Black Records (Cold Steel III)/5

English = The Salt Pale - Year 1178 On July 1st, 1178, at 5:45AM, a great catastrophe struck North Ambria, then a principality in northern Zemuria. A giant, white pillar suddenly appeared on the outskirts of its capital, Haliask. The pillar was composed not of snow nor ice, but salt. As such, it was named the Salt Pale. A storm of salt spread outward from it, salinifying everything it touched. Despite only lasting a few days, its effects were felt for months afterward, as citizens fled south, seeking refuge. In the immediate aftermath of the catastrophe, the number of victims equaled about one-eighth of the country's population. That number rose to nearly a third of the population with the inclusion of victims in the days that followed. After the incident, the Septian Church led evacuation procedures, provided aid, and employed hundreds from the Bracer Guild to help. In a short time, relief forces from Erebonia, Remiferia, Jurai, Liberl, and the Republic of Calvard had assembled in North Ambria. Meanwhile, the country's leader, Prince Balmund--who had fled to a neighboring country at the start of the catastrophe--had returned to rebuild the government. However, he was met with violence from the enraged citizens for leaving them behind in their hour of need. In the end, he was forcibly removed from power, and North Ambria became a democracy. The remnants of its former armed forces reformed as the Northern Jaegers. Erebonia, their neighbor to the south, had contradictory views on the new autonomous state. On one hand, it refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new democratic government. On the other, it eagerly welcomed the Northern Jaegers. North Ambria's extreme poverty and focus on bringing in foreign currency meant that the former soldiers were easily manipulated by the promise of Imperial coin. The Jaeger corps went around the empire, hiring themselves out to the nobility and newly developing businesses who were fighting over septium and natural resources. They turned out to be the perfect pawns for Erebonia to use in its proxy wars and internal struggles. Despite this, the massive amounts of mira that flowed in from the empire helped save North Ambria from its dire straits. 27 years after the catastrophe of the Salt Pale, the empire annexed North Ambria as reparations for the Northern Jaegers' actions in the Erebonian Civil War. As before, Erebonia's vast resources ended up lifting the former independent state out of its chronic poverty. Shortly after the disaster, the Septian Church restricted access to the northern half of the country. After the annexation, however, the Imperial Army's Intelligence Division began investigating the pale, which had since been classified as an 'otherworldly singularity.' One of the Intelligence Division's collaborators has been able to confirm that members of the Church's Dominion retreived the Salt Pale and brought it back to Arteria. It's rumored, however, that a piece of the pale still remains onsite in North Ambria.

<!--- Wiki's original translation = The Salt Pale (S.1178)

It was July 1, S.1178, 5:45 AM when that great catastrophe hit the former Principality of North Ambria, north of the Empire in the northern region of Zemuria.

An enormous white pale touching the clouds suddenly appeared in the suburbs of the old capital of Haliask and overwhelmed the majority of the country in the blink of an eye.

The pillar was neither snow nor water, but 'salt'. The salt coming from the pillar covered cities, hills, fields and rivers alike, and the majority of the population was forced to take refuge in the southern regions.

This calamity's damage was so great that approximately one eighth of the principality's population instantly fell victim. Including secondary damage, the death toll ultimately increased to one third of the population.

Immediately after this unusual catastrophe took place, the Septian Church responded with guidance to shelters, relief and medical treatment, followed by the Bracer Guild's plans to dispatch hundreds of bracers.

Soon thereafter, relief groups from the Empire, Principality of Remiferia, Jurai City State, Liber Kingdom and Calvard Republic arrived.

The ruler at the time, Prince Balmund, had already fled the country to the nearby nation of Remiferia, so his homegoing he was welcomed by insurrections of the enraged populace.

The insurrections ultimatey led to a coup d'etat of the principality's army, after which the principality fell and to have it reborn as an autonomous, democratic state.

The Erebonian Empire, bordering only of its nothern border, took an antinomical response regarding the incident.

First, it did not acknowledge the circumstances of the democratisation following the principality's coup d'etat.

Second, the extreme poverty of the autonomous state forced the former principality's army to form the largest jaeger corps of the continent, the Northern Jaegers.

The jaegers moved around the more remote regions of the Empire and through clashes with the nobility and developing businesses they obtained septium gemstones and other resources.

Against the formation of an enormous jaeger corps, highly skilled and capable of large-scale operations, a 'proxy war' seemed to be the best approach.

One might say, ironically, that this way North Ambria was saved from poverty by a considerable amount of mira from Erebonia...

And 27 years after that calamity, the Northern War led to the merger of North Ambria in the Empire.

Equally ironical, the gradual improvement of the perpetual state of poverty can be seen as the result of the enormous investment of Erebonia...

It was all caused by the Salt Pale.

Immediately after the abnormal event the Septian Church was quick to cover up the white pale as a 'first-class singularity', on which the Imperial Army's Intelligence Division launched a follow-up investigation.

According to 'a certain organisation' the Intelligence Division collaborated with, the residual of the partially altered Salt Pale was brought back the Church's home in Arteria by their Dominion, although it has yet to be confirmed whether still really remains there.--->
 * -|Japanese= 『塩の杭』　S1178

七耀暦1178年7月1日、午後5時45分—— 帝国の北側に位置するゼムリア大陸北西敵旧ノーザンプリア大公国にてその《大災厄》は発生した. 旧公都ハリアスク近郊に、雲を衝くがごとき白き巨柱が突如出現瞬く間に国土の大半を飲み込んでいったのである. 巨柱の正体は雪や氷ではなく、"塩"であった. その柱から塩が都市を、山野や河川を例外なく覆っていき、住民の大多数が南部地域への数ケ月の避難を余儀なくされる. この災厄の一時被害による犠牲者の数は当時の大公国の人口のおよそ八分のーほど——しかしその後の二次被害などを含めると最終的には三分のーの人命が喪われたと見込まれている. なお、この件については、異変発生直後から七耀教会が避難誘導や救護・医療などの初動対応を行い、続けて遊撃士協会が遊撃士を数百人規模派遣し…… 程なくして帝国、レミフェリア公国、ジュライ市国、リベール王国、力ルバード共和国などの救援部隊も到着した. しかし大公国の元首であるバルムント大公は異変直後隣国レミフエリアへと真っ先に亡命しており、その後帰国するも、激怒した民衆の暴動に出迎えられ…… 最終的に公国軍のクーデターへと発展、大公国は崩壊し、ノーザンブリアは議会民主制の自治州に生まれ変わるのだった. ——なおその件について、北部国境で僅かに隣接していた工レポニア帝国はニ律背反的な反応を取ることになる. 一つは、大公国がクーデターによって民主化した経緯を帝国はその体制上、決して認めることが出来なかったこと. もうーつは、貧困の極みにあった自治州において、旧公国軍が外貨獲得のため『北の猟兵』と呼ばれる大陸最大規模の猟兵団を立ち上げたことへの歓迎だった. 当時、帝国辺境部においては、七耀石や鉱物資源を巡って大貴族や新興の大企業による小競り合いが続いており…… 練度が高く、大規模に運用できる巨大猟兵団の誕生は"代理戦争"の駒として正に打ってつけだったのである. 皮肉にも、そうして帝国から折れ込んだ少なからぬミラが結果的にノーザンブリアの困窮を救ったと言えるのだが……. ——そして、かの大災厄から27年後、《北方戦役》の果てノーザンブリアは帝国に併合された. やはり皮肉にも、莫大な帝国資本が投入されることで慢性的な貧困状態は徐々に改善の兆しを見せており…… 全ての原因となった《塩の杭》——異変直後から七耀教会が存在をひた隠しにした“第一級特異点”である白き巨柱についても帝国軍情報局による追跡調査が始まった. なお、情報局に協力する“とある組織“によれば——当時、教会の守護騎士がアルテリア本国へ持ち帰ったという、《塩の杭》が変質した残留物の一部が、いまだ現也の何処かに残っている可能性が指摘されている.