After the coup, a large celebration happened, leaving the commoners quite happy while the patricians were getting worried about the change in leadership. At first, Nicolas wanted to let things calm down he may be sure that his plans go smoothly, yet once he glanced over the border, his mind was quickly changed. Down towards the west, the changelings started a bloody civil war while in the east the communists are starting to rise up, taking over a few countries like Prywen and Longsword. He couldn't afford to stand around and wait for an army to march into Flowena, he was forced to make a move.
The people will be made happy simply by not upsetting them and giving them benefits, but things could quickly turn sour and another may come forth and attempt another coup just like Nicolas has done if they believe he has wronged them. He needed to find a reason to start a purge of griffons which would threaten his position. Maybe he could just assassinate them? No, that would only make him look like a tyrant in the eyes of the people. He needs to pick a target that will kick start the whole purge. But such an act cannot be done to just anyone, else griffons seeking revenge will start banging down his doors. This plan must be started with someone who will not make any stand in fear or revenge. And with such thoughts in mind, Nicolas quickly made his move.
Soon, Michael Landreau was found dead in his house, killed by an unknown assailant. At these news, Nicolas announced that he will speak on this matter in front of the people. And so, many thousands gathered in front of the Palace of the people to hear the Prince speak about this brutal murder.
"My people, I am glad to have you gather at such a short notice. I am sure most already know of what has transpired recently, and that you wish to find out the truth. But the truth is obvious, for Michael was my ardent supporter!" His words quickly got the gathered people to speculate on who could have done such a thing, yet Nicolas wasn't done speaking. "And who else would do such a thing to someone so close to me? To find the answer, all you must do is look towards de Indigo and de Roseburne families and see that their claws are drenched in the blood of Michael! These patricians have always despised me, and now that I've begun appearing as a threat to their luxurious lives, they have lashed out towards me, and poor Michael was caught in between." After he finished his outburst, silence filled the streets, the silence of the shocked commoners and patricians. Yet Nicolas wasn't done with his speech.
"And thus, gentlegriffs, how can I sit still when my own people are being butchered in their homes!? For I am sure more will be next, and you've seen what these patricians which ran this city into the ground can do! They care for nothing but their own, and will not stop at anything to accomplish their goals. But today I will not let such a crime go unpunished! Today I will give you justice!" Spoke Nicolas before slamming his claw onto the railings, the anger in his eyes could clearly be seen even at the large distance between him and the people. But his apparent anger was short lived, because with a deep breath all his anger disappeared as he sat in silence for a few seconds before he spoke in a calm voice again. "And I plea that you may stand with us and help us seek justice!" And with those words, Nicolas walked out with a grin on his face while the crowd quickly turning into an angry mob which joined his millitiagriffs to seek 'justice'. 'Il devait être fait.'[1] Thought Nicolas as he went to join his millitiagriffs. His purge was swift and brutal, the noble families were utterly destroyed, with many lynched, murdered or worse. And so, most potential threats to Nicolas' rule were eliminated.
But those who took no part in the violence now stood in fear and those who never supported him viewed him with disdain and distrust. They, too, shall be taken care of.
After dealing with the aftermath of 'justice', I've made sure to focus on more internal affairs to boaster Flowena's economy and military. The only break I've got was my own coronation, and even that was short lived before I was forced to go back to work. But while I may be complaining now, I'll be grateful later on when we are easily pushing trough enemy lines.
Luckily I was able to get my claws onto the patrician's factories, thus quickly improving the speed at which we produce equipment, even if we won't be able to construct anything in the near future. But nonetheless, the improvements and projects I've planned will take a few months, hopefully the civil war in Aquilia would slow down their conquest.
And luckily for me, a proper army was raised faster then expected, and so, I've decided to put my plan of invading Adelart into motion, after establishing a fake peace of course, just to be sure they aren't prepared for our offensive.
It didn't take long after the declaration of war for me to realise my mistake. Because Adelart wasn't as hopeless as I've first thought, giving us a hard time pushing over the river that split apart our nations. But that wasn't what infuriated me, no, what infuriated me was that the filthy Griffonian Free Territories DECLARED WAR ON ADELART TOO. Those filthy communists are lucky I've managed to secure Adelart before they could get their claws on them. But while things ended well for me, my mental health seems to be degrading when listening to the international news. It seems like war is now a constant thing in Griffonia, and the empire starting to reconquer the old vassals only is making everygriff nervous about who will be next in their sights. At least the colonisation of Adelart was going smoothly...
In my restlessness I've acted very harshly, quickly declaring war on Pomovarra soon after the Adelart war. In my defence, we did managed to win the war without too many casualties, however the sudden war declaration of the Greifwald communists left me scrambling to put up a defence. I'm not sure if we can last long enough for new troops to be deployed, hopefully Aquillia won't get any bright ideas, especially since I've heard news of communists taking over.
A large amount of commotion filled the makeshift camp behind friendly lines as the knights got into their positions, donning their pristine armors and magical weapons while a convoy of experimental grifftrucks pulled into the camp. As soon as the door of the trucks opened, the knights all saluted in unison, yet while they expected their handsome and cocky prince, his appearance was that of a griffon that looked as if he hasn't slept for weeks, a complete opposite to his usual energetic vigour, the war obviously taken its toll on the prince marshal.
After leaving the truck, Nicolas was quickly flanked from both sides by two hens, one was considered Nicolas' best general, being good in both defensive and offensive situations while mastering logistics problems, and her name was Ailenclaire de Vermilion. She was a tall white griffoness with a patch of brown feathers on her head and wore a pristine red coat with golden accents. The other was a griffoness which was in charge of the defensive army, her cute appearance was easily hiding the fact that she was a militarygriff, having a brown pattern in her head feathers that surrounded her eyes and gave an impression of whiskers, her name was Suzanne Carminclaire. The two generals quickly led the prince towards the headquarters of the camp, explaining the situation on the front in detail during their quick walk.
As the prince and his entourage entered the tent, they were greeted by a group of six griffons surrounding a table with a map laid out upon it. After an exchange of greetings, Nicolas and his generals joined them in their discussion.
"-and now we are stuck in this stalemate, they cant push past our bunkers, nor can we retaliate without massive casualties." Said Suzanne as she finished explaining the bleak situation on the front.
"And how much time do you say we have until they overwhelm us?" The grey prince said while looking over the battle map.
"If we do not get any reinforcements, then I'll give it around a few months at best your highness." Spoke up Ailenclaire before continuing. "But I believe we could overwhelm them in a quick offensive if we pull some troops away from the fortifications, but it will be risky, very ris-"
"We can't afford to make risks, one wrong move and the griffs will rout back to Flowena!" Interrupted Suzanne, ending the somewhat quiet atmosphere as she started arguing with Ailenclaire about what exactly they should do. The image of their squabbling made someone forget about their high rank and usual calm demeanour. But ,while the two hens were stuck in their argument, the prince continued to look over the battle map in some kind of trance before raising his head and interrupted the two squabbling hens. "Suzanne, Ailenclaire." The sound of his voice startled them, but they quickly regained their composure and responded in unison. "Yes sire?" "Yes Milord?"
"We cannot go on the offensive without making some risks, correct?" The two generals nodded, waiting impatiently to find out what their prince was thinking. "But what if there was a way to avoid most of the risks, would you take it?" It took them a minute, but after a while they both responded with a nod which was awarded with two identical documents being thrown on the table in front of them. "I was going to keep this for when we would eventually go against Aquillia, but we've got no other choice. But I need you two to do something before you open them, never call me honorable."
At first they were confused, but a look into the sealed documents quickly made things clear. "The soldiers will never agree to this, much less the knights!" First Ailenclaire spoke up, angered at his plan. "Not to talk about the ethics of this?! How can we face the public after going with a plan like this!?" Quickly added Suzanne, desperately wanting to convince the prince to back down from his new plan, but his response was anything but.
"DO YOU HAVE A BETTER PLAN YOU WENCHES!?" The grey prince screamed while glaring at the two hens, the commotion drawing in the attention of many knights and his remaining generals. "Few can still uphold the code of chivalry in desperate times like these, and I am not one of those few griffs." Glancing around, Nicolas could see the large gathering of soldiers and knights, all of which were attracted by the commotion caused by him. "We will launch a full attack in a month, until then I will make sure that the plan will succeed. 'The Fox and the Lion' will allow us to win this mess of a war, dismissed.