Mittestadt

The Mittestadt, or Middle Cities, are the newer settlements within Lymm.

When King Roger arrived in the early 1200's he made it a priority to create a safe haven for settlers. This was along the coast and as such a series of nine, almost uniformly distanced from each other, fortresses were formed. These were collectively known as the the Neunberg or Nine Forts. Over time they have become ports and key centres in their own rights but are the oldest settlements within Lymm.

1. Rogerburg (The Fort of Roger)


Today the city of Rogerburg has no outward sign of its historic and fortified past. It is seen today as more of a popular seaside getaway and resort. During the summer months people flock to take advantage of the Alucard waters and high temperatures. During the off season the city has become reliant on a vibrant merchant ship building hub. The city retains many of its old structures which add to its tourist appeal.

The city has an annual jazz festival in July.

The city has two major multi-sports clubs Rogerburg SC and Rogerburg 1908.

The city is served by the University of Rogerburg, which is famed for its Maritime Engineering Programme and the First King University, which is famed for its Literature and Humanities classes.

Around 500,000 people live here
RL- Rostock

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2. Jekburg (The Fort of Jekar)




Jekburg was the 2nd of the fort settlements built to control the coastline. It sits on the mouth of the river Roselle which is home to a fairly sizeable commercial port. The city has been damaged several times by natural disasters and fire and as a result has been rebuilt with plenty of green space between its streets. The river now splits the city which sees an older portion which is mainly recreational to the south and a more modern commercial settlement to the North. This has caused a few problems with traffic issues as people try and transverse the river however actions to remedy this has been undertaken in the last few years.

Upon founding the city the settlers discovered a buried cache of spears which they took as a sign that the settlement was favoured by the God of War from the Cult of Helus, Jekar, and named the settlement after him. The city does host a sizeable naval base.

Today St. George's Cathedral in the city organises an annual International Choir Championship.

The city is home to three multi-sports teams, Jekburg Warriors, Jekburg Dynamo and Jekburg Boys Club

The city has two major Universities. The University of Jekburg is home to a well respected engineering department while the Jekburg Metropolitan School is famed for Art and Performing Arts.

The city has a population in the region of 900,000.

RL-Riga

3. Helusburg (The Fort of Helus)


The city marks the spot where the first Temple to Helus was built within the nation. It was on a spot where the Priestess of Helus who was part of King Roger's retinue believed the God had once set foot on Ardia. The city built up around the Temple which sadly has today become nothing more than an archaeology site however in its old gardens stands a Temple built in the 1700's which is considered the nations main Temple. The city is home to many water ways that allowed cargo ships to dock on the coast and transport wool and cotton to warehouses and mills that for a while dominated the city. Today many of these are now trendy apartments and shopping malls. The city still maintains a large commercial port.

The city maintains three Universities. The Helusburg University is famed for its Business courses. The Sacred College of Helus is a University devoted to members of the Cult of Helus but teaches a wide range of subjects. The Coastal Institute is respected for its teaching of various courses connected to the sea.

The city has two major multi-sports teams - Eintract Helusburg and VfB Helusburg

The city is home to a large amusement park dating back to 1578. Today it features many modern rides and attractions including a wooden roller coaster dated to 1915.

Marissa Gardens is also a park with some small scale rides and many small theatres and halls for performances making it a kind of cultural theme park.

The city has a population of around 700,000 people. 

For the third time since becoming Queen in 2017 Her Majesty Queen Octavia II has attempted to gain special recognition for the Cult of Helus. The Royal family have been followers of the faith, which until the 1600's was the dominant faith in Lymm until replaced by the work of Christian missionaries. Since then the Cult of Helus has been seen as a faith used by the nobility and old elites. Each year since 2018 the Queen has presented a Bill that would, if approved, grant the Cult status making it a royal protection and thus exempt from taxation. This would make it the only faith to be exempt from the Religious Property Tax which is used to help fund works such as establishing homeless shelters and child care projects. The Bill presented by the Queen failed to win the approval of either the President or the Royal Assembly with the leader of the Party of National Unity leader, Cartsen Ovid, saying "The fact that we have never given any special status to any religion within our nation has helped ensure the fact that over the last 200 years we have seen ourselves as Lymmians first. Our religious beliefs are something that makes us a true melting pot and should we give the Cult special status because of its traditional link with the Royal family then our whole budget that is carefully balanced will begin to unravel. We would see all the faiths taking us to court to ensure they too had special status. We are sad that the Queen is once again not acting in a manner to work with the people."

Queen Octavia II is a devout follower of the Cult and attends weekly prayers at the Temple of Helus in Bruche. She has spoken openly of her hopes for the Cult of Helus to re-establish itself in Lymm. Currently around 10% of the nation follow the religion. Queen Octavia II has spoken in the last few days of trying to get the leaders of East Moreland, Bakkermaya and Seaforth, all Cultist nations in the region, to meet with her in order to recruit "missionaries" to help spread the faith. Speaking on this matter President Kaufmann explained, "We have no restrictions on stopping the practice of missionaries. People are free to choose whatever faith, nor none, that they wish. We must be careful to not favour one faith over another and the Queen's work does concern me that she is pushing one over the other."

The Royal Assembly voted 48-2 against accepting the Queen's Bill.

In 1837 King Henry III made the decision that the nation would have an elected President. All adults with an income of the modern day equivalent of $20,000 and over the age of 30 could vote. These conditions have changed throughout history until 1902 when all citizens over the age of 18 were permitted to vote. A President can serve no more than three terms in their life. Each term is usually five years.

President List

1837 - 1847 Hubertus Sneijders
1847 - 1862 Franklyn Baumgärtner
1862 - 1867 Pim Askes
1867 - 1872 Roelof Klerkx
1872 - 1877 Pim Askes
1877 - 1887 Roelof Klerkx
1887 - 1902 Leon Vogel
1902 - 1907 Marinus Aston
1907 - 1912 Raynard Brant
1912 - 1917 Abraham Brownlow
1917 - 1920 Christina Leeuwenhoek *
1920 - 1925 Abraham Brownlow
1925 - 1935 Nora Paulissen
1935 - 1940 Antono Abbing
1940 - 1955 Robert Eichel
1955 - 1965 Karoline Arbeid
1965 - 1970 Bryan Klerkx
1970 - 1980 Samson Parker
1980 - 1985 Sybil Haenraets
1985 - 1990 Samson Parker
1990 - 2000 Adelle Van Bueren
2000 - 2005 Morgan Hermans
2005 - 2015 Juul Wähner
2015 - 2020 Emmet Kipling
2020 - now  Isidora Kauffmann   

* Christina Leeuwenhoek was murdered in 1920 and a fresh election called within 2 months. During that time the Royal Assembly elected one of their members as a kind of caretaker President. This has now become the accepted default should a President not be able to complete their term.

During today's meeting of the Royal Assembly a vote was expected on the new Cultural Education Bill (2021). The new Bill would make it a requirement that all students learn two languages, religious education in the nations five biggest religions (Catholic, Protestant, Paganism, Judiasm and Cult of Helus) are made compulsory for students exams at the age of 16 and the Bill also would require students to undertake studies in various authors. The Bill was put forward by Queen Octavia II however as it also included a large increase in funding for the upkeep of Royal Residences because they are "vital for the prestige of the nation." it has been opposed by many members of the Royal Assemblies elected membership. At the same time President Kauffmann has been seeking amendments to remove the residence provision. As the Bill has been determined to be an Educational Bill then it requires two approvals from the three forms of government, the monarch, the President and the Royal Assembly. As tradition dictates the Royal Assemblies 50 members voted first to determine the Assemblies stance. They voted 41-8 against the Bill with one member of the Assembly not attending the vote for health reasons. President Kauffmann then offered her support for the Bill should Queen Octavia remove the provisions of residence funding. At this point the Queen simply stood and left the Assembly bringing the vote on the Bill to a standstill.

President Kauffmann spoke with us after the session ended and said. "Her Majesty must realise that the Royal Family are among the most wealthy in the nation, they sit on a publicly declared income of around $42million a year from their investments and landholdings. Why should the tax payer subsidise the upkeep of their private homes when they are multi-millionaires." The President has called for the Queen to use more of her private wealth, thought to be close to $80million, for the business of the family. At the moment the Royals get an annual payment of $18million for their use but Kaufmann has sought to end this. With many of the Palaces and Estates being open to the public though the vast majority of this sum goes to looking after them. The new Bill would make the government responsible for even private venues.

Queen Octavia II has now departed three Royal Assembly meetings over the last month. The first was on matters of the Nuclear Neutrality Bill. This Bill would make it a legally binding policy of Lymm defence policy that the nation would never develop nuclear weapons. The Queen used her veto before the vote for the Royal Assembly could even be taken. The 2nd occasion came on the grounds of the Global Athletics Bill which would allow the Lymm Ministry of Sport to sign up for the International Mundus Games. The Queen insisted that all sports teams would be required to fulfil certain quotas along nations faith lines in order to be allowed to compete. The Royal Assembly voted against this with leading figure Robert Ulrich stating "We are a diverse nation, but a meritocracy. The best athletes should done the green jersey of our nation regardless of faith, colour, gender or sexuality. The only criteria should be are you good enough." The Queen stormed out of that meeting too.

Some on social media are already called Queen Octavia II, Octavia the Petulant as it seems she has child like tantrums when she does not get her way.

The government of Lymm operates, for most decisions, on what people refer to as a two tick system. This means there are three people/groups that make a decision. For any law to change it must get the approval, in most cases, of at least two of the three. There are certain aspects of government where this system changes but still retains the input of the three people/groups. The three potential ticks are

1. The Monarch - This has been since 1987 determined by the inheritance of the crown by the eldest legitimate child of the previous monarch.

2. The President - The President is elected every 5 years. They may serve no more than three terms in the office.

3. The Royal Assembly - This is a body of 50 individuals elected every 5 years. Their meetings are overseen by an Assembly Chair who is the official spokesperson of the Assembly.

AREAS OF GOVERNMENT

* Agriculture - Two ticks

* Fisheries - Two ticks

* Forestry - Two ticks

* Budget - Two ticks, Royal Assembly have a veto

* Education - Two ticks

* Economic Development - Two ticks

* Public Health - Two ticks, Royal Assembly have a veto

* Health Service - Two ticks

* Highways and Transport - Two ticks

* Tourism - Two ticks

* Culture - Two ticks

* Foreign Affairs - Two ticks, Monarch has a veto

* Defence - Two ticks, one must be the Monarch

* Justice - Two ticks, one must be the President

KEY INFORMATION

Judges are appointed by the Monarch

Government ministers are shortlisted by the monarch, selected by the President and approved by the Royal Assembly

Elections are watched over by the Monarch