From the Halls of Asgaard

[TheShammySocialist]

[b][OOC: I organized this with Martens, sit back and enjoy the ride.][/b]

"Christian, this battle is far from over, but we can win it alone," said Caroline Bernadotte, the thud of nearby explosions could be heard from the Slavorussian artillery bombardment on Oulu.

"I understand where you are coming from," said Christian Nyquist, looking around the group of gathered general staff. "But the people are starting to get doubtful of our aims here, the longer this war lasts, the more casualties pile up, the more we face a possible public backlash."

"Then we win them a victory here, I can feel something big being built here in Oulu, just give me another forty-eight hours, and we'll have the Slavorussians on their heels and retiring south towards Helsinki," said Caroline, in the headquarters of the 1st Guards Army, in the center of Oulu. They had conveniently found the old fallout shelter of the city hall to be a good place to set up such a position. "There is no need for backroom deals here, we can settle this war on our own."

"The confidence is admirable, Speaker Bernadotte, but our casualty projections for Oulu are putting you at a disadvantage right now, Caroline, we need to find a way to press back the Slavorussians and put pressure to the south," countered Gustav Horn, Commissioner of Defense.

"Then put more troops into Turku!"

"Too risky, General, I can't authorize that until we can assure that its not going to become a beachhead fortress continually being shelled, and a waste of resources," replied Horn, looking over at Christian.

"Just give me forty-eight hours, Christian," said Caroline, her voice was sounding a bit desperate, and Christian just rubbed at his temples.

"Its a done decision, Caroline," replied Christian, before closing the communications link, and cutting out any response.

Horn looked at the Christian, with an upturned eyebrow, before saying, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"We have no choice," responded Christian, turning to look at his Defense Commissioner. "I will lead a march on Asgaard and demand an audience with its leadership."

"What about General Bernadotte?" asked Horn, looking back at the conference call microphone in the center of the large table. "She technically has the right, by the letter of the law, to veto this process."

"You are right, Commissioner," responded Christian, he looked around at the other shocked leadership, who all undoubtedly knew that he was stepping outside the bonds that the two had lashed around each other. They had worked in concert since the beginning of the revolution, playing off one another, keeping up a stalwart political edifice that was two-headed, strong, and cunning. Disagreements between both had always been kept in the backrooms of the Tre Kronor, they didn't appear to ever have any cracks in that facade, but those bonds were beginning to slip. Christian knew it; Caroline had been personally against the campaign in Finland, his own ambitions had been building, and although Caroline had even led a portion of the campaign, her solemn and quiet disagreement was there, and a louder disagreement come to the fore sometime in the future, it was not a question of "if", but "when". No, it was something he wouldn't have, not after he had sacrificed much to ensure Sweden's prominence today, and if it meant removing barriers in front of him, even his closest political allies and friends, [i]so be it[/i].

After a good number of seconds of silence amongst the gathering of military and civic officials, Christian looked at Horn, "I want her recalled to Lulea, for a General Staff meeting, she is to be taken into custody and confined to quarters, no contact with her staff. We will go from there."

"Yes sir."

---

In the early evening hours, a full regiment from the 501st Guards Airborne Brigade and detachment from the SSG, led by the Secretary General of the Union of Sweden himself would approach the Gates of Asgaard from the south. Their vehicles approaching through the exclusion zone around the city, and the Secretary General stepping out, and approaching the gates himself, along with a small group of uniformed members of the Special Protection Group.

Christian Nyquist would call out to the posted guards, "The Union of Sweden requests an urgent audience with the leadership of Asgaard, the City of the Gods, what say you?!"

[Kaiser Martens]

By then, they found that Asgaard had lost some of its splendor. The gates were unusually open, although guarded by what seemed to be militia. A young, moustached man with an old-looking helmet approached the Swedes to answer. First he saluted, and then he spoke...

"That is what we said! We wanted a hearing with the Aesir too. We got one alright. They took our leaders..." He holstered his pistol. "So now we have their castle under siege 'till they run out of food and surrender." It was a fancy way to say that although they could control most of the city, they had no means whatsoever of actually storming the great Castle. It made them seem as if that had been their plan all along, while in reality they were very frustrated with it. The man looked the troops up and down.

"...One does not look for a mere talk while bringing a small army with them. We may have our disagreements with the Aesir but we can't have Sweden invading over it. I can take you to the castle. But the rest of you" He motioned towards the regiment, "Better back off and stay out of our territory. This is our ground." - A few kilometers back, not many, they had crossed the well-marked border.

People were uneasy. They were in the brink of a civil war, and while normally trusting, what they saw made them be wary of the blue-gold banner's intentions.

[TheShammySocialist]

Appraising the young militiaman, Christian would listen to him intently, his arms folded and his face expressionless, his eyebrow cocked upward when the young soldier told him they had a ongoing siege in what appeared to be an ongoing dispute. When the soldier told him that he would best come alone, he nodded to one of the senior officers who began ordering the regiment back down the road with few words said. Two SSG escorts stayed with Christian, as the rest would begin to withdraw, and he spoke to the militiaman, "Please, take me to the castle, my aides will accompany me."

While there had been persistent rumors that Hethnamark had an internal conflict that had brought strife to its cities and lands, its extent was not apparent until now, standing before the city of Asgaard. Christian was uneasy, but determined to go through with talking to Asgaard's Aesir, even if it meant putting himself in harms way, although it appeared he would possibly be granted neutral conveyance to speak with these individuals who oversaw these lands. If his old ally could willingly put herself into battle, he certainly could endure a whiff of shot and shell should the situation dictate it.

[Kaiser Martens]

"Good. Come with me." - Was the sole, somewhat dry reply.

They would move to what seemed to be a restored ww2-style jeep and would drive into Asgaard, one tank driving ahead of them for protection. The city was still beautiful, and still untouched by destruction, but there was an uneasy air, and many were seen on the streets with their firearms on their holster or their laps. It was as if they were all waiting for something, for "the chance"...

After some time, they arrived to the Palace, which was oddly silent. There were many Einherjar and Valkyries there, guarding it, and the tank put up a white flag when approaching, to avoid becoming the target of several oversized-looking versions of a bazooka. The bearded man approached the tall walls, some of which had graffiti on them, and called out, "Sweden has moved a number of troops into our territorial perimeter and sent an authority to speak to the Aesir. I will have him approach. Alright? Then we will back away."

When the man returns, he makes a gesture towards the Swede indicating that he should approach the main gate. Then, the vehicles go back, and for a moment the neighbor would be left awkwardly in the open, to walk to the Castle while seemingly both sides would have their sights on him. If anything were to happen, he'd be caught in the middle of the crossfire...

The gate did not open. Instead, a smaller, thick vault-like door next to it did, and he was welcomed into the castle.

The Aesir couldn't make this one dissappear, as they had done with some local troublemakers. He was a foreign official, after all. They would have to deal with him in other terms. Tyr would soon show up before him, in a very large hall with red carpet over gray ceramic floors.

[i]
"God dag. Kan vi hjälpa dig?"[/i] (Good day, can we help you?)

[TheShammySocialist]

Christian noted the seemingly siege mentality that was surrounding all the citizens of Asgaard as he passed through the city, which, for all the armaments and talk of conflict, looked untouched. As they reached the castle, he looked up at the imposing edifice and the characters who guarded it, seemingly emotionless, professional, stalwart. The militia's appearance towards the besieged was much more respectful than was found in normal conflicts. When he was waved forward, Christian nervously took a step forward between the two lines, knowing full well that if things got hot, he'd be dead from a bullet to the back, or front, or from both directions.

He stiffened himself and walked curtly forward with his duo of aides in tow, the two officers looking much more relaxed than their head of state, as they strolled to the gates of the castle behind him, looking around at imposing structure. He seemed surprised by the small vault door opening, but regained his composure quickly, and stepped inside, thanking the doorman for admitting him inside, out of what would have been a free fire zone in conflict. He was shown into a large hall, and looked around the interior architecture, before being greeted by the Aesir of Asgaard, turning to nod curtly.

"Good day, my liege, I am Christian Nyquist, Secretary General of Sweden, and I have come to ask for your nation's allegiance," said Christian, as he greeted the man, and cutting straight to the point.

[Kaiser Martens]

'"...We knew the day would come."

Tyr folds his arms.

"So, how long until your troops get to Iceland and the other areas? I assume you've sent forces already..."

He turned back and walked over to a window, to look at a small garden just outside.

"The damage has been too great. Either way. In Hethnamark, we have our own way of doing things. It may not be too good, it may not be too bad, but it is our way, and that's what counts. You know it. We might be infighting, but...the moment a foreign thread should show up, we would still unite."

He sighed as if he were relaxed, rather than truly stressed. "And that is the problem. Sweden is not seen to be truly foreign. After all, half of it used to be Nordheim...among other things."

"...The current situation is a shame. It only took a natural disaster and some opportunism to tear things down. Several areas have been invaded by Christians that refuse to tolerate the fact that not everybody is a theist." Ironic, considering that the Aesir themselves were named after gods... "They have hundreds of Christian countries, and there's just one Pagan country. That was not good enough, they had to come for us. And well. Now the land of the Raiders is being Raided by assorted pirates. At least the fascists we've got running around aren't godforsaken Hitlerites."

He balled his fists.

"I say, that is enough. We do need your assistance, [i]Svenskman[/i]. But you cannot expect us to lose our way of life and culture. If Asgaard is not as relevant as Stockholm is, the situation may further spiral out of control. If we were to resist, the Muscovites would probably have just too much fun taking over Finland again. Make your offer, while keeping this in mind. Go ahead, Sir."

[TheShammySocialist]

Christian listened attentively to the man's words, nodding lightly as the gears turned in his head. "Our forces have not been sent to Iceland, we came to have an allegiance, as equals, Aesir."

"On that same note, I do not expect anyone to lose their way of life or culture for allegiance with my nation, I offer a fusing of our two nations together, and the dawn of a new era in Nordland. I can arrange such a fusion, and give you the promise that our two cultures will mutually respect one another, and each will not lose their way of life, both will be relevant," said Christian, looking at the Aesir closely.

Christian knew that it was an arrangement that would not sit well with some, including some of his closest political allies, but this, in his mind, was needed. If this gambit worked, it would pay off in the long run, and he knew that with Sweden's help, the people of Hethnamark would resolve their current political strife relatively easily. If planned properly, the anger and strife could be redirected away from those that led the nation, and at a foreign target, one where Nordic issue should be taking strife; the current conflict in Finland.

[Kaiser Martens]

"Good. You give us the manpower and weapons, and we will pacify Hethnamark in no time."

He paused.

"And then, we will liberate Finland from the Muscovites once and for all."

"In order to secure the loyalty of our citizens, you will have to give one of us a position of power. When the war is over we can fine-tune our system. We just need something for now...a familiar face. It does not really matter who, as long as they're well-known in Hethnamark and level-headed. Maybe one of the Aesir, or some War Veteran, maybe one of the Regional Governors..."

Tyr summoned a Valkyrie closer, and gave out an order in Old High German, which would be mostly unintelligible, excepting that one had a sharp ear or related linguistic knowledge.

"We will begin making the preparatives, in that case..."

At the other side of the sea, armies would prepare at Osterbotten and around Korsholm.

[TheShammySocialist]

"It shall be done, I can assure you that I can make one of your leaders the position of Speaker of the General Assembly, the current one is, indisposed," responded Christian, in a level tone with a nod.

"On that note, we will begin by getting elements of our reserve forces, as well as weaponry ready, for your disposal in your various restive cities, should you need them. The forces of Sweden will work together with your own to quell these uprisings, and then march to a final victory over the Muscovites," nodded Christian, as he looked at his counterpart. "It is a time, right now, of unity in the face of conflict, and I appreciate the sacrifices you are making here and now."

[Kaiser Martens]

"Sacrifice implies giving something of value to that which is Sacred. Our people are sacred, therefore, all we can give, is worthwhile."

ooc: bbl ekspand

[Kaiser Martens]

Later that week, the union of the states was announced in Stockholm, to the world and the nation.

The new country would be known as Sverige-Hethnamark, and its flag consisted of the Swedish Flag with an enclosed Hethnamark Flag on the upper left quadrant, simply enough. In a sense, it resembled the kind of union seen in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, although there was no royalty involved. Instead, Christian Nyquist from Sweden remained, and for Hethnamark, Aike Thordarsson, a newcomer to politics that became well-known during the Hethnamark crisis when organizing the people of Iceland in order to prevent massive loss of lives. He is a doctor in Medicine, in the past working at a Reykjavik hospital that had been demolished by the volcanic eruption. He later sent other aid convoys towards the rest of the Hethnamark Zones.

Of course. Not all was happiness and peace.

There was still a war to be won in the east, and a country to be liberated.

Minutes later, new armies invaded the Russian-controlled Finland from the Osterbotten zone...