Vojvodina vs. the World

There's a battlefield in Wyman, Indiana near Lake Michigan. George Washington made his last stand here, after an Austrian nobleman invaded in 1789! Lincoln's ancestors fought in this battle. (25 Jul)

• ... But there is no Wyman, Indiana! I'd have found it by now if it were there. The historical plaque I saw said, the city was named after George Washington's lieutenant general, who surrendered to the Austrian forces after Washington died in final battle.
• It seems someone's messing with time again. So far, only history books and historical plaques have changed. I saw the change in Indiana. The United States started as a monarchy! Only in 1861 did the North rebel. They re-united the country in 1865 under a republic... Ho hum, there goes our Civil War history again.
• I've found, messing with history usually doesn't change the present. But this change seems intended to lead to an Austrian world empire - which is much less ludicrous than it sounds. For one thing, some people alive last year can remember when Austria had a navy. For another thing, Napoleon spent at least half his time fighting Austria.

Governor Corrigan of California led the world's response the last time something like this happened. I helped him. Now he's Vice-President Corrigan, and he remembers me. So I find out about more changes to history.

• Balkan bat-warriors capable of self-powered flight fought in World War 1. They got captured, paroled, regrouped according to marks on their elbows, dodged a tornado, and did electrical repairs. (27 Jul)
• These warriors came from Vojvodina. It was owned by Austria, about half-populated by Serbs ("Vojvodina" = "Duchy" in Serbo-Croatian, and "Vojvodar" = "Duke"), and on the frontlines for about three years. Their loyalties were kind of mixed, so they fought as mercenaries for each side in turn. They didn't exactly change history, but they got Vovjodina some notoriety.
• History says they just had glider wings or something, but those poor Balkan people were so superstitious they thought it was bat-warriors. Still, every superstition has a basis in fact, doesn't it.

Once I join the discussion, I share how Vojvodina is now home to dream-warriors, ever since the "Fantasy War" incident of last year. These warriors have been expelled from the realm of dreams, but they may have mystic artifacts greater than the rest of Earth combined. The one I'm most worried about is the Siege Perilous, which has sent me through history more than once.

When I worked with Governor Corrigan, he was prepared for weird stuff. Vice-President Corrigan is no less so. He's come up with a mutual defense treaty with Tuvalu - the home of Leo the Pirate Vampire King! Why not use vampires to oppose a suspected home of mystic bat-warriors?

So, I get to represent the United States in Tuvalu at the birthing ceremony of its vampire queen. I get there as the passenger on America's fastest two-seater fighter jet, so as to get there the night after I saw Wyman, Indiana. Crusher Joe is very practical when it comes to transportation for his envoys.

Shortly, I'm sneaking into a Balkan cave sanctum with four vampires. I'm the one who's seen the Siege Perilous, so I'm their contact. (27 Jul)

The Siege Perilous is both a seat ("Seat of Peril") and a portal. That is to say, it looks like a toilet seat! And that arena over there looks suspiciously like a toilet seat too... But suddenly the seat forms around our feet!

Next thing I know, I'm taking a tour of a Canadian skyscraper. It's mostly just an elevator ride, plus lunch at the top. The leader of my vampire team (he calls himself "Enigma") is describing why he couldn't make his minions blend in against telepathic scrutiny. ... Hmm, we've been portalled, haven't we. (30 Jul)

But when I report home, I find... Vojvodina has disappeared! Their mystic portal has wiped their people off the map, and no one knows why. It's as if they moved themselves. They've already fought the rest of Earth, and won. I wonder what they're fleeing?