Having traveled the rivers of Viirad, I am ever more aware of the dividing line between my lands and the lands not subject to the weather anomalies of the Machine. To the north, Wittenland’s falling of the leaves is underway, though I believe they have a more unicorn-focused tradition compared to the Running of the Leaves in Equestria. It has been years since I left Barrad, and I had almost forgotten what it looked like to have seasons.

Since Ambrosius took over, the usual traditions to change the seasons have been ineffective, and the weather has remained chaotic due to the influence of the Machine. It is hot and dry, and yet blizzards occur year-round. It was quite the sight to see the dust storms on the right of the ship, and yet clear weather visible through the dust on the left. The erratic weather phenomena make it quite hard to plant crops in Viirad, but also make it quite hard to organize resistance when all efforts are waylaid by bad weather and ponies have to ensure they don’t starve.

When the time comes to occupy Kasa and the lands beyond, I should bring the same weather phenomena to my new lands. My home will become theirs. My troops are used to the weather here having been born in it and lived through it their whole lives. I’m sure no other place in the world has such uniquely hostile weather, which would give my forces a decided advantage.

While Wittenland’s army is much more modernized and capable compared to my own, I did not see any infantry waiting on their side of the border. I suppose they haven’t done anything about Barrad for a generation, so there must not be any military urgency to reclaim their territory. Queen Honoria’s rhetoric regarding us, however, has been quite belligerent, so I would not put it beyond her to invade. I believe, however, that we have time. I understand that since she dueled the old queen, White Star, for the throne, she has been dismantling and rebuilding Wittenlandic society to make it more meritocratic - a process that has likely destabilized the country.

I worry that her reforms will mean a more formidable foe when they inevitably do march south, but that is offset by my relief that they have cut ties with the rest of the River Coalition. While still nominally a member of the Treaty of Coltstream, I don’t see Aquileia or the Griffonian Empire invading like Grover II did anytime soon given their ongoing war with each other, leaving the treaty relatively useless. Perhaps Honoria was tired of the lack of aid regarding the Grphyussian Cossack raids and stopped treaty cooperation. Whatever the reason, when war comes whether by their hoof or mine, they will be alone.

The second week’s journey brought me from the border of Austurland in the east down to the Kasan border in the south. Austurland is the only deer nation in Griffonia, and their vikingar have given the rest of us an unsavory reputation of all being pirates. They are still quite backward with their thrall system and tribal governance. I understand their Jarl, Ygritte Bylgjasdottír, was a berserker herself in the past, though it appears she has taken some steps to modernize the nation. I will be the one to lead the deer of this continent - not her.

During my casting along the border, I kept the area of influence of my mind control spell solely on my side of the river, but having done so for a while now, I had an idea for a new use of my previously discarded point charge spell. The reason I don’t cast over Austurland now is to avoid having to fight a war before I am ready, as actions like this are a clear casus belli. However, once war begins, there is no reason to hold back. I could, for example, travel close to the front lines and use my point charge mind control spell over the enemy. Not only would I gain followers, but it should sow chaos behind enemy lines as many suddenly find themselves on my side. The downside of the partially affected also becomes a positive as the uncertainty and mental instability it causes harms enemy effectiveness. My soldiers, who already worship me, would be unaffected, or simply believe harder in me.

I shall have to test this when I invade Kasa. On the topic of the nation, my river journey was cut short by where the Kasans draw the border with Viirad. I was close enough to see their border markings. I was also able to see their military encampments. Mostly Zebras, of course, but a healthy minority of griffins, deer, and ponies too. The heterogeneity irks me. Their “free state” exists only because no one bothered to conquer them. They rely on Macawia for everything and are just stock for the vikingar of Austurland.

But I should not be too critical. They may not be rich or well-educated, but they are far ahead of Viirad in such regards. The consequence of ruling a nation that was, until recently, run selfishly by a mad count is a lack of economic and technological progress. I am but one doe, and I can’t make up for the rest of my nation’s shortcomings. Furthermore, if the state of the borders is anything to go by, Kasa is the only nation that currently recognizes me militarily as the threat I am and will be. I would say, “congratulations”, as they’ve thus volunteered themselves to be first under my hoof.

I am still preparing invasion plans, but first I must finish establishing control of my own ponies. Eadmund reports the railroad is complete, but only one day ahead of schedule despite my mental intervention. My theory is that the ponies did work hard even before I arrived whether to meet quotas assigned from on high or self-motivation, so my spell only had effects on the lazy or unmotivated, who were only a fraction of the total population. This suggests that productivity will not increase significantly in the coming weeks, and that the correct path to increasing production in the economy will be industrial design and education, which are not things mind control can easily fix.

The first train is set to begin its tour of the nation tomorrow with me on it. Once that is complete, it will host migration of workers to urban areas where they can be more productive in factories, once we have the necessary factories built. It should also help in transporting cargo like raw materials, but also finished goods, around the nation. This is good news, but the limiting factor still remains guns, or, more specifically, artillery. Factories are slow to build with no nation willing to directly sell us expertise or machinery, and Leofwine estimates it will be only after my planned invasion date that the next factory will complete.

This does mean I will have to invade Kasa without stockpiles of semi-modern weaponry, but the invasion cannot wait. A few more months after that, Kasa will attempt to invade Viirad to free the ponies of Barrad. If the newspapers my agents have delivered to me are to be believed, the influx of Barradian refugees has caused a generation-long crisis in Kasa known as the Xatisa. Invading Viirad is part of their solution, as it means no more refugees. That is the practical side, but they also have their ideological reasons for hating my rule.

They do not, however, seem to know who I am. They are still referring to my nation as “Barrad” and are only now starting to realize that I am in charge, not the whole Pentarchy. This means the average Kasan is not going to know who I am. From my ranged mind control tests, I know this can lead to an unsatisfactory mind control outcome. Therefore, I must spread my name across Kasa to ensure a smooth transition.

Of course, the question remains of how. I would imagine printing pamphlets and teleporting them across the country is not the best course of action. Not only would it be using time and mana I’d rather spend affecting the battlefield, but many of the Kasans are as illiterate as my ponies. The traditional approach would be to send a diplomatic cable, but Barrad never had proper diplomatic connections with any nation, and thus Viirad inherited nothing in that regard. I could leak information about myself to the Skapatoria through Wynflaed, but the intelligence agency knows about me already, and the lack of public knowledge is likely a choice to not tell the public much. Intelligence agencies never do.

I could invite a journalist from Kasa to Viirad to spread my story. I’m sure they all want the story but are just too afraid to travel here to get it. I would imagine that none of them would be too excited to accept an invitation either for fear of their lives or freedom. However, their consent is of no concern to me. I will simply have to take a journalist, have them interview me under duress, and return them with the transcript. Given a few days of imprisonment, I’m sure their absence will be missed, and the media would then eat up the story of a reporter’s mysterious disappearance and equally mysterious return with the scoop of the decade. The narrative seems compelling enough to be spread.

I can invade only when the story has properly propagated through their media channels. If I were to do the interview immediately after my train journey, I estimate it would take 3 more weeks for the story to be published and properly reach even the illiterate backwaters. Thus, my earliest invasion date would be a month from now. Begrudgingly, I can accept it.

Author's Note

There was a teaser for a rework for the country of Barrad by the EaW team today. I hope it doesn't invalidate this whole story.

The Running of the Leaves is interesting. "Fall Weather Friends" describes it as a Ponyville tradition, but that also the leaves don't fall without intervention. This means every nation needs its own tradition for season changing.