The Micras Chessboard

The Micras Chessboard is a story series by Gustaaf Vermeylen (who plays characters such as Arkadius Frederik Gustavus des Vinandy and Clara Sundara). The story series starts with a follow-up story to "Arkadius and Clara: A Royal Love Story". The intention is to describe the geostrategic game on Micras.

Chapter 1: Sunrise, sunset

A clock strikes ten times, while a fire crackles unabated. A newlywed couple sits opposite each other at a table. On the table is a chessboard, on which the pieces are already in various places on the board. The woman at the table plays with a curled lock of hair, while she visibly thinks and looks at the chessboard. The man is sitting back, waiting for the next move.

‘It wasn't as quiet as it is now,‘ the man thinks. ‘Although his own country has risen from the dust. The country had disappeared from the map for almost half a century and almost a century before another Vinandy was on the throne. The first decade of the new Batavia was already turbulent. The uncertainty to regain the old territory, the stability of a new state and what position does the country have among the other countries?’

‘The new state was soon at a crossroads, what form of state would it be, a republic or a monarchy? At the last minute it became a monarchy. And it became a restoration of the Vinandy monarchy.’

Then the woman moves the bishop on the chessboard. A strategic move, without getting in the way of another piece. The woman did not seem happy with her move, but she accepted it. The man began to itch his beard. And put a knight that threatened the earlier resisted bishop. The man looks at the woman, who started to think again about her next move.

‘How is it possible that a pretty woman like her has fallen for him? Since their first eye contact, their first meeting and their first correspondence. She had left her country, her family, to be with him. To be his wife. She was not welcomed equally by everyone. But that didn't stop her from loving him.’

‘Her brother had to cope with great sorrow when his husband was murdered. Fortunately she was with her brother when the news came that her brother-in-law had been killed. She could support him. Shortly thereafter, she married, an empty chair in the cathedral. A tribute to the generous giver of territory. The country he left fell apart.’

The woman looked at her husband and asked, "What are you thinking of?" The man replied: "On the Batavia rose from its ruins and how Shireroth collapsed." The woman nodded and said, "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but Batavia rose in the west and Shireroth set in the east."

An hour later the man was staring at the ceiling. Beside him was the regular breath of his wife, while her words echoed with him. When he finally fell asleep, he saw her face. His wife's face. She said to him, "It is time," her face caught when he apparently looked at her questioningly. Trumpets sounded and she said, "Come, my husband." They walked toward the upright doors, while hundreds of people looked at them along the aisle. At the end of the aisle was a throne on an elevation. He recognized that throne, that is the Golden Mango Throne. He suddenly realized what was happening, he carefully looked at his wife next to him, who smiled proudly at the people along the aisle.

Music filled the room [1] while he stood in front of the Golden Mango Throne and turned to the people in the Great Hall. His wife stood beside him, while the regent handed him the imperial crown. He took the crown, held it up, and placed it on his head. That is why all those present bowed to him as he sat down on the throne.

The music turned into a rhythmic buzz, and he woke up. The alarm clock continued to buzz undisturbed and his wife said to him, "Turn that thing off." He was still reeling from the dream abruptly ended. His wife grumbled about his slow response and reached over him to silence the alarm.

"What is it?" She asked when she saw that her husband was still looking confused. "It seemed so real," he stammered. As she rested her head on his chest, he told what he had dreamed. She rose, put her hand on his cheek, and said, "Maybe that dream is a vision of the future." "I don't believe that," he responded fiercely like being stung by a wasp. "I know that," she responded and kissed him.

Later that morning she came to his office. She saw him standing in front of the large map on the wall. The map included Benacia and the Madison Islands. He looked deeply at Shirekeep. In order not to frighten him, she pretended to cough. Her husband turned and said, "What is it, my love?" She smiled and said, "Aren't you coming for lunch?" "Oh, of course," he responded, and they walked arm in arm through the corridors of the palace. "What were you staring at," she asks, to which he replies: "It is strange that the generous donor of territory to our country has been murdered, but that the murderer has not yet been arrested." "Indeed, it seems that the remaining Shireroth is unable to catch the perpetrator, but can't the intelligence service help?" She replies. "That is politically sensitive," he responds.

That afternoon the Prime Minister came for his weekly visit to the king. Current affairs in the government are discussed, after which the king asks, "What can we do to find the murderer of the Emperor of Shireroth?" The Prime Minister, surprised by the question, answered: "Little, Your Majesty." "Is the primary suspect not of Batavian descent?", The king asks, "Could that be an argument to investigate him." The Prime Minister, unhappy with these questions, answers: "Your Majesty, I can see what I can do, but we must prevent us from sticking our hand in a wasp's nest."

While thinking, the king's eyes wander and saw the chessboard with which he played the day before, and behind it the map of Micras. "It's like a chessboard, the Micras chessboard".

Chapter 2: Spy on the Orient Express

As a newlywed couple, James and Emma Tazelaar were on their Honeymoon on the Orient Express. The train journey from 's Koningenwaarde to Shirekeep would take a few days and that is why it is common for the passengers to get to know each other. One of the fellow passengers on the train was Jaap van Pijpervale. During the first stages of the journey, it clicked between James and Jaap. Their shared preference for cigars and whiskey was the basis for this.

Emma realized that there were a number of people with unclear background among fellow passengers. Their background story was sometimes too good to be true or too vague. Indications that it is not correct.

One evening, when the train had left Benacia, James and Jaap had drunk so much that Jaap got loose. Jaap said that he was a catamite of the murdered Kaiser Ayreon IV. James pretended he did not know and asked about palace life. Jaap started making advances towards James. Emma had already gone to the cabin, but had not yet gone to sleep.

Suddenly it became dark on the train. The train drove through a tunnel, but the light had also fallen out. The sound of two gunshots reflected in the tunnel. A scream sounded and Emma grabbed her purse for her gun. The light turned on again and a noise was heard. Emma quickly went to the Salon carriage, where James and Jaap were. There she saw the two men in blood. No gun to be seen.