Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Struggle For Change
The Struggle For Change
The Struggle For Change
FOR CHANGE
By
Vernon Lee D.H.
1
Copyright © by Vernon Lee D.H.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced or used in any
matter without written permission of the copyright owner except for the
use of quotations in a book review.
2
DISCLAIMER
This novel is only suitable for ages 13 and
above as there are mild descriptions of violence,
abuse, sexual assault, and death. Readers who
may be sensitive to these topics, you have been
warned.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 11
OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF
SUFFERING 58
4
A SUMMARY OF ANASTASIAN POLITICS 87
Appendices 204
5
6
1. Port Suaydergyik
2. Durwall Village
3. Andrige Central
4. Noble Garden
5. Heaving Street
7
Central a
8
9
10
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
____________________
This is the very first novel I have ever written. I had the idea for this
novel in 2020, when Malaysia was under a nationwide lockdown, also
known as the MCO (Movement Control Order) to reduce the cases of
COVID-19. During the lockdown, it gave me an opportunity to generate
and expand my ideas and the plot of this novel. Until June of 2022,
everything was in my head and it led me to start writing everything down.
Many thanks to my father, Terence Lee Choon Keat, who also guided
me to write and provided me with ideas and suggestions for Chapters 7, 10
and 11. I also would like to express my gratitude to Pretesh Narendran, my
closest friend, for his confidence in my work and for providing me with
unwavering support. He was the first to know about my work and as a
close friend, he came up with some character traits for my novel.
Finally, I’d like to credit Simon Blyberg’s wallpaper from Pexels as the
background used for the book cover. Modifications made to the picture,
including the man, were made using the Picsart AI Image Generator.
11
12
Chapter 1
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The front page of the folder had my name down on it. Below, the page
stated that I was 14 years old. I was perplexed and shocked by how
creepy it was. How did they know my age? I asked that woman about it
and she said that they had technologies that could track and identify
people’s ages and also physical appearances from Earth.
1
The current date format used on Centralora is ‘dd-mm-yyyy AG’, with AG
bringing the meaning ‘After Garudyaahst’ which indicates the number of years
after the first appearance of Earthlings (more information in Chapter 3).
13
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
“Humans… from Earth, of course! You are one of the children from
Earth that arrived here,” she said.
“What do you think this place is? This place isn’t the place where you
call ‘home’. From Earth, you arrived in a world we call Centralora,” she
explained.
“You see that on your shirt?” she pointed to a label on my shirt. The
label said ‘Earthling’, which was a classification to indicate a person that
was from Earth.
“You must remember this term. In this world, we use this term so that
we all can identify you. You must remember this, got it?” she said.
“Now, no more questions! I don’t have all day to stand here and
answer your questions. I still have other Earthling children to handle,”
she said as she walked out.
Seeing her walking away, I continued to read the folder. The folder
said that I was in a territory called ‘Denvorg’ that belonged to the
Anastasian Empire (Ryek Anastazium in the Anastasian language). The
14
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Anastasian Empire at that time ruled half of Centralora’s land area. The
folder also said that I was in a city in Denvorg called ‘Sotsielche’ (now
the capital city of Denvorg called F.D. Andrige or Federal District of
Andrige, also known as just Andrige), which became my hometown.
Soon, two other women entered the room. Without saying anything,
they escorted me out of the room to get my name written down on some
registration papers. On the way out, I saw many young Earthling
teenagers coming out of the room, escorted by an adult or two. Outside,
I looked at the building and it was called the Reserved Transfers
Department2 or RTD for short.
I spent the whole day with Krystasya and Evalette going to every
governmental registration building. At the same time, they wanted me
to gain their trust in them.
The role of people like Krystasya and Evalette was to watch over
young Earthlings by giving them basic education and providing them
with necessary food, clothing, and shelter.
2
The Reserved Transfers Department was a department owned by the Anastasian
Empire. It served as the main checkpoint to receive and bring Earthlings to
Centralora. The Reserved Transfers Department also housed and protected the
‘Motherportal’ which was a portal that operated automatically to bring Earthlings
from Earth to Centralora.
15
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
The Anastasian law required every Earthling child that had been
brought to Centralora to have at least two Anastasian caretakers (who
had to be Anastasian women). This policy was enforced by the
Anastasian Empire. Caretakers like Krystasya and Evalette would be
together with their Earthling children until they reached the age of 18
years old and above.
I arrived at their abode after a long and tiring day. I had a drastic
emotional change. I spend a lot of time alone. I was not ready to live in a
world like this, especially growing up with Krystasya and Evalette. I had
my first dinner on Centralora with them and that was when they
showed signs of supporting me to help stabilise my emotions.
3
Centralorians are used to refer to the inhabitants of Centralora except for the
Anastasian people. Centralorians and Earthlings can be classified as
non-Anastasian.
16
HOW IT ALL STARTED
“Let me sit next to you. We can read the book together,” Evalette said
as she came into my room. I was in a cosy position; sitting and leaning
against the pillow and my legs under the blanket. I was still unhappy
and uncomfortable with Evalette in my presence. I did not say a word
and did not resist letting her in and sitting on my bed.
“Do you like the book?” Evalette asked me in a soft and sweet voice.
Hearing what she said made me loosen up, but I could not trust her
100%. I had a feeling that she was not showing her true colours. She was
just following Anastasian policies. I tried to be polite towards Evalette
and not to overreact.
17
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
and boring classical Anastasian films. I didn’t really have a choice, but I
preferred watching classical Anastasian films rather than propaganda.
Those films usually showed the glorification of their Empress, empire
and race. Besides that, I would also listen to a variety of songs on the
radio. I managed to gradually understand and learn the Anastasian
language.
From what I have known since my days living with Krystasya and
Evalette was that they were in a relationship. They slept together and
would sometimes invite me to sleep with them, which was quite weird.
Then, they would plan to frighten me by unexpectedly raping me. The
next day, I would wake up feeling tired and dizzy because of not having
enough sleep.
It was then after those incidents that I learnt that Anastasian people
like Krystaysa and Evalette would physically and mentally torture
18
HOW IT ALL STARTED
non-Anastasian children in all forms for their benefit. One of the most
famous tactics was the sexual exploitation of non-Anastasian children.
Sexual exploitation of non-Anastasian children was increasingly popular
and it became a part of the Anastasian tradition. However, this wasn’t
always the case as some Anastasians preferred not to sexually assault
non-Anastasian children. Every Anastasian’s intentions were different.
PCBW had two stages. The first stage, also known as Contact Stage,
was when sclorytaes pathogens (parasites) were spread to non-Alius
Humans (hosts) via open wounds, bodily fluids, or sexual intercourse.
Once the sclorytaes pathogens were inside hosts, they would absorb
their nutrients by attacking their immune system and spreading all over
the body.
4
The word ‘alius’ means ‘other’ in English. Alius Humans are also known as
Anastasian people. Alius Humans are quite di erent from Centralorians and
Earthlings, in terms of biological aspects and mentality. All Alius Humans have an
iconic birthmark on the back of their body. This can help identify between Alius
Humans and non-Alius Humans.
19
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
The second stage, also known as Blood Withdrawal Stage, was when
blood with nutrient-filled sclorytaes was withdrawn from non-Alius
Humans to be transfused to the Alius Humans. From there, a nearly
limitless source of nutrients was provided to the Alius Humans.
The Anastasian Empire had legislation that made sure the blood
transfusions were safe and the quality was maintained. With that, two
Anastasian officials from the Ministry of Public Affairs would monitor
Krystasya and Evalette when they were transfusing blood from me.
Back to the topic, those incidents reflected their bad and disturbing
side to me. Growing up with Krystasya and Evalette was chaotic and
20
HOW IT ALL STARTED
As a rape victim, I could not stand it anymore. I knew that there was
no chance of stopping them. I was mentally afflicted and always
victimised, leading me into depression and suicidal ideations I was
trying to prevent. Flashbacks of getting raped kept scaring me as I
almost felt it was taking place again. Unfortunately, this made me
experience insomnia throughout my experiences with them.
As a child back then, I cried almost every day because of these effects.
I would lock myself in my room to prevent Krystasya and Evalette from
noticing me because they would still continue to pressure me.
Evalette found out that I have suicidal ideations and she tried to
prevent it. She did it because she wanted me to be alive so that I could
still benefit both her and Kystasya. One of the ways Evalette tried to
prevent me from having suicidal ideations was through manipulation.
Believe it or not, it worked, but it had a huge emotional impact and
greatly lowered my self-confidence and self-esteem.
5
Credit points were a way of distinguishing a non-Anastasian’s status and
reputation. The credit points system was established as a way to distinguish
non-Anastasians who were loyal or not to the Empress and the Anastasian
Empire. The maximum credit points for one month are 12 points. The total points
for a year with maximum credit points per month were 144 points. Centralorians
and Earthlings will face inhumane punishments if their credit points were below
90 points out of 144 points. They were considered to have a poor status and
reputation and were unloyal to the Empress and the Anastasian Empire.
21
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
Moving on, I thought that it was considered a rare chance when the
Empress of the Anastasian Empire paid a visit to her people. Well, that
rare chance came to me. Empress Daeyowyn, the reigning Empress at
that time, made a surprise visit to Sotsielche on 5 August 1814 AG. I saw
her face to face the next day when Krystasya and I were at a technology
exhibition. I did not talk to the Empress though, I was preventing myself
from going near her. She was surrounded by bodyguards and soldiers as
some Anastasians became emotional and wanted to touch the Empress.
The next day, there was another surprise visit by Princess Kikiana,
who was Empress Daeyowyn’s youngest daughter, and her husband,
Prince Elvex. She planned to deliver a speech in Sotsielche at the town
square. As usual, Krystasya and Evalette brought me there just to watch
and listen to the Princess. Both of them found the royal family inspiring.
Since this was an official ceremony, Krystasya and Evalette had to wear
traditional Anastasian attires while I wore formal clothing.
The town square was decorated with flags, flowers and portraits of
Princess Kikiana and Prince Elvex. There was a huge banner with the
words “Welcome, our beloved Princess Kikiana and Prince Elvex!” in
Anastasian. We took a seat and waited for the ceremony to start.
22
HOW IT ALL STARTED
A few minutes after Princess Kikiana started her speech, she was
interrupted when someone broke the silence in the crowds and was
shouting “Gun! Gun!”. Just as everyone was confused and beginning to
panic, I heard a shot and the Princess’s body jolted to the back and
eventually collapsed to the ground. Everyone was panicking and had
left the chaotic situation. I ducked and followed Krystasya and Evalette
to escape the crowds, fearing that we would get killed by a shooter that
was nowhere to be seen.
23
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
police officer held my neck and gave me a hard slap on the face. She
then threw me to the ground and took out her gun.
“Don’t shoot me! Don’t shoot! I’ve done nothing wrong!” I shouted at
her.
“Don’t lie to me!” she said angrily as she stomped on my right leg.
“An Earthling kid, eh?” the Anastasian police officer said to which I
gave no response.
“Why would you and your caretakers try to escape if you are loyal to
the Empress and the Empire?! A true loyalist would rather die for or die
beside Her Highness in the hands of a traitor, just like in this situation,”
she said aggressively.
The news reported that Princess Kikiana was rushed to the hospital
that day and she was in stable condition. She survived a gunshot wound
to her chest. Investigations were also launched to find and punish the
shooter. It was concluded that the shooter did not use a rifle, but a
revolver. The person who shouted “Gun!” on that day was also
24
HOW IT ALL STARTED
interrogated by the Anastasian police. He was killed the next day for not
providing specific explanations and was suspected to be the shooter.
That was the first time I ever witnessed an assassination attempt right
before me, and I will not forget this incident.
25
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
Since 1824 AG, the timeline on Centralora had been almost like the
early and mid-20th century of Earth. Fashion on Centralora followed
1930s’ fashion on Earth. Normally, the fashion accessories for a man
were a fedora hat or a newsboy cap, a long-sleeved uniform with a tie or
only a collared shirt, and a vest to go with the uniform, followed by a
blazer, trousers, and a coat. Women wore hats, dresses, and most of the
time, opera gloves.
They believed it was the work of angry Gods. One lucky day, the
horrible occurrence stopped and it was believed that the Gods had
spared the Anastasian people. To appreciate it, various large feasts and
animal scarification were held to honour and appreciate a peaceful living
and to honour the Gods.
26
HOW IT ALL STARTED
27
Chapter 2
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
The school strictly divided racial types, dividing them into different
class types. Anastasians, Centralorians, and Earthlings were not allowed
to study in the same class according to an Anastasian law. My class was
called 3EH. The boys made up most of the class, whereas the girls were
the minorities.
There were ten classes for non-Anastasians. Five classes were for
Centralorians with them being named CH (Centralorians). The other five
classes were for Earthlings with the name EH (Earthlings).
28
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
The only thing that is still fresh in my memory was when a 15 years
old Anastasian girl grabbed my attention when I was walking out of the
toilet. This happened two months after I started going to school.
29
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
sigh and said to myself, “Here I go again”. Fear had still control over my
body and at the same time, I didn’t want to get raped again.
Having full sexual desires, the girl grabbed my hair, slapped me and
started to unbutton my uniform. I, feeling annoyed, pushed her
downwards and backwards in one go and quickly held my hands at the
door. I was about to unlock the door and make my escape. Just as I was
about to open the door, I immediately shouted for help. I managed to
peek out of the toilet stall and unfortunately saw no one.
I had been dragged in again and she slapped me repeatedly.
She grabbed my neck again and pushed me down to the floor. I was
in a lying position and she was on top of me, strangling me and
watching me suffer. I saw her angry facial expression as she was
clenching her fist to punch me. That punch made my nose bleed. I
decided to give up and stop fighting because I couldn't bear the pain
that she was causing any more. She would hurt me more if I yelled for
help.
After I had given up, she started doing her ‘business’ with me. I knew
that I was going to be hurt, but I decided to yell for help again. I just
30
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
knew someone would be there. Thankfully, there was someone there and
he sure heard me. That girl knew someone had heard me and she was
even angrier than before.
She tried to hit me again, but this time I held her hands and she
couldn’t move. I got back up, put one of my arms on her neck and tried
to strangle her. Meanwhile, the boy outside was trying to break the door
open.
The door finally broke open and he tried to take down that girl. I
crawled out from the toilet stall and waited in a corner. Although I was
injured, I still had my remaining energy to gain control of the girl. I was
exhausted. I could not do anything but watch him battling that girl,
blocking every attack and trying to evade. With her uncovered chest, it
was quite triggering, even though she knew about it and she took it as
an advantage.
I found a bottle and hit it hard on her head. She finally decided to
give up and let go of that boy. The boy who had saved me and I looked
at each other and decided to run away. After the chaos, we properly
introduced ourselves. His name was Harold and he would soon become
my best friend in school.
It was when school ended. My friends who were not very close to me
were called by two teachers, Miss Jaquemy and Miss Daenys, who were
31
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
“Get up! Get up!” Miss Jaquemy laughed and shouted at that poor
guy. Miss Daenys was standing at the entrance and gave an
uncomfortable grin when looking at them. We were startled.
When all of us were lined up, Miss Jaquemy told us to undress our
clothes. We were again hesitating and slowly took off our clothes. I
whispered to one of my friends, Callon, “Why the heck are we even
doing this? I could have just walked away when she called me. Now I
am trapped here!”
“Well, what are you gonna do? The doors are locked from the
outside,” Callon said.
“Heh, I have been in this similar situation for more than you think. I
am sick of this! Every time this happens, no one can escape. The teachers
also seem to be very aggressive when you try to escape,” Callon
groaned.
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EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
Complaining to the school or the police about that was illegal and the
Anastasians could threaten the parents if they decided to take action to
defend their children. Undoubtedly, Earthlings like me had caretakers.
Of course, the caretakers were Anastasians and they did not give a damn
about your complaints. Since the Anastasians had full control over the
Centralorians and Earthlings, we could not do anything.
By the way, I learnt how to speak the Anastasian language, but I was
not fluent in it. I got bullied by the Anastasian students for that. Besides
the Anastasian language, the school also taught Science, Mathematics,
Basic Technologies, History, Geography, and Arts and Design. When I
reached the age of 16, the school taught Biology, Chemistry, Economics
and Physics.
A very fun fact I also learnt; the English language had already
become very popular and it was widely being used on Centralora
because of how easy the pronunciations were. Not only that, with the
increase of Earthlings, the English language quickly became known and
33
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
When I first heard Krystasya and Evalette speak, so was their English.
During the first day at Royal Sotsielche School, I was in Grade Nine
or Delves Jhel which is for ages 14-15.
34
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
35
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
I also saw the owner of that estate. She was yelling at those children
to work harder. The children were skinny and they looked weak. The
owner had a whip in her hand to flog the children if they stopped
working. Seeing the children being forced to do something alarmed me.
I asked Krystasya who the children were. Krystasya answered swiftly as
she already knew that place.
36
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
government and were being forced into coal mining. The mining was
done underground and you probably know the dangers of it. Risks of
explosions, cave-ins, toxic air and extreme temperatures frightened those
children.
Those child miners were mining all day and all night just to survive.
Unfortunately, some couldn't survive because they would die in the
mines because of starvation due to lack of food, cave-ins and explosions.
The inhalation of toxic air also became the main cause of the death of
child miners.
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
Apart from that topic, the Royal Sotsielche School also focused on
educating non-Anastasians students about the oath of allegiance, the
Anastasian Empire Principles:
“We the subjects of our beloved Eternal Ruler, Her Majesty the Empress,
representing the Anastasian race, pledge ourselves to follow these principles to
build a long-lasting empire, justice for Anastasians, and acknowledging the
superiority of the Anastasian race:
The oath was usually recited every Monday in the classroom and
during school events.
6
‘Empress is Hope’ was the imperial anthem of the Anastasian Empire and it was
used in Anastasian-occupied Denvorg from 1761 AG to 1824 AG.
38
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
The school song for the Royal Sotsielche School was called G’tureum
Calkcen (The School Song). I still remember that this song was quite short
and the duration was less than a minute.
Naomie told us a story about how she was treated at home. Her
parents were divorced and she was only raised by her father. Her father
had drinking problems and mostly ignored Naomie’s daily life. Her
father knew she had social anxiety and refused to help her overcome it.
Naomie had to survive on her own by seeing a therapist and meditating
every day, which she said that it helped her a lot.
Naomie often invited me to help her with her studies and hobbies.
She told me not to bring my friends over because she said she was too
39
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
shy. Her hobbies were very interesting. She read books during her free
time, was very interested in trying camping and liked sewing. She was
also an animal lover. During the weekends, Naomie and I went to the
Mariloun Petting Farm, which was near our school, to see, feed and pet
them.
40
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
“What the hell do you want, Gueinz?”7 I looked back and replied to
her with an unhappy face.
“Show some respect, Earthling! You don’t know who you are dealing
with. Did your mummy not teach you that?” she responded sarcastically
and her friends who were with her laughed creepily.
“What is your problem, Brianne? Why does it bother you about him
being an Earthling? You can leave him alone,” Harold interrupted.
7
Gueinz is a racial slur used by Centralorians and Earthlings to refer to Anastasian
people.
41
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
there was not much I could do. Brianne and her friends walked out
while laughing hysterically.
“That evidence does not solve this incident! Your type of people has
already provided me with evidence that you started this. Your race
deserves to be ignored,” the principal said. She seemed to be defending
her Anastasian students and putting the blame on non-Anastasian
students. This happened so many times that I don’t find it worth
reporting any problems to the principal.
8
Seboboon is a racial slur used by Anastasians to refer to Earthlings. It derives from
the Anastasian language, ‘Sebo’ which means retarded and the word baboon.
9
Until today, most Anastasians in the Anastasian Empire consisted of more
females than males. 86% of the Anastasian population consisted of female
Anastasians. This made the Anastasian ruling monarch, Empress Kikiana,
establish the law that privileged Anastasian females.
42
EDUCATION AND FRIENDSHIP
Later on that day, I found out that it wasn’t only me who was drafted
into a URAB camp. Naomie, Olympe, and Harold also got an official
letter on the same day to be drafted into a URAB camp. Two days later,
Lorenzo and Jared received their official letters to be drafted into a
URAB camp too.
11
The Anastasian government in Anastasian-occupied Denvorg randomly selected
non-Anastasian children and adults for forced admission into URAB camps,
which were only for people who had low credit points. If anyone had found out,
the Anastasian government would make excuses and methods to prevent them
from uncovering the truth. These ruthless activities were finally put to an end in
1820 AG after the Anastasian government found it di cult to manage them.
43
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
All of us were drafted into the same URAB camp, which was the
South Intridue URAB Camp (located on Intridue Island) and we had to
be there on 13 February 1816 AG at 3:00 p.m. That date would always
remind me of the nightmares and horrors in that URAB camp.
44
Chapter 3
DENVORGIAN HISTORY AND ITS IMPACT ON
ME
15,000 years ago, the first inhabitants called the Larantanan people
settled in the pre-Denvorgian regions. The pre-Denvorgian regions were
relatively small, only covering as big as the modern-day State of New
Denvorg.
In the year 600 BG, the First Sreman Empire conquered the
pre-Denvorgian regions and Ancient Cohenra was founded. Ancient
Cohenra had borders that were almost similar to the modern-day
Denvorgian borders. A local tribe called the Aladeca spent years
rebelling against the Sremans, trying to set their land free. The Aladecan
rebels successfully defeated the Sremans in the year 519 BG and the
Sremans were forced to give the locals back their land.
45
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
Nearby, the Birangka Civilisation was formed that was based in the
ancient city of Esarna. In the year 508 BG, the Aladecan Dermo was
conquered by the Birangka Civilisation, ending the reign of Heletrios’
who had ruled the Aladecan Dermo for 11 brutal years. Ancient Cohenra
underwent a huge social and political change under the influence of the
Birangka Civilisation. Some researchers described the Birangka
Civilisation as having a system of government which was based on
theocracy. The centre of government was in religious worshipping
places, which were temples to be precise.
In the year 400 BG, the Late Progression Era began on Centralora. The
Late Progression Era had evidence of the first recorded existence of the
Anastasians. They originally had the same biological aspects as
Centralorians, not the biological aspects of Anastasians like we see
today. Due to an unknown mutation, the biological aspects of some
Centralorians became abnormal. The mutation in some Centralorians
caused widespread segregations between mutated Centralorians and
non-affected Centralorians. The mutated Centralorians were called the
Ujurotoxes (singular: Ujurotox) while the others were just called
Centralorians.
46
DENVORGIAN HISTORY AND ITS IMPACT ON ME
47
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
solid answer. However, there was no solid result from the research at the
time.
Ancient Cohenra would fall into the hands of the Feren Kingdom
after it defeated the Second Sreman Empire in the Feren-Sreman War
(857 AG - 863 AG), ending Sreman rule on Ancient Cohenra. The Second
Sreman Empire surrendered Ancient Cohenra to the Feren Kingdom in
863 AG.
In 956 AG, the Alius Humans formed the Land of the Phisalies,
intended to unite all Alius Humans from different regions around the
Meogranic River Civilisation to create a large Alius Humans-based
kingdom that spoke one language; the Phisalies language.
The formation of the Land of Phisalies was not favoured by the Alius
Human citizens, as its leaders never united them, only to use them as
slaves. The Land of Phisalies collapsed at the end of the Phisalies Civil
War (1003 AG - 1013 AG).
48
DENVORGIAN HISTORY AND ITS IMPACT ON ME
49
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
slowly on foot while the Anastasians mostly used horses and adopted
Mongol bows which could pierce through any enemy armour.
Gevarnia fell into the hands of the Anastasian Empire in 1276 AG.
During the early days of the occupation, Anastasian troops were
subjected to food and supply shortages. They would practise human
trafficking to sell human bodies in exchange for supplies. The food and
50
DENVORGIAN HISTORY AND ITS IMPACT ON ME
The Anastasian Empire reached its peak in 1485 AG. The Anastasian
Empire came out victoriously in many battles over the centuries and its
territories covered half of Centralora. Very few remaining nations were
still standing and not invaded because they served no purpose to the
Anastasian Empire. The world was at peace when the Anastasian
Empire fell silent for the very first time. Nations immediately created
and signed peace treaties with the Anastasian Empire, fearing that they
would get invaded.
Back in Gevarnia in the 1700s AG, the people were very unhappy
with the oppressive Anastasian rule. This issue took national precedence
and people started to demand independence. That was quite a challenge
for them because the Anastasians would torture anyone who opposed
51
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
Some famous and well-known acts such as the Treason to the Crown
Act of 1742 AG and the Empire’s Justice Act of 1743 AG were created to
punish unloyal or suspected non-Anastasians who opposed the
Anastasian rule. Once someone violated these two major laws, the
person would be subjected to torture. This intimidated many
non-Anastasians.
52
DENVORGIAN HISTORY AND ITS IMPACT ON ME
The Gevarnian people were very proud and happy because they had
won the revolutionary war as they thought it was impossible. The
Gevarnian people were able to live in freedom and liberty. The
Centralorian and Earthling relationship grew closer because they had
helped each other to fight for freedom.
53
THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
54
DENVORGIAN HISTORY AND ITS IMPACT ON ME
the Anastasian forces into the forest. Soon, the Zra’ Jeraesagichyer
airships focused on burning the forest to destroy the Freedom Fighters
and ended up getting tricked into burning the Anastasian forces. Since
they were in the forest, the fires spread quickly, wiping out the enemy.
Even with the WOPA’s help, Denvorg had no chance of defeating the
Anastasian forces. Based on past victories, the Anastasians came up with
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
various offensive strategies which helped them win. All the Denvorgian
forces could do was try to slow down the Anastasians’ advance.
Extreme air raids were carried out by the Anastasian Air Force,
causing the crippling of the Denvorgian economy. Denvorg began to be
economically unstable.
Ugod Lukas, the Vice President, was sworn in as the second President
at midnight on 2 October 1760 AG. He continued leading Denvorg until
Denvorg’s surrender on 3 September 1760 AG. Ugod Lukas, his Cabinet
members and other Denvorgian government officials were killed by the
Anastasian forces. Reports said that President Ugod Lukas was executed
by beheading in public. The Anastasians intended to do so to anger the
Denvorgian people and to show the consequence of rebelling against the
Anastasians. Elwin Sharma, a well-known politician and one of the
Founding Fathers of the First Republic of Denvorg, fled away from
Sotsielche and hid.
Denvorg suffered a defeat and the people again had to suffer with the
cruel Anastasian rule. The Anastasians established harsher and unfair
laws and punishments for the people who dared oppose them. No one
dared to start a revolution or fight for independence.
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DENVORGIAN HISTORY AND ITS IMPACT ON ME
Harold and I went to the Library of Sotsielche (now called the Library
of Andrige) and other small libraries in town to do more research on the
history of Denvorg. We found and read old documents and articles
relating to the history of Denvorg. We found interesting books and a list
of events every month before, during and after the revolutionary war.
We searched for more books about Alberto Davino and at the end, we
wrote down all the information we had gathered in our ‘True Facts of
Denvorgian History’ book.
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OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF SUFFERING
On the bus, I sat next to my friends and talked about what the South
Intridue URAB Camp would look like and how to survive there. We
were also worried about what was in store for us. We just kept talking to
distract ourselves from worrying. The bus stopped at Port Suaydergyik
and we boarded a ship to Intridue Island. All of us were handcuffed
together throughout the journey to prevent any of us from escaping.
After arriving there, we took a bus again to travel to the city of South
Intridue.
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OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF SUFFERING
On the way to our room, we saw blood on the floor and dead bodies
lying around. We were disgusted and afraid that they could be us in a
matter of time. We walked in the many dark corridors until we reached
Chamber 15. Our rooms were located inside Chamber 15. In the South
Intridue URAB Camp, each Chamber had 50 rooms and some had more.
The rooms were dark and had small windows. Every day during
bedtime, I would hate it. The room would get cold and so did the bed. I
was not provided with a blanket to keep myself warm. Most of the time,
I was never able to sleep and was lethargic the next day.
The rooms of Olympe, Lorenzo, and Jared were in Chamber 12, which
was located next to an exit and Chamber 13. The path to these two
Chambers, along with Chamber 14, intersected with a huge corridor that
led to the Security Office on one end and an emergency exit on the other
end. This made Chamber 12’s location much further away from
Chamber 15.
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
see each other, knowing that inmates from another Chamber had no
reason to be in another Chamber.
I remembered the first time I had to do hard labour was around 5:30
p.m. The inmates in Chamber 15 were escorted outside to carry heavy
loads and corpses to the supply rooms and the disposal area
respectively. Naomie and I were walking together, looking around, and
asking the inmates because we didn’t know what to do. Naomie and I
got yelled at by a lot of the Anastasian guards.
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OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF SUFFERING
a.m. for breakfast, 2 p.m. for lunch, and 7:45 p.m. for dinner. Recess
times were only 40 minutes long.
We entered the canteen and straight away grabbed our food. We were
given rice, vegetables, fish, and water. The food was served in small
portions and all of the inmates were not allowed to add more if they
wished to. I would sometimes get hungry after every meal. Besides,
there was no warm water provided which all the inmates needed during
cold weather.
There, we met Harold, Olympe, Lorenzo, and Jared who had just
finished their work. Olympe’s face was bruised and Harold’s back was
scarred as blood stains could be seen behind his shirt. We sat down
together and shared what we had gone through.
After dinner, we went out of the canteen to get some air. We also
discussed how to survive the brutality in the URAB camp that we were
going to face soon. We went to talk with someone who had experience
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
here. They gave us some tips and tricks when we were forced into
something. The most important thing was to not resist anything because
the guards will just end up giving you more punishments. Additionally,
no one was able to escape URAB camps since the URAB’s Great Escapes
of 1789 AG.
Not only that, the guards laid landmines to kill fleeing inmates,
camouflaged pits with metal spikes to impale the inmates when they fell
in, and an assortment of all sorts of deadly traps, you name it.
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OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF SUFFERING
This comes to a point where all of the inmates in URAB camps were
required to watch and read propaganda movies and books on why the
Anastasian Empire could benefit both Anastasians and non-Anastasians.
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
they would shoot anyone if they left the library before their one-hour
reading period.
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OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF SUFFERING
We tried to finish our meals fast, but we were not fast enough. Soon, a
group of Anastasian guards barged into the canteen. They noticed us
who were still eating. They approached our table and pushed one of the
inmates down on the floor. Another Anastasian guard held my neck and
slammed me to the table.
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
The Anastasian guard still had his hand holding my neck tightly and
it was painful. I was breathing heavily, withstanding the pain. I needed
his hand off my neck. I had to tell him to let go of his hand.
“Sir, can you please… please let go of my neck?” I asked him as I was
in pain.
He looked at me and did nothing for a second. I was waiting for him
to let go of his hand until suddenly he held my neck even more tightly.
“No,” he replied. Then, he dragged me off my seat and I landed on the
floor.
“All of you have broken the rules! Why? It’s very simple to follow the
rules. Now, all of you must pay for your mistakes!” he shouted.
He told his other guards to tie a rope on our legs. Some of us tied the
rope around our necks and to our hands. They dragged us from the
canteen to the Torture Chamber, where we were going to be tortured
there. We passed by many Anastasian guards who laughed at us and
spit their saliva. Some of them threw stones at us!
Some of the inmates there were begging for their lives to be spared. I
heard guns clocking and the command “kudharalst!” which meant “aim”
in the Anastasian language. After hearing them, I trembled and
panicked.
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OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF SUFFERING
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
might seem impossible, but with their precise planning, they made
escaping possible. Doing so was very risky. So, my friends and I weren’t
interested in escaping.
Two years passed since the day my friends and I stepped foot on the
South Intridue URAB Camp. From then on, more and more inmates
formed a group to plan an escape. It became a common thing to talk
about in secret during our free time.
I knew one of the names of the leader of his group. His name was
Aarav Katri and he was an intelligent person who came up with escape
plans so well that a few of his members escaped unharmed!
I told Naomie and Jared about Aarav’s escape plans and asked them
if they wanted to listen. They were still not interested in listening to
Aarav’s escape plans despite several successful escapes planned by
Aarav. I can’t argue that I didn’t mind at all.
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OVERCOMING A JOURNEY OF SUFFERING
One day before our recess for lunch, we were at the Procedure Lab, a
place where the Anastasian guards would withdraw our blood as part of
the PCBW method. On that day, inmates from Chamber 1 to Chamber 30
were told to withdraw blood. The rest of the inmates from the other
Chambers would have their turns the next day.
We lined up in front of the Procedure Lab for a roll call. During that
period, the Anastasian guards noticed that a lot of inmates had gone
missing. They delayed the whole process and left us waiting for minutes
while the Anastasian guards searched for the missing inmates. This
waiting would take up to 10 minutes of our recess time.
It was already 2 p.m. and it was recess time. Only very few inmates
were left in the Procedure Lab to have their blood withdrawn. As I
watched inmates from Chamber 1 to Chamber 14 leave the Procedure
Lab, I hoped that everything was fast so that we were given time to eat
or lunch. Lorenzo, who had just finished, told me that he would meet
Naomie, Harold and me in the canteen soon.
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I was filled with anger and also sorrow. This made my hatred towards
Anastasian grow more than before.
Then, Harold and a few other inmates reached the canteen and they
were also left devastated. They quickly find the bodies of their friends
and loved ones only to mourn them. Suddenly, a group of Anastasian
guards and the Camp Commandant, who was in charge of the South
Intridue URAB Camp, entered the canteen and laughed at us.
“This is what you’ll get if you try escaping this URAB camp! I know
what you do all day here in the canteen. I have no other choice but to
stop them. I hope this will be a clear message if you plan to escape! If
you do not take it seriously, I will never hesitate to make you suffer so
unimaginably that you will fear us and what we will do for the rest of
your lives!” the Camp Commandant yelled at us.
The Anastasian guards had left the bodies there, probably to frighten
the other inmates. Later that day, several inmates and I were instructed
to burn the bodies. It was heartbreaking to see them burning. All traces
of them were wiped off the face of the world, only remembered by those
who knew them.
I kept blaming myself for the death of my friends. This made me not
want to have friends anymore because I was afraid of losing them.
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Doing so, I found that I never moved on. Thankfully, I still got my
cousins who were there and did their part of supporting me.
I kept my feelings a secret from her, only sharing them with Georges
and Loyiso.
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MY HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVITIES
I went to the South Intridue URAB Camp to collect Georges who had
been released on 11 March 1820 AG. Loyiso and Marie-Jeanne were still
in there, waiting for their release. I was not allowed to see them when I
came over to get Georges. After giving him a welcome, we both walked
to the nearest bus station and we went to his house in the Durwall
Estates (commonly known as Durwall).
Durwall was one of the many residential areas that were strictly for
non-Anastasians only. Anastasians could enter and settle in their houses
only if they had the government’s permission. One of the few exceptions
was that officials from the Ministry of Public Affairs could settle in their
houses to perform PCBW. Another exception was that Anastasian law
enforcers such as police officers could search houses without a warrant.
Georges and I sat down and I discussed with him that I needed to
stay at his house because I was told to leave Krystasya’s house so that
Krystasya and Evalette could provide shelter to another assigned
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Earthling child. He said yes and I thanked him. That evening, I started
packing my belongings in Krystasya’s house and I moved to his house.
Staying at his house in Durwall made me meet many friendly residents
of Durwall.
Besides, I could never forget how friendly Mr and Mrs Bizenac were
when I started staying there. Mr Bizenac was a kind and generous man
who loved his children very much. He was also a very friendly person
and because of that, we became friends easily. He was a person that
liked to wake up early and have his coffee while he read the newspaper
before heading to work. Every morning when I got up from bed, I would
always see him sitting in the dining room.
Mrs Bizenac was a caring wife who was always there for her husband
and a caring mother who also loved Georges and Sadira. Mrs Bizenac
was also a wonderful cook who could make delicious food for our
meals. Georges and I often helped her in the kitchen when Mr Bizenac
was not around.
Lastly, there was Sadira. Although Sadira was half-paralysed, she still
could talk a little. She shared her story with me about how she was in
that condition. Sadira was a victim of discrimination that had a violent
end. Georges and I knew that she couldn’t do much as she was
half-paralysed and was sitting in a wheelchair. We spent a lot of time
with her, keeping her company and not left out. There was a piano there
at Georges’s house, where Georges and I showed our talents and played
songs in front of Sadira.
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A month later, Loyiso and Marie-Jeanne were released from the South
Intridue URAB Camp. On that day, Georges and I waited there to meet
both of them. As Loyiso and Marie-Jeanne walked out of the main gate,
they saw us and ran towards us in excitement. After a month of waiting,
all of us were finally reunited. Soon, all of us headed to Georges's house,
where we could sit down and relax. At Georges's house, we talked about
what we were going to do. We realised that we were not given a chance
to attend colleges to continue studying because the available slots were
reserved only for Anastasians. Besides, we also had to overcome our
ongoing trauma from the South Intridue URAB Camp.
After a while, Loyiso left for his caretakers’ house, where they were
expecting him. We waved him goodbye and hoped that we would meet
again. He promised us that he would come to Durwall to visit us if he
could. Marie-Jeanne, however, was no longer allowed back to her
caretakers’ house as they also needed to provide shelter to another
assigned Earthling child. Georges offered Marie-Jeanne to stay at his
house to which she agreed. I was glad that Marie-Jeanne could stay with
us. This gave me a chance to try to grow close together and build a
relationship.
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On 13 May 1820 AG, Mr and Mrs Bizenac sadly passed away on their
way home as victims of police brutality. The news reached us that night
and their death deeply saddened us. The cause of their death was
unknown, all we knew was that Mr and Mrs Bizenac, including others,
were violently beaten to death in Kuer Lumerse Street. Not only that I
was sad about their death, but I was also angered. In a rage, I ranted
about how non-Anastasians were mistreated by the Anastasian people.
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“Calm down, it’s alright. I know, I understand how you are feeling.
You are not the only one feeling that way,” Marie-Jeanne held my hands
in an attempt to calm me down.
At the same time, I looked at Georges who was in tears and looked
like he had already given up hope. Sadira, who was also shocked about
the news, cried in response which made me feel even more upset than
before. Marie-Jeanne sat beside them and tried her best to make them
feel better. I accompanied them by showing empathy and told them,
“I’m truly sorry for your loss. My condolences shall always be with
you.”
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Unequal pay among the people doing jobs with equal value was a
common thing in the private and governmental sectors. Anastasian
employees had higher pay than Centralorians and Earthlings employees.
Segregation in the labour market was practised and made Anastasians
and non-Anastasians work in different jobs. Non-Anastasians often
worked in lower-valued and lower-paid sectors of the economy.
This had gone on since the first arrival of the Earthlings in the
Anastasian Empire. The victims were usually controlled physically and
psychologically and emotionally. To obtain control over their victims,
traffickers used drugs, emotional tactics and as well as financial means.
Traffickers would use various forms of violence such as rape, and mental
and physical abuse. They also threatened and forced them with
brainwashing and arranged marriages.
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Propaganda banners were also hung around the walls and buildings
in the cities. Example of propaganda the Anastasians included was the
glorification of the Anastasian Empire and the Empress as an eternal
ruler, spreading negative images and quotes about non-Anastasians in
magazines, newspapers, films and other media, broadcasting Anastasian
ideologies and speeches on the radio and public loudspeakers.
Since the fall of the First Republic of Denvorg in 1760 AG, human
rights violations had been increasing every day. Seeing this around me
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It was then that a leaflet about the Human Rights Volunteers Society
(HRVS) caught my attention. The HRVS was a very secretive
organisation that provided aid to victims of human rights abuses. This
organisation had a few trained doctors and many medical supplies to
treat wounded victims. Therapy sessions were also held by the HRVS to
treat people who had trauma from human rights abuses by Anastasians.
Lastly, the HRVS would provide financial aid to people who are
suffering from financial problems.
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heteycluroph ednia.12 It felt like the Anastasians knew that I was an activist
and they wanted to end me. Among the awful experiences that I had,
there was an incident that remained and I still fear it.
I was about to board a bus back to the Forum Shelter and it was this
time I spotted the four Anastasian women again. I hid my face and
walked quickly to board the bus. Suddenly, they grabbed my shirt and
dragged me into a quiet alley. I tried escaping by doing physical attacks
12
Heteycluroph ednia is an infection caused by an attack on the immune system by
sclorytaes pathogens that are present in the body. Heteycluroph ednia only a ects
Centralorians and Earthlings. Heteycluroph ednia will disrupt the whole body.
Symptoms of this disease are fatigue, irregular heartbeat, a longer time for wounds
to heal, gum and teeth aches (not common) and muscle aches. In serious cases,
stroke, abnormal behaviour (sometimes known as Heteycluroph Ednia
Intoxication or just H.E. Intoxication) and uncontrollable cell death also occur.
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such as hitting their arms and kicking their legs so that they would let
loose on me. I could not scream because their hands were covering my
mouth. They shoved me down and began threatening me.
I looked at them, begging for mercy and to let me go. They did not
say anything other than one of them saying, “Such a pervert, you looked
at our thighs. Do you really want to get into trouble?” I could not escape
because I was surrounded by three of the women, on the left, right and
in front. The other woman was standing behind me with her hands on
my shirt.
A month later, I got heteycluroph ednia which was not very serious.
My symptoms were fever and muscle aches. I took medications such as
antibiotics which helped me recover in about three weeks.
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
Forum Shelter had many underground shelters that could allow them to
stay temporarily. Every week, we were getting a lot of victims coming to
the Forum Shelter and demanding shelters for them to stay.
In the early days of July 1820 AG, the Anastasian Empire launched a
mass recruitment of the best doctors throughout the territories of the
Anastasian Empire to be personal doctors of Empress Daeyowyn and to
treat her who was very ill. The doctors that were invited there were
killed for failing to cure the Empress. As hundreds of doctors were
killed, Anastasian-occupied Denvorg faced a shortage of doctors to treat
its citizens. It was when Marie-Jeanne was finally accepted to a medical
college called the Empress Kavelizuan Medical School after waiting for a
very long time. I felt happy for her and congratulated her. She was very
happy and grateful for finally being able to pursue her passion.
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The reason behind this was that the Anastasian royal family followed
a traditionally strict Hadrehoue society. The Hadrehoue society was said
to be the purest and most civilised society which consisted of the royals
and the ruling elite. Princess Aryta, being part of the Hadrehoue
tradition, was in a relationship with Tydwath, who was not part of the
Hadrehoue society. Empress Daeyowyn, feeling disgusted with Tydwath
after finding out he was not part of the Hadrehoue society, banished
Princess Aryta and the wedded Prince Tydwath from the royal family.
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
Empress Kikiana cared more about keeping her throne than her
territories. The Viceroy of Anastasian-occupied Denvorg during that
time, Zikaya Endaya, was given full authority over Anastasian-occupied
Denvorg by Empress Kikiana. She decided to send Centralorians and
Earthlings with credit points of below 90 points to fight in the Second
Throne Succession War. None of my friends that I knew and I had credit
points below 90 points.
The funny thing was Empress Kikiana was very dependent on her
government as her advisory council. She was an indecisive person
without her advisors to advise her. She also had no leadership qualities.
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M HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVITIES
Anastasian KH 45 $3
protection services
During this time, the Anastasian Empire also introduced a new law
mandating all shop owners to force Earthlings and Centralorians to
queue behind all Anastasian customers, even if the Anastasians arrived
later. This law was introduced because Anastasian-occupied Denvorg
saw severe shortages in all types of products at that point and this law
was a way of ensuring that the Anastasians citizens would always have
enough, while completely ignoring the needs of non-Anastasians.
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This law also heavily affected me and my friends; there were several
days when we could not buy enough food. And the little luxuries in life
that we could previously afford, such as books and paper, were
completely unattainable now due to this law.
Since the Second Throne Succession War broke out in the Anastasian
homeland, Empress Kikiana needed a lot of money to support her
armies. To do so, Empress Kikiana thought of increasing tax charges
more than before. By June 1821 AG, she passed the Writing Materials
Act, Territorial Endowment Act, Financial Burden Act, and
Transportation Act which were taxes imposed directly on
non-Anastasians throughout the Anastasian Empire.
The Writing Materials Act that was passed on 5 June 1821 AG placed
a tax of KH 5 for every writing material such as papers, pencils, letters,
and more. The Territorial Endowment Act was passed two days later
and it required non-Anastasian citizens of the Anastasian Empire to
provide half of their daily food and supplies to the soldiers who were
going to be stationed at the Anastasian homeland to fight in the Second
Throne Succession War. Those who refused would be taxed to replace
the absence of food and supplies.
The Financial Burden Act that was passed on 17 June 1821 AG was to
financially aid Anastasians who were affected by the Second Throne
Succession War by a tax on non-Anastasians. Finally, the Transportation
Act, which was passed on the same day, placed a tax on non-Anastasians
for every vehicle they own, every public road they used, application for
a driving licence, transferring of vehicle ownership, and being a
passenger of public transport.
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A SUMMARY OF ANASTASIAN POLITICS
The Empress also presided over the Royal Advisory Assembly and
the Empress's Cabinet. The Empress's Cabinet consisted of the Empress,
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
the Crown Princess, the Speaker of the Royal Advisory Assembly, and
seven close loyal advisors to the Empress as its members. The Speaker of
the Royal Advisory Assembly had no power and was only the symbol of
loyalty to the Empress, the empire, and the advisory body.
Princess Aryta was also part of the royal family until she was exiled
when she married Prince Tydwath, an outsider to the royal family’s
traditional society. The royal family’s residence was in Ordetrouh Palace,
Yuacraf.
Crown Princess Aerica was the next in the line of succession to the
throne. She was married to Prince Dereb who was Prince Consort.
Princess Hashetrie was the second daughter of Empress Kikiana and
Emperor Consort Elvex. Following that, Princess Perelywn was the third
daughter and Prince Kaldore was the only son of Empress Kikiana and
Emperor Consort Elvex.
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A SUMMARY OF ANASTASIAN POLITICS
the Viceroy had the role of maintaining and keeping peace in the
empire’s territories and punishing criminals in their regions. The council
followed strict orders from the Empress.
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THE STORM LOOMS OVER
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THE STORM LOOMS OVER
I also used the Forum Shelter, where human rights activities were
held, to deliver my speeches about fulfilling the desires for
independence to non-Anastasians who were interested. From time to
time, more people joined the Freedom Movement after several small
speeches and various efforts I made.
I was worried that some members would not support me because the
Freedom Movement was still weak. As the founder of the Freedom
Movement, I needed to have leadership qualities to show that I was the
perfect man for this job. I often held meetings with my members on how
to secretly expand the ideas to the public more efficiently. I also used my
ways and tactics in spreading human rights to help with my Freedom
Movement.
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In March 1822 AG, the GDMA sent out spies to spy on the Viceroy
and her plans. We wanted to use all the information we could get to our
advantage and use it against her. The GDMA spies were highly trained
to perform their job. The spies had small cameras that could take
pictures and voice recorders to record verbal conversations for
information. Secret documents were also seized from the Viceroy’s office.
By the end of that month, the spies had provided the Presidents of the
GDMA with a lot of useful information. However, there was one
interesting piece of information that amazed us.
The Viceroy was secretly very greedy and had secret ambitions to
overthrow the Empress. She used the Second Throne Succession War as
her advantage to build up her army and conquer the Anastasian
homeland. She had Anastasian people who supported her and
volunteered to be her armies and they were called the ‘Conqueror’s
Establishment’ under the leadership of the Viceroy.
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While helping Georges and Sadira to pack the stuff, I reached out to
the telephone to call Loyiso, who was with Malee, Inaya, and
Marie-Jeanne, to prepare to evacuate Durwall. I also had to tell them
everything because they didn’t know what had happened.
“Let’s not waste time! Prepare to evacuate! The police are going to
search this damn place because it’s filled with Earthlings,” I told them.
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“We didn’t expect the Viceroy to react like this. This… this is the
backup plan,” I responded.
“What the hell did you do?” Loyiso took over the telephone.
“No, we did not fail! I have a backup plan and the backup plan is to
leave right now!” I said.
“I am already not happy with you doing this and you are going to get
us killed with your silly mistakes!” accused Loyiso.
Marie-Jeanne took the telephone from Loyiso and told me, “You, stop
fighting already!” She then raised her voice at Loyiso, “And you, Loyiso,
can’t you see that at least he’s trying to save us from the police who are
after us! It’s pointless if you go on and continue to fight like this. Why
can’t you be supportive?” Marie-Jeanne then went to the telephone and
said, “We’ll prepare ourselves and we’ll see you outside,” Marie-Jeanne
said before ending the call.
“Well, this is the backup plan. We’ll keep moving and maybe take
shelter in the forest or the sewers,” I told everyone.
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“The sewers? Oh hell no,” Adans Parra, the leader of the AAA
complained.
“Yes. I had been told that Endaya is going to shut down all the
communication lines. Probably she doesn't want us to share the
information with the Empress,” Adam Bouchard, the leader of the UREF
said.
“I agree,” I said.
“Also, anyone who has brought along their close friends, keep them
with you,” I announced.
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Sotsielche and Kenas on the outskirts of the city. That night, we slept in
abandoned farmhouses on the outskirts of Sotsielche.
The next day, we had to leave Sotsielche for Kenas because the
Anastasian police were everywhere and it was risky. Some members
were already caught and they had been tortured for information about
the leaders’ locations. I could not risk losing members to be tortured.
Aleksander and I agreed to move to Kenas. We were doing it in
disguises.
Other than that, we set up tents for us to take shelter in, scouted
around our area to maintain our safety and trained to use our weapons
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It was 20 April 1822 AG, the third day. The spies informed me with a
message early in the morning saying that the Viceroy had been deciding
whether to negotiate with us or not. However, her police force was still
hunting us and there was no news of them agreeing to a ceasefire. There
were also more messages of some members going missing or being
captured.
“So, are you okay with skipping a few days from college?” I asked
her, trying to start a conversation.
“So tell me, how’s your sleep? How are you feeling around here?”
Marie-Jeanne asked me. At that moment, I realised that this conversation
was going to be awkward.
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“I slept fine. I got some good sleep. Did you sleep well last night?” I
awkwardly asked.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be safe. Your guys are just lightly armed
with pistols,” Marie-Jeanne explained.
“You know, I just feel much more protected and confident that I am
safe around you, Georges, and all of them,” Marie-Jeanne added.
“Yeah, I guess you can say it that way. You know, I do actually feel
confident and happy when I’m around you,” I answered.
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We sent messages to the other groups to let them know that the
Viceroy had agreed to a ceasefire. We celebrated our success in
convincing the Viceroy to agree with us. We did not get overconfident
though, the real stage had been set for us in Sotsielche. We packed up
our stuff and prepared to leave.
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I whispered to Arthit Wang who was sitting beside me, “Look at all of
this, the Viceroy is so afraid of us, she gave us a ride here just now, and
now she is treating us very well.”
“I know, right,” Arthit Wang laughed. “By the way, there is a lot of
good food here on the table. Now we know where all the food from the
people goes!” he added.
“Ah yes, her people are starving and they are begging for food while
she is at her fancy residence enjoying all the food to herself. More or less
like the Empress herself! What are the differences between them? I only
see them as selfish pigs!” I made a point to Arthit Wang.
After dinner, we had to wait for the Viceroy to be ready to talk to us.
We took our seats in the conference room and gathered all the Viceroy’s
secret plans as proof to show her. Soon, the Viceroy entered the
conference room and started the negotiations.
“Excuse me, Madam Viceroy. Before the negotiation starts, can you
allow me to express my condolences to the AAA?” Aleksander
requested.
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“To all the AAA members, we are sorry for your loss. Adans Parra
was a great man and I am sure he did many good things. Not only
Adans Parra but all the members. Some members had lost their lives
trying to escape from the Anastasian police. You all have my
condolences,” Aleksander sighed.
“Now, I want to know how you all got my secret plans?” the Viceroy
asked.
We sat in silence, not wanting to expose our secret spy agency.
“Are all of you deaf? I just asked how you got my damn plans?” she
said, agitated at our silence.
“Can we just get straight to the negotiations? It does not matter how
we got your plans,” I said to move forward with the negotiations.
“We will continue once you tell me how you got my plans!” said the
Viceroy, who was visibly frustrated.
“We will not tell you how we got your plans. As I said, it does not
matter. If you refuse to move forward with the talks, we will just release
your plans.” I stated firmly.
“Where’s your proof of my plan? I still don’t believe you can convince
the Empress. After all, why would she trust a few disgusting
Centralorians and Earthlings over a Viceroy?” she said dismissively.
“Well then, good luck trying to explain these to the Empress,” I said
before taking our proof.
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“I think you’ll see that it is best if you agree with us because we can
simply just share these with the Empress and you will be considered a
traitor. Even if you tried everything to prevent communication with the
Empress, rumours can always be spread around. Tell me, can you stop
the rumours? Even if it is not spread through rumours, we still can find
ways, just like how we found ways to discover your secretive plans,” I
told the Viceroy in a serious tone.
“You better agree with us, not only to save thousands of lives but to
save yours too. We both have a common enemy. It’s the Empress. You
know that all of us are against the Empress.”
“I, on behalf of all the members of the GDMA, UREF, DPA, AAA, and
the non-Anastasians, demand you to stop sending Centralorians and
Earthlings to fight in the Empress's wars and to stop mistreating people.
Mistreatments such as the non consensual PCBW must be put to an end.
We also demand you to immediately release inmates from the URAB
camps, to not kill any non-Anastasians, to co-operate with us, to release
the members that have been captured, and to give us freedom and
independence especially.
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“You cannot make me accept every request you make!” the Viceroy
grumbled.
“Alright then. I will pretend that I’m still loyal to the Empress and I
will make false reports and none of your activities will be reported. Let
me build up my army first, once I am ready, I’ll leave Denvorg alone and
Denvorg will be yours. I suggest you build your army to fight against
the Empress if she realised that Denvorg isn’t under my control.” the
Viceroy added.
An agreement was made and it was signed by the Viceroy and the
leaders of the allied organisations. We vowed that we would not break
the agreement as it would destroy the Anastasian-occupied Denvorg. We
were escorted by them out of the residence everyone celebrated because
the Viceroy had agreed with us. They heard our conversation in the
conference room on the radio.
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“Maybe I was wrong for not supporting you. I’m sorry I didn’t
support you most of the time. I guess,” Loyiso apologised.
On the next day, the Viceroy announced in newspapers that she had
put an end to discrimination against Centralorians and Earthlings. In the
following statement, she ordered the release of inmates from the URAB
camps and be given humane treatment. Later that day, the Viceroy
announced that everyone had the freedom of assembly.
From April to May 1822 AG, all of the organisations held talks in big
cities to draw the attention of big crowds. It did manage to get a lot of
supporters. Additional smaller organisations were created in eastern
Denvorg, mainly in the State of Langley, the State of Upper Langley, and
the State of Norfordland. They had heavy influence over those regions.
The GDMA, UREF, DPA, and AAA influences dominated the entirety of
western Denvorg.
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they would not be blocked by a naval blockade. The shipments were free
from harm to reach Denvorgian soil. The three countries agreed and
started providing munitions to us after we agreed to an agreement.
Another talk was held in the city of Monero, Bremand and I was
informed that the GDMA would be bearing arms to build and train
soldiers to fight a possible invasion or a war. I continued by talking
about how to prepare for war and how important it was to be prepared.
I later concluded that the rumours were already spread and could
reach the Empress. Whether the rumours were true or not, the Empress
would send her armies to destroy Anastasian-occupied Denvorg.
By the end of May, only a few people joined the GDMA to be soldiers.
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The next day, the leaders and I invited the rest of the members to meet
up in the Obelisk Building. An election was held to choose the members
of the Executive Committee (ExCo) and other members of the People’s
Front. The ExCo consisted of the President, the Vice President, the
President of the General Assembly, four PF (People’s Front) Secretaries,
four Deputy Secretaries, and the Treasurer-General.
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The General Assembly had 211 seats, each occupied by the ExCo
members, 120 representatives from all 12 States in Denvorg, 28 selected
members from the BOS, and 49 members from the RMA.
The Court of Justice, or COJ, was established right after the Second
Revolutionary War broke out. Its purpose was to resolve disputes among
the Anastasian prisoners of war (POW) and to punish them under the
Caunrells Protocol and other international laws. The COJ was split into
two bodies; the High Court and the Lower Courts. The High Court
consisted of six elected judges from the General Assembly and was the
final interpreter of international laws to resolve complex issues relating
to the punishment of Anastasian war criminals. Meanwhile, the Lower
Courts were where trials of ordinary Anastasian war criminals would be
held.
The COJ also tried traitors who betrayed the People’s Front and
joined forces with the Anastasians. I gave strict orders to catch the
traitors alive to be sent for trials. I told the COJ to punish the traitors and
execute them by the same method as the Anastasian POWs (prisoners of
war).
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Last but not least, the Resource Management Agency, or RMA, was in
charge of promoting membership of the People’s Front to the public,
managing money and resources, and providing assistance and
humanitarian aid for the homeless, injured, hungry, and poor
Centralorian and Earthling civilians. It consisted of 49 elected members
from the General Assembly and had one permanent member, which was
the Treasurer-General, making 50 members in total.
Aleksander Damo from the GDMA was elected President and Nathan
Soriano from the DPA was elected Vice President. Nathan became one of
my close friends after we met.
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State of Wessonne. I saw many people who were willing to join the
People’s Front. I also could feel the resentment of the Anastasian people
around me during my journey.
The riots had threatened the non-Anastasian civilians and the Viceroy.
On 19 October, the BOS told President Damo, Vice President Soriano and
me to negotiate with the Viceroy to solve those issues. During the
negotiations, President Damo made a statement that he was going to use
force to stop the Anastasian civilians who were rioting against us if they
threatened our interests. The Viceroy, who was trying to keep good
relations with us, only said, “I will stop them.”
For a year, everything went well and it was progressing for all of us.
The ExCo members held many speeches to promote fighting spirits and
to prepare everyone for a war. Many press conferences were held by the
People’s Front to let everyone in Anastasian-occupied Denvorg know
about our goals, which were the reasons and importance to prepare for
war and other aspects that we need.
By 1 December 1823 AG, the People’s Front had over one million
members, including military personnel. This was the largest
achievement the People’s Front had ever achieved. This was because we
welcomed all the other organisations from eastern Denvorg to be part of
the People’s Front through agreements.
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Members of the People’s Front were furious and some wanted to take
revenge. The accusations of the Viceroy plotting to assassinate President
Damo and Vice President Soriano gained popularity throughout the
months and people began to believe it was true. Riots soon increased
between non-Anastasian and Anastasian civilians. I told the public that
our focus was not to waste resources to be part of the rampaging with
the Anastasian civilians but to fight for independence by defeating the
Empress's armies if they crossed the Denvorgian borders.
In early 1824 AG, Empress Kikiana found out that the Viceroy of
Anastasian-occupied Denvorg had plans to overthrow her. She could not
trust the Viceroy anymore and decided to send her forces to kill her.
Empress Kikiana also found out about the People’s Front and its
activities. Her armies were also tasked to destroy the People’s Front and
kill its high-ranking leaders.
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A week later, the BOS informed me that the Empress's forces were
going to attack very soon. According to the BOS’s professional message
decoders, it was confirmed that the Empress's forces were going to
launch an attack on noon of 13 March 1824 AG.
A song called ‘The Motherland Calls’ was written for the People’s
Front and then it was turned into an official anthem of the People’s
Front. The song was written after hearing the news about the Empress's
forces approaching. The song had a purpose to inspire the members of
the People’s Front and non-Anastasians.
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(Verse One)
Here we are, responding to duty’s call,
Let us march, for the trumpet’s sounding,
Liberty is calling to us all,
To end her suffering!
(Chorus)
Take up arms, take up arms and be with us (and be with us),
Every bondage will now perish,
Fight for what, fight for what is truly just (is truly just),
Liberty we will cherish!
(Verse Two)
Partisans, now’s the time to begin the fight,
For the people and our nation,
Tyranny will never put out the light,
The light of liberation!
(Chorus)
(Verse Three)
Now arise, citizens who have been oppressed,
Nev’r again shall you be a slave,
The revolution cannot be suppressed,
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(Chorus)
___________________________________________________
Verses two and three of the song were written after the outbreak of the
Second Revolutionary War.
From 1823 AG onwards, the People’s Front and the Viceroy were
preparing for a battle to come. We formed many military units, arranged
food supplies, and trained our military forces to be the best. I said to
myself that the People’s Front would defeat the Empress's forces who
were overconfident.
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I shared all the news with my friends there and they were all
surprised because it had only been a few days. However, they were all
prepared for what was to come. I visited Marie-Jeanne, who had
dropped out of college because of a looming war. After hearing the
news, Marie-Jeanne wanted to join the People’s Front Army and help
treat wounded soldiers. I told her it was a last-minute decision and that I
would try to get her into the People’s Front Army.
I gave the last talk in Durwall to motivate the residents and prevent
them from being afraid. Some of the residents suggested providing
firearms for all the residents so that they could defend themselves if they
were attacked by the Empress's forces.
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“I don’t think you have the time to train all the residents,” I told
them.
I did not get to talk to Marie-Jeanne after she was registered. I was
already at my office, planning future attacks with my generals. We also
communicated with the Viceroy’s high-ranking officers to keep
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ourselves updated. All the activities in the Obelisk Building were carried
out in its underground bunkers to keep ourselves safe from the
Empress’s forces.
The following day on 13 March 1824 AG, the Empress's military force,
the 53rd Royal Guards, advanced inside Anastasian-occupied Denvorg
through the south, entering Okravia without any resistance. Two more
forces, the 3rd Imperial Army and 122nd Tank Army invaded
Norfordland and Upper Langley. This marked the beginning of the
Second Revolutionary War of Denvorg.
A fierce battle between the Viceroy’s forces and the 122nd Tank Army
took place in the city of Logstor, Upper Langley from 31 March to 17
April. The Battle of Logstor resulted in the 122nd Tank Army’s victory.
With Logstor under the hands of the Empress's forces, they could
reach Sotsielche to defeat the main military forces stationed by the
Viceroy. Logstor served as a city which provided supplies to Sotsielche
and the 3rd Imperial Army controlled the supply line.
The 3rd Imperial Army and the 122nd Tank Army were attacked by
the Viceroy’s forces in Myanburg, Wessonne. Myanburg was also a city
which supplied the Viceroy’s main military force in Sotsielche. The
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Viceroy could not afford to lose one more city which supplied her main
force. The Battle of Myanburg went on for two months, delaying the 3rd
Imperial Army and the 122nd Tank Army from reaching Sotsielche.
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Loyiso and Malee were at Durwall and wanted to help the People’s
Front by supplying food and ammunition. They were registered as
Civilian Contributors and were given weapons to defend themselves
when they were doing their job. The Civilian Contributors registration
was proposed by the People’s Front to encourage non-Anastasian
civilians to assist the People’s Front without directly joining the People’s
Front.
Inaya joined the People’s Front as a member of the RMA. She joined
the RMA after one of the members sadly passed away from
heteycluroph ednia. Inaya started her work in the Obelisk Building,
discussing and managing food and water to be distributed to the people.
Since the war broke out between the Conqueror’s Establishment and the
Anastasian forces, many food and water supplies were destroyed,
causing food shortages for everyone. Expecting this result, the People’s
Front stockpiled large quantities of food for civilians.
Under their military rule, the Anastasian forces caught anyone who
looked suspicious to them and those who opposed their rule. They were
then tortured for answers about the People’s Front. There wasn’t a
chance for the People’s Front to negotiate with General Helond to grant
independence for Denvorg as doing so was considered opposing their
rule. We had no other choice but to resort to violence.
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Edmund shared a sad story of how Jürgen, one of his two brothers,
was killed along with his friends by the Anastasian forces who were
attempting to get answers. He kept blaming himself for Jürgen’s death.
The Anastasians asked them for the last time. The five of them begin
to beg the Anastasians for mercy because there was no point asking
them again since they didn’t know anything. The Anastasians, who had
no mercy at all, carried Jürgen’s wheelchair and threw him out of the
five-storey apartment building, killing him instantly after hitting the
ground. Then, the Anastasians trashed the dining room and killed
everyone.
The apartment building was burnt down along with the other
residents so that the Anastasians could watch them suffer. Jürgen, who
was on the ground, was stripped naked and was used for target practice
for the Anastasian soldiers. The Anastasians liked to use dead bodies for
their target practice.
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The spies had been doing their duty and had successfully weakened
the Anastasian forces considerably. This had gone on until mid-October.
I looked through their battle plans and determined their patterns. After
discussing this with the War Room Committee, I decided to launch a
full-scale attack on the Anastasian forces on 7 October 1824 AG. I would
be taking shelter in a bunker under the Obelisk Building when the
Second Revolutionary War began.
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Marie-Jeanne and her 38th Field Hospital were sent out to the fronts. I
watched them going out, thinking and hoping she would survive. I
wished her to be safe before her departure.
I was aware that this action would leave thousands of people to lose
their lives. I had to do it for the people and the sake of long-awaited
independence.
At the dawn of 7 October, the 18th Infantry Brigade made the first
attack on the Anastasian forces in Sotsielche. Followed by the rest of the
People’s Front Army, they attacked supply lines, small Anastasian
forces, captured airfields and strategic key points. The Anastasians
reacted horribly because of the unexpected attack by the People’s Front.
This caused a change of plans for them.
Before the battle took place, the Anastasians didn’t fortify their
positions since they were not expecting an attack. The Anastasians had a
pretty high morale and they were confident that no other forces would
defeat them easily, given that they had full control over the city.
However, this would be the first mistake that would cost them to lose an
important city that played a vital role in the Second Revolutionary War.
What made Sotsielche so important was that it had routes to many cities
that could provide supplies and it housed the largest port at that time,
Port Suaydergyik.
When Sotsielche was liberated, the People’s Front took over and used
Anastasian warships to destroy the remaining Anastasian naval forces.
The attempt to take over the Anastasian warships was planned and done
so by the People’s Front Marines and the People’s Front Special Forces.
With their stealthy abilities, they successfully took over many
Anastasian warships and transported ships from every Anastasian naval
base and port.
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As the battle started, the internal People’s Front units, codenamed IU,
attacked the Anastasians simultaneously with the external People’s
Front units, codenamed EU. The EU began their move to surround
Sotsielche. The IUs seized armouries, police stations, government
buildings, electrical infrastructures, and communication links and
attempted to capture Port Suaydergyik.
The IUs also linked all their forces and created a singular large safe
zone with the most important objectives. The Obelisk Building was in a
safe zone after four weeks since the battle started. Before it was inside
the safe zone, small IU forces defending the eight-kilometre radius
around the Obelisk Building attempted to link with another IU force but
failed after its advance was blocked by the Anastasians many times.
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who were trying to escape. The Anastasians didn’t know that there was
a series of bunkers near Durwall, where Georges and Sadira were taking
shelter. There were some residents, including Loyiso and Malee, in
Durwall who carried weapons and defended Durwall from the
Anastasians with the help of the People’s Front. They were nicknamed
the Durwall Warriors.
As all of that happened for two months, the next phase of the battle
would be putting severe pressure on the Anastasians. The IUs expanded
their area of control, clearing every street and attempting to hold out as
long as possible. The Anastasians fortified strong points and created
linked defensive lines to delay IU offensives. As the Anastasian morale
was low and quickly dropping, desertions and surrenders by the
Anastasian soldiers could be seen.
The Anastasians had lost air support because all of the airfields
would be taken by the IUs. Port Suaydergyik fell into the hands of the
People’s Front and the Anastasians would also lose naval support.
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Outside supplies were also completely cut off, leaving the Anastasians in
Sotsielche sustaining heavy losses and a lack of supplies. The EUs
advanced further into Sotsielche and their attacks were coordinated with
the IUs. This overwhelmed some difficult Anastasian defensive positions
that were close to the IU and EU frontlines.
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The next day, Corporal Talkeard and his newly reinforced regiments
fought the Anastasian forces and cleared the path to enter Wayagon.
While passing the forest, they saw headless bodies hanging upside
down on trees with blood dripping down. Those corpses were
confirmed to be the trapped soldiers from the previous night. It was
unsettling to watch those corpses and the Anastasians’ beheading
practices.
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Although the area around Drawblake was not heavily fortified, the
Anastasians had still prepared light defences such as machine gun nests,
trenches, barbed wire and hidden field guns, and were not an easy
target. The Anastasian forces also had artillery support, which
complicated matters for our artillery units. During the battle, our
artillery units had to constantly move around once they were located by
the Anastasian counter-battery units.
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of Drawblake is famous for the largest charge that took place in the
Second Revolutionary War.
13
The Oryues language was a language that was used within the Denvorgian
regions since the 11th century AG.
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After more than a month of constant back and forth between the two
sides. I decided to temporarily cease attacks on the Anastasian forces to
resupply and rest my forces. Meanwhile, I began planning with General
Brigwelsar on how to break the stalemate.
During the battle, the People's Front spies played a crucial role. They
were able to obtain plans and orders from the Anastasian High
Command, among which was an order to kick out the People’s Front
Army from Drawblake at all costs and another order forbidding a
retreat. Together with the observation of consistent Anastasian attacks
while we were resupplying, General Brigwelsar and I concluded that
these two pieces of information showed we could bait the Anastasians
into a counterattack, after which, we would ambush them with hidden
units.
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After the ambush, some People’s Front units would exploit the
momentary lack of forces in the middle sector of the Anastasian line to
push deeper into the city and flank the surrounding sectors. The
People’s Front force would henceforth have the upper hand in the battle.
In the following weeks, the gap in the middle sector of the Anastasian
line would not be plugged until several Anastasian units had already
been encircled in the surrounding sectors.
The battle went on until the Anastasian forces surrendered and some
retreated from the city by early May.
The War Room Committee discussed that our main priority was to
get rid of the Anastasian forces on the northwestern coast to prevent the
Anastasian Navy from being able to dock in the ports. By May 1825 AG,
the strength of the 53rd Royal Guards, which dominated the entire
western Anastasian-occupied Denvorg, was severely reduced to around
40%. Thanks to the People’s Front spies and the victory over Sotsielche,
we could take over the western regions easily.
This caused a significant problem for the 53rd Royal Guards and they
needed to retreat. The 53rd Royal Guards gathered at Lerdent in New
Denvorg to retreat to Kludong, and then cross the Heaving River to get
to Orrister, make their way to Kitgrad in the State of Uriada, and finally
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Most of the 53rd Royal Guards was in New Denvorg and it was very
important for them to reach Kitgrad and Burkim to ensure victory for
them.
Before they crossed the Heaving River, they had to get through
Kludong. The People’s Front forces in Kludong retreated to the Heaving
River and would hold there until other People’s Front forces arrive.
Entering the city, the 53rd Royal Guards met with resistance from armed
civilians. The civilians did little to no damage against the advancing
53rd Royal Guards. Civilian casualties rose when the 53rd Royal Guards
couldn’t tell who was armed and who was not. The Anastasians mass
murdered civilians.
Their next battle was the Battle of the Heaving River. The 53rd Royal
Guards were so proud of their victory in Kludong and became
overconfident that they could cross the Heaving River in no time. They
didn’t know that they were walking into a trap. I was with the 43rd
Infantry Division and was waiting on the opposite side of the Heaving
River. I was there to witness a battle that would determine the future of
Denvorg.
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It was dusk on 3 May 1825 AG; the 53rd Royal Guards were at the
floodplains of the Heaving River. I took cover in a small fort not far
away from the Heaving River, where I did final planning with the AFPF.
The fort was surrounded by heavily armed soldiers to protect me.
The 53rd Royal Guards sent out their troops in a series of multiple
waves to avoid being attacked. The group was divided into two, Group
A which would cross the river by pontoon bridges and Group B which
would cross the river by boat.
As Group B neared the river, they spotted the 9th Infantry Division in
defensive positions and both forces opened fire.Some units of the 43rd
Infantry Division held in reserve were sent to reinforce the positions
under attack. Group B’s crossing would be thwarted as most boats
would be sunk or capsized by artillery shells. The few soldiers who got
close to reaching the other side would be shot dead.
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The crossing had started not long before I woke up and several
on-duty look-outs had seen the Anastasians amassing and alerted
command about the crossing. Although most reserve troops were asleep,
they were woken up upon the alert and were ready to reinforce the line.
Group B was used as a diversion for the main attack by Group A but
was still a threat. As the frontline units focused on the main attack by
Group A, several boats from Group B were able to reach the other side.
Luckily, the few Anastasians who made it across were soon killed before
they could cause any trouble.
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Group B had halted their crossing after more than 2 hours from the
start. The generals and I who were observing the battle were very
hopeful about the outcome. We were almost certain that the attack
would be repulsed until the third hour when we received reports that
the frontline artillery pieces were starting to run out of ammunition. The
cavalry units had brought the pieces and personnel, but not enough
ammunition. Frontline commanders had requested for reserve cavalry
units to resupply them with ammunition from the rear, but it would still
leave a short window of time where the Anastasians would not be
opposed by direct artillery fire.
After thinking for a while, some of the generals agreed. I radioed the
artillery units and told them to start firing at the Anastasian crossing.
When they asked specifically what to fire at, I just said “Anything that
you think counts as the river.”
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On the night of the 13th, I went to bed with a feeling of suspicion. The
Anastasians had not attacked in two previous days. I had talked with
my generals long into the night so I went to bed extremely late. As I lay
in bed, trying to sleep, I suddenly heard a knock on my door. I called for
the person to enter and they quickly opened the door to inform me that
an Anastasian crossing was imminent.
After about an hour after I woke up, the Anastasians were still
seemingly waiting for something. I was rather perplexed. It was then
that we all started hearing a faint humming noise from the distance.
I told the generals that we needed to act fast. One of them asked about
retreating, to which the other generals quickly dismissed. “If we retreat,
then the entirety of New Denvorg and Wessonne will fall!” said one of
them.
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But I saw merit in that idea; perhaps we could not retreat fully, but if
we withdrew into the forest behind our lines, we could reduce the
damage caused by the bombers exponentially. I shared my plan with the
generals and after a short pause, they agreed with me.
Once the bombers reached their target, the last of the retreating units
entered the forest. Their bombs did not do much as they could not see
through the dense foliage of the forest. Soon, Groups A and B had both
crossed the river and were attempting to break through the units
containing the beachhead. Units from the forest quickly rushed back to
their positions and cavalry reserves arrived to reinforce the line.
Frontline artillery would be placed at the edge of the forest and fire
directly at the Anastasians to devastating effect. The artillery would also
destroy the pontoon bridge behind them, causing the beachhead to be
stuck. After two hours of intense fighting, the beachhead would
surrender once most of the Anastasian soldiers had died.
On the 16th of May, the 53rd Royal Guards decided to retreat. I was
expecting this outcome and had earlier ordered several units from
Wessonne to move in from the east and flank the retreating Anastasians.
The units guarding the Heaving River would cross the river by the 17th
and pursue the retreating 53rd Royal Guards until they reached the
coast, where the Anastasians surrendered after being encircled.
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If the 53rd Royal Guards were not prevented from crossing the
Heaving River, they would have had full naval superiority over the
northern waters of Denvorg and the northern cities would crumble in
the hands of the Anastasians. Even if Port Suaydergyik was under the
People’s Front control, the total ports combined in northern Denvorg
could dock more warships than Port Suaydergyik. This proved that the
Battle of the Heaving River would change the tide of the war.
“Soldiers, we fight the Gueinz and will most likely die, but we die with
honour, we die for liberty, we die for freedom, and we die to forge a future for
our people. I do not want the future of the people where they are born slaves to
bow to a tyrant. I would rather fight till I die than bow to a tyrant, and so
should you all. The people who chose liberty over tyranny now depend on you!
As all of you soldiers, the legacy and inheritors of the First Republic’s freedom
fighters must fight a journey of hatred and bigotry! Don’t quit now as all of you
are strong together, sharing the same greatest glory and for every path we go,
we spread victory and greatness. We must be ruthless to the Gueinz as they are
the ones who oppose us!
Would you dare to lay down your weapons and surrender your glorious
strength before our greatest enemy that only wishes death and eternal suffering
for us? Never! We must never surrender to such cruel forces like the Gueinz!
Fight till the end, fight till your last breath, fight till we win, and fight till we
achieve victory for every effort is known and feared by the Gueinz. Victory,
victory, victory at all costs for the greater good!”
I learnt how to use, hold and shoot using a rifle. I was also allowed to
try out minor military training such as marksmanship training, gun
assembling and many more.
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I have seen many faces of soldiers who were fighting. With that, I
heard many stories which they told until the end of the war.
Apart from that, I also visited many field hospitals to talk and be
together with the wounded soldiers. I helped out the medics and learnt
how they treated the wounded and provided aid in a hurry. I had been
together with wounded soldiers yelling in pain, soldiers who lost too
much blood and died in front of my eyes and I saw the tears of the other
soldiers when they lost their beloved brothers and sisters.
Most of our free time at night, Marie-Jeanne and I sat together telling
stories of our own experiences, sharing some of our secrets, enjoying the
night skies, and comforting each other as we were worried that anytime
would be our last time. Our paranoia was not unwarranted, as in the
intense atmosphere of war, death was never a distant worry.
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The Anastasians also used People’s Front POWs for forced labour too.
The People’s Front POWs were not given any medical attention and
there was no maintenance of hygiene. Infections would spread easily.
With that being said, wounded People’s Front POWs were mistreated.
Hospitals which provided shelter to them were often raided by the
Anastasians and they would be killed, even if they were still in the
middle of surgery! Sometimes, wounded People’s Front war prisoners
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would be put into small wooden cottages and they were forcefully
packed like sardines. The Anastasians then locked the doors and
windows and set them on fire, slowly burning to the ground.
The People's Front forces got angry at how their soldiers were
mistreated and decided to do the same thing to Anastasian POWs in
retaliation for those brutalities. To be honest, I was also very angry. The
People’s Front forces got angry at how their soldiers were mistreated
and decided to do the same thing to Anastasian POWs in retaliation for
those brutalities.
Some of the People's Front forces tried making a deal with the
Anastasians to be involved in prisoner exchanges so that our soldiers
could be returned. This was less likely to happen, but sometimes it was a
success.
The bombs dropped from those warplanes, I heard only blasts and
explosions which rang in my ears. Bombs falling and exploding, killing
and launching several people into the air. The Anastasians ignored the
large Red Cross flag displayed in the centre.
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I could see the entire field hospital was destroyed, leaving only fires
and debris everywhere.
“I’m here, I’m here. You’re gonna be alright, Marie. Please…” I ran
out of words because I was still in shock. I saw tears in her eyes and was
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trying to call out for my name. She reached out her hands to me and I
held her hands for the last time.
The date of her death was 25 April 1826 AG. She was killed on the
outskirts of the city of Aroway, Uriada. Later that day, I wrote a letter to
my friends at Durwall and her relatives regarding this incident. They
mourned her death.
Marie-Jeanne was one of the best doctors the People’s Front had. She
shared her knowledge about medication from Earth to improve
treatments. Even though she was a junior doctor, she introduced modern
medicine, mainly better cures for infectious diseases, to the medical
field. She faced obstacles such as some doctors rejecting her idea because
some of her methods could harm Centralorians. She spent her time in
her field hospital researching to find effective methods that would not
harm Centralorians.
A small military hospital was named after her, the Beaufort General
Hospital. This hospital had seen many wounded soldiers admitted and
it was one of the main hospitals on the fronts.
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Evalette was the first one who was hanged, followed by Krystasya.
During the final moments of Evalette’s execution, she repeatedly
shouted my name when she was walking up the gallows. I ignored her
and kept my mouth shut, not wanting to talk to a criminal who had
committed such horrible acts.
The hangman put a bag over her head and then followed by the
noose. After the noose was secured, she tried to move aggressively. “You
think you’re right? This is a mistake! I have raised you since you were
brought to this world!”
The anger and sadness that she had caused me before filled my heart
and I suddenly lost my patience. I lashed out at her, “You did raise me,
with torture. You constantly tortured me every day and it only benefited
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you! You left me a scar because of your stupid Anastasian beliefs! You
and your type of people have put us in misery and darkness,” I
responded to her.
“Put you in misery? Don’t lie to me! You are just a coward, aren’t
you? Always afraid of everything, especially me. That’s why you have
me here just to get rid of me!” Evalette said angrily.
I went silent before shouting, “I hope you rot in hell, you degenerate
piece of filth!”
She began mumbling a few words that I could not understand. Soon,
she began chanting ‘Qerandosha Et Alzadarj’. As she neared her fifth
repetition, right as she was going to say ‘Et Alzadarj’, the hangman
pulled the lever. The trapdoor beneath her opened and Evalette was
killed instantly.
Next was Krystasya and she was begging for her life to be spared. She
refused to walk up the gallows, which made the guards force her up.
“Please don’t kill me! Please, no! No! No!” Krystasya cried like a little
child. It was ironic that Krystasya, who had no mercy towards her
victims, was begging for it.
Seconds before she was hanged, she kept repeating the word “No”
while crying hysterically. She fell silent when the hangman pulled the
lever, ending her life for good.
“They all deserved this,” I said to myself after their execution. I took
one last look at their corpses before they were taken away.
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“Where the hell did they come from?” I asked Major General
Hendriks who was sitting in the car next to me.
“I don’t know! I don’t know how they even got here!” Major General
Hendriks exclaimed.
Bullets ripped through the car windows. The flying bullets entered in
front of the car and killed the driver and Colonel Jefor. I covered my
head with my hands and I kept ducking, avoiding the bullets flying
through the car. Major General Hendriks radioed the others to protect
me. The car went off-road, and it was headed towards a tree. I braced for
impact and the car hit the tree, finally bringing the car to a stop.
I was thrown into a truck, along with Major General Hendriks and
Private Batra. I overheard a conversation between the Anastasian
drivers. They were laughing and congratulating each other for
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successfully kidnapping me. I also heard that they were going to torture
me to death.
Without our weapons, we could not do anything but stay in the truck
until we reached a destination that we were unfamiliar with. On the way
to an unknown destination, we got lashed out with lots of insults and
threatening messages by the Anastasian drivers. Even racial insults were
lashed out at us and it angered all of us.
“How do you think we are going to get out of this?” Major General
Hendriks asked me.
“Let’s just all hope that the People’s Front will find us,” Private Batra
said.
“Or what, huh? What are you going to do to stop me?” the driver
said.
I ignored her and told Private Batra that it was no use to continue
fighting. I gave no response to the driver.
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“That’s what I thought. You are scared. You are also scared that you
will lose your precious soldiers. Aw, are you going to cry? Because I will
make you cry,” the driver wanted to trigger me.
“Watch me make you cry! Cry like how you cried when your dumb
girlfriend died. Oh wait, was her name Marie-Jeanne? It’s funny how
Marie-Jeanne walked straight to her death. I can laugh at this joke the
whole day. Marie-Jeanne, that dumb, stupid girl who you loved, walked
straight to her death like a fool. How tragic,” she said while giving her
evil laugh.
“You will not mock her in front of me like this!” I was still sad about
Marie-Jeanne’s death and slowly losing my temper.
“Oh Marie, Marie, Marie. How dumb of her. If she didn’t die then,
she would probably have died from walking into a hole or –” the driver
continued to anger me and I attempted to grab her neck.
“Shut your damn mouth, you Gueinz. Just shut it, already! I am going
to kill you if I have the chance, you goddamn moron!” I got very upset.
I sensed pure evilness just by looking through her eyes, just like every
Anastasian. I was so deeply hurt by what she said about Marie-Jeanne.
My tears ran down my face and I couldn’t control them. I covered my
face and I sobbed, thinking about Marie-Jeanne.
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other than mumbling to each other. We waited for another hour before
two Anastasian officers walked in and took a seat at the table.
“Now, we are going to do this in two ways, the easy way or the hard
way. It’s your choice,” Jouvydyryr said.
“Whatever way you want, we are not going to give you anything. You
will hear nothing about the People’s Front!” Major General Hendriks
yelled in anger.
“Oh, I do not need you to tell me. I only need the President to tell
me,” Jouvydyryr said.
“Then, why would you bring us instead of the President only?” Major
General Hendriks said.
“So, you tell me now. What is your plan in Langley? What are the
next plans for the People’s Front? Tell me!” Jouvydyryr asked me.
“He’s not going to tell me anything. Is that so, huh? Looks like he
wants me to do this the hard way,” Jouvydyryr stared at Major General
Hendriks.
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Jouvydyryr took his rifle and hit me three in the stomach. It was
painful, especially having your hands tied up and not being able to do
anything.
“Tell him before you get all three of us killed. The Anastasians are
already going to lose in Langley. Even if he knows, he could not do
anything because they are all already losing,” Major General Hendriks
whispered.
“If you really want to find out everything about the People’s Front in
Langley, just go take a look by yourself. You don’t have to bring me all
the way here to find out. Those forces are strong enough to wipe out all
of you!” I told him.
“I’m not going to do that. Mark my words, I’m going to make sure
they’ll kill you before I even surrender my troops!”
“You piece of filth! You are useless! I’ll cut that Private’s fingers off!”
Jouvydyryr ranted.
“No, not his fingers! Listen to me, stop it! I’ve told you about the
People’s Front in Langley!” I told him.
“I’ve heard you, but I’m just… unhappy,” he told the three of us.
Jouvydyryr grabbed Private Batra’s hands and took out his knife.
Private Batra was struggling to set his hands free, but he was unable to
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do so. He kept moving and shaking his hands. Hendriks and I were
tortured by the other Anastasian officer. She had a rifle in her hands and
used it to hit us on our faces, our stomachs, and our legs. I looked over
to the right and saw Hendriks's face. His face was gory; it was bleeding
and swelling.
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The roof and walls began shaking, affected by the explosions outside.
Gunfire continued and it felt like it was never going to stop.
“Damn, Mr President. You look like you’ve been through hell,” one of
the People’s Front soldiers said to me.
“Sir, I’m going to escort you out. Stay behind me at all times! Got it,
sir?” he said.
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managed to kill some Anastasians. The smoke was getting thicker and
we could not see a thing. We were also coughing and wanted to get out
of the fort as fast as possible.
Jouvydyryr laughed.
I redirected the knife to his face and I punched him, making a huge
cut on his face. I pushed him away from me and he collapsed to the floor
with his face flat down. I kneel on both of his legs and drag his neck to
the back in an attempt to break his spine apart.
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I heard a loud crack and his spine was broken. Noticing that he was
dead, I leaned back against a wall and rested.
“No one could survive that, sir. We are not risking ourselves. Our
main priority is to protect you, sir!” one of them said.
“I’m the President and I am telling you to get back in there and save
your guy,” I said.
That soldier thought for a while and said, “Alright, we’ll try our best
to get him.”
“You’ll be looking for Private Batra. Remember his name,” I told him
before he went in.
Private Batra sadly died in the fires. He perished as a hero and his
name would be remembered for his bravery on that day. Private Batra
was a young man, only 20 years old.
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As the war was coming to its inevitable end, the Anastasian forces
held civilians hostage and threatened to kill them to stress the People’s
Front. Besides, the Anastasians also dragged civilians and dressed them
up in full uniforms of the Royal Anastasian Army so that they would be
targeted and killed.
During the Battle of Langley, there was another historic battle that
took place. It was known as the Siege of Plainground. This siege was a
turning point in the Battle of Langley. This siege would later become the
final reckoning of the Anastasian forces. The Anastasians already had no
chance of defeating the People’s Front and they were there to fight till
they died.
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independence from the Anastasian Empire. While many others had also
contributed to independence, we were considered by most as the
Founding Fathers.
Charles Dupant or, General Charles Dupant, was the Chairman of the
Armed Forces of the People's Front. He was in the People’s Front Army
and had previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Army. He was the
highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the AFPF. General
Dupant was also one of my leading military advisors to me. He was also
one of the most decorated military personnel in the AFPF.
Peng Jun Kong and Thomas Martin were PF Secretaries. Both of them
were Earthlings. During the war, Peng organised a Freedom March
which drew the attention of hundreds of thousands of non-Anastasian
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They occupied police stations and clashed with the Anastasian police
in many cities. The Anastasian police fired tear gas and water canons as
a warning to disperse the crowds. Some retreated and some advanced
bravely. Having no choice, the Anastasian police shot most of the people
to scare the crowds away. Despite that, they kept marching towards
them with no feeling of cowardness. Bodies began piling up and the
people tried to shield Peng. Soon, the people charged and brutally
assaulted the Anastasian police using their weapons. This became very
serious and the Anastasian had to dispatch several units of Anastasian
soldiers to disperse them.
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___________________________________________________
Finally, there was Edmund Müllner. Edmund was a very loyal friend
of mine and he supported me as President of the People’s Front.
Edmund was an Earthling and he appeared on Centralora the same day
as mine, only he was at Langley. Edmund was the Vice President of the
United Organisation before he joined the People’s Front. The United
Organisation was formed in Langley and it was an organisation that had
the purpose of seeking independence. After the United Organisation
merged with the People’s Front, he was elected as one of the PF
Secretaries and then became Vice President of the People’s Front.
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flags of the People’s Front, the Republican Tricolour, and banners with
my face on them. Everyone was chanting my name. In the crowds, I
spotted Malee and Loyiso. They walked together beside me.
“On this very day, the people of a once-invaded nation have gathered here to
celebrate our victory against the ferocious and barbaric Anastasians. Today, the
People’s Front has successfully defeated the remaining opposing enemy forces in
Langley and has made their demand for surrender.
Today, we celebrate this day and we shall make it a national festival for the
now newly proclaimed Denvorg. Furthermore, this day shall be auspicious for
the citizens, or should I say ‘for the Denvorgians’. It is because Denvorg has
become independent after the many struggles and sacrifices of the brave
Denvorgian freedom fighters.
I must also say that today we are surrounded by Denvorgians who are full of
spirits of patriotism. Independence was not an easy thing to achieve. It required
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the strength, might, and unity of the people. We had been together till this day
and our enemy was not among each other. It was only the Gueinz.
Fellow Denvorgians, we must remember the lives that many people have
sacrificed for us to gain this freedom. Freedom lay on top of a mountain and we
all struggled to climb it. But in the end, we reached the peak, and to celebrate
shall let freedom ring from every mountainside!
The main thing which every Denvorgian should remember is that we have
managed to make this land our home and we must remember the heroes who
have given their lives for us. This land shall not be separated, no matter what,
from us.
I will finally say; it was all well worth fighting for independence from the
beginning, losing our loved ones along the way, and finally getting what we all
desired. The unity and determination of the people were strong enough to defeat
the evil tyranny of the Gueinz. It has given us a chance to form this very nation.
To sum it up, this battle was not easy and now I am very thankful to have
this freedom. I am sure all of you are too. All of us are now all free and are living
in an independent nation. Citizens of Denvorg, I will end my speech here.
Thank you.”
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Free Union
___________________________________________________
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BUILDING A NEW NATION
(Verse One)
Over the land, she waved for all,
Let her fly, she shall not fall,
Hear the music from the band,
For everyone, shall hear and stand!
(Chorus)
Let her fly, let her fly, let her fly,
Our pride, our pride in the sky!
Together, every fellow;
Shall guard the Blue, White and Yellow!
(Verse Two)
So long she flies, freedom shall stay,
And fly she will, on this bright day;
Denvorg shall always be free,
As what Denvorg has meant to me!
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(Chorus)
(Verse Three)
Tricolour of the nation’s mark,
Will firmly glow, throughout the dark;
You shall wave for all the time,
In night and day, freedom shall chime!
(Chorus)
___________________________________________________
(Verse One)
On the darkest days, our blood drops on this land,
On those days, freedom we demand!
(Verse Two)
Trumpets sounded for the country’s fame,
We shall let Davino’s illustrious name,
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(Verse Three)
We the free people rose and fought,
To have hope of liberty, we ought,
___________________________________________________
The next day, I held a meeting with the ExCo to form a provisional
government to temporarily govern Denvorg while Denvorg was
recovering from the Second Revolutionary War. The provisional
government would maintain power until a new government was
formed, which was through the 1828 AG State, Gubernatorial,
Congressional, and Presidential Elections (1828 AG General Elections).
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BUILDING A NEW NATION
I told the Denvorgian Navy to escort the transport ships that were
carrying medical supplies, food, and volunteers to Denvorg. Not only
that, I called for a maritime patrol around Denvorg to prevent any
Anastasian threat near Denvorgian waters. I also warned the Anastasian
Empire not to destroy any of the ships arriving and leaving Denvorg as
Denvorg was an independent country and that the Anastasians would
face deadly consequences if the sovereignty of Denvorg was threatened.
This would lead me into making Denvorg a member of the WOPA on 18
September 1826 AG.
A new problem emerged soon after we got help from other countries.
Some Anastasians rebelled against the Denvorgian Provisional
Government and posed a threat to the Denvorgian people. The
insurgents disrupted food transports and stole money for their benefit.
The insurgents also destroyed buildings which were under construction.
I negotiated with the rebels to put an end to their unlawful activities, but
they ignored me.
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From there, foreign investors came into Denvorg and we started to set
up their supply chains and manufacturing facilities. Local businesses
started appearing and began investing locally.
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amount of monetary aid given out and too much taxes would cripple the
lower and lower middle classes.
Denvorg was getting stable and the cities were gradually rebuilt from
their ruins. Many job opportunities were also beginning to exist and the
Denvorgian people were earning money for their living.
The new Constitution was signed by one delegate from each State
and the 15 members of the Denvorgian Provisional Government.
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So, I decided to catch up with them and went out for drinks. After
joining the DEMOFED recently, Tericead told me that he had plans to
run for Senator of New Denvorg while Joseph wanted to run for
Representative of Lerman. We also had a great time talking about our
old days.
Thomas went his separate ways from us and founded the National
Republican Party (REPUBLICAN). The former Treasurer-General of the
RMA and a member of the Denvorgian Provisional Government, Trisko
Roarke established the Blue Nationalist Party (BNP). By the end of April
1828 AG, many political parties and political alliances were formed.
On 2 June 1828 AG, the DEMOFED and the Social Union Party
(UNION) created a pact and then introduced the Democratic Alliance.
The United Progressive Organisation (UPO) joined the Democratic
Alliance a day later and it gained popularity because those three parties
had a very strong influence in Denvorg.
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On the last day, 1 August, the Esarna Convention Centre was filled
with supporters and they were eager to know the names of the
candidates. When my name was mentioned to be a candidate for
President, the supporters cheered and chanted the Democratic Alliance’s
election slogans: ‘Together, We Can” and “United and Strong”. Edmund
was my running mate and he was a candidate for Vice President.
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Edmund and I gave a speech on how we were the perfect people for
President and Vice President. We highlighted everyday problems, such
as food, the economy, security, and maintaining the unity of the
Denvorgian people. We told the supporters that we would solve all of
those problems when we were elected.
Later that day, we also got to know other candidates from other
parties. Arend Herselnus and Trisko Roarke from the People’s Coalition
were candidates for President and Vice President respectively.
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Before I left for another place, I shook hands with Kaarina and bid her
goodbye and hoped to see her again in the future. I had to keep moving
and not delay at one place because of many security reasons.
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Next, we left for the cities of Krayross and Lystein, Wessonne. After
Wessonne, we took a flight and flew to the city of Lerman, the most
populated city on Intridue Island. After spending almost a week in
Lerman, we went back to Sotsielche on 21 September.
I had two close friends who were Democratic Alliance candidates for
Senator, Sandor Forgliev and Hadrian Cohern. Sandor was a senatorial
candidate for Bremand while Hadrian was a senatorial candidate for
Margueritte.
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Georges and Inaya were into politics and they were strong supporters
of the Democratic Alliance. They agreed to vote for me for President and
Edmund for Vice President. Loyiso and Malee weren’t interested in
politics, but they did vote for the candidates from the Democratic
Alliance.
Georges, Malee and I had the same voting time, which was 11 a.m.,
and the same polling station. The polling station was at the National
School for Anastasians (now called the Green Valley National School)
and it was not far from Durwall. When we got there, there were a lot of
people waiting outside the classes and school hall for their turn to vote.
Luckily, the DEC knew how to manage a lot of people and they helped
to save time.
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Later on that day, Georges, Inaya, Loyiso, Malee and I went out to a
cafe for tea after everyone had voted.
On the same day, Georges and Inaya stayed up late at night to keep
ourselves updated about the election results. I was very nervous and I
hoped that the Democratic Alliance candidates would win, especially for
me to get the majority votes. All three of us got cosy on our sofa and
watched the results being broadcasted on the television.
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BUILDING A NEW NATION
We were in joy when the results were concluded. I finally sat down on
my couch and I expressed a strong reaction of relief. Edmund gave me a
call and congratulated me on my achievement. Then, we had to leave for
the Grand Glasscity Hotel to hold a press conference. Georges and the
others stayed at home to get their needed sleep.
On 3 January 1829 AG, the Senate had approved all 20 members and
my Cabinet was formed.
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15
The Learmont Palace is the o cial residence and workplace of the President of
Denvorg. It is located in Noble Garden, F.D. Andrige. It was constructed in 1812
AG and it underwent repairs and upgrades after the end of the Second
Revolutionary War.
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The event started with everyone saying their prayers. Then, the event
continued by singing the national anthem, ‘Free Union’, accompanied by
music from the Denvorgian Army, Marines, and Navy Band. It then
proceeded with the Vice President-elect taking the oath of office. After
Edmund, it was my turn to take the oath. I stood up from my seat and
walked towards a lectern where Chief Justice Ludvig Cromwell was
standing. He would administer the oath of office.
As I started reading the oath, everyone was quiet and they listened to
the oath. They had been waiting for the oath of office to be read by the
man that they had chosen to be President.
“Please put up your right hand and repeat after me,” Chief Justice
Ludvig Cromwell said to me.
16
Elysium Grounds is a landscape park which is located in front of the Congress
building. It houses three man-made lakes and it became a famous tourist
attraction.
17
The Grand National Stand is an area in the Congress building and it faces
towards the Elysium Grounds. Presidential inaugurations would be held in the
Grand National Stand. This place has an open area to allow more room for more
people to be inside.
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The Denvorgian Army, Marines and Navy Band played a stanza from
a verse, followed by the chorus from ‘The Motherland Calls’. This
shortened song became a personal anthem of the President and it would
be played for the President at public events. The song started with four
ruffles and flourishes before it was played. Everyone cheered and waved
the Republican Tricolour with full enthusiasm. I waved my hands at the
people.
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talked about the theme of unity and peace. These were the words that
had left a lasting impression on the people.
I reached the Learmont Palace around 1:30 p.m. and I was greeted by
the staff there. The staff was divided into seven groups; the director-led
Office of National Security (ONS), Office of Economic and Budget
Management (OEBM), Office of Domestic Affairs (ODA), Office of
Congressional Affairs (OCA), and Office of Residential Affairs (ORA).
18
The Armed Forces of Denvorg, abbreviated as AFORD, currently consists of five
branches; the Denvorgian Army, the Denvorgian Air Force, the Denvorgian
Marines, the Denvorgian Navy, and the Denvorgian Special Forces.
19
The Greyhouse Centre used to be the headquarters of the Anastasian forces in
Anastasian-occupied Denvorg under the command of General Helond. Now, it has
become the o cial residence and workplace of the Vice President of Denvorg. It is
located in Andrige Central, F.D. Andrige.
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The final groups were the Board of Cabinet Affairs (BCA), led by the
Cabinet Secretary and the Press Office, led by the Press Secretary.
The office was decorated with the Republican Tricolour on small flag
poles and a carpet which displayed the emblem of the President. There
were also small bookshelves attached to the wall and I saw fancy lamps
on the tables. A picture was hanging on the wall; it was the portrait of
the first President of Denvorg, Alberto Davino. From that day, I started
my job as President of Denvorg; serving, protecting, and leading the
Denvorgian people.
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APPROACHING THE MODERN DAY
On the same day, a formal dinner was held in the Learmont Palace.
Edmund and I were honourable guests at that formal dinner. We were
joined by Georges, Sadira, Inaya, Malee, Loyiso, Leonie, their families,
and my brothers and cousins. Other attendees included my Cabinet
members, the Representatives of Andrige, the Senators of New Denvorg,
Governor Rose Bouwe, General Charles Dupant (Chairman of the
AFORD), the Chiefs to Staff of the AFORD, and their families were also
invited.
Another group of guests were also invited to have dinner with us. It
was the Leadership Team of the Waynn Television Studios and they
would present their new film called ‘Arising’ to everyone to
commemorate the struggle for Denvorgian independence. All of the
attendees were scheduled to watch the film at the theatre in Learmont
Palace.
Kaarina Laine, a member of the Leadership Team, was also there and
I was surprised. I did not expect her to be at the Learmont Palace and to
have dinner with us. I told myself that it was an opportunity to talk to
her again since I liked her so much. In my eyes, Kaarina looked truly
beautiful in her bright blue gown.
That formal dinner was held in the State Dining Room, a large dining
room in the Learmont Palace. The dinner started at 8:30 p.m. after I gave
my small speech to the attendees. When I was giving my speech, I
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THE STRUGGLE FOR CHANGE
glanced at Kaarina a few times until suddenly, she noticed me. Kaarina
smiled and gave me a small wave. I looked at her, gave a small smile,
and continued with my speech.
We also sat down and talked more about ourselves. Before we went
downstairs to the Learmont Theatre, I showed Kaarina a few more
places and we walked to the Main Learmont Veranda on the ground
floor. We enjoyed the night breeze there before going to the Learmont
Theatre.
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“Well, thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to talk to you too. I also
want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on becoming
President,” I replied.
“Thank you, thank you. I heard that you are the one who led the
Denvorgian people to independence against Anastasian rule. Very
impressive of you!” he added.
“Yes, yes. But I wouldn’t have succeeded if it wasn’t for the help of
my… uh… colleagues. I will not take all the fame to myself, you know?”
I said.
“I believe that your success comes from being able to deal with
significant challenges since Anastasian rule. Now, the world has seen
how you have improved people’s lives by breaking free from the
Anastasians. Freedom does triumph over tyranny,” President Jen
commented.
“I don’t want to waste more of your time. I just want to say that I
hope, under your administration, Bertznia and Denvorg will have good
bilateral relations, in terms of trade, business, military cooperation, and
more. Bertznia will also continue to help Denvorg to recover from the
recent war,” President Jen said before he ended the call.
After having the call with President Shyroregi Jen, I dressed and was
escorted to Evergreen Cafe for coffee with Kaarina. I arrived there,
grabbed a table, and waited for Kaarina to arrive. Not very long after,
Kaarina showed up at the cafe and spotted me sitting at the table that
was surrounded by a few PPS agents and customers who wanted to
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meet me. We enjoyed our coffee and had a casual conversation about our
lives. Before we left, we got a way to communicate with each other and
we could call when we needed something.
Kaarina and I hung out a lot and grew more attached. Until today, we
are in a meaningful relationship with a sense of togetherness.
The theory that the GSRO came up with was called the Triple
Realities Theory. It proposed a concept called the Three-reality Concept
which stated that there were three realities; the First Reality, the Second
Reality and the Third Reality. According to the theory, these three
realities were constantly producing electromagnetic waves towards each
other.
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APPROACHING THE MODERN DAY
Earth and its planetary system are located), the Second Reality was filled
with distorted time, broken laws of physics, and broken forces of nature
which generated the most powerful electromagnetic waves.
That was when any place with the name ‘Sotsielche’ was renamed
Andrige and the city itself was renamed the Federal District of Andrige.
Ranging from school names to city names, the Anastasian names were
replaced with the three widely spoken languages in Denvorg; English,
Oryues, and French.
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Schools in Denvorg had been repaired after they were affected and
destroyed during the Second Revolutionary War. The government
introduced the Children Protection Policy in schools to protect school
children from sexual abuse, after learning from school children who
became victims of Anastasian child abuse. Children were finally
confident to attend schools and students could continue their studies in
universities.
Until April 1829 AG, Denvorg was recovering from the Second
Revolutionary War and growing at a fast pace.
I told Congress to make a law to increase the tax bracket so that the
tax money that was collected could be used in bringing the country
forward, in terms of research and development, building more public
services buildings, and repaying loans to the World Bank.
The taxes would be charged fairly and tax rates would be different for
people who had different socioeconomic statuses. The government
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‘LI’ stood for ‘Low Income’ and it classified people who made a
monthly income of below $1,000. ‘SI’ stood for ‘Standard Income’ and it
classified people who made monthly incomes ranging from $1,000 to
$9,000. Next, ‘MI’ stood for ‘Middle Income’ and it classified people who
made monthly incomes between $9,000 and $100,000. Finally, ‘HI’ stood
for ‘High Income’ and it classified the very wealthy who made monthly
incomes of over $100,000. The lower the income, the lower the tax
charged.
On 17 May 1829 AG, Congress passed this new tax bill with a
comfortable majority and sent it to me for my signature. Not very long
later, a problem emerged. I noticed that people in rural areas still lack
money to pay taxes and found this new tax bill overburdening. They
were made up of LI people, mostly such as farmers, fishermen, and
artisans.
The rural people complained that the tax charged towards them was
too high and demanded the tax bill be abolished. They protested in the
streets and voiced out their motto, “Abolish tax collection,” through
hanging posters and vandalising public properties.
The police and I could not do anything to stop them from protesting
because I would be interfering with their constitutional right to freedom
of peaceful assembly. But, the police could stop some of them who were
destroying public property.
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Besides all of that, a new challenge was set for the newly formed
government. The Anastasian Empire attempted to wage war against
Denvorg to take revenge for their embarrassing defeat on 19 June 1825
AG. On 17 September 1829 AG, the Anastasian Army and Navy
launched an attack on Fort Sipac in Intridue Island. Fort Sipac was a
coastal fort located in the northern area of West Intridue, Intridue Island.
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government budget, job opportunities, and exports. I was also told that
there was an upcoming visit by the President of Dylera in a few weeks.
Minutes later, all three of them arrived and the Director of National
Security briefed everyone about the attack.
Until 2:00 p.m., Fort Sipac was burning catastrophically and fires
spread uncontrollably. Attempts were made to put out the fires but
ultimately failed. Many lives were lost in the fire. At 2:05 p.m., the
Anastasians launched two waves of the Anastasian Army forces to
invade Fort Sipac. The full and strong fighting spirit embedded in the
Denvorgian focus there made both waves fail and the Anastasians were
running out of soldiers. They planned to launch a final wave before they
retreated.
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This interrupted the Anastasians to launch the final wave and the
Anastasian battlecruisers were forced to position themselves in
defensive positions. Libertine and Nauver managed to damage two
battlecruisers and one transport ship. Libertine was struck by two shells,
damaging the bridge and the rudder. She became a sitting duck in the
middle of a battle and the crew rushed to repair her.
Nauver was struck by several shells and she instantly blew up into
flames. Hillend never fired a shell in that battle and was damaged by
friendly fire from Fort Sipac. She was forced to retreat. Norfordland’s
evasive manoeuvres prevented her from being hit and also successfully
damaged two Anastasian battlecruisers. Soon, she was struck by a shell
and it hit the explosives, causing her to explode and sink a few minutes
later. Resolute would see the most success, sinking two of the damaged
Anastasian battlecruisers before being damaged herself and returning to
port for repairs.
20
DNS, or Denvorgian Navy Ship, is a ship prefix used for commissioned ships of
the Denvorgian Navy.
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Denvorg was a member of the WOPA and the WOPA warned the
Anastasian Empire that an attack on one was an attack on all. If they
attacked Denvorg, the WOPA and its members, including Denvorg,
would attack the Anastasian Empire in retaliation. This would cause an
all-out world war and it would crumble the recovering Denvorg. I
discussed with the Secretary of Defence, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs,
and the WOPA, urging them to not start an all-out world war and
suggested other ways to resolve the issue.
My daily routine as President was almost the same as this, except for
the decision-making moment when I was informed about the attack on
Fort Sipac. There were always different issues and incidents that would
happen every day. On the weekends, I would find myself sometimes
busy and sometimes not. If I were not, I would bring Kaarina to some
places around the country.
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there before we left for the National Gallery of Art. I brought her there
because I knew she was interested in art. She was happy and that was
what I wanted. There was a room in the National Gallery of Art, where
people could try painting something or someone and they could get to
keep it.
I told Kaarina that I was going to try to paint a portrait of her. With
very little experience in painting, I decided to give it a try. I first started
drawing her, which was not very difficult, until I reached the part where
I had to paint it. Kaarina, with lots of experience in painting, stood
beside me and taught me how to paint. We ended up painting the
portrait of her together.
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APPROACHING THE MODERN DAY
made between the Anastasian Empire and Denvorg. The Peace Treaty of
Andrige was created and it was signed by the Anastasian delegates, the
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of Defence, two Congressmen,
and me.
Every year during Memorial Day, I would pay a visit to the Kitgrad
National Cemetery for a remembrance ceremony. The first time I went
there was during my first year as President. I was greeted by the guards
of honour, General Dupant, and the Chiefs of Staff of the AFORD. Some
members of the media and the public were present too. The weather was
not ideal, it was drizzling.
The ceremony started with the singing of the national anthem, ‘Free
Union’. Then, I walked towards a monument depicting Alberto Davino
leading a group of people while holding the Republic Tricolour. A
wreath was already placed there and I walked towards it for a moment
of silent prayer.
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Investigations were carried out and the results were released to the
public. General Dupant was in a restaurant on the day he was
assassinated. Two Anastasian spies who had been in Denvorg since 1825
AG took an opportunity to assassinate him when he was in the toilet.
The two Anastasian spies threatened General Dupant for information
and then stabbed him 12 times in the neck and at the back of his body.
His body was then placed inside a toilet stall and the two Anastasian
spies escaped the scene.
A funeral was held in his house and the Founding Fathers, a few
senior officers from the AFORD, his close friends, and families were
invited by his widow. All of us paid our last respects. It was a very sad
moment.
The police department worked hard to find traces left by the two
Anastasian spies. The police had to detain them as soon as possible
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The shooting stopped when the remaining PPS agents managed to get
me off the stage and drive me away in an armoured limousine. Later
that day, the police caught the gunman and she was identified as one of
the two Anastasian spies who had assassinated General Dupant. The
gunman was caught on the 12th floor of an apartment near where I was
giving my speech.
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Fast forward till the gunman fired her second shot, police and PPS
agents barged into her room in the apartment and arrested her. Her
weapon, an Anastasian-made sniper rifle, was confiscated.
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APPROACHING THE MODERN DAY
With that, I have nothing more to write about my life and the history
of modern Denvorg.
Denvorg, as a new nation, faced many small and big challenges after
the end of the Second Revolutionary War. However, those challenges
made the Denvorgian people put aside their differences and they grew
closer and worked together to rebuild this illustrious nation. Whether
you were a Centralorian or an Earthling, you would always be
considered a Denvorgian.
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203
APPENDICES
____________________
Appendix A
204
- National flag of the Federal Republic of Denvorg
a) This flag is also known as the Republican Tricolour.
b) The flag’s design originated from the First Republic of Denvorg.
c) The colours of the Republican Tricolour are symbolic; blue symbolises
justice and unity, white symbolises purity, and yellow symbolises
freedom, hope, and prosperity.
d) The Republican Tricolour is often viewed as a symbol of Denvorgian
democracy, revolutionary success, and resistance against autocratic
regimes.
205
Appendix B
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213