Pre-War
In the early years of the fourth millennium there were very few grievances between the Kingdom of Rune-Midgard and the Republic of Schwartzvald. The Furred slaves were still new to our world, still determining their place in it. They were far too insecure to do something as bold as run away or attempt revolt. But this would not last forever.
As time went on, the Republic leaned more and more heavily on their slave teams. Their economy, bolstered and swelling, became completely reliant on the free labor of slaves. Work days became longer, breaks became shorter, quality of life for slaves fell - and the Furred became uneasy. Slaves began staging escapes in ones and twos. When these proved successful, emboldened slaveteams began working together, causing escapees to jump into the dozens. Faced with the prospect of losing their livelihood, slaveowners turned to the government for help.
The military responded by placing permanent outposts of guards in most major towns, with the single task of keeping a lookout for escaped slaves. An additional (but small) number of troops were stationed at the Schwartzvald-Rune border, as the Kingdom was the usual goal of escaping slaves. Slaves that needed to leave town would need to secure written evidence that they were under orders - since most slaves at this time were illiterate, the guards reasoned that this was nearly foolproof. These measures did in fact seem to quell the problem at first.
The Kingdom of Rune was remarkably helpful as well - escaped slaves were usually returned to Republic territory by Rune's own border patrols. After a few months of increased border activity, however, this process abruptly ended - slaves that made it successfully across the border were very rarely returned to Schwartzvald. The Schwartzvald military tripled the number of border guards; Republic citizens developed mixed feelings for the Kingdom of Rune, bolstered in no small part by military propaganda.
Across the river, Rune citizens were having their own moral dilemma. Slavery had been outlawed in Rune-Midgard for centuries, since the second millennium. The Church of Rune found the entire idea distasteful; the ecumenical calendar of Rune was altered for the first time in milennia to return anti-slavery passages from the Bible to the forefront, and many pastors gave heavily-slanted sermons against the evils of indentured servitude. An anti-slavery movement had been born.
As the movement took hold, Parliament officials took notice. Aspiring members of Parliament ran for election on the promise that they would take the grievances of the people to the King. Once elected, they did just that - an unprecedented two hundred and fifty official Writs of Displeasure arrived in King Tristian III's office the day after Appointment. Faced with an overwhelming wall of opposition (the more radical members of Parliament vowed to oppose every bill that passed through the House until "something was done about the slaves in Schwartzvald"), Tristian III summoned the Ambassadorial Council and instructed them to meet with Schwartzvald. They would present their grievances through the proper channels.
After a week Rune-Midgard got a response from the Republic's diplomats stating that they would meet, albeit reluctantly. As planned, the conference was held three weeks later in the Rune-Midgard capital city of Prontera. The meeting was held in the eastern wing of the castle; two representatives from each nation were present. The primary representatives were Le'volf Wintrix, Chief Diplomat of the Schwartzvald Republic, and Sir Francis Hollvin, Appointed Diplomat of his Royal Highness King Tristian the Third.
Francis Hollvin: "Good day gentleman. You have our up most gratitude for venturing such a long way from home just to fall ears to our troubles."
Le'volf Wintrix: "Honestly Sir Francis our nations have known each other for sometime now. We would not simply turn our shoulder to your distress."
Francis Hollvin: "Heh, well I suppose we should start to explain."
Le'volf Wintrix: "If you would."
Francis Hollvin: "Many people of our kingdom have been voicing negativity about certain aspects of your nation. Nothing too salty for the tongue, but enough for it to be ignored no longer on our part."
Le'volf Wintrix: "Hmm I see…what are these aspects your people do not favor?"
Francis Hollvin: "I'm afraid it correlates…errr rather coincides with the enslaved races of your nation."
Le'volf Wintrix: "I figured as much, but feel free to elaborate…"
Francis Hollvin: "Words have spread throughout our nation like wild fire about the slaves. We hear terrible things about treatment, conditions, and the responsibilities demanded of them. Our people over the past few months have made a transition from hardly caring about the slaves to ambitious anti-slavery supports."
Le'volf Wintrix: "What do you suppose we do about the situation?…"
It was blatantly easy to see that Le'volf was becoming upset with the topic. So easily seen in fact that Francis withdrew from pressing the matter further. With the room falling silent Le'volf took the opportunity to explain his view on the matter. Pacing around the room as he cleared the silence.
Le'volf Wintrix: "I will take the meaning of your silence as not knowing a solution to render this issue mute. So instead I will brief you why there is nothing to do on our part."
Francis flinched slightly as the hostility in the room radiating from Le'volf back thicker. Unsure of what to do he remained silent figuring it was better not to antagonize the already irked representative of the Schwartzvald Republic.
Le'volf Wintrix: "Quoting the cursed Decimus Massimo….we have created the perfect ecomonic stimulus. That stimulus being the slaves, selling of the slaves, and labor done forth by the slaves. We cannot STOP this system simply because people of your nation are feeling pity for engineered vessels."
Francis Hollvin: "That's not what we were…"
Francis was quickly cut off by Le'volf though.
Le'volf Wintrix: "On the contrary. You come on behalf of the people to voice their troubles. So your words are theres, and what your words are saying is to stop slavery. Which we cannot. To do so would be the death of our nation, and I mean that in the least dramatic way. Without the slaves our economy will collapse, and us along with it…"
Le'volf harashly stopped, and looked over to the assistant he had brought with him. He angrily motioned to his assistant to raise, and gather their things. Le'volf then walked to the door, and turned around to face Francis.
Le'volf Wintrix: "We cannot do anything to help change your people's feelings about us. So it falls to you to help enlighten them."
With that being said Le'volf opened the door, and left the conference room with his assistant following after his hurriedly. Left behind were Sir Francis, and the assistant he as well had accompanying him. With a long exhausted sigh he knew what Le'volf said was true it was up to him to do something. Standing slowly Francis ordered his assistant to record everything that had happened, and then report back to him after he was finished. After the assistant agreed to the orders Francis took his leave from room to take a stroll, and gather his thoughts.
With diplomatic sanctions failing a proposal was made by Sir Francis to the king. The proposal consisted of taking soldiers from the Rune Army, and training them in infantry combat. With the said trained troops Rune-Midgard would launch a massive border patrol program. The trained soldiers would be in charge making sure nothing harmful came through the borders as well as making sure any runaway slaves didn't cross the border into Rune-Midgard territory. King Tristan III called forth his trusted council, and listened to their thoughts about the proposal. By the end of the day it was accepted in an attempt to try to nullify any more mixed feelings between their nation, and the Schwartzvald Republic.
The following day members of the Royal Guard began drafting soldiers from the Rune Army into the developing 'Border Control Program' (B.C.P.). Once the selection process ceased rigorous training of the soldiers began. It became widely known through out the kingdom through the mobilization of the troops that something was happening. Seeing how the Republic Diplomats left so quickly, and now members of the Rune Army were being mobilize people began to worry. People were fearful that possibly Rune-Midgard was going to be attacked by the Schwartzvald Republic. Out of fear word traveled, but it did not travel correctly or rather fully. The Schwartzvald Republic only received news that Rune-Midgard was mobilizing their troops. This bit of information deeply troubled the republic, and cause them to get defensive. Not only did the republic begin mobilizing their troubles, but they also sent spies to Rune-Midgard to see what they were doing with the mobilized soldiers.
When the spies returned to the republic the only bit of information that they could gather was that the soldiers were being trained for infantry, and where going to be placed along the board. The republic made haste trying to do the same, but the B.C.P. had finished before they even started, and were placed all along Rune's borders. While the republic was still scrambling to get caught up Rune's Border Control Program was doing very well. It wasn't until the republic had finished training their troops, and stationing them at their borders that trouble began. Soldiers on the Rune side had been stationed for so long that they had to deal with many runaway slaves, and because of these a good handful of soldiers leaned more towards anti-slavery. So at night groups of soldiers would invade the republic, attack any in there way, and evacuate them over to Rune-Midgard territory.
Neither nation gave notice to these events, but the citizens of their nations did. Rune-Midgard wouldn't acknowledge the acts of the soldiers because they were given no orders to do the things they did, and thus turned their heads to the matter. The Schwartzvald Republic on the other hand who prided themselves of their military expertise wouldn't admit that their troops/borders were so easily invaded/defeated, and they too turned their heads to the matter. Tension did not grow between the nations, but rather the citizens of the nations. Occasionally raids are still executed. Unfortunately everything has become more complex. The wonderful idea of stopping the slaves from crossing the border has brought only more tension between the nations, and has kindled an arms race between them.
War Declared
Any citizen of our great Kingdom of Rune-Midgard can tell you that life, all life, is sacred. From the smallest insect to the Great Whales of Moscovian legend, every life is a gift from the Divines, and is to be respected and cherished.
Yet the men and women of our northern neighbor nation, the Republic of Schwartzvald, defy this commonsense truth. Their Rekenber Corporation has managed to birth a new life into this world - sentient hominid life, capable of complex thought, language, reason - with the sole purpose of enslaving it. The Republic Senate has not only backed their decision, but created laws supporting them! They are perverting the Divine Will.
As is right and just, we of Rune-Midgard have approached our neighbors to the north. We have voiced our grievances in the proper format, speaking before their Senate and asking that they reconsider their decisions. We have prayed to our Gods, both single and multifaceted, in the hopes that our northern neighbors may be inspired into reason. We have been forgiving yet persistant, gentle but firm, hopeful but pragmatic. And we fear our nicer qualities have been abused by our Republican friends.
We shall tolerate the Republic of Schwartzvald's travesties against nature no longer. And so on this day, the Twenty-Fourth of June, in the Year 3145, we do declare war on the Republic of Schwartzvald.
If they will not listen to requests made in peace, they will bow to swords pointed in war.
—Declaration of War, Parliament of Rune-Midgard
Ratified into Law by King Tristian III on June 25, 3145, by His Royal Seal
Citizens of the Republic: Your very way of life is under attack.
Our neighbors to the South have issued a declaration. In it they have voiced their intent to besiege us! They intend to force us to change our way of life, to give up the economic model that has served us so well for over a century.
They claim that we offend their gods. But are not their gods our gods as well? Have the gods not sat idly by, accepting our worship, partaking in our sacrifices? Have they not had plenty of opportunity to voice disapproval, if they so had it?
I will tell you the real reason Rune has declared war on us, citizens. They are afraid of us. In the past thousand years we have blended technology and magic, science and religion, biology and engineering. We have been limited only by our imagination, and even that has grown by leaps and bounds. Even our government, appointed by the people's voice - not by ancient bloodlines, but by democratic will - is a modern convention the backwards Kingdom of Rune-Midgard cannot wrap its head around. They are old-world thinkers, stuck in their ways - and terrified of the change our nation represents.
We are the new world. And this new world terrifies our old-world neighbors.
They are lashing out at us with fabricated reasons, in the hopes that they can strike us down before we become too powerful. But they are too late! Our science, our guns and cannons, far outmatch their pitiful bows and arrows! Our technology laughs in the face of their swords and axes! Even our magic - our great Sage Academy in Yuno - dwarfs the pitiful Tower of Geffen and its cabal of hermit wizards!
They think they can bully us into submission? I dare them to try.
They will never defeat the Republic of Schwartzvald.
—Speech delivered by Rufus Schwarzchild, President of Schwartzvald, after counter-declaration of war was ratified by the Republic Senate
War
And so there was war. Rune struck first, capturing the border city of Aldebaran after a protracted siege. From there the Wizarding Corps lobbed magical artillery on Einbroch until the Republic Army managed to repel them and retake the city of Aldebaran.
The war continued in that general vein for quite some time. Aldebaran would return to Schwartzvald's control, who would use it as a base to bomb and raid into Geffen or Prontera; Rune would recapture it again, and launch attacks on Yuno and Einbroch from it. Occasionally raids were attempted, but these never ended in anything more than elaborate failures. Each side had systems of enchantments in place that prohibited teleportation; moreover, attempted raids by airship or boat could easily be thwarted by controlling the weather. Both sides quickly realized they were looking at a stalemate.
…perhaps quickly is a bit of an understatement. The war lasted nearly eight years, drawn out by stubborn pride and pigheadedness on both sides. It wasn't until 3153 that the leaders of both sides met in secret and arranged for a ceasefire.
What followed the ceasefire's declaration was more a cold-war than anything else. While there was no open hostility between Rune and Schwartzvald, to say there was no hostility of any kind would be at best a misnomer, if not an outright lie. The two nations do still engage in quiet, clandestine raids into each others' territories - Rune to rescue slaves and sabotage the institution of slavery, Schwartzvald to recover escaped slaves and slowly introduce slavery into Rune's population.
Post-War
The Cold War between Rune and Schwartzvald continued for two years before the events of Chapter One. It was a time of shaky equilibrium between the two great powers. In the public eye, the President and King Tristian III met over dinner every few months to reaffirm and extend the cease-fire; behind the scenes, Senatorial and Parliamentary appointees met in secret to voice grievances and mutter thinly-veiled threats. As Chapter 1 began, in the year 3155, nothing seemed to have changed - nor looked like it would be changing anytime soon.
