athena-endre

[athena-endre]

House Wittlsbach is on the Throne after being elected by all major princesses of the Empire, Emperor Maria is crowned on the Red Throne at age 40. The League of Empresses forms between Song Empress (Bao), Bengal-Ganges Empress, Tsarina of Russia, German Kaiserin and Persian Shashanah in an effort to control the Empire away from Rose Red and towards their respective realms. Their bid on Maria is poorly made when he begins centralizing the Empire. They think they can control their daughter Enya to do their bidding. The Queen of Phoenicia-Canaan is one of the many invited to the scheme, but reports it to the Secret Service, who begin their investigation. 

The League then orders Maria to be killed on the day of Prince Coby's first birthday. They begin with stoking rebellious provinces, mainly in the east, to rise up against the power of Rose Red. The League of Assassins kill Maria on the day in question. King Nadeem, now acting regent, begins the preparations to prepare his daughter Vilma to ascend to the Red Throne. The League ignites their Green Shirt rebellion in the east. During this, the League begins slipping by acting too directly to end the rebellion, mostly paying rebels off. 

The Tsarina, in a fervor of the events going on, outs herself with photos taken of her bribing certain members of a then unknown rebel leader. The Sickle Rebellion begins to ally themselves with the Green Shirts. Following many months, the leader of the Sickle Rebellion turns on her benefactor in exchange for a deal. She indicts the Tsarina spilling many of the juicy details about her plan to pay a rebel leader to rebel, in order to gain control of the 8th Imperial Army. The 8th Imperial Army is a Russian group which at the time secretly swore to the Tsarina before the event. The Secret Service discovered the leader and her details through the photo. The Tsarina is executed for treason under orders of Nadeem. 

Following the execution, the 13th Imperial Army under orders from Bao set into motion the kidnapping of Vilma’s husband, Prince Timur, in an effort to gain the upper hand and strike a deal. The 8th Army, a month following the execution, is reorganized with loyalist leaders. Empress Vilma is crowned in a quick ceremony during campaign in Novgorod. During this time the Kaiserin, Queen of Egypt, and Yavana Queen bladder to the Secret Service in an effort to distract them from frame both Empress of Great Scythia, Basilissa, Queen of Romania, and the Queen of France (all of whom were never involved with the League) as the perpetrators of the rebellions. Blaming the Tsarina for their involvement. Following the capture of Prince Timur, Bao makes a demand to Vilma, personally, to abdicate or her husband gets it. Not exactly having a leg to stand on, with her Empire falling and Bao attempting to subvert them all, she gives in. Nadeem after figuring this out has a bounty put on Bao in secret. 

Enya is crowned at the age of 11 in a grand ceremony offered by Bao and her compatriots. The League suspecting the Service is off their tails start to manipulate Enya for their own purposes, as an emergency diet is called, and then elects Bao as temporary Speaker until the crisis is over. King Nadeem becomes regent of the young Enya. The service releases new evidence pointing to the League which made news world wide that there is a shadow cabal running the government via the new Empress. Revolts start to intensify as Bao attempts to keep order in the realm. The tribal districts and states are the first to attempt to leave, with massacres being very effective to keep them within the Empire. As the populace starts to fall in this new normal for the time being. Bao starts to divert what powers she can from the Diet, President, Empress, and Subdiets to the Empresses of the Empire, fulfilling the goal of the League. Enya begins to be the hero the League needs and buys into their propaganda of decentralization. Bao dies of old age at 56 of a gunshot to the back of the head. 

Following this Nadeem is elected Speaker and coaches Enya to become her own Empress. Enya goes on a quest to explore herself, her Empire and most importantly figure out what is really going on. During her 3 years of explorations she makes friends, and realizes the atrocities that Bao and her co-conspirators have committed against the populace with their new found powers. 

The Service finally has found the smoking gun for their entire investigation. While Enya was away they got permission from Nadeem to investigate the Imperial Palace and other offices of the Capital. There they found the entire correspondence of the League, as well as the receipts for their hitman and rebellion leaders. In the same office they also found files on top of files of a ring going back as far as the Empire’s founding, and them talking of a secret organization which according to them “aims to capture the minds, and make reality as they see fit” or “to suppress the truth of the flat earth and discredit anyone claiming that dinosaurs do not exist”. In a more shocking turn of events during a raid on a League owned company outside of city limits, they found the receipts for funding various criminal organizations out of Gotham including the infamous Falcone crime syndicate. In the same offices they find a room for torturing and murder, along with personal effects of those murdered there. Implements were found and the instigators of this crime are rounded up. In a third location they found ties to hidden and secretive cults in low places. As well as ties to various different worldwide criminal organizations. This newfound fury led to dozens of assassination attempts against members of the League. 

The League, now with more known members and a list longer than my arm, has been brought to trial with Empress Enya, and King Father Nadeem acting as judges. Half of them receive death sentences. Most of the rest were forced into Brazilian Penal Colonies or banished to Aethiopia. Few escaped with their lives and dignity intact, though were still stripped of titles. During the chaos of this period the Diet forced the Song Empress, Wang Zhi, into abdication and eventual banishment to Brazil. Enya returns from her trip with friends, and a potential future queen, galore! She also comes back a wiser, more knowledgeable person. The League of Empresses Conspiracy is ended, Enya begins recentralizing everything that was decentralized.

In the following years reports are made, security is tightened, and things begin to return to normal following the Royal Wedding. 

Authors Note: This is an expansion on the world before the current Empress. Also, Chapter 1 shall be coming out soonish, just been a bit procrastinating on it. Most of these filler stories are the ideas I have come up with for now before expanding upon Athena's Story

[athena-endre]

The German Realm is just the collection of central European Germanic states in Europe, in also includes the Queendom of Bohemia. Most of the HEF resources and headquarters are in one of three regions, Prague, Amsterdam, and Metz. We were travelling in the region, I think it was somewhere near Frankfurt, when the German Event happened. Apparently around the city of Frankfurt the common folk tell stories of ghoulish beings coming from around the river in a very thickly wooded area. There are stories ranging from a light being seen in the nighttime having no known origin to literal bugmen appearing up from the forest. We went hunting for these things. First a shortage of supplies led us to reroute back to Frankfurt and resupply, but for some reason we kept running low on supplies until just two of us were brave enough to go in, they were Jane my handler and myself. After dealing with the stench of the wet ground and sights of odd a strange animal we came upon a Bugman which is in the sketch above. It was a ghastly creature with 8 appendages and a very hairless looking body. I think it might be related to an arachnid-based creature. It was doing a fair amount of snarling and hissing as we approached and promptly called in a CC task force to contain the creature. After that we took a few samples of its footprints and eventually made it into a cave with hundreds, maybe thousands of them. We dared not even enter the cave for fear of our lives and the smell emanating from it. Is this what was going on to the towns down stream of reports of lights and other things that go bunk in the night? After taking our samples and seeing the crude structures of the Bugman we had escaped back to the surface were the first Bugman had made a mess of our CC task force but sadly he didn't make it. We are thusly quarantining the place and putting a safety barrier for the lower classes in a 10-mile radius from the area to study them more. 

[athena-endre]

The State of Britain in the Year 1409. This is a digital copy of what I had gathered from the state archives. Few words of note is that most of the HEF operations in the British Isles are all routed through Cardiff. Secondly this map is just what I copied off of online for a map. This is only a small section of the whole map I had recreated. Another word of note is that while all of these are within the British Isles it still functions much like our world in that England is at the core of it all. The languages of the Isles are very diverse, with me being able to study Pictish, Yolan, Cumbric, and Kentish. These are very relegated in our world due to the English. Most of my time here was spent trying to track down the Loch Ness Monster, which after 3 months of grueling work I had accomplished in the span of 3 months. While on the lookout with other expeditions we also came across a few other monsters and artifacts. Once, when the expedition and I were near Edinburgh, we stumbled upon a small family squabble. That is just how it looked at the outside world, to my shock they were battling over a small booklet which is about 3 inches in width, 6 inches in height, and between 2 and 3 inches in depth. The actual looks of the book were leather bound with yellowed paper. The book was causing the readers to bleed from the eyes and the locals, were saying it is a sign from Hera. We knew better as this is now listed in the HEF archives in the local warehouse.  I will be posting these at a later date. Any questions should be fully asked of me

[athena-endre]

Prolouge (Prologue)

During the nighttime is when it happened, my home, well let's start at square 1 and work our way to why I was gone for a decade. My “home” is not really a home like you would know it is, it is a fortified bunker of sorts that is out in the middle of the deep south away from everyone. Even more detail is needed as a retell me story based on the audio clips, pictures, videos etc. that I had collected while in my time in a different world. I am Athena Endre. I am currently on my way back from a booze run for the big celebrations going on today. The thrashing and blowing with the rain belting down just on the other side of a piece of glass was rocking my soul deep inside. To tell a little about myself before we get into where I was for a whole decade. I am fluent in Latin and Greek; I also know some other languages. I am trained in some combat skills. I am proficient in multiple different weapons. I have knowledge of both hunting and survival in many climates. I have been a prepper for a good many years and have no shame in saying this. I am all that is man, this is funnier as the story goes on. 

Back to the stormy and windy roads of rural Alabama I finally make it home all safe and sound. As I twist the big wheel on my steel door I feel safer. That is when a massive crack in the sky, my windows light up like the 4th o’ July. It happened, the exact time is 23:56, four minutes to midnight and the whole world becomes even brighter. The spinning increases as I continue to try to batten down the hatches and prepare for the worst. The world feels as if it will spin out of control soon enough here and it all crashes down, midnight.

After I quickly go through my assessment of me, making sure all my body parts are still a part of me. Once done I blast my way to the assessment of my interior home, everything besides a few missing, Ahem, magazines it is all here. My house is in good condition. I rush over and begin to untwirl my door and walk out, eyes closed. Strangely, I feel my face warmed, the air is smooth and moving. I open my eyes and look around; this is not Alabama.  I try to find my car, but it is nowhere to be seen. I enter the garage attached to my house and find my backup truck in there.

 I take it out and try to find the road. From my preliminary search of my area, I am still somewhere in the US, but all the signs are in a bastardized form of English. I take this information back to the home and begin to look through my library for any indication of what language this could be. I end up spending a whole afternoon in there and feel the grumbling of food. When the realization hits me that my fresh food supplies are weak. I do have plenty of canned goods. I sort through what fresh food I have and decide on a small salad and begin to eat it.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Is heard on the door. I quickly rush over and see what I can through my windows. It must be the feds; this day is the one we have been waiting for a while. I deftly and quickly pick up my pistol in the front junk drawer and put it in the back of my pants, I open my steel door and then open the door in front of me. The shock of what I see is awesome. Before me stand 2, what appear to be FBI agents. The first point of shock is that they are wearing really really old suits. One appears to be wearing a skirt and the other one trousers. They are both brown and accented with a white shirt. From my readings on in the fashions of yesteryear they both look straight out of the 19th century. The second striking appearance of them is that they are both women. This is not at all what I was expecting. I have been preparing for the feds since I was a teen but now, this must be some type of joke, right?

The taller one speaks; she has black hair and a darker but not dark skin tone. Her voice is rough and coarse. But her language is not English. The third most striking thing. I do my best to pick up what she is laying down.

“Whet air you?”

“Do you speak Latin?” It may be a dead language, but it is always hopeful, given the apparent time frame I have found myself in. 

“Yes, I do, does that work better for you, Miss?” Finally, I can hear myself and be able to communicate with them.” That was a 1 in a million shot, and cannot believed it worked.

“Thank God, what are you two here for? I have committed no crime.”

“Who is this god you speak of? Would you please come in for questioning?”

“Do you not know of God and his only Son? If not, then I will be explaining a lot later. What grounds do you want me to come in?”

The shorter blond pipes in

“We are with the HEF, since you are a teleport, we will have to take you in. The HEF is for scenarios like these from people literally falling out of the sky” She looks up and puts her hand on her brow.

“I can but lemme go and get into something a bit more appropriate, I will be out in just a second.”

This is strange, my digital clock has stopped working. The time is stuck at 12:00 flashing. I quickly get out of my bedtime clothing and dress up in one of my longer floral dresses and present myself back at the door.

“Ready to come with us? I promise we vill be gentle” The taller one giggles to herself as the shorter more active one chimes,

“She means nothing, we dont torture people” shaking her head viciously with a force as she tries to not sweat too much. Their vehicle is a 1920s car, it looks straight out of a silent movie, or the Great Gatsby. I enter the backseat and relax, fine rich leather just the way I like it. The other two get into the car, with the blonde being in the driver's seat. We are off and soon enough come upon that sign I first saw. It was an indication that we were not in Kansas anymore. It has a little subtitle in Latin, reading “Town of Aguafria”. The only two times I have heard of this is in the country song and the actual town of Agua Fria in New Mexico, but we are no in New Mexico. The town looks like your average rural southern town, run down shacks, oddly looking flags which resemble the confederates, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I have been taking pictures. I haven't touched it since I got home that stormy night. 

After another hour the agents start speaking in their native tongue, which I will call Anglish. I didn't catch much of what they were saying but it must be something pettier. After another hour's drive we reach a bigger city, this must be Washington. I do not see any of the sights or attractions of the nation's Capital. They just pass right on by too. After a light nap I see lights and what looks like a big city. I couldn't be that close to New York. We veer off to the side using a small towns gas station for refueling and resting we are back on the road.

 New York has never looked smaller and lower. There must only be about 2 to 3 million people in the city. There are no sights. Liberty Island has a massive building on it. Nothing about this looks right. Where am I, was the only thought going through my head as we reached the ferry to Liberty Island. At least I think it is Liberty Island, the building is adorned in gold and jewels almost like it is the palace of some American Royalty. The ferry service reads “Ferry to the Imperial Palace”, it took a second of me drooling to come to my senses. 

“Miss…? What is this? Where is the Statue of Liberty?” Dark Haired one speaks up,

“It is Agent Jane, and this is the Palace of the Empress. She is the only one who takes all the Imperial Island. The Statue of Liberty is that tiny statue in Paris.”

“Thank you, I guess the Empress must be a pretty big deal then” We go back into silence as the ferry docks off of Imperial Island. The car leaves it, and we enter the gates to the palace. It is a marvelous structure, reminiscent of the Sun King Louis the XIV. It has an air of age to it as well like this has been here a long while. The doors are of a fine southern Mahogany, the walls made of Italian marble, there are a few Greek statues too, namely of Sappho. The doors open and the cascading smell of weed, incense, and smoke pour out of the doors.

“The Empress shall see you now” We are escorted to the throne room. Her throne room still has the marble and statues and gold trimming, but it feels more like an 80s banking institution than an imperial throne room. The walls are not as ornate nor is the actual room made up of as many jewels or embellishing. The Empress was in the finest garments I have ever seen, they were definitely silk and most likely made in China. Her…. wife? I am leaving it at that because I do not know who the woman sitting next to her, usually on the consort throne, is. She is dressed just as finely but is still a woman. I was not expecting there to be a lesbian Empress but either way, I approach her and take myself some form of curtsy. She responds with a smile and speaks with a grace of feeling like the golden meadows in the autumn or the fresh snows of a fine winter night with the moon full and shining down upon it. It is liquid gold coming from her mouth and onto the floor.

“What year is it?” in the Latin language,

“Huh your Empress?” Trying my best to seem regal and formal

“You can address me as Fortuna. And you still haven't answered my question.”

“Well Fortuna, the year last time I checked was 2022, Russia has been at war with Ukraine since February and Covid was still on the loose. Joe Biden is president of the United States, and this is where the Statue of Liberty stands.” I look at her pleadingly and she looks down at me, her wife is asleep. 

“I see, you are what we call a teleport, have one about once in a decade and you are here with us for a decade. Now since you are a teleport you can only work with our HEF agents, who you already had the honor of meeting. They will be you introduction to our little world here. You may find all the secrets you are looking for and all the information to bring back to your world. Our scientists will hook up your bunker to our nearby electrical grid as well as provide you with your needed” she puts her hands up in air quotes style, “computers. We do not know where in computing your world is but in ours it is a government held secret. So do as we say, and you should be able to be ok. Any questions please speak up now.”

“Could I please get your introductory materials for your HEF. I wish to learn more about what I will be doing, and any stipulations I will have about interacting with the outside world.”

“Very good questions, as you know you are not from here, you can claim you are from South America, as no one has been there since the Andean Confederal Queendom collapsed, it has been a warzone ever since. Not many people will check this, as most are too ignorant of the region or too far up in themselves to care. Now since you speak Latin, that is how you will interact with the outside world. If you wish you could learn our local version of English, but it is not necessary. Any materials you need talk to your handlers Jane and Brunhilde. We like to call her Brunny around here since she is too damn cute. That is beside the point. You will be moved into the advanced areas, and work for any of the various organizations currently bound to our law.” With that she cuts off the speech and heads into her, and her wife’s quarters. I am left stunned in the room, the HEF? What is that. All my questions would be answered in due time with due responsibility. Little did I realize in the end how little I really know and how many times my life would be at risk of ending.