Civ Stories: The Wars of the World

Part 1: Tales from Europe

"To understand Europe, you have to be a genius - or French." ~ Madeleine Albright

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Western civilization has been greatly shaped by numerous European powers and kingdoms. These great kingdoms and empires range from various times and locations, but all have showcased the grandeur of their empire, whether through brute force, or through cultural enlightenment, many would revere these leaders, these empires, as true civilizations that stood the test of time.

However, in the world of Meier, the dominant number of Western civilizations have pushed some to take extreme measures, with most of their leaders acting in unpredictable manners. There are no words for what happened to these historic figures. All that we know is that they have been replicated in the potentially endless amount of worlds of Meier, living immortal lives, leading various mortals to greatness, or to woe.

Although these great figures lead their nations and their armies to victory, in the world of Meier—and possibly linked to real life—the common soldier fights on the behest of his leader and on behalf of his country. As time passes on, the military and their technology strengthens, and in Western civilization, we all know that industrialization has been the turning tide of superpowers.

England. France. Germany. These countries, in real life, dominated the age of industrialization, leaving other nations to either follow suit, or risk death.

However, life is not fully mirrored in the world of Meier. Stories of England being conquered, Germany rising to conquer the world, the French influencing it, the Portuguese wanting to put it together, and the Americans and Brazilians adopting their European roots, all come together to form the wonderful anthology of stories to be found. Stories of greatness. Stories beyond one's comprehension. Stories that would most likely be laughed upon.

Stories of pain, suffering, and death.

All of these stories tell us a lesson: a lesson we hope we won't forget, and a lesson to remember. However, as the world of Meier offers some sort of arbitrary condition of victory and international achievement, this lesson will never be taken into the lives of the nations. War will always erupt, and no matter how much we try and stop it, we are at the mercy of the nations' leaders.

And believe me when I say to you, these leaders are similar to ticking time bombs.

The leaders' fiery attitudes however, are not without repercussions. The aggression of the Huns in various worlds of Meier have dubbed them the most vile of all civilizations of the world, with many other warmongering nations at the other end of the stick, but none have it worse than the Huns. As other European nations try to achieve greatness through influence, diplomacy, and technological pursuits, what stands between them and people like the Huns are conflicts that can erupt at any time, anywhere, and at any capacity.

Some succeed, others die. There is no in between.

The world of Meier allows these conflicts and are justified by a universal rule. There is no crime too illegal in war. After all, when the nations of the world have taken to extreme measures, would peace still be an option. The worst part of it all: no leader will ever face another one in the world of Meier. It is a war between men who are foolish enough to join the army, patriotic enough to serve their country, dangerous enough to commit various atrocities, and those merely caught in the conflict.

The average infantryman in the world of Meier only lasts an average of around 1-2 major battles or just at the moment they've entered the fray before dying. Now imagine that number, but with all of them in a single division. Chaos is now visible. An entire array of soldiers wiped.

As brutal as it may sound, this is perfectly normal in the vicious world of Meier, although this is speaking in favor of the leaders and the gods of the worlds, colloquially known as "The Players", given their admiration and fascination for the civilians: their "toys". In this story, however, we'll realize that there is more to what the average soldier is. The warriors of the land since the dawn of the civilization. Those that protect the nation from the hostile threats.

Those that value others' lives over theirs.

But are soldiers merely just meatshields? No! They're people too, and we have the right to tell their story. The stories of pride, glory, fame, conquest, tragedy, and love.

The stories of war.