Interior Campaign: Difference between revisions
→Prelude
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Öberg inherited a regime that was, in his words, "Both too weak and too strong." The Norsian Control's tightening grip had begun to both openly undermine the legitimacy of the Aikkian institutions it relied on while also uniting the Aikkian populace in their anger towards foreign interference. Öberg's chief concern was that the Aikkian aristocracy and monarchy, resentful of their lost independence, might now begin to make common cause with the Ny'Sænuri, who had remained largely beyond Cryria's economic levers of control. Indeed, Öberg may have found a self-fulfilling prophecy, as his own belief that Leidenstad needed to do away with local intermediaries and take a more direct form of control over Aikthudr'zhur served only to further alienate local leaders. Öberg himself deeply distrusted the Aikkian aristocracy and believed them to already be a lost cause.
Despite this, Öberg found something of an ally in the ambitious Duchess Tyxhun of Yogryg'dri. All east-west trade in Aikthudr'zhur passed through Yogryg'dri lands, and while the Duchy could not directly tax Concern-owned transit routes it still derived income from this travel. Yogryg'dri's indispensability granted it a special status under the Concern, one which would be threatened if the Ny'Sænuri disrupted the flow of trade. Yogryg'dri soldiers were used heavily to protect segments of the east-west trade routes, and were often placed under the command of Cryrian advisors. Shortly after Öberg's appointment, Tyxhun extended secret entreaties to the Governor-General and offered to conduct her own campaign against the Ny'Sænuri, provided that her troops receive Cryrian weapons, Ny'Sænuri lands be granted to Yogryg'dri, and Yogryg'dri be allowed to levy taxes upon the Concern's trade through its borders. This offer was discussed in Öberg's reports to Leidenstad, as were his reasons for initially rejecting it:{{quote|While sorely lacking in the fields of reason and martial decisiveness, the leaders of the Aikkians still possess a form of low cunning with which they manage their flocks. With none is this more true than the Duchess Yogryg'dri, who offers herself as an ally that would once again invoke the old Aikkian rivalries to our benefit. Yet with the price she demands - Arms, wealth and land - leave no question as to her intent. The Duchess would see herself a Queen and amass her power at our extent, and once done would doubtless seek to do away with us as she does with her own countryfolk.}}Even more troubling for the Cryrians however, was that a younger and much more aggressive generation was coming to power among the Ny'Sænuri, one which was prepared to eschew more traditional means of conflict in favor of adapting to the new intrusion on their lands. On the same day that Öberg took power in Highdrilian, a nekomimi named Vhaondesz became the chief of the Ctuidhor clan.
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