DaftRTOR - A Story Untold

Unpublished, From the Desk of Citizen Laurent Ignace

Through my duties as Marshal of Orléans, my faith has been subjected to a terrible test. As a boy, I believed in the imperial system. As a man, I believed in the imperial system. But through these years of civil war I have been disillusioned. I have come to see the hollowness of what had once motivated my life. Marshals claim to fight for grand causes, lead thousands of their followers to death and their countrymen to ruination in the name of one ruler or another, as if one boy, one girl, or one woman shall change the fundamental state of the French people.

In truth, all of these factions: the Empress, the marshals rogue and loyalist alike, have fought only for their own power. Jeanne fights so that none may challenge her rule; Jourdain switches sides so that he might enjoy the fruits of victory, damn the men who have already died for his now-abandoned cause; Villeneuve, threatens to level his province to the ground out of spite alone.

Having recognized the venality of the motivations of the leaders of this civil war, those who I once regarded as my colleagues, what comes of any of their victories? Tyranny, reprisals, the impoverishment of the masses and the further crushing of the French people.

But there are always those who have proposed a different path. France has a proud history of such forward-thinkers, those who imagine a nation without such cruel dominance of the rich over the poor, the powerful over the powerless. In this age, such men and women are criminals. Long did I pursue my duty, believing it to be in service of higher goals of empire, suppressing these dissidents, seeing their works seized, their presses confiscated and their firebrands arrested. But as I did this, I came to realize the enormity of my own crimes. These were reasonable, people, good people, seeking the betterment of the French people as a whole. The crimes attributed to them pale in comparison to the immense crime of the tyranny that has been imposed upon them for centuries, a tyranny of royal blood and martial steel, of stolen labour and the starving poor.

In the twilight of my old faith, surrounded in the darkness of comforting lies I had gathered around myself, this truth was the one source of illumination.

To fight for the cause of empire is meaningless, it is foolishness, it is a game of death played by princelings and petty tyrants using the blood of the people they purport to protect as currency. This game I shall play no longer.

I have seen to the arrest of many of my own officers, as one of my last acts with the authority of an Imperial Marshal. I have since passed all of the legislative powers which I once held to a council of worker's deputies in Orléans, dissolved my own office and submitted myself to the people's judgement. It is my remaining wish to spend my life in a matter that may finally improve the plight of those who I have long wished to protect, but ever failed to truly liberate.


Laurent Ignace frowned as he looked at the typewritten message. Half a dozen others were printed out on the desk around him, illuminated by the dim orange glow of an oil lamp.

"Marcel?"

"Yes?"

"It still feels like... no matter what I say, they'll think it's nonsense."

"I believe in you, Comrade Ignace."

"I appreciate that. But this... it..."

"Perhaps you're taking the wrong approach. You are but a single man. Your explanation for yourself is, perhaps, not what is important. Talking mouths will ponder your sincerity regardless of what you say."

"So..." Laurent nodded slowly, seeing his comrade's angle, "Simply leave it to them to imagine. Speak with the action alone."

"Just so. You have dissolved the Marshalry and submitted yourself to the judgement of the Council of Deputies. Let them imagine it was a revolution from the bottom up, an act of your own corporals against you, or some harebrained scheme, for all it matters. But the French people will know that no matter the cause, an army of Orléans now marches not for any King or Queen..."

"...But for the people."

"Long live the people."

"Long live the people."
 
Announcement: the deadline is moved back to Wednesday 9th October, 23:59 pm to give people more time!
 
The Inca nation and the Portuguese side have negotiated a peace proposal to bring an end to the Portuguese conflict and to which both sides have in principle agreement. Its terms would however require Celtonian commitment thereto to take effect. (ooc note: won't be available due to work for a while after posting this)

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Proposed Luso-Incan Peace Treaty

~ The Inca Nation will accept an Independent Portuguese ethno-state in perpetuity within bilaterally agreed boundaries.

Section i: From the adoption of this peace treaty, a cease-fire shall take immediate effect and all forces shall withdraw to their side of the agreed upon border.

Section ii: The independence of Portugal is to take formal effect after the enactment of a plebiscite under neutral third party observation, should said plebiscite confirm the popular will of the population within the territory delimited desire it. Should the people desire to retain union with the Inca Nation, the Inca government shall grant the region autonomous status.

Section iii: Should independence be ratified, the resultant Portuguese state shall be constitutionally neutral, being party to no alliances or pacts, hosting no foreign troops and aiding and abetting no country in war by support or favour. Celtonian peacekeepers within allotted Portuguese territory may be retained and Celtonia shall act as guarantor of Portuguese independence.

Section iv: Should independence be ratified, the Inca Nation agrees to permit those Inca citizens who desire to renounce Inca citizenship in favour of Portuguese citizenship free transit across the border. Likewise, the Portuguese State agrees to permit those residents in its allotted territory who desire to retain Inca citizenship free transit into Inca territory.

While these terms are acceptable for a resolution of the Portuguese conflict, the joint Celto-Roman declaration requiring the cession of Chuquiapo Valley and Ica remains in effect. The Union cannot compel the Empire to withdraw from its occupied territories, and a failure to resolve this issue would mean that Inca-Roman war will rage for a number of subsequent years, impoverishing both sides and destroying the central continental region.
 
While these terms are acceptable for a resolution of the Portuguese conflict, the joint Celto-Roman declaration requiring the cession of Chuquiapo Valley and Ica remains in effect. The Union cannot compel the Empire to withdraw from its occupied territories, and a failure to resolve this issue would mean that Inca-Roman war will rage for a number of subsequent years, impoverishing both sides and destroying the central continental region.

Inca Statement on Celtonian Rejection of Peace

The Inca refuse to cede territory to Rome.

Let there be no confusion, Celtonian acceptance of the peace agreed by the Inca and the portuguese rebels would secure peace in Portugal and facilitate a swift expulsion of the roman invasion by the Inca/Maya alliance leaving them to their own domestic quarrels, expediting an end to war in Tetraea. Should you reject peace and the opportunity to withdraw the Celtonian people from conflict not only would the Conservative Party verify it's unprincipled hypocrisy as it forfeits any claim to profess the principles of self-determination (for it is clear the Inca nations self-determination is immaterial to you) or act for portuguese interests, but it would condemn thousands of Celtonian men to needless deaths and ensure the persistence of war in Tetraea at the sole service of imperialistic ambition. It would seem that your government, far from desiring prosperity for the Andean region, actively desires its impoverishment. It is also make clear that your intent from the first is exactly what we had said in 1928.

Let it be clear in the face of Celtonian perpetuation of war that the Inca people stand united in their consummate will to fight for every inch of their sacred land. The foul lie of "democracy", which is to say liberalism, has been made clear to them as every word uttered from the Celtonian governments mouth has been a lie. So too has the perfidy of Rome been made clear to them, for when victory was near in Portugal the Inca were stabbed in the back by treacherous Rome, a people it had called friends, or rather its consul and military who act illegally contrary to the will of Empress and Senate and to the despite of the roman nation. The Inca government remains prepared to acquiesce to the matter of Portugal despite this betrayal, this stab in the back. For it serves the true end of government in acting only for the benefit of its people. Yet Celtonia once again has been exposed as incapable of agreement, although room remains for it to correct this assessment by accepting the peace offered to it on a silver platter. Be that as it may, undoubtedly, should we agree to your declaration exactly as you propose, ceding core inca land to Rome for the sake of what would undoubtedly be but a temporary respite, you would find some other grounds to reject it and propose yet more egregious terms, precisely as you rejected our recapitulation of the original Celtonian peace plan for Portugal in 1929 and started a general blockade and military invasion of our territory on spurious grounds.

The Inca once again thank the Maya Empire and the brotherly maya nation for their assistance against the aggressor. For while the Celtonian's profess to be the public defenders of international order and freedom it would seem that the true advocates of such are the Maya and their Emperor, for the Celtonians have advanced exactly opposite and incompatible ideals in their actions. The Inca also urge all right-thinking nations to behold the tragedy unfolding in our times as a consequence of Roman perfidy and hubris and Celtonian conceit and consider that such malice is insatiable. While the Inca serve as the sacrificial Llama on the altar of their ambitions today, should the Inca nation fall despite all their efforts to defend their sovereignty, territory and honour then the ravenous hunger of the Celto-Roman axis will turn to you in due time. Make no mistake, the celtonian government will happily throw you and your children into the wicker man if it serves their endless pursuit of power over the nations and the world.
 
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Joint statement from Acadia, Holland, Norseland, Normandie
To: Celtonia, CC Inca Nation, Roman Empire


We understand that a reasonable peace offer is on the table for Portugal. Enough blood has been shed in this conflict. For the sake of the Portuguese, Celtic, Inca, and Mayan lives not yet claimed, we in the international community urge our Celtonian friends to reconsider their position and not to pin the fate of Portugal to that of a renewed Imperial Roman project, which is itself a betrayal of everything Celtonia had sworn to uphold since the start of this century.

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Statement from the Great Iroquois Nation, read by Sachem Deganawida Àwe

A beast, mad with hunger, has been unleashed on our brethern Inca and Ollantay people.

Let the world bear witness as the Celts and Romans now conspire to consume the free peoples of Tetrea. Let it be realised that their puppets will attempt to consume Altarra in short order.

The time may soon come again when the great peoples of the world will be forced to make a stand for justice.

It is true, our ancestors were cruel in war, for those were cruel times. Had our warbands not fought to the ends of the Altarran continent, we might today be in chains, or worse, along with our brothers in Spain and Mexico.

It is through our sacred Law of Peace, and through the endurance and courage of our ancestors, that we brought about the end of the German, French and even the Celtic empires [OOC: this is a 'controversial' take on history].

To all those not blinded by greed and consumerism, to all those not content to debauch themselves and drink greedily of the false comforts of 'modernity', to all those who still value clean air and water, and of a land in balance with humanity... To those brave souls across this globe, we offer our eternal hand of friendship.

To those now suffering under the heel of 'democratic' oppresors, choking in the noxious smoke of greed and hypocrisy, we say that we will not abandon you to history. We will do all in our power so that you and your descendents walk as free and proud peoples upon this Earth in the times to come, when the evils that are now upon us have been purged from the minds of men.
 
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Special Statement of the Celtonian Union on the Incan Crisis

Under the guises of self-determination and anti-imperialism, the Celtonian Union has concrete proof that the Incan State has established concentration camps, into which have been gathered a number of ethnic minorities considered hostile to the Incan State. These include Portuguese, Celtic, German, and possibly other races and ethnicities considered “impure” by the Incan State, which owes its existence only to Celtonian generosity and aid.

We have included both aerial and ground-based photography, as well as the testimonials of victims who have escaped Incan oppression. Whether the Incan government’s intentions from these actions are the wholescale extermination of “lesser” peoples or merely ethnic cleansing within their lands, this moral abomination must be met with a united and firmly determined reaction.

In light of these atrocious and inhumane actions, the only responsible action of right-minded individuals is to seek the fall of the Incan regime, and its replacement with a transitional government, following comprehensive war-crimes investigations and trials.
 
Statement From Arequipa

We are prepared to send observers to asertain the facts of these 'camps', if the Inca Nation allows, let not this allegation be the cause for further hot-headed reaction and escalation of the current crisis.
 
Statement From Arequipa

We are prepared to send observers to asertain the facts of these 'camps', if the Inca Nation allows, let not this allegation be the cause for further hot-headed reaction and escalation of the current crisis.

Statement on Celtic Accusations

The accusation by Celtonia that the Inca state has established such camps is yet another lie amongst the many they have presented as "justification" for their wanton aggression. Just as no Iroquois soldier to date has fought against the Portuguese rebels, likewise no concentration camps have been established by the Inca nation. We are happy to accept foreign observers from Arequipa and other neutral powers to verify this.

The only action the Celtonian state may accuse us of is deporting their citizens as the subjects of an enemy state the moment they initiated hostile action against us in the form of a blockade. This action is entirely legitimate, in contrast to the Celtonian's aforesaid illegal blockade, subsequent extension of said blockade, invasion of the Inca Nation on spurious grounds, abettal of roman imperialism via the illegal actions of its consul that violate Roman law and by hitching the Portuguese conflict to this project and the perpetuation of the war in Portugal through rejection of a reasonable peace accepted by both the Inca and Portuguese sides. We can only conclude that the Celtonian government is projecting, being entirely subject to the lie, its malintent and absence of morality upon the Inca and that its word can no longer be trusted, that is if it ever could.
 
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Celtonian Statement on Expulsions of Celtic Incan Citizens

The Incan government makes clear its mendacity and evil through the framing of its own propaganda - individuals of Celtic descent living in Incan territory are not capable of citizenship in the Incan State, but are simply by merit of their culture to be “Celtonian citizens” worthy of expulsion.

The implication is clear - Any individual living in the Incan state who lacks Incan blood, perhaps even those of mixed-race ancestry, is in the eyes of the Incan state a suspect and a traitor to be expelled to “their own country” from the only land they have ever known. This serves the Incan aims of creating a racially pure society for Incans only. Given Celtonia’s tolerance for all religions and cultural minorities within our state, including Incans and Viracocha, our people can never co-exist with a regime which sees racial and ethnic purity as a final solution.
 
Celtonian Statement on Expulsions of Celtic Incan Citizens

The Incan government makes clear its mendacity and evil through the framing of its own propaganda - individuals of Celtic descent living in Incan territory are not capable of citizenship in the Incan State, but are simply by merit of their culture to be “Celtonian citizens” worthy of expulsion.

The implication is clear - Any individual living in the Incan state who lacks Incan blood, perhaps even those of mixed-race ancestry, is in the eyes of the Incan state a suspect and a traitor to be expelled to “their own country” from the only land they have ever known. This serves the Incan aims of creating a racially pure society for Incans only. Given Celtonia’s tolerance for all religions and cultural minorities within our state, including Incans and Viracocha, our people can never co-exist with a regime which sees racial and ethnic purity as a final solution.

Even as its hypocrisy and lies have become clear to all, the Celtonian government cannot help but further immerse itself in its own deceit. Perhaps it even deceives itself as it spouts endless lies hoping beyond hope in its blind hatred of the Inca that one of its wild and hystrionic claims might have some purchase in truth. Alas, lies have no concord with truth, and each and every one of its claims is utterly baseless and without even a shred of credibility.

The only expulsions from the Inca Nation, as noted, consisted of individuals possessing documented Celtonian citizenship as recognised under customary international law with deportations of these foreign subjects being enacted in 1928 when Celtonia enacted an illegal naval blockade of our province of Portugal. This is ordinary procedure in cases when a state enacts hostile action against another and indeed it was an act of humanity to return these foreigners to their motherland that they might not be subject to the ravages of war or risk being entangled in the political circumstances of the Inca. No individuals possessing Inca citizenship suffered deportation at this time, having the rights of residence due to citizens and as previously noted the Inca state is more than pleased to welcome international observers to verify this, along with the absence of internment camps.

The Inca state, while it makes clear the primacy of the majority as the only true expression of democratic and popular sovereignty, has never persecuted or ill-treated those ethnicities subject to its rule who are not of the Inca majority as is clear by the continued peaceful coexistence within the Inca state of Chimu, Imara, German and indeed celtic subjects amongst others in its midst as well as the diversity of religious customs permitted within its borders. The Inca state likewise has never entertained promoting anti-celtic or anti-druidic propaganda in state or private media unlike the Celtonian Union, which has promoted rabid anti-inca propaganda for some years fomenting ethnic strife, provoking hatred and stoking the fires of war. As we mentioned in our previous statement, the Celtonian government in recent years has manifestly displayed in its statements and propaganda a projection of its own malice, ethnic hatred and hypocrisy in its accusations towards the Inca nation. It is guilty of what it accuses, for it can only perceive in others the tendencies to which it has succumbed. At any rate, all its previously stated claims have been proven false as will these.

It is our hope that the Celtonian people, for whom the Inca have only ever held good-will (understanding that they too are victims of their governments disregard for law and international custom, the Conservative Party having forfeiting the principle of rule of law in a similar way to the Roman Consul) will see through the veil of deceit the Celtonian government has imposed upon its national media and oppose its warmongering and obstruction of peace. It is high time that the Celtonian Union submitted to the will of the international community as manifested through the statements of the Netherlands, Acadia, Normandie, Norseland, the Great Iroquois Nation and the Maya Empire and turned back from its destructive and hypocritical course, returning to the values promoted by former Celtonian governments and which until recently it publicly professed.
 
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The Mayan Empire welcomes Arequipan observers. We are prepared to provide evidence and documentation that Mayan troops have acted according to the highest standard regarding conforming to the laws of war, particularly in regards to prisoners and the civilian population, and that any breaches of our military honor have been punished severely.

The Celtonian accusations are a naked justification for a new imperial project. We did previously warn the international community of their ambition last year and we continue to be absolutely cottect.
 
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Statement of Aims and Partial Mobilization in the Incan Crisis

Due to the confirmed violations of the civil rights of Celtic citizens in the territory of the Incan State, and border skirmishes which have damaged Celtonian property and killed Celtonian citizens, the Union of Celtonia and the Roman Empire shall complete the special military operation by deposing the Cuzco regime and replacing it with a democratic transitional government which will in due course lead to a restoration of human rights and prosperity for the peoples of the Tetraean continent. The Union restates it has no territorial ambitions through this effort.

We will secure the full, claimed borders of the Portuguese Free State, and allow our friends in liberation, the Roman Empire, to pursue plebiscites for the Romano-Incan lands to which they have valid historical claims.

The Celtonian people do not welcome the veiled threats of the Iroquois against our national sovereignty and securing our borders against a rogue state operating beyond the bounds of international law, and our nation shall respond appropriately by declaring a partial mobilization to ensure that this declaration is not met with the formation of an axis of fascist imperialism to meddle in the affairs of our home continent.
 
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Statement of Aims and Partial Mobilization in the Incan Crisis

Due to the confirmed violations of the civil rights of Celtic citizens in the territory of the Incan State, and border skirmishes which have damaged Celtonian property and killed Celtonian citizens, the Union of Celtonia and the Roman Empire shall complete the special military operation by deposing the Cuzco regime and replacing it with a democratic transitional government which will in due course lead to a restoration of human rights and prosperity for the peoples of the Tetraean continent. The Union restates it has no territorial ambitions through this effort.

We will secure the full, claimed borders of the Portuguese Free State, and allow our friends in liberation, the Roman Empire, to pursue plebiscites for the Romano-Incan lands to which they have valid historical claims.

The Celtonian people do not welcome the veiled threats of the Iroquois against our national sovereignty and securing our borders against a rogue state operating beyond the bounds of international law, and our nation shall respond appropriately by declaring a partial mobilization to ensure that this declaration is not met with the formation of an axis of fascist imperialism to meddle in the affairs of our home continent.

The gall and arrogant hypocrisy of the Celtonian government once gain makes itself plain. The Inca have only ever acted within the bounds of international law and universal moral principles, whilst it is the Celtonian government which has engaged in an act of unprovoked invasion of Inca territory to the detriment of innocent civilians purely to satisfy the rapacity of its unrestrained ideological fanaticism and unresolved resentment over the outcome of the Cuzco plebiscite.

If there is a government whose deposition is not only morally licit, but necessary for the establishment of peace in our days, it is that of the current Celtonian government which has fomented this war, consistently violated international and domestic laws and stoked the fires of hatred at every turn whilst cynically picking and choosing when to apply its professed principles. It has proclaimed self-determination for some and not others even as it has shamelessly concocted lies to "justify" its illegal and immoral actions and thwarted diplomatic efforts for peace by first instructing its Portuguese proxies to reject the Inca nations initial recapitulation of their own peace proposal, and secondly refusing to accept this year's latest proposal which was accepted by both the Portuguese rebels and the Inca. Their warmongering is further made plain by their blatant escalation of war through publically making known their true goal in this whole endeavour (that is the deposition of the legitimate Incan government and its replacement with a Celtonian puppet regime and the dismemberment of the Inca State) and mobilising the Celtonian Unions forces.

Friends, Tetraea would be at peace today if not for malign Celtonian influence with the Inca Nation being restored to unity and put decisively on the path of peaceful development and progress. Yet today countless innocents suffer needlessly, solely due to the Celtonian governments malignant and malicious policies. We urge all those powers which still uphold moral principle to reject this latest Celtonian affront and act decisively to thwart its tyranny over the nations which sees it consider itself above international law and at liberty to impose itself on the freedom of other nations despite their own wills, cultures or traditions. We urge the peace-loving Celtonian people who yearn for peace and reject such tyrannical imperialism to reject their governments thwarting of peace and contempt for democratic principles and decisively express their national will for peace and democracy by expelling the evil warmongers of the Conservative Party from office and opposing its rejection of the peace treaty agreed between the Inca and the Portuguese and its abettal of the Roman consuls' illegal actions.

As for you o Incan man, and you o Incan woman. United we must prepare to endure the unendurable for gods and nation and fight even unto the last breath for liberty, truth, and justice against the evil that assails us. May Viracocha preserve us and grant us victory against the foe!
 
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OOC: Written at Daft's request, I've added a few biographies of important political-military figures both opposed and allied to my current government.

Important Figures in Celtonian Politics in the 1930 Election:

Mairias Holst
- Current and likely future Leader of the Opposition (possible Consail). A known liberal who has built ties with anti-war pacifists and moderate conservatives, as well as anti-war left-Druidists, to head the “left-leaning” coalition. Despite being notably pro-business and deregulation, his charisma, speaking style, and pacifism have endeared him to a wide range of left-wing figures. Has a large number of contacts in Germany due to his heritage, and advocates tariff reform and closer ties with international organizations like the (proposed) League of Nations. Prominent Christian, anti-war on this basis, but downplays his faith for the majority-Druidic public.

Tarain Drosten - An influential ethnic-Pictish conservative Druidic figure, somewhat controversial but with a wide following and a frequent radio speaker. Known for advocating “de-industrialization” of hostile powers as part of a controversial plan of International Druidism. Normally unpalatable to traditional conservatives due to his aggressive rhetoric, but very likely to become Deputy Consail, or possibly even Consail, in alliance with Consail Thomson, as his sway with Pictish voters especially may hold the balance of majority power.

Padraig (Pat) Mason - Commissar-General. Formerly a trade unionist leader and important Communist Party of Celtonia (CPC) political figure. Enlisted at 16 in the Second World War, now an elder statesman, assisted with the transition to democracy by removing Party influence from the military. Despite having personal reservations about the special military operation, has resigned his party leadership and returned to military life with the escalation of the Incan crisis to lead trade-union volunteer units despite being in his late 60s. Committed to popular ownership of state enterprises and democratic communism, ambivalent on interventionism but despises Holst.

Mormaer (Admiral) Strathearn Ellsburgh - Originally descended from Celtic nobility and a family connected to the old aristocratic houses that supported the ancient monarchy of Celtonia. Recently promoted from Vice-Mormaer in command of the 5th Armada to high command of Celtic naval operations. Generally seen as having salvaged the Portuguese situation from incompetent generals.

The family has provided members to the Celtonian Navy for centuries, and while they suffered from Communist land reforms, certain colonial enterprises were grandfathered into the system, allowing them to remain influential. Traditionalist-conservative, seen as a possible replacement for Consail Thomson after the defeat at Laurisilva due to his military experience and dignified bearing, but not (publically) pursuing that path yet. Generally sees the Incan mess as a quagmire to be resolved and extricated from to focus on great power competition, but committed to completing the mission as quickly and efficiently as possible.
 
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The Geography of France

France, like most countries, is a land of many regions. Perched upon the southern extreme of Alterre, the modern nation of France has a roughly oval shape, stretching from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans and featuring a very long antarctic coastline. Its northern borders are temperate forests and grasslands, transitioning to boreal forests and open tundra in the far south. French geography is dominated by a heavily-glaciated interior spine, comprised of the Alps and the Southern Massif, neatly cleaving the country into two sections, connected only by the rugged uplands of Nivernais.

While commonly and not incorrectly thought of as a cold country, France is quite lush and possesses vast areas of highly productive agricultural land in its northern two thirds. The lands around the Seine, Somme, Rhône and Garonne were in ancient times part of a vast, primeval deciduous forest, but thousands of years of civilization have turned them into a pair of large agricultural zones, separated by that spine of jagged, glacier-cut mountains.

As one proceeds further south, one comes to cold drylands such as the Pays-de-la-Loire or the Manche of Bretagne. Here, the locals farm hardy cereal grains in wetter regions near rivers or coastlines and ranch cattle as water becomes more distant. In some regions, boreal forests begin to predominate, creating some of France's most wild areas, home mostly to hunters and foresters.

Finally comes the foggy, windswept lands of the austral coast, the forbidding barrens known to the French simply as 'the Province'. No trees grow here except in sheltered valleys. Agriculture is impossible, except in the herding of reindeer. Instead, locals rely on the sea for much of their bounty. Fishing, birding, and the hunting of marine mammals great and small give life to these towns, and of their number only one has become a great city of France: Marseilles, the Jewel of the Antarctic.

Based on this geography, France can be generally divided into a handful of major regions, each of which is comprised of several départements:

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Vieux Pays
Literally 'Old Country', the northwestern corner of France is the home of the oldest Frankish states. Much of French culture as we know it comes from these lands, bounded by the Gulf of Rheims to the south, the Gothic Strait to the west and the Alps to the east. The northern border is emotionally fraught, with the annexation of the northern provinces into the Scandinavian Union still a raw issue in the minds of many French.

Île-de-France
The 'Isle of France', one of the densest and most developed parts of the country, with Paris, the City of Lights, as its centerpiece. The long arch of the upper Seine defines this region.

Artois
The southern coast of the Old Country stares across the Gulf of Rheims at the Manche and Bretagne. Poorer soils made it a backwater for much of its history bit Artois has recently seen a boom of oil production, with its capital city of Arras becoming a major center of the French petrochemical industry.

Orléanais
The rich delta of the Seine and the sprawling farmlands around it, Orléanais is a spiritual home of the French as the birthplace of the Sainted Maid. The port city of Orléans gives its name to the département.

Champagne
Synonymous with sparkling wine, Champagne lies to the north of the lower Seine and is a major center of the French wine industry. Troyes is the capital.

Picardie
Spanning both banks of the Somme, the major tributary of the Seine, Picardie is largely agricultural, like its downriver neighbours, with Amiens as its capital.

Lorraine
Now divided across an international border, Lorraine is a forested region well known for its woodcrafts and truffles. Its capital is Nancy.

Franche-Comté
The 'Free County' lies nestled in the northen end of the Alps. Like Lorraine, it is now divided by an international border, with the bulk of the Free County now in the Scandinavian Union. Lying in the upland headwaters of the Somme, the rump Franche-Comté has a mixed economy, mixed heritage, and is quite isolated from the rest of France. The seat of the Free County is in Besançon.

Nivernais
The gateway to the orient, Nivernais was once one of the most heavily-castled parts of France, for he who controlled the passes would hold immense power over his rivals and extract a rich income in trade tolls. With the reforms and centralization of the Arc ages removing many of these internal customs and duties, the city of Nevers has never fully regained its wealth, although it remains an important transportation hub and the common wisdom remains that to control Nivernais is to control France.

Alpes
Less a département and more a stark regional descriptor, the Alps are a foreboding and nigh-impassable mountain range for much of their length. Narrow valleys host small farming villages with little contact with the outside world. The départemental capital is the town of Gap, which in most parts of France would not even make the map.

L'Orient
'The East' has at many points in its history exercised its independence from Paris, with the Dukes of Bourgogne being among the most powerful nobles in medieval France. Facing the Atlantic Ocean, this region was among the first places in France to become exposed to Roman culture and embrace Christianity. Watered by the mighty Rhône and Garonne rivers, the East is nearly a match for the economic power of the west, with Lyons being famously thought of as 'the third city of France' after Paris and Orléans. Somewhat confusingly, 'The East' actually limited to the northeast of France, as the southeast is generally referred to as the Pays de la Loire (Land of the Loire).

Lyonnais
The coastal hills and plains on the coast of the Gulf of Lyons, Lyonnais is a breadbasket, its climate warmed and wetted by the Saint Gwendeline current. More than its farms, however, Lyons was the birthplace of industrialization in France, and to this day remains one of the most urbanized parts of the country outside of Île-de-France.

Guyenne
As one proceeds up the Gulf of Lyons, one finds the wide mouth of the Garonne river, the city of Bordeaux and the land of Guyenne. Possessed of a rich tradition of troubadors and vintners, this region is famous for Bordeaux wine, and has a long-lasting rivalry of winery prestige with Champagne.

Gascogne
Further still up the Gulf of Lyons and Garonne comes the region of Gasgogne. Nestled against the eastern slopes of the Alps, Gascogne is another divided region, with much of its historical land now belonging to the Scandinavian Union. While its capital is Armagnac, its most prominent city is Chartres, near the headwaters of the Garonne. This area is well-developed agriculturally and feeds the hungry city of Lyons, but it was not always politically unimportant: at several points in history been the seat of the Archbishop of France. In the highlands and forests, the indigenous Basque people form a distinct minority and gave their name to the region. Curiously, Basque people have also lived in Vasconia in Spain since time immemorial, the wide dispersal of this people remaining a befuddling question for Alterre's linguists.

Savoie
An alpine realm which for much of its history enjoyed significant independence from France, Savoie today lags behind the rest of France. Rural and traditionalist, Savoie lacks both the rich agricultural production and valuable minerals that would draw investment from outside, so much of the population remains subsistence farmers. Its capital is Chambéry, while Annecy and Genève are two other towns which have grown into popular retreats for the wealthy people of the coasts.

Bourgogne
The Grand Duchy long vied with the Counts of Paris for dominance over France during the medieval period, until their final defeat at the hands of the Sainted Maid. Burgundy was once a significant realm holding much of the Orient and Loire under its control, and many other places as vassals, but today it is a mostly quiet. Burgundy is one of the three great French wine regions, and while it has a highly developed and modernized agricultural economy, it lags behind in industrial and urban development. The départemental capital is Bourges.

Capetais
The forest of Capetais was once the vast royal hunting grounds of the House of Capet, and for many centuries very few people lived under its dark boughs. Rumours abounded of ancient Gauls who held out against the Frankish migration, or strange half-men, witches and pagan cults. Even today, civilization has only a weak grip on this region, with isolated farming villages scattered in areas with better soil, while logging villages slowly eat away at the peripheries of the vast, primordial forest. On account of the newness of settlement in this area, most city names are very descriptive: the capital, Moulins, simply means 'Mills'.

Pays de la Loire
The Loire is the longest river in France and the southernmost of France's great rivers. Starting near the borders of Bourgogne and Nivernais, the Loire trends southeast in its early stretch before taking an easterly path through the cool grasslands known as the Lands of the Loire. This region is prominent in the religious history of France, with Tours being home to early Roman monasteries, and Avignon being a long-time seat of the Archbishop of France, who has been for centuries the leading religious figure in French Catholicism.

Touraine
While their histories begin at similar dates, Tours has often lagged behind Lyons, much to its annoyance. However, it has long been a major port, receiving vast barges of wheat from upriver and shipping it abroad. In reecent times, Tours has additionally become another of France's major centers of oil production and mining, quickly adapting its agricultural ports to support oil tankers and mineral bulk carriers. Outside of the city, Touraine features vast fields of wheat and other cold-adapted grains, interspersed with oil derricks.

Dauphiné
The land of the Dolphin, this forested region was long entrusted to the Princes of France as a place to test future administrators. Isolated hills make it one of the wilder parts of France, with many empty areas in between agricultural smallholders and forestry camps. Its capital is the city of Grenoble, nestled in one of the region's small uplands.

Charolais
A dry plain between the two forests of Dauphiné and Capetais, Charolais is as backwater a place as exists in France, outside of the Province. Ranching makes up the bulk of this region's economy, with the bulky white Charolais bull being an icon of the département. The area is named for Charolles, its largest and capital city.

Anjou
The lands upstream of Touraine, Anjou is uniformly agricultural, a patchwork of villages appended to sprawling fields. Agricultural reforms of previous centuries have greatly increased production and created powerful agricultural concerns, but pushed many peasants into deprivation. Angers, on the shores of the Loire, is the region's primate city.

Auvergne
Much like the other Loire départements, Auvergne is dominated by large agricultural interests, but the region is most famous as the seat of the Archbishop of Avignon. From his seat in the Cathedral of Avignon, the Archbishop presides over the French faithful and many Catholics beyond in Scandinavia and México, and is generally held as the Catholic bishop with prominence second only to the Pontifex Maximus.

Berry
Lying near the geographic heart of France, Berry lies between Bourges in l'Orient, Nivernais in Vieux Pays and the peaks of the Massif Austral. With a surprisingly moist climate for a land so far from the ocean, Berry contains many scenic farms in the foothills of the mountains and along the valley of the upper Loire. Its capital is Châteauroux.

Grande-Bretagne
South of the Old Country is the original territory against which the early Franks defined themselves. The Bretons are a people of mysterious origins. Their traditional language is a distant relative of Celtic, although how Celts would have reached this place in ancient times beggars the imagination. It is not known whether the Bretons are an autochthonous people, an offshoot of the ancient Gauls, or descendants of a much more recent migration. Greater Brittany constitutes the southwestern corner of France, from the Gulf of Rheims to the hilly barrenlands where the Massif Austral meets the French Channel.

Bretagne
The area where the Breton language holds out the strongest, likely due to the defensibility of this hilly, windy peninsula. Today it has a mixed economy based on farming, forestry and fishing, with small amounts of industrial development in the cities like Vannes, Rennes and Brest. Petit-Bretagne, an island off of the tip of the peninsula, proudly upholds Breton traditions more strongly than any other part of the département.

Manche
The 'Sleeve' of Bretagne, the Manche is much more heavily assimilated into French culture. The city of Rheims predominates in this agricultural region, while mining takes place in the foothills of the Massif Austral.

Maine
Much needless ink has been spilled over the question of whether Maine is part of the Old Country or Grand Brittany. Its proximity to Paris makes the former obvious, but culturally the locals have far more in common with the farmers and miners of the Manche than they do with the people of the capital, and for a large portion of France's medieval history Maine was a borderland between the Franks and the Bretons. Today, Maine occupies a curious place in French consciousness, a common joke being that everyone has met someone from there, but no one has ever lived there. Its capital is Le Mans.

Provence
'The Province' is a suitably stark name for a stark land. The near-treeless land of ice, wind, saltwater and snow seems to offer little, but the hardy Provençals have learned how to not just survive, but thrive in this challenging antarctic region.

Poitou
A series of barren peninsulas and rich bays, the Poitevins live off the sea. A confluence of currents between the French Channel and the Pacific Ocean make this area's fisheries as rich as their lands are barren. The capital and largest town in the region is Poitiers.

Massif Austral
The Southern Massif is a huge, harsh and heavily-glaciated region. Lacking even the relative warmth and humidity of the Alps, the Massif Austral is alternately bare rock, sharp ice or scrubby barrenland. In these few vegetated areas can be found a scattering of small ranching villages and trading towns maintaining the precarious roads traversing this harsh region. Popular myths about of mysterious things wandering down from the glaciers, feral children reappearing after decades in caves, and more fill the region's rich folklore. The largest town is Millau while the administrative capital is Rodez.

Limousin
In the rough hilly lands at the south end of the Massif Austral is the département of Limousin. While some cling to the coasts, making a living off of the sea, a significant number of people practice reindeer herding. Weaving warm fabrics and wearing cloaks of bright colours, in contrast to the drab colours of their land, the reindeer-herders are also famous for their elabourate and luxurious passenger sleds, eponymously known as 'Limousines'. The only significant city and capital is Limoges.

Haute-Province
The Upper Province, this inland, upland area is the largest of France's remaining wild forests. Forestry is the only industry, and hunting and subsistence river fisheries the only local source of food. Haute-Province is somewhat infamous as a destination for penal labour. On a more positive note, the département's capital, Digne-les-Bains, is built around a natural thermal spring.

Bas-Provence
The largest of all of France's départements, Bas-Provence is the vast coastal plain stretching from Limousin to the edge of Touraine. Fisheries and whaling sustain the south, with towns more frequently connected by boats than by overland travel over the challenging, mossy landscape. Marseilles is the oldest of Provence's cities, originating as a Greco-Roman entrepot during the earliest phases of documented transatlantic contact. Always an outward-looking city, Marseilles was the spiritual birthplace of the French Revolution and remains a significant point in the French imagination.
 
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The Empress' Reflection

Jeanne gazed into the large silver mirror in front of her. Outwardly, she showed no affect. Inwardly, her thoughts were tumultuous.

This is me.

Her hair was short and prickly, like a boy fresh out of infantry training. Its dark brown colour was barely visible. There was an ugly, red railroad scar across her scalp- the hair would probably never come back there, the chagrined surgeon had told her, although perhaps it would be hidden in time.

Her left eye was completely gone. A master glassworker had prepared a prosthesis for her, but it must have been too large, for it ached whenever it was in place, and she preferred to leave it empty, covered by a simple black eyepatch.

Her bare skin still bore pockmarks of shrapnel wounds, each one a small disfigurement.

She looked down. Her left arm terminated in an uneven stump, the seam where her skin had been stitched back together continued to release a waxy, scabby substance even now, many months after the attack.

These were the scars born of her duty.

This body will never be whole again.

It was a distressing thought that Jeanne had returned to several times. Her eyesight would never fully return to what it had once been. Her arm would never regrow. She would never feel the fingers of her left hand entwined with those of her right.

Perhaps, in time, she would look at her reflection and see a familiar woman. But that day, it seemed, still lay far off. Instead was this just-discharged patient. This grotesque.

This is me.

Jeanne repeated the statement of facts to herself, watching her impassive reflection with a single eye. A door quietly opened- Marie, her maidservant. Wordlessly, the young woman approached the Empress of France, a prosthetic harness in her hands.

"Your majesty." Marie approached with the baroque device. Jeanne leaned forward in her dressing stool, and felt the light weight on her shoulders, then the heavier, cold touch of her prosthesis. She looked down at her arm as Marie placed a gauzy sleeve around her stump, then placed the socket of the prosthetic forearm and hand over it, gently tightening the straps that would lock it in place. Jeanne pulled back her right arm so that Marie could place the rest of the harness around her shoulders, placing a small glove into which Jeanne could slip her right hand. A set of five threads fed from the fingers of this glove through the harness and into the mechanisms of the prosthesis. Jeanne warmed up her fingers, the paired ones on the prosthetic approximately imitating her own movements. Thin, metal fingers with cushioned, leathery tips.

Jeanne did her exercises as Marie gestured to the other serving girls, bringing them into the room. They buttoned her blouse, hiding the bulk of the prosthetic and its harness beneath fine cloth, others continued with her makeup, wig and outerwear. Jeanne watched the transformation in the mirror, the pockmarked scars disappearing under foundation, the gauntness and pallor that had clung to her skin being warmed to a healthy glow, her hair restored, as it once had been. With the exception of her eyepatch and the forearm of metal, she nearly looked herself.

Her attire was regal; it was neither her full court dress nor the officer's uniform she wore in the field, but instead something of a combination of the two. A long green skirt under a crisp, formal green jacket, her wig half-hidden under a fashionable hat with a wide, summery brim and several feathers of white and violet, a tasteful counterpoint to the dominant green of her outfit.

"Thank you, Marie. Thank you, girls."

The servants lowered their eyes deferentially, several curtsied.

"Your majesty." was their shared response, as they quietly departed Jeanne's dressing room. Jeanne turned away from the mirror and rose to her feet. She could walk, thank God, at least she could still walk. That she was not confined to a wheelchair was one ongoing source of relief for her, she could move freely and still write with her own hand. She walked over to her internal telephone, and picked it up.

"Get me Monsieur de Richelieu."

"The Consul is here, your majesty, where shall I send him?"

"The salon, thank you. Is our guest here?"

"She is, your majesty."

"Very good, I shall call for her shortly."
 
The Princess Alexandrine

Jeanne looked out the window. A late spring snowfall drifted down outside, melting to water on contact with the glass. In the distance, beyond the outer buildings of the palace, the sprawling low-rises of Paris peeked out, windowed apartments and chimneyed factories. In the distance, Alexandre's Tower, the half-finished iron lattice monument to the usurper Emperor's grandiosity, stood its cold vigil over the city. A knock came from the door, and it opened a crack.

"Your majesty," spoke the voice of Philippe, Jeanne's Consul, "Mademoiselle Alexis is here."

"Please, show her in."

The consul opened the door the rest of the way. Philippe de Richelieu was immaculately dressed in a crisp double-breasted suit, cane, white gloves and a felt top hat, which he removed to bow before the Empress. His hair was dark and wavy, his moustache and beard were waxed to fine points. Behind him entered Alexis.

It had been several years since Jeanne had last met the girl, and she was now well on her way to becoming a woman. She was tall for her age, perhaps 170 cm, and very slender. She wore a short, straight black dress with a violet belt around her waist, with matching violet stockings visible below her knees. Very much the model of a garçonne, the tomboyish fashion of the youth. Her face was regal. Jeanne could see hints of Alexandre in her blue-grey eyes, and her long, thin nose, but her hair was the curly straw-blonde of a peasant, cut short under a black cloche hat. Her mouth bore a perfunctory smile which did not extend to the rest of her face.

"Your majesty." Alexis bowed, rather than curtsying.

"Come, take a seat with me, and we will speak. Monsieur le Consul, I thank you for your presence."

Philippe bowed and replaced his hat before departing, the door silently swinging shut behind him before latching with a click.

"I hope you are in good health, lady Alexis."

"I am well, your majesty."

"I'm glad to hear it."

The two women sat for a moment before the servant's door opened, and one of the serving girls rolled in a cart with cookies, pastries and coffee. She poured Jeanne and Alexis a cup, trembling slightly as she did so, before placing food on two plates and serving the Empress and her guest.

"Thank you." Alexis said to the girl, her face for the first time betraying a warm smile. The serving girl looked down, blushing, and hurried away back out her door. The Alexandrine princess returned her gaze to Jeanne, returning to its earlier stony cold visage.

"Monsieur de Richelieu has told you of the reason for our meeting, I trust?"

"I've read the papers, I know why you want me here. You want me to marry Constantin."

"The younger, yes."

"God I would hope the younger."

Jeanne imagined for a moment wedding this girl of sixteen summers to her second cousin at 37, or his father at 64. She shuddered inwardly at the thought of subjecting any young woman to such a fate.

"He is your age, and ultimately he is my blood heir. You are the sole blood heir of Alexandre-"

"Beyond all the bastards."

"...yes, beyond them, for they are not in consideration and not children of Christian marriage. You are the firstborn of Marianne, the sole legitimate grandchild-"

"Your majesty, I know my heritage. I want you to know that I don't want this."

Jeanne paused for a moment. She had known that Alexis was not eager to receive what was being foist upon her.

"I understand that. Neither you nor I chose the circumstances of our births, but we must nonetheless face the responsibilities we have been born into."

"Grandfather was deposed by your grandmother. The will of the people was done. My mother died because of who she was born to and my brothers are faceless and mindless because of who they were born to. I want none of this and you are handing me a chalice of death." Alexis pointedly took a long sip of her coffee.

Jeanne paused for a moment as she composed herself internally, thinking of her own ruined face, fiercely maintaining a neutral expression on the outside.

"We have all paid terrible prices for our births, Alexis. Your mother and mine. And I have paid prices of my own for carrying on my duties." Jeanne gestured with her left arm, tensing the fingers of her right hand to contract the mechanical fingers on her left. Alexis was unable to hide her eyes widening at this drawing of attention to the Empress' disfigurement.

"Your majesty, if I may."

Jeanne paused for a second, giving her words some weight. "You may."

"You chose to fight. You chose to travel to the fronts, to fight the Marshal of the Loire. I do not choose any of this. I wish to live a private citizen, to not die in violence as every-" she tapped the table, "last-" she tapped again, "one of my forebears has."

"That you wish to live without the responsibility of your bloodline is understandable, but those who wish you and your brothers further harm will not see it that way."

Alexis looked coldly at Jeanne, as if to disagree with the Empress' statement, but she said nothing.

"Nothing will change the woman you are, and what that means to the nation of France. The vessel of half of France's Royalty lies vested in your body. When I have passed, the other half shall rest within Constantin the younger."

Alexis' face shifted to an expression of distaste.

"Your child with him would be the ending of eighty years of conflict."

"You think this is for peace?"

"Well- yes. Of course, that is why I have done it."

"If I may, your majesty," and she did not wait for permission to continue "I think it ghastly and absurd that France would find peace because they knew that two teenagers were f***ing each other."

Jeanne was taken aback by Alexis' outburst, although she had known to expect such words from the Princess Alexandrine. She took a long sip from her coffee before putting it back down.

"Absurd though it may seem, it has already brought peace to Provence and Grande-Bretagne. The Marshal of Rheims has ever been a champion for your cause-"

"A champion I didn't ask for! I haven't seen Marshal Jourdain in years, he has never asked me what I think of his plans."

Jeanne sipped her coffee some more. "Perhaps it would be good for you to speak to him. Like the man or no, he is your strongest supporter."

"We'll see about that. I think he sees me as a puppet he could teach to dance, like Villeneuve's boy in Tours."

"Then you'll have to learn to pull your own strings, Alexis."

The blonde girl looked at Jeanne with a flash of indignation, followed by confusion.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You will learn to lead, learn to govern. You will build up a foundation of power and support such that men the likes of Marshal Jourdain can only support you, and not overpower you."

"Your majesty, need I say again that I do not want this power. I do not want this marriage, least of all with a boring grey dollop of a boy like Prince Constantin."

Jeanne chewed on a sugar cookie for a few moments then took another sip of coffee, looking out the window into the flurry of snow. Alexis was as stubborn as her grandfather had been, but in the opposite direction. Perhaps it called for a change of tack.

"Out with it then. Speak freely- not that I don't think you've been speaking freely before now. What is your heart's desire, Alexis, daughter of Marianne?"

"I'd be left out of this political nonsense altogether. I'd be forgotten by everyone with the power to hurt me and my brothers. I'd not be forced into some medieval arranged marriage."

Jeanne carefully interlocked her living hand with her prosthesis and leaned forward. "Go on."

Alexis was quiet for a moment. She seemed less able to hide her emotions than before, and Jeanne thought she might see a hint of tears welling at the edge of her eyes her eyes.

"I have suitors, your majesty. Several. I have a life, a private one, which makes me quite happy. I have a world that you will have me abandon for a cold, hard, friendless place of ruin. I can look at you, I can see what this job has done to you. I can look at my brothers and see what it will do to me. I'll... it'd be terrible." Alexis took a few heavy breaths, trying and failing to find words to better express herself.

"I love, your majesty, I have a life that I think must be alien to you, the Virgin Queen, the Warrior Monk. I don't think you understand anything of who or what I am, beyond being a thing that can solve the problem you've burned through your life to solve, to make all that you've lost be worthwhile."

Jeanne froze internally, trying to hide her response as merely leaning back and narrowing her eyes. She thought of Marshal Villiers, his warm embrace at that private highland retreat in Châteauroux, the feeling of safety and trust she shared with the man. The love that nobody knew, that nobody could know. With a controlled voice that wavered just the smallest amount, she responded.

"Perhaps so, Alexis. Perhaps your life is as unknowable to me as mine is to you. But I believe I have some knowledge of you. Your tutors speak of you as a bright and thoughtful young woman, who can achieve impressive things when you are interested in them. Speaking to you now, no longer a child, I can see that there is much of your mother in you."

Jeanne remembered Marianne well, having been the same age as the late Princess Alexandrine. A rambunctious and tomboyish little girl. Fiery and sharp-tongued as an adult, but deeply in love with her husband and fiercely protective of her family. The feud of their two families had always kept them at arm's length, but Jeanne had never had any reason to dislike the woman and still remembered clearly the horrible day that the car bomb had destroyed her and her family.

"Neither of us controlled the circumstances of our births, Alexis. I am the only daughter of the only daughter of Queen Madeleine. I never knew my mother, and my grandmother died when I was your age. I was alone."

"You're still alone."

How little she knew.

"I say this to you in confidence, Princess Alexandrine. My line... it ends with me. You may have suspected it, but you have now heard it truthfully from my own lips."

Alexis listened, her mouth full with a small berry pastry.

"If I am able to restore order to France, the legitimacy of victory would be manifest within me. And it would go nowhere. With my death, all of my work would be undone without a trusted successor. So... I suppose I must admit that you are right, in that I see in you the woman who can solve the problem I have devoted my life to struggle against. But I do not see you as an unfeeling object. I see you as an heir."

Alexis straightened her back, her eyes deadly serious.

"Yet you would force this marriage on me. A maiden offering of peace between warring Frankish clans."

Jeanne looked at Alexis with a sympathetic expression. "I've asked a challenging thing of you. Yet you need not view it as the end of the life which you've loved. You are yet a young woman, Alexis, and you have just begun to grow into your life. I am not the girl I was at sixteen, and the same shall be true of you. As you said it, I am alone, and I was alone. I lived with the same fear you have had to bear, but I have always striven to not live in fear. You need not bear the same burdens I did, Alexis. I will support you, help you, and guide you. If you fear that Marshal Jourdain would make you a puppet through his support, then let my support give you a more secure place to stand on."

"It sounds like you're not giving me much of a choice, your majesty."

"If you were, tonight, to take your suitcase and disappear by train, taking up asylum in Scandinavia, México, anywhere, I would not take actions to bring you back."

Alexis quietly nodded.

"But as you said, you have a life here. And you know that if you fled, there would be no Alexandrine heir. My peace with Rheims and the other rogue marshals would be over, the war would rage on anew. More boys and girls would be eaten by the violence. Were I to fail, the life you have made for yourself here would no longer be possible."

"Now you're really not affording me much choice, are you your majesty? Follow my plan or consign the children of the nation to another decade of bloodshed?"

Jeanne gave a sad smirk. "We are both trapped by our circumstances, my dear."

Alexis broke eye contact and looked out the window, sipping her drink for a few moments.

"You wish for me to be your heir. To be your direct successor. You'll get your family on board with this, so that the elder Constantin doesn't try to get me killed?"

"Just so."

Alexis remained quiet for a long time, before speaking in a hoarse voice.

"I'll do it, your majesty. But I fear that this is my death warrant."

Jeanne rose from her seat at the table and kneeled next to the girl's chair, embracing her.

"You will not live in fear, Dauphine Alexis. You will not live in fear."
 
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