Kooze Territory, Parpaldian Empire, March 13th, 1640

Lazarus

In the city, there is a fort which was built when Kooze was still an independent country. During these times, the fortress currently has the governor of Kooze, Frederick, taking refuge inside. At this moment, he is currently inside a room, receiving the news from the imperial government as the door to his room is guarded by 4 Parpaldian soldiers outside.

"Damn it.. They can't even spare some men to us?!" He said, cursing at his bad luck.

Frederick looked down towards the table in frustration as his both of his hands grasped his black hair, "Why did this happen during my administration.."

It's an unfortunate fate that awaits this poor governor. He wanted to work for his country to provide for his family. Unfortunately, Parpaldia had gotten itself involved in a major war which had devastated it, which is now causing this rebellion that threatens his life. All of the patriotism he had for his country were washed away as the situation started to get worse. He knows doesn't have any time left before the rebels manage to breach the fortress.

The reply from the government proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Frederick's resolve. Without help from the Imperial Army, he couldn't see himself crushing this rebellion. As a result, he took a piece of paper from his desk and started to write on it to send a letter to his family. As he wrote the letter, tears started to flow down from his eyes as he thought of the happy moments he had with his wife and daughter.

"Even though I had promised to go back in the summer.. I'm sorry that I won't be able to be there with you, my little Marie.." He thought to himself as he reminisces of the past.

He continued on writing the letter as the commotion outside of the fort continued. He put all of his feelings onto that piece of paper, making sure every word is meaningful and not wasting a single ink. He wrote down every single moment worth mentioning and his sincere and genuine feelings on it, alongside the moments where he would scold his daughter. His heart filled with a deep sense of fatherly love and he made sure to make that feeling known in the letter of his. After which, he would write the wishes he wanted to fulfill, one of which was to see her daughter grow up to be a successful adult even though she is still currently a minor. Finally, he ended with an apology and repeatedly wrote words saying how much he loved his wife and daughter.

He finally finished writing the letter and leaned his back on the chair. He knows he must get the letter out of this city and reach his family, so he stood up and left the room with the letter in hand.

Lazarus Fortress Harbour

Frederick ran through the stone brick floor of the fortress before reaching the pier of the fortress which had ships that were big and small. On the pier were groups of native Parpaldian civilians who are evacuating the fortress on the ships that docked there. A while ago, the group of civilians were much larger but as the ships began to depart, the crowd began to get smaller alongside the number of ships that were there.

"Looks like I don't have much time left.. Thank god there are still some ships here." He thought to himself as he continued to run.

He ran towards one of the ships, which looked like an East Indiaman. Beside it is a crowd of civilians who are desperately trying to get onto the ship. It seemed like it will take a while to get through the crowds, but luckily for Frederick, one of the guards noticed him and urged the crowd to move aside.

With ease, he finally reached the front of the crowd and is met by a Parpaldian officer who is surprised by his presence, "Frederick?! Are you here to evacuate, sir?"

Frederick shook his head, "No, but I need this letter to be sent to my family." He answered as he presented the rolled paper which contained the letter, "Can you do it, Herman?"

Herman seemed confused by Frederick's answer, "You're not going to evacuate..?"

Frederick would answer the question, "No, I'll be staying here."

Herman then tried to object to Frederick's decision, "You've got a family don't you?! Think of how your family will think of this."

Frederick smiled, "I do, but I still have responsibilities as the governor of this territory. This may seem selfish, but can you please help me?"

Herman sighed as his placed his palm on his forehead, "Seems like you never change.. Alright, I'll make sure this reaches them, so you can count on me! Besides, I owe you a big favor." He said as he pat Frederick on the back.

Frederick chuckled at Herman's statement, "Thank you.." He thanked him as he left the port.

Herman looked on as Frederick left the premises. With a smile, he muttered, "I hope you'll be safe.."

Herman continued to guide the crowds onto the ship as he put the letter on his pockets. He knows for sure that he doesn't want to die in this colony and he certainly didn't want his friend to die. Although he could've attempted to get him to safety, he felt like he couldn't bring himself to it. He knows Frederick very well and he knows its hard for to convince him to evacuate due to his past experiences with him. While it seems awful for him to abandon him, it didn't sit right for him to take away his wishes, especially after everything Frederick has done for him.

Kooze Reconstruction Army Hideout

The door opened, as a man entered the room. Haki noticed his presence and immediately walked up to them.

"How did it go, Ikia?" Haki asked.

"They still said that we need to wait for approval." Ikia answered.

The man who Haki asked the question is Ikia, his right-hand man to the Kooze Reconstruction Army. He had joined the movement a year after it was formed and had risen through the ranks to become a respected member.

Haki sighed and shook his head, "Seriously? I doubt that their central government would accept our demands anyways."

"We've given them a week to decide. How should we move on with this?" Ikia asked.

"As usual, continue the preparation to storm the fortress when it comes to it." Haki ordered.

They had been anticipating that this could be the case, thus they made sure to prepare for the worst case scenario. Weapons were smuggled and given to every member of the rebellion and various other measures were also made incase storming the fortress proves to be too difficult.

"Anyways, how is the infiltration to the fortress and the negotiations with the Altarans going?" Haki asked Ikia.

"The Altarans have agreed to help us take the fortress in the event that they refuse to surrender. About our infiltration, we've managed to map out some parts of the fortress, but we haven't managed to enter the main building." Ikia answered as he put a map on the paper.

Haki looked at the map, which revealed the layout of the courtyard and the walls. There were also marked areas where the Parpaldian guards were stationed at.

"Good, with this, it'll make our odds better." Haki nodded, approving of their efforts.

The two knew that if they manage to kick the Parpaldians out of the fortress, then it would solidify their presence on the island and allow them to finally proclaim their independence after years of oppression and exploitation. Additionally, the fortress is a symbol of the former Kooze Kingdom and capturing it would allow them to rouse up more support.

Everyone affiliated with the Kooze Reconstruction Army knew that this battle would be the one to mark the start of a new era of Kooze.

A Certain Meeting Room, March 14th, 1640

"Now.. We shall begin the briefing."

A meeting has just begun in the fortress of the former Kooze capital. Attending were the head of the Parpaldian government in Kooze and various other individuals relevant to the matter, including Governor Frederick.

Marvin, a muscular man who also attended the negotiations with the Kooze rebels a day prior, started the meeting. Behind him is a wooden board with a number of maps and other papers on it.

"The plan is to make sure that the Kooze rebels do not take this fortress easily. Therefore, we shall have 2 groups undertaking different tasks!

The first group, codenamed Group Defense, shall defend the fortress to the last man when the time comes. The second, codenamed Group Support, shall provide support to the first group through gathering or smuggling supplies and materials." Marvin explained.

The ones attending this meeting would take their notes, making sure they don't forget their tasks. They were all adamant on holding this fortress for as long as possible even if it meant defeat.

"Our defense shall consists of multiple layers. The first layer will be the walls, with the courtyard and main building being the 2nd and 3rd layers. The gates shall be barricaded, barriers shall be constructed in the courtyard and the main building, and everyone shall be given weapons." Marvin added.

Then, an attendee raised his hand "Why don't we blow up the bridge? That should make it impossible for them to attack us."

"Good point, but how are we supposed to go outside then? Besides, we need to make as much chokepoints as possible in order to make it more difficult to storm us." Marvin responded.

Certainly, blowing up the bridge would definitely force the enemy to find other ways to breach the castle. However, as there is no other way to enter or leave the castle, Marvin knew it could be problematic.

Their situation is also difficult due to the huge numerical advantage that the rebels had and the lack of wyverns and various heavy equipment. Unfortunately for them, they were all pulled from the island and sent to the mainland for the war effort due to Kooze's geography, which made it unimportant to the war.

Additionally, supplies are limited and hence why they must prepare as much as possible for the inevitable battle. They all knew it would be a bloody one, but they were all prepared to deal with such a scenario.

The briefing continued for an hour or two as the plan went into further detail. Everyone had their roles and it must be executed for it to succeed.