Rudolph

Private Upon the Alvonian Director's arrival, he and his entourage would be escorted all the way from the city limits of Beograd with diplomatic honors befitting a foreign dignitary within the Yugoslavian White City to the White Palace. The Director and his entourage would go through the standard procedures before being allowed entry to the Palace, the royal building clearly being of Serbian decor with the rooms and halls decorated with inspiring and classical paintings. If the any of the Alvonian group would ask on the paintings, they would simply be told that they showcased the greatness of Yugoslavia's natural landscapes before being led to one of the building's conference rooms. Standing besides the conference room's plain looking but tasteful table, the Kralj of the Kingdom turned and smiled at the entourage, "It's a pleasure to finally meet for the first time, Director Wilding," he greeted as he gestured to the table, hoping his guests would sit in order to get the meeting on track, "I hope you'll enjoy your stay within the famed White City of our kingdom."

Private Upon the Japanese Empress's arrival, she and his entourage would be escorted all the way from the city limits of Beograd with diplomatic honors befitting a foreign dignitary within the Yugoslavian White City to the White Palace. Once all the standard procedures were met, they would be allowed entry into the Palace and being escorted to a conference room. Standing besides the conference room's plain looking but tasteful table, the Kralj of the Kingdom turned and smiled at the entourage, "It's a pleasure to meet once more, Empress Hoshiko," he greeted as he gestured to the table, hoping his guests would sit in order to get the meeting on track, "I hope you'll enjoy your stay within the famed White City of our kingdom."

Private Dragojev frowned slightly at the mention of the talks with Carthage, the Serbian noble not keen in remembering that whole kerfuffle before he smiled warmly at the fellow monarch, "It's a pleasure to be back within the Republic and do forgive my slight for not having visited you personally while I was engaging Carthage in those talks of mine," he replied with before taking the offered seat, the Kralj getting comfortable. "I do believe that you know of the imperialistic slant that Carthage seems to possess, yes?" he asked his fellow monarch, bringing one of the issues to the forefront.

Private Unknown Location Dragojev found himself tumbling out of the event horizon, rolling along the floor until he fetched up against a body. "Sorry," he mumbled, shaking the grogginess from his head as he sat up. "Quite all right, my Kralj," came the steady voice of Poručnik Junilac from the gloom. "Everyone okay?" "Yes sir." "Ow. Yeah." "Affirmative." The Kralj peered around at the darkness as he collected himself, more voices joining in to state their current state of health. "This is certainly not in Yugoslavia," he finally concluded before shrugging. He fumbled for a moment before producing a glow stick from a pocket. He snapped and shook it before holding it up. The sickly green chemical light fell across a large cubical room, the kapija at one end and some sort of raised pedestal in the middle of the room. The light didn't reach to the other end of the room, but now that his eyes had had a chance to adjust Dragojev could see the faintest traces of sunlight outlining stairs going up. "Someone radio in back to command to see if we can establish communications between here and there," he ordered as he glanced back at the kapija. Unlike the one within his kingdom, this side appeared aged and lifeless. Dragojev breathed in and exhaled, then nodded. "All right. There's some stairs leading out. Junilac and I will recon. Two of you investigate and figure out what the pedestal is for, the rest of you will secure this room." Razvodnik Lašić glanced around the dimly lit but nearly empty room, then simply looked at his Kralj. Desetar Bjedov spoke up instead, her gaze traveling around the room. "There doesn't seem to be anything here but the kapija and the unknown pedestal, my Kralj, and it doesn't look like anyone but us has been in here in a long time." Dragojev nodded, then looked at Junilac and jerked his head toward the stairs. The big man silently followed the Sovereign up and out. They emerged after a short climb into what looked like a ruined inner hall. The sunlight was here, barely shining through gaps in the walls. The stairs led up further, but large chunks were gone, making it impossible to climb to the top of the temple. Half the roof had caved in in any case, a pile of rubble blocking the only doorway out. Dragojev bypassed the entrance entirely, walking out through a gaping hole in the wall right next to it and leading to what appeared to be the former courtyard if the ruins of broken walls extending past the aging construct were any indication. The air was crisp and cool, a gentle breeze rustling the patches of grass all around. They had walked into the courtyard of what looked like some kind of ancient temple. It was only barely recognizable; the flora was well on its way to reclaiming the old grounds. The monarch tried gazing farther but quickly found an obstacle, seeing first hand the so called 'Mist' that Vodnik Loncar had reported. It was a heavy and ominous mist that the light of the sun could pierce and even then, it was slight. The Temple Grounds themselves had a more peaceful sense about them, one that he did not trust when taking the Mist into consideration. "Anything on the old instinct radar?" he murmured. "I do not feel anything hostile, my Kralj," came the reply. The Serb hesitated, then added, "It seems very...relaxing here. Disturbingly so." "Yeah, well, this isn't the time for it," the head of state muttered. "Let's get back inside and secure this position. We're not going anywhere until this forward camp is up and running." [hr] The next night, they made camp in the inner hall of the temple just above the dubbed 'kapija room' that was its basement, leaning against the sturdiest walls. The platoon and its Kralj knew then for certain that they were nowhere near Earth as twin moons hung high in the cloudless sky. The moonlight strangely pierced completely through the mist as it fell on the aging temple, reaching through the holes in the tower to settle around the Yugoslavian platoon. Dragojev found the gentle light somehow reassuring, which unnerved him. He eyed the moons suspiciously, then turned back to Lašić who had been telling him...something. "Sorry, what?" "I was just saying that outside of the pedestal with two rings of glyphs and some sort of hemispherical crystal,there's nothing in or around here. No texts, no artifacts, and whatever may have been written on the walls have faded completely that they might as well not been there at all." Lašić shrugged. " If anyone used to live here, they packed up and moved out long ago." He hesitated again, frowning in thought. The Kralj stared at him blankly. "Interesting. I don't see how that helps us. But interesting." He cocked his head to the other clear brainiac of the platoon. "Bjedov?" Bjedov could only shrug too. "Didn't have much more luck than Lašić, sir. The place was wiped clean, although..." She frowned. "A couple of rooms excluding the kapija room and this inner hall showed disturbance in the dust. Clear enough, so something happened here in the past few if not immediate days. There's a column in what I think was the main hall that looks like it may have held something at one point, but the dust had been recently disturbed there, too." "Any tracks?" "It looks like there was scuffling going on, but here and there I saw what looked like claw marks." She shook her head. "Outside of Loncar's footprints, we found nothing else." Dragojev nodded. "Junilac?" "I surveyed the surrounding area as you requested," the Serb rumbled. "I discovered the beginnings of a desert to the south and to the east I saw what looked to be a massive rainstorm that oddly seemed to be stationary. Beyond that, I found nothing noteworthy." The last scion of Serb nobility raised an eyebrow before pursing his lips. "All right. Seems whatever Vodnik Loncar reportedly saw didn't stick around, so I doubt they're going to. Tomorrow we go and explore further." Belojevic made himself comfortable against the stone wall, the light of the moon as good as a blanket. He covered a yawn with his fist, letting his eyes sink shut. "Junilac, you're on first watch." [hr] "Shouldn't we have found a village or something by now?" the Sovereign muttered under his breath as he vaulted a particularly large piece of root. After most of the team had woken up and he had chosen those who would explore further with him as they headed east, they had encountered nothing but open green plains interspersed with different sizes of roots for the last few hours. Lašić began to speak, but Junilac cut in first. "I hear water. Up ahead." The team hurried forward, eventually clearing another big piece of root. They came upon a small river, the water flowing steadily along. As the others knelt on the bank to refill their canteens from the clear water, Dragojev paced a few steps along it. He froze, spotting a long, huge shadow slithering away from them underneath the river's surface. "Ooookay," He turned back to the others, waving a hand downriver. "We're going to follow the water that-away. Folks usually build towns along the river, right?" "Yeeeeah, probably," Lašić admitted, frowning at the monarch. "But we're not going to cross?" Dragojev shook his head firmly. "It's occupied. Keep an eye out for a thin spot in case we need to." Two more hours passed. At one point they did find a series of stepping stones across the river, that the team quickly crossed after the noble had deemed it safe enough and they resumed their trek east-ward. The team stopped to take a breather, most drinking from their canteens and resting on the grass while Dragojev and Junilac remained standing as they gazed as far as they could with the Mist continuing to hamper their exploration. "It's rather disturbing how thick and vast this Mist appears to be, my Kralj," Junilac rumbled as the noble nodded. "It is. Never have I seen such a mist this vast in my life. It's unsettling," he concluded as Junilac froze, the giant of a Serb moving at speeds that would belay his size as he pushed the noble away, a giant tan-colored stinger having struck the ground where the Kralj previously was. The massive creature that had assaulted them flailed its tail as it tried to free its stinger from the ground, shouts of alarm as the Sovereign and the Poručnik distanced themselves away from the tan colored, scorpion-like monster. The team had collectively aimed its weaponry at the beast, performing the unneeded order to fire at will at the creature that dared to attack their monarch, sharp cracks sounding off into the distance as they unleashed a veritable hell on the beast. Dragojev could not believe his eyes as he stared at the slumped creature, massive amounts of green ichor pooling underneath the dead corpse of what attacked him. He shook his head and turned to Junilac, making sure that the Serb was unharmed as he picked up his fallen secondary weapon before walking towards the beast his team had killed. The ruler gently jabbed at the corpse with the metal tip, testing the strength of the exoskeleton before thrusting down in between the two ruby orbs, making sure that whatever had attacked them was truly dead. That done, the Kralj crouched as he left his spear stuck within to observe the bullet holes that riddled the monster and noted that while they had done their job in piercing the exoskeleton, just barely if the depths were any indication. It seemed that whatever made up the creature's exoskeleton was tough enough to stand up to modern ammunition, the only saving grace that had killed the creature was the sheer amount that his team unleashed. Dragojev frowned as he finally stood up from his observations, the ruler having taken his time as he yanked his spear out of the cooling corpse and heading back to his soldiers before the noble froze, having noticed several silhouettes of in the Mist, getting darker as they approached. He pursed his lips as he thought on what to do, if whatever they appeared to be were friendly, his Kingdom could get an additional ally if it was a proper nation. If they were clearly not friendly, he'd had more !@#$ to deal with. His decision made, the Kralj made his team stand down unless provoked. Only time could tell if his decision was the right one as the shadows got closer. Private A few miles off from Burmecia Freya Crescent could only sigh softly as the contingent that she lead followed, their Chocobo's fast on their feet towards the direction where the strange sound originated. The native Burmecian had stopped for a day or two within her city to catch up with her duty to her King before hopefully asking for a further extension to continue her search for her beloved. The thought of him made her heart ache and she steeled herself towards her duty, immersing into her role of a proper Burmecian Dragon Knight. Still, the sound itself was utter strange to everyone who heard it, piercing through the rain that the Kingdom was famous for. That thought and its implications were all that the King had entertained before sending them to investigate it post-haste. Thus, they were en-route and had made good time rapidly as the group of Burmecians neared an unknown gathering of silhouettes within the Mist. The lead Dragon Knight raised her hand and gestured quickly, signalling her group to come to a slow crawl. One Chocobo cried out before its rider calmed it down. The cry itself seemed to have spooked whatever shadows they were looking at, until they saw one begin to move towards them slowly. Its features became more and more pronounced. A human. He blinked as he stared at her with his grey eyes, the wind ruffling his brown hair before he raised a hand to tame his hair from the breeze, three vertical lines of scarred skin running down the left side of his face finally becoming visible as slowly more of the shadows approached while the larger one behind them remained still, more and more humans dressed in the same strange dress and wielding even more strange things. Freya knew that whatever it was, it was a weapon if their handling was anything to go by. They all seemed silent and looked at the one wielding a spear as if waiting for an order. The Dragon Knight was curious as to why this group of humans looked bewildered at the sight of them, after all Burmecians and humans along with the other races had known each other for quite some time now. She snorted at the vast understatement and kept her eyes on the apparent leader of the group, his own eyes wide in shock before he shook his head, barking out in a completely unexpected language. Raising an eyebrow now at the baffling strangeness, Freya truly wondered where these humans were from. Her travels had taken her to every known city on the continent and she had never heard of such a language as the scarred leader barked out orders if it was any indication. Soldiers, she deemed them as she saw the discipline as they fell into a single line behind him, arms raised in a salute of some kind before he turned his gaze back on the Dragon Knights. For some unknown reason, she noticed that he was looking specifically at her before extending a hand to her. Apparent that he did not care of the current difference of heights, Freya took a step further and slid down from her mount with spear in hand. The human smiled widely before nodding, prompting her to take his hand and give it a firm shake in greetings. "Zdravo." Once more, the different language. Freya tilted her head slightly to hopefully drive home the point of her confusion, it took her counterpart a few moments to realize before he laughed openly. Truly, this human in particular was confusing and baffling. "I suppose I should have started in English to begin with but that is my failing for hoping," he said in fluent Common, his baritone voice carrying no known accent that she knew. "Hello. My name is Dragojev Belojevic, the leader of these rascals behind me," he greeted and smiled widely once more, seemingly happy to be able to communicate. "Greetings to you, Sir Dragojev," she started; having repeated the strange name in her head before saying it, "My name is Lady Freya Crescent, Dragon Knight of the Kingdom of Burmecia. I am sorry if I am blunt but what purpose brings you to our lands?" "Pleasure to meet you, Lady Freya, and as for our purpose you could say that we are new around here and would appreciate a meeting of some kind with your Monarch to discuss the situation civilly," replied the human as he leaned against his spear, completely at ease. She mulled it over, not surprised at all over his words when she took their strange language and garb into consideration. Her keen eyes showed that the clothing they wore seemed fit for a king, something that she'd have to actually touch to corroborate with her observations. The Dragon Knight nodded as she came to a decision, "We shall escort you to our capital, I simply request that prior to meeting with our King that you hand over your weaponry to our guards until the meeting is adjourned," she offered as the leader nodded without hesitation. "Reasonable. We agree, let us move forward then," he said in reply before barking orders in his language. Somehow she knew that things would never be the same. [hr] King's Palace, Burmecia Freya was not someone who was usually shocked, not after her constant travels throughout the Mist Continent, not even when they were shown the corpse of the Sand Scorpion riddled with holes of some kind of small arrow. Her suspicions were raised when the leader of the humans changed his behavior to that of a ruler as he entered her King's Palace, carrying the stride of one who ruled fairly yet had his own burdens to carry. She raised an eyebrow when the men he lead relinquished their weapons without hesitation, the clear soldiers to all appearances having full faith in their leader. To carry such loyalty and faith, he must be a rather popular leader she surmised. When her King and the man finally met, the human bowing in respect before speaking the words that indeed shocked her. "Greetings to you, fair fellow," he started with the ease of an experienced noble at court, "My name is Dragojev Belojevic, King of the Yugoslavian Kingdom," he revealed as he smiled warmly at his fellow monarch, "I do believe that we have much to discuss." Being the leader of the Dragon Knights, she was allowed to be present in the discussions along with part of her company. Precaution as well as to keep an eye on the rest of the man's soldiers. What her King and the foreign king discussed certainly shocked and blew her mind if they were true. To think that they were from an entirely different world, one inhabited simply by humans. Questions upon questions, answers upon answers were divulged in the meeting until Dragojev politely asked her King to send one of his own or several to see that his claims were true. Naturally, she and the contingent she lead to investigate were the ones chosen to go and either refute or cement his claims as the truth. "Are you alright, Lady Freya?" asked Dragojev, shaking her from her thoughts as the band of men and burmecians headed to the ruins of a temple he claimed they entered their world through. "I am fine, King Dragojev," she lied, it would not do to be so lost in her thoughts. She'd also be lying if she was comfortable with all of this, the sheer ludicrousness from how fast everything was going made her slightly uncomfortable. Still, she was a Dragon Knight and they were renowned for not shirking their duty, not even in the face of fear. "There's no need for lies between friends, Lady Freya," he talked low, she raised an eyebrow at how effortlessly the foreign king was able to see through her white lie, "I am sure you won't be the first nor last uncomfortable from how rapidly things are moving." Freya was not entirely sure how to respond or feel at the man having pegged her truly. "I prefer honesty, it's more refreshing than playing the political game, don't you think?" he continued as he smiled at her. Well, things certainly were never going to be the same. That much Freya Crescent, Dragon Knight to the Kingdom of Burmecia knew for certain. Private Ruined Temple, Kingdom of Burmecia Freya raised an eyebrow at the decayed temple, the dragon knight wondering how in Master Gizamaluke's sake the strange humans were able to travel to their world. She could not recognize anything as the party neared the decrepit place of worship, the soldiers stationed around the temple's open courtyard allowed them in without an issue at the nod from their leader, the men simply had a bewildered look as they passed. The Dragon Knight remained on top of her Chocobo as the King dismounted of his, gently patting his mount affectionately before turning around to bark in his language or rather a dialect of it. Serbo-Croatian, he called the language. An umbrella for four different dialects of which Serbian was the one he used primarily due to being raised in it. That particular train of thought made her think on humanity's position in his world, being the only race all alone certainly gave food for thought. She certainly sympathized with the humans, the Burmecians in the distant past having thought the same before they started exploring until they met the other two kingdoms and the myriad of other races present in the Mist Continent. Freya mentally shook her line of thought, focusing on the now as a pair of soldiers went inside the aging inner hall of the temple before their King turned to face the Burmecians, "I hope you don't mind waiting a bit, this was not scheduled so I want my people to be ready for the coming shock of their reality," he explained as she dismounted her Chocobo, her fellow knights swiftly following suit. "Feel free to to tie your mounts anywhere, I do imagine that this area is still within the realm of Burmecia so it is still Burmecian territory," he added as she nodded gratefully. After a minute or two, her mount and those of her fellow knights were off to the side, nowhere near any wall or roof that might fall and hurt them. "If you don't mind me asking, King Dragojev," Freya started as she waited alongside the relaxed human who leaned against his spear, her own spear in her hand, "But how many citizens does your Kingdom have roughly?" Dragojev waved a hand dismissively, "Please, Lady Freya, you can call me Dragojev and as for number of citizens, last I recall we had exactly twenty two million, eight hundred and nineteen thousand, four hundred and sixty-eight reported from the last census," he answered rather casually to her shock, "Give or take a few dozen Cigani here and there," he added. The sheer number that his kingdom possessed easily dwarfed all of the three kingdoms and the infamous minor city-state of Treno, and he had the gall to call his Kingdom a middle-sized country when her King had asked about Yugoslavia vaguely. Freya choked in shock before coughing, 'clearing her throat' as she nodded. "That is...quite the population that your Kingdom protects." Dragojev would smile widely, "It's been a labor of love and hard work and I would gladly lay down my life for any of them," he admitted to her as a soldier approached him. "It seems that we have found some technical difficulties. Let us make haste towards the kapija room, Lady Freya," he stated as a grim look fell on his face, the soldier darting back inside of the inner hall as the pair followed behind him. Nothing recognizable popped out to her as they continued on, the temple itself being surprisingly barren of any markers she could have placed from past civilizations that her people knew. The contingent of her knights followed them, climbing down the spiral staircases till they finally reached the basement that the humans had dubbed, the 'kapija' room or gate room in Common, and for good reason. On the other end of the room atop a dais sat a monolithic ring, dark blue in appearance with nine chevrons and from a rough estimate it looked to be seven meters high and quite thick. Glyphs of strange symbols appeared to be built inside of a silver colored inner ring. From what she could guess, the ring was activated if the glowing chevrons were any indication and as the pair neared it, she could see her own reflection on it. "This is what we came through to enter this world of yours," Dragojev said as they stopped in front of it before rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Frankly, we have no idea who or what made it and judging from the reactions so far, I can tell that it wasn't done from this side," the foreign Sovereign explained, staring at the ancient device. "And you said that your people found this several years ago?" she asked the monarch who simply nodded in reply. "For my people and I, we're flying blind as the explorers who charted and discovered the rest of our world," he mentioned before the head of a soldier appeared through the pool before appearing completely into the room, shocking the knights behind her. A smattering in Serbian was spoken before the soldier barked something into a small black colored brick for a lack of a better word. "I do believe that I've made my point clear, yes?" he asked as he stepped back from the dais, gazing at the dragon knight, "Now let's find out what the situation truly is," he added as the King of Yugoslavia started taking command of the situation. [hr] A few days later Unknown Location The famed Dragon Knight stumbled for a bit as a hand steadied her, "It's always a doozy of a step, I've found," Dragojev quipped as the two moved to the side, helping the other Knights from falling flat on their faces after they crossed over. Freya took the chance to observe the room they were in, at least it looked like a room to her but the floor being a strange dull grey put doubt on that notion. In one end of the room were two exits that opened up to hallways and in the middle of the end were windows of some strange material that she could not discern, in front of the peculiar windows stood a rather odd-looking desk with several men and women wearing pristine white coats standing besides it. She noticed the looks they were getting even as an elderly man approached the foreign King, "Wasn't expecting this did you, Petar?" he joked with a cheeky grin on his face. The man, Petar, glared at the King with righteous indignation before throwing a punch at the man, who took it without word nor exclamation of pain. The King's head was turned slightly from the blow before the elderly man shook his head, "Certainly not this earth-shattering discovery, my Kralj. You and the men you lead into this new world found extra-terrestrial life, finally proving that we are not alone," the grizzled man whispered, seemingly full of emotion as he turned his gaze to the Dragon Knight. She saw that his blue orbs were glazed over with unshed tears before he breathed in a shaky breath, the man turned back to the foreign King and bear hugged him tightly. Dragojev was completely unphased, simply taking a few moments to close his eyes and hug the man in return. "Are you able, Petar?" The man nodded as he stood tall next to the King, a smile on his face. "I'll go on ahead and prepare things in Beli Dvor, my Kralj," he said before excusing himself. "You might be wondering just who was that and that, Lady Freya, was Petar Božovic. My Regent and Right-hand man in running this Kingdom," he explained to the slightly bewildered Dragon Knight. "Now that that's over with, let's move on ahead in this little tour of this 'camp' that we've established here," he added as he snapped his fingers, heading towards the desk several feet away from in front of the portal. Freya muttered something to one of her men as they kept to themselves, staring at their strange and new surroundings as she caught up with the King. "Now, my good fellows here, they are...," he trailed off for a second, "Researchers or Scholars in this case. Anyway, we'll discuss the merits of language and words at a later point but from what they tell me, before we leave this room, we need to make sure that any miasma or disease from your world is not extremely fatal to humans here. While I may personally doubt that considering what you have told me, we're going to go the route of extreme caution in order to prevent any possible incidents," Dragojev informed the Knight as she pursed her lips before nodding. "I'll acquiesce to the tests as long as it is only I undergoing them," she said in reply as the King smiled. "Excellent, this will just take a few moments before we move forward once more." [hr] Freya could hardly be shocked at this point, the tests having been indeed done rather quickly and their strange medical machinery reporting that the Burmecians were 'clean'. Of course she was clean, she took daily showers after all! She shook her head before standing next to the foreign King once more, "Anything else that needs to be done?" she asked him. "And we haven't even gotten to the good stuff," he joked before shaking his head, "Everything seems to be picture perfect in terms of health, so right now we'll be getting onto a military convoy to head to my royal palace," he answered before letting out a sigh, "Once there, we'll discuss what to do as the entirety of the world will most likely have heard the rumors of what's been happening the past few days here." "But one step at a time, like I always say," he added cheerfully. Freya nodded, the sharp contrast of behavior from the foreign King was something that she decided to keep an eye on and figure out why if she was to be the go-to person between the Kingdoms. She hoped it wasn't to be as she still had to continue her journey of searching for Sir Fratley, her beloved, but even she knew that it was better to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Admittedly, the 'worst' wouldn't exactly be all bad either as the duo left the room, her knights following her lead as the party made their way down a hallway. Dragojev stopped in front of a closed...gate or something similar to it, glancing at her for a second before nodding, "Are you all ready?" The Dragon Knight turned her vision towards her fellow knights, all of them nodding their response before she turned and nodded back at the Noble who grinned. "Let's get this show on the road."

The Flag of Heirs of a long forgotten Empire Социјалистичка Краљевина Југославија / Socijalistička Kraljevina Jugoslavija General Information Official Name: Socijalistička Kraljevina Jugoslavija (Социјалистичка Краљевина Југославија) (Socialist Kingdom of Yugoslavia) Official Demonym: Jugoslaveni (Југословени) (Yugoslavian) National language: Srpski (српски) (Serbian) Official National Anthem: Bože pravde (Боже правде) (God of Justice) Official Motto: Jedan narod, jedan kralj, jedna država (Један народ, један краљ, једна држава) (One Nation, One King, One Country) Government Information Government Type: Hereditary Absolute Socialist Monarchy --- Head of State: HM Kralj Dragojev Dusan Belojevic --- --- Regent: Petar Ðordevic Božovic Great Council: Veliki Savet (Велики Cавет) - Internal Affairs and Telecommunications: Borivoje Vladislavic Kovac - Justice: Jadran Markovic Mlakar - Foreign Affairs: Gor Markovic Cižek - Finance: Bor Goranic Klements - Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Sava Lukavic Jovanovic - Health, Labour and Wellfare: Bako Vlasic Lompar - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: Vlatko Ilic Jankovic - Economy, Trade and Industry: Zlatan Pavlovic Pukar - Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism: Ajla Pavlovic Pukar - Environment: Sonja Gavrilovic Stanislavic - Defense: Josip Broz Tito - Navy: Jela Radic Zorica - Orthodox Christianity: Patrijarh - Roman Catholicism: Archbishop Marin Srakić - Sunni Islam: Grand Mufti Husein Kavazović Administrative/Demographic Information National Capital: Beograd Largest City: Beograd Major Metropolitan Areas: Zagreb, Skopje, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, Novi Sad, Banja Luka, Pristina, Ni, Split, Podgorica, Rijeka, Tuzla, Bitola, Nikić Population: 22,275,684 million Ethnicity: 41.01% Serbs (Srbi), 20.42% Croats (Hrvati), 9.81% Albanians (Albanci), 9.44% Bosniaks (Bonjaci), 7.37% Slovenes (Slovenci), 5.97% Macedonians (Makedonci), 1.47% Montenegrins (Crgnogorci), 4.51% Others/undeclared Area: 255,804 km2 Gross Domestic Product (total/p.c.): $200,060 billion/$10,655 Currency: Yugoslav dinar / динар (YUD ЈYд) Drives on the: Right International calling code: +38 Internet top-level domain: .yu Diplomatic Ties & Treaties: Mutual Defense Pacts N/A Optional Defense Pacts N/A Economic Pacts N/A [hr] Coat of Arms of the Jugoslovenska Vojska (Consists of the Royal Yugoslavian Army, Air Force and Navy) High Leadership: Commander-in-Chief: HM Kralj Dragojev Dusan Belojevic Councilor of Defense: Veliki General Milenko Petrovic Božovic Councilor of Navy: Veliki Admiral Jela Radic Zorica Chief-of-Staff: General Ljubia Diković General Staff: Army Commander: General-Potpukovnik Aleksandar Živković Air Force and Defense Commander: Brigadni General Ranko Živak Navy Commander: Admiral Andrija Andrić Serbian Training Command Commander: General-Major Đokica Petrović Domestic Military Assets: Located within Bosnia: Zrak, Military-grade Optics Manufacturer (Supplier) Igman, Small arms ammunition (Supplier) ORAO A.D., engines and parts (Supplier) Unis Promex, Military armament, ammunition and equipment Manufacturer (Supplier) BNT Travnik, Small arms ammunition (Supplier) GINEX Gorazde, Small arms parts of ammunition (Supplier) BINAS, Small arms ammunition (Supplier) FSV Fabrika Specijalnih Vozila A.D, (Spare parts for all types of combat vehicles and tank M-84) (Supplier) Located within Croatia: Đuro Đaković Holding d.d., Civilian Vehicle Manufacturer (Supplier) HS Produkt, Small-Arms Manufacturer (Supplier) Located within Macedonia: None at the Moment Located within Montenegro: TARA Group, Aerospace and Defense Manufacturer (Supplier) Located within Serbia: Vojnotehnički Institut Beograd, Military R&D Institute Yugoimport SDPR, Military Hardware Export and Importer Tehnički opitni centar (TTC), Military Testing Center (Does Civilian Work on the side) Feniks, Aircraft Manufacturer (Formerly Ikarbus) Utva Aircraft Factory, Producer of General Aviation Aircraft (Supplier) Fabrika automobila Priboj (FAP), Automotive Manufacturer (Supplier) Zastava Arms, Firearms and Artillery Manufacturer (Supplier) Prvi Partizan, Ammunition Manufacturer (Supplier) Located within Slovenia: None at the Moment OOC: Nation Points [spoiler] Tech year: 1940 (150 points) Industry: 100 (100 points) Military: - Airforce: 5,000 aircraft (50 points) - Bombers: 1,500 (15 points) (Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress) - Fighters: 3,500 (35 points) (Rogožarski IK-3) - Army: - Artillery: 15,000 (50 points) - Artillery: 12,000 (40 points) (Divided between the 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30), 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20), 203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4), and 8.8cm Flak 18/36/37/41) - Anti-Air: 3,000 (10 points) (37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K)) - Soldiers: 1,700,000 (170 points) - ARV's: 1,500 (10 points) (Komsomolets Tractor), 1,000 (10 points) (Sd.Kfz. 251), 1,000 (10 points) (Sd.Kfz. 7), 5,000 (100 points) (T-34's), 500 (20 points) (KV-1) - Navy: 215 navalcraft (140 points) - Aircraft Carriers: 0 (0 points) (Yorktown-class) - Battlecruisers: 0 (0 points) - Battleships: 0 (0 points) - Cruisers: 50 (50 points) (Kirov-class) - Destroyers: 100 (50 points) (Beograd-class) - Seaplane Tenders: 5 (10 points) (Langley-class) - Submarines: 60 (20 points) (Osvetnik-class) [/spoiler] (WIP)

Private "The Kingdom appreciates the rapid response by the Director and we shall meet you shortly." Respectfully, HM Kralj Dragojev Belojevic [hr] His response sent, the Kralj would pounce on the available time to ensure that the Palace would be in tip top shape for the return of the Alvonian minister. Things would be ready for the arrival of the Foreign Minister and hopefully things could be discussed behind proper closed doors.

Private Gor nodded, a more warmer smile on his face, "That would certainly be a step in the right direction on both our ends to improve the relations of our two great countries, Mr. Althaus."

Private "The Kingdom requests for a diplomatic meeting as soon as possible, a sudden need for matters and key issues that need to be discussed. The Kingdom is more than available to coordinate the meeting at a time of the Great Lake Republic's choosing but please do not post-pone needlessly." Respectfully, HM Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Private "Good evening, Gentlemen. I imagine that your trip was well?" asked Dragojev as his gaze wandered between the three religious men now present in his Council room, the rest of his council silent as the trio took their seats. The head of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein Kavazović, smiled graciously and nodded, "The trip was excellent and I thank you for the invitation, my Kralj." The President of the Croatian Bishop's Conference, Marin Srakić, nodded in turn, "I and my congregation thank you for the invitation, my Kralj." The Patriarch of the Yugoslav Orthodox Church, Miroslav Gavrilović otherwise known as Patriarch Irinej, smiled widely at the Yugoslavian Sovereign, "It pleases me greatly to have been invited on this momentous occasion, my Kralj." "It feels me with pride to have you all three here today," started Dragojev as he smiled politely at the three holy men, "but let's get down to business, shall we? We have a lot to discuss." [hr] Public The Kingdom of Yugoslavia to become culturally diverse! Plans being made for each region within the Kingdom! Issue 10.Y2 April 20, 20XX The Kralj announced today to the relief of several groups that each region within the Kingdom would have its local culture and language respected, in addition of having minority languages in each region be represented on signs. The Kralj also announced the entry of a volunteer force into Albania to bring up the infrastructure that the previous government was in progress of updating, the volunteer force would also ensure that the infrastructure of the region of Albania would work as intended before moving on to work alongside the construction force fast at work in connecting Tirana to the Brotherhood and Unity Highway. (OOC: 2 of 7)

Private "The Kingdom appreciates the rapid response by the Japanese Government and we shall meet you shortly." Respectfully, HM Kralj Dragojev Belojevic [hr] His response sent, the Kralj would pounce on the available time to ensure that the Palace would be in tip top shape for the return of the Japanese Empress. Frankly, he was honestly surprised at how fast and easy the fellow noble dug into the alcohol, becoming very, very friendly and flirtatious. Well, suppose it could have been worse and she could have turned into a mad drunk instead of a jolly drunk. Still, things would be ready for the arrival of the Japanese Empress and hopefully things could be discussed, as a lot of things certainly needed to be talked about.

Public "The Kingdom feels that the systematic erasure of the Polish language in the current regions protected by Belarus to be worrisome as well as insulting to the Polish community, that will only lead to resentment building underground. As a nation built on mutual understanding and who once broke down on ethnic and cultural lines due to enraged tensions that was caused by built resentment underground, the same thing that could happen to Belarus in turn. We urge the government of Belarus to rethink their position on the matter if it sincerely wishes to live in harmony with the Polish." Respectfully, HM Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Private "The Kingdom wishes to send thanks for the rapid response by the government of the American Enclave, and as such we would like to place an order of ten of every piece of equipment and hardware that was listed with its appropriate price in the reply. We believe it should come to a total of $10,411,309.10 and we will pay this in Dinars with inflation and the correct value in place, coming to a total of РСД 416,452,364.00. With our reply sent, the money shall be enroute to the government in full, and we appreciate the government of the American Enclave with their professional handling of this transaction. Many of our people send good tidings and well wishes to the Americans for this positive transaction." Respectfully, Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Private "The Kingdom urgently requests for a diplomatic meeting as soon as possible. Urgent matters and key issues have to be discussed, the Kingdom is more than available to coordinate the meeting at a time of Japan's choosing but please do not post-pone needlessly." Respectfully, HM Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Private "The Kingdom urgently requests for a diplomatic meeting as soon as possible. Urgent matters and key issues have to be discussed behind private walls, the Kingdom is more than available to coordinate the meeting at a time of Alvonia's choosing but please do not post-pone needlessly." Respectfully, HM Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Private It took all of his willpower to not do something he knew he'd regret, simply rubbing the bridge of his nose as he let out a shaky breath before composing himself as best as he could. "It says a lot to me, Regină, when you label what I said as appeasement," he said through gritted teeth before taking his sip to hopefully calm his angered nerves. He was very tempted to throw the porcelain to the floor in sheer anger but he simply placed it on the table, staring blankly at the Romanian monarch, the picture of a stoic ruler with fury raging below the facade. "Not once have I said or mentioned appeasement to the Alvonian government, all I said was extending a hand in understanding and friendship. Nowhere did I say that the Kingdom would appease Alvonia in any shape or form. I stated that the Kingdom would work on pushing Alvonia to be a more respectable player in Europe." "If that is appeasement in the eyes of Romania, then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia has nothing to do with a state who sees malicious intent behind honest and good attempts at unity. The Kingdom's aims is to unite Europe against those we see as invaders and it is entirely within your prerogative if you do not see them as such, but to claim them as stable is illogical when at their core they are imperialistic. The Kingdom's people see them for what they are. Ask any Serb, Croat, Slovene, Albanian, Bosnian or Macedonian within the Kingdom and they will all say the same thing about Carthage, all without any attempt of propaganda by the Kingdom." "Don't get me wrong, Regină, I love Romania as its been one of our friendly neighbors to date but even I know the reason why you support African 'stability' in Europe. Romania's influence rises higher as long as Carthage's own influences rises to even greater heights. A very pragmatic approach but also one that will turn and make enemies out of the rest who stand opposed to African influence being within Europe." "With regards to the comment about borders, it all started when Hungary itself dared and strong-armed Alvonia to ceding such access to them and spiraled out of control when both Belarus and Hungary effectively went against the intent and spirit of the access, prompting Alvonia to react accordingly as they were the primary actor in former Poland's protectorate. An area that the Eastern Bloc pushed Alvonia out for its allies own gains. I won't deny that Alvonia has fair share of blame in their response but the blame and origin of it all lies solely on Hungary-Slovakia's shoulders for this and if you won't recognize that then like I said earlier, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia wants nothing to do with our neighbor or the Eastern Bloc."

Private Dragojev raised an eyebrow, "Continues causing trouble for your allies? Regină Maria, I don't know if you have not noticed but is mainly one state and one state only that continues provoking Alvonia publicly and that is Hungary-Slovakia as I've mentioned earlier. As long as one is provoking the other, there will be no peace. Likewise, there can be no peace if understanding and hands of diplomacy are not extended to them which is why the Kingdom and I have been working with Alvonia to begin with. You talk about revisionism and naturally I'll agree with you solely on the basis of Alvonia's tendency of labeling anything that opposes them within and externally as Bolsheviks to be actual pieces of revisionism, but attempts of revisionism of their past holdings that the Eastern Bloc kicked them out for their own gain? That is not revisionism, that is only fact as it did happen and occur." "I'll disagree on the notion that there is no Europe versus Africa, solely on the basis that even Alvonia has admitted privately that Europe itself has far more pressing matters than its own in-fighting. Africa is one of those pressing matters, Regină, and it saddens me that you do not recognize it as such simply because they are a 'stabilizing' force. They are a stabilizing force only and to themselves, anyone who opposes them in Europe will swiftly get demolished because Africa knows that a divided Europe is to their own gain and I and the Kingdom will not stand idly while that occurs. We will work to ensure that Europe can unite to face this threat to our continent, even in the face of vast obstacles such as the bit of Alvonia and the Eastern Bloc." "On Alvonia's tendency to war, I'll completely agree on that and it's why I approach them with the hand of friendship. It's far easier to get someone on your side by being friendly and understanding than it is by seeing them as an enemy. As such, we will be working on Alvonia to move them towards being a more respectable player in Europe." Dragojev sighed before smiling tiredly at his fellow Monarch, "I hope you understand where I am coming from, Regină, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia has sat idle for far too long and we will be working to achieve the ambitious goal of a united Europe."

Private Dragojev took a few moments to think over her words, "The way the Kingdom and I see it, with regards to Europe is that there are far more pressing matters and we're essentially too busy in-fighting with each other to present an adequate and united front against these matters and concerns that we believe are more important. With Alvonia, the Kingdom won't deny that their view with regards to the incident that lead to the confrontation with the Northlands was and still remains unjustifiable but the Kingdom sees them as a good friend, neighbor and future ally that we can count once we're able to rendezvous for another diplomatic meeting regarding Yugoslavian/Alvonian relations." The Kralj pushed forward, "With former or rather the french remainder of Snow haven, we have always held the belief and will continue to do so that the historical french territory should be returned to its rightful owner. Outside of those two areas, the Kingdom will admit to being wary and cautious of both Belarus and Hungary-Slovakia. More so that Hungary-Slovakia tends to strong-arm any who oppose it with its alliances or its current set of diplomatic relations and Belarus simply following along with whatever the bloc that the good Kingdom of Greater Romania belongs to." He tilted his head before frowning, "I cannot say anything so far about Sparta as they appear to be so far isolationist for the most part," he added as he rubbed his brow, not really coming up with any other issues or strong opinions he held with regards to European nations.

Private Dragojev nodded, "I'm fully comfortable with the Optional Defense treaty with the additional economic clauses but before we do make it official, I think it'd be beneficial for the two of us to discuss in how each of us views Europe as it stands with frank opinions on each country. We then offer to discuss things civilly to see the reasoning and logic behind them in an effort to minimize any potential 'trouble spots' that we may have as different opinions." "What say you, Regină Maria?"

Private "The Kingdom of Yugoslavia sends many well wishes to the good people of France, we are all extremely happy to see that the French people along with its Monarch were able to survive through the temporary collapse of its government. As a token of our esteemed friendship, we request another diplomatic exchange to hopefully improve and increase the ties between our two great countries." Respectfully, Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Private "On that we can fully agree," Dragojev said before smiling widely, "but it prompts the question, what kind of formal agreement would both parties involved would prefer?" he asked, taking a sip from his tea. "What kind of formal agreement between our countries would the dear Regină prefer? An Optional Defense pact with economical clauses for the benefit of our economies, something simpler or something more indepth?"

Public "The Kingdom holds the position that such an act would be seen as tyrannical and disruptive of European stability and peace, and as such would prompt the Kingdom to act in the name of European peace. We strongly urge the Hungaria-Slovakia to rethink its current policy with regards to Alvonia's border policy." Respectfully, Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Private Gor shook his head, "The good peoples of the Kingdom do not deny the Austro-Hungarians their due, it is and shall be there. However, we do not also ignore the political implications as to why the Austro-Hungarians supported the Serb uprising when they did." "That said, with regards to Nagyvárad, the Kingdom would have to plead ignorance as to our knowledge, no such thing has occurred apart from the Jewish community finally being allowed permission to freely live in any part of that particular city," Gor said as he smiled once more, this time it did reach his eyes, "The Habsburg lands were the closest thing the Serbs of the time could call as religious brothers, so it would have not been that much of a stretch for the Serbs to look towards the Habsburg for protection considering how much the Austro-Hungarian fought against the Ottoman horde." "To the Romanian Protectorate, the Kingdom would be more than happy to send a proper contingent of troops to safeguard and secure the good Romanian people from interference or invasion from foreign powers," the Serb diplomat offered.

Private Briefing Day (September 8, 20XX) Ilic walked into a very full briefing room and found his assigned seat in the front row. With the room built to hold thirty-five people, the fifty or so crammed into it felt almost claustrophobic. Members from all commands in the unified force were present with an equally large amount of civilian scientists, technicians and engineers also mixed within the room. The room went quiet with the military personnel standing at attention as General Diković, Councilor Božovic and the Sovereign of the Kindom walked into the room. All eyes went towards the ruler of the Kingdom, dressed in the same garb as the military personnel were and carrying the same equipment with the strange addition of a third weapon on his being. “At ease everyone and take a seat," the General ordered to the room at large, bringing the focus back on the General as the armed forces personnel followed the order without missing a beat while the civilians hesitated for a second before following suit. Diković glanced at the crammed room, noting that adjustments would have to be made in order to prevent future situations, "Since everyone is present and accounted for, the briefing shall start. This is the first briefing for Operation Mali Korak, the first interstellar exploration mission in the history of our species, outside of Razvodnik Loncar's previous trip naturally," he joked to ease the slight tension and excitement within the room, the mentioned private blushing at the mention. Few laughs could be heard coming through the room at his attempt at humor, but everyone was still tense and hopeful for the up coming mission. “You have all been chosen to participate in one form or another with this project as a whole, so please hold your questions or concerns until the appropriate time. There is a lot of material that needs to be covered first,” he began as he shuffled the papers within the folder he was carrying. “The project is a joint venture involving all of the Kingdom's armed forces and key civilian personnel in order to determine what lies on the other side of this zvezdana kapija, to either corroborate Razvodnik Loncar's eyewitness testimony of what lies on the other side or disprove of it. To that end, we have organized three fire teams of soldiers for a total of fifteen professional soldiers," he explained as slides showed to the room what exactly he was talking about, including a newspaper clipping about the unusual and highly dubious yet strange activity of the day that prompted the creation of the project. "ZK-1 will be lead by Potpukovnik Adam Davidovic and he will have overall control, with His Majesty Kralj Belojevic having absolute control when he's present in missions with the team. ZK-2 and ZK-3 will be lead by Poručnik Babić and Poručnik Milic respectively, their main goal being to provide support to ZK-1. Accompanying each team will be two engineers, two archaeologists, two ambassadors, a medic and a computer and communications specialist," he outlined as the slides showed the makeup of each team, "Their roles are to make peaceful contact with anyone we meet on the other side, if there are any sentient life and to troubleshoot possible problems that might occur in their own area of expertise." "Now, assuming that peaceful contact can be made. Our ambassadors have been authorized to give cultural and limited technological knowledge of our planet," he commented while an aide swiftly went through the room's occupants, giving the mentioned ambassadors a slip of paper detailing their authorization as an official representative of the Kingdom, "They are also there to learn about possible threats to the security of Earth and to try to start-up the beginning of trade between our two peoples or species if they are truly alien in origin." "If peaceful contact is not made, the military will then be tasked with the destruction of the other kapija and all material that could point to Earth as the location of this expedition.” General Diković then clicked to another slide on his presentation and continued with the discussion. “To that end the expedition will carry, along with the proper defensive equipment, eight hundred meters of detcord to wrap around and destroy anything deemed necessary. For the gate itself each team will have forty-eight thermite grenades, one for each symbol on the gate and one for each oznaka čina na rukavu. Being able to produce temperatures in excess of two thousand and five hundred degrees Celsius, our engineering division over in the research park believes that it should be sufficient to damage..." he trailed off before turning his gaze towards the recent addition to the teams, "Mr. Ilic, what name have you come up with for the material?” the General asked. “Sir, I believe that the best names state something about the material or where it was gathered from, so I suggest the name of Kulacite or Unobtainium,” the engineer answered with, a collective groan coming from the scientists at the last 'name' for the material and a few chuckles here and there from the other engineers present. “Unobtainium it is not, so it shall be Kulacite. As I was about to say, our engineering division over in the research park believes that it should be sufficient to damage Kulacite. If at all possible everyone will be sent through the kapija before the destruction occurs, if not you must all be willing to stay on the planet to ensure the destruction of the kapija," stated the General, shivers going down the spine of a few at the implications of his statement. "If anyone is not comfortable with this, you are free to leave now.” The entire assembly continued to face the trio at the front of the room, no one moved a single muscle. “The mission is planned to occur in twelve hours, ZK-1 being lead by His Majesty Kralj Belojevic. The probe we sent through yesterday, transmitted to us the immediate area of where the kapija is as being a vast plain with a long stretch of a river along with differing sizes of what appeared to be roots, outside of that the area seemed to be completely desolate including the area surrounding the kapija," he stated, leaving out the more detailed description of the ruins that the kapija was located inside of. "In this month, I expect all the nominal non-combatants to be given basic weapons training and squad maneuvering techniques. The clock has started. Dismissed.” And with that those final words the briefing ended and the individual members went about their assigned tasks. [hr] Kapija Room, Planned Deployment Date (October 6, 20XX) The team waited anxiously in the kapija room as the zvezdana-kapija was dialed, the ZK-1 team would lead first with the civilians following after the immediate area had been secured as they could. “Oznaka Čina na Rukavu Sedam activated and locked,” Vodnik Vlasic announced as the final chevron was set and the wormhole to FF-0001-09 was established. ZK-1 stood in front of the ramp leading up to the shimmering surface of the Zvezdana-Kapija, the Sovereign of the Kingdom and his subjects all staring at the pool of quicksilver before the Kralj turned his head to glance at them. "Well, comrades, I do believe that time waits for no one," he said with a grin on his face as he started walking up the ramp, the team following him and slowly they dissappeared one by one. And with little fanfare, Earth's first interstellar travelers in four thousand years departed for destinations unknown.

Public "Like the Kingdom has stated, the reasoning has merits but the scenario presented as such is more probably to be a one in a trillion chance to happen. Desperation and necessity is the main factor, even in the face of death. To understand the causes as to why a person would feel that way, a country has to look at itself to solve the problems that move a person to feel that desperate to cross illegally to another nation for a better life. The reality is that unless a person has malicious intents to cause a political incident or desperation to seek a better life in another country, an innocent child will not be anywhere near the border unless the towns are respectively within walking distance. As such, the Kingdom sees no issue with Alvonia's procedures as it is entirely within their right to do so as a sovereign nation." Respectfully, Kralj Dragojev Belojevic

Public "While the Kingdom can see problems with the mines to begin with, it is entirely up to Alvonia and Alvonia alone to decide their border policy, no one else. Anything above that is draconian and tyrannical to enforce upon an unwilling nation. Thus, the Kingdom suggests that Hungary look inward instead of looking outward. In other words, 'much ado about nothing' as William Shakespeare said best." Respectfully, Kralj Dragojev Belojevic