This was written for the Day of Triumph, the first day of the Feast of Prosperity, and was posted yesterday for the Body Republic.

The Making of Francograd

As we stand today in the reconstructed Francograd it is easy to think that it was always this way, its domineering Fortress built alongside the War Memorial and Cortath University by a single conscious architect. Yet we know that Fort Franco's shadow used to fall not across Sir Paul's Music Hall, but across the pastures where Comrade Karpathos would to tend to his cattle, just as we know that before Embassy Quarter was established there was a makeshift graveyard for the enemy's war dead sitting at the foot of Blackadder Hills. Francograd has been built over the ages, by a multitude of designers in a multitude of circumstances, each taking it in a new and exciting direction, each using their unique skills and perspectives to add to our great mosaic, strengthening it, and in their time building something timeless.

One of the most pivotal moments in this building occurred in 2006, exploding on January 27th, escalating on February 5th, and culminating four years ago today on February 9th with the end of what would come to be known through the ages as the First Polar War. Yet looking through the historical archives of Francograd we find surprisingly little said about this great moment, as historians prefer to look forward to the Order's emergence as the global hyperpower during the Citrus War, or its setback during the Great Patriotic War. This is an oversight that we will put right today, the Day of Triumph.

January 27th

The Order entered the world in a manner fitting of it. The level of activity, organisation, pride and loyalty demonstrated by its members in the public sphere was not only unknown, causing alarm within other alliances. But all this hid the deeper inner life of Pacifican politics and meritocracy, for not only had the Order arrived with all of the above, but also with a wealth of talent and ideas, many coming from completely different traditions. The inevitable result of this was a degree of intellectual conflict, as different suggestions were proposed, implemented and discarded. The Order was absolutely united and dedicated in its meritocracy, but for the historian looking back, it is easy to entertain the suggestion that had development gone on without an appropriate test of the newly established structures and norms, intellectual discontent could have crept in amongst those whose ideas had lost out in this grand battle. Of course, that test quickly came.

February 5th

It can be of little doubt that to first encounter an entity like Pacifica is a daunting and intimidating experience, and as a result it is bound to elicit and number of different reactions. In the case of GATO there was a diplomatic reaction, ultimately ending in the signing of the first NAP, the Dove Doctrine. In the case of INC there was no reaction, as the alliance fell into disrepair and disbanded shortly afterwards. In the case of NAAC, the reaction was one that comrades today will find all too recognisable: a bravado-coated fear, determined to confront the the beast but unaware of how to penetrate its thick armour.

This went on for some time, as they attacked us in every primitive way their primitive minds could conceive of. Eventually the freshly elected War Council decided that it had had enough: it was time to act. War planning began. At the time the Order was still just a week old, its nations undeveloped and unsophisticated, its war prowess completely untested. NAAC remained statistically stronger, with nations dominating the upper ranks, more experienced in the use of war mechanics. While confidence was high, this was a risk that could have ended in disaster.

War broke out on the 5th of February as Pacificans launched themselves at their larger targets, striking in the world's first midnight blitz, maximising damage and shock. The next few days were a slaughter, as NAAC collapsed and its top nations rapidly sought the safety of surrender. NAAC's leadership, once so staunch in their determination to fight back the Pacifican menace, were now begging for terms -- any terms. The Order obliged. Just as it had started, four days later, it was finished.

February 9th

On the January 27th a complex bag of intellectuals and warriors had joined together to create something great. On February 9th they had become it. The war had demonstrated to all the efficiency and genius of the governing, military and diplomatic structures and norms developed, heralding their triumph and domination for years to come. It had demonstrated that this was no longer a mere mix of intellectuals from another land, but a disciplined military unit, marching ever onwards, upwards, together. They had looked into the whites of each others' eyes while bullets whistled passed and witnessed the unflinching strength therein.

And while the Order was thus forged internally, made ready for the conflicts and darker days that were come, so too was it forged for the first time as a global power. The midnight blitz conducted on the 5th and the rigid organisation oppressively visible throughout the following four days could not go unnoticed by the rest of the world. Within the space of those days the Order had gone from a confident young alliance to a recognised superpower that could not be underestimated.

It was the February 9th that we can look back to and recognise as the first step of Pax Pacifica, establishing our technical skill, meritocratic structure, diplomatic talent and raw military power as the benchmark across the world for all others to be judged against. When the ODN first appeared with the intention of bringing the Order to its knees, it was the Order of February 9th which demolished it in 24 hours. When the Great Patriotic War dealt it a dangerous blow, it was the Order of February 9th which re-emerged as the top global power within a couple of weeks, and had crushed those who had sought to destroy it within six months. When the Unjust War tore its diplomatic policy asunder, it was the Order of February 9th which created a new policy and once again had the world rotating around it before anyone else could react. When the Karma coalition thought they had destroyed it for good, it was the Order of February 9th which, with unprecedented speed and against all odds and predictions, prepared to exit terms once again in its rightful place atop of the world.