Psychotic DictatorshipsBoard

On the isle of Rus, the last unoccupied island of province Magog, Beorn the Elder of Magog makes his last stand. Over the past weeks Beorn had evacuated much of his population and military to the island. The Magogites have strongly fortified a city near the coast. Resisting heavily it took Alexander and Perseus several days of fighting to clear a landing spot.

After securing their landing zone, the troops from Madai and Javan land on the island in mass and put the Magogites to a siege. Alexander, the Elder of Javan, and the reigning head of state of Japhetia, under the guise of a Regency to his youngest brother, personally lands on the isle of Rus to lead his armies. Perseus, the Elder of Madai, has contracted some sort of disease, and running a fever, he stays behind on his flagship with his new wife Andromeda, allowing his troops to be led by his half-brother Alexander.

Alexander personally approaches the city with his army, and over a microphone speaks to the defenders within.

"Come out and surrender to me. There is no need for you all to die. Deliver to me that traitor Beorn for his attempt to seize the throne of Japhetia from me and I shall spare your lives." Alexander boldly proclaims to the Magogites, offering them an amnesty if they turn on their Elder.

"Turn back and go home Alexander this city shall not fall to you says the Lord." Upon the wall a reply answers down to Alexander, looking up Alexander sees the hairy and poorly robed Prophet Elijah upon the wall starring down at him resolutely.

"Oh troubler of Japhetia are you here as well? I shall certainly repay you for all the curses you pronounced against my father. Two traitors caught in the same trap. Throw them down here!" Alexander laughs and shouts back.

"Nay, but it is your father Dodaneus and his house that trouble Japhetia. For all the adultery of Dodaneus and the idolatry of Hera the land is accursed. As if it were a light thing Alexander bought more idols than Hera and slept around like Dodaneus and made his own son a bastard like himself. Alexander will surely die here unless he turns around now says the Lord." Prophet Elijah calmly responds back.

"What son have I?" Alexander responds, a hint of pain his voice as internally he realizes that Roxana, the servant girl he slept with may have indeed conceived. His heart convicts him as he himself is the oldest of Dodaneus' illegitimate children from his many affairs.

"The thoughts of your heart are true, you have done to your son like Dodaneus did to you, but your son will never know you." Prophet Elijah replies, seeming to read Alexander's mind.

"I will kill you old man and sacrifice you to the idol of DEAR LEADER FERENTIUS in the square of Alba where your mentor Bishop Patrick died for this insult!" Alexander rages back.

"If indeed you return to Alba at all then the Lord has not spoken by me." Prophet Elijah dismounts the wall and disappears into the city.

Alexander rages some more daring Elijah or Beorn to come out but there is no response. So Alexander orders his troops to dig in around the city and commit to siege. Bringing his artillery ashore, he begins to bombard their position.

As the day goes on Alexander slips in and out of consciousness his body trembling with sweat and burning at an incredible temperature. His breath becomes short and his condition worsens as night approaches. The Javanite troops are still occasionally shelling the city, which only puts up a seeming token resistance and response. While some of the troops have fallen prey to the disease they are unaware of the state of their commander. Alexander's loyal generals, and via a video uplink, Perseus and Andromeda watching from the ships gather around Alexander as it becomes apparent he shall die tonight.

"I am going to die." At about 4 AM Alexander returns briefly to consciousness, his rattling breath sounds out as he looks around dazed at those around him.

"My liege you cannot die. Who will rule Japhetia? Who shall administer the province of Javan; the land of your ancestors?" One of Alexander's oldest personal friends, and also a minor Javanic general named Seleucus stammers out noticing the panic of the crisis of how without Alexander the long ruling House of Javan has no real clear heir to inherit the province.

"My liege what of Heracles your youngest brother to whom you are Regent and whom you like a good oldest brother have defended? Or if that mad old man's prophecy be true, what of your son with that woman Roxana. Perseus will help us locate the woman and see if indeed she be with your heir. We shall pledge ourselves to always defend your son as you defended all of us Javanites in your lifetime hazarding your own life for us my lord." Ptolmey, another old friend and general that has been with Alexander in the Japhetian canon since the Gallic Wars in Japhetia's earlier histories loyally suggests an heir for Alexander to designate.

"Even a d-mocracy of us Javanites is better than to be ruled by Germanicus and the Gomerians after what we hear they did to our people back home. Who will save our homeland now? Who will lead the armies? Will we even have a province to go home to? You cannot die dear general!" Another general with tears in his eyes cries out at Alexander's bedside.

"My brother if you can hear me, wake up, your people need you. I shall always be your ally Alex you fought to rescue dad, me, and all of our family even if our Dodanim branch is messed up you were always the first to go to fight for us. I love you brother." Perseus the Elder of Madai on a video screen speaks out and his voice seems to for a moment break the feverish daze of his dying half-brother.

"House Javan and Japhetia will go to....." Alexander tries to sit up and he stammers out looking at his friends and fixing his eyes for a long second upon the screen with his recovering half-brother Perseus. They all look in anxiously at Alexander's shocking dual heterochromia iridium eyes, the same defining eyes of his father Dodaneus and Dodaneus own father Caesar the first Patriarch, a physical sign of the firstborn sons. His face relaxes for a moment of peace and the Elder slumps over but then he begins trembling with chills as his burning body pours out sweat. After a few moments he exhales his last words, ".......the strongest."

Tossing and turning upon his bed, Germanicus "Caligula" Caesar II is delirious with the fever that has struck Japhetia. He stammers out to wildly words that are barely comprehensible. He suddenly sits upright with his eyes wide open, though a vacant sort of stare looks out of them. Hallucinating, Caligula sees the phantoms of the three fathers of the three branches of the royal family.

"Look what he did to my daughter! Look what he did to my daughter, he took her against her will. My land he has burned and my people he has slaughtered! My throne he wishes to steal from my son! Yet all that I would have forgiven him for in life, but I will not forget what he has done to my daughter. Look what he did to my daughter!" The ghost of Dodaneus, the father of the Dodanim Branch of the royal family points to Caligula as if accusing him to some unseen judge. The phantom appears as handsome Dodaneus looked when he was young, but his stomach is torn up as it was in death with his intestines dragging behind him.

"I saved him in the womb. I gave my life for his and his mother. Look in his head how he plots against my sons. This is how I am repaid? I will kill you!" The phantom of Ragnar, the former Elder of Magog and the father of the Ragnarsson Branch of the royal family manifests next to Dodaneus. His phantom is strong like it was in life, but covered in biting writhing snakes like it was in death when he sacrificed himself to free Caligula's mother whom was pregnant with Caligula at the time during the Gallic Wars. On Ragnar's strong ghost arms are tattooed the names of his surviving children; Beorn and Sigurd. Suddenly the ghost of Ragnar charges forward at Caligula and swings on him with both arms. Caligula lashes out at the hallucination from his bed, imagining that he breaks one of Ragnar's arms but the other arm catches his neck and forces him down to the bed. "These were more suited for you than they were for me." The ghost of Ragnar bellows and throws the phantasmal snakes off his body and on to Caligula.

Caligula screams and thrashes about his bed as he imagines being attacked by hundreds of vipers. Nurses and attendants calm him down and try to cool his burning fever. After some struggle the Elder of Gomer relaxes. Just as it seems like he is about to relax back into slumber he sits upright alert and looking around. He hears a voice he never knew, but that he has longed for all his life to call his name.

"Germanicus......my son." The phantom of Germanicus I, the father of Caligula whom is the sole survivor of the Caesarian Branch of the royal family appears before his son's eyes. His noble face looks on sadly at his son. The phantom is surrounded by fire, as in death he was immolated by the Gallic enemy nations human sacrificing him in a wickerman outfit.

"Father..." Germanicus II aka Caligula, breathes out and reaches his hand forward almost childlike trying to grasp his father that died before he was born.

"My son.....How could you become like this?" Germanicus I stares sadly back at Caligula shaking his head.

"Dodaneus and Ragnar, it's they and their children that are the enemy. They conspired against us father, they seek to supplant me!" Caligula cries back.

"My son because of what you have done, and what you will do.... our family's branch will end with you. Dodaneus will be the end of our lineage and Ragnar shall take your crown." Germancius I replies cryptically.

"No father I won't let them!" Caligula screams out and reaches forward trying desperately to embrace his father's ghost just once in his life. As his hand reaches his father, the ghostly flames consume Germanicus I. The hallucinated apparitions of the three fathers of the three branches of the royal family vanish.

Germanicus "Caligula" Caesar II falls into a deep sleep afterwards and his fever breaks during the night. Though he survives the fever, the young Elder of Gomer will never be the same after the disease. In the days following his recovery it is learned that Alexander had died just two days a go. Seeing his opportunity Germanicus "Caligula" Caesar II proclaims himself as Japhetia new Leader. Not even putting up the pretense of a regency like Alexander and Beorn tried, Caligula claims the title of Patriarch for himself outright, though he still lacks the proper ceremonial implements and authentication required to become Patriarch.