Chapter 317: Changes

Words : 2391 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

The weeks that followed were filled with changes. Even if President Anoke hadn't openly declared it, everyone knew that his was in effect a surrender. The defeat of one of the most powerful nations in the face of the new world order had changed the perspective of many people: now even the most skeptical could not help but understand that the great change was inevitable. If even a superpower had been forced to surrender, then who or what could hold back the advance of the new customs and the new society? The Gardarikian Federation wasn't like the Republic of Meilong or the Confederate States of Vinland, which had changed and joined the Eden Union voluntarily. This nation had fought against dinosaurs from the start and fiercely opposed any change. Therefore, its was a defeat in all respects. Faced with such a message, those people who hoped for change and believed in it became more confident in their ideology, while those who weren't sure that change was possible had to agree that trying to return to the old world was now impossible. This meant that many people began to join reformist movements and open up to animals: after all, if it was so impossible to bring things back to the way they were before, it was better to try to adapt. History taught that those who tried to oppose something inevitable always ended up crushed; if there was no way to stop the change, then the best choice was to surrender to it and try to get used to it, like it or not. With the proclamation of President Anoke, what was previously a single state was divided into five different nations. Just as it had happened to the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, and to all the multi-ethnic nations of history such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as soon as things started to go wrong the different ethnicities and cultures had their conflicts re-emerged, ending up breaking the nation from within. The advantage of large international organizations such as the Eden Union or the terrestrial European Union was precisely that they didn't oblige peoples of various cultures to live together against their will, but allowed them to maintain independence and at the same time guarantee a different form. of union that was not too different from that of a confederation. The fragmentation of the Gardarikian Federation was only the first in a long series of changes. Just a day after President Anoke's proclamation, all political opponents were released from prisons and rehabilitated. Three days later, martial law was completely lifted and the military were withdrawn to their bases. And in the end, not even a week after the president's speech, the commanders of the various rebel factions and the leaders of the political opposition entered the Presidential Office in triumph. Anoke removed the guards and defenses around the building, to prove that he had no ulterior motives; for everyone, it was clear that the era of dictatorship had come to an end. With the presence of opposition leaders, rebel commanders and all members of the Cabinet, President Anoke began talks to draft a new Constitution. It was certainly not a quick process: the nation had to rewrite its structural code from scratch, and there were many conflicting opinions. Neither the president nor any of his guests left the Presidential Office until the Constitution was finalized; the food was served to them by couriers and the men even slept on the benches so as not to leave the room. This was a sign of hope and perseverance sent to the population, who anxiously waited for the men to leave the room. It took eight months before the Constitution was finished; when the people who had been locked in the Presidential Office all that time finally reopened the doors, exhausted and tired but with the famous piece of paper in hand, the population exploded with joy and the scene was immortalized by the media, becoming the object of study for future history buffs. The Constitution was made up of 150 articles, outlining the rights, freedoms and principles on which the country was based. They were general and abstract rules, valid for everyone and in any context, and therefore guaranteed the equality of all the people before the law. The Gardarikian Federation was renamed the Federal Gardarikian Republic: its territory was divided into fifteen regions which were given limited autonomy. Power became tripartite and then different bodies went to control what had previously been the decisions of a single man. Legislative power became the prerogative of the Cabinet, which was divided into two chambers: the Chamber of the Elected, made up of individuals democratically elected by the people; and the Chamber of Prescritti, composed of the representatives of the various regions (five for each region), who were established by the governor of that region (in turn elected by the people, and who therefore had to take into account his preferences). Each law would always require the approval of both chambers to pass, without which it would not have been approved. The executive power was entrusted to the Directory, the head of which would be a president elected democratically by the people and who should have received the confidence of the Cabinet. Finally, the judicial power passed to the Court of Judges, who had the task of supervising the constitutional rules. Strict limits were imposed for each power so that no one would try to override their own prerogatives and try to seize those of others, in order to avert another dictatorship; furthermore, any constitutional amendment would have had to go through a very long and arduous process to be considered legitimate. In addition to the government structure of the country, the Constitution also provided for all those rights indispensable in a democracy: freedom of speech, free health, education accessible to all, universal suffrage, permission to demonstrate and protest, and so on. The principles necessary to become part of the Eden Union were also established, an event that now promised to be upon us. After much negotiation, it was decided that Anoke could remain as a simple senator and receive immunity for his crimes. He was not the only one: many other members of the Cabinet and the General Staff Council remained in office, although they saw their power extremely reduced and were stripped of all privileges. Clearly many would have preferred to see these slimy people disappear, but since some of them still had a strong grip on the army, they preferred to make those concessions on the condition that they signed the Constitution and recognized it as the country's fundamental law. Even though he wasn't fair to those who died, no one wanted to shed more blood. And in any case they would not last long: the resentment for what had happened in past years was still present in the air and there were several hotheads who would have gladly killed Pascal and his followers. Within a few months, a long series of murders would begin, all of former characters of the old dictatorship. Following this, many chose to disappear and Anoke himself would have resigned not even a year after the drafting of the Constitution, only to mysteriously die from an accident with his yacht off the coast of a foreign nation. But this would happen later. Just a month after having proclaimed the Constitution, new elections were held which filled the three organs of power. A new president was elected, this time absolutely democratically, and immediately began the treaties to join the Eden Union. Obviously, the great international organization did not wait for his response: being able to incorporate another nuclear superpower was too succulent a business to pass up. After another month the Federal Gardarikian Republic officially became part of the Eden Union. The other four nations that had formed with the break-up of the Federation, now called the Republic of Tirgeistan, the Republic of Matister, the Free State of Koba and the Kingdom of Palion, followed the same path with just two months of delay. Obviously, there was still a lot to do. Eden Union requested the dismantling or delivery of all nuclear warheads; in exchange, all the nations of the organization offered aid for the reconstruction of the country. Money and resources were shared and the plans to restore the economy that had been studied in previous years were launched. It would take some time, but the country would recover for the better, even if it would no longer maintain its status as a global superpower. It was the end of an era and many agreed that it was better this way. With the Tirion Federation finally eradicated, the eyes of the whole world were turned towards the last remaining great rival for the new world: the Almagna Empire. There were many people who were convinced that in the end even the emperor would surrender and that this thorny issue would be resolved without any conflict. However, fate had very different plans. ******** "How is the situation?" As the chief of espionage, Rambo had not stood with steady hands (or with steady wings) during those months: he and his network continued to work incessantly since the existence of dinosaurs became known to the world and they would not stop before the war was over. Now not only birds and pterosaurs, but also small lizards and mammals, especially rats and mice, were part of the intelligence. They even had contact with many domestic animals in the Almagna Empire who secretly studied the situation for them. Rambo at that time was on top of a small cliff near the border with the Empire. Since it was the most dangerous nation, it was the one most kept under surveillance. Unfortunately, unlike Sobek, Rambo couldn't use the mind-sharing ability of the [Contract] to his liking, so he needed to rely on the reports of the guard troops to monitor the situation. Fortunately, thanks to [Teleportation] they could now avoid flying long distances. "The usual. There continues to be troop movement, but no aggressive intent or war action. And at the front the soldiers are waiting" The one who had spoken was Storm, his second one. Storm was a argentavis magnificens, the largest flying bird that ever existed: with its wingspan of seven meters it was the size of a small glider. He certainly couldn't hold a candle to giant pterosaurs like the quetzalcoatlus, which could almost double in size, but compared to Rambo he was practically a giant. It was incredible to think that among the two the rhamphorhynchus was the highest in rank. Rambo rubbed his wings nervously. Months earlier they had seen entire patrols of the Almagna Empire massing along the border. Fearing an invasion from one moment to the next they remained on alert, but the humans had moved more slowly than they imagined: months later there had still been no military action worthy of note. This did not make Rambo less anxious: the rhamphorhynchus feared the outbreak of a war, but waiting for it to arrive for months was even worse. "If they don't move then we keep watching them" Rambo said. "Sir, with all due respect, by now a good part of the imperial army has gathered there. If we attack now we can take away a slice of war potential from our enemies" Storm suggested. Like the rhamphorhynchus, he too was tired of waiting and wanted to do something. But Rambo shook his head. "You know the orders. Until our enemies break the peace we cannot act. After all, for the moment there is still a truce" "But..." "I don't like the situation either, Storm, but the pack leader's orders are clear. When I speak to him again I will tell him about your proposal, but I doubt he will give us permission to act. Besides, we are not soldiers, we are spies; our job is to watch over our enemies, not to fight" The argentavis shut up his beak with an annoyance, but he knew that his boss was right. Even if that was a golden opportunity, their hands were tied. He was about to leave when a small mesodma, a primitive mouse-like mammal, teleported in front of them: "Rambo, sir! The troops of the Empire are moving!" Both Rambo and Storm ruffled their feathers at those words. "What? Where are they headed?" "We don't know, sir! They have just started to mobilize!" the mesodma answered. "For now it looks like they're heading east!" Rambo gritted his teeth. To the east were many nations of the Eden Union, their ally. If the troops of the Empire had crossed the border, he should have given the alarm and at that point the war would have broken out. "Take us there!" he ordered him. The mesodma did not have it repeated and used [Teleportation] to lead them to the imperial army. Protected by [Ambush] the three were able to observe hundreds of convoys departing for the point where the sun rose. However, something was wrong. "To get to a nation that is part of the Eden Union they would have to go slightly further north, or south. Isn't there just a neutral nation straight?" "From what I remember, yes. It should be the Sinar, if I remember correctly" Storm murmured. "Why on earth do they go there?" Rambo wondered doubtfully. "Maybe it's some strategy?" Storm ruffled her feathers and spread her wings slightly. "Shall we give the alarm, sir?" But Rambo shook his head. "No, for now we continue to keep an eye on them. We will report the news to the pack leader and await his orders. As long as the troops don't cross one of our borders we cannot attack without authorization" In reality, the rhamphorhynchus would have preferred to eliminate the threat immediately, but Sobek had been adamant that the enemies should attack first. Rambo didn't know much about human politics, but given the emphasis with which the pack leader had given the order, he was convinced. However, the fact that he respected Sobek's wishes didn't make him any less worried about what was happening. "What do those imperials have in mind?"

Chapter 317: Changes

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