//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: Escalation 1028 
// by Nagerleral 
//------------------------------//

The Cloudbury morning found itself to be rather typical. The city, housing over three-and-a-quarter million griffons, was naturally busy, and this was magnified further by the fact that it was a work day for most of its residents. Much like one week ago in Griffenheim, and in a similar busy morning situation, Helltalon found himself in the back of Harold's black Krähe. 

The car moved at a moderate pace through the wide Plumenjar boulevard, which ran parallel to the Cloudbury River. The boulevard's location, connecting one side of the city to the other, made it a popular place for commerce, mostly consisting of small shops, although he could see that some larger stores had been opened recently.

In the space between the boulevard and the river itself, there was a riverside walk. While through most of Cloudbury's history the riverbank was a popular place of hangout and relaxations for the griffons living there, it had been bare of any structures or decoration until the late 1000's, when Kemerskai's Republicans had begun to invest in urban renewal projects. This continued, somewhat, after the Griffonian North was reclaimed into the Empire, even though the post-reclamation Cloudburian administration refused to acknowledge it – as the once-called Griffonian Republic was viewed as a bandit state by most high-ranking government officials of the Duchy.

As a result, the previously empty riverbank was now decorated by lampposts, paths, benches and picnic tables. It does look like a nice place to spend a day in with Gloria, Helltalon thought as he looked the scenery from inside the car. Not now, probably. Maybe when the situation in Vedina normalizes, he prospected. The walk would certainly look more wonderful in Mondstille, or New Year's Eve, when the snow comes.

His reverie was broken by another sight, though. Following a S-shaped curve in the boulevard, the riverbank walk merged with the paths of the fittingly named River Park. The park was normally full with the aforementioned decorations, including a large white and red gazebo in the center of it. Now, however, Helltallon could see that in the park there were several small tent structures in its centre, along with a slightly larger metal building near the gazebo.

"What are the tents for, Marshal? I haven't been mentioned about them before coming to Cloudbury," Harold asked.

"Vedinian refugees," Helltalon said. "From what I know, they have started to receive a lot of them in the last few days. Ondska is trying to stop them, but you can't really stop a griffon that wants to leave, in my opinion. There are also direct orders to the Cloudbury government from the Prime Minister and the Emperor to house them here."

Helltalon frowned. It was very rare for the Emperor to directly intervene in any domestic affairs these days. The refugee issue did cross into the foreign and military spheres – where Grover had more of a claw in – but it was still strange in the modern-day Empire. The fact that he also sent the order with the Prime Minister showed how much he cared about the situation in Vedina. Ondska certainly isn't going to be happy about this, he thought.

The car stopped at a traffic light. Helltalon took the opportunity to view the camp more clearly, without the movement of the Krähe leaving it out of sight. "What I do not understand, though, is why did they place them here," he said. "I think putting the refugees just outside Cloudbury would make them less of a disruption. We're... organizing the mobilization from here, after all."

"Perhaps they thought placing them outside the city would cause issues with the mobilization itself," Harold said. "That's where all the railheads and rail stations are after all."

"True," he said. "Seems like either way, its the same."

From his position in the backseat, Helltalon could also see several griffons in uniforms in the entrance and at various points around the refugee camp. They did not wear the drab uniforms of the Reichsarmee though, instead they were dressed in a teal apparel, with some griffons sporting a light-yellow fez on top of their heads. It was the uniform of the Cloudbury Home Guard, he realized.

His theory was confirmed when he saw some of the trucks that were parked near the entrance of the park. On their sides was a similarly coloured light-yellow circle, with a teal cross cutting through it. In the circle's middle there was a black griffon holding a sword. It was the symbol of the previously mentioned Cloudbury Home Guard; a portrayal of the Duchy's flag which followed a similar pattern.

The Home Guard functioned as sort of middle-level organization between local law enforcement forces and wider Empire-wide ones, each answering to every individual region of the Griffonian Empire they were based in. Their main purpose was to coordinate and execute security efforts in their territories, as well as providing relief for disasters and other emergencies if need be. 

Helltalon remembered last year, when particulary bad storms caused flooding in Greifenmarschen and Romau. As a result, the Herzland Home Guard along with the Reichsarmee and other organizations were deployed to give help and aid to the griffons living there. From the car, he saw the home guardsgriffs doing a similar job, unloading several metal boxes and wooden crates probably filled with all sort of food, medical supplies, blankets and such, likely provided by the Cloudburian government, or from the rare donation.

Helltalon found the Home Guard's presence to be useful. Cooperating with them would make the entirety refugee organization issue easier to manage.  This would not be too difficult, as the headquarters of the Guard were not too far from their destination, the Galluzzo Building. The traffic light turned green, and while he watched another convoy of trucks arrive to the entrance of the park, he made a mental note to meet with the Guard commander later.





The Galluzzo Building was originally built by the Republicans in 1010, and named the Presidential Military Academy. Its name was, of course, changed after Cloudbury was reintegrated into the Empire, as keeping the original name had been viewed as 'incorrect' by Archon Eros – it was renamed to the Galluzzo Building in honour of the commander of the special forces which had captured Kemerskai. The structure remained intact however, and was repurposed as the headquarters of the Northern Military Region of the Empire. 

The style of the building was typical to most official government architecture of the eleventh century, one empty of any significant decoration or ornament. Its bulky dark grey structure giving the area around it, located a few blocks from the city's historical centre, a sober; authoritative atmosphere. 

The garden outside the Galluzzo was a bit more colourful, consisting of a line of pine trees which acted as a barrier along with a chainlink fence along the perimeter of the building. In front of its doors, following a security checkpoint, were two artillery guns on display, along with a Greifkonig medium tank in the middle of the entrance's road dead end roundabout. The display of these two weapons was no coincidence – they were the ones that won Cloudbury back for the Empire.

The car stopped and parked in front of the building. A guardsgriff was already waiting for them, and opened the vehicle's door so Helltalon could step out of it. Behind the Krähe there were other two cars: the one at the back was a security vehicle, while behind his personal one there was a vehicle containing staff, amongst them Hauptmann  Moritz Clawer, his personal aide. In front of the convoy there was another security vehicle as well.

Helltalon walked in a fast pace towards the Galluzzo, together with his escorts, and entered it. The inside of the building wasn't much different from the outside in terms of aesthetics: the lobby was occupied mostly with chairs and a large front desk. Between the chairs there were coffee tables with jars and decades-old magazines and newspapers on top of them. There were also some potted plants placed along the lobby.

As he moved from the lobby and into one of the many hallways of the building, everygriff whom he passed stood at attention – this continued until he reached his destination inside the Scheer, the main briefing room. 

In the front wall of the briefing room there was a large chalkboard, with two flags on the sides of it: a smaller flag of the Duchy on the left, and a larger Imperial flag to the right. The Empire's flag was arranged in a way that the regal-looking black griffon in the centre of the orange-and-yellow bordure was easily visible. There were a dozen chairs placed in a half-moon pattern through the room, and he could also see a small water dispenser on the back. To his left there also were two maps: one of the world, and another of Northern Griffonia; he saw that the latter had several markings in Vedina and Haukland.

In the table in front of the chalkboard there was also an overhead projector, a new purchase for the Scheer he was told. With it he could rely on the changing slides and images as visual aid for the briefing, instead of the more traditional map-pointing. There were already some griffons in the room: Gunne Greyquill, the main briefing officer, and other staff as well. Helltalon walked up to Greyquill, and both officers exchanged salutes. 

"Marshal Helltalon. Good morning," Greyquill said. "Everything has been arranged for the briefing."

"Excellent. Time?" he asked.

Gunne looked to the wall clock on the other side of the room. "Its about quarter to nine," he said.

"Perfect. Just in time."

Helltalon took off his overcoat, not longer necessary due to the building's heating, and handed it to Clawer. Putting a small brown briefcase on top of the table, he opened it, and took out several papers from it. They were mainly notes, but there were also some documents and the odd newspaper in the stack. Gunne recognized it as the morning issue of Der Bürger, the most widely circulated newspaper in the Empire's heartlands. 

"Any updates for today, Marshal?" he asked. "I haven't had time to check for any developments, besides what we already know from before."

"Not much," he responded. "The Equestrians are consolidating their beachheads and trying to connect them. Ondska is fortifying the river south of Turhamn. He's even using the population of the city to dig trenches."

"He's serious about not surrendering," Gunne said. "But I think its a matter of time until that happens." Greyquill turned to look at the map of Northern Griffonia – despite the Equestrian's inherent disadvantage in having to organize and hold a naval invasion, they were almost equal in strength to Ondska. A large number of Vedina's troops and, most importantly, elite knights were lost or captured in Nova Griffonia. "Their air force is almost all destroyed, too."

Helltalon frowned in thought. Greyquill was correct, barring some hardened mountain bases, most of Vedina's airfields had been severely damaged by bombing, causing the Equestrians to establish air superiority over the country. The Vedinian navy also fared a similar fate.

"Yes," he acknowledged. "At least, the shipments we're sending are helping the Vedinians. If they tire out the ponies enough, I think they'll agree to some sort of truce. The best outcome would be to get both Daybreaker and Ondska out of Griffonia."

Greyquill hummed in agreement. "I don't think the Equestrians want to be in Vedina as much as we want to help Ondska." He turned around to grab his own stack of notes in the table. "Nogriff really likes him."

Helltalon nodded. That's something both he and Daybreaker could agree on, he joked to himself. "Three hours meeting, then we adjourn for lunch. We restart again an hour after that. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Greyquill said.

Some ten minutes later, the griffons began to arrive. Not only were the generals such as Duskwing or Marshtail present, but also all the corps commanders assigned under their command. When everygriff had found a place to sit, Greyquill began to speak.

"First of all, before we begin this briefing, let me express the sense of honour we have at the opportunity of having Generalfeldmarschall Helltalon present. It is a privilege for an hero of the Empire to speak with us," he said.

Helltalon nodded, and thanked the officer. Such flattery had already gotten past of being old by this time, but he made no comment about that. A brief silence emerged for a few seconds, to organize what he was going to say, and to give a bit more gravitas to the briefing. 

"Ladies and gentlegriffs" – he started – "The task the Emperor and Parliament have given us is not one we have been accustomed to. Instead of using our strength to guarantee victory over an enemy, this time we're using them for the hope of peace. Peace which His Majesty has worked hard to achieve. And our duty is to protect it," he finished. "Any questions?"

No talons were raised. As he looked around the room, he saw that everygriff in the room was looking at him intently, waiting for his next words. He personally knew most of the griffons here, except perhaps for the youngest ones, as fellow officers he worked during the Reunification Wars. They only ended nine years ago, after all. Once five seconds or so passed without any movement, he continued speaking.

"Excellent, then we can begin." As he said this, one of the aides moved to the projector and flipped a switch to the 'on' setting. The aide then took a map of Northern Griffonia and put it on the projector's foil, displaying the image on the chalkboard. "Despite their homeland defense advantage, the Vedinians have so far failed to stop Daybreaker's advance into their territory. The Solarists have taken almost all of the southern peninsula of Vedina, as well as a sizeable portion of their western coast, from Jarnkoping to south of Skyrim. Nevertheless, we expect them to suffer more casualties than the Vedinians," he concluded.

When Helltalon finished talking, the aide then swapped the initial map with another one, this one having coloured the areas the Solar Empire had occupied in the past days. The updated map also showed a new addition – an irregularly-shaped oval in the sea stretching roughly from Winghagen to the coasts off Rila.

"The Kaiserliche Marine has seen it fit, with approval from His Majesty, the establishment of a sea patrol zone west of the Griffonian coast. This will warn any possible vessels with intentions of illegally entering our sea territory against doing that, after the incident with the Solarist destroyer two weeks ago. It will also protect our trade routes by consequence the Empire's economic well-being." He put his right talon on the table. "After the panic in Skyfall's market three days ago due to the rumours of an Equestrian submarine near the Empire's waters, it was a crucial decision." With a talon, he motioned Greyquill to begin his part.

Now that was embarrassing. Apparently some old griffons from Griffonstone which were visiting Skyfall 'spotted' a 'submarine' when they were taking a boat tour near the city's waters. A subsequent scrambling of a clawful of destroyers and sonar detection systems revealed that said 'submarine' was only a whale that had swam too close to the shore. The couple, being elderly and from a part of Griffonia not known for its large sea life, naturally assumed the worst option.

The rumours spread and, like a game of Kirin whispers, progressed into even worse and worse versions of it. In the end, the stock and trade markets in Skyfall panicked after the submarines, in plural, were said to be hunting trade and merchant vessels in the Sky Bay. The trading in the city and – in today's interconnected world with rapid communication possible –  the Empire as a whole suffered its worst day since the uncertainty during the Griffonia-wide student protests following Grover VI's coronation in 1021.

After that it was decided that one incident was enough the patrol zone was authorized. If it was up to him, he would have done it earlier – the only reason action was taken after a major incident happened is because the Parliament, and Grover especially, were reluctant to take any action that may directly bring confrontation with Daybreaker. The mobilization against Vedina was not viewed in such way because technically it targeted Ondska.

Regardless, the incident was one of the first signs of the Northern War directly affecting the Empire. And in a particulary sensitive spot as well: it was like a big representantion of the old saying that to hurt a griffon you need to touch his wallet. Especially those Skyfall griffons that love their coin.

His internal thought was broken as Greyquill finished to speak about the state of the Vedinian military. Thanking the officer, he gestured to Clawer to switch to the next part of the presentation slides – describing Solar history and its equipment. It was perhaps more technical and 'boring', but nevertheless as important as situation reports. Or even more.





The Blue Water Hotel stood at the centre of Cloudbury, just one block away from the city's historical district. It had once been one of the tallest and most modern structures in Cloudbury, and its central location and size meant that it was the headquarters of the Republican VI Corps during the war between the Griffonian Republic and Empire. As a result, it was heavily damaged by Imperial artillery and air bombardment during the siege of Cloudbury, and not much of the original brick structure remained after the city fell.

After the war ended, the hotel was purchased by a group of wealthy Romau griffons and rebuilt in a new, modernistic style. It was even taller than before, and its old brick structure had been replaced by large glass windows and steel framing. The new Blue Water was now similar to the skyscrapers of Skyfall's financial district, and Manehattan on the other side of the ocean. This turned the renovated hotel into one of tallest buildings not only in the reconstructed Cloudbury, but in the whole of Griffonia.

Helltalon sat at one of the hotel's restaurant tables, reading the Der Bürger newspaper he had brought to the briefing earlier. He was reading the international section, although there were no new developments apart from those that he already knew beforehand. The most important news was about the Chairdog of the Eastern Dogs' Republic denouncing the 'Solar-Griffonian Fascist Empires' and declaring the EDR's opposition to both countries. It made sense, really. It was too optimistic to think they would support the Empire against Daybreaker – the dogs have been paranoid ever since the end of the Great Griffonian War. Kilometers-deep border forts, defensive redoubts and even a possible crystal enrichment program have all been rumoured of the EDR.

Once he finished reading the article – some analyst from the paper talking about what a possible flare-up of tensions with the EDR could mean for the Imperial garrisons in Deponya and Bakara – he set the newspaper on top of the table, and folded his talons together. He wasn't in the Blue Water only for the lunch break; he was also waiting for an old acquaintance  of his whom he met years ago, in the first time he had visited Cloudbury. 

Waiting for the griffon, he looked around the hotel's restaurant. It was mostly empty, considering it was quarter past noon. The only noises he could hear was the ringing of the telephone in the hotel's lobby, and its faint jazz music. There was also the voices and chatter of the few griffons inside the restaurant, most noticeably a pair of well-dressed griffonesses two tables to his right who were talking about the mobilization. Of course, by this time the news were in the minds of every griffon in the Empire.

Helltalon moved his eyes to glance at the newspaper's front page; the biggest headline in it, written in big and bold black letters, announced that the Prime Minister was set to speak today about the situation in Vedina, after Parliament approved a new 'aid package' to Ondska in a narrow vote. 

Before he could read any further though, he was broken from it by a voice coming from his side. 

"Ah, Marshal Helltalon, good morning. Sorry for being late. Traffic in the boulevard, as you would understand."

Helltalon turned to his side to greet the griffon. Mikkel Highpaw, one of the most prominent businessgriffs in Cloudbury, stood near the table. The orange-and-black striped griffon smiled at him, and extended a talon towards Helltalon, which he shook. "Its no problem, really," he said. "And Erich is just fine. We're not in the Galluzo."

Highpaw nodded, and sat at the chair at the other end of the table. Helltalon had met Mikke in 1020, when he was visiting Cloudbury for an inspection of the newly renovated Galluzo and its facilities. The businessgriff had been a known owner of a large construction company before Cloudbury was regained for the Empire, but he had pledged his full support for the new administration of the Duchy after that. 

This prevented most of his assets from being seized by the Archon for State Eleos, but most importantly opened the griffon for several favourable contracts with the government and Reichsarmee for the construction and renovation of buildings and barracks, the Galluzo being one of them. Highpaw was now also the owner of a clawful of steel factories through the wider Duchy and even an aluminum smelter in Brantbeak.

Helltalon found common interests with the businessgriff, mainly through his of admiration of Imperial tank designs – those 'beautiful beasts of steel', he remembered Highpaw saying – and continued to exchange letters and even some phone calls after Erich left Cloudbury. This was the first time in eight years the two met again face-to-face however. "So, Mikke, how is business doing?" Helltalon asked.

"Not bad, but... you probably know about the Skyfall submarine scare" – Highpaw did air quotes with his claws as he said the last word – "messed a lot of things up. I was supposed to transport steel to the Kirins but because of that incident the shipping company cancelled everything. They're not even based in Skyfall, for the Gods' sake!" After some seconds, Highpaw sighed and continued. "Now I have to organize everything again and talk to the Kirins about why the steel that was supposed to arrive today didn't come. Oh, and no refunds. Next time I'm thinking of contracting a company actually from Skyfall."

Helltalon frowned. "That's bad. I did hear about the Skyfall market panicking, but nothing about other cities nearby doing the same. That makes the incident more severe." With a talon, he gestured to the waiters in the counter that they were ready to order. "Now, don't be saying you heard it from me personally, but I think the situation will continue to heat up unless something happens," he said. Helltalon grabbed the newspapers on the table, and opened it once again to the EDR article. Understanding, Highpaw nodded, and glared at the picture of the Chairdog that appeared in it.

"Those damn dogs are also messing up the business in the Riverlands. You know, everygriff is worried that they can dig tunnels under the surface and supply terrorist forces from there. One of my friends, who owns some iron mines in Bakara, is worried about the railways being attacked. Why can't they be like Bronzehill!" he exclaimed. "I take it that the Army is helping maintain peace and order in the Riverlands, yes?" Highpaw looked at Helltalon with a grin in his beak, but with eyes that were childishly hopeful in their stare, like a chick waiting for a gift from his parents.

"The garrisons are helping maintain security, yes." Helltalon stiffened his gaze. "However most of that responsability falls to the 'national governments' in the Riverlands now, except for Lake City..." he said, almost from memory. "Which is a special case, still under Imperial Mandate due to their militarism."

"Perfect!" Highpaw exclaimed, with a smile in his beak. "Now, for more positive matters, New Mareland is pretty good this time of the year, I think. Didn't you say that you wanted to purchase a seaside holiday home there? With Gloria and the children," he asked.

"That was the plan, yes. I think I actually found a good spot on sale, on the south of Cross Island. Its warm, hilly and full of forests, and there's almost no towns or villages near it. Perfect place for a seventy-two year old griffon to retire, if you ask me!" he laughed. "I think Gloria, Theodor and Frieda will like it as well."

Highpaw nodded, eyes lightening up. "Great! I'm thinking of something similar... or perhaps a bit more exotic. Zebrica, maybe? The Zebrides and Hippogriffia sound like good places. Always good to relieve yourself from some of the stress here in Griffonia, you know?" he said. "Speaking of New Mareland, its good that Jet Set decided to support us in the Vedina conflict. It was natural, anyway, with the Empire being their biggest trade partner and them being scared of Daybreaker. Jet Set has made it so easy to do business in the Commonwealth; let's hope the Freedom Party doesn't win next year."

"Yes," Helltalon agreed. "About that, wasn't the Prime Minister waiting for at least New Mareland's support to do his announcement today? I have been too busy to focus on that, I've got to admit."

"I think that yeah." Highpaw rubbed his beak with his talon. "But I think that regardless of what Set did he was going to hold it... about this time, actually." Somewhat delayed, a waiter arrived to take both griffons' orders for lunch and interrupted Mikke. Helltalon grabbed the menu and began to look at it.

However, his attention from the menu was broken by noises coming from the rest of the restaurant.

He quickly turned his head and began to glance around it: there was commotion around the two griffons, and the sounds of chairs turning, claws scraping on the floor and fluttering wings could be heard from all sides. From the side, he heard the restaurant's door open, and half a dozen griffons entered it, all with a common destination: the television in the corner of dining area. It was previously silenced, but the griffon in the counter had turned the volume up so everygriff inside could hear it. The griffonesses to the right now also noticed the noises, and also shifted their attentions towards the device. 

The motive of the disturbances soon became clear: the figure of the news anchors in the black-and-white screen soon dissapeared and was replaced by the facade of the Blitzkralle Residence, the main work office and residence of the Griffonian Prime Minister.

"Definitely about this time," Highpaw said.





It was in times like these that Lodewijk Klap wondered how he got into this far. 

Premierminister of the Griffonian Empire, he never thought he would reach this position – Tartarus, that this position would exist in the first place back then was unthinkable! 

An unassuming member of parliament from the liberal LDP representing Central Rottendedam back when Feathisia had its own parliament and democratic system, he had been first elected in 1004 at the young age of thirty-three. He had been a stalwart moderate during his time there, if perhaps a bit to the liberal side. Nevertheless, he had always supported Talonsley's decision to create a coalition with the more royalist FHP, and was a defender of Grand Duke Gerlach. He looked to a long career in a safe seat, with maybe a cabinet appointment. Minister of Justice? He had graduated in corporate law after all.

But then the Herzland Wars and the Archon happened.

The Feathisian parliament found itself disbanded, and all its members fired without compensation. Klap joined a law firm in Rottendedam shortly after, and also worked for Witvleugel Vlootbouw, the largest shipbuilder in Feathisia at the time. It wasn't what he felt was his calling in politics – the word by that time reserved only for the Archon-designated Feathisian governor and his appointments – but he could live with it. It paid a good sum in Idols, after all.

But then Grover VI came to power and the student protests happened.

It felt like such an impulsive decision back then, but he felt that he needed to help those students. Gods, were those young chicks so full of energy and ideas! He truly felt their generation could do what his couldn't. He planned to start using his experience in law to help navigate the students in any potential crackdown that may have happened. But when Grover announced that he would hear the protester's demands, he couldn't believe it; that it was all a trick of Maar, or a ploy by the Emperor to later arrest the students.

But it was not. And his experience in actual politics meant that he was chosen as one of the many representatives that negotiated, drafted and re-drafted the new Basic Law of the Griffonian Empire, or Grover Constitution by its most common nickname. When the first Empire-wide election was held in 1022, he once again represented Central Rottendedam, this time for the liberal Griffonisches Volksfront. Due to his past, he was appointed Minister of Finance – not Justice, sadly – by Prime Minister van Cleef.

For 1026 he expected somegriff else to be chosen as leader of the GVF, like Dawnwing, or even somedog, like Copperhill. But instead the students decided to reward him for his support of them, and he achieved victory in the electi—

"Mr. Prime Minister, are you ready for the conference?" the aide asked, interrupting Klap from his inner thoughts. 

The aide, a short blue griffon, looked at him in anticipation for his answer. "Ye... Yes. I'm ready. Prepare the press," he said.

Taking a moment to adjust his suit – he thought the black did well with his yellow feathers – he waited for the moment he would appear. Two minutes later, the same aide emerged from the door and nodded. Acknowledging the griffon, he cleared his throat, and drank some water from the plastic cup he was offered. Then, he walked through the ornate mahogany door of the press room. Another aide announced his presence.

"His Excellency, Prime Minister of the Griffonian Empire, Lodewijk Klap!" the griffon said.

Thanking the aide, he stopped behind the podium. There was already a stack of papers situated on top, outlining his words. He took a look for a brief moment at the crowd of journalists in the room, scanning their faces. The press room was modern, built a few years ago as an annex of the Blitzkralle Residence, which had belonged to a minor Griffenheim noble family which was killed off in the 978 Revolution, becoming crown property afterwads.

The majority of faces were of griffons, of course, most coming from the many regions of the Empire. Some were from Gryphus though, but no Vedinians, which was ironic. However, there were some equine profiles in the room as well, some from the 'national governments' in the Riverlands, others from New Mareland; one with a beak alerted him of the only Hippogriffian in the room. 

Most imposing, though, was the large presence of the two journalists from Socialist Saddle Arabia's state-run news agency. Their serious and hard faces, dark gray suits and oiled manes giving no doubt that they didn't want to be disturbed. The only objects that shined from their outfits were the golden hammer-and-horseshoe pins on their chests reflecting the room's lights. 

On the other side of the room, three bipedal avian-like figures also stood out from the rest. The Macawian harpies, probably from the Folha de São Macaw, signalled the presence of another major Zebrican nation in the conference. Good, Klap thought, the international community does pay attention, strange that phrase may have sounded even ten years ago. He cleared his throat one last time, and began to speak.

"Thank you all for coming to this good afternoon here in Griffenheim. I appreciate the presence of all press members and other creatures both from the Empire and foreign nations, and I'm honoured for their assistance in this conference. Two years ago I became Prime Minister with one of my promises being to uphold liberty, others would say harmony, in all I could. Eight years ago Emperor Grover made the same promise to the Griffonian people, that freedom in the Empire couldn't just be an empty phrase," he started. "But there are others that have done the opposite: that have removed that promise of freedom from their people."

He took a brief glance at the press room again: most were furiously scribbling their notes, and he locked eyes and stared with one of the Saddle Arabians, her steel gaze uncomfortable. She probably thought these words were directed at Saddle Arabia. Nevertheless, he continued speaking.

"Across the sea, the faces of totalitarianism and dictatorship once again announce their terrible presence. Daybreaker has crushed an entire continent under her hoof, and is now looking outwards at the world. If we, the creatures of the world, don't stop this, Vedina will be only one of the many nations that will suffer under her regime. Torture, massacres, summary executions, aggressive expansionism: we're dealing with both Westerly and Wingfried revisited, in a mixture of never before seen tyranny!" Klap almost shouted the last word into the microphone. 

Some of the ponies from the Riverlands looked at him in slight shock, but Klap thought it as natural; the memories of the Great Griffonian War were still fresh after all, even more than a decade later after its end.

Klap also wanted to mention a third creature initially, but decided against it. The Archon was still widely popular with a lot of griffons, especially the faithful. Wouldn't do any good angering them. Some griffons would say that he had a chip on his shoulder with Eros, but he thought of it as justified – he had disbanded the Feathisian parliament and expelled its members, as mentioned. He accepted it back then, but other MPs like Kogchel did not, and had to be forcibly kicked out of their offices by the Reichsarmee.

Combine that... resentment some griffons named it, with a pinch of student activism and meetings with van Cleef, and his belief that liberty and harmony had to be actively upheld was born. Really, if one thought at it, the 'God-Empress' and Archon Eros were no different in their core, combining zealous theocratic dictatorship with continental conquest. Griffons just didn't want to admit it, even Grover.

"World-threatening tyranny requires a quick and decisive response. That's why Parliament and His Majesty have instructed the Imperial Military to undertake the difficult mission in trying to restore peace between Vedina and the Solar Empire. Our diplomatic corps will also be mobilized for the job, so that the two nations reach an agreeable peace. However, I will leave clear, that the borders of the Solar Empire will no reach any further than Nova Griffonia. In this effort we are not alone; we have received the support of numerous other nations, such as New Mareland and the Riverlands," he said. "The world is not  disunited against dictatorship."

Time to finish. He looked into the crowd of journalists. "Freedom and liberty have many enemies, but this time we're not letting them win."

Still looking at the creatures, he drank some water from the cup in the podium. Take it as a cue to raise their claws (or hooves), the press members began to ask questions. He looked around, and randomly picked one griffoness from them with his claw.

"Eirlys Softtail from Rumare," the griffoness said. "Do you think a conflict is possible between the Griffonian Empire and Daybreaker?" she asked.

Klap looked at her for a few seconds. "There will be no questions at the moment," he stated. "I appreciate if all creatures could wait until tomorrow."

With these words said, he picked up the stack of papers from the podium and walked through the door into the Blitzkralle, leaving his aides with the cleanup work.