1871/PAe 9

The Hispanic League instigates a widespread insurrection in Central Mexico. France quells the uprising aided by the Royal Texas Rangers.

Hispanic League naval forces attack the British at Port Royal, Jamaica. The attack is decisively defeated, sending most of the remaining CSA Monitors as well as a large number of Spanish naval vessels to the bottom. This defeat ensures British and French naval primacy in the Caribbean for many years to come. It also precipitates a systematic occupation of Hispanic League Islands in the Caribbean by British, French and some Dutch forces.

The Hispanic League and the remnants of the CSA maintain control of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.

The British abandon Vancouver, British Columbia in favor of Victoria. This move precursors a period of general expansion and fortification of the southern part of Vancouver Island. The name of Victoria is changed to Fort Victoria.

1872/PAe 10

The evacuation of the Dominion of Canada is considered complete. All Canadian cities are officially declared abandoned except Ft. Victoria, Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa.

Massive, if not total crop failures occur north of thirty five degrees latitude causing a larger and even more desperate flood of refugees from the north into the Former Confederacy as famine takes hold all across the north. Any remnant of CSA central authority in North America completely collapses under the weight of this new assault of refugees, the Panther Nation establishing and brutally defending its borders, and continuing insurrections and uprisings all through the southeast.

Major battles engulf the entire region of Chiapas in southern Mexico as the French Army, Royal Texas Rangers and Mexican Militia barely hold back the onslaught of the Hispanic League armies from the south.

Royal Navy frigates are dispatched to patrol the Mississippi Bay to address reports of rampant piracy throughout the Bay and the region surrounding it.

1873/PAe 11

Vicksburg becomes an island in the Great Mississippi Bay.

.June 12^th, 1873, The Assiduous incident occurs leading to the destruction of the warship from Ft. Victoria by Haida Indians.

HMS Arethusia is sunk by pirates off Vickburg Island on August 19^th with the loss of all hands

In response to the sinking of the Arethusia, Royal Texas monitors are deployed to patrol the Mississippi Bay.

1874/PAe 12

The edge of the Argentum reaches as far south as Atlanta.

Royal Texas monitors decisively and brutally defeat CSA naval forces from Cuba attempting to seize control of the Mississippi Bay. All CSA vessels are shelled until sunk or grounded. Those that are able to ground are shelled to burning hulks. This crushing defeat ends all CSA ability to function as a political entity even on the Caribbean islands as infighting over the defeat shatters what little political unity remained.

1875/PAe 13

The Argentum crosses the gulf coast of North America.

The spreading masses of clouds over the Appalachians, upstate New York, Northern Arizona and New Mexico, Puget Sound and the newly discovered concentration over the northern Great Plains of the Dakotas continue to expand and descend. At higher elevations, these “Aester Walls” reach all the way to the ground. What little anecdotal information there is about these violent storm walls only point out that once they reach the ground they destroy everything in their paths.

An obscure inventor who chose to remain behind in the Bronx Highlands to continue his experiments and study the effect of the new substance Aester on them develops a magnetic drive system for Æster craft. The name of this inventor is Nikola Tesla.

Skyhook built in Ottawa by the Royal Scientific Expeditionary Corps to aid in research. It allows researchers to transit in and out of the Aester via sealed elevator for observation and sampling purposes

1876/PAe 14

The Hispanic League assaults French holdings all across Southern Mexico. These attacks by Columbian, Venezuelan and Spanish are almost entirely ineffectual.

Scattered reports from the areas where the Aester Walls are forming state that large numbers of Native Americans are moving into these areas.

Royal Scientific Expeditionary Corps sends the airship Beagle II to investigate the Aester Walls in British America.

The first two Aester craft in British America roll out of plants in Indianapolis.

4^th of July –The Republic of California celebrates the Centennial of the United States.

1877/PAe15

“The Year of the Comets”

Dozens of Comet showers consisting of major comets are seen day and night from February through August of 1877. The Royal Scientific Society is baffled.

Seemingly in response to the explosion of Comet activity, the “Aester Walls” expand rapidly and descend to the ground regardless of the elevation. The Aester Walls remain in this final form to the present day.

Comet activity spurs rise of numerous doomsday cults in every major religion.

The Panther Nation has spent the last seven years establishing its borders in the southeast.  They send formal letters to the leadership of Athens and Macon Georgia, Charlotte North Carolina, Columbia South Carolina, Huntsville Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee with its final borders.  The Panther Nation now surrounds over seventy percent of the area around Charlotte; this becomes known as the "Charlotte Pocket".  The only routes in and out of the city are the roads that run east from Charlotte and the single rail line running northeast.  The Panther Nation garrisons the borders around Charlotte to enforce them.  A few skirmishes during the summer here and in other areas make it clear that they will not tolerate incursions into their newly established borders.

Raids and attacks occur all throughout the north central plains by Black Hills Nation raiding parties. These consist of members of Sioux, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Pawnee and other tribes that make up the Black Hills Nation.

Construction of major military and support facilities begins in St. Louis and Indianapolis as the British American government builds infrastructure to maintain long term outposts in the nearly vacant regions of the continent.

Reports of people who remain living in the dark and twilight circulate. Many of these are dismissed as fireside tales. These phantoms become known as Nightmen.

For the first time a confirmed Æster strike is witnessed. It destroys a large warehousing and manufacturing district in Oakland, California.

Nikola Tesla begins in-depth exploration of the Æster in his personally designed Æster craft.

Magnetic North shifts again, rendering compasses useless. From this point onward there are anywhere from three to six “poles” that change randomly. Compasses become useless antiques overnight.

1878/PAe 16

The first Skyhook in British America built in Indianapolis based on the one built in Ottawa. The first Aester platforms and are constructed to support Aester ship building in Indianapolis.

“Red Billy”, a red haired Irishman who was one of the British sailors who remained behind after Assiduous incident, arrives at Fort Victoria to negotiate British assistance for the Potlatch Nation in defeating Black Hills Nation aggression into their eastern territory.

Through these negotiations the British learn about the Black Hills Nation, a coalition of Indian tribes under Sioux influence residing in the Great Plains including the area of the Great Plains Aester Wall.

British troops assist the Potlatch Nation Indians along their eastern border against the Black Hills Nation incursions. For all their assistance, the British are never given any information about how the Indians manage to transit the Aester Wall. This small conflict becomes colloquially known as “Red Billy’s War”.

The Black Hills Nation declares war on British America due to their interference on behalf of the Potlatch Nation. This state exists to the present day.

1879/PAe 17

Coups and other political unrest stymie Hispanic League assaults on French Mexico and British America.

The first Æster road is established between military posts at St. Louis and Indianapolis. Æster roads are also established between Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and New York as the fledgling British Aerocorps finishes laying the first wave of Æster navigation beacons.

Former Northern European countries, Germany, Prussia, Austria, Scandinavia and the Low Countries federate as the New Hansiatic League.

1880/PAe 18

Red Billy’s War ends. Black Hills Nation incursions against the Potlatch Nations are reduced to the normal level of raiding. The Potlatch Nations promise non interference in British holdings north of the Canada border as payment for their assistance against the Black Hills Nation. No further negotiations are allowed by the Indians. They once again close the door on the British and the outside world once this business is complete.

Nikola Tesla delivers the designs for the Arclight cannon to the British Admiralty

Nikola Tesla is given the title of Earl of New Hampshire for his contributions to the Empire. A title he studiously ignores for the rest of his life.

Æster bands stabilize.

1881/PAe 19

The Black Hills Nation raids Denver causing serious damage to local facilities. This is seen as a reprisal for British interference in Red Billy’s War. The determination to rebuild and reinforce with at least Battalion strength is made. The construction of the Pike’s Peak Aeroport is given priority. Denver becomes the western military hub of British America.

1882/ PAe 20

The ’82 Begins

Massive snowfall occurs all across the northern and southern hemispheres in the Nyx and the Argentum as weather patterns are disrupted. Heavy snow is seen all the way to the Tropic of Cancer. All of North America is blanketed in up to 10 feet of snow.

The violent weather changes and the massive snowfall are the final hammer stroke for many of those living in the Argentum and the Nyx. Those who are ill prepared and even many who are succumb to the merciless weather. Millions perish from the storms, cold, starvation and disease.

In recognition of the importance of the Rise of the Aester, the British, Hansiatic League and French governments adopt a new calendar; the Post Aester calendar or PAe calendar. This calendar is then adopted as the standard calendar by most major governments worldwide. Many dates are retroactively changed to match the new calendar with 1862 being set at PAe 0 as it was recognized as the first year that the Aester was recognized for what it is.

-This marks the end of the old world-

The southern latitudes are struck by powerful cyclones and typhoons during the northern winter. This cycle reverses as winter comes to the southern hemisphere burying the southern latitudes in snow while tornadoes and hurricanes pummel the northern hemisphere.

All building on infrastructure in British possessions comes to a halt as the government and citizen’s alike concentrate on trying to survive the violent shifts in weather.

All large scale military operations and campaigns shut down as manpower is drawn off to try and help governments survive. All warfare of any major scale falls apart due to the violent weather.

1883/PAe 21

The pattern of massive weather oscillations continues for years as the system balances itself.

August 26-27, 1883, The New Hansiatic League and the British Empire are just getting back on their feet when the Krakatau volcano erupts in a series of massive explosions. A global food crisis ensues as particulate matter in the atmosphere from the eruptions causes crop failures all across areas that still received sunlight.

All British possessions, including British America, are largely cut off from central authority as the government in Darwin tries to deal with the effects of the Krakatau eruption.

This disruption and its derivative effects allow the Hispanic League to make an offensive pushing Texan, French and Californian forces north to the Gulf of Vera Cruz

1884 PAe 22

All large scale fighting ends as the weather begins to subside but the governments are bled white by the critical loss of manpower. There just aren’t enough people to both work and fight.

Large scale starvation is once again seen worldwide as a result of the crop failures and the violent weather changes. A massive restructuring of populations begins in order to turn them to food production.

1884/PAe 22 and 1885/PAe 23 become known as the Scarecrow Years. These years are almost entirely defined by trying to rebuild after the ’82.

1886/PAe 24

To the surprise of the British military and government, Texas rolls out the newly developed “Texas Long Gun” on rail carriages all along the western shores of the Mississippi Bay.

The sudden revelation of the Texas Long gun halts Hispanic League expansion for the time being.

Rapid development of Æster driven steam engines for Æster craft and LTA vessels.

“City of Light” movement is started by Richard “Guy” Fawkes November 5^th, 1882 in his famous “Remember, Remember…” speech

1888/PAe 26

First lights come on in the London City of Light.

1889/PAe 27

Philadelphia City of Light comes on line.

1890/PAe 28

Chicago City of Light comes on line.

2^nd Ottoman War with Britain begins

A new fiber is discovered through trade with Nightmen known as the Enduring Brethren.  This fiber is derived from giant mushrooms and is known as Mycological or Mushroom Silk.

1891/PAe 29

Pittsburgh City of Light comes on line.

1892/PAe 30

The Denver City of Light comes online.  Due to it's proximity to mountains that reach the Aester floor at ten thousand feet, it has not only its own small Aeroplex, but a series of Aester harbors built on the mountains north of the city.  In addition to these Aester harbors, new Aester harvesting stations and processing plants are built above the ten thousand foot demarcation.  The Aester harvesting stations pump Aester down to facilities further down the mountains below them where it is refined and processed.  The Aester processing plants above ten thousand feet operate to deal with the harvested Aester that cannot be easily pumped downhill for any of a variety of reasons.

To protect the work on the Transcontinental Night Train line and eventually to defend it on its longest leg from St. Louis to the Denver City of Light, the first Air Lancer Squadrons are formed from Colorado Volunteers.  This unique service employs small fast airships which patrol along the rail lines in search of raiders or those who might interdict the Night Trains.  They also use the invention of a little known scientist by the name of Harper Davis from Denver.  His invention, the Rocket Harness, allows the Air Lancers to descend rapidly from the airships without the need of ropes and gives them limited ability to maneuver from the airship to the ground.  Over the objections of more safety minded members of the military and the government, the Rocket Harnesses are produced in large enough numbers to be deployed to the first Air Lancer units.

In a surprise attack on April 27th, Hispanic League Privateers raid Houston, Texas.  This precipitates a condemnation of the Hispanic League by the British Crown using "the strongest language available to voice their displeasure".  Within three months, Houston is not only garrisoned by Royal Texas Army forces but has a permanent squadron of eight monitors assigned to defend its port and approaches.

As the Ottoman War escalates, the need for armaments drives Texas Long Gun production to record levels.  By mid year Krupps Armament factories are finished in Dallas Texas.  The sprawling arms factories and industry in Dallas becomes known as the "Arsenal of British America".

1893/PAe31

Aester ships trying to find a stable road from Chicago to Dallas discover a massive spinning storm unlike anything ever encountered.  It is dubbed the "Cerulean Pillar" due to its color.  Further investigations establish that the Cerulean Pillar is a static storm that does not vary more than a few miles in any direction.  It quickly becomes the focus of a new industry, Aester tourism

The St. Louis City of Light is officially completed.  At just over 2,100 feet, the St. Louis Aeroplex becomes one of the wonders of the modern world.  It is only overshadowed in British America by the Philadelphia Aeroplex at 2,400 feet.

The Indianapolis Aeroport is completed.  It is the center of a military complex of ship yards, bases, garrisons and transportation.  Indianapolis becomes the military heart of British America.  There are so many cables anchoring the Aester platforms above Indianapolis to the earth that it becomes known as "The City of Cables".

Ottawa and Toronto Cities of Light are completed.

November 15^th, 1893 - The apparent failure of a fuel valve on a rocket harness causes a catastrophic series of events precipitating the loss of an entire wing of Air Lancers and three Lancer air ships.  The three Lancer airships were in a tight defensive formation when the accident occurred.  Witnesses reported a flare on the deck of one of the airships that turned into a fire that quickly engulfed the entire deck and then the envelope of the ship.  The sudden heat caused the vessel to rise, colliding with two other airships above it.  The collision caused an explosion of Aester fuel and lifting gasses.  Lancers with their Rocket Harnesses attempted to escape the conflagration.  Witnesses stated that it looked like fireworks going off as the Lancers launched from the airships.  The Aester engines in the rocket harnesses never burned their fuel very efficiently, resulting in unburned fuel in the exhaust.  This caused a variety of problems from fires and operators being burned to difficulties in controlling the harness as unburned fuel "popped" in the violent vortices immediately outside the nozzle.  This unburned fuel in the exhaust had been a complaint during the initial negotiations whether to adopt them or not.  The first generation rocket harnesses were deployed while this and other issues were being worked out for the next generation of the engines.  On firing their rockets, the Lancers fed unburned Aester fuel into the fire.  This resulted in a catastrophic increase in the magnitude of the fireball which destroyed all three airships and their crews.  Witnesses reported having seen Lancers falling from the sky "like burning matches".  Two hundred Lancers and sixty crewmen perish in the accident.

December 5^th, 1893 - The Air Lancer Rocket Harnesses are officially abandoned after a brief investigation points directly to literally hundreds of safety related incidents since the adoption of the experimental devices.  Almost no remains are found at the crash site due to the intensity of the fires and the corrosive nature of the Aester fuel.  It is said that headstones were placed at discrete craters where rocket harness fragments were found, this being the only evidence where Lancers actually fell.

From that day forward the Rocket Harness and all derivatives of the concept become known as "Harper's Folly".  The British military never seriously considers the concept of a flying harness again.

1894/PAe32

Hispanic League tests the southern border of Mexico by having the Columbian National Army push the border against the French.  Large "skirmishes" occur between the French Foreign Legion and the Columbian National Army in Southern Mexico.

Montreal City of Light completed

Major allied setbacks occur in the Eastern Mediterranean as the Ottomans consolidate forces and push the Italians, French and British into fighting a defensive strategy.

Due to the set backs in the Mediterranean, Britain takes a defensive stance in the Khyber as resources are diverted to the Mediterranean.

Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads and "expedition" into the Black Hills Nation for the purpose of investigating the origins of the raids on the Trans Continental Night Train Crews.  Shipped aboard three Aester scout ships and two troop carriers, Custer and six hundred troops attempt to cross the Aester wall into the Black Hills Nation.  Of those six hundred troops only four survive to report.  The survivors report nearly naked Indians "falling from the sky", attacking the ships with hand weapons.  Custer is never seen again.  A relief force sent the following April finds only scattered wreckage and molding uniforms.

The Sudbury Basin mining district in Canada is established to supply materials for the Imperial war effort.

1895/PAe33

The Transcontinental Night Train lines open.

The first train transits from St. Louis to San Francisco in June and the first transit on the Canadian line is made between Ottawa and Fort Victoria in August.

Hispanic League ships raid the London estuary.  The raid is extremely costly and considered a failure, but its boldness alarms the Admiralty.  The Admiralty begins preparations to fight the Hispanic League as well as the Ottoman Empire.

Queen Victoria abdicates the throne to her son, Edward VII.  The stated reason is due to her increasing frailty brought on by the rigors of surviving the Rise and moving the monarchy to Australia.

The first major Aester battles occur between the Royal Navy Aester fleet and Ottoman Imperial Aester forces above the Khyber in eastern Afghanistan.  On March 11^th 1895, the Ottoman Aester Battleship Xerxes Bahadur nearly destroys the British fleet.  Five British Aester ships of the line are lost and the flagship, the King George, is badly damaged.  HMAeS Delhi rams and boards the Xerxes under orders from the Admiral on the King George.  The Xerxes is taken and the battle ended.  This event is recorded in the memoirs of Commodore FitzDonald.

The first reports of Ottoman War Ghuls begin to surface as Afghan captives are intentionally exposed to the Aester and turned on their fellows.  This terror tactic is effective in the short term, demoralizing the Afghan tribesmen and allowing great gains to be made on the ground by Ottoman Imperial forces.

1896/PAe34

Aggressive Spanish patrolling is reported all along the coastal Caribbean.

Customs seizures by the Spanish result in an apology to the Portuguese for seizure of contraband bound for the Former Confederacy in North America

The Confederate government puts down a revolt in Havana.

Jackson MI is occupied by British forces for six weeks to halt pirate traffic operating from that harbor.

Anti piracy raids also held against Nashville TN, and the port at Holly Springs MI.

Bowling Green is fortified to act as a staging ground for the British military and to act as a block against Confederate raids north out of the Former Confederacy.

Republic of California establishes an Aeroport in Astoria, OR and another in Bend, OR to both cover rail links and to cover mining and resource collection in the region.

Republic of California finishes forts at Cabo San Lucas at the tip of the Baja Peninsula and on the interior of the gulf at Mazatlan.

Republic of California establishes permanent fisheries in the Gulf of California for squid, sperm whale, herring, sardines and the giant Humboldt Squid.

This is in addition to citrus farming of mandarin oranges, tangerines and the “Citranges” or Bitter Oranges.

Black Hills raids on Potlatch Territory in Eastern Washington Territory and British Columbia.

Border tensions increase between the Hansiatic League and the Portuguese Empire over possessions in German East Africa. These arguments stem from ownership claims over the rich deposits of cobalt, nickel, cadmium and other rare earth minerals in the region.

These tensions spur a growth in the economy for the French in Madagascar.

Edward VII ascends the throne in Darwin.

British forces and the “Knights of Malta” repulse and Ottoman push into the Western Mediterranean.

Italians hold the line at Tunisia against an Ottoman push west. The French Foreign Legion fights skirmishes and maneuver warfare with the Ottomans in Saranacia and Chad.

Continued in Section 3