Pearl Crystomancy, as he is teaching her, much like Yoda teaching Luke, to feel the energy, the water and life of the Stone around her. How she uses it, and changes it and manifests it, much like a Unicorn, or a Earth Pony or Pegasus, is up to her.
To add on to this, though I doubt it really needs to be said.

In this quest, the average lifespan of all sapient creatures except anything to do with dragons, is about the average lifespan of a human. Magic can prolong the life of someone, like Celestia and Luna.


Unless otherwise specified, assume they live roughly as long as humans.

Dragons are of course the exception to that rule. And since the Qilin are descended from Dragons, they've inherited a bit of that longevity, enough that they reliably live to 140 or so.


This was actually touched on in an earlier post when the Dogs were first integrated. As far as you know, none of the Dogs in your Empire have any sort of magic. The Dogs tell stories of Alphas that could see through walls, conjure flames, and do all other kinds of supernatural feats, but as far as you can tell that's all they are: stories.
 
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So, there's been some talk in the thread about using Blitzkrieg tactics, but not a lot about what that would actually look like in this quest. Here's my thoughts on the matter.
As an aside, Blitzkrieg is also about destroying the fighting strength of your enemy. Your Operation level penetrations turn back around to cut off and pin enemy formations in contact with other friendly formations, rather than the Deep Battle idea of them continuing into the enemy Depth to engage vital targets like manufacturing, food, distribution, etc.
 
I apologise if someone has proposed this already and I missed it, but I've been brainstorming a solution to the House Storm problem and I think I have... something.

For the empire (us) the 'Maretonian question' can be boiled to two major problems.

Problem 1) The faction we want to win, the Abolitionists will be overpowered within a year or two unless a miracle occurs or the empire invades.

Problem 2) We don't want to invade Maretonia, as this could worry our allies and other nations while giving House Storm the defenders advantage.

Without direct intervention the Abolitionists will fall, but invading causes the above problems and others that I might not have thought of.

Here's my potential solution:

The Abolitionists want to end slavery, break all the chains let freedom ring so on so forth. Their faction goal so to speak isn't to become the rulers of Maretonia, it's to free all Maretonian slaves. If we give them a plan that allows them to accomplish this then they should (hopefully) go along with it even if it isn't an all out invasion of House Storm lands.

We invite the Abolitionists into the empire wholesale, convince them to move their entire operation/army/set up behind the Hardbeak line, using direct access both to its protection and our rail network for supplies as incentives. The crystal protectorate will happily shelter them as ex-slaves and freedom fighter, the crystal ponies still hate slavery after all so they'll welcome the massive wave of 'refuges'.

The strain on the empires economy and resources would be great, but worth it compared to the lives that would otherwise be lost to fighting House Storm without the Hardbeak line. With the rail network we can alleviate food shortages with ease even at the fringe of the protectorate.

Of course the Abolitionists will be encouraged to continue running anti-slavery raids using covert operations, smash and grab tactics and the empires resources. House Storm won't stand for it, they use slaves to keep their economy moving so they'll be looking to staunch of the flow of escaping slaves. They'll probably catch some freedom fighters but they can't get them all and, eventually it will force their hooves. They'll have to go for the throat or their house of slavery will not stand.

They might accuse the empire of sheltering the Abolitionists but... our neighbours won't care about that. Helping and housing an anti slavery faction is a very different kettle of fish from invading and potential occupying a large hostile foreign nation after all. The general distain our allies/associates seem to have for the Maretonian slavery system should prevent any diplomatic issues from arising.

So, House Storm (Likely now rulers of all Maretonia) invade the crystal protectorate and come face to face with the Hardbeak line, the abolitionist army, the imperial army and anyone else willing to come stand against Maretonia and/or they're desire to enslave.

We get both the moral high ground and the defensive advantage.

There are flaws in this plan, but that's why I've brought this up now. I'd like to see if anyone else thinks a plan like this would be a good idea and what can be done to improve it.

Thoughts anyone?
 
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I apologise if someone has proposed this already and I missed it, but I've been brainstorming a solution to the House Storm problem and I think I have... something.

For the empire (us) the 'Maretonian question' can be boiled to two major problems.

Problem 1) The faction we want to win, the Abolitionists will be overpowered within a year or two unless a miracle occurs or the empire invades.

Problem 2) We don't want to invade Maretonia, as this will anger our Neighpon allies and give House Storm the defenders advantage.

Without direct intervention the Abolitionists will fall, but invading causes the above problems and others that I might not have thought of.

Here's my potential solution:

The Abolitionists want to end slavery, break all the chains let freedom ring so on so forth. Their faction goal so to speak isn't to become the rulers of Maretonia, it's to free all Maretonian slaves. If we give them a plan that allows them to accomplish this then they should (hopefully) go along with it even if it isn't an all out invasion of House Storm lands.

We invite the Abolitionists into the empire wholesale, convince them to move their entire operation/army/set up behind the Hardbeak line, using direct access both to its protection and our rail network for supplies as incentives. The crystal protectorate will happily shelter them as ex-slaves and freedom fighter, the crystal ponies still hate slavery after all so they'll welcome the massive wave of 'refuges'.

The strain on the empires economy and resources would be great, but worth it compared to the lives that would otherwise be lost to fighting House Storm without the Hardbeak line. With the rail network we can alleviate food shortages with ease even at the fringe of the protectorate.

Of course the Abolitionists will be encouraged to continue running anti-slavery raids using covert operations, smash and grab tactics and the empires resources. House Storm won't stand for it, they use slaves to keep their economy moving so they'll be looking to staunch of the flow of escaping slaves. They'll probably catch some freedom fighters but they can't get them all and, eventually it will force their hooves. They'll have to go for the throat or their house of slavery will not stand.

They might accuse the empire of sheltering the Abolitionists but... our neighbours won't care about that. Helping and housing an anti slavery faction is a very different kettle of fish from invading and potential occupying a large hostile foreign nation after all. The general distain our allies/associates seem to have for the Maretonian slavery system should prevent any diplomatic issues from arising.

So, House Storm (Likely now rulers of all Maretonia) invade the crystal protectorate and come face to face with the Hardbeak line, the abolitionist army, the imperial army and anyone else willing to come stand against Maretonia and/or they're desire to enslave.

We get both the moral high ground and the defensive advantage.

There are flaws in this plan, but that's why I've brought this up now. I'd like to see if anyone else thinks a plan like this would be a good idea and what can be done to improve it.

Thoughts anyone?
I dont think it was ever actually stated that any of our allies would be against us invading in the defence of the Abolitionists. If anything i think neighpon would be with us the most since it was ours and their citizens that got put into slavery.
 
I apologise if someone has proposed this already and I missed it, but I've been brainstorming a solution to the House Storm problem and I think I have... something.

For the empire (us) the 'Maretonian question' can be boiled to two major problems.

Problem 1) The faction we want to win, the Abolitionists will be overpowered within a year or two unless a miracle occurs or the empire invades.

Problem 2) We don't want to invade Maretonia, as this could worry our allies and other nations while giving House Storm the defenders advantage.

Without direct intervention the Abolitionists will fall, but invading causes the above problems and others that I might not have thought of.

Here's my potential solution:

The Abolitionists want to end slavery, break all the chains let freedom ring so on so forth. Their faction goal so to speak isn't to become the rulers of Maretonia, it's to free all Maretonian slaves. If we give them a plan that allows them to accomplish this then they should (hopefully) go along with it even if it isn't an all out invasion of House Storm lands.

We invite the Abolitionists into the empire wholesale, convince them to move their entire operation/army/set up behind the Hardbeak line, using direct access both to its protection and our rail network for supplies as incentives. The crystal protectorate will happily shelter them as ex-slaves and freedom fighter, the crystal ponies still hate slavery after all so they'll welcome the massive wave of 'refuges'.

The strain on the empires economy and resources would be great, but worth it compared to the lives that would otherwise be lost to fighting House Storm without the Hardbeak line. With the rail network we can alleviate food shortages with ease even at the fringe of the protectorate.

Of course the Abolitionists will be encouraged to continue running anti-slavery raids using covert operations, smash and grab tactics and the empires resources. House Storm won't stand for it, they use slaves to keep their economy moving so they'll be looking to staunch of the flow of escaping slaves. They'll probably catch some freedom fighters but they can't get them all and, eventually it will force their hooves. They'll have to go for the throat or their house of slavery will not stand.

They might accuse the empire of sheltering the Abolitionists but... our neighbours won't care about that. Helping and housing an anti slavery faction is a very different kettle of fish from invading and potential occupying a large hostile foreign nation after all. The general distain our allies/associates seem to have for the Maretonian slavery system should prevent any diplomatic issues from arising.

So, House Storm (Likely now rulers of all Maretonia) invade the crystal protectorate and come face to face with the Hardbeak line, the abolitionist army, the imperial army and anyone else willing to come stand against Maretonia and/or they're desire to enslave.

We get both the moral high ground and the defensive advantage.

There are flaws in this plan, but that's why I've brought this up now. I'd like to see if anyone else thinks a plan like this would be a good idea and what can be done to improve it.

Thoughts anyone?

Great, wonderful, a-and that's your plan is it?



Well I like it!!


Seriously, I like it. Good.
 
Ya, I think its less that our allies would be specifically against us invading Maretonia and more worried for the precedent it sets in international politics.
 
Ya, I think its less that our allies would be specifically against us invading Maretonia and more worried for the precedent it sets in international politics.
Honestly probably not even that Maretonia had no friends at all with only trade between the minatuar republic and they even dumped them when the translation error was fixed they have enslaved 3 different empires people already including us neighpon and canterbury and now the house storm has used what is essentially a WMD against civilians meaning that even if we invade i doubt it will set any negative precedent, if anything they would join us at best or just give moral support from the side at worst. In any situation i dont see them being against us.
 
I think we should do lots of diplomacy to find out if our allies will actually be concerned with us invading, and use intrigue to pin the death of Queen Maria on House Storm. That way we can invade Storm without the Royal Guard or House White Star immediately joining them. We may even be able to get the Royal Guard to attack Storm as well.

There have been some analyses previously about why turtling up like in previous wars is a bad idea tactically, and I think it would be best to keep our forces mobile. Especially since it's possible that Storm could send a hurricane at us if we give them time and reason to.

Fighting a defensive war gives Storm the advantage of choosing where the battle will be and when it will be. They can build up a huge hurricane and smash it into our shore before beginning an assault, or flank around our walls like Germany did to the Maginot Line in WW2.
 
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So, House Storm (Likely now rulers of all Maretonia) invade the crystal protectorate and come face to face with the Hardbeak line, the abolitionist army, the imperial army and anyone else willing to come stand against Maretonia and/or they're desire to enslave.
They wouldn't invade inside the decade. They will be rebuilding their nation after a war, dealing with their new reputation among the coastal areas, and have nothing to gain from attacking a fresh peer power (that is at least a Great Power, by the strict definition).

Raids... Maybe. Unlikely for the above reasons, but possible.
 
Problem 1) The faction we want to win, the Abolitionists will be overpowered within a year or two unless a miracle occurs or the empire invades.

Problem 2) We don't want to invade Maretonia, as this could worry our allies and other nations while giving House Storm the defenders advantage.
1)eh, we're pretty ready to invade at this point. A year or two of actions at most and we're golden

2) I think it's more that we don't want to invade without first talking to our allies (..which basically means every nation that is not Maretonia close enough to matter). I can't think of a single reason why Neighpon, Canterbury or Yakyakistan would be against us acting, and the first two might very well join us. The Minotaurs might be a bit concerned, but not unreasonably so.

I apologise if someone has proposed this already and I missed it, but I've been brainstorming a solution to the House Storm problem and I think I have... something.

For the empire (us) the 'Maretonian question' can be boiled to two major problems.

Problem 1) The faction we want to win, the Abolitionists will be overpowered within a year or two unless a miracle occurs or the empire invades.

Problem 2) We don't want to invade Maretonia, as this could worry our allies and other nations while giving House Storm the defenders advantage.

Without direct intervention the Abolitionists will fall, but invading causes the above problems and others that I might not have thought of.

Here's my potential solution:

The Abolitionists want to end slavery, break all the chains let freedom ring so on so forth. Their faction goal so to speak isn't to become the rulers of Maretonia, it's to free all Maretonian slaves. If we give them a plan that allows them to accomplish this then they should (hopefully) go along with it even if it isn't an all out invasion of House Storm lands.

We invite the Abolitionists into the empire wholesale, convince them to move their entire operation/army/set up behind the Hardbeak line, using direct access both to its protection and our rail network for supplies as incentives. The crystal protectorate will happily shelter them as ex-slaves and freedom fighter, the crystal ponies still hate slavery after all so they'll welcome the massive wave of 'refuges'.

The strain on the empires economy and resources would be great, but worth it compared to the lives that would otherwise be lost to fighting House Storm without the Hardbeak line. With the rail network we can alleviate food shortages with ease even at the fringe of the protectorate.

Of course the Abolitionists will be encouraged to continue running anti-slavery raids using covert operations, smash and grab tactics and the empires resources. House Storm won't stand for it, they use slaves to keep their economy moving so they'll be looking to staunch of the flow of escaping slaves. They'll probably catch some freedom fighters but they can't get them all and, eventually it will force their hooves. They'll have to go for the throat or their house of slavery will not stand.

They might accuse the empire of sheltering the Abolitionists but... our neighbours won't care about that. Helping and housing an anti slavery faction is a very different kettle of fish from invading and potential occupying a large hostile foreign nation after all. The general distain our allies/associates seem to have for the Maretonian slavery system should prevent any diplomatic issues from arising.

So, House Storm (Likely now rulers of all Maretonia) invade the crystal protectorate and come face to face with the Hardbeak line, the abolitionist army, the imperial army and anyone else willing to come stand against Maretonia and/or they're desire to enslave.

We get both the moral high ground and the defensive advantage.

There are flaws in this plan, but that's why I've brought this up now. I'd like to see if anyone else thinks a plan like this would be a good idea and what can be done to improve it.

Thoughts anyone?
could work, but it's risky.

The main disadvantage I can think of is that, If we're NOT attacking first, we have a decent chance of facing a unified maretonia instead of two separated factions (3 if the royal guards decide to join them, which they very well might).

We're basically trading the initiative advantage for a defensive advantage. I'm not sure which one is worth more.

Also I'm not sure the abolitionsts would agree. I mean, we're asking them to leave their country (and those willing to do it basically already did, as we can see by the big number of immigrants we recently dealt with), and their operations would certainly be harder to carry out from our territory than from theirs. It's simply a matter of distance and of losing/reducing their local network of spies/agents and the resources they can access in maretonian territory.

Personally I think our best choice right now would be to focus the next turn on military preparations (especially army expansion and war horns) and talking with our allies (especially Canterbury, mentioning the assassin investigation if at all possible).

After that it depends on the level of support they offer. If Both Neighpon and Canterbury are in, we can attack from three different fronts and rapidly conquer a divided enemy.

1)Us from the North, through the Crystal Empire. Neighpon and maybe even the Yaks could add some of their forces to ours.

2) Neighpon from the sea in the east. They have the strongest navy and could likely win a naval war pretty quickly. We can add our navy to theirs, and unless the pegasi create a second hurricane we could likely conquer many of the coastal cities quickly enough.

3)Canterbury from the west.

Neighpon will probably want at least some of the coastal land to expand. Canterbury will likely want some of the bordering land for themselves as well. The Yaks are too far away for land, but we could probably reward them very well, be it in money, weapons or trade deals/goods (or infrastructure/industry, which is probably what they'd appreciate more)



Personally I believe the advantage of fighting a defensive war is a bit overrated here.

Sombra spoiled us.

Against HIM a defensive strategy was INFINITELY BETTER simply because his one and only tactic was was basically human pony wave attacks, augmented by a few magical beasts/constructs.

His army basically run against our cannons, flamethrowers and archers, allowing us to kill thousand of enemies before we even lost one single soldier. He only managed to kill as many of our own as he did because he had THAT MUCH of a number advantage, and because his mind controlled slaves were LITERALLY incapable of surrendering or running away.

If Sombra had been a better tactician it would have been a very different story )though he would have always been limited by the fact that he was only one person trying to direct tens of thousand of soldiers all by himself).

This time it will be very different. Our enemies won't fight to the death. They can surrender, they can run away, they can desert or betray.

They'll also have good tacticians, strategists and officers, plus many different magical abilities at their disposal.
 
Is an offensive war really warranted? Or can we simultaneously bribe and pressure the winner into beginning to reform away from slavery without spending lives and treasure on a war as well as dig our hooks into the cultural make up of our once rival?
 
I dont think it was ever actually stated that any of our allies would be against us invading in the defence of the Abolitionists. If anything i think neighpon would be with us the most since it was ours and their citizens that got put into slavery.

Looking back through the thread, your right. Thanks, I've adjusted 'problems' section of the plan accordingly.

Ya, I think its less that our allies would be specifically against us invading Maretonia and more worried for the precedent it sets in international politics.

Hmm... could be. As long as invading first = Bad, then the plan should still hold some merit.

Honestly probably not even that Maretonia had no friends at all with only trade between the minatuar republic and they even dumped them when the translation error was fixed they have enslaved 3 different empires people already including us Neighpon and Canterbury and now the house storm has used what is essentially a WMD against civilians meaning that even if we invade i doubt it will set any negative precedent, if anything they would join us at best or just give moral support from the side at worst. In any situation i dont see them being against us.

Your right that our strong allies probably won't mind us invading too much, might even be supportive considering their history with Maretonia as long as we tell them what we plan to do first. (Canterbury would support us certainly, the Neighpon would probably remain friendly but might stay out of the war). But... there are still other parties that will almost certainly feel threatened by such a large invasion into a territory that hasn't attacked/waged war on us first.

Who would those parties be? Well:
along with almost every ship at anchor in its harbor, effectively severing the Minotaur trade route and depriving House White Star of its greatest source of income.

This is a quote from the last rumour mill. It's proof that at least some of the Minotaur traders/nation are still doing business with Maretonia's Noble houses. Thanks to the House Storms attack the trade is cut off for now, but once Storm has fully crushed Star ships will be built and trade will resume.

If anyone we know of is going to be upset/feel threatened by an invasion, it will be these mercantile republic states.

I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just noting that invading might make someone other than Maretonia angry.


I think we should do lots of diplomacy to find out if our allies will actually be concerned with us invading, and use intrigue to pin the death of Queen Maria on House Storm. That way we can invade Storm without the Royal Guard or House White Star immediately joining them. We may even be able to get the Royal Guard to attack Storm as well.

There have been some analyses previously about why turtling up like in previous wars is a bad idea tactically, and I think it would be best to keep our forces mobile. Especially since it's possible that Storm could send a hurricane at us if we give them time and reason to.

Fighting a defensive war gives Storm the advantage of choosing where the battle will be and when it will be. They can build up a huge hurricane and smash it into our shore before beginning an assault, or flank around our walls like Germany did to the Maginot Line in WW2.

Good call with keeping our allies informed. Pinning the blame on House Storm sounds plausible, since they certainly have the motive and should have the means. There's the risk of us being caught red clawed with the frame up of course, but that's a risk with any major intrigue operation.

Turtling definitely has flaws true. Especially here, since what use is a wall if the entire enemy army can just fly over it? But the Hardbeak line has other advantages over mobility, strong walls and ceilings can still protect our troops from enemy aerial attacks, while the forts are loaded with cannons and supplies that are difficult if not impossible to move with a large army while still being more mobile than a Pegasus army. House Storm will likely win a battle of mobility, so lets force them to smash into our defences.

Could they fly around? Perhaps, but that would mean either flying through monster infested hostile Canterbury, or over the ocean. Even if they made the passing successfully they'd still have to attack the Hardbeak line so they could get a logistics/baggage train running through to support their army, without that the invading army would collapse long before they even reached the heart of the Crystal protectorate. Canterbury is too hostile to them to run a supply line through and if they sent them via ships they'd have to face the imperial navy. In order to attack the empire House Storm must first break the Hardbeak line, a much more advantageous fight for us than trying to out manoeuvre a Pegasus army.

But, as you said, they could do that with a giant tornado.

But what if they can't? Not easily at least.

Looking back at the most recent rumour mill, we can see that the tornado fell apart once the Pegasus controlling it were taken out. It likely takes a small army of Pegasus to create and maintain a tornado large enough to break through our defences, and if you take out enough the Pegasus the tornado magic will fizzle out. They can't just 'throw' a large tornado at us, they need troops flying in the storm to create and control it.

The solution to a House Storm tornado attack then is, as House Star showed, to throw a large explosion into it.

Sounds like a job for Captain Kaboom!

With this strategy enemy tornado attacks on our fortifications turn into wasteful suicide missions. Which is kinda the goal with this plan, to goad House Storm into breaking their collective muzzle on the Hardbeak line.

They wouldn't invade inside the decade. They will be rebuilding their nation after a war, dealing with their new reputation among the coastal areas, and have nothing to gain from attacking a fresh peer power (that is at least a Great Power, by the strict definition).

Raids... Maybe. Unlikely for the above reasons, but possible.

With the Abolitionists continuing to bleed House Storm's economy of slaves they'll have no choice but to either switch to a system not built on slavery. (Which still kinda a victory for us and abolitionists). Or invade to stop the constant drain on their 'valuable property', they need a workforce to rebuild their nation after all. With the abolitionists behind the Hardbeak line that means they'll be force to invade to get their slave economy back.

They could steal slaves from their other neighbours I suppose, but that A) won't stop the abolitionists from liberating said slaves and B) Would bring down the wraith of any nation they raid for slaves.

1)eh, we're pretty ready to invade at this point. A year or two of actions at most and we're golden

2) I think it's more that we don't want to invade without first talking to our allies (..which basically means every nation that is not Maretonia close enough to matter). I can't think of a single reason why Neighpon, Canterbury or Yakyakistan would be against us acting, and the first two might very well join us. The Minotaurs might be a bit concerned, but not unreasonably so.


could work, but it's risky.

The main disadvantage I can think of is that, If we're NOT attacking first, we have a decent chance of facing a unified maretonia instead of two separated factions (3 if the royal guards decide to join them, which they very well might).

We're basically trading the initiative advantage for a defensive advantage. I'm not sure which one is worth more.

Also I'm not sure the abolitionsts would agree. I mean, we're asking them to leave their country (and those willing to do it basically already did, as we can see by the big number of immigrants we recently dealt with), and their operations would certainly be harder to carry out from our territory than from theirs. It's simply a matter of distance and of losing/reducing their local network of spies/agents and the resources they can access in maretonian territory.

Personally I think our best choice right now would be to focus the next turn on military preparations (especially army expansion and war horns) and talking with our allies (especially Canterbury, mentioning the assassin investigation if at all possible).

After that it depends on the level of support they offer. If Both Neighpon and Canterbury are in, we can attack from three different fronts and rapidly conquer a divided enemy.

1)Us from the North, through the Crystal Empire. Neighpon and maybe even the Yaks could add some of their forces to ours.

2) Neighpon from the sea in the east. They have the strongest navy and could likely win a naval war pretty quickly. We can add our navy to theirs, and unless the pegasi create a second hurricane we could likely conquer many of the coastal cities quickly enough.

3)Canterbury from the west.

Neighpon will probably want at least some of the coastal land to expand. Canterbury will likely want some of the bordering land for themselves as well. The Yaks are too far away for land, but we could probably reward them very well, be it in money, weapons or trade deals/goods (or infrastructure/industry, which is probably what they'd appreciate more)



Personally I believe the advantage of fighting a defensive war is a bit overrated here.

Sombra spoiled us.

Against HIM a defensive strategy was INFINITELY BETTER simply because his one and only tactic was was basically human pony wave attacks, augmented by a few magical beasts/constructs.

His army basically run against our cannons, flamethrowers and archers, allowing us to kill thousand of enemies before we even lost one single soldier. He only managed to kill as many of our own as he did because he had THAT MUCH of a number advantage, and because his mind controlled slaves were LITERALLY incapable of surrendering or running away.

If Sombra had been a better tactician it would have been a very different story )though he would have always been limited by the fact that he was only one person trying to direct tens of thousand of soldiers all by himself).

This time it will be very different. Our enemies won't fight to the death. They can surrender, they can run away, they can desert or betray.

They'll also have good tacticians, strategists and officers, plus many different magical abilities at their disposal.

I agree our army is nearly ready to invade if we want them to, which is good.

Keeping our allies informed of any invasion plans is also good idea for maintaining friendly relations. Though as I mentioned above there's likely to be a large group of Minitours who's trading livelihood will be threatened by an invasion, which could sour relations.

Facing Maretonia United is certainly more dangerous than fighting just House Storm. But I think the defensive advantage would still be worth it.

In a choice between getting crushed by house Storm or getting access to the empires forts to continue the fight, the Abolitionists will almost certainly choose the later. You can't liberate slave if your dead after all. The loss of networks would be damaging, but not the final defeat of their cause that a house Storm attack would be.

Regardless of whether or not this plan gets used, I agree that military build up and calling for our allies are what we should doing next turn.

A three pronged tri nation invasion would crush Maretonia, I'm behind it if we can get our allies on board and coordinated.

Your right about Sombra spoiling us, A war with Maretonia would/will look very different than the war with him.

We'll need to adept if we want to win, because our enemies won't keep using failed tactics and wasteful strategies once they know they don't work.

But our enemies aren't endless now, nor, as you mentioned, is their moral unbreakable. We don't need to take their stronghold and kill their leader to win this war, not like the last one. We just need to convince them that their slaving empire isn't sustainable in the present day and that fighting for a dying system isn't worth it.

After all, war is a continuation of politics by other means.
 
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One thing I would say we definitely need to do is ransack that gold deposit if it reaches a point that House White Star is definitely losing rather than on the downturn as now. No need to let the Storm get so much money after all.
 
Could they fly around? Perhaps, but that would mean either flying through monster infested hostile Canterbury, or over the ocean. Even if they made the passing successfully they'd still have to attack the Hardbeak line so they could get a logistics/baggage train running through to support their army, without that the invading army would collapse long before they even reached the heart of the Crystal protectorate. Canterbury is too hostile to them to run a supply line through and if they sent them via ships they'd have to face the imperial navy. In order to attack the empire House Storm must first break the Hardbeak line, a much more advantageous fight for us than trying to out manoeuvre a Pegasus army.

But, as you said, they could do that with a giant tornado.

But what if they can't? Not easily at least.

Looking back at the most recent rumour mill, we can see that the tornado fell apart once the Pegasus controlling it were taken out. It likely takes a small army of Pegasus to create and maintain a tornado large enough to break through our defences, and if you take out enough the Pegasus the tornado magic will fizzle out. They can't just 'throw' a large tornado at us, they need troops flying in the storm to create and control it.

The solution to a House Storm tornado attack then is, as House Star showed, to throw a large explosion into it.

Sounds like a job for Captain Kaboom!

With this strategy enemy tornado attacks on our fortifications turn into wasteful suicide missions. Which is kinda the goal with this plan, to goad House Storm into breaking their collective muzzle on the Hardbeak line.
While Canterbury would be a problem since the Canterburians could cut their supply line, all they have to do for a naval campaign is build up their boats again. Yes this requires them to endure our raids until they manage to build up a new navy, but I think that's fairly feasible if they build their own wall to keep the abolitionists out, or just keep their important economic assets (plantations and stuff) away from the border.

As far as explosions go, I don't think we have any that are that big. We could take a Learning action to develop some, but explosions that big would likely be pretty close to WMDs themselves. I don't know how long that would take to create. It might be possible to steal whatever magic the mage college did, but we don't have a lot of mages ourselves to do it with. Overall, the most effective way to stop a House Storm hurricane is to go and kill the pegasi while they're still creating it. That means we have to be mobile and maintain air superiority.

With the Abolitionists continuing to bleed House Storm's economy of slaves they'll have no choice but to either switch to a system not built on slavery. (Which still kinda a victory for us and abolitionists). Or invade to stop the constant drain on their 'valuable property', they need a workforce to rebuild their nation after all. With the abolitionists behind the Hardbeak line that means they'll be force to invade to get their slave economy back.

They could steal slaves from their other neighbours I suppose, but that A) won't stop the abolitionists from liberating said slaves and B) Would bring down the wraith of any nation they raid for slaves.
I think the most effective way for Storm to stop bleeding slaves to raids of this sort would be to build a wall much like the Hardbeak Line. This, along with military patrols would prevent anyone on the surface or in the air from getting over. We could go under with diamond dogs, but having to sneak in/out through tunnels would somewhat limit the number of raids we could do at a time without revealing where the tunnels were, and would be proof that Gryphonia is involved.
Putting all the abolitionists back behind our walls also centralizes them in one area so they aren't spread out all over Maretonia. Storm could just make a large no man's land near the border, and keep their cities, plantations, and other economic assets that use slaves far away from the border. This would force the abolitionists to travel through plenty of hostile terrain before they could attempt to liberate anyone, making it easier to catch them.

Edit:
Another thing that Storm could do is just send a full hurricane at our heartland, as a kind of tit for tat for stealing their slaves. This would force us to go on the offensive to prevent it from happening again, but it would be after Storm has already unified Maretonia and built their army back up.
 
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