BarbariaBoard

Vostag wrote:

Actually I'm making a map of my capital city with pictures of buildings on the national mall and the like. I wanted to know who has diplomatic missions with me or not so I know how much stuff I need.

I want honesty that goes with each nations Character

Interesting. Make sure my embassy is the biggest!

Vostag wrote:

The berber states, The cossack hetamanate, Egyptian pharocracy, Garnel, The hunnic khanate, Hedra, Sovern, Volohk, Vostag, Wato salia
SIC: The Wild Hunt: A Choice
Several black banners and flags unfurl from the ceiling and walls. The flags have a picture of the head of Ormagoden emblazoned upon them. The banners are similar with the head of Ormagoden on them but below them is inscribed "March or Die".

The Wild Hunt

by The Hyperborean Empire of Vostag

Legend of Ormagöden

Ormagöden and the Unlovable Things

In the beginning before the ages of man, all was darkness. That was how the First Ones preferred it, for they were so hideous that even they could not bear to look upon themselves. Then came the Fire Beast, a giant monster of flaming, molten iron, who roared across the sky like an angry comet. His metal body burned so brightly it illuminated the world and all its hateful creatures. He was Ormagöden, Cremator of the Sky, and the First Ones loathed him because his light forced them to see themselves as they truly were. So they hid underground, and dreamed of a day when they could murder the fire beast, and rid the world of his light forever.

Roots of Song

The First Ones spent their days feeding from Madronal, the teated tree of drinking. They suckled from her bark a thick nectar that flowed up from her roots, which penetrated the ground so deeply they reached even into the Untouched Place. There, a beautiful being named Aetulia sang to the roots of Madronal, and the tree turned her song into nourishment for the ungrateful creatures above. One day, the greediest of them sneaked into her sanctuary and trapped Aetulia in a cage, forcing her to sing only for him. That is how he gained unlimited power over all creatures, and became their first and most terrible king.

Fall of the Fire Beast

The king used the song of Aetulia to lure the Fire Beast Ormagöden to the ground, where the First Ones tracked him and tried to douse his flaming body with mud. Rather than be extinguished, the mighty Fire Beast let out an earth-shattering scream and exploded like a sun. A million pieces of his steel flesh shot into the ground, veining it with ore. His fire flew up into the sky and became the sun. There was so much blood it flooded the world, drowning all the First Ones as it formed the oceans. His death cry was so loud that it echoes throughout the world to this day. Low creatures felled the god Ormagöden, but his death gave the world the elements from which a new era would rise: Blood, Fire, Noise, and Metal.

Sea of Black Tears

After she was used to lure Ormagöden to his death, Aetulia was left to cry alone in the darkness for an eternity. She wept for so long, her tears turned into an ocean of pure sorrow, and she turned to dust. Whomever drinks from this ancient Sea of Black Tears is granted some of Aetulia's power, but also cursed with her all-consuming grief. Most tear-drinkers go mad and destroy themselves and everything around them in a murderous rage. The Gods dropped a mountain on top of the sea to keep themselves safe from its allure, but it is said that through the cracks in the mountain you can still hear Aetulia singing, inviting passers-by to come lose themselves in her sad waters.

Legend of Crom

Eons after the death of Ormagöden and the rise of man the legend of Ormagöden and the secrets of steel were hidden away. Then there rose a man unlike any other, Crom. Crom stole the secrets of steel from the giants. Crom mined Ormagöden's steel flesh from the ground, and found it retained the beast's desire for speed. He forged swords that flew through the air so fast they could not be seen, and armor so light it made warriors run faster. He made chariots so quick it was hard to find beasts fast enough to pull them, and so he abandoned the beasts and made giant vehicles that moved with their own power. These colossal creations were a rolling temple to Ormagöden, forged from his gleaming flesh. They had a fiery engine for a heart that roared with the mighty god's death cry, scattering the Crom's enemies as they carried him and his armies across the globe.

After raiding and conquering his entire lifetime Crom had mastered the secrets of steel. For stealing the secrets of steel from the gods and achieving never-ending glory the gods made Crom a god like them. The only man ever to do so. Unlike the gods which make their home in Asgard Crom took his seat atop the Throat of the World. Crom is the grim and gloomy god, ever watching from atop his mountain in dark clouds and obscuring mists, ready to pass a disapproving judgment on any and all. Crom's sole gifts to men is to bestow them at birth with the power to strive and slay, the courage to go on, survive, and vanquish adversity and The Riddle of Steel. It is wise not to pray to Crom for he will only send forth dooms and death. Crom shall only intervene when he sees fit and only too save one from a dishonorable death for a more honorable one involving overwhelming odds, heaps of mangled corpses, and rivers of blood. It is only then that one should make a sacrifice to Crom as tribute.

Legend of the Wild Hunt

Across the multitude of cultures across Hyperborea and across the globe there are stories of a spectral hunting party coming down from the heavens and sweeping up the souls of any of those living who happen to cross its path. According to tradition and eye witness accounts, the Wild Hunt is a procession, or rather a cavalcade of skeletal horsemen. They rush across the sky on the bony remains of steeds. Clad in rusty remnants of armor, they wear jagged swords at their waists. Like comets, the Wild Hunt is an omen of war and woe. The spectral cavalcade ventures out in search of victims every several years. The Wild Hunt abducts people or their souls, forcing them to join its mad gallop across the sky. It's harvest is especially rich just before or during a great war. Some of these abductees supposedly managed to escape the cavalcade back into the world of the living, but the stories they told were so extraordinary that they were always considered insane. Astronomical observation has been used to try and calculate the frequency of the Wild Hunt's appearances.

The Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt was once an army of elite warriors who worshipped Ormagoden. Some say they were the army of Crom left to roam the Earth after Crom became a god. The Wild Hunt would go forth from their secret abode whenever signs of Ormagoden would appear. These signs range from Comets, Eclipses, and Blood Moons to War. When these signs would appear they would go out and raid and pillage sometimes doing so across the globe. Once the Wild Hunt faded from history it became a myth told around world.

In the modern age during the Foundation War of Hyperborea a group of young Hyperboreans refounded the Wild Hunt. To most this group was known as Odinson's Orphan Raiders. This group has become an elite army of 500 warriors from various special forces groups within Hyperborea such as the Berserkers, Ulfhednar, and Svinfylking and even some special forces groups outside of Hyperborea. All of those who are recruited must go through a series of trials which change with each new generation of recruits. In modern times the Wild Hunt has only rode out during great wars such as WWI, WWII, or WWIII. However it may also ride out to carryout special missions when required. Just like the legendary Wild Hunt of old the current Wild Hunt has a strick policy of no witnesses. The few witnesses which survive tell only fairy tales and myths from ages past.

King of the Wild Hunt

Entrance to the Temple of Ormagöden. Through the maw of the beast one begins the journey of 162,596 steps up the Throat of the World to the Temple of Ormagoden.

The Temple of Ormagöden, Hall of the Mountain King Crom. Sits atop the Throat of the World the tallest mountain on Earth.

Read dispatch

Out from the shadows steps other figures clad in similar skeletal armor as the Kaiser's. The Kaiser speaks;

"It's good to see you all. Sorry for all of the hocus pocus but it's part of the rules."

"Up the mountain? It's easy when you know the way. Besides there is more than one way into these halls."

"I'm sorry I had to keep you all in the dark. Especially you Alduin. I am also deeply saddened by those who couldnt make it through all the trials. Their remains will be collected and sent back to their homelands. The rest of the world may not know how or why they died but they will be forever remembered by the Hunt. But the Wild Hunt doesn't just let anybody get this close. Which gets us to reason you've all been summoned here. You were all contacted for a reason. You see the Wild Hunt is a small army of 500 elite warriors. Now these 500 companions is largely made up of Hyperboreans from various special forces organizations but there are a handful from foreign organizations. Since the Wild Hunt last rode we have lost some of our members. So it is time for us to recruit some new members.

You have all passed the trials and we would be honored to accept you into our ranks. You have a choice to make. Join the Wild Hunt and leave your place in your own military organizations behind forever. Or decline. If you decline to join then you are free to leave. No swearing to secrecy or anything. Why? Because it isn't like anyone would believe you if you ran around telling people that the Wild Hunt is real and is led by Kaiser Odinson. They'll just think your crazy. That's why if you decline you are free to leave this place.

So folks you have your choice. Keep living your lives fighting in your armies like you have been. Or join the big leagues and ride with the Wild Hunt knowing you will no longer be fighting alongside your old brothers. Be it in the Garo, Hedran Special Forces, or what have you. You join up with the Wild Hunt you will leave them behind. Just know that. Oh and if you dont already have it you'll get Hyperborean citizenship."

Kaiser Odinson walks up to Joseph Alduin of Sovern. "Joseph I know you have a lot of commitments in Sovern. If you cant join the Wild Hunt because of them then I understand. I just wanted to give you the chance," The Kaiser then addresses the rest of the soldiers, "It might be weird for you to join the most top secret military unit in the Hyperborean Military and leave all your friends in your old Special Forces organizations back home. The choice isn't an easy one so take your time but be sure to make it before you leave this room. You leave this room without saying what you choose then I will consider it as a decline. It's up to you."

"I accept."

The Remnants

For a couple of months, Valenborn was quiet. It was devoid of any outside communication, and trade was halted because it was under a lock down by officials from an unfamiliar party. Anyone whose attempted to enter, never returned. No one ever left, either. It was as if the country went rogue, and detached itself from the outside world. Finally after some time, investigators were permitted to enter the country. However, evidence quickly piled up that Valenborn was dramatically different than it once was before.

The cities were made more urban, and modern. A homogeneous culture formed, and its people appeared to be more orderly. The military's presence is more obvious, with military-grade vehicles can be seem patrolling the main streets, and occasional companies of ground soldiers are at every corner. From one's perspective, you can say that an authoritarian government established itself through a military-sponsored coup, but as it turns out it's not what it seems.

However, investigators were horrified when they find the Queen crucified, banged up, and barely recognizable. Gathered at the central district of the capital city, the investigators flood the area, trying to capture every corner of the gruesome feature. The reporters have also noticed that the flag is different, and a limited curfew was put in place. No one wanted to serve the investigators, nor did they provide them any hospitality at any hotel or inn. Eventually, the reporters caught the wrong kind of attention, and were approached by a large platoon of soldiers, who can be seen wearing gas masks, exo-suits, and were incredibly hostile. They were detained and safely transported to the ports, or border security sub-stations in the effort of returning them home.

The country eventually re-opened itself; continuing trade, and re-establishing communication with the rest of the world. An explanation was given to the UNB by officials.

As it turns out, the former Queen was sponsoring a program that captured innocent civilians, and used them as escape goats for crimes that she, and her sympathizers committed. The activity of this program got deeper when assassinations, coordinated accidents, and torture were mentioned in a leak that was passed on by an unknown member of this crime ring. The public found out about these horrible and corrupt crimes, and thus a large-scaled rebellion crippled the government. The military failed to suppress the dissenters, but managed to keep everything a secret from the international community. Now that the former government dissolved, a provisional government was established to commence the due process to form a new state before the rest of the world caught wind, but they made very little progress and its sponsored civilians didn't trust their officials.

A new faction emerged, promising integrity and republican ideals; they are known as the Remnants, but not much else is known about them. While their image promotes the fundamental ideology of a nordic republic, they are considered to be extremely nationalist. They have established deep roots in the media, but has left the economy alone and has granted more rights and freedoms than the last government. The people seem to like this government a lot more, but it isn't as open as the previous statehood. How will this impact the world and Valenborn?

The cossack hetamanate wrote:

"I accept."

If he accepts I accept.

Vostag wrote:

SIC: Great Minds Think Alike:
While the UTF begins it's operations to redirect an asteroid that would've impacted Sovern so that it hits Lemuria there is something going on on the opposite side of the globe.

Somewhere in Lemuria:
"Object Rama has entered rendezvous window sir." says a Lemurian who is in a row of Lemurians in a room of row after row of Lemurians sitting in front of computers with massive monitors on the far wall show live images of what looks like an asteroid in space.

"Good. Send the order to all units to begin rendezvous and redirect. The Hyperboreans may be able to stop our nuclear warheads but they'll never be able to stop an asteroid of this size. Once we redirect the asteroid to impact Hyperborea then they shall know the pain of the Lemurian people. The hardship we faced after WWIII. The annihilation. The desolation. They shall know true pain and suffering and then the Barbarians will crumble with ease without their Hyperborean masters." Says a Lemurian wearing a white officer's uniform with his chest covered in medals that sparkle in the low light of the mission control room of the Lemurian Space Force.

"Sir! We're picking up Barbarian spacecraft moving to rendezvous with Object Rama! They're neck and neck with us!" yells one of the men at a computers.

"Damn! It seems great minds think alike. Either that or we've a traitor in our midst. Well every nation with space capability has been tracking this asteroid for months so it only makes sense that the filthy Barbarians took note. If not to redirect it from its course with Sovern to a safe one then perhaps to aim it at us. SEND IN REINFORCEMENTS! Either Lemuria takes that asteroid or we destroy it so those Barbarians cant use it against us!"

The race to Rama begins.

OOC: MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!

President Kirkiv was informed by her intelligence, that the Lemurians have conducted the same mission; although their prime target isn't known, the fact that their presence was detected proves that their intentions match that of our own. President Kirkiv's Secretary of Defense advises her that they should be intercepted to insure the mission's success. "We have nearby forces, so it wouldn't be a problem to provide them naval and air support, however it would be wise to double-cover the operation by taking a step ahead, and attempting to blind them by locating and destroying their satellites. We have the capacity to destroy their instruments, its the matter in finding them." states her adviser.

"I see." President Kirkiv confirms, "Intercept them, and destroy their satellites." she orders. "Yes madam President!" her subordinate complies.

"If all else fails, inform the situation to our ground support, and tell them to remain on high alert. We need to be ready if the Lemurians pull something sneaky on us. In addition, commence an emergency broadcast, and warn civilians to take cover and remain in their bunkers for the time being until further notice. Finally, inform our allies and the UTF on the situation." she orders to another subordinate.

"Just to insure that we can't be compromised, activate the 13th and 16th Naval Divisions to reinforce our coastline, and make sure I get updated topographic information." she adds while trying to catch the subordinate's attention.

She approaches the command center, and mumbles to herself; "Let's drown these f**kers."

OCC: Man. What a doozy - not at all what I was expecting, but I'm loving this so far!

Sovern wrote:

Sovern has begun tracking the support warships, and have re-directed three fleets of the Navy to engage them, with the support of aircraft, fighter jets have been ordered to attack the warships from above, while a sub-division of submarines are tasked in attacking from below. Reinforcements have been organized to back them up. The prime target is whatever technology or device they're using to redirect the asteroid.

Meanwhile, orbital drones have been tasked in detecting and destroying any spacecraft that could be providing assistance to the Lemurians in their mission. These drones are specialized spacecraft that are militarized to secure Sovern's place in space (OCC: Intentional rhythm), these drones are directed by trained specialists in the Sovern National Space Agency. Artificial intelligence has been implemented to provide additional combat support and navigation. The senors of these drones can scan and detect enemy units by hyperlinking unique satellites and ground-based scanners.

"Madam President, the satellites that we targeted have been destroyed, but its not delaying the Lemurians. What are your orders?" proclaims one of the President's subordinates. "The space drones have been activated and ordained the mission to destroy any spacecraft that might be helping the Lemurians. Reinforcements are on their way, and proper engagement has been initiated. We can use our orbital scanners and see if we can destroy the head of the beast, but with what limited time we have the risk of success would be low, however we are limited because of the recent surge in information we didn't expect, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Locate the headquarters of Lemuria's space agency and destroy it, along with all those who are inside it." President Kirkiv orders. "Yes madam President!" the subordinate confirms.

President Kirkiv has requested Tritra and Velkisa immediate support.

Tritra wrote:

President Ion has dispatched three (3) naval fleets to aid Sovern. In addition, Tritra's light Consort Wing was also dispatched to intercept the Lemurian fleet by flanking their sides, and would have the specialty in avoiding large weapons because of their enhanced speed and light-weight design.

Velkisa wrote:

Velkisa has sent two Mercury-class fleets to aid Sovern in their mission.

Greater viking empire wrote:

Recent activity on the high seas caught the eyes of the Vikings, interesting in getting some payback for their humility, King Ragnar I. toke advantage of the situation and decided to act as co-belligerents; four fleets have been sent over to intercept the Lemurians.

OOC: ??? Maybe I need to give a quick lesson on advanced space warfare and basic orbital mechanics/principles?
IC: Race to Redirect:
The naval vessels encounter nothing as the Lemurian warships in question are SPACECRAFT and as a result are in SPACE. There are no naval ships to intercept or flank.

The orbital drones are ineffective as the Lemurian warships and the redirect spacecraft that they are escorting haven't been in Earth orbit for days at this point as they are going beyond the Earth's orbit around the Sun to rendezvous with the Asteroid along it's orbit in the window of time before the asteroid's orbit crosses the orbit of the Earth and enters Earth's gravitational sphere of influence and gets pulled in to impact the Earth.

Vostag wrote:

Vostag nukes Hedra and Sovern

*looks around* Did I miss something?

Culof wrote:

*looks around* Did I miss something?

Finally!

Sovern wrote:

OCC: My bad I confused the spacecraft battleships with naval battleships, my apologies.

IC: The drones have been stationed to counter the Lemurian spacecraft in an attempt to ambush them before they reach the planet. A grid of defending drones have been left behind to patrol and counter the Lemurian spacecraft in case the first wave of offensive drones fail.

IC: Race to Redirect: Given that Lemuria's course to the asteroid is not quite the same as the Barbarian course coupled with the 3 dimensional nature of space the Lemurian spacecraft easily avoid the trap.

Vostag wrote:

IC: Race to Redirect: Given that Lemuria's course to the asteroid is not quite the same as the Barbarian course coupled with the 3 dimensional nature of space the Lemurian spacecraft easily avoid the trap.

Vostag wrote:

IC: Race to Redirect: Hyperborea's Part
Fortunately for the Barbarian mission to redirect the asteroid Sovern had requested Vostag's help in the rendezvous and redirection. Vostag had already dispatched an escort of spaceships to protect the capture and redirect drones just in case Lemuria tried anything. Despite heavy radio chatter coming from the Earth the vessels of the Hyperborean Space Force are able to pick up the news that it would appear Lemuria has a similar idea to the Barbarians.

While the redirect mission already has a military escort a second fleet is dispatched to reinforce the Hyperborean forces already escorting the mission. This situation is unique as the Hyperborean military spacecraft and Lemurian military spacecraft are both racing to intercept the asteroid first. When these forces meet it will be the first time in history that two Space Forces will engage in combat outside of Earth orbit. Until this point the Hyperboreans have had little resistance other than the occasional space piracy. This will be the first real test of the massive space warships of the Hyperborean Space Force against a contemporary force. Kaiser Odinson sits quietly and intently in his office getting live updates of the situation to hear the effectiveness of the space warships and also to hear if the mission is a success. The tension of the situation is increased because while a fleet has been sent to reinforce the Hyperborean spacecraft it will still take them time to get there. So for the time being the spacecraft on the mission and those escorting it will be on their own until the reinforcements arrive.

IC: Race to Redirect: Hyperborea's Part
Commander Haxom Annar sits in his quarters aboard the spacecraft carrier H.S.S. Kronos CV-3 which is the lead ship of the Hyperborean star fleet that is escorting the Barbarian asteroid redirect spacecraft. He has been made aware of the Lemurian effort and that the Lemurians know of the Barbarian efforts. He has also been made aware that the Lemurians are sending reinforcements and that Hyperborean reinforcements are making their way to aid him and his forces.

He was alerted of the failed effort by Sovern to try and slow down the Lemurians. Commander Haxom Annar is known as a rising star in the Hyperborean Space Force having aced all simulations during his days at the National War College and having led several successful engagements against space pirates. He has turned down several promotions so he can remain Commander of his fleet.

There is a knock on the door. "Come in," says the Commander. The door opens and in steps Capt. Kairg Hindarson. "Sir we're a day or so out from arrival. The other Captains and I want to know what our plan is for the Lemurian situation." says Capt. Hindarson.

"Ah. I see. Well Kairg my old friend I've been thinking about myself ever since we got word about the Lemurians. I just finished reviewing what went wrong with Sovern's efforts to try and stop the Lemurian ships. Best I can tell is that they largely forgot to take into account the difficulties of advanced space combat: 3 dimensional movement, time, and distance. It isnt surprising though as this is new territory for them. They're thinking a bit too...nautical. While yes a trap like sea mines may be enough to stop ships at sea but it's different out here in space. Out hear traps such as mines need to be placed carefully where one knows beyond a doubt the enemy will have to pass through to reach their goal. In a place that they cannot go around. Just out in space is like placing mines in the middle of the ocean. You want to set up traps like that then you either place it in orbit around an astronomical object so that when the enemy arrives and enters orbit around the object they will be going straight into the minefield. It's either that or you place the minefield in orbit around the Sun and hope to the gods that the enemy's path crosses into the orbit of that minefield. Even in that one instance the enemy always has the chance to go around it.

Just like they teach us back at the National War College. It's better to focus on where the enemy is going rather than the path they are taking to get there. Because space is a vast empty place. Nothing mankind could ever dream of can cross such large distances to engage the enemy. The field of battle is the space around the destination. And even then it's like WWII when Hyperborean and Mineran fleets prowled the Great Ocean looking for one another. Like how those great fleets of old sent out patrols of aircraft to scout out the enemy so to must our ships of the aether send out our space fighters to scout for the enemy. That is our plan Captain.

When we arrive near the asteroid we arent going there straight off the bat and get to work redirecting it. No we're going to hang back and send our little eyes in the sky out to search for the enemy. The Lemurians are either inexperienced in advance space warfare and will get straight to work trying to cover their redirection efforts right out in the open or they will do the same as we do and slowly approach while looking for the enemy. Our doing that should also buy us a little bit of time for our own reinforcements to arrive. We're going to have to try and avoid heavy damage until we get reinforced." Explains Commander Haxom. "Be sure to share the plan with the other Captains. I want all hands to battlestations and all spacecraft at yellow alert."

"Alright. Yes sir." responds Capt. Hindarson before leaving to inform the other Captains.