Arknights : Final Rebirth - Gladius Belii

[E] Chapter 24 - Reacclimating, old connections...

"Mono/Dialogue"

'Inner thoughts'

Narration

[Message/communication apparatus]

Date: Data not found

Location: Data not found

POV: Narrator

The Grand Knight's Territory is famous for always bouncing and striking back against the odds. One instance of Ursus incursion in the year 872 started horrifically disadvantageous for The Kingdom of Kazimierz. The invasion was not a sudden one, but Ursus had created an ingenious battle barge and landed bypassing the old strongholds at Vemel and Tirtu.

The tide of war would keep worsening until 877 when Sobieski the Illustrious Titan broke through Ursus' armies encircling Kawalerielki from the east. His knights moved without rest, evading Ursine artilleries and pining the Eastern Ursus Army, comprised of 14th and 18th Artillery brigades with 7th and 11th Infantry Divisions, helpless against the city defense and Sobieski relief force.

The Northern and Southern armies tried to relieve the pressure, but suddenly the King of Kazimierz, Konstantyn Jagiello II, rallied his people to strike the out-of-position relief force with his militias and Men-at-Arms while his Royal Guards, including the fabled Silverlances, keeping the Western army in check.

Jagiello II's militias acted like an anvil for the relief force, shattering the Ursine armies' cohesion. The knights are being given ample opportunities to strike the invaders with impunity. Not to mention that the prior infighting between the Ursus Generals accelerated their destruction.

The battle was won, the siege was lifted, and another nightmarish war of attrition ensued for years. None wished to back down, be it out of pride or they still had much strength to potentially unleash against their adversary.

An upset happened, however, when the Gaulish Empire along with the Kingdom of Victoria intervened in 880's, forcing both sides to sign a white peace and Ursus to pay war reparations. It was unknown how it came to be, but myths abound about a personage, veiled in utmost secrecy, of putting the war to a grinding halt.

Regardless of the war's conclusion, the war was one of many instances where they, regardless of how unfavorable it was, could beat back the odds. This also forces the many national problems with Kazimierz to resurface, namely manpower and the slow mustering of armies due to conflicting chains of command.

For centuries they had been employing numerous actions to the point of abolishing archaic titles and offices while also enacting social reforms. All for national interest in upholding the Kazimierzian's existence as a whole.

But one of the most successful reforms is the one regarding the attainment of knighthood and allowing the knights to form a union and become patrons for merchants. This allowed a new surge of nouveau riche knight's families and capitalist businessmen to finally blossom and inject the much-needed lifeblood into the stagnating country.

Then it bears fruit with the most lucrative and controversial change for the people of Kazimierz and perhaps Terra itself; The Kazimierz Major. They were all hailed to be the perfect manifestation of innovation and creativity while making use of tradition, no matter what form it took.

Promoting national interests and quelling public dissatisfaction for a country that starts to breathe once more. Said Major had also become such a sensational take on how Kazimierz managed to avert a lot of its problems that might cause civil unrest and entice foreign interest with the Kazimierz rulebook.

The Kazimierz Major, used to be known as the Grand Knight's Tourney, is an event full of pomp with gallantry and chivalry. The tourney is where the old and new families compete as knights with capable commoners casting their lot to attain glory, wealth, and fame to then move up the social ladder.