amended
I am an Eternal Spring flowing under dirt.
"The General of Army Group North is missing,
we are being near-dominated in the air,
Our troops were caught completely off guard,
Obferstera to the North is considering allowing
military access to the National Federation forces,
and our throw-boys can't get their heads out their
asses long enough to get me a cup of tea.
Gentlemen, things couldn't be worse."
-Field Marshal Tyral Harrowfield
The landlocked conglomerate known as the "Jungland Keys" is a relatively small collection of nations located at the heart of the continent Jungland. These countries, although so closely located, share nothing but resentment for each other. While barely related to the events at hand, the disdain for one another can be traced all the way back to before the establishment of the countries themselves. The early colonies, descendants from different kingdoms, warred over the territories until a white peace was drawn between all of them. What was left of the hatred fueled by loyalty to a crown soon turned into a matter of bloodline and ethnicity. While other continents shared a similar sentiment, the Jungland Keys were the only patch willing to spit over the matter and repeatedly clashed in multiple wars over the following centuries. Now, the four nations are as follows: Friedland to the West, Obferstera to the North, Frenzistava to the South, and Antipoli to the East.
In the year 1923, Antipoli immigration was finally allowed into Friedland in a sudden collective burst of reformative policies that swept over the Jungland Keys. To the rest of the world, this was the first of a final bout of changes to bring ultimate peace to the small collection of previously unruly countries. Families, once separated by the rapid border changes due to the prior wars were now allowed to reunite and live together once again. However, anti-federal groups soon began to rise out of the greatly disputed border zones, most of them heading to the densely-populated urban areas to rouse protest. The ruckus drew in pro-Antipoli citizens who were attracted greatly to the idea of sustaining the old ethnic quarrels which had plagued the countries for years. The growing movement soon came to a crescendo in the year 1933, ten years after Antipolan citizens were allowed into Friedland. On the evening of March 11th, a small anti-government protest soon began to grow and teeter on the brink of becoming a riot. In a fit of panic the Friedland police opened fire on the crowd, killing over twenty people and sending the entirety of Friedland, as well as the rest of the Jungland Keys, into utter shock and chaos.
The immigration status was immediately shutdown, on word of the government, "The gates are not to be reopened until radical feelings of the Antipolan citizens come to rest." Yet the event, known as the "Mayford-Hayes Square Massacre" was a bomb tossed into the furnace that was the heart of the Antipolan people. The neighboring government did not receive the massacre well either; Antipolan citizens murdered in cold blood at the hands of those who promised them that things were different. And thus, it was enough to throw the will of the people into demanding war once again. A week after the incident, the nonaggression pact between Antipoli and Friedland were dropped and the Antipolans began their quiet militarization.
For a whole year, the Antipolans built further and further upon their already-strong military. During the period of buffing, a single war game was held in which a Friedland General, General James Whitforth, attended as a spectator. All he could remark upon his return was, "We'll all be a sore lot if the Antipolan government still remembers March Eleventh." when speaking to Field Marshal Harrowfield. Shortly after his return, Friedland began militarization in a similar manner to how Antipoli conducted theirs starting a year ago. However, despite any effort on behalf of Friedland at this point, it was far too late to match the Antipolan Armed Forces.
The day is now April 19th, 1934.
The General staff of the Friedland Defense Force have their heads spinning as Antipoli has strengthened diplomatic ties to Obferstera and has reportedly sent multiple envoys to a country once entirely alien and hostile towards Antipoli. The air in every office and barracks of the large country is thick with anticipation and dread, the only event willing to release everyone's held breaths being the worst event imaginable, war. Army Groups South and Center have reported moderate Antipoli troop movement while all three Groups have reported Antipoli aircraft flying dangerously close to the border. Yet without any actual airspace penetration, no pursuit order can be given. To complicate the matters even further, General Whitworth has been less and less responsive during General Staff meetings and appears to be in poor health. In just a couple of days from now, he is scheduled to doctor's appointment in a nearby county from where the Staff meets.
With the only people responsible for the country's safety in a state of disarray, a possible enemy assault on the horizon, and an ill-prepared fighting force, the country of Friedland is left without anyone to fall back on and stands alone amidst a rising storm.
Amidst a Rising Storm is a historical fiction roleplay that aims to provide writers with a story that can be brilliantly dark, weighted, realistic, and possibly humorous. The intended goal of the story is to open up social commentary on the realities of war while allowing characters to flourish in this alternate view of Earth. The countries are all monarchic in nature (Glory to the crown, right?) and the setting is heavily implied to be European. Likewise, if you haven't guessed by the dates already, the focus of this is interwar period, meaning plenty of re-imagination to be applied to the fashion and overall culture of these countries.
A quick rundown of the countries' cultural and military assembly for future reference by players:
Friedland
Although you might assume this is of a Germanic origin, this country actually takes after British culture heavily (especially in terms of banter and general social interaction). While militarily it is a massive combination of the Central European area (Switzerland, Czechoslovakia (spelled it right 1st try!), Yugo/Balkan area) one must keep in mind that this is during the 1930s, so there should be plenty of images on sites like Pinterest to get the creative juices flowing!
Antipoli
This country has heavy Germanic influences in its military, with camouflage now being issued on items like smocks and ponchos, it is the most cutting-edge out of all the Jungland Keys when it comes to military power. Culturally it can be seen as Italian and Mediterranean in its being. With a language separating it from English, it bears rhythmic annunciation patterns like Italian and has similar grammatical structure to English.
Obferstera
Militarily, this country can be heavily related to the Soviet Union; while it may not be the most credited for the immense presence it bears in the Jungland Keys, it is numerically superior over all neighboring countries. Culturally, it is a collective of the Western/Southern Russian countries (Georgia, Chechnya, Kazakhstan).
Frenzistava
Easily the least powerful nation out of all of them, it can be compared in both military and culture to Central Asian nations such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. This nation is not a big player in the story (yet) and will remain relatively quiet for the opening stretch of the roleplay before international affairs really start kicking (during the war).
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