To Football Fans of the World.

The Empire of Abertone hopes to unite the footballing world in a way that has never been tried. This year it is our hope that the World Cup can find its way not just to East Adria but also to Western Albion. We believe that we will be the first tournament to see games take place in two continents. Abertone, the nation of the Wolf, is a passionate nation of football fans, we love football so much we have two leagues. Each year our Western League and Eastern Leagues see action with the Grand Final pitching the top two teams from both Leagues against each other to win the Super League and crown Grand Champions. Inspired by this format it is our hope to give our passionate fans a taste of the worlds greatest tournament.

Our bid requires no new stadiums to be built, no new training facitilies, such is the quality of our national game and its infrastructure. Should we be successful the money that would have been spent on such things will instead be put 50/50 into two pots. The first is to help build facilities across the Empire to ensure that all young people have access to sporting facilitie that will allow the future generation to chase their own world cup dreams. The second pot will be used to help nations developing their love for the game access a concept we hope to begin utilising this funding. If successful the ACA (Abertone Calcio Associazione) will set up the Global Coaching Bank and employ the best aviable coaches, physios, nutritionists and other staff needed for a successful football team. These will then be sent, upon request, to nations wishing to boost their own national teams development. Bringing the world cup to Abertone would spell success for the future of football everywhere.

The tournament itself (OOC- Assuming its the 32 team format and that the groups follow the traditional ladder format and not random drawing, if so ignore the ladder mentions) will be split into the traditional eight groups with Groups A,B,C and D being based in the Eastern Part of the Empire initially, while the other half of the draw would be based in the Western Parts. It would be our dream that a semi-final in each continent would allow a Ardian Memorial Cup awarded and an Albion Memorial Cup, these will become bi-annual tournaments used to promote youth soccer. The final itself would take place in the capital of Abertone, namely Abertone City. This approach will save fans having to criss cross the oceans, or travel far at all. Any team needing to cross the Empires sea border will be provided with private aircraft to allow this to take place comfortably, swiftly and securely. While this may sound unecological sound Abertone will pledge to plant two trees for every fan who attends games as well as donating ten trees to each nation for every supporter who travels to our nation. Various other initaitives will run throughout the tournament to further improve carbon footprints but also promote environmentally friendly practices, for example no single use plastic will be used in stadiums with all drinks being served either in souvenir plastic glasses dedicated to each game, making them collectors items, or by using recyclable toughened cardboard/paper. Proceeds from the souvenir glasses will donated to the Joint Emergency Team.

In order to better accommodate teams our two Premier Leagues will be paused during the World Cup and the teams facilities made available to the nations competing, in addition our Universities are delighted to offer access to their own world class facilities to support the hosting of this event. Abertone is a popular nation for many tourists and so our hotels stand by to pamper and care for all the teams neededs alternatively we can find accomodation utilising University student halls depending on a teams need.

The national, free to air, TV network "Imperial Broadcasting Syndicate" will handle broadcasts and make facilities accesable for foreign journalists and TV teams to be as close to the action as possible. It is the networks intention to make a documentary of the Abertone national teams build up to and participation in the tournament regardless of where it is held however if we become the host nation we would invite all teams to join in the documentary to give fans an unprecedented experience of the tournament and their favourite stars.

Our list of stadiums is attached for your approval



STADIO IMPERIAL (86,200) - The National stadium in Abertone City. It sits in a park on the edge of the city and is easy to access having its own metro station. The stadium is tightly tiered allowing fans to feel as close to the action as possible. It is normally the home of AS Abertone, the oldest team in the nation, and its atmosphere during their games is second to none. The stadium also has a retracable roof meaning games will take place no matter what.



LAFAIGI ARENA (81,000) - This is arguably the nations second arena, the National team play half their home games here and it is home of the Eastern Leagues cup finals and playoffs. It sits in the capital of the Eastern Empire from where its rather unimaginative name comes from.



MEDI STADIUM (73,000) - The stadium is in the Western part of the Empire and located in the 2nd largest city there, Sesare. The stadium was recently refurbished and an extra 10,000 seats added. The stadium sits easily within walking distance of the river that runs through Sesare and many fans choose to arrive at games using the frequent water taxis. The stadium is co-owned between the local city council and Mensallo Economic Development Initiatives, a well respected Abertone insurance company.



BULWA SPORTS PARK (67,000)- Bulwa is a growing city located in the Eastern Part of the empire. It is a "model" town set up to take advantage of nearby discovries of natural gas in the early 2000's. The city is still growing and enjoys its sport. Last year the football stadium at a newly established park that is to be dedicated to several sports stadiums and entertainment venues was completed and we can think of no better curtain raiser than a World Cup game.



THE RUZZARGI (57,000)  - The Ruzzargi is the home ground of Empana CC, the third most successful team in the nations history and current Western Empire Cup Champions. Empana is a city built on textiles back in the 17th Century and the large stone troughs for washing wool and cotton are still visible throughout its streets. The city also is the highest in the Empire sitting at some 2,077 meters above sea level.



GREENWAY ATHLETIC ARENA (47,000) - Normally the Arena is the Eastern Empire's top venue for athletics, its track being unofficially nicknamed "the speedway" as 12 of the National Records were set here. The arena sits just outside the town of Rallate and is the most Eastern city in the Empire. Rallate is famed for its chocolate manufacture and the famed Shessaru Family Confectionary being the Imperial Families official supplier (their factory is just 1km from the ground)



TAU STADIA NORD  (41000) - The city of Tau in the Western Empire is home to two sports clubs with a fierce rivalry separated by three tiers. Tau Nord currently play in the top flight while fierce rivals Tau Sud play in the 4th tier of the national game having been wound up by the courts three years ago following huge fines after discovered financial irregularities going back decades. The city is football crazy though and while such rivalries would bring glee to most the fact their local Derby no longer takes place has even seen Nord fans push for their club to loan promising youngsters to their rival. Surely this act of putting the game before their own passions is deserving of hosting a world cup and whether you wear the gold of Nord or the Red of Sud you can guarantee a warm welcome in the city fames for car production.



JAMBALA PARK (29,500)

Jambala Park is named after Augustin Jambala, the first person from the Eastern Empire to play for the national team. In 1903 he made his debut against Kermah and scored two goals at the age 22. He went on to play a further 40 times for the Empire before retiring but his hometown of Trilalu in the East named a Park after him and a stadium came soon after. The smallest stadium in the world cup would however likely get one of the loudest crowds with Trilalu CC'33 boasting a full 37 piece tribal drum band among their regular supporters.

In addition to these venues we would also offer the St. Christophers Arena with a capacity of 12,000, for blind Football matches in the Western part of the Empire. Its retractable roof and feeling of an ancient amphitheatre will be perfect for fans and players. Meanwhile in the East the Lafiagi Dome will be used to give 10,000 fans a chance to see the blind football.

To further help fans enjoy their experience we give an undertaking that should the tournament be hosted in the Empire the Emperor has decreed that large screens be erected in major parks in each host city allowing fans to watch all games with an atmosphere like those found in the grounds. In addition each city will also be tasked with hosting a musical competition between local artists with each cities winners performing at the final before a global audience. It is our hope that not only will the football tournament be a success but a fans visit to the Empire will be fun and memorable regardless of how well their team progresses. 


As Emperor Marco is the Honourary President of the ACA it is clear the tournament will enjoy the support of the Imperial government and as such by signing this letter with myself he has given his assurances that everything will be done to make sure fans, officials, players and media staff will all enjoy a fantastic few weeks of sporting action in safety.

Best Regards

Emperor Marco (Honourary President of the ACA)
Thomas Schiovane (Chairman of the ACA)

Graziano studied the proposal. He broadly liked the ideas that Empress Serena had put forward. There were however a few issues that he had. "I strongly support the majority of what the Empress has put forward however I would like to make a few things clear. What concerns me is if we end up with large scale economic migration taking advantage of a 180 days and not perhaps contributing to the tax economy of the nation they are living in. I would want to see a measure put in where before leaving the nation on a Business Visa a person must present receipts showing that while in the nation they have paid the same amount of tax as a person from that nation would have receiving the same wage or making the same income. I would also like a provision put in place that a nation can access criminal records to ensure we can background check individuals arriving in our nation. At present we have no way of knowing whether that Rokkenjiman student arriving in our nation taking advantage of a Educational Visa is not for example someone convicted of say sexual assault. If we can find a way around these issues I'm happy to see your ideas added."

Graziano couldn't help but smile a little when Serena mentioned the disparity between the East and West of the Empire. It was true, wages were much lower and the cost of living in the East reflected that. While the West seemingly now ran on financial centres, small scale high tech manufacturing the East still ran on farms and factory assembly lines. "Her Imperial Majesty is correct" Graziano began, "There are sectors each of us wish to protect but also wish to deal in. I suspect a farmer in the East of our Empire would love to sell his wheat to the pasta manufacturers of Aosta his heart only breaking as it will not go into an excellent Abertonian ravioli" He gave Serena a smile confirming that he was only trying to have a friendly rib at a nation whose cuisine was similar to his own nations. "Whatever mechanism we put in place none of us are going to be able to sell it to those back home if it creates undue stress and harm to our own industries. We all want markets, but we also want our own industries to flourish, what does it matter if we say to a farmer from a poor Eastern province that we've opened up a market to potentially hundreds of millions of people if we also flood our own internal market with the same good they're trying to sell. I therefore would support Empress Serena's suggestion. Now in regards to her Science idea then I am a little more concerned. I like the idea of scientific co-operation and the Consortium seems a good idea, however my concern is thus, what if those of us around this table all agree and end up with lets say an even distribution of 20% each. Then our Consortium produces the next vaccine to a major outbreak, Abertone would like to sell that patent to drugs companies meanwhile Aosta being big hearted wish to give it away. I would not be happy seeing our investment controlled by others. I also have a concern that if say those of us here all contribute our membership fee of say $20million and get our 20% , then next year we pay our fee again and the year after and then say Tytor, who are not here today but could well have been, wish to join. Are we saying that if they contribute $20million they get say 15% and our own 20% get diluted down despite the fact we'll have invested close to $100million into the Consortium while Tytor would have contributed a mere $20million. If we're forming the Consortium I believe that once it is formed then any new members would have to buy their way in by matching historic contributions."

Kivuli was born in the capital of the Eastern part of the Empire in 2001. She is the grand-daughter of Prince Mwadimu who died in May 2023. Traditionally the title of Prince or Princess of their tribe (a title that replaced Chief in 1783) is passed directly down the bloodline however Prince Mwadimu outlived his two sons, including Kivuli's father. As a result the passing of the title to Kivuli was never expected and slightly opposed by some of the tribal elders who voted 30-28 in favour of granting her the title.

As is Nzuri tradition girls are brought up as part of a communal child care system where all women of the tribe are considered mother until the age of six. At that point she moved from one of the tribes many rural holdings to the capital of the Eastern part of the empire, Lafiagi. There her father, who had expected her to have to forge an independent path through the world, began having her privately educated. She enjoyed traditional dance and story telling and even as a child began making traditional looking manuscripts by hand. At the age of 13 her father packed her off to the city of Abertone to attending boarding school.

While in the Western part of the Empire she faced some discrimination however her connections ensured she was never really held back by stereotypes. She took part in many school musicals and dance shows, often choosing to showcase some of her tribes traditions. At this point she adopted a Abertonian language name "Gulia" mainly because she believed it shared similar sounds to her own traditional name.

Following her secondary education she enrolled at Pavagona University where she studied Development Economics gaining a 2:1 in 2022. She also was part of the Universities small but active Nzuri Cultural Association. She then returned to Lafiagi where she became active working for the Nzuri Land Development Fund, an organisation that has helped ensure land remains in the possession of the tribe and is developed for modern agricultural use. Her main duties involved identifying land for purchase by the tribe and then creating business plans for its use. Since becoming Princess she has hoped that the tribe can economically acquire much more land and turn it to profit. She then wants to use these profits to provide scholarships to young people within the tribe.

She is considered pro-Empire. The Nzuri were quick to adapt to the coming of the Empire to the East and as such have become the only tribe to really maintain its semblance of unity and identity.

Besarian was still waiting for a chance to speak to King David, his matter was not urgent and while there were other ways he could deal with the matter, such as giving King David the letter in his jacket pocket to read at his leisure, but those were not exactly fair to the monarch. He was enjoying a plate of poached eggs and toast with his wife when the Emperor of Abertone arrived. "Your Imperial Majesty" he stood and bowed, "May I introduce my wife, Isidora. The blonde haired younger woman stood and bobbed respectfully to the Emperor. "As for her Divine Majesty she's basing herself on the Pelagiya families yacht during the event and yes Lady Tonya has made the journey, it a full scale Lodjain expedition in a way." He smiled, the Queen never travelled without a rather large entourage. Besarian looked back over at the King of East Moreland who was still in conversation and made his mind up that he'd come back later. He tapped his hand to the letter he was carrying and then finished his coffee. "Could we accompany you over to the Iskorian?" Besarian asked as he stood and pulled his wife's chair out for her.

The trio made their way through the crowded docksides until they reached the Iskorian. A pair of naval guards manned the walkway and stepped aside to let the Duke, Duchess and their Emperor guest through without question. Natalya was sat on the upper most deck with her Ladies and a few other gentleman who were in the midst of telling her all about some floating energy contraption, one of several meetings with people she'd arranged for the visit. "She should be done soon." Besarian informed the Emperor having caught the eye of Lady Jasmina who was the most senior of the Ladies. In the meantime Besarian offered the Emperor a "Bloody Mary" a hearty way of kickstarting the day. Once the Queen was done Lady Jasmina gave Besarian a small sign to come over. "She's free" Besarian said pointing with his head and crossing the deck to the comfortable looking horseshoe of seats. "Your Divine Majesty I'm sure you know Emperor Marco, I just happened to bump into him and he asked if he could stop by and pay his compliments to you, and to Lady Tonya." With that Besarians job was done and he wandered back to his wife considering whether the Morelander King would be free or not by now.

"Emperor Marco lovely to see you again." The Queen stood to greet the Emperor. "I wonder what brings you here" she gave a mischievous side glance to Tonya. "How can we be of service."

Marco was keen to present the image of a gracious noble and so upon being introduced to Besarians wife gently offered a hand, "I assume its Lady Isidora, I'm honoured to meet you." He turned to Besarian, "You're indeed blessed with a beautiful wife." he added remembering the value Lodjains put on physical appearence and therefore assuming he would not have offended. The Emperor was pretty impressed by the Pelagiya families private yacht and while he had a whole host of luxury to fill his days with he had no yacht that would compare, a few sail boats but this was like a luxury hotel on the waves. While he waited for the Queen to finish her current conversation he made small talk with Besarian and Isidora while enjoying the beverage, it wasn't what his own personal choice would be but it hit the spot. While he talked he kept glancing over at the Queen and her ladies, especially Tonya who had inspired his visit.

Once introduced to Natalya he gave her a small bow, "Queen Natalya its wonderful to meet you again, and you look as beautiful as ever." It was true she was a striking woman but for now at least he sensed she would show little interest in his attentions as after all she was constantly linked to some Maori gentleman. "I came to ask both you and of course Lady Tonya if I could return the favour for the kindness shown to me when I visited Lodja." he produced from his jacket a small box which he offered towards Tonya, "I wanted to give you a small token of my thanks." There were a pair of gold earrings inlaid with red stones. "I also wondered if perhaps tonight I could borrow Lady Tonya for dinner tonight at our hotel, I'm told they have an excellent in house chef?"

As Sutāraito signed the document Graziano shook his head. "I am sorry but I must protest." He began, "First I wish to state I agree with a lot of what Empress Serena said, particularly that many of us have no existing ties and that this is in effect a test. I believe though we have just seen a failure of this test. The statement the Empress of Aosta presents will stand as the voice of this meeting, you could consider it the first statement from what our host hopes will become a cross-ocean partnership yet it has had the input of one nation and is now being signed without hearing all voices and therefore allowing for descent. Is this how the body will work, as soon as the views of one nation is presented all those who agree will automatically back it? If that is to be the case then we simply have the system we have now where each nation operates completly independently. I would request that the Empress of Rokkenjima withdraw her signature until we have had a chance to reflect on this matter." He waited to see her decision before continuing.

"Now to the best of my knowledge the Seaforthians have not mistreated or oppressed the people of Troyes, following the war there Troyes has become once more a major port.  The Seaforthian government have allowed the people there to voice their views and as far as I have seen they have not sought to stop peaceful protest. They even had armed men outside their military HQ's and there was no incident. So lets keep that in mind we are not talking of some Silverhills Ozzie style movie where an evil power brutally enslaves and oppresses the people. I do though believe that Troyes should be Marseilleian. Currently though their is a wave of fierce pro-Marsailles, anti-Seaforth sentiment there. I am concerned that should the Seaforthians withdraw what would be the fate of the Seaforthians living there, lets remember around a million Seaforthians live there. They are a minority yes but a sizeable one and many of them have been there a long time. We have not seen in any of these discussions anything about these people. If we put out the statement written by Empress Serena and then God forbid any reprisals by taken against Seaforthians remaining or any future discrimination then part of the blame for that will lie at our door. I also disagree with Seaforth having to leave the establishment operational or pay for it. It was restored to operational standards through the Seaforthian purse and as a result the Republic of Marseille have not had to pay anything towards it. We are not talking on the wholesale destruction of a military base, we are talking of removing sensors, removing computer programmes, removing weapons systems, all thing the Republic would have had to pay for anyway. Even if Seaforth left everything behind Marseille would have to switch things over to fit their own systems.Therefore before I sign anything I want something in there giving assurances against this. I am therefore taking the liberty of amending what Empress Serena has brought before us.

CONCERNED about the current situation within the city of Troyes

MINDFUL that a clear message has been sent from the citizens of the city regarding their future

COMMITTED to the notion of people being free to shape their own future.

DETERMINED that the Seaforthian citizens of Troyes deserve dignity, respect and safety

The nations gathered on this date in Rokkenjima believe the following.

1. The City of Troyes should return to the nation of Marseilles.

2. The Kingdom of Seaforth should remove, as soon as realistically possible, its armed forces from the region.

3. The Kingdom of Seaforth be permitted to remove any sensitive or classified materials from its military establishments.

4. There should be no action taken to impede any citizen of Troyes relocating to Seaforth taken by the Republic of Marseille.

5. Any Seaforthian citizen remaining in Troyes should be given the option of becoming a Marseille citizen.

6. Should any action be taken to deny Seaforthian citizens remaining the same rights and freedoms of a Marseille citizen the signed nations shall undertake action to protect those people.
Agreed by....

"This I would sign, I await the opinions of others." He glanced at each of the five other leaders, some of which had yet to voice an opinion on the matter, hopeful of something positive.

The cruise from Abertone to East Moreland had been pleasant enough aboard the Carmela as they'd bounded from port to port. The yacht had been built by Duke Luca De Angelis and named after his beloved daughter Carmela who was now the ships owner. She had even had a smaller but equally luxurious support yacht made and she saw the Festival of Sail as the ideal way to flaunt that while hopefully get into the Emperors favour. She had placed both vessels at the service of Emperor Marco. He had largely not really been too interested but Carmela had enjoyed her stops in the Iwi and then Lijaing where finally the Emperor had joined them. He sadly for Caremla had not turned up alone. Miss Aurora Napoli, the Emperors supposed Junior Foreign Minister had joined them. Carmela, eager to get into Marco's good books, moved a few of her own staff out of the yachts rooms and into the support yachts but despite having made two rooms available it was clear only one was being used. Even though Marco claimed that Aurora's presence was needed for briefing him and monitoring dealings in the Eastern part of the Empire yet it seemed she was able to do that most of the time dressed in a bikini. There was little however that Carmela could say.

It was once they reached Eskdale that Aurora left and for a while she thought she would have a chance to earn his good graces however it seemed the Emperor was busy setting up further diplomatic meetings now. While he was always polite, charming and grateful to Carmela for her hospitality aboard he was clearly pre-occupied. The Emperor was meet in Portworth by his cousin, Graziano, who most knew was the true manager of the Empire. The relationship between Marco and Graziano was like a classic rock band, Graziano the quiet John Deacon or Roger Taylor, meanwhile Marco was like a Freddie Mercury, but merely in the charisma stakes. Marco returned Carmela's hospitality by taking her to the opening ceremony and now once that was over he turned to her. "Duchess Carmela, it has been a pleasure meeting you these last few days, rest assured I will not forget your generosity. I hope you will dine with me and my family tomorrow night and of course enjoy the festival." He kissed her hand and then made his way towards the VIP area where he spied the Lodjain Besarian Ivanov. "Duke Besarian" he extended a hand, "we meet briefly at the Pelagiya family ball. I was wondering whether the Queen is around as I would like to convey my respects, I also have a gift for one of her Ladies, I assume Lady Tonya has accompanied them?"

The De Angelis family are well known in the Empire as being among the super rich and their latest acquisition further cements this reputation. Ten years ago the now deceased Duke Luca De Angelis commissioned a private yacht called Carmela, named for his then 17 year old daughter. Today it is that same daughter, Duchess Carmela De Angelis that has taken delivery of Imperial Water Style (IWS) latest completed project. IWS make luxury and high end vessels ranging from canal boats to mega yachts and have gained a reputation for being the company of choice for Abertone's rich and famous. The latest launch took place at their HQ in Termini and saw a 66 meter long multihull ship designed as what IWS are calling a "Support Yacht". The vessel lacks the luxury of ships like Carmela and is designed more for transporting high end "Toys" that a traveller would want. The vessel was seen leaving dock after loading five smaller boats, ranging from a diving RHIB to a speed boat, in addition to three jet skis, quad bikes, dune buggies, a submarine and a helicopter. The vessel has a small number of cabins for guests and crew. The designer Egidio Lombardi explained his design saying, "The De Angelis family are well known for enjoying time at sea exploring the coasts of Mundus and they want to be able to do that in a thrill seeking way. This vessel is a 5 star hotel crossed with a military landing dock. Its more about getting the ability to enjoy any spot on Mundus from the depths to the skies in one handy package. While it is mainly designed to follow their yacht Carmella it can operate for extended periods if you don't want guests."

The Duchess said she is excited to use the ship and will be heading first to the Unified Iwi to kayak on the coast before making stop overs in Lijiang and Eskdale before ending up at Portworth, East Moreland for the Kingdoms annual Festival of Sail. "I'm excited to take this on a little tour and enjoy a wide variety of experiences." It was also confirmed that the De Angelis family have offered to make the vessel available to the Imperial Family if they are visiting the Festival of Sail too.

The Onyx Club was founded in the early 1900s by a group of wealthy and powerful nobles who were concerned about the future of their class. They saw that the nobility was becoming increasingly diluted, as the Emperor was giving more and more people titles for their wealth or political connections, rather than for their bloodlines. They feared that this trend would eventually lead to the downfall of the nobility, and they decided to take matters into their own hands. The club's founders created a system of nepotism to ensure that only the best and brightest of the noble class would be able to pass on their titles to their heirs. They also established a number of other rules and regulations designed to preserve the purity of the nobility.

The Onyx Club is a secret society, and its members were sworn to secrecy and pay dues. They met in a private building on the edge of the city of Abertone however they have real estate across the Empire, and even further afield. The club's activities are shrouded in mystery, and there were many rumors about what went on behind closed doors. Members are given 100 "Wolf Coins" on their admission to the Club. These coins are used in several ways. One way is that one must be presented upon entering any venue owned by the society. Each coin has a symbol on to identify its owner. They are exchanged in return for promises, for example in the past members have given promises that they would gain a fellow member a military promotion and a coin has changed hands as a guarentee. The coin is returned once the promotion was granted. The coins are also used for voting on various matters such as leadership roles, new members or other significant decisions.

The club has a group of workers known as Knights who are non-nobles who have been recruited for their loyalty to the Empire and a noble family. They are well paid by the society and undertake roles such as housekeeping on the societies property, carrying messages and even security. Should a member of the society need to utilise one of these people on an errand they are given a Wolf Coin as a sign of who they are sent by. Occasionally Knights may be given a Wolf Coin as a reward. These can be cashed in by the bearer for a reward.

The society is headed by The Den Father. They are responsible for the overall direction of the society and have the casting vote on membership. The Den Father, once elected serves until they either reign, die or a majority of members hand the Den Officer a coin. The Den Father is, as the name suggests always a male. No family may hold the position consecutively.

The Den Officer is responsible for tracking the Clubs administration. They hold a permanent office and manage the finances and up keep of the clubs real estate. In their office is transparen tube into which Wolf Coins may be dropped. It is marked to show a height at which the coins would signify that half the membership are dissatisfied with the Den Father. Once that point is reached the Den Officer is responsible for removing them from office and organising their replacement.
 

* Membership in the Onyx Club is by invitation only.
* Prospective members must be of noble birth. They must be able to trace their ancestry to a nobleman before 1800 unless a family has an exemption.
* Families who do not meet the 1800 rule but have been deemed by the majority of the membership to have done "courages and honourable" duty to the Empire are classed as exempt and may join. 
* Prospective members must be approved by a majority of the existing members.
* Members must pay dues as determined by the Den Father. Any member not paying their dues are shunned until they make good their debt.
* The existence and activities of the Onyx Club must be kept secret from the public.
* Members are sworn to secrecy. They are not allowed to discuss the club's activities with anyone who is not a member. Anyone breaking rules on secrecy are to be shunned by all members. Any member not shunning the oath breaker is themselves cast out.
*Any individual deemed trustworthy, honourable and willing to serve the members of the organisation but does not fulfil the nobility requirements or exemptions may be recruited as a Knight. Knights are expected to uphold the secrecy of the organisation and are compensated financially for their work. 
* Upon becoming a member an individual is granted 100 Wolf Coins.
* A member must present a Wolf Coin to gain entry to any of the Clubs property. This coin shall then be returned to the Den Officer who shall record which member utilised which property and then return the coin to its owner.
* Any member being given an oath by another member should be given a Wolf Coin. The Wolf Coin serves as evidence of the oath and should be returned once the oath has been fulfilled.
* For any votes called a Wolf Coin must be used as a token to cast the vote. These will be checked by the Den Officer who shall tabulate the votes then return the coins. All votes are done in public.
* Any member utilising a Knight for a task should present the Knight with a Wolf Coin. This serves as identification of their connection to the Club. While not compulsory it is expected a member give the coin to a Knight once they have fulfilled the task. The Knight may at any time present this coin to the Den Officer for a financial reward.
* Members are expected to conform to the following

1. They are expected to be honest, fair, and just in their dealings with others.
2. They are expected to uphold the values of their society and to defend it against its enemies.
3. They are expected to be brave in the face of danger and to stand up for what they believe in, even when it is difficult.
4. They are expected to use their resources to make the Empire a stronger and better place.
5. They are expected to carry themselves with grace and poise, even in the face of adversity.
6. They are expected to place the needs of the Emperor and Empire above their own.

RITUALS AND UNIFORM


Mens uniform is a pair of black trousers and white shirt. Over this they wear a black jacket with a long skirt open at the front and a high collar. The jacket has gold braid and broad gold epaulets. Womens uniform is identical except they wear a plain black dress underneath. Uniform is only worn on ritualistic events. There are two main rituals in the Onyx Club. The first is to welcome new members. To become a member a person must first be nominated by another member, this is done in secret. They sponsoring member must then seek to gather the number of votes required on their behalf. This can be done in several ways, for example simply canvassing existing members or in some cases seeking to make descreet introductions between the existing members and the pospective member. Once they have the right number of supporters they are officially approached for membership. If they accept the offer they are transported to a cave connected to the organisations main property. There as many members of the Club as possible attend in uniform. The candidate is brought in wearing a wolf fur tunic. They are read the rules of the Club and then the proposing member makes a small cut on their thumb and squeezes a few drops of blood into a dish. The new member verbally agrees to the rules and then using a quill uses their nominators blood to sign the rules. They are then ceremonially dressed in their new uniform and presented with their Wolf Coins.

The second major ritual that takes place regularly is on the Emperors birthday. Each year the organisation gathers and hosts a banquet in the Emperors honour. Everyone attends in uniform and must bring a gift for the Emperor, despite the fact the Emperor does not know of the existence of the club. These gifts are often utilised by the Den Father for the benefit of the club. Once the gifts have been presented the Den Father gives an annual report on the club and then a ritualistic meal of wolf meat is consumed. Members may then present ideas for votes such as new methods for achieving the Clubs aims or improving its business dealings. These are then voted on. The evening ends with a series of sacrifices. The Den Father sacrifices a lamb, this is a symbol of providing for the Wolf that is the symbol of Abertone. Next the Den Officer sacrifices a deer as it represents the balance between predator and prey and the Club attempts to maintain a balance in the world by maintaining the hierarchy. The oldest member then sacrifices a bison as a symbol of the force of nature that the Club may become. The youngest member than sacrifices a raven as a symbol of the wisdom they wish to gain before finally a female member sacrifices a goat as a symbol of fertility as it is women who shall ensure the future existence of the noble bloodlines. Once these sacrifices have taken place the club say farewell for the year.

Lafiagi, the capital of the Eastern portion of the Empire, yesterday was targetted by a series of car bomb attacks. In total four bombs went off across the city all within fifteen minutes. The attacks have been claimed by the Republican Front and resulted in 103 deaths. The first of the attacks came at La Serra market, the largest agricultural produce market in the Eastern Empire, at 9:03am. The bomb had been concealed within barrels of farm produce stored on the back of a truck with evidence suggesting metallic fragments had been added to the barrels in order to inflict maximum casualties. The scene was attended by members of the emergency services and military forces. The market place is routinely patrolled by members of the armed forces after a series of incidents in the past few months. As the emergency services began to respond a second bomb went off on the opposite side of Lafiagi. This bomb was outside the post office where many senior citizens were lining up for their pensions. Many of these were ex-members of the armed forces who receive an extra stipend for their previous service. This bomb was contained in a Amazon delivery van which had been parked outside the post office leading many to assume that it was picking up items. With emergency services now rushing to two scenes the third bomb went off outside the bus station. Thankfully the grid lock caused by the first two bombs meant that many of the buses couldn't reach the station and therefore likely reduced the number of casualties there. The final blast took place at 9:12 am outside the cities largest fire station, likely to try and cause casualties among first responders. As well as the tragic deaths of 103 people a further 92 people are currently hospitalised with injuries. The Mayor of Lafiagi has confirmed that they sadly expect the number of casualties to increase in the coming days.

At 9:30 am the Republican Front claimed responsibility for the attacks saying. "We have once again demonstrated that those who support and utilise the trappings of a corrupt and immoral Emperor are not safe within our land. These supporting Emperor Marco must leave. Should the Imperial government still be here in 48 hours there shall be more attacks and we warn people to stay clear of anything connected to the Empire or the Lupin family. We believe they, and anyone who supports them are legitimate targets for war and will be treated in that manner. The Empire must die."

A spokesman for the Imperial Administration said, "The Republican Front are terrorists and will be dealt with accordingly. We will redouble efforts at making sure we keep our citizens safe and urge people to report any suspicious activity. We are of course saddened by the tragic deaths and the horrific injuries inflicted upon the innocent. The Emperor urges all citizens to keep those effected in their prayers and will be making sure that they are given the best possible support in their time of tragedy."

Emperor Marco was pleased to have concluded his work, now he could relax. He was pleased to see Tonya reappear and be able to enjoy the evening. He ensured that he had her introduce him to several of the key nobles within Lodja before taking to the dance floor. Despite finding his Lodjain guide, Tonya, rather attractive that didn't prevent the Emperor flirting with several other charming Lodjian ladies. He began to see the appeal of the women of this land. As the evening drew on he found his feet tired and his ever present guide more than happy to sit on the veranda enjoying a glass of two of wine. Soon however it was time for the pair to head back to the Emperor's accomodation for the evening and Marco required little convincing for the Lady in Waiting to accompany him. With the morning sun he bid he farewell and made his way back home to the Empire with his treaty secured and a finer appreciation for Lodjain culture.

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The Queen of Lodja and the Emperor of Abertone have today concluded the following agreement. The conditions of which shall come into force 30 days after the signing of this document.

1. Over the next five years tariffs between the Queendom and the Empire shall gradually reduce on all products and services originating in the other party until reaching at least 0.5% lower than any non-treaty partner.

2. Each year a representative of each party shall meet to approve a schedule of tariffs for the next 12 months. These many be amended on agreement of both parties at any time.

3. Goods shall meet the minimum health and safety requirements to enter the nation.

4. Business able to operate legally in one nation may do so in the other so long as they pay taxes in accordance with the laws regarding such things in the nation that they operate.

5. Nations agree that their ambassadors shall be avaliable with 24 hours written notice having been presented.

6. Citizens may travel for tourist purposes without the need for a visa so long as their stay is less than 30 days. Entry may be refused if either party suspects an individual is not truthful about their purpose of travel, has a criminal record or is a threat to good order.

7. Citizens travelling for economic reasons may do so without the need for a visa so long as they meet the following conditions.

a) They do not intend to stay beyond 30 days.
b) They have a letter of endorsement either giving them an offer of employment for no longer than 30 days, or that they have meetings arranged with businesses.
c) They have no criminal record
d) They have  no reason to be considered a threat to national secruity.

8. Any sample products may enter tariff free so long as they are declared, comply with local health and safety laws and are worth no more than $100,000.

9. Citizens travelling for educational reasons may do so without the need for a visa so long as they meet the following criteria

a) They have sufficent funds to cover the length of stay of their study
b) They have a letter confirming their acceptance on an accredited course of study.
c) They shall not engage in paid work during their study
d) They have no criminal record
e) They are not deemed a threat to national security.

"That seems a prudent suggestion" Graziano began to speak knowing his brother would have very little interest in the matter at hand. There would be likely calls for the viniculture industry and quiet likely the fishing lobby but that would be for a discussion when they returned home. "I would suggest" Graziano had turned to address his brother. "That we accept that, of course we would need to see proof that the goods had originated from within your nation but thta's more or less a standard arrangement in trade deals. I think its safe to say we have a deal, unless of course there are any hoops to jump at your end in terms of parliamentary oversight or such?"

Marco felt like he was about to make some kind of flirtacious answer to the question but took a breath before the words exited his mouth. "What does the most for the Empire is my priority, we would consider a CNN arrangement but I appreciate that this could take a long period of time. In the mean time I'd like to ensure that the two of us have an understanding in place. In an ideal world I'd like to have Lodja as a prefered trading partner. We would reduce tariffs on everything that is grown or made in Lodja to a level lower than other nations, obviously if we get the same level from you. In addition we would for products pre-check that our standards for things like health and safety, welfare and legality are compatible and if so you're nation can have streamlined procedures for entering the nation, again if we get the same from you." He was doing his best to channel his inner Graziano but he also had one eye on the pretty girls dancing.

Marco laughed at the Queen's question. "Forgive me but it wasn't a case of wanting an informal meeting. I asked the King of East Moreland if he could make an introduction and of course I think we both understand that the Morelanders view any occasion as a chance for a diplomatic meeting. I was just fortunate enough that King David had his wonderful wife be able to invite me here. Its my hope that as well as enjoying a dance and your wonderful company that we might find some ways of co-operating. For example even though we are not a nation in the Alucard we have seen the great work you and your friends are doing cleaning that up. I would like to procure your systems to try and tidy up the sea between both parts of my Empire. In addition I'd like to examine whether of course we can find ways to trade together and also look at other fields where co-operation can take place."