|
=== Kingsluund Colonisation Efforts ===
Prior toWith the releaseupcoming addition of thea expansionnew islands,shard to the server, Norlund set out to establish a colonial presence there. The Federal Council had assembled the Norlundic Expeditionary Corps, which werewas tasked with organisinglocating, theexploring, searchand forcolonizing the new continent, as well as establishing Norlundic presence thereworld. This exploration wasAs the largestnew andworld's mostlaunch structured exploration mission to dateloomed, whicha includedplayer 10+deduced citizenswhat atmap differentit distancesused frombased theon mainscreenshots continent,shared sentby outserver tostaff. exploreThe -early ensuringreveal that Norlund would beof the firstmap toset findoff it,a regardlessfrenzy of luck."crayon Theclaims" initialresulting routesin werethe completedBerlin with Kingsluund not yet foundConference, soa themeeting remainingin explorerswhich wentnations evenof furtherthe outserver pre-emptively resulting in Joadgrdivided findingup the new world, namingamong itthemselves "Kingsluund".before Theit expeditioneven wasexisted a great success, withyet. Norlund becomingwas theblocked firstfrom nationparticipating to reachin the shoresconference ofbut themanaged continentto ofnegotiate Kingsluund.for Norlund'sa colonialsection presentof wasterritory however short-lived due to an invasion which happened only hoursthere lateranyways.
As the new world's launch loomed, the Norlundic Expeditionary Corps had 10+ volunteers and a plan created by Okx to find it. It involved a spiraling grid expanding out from the ocean of the main shard to ensure someone would run into the new shard. After hours of searching, Norl member Joadgr was the first to discover and set foot on the new world, which he named Kingsluund in the finest Norlish tradition. The remaining members of the expeditionary corps all arrived at the islands and began establishing a base at the colony they'd negotiated beforehand.
Hours after arriving and establishing their base, the Norlish colonists were attacked by members of Blackwater in a fight that ultimately ended in the Norlish bunker. Most Norlish colonists were captured, killed, or left stranded in the new world as the events following the attack proceeded. In the future, Norlund would learn the attack was made by Blackwater at the command of ComradeNick, who hired the mercenaries to remove the colonists from the land to take it for himself. He would later rename the lost colony "Fortuna."
=== The Invasion of Norlund ===
At 4:30 GMT on the 19th of July 2020, Norlund was invaded by the forces of Blackwater, with backing from Yggdrasil, starting the [[Northern War]]. TheAt Norlishthe colonizersdirection wereof ambushedComradeNick, inBlackwater theforces freshlybegan setan upattack bunkeron inmainland theNorlund following their destruction of its colony,. andThe aggressors ran across the mainlandcountry wassacking invadedtowns, shortlyraiding, after.and Accordingattacking toanyone reports,who apresented fewthemsleves. peopleA werecontingent pearledof Yggdrasil fighters, whomost of whom were solelyformer Ansgar non-combatantsrebels, publicarrived utilityto buildingsfurther weresupport damaged,the andinvasion. goodsNorlund, werealready stolenreeling from homesthe andattack communalin storagethe facilitiesnew inworld, somewas Norlundiconly able to offer limited citiesresistance. At 10:00 GMT, the Norlundic Government issued a statement regarding the invasion.:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CivRealms/comments/hty536/a_note_from_the_norlundic_federal_government/
=== The Events of the Invasion, and the Ceasefire ===
As the attack wore on, Norls still able to return and offer resistance began to coordinate their efforts. The resistance efforts led by the Federal Council struck at enemy combatants when the opportunity availed itself, tried to secure to valuables and property from theft while making it harder to raid, and worked to gain the assistance of the international community. The Norlish resistance efforts combined with growing international pressure eventually forced the invasion forces into a calling a ceasefire near the end of the day. Notably among these efforts were;
As the day went on, and people from Norlund who hadn't been initially pearled during the events were either waking up or coordinating efforts, resistance against the invaders grew more and more, despite the majority of the nation viewing the events with a pessimistic attitude. With the remaining forces of Norlund grouping up and coordinating efforts to resist, namely the majority of the Federal Council, the remnants of the military/colonization efforts, and the brave efforts of the civilians of Norlund, Blackwater and Yggdrasil began facing increasingly difficult odds, with their PR taking a giant plummet as the international community condemned them for their aggressive actions, but despite this, the ceasefire was not called until the near end of the day of the invasion, because of a few certain actions.
First, was the aggressive actions of Okx, who managed to take on one of the invasion forces top PVPers on a one vs one, and not only managed to temporarily trap them, but was able to continue forward as a one-man army.
SecondlySecond, was the actions of the Federal Council,. mainly theNamely Prime Minister Jacob Grox, and the King, Leobonet, who both with directled negotiations with the invasion forceinvaders, and the behind the scenes actions with several international communities to garnish militaryinternational support for a possible retaliation against the invasion.
With these combined actions, Blackwater and Yggdrasil agreed to a temporary 48 hour ceasefire. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the invasion force withdrew and began unpearling prisoners they had taken in the attack.
With these combined actions, Blackwater and Yggdrasil agreed to a temporary, 48 hour ceasefire, where the invasion force withdrew, and began unpearling anyone who happened to get in their way, and Norlund began to regroup as negotiations began. At first, it wasn't exactly sure why the invaders had first attacked the islands, and then the mainland (though that just made the outrage even worse), it was soon discovered that Blackwater had been hired by ComradeNick, an Imperial Federation senator and former Norlish citizen, who had wanted Fortuna, Norlund's colony, for the IF, and despite Norlund bargaining for the lands, had hired Blackwater to kick them off. When Norlund refused to take off the claim for Fortuna, some sources say that Blackwater had offered to attack mainland Norlund, with Nick taking the offer, sparking the attack, while others say that ComradeNick, after Norlund refused to surrender the claim, ordered the attack on the mainland, to which Blackwater complied.
Yggdrasil, on the other hand, had merely joined to support their ally Blackwater, with Grave being convinced by Blackwater that Norlund had instigated the attack with placing the bastion on Blackwater land. However, they weren't the only contributors for the invasion force, excepting Blackwater, who had made up the majority of the invasion force, though Yggdrasil did contribute some of their men to the cause.
=== Events of the Ceasefire ===
Following the ceasefire, Norlund struggled to reorganize itself amidst the chaos of the situation. The morale of many Norls was exceedingly grim. The nation had invested and lost a large amount of its wealth and military resources in the new world effort. Players and fighters were scattered across the new world and mainland. In order to cope with these issues, the government focused the time of the ceasefire on reorganizing and rearming. The Federal Council ordered everyone overseas to return home and put out a call for all Norls to gather resources for the military. All farms were declared temporarily public and mass harvests took place to generate experience. Notable figures among these efforts include TheGreatUniter, ArnasZakas, and CuntJesus. Propoganda and memes were also produced to sway public opinion and add social pressure to the upcoming negotiations.
Norlund, was in mass chaos, despite their best attempts to reorganize. Most of the military was scrambling about, trying to re-arm, despite a good majority of their gear being destroyed during the events of the colony attack, and citizens, during the invasion, had fled all over the place, many taking refugee down south, in dangerous journeys that could've easily taken their lives and items. As the ceasefire was called, and the summon for all Norlish citizens to come home was announced, people's views were mostly grim. They willing to return and fight for their home, but knowing that the fight wasn't likely to go in their favor.
However, despite this grim attitude, most of Norlund participated in gathering resources for the military and federal council, with mass harvests and collection of materials and gear beginning across the nation, and soon, bunkers were full of crops for xp, mainly from the efforts of TheGreatUniter, ArnasZakas, CuntJesus, and many others. During this time as well, propaganda and memes attacking the invasion force, especially Yggdrasil, were posted in the subreddit, not only by Norlish citizens, but also by others in the international community, making it explicitly clear who the community supported, which aided with negotiations.
Suffice to say, negotiations were rife with anger and hostility, mainly from the Norlish, who were understandably upset from the action of the two nations. Blackwater maintained their position that they were only hired and taking orders from ComradeNick, which Norlund would reluctantly agree meaning that Blackwater couldn't be punished severely without it being just, but Yggdrasil wasn't able to maintain the same level, having joined in on the invasion from their own volition.
During the negotiations, as peace was beginning to be discussed, when GraveKeepersGod, the King of Yggdrasil, and ScubaSteve/ShamelessShamus, both stepped down from their positions of power, allowing the new King, Aeth/Grettir, to take power, alongside his council. While Grave's actions weren't entirely clear, Shamus admitted he had wanted to stop this endless cycle of toxicity between the two nations, noting that during the time spent in Norlund, and the following events like the secession, had, along with others, especially from Norlund's side, started this trend of hatred by the two sides, and knew that him stepping down would be an essential peace to allowing the two sides to begin to heal from one another's wounds. Along with this, he noted that this toxicity had begun to seep into his own life, and has chosen to begin to retire from CivRealms, but not before tying up what loose ends he had left, and seeking forgiveness where he could, and to forgive where he can.
Tense negotiations opened between Norlund, Blackwater, and Yggdrasil. Blackwater argued that as mercenaries, the responsibility for their actions fell on their contractor rather than themselves; a position Norlund reluctantly accepted. Talks with Yggdrasil yielded more significant results as they regretted their actions. GraveKeepersGod and ShamelessShamus stepped down from positions of leadership and expressed hope that the two countries could mend relations going forward.
With this mentality in place, a [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AHi545RSonsObhgnZ0TihiBrmsOA9DVTLD-H6O47Yb4/edit treaty] was drafted between the two sides, with Yggdrasil allowing all territories remaining in Norlund to go back to Norlund, with the caveat that some of the more southern farms, located next to Tallum, be allowed to be public to both sides. Along with this, a vault that had been terrifyingly close to the two nation's borders was rendered useless, foreign snitches and bastions were removed from Norlish territory, and Norlish colonization efforts would be honored by Blackwater, as long as it didn't combat Blackwater's own colonization efforts. ▼
▲With this mentality in place, aA [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AHi545RSonsObhgnZ0TihiBrmsOA9DVTLD-H6O47Yb4/edit treaty] was drafted between the two sidesYggdrasil, withBlackwater Yggdrasiland allowingNorlund. allThe territoriesterms remainingattested inthat Norlundall toYggdrasil goheld backproperty tostill in Norlund , withwould thebe caveatturned thatover some ofto the morecountry southernin farms, located nextorder to Tallum,avoid befuture allowedconflicts toof beinterest public toover both sidesproperty. Along with this, aA vault that had been terrifyinglywas close to the two nationnations' s borders was rendered useless, foreign snitches and bastions were removed from Norlish territory, and Norlish colonization efforts would be honored by Blackwater , as long as it didn't combat Blackwater's own colonization efforts . The treaty was signed in Tallum at a dual coronation for King's Leobonet and Grettir of Yggdrasil.
With this, the sides agreed to a white peace until the treaty was signed by all parties, and upon this writing, has yet to be accomplished, (mainly because a couple parties are currently away from CivRealms and are unable to sign), but the treaty is unofficially been agreed upon, with both sides reconciling, and even having a coronation ceremony for Grettir and Leobonet in Tallum, where all were welcomed to party alongside them.
However, while the ceasefire was expanded indefinitely until all parties had signed, someSome controversy came from the treaty, which erupted in the Norlund's discord in their House of Commons, where a citizen GetSkinny argued against the treaty, and accused the Federal Council of violating the House, which was met with backlash not only from the Council, but several other citizens, who protected the Council, especially considering the fact that the Council had both been under great deal of stress at the time, and had informed many citizens beforehand about the treaty. It culminated in a motion to remove Jacob Grox as Prime Minister, which failed unanimously,. and thenHumorously, asthis theincident Custodian attempted to put downwas the hostilities from all parties involved, resulting in the temporary closingorigin of the housephrase of"Fat commons, the motion for the removal as Imic from Custodian began as well, which, like the previous motion, failed miserablyNorlund."
Shortly after the white peace granted by the Second Treaty of Kannin, King Grettir of Yggdrasil came forward with a proposition for a new alliance between Norlund and Yggdrasil. Despite initial hesitation from the Federal Council after the Northern War , which some had come to call The Great Backstab, the Federal Council agreed to the treaty, and soonafter, Norlund and Yggdrasil became the first signatories to the [[Northern Defensive Pact]]. This pact was tested when, on August 5th 2020, Yggdrasil was called upon to aid Norlund in the War of the Isles. Yggdrasil honorably answered and was immensely helpful in the counterattack against the Isles. Norlund now considers Yggdrasil to be a valuable ally, and is working toward improving ties between the two nations.▼=== Reconciliation ===
▲Shortly after the white peace granted by the Second Treaty of Kannin, King Grettir of Yggdrasil came forward with a proposition for a new alliance between Norlund and Yggdrasil. Despite initial hesitation from the Federal Council after the Northern War, which some had come to call The Great Backstab, the Federal Council agreed to the treaty, and soonafter, Norlund and Yggdrasil became the first signatories to the [[Northern Defensive Pact]]. This pact was tested when, on August 5th 2020, Yggdrasil was called upon to aid Norlund in the War of the Isles. Yggdrasil honorably answered and was immensely helpful in the counterattack against the Isles. Norlund now considers Yggdrasil to be a valuable ally, and is working toward improving ties between the two nations.
=== RecolonizationSecond Attempt at Colonization ===
On August 3rd3, 2020, the SPQR contacted Norlund toabout inform them ofexchanging their intentcolonial to leave the continent of Kingsluund, and their intent to grant their new world colonies to Norlundholdings in return for tin-mining rights in the mainland. Norlund, grateful and excited at the premise of new colonial endeavors,gratefully signed the treaty that formalized the handover and began preparing the Norlundic Expeditionary Corps for a new colonization mission.
However, it soon became apparent that the treaty was not without controversy. The SPQR had decided to leave the new world after a conflict betweenwith them andSynlandia, a region of the [[Imperial Federation]], [[Synlandia]]. In order for the Imperial Federation, or IF, to unpearl SPQR citizens, the SPQR had to leave Kingsluund and hand over thetheir territories to a neutral third party. Since SPQR never specified that the territory should go to an existing new New Worldworld nation, and following their decision to hand it over to Norlund, the IF preferredexpressed totheir preference it to go to a Newnew Worldworld nation. Following this dispute, the IF decided to claim over the territory, bastion it, and snitch it. However, afterAfter intervention by prawny331 as requested by the SPQR's NovaCeasar, the IF backed off and allowed Norlund to continue it's colonization efforts<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/CivRealms/comments/i4kh6o/if_apology_post_and_explaining_our_current/</ref>.
On August 6th, 2020, Norlund officially began construction on its first settlement within the new territory of New Kannin. In addition, massive deforestation efforts were began to allow for construction of large scale Cocoa farms. A large recruitment effort in order to foster a lively and healthy community in the new world has begun.
=== The War of the Isle ===
''Main Article: [[The War of the Isles]]''
Another small nation, known simply as the Isles, had established control of abandoned SPQR land. When the IF gave the land back to Norlund, the Isles decided to enforce their claim to land. Norlund,Instead decidingof not to backbacking down, from their claims,Norlund opted to instead demarcate the border between the Isles and the new territory. Unfortunately, Cortwade, who was demarcating the border, ran out of fences, and opted instead to dig a 1-meter deep trench in order to solidify the border ingamein-game. This angered InfinityXerox, who was the leader of the Isles, andInfinityXerox, in awho surprise move, attacked Cortwade, CuntJesus, and the Minister of Defense Zamoradin. The "Battle of the Border," as it came to be known, resulted inhad heavy casualties for Norlund, and resulted in Cortwade being logboxed, along with Zamoradin and Hitmehn being pearled.
After the battle, Norlund retreated and Okx, a military councilman, was appointed Minister of Defense pro tempore. In addition, Norlund begancalled to bolsteron its Yggdrasilian allies, including Yggdrasil, and volunteers from Paradise. Infor addition, thesupport. SPQR and Sesoria publicly denounced the actions of the Isles. As reinforcements arrived, a counterattack was mounted, and, the Isles surrendered unconditionally in the Battle of New Kannin, the Isles surrendered unconditionally. In the end, aA white peace was signed wherein which the Isles wouldrecognized recognizeNorlish Norlundic Sovereignty,sovereignty and Norlund would promisepromised not to interfere with the internal affairs of the Isles.
=== The Imperial Federation, the FSA, and Norlund ===
Norlund's actions drew the attention of other nations in the new world and was approached about joining a new alliance called the Far Seas Alliance. The FSA seemed oriented towards challenging the power of the Imperial Federation, which alligned well with Norlund's own perception of the IF. Norlund had grievances with the IF since they had excluded Norlund from the Berlin Conference, challenged Norlund's new territory from the SPQR, supported the Isles against Norlund, and had accepted Fortuna and ComradeNick into their nation.
Norlund had, at the time, due to its actions - drawn the attention of other nations in Kingslund. After being approached by certain members of what would become the Far Seas Alliance, ( [[Far Seas Alliance]] ), and inducted into the new alliance, which at the time seemingly was anti-IF. There was those within the alliance who had hinted towards the IF's powerhold over the new shard now being challenged by this new alliance. Norlund disliked the IF because of a few reasons, namely, not being included in the Berlin Conference (which was founded by members of the IF), the recent war with the Isles (which the IF tried to support during this conflict), and lastly the induction of ComradeNick with Fortuna into the Imperial Federation (for those who need note, ComradeNick was formerly a Norlish resident before the New Shard was released, and upon the new world being found, ordered an invasion of Norlund so he could claim Fortuna, which would be accepted into the IF just a few weeks later), who Norlund was less then friendly with.
At just such a moment, Norlund's leadership was approached by an IF member named Dama with an offer for land and revenge against the IF if Norlund would provide military support for a coup. The Federal Council and some Norlish colonials secretly went to the new world and commenced with the attack. The Norlish attackers notably only went after pre-determined targets, did not attack innocent bystanders, and did not indiscriminately raid. Prime Minister Jacob Grox, who was blackout drunk at the time, incorrectly recalls slaughtering hoards of IF children. The mission was success as IF leadership was pearled, forced to surrender, and leadership was handed over to Dama. Norlund received ownership of the Arlington territory.
This, would all come to a head when certain members of the Norlish government were approached by Dama, with an offer that could basically be described as improbable at the least. With the promise of land (namely Arlington), and a chance to get revenge against the IF, these Norlish members accepted readily, launching a coordinated invasion into the Imperial Federation whilst Dama used their inside connections to throw the entire government into disarray, and setting up what was believed to be a temporary dictatorship.
Dama's plan had begun to unfold. This temporary dictatorship, was only to grow longer and longer, with notable members of the Imperial Federation growing fearful of the lack of response of the new government for the formation of a democratic nation, and upon the reveal of Raindrop, a Cantina puppet state, formed out of the combination of Paradise and of the Imperial Federation, the Imperial Federation Civil War sparked ( [[Imperial Federation Civil War]] ), in which Norlund was greatly divided upon. Certain members would go to support the Imperial Federation rebels, aiding them when possible, whilst others stayed neutral, believing that they shouldn't worry about this.
The results of the brief war proved politically costly to both sides. As the IF sank into a new non-democratic government, a Cantina alligned state called Raindrop was formed from the combination of Paradise and the IF. This led to the Imperial Federation Civil War and the eventual collapse of the IF. In Norlund, the members of the Federal Council who went to the war reported their actions to the country only to be met largely with anger that they had secretly taken the nation to war since declarations of war must be passed through the house of commons. As the situation in the IF got worse, remorse and regret spurred arguments about further intervention. At the same time, Norlund was expelled from the Fars Seas Alliance when it was revealed they had recieved land for their part in the attack. These combined pressures resulted in Prime Minister Jacob Grox stepping down and resigning his position.
Luckily for the Imperial Federation, Cantina was busy with a mainland war, meaning they couldn't dedicate serious manpower to taking this land, and actually found great success in the FSA, to which they would later join, while the FSA would continue attempting to remove Norlund, all members clearly upset about the actions of the nation, and upon the reveal, would be unanimously kicked out.
The Reveal, was the revalation by Onederful, ( https://www.reddit.com/r/CivRealms/comments/iamll2/the_truth_behind_the_invasion_of_the_imperial/) showed that the Norlish force that had invaded into the IF, was partly in the interests of land (apart from the aforementioned dislike of the IF), and not in fixing the supposedly corrupt government. This all resulted in Jacob Grox, aka Groxlord, stepping down from Prime Minister due to both national and international pressure.<br />
=== The Interim Federal Council ===
With Prime Minister Groxlord stepping down, the at the time Minister of Foreign affairs The Big Kannon got agreed upon to become the Interim Prime Minister.
|