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The joy of the world reaching the 20th century was overshadowed by the common realization that peace in Europe was reaching it's last breaths. Both the Entente Cordiale and the Baltic-Adriatic Coalition were rapidly expanding their military-industrial complex and beginning a war of propaganda against the other side. The Entente presented itself as the defenders of peace and justice against radicals, Unitarians and the forces of chaos. The BAC placed themselves as the vanguard of liberty, true liberty, not the one France claims to be a bastion of, and they sought to vanquish the "brutal, oppressive dictatorship in the East" and the "imperialistic traitors of democracy in the West". New technologies were being adapted for war left and right. In 1897, Jan Nevečuk from Visegrad constructed and flew with the world's first aeroplane, quite literally paving the path for man to conquer the skies - and it took about ten years for all of the major powers in Europe to establish "air cavalry" regiments, taking advantage of the mobility and the field of vision that aircraft provided. The first aeroplane in the Empire of Lithuania was constructed by Antanas Virbalas and constructed in 1901, and merely four years later, the 1st Oro Kavalerijos (Air Cavalry) Regiment was presented in time for Emperor Žygimantas IV's birthday. Such leaps in adapting technology, only taking four years - only possible in this modern age, never before.

Airplanes weren't the only new thing presented in in first decade of the 20th century. Many countries established their own gas weaponry programs, hoping to gain an advantage through chemical warfare. On the ground, indirect artillery fire, bolt action limos and smokeless powder both gave land armies a massive leap in firepower. In the seas, France presented a brand new type of battleship - a hulking, massive beast with steam engine propulsion and heavy caliber weaponry to turn anyone who dares to challenge it to shreds. The first such vessel was the Magenta, a battleship that was so impressive that it gave the name for it's category of battleships, the Magenta. Magenta ships were extremely expensive and took a long time to build, but eventually, other countries like Italy, Visegrad, VFS, Mughals and Lithuania (it's first magenta being called the Saulėlydis, sunset) acquired their own copies or variations of this ship class. Even Britannia managed to construct one by 1910, named The Gospel - however, France still retained it's naval superiority, eclipsing pretty much all of their rivals in navy size and firepower. No matter what, though, naval warfare saw a sudden change. In India, something else was being thought up as a way to obtain the mythical "edge" needed to surpass the other side, under the orders of the Shah, officer Manassa Mahanti figuratively wiped the dust off an 18th century technique that the tiny state of Mysore used to successfully hold back the Mughal advance for two decades...

Tensions in Europe reached a new high in 1908, after the election in France and the victory by the Liberaux and it's leader, Eugene Franchet d'Esperey. The Liberaux were one of the two branches of the former centrist Les Federalistes, which split on the issue of foreign interventionism and the Baltic-Atlantic Coalition - the pro-military and pro-intervention wing of the party split and joined with other interventionist parties to form the Liberaux. In the election, d'Esperey was challenged by a coalition of pacifist and anti-imperialist parties, led by the Democratic Unitarian Party, but in the end, the experienced, capable politician secured a majority for his party and was elected as the next Director of the Estates-General. As the leader of a new interventionist government, d'Esperey rapidly increased France's military spending, signed the construction of three more Magentas - the Charlemagne, Charles Martel and De Foix - and increased French military presence in Egypt, North Germania and on the Franco-German border, which only furthered the BAC narrative of the "imperialistic French".

d'Esperey's confident attitude, supported by his political experience as a party leader and long-term Representative, was like night and day in comparison to his main ally, Lithuania's Žygimantas IV. Having inherited the throne as a teenager, the Emperor lacked any prior experience in ruling the country, and despite now being in his late 20s, he was extremely reliant on his court of advisors to handle day-to-day matters, although he still called the shots on domestic and foreign policy. Žygimantas was reluctant to enter an arms race with the BAC, but his opinion on Visegrad and Germania was formed by his court, which constantly pushed for war, and the courtiers and ministers were always sure to present Lithuania's adversaries to be weak and fragile, not even a serious threat to the invincible Empire, only minor bumps on the road. Sometimes intelligence reports would be ignored or falsified to show an imaginary view of the geopolitical situation. Why did the court do this? Well, many ministers were reactionary or military men, itching to have Lithuania enter a war with Visegrad. Others had connections with the Empire's military industry or were in the pockets of businessmen who would profit from such a war. The head of the Council of Lords, effectively the head of government of Lithuania, Vincentas Jonas Čepukas, was the leader of the pro-war faction. Of course, not everyone was delusional or a warmonger - among such men and women was Silvestras Žukauskas, the General of the 1st Imperial Army and the Field Hetman (second in command to the Grand Hetman, who was the equivalent of the Chief of Staff) of Lithuania, who predicted that "any war between the Entente Cordiale and the Baltic-Adriatic Coalition would not be in Lithuania's advantage".


With Europe descending into a potential future battleground between two powerful coalitions, getting the support of other, more minor nations became vital, especially for the Baltic-Adriatic Coalition, but also for the Entente Cordiale.

Two countries aligned themselves with the Coalition early on, and these nations were Spain and Sweden. Both of them were, much like Visegrad and South Germania, dissatisfied with the status quo, although for different reasons. Sweden did not involve itself in the Revolutionary Wars nor did it interfere much with the state of events in Europe during the period of the Paris System. Throughout the 19th century, the nation reformed it's political system, establishing a competent constitutional monarchy, with Norway, Finland and New Sweden getting representation in the Riksdag, although Sweden proper remained as the dominating force in the country. The rift between Sweden and France arise in the Conference of Rome, where, despite participating, the Swedes received no sphere of influence in Africa, even though they laid claims on parts of the Congolese coast. However, Sweden was much more concerned with Lithuania, it's eastern neighbour, and it's perceived aggressiveness after Mykolas I's ascension. Spain, meanwhile, lived through a turbulent history. After the unsuccessful Second Dutch-Spanish War, Spain became an absolute monarchy yet again, but the next line of kings turned out to be just as incompetent as Sancho II, and in the end, the military stepped in to save the country again, only this time removing the royal institution completely and establishing a dictatorship under the firm hand of Marshal Oliver Ferrant. The dictator successfully led Spain through the Second Industrial Revolution, constructing a strong economy based on light industry and international trade, while at the same time building up the nation's military. However, the Conference of Vienna disappointed the reborn Spanish Republic, it only acquired Algiers and Tunisia, which it annexed completely, and a sphere of influence in Central Africa, which France promptly interfered in, encouraging a number of local statelets and warlords to defect to their side. In both cases, the BAC was reluctant to open the gates - Sweden was perceived as too weak to be useful and Spain was a military dictatorship with heavy clerical influence, not really fitting for the alliance - but the problems were eventually worked out, and both countries joined the Coalition by 1908.

On the opposite side, the Entente Cordiale also received an enthusiastic applicant, the Netherlands. The Dutch and the French had enjoyed a cordial relationship hundreds of years old, and at a time when German nationalism was at it's highest, with many politicians even calling for the Netherlands to be included in Germania, it came as no surprise that the Free State was searching for a stronger ally. And what could be stronger than the strongest country in Europe? The Netherlands applied to join the Entente as soon as it was formed, but it only fully entered in 1901, signing treaties both with France and Lithuania. While it was far from a powerful nation - it was one of the weaker ones in Europe, in fact - it still boasted a strong navy and a competent army. Not something groundbreaking, but strong enough to defend the Lowlands.

While some countries were choosing sides, others were trying to keep their neutrality as much as possible, as was the case with Britannia and Italy - although both of the cases required a lot of effort. Britannia was an isolated absolute monarchy that few people cared about, but with tensions rising, a number of high profile figures began to call for abandoning the kingdom's policy of "splendid isolation" and joining the Baltic-Adriatic Coalition to bite France, and potentially take some of their colonies in the peace deal. This was the Evangelist faction, which justified their desire for war by claiming that it was about time for Britannia to spread it's wings and spread the Faith across the oceans, starting with France. While they did not get much traction, they did cause some trouble for the dominating thought of isolationism. In Italy, meanwhile, the pressure to pick a side came from the outside, from France. Seeing that they are getting surrounded, the French attempted to pressure Italy into joining the Entente, justifying it with a very loose interpretation of the Constitution of the Italian Federation, but their attempts went nowhere. However, a pro-French party, the Republican Democrats, formed in Italy as a result of the rising possibility of Italian interventionism, and they called for a "reinterpretation" of the eternal neutrality section of the Constitution.

An another nation became neutral against it's own will - North Germania. Since the Revolutionary Wars, French troops have been stationed in the country, and it's politics were artificially pulled from any possibility of a reunion with the South. In the 1900s, over 20 000 French soldiers were stationed in the country, with many more ready to intervene should it be necessary. This prevented any potential pan-German rebellions, but severely hurt North Germania's dignity and pride - it's people saw their country as a puppet regime, a French dominion, unable to choose it's own fate. French influence prevented North Germania from joining the BAC, either, and this only furthered North German resentment. Unitarianism and radical Republicanism, both presenting reunion with South Germania as a top priority, were rising and even starting to threaten the established, moderate and pro-French parties. North Germania was still officially neutral, but it's people had already chosen their side.

Volga Russia, or, more accurately, the "United Communities of the Volga", was an interesting case. Founded in the late 16th century by Russian refugees, it defended it's independence from the Empire of Lithuania against all odds and started to colonize Siberia and Central Asia while at the same time building an identity distinct from the other East Slavs, mixed with Tatar culture and steppe traditions. In the 19th century, it's population rapidly increased thanks to the rich black soil around the Volga, but it remained as an agrarian and pastoral state. Only Vostovsk, the capital, was industrialized, and even it paled in comparison to, say, Vilnius. In addition, Volga Russia was extremely decentralized - due to the small population and vast distances between each population center, the control of the democratically elected government over the rest of the country was tenuous, at best. The rise of the coalitions in Europe and the gathering storm presented the Volgaks an opportunity to retake their homeland, but the people were split on the issue? Many had never even seen the original Russia, many were used to their new home and saw no reason to waste countless lives for what was essentially a region of Lithuania that their ancestors fled. Others were stuck to the cause - Volga Russia must reunite with the Rodina and form "Greater Russia". At the time being, the Volgaks were still unsure on whether they should join the Coalition to attack Lithuania or rather wait it out.

An another nation which was still considering it's choices was the Ottoman Empire. For them, joining either side could potentially be disastrous - both Visegrad and Lithuania were far more powerful than the Turkish armies - but unlike, say, Italy, the Empire had no choice but to pick someone. Both the Lithuanians and the Visegradians were running high and low in the Ottoman government, hoping to persuade the Sultanate to join their alliance - even if the Turks were not in top shape, the flanking factor they could give would be decisive in any Lithuanian-Visegradian war. Two factors also came into play here - one was the Orthodox minorities in the Turkish-controlled Balkans, which saw Lithuania as a potential savior, and the second was...

...the Mughal Empire. Although it was not a European nation, it had some interests of it's own in the brewing conflict. After the opening of the Suez Canal, France also opened a window to East Asia, and their control over the recently built waterway allowed it to lay claims on a number of territories in the region, like Ceylon, Malacca and Cochinchina. All three of them were strategic regions, either in the middle of important naval routes or in control of major trade flows - but this French imperialism was a direct breach in the Mughal sphere of influence. The Gurkani considered Southeast Asia to be it's backyard, many if the countries in the region were it's tributaries or trade partners, and European meddling in the region was not perceived lightly. However, the real ace in the hole that determined the Empire's stance in the conflict was the Ottomans. The Turks and the Mughals were the two largest Muslim empires and had become eternal rivals, both laid claims on each other's territory, and it was a good rule of thumb that if one of them were to join a side, the other would join the side opposing it.

The entanglement of this European conflict was not just limited to the Old World, either. An another country which was welcomed in both factions was the Vespucia Free State. Sweden's entrance into the Baltic-Adriatic Coalition raised some eyebrows among the Vespucians, but they also feared potential French imperialism in the New World - to which, the French government strategically replied by basically inviting the VFS to join them in one such venture. North of the dominion of New France was a small Latino country, the United States of Centrovespucia, and they controlled a small isthmus that separates the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific Ocean. In 1904, France took over the territory in a short war, then, in a surprising turn of events, invited the VFS on a joint venture to build the "Los Angeles Canal", named after a town in the isthmus where the canal would be built. Democrat Klaas Luchtenberg agreed, despite severe public opposition to what they perceived to be a breach in Vespucian neutrality, and the "Franco-Vespucian LA Canal Company" was founded. The venture in Centrovespucia drew the VFS closer to the Entente, but public opposition to any sort of entanglements in Europe was fierce. The "Anti-Militarist" movement in Vespucian politics was led by the Democratic Unitarians, who rapidly grew in strength by piggybacking off Democrat Luchtenberg's perceived interventionism, but the head of state made a successful run for a second term in 1908. Now the 1912 election stands as a test to Vespucian neutrality - if Luchtenberg's Federalist Party win the election, the VFS will draw closer to the Entente, but if the joint Anti-Militarist candidate surpasses him, there will be no intervention in Europe. At the same time, the Republican-Unitarian Party, a major blue party, was pressing for the Free State to join the Coalition. Two years were left until the election which will decide the VFS's stance.

While these were far from the only nations which had to choose their fate in this day and age, they were the most vital. Many New World nations declared their neutrality within the 1900s, including the Manuelan states, Mejico and Luisiana. The Inca Empire, one of the few remaining true absolute monarchies in Vespucia, also considered neutrality, but the possibility of attacking New France and retaking some lost territory was very enticing... Africa had no choice of neutrality - almost all of it's countries were under the shadow domination of one overlord or another, and said overlords were usually planning to go to war. East Asia was one of the few regions which could truly claim to be free from Westerner squabbles, thanks to the vast distance - however, both the Shun Dynasty and Toyotomi Japan were still considering their choices, and Dutch New Zealand could be a likely prey...

The world was now set for one direction and one direction only - war. All that is needed is a spark to get the machine going...

God help us.