This Grand-General was...different: he was humble for a Narcissian. In an army mostly led by minor nobles and the third sons of rich men, this one-eyed beggar had miraculously clawed his way up the chain of command to the second-highest rank in the Grand Army.
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And he had already proved himself efficient, pragmatic and cunning in the Eastern Campaign. In just two weeks, he had brought Uranjir to its knees while Grand-Generals Augereau and Massaena faltered in their Southwestern Campaign after taking Golgi successfully. The nearby tiny villages - all less than one thousand people - of Urjin, Ujar, Uran, and Ume-ri had offered the high-ranking officer little to no resistance. Eyraelynine, defended by Captain General Martino Anzak`s 18th Army, had proved itself troublesome.
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Yes, Harlo Grosso was different. He lacked the wealth of Nikolai Augereau- who had acquired such wealth through marrying media magnate Rectess Gemma - nor did he possess the pomp and flair of Seebhom Massaena, who had practically been destined for melodrama from a young age due to the scandalous nature of his parentage: Massaena was the son of High-Exarch Aubade of Chalcrystis and Sora "Larkspur" Euphony, a singer and ex-courtesan.
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Unfortunately for Grosso, a letter from the Marshal had placed him in an awkward position.
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Grosso,
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Let it be known that your competence in the East is appreciated, capturing the capital of the Orjir Province and the city of Oralyne this early into the Eastern Campaign was a masterful piece of strategy. However, I am writing to inform you that Operation Cinder is in effect: don't waste time on Eyraelynine, have the 1st Fleet crush it so that you can mount a joint assault with Grand-General Carrier`s forces on Demos. Also, since you insist on such a controversial appointment, I want you to test the loyalty of Reinhart Narravo: being in a relationship with Citizeness Anya Orlè, a Pheasantine national, is uncomfortably close to treason. She lives in Eyraelynine, I trust you know what to do about this little problem, yes?
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I am not a tight-fisted man, bring down the 2nd Pheasantine Republic and I will have you created Viscount of Luxequinox just to make Nikolai and Gemma Augereau chafe.
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Do not fail me,
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Marshal of the Grand Army, Mikal van Blücher.
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The Marshal had attached his wax seal (🜋) on the bottom of the letter. It had become a recent tradition for the Marshal and Aeroadmiral to use old alchemical symbols as seals. To the amusement of some, Blücher`s represented Vinegar while Sophie Exonault used 🜚 (gold).
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Grosso thought for a moment before burning the letter. He watched the flames lick it until the final legible words ("She lives in Eyraelynine") curled into a black Cinder.
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Mikal was correct, Harlo Grosso knew what he had to do.
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"BRUTUS!" He bellowed out of his tent.
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"Sir?" Replied Lord Sergeant-Major Brutus, his Adjutant.
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"Fetch me Lieutenant General Narravo, tell him it is urgent!"
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The senior non-commissioned officer turned on his heel and ran off to find Reinhart Narravo.
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He returned with a tall, cheerful man with sandy blond hair and hazel eyes.
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The Marshal was right about him being controversial. Before being raised to Lieutenant General, Narravo had been Grand Warlord of C-X Corps under Lieutenant General Fenic`s 3rd Northern Field Army. Fenic had praised the ground he walked on while his other Grand Warlords - Tankori, Ghost and Devo - had been scathingly critical of his lack of professionalism, respect for the chain of command and brutal management of Logistics.
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The "Navarro System" was a strategy he had presented to Marshal Blücher and Archcountess-Khatun Vega when he was a Captain. The strategy rejected the common doctrine of supplying forces via airship as unreliable and restrictive of the mobility of the Grand Fleet. Instead, he advocated for living off the land by foraging and looting in a theoretical war. This was noted as a more assertive variation on Grand-General Worce`s First Coalition War era policy of purchasing supplies from locals and taxing populations - backed up by the threat of force. Vega Calliope Ego had dismissed the system as violating laws passed by the Central Empyrean Defence Authority (C.E.D.A).
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Grosso however, liked the idea. And intended to use it to rapidly outmanoeuvre, isolate and neutralise enemy forces.
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"You asked for me, Harlo?" He asked bluntly. Narravo prospered under Grosso`s lax attitude towards formality, and it showed.
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"Indeed I did. You see, Blücher found out about your... acquaintance in Eyraelynine. And so I offer you a choice."
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Reinhart`s eyebrows raised in alarm. He could, after all, theoretically be executed without trial with the powers granted to senior command officers by the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) 79 EH.
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"You can try to run away with your sweetheart, Miss Anya Orlè, and my forces will unite with those under Grand-General Carrier. We will bring the full might of the Grand Military down on Pheasantine with no regard for CEDA`s laws or civilian populations." He said, his face blank and emotionless. Grosso`s azure blue eyes coldly regarded the Lieutenant General.
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"Or?"
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"Or you can march your forces down to Eyraelynine with Admiral Oswald Taker`s 1st Fleet to rain down destruction on the city and neutralise the 18th Army. If she survives, you may bring her with you."
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Narravo tensed upon hearing a blatant ultimatum demanding he bombard Eyraelynine on the threat of Total War in the East.
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The Empyrean population had been totalled at four hundred and forty-two million souls by the Academy of the Adept`s most recent census in 75 EH. Cerulea had ranked highest by population (89M) followed by Pheasantine (86.5M), Umbracrest (66.2M), Aquiloria (52.8M), Glacier (51.4M), Vorantis (43.9M), Narciss (37M) and Estrin (15M).
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Reinhart Narravo sighed and made his choice, "I'll do it...what craft will I have?"
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Grosso pulled out a file marked Grand Fleet Organisation Guide 6th Edition and handed it to Narravo carefully.
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"The first fleet," he read, "is composed of Grand Wings A and B and is formed from two Super-Heavy Cruisers, four Heavy Cruisers, eight Light Cruisers, ten Wraiths and twenty Strikers."
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"When should I do it?"
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"As soon as possible, of course."
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________________________________________
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Eyraelynine, with a population of nearly eight million, was the fourth largest city in Pheasantine.
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And everyone who lived there was blissfully unaware of the white and gold predators that lurked above the clouds. Hunters that the Captain General`s 18th Army could not hope to defeat.
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Outside Eyraelynine, there was a little river that was shallow enough to be crossed by foot. Reinhart Narravo proudly stood on the bank of that river in a plum-coloured uniform that displayed the crossed sabres below a crown that denoted a Lieutenant General. Behind him, the 625,000 trained soldiers of the 1st Northeastern Field Army stood at attention. Their 625 light, self-propelled artillery guns pointed into the air.
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The officer brought the long-range Æther Radio up close to his mouth.
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"Admiral, are your craft in position?"
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"Grand Wings A and B are ready and waiting." Came the clipped reply, crisp and clear despite the weak Æther in the skies.
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Narravo`s eyes filled with tears, which ran down his cheeks like that nearby river. He choked back a sob before he said the horrible words he had hoped would never be uttered by him into the radio, "Commence aerial bombardment."
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"Ayna...forgive me." He whispered to himself as he realised a terrible truth of his new reality: To protect those who remained to him, he would have to bear the unbearable. And if he didn't?
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Several hundred ear-shattering blasts of heat, sound and light was Empyrea`s reply to Lieutenant General Reinhart Narravo.
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