August 15th, 1877
Callamar, Capital of Cannem
King Eric XVI of Cannem stood on the balcony of his palace in Callamar. He was an old man in his 70's with a thick white goatee and short white hair. He wore a blue suit, a red vest covered by a blue coat and black trousers that accentuated his height. He was a tall man and walked with a limp from an injury he'd received in combat over thirty years ago, he had a chunk of bone removed from his leg a Swedish soldier's saber.
He was considered to be an honest man by some, a lier by others. He was well-loved by his citizens for his changes to the government over his fifty years of rule. He always spoke with a deep, booming voice but in reality, he always worried about the future of his nation. His son, William was the commander of his army and sole heir to the throne since his oldest son, James was killed in battle with the Swedish Empire less than thirty years earlier.
Though Cannem had been victorious, Eric couldn't get over the death of James. He was always quiet, rarely talking to his wife Allysa or his son and only surviving child. He'd also had two daughters who perished from Cholera when they were only five years old. He was a depressed man but rarely showed it to his advisors or citizens, He also worried about everything in his country and all those that could be a threat.
He worried as he stood there, he worried about Paraza, the neighboring land. They had fought their last war against one another nearly eighty years ago in 1799, Cannem met a brutal defeat that had lowered morale for years across the nation. The door to the balcony opened revealing his top advisor, Johann Schmitz. He was the second cousin of Chancellor Otto Von Bismark of Prussia now Germany.
He was shorter than Eric, he had a bald spot on his head covered by a bowler hat, and he had a thick white mustache and wore a black and white suit.
"Advisor," said Eric in his aging deep voice "Do you see that?"
"See what, Herr Hartford?" asked Schmitz in his German accent
Eric stood there in silence with his hands behind his back before saying "This city, it was built on centuries of blood and war, it's beautiful"
"Yes it is" replied Schmitz walking over to Eric
"I fear a possible invasion from our old enemy, Paraza" exclaimed Eric "With our grand defeat in 1799 it is possible we could face another, even with the new government"
"I believe High Duchess Clarise is overconfident in her military prowess, neither her father nor her brother has fought in a war" replied Schmitz.
"I received a telegraph message about a possible mobilization in Paraza, directly from her" responded Eric pulling a note out of his coat pocket and handing it off the Schmitz.
Schmitz read over the note in shock before saying:
"We must ready our troops at once"
"I was going to tell you later today about my plan for defending our border, we have received a large shipment of new weapons, from President Robert .E. Lee of The Confederacy" responded Eric.
Eric left the balcony and returned with two soldiers pulling a strange machine behind them. They sat it down in front of Schmitz. It had the barrel of a gun but a large block behind the barrel with two handles and two buttons on the back, and a tall piece of metal sticking out of it, it sat on a small cart that could be pulled behind a horse.
"What is it?" asked Schmitz curiously
"The confederates call it a 'Machine Gun'" replied Eric
Eric pulled out a wooden crate that was placed under the cart and opened it, revealing a large strip clip and boxes of bullets.
"Men, Ready the gun" exclaimed Eric loudly.
When he said this the two soldiers who wore blue uniforms and tall blue hats depicting a dragons head emblem scrambled over to the gun. One soldier placed twenty 45.70 bullets into the strip clip with the other took his place on the seat attached to the cart. After the bullets had been loaded into the clip, the soldier placed it on the gun's magazine and slid it down before pulling it back out, leaving the bullets in the magazine.
The second soldier grabbed the handle on the side of the gun, pulling it back and letting it slide forward chambering the first bullet. The gun had been aimed at a target on the far side of the balcony.
"FIRE" yelled Eric
As he did the soldier pressed both buttons and a storm of bullets rained from the gun, lasting only five seconds before the magazine had been emptied.
"But are you SURE that these will be effective?" asked Schmitz
"The Confederates won their independence with these" replied Eric Confidently
High Duchess Clarise was considered to be one of Paraza's greatest leaders. She had removed the old monarchy of the past and replaced it with a democracy much like France had years ago and was already making numerous changes, even instating a constitution that gave everyone the right to vote and many more things to improve the lives of her citizens. But she had one horrible problem, she had an insatiable thirst for more territory, she always said it was for the good of her people but it wasn't.
She wanted to grow Paraza as a grand state with a huge army that conquered Europe, putting a test to the French, British, Swedish, Austrians, Germans, and Cannemins. Her lust for more territory often clouds her judgment, she was only in office for ten years and had already lost a war with Russia. She, however, was confident that if a war broke out between Cannem it would end in her winning. She was a big follower of Christianity and put her faith in the Lord to guide her on victories.
She believed that her ever-faithful citizens would willingly join her army to defend their beautiful homeland against King Eric's Army. She had always called herself honest but was considered by her advisors to be a viscous lier to some extent. This would start a war.
