Fall & Rise of Vissora

[Floyd Looney]

The Fall

Joshburgh - The Chancellor was lying in his bed at the Palace surrounded by his aides and family, a messenger was prepared to run to the Parliament to inform them when the death occurs. Chancellor Momack had ruled the Republic of Vissora for 30 years, very successfully for most of them. Only in the last half-decade had the economy been in shambles, had their been rioting in the streets and mass demonstrations and a very short attempt to invade the small neighboring Kingdom of Wesson.

The Chancellor had sparse gray hair and his face was now ash-colored as the lifeblood drained away bit by bit. An aide attempted to give him a drink of water but after a futile attempt to sip he waved it off barely moving. Then he tried to speak and could not be heard. His wife bent down closely and his Chief Scribe did the same from the other side of the bed.

The ailing leader of the Vissora Empire whispered something to them, the Scribe vigorously wrote it down and handed it to the messenger. Who folded it and put it into a small leather satchel which was slung around one shoulder. Just as he was doing this the old Chancellor coughed, shuddered and was still forever more.

The messenger left the room and ran quickly to the Parliament building where he first informed them that the Chancellor was dead. The men in the room were quiet at first but soon the several faction leaders gathered at the room behind the dais. The messenger went to them and found them discussing who would succeed the Chancellor. He gave them the written note and left.

The note changed everything of course. Rugue, leader of the Nationalist Movement left in a huff, clearly angered. Rugue was young for a Parliament leader and his party controlled 125 of the 640 seats, making them a force to reckon with.

Loran, leader of the Forward Vissora faction had been a favorite of the Chancellor but he too did not seem happy with the message although not as clearly angered as Rugue. The faction controlled 135 seats in Parliament and was the second largest of all factions. It had been in an alliance with the Free Democracy Party for more than a decade, giving them effective control of 200 seats.

Sarell, the tall and pale leader of the Social Progress Party shook his head slowly as he read the note and next to him the short fat Moriss seemed to be thinking deeply. Nobody seemed very happy about this turn of events but Moriss was already planning his next move.

Rugue would consult with the Council which operated the Nationalist Movement, Loran would hold a meeting with the other members of Parliament from his party and his allied faction. Sarell had no freedom to make decisions without the Central Committee of his party. Moriss was the absolute leader of his New Workers Party, he was in full control of its 150 Parliament seats.

In fact none of the parties or alliances could get a majority of the votes in Parliament, it had been split like this for a decade. It was the force of will of the Chancellor that managed to get anything done at all, many of those votes passed simply out of respect for the old leader.

There was also little doubt that the Supreme Commander of the Army would make a move to take control of the country. He had always wanted to impose a military junta on the nation for years, since he thought it was not governable otherwise.

[Floyd Looney]

This is page 1 of an idea I had to create a world combining something like the Hapsburg Empire and Weimar Germany. There are many factions and groups that are going to vie for power, obviously.

[Attero Dominatus]

I had to look up the Hapsburg Empire (I am not very knowledgeable about pre-20th century Europe). Looks like it will be a very chaotic conflict.

[Floyd Looney]

yes I can already see that I have made this very complicated, provinces trying to gain independence, factions trying to take over, the military leader wanting a dictatorship.

just wait until the Parliament is burned down or something.

[Attero Dominatus]

Cool. I look forward to seeing more.

[Floyd Looney]

Let me give you another page, I am charitable =o)

EDIT- 2 pages more.... remember these are from the first draft I am working on. I have a tendency for the first draft to be a narrative

[Floyd Looney]

The nation also had several regional governors who thought their provinces should be independent nations, their passions were certain to bubble over. In fact since the economic collapse more and more destructive movements had arisen. The official newspaper just that morning had said an official week of mourning would be observed upon the death of the Chancellor.

The official Free Republic newspaper offices in the capital city of Joshburgh was sure to be one of the first targets of the factions hoping to wrest control of the country. It also contained the offices and studios of Radio Vissora, whose broadcasts were heard for two hundred miles in any direction and then rebroadcast from dozens of provincial stations.

The factions had their own publications of course, distributed all over in order in attempts to gain more supporters. Almost everyone knew that the empire was certain to face collapse, divisions, battles and all manners of danger when the Chancellor died. Sides were being taken and preparations for battles had begun years ago.

When news of the death of the Chancellor was broadcast to the nation a huge crowd gathered outside of the Palace holding candles. There was, as of yet, no news of a successor and everyone wondered about the fate of the nation. Many of those who came to mourn were also wearing different colors of arm bands, denoting the faction to which they were aligned.

Edmund Jaques Moriss stood upon the stage surrounded by more than a thousand supporters across the city from the Palace. He began with a stunningly moving eulogy to the former Chancellor, which would be reprinted word for word, from a letter already delivered to the Free Republic newspaper. It was the second part of his speech that was not part of the letter.

“We stand upon the edge of the abyss of chaos and anarchy. The forces of dark greed has destroyed our economy and it tonight threatens to tear our nation asunder. The hard working men and women of this fatherland will be harmed by those who wish to take power from the ashes of the Republic. I beseech all of the abused and oppressed workers to rise up and support my efforts to bring social justice and equality to this sick civilization before other factions kill it utterly” he told them with his rising voice, passionately pleading with his listeners to do what needed to be done. The New Workers Party cheered his words and chanted his name.

Jefferies Dane Loran had informed the members of Parliament from his Forward Vissora Party and their allied Free Democracy Party. He told them they must return to their homes and families and prepare for the worst and hope for the best. He told them that steps must be taken to preserve the peace and to preserve the democratic system.

Jules Sarell had been part of an emergency meeting of the Central Committee of the Social Progress Party. They grimly heard his news and then begun a debate on what should be done about it, they would all end up in agreement, of course. Cooperative action was the word of the evening and acting as soon as possible was acknowledged as the wisest course.

Charles Henrick Rugue held his own rally across town with thousands of supporters of the Nationalist Movement. He blamed the other factions, especially Forward Vissora, for the state of the economy and called for action on the street “if necessary”. He said that a divided empire must be kept together with decisive and immediate imposition of a social order.

The Supreme Commander of the Army, Protector Hans Partia Shlomberg had been at the military telegraph office all evening, sending orders to his officers all over the empire. The nation must be preserved, it must not be allowed to fracture he told himself. He told himself that he had total control of the forces that could impose peace upon the nation and that nobody else could.

His command authority had been used to create the Vissora Defender weekly newspaper, in an attempt to compete with all of the factional publications. His newspaper had been widely distributed to all military personnel and also sold on the streets of all the largest cities of the nation. It had argued for national cohesion at all costs. It would have a special edition on the streets by morning, he expected all of the factions would have their own out there as well.

He expected it to be a very interesting day on the streets of Joshburgh, to say the least.

Gerhard Jansen had locked his shop as soon as he heard the report broadcast on the radio and then he sat down in the backroom where he lived and opened a bottle of wine. Ten years ago the bottle had cost only two kerks but today the same bottle would easily sell for a thousand. Not because its value had decreased but because of the heavy inflation that struck over the last several years.

He had truly appreciated the job the Chancellor had done over the past two decades, and the quiet protection he had given for the Lebens Community. From the beginning of the economic trouble there were several groups blaming Lebens for nearly every calamity that could be thought of. After centuries of being a stateless people the Lebens thought maybe this one, the Republic of Vissora, would accept us as none had before.

But lately there had been a rising hatred and violence for his people from the Nationalists and the anti-capitalists of different stripes. The Chancellor had made a big mistake to allow the Central Bank to continue printing up more and more currency. He had gotten old and he had trusted Minister of the Bank Joseph Jolland to do what he wanted.

Scapegoats, distractions, diversions, Gerhard told himself, my people will be blamed because its good politics for some faction or another. He had already sent his family abroad at great expense because he believed that there would be a lot of trouble after the Chancellors death.

All of the different leftwing factions were vying to control the country, to do that they would have to control Joshburgh. Gerhard fully expected street battles and mob violence to be the order of the day when the sun had finally risen. He doubted that any of them would abide by an official mourning period.

There were many Lebens who thought they could stop the vilence against their people by agreeing with their enemies on everything economic ans social except the hatred of their faiths people. This led to the formation of the Independent Social Democrat Union but their movement was barely noticed and it had won just seven seats in Parliament.

Many families had sent their younger members abroad during this time of trouble, they all seemed to sense something very bad was going to happen.

[Attero Dominatus]

Very good, nice job at capturing that 'storm on the horizon' feeling. Nice little nod to Free Republic by naming a newspaper after them too.

[Floyd Looney]

FR is my favorite website really. The factions are going to start jockeying for power before the battles really get dangerous. At least one province wants independence and a neighboring country is worried they'll be attacked by whoever wrests control as a scapegoat.

Its actually kind of complicated keeping them straight, there are so many different factions and such.

[Floyd Looney]

The following day saw that the Nationalist Movement supporters were wearing black leather jackets and some of them were distributing their Nation Arise newspaper. They were gathering and loitering in groups of twelve or so. They seemed to be waiting for something, some slight or provocation, but their eyes and manner said they desired violence.

The New Workers Party supporters were wearing purple sashes over their suits and were distributing their own newspaper called the Voice of the Worker. They also had an agitated manner and sometimes one could see them traveling the streets by the truckload.

The SPP was distributing their People's Agenda newspaper while the Vissora Day of the Forward Vissora faction and its allies were all over the place being given away. All of them had headlines about the death of the Chancellor but all of them claimed to be the rightful heirs to the ruling of the country.

The official Free Republic newspaper and the newspaper of the armed forces Vissora Defender were draped in black ink across the top. The Defender had news that the army and navy were on high alert and that in many provinces they had troops on the streets to preserve law and order. Radio Vissora had confirmed this, there were troops in the streets in all major cities except Joshburgh where they were forbidden by the Constitution.

It seemed that each faction and party had their own thugs and gangs. Violence seemed imminent to everyone and many shops were closed. Many bakeries and coffee shops had closed late in the morning after concluding the most important business of the day. Every faction had called for mass rallies outside of the Parliament building for the same time. Their leaders would be inside debating the appointment of a new Chancellor, or calling for new elections or even a new Constitution.

The factions soon went back to Parliament instead of observing the official period of mourning for their fallen patriarch. They clashed over the troops being placed in the streets, each claiming that the soldiers were abusing their supporters viciously. They question whether the Supreme Commander was following the law by mobilizing without an order from the Parliament since the state was headless at the moment.

Several faction leaders demanded that the Protector vow allegiance to the Parliament and to say he will obey its orders, others demanded he appear before them to answer to the state of emergency being foisted upon the nation. His office issued a statement that ignored the Parliament altogether and proclaimed that the safety of the nation was his only duty and that he had no wish to be involved in politics.

In Joshburg the people with their black arm bands or veils of mourning went about business as usual as much as possible. As the day wore on it was becoming clear that all of the factions were trucking in supporters and thugs as if expecting violence.

The Forward Vissora Party announced its support for national elections to repace the Chancellor while other factions meekly agreed but condemned Forward Vissora for violating the mourning period, although all factions were equally guilty of this. The call for elections seemed to have worked as the factions drew back from all-out violence. There had been just a few skirmishes. All of them anticipated a bitter campaign to take control of the Parliament.

The Province of Moxemberg was divided from the rest of the nation by a deep chasm sliced into the planet, this was crossed by several bridges, some road and some train. The main train bridge across the Condors Nest Canyon was a 4-track steel and iron structure at the township of Maximvale. This bridge carried all sorts of produce and grains to the larger cities to the east, including the capital Joshburg.

The Maximvale Bridge also carried telegraph and telephone lines across the chasm, connecting Moxemberg and the rest of Vissora. The province produced a lot of the food still being distributed across the country and was also the one with the largest National Vigil Guards force. It had been restive for over a decade, the sentiment for independence had been festering many generations before that.

Unemployment had hit the province hard since the crash, probably only the main province of Visso could be said to have fared worse. The Governor of Moxemberg, appointed by the Chancellor himself a decade ago from the largest faction in the powerless Electoral Assembly, Wimbry Linnaman turned to be pro-independence although he had never said or done anything to give cause for his removal.

Sometime in the second night after the death of the Chancellor a produce train was waved on by the troops dispatched by the Supreme Commander of the Army. They were to have inspected every train but after nearly two days of this they were tired and had waved on the least suspicious traffic, the produce trains. This particular train was loaded with explosions beneath the melons and the spice roots.

The explosion was massive enough to dislodge all four anchors of the bridge, which slid down into the dark abyss below. Then the side of the canyon gave way and part of the town of Maximvale followed the bridge into the darkness.

The main link between the province and the rest of the country had been terminated, several smaller links would have to work many times harder to handle the traffic.

Protector Hans Partia Shlomberg was woken from his slumber with the news, this was going to be a very big blow to his plans indeed. The Governor of Moxemberg was wide awake in the dark pre-dawn hours, he smiled when the news came over the telegraph solemnly. He knew that this was just the beginning and that the Vissora Empire was at its weakest point in two generations.

On the other side of the empire, north of Visso was the tiny Kingdom of Wesson, not part of Vissora but they had just completed a war with each other a few years ago. The Wesson leader was wary; he knew his country would be an ideal scapegoat for whatever faction gained control. Their King himself had allowed his two sons to enter into the military, encouraging others to join as well.

Wesson did have some secret contacts with Forward Vissora leaders who continued to promise they, at least, would not to go to war. Forward Vissora might not want one, the King thought, but if things were bad enough might they do it anyway to unify their country?

Word on the street was fear. Everyone was afraid of the future. Everyone knew something had to give; the situation was far too volatile. Rumors were rife, the economy had created a large poverty class and many thought they could be whipped into frenzy by the right, or wrong, leader. The streets were a shadow of their former selves for the rest of the week, only the faction gangs could be seen out in large numbers and skirmishes continued to erupt here and there.

There were no military soldiers on the streets of Joshburg by law of the Constitution, but the Supreme Commander was considering a declaration of its suspension. He did not have the legal power to do so, but in a power vacuum who could say what was legal?

After the bridge disaster and the resulting rise in food prices and the spotty shortages, Protector Hans Partia Shlomberg knew he would have to speak in front of the Parliament. Whats more, the faction leaders knew it too. Each of them controlled their own little armies in the streets and it would be an easy matter to assassinate poor Hans in his carriage or car while in Joshburg proper.

The period of mourning would be over in two days and he would have to be ready, it was sure to be some kind of trial. He made sure that his words would serve to place the factions on trial as much as he knew their rhetoric would be intended to gut his power. It was a given that this country had become a powder keg on the fire and that democracy would certainly be committing suicide if the Parliament won.

The Protector glanced out of his window; across the street he saw a rally of some kind taking place off the grounds of the military headquarters. It took him a moment to place the symbol on their banner, it was a new one. The red banner with a diamond shape field of white, imposed on this field was a plus with marks up, down, right and left. Like looking through a rifle scope.

These were the thugs of the New Workers Party Youth Movement led by that maniac Edmund Jaques Moriss. They were becoming a menace, their violently fiery rhetoric would be sure to instigate violence in this atmosphere. That was probably what they wanted to do. He placed his hand on the desk telephone to order the Gate Guards increased, but paused.

No, not this time. This is a message to me personally, the Supreme Commander told himself, they are saying that my time is over. Be that as it may, my illiterate punks, I plan to put up quite a fight.

All of the factions had agreed that the hearings on the order of martial law would take place as soon as the mourning period was over. None of them wanted to let that military leader install a dictatorship, there was no telling how bad that would be. They also agreed that new elections would have to be called, but disagreed on when and how long the campaign period should be.

The Social Progress Party had followed the New Workers Party in erecting their own flag, this one blood red with the white imprint of a hand in the upper left corner. Both flags could be seen all over the place and were spreading all over the country. Other factions were certain to follow, everyone knew that battles would take place before the election and that all-out civil war could easily follow.

The Nationalist Movement soon raised their own flag all over the country but it was first unfurled in downtown Joshburg, at a rally. Theirs was a red background with a blue-bordered black X from corner to corner.

The Visorra National Flag was a blue background with a red V imposed on it, this is the flag that Forward Vissora chose to keep. They declined to choose a factional flag over the flag of the national they had sworn allegiance to. Their media made sure to verbally hit their heads of their opponents.

The New Workers Party held rallies in several parts of the city of Joshburg during the final day of the mourning period. They assailed the policies of the government, calling for government to give aid to the poor instead of routing religious tithes through church run charities.

Edmund Jaques Moriss himself swayed a sizable crowd in a park as he talked of the privations and suffering of the poor. He talked about how they were made to seek alms from religious organizations with their own selfish purposes. He told the crowd that only a strong government could make aid to the poor a central policy that would work correctly.

“No more begging for what is ours by right, a mere pittance for the industrialists and the upper crust of high society. Enough to eat and sleep under a roof for the poorest of our fellow citizens” He had explained “We must bring hope and change to the peoples of the fatherland”.

At another across town Jules Sarrell told a crowd of SPP supporters about his own plan to reform the country. He called for “unionization of the workers and for collective action on economic matters and nationalization of all industries. Only this can save our nation from the perils of poverty, from the crimes of the thieving industrialists and the capitalists”.

The crowd waved the red banners with the white palm prints on them, each hand representing the trade unionists and the working class people.

At yet another rally, this one of the Nationalist Movement, their leader Charles Henrick Rugue took the others factions to task for the state of the economy. “We must be prepared for action in the street if it becomes necessary. We must be willing and able to bleed the bloodsuckers as they have done to this nation. They will tear this great nation into small parts, bite sized parcels. It has already begin to disintegrate, the food is in short supply, bridges are being destroyed by bombs!” he extolled the evils of the society and the present circumstances.

The Movement would have people all over Joshburg ready to move at a moment’s notice, to take their frustrations into the streets. Rugue was also sure that the other factions would have a similar plan but he would stanch that open wound.

Rugue had a planned meeting with Moriss and Sarrell just before they would grill the Supreme Commander, which would be aired by all of the radio stations. He wondered what kind of plan the Protector had and whether he thought he could come out of the day alive.

Across town at the tall headquarters for the Forward Vissora Party an “emergency” meeting was called for the Direction Board. They had also thought to invite representatives of the Free Democratic Party and of the tiny Independent Social Democrat Union.

Jeffries Dane Loran gaveled the meeting to begin, but they had no rules of order and anyone could speak whenever he thought there was an opening unless another was answering a question or the last speaker had addressed one of them, then that person had a right to respond.

Albert Henry Mann quickly wanted to know why the Minister of the Central Bank Joseph Jolland was present at the meeting. Loran pointed out that Jolland was a long-time supporter and member of the Forward Vissora Party. Mann blared that the man had destroyed the economy by printing more money than anyone could have imagined him doing.

Jolland defended himself astutely. “I have made mistakes, I learn from my mistakes”.

Mann huffed “You realize that you have handed a propaganda victory to the wolves have you? You realize that they are making a scapegoat out of my people, the Lebens? They depict us as pigs, monkeys and vampires! They say we are not human, that we are a plague on society and that they are the cure!”

Jolland nodded solemnly. “You must also remember I was taking orders from the Chancellor, those were not things I wanted to do. I condemn their bigotry and their hateful rhetoric!”.

“It is not rhetoric. They mean every word of it, they want to exterminate my people Mr. Jolland, want to wipe out an entire race.”

“That is monstrous. You think they are that forgone from civilization?” Loran cut in to ask the question of ISDU leader Mann. He nodded his head; his academician look suddenly seemed that of an undertaker. Then he cleared his throat, drank a glass of water while no-one spoke and asked “So what is the purpose of this meeting?”

“Tomorrow is going to be more than a chat with the Supreme Commander Albert” answered the leader of the Free Democratic Party, “There is going to be much violence we think. We need to do everything we can to keep the city safe. If anyone has any ideas?”

“Luke, I have no ideas. I would never suggest we put an armed force of Lebens on the street, it would spark a riot. How many of your men will be out there?” Mann asked his friend Luke Hessian, who consulted a sheet of paper. “We are such a small group, Albert. I am afraid we cannot have more than six hundred and that is city-wide.”

Jeffries Dane Loran looked disappointed but smiled and added “We can have six thousand, but that’s still a far cry what the other factions can easily deploy. I just hope it’s enough to keep them in check, but we will blow up that bridge when we get to it”.

Joseph Jolland nodded “and speaking of bridges, how well do you think the Supreme Commander will do tomorrow?”