Tyranny of Steel

Arnulf von Thiersee had spent the last few months overseeing the Colony of New Vienna as its Grand Duke. A reward the King of Austria had given him for his years of loyal service. During this time, the small military stronghold on the coast of the New World had flourished greatly.

With the advanced agricultural techniques that Austria had available to it, the fields outside of the fortresses' walls had grown vast and fertile, with mechanized agriculture at their disposable. The Austrians needed very little in terms of labor to operate their farms. Because of this, they used native workers, who had come to the settlement of New Vienna after plague and warfare decimated their tribes.

Unlike Honoria, who currently was struggling to establish a colony in a hostile region of the world, things were relatively peaceful in New Vienna, and though the Austrian Jaegers had engaged in small skirmishes on the frontier against hostile tribes, the settlement itself had not been attacked since the initial Algonquin siege months ago.

In fact, most tribes they encountered had been open to trade, and it was because of this, that several cash crops, such as tobacco, was grown in the fields outside the colony, before being processed and shipped back to the Fatherland for consumption. This had created quite a profitable trade, as the natives lacked a fundamental knowledge of currency, and thus the Austrians traded with them for their resources with scrap iron.

After counting the prospective profits that would the colony would incur from this year's harvests, Arnulf had a wide smile on his face as he jotted down his reports. The King would be pleased to hear that the colony was already turning a profit.

After all, expenses had been minimal thus far. Which resulted from mechanized agriculture and the labor being conducted by natives who did not understand the value of currency. Since this was the case, Arnulf could pay the laborers with housing and meals.

When compared to the primitive longhouses these natives were used to, the half-timber houses that Austria provided them were a quality of living that far surpassed what they had previously endured. Thus, despite not being paid a proper wage like laborers were in the fatherland, all their needs were met, and they considered this payment enough.

While looking over these reports, a knock resounded on the Grand Duke's thick oak door, and a familiar voice responded from the other side.

"Your Grace, our scouts have something important to report. Do you have a minute?"

Arnulf immediately rose from his seat and opened the door to reveal the young, and beautiful Mohawk translator Kahwihta, who had stayed behind and acted as a major influence on diplomatic affairs within the colony. Despite being a native, she held a prestigious position within New Vienna and acted in many ways as Arnulf's secretary.

When the Grand Duke witnessed the woman's appearance, a smile formed on his face as he led her into his personal office. After sitting down at his desk, he pulled out a wood pipe which had been filled with some tobacco. He immediately lit up and took a large draft from. After doing so, he handed it over to Kahwihta, who followed his actions. The woman exhaled the smoke before speaking about the reason for her visit.

<br/>"As you have commanded, the scouts have been searching for mineral deposits of industrial resources. I believe we have found a substantial reserve of what you refer to as coal. The only problem is, an Algonquin village currently lives nearby, and if you wish to gain access to the area, then we will need to either convince them to give us access to the land, or we must repel them from the area."

Unlike Berengar, who wielded war as a tool of diplomacy, Arnulf was far more interested in peaceful solutions, and though the Algonquin had been hostile in the past, after suffering several brutal losses, they had established a peaceful agreement with the Austrian settlement.

Arnulf did not wish to see any more senseless slaughter, in fact he quite enjoyed the peaceful position he had been given, thus he tapped the ash contained within his pipe out of its bowl before lighting up another smoke as he thought about a peaceful solution to this diplomatic question. After several moments of silence, he nodded his head before giving the girl her orders.

"Very well, I will personally meet with the village's chieftain, and broker an agreement that benefits us both. Obviously, this means you will have to act as my translator, so you should prepare for the journey when you are first able."

When the Mohawk translator heard this, she smiled before nodding her head in agreement. Since she had first witnessed these golden-haired gods step foot on her land, she had been astonished by how quickly they built such a grand settlement.

Everything from the stone walls, the indoor plumbing, the water powered industry, and the horse-drawn agricultural machines. It was all shocking to the young woman. Despite having such overwhelming technological advantage, these men conducted themselves fairly peacefully, only engaging in violence as a last resort. She had much respect for the Austrian settlers, especially that of the Grand Duke Arnulf.

Of course, had Berengar been managing the colony personally, bloodshed would be a common occurrence, as that was how he opted to solve most diplomatic disputes. After all, in the Austrian King's mind, with such a superior military, it was only natural that he took that which he desired.

Luckily for everyone in New Vienna and the surrounding areas, a far less warlike man led the Austrian settlement. Because of this, an era of peace prevailed in New Vienna, while the old world found itself engaged in brutal conflict on a daily basis.

Of course, Kahwihta had no idea about Berengar's violent, and manipulative tendencies that had earned him the nickname the "Tyrant of Steel, nor that he was planning to march to war against his Northern Neighbors at this very moment, instead she reflected upon what little memories she had of the man fondly.

She had no idea if she would meet the one-eyed god again, but after becoming close to Arnulf, she truly did not care. Thus, with a smile on her lips, she nodded her head before responding to the Grand Duke obediently.

"As you command, your Grace."

After saying this, she left his office and prepared for the journey to the Algonquin Village. Meanwhile, Arnulf dispatched orders for his personal bodyguard to prepare themselves for the diplomatic visit, and the conflict that may result. Though things were peaceful between the Algonquin and New Vienna, it was far from a calm peace.

Arnulf knew that if he wanted this colony to become self-sufficient, then he would need this coal for his burgeoning industry, and he would do whatever was necessary to get it. However, he would not resort to violence unless he exhausted all other options first. Hopefully, the Algonquin village's chieftain would see reason, and agree to giving the Austrians mining rights over the region.

Because of this potential war, Arnulf had ordered his troops to be on standby, and had devised a letter to Berengar, requesting more troops and supplies. If he wished to conquer a single Algonquin village, then he was likely to face the might of the entire confederation, something that he would feel more secure about if he had the troops and resources to achieve it.

Thus, while the fatherland prepared for war with its Northern Neighbors, the Colony of New Vienna steeled itself for a potential conflict with the Algonquin. Whether the long maintained peace would maintain its integrity, or crumble like a decrepit building, would be entirely the result of Arnulf's diplomatic efforts.