05-09-2020, 07:55 AM
May 8th
Even with the lockdown of Xiomeran media that had been put in place by the junta, the video leaked from the attack on the protesters in Necuatexi had begun circulating around the country, popping up in random online locations almost as fast as ASI and its corporate partner ISTC could play whack-a-mole and shut them down. Combined with the video from the assault on the Palace of Flowers, the video was becoming a major problem.
In the far western Empire, the video had served to inflame the already angry Necatli even further. While the regional capital of Necuatexi was, for now, pacified, the vital port city of Acalan was anything but under control. Imperial troops and police now found themselves facing a full-scale insurrection by the angry Necatli. Their leader was dead, their capital seized, and their homeland under siege by Imperial troops and imported foreign lackeys. This, for the Necatli, would not stand. The Necatli in Acalan chose a new tlatoani, Huacue. Huacue was a high-ranking Necatli tecuhtli, or nobleman. He also happened to be the Necatli tlacochcalcatl, the man in charge of the Necatli warriors and their armories. If the Necatli needed someone to lead a revolt, Huacue was an ideal choice.
Huacue immediately took his new role to heart, declaring that the Necatli would not accept the rule of the junta, and that unless the Empress was restored to power, the Necatli would declare themselves independent of the Xiomeran Empire. Necatli warriors, rising up all over the territory, soon had both Acalan and Necuatexi under near-constant attack from guerrillas who struck without warning, then disappeared into the wide-open countryside.
Not about to let an upstart tlatoani declare independence from anything, General Xōchhuitl ordered additional Imperial troops into the area to suppress the Necatli uprising and capture Huacue. He also ordered the immediate deployment of Shuellian mercenaries to Acalan, to ensure the city resumed its expected role as a portal for Imperial commerce.
---
Xohuayán, Manauia Island
The sun glinted off steel and gold, shining brightly. Governor Mapilzin liked its brilliance immensely.
A former Imperial judge, Mapilzin had come out of retirement to lead the mission to restore order to Manauia Island and bring it into the 21st century. Mapilzin found the mission quite pleasing. He was a great fan of order, and of obedience to the law. Lōpoch, the Emperor who had conquered Manauia Island, had the right idea, Mapilzin thought. He just hadn't gone far enough. Under his governorship, however, the Teyatia would learn to respect the authority of Tlālacuetztla once and for all.
As he stepped forward onto the balcony of the Imperial Residence in the island capital, Mapilzin looked down and smiled. A brigade of the Imperial Army, the 9th Brigade, was rolling through the grand plaza in a long procession. 5500 strong, the sight of them was meant to impress and awe the locals with their sheer image of force.
As the Governor stepped forward to salute the parade, he noticed that the only people watching on the plaza were Xiomerans, not Teyatia, and not even all of them seemed entirely pleased with the troops rolling in. Mapilzin made a mental note to keep track of the Xiomerans on the plaza who weren't as enthusiastic as they should be.
Sudden cracks in the air quickly caused the Governor to have other concerns, however. Gunshots echoed out into the plaza, and as Mapilzin watched, the rolling parade of Imperial military might shuddered to a halt, as suddenly besieged Imperial troops returned fire at buildings around the plaza. Mapilzin's security moved to rush him off the balcony, but the Governor shook them off irritably. He was the symbol of Imperial authority here, and he would not let whoever the unseen attackers were see him run away. As the gunshots finally died down, and as the 9th Brigade accepted their less-than-friendly welcome to Manauia Island and secured the buildings around the plaza, Mapilzin finally walked inside the Imperial Residence. "What, exactly, was that?" he asked Mālelcuil, the commander of the Imperial garrison on Manauia Island, in a distinctly cold tone.
Mālelcuil shook his head. "It was a few armed Teyatia separatists. We eliminated them and have regained control over the plaza, sir."
"You should never have lost control of the plaza in the first place, you incompetent halfwit," Mapilzin snapped. His intended grand display of his arrival on the island was now ruined, and the Governor was certain Mālelcuil was to blame. "We told you to have these Teyatia under control before I arrived."
"We've been trying, sir," Mālelcuil said in frustration. "We have a reasonable control over the urban areas on the island, but the Teyatia hide in the jungle and it is damned near impossible to find them there and root them out."
"Nonsense. Are we not one of the most advanced technological societies in the IDU? Do we not have an advanced military? Use some of that damned expensive technology our taxes pay for and find the Teyatia who refuse to accept my authority and end them. Burn the damned jungle down if you have to. I am not here to play games, Mālelcuil. I am here because you have failed to provide security on this island. You do not want to continue to fail further in this task, I promise you. Now get out of here," Mapilzin shouted. Mālelcuil hastily saluted and made his exit, as the Governor sat down heavily in an elegantly carved chair and waved at a servant to bring him a drink.
---
Necuatexi
"It's not right, Zouhtlmali. I'm telling you, it's just not right."
Uhtlzaxi, a private in Company A of the 6th Battalion of the Imperial Army, shook his head angrily as he took a drag off of a Lohuā Licā cigarette. Zouhtlmali, another private, hastily waved at him to shut up. "If one of the officers or the damned MI political hears you, they'll chop your head off for that talk."
"I don't care, Zouhtlmali. They have us here shooting at unarmed people. Kids, some of them. Old people. Women, even police. They set helicopters on them. And what about those damned Shuellians? Now we're letting foreigners come here and use our people for target practice?" Uhtlzaxi flung his cigarette butt away and quickly grabbed another out of his pack. "Do you really think that's right?"
"They're not our people, Uhtlzaxi. They're Necatli. The Necatli have always caused trouble. This is their doing," Zouhtlmali said, shaking his head.
"I don't care if they're Necatli or Xiomeran. I swore to defend the Empire from its enemies. I joined the Army to fight in honorable battle, like our ancestors. What the hell is honorable about this?" Uhtlzaxi stood up, glaring at Zouhtlmali. "Tell me you think this is honorable. I know you're not that kind of man."
Zouhtlmali glared back. "Don't try to play on my emotions. If the Necatli would just follow the law, no violence would be happening here. Isn't that true?"
"And if we hadn't overthrown their tlatoani, or for that matter, overthrown the Empress, none of this would be happening either. Isn't that true?" Uhtlzaxi shot back.
"Please stop with that, you're going to get us both killed," Zouhtlmali pleaded, looking nervously in the distance as a trio of soldiers on patrol walked by.
"If someone did hear me talking this way, and came to drag me off to some cell somewhere....would you just watch and let them? Would you just obey orders?" Uhtlzaxi said softly. "Damnit. You know I wouldn't," Zouhtlmali replied tiredly. "I'm just asking you to not put us both in that position. I don't want you dead, and I'd rather not die, either. Let's...let's just go to bed, all right?"
Uhtlzaxi sighed. "All right," he replied finally. The two of them walked back to their sleeping area, their doubts two of thousands amongst the supposedly monolithic Imperial Army.
---
Xochiatipan
"But I was supposed to come here today," Toteotina said desperately.
Standing in front of the former local office of the Secretariat of Support, now a "satellite law enforcement center", an Imperial Police officer sighed. "I already told you, old woman, there is nothing here for you now. This agency no longer exists. There are no free handouts anymore, now Yauhmi's gone. Go home, or go elsewhere and beg, but go away and quit bothering me."
"But that's not fair! I was on the list to receive the social security stipend, I was supposed to come here today and finalize everything. I did everything I was supposed to," Toteotina said. "I have nothing if this help is not given, sir. Please do not turn me away."
"What do I look like, a priest? I don't run a charity. There is no more free money for just breathing in Xiomera anymore, as it should be. Leave now, before I arrest you. I don't have time for this," the Imperial Police officer snapped, taking a pair of handcuffs from his belt. As Toteotina flinched back in fear, a woman walking by gently took Toteotina's arm. "It's all right, officer. I know this woman, I will make sure she gets home," she said.
"See that you do. We have no time here for this silliness," the officer snapped, as the woman led Toteotina away. "Don't cry, it's okay. We will help you as best we can," she told the older woman as they walked as fast as they could before the officer could change his mind.
"But who are you?" Toteotina asked, looking up at her rescuer. "A friend," she replied kindly. As she led the older woman away, she found herself bemused at how quickly someone could be forgotten once they were expelled from the upper echelons of Xiomeran politics. She had changed her hair, to be sure, and was much more plainly dressed and made-up than in the heady days when she was on Emperor Topilpopoca's cabinet. But Huitzilhuani, once Secretary of International Affairs for the entire Empire, was basically a nobody now, it seemed. Unlike some who fell from Topilpopoca's good graces, though, I didn't have the bad sense to commit suicide by committing regicide, she thought. Now, at least I'm still alive and can do something for the people.
---
Laeralsford
"We hadn't planned to say anything publicly just yet, but the good Representative Schneider beat us to the punch, it seems," Nōlinyauh said calmly.
"Indeed she did. I'm not sure whether to thank her or not for that." A wry smile was on Crown Prince Texōccoatl's face. "I also wonder exactly what conversations President Liu or Minister Misra will be having with the Representative about the leak - not to mention Bernard Errante."
"Oh, to be a fly on the wall for those conversations. Do you think they would let me listen in if I asked nicely?" Nōlinyauh asked. "A diplomatic visit and all that?"
"I seriously doubt it. And let's please not offend our hosts, it would be a shame if the Laeralites kicked us out," the Crown Prince replied with an arched eyebrow. "But I am grateful for one thing - Schneider has freed me from having to be silent about this incident."
"And I suppose you know what you want to say in response?" Nōlinyauh had an expectant look on his face.
"I knew what I wanted to say the moment I saw that video," Texōccoatl said grimly.
---
An hour later, Texōccoatl was seated at what had once been the desk of the Xiomeran Ambassador to Laeral, in the Xiomeran Embassy. The Embassy had been converted into the official seat of office of the government in exile. Flanking the desks were two flags: the flag of the Imperial Household on the left, and to the right, the flag of the Necatli people, a subtle tribute to the victims of the attack in Necuatexi.
As cameras rolled, Texōccoatl began. "Good evening, citizens of the Xiomeran Empire, and to the citizens of the world. As acting Sovereign of Xiomera, I come before you today in abject apology for the crime against humanity that has taken place in the city of Necuatexi, and against the Necatli people. I apologize that Xiomerans have committed such an unspeakable crime, and that they appear to have engaged foreign help to further their violence. I apologize most of all for my failure to prevent such bloodshed. As acting Sovereign, I am responsible for the safety of all our people. I am responsible for protecting all of their rights, and their lives as well. I shall never forget this failure on my part. However, I will use this pain to drive me forward, on one single, implacable and clear mission."
"I speak directly now to General Xōchhuitl, and to the entire junta. I will not deign to call you a government. You are a pack of thugs. And you are murderers. With this act, there can be no further compromise with you. So I declare, here and now, that when the rightful authority of this government is restored over Xiomera, you will face judgment for your crimes against humanity. I further warn anyone, high ranking or low, that if you commit similar crimes against humanity against the people of the Empire, you will be held accountable - by myself, by this government, and by the people of Xiomera and of the world. Justice will be delivered, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is to deliver. We will hold you accountable, no matter who you are, where you are from, or whose flag you fly."
"For those of you who believe there is justification for such acts by saying you are just following orders: that will not be a shield for you. Some orders are meant to be disobeyed as soon as they come out of a leader's mouth. As a soldier, I know this all too well. So if you are a Xiomeran soldier, policeman, official, or even just a citizen, you now have a choice, and you cannot hide from it. Stand with us, and oppose human rights violators and criminals....or stand with those who commit crimes against humanity, and face the judgment that will inevitably fall upon your heads for that choice when we come for you. And we are coming for you. Let there be no doubt about that."
"I call on all Xiomeran soldiers, police, authorities and everyday citizens to immediately renounce the junta, their so-called government, and their actions, and to do everything in your power to stop them. I now demand that all Xiomeran authorities, military and police alike, agree to come under my command. The time for words is over. On the streets of Necuatexi, the junta proved they have no use for words. I propose that we now meet them on their terms. To protect the people of Xiomera, we must crush those who support this clique of murderers. There is no other option."
"I also call on the international community to do everything in its power to support the rightful government of Xiomera, and to crush these tyrants who draw their power from the barrel of a gun. Together, we can, and will, bring justice for the lost and restore Xiomera."
"Thank you all, and may the gods and goddesses bless us as we move forward. To the Xiomeran people, who linger under the shadow of tyranny: I promise you, you will not need to wait much longer. We are coming - and we will bring this to an end."
After the speech, Texōccoatl asked Nōlinyauh to make a specific effort to reach out to any Xiomeran military leaders, past or present, who he could bring to Laeralsford. The reason was simple: Texōccoatl was no longer prepared to wait to see if the junta would back down or soften its stance.
The Crown Prince was going back to Xiomera as soon as he could, with as many people willing to fight as he could summon with him.
Even with the lockdown of Xiomeran media that had been put in place by the junta, the video leaked from the attack on the protesters in Necuatexi had begun circulating around the country, popping up in random online locations almost as fast as ASI and its corporate partner ISTC could play whack-a-mole and shut them down. Combined with the video from the assault on the Palace of Flowers, the video was becoming a major problem.
In the far western Empire, the video had served to inflame the already angry Necatli even further. While the regional capital of Necuatexi was, for now, pacified, the vital port city of Acalan was anything but under control. Imperial troops and police now found themselves facing a full-scale insurrection by the angry Necatli. Their leader was dead, their capital seized, and their homeland under siege by Imperial troops and imported foreign lackeys. This, for the Necatli, would not stand. The Necatli in Acalan chose a new tlatoani, Huacue. Huacue was a high-ranking Necatli tecuhtli, or nobleman. He also happened to be the Necatli tlacochcalcatl, the man in charge of the Necatli warriors and their armories. If the Necatli needed someone to lead a revolt, Huacue was an ideal choice.
Huacue immediately took his new role to heart, declaring that the Necatli would not accept the rule of the junta, and that unless the Empress was restored to power, the Necatli would declare themselves independent of the Xiomeran Empire. Necatli warriors, rising up all over the territory, soon had both Acalan and Necuatexi under near-constant attack from guerrillas who struck without warning, then disappeared into the wide-open countryside.
Not about to let an upstart tlatoani declare independence from anything, General Xōchhuitl ordered additional Imperial troops into the area to suppress the Necatli uprising and capture Huacue. He also ordered the immediate deployment of Shuellian mercenaries to Acalan, to ensure the city resumed its expected role as a portal for Imperial commerce.
---
Xohuayán, Manauia Island
The sun glinted off steel and gold, shining brightly. Governor Mapilzin liked its brilliance immensely.
A former Imperial judge, Mapilzin had come out of retirement to lead the mission to restore order to Manauia Island and bring it into the 21st century. Mapilzin found the mission quite pleasing. He was a great fan of order, and of obedience to the law. Lōpoch, the Emperor who had conquered Manauia Island, had the right idea, Mapilzin thought. He just hadn't gone far enough. Under his governorship, however, the Teyatia would learn to respect the authority of Tlālacuetztla once and for all.
As he stepped forward onto the balcony of the Imperial Residence in the island capital, Mapilzin looked down and smiled. A brigade of the Imperial Army, the 9th Brigade, was rolling through the grand plaza in a long procession. 5500 strong, the sight of them was meant to impress and awe the locals with their sheer image of force.
As the Governor stepped forward to salute the parade, he noticed that the only people watching on the plaza were Xiomerans, not Teyatia, and not even all of them seemed entirely pleased with the troops rolling in. Mapilzin made a mental note to keep track of the Xiomerans on the plaza who weren't as enthusiastic as they should be.
Sudden cracks in the air quickly caused the Governor to have other concerns, however. Gunshots echoed out into the plaza, and as Mapilzin watched, the rolling parade of Imperial military might shuddered to a halt, as suddenly besieged Imperial troops returned fire at buildings around the plaza. Mapilzin's security moved to rush him off the balcony, but the Governor shook them off irritably. He was the symbol of Imperial authority here, and he would not let whoever the unseen attackers were see him run away. As the gunshots finally died down, and as the 9th Brigade accepted their less-than-friendly welcome to Manauia Island and secured the buildings around the plaza, Mapilzin finally walked inside the Imperial Residence. "What, exactly, was that?" he asked Mālelcuil, the commander of the Imperial garrison on Manauia Island, in a distinctly cold tone.
Mālelcuil shook his head. "It was a few armed Teyatia separatists. We eliminated them and have regained control over the plaza, sir."
"You should never have lost control of the plaza in the first place, you incompetent halfwit," Mapilzin snapped. His intended grand display of his arrival on the island was now ruined, and the Governor was certain Mālelcuil was to blame. "We told you to have these Teyatia under control before I arrived."
"We've been trying, sir," Mālelcuil said in frustration. "We have a reasonable control over the urban areas on the island, but the Teyatia hide in the jungle and it is damned near impossible to find them there and root them out."
"Nonsense. Are we not one of the most advanced technological societies in the IDU? Do we not have an advanced military? Use some of that damned expensive technology our taxes pay for and find the Teyatia who refuse to accept my authority and end them. Burn the damned jungle down if you have to. I am not here to play games, Mālelcuil. I am here because you have failed to provide security on this island. You do not want to continue to fail further in this task, I promise you. Now get out of here," Mapilzin shouted. Mālelcuil hastily saluted and made his exit, as the Governor sat down heavily in an elegantly carved chair and waved at a servant to bring him a drink.
---
Necuatexi
"It's not right, Zouhtlmali. I'm telling you, it's just not right."
Uhtlzaxi, a private in Company A of the 6th Battalion of the Imperial Army, shook his head angrily as he took a drag off of a Lohuā Licā cigarette. Zouhtlmali, another private, hastily waved at him to shut up. "If one of the officers or the damned MI political hears you, they'll chop your head off for that talk."
"I don't care, Zouhtlmali. They have us here shooting at unarmed people. Kids, some of them. Old people. Women, even police. They set helicopters on them. And what about those damned Shuellians? Now we're letting foreigners come here and use our people for target practice?" Uhtlzaxi flung his cigarette butt away and quickly grabbed another out of his pack. "Do you really think that's right?"
"They're not our people, Uhtlzaxi. They're Necatli. The Necatli have always caused trouble. This is their doing," Zouhtlmali said, shaking his head.
"I don't care if they're Necatli or Xiomeran. I swore to defend the Empire from its enemies. I joined the Army to fight in honorable battle, like our ancestors. What the hell is honorable about this?" Uhtlzaxi stood up, glaring at Zouhtlmali. "Tell me you think this is honorable. I know you're not that kind of man."
Zouhtlmali glared back. "Don't try to play on my emotions. If the Necatli would just follow the law, no violence would be happening here. Isn't that true?"
"And if we hadn't overthrown their tlatoani, or for that matter, overthrown the Empress, none of this would be happening either. Isn't that true?" Uhtlzaxi shot back.
"Please stop with that, you're going to get us both killed," Zouhtlmali pleaded, looking nervously in the distance as a trio of soldiers on patrol walked by.
"If someone did hear me talking this way, and came to drag me off to some cell somewhere....would you just watch and let them? Would you just obey orders?" Uhtlzaxi said softly. "Damnit. You know I wouldn't," Zouhtlmali replied tiredly. "I'm just asking you to not put us both in that position. I don't want you dead, and I'd rather not die, either. Let's...let's just go to bed, all right?"
Uhtlzaxi sighed. "All right," he replied finally. The two of them walked back to their sleeping area, their doubts two of thousands amongst the supposedly monolithic Imperial Army.
---
Xochiatipan
"But I was supposed to come here today," Toteotina said desperately.
Standing in front of the former local office of the Secretariat of Support, now a "satellite law enforcement center", an Imperial Police officer sighed. "I already told you, old woman, there is nothing here for you now. This agency no longer exists. There are no free handouts anymore, now Yauhmi's gone. Go home, or go elsewhere and beg, but go away and quit bothering me."
"But that's not fair! I was on the list to receive the social security stipend, I was supposed to come here today and finalize everything. I did everything I was supposed to," Toteotina said. "I have nothing if this help is not given, sir. Please do not turn me away."
"What do I look like, a priest? I don't run a charity. There is no more free money for just breathing in Xiomera anymore, as it should be. Leave now, before I arrest you. I don't have time for this," the Imperial Police officer snapped, taking a pair of handcuffs from his belt. As Toteotina flinched back in fear, a woman walking by gently took Toteotina's arm. "It's all right, officer. I know this woman, I will make sure she gets home," she said.
"See that you do. We have no time here for this silliness," the officer snapped, as the woman led Toteotina away. "Don't cry, it's okay. We will help you as best we can," she told the older woman as they walked as fast as they could before the officer could change his mind.
"But who are you?" Toteotina asked, looking up at her rescuer. "A friend," she replied kindly. As she led the older woman away, she found herself bemused at how quickly someone could be forgotten once they were expelled from the upper echelons of Xiomeran politics. She had changed her hair, to be sure, and was much more plainly dressed and made-up than in the heady days when she was on Emperor Topilpopoca's cabinet. But Huitzilhuani, once Secretary of International Affairs for the entire Empire, was basically a nobody now, it seemed. Unlike some who fell from Topilpopoca's good graces, though, I didn't have the bad sense to commit suicide by committing regicide, she thought. Now, at least I'm still alive and can do something for the people.
---
Laeralsford
"We hadn't planned to say anything publicly just yet, but the good Representative Schneider beat us to the punch, it seems," Nōlinyauh said calmly.
"Indeed she did. I'm not sure whether to thank her or not for that." A wry smile was on Crown Prince Texōccoatl's face. "I also wonder exactly what conversations President Liu or Minister Misra will be having with the Representative about the leak - not to mention Bernard Errante."
"Oh, to be a fly on the wall for those conversations. Do you think they would let me listen in if I asked nicely?" Nōlinyauh asked. "A diplomatic visit and all that?"
"I seriously doubt it. And let's please not offend our hosts, it would be a shame if the Laeralites kicked us out," the Crown Prince replied with an arched eyebrow. "But I am grateful for one thing - Schneider has freed me from having to be silent about this incident."
"And I suppose you know what you want to say in response?" Nōlinyauh had an expectant look on his face.
"I knew what I wanted to say the moment I saw that video," Texōccoatl said grimly.
---
An hour later, Texōccoatl was seated at what had once been the desk of the Xiomeran Ambassador to Laeral, in the Xiomeran Embassy. The Embassy had been converted into the official seat of office of the government in exile. Flanking the desks were two flags: the flag of the Imperial Household on the left, and to the right, the flag of the Necatli people, a subtle tribute to the victims of the attack in Necuatexi.
As cameras rolled, Texōccoatl began. "Good evening, citizens of the Xiomeran Empire, and to the citizens of the world. As acting Sovereign of Xiomera, I come before you today in abject apology for the crime against humanity that has taken place in the city of Necuatexi, and against the Necatli people. I apologize that Xiomerans have committed such an unspeakable crime, and that they appear to have engaged foreign help to further their violence. I apologize most of all for my failure to prevent such bloodshed. As acting Sovereign, I am responsible for the safety of all our people. I am responsible for protecting all of their rights, and their lives as well. I shall never forget this failure on my part. However, I will use this pain to drive me forward, on one single, implacable and clear mission."
"I speak directly now to General Xōchhuitl, and to the entire junta. I will not deign to call you a government. You are a pack of thugs. And you are murderers. With this act, there can be no further compromise with you. So I declare, here and now, that when the rightful authority of this government is restored over Xiomera, you will face judgment for your crimes against humanity. I further warn anyone, high ranking or low, that if you commit similar crimes against humanity against the people of the Empire, you will be held accountable - by myself, by this government, and by the people of Xiomera and of the world. Justice will be delivered, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is to deliver. We will hold you accountable, no matter who you are, where you are from, or whose flag you fly."
"For those of you who believe there is justification for such acts by saying you are just following orders: that will not be a shield for you. Some orders are meant to be disobeyed as soon as they come out of a leader's mouth. As a soldier, I know this all too well. So if you are a Xiomeran soldier, policeman, official, or even just a citizen, you now have a choice, and you cannot hide from it. Stand with us, and oppose human rights violators and criminals....or stand with those who commit crimes against humanity, and face the judgment that will inevitably fall upon your heads for that choice when we come for you. And we are coming for you. Let there be no doubt about that."
"I call on all Xiomeran soldiers, police, authorities and everyday citizens to immediately renounce the junta, their so-called government, and their actions, and to do everything in your power to stop them. I now demand that all Xiomeran authorities, military and police alike, agree to come under my command. The time for words is over. On the streets of Necuatexi, the junta proved they have no use for words. I propose that we now meet them on their terms. To protect the people of Xiomera, we must crush those who support this clique of murderers. There is no other option."
"I also call on the international community to do everything in its power to support the rightful government of Xiomera, and to crush these tyrants who draw their power from the barrel of a gun. Together, we can, and will, bring justice for the lost and restore Xiomera."
"Thank you all, and may the gods and goddesses bless us as we move forward. To the Xiomeran people, who linger under the shadow of tyranny: I promise you, you will not need to wait much longer. We are coming - and we will bring this to an end."
After the speech, Texōccoatl asked Nōlinyauh to make a specific effort to reach out to any Xiomeran military leaders, past or present, who he could bring to Laeralsford. The reason was simple: Texōccoatl was no longer prepared to wait to see if the junta would back down or soften its stance.
The Crown Prince was going back to Xiomera as soon as he could, with as many people willing to fight as he could summon with him.
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