Zhuldyz Gulnar

Zhuldyz in 3018

**Zhuldyz Inkar Gulnar** is a high-ranking general in the Nuuk Empire. She is a Muslim Dzungar, native to the Dzungar Duchy in the Mongol Grand Duchy. Due to her growing up around a desert environment, she is well-accustomed to desert combat, leading to her massive successes in the African Front of the Greater Decade's War. She has been named a Woman of Virtue by the Holy Allah Allegience, a worldwide Muslim organization, and recieved numberous awards from the government of the Nuuk Empire for her excellent service in the Sakkutuut.

## Early Life

Zhuldyz was born in Urumqi, the capital of the Dzungar Sultanate, in 2952. The Dzungar Sultanate was a state carved out of the EGR at the end of the Decade's War, and despite outisde conflict and inner economic troubles, maintained its independence. From an early age, she was brough up as a devout Muslim, being taken to mosques weekly. One thing that displeased the Muslim population of the world was the fact that due to the Weltreich's conquest of Arabia, Muslims who were deemed inferiors were not allowed to make the pilgrimage to the Mecca, an important ritual in the Muslim faith. Zhuldyz would never see the Mecca in person until her adulthood during the Arabian Campaign.

At this young age, her parents engrained in her Muslim values, and she became devout to her religion and her people with ferocity. However, in 2975, a plague struck Urumqi, followed by an economic crash. Zhuldyz, not yet infected with the plague, fled the city on a long railway from Urumqi to Turpan. However, along the way, the train was destroyed by a group of radical Hinduists who had been flooding the country from India. Zhuldyz woke up hours later in the sands of the desert, with the wreck of the train nearby and the terrorists nowhere to be seen. Only 23 years old at the time, she salvaged what she could from the wreckage and set off into the desert. While following the train tracks, she was encountered by a few men on horses riding through the desert. They offered her help, which she gratefully accepted. They took her a few miles to a cave, which was revealed to be the headquarters of the Dzungar Militia. The Militia, explained one of the men, was founded in 2969 as a reaction to the threat of other nations encroachin upon the Dzungar Sultanate's territory - namely the Weltreich. The Reich's war with Turkestan was proving to be the Reich's next step towards the conquest of Dzungaria. Zhuldyz, who had feared and hated the Reich from an early age, agreed with their sentiment that Dzungar sovereignty needed to be preserved, and agreed to join the Militia. Over the next several years, the Militia grew in size, and Zhuldyz's talent became clear. The leader of the Militia, Ali Erazyl, was impressed by her skill and promoted her to the commander of a small platoon. However, things turned around in 2980, when the Weltreich invaded Dzungaria. Zhuldyz's skills were put to the test, as she and the Militia worked together with the official Dzungar military to push back the Reichvolk. From the early war, it became clear the Reich would not have the easy time in the war it wanted. SS admiral Hardrada von Oberland was in charge of the invasion, but his failures in the war were becoming apparent as the Dzungar Militia held their ground and even took some land. To make up for his failure, Reinhard Steinhauser rode out to the Dzungar border via train to aid Hardrada in his capture of the nation. The combined forces of Hardrada von Oberland and Reinhard Steinhauser eventually forced the Dzungars to fall back, despite them still firmly holding their ground in some areas. Even Reinhard recoginized the threat the Dzungars posed, and was noted for being extremely worried during each battle. Finally, the war culminated in the ultimat battle: the Battle of Urumqi. The massive, bloody battle led to heavy losses on both sides, but despite their great disadvantage, the Reich took the city in the end. The main Dzungar government was forced to relocate to Turpan, where the head officials and the Sultan himself agreed they could push back and retake Urumqi, effectively winning them the war. However, the Militia thought differently. They carried out a coup, murdering the Sultan and establishing a military state before peacing out with the Weltreich. This infuriated Zhuldyz, whose hometown was now under Reich occupation, and who felt that continued fighting could've won Dzungaria the war. She dropped out of the military, only to find herself now exiled from Dzungaria for disloyalty.

## Middle Life

Exiled from her homeland and with nowhere to go, Zhuldyz traveled across central China and Tibet in a nomadic fashion until 2983, when she encountered a squadron of green-clad soldiers in long gas masks hiking through the mountains of Tibet. Zhudlyz was at a local mosque, and she followed the soldiers until she was spotted and captured. She identified herself, and told them the story of the last few years of her life. On a whim, one of the soldiers offered her a position in the Nuuk army, seeing as how she might be a useful asset. Reportedly, Zhuldyz asked what the Nuuk Empire thought of the Weltreich, to which the Soldier replied, "The Reich is a hive of scum that deserves nothing but eradication." Zhuldyz smiled and accepted the offer to join the Sakkutuut.

Now a soldier, Zhuldyz marched off to Lhasa with the squadron, along the way being informed the plan formulated by Tamesse Ayodele. Through this, Zhuldyz learned about Ayodele and his life, and came to greatly admire him. Furthermore, his betrayal of his homeland for the greater good forced her to question her own ideals. Her homeland had been taken over by a military dictatorship propped up by the group she once loved. How could she call that place her home? Would not this "Nuuk Empire" provide a better life for her people?

As her political leanings shifted towards the Nuuk Empire, Zhuldyz's squadron marched forth to Lhasa, the largest city of Tibet. Upon reaching the city, hell opened loose. The Nuuk troops swarmed down the mountain, storming the city, and fighting broke out. Zhuldyz had learned a thing or two about urban combat from her time in the Battle of Urumqi, and she proved an intellegent and efficient soldier in the battle. She was noted for yelling commands at her comrades, commands that won them precarious situations. The Imperial victory in the battle can largely be thanked to Zhuldyz, who was taken to Nuuk to be inagurated into the Military as a citizen. There, while waiting in line for her papers to be done, she saw Tamesse Ayodele in the same building. Heart thumping, she went over to him to tell him all she had heard and seen, and how excited she was to meet him. Tamesse had only one thing to say: "Zhuldyz, your name is? You'll be a general."

Zhuldyz was taken aback by his words, and he further elaborated that he saw a general in her eyes. "Those eyes," he said, "Are the same I saw in the Emperor's when he was in school. And your story? It tells me that you know how to fight." Tamesse stood in line with Zhuldyz as she got her papers filed, and he took her to the Nuuk Military Academy where she was put through four simulations: on in tundra combat, one in forest combat, one in urban combat, and one in desert combat. She did poorly in the tundra and forest simulations, but excelled in the urban simulation, and crushed all resistence in the desert simulation. Tamesse had her enrolled in the academy, and four years later, in 2987, she found herself a general of the Nuuk Imperial Military.

### Greater Decade's War

For a year before the Greater Decade's War began, Zhuldyz focused entirely on honing her skill further. She got top scores in numberous simulations, and became a favorite pupil of Tamesse Ayodele. However, in 2988, things changed forever. The breakdown of the Tokyo Accords had led to the breakout of a war, and Zhuldyz was sent to Madagascar to be sent to Arabia with an army. Upon landing in southern Yemen, she was met with little resistence, as the major focus had been set on Asia. She led her armies to storm Yemen and Oman, before setting northward. She and her armies endured grueling conditions and little fighting as they ran low on supplied on their way north. Upon being asked why she continued, Zhuldyz reportedly replied: "I must see the Mecca with my own eyes, even if it means seeing it in flames." Indeed she did the Mecca, capturing the city and allegedly blessing Allah for his contribution to the war. Her invasion would not last forever, however, as troubles in Africa demanded her attention. Another general was left in charge of the Arabian occupation as she was sent to southern Kamerun to launch an invasion. The large, flat plains of Kamerun made Zhuldyz's conquests extremely easy, and she made a push with Thomas Shepherd to attempt a capture of the important city of Douala. Together they made a push inwards for Douala, but ultimately, the Reich continued to flood the city with men until the lines could no longer be sustained, and the Nuuk forces were forced to retreat. With a failure in Africa, Zhuldyz was relocated to Arabia, where she continued a slow, onward push throughout the Invasion of France and the Third Battle of Paris. With the war's end with the Great Amnesty, Zhuldyz was recalled to Nuuk, where she was offered an award for outstanding bravery in the face of great odds. Zhuldyz herself, however, was quoted with, "I am personally disappointed with myself for the inability to capture Douala. This is a terrible guilt that General Shepherd and I will bear for as long as we live."

## Modern Life

Zhuldyz currently resides in Nuuk, refusing to return to her homeland due to "terrible memories made there." She also apparently enjoys Nuuk's cold weather, saying it's a nice change from the hot environment of the desert. She has a husband, a child, and two grandchildren. She still remains in decent physical and mental shape, a sharp mind of the Sakkutuut and valued apprentice to Tamesse Ayodele.