Following the issues raised by Heyra and Rokkenjima on the admission of The Empire of Daitō. I believe that we must follow through with Article 8 of the Charter for the Assembly.

Section 8 - Membership

1. Any nation with territory on the continent of Ardia may apply for membership so long as they are willing to accept all aspects of the charter in full.

2. Upon receipt of a written application any member may oppose membership of the applicant.

3. Should opposition be registered both parties will be invited to make a presentation to the Assembly. The opposing party must make their presentation first allowing the applicant to address concerns. There shall then be a debate which the applicant is permitted to participate in. A vote will then be taken with a majority decision being required for membership.

As such I am inviting the three nations to make their cases. In terms of organising this process, I believe for the first time in the organisations history, I would invite a representative for Heyra and then Rokkenjima to present a speech, not longer than 10 minutes to outline their reasons for rejecting the application of Daito. Once both nations have presented their case then of course it will be open for a representative of Daito to make a counter agruement. The floor should then be opened to other members to voice their opinions and ask questions. Once this process has reached its end then a vote should be taken to determine Daito's membership of the organisation.

In order to be transparant currently the Six Dukedoms of Bakkermaya intend to vote to admit Daito. We believe that they are an important part of the framework of Ardia's geopolitical network and while we believe Daito has sometimes clashed with their continental neighbours none of those matters at hand are based on our continent. We however will allow the presentations to convince us in either direction.

Grand Duke Hugo Lascelles

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OOC- We need a procedure, I figure this works. So if Nova or Beatrice want to post their arguement then we can kick start this. 

Each year the Grand Duke appoints a person to be his Lead Sword. The role is a largely ceremonial one but in theory acts as a conduit between the Grand Duke and the Ducal Council or Parliament of Swords This year Sir Kenneth Matthews was selected. The 54 year old is a former member of the elite Horseman of Jekar Regiment and has served for the past five years as a Special Adviser for the Ministry of Defence. Sir Kenneth is a native of Edwinstowe where he resides with his wife Carolina. The couple have two children, 24 year old Adam and 19 year old Sarah.

A short swearing in ceremony took place at the Temple of Frossaj during which Sir Kenneth said, "I'm proud to have been given such a role. While I realise that I have nothing but a symbolic role within the government I am, as ever, proud to serve the Six Dukedoms. I look forward to working with all those working directly for the Grand Duke and those elected onto the Ducal Council and Parliament of Swords." The role of Lead Sword allows Sir Kenneth to be the only person to attend the Grand Duke's Private Council, Parliament of Swords and the various Ducal Councils. One of his symbolic responsibilities will be to convey pieces of legislation between the three bodies as well as escort the Grand Duke to state functions. In the past Lead Swords have also taken on the responsibility for acting as a host to visiting dignitaries.

The previous Lead Sword was Duke Elliot Larkwood who has confirmed that he will be retiring totally from public service and joining the board of directors of Bakkermaya's National Rugby Board.

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The town of Bingham on the island of Harby yesterday held elections for the position of Mayor. The role gives the holder control of the local town council and responsibility for some day to day duties such as road maintainance, building permits and licencing of such things as alcohol and gambling. The election saw five political parties stand candidates as well as two independents. The winner of the election was Crispian Darrell who represents the Ancestoral Nationalist Party, abbreviated to ANNAT. Mr.Darrell received 36% of the total vote with a turnout of around 46%. Speaking after the confirmation of the result the 41 year old said, "I am delighted to be the first member of our party to hold any position within the Bakkermayan system of government. We've only existed three years and we've seen growth year on year. It is our ambition to get 5% of the seats in the Parliament of Swords elections in the summer."

The Party was founded in 2020 by Jeanette Arrington, a lecturer in Cultural Studies at Wellow University, with the aim of establishing "ever closer ties to our ancestoral homeland of East Moreland." The Party has a manifesto which calls for the Six Dukedoms to pursue a course of alignment with East Moreland laws and policies after which the nation should seek to make the monarch of East Moreland the Head of State of Bakkermaya with the Grand Duke acting as a more traditional Governor role. A Seventh seat in the Ducal Council would be formed with a representative of East Moreland sitting in it. At the moment Miss Arrington has suggested that seat be filled by Princess Rhiannon when she comes of age. "We have seen how in places like Hozland a small title is given to the heir to the throne as a kind of recognition of what they will one day be. I couldn't imagine being prouder of having the heir to the homelands throne be the Seventh member of the Ducal Council and assume a title in accordance with that." The Party believes that Bakkermaya was founded on the principles of loyalty to the throne of East Moreland and that the strength of the Cult of Helus and its associated faith of Helusan within the Six Dukedoms should be built upon. Miss Arrington has stated, "While the islands are home to those who trace their ancestory to Lodja and Paracambi it is true that the heart of the Six Dukedoms is the mainland. The islands became outposts to help defend that. We have seen how our homeland accepts all religions while honouring Helus above all so can it be here in Bakkermaya. My dream would one day to be able to consider myself not just a citizen of Bakkermaya but the citizen of a wider East Moreland. Northfort is the craddle of our people and every right minded member of the Cult would wish to be part of it." The Party currently has around 92,000 members on its Twitter page and has been growing slowly over the last few months. Polls suggest if elections were run tomorrow the party would gain one seat in the 180 seat Parliament of Swords.

"I'm sure Queen Atlanta, Emperor Benson and old man Karlis would be delighted to meet you when the time comes." The King was sure the group probably wouldn't need to gather the Heads of State to approve a sale but it was probably best to be diplomatic. Beside who knows maybe some point down the line Vinitsia could end up in the Union. The King wondered why Cinca was acting as a kind of translator, while Sabrina might not have been the most direct speaker it was pretty clear what she had meant and it now seemed there was some kind of rift between the two guests. While at the moment this was more Sabrina's problem than his own it was something worth keeping an eye on. Queen Jožica had so far been silent in the talks simply acting in capacity as a representative of the Orders owning the venue where the meeting was taking place. As Sabrina enquired about food she stood and leaving her ceremonial quiver of arrows disappeared inside her own orders Headquarters.

The King continued. "So beyond gas, what kind of industrial exchanges could I expect from Vinitsia? What should I prepare the markets of Drenovia to experience?" He asked keen to see more about his guests homeland specialities.

As Sabrina answered Jožica returned followed by several teenage girls, wearing the same green trousers and shirt many of the Order of Krešimira wore when on duty. These girls were merely Probationer's learning the ways of the Order. Their status as such distinguished by their white aprons. The girls carried several trays which were placed on the stone table. Jožica had a stack of wooden places with bone cutlery. "As a nation we're very tied to the forests" It was the first real words the Queen had uttered. "We as an Order make it our priority to preserve those and as such we live in harmony with them, taking just what we need." She lifted a pot lid, it was stuffed with onions, "We have beer cooked onions, they're simply halved covered in ale and then simmered, they then just fall apart." She then pointed to another dish , "Many of our order will gather Mushrooms, so we next have various types cooked in butter, garlic and just a little brandy." She moved along the tray, "While we don't hunt for sport we are skilled at it as a means of providing food. Rabbits are abundant and so we rather enjoy them deboned and then deep friend in buttermilk." Finally there was a large grey metallic looking bucket. "Our younger order members however are fond of something they call Game in a Bucket." The Queen shrugged showing she didn't really understand their ideas. "They gather pheasant, venison, rabbit, quail and even wild boar, its slow cooked then dipped in a mixture of milk, eggs and flour, and a lot of herbs and then deep friend. They then just serve it in a bucket with corn on the cob and a lot of butter." The lid of the bucket was taken off and a rather enticing smell left in a cloud of steam. "Please help yourself." She took her seat next to her husband and restrung the bow across her back.

The Karave Dockyards have confirmed today that they have "80% completed" the as of yet to be named ship known as an "Air Transport" Ship. The vessel is touted as being a half way house between an aircraft carrier and amphibious warfare vessel. It will carry 20 Zarptica fighters, ten helicopters and up to twelve drones. Using a system of electro-magnetic catapults it will be able to launch two aircraft at a time. The Ministry of Defence have also confirmed that the ship will be powered by nuclear reactor built by an Altonian company. The design of the ship is to be known as the Mangrove Class however the exact name of the vessel has yet to be confirmed. The King had spoken of how the ship will be used in the South Western Islands as a way of expanding the aerial abilities of the armed forces. A spokesman said, "There are literally hundreds of islands that make up the Drenovia Chain, many have in the past been used as a hideout for smugglers or bandits and naturally we do not want this happening again. As such we will be using this vessel as a tool in our armoury to ensure the security of the more remote parts of the Kingdom."

Some though have questioned the design as it will be impossible to launch and recover aircraft at the same time however a spokesman explained, "We are not looking at a heavy combat vessel. This is a design likely to be used just as a means of getting our eyes further afield in aviation terms. In addition the ship is likely to play a role in humanitarian operations in the future. We do not see a scenario where a mass scramble is required. Our naval members are more than capable of turning around the deck operations in a quick enough manner so we can be an effective tool". It is hoped that the vessel will be completed for trials at the end of March.

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It would appear the S.U.N Heads of State would be gathering for the first time since the group had been formed. There had thankfully been little for the group to do beyond their own little trade arrangements and the development of the Zaptica fighter. King Đurađ had brought with him Queen Jožica who had quiet likely taken the mistake of opting to wear ceremonial attire of the Order of Krešimira which consisted of tight leggings designed more for hunting in the colder climates of Drenovia. The look was completed with a green shirt and a black leather gillet that went down to her knees. She would normally have carried a quiver of arrows and a bow but that had been left behind as being impractical. While his first wife, Terezija, was the political bride it was probably best to describe Jožica as his religious one because of her connections to the various orders that existed within the Druantian faith.

As the aircraft touched down the couple held hands and made their way to greet the others.

The Assembly of The Orders have partially agreed to support King Đurađ aircraft carrier project. The Assembly agreed that there was need for the Union to develop the capabilities to conduct air operations in parts of the Drenovian island chain however the cost of a large full scale aircraft carrier was deemed unneccessary at this time. Speaking on behalf of the Assembly Pero Zorić, Head of the Order of Oak, explained "The nations military budget has always been rather stretched yet in recent times the development of the Zarptica has tied up a significant amount of money. His Majesty is free to make decisions for the nation but must be held to stay within the budget. Our concern was that a "Supercarrier" would push us beyond that. His Majesty went away and presented us with three choices of design. We as an Assembly have given each our due attention and with the mission profile being one of operating to secure the islands in the South West we determined that a full on carrier was largely uneeded. Karave Dockyards presented a rather useful design that we think allows the King to has the assets he requires while at the same time staying within a budget."

The King was largely disappointed. "While the proposed ship does not fulfil exactly what I had hoped it will be a useful asset. We will next year look again and I am confident the Assembly will make the correct decision and we can get a carrier in the traditional sense underway. The worlds inconsistencies have shown that having assets like a carrier are vital."

The new ship design from Karave Dockyards will allow the Navy to operate 23 fixed wing aircraft , six helicopters and up to 20 unmanned aerial vehicles and weight in at 45,000 tonnes. It will be nuclear powered allowing it to operate far into the island chain for extended periods where refuelling opportunities are not always easy. The ship however does have one draw back from a traditional carrier design in the fact that while the oblique landing deck is almost the size of a large aircraft carrier it intersects with the launch catapults, which do not complement each other but rather interfere. So the vessel can launch aircraft, or recover aircraft, but not both at the same time.

The ship will begin to be constructed in the next few weeks as Karave Dockyards have been pushing the design for Naval purchase for the last five years and according to their CEO they are "ready and raring to go"

In two weeks time I'll be away for at least a month, maybe two.

As a result I think we need to sort out a stand in RP Mod, I nominate Dave and I suggest if he accepts it that he keep the job.

1.Players are allowed to retcon anything they post for 24 hours after posting it ( later edits don't count when counting the 24 hours period, it start from when you post) assuming it has no replies.

2.Should a reply have been posted then it can only be retconned with agreement between players with RP Mod to moderate if no agreement reached.

3. Retcons should only be permitted for IC reasons and a reason for the retcon should be explained. Upon retconning a note should be left explaining it in the thread, this can later be deleted by a Mod.
 
4.Anything after that is set in stone.

5. Factbooks do not count

6. Closed RP can be retconed with the consent of all players involved.

7. Further retcons can be allowed only after submitting to the RP Mod and giving their approval.

RobertAgira approves this message.

Seeing Sabrina getting wrapped up in the Colonel's uniform jacket he signalled for one of the militia men who walked the yard to come over and after giving some instructions the man reappeared with a Sheep pelt which would allow Sabrina to be fully wrapped. "The Orders know their place." Đurađ said with a sideways look at Jožica. This order was set up by a descendant of King Florijan who in turn was a demi-God born of Druantia, therefore we are the original and largest Order. We carry the authority of Kings and the God. Meanwhile the others, well they followed knights, warlords, warriors intent on separate missions, some to defend specific regions from incursions or in the case of my 2nd's wifes Order protect the sacred groves. While from time to time their would be competition it was always to help the nation or faith, today it exists more in the form of competition. Even our football league is dominated by rivalry matches between some Orders."

Conversation turned to where the King wanted to proceed, "Everything I try and do serves three aims. The first is to make sure my people have more money in their pocket, a people able to provide for their family are generally happy people. The second thing I want to achieve is to make sure my people are safe, both in terms of things like public health but also from war. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I want to make sure our faith is never in a position to feel under attack again and to achieve that we must be a nation able to follow our own path in our own way, but realistically in the 21st Century no nation stands alone. We've found a few likeminded friends in S.U.N and maybe another today." He nodded towards Sabrina. "So I suppose the easiest place to start is aim number one, how can we make each other richer?" he asked.

OOC- Better things to do than get dragged into the middle of you two having beef with each other. Can we just suspend both of them from the Assembly?

Ditto

Fabijan had been content to allow the Cassiopeian and Chistopolian duo take a lead. He agreed broadly with the arrangement and he was confident that King Đurađ would support this venture. It was a chance for the nation to form closer ties with the rest of S.U.N. and even expand a little influence into Lijiang. "I am confident that we can persuade KIng Đurađ to put his hand in his pocket for this. Its a deal that benefits all of us present and I think we can ensure a port in mainland Drenovia is made avaliable for this."

Fabijan Bogdanović was a little surprised by Queen Atalanta's offer to the Lijiangians but he had to admit that it was one that would make good sense and if accepted would allow an important toe hold in what could be a significant market for the future. "While I would need to get my own King to approve I am pretty confident that we could get the finances if the agreement that sits alongside it is a good one that would help all our nations profit. I'm excited that it could be a good first step."

I agree broadly that this will solve the current issue.

I would however make one change. My understanding is that the Order of the Pen was going to specifically be used as a reward for RP. It would therefore be parallel to nobility unless I've missed something. So for example if the region ever became active in Gameplay again someone could be given a title of nobility for that whereas someone who wrote consistently great RP would be in the Order of the Pen. 

As of 21/04/2022

Ever since the Convention of the Faith Treaty (1698) Vanora has operated a unique Governmental System, the Head of State - the Monarch (Duke/Duchess) is always Christian, the Prime Minister is always either a Jew or Muslim and the Secretary of the Conference is always a from whichever faith the Prime Minister is not.

Around 600 BC various tribes in the modern day region of Vanora began to have various conflicts. In the midst of this the Rus emerged victorious and began to either directly conquer the territory of the other tribes or have them pay tribute to them. By the time of 200 BC however the Rus tribe was facing various uprisings from within their fledgling Empire and began fortifying their frontier in the West as they began an expansion in the East. In 63BC the Rus had found themselves effectively pushed out their ancestoral landsinto the North of modern day Kodima and Waddan. With the climate of Waddan not suitable for the argicultureal norms the Rus desired they began pushing East until reaching the wide rivers of Southern Rodina. This by the end of the 1st Century AD saw them capable of sailing up the rivers and reaching the Rodina Sea from where they could spread their influence across the whole of that region.

After reaching the sea some intrepid Rus headed South in a fleet and largely lost contact with the Rus homeland. This group ended up founding new Rus based territories in the area of modernday Lodja.

The Rus in the traditional homeland were able to use the desert as a means of seperating themselves from what was the traditional homeland and they began to forge a flourishing new Empire. This Empire ebbed and flowed as various groups from East Aranye tried to oppose the Rus. In addition the occasional dynastic rivalries within the Empire saw its last incarnation begin to struggle to stay together in the late 1600's. As the various cities of the Rodinan Sea region began to modernise, thanks to big changes in argicultural technology various new political idelogies began and this saw the Empire reduced as more and more land saw various leaders take advantage of the weakening position of the Emperor as fuedal systems began to no longer be feasable as people placed less significance on land. It was when the first parts of Communism began in the 1760's that the Emperor finally lost the last control as Communism began to spread through the area first in Rodina and then elsewhere.