The attempt on Otto Visconte's life was the trigger for a bloody chain of events. Before Victor had arrived at Prato, much had happened.
The first battle of this new civil war began in Florenzia. Under the cover of darkness, supporters of the Pope slaughtered the guards and allowed an army of their comrades to storm the city. All those loyal to Alphonse were duly executed, and the people suffered.
In the north, one of Duke Sozzini's trusted generals led an army to sack and devastate the city of Forli. The former city of Count Beluga was given to a new noble by the name of Count Gormalli. He was an avid supporter of the Pope, which did not help his case, given that a powerful supporter of Alphonse was only a week's march away.
The Sozzini Army sacked and razed the city. Tens of thousands perished in the carnage; it was a tragedy of epic proportions. To loot a city was one thing, but to raze it to the ground was an entirely different thing. It was full of malice and deprived of any empathy.
The message was clear: Those who would support the Church over the King would face dire consequences.
In response to the tragedy at Forli, supporters of the Pope rallied in the south and marched upon Madena. The former Garbisi family home was under Alphonse's direct control. It was well garrisoned and had enough supplies to outlast a besieging army. The siege had shortly begun before Victor had arrived in Prato.
As for Roma, it felt like a pot boiling with the lid on. The tension in the city was suffocating. Sooner or later, someone would make a move and drown the city in bloodshed. Whether it be at the hands of Alphonse or the Pope would be determined soon enough.
With more and more reports flooding in about the continent diving into chaos, Victor needed to assess the situation and called for a strategy meeting in the main hall of the palace.
All the corps commanders were present alongside General Valerius and a handful of trusted advisors. In the middle of all of them was a massive table with a map of the continent. Coloured flags were placed in counties that either supported the Pope or Alphonse.
Out of the twenty-five counties of Zandar, 1 was razed, 3 remained neutral, 1 was under Luxenberg control, and then the remaining 20 were split evenly between the Pope and Alphonse.
If you were to look at the map of Zandar: North, South, East, West and Central Zandar were made up of 5 counties each.
The north was mostly uncontested now that Forli had been razed. Prato was the sole outlier. Central Zandar was mostly under Alphonse's rule; the only city not fully under his control was Roma. The city was in a deadlock, and neither side could claim that it was theirs.
The Pope ruled the West unopposed. A new Marquis by the name of Tristayne Polo had risen to power following the aftermath of the Visconte civil war. Thanks to his silver tongue and influence, the West stood with the Pope.
In the South, the Pope had almost achieved total control since he took Florenzia. The last bastion of support for Alphonse in the region was Madena, but a coalition of southern counts was now seeking to take the city in the Pope's name.
In the east, both Alphonse and the Pope had a county under their control; the remaining three remained neutral. This was thanks to a trio of counts, known as the Neutral triangle. Their lands were close to each other and were united in their neutrality. All three seemed to be in alliance.
With the continental landscape laid out before them, Victor addressed his generals. "Gentlemen, to say that we have entered the eye of the storm is an understatement. The continent is being engulfed in chaos, and we find ourselves in a dangerous situation."
Everyone nodded and remained silent as Victor continued to speak. "I have dispatched a rider to Sinolla; the fleet will remain anchored outside the city, far enough away from their cannons. What we must do now is decide what we shall do?"
Field Marshal Wellesley was quick to state his opinion. "My King, as wise as it would be stay out of this fight, we can not simply allow this to happen. We lost many good soldiers fighting to unify the continent; it would tarnish their sacrifice to see it plunged into chaos once again."
Victor shot the British Field Marshal a look, signalling him to elaborate further. "I say you fight for Zandar. The Pope has proven to be too ambitious for his own good, and King Alphonse has stood by while others commit atrocities for the furthering of his faction. In my opinion, I would say that you liberate this land from chaos and rule it."
"Arthur, what you say is dangerous. We are not here to be conquerors. To have a part in the slaughter of Christians again is not something I want to jump right back into," Victor replied calmly.
"But you wouldn't be a conqueror, Your Majesty, you would be a liberator. Think of all the Zandarian soldiers that fought alongside us, think of the civilians we encountered during our campaign. We can not allow them to be caught in this maelstrom of chaos." Field Marshal Wellesley passionately said.
General Tuchkov voiced his support for the idea. "My King, I have not been in your service for long, but I believe you would not sit idle while this is happening. Neither side is worthy of your support. In truth, the continent would be better off with you as its ruler."
Marshal Soult, Lefebvre, Bessières and Davout agreed with the Russian General. The only way forward was to liberate the continent and unite the Christian continents under one ruler.
General Tauentzien asked an off-topic question that took Victor aback for a moment."My King, do you think we could defeat the Sultante with our current power?"
Victor stayed quiet for a brief second and shook his head, "We potentially could do it, but the price would be hefty."
"Exactly, and now that Zandar is engulfed in chaos, our chance for support would be impossible. But what if you did liberate the continent? With the strength of three continents, do you think we could defeat the Sultan and his armies?"
Victor paused. The Prussian General posed a fair question. In fact, Tauentzien had laid out an easy-to-answer question. If the Christian continents were united, a war with the Sultunate would be one that could be won without a heavy price to pay.
"To defeat a greater enemy, you are indeed right, Bogislav. The Christian continents united may be enough to confidently defeat the Sultan."