The story of Oroblanco

Oroblanco, white gold, is a story both sad and inspiring. her name has gone down in Oronegrean history as the thorn in the side, the great annoyance and yet it too had a story to tell it too was a proud nation once.

"Los gemelos del oro" The twins of gold! that's what Oronegro and Oroblanco started out as. Early on there was little division in fact during the time of Centurion Fran and Centurion Ray the two were almost a single nation. during the 1580's and 1590's the two nations had to rely on each other to survive. San Fran, named after the Centurion, is actually built inside Oroblanco even though it was perceived to be Oronegrean, even at the time.
The problem was the two nations were to become estranged, as Oronegro grew and discovered gold the gold in Oroblanco went from abundant to scarce as the deposits to richly exploited a century early, creating the fortune of La Fortuna began to dry up. the 17th century turned the twins into foes San Fran was more than once the scene of riots as Oronegreans demanded it become part of their nation. As Oronegro grew Oroblanco grew also though in jealousy not power and in anger not wealth. Suddenly in 1681, when Samuel Jose the future mayor of Oronegro fought and won a great campaign in the valley of the cat, Oroblanco broke its alliance to Oronegro, and was almost about to cut off trade and diplomatic links when the news of how far Samuel had gone to make sure his victory was complete shocked them into rethinking their actions.

the centre of La Fortuna. it was here that the great central park that Oroblanco almost declared war on Oronegro in 1681

Yet it should perhaps not come as a surprise that the two nations would split Oroblanco was a conquistador settlement built on the hunt for gold and the conversion of native tribes, Oronegro was a refuge for the outcasts of Europe with strong principals which made it unattractive for both wealth seekers and those on a mission to save the souls of native peoples. it was unfortunate for Oroblanco that in reality Europe was full of outcasts and that in time it would be wars there between the great nations and not those in Oroblanco between natives and settlers that you'd see the influx of settlers to these lands and of coarse Oronegro not Oroblanco was ready to house them. When in 1689 Samuel Jose was elected to become Mayor of La Ley, effective ruler of Oronegro, Oroblanco tried to restore some of its former friendship but Jose remembered how they had almost declared war because of his campaign and still felt that the leadership in Oroblanco had some personal dislike of him, so it was no surprise that Jose did not negotiate with them.

Yet its was Jose, the man who almost caused war between Oroblanco and Oronegro in the 1680's who would actually lead Oronegro in a war against Oroblanco in the 1690's! after the great and famous campaign in the valley of Grasdamm Oronegro found that nearly all its neighbours hated it, Oroblanco was no exception! Oroblanco watched on as Oronegro went off to fight its own private war for its own private gain when Spain her mother was suffering in her fight against the French! who they noted made up a large part of Oronegro's society. as soon as the troops returned and the news of the victory spread Oroblanco, along with that other sibling of Oronegro, Playalargo joined with the other regional powers, Nouveau Paris, New Dunedin and Costa Plata.
They thought that Oronegro was far weaker than she made out, they thought such a mixed society could never hold together under the strains of a campaign, they thought that Oronegro could never fight them one by one... They were wrong!

Oroblancotine squares prepare for a possible attack on La Fortuna the fires on the distance are of the villages raided by the Oronegrean Cavalry.

Mayor Samuel was a military Genius he knew the council of La Fortuna very well, he knew the old aristocrats would never be able to fight a co-ordinated campaign with the other nations. So he didn't give them a chance to even try, he sent in the 16 most elite Cavalry regiments in Oronegro to deal with La Fortuna. they ravaged the country side. on the First day Alone they covered an area of about 50 hectares burning all the crops, destroying farms and raiding villages. on the second day the army of Oroblanco formed up in squares each of 200 men, 50 squares around La Fortuna expecting the cavalry to try and attack the capital, but by mid day it was clear the cavalry was not coming. so the army split into small groups trying to find the Oronegreans. every village they came to was burnt, every time some one said they had seen a large groups of horsemen, it was to late to catch them. Some of the Oroblancotine units did find the cavalry but for them it was not a success but rather a nightmare. the 4th Dragoon regiment along with the 1st and 15th line infantry regiments found themselves surrounded by cavalry although they formed into a giant square the Oronegreans formed a great wheel around it pistols were shot into the square and every so often a cavalry officer would jump from his horse faking death so that he could take a well aimed shot or two at the infantries officers... The battle looked like it could last the rest of the day when the 3rd lancers from the Great Farming plain suddenly dismounted and attacked at one of the squares corners the attack was so unexpected and so unorthodox that the soldiers there almost forgot to fire thinking that the lancers were mad, unfortunately it was a simple distraction as while they concentrated their fire on the lancers charging with their spears they missed the cuirassiers suddenly brake from the wheel and attack the corner also. The square broke as the wheel turned into a charge all the cavalry focused on this one corner. the Oroblancotine Dragoons mounted and fled as did many of the infantry on the other side of the square. The fighting didn't last long, the general of the Oroblancotine forces sat down in the centre of the battlefield and waited he knew he had lost he just hoped that his men would realise it to and give up.

the general sits knowing defeats certain as the sun sets the battle concludes the last surrounded soldiers of Oroblanco surrender to the victorious cavalry.

One the third day rumours of an infantry force approaching La Fortuna caused the government to surrender! The war was over, but although Oronegro had one many soldiers from Oroblanco fought on and joined rebel groups, some more organised and other simply bandits. From then on Oroblanco became the thorn in the side a nation that was no longer existent and yet still able to cause havoc!

Oroblancotine Grenadier rebels fight back against the Oronegrean occupying forces.

Well there you go a little story of one of Oronegro's neighbours, I really hope you like these little guys as I really am going to make them look bad from here on in... of coarse I have to... I would not be making Oronegro seem like a good place if I did not and as I am pretending to be some sort of Oronegrean historian I need to keep in character for this blog... which is why the following is odd. recognition of my followers.

Greetings to the new followers of the Oronegro blog... no I did not forget about you I just have been thinking how I could recognise your kindness in following without compromising the blogs theme, in the end I just thought that it was pointless to keep up the theme to much and just say Hello!
Hello to Remco de Groot from remco's miniatures
greetings to Tankmodels.Pl from tankmodels.pl
Hi Francis Lee from the angry lurker
welcome Ben B from bens soldiers
Hello once more Peter from peters cave
good to see you again Abdul666 from mcristo by lacew
Hi Steve from sound officers call
Hey Aaron welcome to the blog... a link to your profile... multiple blogs like myself
greetings to Michael Peterson from multiple places to again a link to your profile
And last but not least Anne O'Leary nice to have you here at the Oronegro blog... and of coarse a link to your blog at Anne's Attic

welcome to the blog guys... I hope you like the story of Oronegro, or as is the case in this post of some of her neighbours.

Rolando and Giorgio

Rolando and Giorgio are some of Jose and Maria Castillo's children; both take after their mother and have dark hair, unlike Rosa, Sophia and Fernando who take after Jose and have light hair, Alberto has a dirty brown hair colour half way between his parents.

a small family gathering without the evil mother or the crazy siblings who are out and about.

Rolando is the second oldest son of Jose and Maria, he is an excellent business man who has taken the modest trading company of his father and turned it into a national organisation with a large annual profit. Although he is not yet in control is seems highly likely that he'll take control of the family business when his father resigns, though it is rumoured that he might even set up his own as he clearly has the potential. Born on the 28th of April 1711 he was different from other children in his youth, he showed a high intellect and a great mathematical ability but he was incredibly quiet and withdrawn. However at the age of 15 he started to show some vague social skills, much to the delight of his father who feared his son could never marry even if it was arranged. though Rolando has never had a relationship like those of his elder brother, but this is to his advantage as the calculating man, as he is known, knows the value of a high born wife. Something he may soon have if he can seduce of of the many pretty women of Oronegro. Though the question remains is his desire for marriage part of some equation that places a value or number on love or some true feeling in his heart?

Rolando on the right and Giorgio on the left

Giorgio on the other hand is a very happy child, he may live in the shadow of his sister but this is to his advantage as then he can avoid his mothers strict eyes. Rolando is her favourite son which may sound good for him but all that means he, like is father, does every thing he's told is easy to love. Giorgio is not like that, he doesn't matter to her because he was born after Rosa so can never compare. Most children would be permanently damaged by the lack of love, but when your mother it "el Burro" its different. Her nickname perhaps shows more about her character by the fact she's referred to as male rather than as a donkey. For this reason Giorgio is fortunate he can stay at his friends house without the threat of his mother breaking down the door and dragging him away for dinner. Giorgio was born on the 31st of August 1729 during what was a pretty average day which Maria saw a a disappointment but his farther was relieved that he didn't get rushed along by flood waters like the year before.

the family really should consider getting a better artist to do their paintings

all in all they both live very different lives and the wars of the 1730's and 1740's will be a large part of their lives.

the Oronegrean Song of war (english version)

This song is the English version of Oronegro's war song which is sung during the long marches to war. The Spanish version is not a direct translation as the versions are all sung to different tunes and created by different units. The English version was written by La Ley's British cohort which is one of the few units of el ejercito segundo which is permanent and ready to be deployed at a moments notice. They are mostly light infantry though they do include some policing forces and engineers. This is their song which after a few decades of being sung only by that unit spread to the whole army!

Come my sisters, my brothers , my sons.
we're off to war and the sound of the guns
with courage we go
though death may show
his fear is weak and weak his blows

Come my sisters, my brothers, my sons
we're off to war and the sound of the guns
our spirits are high
though some may die
to their honour let the remainder cry

Come my sisters, my bothers, my sons 
we're off to war and the sound of the guns!
though peace we seek
and victory desire!
let us not fail to fire

come my sisters, my bothers, my sons
we're off to war and the sound of the guns!
to the battle we go the fight and the foe
forget not our cause and forget not our home
for Oronegro we fight;
for Oronegro our home!

come my sisters, my brothers, my sons
though the guns may sound 
our courage will be found.

Because of this song it is said that the young Eduardo Martínez would be inspired to lead his own armies, he is quoted as saying. "as I watched the forces move silently out of the city I could not help but hear a growing sound moving towards the mound on which I stood. as it came so could the drums be heard the flute, and horn played in time to the rhythmic march, the song that was sang certainly not a piece to be found in any Opera, our of time with the beat in many places, yet it is true that all the men and women spoke as one. I looked to General Marco d'Amarillo y Natillas who stood to my right and asked him how long it would take to reform the Mayoral Cuirassiers. he said  two months at least should we use horsemen already in service or years if we were to train some especially. I answered that I wanted them ready and armed as soon as the army reached the mouth of the La Esperanza some and that I myself would be amongst them."

and so it was that the Story of Eduardo Martínez, child and warrior mayor comes into the story of the great Oronegrean war of defence, conquest and survival.
 

 

Rosa and her father Jose Castillo

Rosa daughter of Jose and Maria Castillo was born on the 5th of October 1728. The day of her birth in El Pollo where she was born would become know as la Gargantua Del Rio, the throat of the river! For on that day the river surrounding the island part of El Pollo was so high that it almost completely swallowed up the settlement and her birth was to become a story of great renown!

"the cries of a new born child were heard over the roar of the waters and the screams of the drowning! 
All those forced onto the roof tops froze in that brief moment and as if hearing the anguish the river found mercy in its destructive heart and retreated back to its channel leaving behind those it had so cruelly taken.
The cries ended and slowly life returned and the priest could be heard muttering 'an angel, an angel!'"


Her father Jose was perhaps the most amazed by the event, kept away from his family by the raging currents he could not have swam to them from the town hall. yet just before he thought we would miss the birth of his fourth child the balcony upon which he stood collapsed, the cold water dragged him along but when all seemed lost a hand from nowhere grabbed him and pulled him from deaths grip, to the shock of all as well as himself he had made it to the family home and not more than half an hour later his daughter was born.

Jose goes to ask his daughter what the matter is, she has not come down for dinner and Maria is getting into one of her grumpy moods

Rosa shows her father the cupboard in which she is certain that mice are hiding.

Perhaps then it was surprising that although many people begged that the child's name be things such as Diosa (goddess), her mother, Maria is perhaps better known as burro (donkey) because of her stubbornness and as such her decision to call her daughter Rosa stuck. It was only when at the age of 4 when she stared to go out more into town with her older brothers that she started getting called Diosa, and although officially she was not called that by anyone, it appeared that there was some sort of identical twin running around with that name... at least that's what it seemed like when Maria went out with her daughter

father and daughter pose for a portrait

unfortunately the painter has to paint them from behind for some reason?

The Castillo family are quite well off, not only because Rosa received money and gifts from nearly everyone on the town as gratitude for her miracle! they are quite a large family also, Rosa has a younger brother Giorgio who is always seen in the Shadow of his sister.Fernando is the eldest child, his long blond beard and hair make his somewhat barbaric, he is however very protective of his little sisters. Rolando is the second oldest and most respectable so far as the aristocracy sees things, most likely to follow his father in looking after the families trade business he is also a visionary planner. Alberto is the second youngest son, he is totally unlike Rolando and spends his days hunting with his friends. Sophia is the eldest girl, she is unmarried and is known throughout the great farming plains and the El Pollo region as the fairest woman with an incredible intellect. they are a moderately wealthy family but the trade business has boomed and some of the family, like Sophia are looking to marry into the rich and powerful families in Oronegro.