March 1872
The first cracks in winter came not from the mountains, but from the press.
By March, whispers had become stories, and stories had become headlines.
The Ottoman defeats — once dismissed by Vienna as rumor — could no longer be ignored.
The Montenegrin banners flew openly in Macedonia, Thessaloniki had fallen, and the Sultan's European territories were bleeding faster than the Empire could bandage them.
The world awoke to a new reality.
Montenegro, that tiny mountain nation that wasnt even a proper kingdom once mocked as a footnote in European politics, now commanded more soldiers than Austria's southern army.
Its navy — modern, fast, and metal-clad — ruled the Adriatic, and was going toe-to-toe with the Ottoman navy.
And at the heart of it all stood Elias.
Yet Elias himself did not stride into the halls of Europe's courts.
He sent others in his place as extensions of his will.
They were just summoned spies, created thanks to his monthly draws, but a vital force to his administrative efforts — agents born of the System, molded to their roles as diplomats, spies, or saboteurs as easily as a smith forged steel.
They knew all languages, bearing no accent, no flaw, no allegiance but his.
These diplomatic envoys had set out weeks before the snows had fully disappeared, travelling the world over to visit the powerful nations of the world.
~
Vienna, March 1872 — The Habsburg Court
The chandeliers of Schönbrunn Palace glittered above a ballroom turned council chamber.
Archdukes, generals, and foreign ministers whispered over maps that now bore new colors.
Austria's Balkan influence — the fragile network of trade and intimidation it had built for decades — was collapsing.
The envoy from Montenegro, a tall man dressed in the muted gray of a court scholar, stood quietly as Count Beust, the Austrian Foreign Minister, addressed him with thinly veiled frustration.
"Your master moves quickly," Beust said. "Too quickly. The balance of Europe is delicate, Herr Dukas. If Montenegro grows too strong, it will invite… unfortunate attention."
The envoy inclined his head.
"His Majesty Danilo is tired of being ruled over by empires, the actions of empires murdered his father on the field of battle, and so taking up the sword himself has risen to call upon his countryment to rise up to secure the region — and the stability of the Balkans. The Ottomans have lost control. Someone must keep order."
"Order?" Beust scoffed. "You call conquering Macedonia order?"
The envoy smiled faintly. "Would Vienna prefer the Russians do it instead?"
That silenced the room.
Russia's Tsar, Alexander II, had already begun framing the war as a "Slavic liberation."
But if Montenegro stood between them and Constantinople, then the Russians would find their path south blocked — not by the Turks, but by fellow Slavs.
The Austrian minister's eyes narrowed.
"You intend to make yourselves indispensable."
"Not indispensable," said the envoy. "Simply unavoidable."
The Austrians would not admit it, but the message was received.
Montenegro was no longer a pawn — it was a wedgepoint, keeping both Empires in check while easily being able to resort siding with the other if the need ever came to resist the advances of the first.
And as much as the Austrians wanted to expand the borders of the empire, the plain truth was they wouldnt be able to maintain the territories the national identity was to strong and would lead to revolts and revolution for freedom before to long.
~
Berlin, April 1872 — The Reich Chancellery
In Prussia's cold capital, the Montenegrin envoy met a man who understood power as few others did — Otto von Bismarck.
The Iron Chancellor was a difficult man to impress.
He saw through flattery, ignored idealism, and spoke only the language of pragmatism.
"Montenegro," he said, turning the name over like a coin between his fingers. "A nation of shepherds and mountains now controls the most strategic coast in the Balkans. Tell me, why should Germany care?"
The envoy's reply was calm, practiced. "Because, Excellency, France does."
That caught Bismarck's attention.
The envoy continued, unfolding a sealed document.
"France will no doubt reach out to get us on their side to form a southern bloc with which to retain the german peoples expansionist desires, just as they had done previously with the Ottomans. Montenegro would prefer neutrality… but neutrality comes at a cost. A cost France is willing to pay."
Bismarck chuckled. "So this is a game of leverage."
"It always is," the envoy said smoothly. "But unlike the French, we offer no promises of conquest — only trade. Industrial exchange. The modernization of rail through the Danube corridor, connecting Montenegro's ports to German industry, linking us and Austria together."
Bismarck stroked his beard thoughtfully. "A small nation with big ideas. You remind me of Prussia, before we learned to bite."
The envoy bowed. "Then perhaps we can learn from your example — how to bite without barking first."
When the meeting ended, Bismarck gave no formal alliance.
But days later, a discreet telegram arrived in Bar: "Germany recognizes Montenegro's territorial claims. Trade relations to commence. — Bismarck."
Elias smiled when the message reached him.
It was the first domino.
And a rather big one at that, that would cause a cascading effect, recognizing the formation of this new Empire on Europes doorstep, while using the great powers to check each other interests preventing any from trying to take advantage of the newly born nation until it had grown enough to pick a side for itself.
~
Paris, April 1872 — The Salon of the Foreign Office
France was different.
Here, charm and theater replaced diplomacy.
The Montenegrin delegation met under painted ceilings and chandeliers heavy with gold leaf.
The French foreign minister, Jules Favre, greeted them as if they were royalty.
France had its own interests — to counterbalance both Austria and Russia, and to quietly reclaim its lost influence in the Mediterranean.
The envoy presented his offer plainly:
"Montenegro, seeks diplomatic agreements and ties, but will not commit to any military agreements, trade is paramount for us who just founded a far grander nation that we presided over before, and as such new trade routes will need to be agreed upon, or the taking over of old Ottoman ones."
Favre leaned forward, eyes bright. "You seek to claim all Ottoman territories in Europe?"
The envoy allowed himself a thin smile. "We already control most of it, what is a little more."
Favre chuckled.
"And you would seek to fund france when you do?"
"We'll have no other choice?"
France only had connection with the Ottoman Empire, and so could not pass up the offer to form trade ties to the balkans in their place.
Though the tariffs were harsh, this did not matter tot he negotiator, who after not so stiff resistance agreed to French Advantageous terms, Elias cared little for actual trade, and his military had no real world cost which would save his government tens of millions in operating funds unlike other nations, this would mean their domestic trade mattered less on a grand scale, but was still important to develop their industries to stand on the world stage as more than backwater bumpkins.
~
London, May 1872 — The Foreign Office
The British were slower to warm.
To them, every new power on the continent was a potential threat to their maritime dominance.
But Britain also feared Russia's southward ambitions.
Lord Granville, the Foreign Secretary, received the Montenegrin envoy privately.
"Your king moves against the Ottomans," Granville said. "If he reaches Constantinople, it will trigger a crisis across Europe. You understand that?"
The envoy nodded. "We do. Which is why we propose something else: a buffer."
Granville raised a brow.
"A Slavic Confederation, under Montenegrin stewardship," the envoy explained. "A ring of Balkan states friendly to London — stable, organized, and dependent on British trade. We will limit russia entrance into the Mediterranean, and the Ottomans quietly in their place within the middle east."
Granville leaned back, considering it. "And in return?"
"We leave your dealing in Greece alone." Said the envoy.
The british loved nothing more than to meddle in continental europes affairs after all.
They would never place all their chips in one basket.
The Ottoman empire while a block against Russian expansion, was clearly failing.
When the greeks acheived independance the Brittish were quick to establish ties, hoping the greeks would act as a second wall, patrolling the Aegean and preventing Russian ships from escaping into the open Mediterranean sea.
~
St. Petersburg, June 1872 — The Winter Palace
Of all the meetings, this one was the most delicate.
The Tsar, Alexander II, called himself Tsar of All the Slavs, but Elias's rise or rather Danilo's was a direct challenge to that claim.
The Montenegrin envoy — this one a woman, sharp-eyed and fluent in Russian — was received in a hall thick with suspicion.
"You are Slavs," the Tsar said, his tone cold. "You should look to Russia for protection, not France or Britain."
The envoy's reply was soft, almost reverent. "Majesty, we look to Russia as an elder brother — strong, wise, and far away. But Montenegro cannot wait for the bear to wake when wolves already circle."
The Tsar frowned. "You insult Russia."
She smiled. "We compliment your nature. Bears do not move until they must — and when they do, they crush all before them. We simply wish to ensure that when you rise, it will not be us beneath your paw."
There was a pause. Then, unexpectedly, the Tsar laughed.
"You have spirit," he said. "Tell your master that Russia will watch with interest — but if he reaches the Bosporus before us, I will not be amused, and expect agreements to allow Russian shipping out of the black sea."
~
The world had awakened, and while not all were welcoming of the news, many adapted quickly and took the news in stride changing plans, and formulating entirely new ones as they needed.
But the war was not yet over.
In the north the Russian coalition army alongside the Romanian, and Bulgarian rebels was about to clash decisively with the Main ottoman defense force that had only just recently become aware of their position.
Meanwhile Istanbul was awash with worry, winter had seen catastrophic losses and now with their main force tied up in the north once more, almost nothing stood between tens of thousands of angry montenegrin soliders and a march to sieze the Ottoman captial expelling the Sultan and removing the last Ottoman holdings in Europe possibly for good.