Italian-Parpaldian Border Crossing 8, Prato alla Drava-Winnebach, South Tyrol, 11:13 PM - one hour earlier

A light winter rain started to descend onto the very edges of Italy. Not a rare occurence, but an annoying one to be sure. In soft winds, the flags of Italy and Parpaldia gently swayed on their flagpoles as below, a lone border guard sat bored and freezing in his kiosk.

Lukas Hofer tucked his coat as close as he could. He sneered at the rain causing the air to get colder than it already is. Curses. He sighed as even the coffee he was drinking didn't seem to have an effect on him.

Lukas looked out toward the road. During the first days of the transfer, the highway leading to Austria was nothing more than empty grass. Since then, Italy repaved the roads with Parpaldia's cooperation. Despite this, there were still small signs of the Austria that was left behind. The Austrian flag flew in the air, and the EU welcome sign labeled Österreich Republik remained as a small memorial to those who lost their families and homes back on Earth.

Slowly however, Italy was removing bits and pieces of the Austria and Europe that once was. Signs that didn't display the EU flag design were placed, and the common tongue of Elysia was written underneath the English and Italian words.

Lukas had been studying the local tongue, mostly due to him needing to learn the writing system to accommodate Parpaldian passports. Which to him was almost useless during his shift because almost nobody would cross into Italy at this time, and especially at this weather.

But of course, the world would make a fool of himself as Lukas could see an approaching horseman under the rain. He narrowed his eyes as he could see what appeared to be a Parpaldian officer approaching the crossing. Lukas placed his coffee down. It wasn't the first time an officer would come. They'd usually be on official or leisurely business, but at this time of night was strange.

He just wanted to get this over with. Lukas then faced the window as the Parpaldian stopped his horse who whinnied in complain about the rain. He then spoke, "Passport and authorisation letter, please."

The Parpaldian didn't say anything. He then reached into his coat and pulled out his passport and in it was a piece of paper. The authorisation letter, Lukas thought. He took the documents as he opened up the passport and read its contents.

PARPALDIA EMPIRE

PASSPORT

Name: Koff Defwin

Age: 29 years old

Residence: Esthirant, Capital Commune

Lukas yawned. The same old was there. Stamp, picture, purpose of visit. He then looked to the letter.

'If you know what's good for you, you will let me and my men through'

Lukas went wide eyed and as he looked up to ask what the man meant, he stared face down at the barrel of his musket. His bayonet barely touched his chin. Despite the cold, Lukas felt himself start to sweat nervously. He then looked down to the letter, and then to the small shelf below his desk. There was a small pistol, meant for self-defence. Maybe just maybe-

"Go on," the soldier demanded through the rain.

Lukas gulped. His hand gently lets go of the letter and reached for the button to raise the barrier. He then-

In a rush, Lukas quickly grabbed the musket as the soldier went wide eyed. The two started to struggle for the bayonet. Lukas did his best to aim the musket away as he tried to reach for his pistol.

Lukas aimed, but the soldier aimed faster. With a loud bang, the kiosk was then filled with gunpowder smoke as the border guard felt a terrible pain in his chest. Lukas stumbled back as he hit the wall of the kiosk. He felt as if a hot, burning hole was dug into his flesh. He started to breathe quickly yet his body felt heavier by the second. And the last memories Lukas would have was the smell of gunpowder in the air.

...

"What in the gods did you do, you fool!?" Captain Rein Melwod approached Koff in shock and anger. He immediately looked to the kiosk as the grisly sight of the dead border guard gave him frustration more than anything.

Koff immediately retorted somewhat shakily, "He tried to grab my musket, sir! He aimed his pistol and tried to shoot back!"

"Bloody- forget about it. Get the button and raise this barrier already. The rest of you, forward!" Rein ordered as he looked back. There, his company of Parpaldians then walked forward under the rain as they marched with their muskets at the ready.

...

The gentle rain was soothing noise to Johanna Schmid. It was the simplest things that she enjoyed about Winnebach. Born, raised, and now living her elder years here; Johanna was thankful to have her beloved husband Martin. But despite the warmth of their bed, Johanna found herself unable to sleep. She sighed as she gently slipped out of her bed, brushing her greying hair out of her eyes.

Johanna went downstairs to the kitchen as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard. She placed the glass under the sink and got some water before she'd drink it down. Johanna yawned only to suddenly look up through the kitchen window. She spotted the house across the street as there were old timey looking soldiers trying to kick down the door. And when the door was forced open, Johanna could hear screams and yelling.

Johanna's heart dropped to her stomach. She quickly ran upstairs to her bedroom as she grabbed Martin and started shaking him awake, "Martin, Martin wake up!"

"Nngh... what...?" The old man groaned groggily.

"Wake up, there's- look!" Johanna didn't know what to say. Instead she dragged Martin out of the bed who stumbled towards their window. Martin and Johanna then peeked through the curtains and across to the neighbour's house. They could barely make a silhouette but they watched what looked like a soldier slap down a woman as muffled cries could be heard.

Martin went wide eyed only to watch the Napoleonic looking soldiers drag the woman out, a crying child, and a battered looking man. Suddenly, one of the soldiers pointed to their house.

Martin and Johanna immediately retreated, with the woman clinging onto her husband. Martin then huffed as he immediately went to his closet, "What are we gonna do?" She whispered fearfully.

Martin then pulled out his scoped Steyr Mannlicher SM12 hunting rifle. He hasn't hunted in so long and he hasn't shot someone before. He looked to Johanna as he gently whispered, "We will keep quiet, my love. Just be quiet." He said as he loaded a bullet into his rifle.

Johanna was about to speak only to gasp sharply in fear as they could hear the strong knocking at their front door downstairs.

Martin pulled Johanna back and made her stand behind as he looked around, "Fuck. Johanna? Darling?"

Johanna looked to Martin, panting deeply in fear.

"Can you hide under the bed for me my dear? We'll be okay, don't worry."

Johanna gulped before she nodded. As frail as she was these days, the fear made her ignore the aching pain in her knees as she slipped under their bed. Martin meanwhile made sure that Johanna was hidden. He grabbed some used clothes and a suit case to provide more coverage as he dumped it around the gap between the sheets and the floor, disguising it as a simple messy bed.

Martin could hear the soldiers demand they open their door. And soon enough, he heard his door be kicked down. Martin quietly approached the bedroom door and gently locked it. He gulped as he stood back and readied his rifle. Martin aimed towards the door.

Silence. Silence. Silence.

The doorknob then rattled. And rattled. And suddenly, whoever was behind the door was attempting to push it down.

"OPEN THIS DOOR!" The man behind demanded. But Martin didn't budge. Meanwhile, Johanna covered her mouth with both hands, trying her best to keep quiet and calm.

But then the door was kicked open. Pieces of wood went flying, and Martin then took his shot. Johanna flinched as she shut her eyes tightly, the soldier yelling out in pain as he clenched his stomach. More voices approached. She could hear Martin trying to reload only for another shot to ring out. The smell of strong gunpowder wafted through the room. Martin yelled in pain and fell to the floor.

Johanna started to tear up as she desperately tried to keep her breathing quiet. She could hear Martin struggling, "Let go of me you bastards- GAH!"

He suddenly went silent at the sound of a sickening whack. Footsteps started to dissipate as the sound of Martin being dragged went quieter. There was silence for a moment. Johanna opened her eyes. Someone was still inside, she could see his shadow stalking and walking around the room.

The stranger looked around. They opened her closet. And then sounds of jewellery being handled could be heard. The shadow stalked slowly along the room as it stopped in front of the bed. The shadow started to get bigger.

"Garien, come on!"

The shadow stopped. It then walked away.

And all Johanna could do was hide in fear.

...

What was supposed to be a peaceful winter night was filled with fear and hurt. In the centre of town, soldiers were now lining up every single resident they could find. Rein barked his orders through the rain, "Men shall be rounded up in the church! Women and children shall be rounded up in the community centre! Go on!"

The soldiers yelled in affirmation and started to force the residents to their respective places, many of them aiming their bayonets threateningly. Rein approached his fellow senior officers, whom were counting five dead. He then spoke, "I assume these people were not cooperative?"

One soldier shook his head, "No sir. One stabbed Helwin in the chest, three tried to dogpile us, and one shot Darrick in the stomach. We had no choice but to dispose of them."

"Right. Leave them there, we can deal with them later. For now-"

Rein then stopped as suddenly the sounds of wailing and flashing blue lights then approached. The police. He then looked to see two horseless carriages of law enforcement start to make their way down the road. Rein then yelled, "Men! In line, prepare to attack!"

The nearby soldiers quickly lined up in a row as they readied their muskets. As the police carriages stopped, every men nearby had their muskets aimed at the ready towards the police.

The cars then stopped. For a moment, nothing happened before one door opened at the driver's side.

Officer Alois Müller looked towards the scene. His eyes scanned the soldiers before he then spotted the covered bodies nearby. He took a deep breath as he spoke, hands raised, "Easy now, gentlemen. There's no need to be hasty."

Alois watched as his fellow officers also then got out of their cars slowly. He looked to the muskets. As outdated those were, a firearm is still a firearm, and they were outnumbered 4 to 15. He continued, "You're encroaching on Italian territory and have taken innocent lives. We suggest you immediately turn around and go back to Parpaldia before things get ugly."

Rein stood firm and defiant towards the Italian policeman. Through the rain that was starting to pick up, he yelled, "This is none of your business, officer! This is in the interest of Parpaldia and I suggest you return to your carriage and turn around before we inflict force!"

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As if to prove a point, the soldiers then stomped. Alois took a deep breath before he spoke, "You invaded a small town, broke into people's homes, and from what I see have even hurt and killed a few civilians. Please tell me how this is in the interest of your country?"

Rein scoffed, "Your nation has been surrounding and trying to destroy my nation from inside. The sanctions, the emancipation, our loss of foreign influence... It is bringing Parpaldia to its knees and we have you people to blame for. Last chance. Turn around. Now."

Alois gulped. There was no use reasoning from these people. He looked to the side to signal to his other officers to retreat. But one of them, their younger recruit, was eying his car door. Johann looked down to his own car door. On it was a Brügger & Thomet APC submachine gun for more intense standoffs. But there was no way, he looked to the younger officer, "Don't!"

Suddenly the younger officer aimed his submachine gun and opened fire. He managed to shoot two, three Parpaldians but Rein was just as quick, "Fire!"

Alois immediately ducked behind his car door as a hail of musket balls hit his car. He watched as his partner fell to the ground, unable to duck quickly. The other car was just as unlucky. The younger officer with the submachine gun was hit as well as he fell to the ground with a pained scream. His partner meanwhile hid behind his car door as well, visibly trembling.

There wasn't enough time to reload. Rein then yelled, "Seize them!"

The soldiers immediately started running towards the two remaining officers. The other policeman grabbed his own submachine gun and started firing back. Alois meanwhile knew better. He quickly scrambled back into the driver's seat as he reversed quickly. And the last sight he saw of the last remaining officer was him being stabbed by a bayonet.

He was just a village officer. He was just a village officer. Alois couldn't possibly handle this, this was not his job.

Rein sighed deeply. He looked to the three corpses and then to the carriage now speeding away. He once again gave his orders, "You two, get these three idiots onto the rest of the pile. Medics, quickly treat our wounded. The rest of you, get inside and out of the rain before it dampens your muskets. I have a call to make."

As he watched his men scramble to do their tasks, Rein started to head inside the town inn they designated as their headquarters. And inside he could see that the manacomm was now set up.

...

Red Drawing Room, Imperial Palace, Esthirant

In the Red Drawing Room, the patter of rain was soothing music to Remille's ears as they both sat in front of the lit fireplace. As late as it was, Remille and Ludius just received the economic ministry's plans to build their first factories and right now the young woman was reading the file out loud, "As of now the bidding process is currently ongoing on which company is gonna win the contract to build our first factories. Right now they got three top picks so far. Uh... Astaldi, Webuild, and... Rizzani de Eccher."

"I see," Ludius said. "I read about factories being quite polluting however. If it brings a bad air around Esthirant that would be quite an annoyance."

"I agree. Though thankfully the ministry says that they will focus on construction in Duro, Hathirant, and Esthirant East. So I don't think that'd be much of a problem," Remille said as she flipped the page.

"Ah, fantastic. Hopefully these being Italian companies mean we'd have an edge on technology on Philades," Ludius said. "How about-"

The doors then suddenly opened. Remille and Ludius looked in shock as there, Arde stood in his war uniform. The man with a firm look spoke, "Ludius..."

"Commander Arde? What is the meaning of this?" Ludius asked as he cautiously stood up along with Remille.

Arde didn't say anything for a moment only for multiple soldiers of the Parpaldian army to enter the room. Remille realised what was happening as she stepped back towards Ludius nervously.

The emperor looked around, his heart beating quickly. He stepped in front of Remille as he stammered, "C-commander Arde..."

Once the soldiers were lined up around the room, Arde cleared his throat, "Ludius... The people are tired. My men are tired. The empire itself, is tired. This economic crisis has Parpaldia being dragged through the mud, and you are complicit in it," he began. Arde approached the file Remille was reading and grabbed it in his hand. He then started to have an angrier tone. "Look at this, having companies of a smaller nation build our factories for us, when it should be something we are capable on our own! And to add insult to injury, even that barbaric Fenn is mocking us."

Ludius didn't know what to say. Despite the anxiety in his chest, he could only stutter a few words, "C-commander please be reasonable. Parpaldia just needs time to-"

"Time to what? For Italy to take advantage of the country? For us to further bow to their demands? For the people to just, rely on scraps of bread? Parpaldia is sick and tired of you being Italy's puppet!" Arde retorted back.

Remille knew this was all a lie. She knew Arde, he never cared about the people at all. She then spoke up, "You don't care about the peasants! You're just using them-"

"And you, the brat. You are not even an actual child of Candor. Yet you act as if you're some authority figure in this palace," Arde said with a sneer.

Remille went wide eyed at this, "C-Candor has trusted me-"

"If he saw what you and Ludius are doing to the empire, I'd no doubt that Candor would disown the both of you. You two have been deep disappointments for Parpaldia. But Ludius, boy..." Arde then looked to Ludius. "There is still a chance to fix this... You know your father said you'd have to toughen up every once in a while..."

Ludius tensed up at this as he started to feel cold sweat trickle down his face.

"Your father's ambition has always been to show the world that Parpaldia is a capable superpower. That even if we're from the far east of Elysia, we can be just as, if not more powerful than Mu or even the Holy Mirishial Empire. But here you are kneeling to some small magicless country that isn't even from this world," Arde said as he walked closer to Ludius.

The emperor felt like a small rat, and Arde had him corned. He looked up with hesitation, "I-I..."

"Let's make your father proud, boy. Because I'm sure even he would recognise that Italy is a capable country... And we will be putting them down to their knees," Arde said. "Their technology, their weapons, their luxuries, their people. All ripe for the taking. And I'm sure your dear father would be smiling down at you from the afterlife."

"A-Arde..." Ludius muttered but he suddenly looked to Remille as she tightly grasped his arm.

"Ludius, don't! You can't!" Remille said shakily, dread in her eyes. "You can't let Arde have his way!"

"Oh but I have," Arde said as he pulled out a cigar. "We already have men in Italian soil. We have taken hostage a small town named Prato alla Drava. And soon, we will be sending a manacomm message to the Italians..."

"Y-you what!?" Remille said in shock.

"Oh don't get so shocked, Remille. If I were a fool, I wouldn't be supreme commander of the Parpaldian army," Arde said as he lit his cigar. "In fact... I believe you would just be a hindrance." He said before he nodded to two nearby soldiers.

Suddenly, Remille could feel herself being dragged away harshly from Ludius as two soldiers gripped her arms. She started struggling, her heart beating quickly, "Let me go this instant! Ludius!"

Ludius however stood there, frozen. A million things were going through his mind as he couldn't comprehend on what to do. But as Arde then held his shoulder, he looked up to the man, "Come on now, Your Majesty," he said with sarcasm to his title. "It's time you be useful for once in your life. You two, take Remille down to the dungeon."

"What!? NO!" Remille screamed as she started thrashing around. "LUDIUS!" As she was dragged away, Remille looked to Ludius. There was only ever one time did Remille see Ludius frozen like that, and it was only her who saw the emperor in that state. It was during the final moments of his father.

Ludius was scared.

Arde scoffed as he watched the thrashing Remille be dragged away. He then placed a forceful hand onto the back of Ludius's neck as he spoke out, "Prepare the manacomm to bring transmission to Rome!"

Ludius couldn't remember to breathe, and when he did he simply looked up to the portrait of Candor above the fireplace as he was dragged away.

"... father."

Chigi Palace, Rome

The entire meeting room was in a panic. Giovanni looked around as generals left and right were arguing on what to do. Moretti himself looked exhausted and was scanning some hastily written ideas for a counterattack.

Roberto was no better. The president was woken up in a haste and quickly brought to Chigi to assess the situation. The prime minister could only sit there as he watched the generals bicker, "This is a clear encroachment into Italian territory by Parpaldia of all people! They don't even have the decency to threaten us first!"

"This has to be just soldiers gone rogue," another general said. "If this is an actual invasion, we should be seeing soldiers all around the entire border."

"What like some bandits? Because those are some pretty god damned specially trained bandits," another said. "What did the police officer say? Oh right, it was practically an army!"

Just as they were about to continue, an aide quickly ran in with the palace's manacomm, "Sir! Message from Esthirant!"

Giovanni immediately looked up in relief, "Oh thank god!" He said. "Okay maybe- they're finally gonna clear things up?"

Moretti however was more than skeptical. As the aide plugged the manacomm into the wide screen TV of the meeting room, he stepped back as on it was a live feed of a study in the Imperial Palace. Only instead of it being Ludius or Remille, Giovanni and the others looked to see it was Arde.

They knew Arde as the top brass of the Parpaldian military. And right now, the Italians had two feelings of anticipation. Relief, and dread. Finally, Arde spoke, "Good evening, government of Italy. This is Supreme Commander Holthon Arde of the Imperial Parpaldia Army. I am here to speak on behalf of Emperor Ludius."

Giovanni spoke in haste, "Commander Arde, thank goodness! We've received reports of Parpaldian soldiers attacking a border town! How can this-"

"Quiet," Arde said. The prime minister tensed up as he sat back down. "Let me set the record straight. The Parpaldia Empire is sick and tired of being pushed around and into the dirt. First, you meddled in our affairs in Rodenius and Northern Philades. Then you deliberately turn our allies and vassals against us, thinking that they won't suffer any consequences due to your so-called guarantee to protect them. And to top it all off? Your sanctions against Parpaldia has crippled our nation. You forced our government to do such a hasty order of emancipation, and then looked what happened... The people are starving, businesses are shutting down, and my men are angry."

Giovanni and the others looked around as Moretti meanwhile stared back at Arde in anger, "Commander Arde, acting like a child regarding politics is one thing, but to invade the Republic of Italy is another. If you do not order your men to leave Italian soil right now, you have another thing coming for you!"

"Oh I knew you'd say that. Show them the second feed," Arde ordered. After a bit, the magical display then showed a scene nobody could possibly stomach.

Inside the town community centre, Parpaldian soldiers stood guard as they forced the women and children of Prato alla Drava to kneel against the wall. Many of them were crying, fearful for their lives as the soldiers aimed their muskets at them.

Giovanni's heart dropped further. This was a trap.

"We have your dear peasants lined up against the wall, ready to meet their maker. But I'm giving you a chance out of this, prime minister," Arde said. "We are willing to negotiate terms to ensure your people's safety and to ensure Parpaldia is no longer a puppet of your country. But don't think that you can just try and attack us. We have patrols all around ready to spot you and send rapid mana messages to my men. If you so try to even send one flying machine within Prato alla Drava or to the Parpaldia Empire, you will be seeing the blood of these worthless peasants up against the wall and pooling under them. One chance, Canessa."

The feed then cuts back to Arde with a sinister smirk on his face, "I look forward to your decision..." The manacomm then finished its transmission as the TV went dark.

There was silence for a moment. And then chaos.

...

16 Beller Street, Dofflin District

Kaios yawned as he sat in his study. In front were files upon files of the latest meeting he had with Antonio. It was a success, Parpaldia was gonna receive its first factories. Only question was which company? Kaios was reading the profiles of the next company representatives that were gonna come to Parpaldia. Currently, Astaldi's representatives were in town and Kaios was writing down the details for where the next company's employees would be staying in Esthirant.

However, just as he was about to flip the page, he then looked up as he heard a voice through the glass.

"Sir Kaios! Come out and surrender yourself!"

Kaios went wide eyed as he looked to the window. The curtains were currently shut, but Kaios was nervous to peek through them. He slowly sneaked towards the window as he took a peek.

There were soldiers. Numerous soldiers. And they were waiting outside the iron fence of his home. Kaios gasped sharply as he tried to remain as hidden as he can while the captain of the group continued to yell, "You have been found to be in conspiracy as an Italian agent to destabilise the Parpaldia Empire! Surrender yourself or we will take you by force!"

Italian agent? What were they talking about? Kaios began to think for a moment only to realise what could be happening. He went wide eyed only to run towards the small manacomm in his room as he turned it on. Kaios adjusted the knob before the display of Arde was shown.

"...is the time for Parpaldia to no longer be subservient to Italy," Arde said. "With explicit permission from His Majesty, Emperor Ludius, I call upon the soldiers of the Parpaldia Army to rise and ready for war! Parpaldia shall take its rightful place back as the lone superpower of Philades!" He said energetically as applause could be heard.

War!? Ludius knew that war with Italy would be a massacre, and they would not be the ones to look into the mass graves. How could Ludius do this? As Kaios rushed in a panic to pack his things, he began to think. No, this wasn't Ludius surely. Kaios was confident Ludius would agree that war with Italy was a fool's errand. He remembered that the emperor would usually be the one to announce a new war.

Oh gods, was this a coup? It has to be. It has to be a coup. What was Arde thinking!? How could he-

"Sir Kaios! Last chance! Get out and surrender yourself!"

Kaios didn't have enough time. He grabbed his bag filled with his most important personal belongings and ran out of his room. He needs to get out of there, and fast.

...

Old Traitor's Dungeons, beneath the Imperial Palace

"Let go of me! I said- gah!" Remille was dragged into the damp air of the underground dungeon of the palace before she was quickly tossed into the cell. The place hadn't been used for so long, that was the purpose of the citadel. Yet here she was the as the latest prisoner in more than fifty years.

Remille tried to rush to the door but the soldier slammed it shut with a harsh bang as he locked her inside. Remille gripped the iron bars with a desperate plea, "You can't do this! If Parpaldia goes to war with Italy, we will fall!"

"Your mindset lead the country to this predicament in the first place, skank," the soldier said with a sneer. "You act all high and mighty in public but I can't believe you'd surrender yourself to those people.

"You don't understand! Parpaldia can't take on Italy, Arde is-!"

"Just shut the hell up! Or else you'll be wishing an executioner is axing your head!" The soldier said as he rammed the butt of his musket against the iron bars.

Remille stumbled back as she shakily went back against the wall. As she had no choice but to stay there, she slowly slid down the old stone wall as she sat onto the floor. Remille looked around. The cell was empty, nothing more than old rusted chains. There was a certain mustiness in the air, and it was dark save for the newly lit torches.

Remille, the darling of the Parpaldia Empire was thrown into an old cell. And there was no way out.

Remille was trapped. No matter how hard she may push, she won't be able to budge the iron bars. She was weak. Remille was weak. She pulled her legs together, her puffy evening dress serving as a mocking reminder of how far she has fallen. Remille started to pant quickly. She was trapped in a small space and couldn't move, and there was nothing she can do about it.

"L-Ludius..."