The Micras Chessboard
The Micras Chessboard is a story series by Gustaaf Vermeylen. The story series starts with a follow-up story to "Arkadius and Clara: A Royal Love Story". The first series runs until 1687 AN, when the Emir of Arbor had awakened from his coma. In 1690 AN the second series began, which was republished on Micraswiki. The first series was removed between 1685 and 1690 AN and can only be read on the forum of Arbor.
First series
The stories surrounding the first series are considered over and over. Those stories can be read here.
Second series
In search of Jorvik
Now that Amir's mission is mainly focused inland, the share of the Arboric fleet has been reduced. The admiral, Edward Krüger, went on audience with the Sultan to discuss his role. He was impressed that a brand-new nation such as Çakaristan was working so energetically on nation building. His men were giving training to the navy of Çakaristan, which was partly made up of the former navy of Krasnocoria. But the threats from abroad had not increased to justify the stay of the entire fleet. Before asking the Emir of Arbor to call the fleet home, he wanted to consult the Sultan.
In the Red Fortress the admiral was received and the men embraced each other as good friends. Rank and etiquette were out of the question. Edward made his ideas known to Abu. "With all love, I will stay with my fleet in Hisn Mahmud, but this weighs on the budget. If you know a useful contribution for the fleet, the fleet is still useful," said Edward. Abu replied: "It is true that the usefulness and necessity has diminished, but to send you home, I would rather not have that yet. But had you not expressed a desire recently?” Edward looked strangely for a moment, but soon remembered what Abu meant. "You mean, that I would like to visit the former city of Jorvik? Or what's left of it," said Edward. "Yes," Abu replied, "that's what I mean, maybe I should send you on a mission". Edward began to smile and said: “I would like to do that mission”. "Then I'm going to tell you, my friend", Abu concluded.
A few days later, the convoy of some double-flagged ships, the flag of Arbor and the flag of Çakaristan, left. Along the east coast of Kendall Isle was the first part of the journey. The convoy then turned north-east. When the 30th parallel was passed, the convoy headed north, the Strait of Pearls, Edward noticed that environment was changing. No other ships could be seen on the radar. If they had a view of land, there was no activity. Once this strait was busier, because Edward had sailed to Jorvik as a sailor. Although the west coast of Keltia was largely unclaimed, the east coast of Apollonia was under Storish flag. The city of Jorvik was under the Frankish flag, and in the latter days of Stormark the surrounding area of Jorvik also came under the flag of Stormark. The intention was that the surrounding area would be donated to Francia. His Emir, the then Frankish Kaiser, was Lord in Jorvik. That time is over, both Francia and Stormark have become history.
Yet Edward wanted to know what remains of the city of Jorvik. He was glad that the Sultan had ordered him to carry out this mission in order to satisfy that curiosity. It took some time before the fleet reached its destination. But also here it was quiet, only Edward received reports that the country was not empty. There was human activity, on which Edward sent scouts. Edward himself went ashore by landing craft near the former city of Jorvik. He found a city in great decay. One of his soldiers wanted to plant a Çakari flag on a high spot. "No", ordered Edward, "we are not going to colonise this country. We are not going to claim it, unless it is done with the consent of the local people and in agreement with the local leaders". The soldier did what the admiral said and did not plant the flag. A scout came back and reported to the admiral that there was habitation to the north. A nation in formation. Edward thought this was good news, he said: “Let's go and meet them, then perhaps we can initiate diplomatic relations with them”.
In this way Edward set course in a northerly direction. He flanked his vehicles with white flags to express his peaceful intentions. Not much later there was the first encounter with soldiers. One of Edward's scouts had already made contact, so the arrival of the admiral was no surprise. The soldiers were in contact with their headquarters, so the admiral was asked about his intentions. Edward told that he came to offer friendship with the Sultan of Çakaristan. Not much later Edward was escorted to a city, which turned out to be the capital of a nation in the making, the Holy Kingdom of Nordia. He no longer had to fly white flags, but was allowed to fly the flag of Çakaristan.
In Küfara Edward was received with all esteem. Edward conveyed the warm greetings of the Sultan and expressed his hope for friendly relations between the two nations. He was invited to appear before Her Royal Majesty and His Holiness. There he told about the Sultan of Çakaristan and the Emir of Arbor. He told about the developments of the young nations that had arisen after the disastrous year of 1685 AN. He told about Çakaristan's membership of the Union of States around the Sovereign Oceans. He expressed the hope for friendship and a prosperous future. The listeners were impressed and the diplomats were immediately put to work to draw up a treaty, so that the basis for that friendship was laid between Nordia and Çakaristan.
Edward thought he had found a ruin, but found a building site. A new nation was being built, laying the foundations for a new friendship.
