Part 134: Final Epilogue: Future and Beyond

Final Epilogue: Future and Beyond

1946. A year of reprieve. A year of peace. A year of discussion and negotiation as the borders of the world are redrawn. Finally, a settlement is reached among the victorious powers for the division of land.


Mazula had emerged the war as a victor. Its allies in Europe had been soundly defeated, but its position in America and Jadakal had never been so strong. Though the wars had strenghtened the military and given it a large unruly christian minority to handle, democracy persisted in Mazula, and its industries flourished from the new markets opened up after the fall of the Jadakal Empire. Slowly, Mazula began asserting its interests abroad once more, intervening against Japan in Asia and establishing alliances among the peripheral powers of Europe.


Vinland faced an uncertaun future under Mazulan rule, relegated to the role of junior trade partner. Lumber, fish and oil flowed south over the border, while the industries of Vinland shrunk and died in face of Mazulan competition. Some of the American government and military in exile eventually settled in Vinland, and parts of New Britain were placed under Vinland's government in 1948, but territorial gains could not make up for the disintegration of the country's economy.


Qtizi, always living in the shadow of its great neighbor, fell even further under Mazulan influence. In 1952, Mazula seized the Panama Canal, effectively encircling its old ally, whose independence became in time more fiction than fact.


The governments of the new countries formed after the fall of Jadakal did not last long, as the autocrats were overthrown by the same nationalistic forces that had placed them in power, discreetly aided by Mazulan weapons and money, ushering in a new era of democracy. With democracy came economic dependence, however, and the small republics of Jadakal soon fell into the same trap as Vinland and Qtizi, tying their economies wholly to the powerful interests in Mazula City.





Tarrbitz, Nova Aquitania and Gustavia banded together in the face of Mazulan imperialism, using their ties to Europe to maintain a varied trade policy and remain relatively neutral. In 1954, war broke out between Gustavia and Tarwajal, a war in which the latter was heavily aided by Mazula, ending in defeat for Gustavia and the loss of most of its western oil fields.




Australasia's long-standing neutrality was ultimately impossible to maintain in the face of an expanionistic Japan, and eventually the country threw in its lot with Mazula, becoming a key player in the power games between Mazula and Japan over the Pacific.


As the last surviving truly socialist state, the Philippines refused to align itself with either Mazula, Germany or Japan, and played off the three power blocks against each other to maintain its independence. For a time, this policy was successful, and socialism lived on.


As leader of the Oriental block, and one of the countries to gain the most during the war, Japan rose quickly to the state of a super power. The country tested its first atomic bomb in 1948, and by the end of the decade was the leading rival of Germany and Mazula in the contest for global influence. After years of civil strife and the loss of parts of China in the 60s, Japan became belligerent once more, and relations between the Oriental Axis and Germany plunged.




High in the mountains of Tibet, the glorious Thunder Dragon Land, Bhutan, continued to exist in splendid isolation, governed by the most wise Dragon King, Jaime Wangchuk. In Bhutan, as it had always been, so shall it always be, for the ways of the Dragon are immutable.


German East India faced considerable strife after the end of the war, as its indigenous populations, burdened with ever-increasing quotas to supply Germany's war machine, finally rose up in desperation. After several failed risings on Java and Sumatra, a massive revolt in Assam succeeded in seizing control of much of the former country, proving surprisingly difficult to stamp out despite several armed expeditions into the region.


Egypt, as reward for its hardships and suffering, was given Palestine, Jordan and Syria, conveniently giving it a border to Anatolia.


As part of the peace arrangement in the Middle East, the Kingdoms of Iraq and Arabia were created and given full independence, serving as a neutral buffer between Egypt and Byzantine Persia and a check on Egypt's interest.



The Byzantines were given Armenia, Anatolia and Persia, restoring the Byzantine Empire to close to its greatest historical span. The territory proved easier to take than to hold together, however, as nationalist and separatist movements flourished in Persia, India and Central Asia and the deeply-rooted communism of Greece proved difficult to eradicate. In 1962, after a decade of armed resistance, India broke away from Constantinople, triggering a massive uprising in China and throwing the Oriental Axis into chaos for several years.


Soundly defeated on two fronts, Russia fell into a steep national decline, its industry dying for lack of trade partners and its discontent population voting in a rapid succession of failed coalition governments. In 1955, the Russian Nationalist party seized power, installing an authoritan government and opening up trade with the HRE. What was once a dream of a nation governed by the people and built on modern principles became a political backwater with economy kept solvent only by export of Russia's vast natural resources.


Friland, having survived the war with the North African Union against all odds, was granted a stretch of territory six times its original size, but suffered a loss of some of its autonomy from the resurgence of Scandiniavian colonialism.


Kongo was restored to its position as a German colony, but the war had permanently undermined the power structures in the region, and soon the country was in open revolt against its masters. Decades of bloodshed and strife followed, a low-burning war claiming a constant toll of German and African lives.


Lithuania continued on its path to modernization, guided by Augustinus III. As Russia declined, so did Lithuanian dependence on Germany, and relations became ever frostier until in 1967 Lithuania withdrew from the HRE.





Finland did not quickly forget the German attempts to overthrow its government, and relations between the country and the HRE were deep-frozen for a long time. Finland's economy flourished during the war from the sale of timber and ore, profits which the country used to build up a strong, modern economy and aggressively defend its neutral stance.


Scandinavia saw a resurgence of colonialism after the capture of several far-flung territories during the war, and arranged to purchase Borneo and parts of New Guinea from Ostasien in 1950. It remained a moderate country, aligned with Germany moreso out of economic interest than any real ideological bend.


With Scandinavian persecution of catholics a thing of the past, the reason for Gotland's existance became irrelevant, and in 1953, the country finally joined with its motherland, becoming a province of Scandinavia.


Switzerland elected a conservative government in 1944, and again in 1948, eventually succumbing to geopolitical realities by abandoning neutrality and seeking entry into the HRE once more.


Great Britain moved quickly to rebuild its country, aided by the strength of the industries built up to support the German war machine. The new totalitarian monarch abdicated in 1950, ushering in a new democratic government that walked a carefully neutral line, but continued to shift its economy ever more towards Mazula and away from German-dominated Europe.


Ireland's position as recognized neutral territory granted the country considerable benefits, and for a long time it continued to act as go-between in disputes between Mazula and Germany, the only truly free democracy in Europe.


Austria was given considerable lands and almost complete dominance of the Balkans in the peace arrangement, but resentment over its subordinate position to Germany would now and again bubble to the surface. The death of Ulrich III and the rise of his son Konrad to the throne saw considerable changes as Austria asserted its sovereignty, resulting in a brief but bloody war in which Konrad was ousted from the throne.


Guiseppe III had seen his dream of a Tittoni ruling all of Italy realized, but he inherited an Italy with a deep socialist and communist tradition, and it was only many years and much death later that the insurgencies were finally put down. Guiseppe's only son was among the victims, killed by a car bomb shortly after taking the throne and bringing the Tittoni line to an end.


The Netherlands remained Germany's closest friend and supporter for decades after its liberation, a relationship aided by the clueless but affable and benevolent King Otto.


Iberia's newfound friendship with Germany did not last, as relations quickly became strained over King Rashid's refusal to dismantle many of the democratic institutions his dynasty had built up. Iberia withdrew from the HRE mere months after joining, citing the terms of the peace treaty as the reason. The reforms back to democracy did not survive Rashid's suspicious death in 1947, however, and eventually Iberia arranged itself into the order of Europe as the principal hub in trade between the New and Old Worlds.


The new governments of France, Brittany and Occitania inherited generations of strife and suffering, and did little to improve on the situation, cracking down hard on any dissent. Guerilla groups and insurgents continued to form, however, and whether the troubled western parts of Europe would ever see real peace remained to be seen.





Vézelay, Yonne, German-occupied Burgundy, April of 1968

Perched on a hill overlooking the blooming vinyards of Vézelay sits the town school. In a town of only five hundred souls, there is only need for a single teacher, whose lecturing voice can sometimes be heard all the way down by its ancient abbey on a quiet day.

Inside the school's solitary classroom, the town's children sit listening to today's history lesson. Most of them are French, but a few are German - the Mayor, the Abbot and the biggest land-owners in the town are all German immigrants.

"And in June of 1813, France's treacherous revolutionary government finally surrendered. The French army, realizing that it had been the puppet of evil men, honorably volunteered its service to fight Zuhriman, who was finally defeated a year later. Despite being honorably treated in the peace conference, the French people chose to listen to agitators and war broke out again eleven years later as Germany was forced to intervene against its will to protect Austria, which had been deviously attacked by France's ally Byzantium."

Raising his arm, the eldest son of a German farmer interrupts, "But Mrs. Clare, I thought the Byzantines were our friends and allies?"

The teacher nods thoughtfully at his question, "Yes, Fritz, they are now, but this was a long time ago, before the Greek people understood who their friends and enemies were. Back then, they were just as suspectible to agitators and revolutionaries as us French!"

A small French girl, frowning in puzzlement, comments, "But why are us French so easily fooled, Mrs. Clare? In your books, it always says that France is the aggressor, France is the revolutionary, France is allied with the enemy... how can it be that we are always in the wrong, and the Germans are always in the right?"

"Maybe we're just smarter than you are - perhaps because we do not eat frogs!" Fritz butts in, to the laughter of the German children. At the classroom door, normally so immobile that one might think him a part of the furniture, the gaze of a large German police officer slowly shifts from the French girl to the teacher, waiting for a reply.

With her smile only slipping ever so slightly, the teacher shakes her head, "No, I do not think it is related to food, Fritz. Rather, France has simply not had the fortune of being guided by so strong and wise a dynasty as our Hohenzollern rulers. France has been led by charlatans and fools, and it is only now that we can begin to realize it, thanks to our beloved Emperor, may he live forever!"

"May he live forever!" the class echoes back at her, and the officer at the door relaxes, the situation disarmed.

A bit later, the school day done, Mrs. Clare runs down the village street, in a hurry to get home. By the time she has reached the tiny townhouse she shares with her husband, he is already in uniform, his bags packed and his mobilization orders neatly folded into his front pocket.

Throwing herself into his arms, she asks with tears in her eyes, "Will you truly be alright all the way over there? Will there really be war with Japan? When will you get your first leave? Will you be back to see your child born?"

Her husband smiles, and he answers each question reassuringly, and he promises to be home to see his son born. They kiss, and he leaves on the back of a truck bound for Bordeaux.

In three months, he will be dead in the jungles of the Philippines, one of the first casualties of what would go down in history as 'a minor skirmish' between Japanese invasion forces and a German intervention force that almost led to nuclear weapons being exchanged but finally ended with Japanese withdrawal from the islands, nothing achieved on either side but a few hundred more lives lost.

And so history goes on, and leaves behind one less young man in the town of Vézelay, Yonne.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
- Albert Einstein

It is only the dead who have seen the end of war.
- Plato

Fin