Alt-Universe WW1

The dominoes fell instantly as decades of secret pacts were forced into the light, splitting the continent into two heavily armed factions:The Entente of SteelThe Kingdom of Evermore: Declared total mobilization on June 28th, throwing its massive infantry hordes toward the Blackwood border.The Free City of Whitecoast (Secret Benefactor): Officially neutral, but its shipyards are working double-shift to supply Evermore with modern warships, securing its dominance at sea.The Iron Shield AccordThe Duchy of Blackwood: Digging deep trenches into its ancient muddy borderlands, preparing for a brutal defensive war of survival.The Republic of Silverpeak: Fearing that an Evermoreian victory would encircle their borders, Silverpeak honored a secret defense pact. They have flooded Blackwood with modern bolt-action rifles, heavy artillery, and combat engineers to fortify the frontline.The Wild CardsThe Holy Empire of Lighthaven: Horrified by the impending slaughter, the Pope-Emperor called for an emergency holy congress. Both sides ignored the call. Lighthaven's desperate neutrality is viewed as cowardice by Evermore, and as a betrayal by the Accord. As tension rises on its own borders, Lighthaven's massive, zealot army quietly prepares for an inevitable invasion.

Grief-stricken and out for blood, the aging King of Evermore issued a humiliating 48-hour ultimatum to the Duchy of Blackwood, designed to strip them of their sovereignty entirely:Absolute Purge: Blackwood must dismantle all domestic nationalist groups and hand over all suspected conspirators to Evermoreian executioners.Military Occupation: Evermoreian imperial troops will permanently occupy Eldermere to "restore civil order."Resource Annexation: The vast, strategic timber forests of Blackwood are to be ceded to the Evermoreian Crown as permanent war reparations.Backed into a corner, the Duke of Blackwood formally rejected the terms, declaring: "We would rather burn our forests to ash than see them cut by the axes of Evermore."

On June 15th, 1901, Crown Prince Aldric—the proud heir to the Evermoreian throne—arrived in Blackwood’s historic capital of Eldermere for a tense economic summit. The atmosphere was thick with resentment.As the royal open-air carriage crossed the crowded cobblestones of the Grand Plaza, a radical Blackwood nationalist broke through the thin line of gendarmerie. Two shots echoed through the square. Prince Aldric slumped forward into his velvet seats, dead before the smoke cleared.The assassin was captured and beaten within minutes, but the damage was irreversible. The gears of war had begun to turn.

Summer, 1901 – The Continent of VallartaFor decades, the continent of Vallarta had danced upon a razor's edge. A fragile peace, built on secret treaties and industrial greed, masked a simmering hatred between five distinct powers.The Kingdom of Evermore: The traditional powerhouse. A vast, agrarian empire rich in grain, cattle, and manpower. However, its rapid industrial expansion is bottlenecked by a desperate lack of mineral resources.The Republic of Silverpeak: A rising technocratic industrial giant. Nestled in the jagged northern mountains, Silverpeak controls the continent’s richest iron and coal mines—vital resources that Evermore desperately craves to complete its continental railway network.The Holy Empire of Lighthaven: A deeply pious, conservative theocracy. Long acting as the self-appointed moral mediator of Vallarta, Lighthaven watches its secular neighbors with growing disgust, viewing their industrial greed as a rot upon the soul of the continent.The Free City of Whitecoast: A sprawling, coastal hyper-capitalist metropolis. Officially neutral, Whitecoast is the banking center and shipyard of the world. It thrives on conflict, lining its banks with blood money by legally selling dreadnoughts to the highest bidder while smuggling black-market munitions to the other.The Duchy of Blackwood: A heavily forested, fiercely independent nation. Once a peaceful expanse of ancient timber, Blackwood has been economically choked for a century, forced into predatory trade agreements by Evermore’s ruthless merchant lords. Beneath the canopy of the Blackwood forests, a radical nationalist movement has taken root.

Continent: Vallarta
An island nation, roughly the size of Ireland, in the North Atlantic. Originally a Viking colony, its nations are now caught in a delicate balance of trade, religion, and alliances.