Darina had been waiting for a few days for the package to come in and when it did she was rather pleased. She checked it carefully and the seal on the small ornate wooden box was still intact. There was a small time frame for her to get into the part of the village that made the food before everyone got ready for the evening meal. She worked quickly, it wasn't as if she hadn't done this hundreds of times before. Milk, eggs, flour, spot of butter and then just quick flipping in the pan and a dusting of the secret ingredient. Before long she'd made about 100 large pancakes and each contained just a pinch of melange. The Spice Harvest in Kaitaine had just been completed and as a result supplies had been sent out to members of the Sisterhood across Mundus. Now it was just time for the others to try them. She placed them on the serving hatch with a note saying "Melange Pancake, help yourself"

"I would normally support such changes" Prince Lukas began, "but I would argue that the fact that COSNAT does not have a cultural exchange element, nor an educational one, it would be extension mean that the body has created one, what could be described in the charter as an "associate organisation" we already have ties to CETO and under our membership of regional bodies already have these commitments. Remember we are all small nations, we all have less staff, less funds and less time to commit to repetition of projects. I believe the aims that the Pharoah wishes to achieve are already in place just via other means. So what I suggest is that perhaps rather than placing this on a cultural level we have it that in future years Clysperis may be a guest nation at the COSNAT business expo's. That would entitle their businesses to come and showcase their abilities wherever we host it, they can send delegates meaning they can also see what we have on offer. I think this adds more actual value to anything as there is nothing like this in place already. "

Add ABertone to everything please

Bid deadline has expired, no bids received.

Dave (among others) has suggested that the fall back host for this year be the Iwi, so that's where we're going.

Sign ups will remain open for approx another week or so.

The Imperial Rokkenjiman Navy shot down hundreds of Kusanese drones as the hermit kingdom attempted to strike out at the Imperial Rokkenjiman Navy as well as elements of the Royal Clysperi Navy which acted in concert with the IRN to largely repel the attack. Chrysanthemum Throne called the attack an "unwarranted provocation" and promised "a response at time and place of our choosing. Kusanese agression will not be tolerated," Chrysanthemum Throne said following the attempted attack. Speaking with the RBC it was noted that no Rokkenjiman assets were damaged in the attack, however, it was also determined that assets involved in the attack "will be destroyed in short order. We will not abide Kusan's ambitions, nor will be held at bay by them, we will show them the error of their ways," a source from IHC shared with the RBC.

"We may expand our retaliatory strikes," the source continued, "as they hold hostage Princess Sophia. We've a decent understanding as to where their air defenses are, so I would expect a response which targets sites directly involved in the launching of drones against the IRN, but also one which renders the anti-air defenses of Kusan rendered inoperable. This will not be a proportional response, it will be a response dependent upon the conditions on the ground. Even independent action from the Imperial Diet, I fear, we are in fact in a state of war with the Kusanese," an unnamed operative shared with the RBC.

While Imperial High Command declined a request for comment the RBC confirmed Rokkniman strikes within Kusan independently, the results of the strikes apparently knocking out air defenses in the southern regions of Kusan. "The IRN is leveraging all its assets against the Kusanese," one anonymous officer shared with the RBC, "and wheras the Army and Air Force cannot act, the IRN will punch whoever and whatever the Empress needs to be hit. We are at war," the source continued, "and we'll either see our Princess home or her captors dead There is no in-between here, we will not leave Kusan until Sophia leaves Kusan." Several sites in Kusan have reported retaliatory strikes which have rendered space operations "impossible."

For her part the Empress has not commented on the attacks, stating only "the Princess will be returned, period. Kusan is in charge on the path she is returned to Rokkenjima at present, and any deaths which result as to that path, will be on Kusan."