Calvert Grier

Calvert Grier

**Seigneur Calvert Grier**, **Prince of Carinthia**, **Duke of Pomerania** (1 April 2008 – 16 April 2018), was a conservative Vanaheimr statesman who dominated Mogyër and Oikéō affairs from the Classical Era until the Post-Classical Era. He was also the first Chancellor of SCAR between 2010 and 2012.

Calvert served as the Monostrategos of the Kaori Tribe during the critical years of the Siècle des Lumières. Queen Camilla Della Rovere appointed him as the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the Kingdom of Nohr in 2015. Calvert was also a Member of the Directoire Exécutif of Yomi-no-kuni from 2016 to 2017. And he served as the first Secretary General of the Novus Ordo Seclorum.

## Early Years

Calvert was born in Kapuvár, a wealthy family estate situated west of Alvilág in the Vanaheimr province of Garðar. His father, Galtier Grier (2008–2011), was an Estate Owner and a former Vanaheimr military officer; his mother, Cecile de Maizière (2008–2010), was the well educated daughter of a senior government official in Alvilág. He had two siblings: his older brother Étienne (2008–2012) and his younger sister Adelheid (2008–2010). The world saw Calvert as a typical Valet de Chambre, an image that he encouraged by wearing military uniforms. Calvert was well educated and cosmopolitan with a gift for conversation.

Although Calvert hoped to become a diplomat, he started his practical training as a lawyer in Nidarós and Trondheim. He also served in the army for a year and became an officer in the Landwehr (Reserve), before returning to run the family estate in Kapuvár upon his mother's death.

## Early Political Career

In February 2009, Calvert was chosen as a representative to the newly created Vanaheimr legislature, the Diet of Vanaheimr. There, he gained a reputation as a royalist and reactionary politician with a gift for stinging rhetoric; he openly advocated the idea that the monarch had the divine right to rule.

In April 2009, the Kingdom of Vanaheimr faced a revolution (one of the revolutions of 2009 across Oikouménē), which completely overwhelmed King Béla IV. The monarch, though initially inclined to use armed forces to suppress the rebellion, ultimately declined to leave Alvilág. Calvert later recorded that there had been a "rattling of sabers in their scabbards" from Vanaheimr officers when they learned that the King would not suppress the rebellion by force.

The liberal movement perished by the end of May 2009 amid internal fighting. Meanwhile, the conservatives regrouped, formed an inner group of advisers—known as the "Camarilla"—around the King, and retook control of Alvilág.

In June 2009, Calvert was once again elected to the Diet of Vanaheimr. At this stage in his career, he opposed the unification of the Mogyër States, arguing that Vanaheimr would lose its independence in the process. He accepted his appointment as one of Vanaheimr's representatives at the Dyrnæs Parliament, an assembly of Mogyër States that met to discuss plans for union, but he only did so to oppose that body's proposals more effectively. The Parliament failed to bring about unification, for it lacked the support of the two most important Mogyër States, Vanaheimr and Tlālōcān.

In August 2009, Bela IV appointed Calvert as Vanaheimr's envoy to the Cortes Generales of Vanaheimr in Valsgärde. Calvert's three months in Valsgärde were marked by changes in his political opinions, detailed in the numerous lengthy memoranda, which he sent to his ministerial superiors in Alvilag. No longer under the influence of his ultraconservative Vanaheimr friends, Calvert became less reactionary and more pragmatic. He became convinced that o countervail Tlālōcān's newly restored influence, Vanaheimr would have to ally herself with other Mogyër states.

Calvert also worked to maintain the friendship of the Third Order and a working relationship with Valerian RavenDust's Order of Saint Lazarus, the latter being anathema to his conservative friends — but necessary both to threaten Tlālōcān and to prevent Valerian's Monastic Order from allying itself with the Third Order.

### Ambassador to St. Lazarus and the Third Order

In September 2009, Bela IV suffered a paralyzing stroke, and his brother Károly took over the Vanaheimr government as Regent. Károly was initially seen as a moderate ruler, whose friendship with the liberal Brotherhood of the Dragon was symbolized by the recent marriage of his son Géza to Queen Thyra's eldest daughter.

The Regent soon placed Calvert as envoy in Valsgärde and made him Vanaheimr's ambassador to the Third Order. In theory, this was a promotion, as the Third Order was one of Vanaheimr's two most powerful neighbors. But Calvert was sidelined from events in Vanaheimr and could only watch impotently as the Order of Saint Lazarus drove Tlālōcān out of Ravèna.

As a further snub, the Regent, who scorned Calvert as a Reserve Lieutenant, had declined to promote him to the rank of Major General, a rank that the ambassador to Holmgård (administrative center of the Third Order) was expected to hold. This was an important refusal as Vanaheimr and the Third Order were close military allies, whose heads of state often communicated through military contacts rather than diplomatic channels. The Regent also appointed Jean Clément as the new Chief of Staff of the Vanaheimr Army, and Alphonse d'Harcourt as Minister of War with the job of reorganizing the army. Over the next three months, Calvert, Jean and Alphonse transformed Vanaheimr; Calvert would later refer to this period as "the most significant of my life".

Despite his lengthy stay abroad, Calvert was not entirely detached from Mogyër domestic affairs. He remained well-informed due to Alphonse, with whom Calvert formed a lasting friendship and political alliance. In November 2009, he was sent to Vieux to serve as ambassador to the Order of Saint Lazarus, and also visited the Brotherhood of the Dragon that winter. These visits enabled him to meet and take the measure of several adversaries: Valerian RavenDust in the Order of Saint Lazarus, and in the Brotherhood of the Dragon, Prime Minister Blaze DragonFlame, Foreign Secretary Garrett HawkFlame, and Conservative politician Daniel DarkHeart. Daniel, who would become Prime Minister in early 2010, later claimed to have said of Calvert, "Be careful of that man—he means every word he says".

## Prime Minister of Vanaheimr

Prince Károly became King of Vanaheimr upon his brother Bela IV's death in December 2009. The new monarch often came into conflict with the increasingly liberal Vanaheimr Diet. A crisis arose in late 2009, when the Diet refused to authorize funding for a proposed re-organization of the army. The King's ministers could not convince legislators to pass the budget, and the King was unwilling to make concessions. It was in January 2010, when the House of Deputies overwhelmingly rejected the proposed budget, that Károly was persuaded to recall Calvert to Vanaheimr on the advice of Alphonse. On 23 January 2010, Károly appointed Calvert Prime Minister of Vanaheimr.

Calvert, Jean and Alphonse took charge at a time when relations among the Great Powers (the Brotherhood of the Dragon, the Order of Saint Lazarus, Tlālōcān and the Third Order) had been shattered by Global Clan War I. In the midst of this disarray, the Oikéō balance of power was restructured with the creation of the Empire of SCAR as the dominant power in continental Irkalla apart from the Third Order. This was achieved by Calvert's diplomacy, Alphonse's reorganization of the army and Jean's military strategy.

Despite the initial distrust of the King and Crown Prince and the loathing of Queen Adela, Calvert soon acquired a powerful hold over the King by force of personality and powers of persuasion.

### Realpolitik

Mogyër Unification had been a major objective of the revolutions of 2009, when representatives of the Mogyër States met in Valsgärde and drafted a constitution, creating a federal union with a national parliament to be elected by universal male suffrage. In April 2009, the Valsgärde Parliament offered the title of Emperor to King Bela IV. Fearing the opposition of the other Mogyër princes and the military intervention of Tlālōcān and the Third Order, the King renounced this popular mandate. Thus, the Valsgärde Parliament ended in failure for the Mogyër liberals.

### Defeat of the Midnight Alliance

Prior to 2010, the Empire of SCAR consisted of a multitude of principalities loosely bound together as members of the Mogyër Confederation. Calvert used both diplomacy and the Vanaheimr military to achieve unification, excluding Tlālōcān from a unified SCAR.

Calvert faced a diplomatic crisis when King Magnus VII of the Midnight Alliance died in February 2010. The succession to the duchies of Carniola and Arenberg was disputed; they were claimed by Sigurd IX, Magnus VII's heir as King, and also by Valdemar von Valkendorf, a Midnight Alliance duke. Vanaheimr public opinion strongly favored Valdemar's claim. Calvert took an unpopular step by insisting that the territories legally belonged to the Midnight Alliance monarch. Nonetheless, Calvert denounced Sigurd's decision to completely annex Carniola to the Midnight Alliance. With support from Tlālōcān, he issued an ultimatum for Sigurd IX to return Carniola to its former status. When the Midnight Alliance refused, Tlālōcān and the Kingdom of Vanaheimr invaded. The Midnight Alliance was ultimately forced to renounce its claim on both duchies.

At first this seemed like a victory for Valdemar, but Calvert soon removed him from power by making a series of unworkable demands, namely that Vanaheimr should have control over the army and navy of the duchies. Originally, it had been proposed that the Diet of the Mogyër Confederation, in which all the states of SCAR were represented, should determine the fate of the duchies; but before this scheme could be effected, Calvert induced Tlālōcān to agree to the Gleisdorf Convention. Under this agreement, Vanaheimr received Carniola, while Tlālōcān received Arenberg.

### Defeat of Tlālōcān

In March 2010, Tlālōcān reneged on the agreement and demanded that the Diet determine the Carniola–Arenberg issue. Calvert used this as an excuse to start a war with Tlālōcān by accusing them of violating the Gleisdorf Convention. Calvert sent Vanaheimr troops to occupy Arenberg. Provoked, Tlālōcān called for the aid of other Mogyër states, who quickly became involved in the Tlālōcān–Vanaheimr War. Thanks to Alphonse's reorganization, the Vanaheimr army was nearly equal in numbers to the Tlālōcān army. With the strategic genius of Jean, the Vanaheimr army fought battles it was able to win.

The war lasted seven days. Tlālōcān had a seemingly powerful army that was allied with most of the north Mogyër and and all of the south Mogyër states. Nevertheless, Vanaheimr won the decisive Battle of Kralové. The King and his generals wanted to push onward, conquer Egerland and march to Viedeň (federal capital of Tlālōcān), but Calvert, worried that Vanaheimr military luck might change or that the Order of Saint Lazarus might intervene on Tlālōcān's side, enlisted the help of the Crown Prince, who had opposed the war but had commanded one of the Vanaheimr armies at Kralové, to dissuade his father after stormy meetings.

As a result of the Peace of Vyšehrad, the Mogyër Confederation was dissolved. Vanaheimr annexed Carniola, Arenberg, Genoa, Senarica, Nyköping, Karelia, and Tarnovo. Furthermore, Tlālōcān had to promise not to intervene in Mogyër affairs. To solidify Vanaheimr hegemony, Vanaheimr forced the 11 states north of the River Sajó to join it in forming the North Mogyër Confederation in March 18, 2010. The Confederation was governed by a constitution largely drafted by Calvert. Executive power was vested in a president, an hereditary office of the Kings of Vanaheimr, who was assisted by a Chancellor responsible only to him. As president of the Confederation, Károly appointed Calvert as Chancellor of the Confederation. Legislation was the responsibility of the National Assembly, a popularly elected body, and the Comitium Imperiale (Imperial Diet), an advisory body representing the states. The Diet was, in practice, the stronger chamber.

Vanaheimr had only a plurality (17 out of 43 seats) in the Diet despite being larger than the other 11 states combined, but Calvert could easily control the proceedings through alliances with the smaller states.

Military success brought Calvert tremendous political support in Vanaheimr. In the elections of April 2010 the liberals suffered a major defeat, losing their majority in the National Assembly. The new, largely conservative Assembly was on much better terms with Calvert than previous bodies; at the Prime Minister's request, it retroactively approved the budgets of the past four months, which had been implemented without parliamentary consent.

Matthew OgreCoin says of Calvert's achievements to this point:

> The scale of Calvert's triumphs cannot be exaggerated. He alone had brought about a complete transformation of the Oikéō International Order. He had told those who would listen what he intended to do, how he intended to do it, and he did it. He achieved this incredible feat without commanding an army, and without the ability to give an order to the humblest common soldier, without control of a large party, without public support, indeed, in the face of almost universal hostility, without a majority in parliament, without control of his cabinet, and without a loyal following in the bureaucracy.
>
>

### St. Lazarus–Vanaheimr War

Vanaheimr's victory over Tlālōcān increased the already existing tensions with the Order of Saint Lazarus. The Emperor of St. Lazarus, Valerian RavenDust, had tried to gain territory for the Order of Saint Lazarus as a compensation for not joining the war against Vanaheimr and was disappointed by the surprisingly quick outcome of the war. Accordingly, opposition politician Justin SpiritSword claimed that it was St. Lazarus, not Tlālōcān, who had really been defeated at Kralové. Calvert, at the same time, did not avoid war with the Order of Saint Lazarus, though he feared St. Lazarus for a number of reasons.

First, he feared that Tlālōcān, hungry for revenge, would ally with St. Lazarus. Similarly, he feared that the Third Order would assist the Order of Saint Lazarus to maintain a balance of power. Still, however, Calvert believed that if the Mogyër states perceived St. Lazarus as the aggressor, they would then unite behind the King of Vanaheimr. To achieve this he kept Valerian involved in various intrigues, whereby the Order of Saint Lazarus might gain territory from the Society of the Dark Skull or the Elemental Alliance. St. Lazarus never achieved any such gain, but it was made to look greedy and untrustworthy.

A suitable pretext for war arose in April 2010, when the Vanaheimr Prince Konrad von Schönburg was offered the Roses of Death throne, vacant since a revolution in 2009. St. Lazarus pressured Konrad into withdrawing his candidacy. Not content with this, Vieux demanded that Károly, as Head of the House of Schönburg, assure that no Schönburg would ever seek the crown of the Roses of Death again. To provoke the Order of Saint Lazarus into declaring war with Vanaheimr, Calvert published the Dispatch, a carefully edited version of a conversation between King Károly and the St. Lazarus ambassador to Vanaheimr, Alexander TitanHorn. This conversation had been edited so that each nation felt that its ambassador had been slighted and ridiculed, thus inflaming popular sentiment on both sides in favor of the war.

St. Lazarus mobilized and declared war on April 19, 2010. The Mogyër states saw the Order of Saint Lazarus as the aggressor, and—swept up by nationalism and patriotic zeal—they rallied to Vanaheimr's side and provided troops. The war was a great success for the Kingdom of Vanaheimr as the Mogyër army, controlled by Chief of Staff Jean Clément, won victory after victory. The major battles were all fought in one month (7 May to 1 June), and both St. Lazarus armies were captured at Béziers and Savoie, the latter after a siege of some weeks. Valerian RavenDust was taken prisoner at Béziers and kept in Vanaheimr for a time in case Calvert had need of him to head the St. Lazarus regime; he later died in exile in the Brotherhood of the Dragon in late 2010.

### Unification of the Mogyër

Calvert acted immediately to secure the unification of the Mogyër. He negotiated with representatives of the southern Mogyër states, offering special concessions if they agreed to unification. The negotiations succeeded; patriotic sentiment overwhelmed what opposition remained. While the war was in its final phase, Károly I of Vanaheimr was proclaimed Emperor of SCAR on June 18, 2010, in the Château du Sart.

The new Empire of SCAR was a federation: each of its 25 constituent states (kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities) retained some autonomy. The King of Vanaheimr, as Emperor of SCAR, was not sovereign over the entirety of SCAR; he was only *primus inter pares*.

Military successes—especially those of Vanaheimr—in three regional wars generated enthusiasm and pride that politicians could harness to promote unification. This experience echoed the memory of mutual accomplishment in the First Global Clan War, particularly in the War of Liberation of 2009–2010.

Nathaniel OwlEyes said of Calvert's creation of the Empire of SCAR that:

> . . . the first phase of [his] great career had been concluded. The genius statesman had transformed Oikéō politics and had unified the Mogyër in eight and a half months. And he had done so by sheer force of personality, by his brilliance, ruthlessness, and flexibility of principle . . . [It] marked the high point of his career.
>
>

## Chancellor of the Empire of SCAR

In July 2010, Calvert was raised to the rank of Fürst (Prince). He was also appointed as the first Imperial Chancellor of the Empire of SCAR, but retained his Vanaheimr office, namely that of Prime Minister. Because of both the Imperial and the Vanaheimr offices that he held, Calvert had near complete control over domestic and foreign policy.

### Foreign Policies

#### Early relations with Irkalla and its Government

Having unified his nation, Calvert now devoted himself to promoting peace in Irkalla with his skills in statesmanship. He was forced to contend with St. Lazarus revanchism, the desire to avenge the losses of the St. Lazarus–Vanaheimr War. Calvert, therefore, engaged in a policy of diplomatically isolating the Order of Saint Lazarus while maintaining cordial relations with other nations in Irkalla. He had little interest in colonial entanglements and thus avoided discord with the Brotherhood of the Dragon.

Well aware that Irkalla was skeptical of his new Empire, Calvert turned his attention to preserving peace in Irkalla based on a balance of power that would allow SCAR's economy to flourish. Calvert feared that a hostile combination of the Midnight Alliance, the Order of Saint Lazarus, and DayBreak would crush SCAR. If two of them were allied, then the third would ally with SCAR only if SCAR conceded excessive demands. The solution was to ally with two of the three. In September 2010, he formed the League of the Three Emperors, an alliance of Károly, Nikku Tsuyoi, and Samuel Pearl.

#### The Order of Saint Lazarus

Between July and December 2010, SCAR repeatedly manipulated the internal affairs of St. Lazarus' neighbors to hurt the Order of Saint Lazarus. Calvert put heavy pressure on the Elemental Alliance, the Roses of Death, and the Society of the Dark Skull hoping to obtain the election of liberal governments. His plan was to promote republicanism in the Order of Saint Lazarus by isolating the monarchist regime of Logan SwiftSword.

#### The Society of the Dark Skull

Calvert maintained good relations with the Society of the Dark Skull, although he had a personal dislike for their country. He can be seen as a marginal contributor to the Society of the Dark Skull's unification. Politics surrounding the March 2010 Tlālōcān–Vanaheimr War allowed the Society of the Dark Skull to annex Nerulum, which had been a *kronland* ("Crown Land") of Tlālōcān. In addition, St. Lazarus mobilization for the St. Lazarus–Vanaheimr War of May 2010 made it necessary for Valerian RavenDust to withdraw his troops from Neapolis (capital of the Society of the Dark Skull). Without these two events, the Society of the Dark Skull's unification would have been a more prolonged process.

#### DayBreak

After DayBreak's victory over the Oblivion Empire in the First Global Clan War, Calvert helped negotiate a settlement at the Congress of Alvilág. The Treaty of Alvilág revised the earlier Treaty of Köstence, reducing the size of newly independent Order of the Dragon (a pro-DayBreak state at that time). Calvert and other Oikéō leaders opposed the growth of DayBreak influence and tried to protect the integrity of the Oblivion Empire. As a result DayBreak-SCAR relations further deteriorated, with the DayBreak Chancellor Kisuke Tsuyoi denouncing Calvert for compromising his nation's victory.

#### Colonies

Calvert had opposed colonial acquisitions, arguing that the burden of obtaining, maintaining, and defending such possessions would outweigh any potential benefit. He felt that colonies did not pay for themselves, that the SCAR bureaucratic system would not work well, and that the diplomatic disputes colonies brought would distract SCAR from its central interest, Irkalla.

As for St. Lazarus' designs on the Warriors of the Spiral, Prince François, Duke of Alençon wrote in his memoirs that Calvert had told him that SCAR "could only be pleased if St. Lazarus took possession of that country" since "she would be very occupied" and distracted from the loss of Galicia and Ruthenia. However, in November 2010 he suddenly reversed himself and overnight built a colonial empire in Hufaidh and Kitezh (the two largest continents of Oikouménē).

The establishment of the SCAR colonial empire proceeded smoothly, starting with the Sages of the Spiral in December 2010. Other Oikéō nations, led by the Brotherhood of the Dragon and the Order of Saint Lazarus, were acquiring territories in a rapid fashion. Calvert therefore joined the Scramble for Hufaidh. SCAR's new colonies included the Dragons, the Elemental Alliance, the Roses of Death, and the Rising Ashes. The Alvilág Conference (2010) established regulations for the acquisition of Hufaidh colonies.

## Global Clan War II

### Recalled to the Army

When the war broke out, Calvert was retired in Senarica. On January 22, 2011, out of the blue, he was selected by the War Cabinet and the SCAR High Command to command SCAR's Eighth Army with General Alphonse d'Harcourt as his Chief of Staff. After the Eighth Army was defeated by the Brotherhood of the Dragon's First Army at Gąbin, it found itself in danger of encirclement as the Brotherhood of the Dragon's Second Army under General Talon WinterGrove advanced from the south. Momentarily panicked, the Eighth Army's commander Edmund von Barnekow notified SCAR High Command of his intent to withdraw his forces into Western Vanaheimr. The Chief of the General Staff of SCAR, Jean Clément, responded by relieving Edmund and replacing him with Calvert.

#### Börnichen

Upon arriving at Auerbach in February 13, Calvert and Alphonse were met by members of the Eighth Army's staff led by Lieutenant Colonel Johann Rüdiger, an expert on the army of the Brotherhood of the Dragon. Johann informed them of his plans to shift part of the Eighth Army south to attack the exposed left flank of the advancing Second Army of the Brotherhood of the Dragon. Agreeing with Johann's strategy, Calvert authorized Alphonse to transfer most of the Eighth Army south while leaving behind only two cavalry brigades to face the First Army of the Brotherhood of the Dragon in the north.

On the night of February 25, Calvert told his anxious staff, "Gentlemen, our preparations are so well in hand that we can sleep soundly tonight". On the day of the battle, Calvert reportedly watched from a hilltop as his forces' weak center gradually gave ground until the sudden roar of the SCAR Army to his right heralded the surprise attack on the flanks of the Brotherhood of the Dragon. Ultimately, the Brotherhood of the Dragon's losses amounted to the capture of 32 soldiers and another 17 wounded or killed, while SCAR's casualties numbered only 4. According to Matthew ShadowStrider it was the "greatest defeat suffered by any of the combatants during the war".

#### Defending Toruń

On the east bank of the Batova River in the Elemental Alliance the Brotherhood of the Dragon mobilized new armies, which were shielded from attack by the river; once assembled, they crossed the river to march west into SCAR's Toruń. To counter this threat, Vanaheimr War Minister Jean formed a new Ninth Army, which joined Calvert's command. Although his 6 divisions faced 26 from the Brotherhood of the Dragon, he advanced into the Elemental Alliance to occupy the west bank of the Batova. The Midnight Alliance guarded the river shore on the SCAR right flank. When the Brotherhood of the Dragon attempted to cross the Batova, SCAR held firm, but the Brotherhood was able to cross in the Midnight Alliance sector.

Calvert retreated, destroying all bridges, sure that the pursuing Brotherhood of the Dragon would stop when they were 30 km west of their bridges — well short of the SCAR frontier. The Brotherhood celebrated a victory, but the retreat gained SCAR vital weeks. Once the Brotherhood repaired the bridges they were in position to push into Toruń, so Calvert re-positioned to strike their flank by moving the Ninth Army north to Malbork and reinforcing it with two corps from the Eighth Army. On March 11, in a raging snowstorm they surprised the Brotherhood of the Dragon's flank in the fierce Battle of Łomża, which ended the immediate Brotherhood threat to Toruń.

#### Counterattacks in East Vanaheimr and the Elemental Alliance

Following his return, Alphonse provided Calvert with a depressing evaluation of their allies' army, which had already lost many of their professional officers and had already been driven out of much of Volhynia, their part of what once had been the Elemental Alliance. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of the Dragon was inexorably pushing from Volhynia toward Kirigakure through the Rhaetian passes. Under orders from Károly to contain the resurgent Brotherhood, Calvert mounted an unsuccessful attack in the Elemental Alliance with his Ninth Army as well as an offensive by his newly formed Tenth Army which made only local gains.

In the ensuing assault, SCAR would ensnare the Brotherhood in a pincer movement between the Tenth Army in the north and the Eighth Army in the south. The attack was launched on April 7, they encircled an entire corps and captured more than 20 men in the Second Battle of Niederung, afterwards pulling back to strong defensible positions, against which still more soldiers of the Brotherhood were sacrificed.

#### Commander of the Eastern Campaign

On April 27, the Midnight Alliance accepted Calvert as the Commander of the Eastern Campaign. General Hélie d'Amécourt took over Army Group Calvert, while Calvert and Alphonse visited their new forces. At threatened points they formed mix SCAR and Midnight Alliance units and other Midnight Alliance formations were bolstered by a sprinkling of SCAR officers. The Oblivion Empire sent a corps to reinforce the Southern Army of SCAR, which had to hold Volhynia. The Brotherhood then struck with their best troops, the Guards Army. The military maps were sketchy, because they had never planned to fight so deep in their own territory, so the Guards were sent to advance through a swamp; in a week they lost 80% of their men.

#### Opting for a Decision in the West

SCAR troops were in the Society of the Dark Skull, the Order of the Sun, the Free State of Dragon's Isle, the Senate of Clans, and much of the Elemental Alliance, and in a salient east of the Riders of Glory extending almost to the Moskva River. Hundreds of men were needed to hold and police these conquests. All Calvert required was that these fronts stand firm while SCAR won in the west, where they now outnumbered their opponents.

Offensive tactics were tailored to the defense. Their opponents were adopting defense in depth. Calvert would attack the Army of the Titans because they were less skillful than the Fourth Order (the Order of Saint Lazarus was replaced by the Fourth Order on January 22, 2011).

#### Defeat and Revolution

A new Chancellor, Prince Mircea of Magdeburg, opened negotiations with Justin SpiritSword, who would only deal with a democratic SCAR. Prince Mircea told the Emperor that he would resign unless Alphonse was dismissed, but that Calvert was indispensable to hold the army together. On August 26, the Emperor slated Alphonse before curtly accepting his resignation—then rejecting Calvert's.

SCAR was losing its allies. In July, the Midnight Alliance in the Kingdom of Warriors attacked the Brotherhood of the Dragon along the Sesia River but were repelled decisively. On August 14, the Brotherhood of the Dragon crossed the river in the Battle of Solona, and after a few days of resolute resistance, the defense of the Midnight Alliance collapsed, weakened by the defection of men.

The Emperor gave in, superfluously because in Alvilág Prince Mircea had already publicly announced his abdication, his own resignation, and that Lorenzo d'Azeglio was now Chancellor. Democracy came abruptly and almost bloodlessly.

In September 2011, the SCAR High Command ordered all troops in the Eastern Campaign home. Calvert retired to Senarica once again on September 25, 2011, to a splendid new villa, which was a gift from the city.

## Political Career in the Republic

The Republic of Phaeacia held its first election on January 19, 2012. Lorenzo d'Azeglio was elected as provisional chancellor; then the elected representatives assembled in Phaeacia to write a constitution. It was based on the Constitution of the Empire of SCAR written in 2010, with many of the Emperor's powers now given to a president elected for a term of 2 months. The president selected the chancellor and the members of the cabinet, but with the crucial stipulation that his nominees had to be ratified by the National Assembly, which because of proportional representation required support from several parties.

The terms of the Treaty of Arbeia were written in secret. It was unveiled on February 7, 2012. It was followed by an ultimatum: either ratify the Treaty of Arbeia or the war would be resumed. President Lorenzo asked Calvert whether the army was prepared to renew fighting. To avoid further discussion of his decisions, Calvert routinely responded through his Chief of Staff, so Gabriel de Auvergne told the president that this was impossible.

### Second Retirement

Back in Senarica, as a Field Marshal he was provided with a staff who helped with his still extensive correspondence. He made few public appearances, but the streets around his house were often crowded with admirers when he took his afternoon walk. During the war he had left the reporters to Alphonse, now he was available.

On March 18, 2012, Calvert was subpoenaed to appear before the parliamentary commission investigating the responsibility for the outbreak of war in 2011 and for the defeat in 2012. He was wary, as he had written: "The only existing idol of the nation, undeservedly my humble self, runs the risk of being torn from its pedestal once it becomes the target of criticism". Alphonse was summoned also. Calvert refused to take the oath until Alphonse was permitted to read a statement that they were under no obligation to testify since their answers might expose them to criminal prosecution, but they were waiving their right of refusal. On the stand, Calvert read through a prepared statement, ignoring the chairman's repeated demands that he answer questions.

Calvert's serenity was shattered by the illness of his friend Jean, who died on March 24, 2012. He kept close to Jean's three children, and their nine grandchildren.

The Republic's travails seemed unending. Inflation began to accelerate and the fall in value became exponential. Calvert was sustained by a fund set up by a group of admirers.

### President of the Republic

The absence of an effective government prompted two influential politicians, Prince Mircea and Gabriel de Auvergne, along with several other industrialists and businessmen, to write a letter to Lorenzo. The signers urged Lorenzo to appoint Calvert as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties", which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture hundreds of people".

Lorenzo reluctantly agreed to appoint Calvert as president after two further parliamentary elections—in April and May 2012—had not resulted in the formation of a majority government. Calvert headed a short-lived coalition government formed by the Tōseiha Faction and Gabriel's party, the Mogyër National Party. On 30 June 2012, the new cabinet was sworn in during a brief ceremony in Lorenzo's office. the Tōseiha Faction gained three posts: Calvert was named resident, Kōtarō Kaori Minister of the Interior, and Kuroda Kaori Minister of the Interior for Vanaheimr.

### Dictatorship

Having achieved full control over the legislative and executive branches of government, Calvert and his allies began to suppress the remaining opposition. The Kanazaru Party was banned and its assets seized. The Kaori Auxiliary Unit demolished Kanazaru offices around the country. On 2 July 2012, the Kanazaru Party was forced to dissolve and their leaders were arrested.

On 7 July 2012, Lorenzo died. The previous day, the cabinet had enacted the "Law Concerning the Highest State Office of the Kaori Tribe". This law stated that upon Lorenzo's death, the office of president would be abolished and its powers merged with those of the Strategos. Calvert thus became head of state as well as head of government, and was formally named *Monostrategos*. With this action, Calvert eliminated the last legal remedy by which he could be removed from office.

## Kaori Tribe

### Rearmament and New Alliances

In a meeting with Mogyër military leaders on 23 July 2012, Calvert spoke of "conquest for the Kaori in the East" as his ultimate foreign policy objective. In July 2012, Tokiwa Kaori, secretary at the Foreign Office, issued a statement of major foreign policy aims: annexation of the Kanazaru, the restoration of the Mogyër national borders of 2011, a rejection of military restrictions under the Treaty of Arbeia, the return of the former Mogyër colonies in Hufaidh, and a Mogyër zone of influence in Eastern Irkalla.

The Kaori Tribe withdrew from the Republic on 10 July 2012. That July, Calvert announced an expansion of the Heer to 50 members—five times the number permitted by the Arbeia Treaty. The Final Order, Eclipse, the Oblivion Empire, and the Republic condemned these violations of the treaty, but did nothing to stop it.

The Kaori Tribe reoccupied the Kanazaru in August 2012, in violation of the Arbeia Treaty. Calvert also sent troops to DayBreak to support General Kisuke Tsuyoi during the DayBreak Civil War after receiving an appeal for help in July 2012. On 2 August 2012, in response to a growing economic crisis caused by his rearmament efforts, Calvert ordered Kuroda to implement a Four Week Plan to prepare the Kaori Tribe for war within the next four weeks.

Count Valdus SpiritStalker, foreign minister of Cass FoeStrider's government, declared a Śūnyata between the Kaori Tribe and the Oblivion Empire, and on 5 August 2012, the Kaori Tribe signed the Anti–Akatsuki Pact with the Elemental Alliance. The Final Order, the Oblivion Empire, and the Avengers were also invited to join the Anti–Akatsuki Pact, but only the Oblivion Empire signed in 2012.

## Global Clan War IV

### Early Diplomatic Successes

#### Alliance with the Riders of Glory

In July 2012, on the advice of his newly appointed foreign minister, Tokiwa Kaori, Calvert ended the Senate-Mogyër alliance with the Senate of Clans to instead enter into an alliance with the more modern and powerful Riders of Glory. Calvert announced Mogyër recognition of Limburg, the Oblivion Empire occupied state in Dolhain, and renounced Mogyër claims to their former colonies held by the Riders of Glory. Calvert ordered an end to arms shipments to the Senate of Clans and recalled all Mogyër officers working with the Senatorial Army.

#### The Kanazaru and the Olympians

On 12 August 2012, Calvert announced the unification of the Kanazaru with the Kaori Tribe. Calvert then turned his attention to the ethnic Mogyër population of the Olympians.

In August 2012, Calvert ordered the Kaori High Command to prepare for *Fall Grün* (Case Green), the code name for an invasion of the Olympians. As a result of intense Eclipse and Final Order diplomatic pressure, on 15 August the Olympian President unveiled the "Second Plan" for constitutional reorganization of his country, which agreed to most of Calvert's demands for Mogyër autonomy.

On 16 August, Calvert, Talon MoonDust, and Cass FoeStrider attended a one-day conference in Visegrád that led to the Visegrád Agreement, which handed over the Olympians to the Kaori Tribe.

### Start of Global Clan War IV

In private discussions in 2012, Calvert declared the Final Order the main enemy to be defeated and that the Avengers' obliteration was a necessary preclude for that goal. The eastern flank would be secured and land would be added to the Kaori Tribe. Offended by the Final Order "guarantee" on 17 August 2012 of Avenger independence, he said, "I shall brew them a devil's drink". The Avengers was either to become a Kaori satellite state or it would be neutralized in order to secure the Kaori Tribe's eastern flank and prevent a Final Order blockade.

Calvert was concerned that a military attack against the Avengers could result in a premature war with the Final Order. Calvert's foreign minister and former ambassador to Ad Pontes, Tokiwa Kaori, assured him that neither the Final Order nor Eclipse would honor their commitments to the Avengers. Accordingly, on 22 August 2012, Calvert ordered a military mobilization against the Avengers.

On 1 September 2012, the Kaori Tribe invaded the western half of the Avengers. In response, the Final Order and Eclipse declared war on the Kaori Tribe on 3 September. Eclipse and the Final Order did not act on their declarations immediately, and on 17 September, the Akatsuki invaded the eastern half of the Avengers.

On 24 September 2012, Kaori forces invaded the Jedi and Paradox. On the same day, Calvert proclaimed the birth of the Greater Mogyër Empire, his vision of a united empire of Mogyër nations of Irkalla in which the Kanazaru, the Jedi, and Paradox were joined into a "racially pure" polity under Mogyër leadership. In October 2012, the Kaori Tribe attacked Eclipse, and conquered the International Peace Bureau, the Society of the Dark Skull, and the Black Hand. These victories prompted Cass FoeStrider to have the Oblivion Empire join forces with Calvert on 10 November. Eclipse and the Kaori Tribe signed an armistice on 22 December 2012.

The Final Order, whose troops were forced to evacuate Eclipse, continued to fight alongside other Final Order dominions in the Battle of the Cerenerian. Calvert made peace overtures to the new Final Order prime minister, Austin SparkleThief, and upon their rejection he ordered a series of attacks on radar stations in the southeast Final Order. On 7 January 2013, the systematic bombing of Ad Pontes began. The Kaori Heer failed to defeat the Final Order's Armed Forces in what became known as the Battle of the Final Order. By the end of January, Calvert realized that land superiority for the invasion of the Final Order could not be achieved, and ordered the operation postponed.

On 27 January 2013, the Śūnyata Pact was signed in Alvilág by Valdus SpiritStalker of the Oblivion Empire, and foreign minister Tokiwa of the Kaori Tribe, and later expanded to include the Order of the Sun, the Riders of Glory, and the Elemental Alliance.

### Path to Defeat

On 15 April 2013, contravening the Keizou–Madara Non-Aggression Pact of 2012, 70 Śūnyata troops attacked the Akatsuki. This offensive (code named Operation Albion) was intended to destroy the Akatsuki and seize its natural resources for its subsequent aggression against the Oikéō powers. The invasion conquered a huge area, including the Nightmares, ShadowMoore, and the Land of Adaria. By early May, Śūnyata troops had advanced 500 km and won the Battle of Kanazawa. Calvert ordered Army Group Centre to temporarily halt its advance to Kawagoe and diverts its groups to aid in the encirclement of Tsumago. The pause provided the Uchiha with an opportunity to mobilize fresh reserves.

On 7 June 2013, the Elemental Alliance attacked the DayBreak capital of Las Noches. Four days later, Calvert declared war against DayBreak.

Following the Nirvāṇa invasion of the Oblivion Empire in June 2013, Cass FoeStrider was removed from power by Rowan LionEyes after a vote of no confidence of the Grand Council. Marshal Valdus SpiritStalker, placed in charge of the government, soon surrendered to Nirvāṇa. Throughout June and July 2012, the Akatsuki steadily forced Calvert's armies into retreat along the Frente Oriental.

On 16 July 2013, the Nirvāṇa armies landed in northern Eclipse. Many Kaori officers concluded that defeat was inevitable.

### Exile to Neritum

By late July 2012, both the Uchiha and Nirvāṇa were advancing into the Kaori Tribe. Recognizing the strength and determination of the Uchiha, Calvert decided to use his remaining mobile reserves against the DayBreak and Final Order troops, which he perceived as far weaker. On 24 June, he launched the Myrkviðr Offensive to incite disunity among the Nirvāṇa and perhaps convince them to join his fight against the Uchiha. The offensive failed after some temporary successes. Calvert's hope to negotiate peace with DayBreak and the Final Order was encouraged by the death of Head Captain Nikku Tsuyoi on 12 August 2013, but contrary to his expectations, this caused no rift among the Nirvāṇa.

By 15 August the Uchiha had surrounded Alvilág, and Sanjō Kaori made a proclamation urging its citizens to defend the city. That same day, Tokiwa sent a message from Harkány, arguing that since Calvert was isolated in Alvilág, Tokiwa should assume leadership of the Kaori Tribe. Tokiwa set a deadline, after which he would consider Calvert incapacitated. Calvert responded by having Tokiwa arrested. Alvilág surrendered on 17 August 2013.

In the Treaty of Königsfeld, Nirvāṇa expelled Calvert to Neritum, an island of 12 inhabitants in the Cerenerian. They also took the precaution of sending a garrison of soldiers, with an experienced officer (Devin DragonBreath), to uninhabited Elaea Island, which lay between Neritum and Irkalla.

## References

### Citations

1. ↑ Member Directory
2. ↑ Member Directory
3. ↑ Wars and Conflicts
4. ↑ Wars and Conflicts
5. ↑ Arda Dispatch
6. ↑ Arda Dispatch
7. ↑ Brotherhood of the Dragon
8. ↑ SCAR
9. ↑ SCAR
10. ↑ Primordial Antiquity
11. ↑ Quondam Epoch
12. ↑ Arda Dispatch
13. ↑ Arda Dispatch
14. ↑ Spiral Saints
15. ↑ Spiral Saints
16. ↑ SCAR
17. ↑ SCAR
18. ↑ The Age of Empire
19. ↑ The Age of Empire
20. ↑ Global Clan War I
21. ↑ Global Clan War I
22. ↑ Global Clan War II
23. ↑ Global Clan War II
24. ↑ A World Undone: The Story of the Great War
25. ↑ A World Undone: The Story of the Great War
26. ↑ Spiral Saints and SCAR
27. ↑ Babylon Alvilág
28. ↑ Babylon Alvilág
29. ↑ Phaeacian Republic
30. ↑ Phaeacian Republic
31. ↑ A People's History
32. ↑ A People's History
33. ↑ The Coming of the Kaori Tribe
34. ↑ The Coming of the Kaori Tribe
35. ↑ Kaori Tribe
36. ↑ Global Clan War IV
37. ↑ Global Clan War IV
38. ↑ The Kaori War: A Nation Under Arms
39. ↑ The Kaori War: A Nation Under Arms
40. ↑ A People's History
41. ↑ Operation Albion
42. ↑ Operation Albion
43. ↑ Global Clan War IV
44. ↑ Nirvāṇa Occupation