Ral'Parthia

Ral'Parthia is a chain of islands in the Counterweize Region. Originally called Geth, the character of the island changed dramatically during the early part of the New Day.

History

Geth

Ancient History

Evidence exists for a large, well-organized pre-dynastic culture. Ruins found all over the island display both a commonality of form and a high degree of sophistication. However, aside from a cursory survey of structures still present on the surface, no widespread archaeological studies were ever made.

Dynastic Era

During the Dynastic Period

Note: write the history of Geth sometime

Ral'Parthia

Ethnic Cleansing in Serpentia

During the Long Night, a group of people called Ral had been brough to Serpentia and Shenzen to work in Samuel Fate's few industrial centers. In actual fact the Ral were simple off-worlders drawn from existing industrial regions because they had the skills needed to build new factories and refineries. However, they brought with them a secret religion which did not mesh especially well with the bastardized secretive versions of Cardinalism which existed under Fate's regime.

Through the millennia, the Ral maintained a sort of specialized status. During the Long Night in Serpentia, you either worked as a slave in the mines, a slave on the collective farms, or if you were very lucky got to live in one of the factory cities and work. With no formal education, most workers learned trades from there parents, and as such Ralians had a virtual monopoly on the highly sought-after skilled jobs.

This led to very deep-seated disdain for the Ral, who even after living among the locals for so long, were still hated. They were painted as collaborators, willing workers for Fate's brutal regime, and were the subject of considerable discrimination. When Fate was destroyed, new governments quickly sprang up to fill the power vacuum. The Ral had always been a minority, if a fairly large one, and with what passed for democracy, the color of their skin and different beliefs were enough to set them apart.

In the year that would later be known as N.D. 9, the newly-formed free governments of nations across Serpentia and Shenzen embarked upon a campaign to rid themselves of "undesirables". The Ral were the main target of the cleansing, but any other groups deemed 'unfit' were targeted as well. Originally, in Serpentia most specifically, the plan had been to round up every ethnic Ral and put them to work as forced labor, "turning the tables" as it were. However, with war looming against neighboring Foundation-controlled Modia, a more expedient solution was proposed.

In late ND 9, with winter fast approaching, the Ralian ghettos were emptied out, their inhabitants herded onto ships, and hastily rushed across the sea to the continent of Geth in the Counterweize Region. The evacuation which had little planning, was surprisingly well-organized. In just 29 days, over thirty-six million people were transported to Geth, over one hundred times the native population. Ten million would not survive the winter.

Forced Re-Settlement

The Ralians were dropped on Geth with little more than the worn and tattered clothes on their backs. Absolutely no thought was given to where they would live or what they would eat, and the governments who had ejected them very likely intended that most die in the harsh, untamed wilderness. This brutal act of subjigation, however, was enough to solidify the Ralians.

Almost a third died in the first winter, but those who survived immediately set to work. Since most had been educated, after a fashion, they had extensive knowledge of chemistry, geology, and hydrology. Geth was chosen partially because it had little water on the surface, but the Ralians set to work daming rivers and streams. Though they had little agricultrual knowledge, they adapted quickly, and by the following fall had learned to live off the land enough that not a single Ral perished in the second winter.

By N.D. 11, they had spread out and begun to build towns. The small population of technologically-regressed locals were absorbed into the Ralian's new society, and many of their religous practices became part of Ral culture. They named the new land Ral'Parthia.

Birth of a Nation

Ral'Parthia proved to be measurably rich in natural resources, with vast reserves of tungsten, aluminum, iron, nickel, and rare-earth metals, as well as a major oil field. There was initially some concern it would be claimed by the Trans-Draconic Federation(due to proximity to dragon-controlled Iami, but the lack of any gold discovered made it uninteresting.

The resources were, however, sought-after by the Earth-Sphere Confederation, who were no regretting "wasting" the place on the Ral. By this time, Shenzen had built up a considerable naval power, and thought it would be a simple matter to concur "primitive and remote Ral'Parthia". They had, by this time, advanced weapons, industrial capacity, and the ability to move an army a million strong across the sea. Though both the TDF and Foundation objected, Shenzen launched it's invasion in N.D. 33.

What followed was one of the most one-sided battles in history.

Battle for Ral'Parthia

The ConFeds had, after expelling the Ralians, learned to use much of the advanced technology left behind by Samuel Fate. They'd quickly taught themselves to build new ships, guns, aircraft, everything they needed. Their belief was that, without these factories and their advanced machines, the Ralians stood no chance of matching them technologically.

In their haste, they had forgotten an important fact of history: Ral had been brought to Aren because they knew how to BUILD those advanced machines. The Ral's leaders had, from the bitter months of that first winter, made up their minds that since this land had been given to them, they would hold it against all comers. When the Shenzen invasion fleet sailed, the answer was simple: let them come.

When Shenzen's war party arrived, they faced a guantlet of mines, torpedoes, and fast-attack boats. The ConFeds had made quite a big deal about their battleships, then armed with massive sixteen-inch guns. This was all well and good, except they were still optically-guided. Ralian's radar-guided five-inch naval guns were far more accurate, and made up the deficiency in firepower by landing more shots. Moreover, the Ralians had secretly built an intensely powerful navy of their own.

The defense of the Newland(as Ralians called it) was not meant to stem the invasion, only to blunt it. Attacks focused not on warships but on troop transports, sinking them by the dozens. Of the million soldiers who left Shenzen, only 700,000 arrived to storm the beaches. They found themselves facing a well-prepared, in-depth defense, and an enemy perfectly content to die rather than give up one single inch. Worse still, while the Ralians were willing to die for their young country, they proved much more interested in killing for it. They made particularly heavy use of poison gas and nerve agents. As these were expressly forbidden by the Battle Charter, the ConFed forces arrived utterly unprepared for them.

In fact, the Ralians had, it seemed, taken the "banned and forbidden weapons" section of the Charter as their guidebook. In addition to the regularly-expected methods, their in-depth defenses included spike pits, minimal metal landmines; and their soldiers fought with a combination of hollow-point or poison-laced bullets. The ConFed forces were allowed to land largely unopposed, but as they pressed further inland faced increasingly more hellish weapons. The Night of A Thousand Lights marked the first use of phosphorus-coated bullets, which continued to burn after hitting.

Once ConFed forces penetrated the interior of the island, they faced new threats. While Ral'Parthia lacked aircraft in any significant numbers, they proved to have a large number of highly mobile armored units. The ConFeds, not expecting to face tanks, had brought few anti-armor weapons with them. As the fighting grew even more intense, the ConFeds fell into the main trap.

When winter approached, the ConFeds appeared to be gaining ground, and even had some units of Ralian soldiers surrender to them. This bolstered their confidence, most especially when they discovered how many female soldiers the Ral had "been forced" to employ. As neither Ral'Parthia nor the Confederation were signatories to the battle charter, the details of what happened to these prisoners should not be further speculated upon. However, the surrenders proved to be part of a carefully orchestrated plot.

The remote and isolated islands that made up Ral'Parthia were home to a rather large number of rare and exotic diseases. Diseases which the Ral had conquered very quickly. Diseases which the Ral had now opted to weaponize against their invaders. As winter set in, the POWs, chosen because they were asymptomatic carriers, became vectors.

Months of brutal winter fighting followed, with sick and dying ConFed soldiers surrendering in droves. They were all promptly executed, and when word of the mass executions spread, the remaining ConFed forces had little choice but to withdraw. They were harried and attacked the entire way back to the beaches, with many escaping troop ships sunk by submarines. as they edged away from the coast. In all, ConFed losses reached a staggering 800,000. Though no word exists of how many Ralians died, the number is believed to be considerably lower.

Aftermath

Ral'Parthia had won its freedom, but achieved pariah status on the world-stage. Due to their uses of banned weapons, they were subject to immediate and total embargo by the Gudersnipe Foundation, who in turn forced the Trans-Draconic Federation to follow suit. When the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance was formed later, Ral'Parthia was denied admittance. For their part, the Ral'Parthians were unrepentant, stating that the ten million who had died that first winter gave them the right to hold the land against all comers, and that any further trespass on their soil would be met with similar resistance.

Later History

By N.D. 85, Ral'Parthia had become a nuclear power. Though not recognized as such, they did sign the Battle Charter and swore they had disposed of their chemical and biological weaponry. It was further noted that while the Ralians were ready to defend their sovereignty with white-hot fury, they had no designs on any of their neighbors.

Ral'Parthia, however, was still considered a rogue state. Being isolated and far from any of the major trade routes allowed them to live in peace, and as the Trans-Draconic Federation began to exert control over Serpentia and Shenzen, tensions in the region lessened.

Goban Straights Conflict

In N.D. 381, gold was discovered in Goban; a large, previously uninhabited landmass near Iami. Goban had been a sovereign state during the old Alliance-era, but had at the time possessed no known natural resources of any note. A remote backwater, despite the large size the nation still had to import most of it's food. Located halfway between Ral'Parthia and Iami, a confluence of ocean currents left Goban a cold, unforgiving place. As the Long Night fell, Goban had been completely abandoned.

The rich mineral discovery changed all that. From a legal perspective, no known claim existed on the land. It was near Boothari and Iami, but the only visitors for the past four centuries were dragons, and indeed it was they who had discovered the gold deposit. Being dragons, they could little accept that anyone else would have the gold, and the island was claimed in the name of the Sandria Desert Flight, the first time a dragon flight had claimed new territory in recorded history.

This in turn led to an argument with Boothari. Technically an independant nation, they were among the few powers in the region to have a navy all their own(though they also relied heavily on the Trans-Draconic Federation Navy by way of membership in the New Day Alliance). Boothari landed troops on the island, though given strict orders not to engage, they felt that a military presence might provide them with a legal claim. In a rare move, the Federation in turn landed dragons on the island.

Both parties, however, soon discovered a small Ral'Parthian outpost which, while clearly for a mostly military presence, had errected several greenhouses. According to the Ral'Parthians, under Alliance law, once a nation had grown crops somewhere, it had officially been colonized, and thus Goban belonged to them. In point of fact, this had been a law under the old Alliance and was commonly accepted during the era. The dragons, however, had explicitly omitted this law when they took part in building the new Alliance. A the time this was because the felt humans might use it to encroach on their ancestral land claims. Now, it was a handy excuse to deny Ral'Parthia's hand.

The TDFN brought in a carrier battle group, and the Federation made arrangements to import human colonists from Iami. In order to appease Boothari, the Federation agreed to contract Bootharian mining firms to carry out the mineral extraction, allowing Boothari to profit at least somewhat from the discovery. Ral'Parthia, however, refused to give up so easily, and began to bring in forces of their own.

By this time, Ral'Parthia had a powerful domestically-produced navy, including aircraft carriers, and a locally-built and improved-upon copy of the Doer-Daisy multi-role strike-fighter. In addition, they had a fleet of nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines that was suspected to be much larger than anyone knew. Lastly, Ral'Parthia was suspected of possessing ballistic missiles capable of delivering atomic warheads at least as far as Goban.

There was never an open battle, but several small skirmishes were fought, with each side taking warning shots but making no direct hits. Ral'Parthia demonstrated that their locally-built weapons were superior to those the Federation had purchased, and if it did come to open combat, there would be heavy losses. The Federation then attempted the dragon's standard form of 'big-stick' diplomacy, and made it known that they had placed a ballistic missile submarine within range of Ral'Parthia's capitol city. They also made references to Korsic-Phong, a gentle reminder that they were willing and able to resort to such measures.

This caused a massive uproar in Ral'Parthia, who had been petitioning for some time to join the Alliance and was making progress. They decried the Federation, called them bullies, and threatened to sink the submarine. The Ral'Parthian president made a big show of publicly issuing the batteries-release order, giving his missile commanders permission to launch at their discretion.

The Crimson Blade already had a fast carrier group in Kiatra, and had had them on station in the Drunlake Sea. Once the threat of atomic war had been made, the task force set sail immediately for Goban.

Crisis

The interdiction of the Crimson Blade turned the conflict into a full blown crisis. It was well known that while the Gudersnipe Foundation supplied arms to the Federation Navy, the weapons they kept for themselves were far superior. Further, as the dragons were strongly allied with the Foundation, it was obvious they would not risk a conflict. The Foundation stated the task force was dispatched to take and occupy the island and expel all others, and that it would be interred until a peaceful agreement was reached. While they did support the Alliance and Federation, the Foundation was strongly opposed to the use of in-atmosphere atomic weapons, and had demonstrated many times they were willing to use force to prevent it.

This put Ral'Parthia in an uncomfortable position. While they were willing to go to war with the dragons because they knew the threat of a nuclear attack on Iami would give them a strong position to negotiate a favorable settlement, they had no such luxury with the Foundation. Modia was well out of range, and the Crimson Blade Elites were easily on par with their own forces. Moreover, the Foundation had the capacity to bring in much larger forces as needed.

With the Crimson Blade task force just three days out, the Ral'Parthians attempted to provoke a conflict. They ordered their captains to maneuver aggressively, and to go to complete radio silence. The belief was that if they could insight the TDFN to fire the first shots, they could retain their claim on the land. The TDFN, however, was just as aggressive, but equally unwilling to be the ones who fired first.

Somewhere in the confusion, T.D.S. Serpentine was sunk. The cause was believed to be a torpedo hit, though 23 crewmen were rescued before the fast-attack submarine sank in three miles of water. Since the first shot had been fired, the Federation retaliated by sinking one of Ral'Parthia's battle cruisers. The stage was set for an all-out offensive, but brought to a halt when Crimson Blade fighters arrived overhead. Unencrpyted radio transmissions warned that the fighters were only painting targets, and cruise-missile submarines already in the area were prepared to put an end to any further aggressive action. To demonstrate the validity of the threat, targets were painted on all four Federation carriers.

While the Foundation would later state that they had no intention whatsoever of firing on their allies, the bluff had been neccessary to show Ral'Parthia of their serious intentions. The Foundation went on to garrison the island group and put a 99-year moratorium on any mining operations. The dragons themselves were fine with this, as 99 years was very short in dragon-terms, though the lose of potential mining revenue caused a great deal of resentment in Bootharia. Ral'Parthia was forced to withdraw entirely, though they were offered a deal: they would be allowed to build an agricultural colony on the island in exchange for granting the Foundation rights to build a garrison on Ral'Parthia.

It was an interesting act of charity. On the international stage, it offered Ral'Parthia a chance to save face by rejecting the terms. The ardent defense of their homeland was a deeply-seated cultural ideal by this time, and so of course it was ridiculous to imagine they would let an unfriendly power have a base on their soil. Of course, by the same vein, it tacitly forced them to admit they had never intended to colonize the island, as it was quite obvious it was a terrible place for growing crops.

In the end the conflict was resolved without further bloodshed. The TDFN lost 62 sailors about Serpentine and the Ral'Parthian's lost 577. The standoff soured relations between Bootharia and the Federation, and bred strong anti-dragon sentiments. It further planted the ideal that, somehow, in some way, there was tension between the Crimson Blade and the TDFN. This was not true by any measure, but the notion lingered in the public conciousness.

Year 382 of the New Day