David sat as Queen Natalya spoke to him "It is never too warm for a good green tea." David responded as he cheerfully settled in. He'd yet to fully get to know Natalya other than a few CNN meetings and the odd conversation from when they'd been to the Iwi but there had yet to be a state visit between the two. Stasya that had spoke highly of her and while even the Queen didn't consider her a good friend they were at least in some of the same WhatsApp groups. He thanked the steward who appeared with the beverage. The King scanned the letter, it wasn't a million miles away from one he'd received several years earlier from Queen Viktoriya. David was aware with Peter's dalliances with Jasmina but was not too sure where that was heading. It was a little bit different though as last time the letter had been presented he could speak on his own intentions, but today it was his cousin. "I'm sorry that this has put you in an awkward position. I will speak with Peter and make it clear to him that on his return to Lodja he needs to come and speak to you. I'll explain once he returns to Lodja he has three days to come and see you or he'll be getting replaced as our envoy to Albion. That way one way or another you have your response to Jasmina and his situation. Again I can only apologise if we've called you any offence. " The King had felt himself fllush as the discussion had gone on he'd always found talk of relationships and romance a little awkward and counted his lucky stars he'd now found the woman of his dreams. "I hope that satisfies you?"

---

Rhiannon was more than happy to get peddling. She enjoyed being active and figured this would be good for the legs, after all Sir Charles kept telling her that a strong stance was ideal for a swordswoman. "Lodja was OK" Rhiannon said once the initial effort of getting the boat moving was over, there was no risk of going fast as Augustin feared as the boat was designed for two people peddling but with just her tiny childs legs it was going much slower than all the others. "My Dad think seeing other countries is a good idea and Stasya is from there and so Uncle Tobias and Auntie Anuoshka visit a lot so I'm staying with them. I've been practicing my Lodjain too." She spoke a few words and then chuckled, "That means my name is Rhiannon and I'm in a boat" her accent was terrible and the words came out in bursts as she tried to remember certain words. "Its like a mix of a holiday and school. I'm not sure if I'll have much spare time but they'll let me chat I think, I'll send you some picture. What's your school like? I'm excited as I'm going to big school after the summer, the Northfort Girls Academy, Auntie Freya went there and my cousin Sophie. Its a board school but I won't be staying there." She explained. She sensed that he was a bit sad when he asked about friends and that rubbed off on her. "I did" she began, "My best friend Evie was at my old school but she can't go to the Academy so she'll be going to a different school. I don't know anyone else there as the rest of my little school are going to The Parkland Grammar School. Dad says its a chance to make new friends but I just want to play with my old friends like Evie and you." she gave him a smile. "But the Prince is a really nice human bean and the Bunny is brilliant" she concluded, "They'll be lucky if they get to be your friend." with that she stopped peddling and let the boat drift a bit "I'm poooped" she said. She heard Tillie shout if they were ok, "Just having a rest" she yelled back "Bunnies are rubbish engines" she continued giving Augustin a playful dig in the ribs. After some floating the Princess resumed propulsion and Augustin used the hand held rudder to get them back to shore. Staff helped them both out. "Do you think you could come visit our school in December, we've a music festival and I've got an afternoon to be in charge. I could make sure your favourite plays?"

With the East Moreland womens team making their squad for the upcoming world cup public eyes were raised with one name among the squad. Along with the 23 women who are part of the squad a list of extra backroom staff have been declared with Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside being listed as "Fitness and Conditioning Consultant". The 23 year old niece of King David is a serving member of the Royal East Moreland Air Force and has over the past few months been undertaking secondary training to be a Physical Training Instructor within the Air Force alongside her current role as a Force Protection K9 Officer. The Archduchess has been working on her portfolio of coaching in order to claim her instructors qualification and has been working with Roberton AFC's womens team for several months. The Archduchess is a world class athelete in her own right having been the first person to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Games, she is also the current national record holder in several distances for speed skating. Alongside Daisy Greechan she also rowed the Mhorish to raise funds for charity and has trekked to the North Pole. National team coach Sarah Whiteman said "Having someone of the calibre of Sophie to work with us is great. Unlike many teams in the tournament we don't have a professional league back home, often are facilities are not world class and most girls play just for the love of the game. Sophie is an athlete who has experienced pressure at the very top of the pyramid of sport and that experience, regardless of sport, can only help the girls as we move into this tournament. All the girls from Roberton have reported for training in tip top condition and we hope that means in the short time we have before the tournament begins we can get everyone to an even higher standard. We've seen at big tournaments the smaller teams often end up getting torn apart in later stages mainly as a lack of fitness kicks in against the professionals, we're seeking to make sure that doesn't happen."

The Archduchess has kept her involvement to now low profile saying "I'm proud to be involved in the team. The girls in the actual squad though are the ones who are going to make the difference. I can only support. They're the ones who for 90minutes have their fate in their hands. I'm just privledged to be along for the ride and if Sarah things I can be of any help beyond coaching then I'll do what I can."

Leanne Williams is the captain for the tournament and an AFC Roberton player, she is also a tattoo artist. "We all go into the world cup nervous. We're right down the list in terms of bookies favourites and we understand why. We go out though thinking we can get a result everygame. If we can get through the group stages then anything is possible in knockout football. We saw that in the first Mundus Champions League tournament when Northfort United, a team like ourselves full of post men, butchers and a bank manager, nearly got a result in the final. Lots of us have never played in big tournaments so having a Mundus Games champion alongside us will hopefully mean we've someone who can help us cope with the added pressure. I think we're all ready and excited to get to Abertone and try and get the job done."

Meanwhile a crisis has hit the mens team as star striker, Leo Jenkins, was seen being helped into an ambulance yesterday following an accidental clash of heads in training. The 22 year old has been red hot for AFC Roberton so far this season scoring six goals in eight games. Team manager Gary Northgate confirmed the hospital trip saying, "We think he'll be fine for the World Cup, maybe not the first few games. We'll have him assessed for concussion and obviously his safety and health is first in our thinking. If he needs a bit of extra time we can probably work around that. I've been frank with him though if the doctors timeline for his return mean he will miss two games then sadly he'll be staying in Roberton."

The blind football teams have already left for Abertone. The teams had been attempting to raise funds for their visit as the sport receives very little governing body funding. This saw a "Go Fund Me" set up to try and support their competition efforts. The teams exceeded their hoped for $50,000 when OsmanTech's CEO Joanna Osman stepped in and said the company would ensure the team were "well looked after." With the blind teams not playing together regularly at all the extra time in Abertone is being used to get match practice in with the teams playing several games against Abertone City's Universities teams. Joanna Osman said, "Its a shame that our government can't fund disability sport better. Quiet rightly when someone in the military gets permanent injuries the government throw money at oppurtunities for them to get active again and in no way do I dispute the fact they deserve it. Where East Moreland falls down though is supporting other disability sport with the same passion. If that means OsmanTech has to step in then so be it. We're proud now to say we sponser the Blind Football teams and this will not be a one off package, we're talking to the EMFA about a long term deal for a whole host of different ability teams."

---

The Royal East Moreland Naval Service today took delivery of the prototype of an joint East Moreland Aircraft Company (EMAC) and Portworth Royal Dockyards (PRD) project. Known at the moment simply as Project A-1 the partnership is the first of its kind between the two companies that have long all but monopolised the procurement process within East Moreland. The Project is advertised as an "air transportable hybrid-electric powered insertion vehicle capable of operating in three states." The vehicle is to be utilised by the Royal Marine Commando for the next few months to asses its full capabilities.

From details given to the media the vehicle is capable of being dropped from a cargo plane by parachute as its crew parachute seperately. Once in the water the vehicle can carry up to eight people and be fitted with a variety of remote controlled weapons systems. On the surface its acts like a traditional speed boat capable of reaching up to 30knots while capable of covering 150 nautical miles however it can sacrifice two of its seats for an additional fuel bag extending the range to 300 nautical miles. The vehicle  can then be put into "stealth" mode which makes it semi submerged, this however limits it to a 5knts. Finally if required hatches can be shut and using pre-installed breathing equipment the vessel can travel fully submerged at a speed of 4knts for up to 30nm, however again two crew spaces can be sacrificed for additional 30nm of range. In terms of weaponry two .50cal machine guns with the potential to be remotely operated can be fixed and the consortium believe in future heavier weaponry can also be utilised.

The Royal Marines are duo to head to Lodja soon for training and it is expected Project A-1 will go with them.

The East Moreland F.A votes for Abertone

While the arechecture reminded King David of his time in Lijiang the protocols were very different. He remembered entering the Golden Enclave of Lijiang and the Dragon-Empress clearly telling him that it was considered important that he enter with his left foot first while Stasya enter with the right. He smiled to himself as he remembered Tielin reinforcing his wife's words of advice. "Its easy to remember" the Dragon-Emperor had begun, "Men step with their left foot as we remember women are always right." Here the doors seemed reversed and he ensured he did as instructed. This morning David and Will stood waiting and when the King's name was called he took the long leather tube from his security agent and despite not even being in Lijiang stepped in through the gate he'd been directed to with his left foot. He made his way towards the Grand King. "Your Majesty its wonderful to meet you" The King said after giving a brief respectful nod of his head. He carefully unhooked the silver metallic catch that held a leather cap over the rich brown leather tube. With a deft tilt the King caught a milky white scroll of parchment as it emerged from the tube. "I am sad to say I missed a chance to deliver what has become a traditional gift on your coronation but I hope you can forgive the lateness" The King Unfurled the document, it was brightly decorated down one edge with images of peacocks, brightly coloured fish and tigers. The text was beautifully formed calligraphy. "I am told by Dr.Maddie Howard that this is an attempt by a Morelander in the 1600s at translating some philosophical texts from this region, sadly I'm told that the text is not exactly well translated but I believe it shows the oldest confirmed connection between our nations in terms of culture. I hope that the messages it badly translates can somehow help guide our nations towards a better friendship in the future." Having held the scroll which while a translation nightmare was very pretty so the host could see it the King expertly rolled it back up and placed it back in the tube clipping the silver clasp back in place." It had become somewhat of a tradition of King David to present a book, or in this case a scroll, to new monarchs on their coronation. He'd been inspired by Dr.Marcus Merriman who had given him an old 12th century manuscript in which the then High Priestess had written what virtues a good King should have. While he couldn't have said he'd followed all the advice it had been proudly hanging on his own office wall as a reminder ever since. The King's gift delivered and hopes of friendship made the King left to await whatever happened next. As he returned he checked he'd departed through the correct gate and then made his way over to the others waiting.

As soon as an invite arrived and said "rarely allowed" it was always obvious to the Chief of Royal Household, Quinn Germaine, that the King was going to be attending. He had little idea about the hosts culture but that was what excited the King, yet another chance to go and see places you'd normally only read about it books. He'd flown over a few days early and visited some friends in the Commonwealth of the Iwi meaning a quick helicopter ride the next morning would leave him fresh and ready to learn and enjoy the day in what he hoped would be equal measure. He was unsure exactly where he was meant to be going and after various phone calls by his security detail and a few cross words between his chief agent, Will Buckley, and a driver they found themselves at Inner Hwangjin.

The 28th September has seen the Kingdom of East Moreland celebrate one of its major festivals of the year. Honeybadger Day marks the date on the time when the first Honeybadgers arrived in East Moreland, the creatures were brought from Kermah as King Sven the Grey had seen the animals there. During his stay the King believed that the animals had the characteristics of the perfect Morelander, bravery, intelligence, resilience and a love of family. The King purchased eight of the creatures from the Mombaka Tribe and brought them back to East Moreland where they were released on the royal estate in Rockhampton. Soon after several other nobles had imported the animals in order to be seen as fashionable and the animals soon became acustomed to the nation. Today the creatures are found in several of the forests of East Moreland and even have become a popular TV character.

Festivities across the nation have seen millions of people taking part in street parties and organised musical events. The King began the day at Northfort Palace following a visit to watch the world premier of "Adventures of Stoffel Two - The Magic Music" the night before. There he meet with the extended Ironside family for breakfast, one of the few occasions the whole Kade family have joined with the Ironsides in recent years as many of the family serve in overseas duties. The King then said goodbye to his daughter Princess Rhiannon who was travelling to Portworth to spend the festival with her mother, Lady Matilda Osman. King David then visited Temple and joined in celebrations at the Palace with guests invited by the family. Ambassador Ullah Teshiba from Kermah was the honoured guest at a large BBQ which is said to have featured six cows, four hogs, eight deer and a bear among the feast. The party also included several of the Mundus Games medal winners, while all those winning a medal were offered tickets some preferred to spend the festival with extended families back in their hometowns were many were guests of honour in parades through their neighbourhoods.

The evening was rounded off with a free concert in People's Park headlined by Mumford and Sons. Around 120,000 people are thought to have attended with large numbers also watching on TV. Globally embassies hosted their own events inviting their local community to join in. In Kermah the Embassy invited the descendants of the Mombaka chiefs who sold Honeybadger to a feast at the embassy while in Lodja a charity rugby game between the Embassy and staff from the Isle of the Goddess took place followed by a large cocktail party. The proceeds from the game went to the Global Childbirth Initiative.

Tomorrow King David and Queen Stasya are expected to depart, hangovers permitting, to visit Medusalin in the first visit by an East Moreland monarch for several generations. It is thought King David will observe the annual festival of the island nation.

With the annual Honeybadger Day celebrations just four days away one of the most eagerly awaited events for the day is the release of "Adventures of Stoffel Part 2-The Magic Music". The follow up to 2022's box office smash see's the nations favourite cartoon character return in an adventure taking him to a "far away Kingdom" inhabited exclusively by Bunnies. While EMTV's film division have released numerous trailers and clips they have only today released some details of the films cameos. Speaking to assembled press the shows creator Emilia Benson said, "After the success of the first film we actually had people contacting us asking to be in the next one, mainly people who had kids who loved the film. We were also able to take the opportunity to include some interesting appearances from others." Princess Rhiannon returns in her role as "Princess Bunny" who hears of a problem in a "far away Kingdom" a friend has told her about and Stoffel and his friends head off to investigate. The far away land is inhabited entirely by rabbits which coupled with the cameo from Neu Urburzis Prince Augustin as a kind wizard has lead many to believe it is a veiled reference to one of East Moreland's overseas friends. Stoffel discovers an evil doer has acquired a magical musical instrument that can stop children dreaming and through team work and adventure the worlds favourite Honeybadger must get it back for it to be destroyed forever. The evil character is voiced by actor Ben Gilmore who has previously played King Robert in EMTV's epic historical drama "Ironsides". The role is his first voice work, the 49 year old said, "It was a lot of fun and I'm amazed at how the animated characters take on some of the form of the actors, spend ten minutes with Princess Rhiannon and you can see Princess Bunny. My career has always seen me play heroic good guys and I guess I'm slightly type cast for that, no bad thing. It was though fun to be the bad guy for once." Other cameos include a dolphin that helps Stoffel who is voiced by Daisy Greechan, a eagle that helps the team when they get lost voiced by astronaut Rachel Dixon and a rabbit band performed by Mumford and Sons. The film is expected to be a box office smash with the world premier taking place in Northfort the evening before Honeybadger Day with the Royal Family due to attend. Emilia Benson has also confirmed that the TV show will be back in the spring for its tenth series and that already a third film is being worked on and is hopeful of being ready for 2024. She also confirmed that TV rights have now been sold to several countries and therefore we shouldn't rule out in universe mentions of new places for Stoffel to visit.

With Honeybadger Day approaching several other key events are taking place. On the day itself street parties will be held across the nation and a huge free concert will take place in People's Park with Mumford and Sons expecting to headline. The King has confirmed that he will be spending it in Northfort while this year marks the turn of his former wife Matilda Osman to take Princess Rhiannon who will be spending the day with her mothers family in Portworth. The King has also confirmed that the Kermah ambassador will be his guest of honour at a garden party with royal press secretary Malcolm Tucker explaining. "A long time ago the first Honeybadgers arrived on a boat from Kermah and now its become our symbol. The King thinks it important to mark this bond between our two very different nations and as such it is only right the people of Kermah are included in our celebration in some way as because without them this celebration wouldn't be taking place."

Lodja squared away being "Rus" this way

"The Divine Queendom of Lodja is a non-heriditary monarchy. Its earliest origin can be found in the 10th Century when the city of Gaia was claimed by raiders from the "Rus" originating Lodjain tribe. These people had mirgated steadily south from Aranye over the proceeding centuries and claimed various islands in the Alucard which brought them into clashes with people from Paracambi, the Alanders and what were to become the Bakkermayans. The original Lodjain tribe were persecuted in the Rus homeland for worshipping the Goddess Sessifet and under the guidance of the Priestesses sought out where Sessifet had first begun to inhabit a human host in the form of Miriam. It was believed here the people could have a home. Evidence suggests it was Queen Rosanna, who was one of multiple Lodjain Queens who inhabited the islands and claimed to be High Queen of Sessifet, who launched a raid on the mainland of Albion. There her Priestesses, while inspecting for slaves, discovered a cave on a tidal island and "evidence" of this being the location of Sessifet and Miriam's joining. Rather than leave the mainland as had happened in other raids the Lodjains remained, fortified the island and then began claiming the land. This finally saw all Lodjains declare loyalty to Rosanna and thus the modern day version of the nation was born."

The Archduchess couldn't help but find the young Crown-Prince's manner amusing. She though was partly constrained today by the fact she was here representing her Air Force colleagues. "Well Your Highness every nation will have their own way of doing things, here in East Moreland you out rank me in two ways, first my noble title is merely an Archduchess compared to your Princehood, the second way is as a Flying Officer a Prince is like way above me." She smiled. "Had I got my hat on I'd have thrown up a salute and no doubt had you not been dressed as a rabbit you'd return it with a nod or simply a thank you, but your homeland will do it all its own way. She wondered if this rabbit suit was more high tech than an astronauts as a cooling pact was exchanged before her eyes.

"Now as for Goldie the little fox is still hanging out at the Palace, to be honest though its been about six months since I've been to Northfort Palace but I know Rhiannons got some kind of big outdoor pen for her." Sophie spent much of her time now at Ostlake West, between doing her duties as a "Force Protection Officer", taking part in exercises and doing the odd bit of PR for the military she found her time to get back to the capital limited. In truth she'd made some good friends in the Air Force and often they'd head off on adventures when off duty, she'd recently discovered the joys of paddleboarding on the River Ost, rumours were you could paddle from Ostlake to Portworth on the river but so far she'd yet to meet anyone who had even tried this.

"Now as for Rhiannon she's around somewhere. I think you'll have seen she was Protector of the Sword for her little brother. Last I saw though she was heading off with her half brother Oliver and Matilda. I'm sure though we can find her." She had a quick conversation with Tillie who speaking into a microphone on her wrist got in touch with Rhiannon's detail in the field. "Can we offer you some cooler attire first?" Rhiannon asked knowing that they kept various sportsware around for if any of the guests went into some of the more watersport related activities and needed a change. Once the Prince had made his mind up Tillie acquired a group of Royal Marines to help them make their way through the crowds and down towards the historic ship section of the festival. Rhiannon was explaining to a Viking why the axe was a pointless weapon and that a sword was far superior while Oliver was merely happy to watch a woman singing and dancing a traditional Alander folk song. Rhiannon spotted the Prince approaching and after a bit of puzzled looking put the sword she'd been demonstrating with down and scurried along the dockside giving Augustin a big hug. "Its been ages" she said as she let him go. "How are the rabbits?"

David and his security entourage headed off along the quayside with Serenity in search of ice cream. They walked past a number of vans selling ice cream and lollypops to the waiting crowds but David ignored them. At the far end of the quay was a quaint little shop made of green wooden boards with a giant motif of a seagull on top. It had a sizeable line outside but David headed round the back as one of his security detail pushed through the front of the small cafe. David wrapped on the back door and it opened, a young teenage girls face appearing. "Good Morning Your Majesty" the girl said not surprised at all until she noticed something was different, "No Princess Rhiannon today?....oh Empress Serenity" she added spotting David guest.

"No Millie she's with her mother but I have no doubt that she'll appear at some point." David replied as the young Millie pushed the door wider and allowed the King and the others inside. They now stood in a white tiled kitchen with stainless steel kitchen appliances everywhere. The Seagull Cafe was during most summers a place to get an ice cream after walking down the beach or even grab a slice of cake and a coffee. During the Festival though it became a takeaway serving more or less everything through the hatch at the side. Millies Mum hastily was serving through the hatch while her 10 year old brother Josh was bringing her things she yelled for.

"Well we've put a tub of her favourite mint chocolate aside so we won't run out." Millie spotted that the Achkaerin Empress was accompanied by her own brood and she addressed the children with a kind smile. "I assume though you'd like some?" She asked before standing to look at Serenity. "Can we get you something Your Majesty?" She asked handing Serenity a card showing at least twenty varities of different ice creams, all made using clotted cream. While Serenity was making the decisions David bid her good bye for now and having earlier seen Besarian lurking figured he should head over to the Lodjain vessel. As he arrived he saw Emperor Marco already in audience with the Queen and so opted instead to have a chat with some of the festival goers until he had a chance to speak with the Lodjains.

---

Sir Charles pulled a map of the festival grounds from his inside blazer pocket and headed off with the Gusano leader in tow to find the SmartWar stand. They had a stall in one of the naval hangers showcasing some VR headsets and a few small unmanned vessels guests could have a look at up close. Martin Dawson the companies CEO was busy chatting with some man dressed in a sharp looking suit, apparrently some journalist and when it was clear Sir Charles wanted to see him he wrapped things up. "Sir Charles, what brings you here, we don't have any remote control swords?" he shook the mans hand and then noticed the huge man in bear fur and the silver masked girl. He looked a little puzzled his mind trying to place the image he was seeing. "Gusano.....Masked...no Veiled One." he snapped his fingers seemingly pleased, his momentary excitement leading to slight horror as he realised he may have offended the woman. "I'm sorry Your Ladyship....is that right? I must apologise but I don't know the finer details of your nation but I am happy to see you and hope your enjoying Portworth. I am though a little surprised to see you here, is there anything I can help you with?"

---

Freya was pleased it at least seemed like Asuna had heeded her advice but she knew people would all be pouring their own interpretation of what was best into her ears and from all corners of Mundus if the Rokkenjiman government remained the same. "Look" Freya began, "Its important you are seen to be and act the proper Empress, its what your people expect. Remember though your still young and there is more to life than service. Diplomacy isn't just a formal conference table, you've a position in the world that will open up oppurtunities and experiences most people on Mundus can only dream of. Go visit places the muggles can't, Isle of the Goddess in Lodja, go see it. Walk the streets of the Golden Enclave of Lijiang. Have an adventure or three." She had to be honest with herself even though she knew she had these same privledges she didn't perhaps make as much of them as her brother did but in her eyes he was the ultimate history nerd and so perhaps those things appealed more to him but that nerdom had served East Moreland well so far. "Anyway thank you for the tour."

---

Tucker flicked his phone shut after a very respectful conversation with Kurt. "OK people listen up we've some Ubruzian wandering in a giant bloody bunny costume on one of the hottest days of the year. One of your morons is for the chop because nobody told us it was the Crown Prince of Neu Uburzis.  Now go out find the damn rabbit and make sure he's looked after and take him a carrot or two." The media team looked at each other unsure whether Tucker was being serious. "Piss off and find Prince Rabbit boy" he yelled and the team hurried off each taking a member of the royal security team with them. Tillie Breckenridge had left Stasya enjoyed a mojito with some Lodjian friends in the VIP area and was heading out to look for Augustin. They had made it only a little way from the entrance when Tillie pointed along the quay road.

"Bunny at 10 o'clock" she said to the media handler before checking in on the Royal Protection channel. She began leading the way through the crowd, the sharp suit and forceful body language parted the crowd easily and soon they'd found Augustin. "Your Highness" she reached beneath her waist coat and brought out a leather fob with a emblem on it. "My names Tillie, I'm with the Royal Protection Agency" she introduced herself, if you and your team would like to follow me. She turned and with no hint of ceremony pushed people out the way making a way for Augustin until they reached the barrier to the VIP area, standing between the press and the entrance she waited for Augustin to be allowed in and then followed. She looked around unsure who would actually be there of interest to the Crown Prince and spied Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside, King David's niece. "Your Grace, Crown Prince Augustin of Neu Urburizs" She introduced her furry follower.

The Archduchess was in Air Force blues and had been chatting with some Air Force friends. She turned pausing slightly surprised at the attire and checked her K9, a black masked Husky called Bandit remained lying under the table. "Oh...erm...Good Morning Your Highness" she said giving a small bow. "Its good to see you here." She thought for a moment about the reason anyone in their sane mind would be wearing such an outfit on a warm day and then recalled. " I trust your event went well?" She enquired. "I know my uncle will be pleased your nations attended. He should be back after he's meet with the Lodjians, in the mean time is there anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable." She fought the urge to ask if he wanted a carrot but waved over a Naval steward who now had a pen and paper ready to jot down any requests.

The underground "bunker" at Northfort was prepared for the King while he was still out at the Representative Council. As usual the various members of the military command and intelligence services had arrived and were already throwing ideas around as David walked in. He had already taking his jacket off as he got himself settled. His Head of Royal Household, Quinn Germaine, handed him his black leather notebook and a steaming mug of green tea. "Good afternoon everyone" David began, "I understand that there are a few reports from Mersch. So what's happening?"

It was Grace Yacobs who responded. "Well its good news, bad news, strange news." She began.

"Strange news.....that's a new one" David semi-smiled as he waited for her to continue.

"The good news is we've got Jasmine Volk, Rochus Kristoffer and Markus Switzer safe and secure dotted around East Moreland. That means we've got a chance to at least get the Merschians a monarch that the majority there are going to support to some extent. The bad news is soon after our team evacuated Markus the house came under attack, the guys there were well switched on and fought them off, two guys escaped but the navy of Mersch caught one of them. The team protecting Rochus have failed to check in so we're a little concerned. It seems like someone in Mersch has loose lips. Now the strange news, the guy the Mersch Navy have picked up went all Uppsala style in their questioning. Introduced himself as a sergeant in the 1st Republic of Mersch Commando's and that he's got...." Grace checked her notes...."about ten hours to check in with his commanding officer or further attacks take place. He spoke of a ceasefire but....and here is the even stranger part, only if your sister goes to lead negotiations."

David laughed, "Right, so we know the guys a little odd. If Prime Minister Dahl wants we'll be happy to send Freya and a team with her but we're not trusting any Mersch forces. They're is something going on there and while we want to help Mersch I'm not putting Freya out front on her own."

"I'll have the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing fly her in with a few random cross boarder flights just to keep things interesting. I'll also have eight of the boys go with her." Brigadier Corey, the commander of Red Legion spoke up. "If I can ask for the Air Force and Navy to move things towards the border quietly too just in case things get a little bit tasty then we can get a few extra assets in the region?" He looked across the table at Admiral James Thompson and Air Commodore Edward Briggs he nodded their approval.

"We'll move the King Robert up on routine manoeuvres and the Chamwick's on shake down after a software upgrade so we can count on that. That gives us a decent air ability and 800 Royal Marine Commando's if we need them." Thompson glanced down at his tablet.

"42 Squadron are based up at Roberton FOB at the moment, that puts F-5's in play if we need to strike anything, we've also Dragonlings if a lighter touch is needed." Briggs had already begun the process of moving other aircraft north, particularly cargo aircraft from Ostlake to Roberton.

"I'll break the news to Freya then. Keep me posted." David stood, drained his green tea and headed off.

---

As two borrowed EMAC-Wings aircraft crossed the border on Mersch it was the old Ironside One that went in low through the Alps with a JSFAW pilot throwing it round like a fighter. Freya had enjoyed many flights in it and it two other siblings before her brother had got a jumbo jet, the air force kept them around for internal flights or special occasions and now as Freya, her husband and his seven Red Legion friends entered Merschian airspace they were in very different surrounds than regular military operations. "Can we get seats like this in the transporters?" Olly Barks asked as he reclined his chair into a practical bed his kit across his lap. Soon they put down at the agreed airfield having taken a very out the way route. Barks and Saxby left the aircraft first followed by Freya and the others. Freya was keen to make it clear this was no official state visit and had her 2nd Light Scouts DPM uniform on and an assault rifle slung across her back. It was clear this was to be a business trip and no risks were being taken.

All this is getting boring.

We spend so much time arguing about a position that actually means nothing and frankly is a job we ALL as a community should do, especially any of us with fancy coloured names on the forum.

The "Constitution" (frankly a non-sense concept for what is essentially a web-site) states the Grand Chancellor should do the following jobs. I've provided a commentary about how we ALL fail. 

Ensuring the safety and stability of The Independent Order;
b) Conducting Nationstates inter regional diplomacy - WE ALL CAN DO THIS. I OFTEN GO AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER REGIONS. WE ALL NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING OUR NATIONS ACTIVE ON NS. FRANKLY I KEEP TRYING AND THEN JUST GIVE UP.

c) Appointing office holders where required; - OFFICE HOLDERS ARE KIND OF NOT NEEDED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FORUM MODS AND RP MODS

d) Removing office holders where there exists reasonable grounds to do so - WE AS A REGION CAN DO THIS AS DAITO IS ATTEMPTING TO SHOW.

e) Administering the official chatroom of the region, the NationStates region, and any other official off-forum locations; - WE DON'T EVEN CONTROL OUR OWN DISCORD AND HAVEN'T FOR OVER A YEAR I BELIEVE.

f) Advising office holders where requested; - OFFICE HOLDERS SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT WITH THE REGION

g) Maintaining and updating the Criminal Code and Discord Code of Conduct (with the consultation of the Lord Chief Justice). - DONE BY ACH

h) Investigating complaints concerning the Lord Chief Justice. - DONE AS A COMMUNITY IF AN ISSUE

i) Inducting (and removing when inactive) members of the Order of the Pen upon instruction of the Order. - POINTLESS AS WE DON'T GET NEW PEOPLE TO STAY AND THATS NOT A BEATRICE RELATED ISSUE.


The big concern is "how does this look to new people" kind of vibe. Having spoken since I saw this kick off last night with a few newer users I think its time for some home truths.

We as a region are not good for new comers and its not 100% Beatrices fault at all. Let me give you some examples.

1. We let people who are not actually active in the RP dominate Discord unchallenged creating false impressions.

This effectively ended Hassfurts involvement here. I still RP with her in a different region and she's really good when you consider she's writing in her third language. For those of you who don't recall her she created a nation that effectively used the idea of reincarnation and a kind of mixed influence of the Hindu caste system based on race. It was a very interesting concept and her nation was set up extremely well with a whole culture very different to any other nation on the forum. Meanwhile everytime she goes on Discord she was faced with comments any time people spoke about her nation as them being "Nazi's". As a result of this no one other than me and Achkaerin took time to interact with them ICly. So Hassfurt tried to change the nation removing the race based thing, at which point they were still being labelled the "Nazi" nation and now the concept was far too different to what they actually wanted to RP so they left.

2. Discord is not our regions canon, stop acting like it is.

I'm seeing almost daily people with literally no IC posts in months saying what their nation is and how its perceived by the world. You don't tell people how the world perceives your nation as a "collapsing superpower" or "regional banking centre". If you truly are a regional banking centre this will be demonstrated through how people act ICly towards your nation. When people come online and read all about the stories of certain nations but then go on discord and see nations discussing how big and special they are and then they can't find the same thing on the forum it gets damn confusing, especially for new people. I get at least three or four questions from some of the newer members a week trying to clarify some of the dumb Discord shit. This doesn't happen in other regions.

3. No one cares about new people.

We had Markus and Nova very very active in welcoming and supporting new comers. Yes of course when they first pop into discord say "hi" but welcoming people go beyond that. It even goes beyond saying "if you want to RP hit me up" within five minutes of them being here. Most people when they arrive take I'd guess a week if super active, maybe a month if less so, to feel out the region, get up on its lore, post stuff about their own nation etc. By which point when they are ready they've had next to no-one pay them any attention. Having spoke this morning with Gusano, Faye, Barr and Samoslavia, all of whom I'd say are maybe a month or so into the region they've said they had conversation with three people, me, Altona and Libby. If you want people to feel welcome and stay and thus grow our region treat people like you actually want them here.

4. Stop Dickwaving

We have people treating our region like a competition. People constantly tweeking stats or changing things trying to keep ahead of others. This has lead to people believing they can only be relevant if their big and powerful. The last one I saw was comments like "I'm going to be the biggest economy" etc in an almost competative way. I see regularly people talking about claiming things. When it comes to bands etc thats fine, its a cultural thing, but in the past I've seen people for example spend months RPing the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (its in Nya Aland) and seen no one else ever mention it until all of a sudden with no RP, no mention of it someone just saying on Discord, "Oh year we've that too." and then its never been spoken of again. Fetishising certain tech that we're all supposed to act like its fearsome is also a big issue. I dont want to create RP rules to prevent creativity but some of the Dickwaving is getting beyond ridiculous.


Now back to Daito's motion. Should Beatrice be doing more as Grand Chancellor to be a force for good in the region 100%. Myself and Altona have been responsible for the vast majority of recruitment. I think I am one of the only people that goes out of my way to interact with our embassy regions in NS. If Beatrice wants to be GC then she 100% needs to do the job. In terms of her treatment of others I see at times Beatrice being positive for the region and then making things awkward and I appreciate her honesty about real life. Now this leads to the question should we recall and my response is actually "who cares." You don't get paid for the job, you don't get any perks (trust me I tried blagging a free Costa Coffee with a "Do you know who I am.....I'm the RP Mod for Independent Order " and it got me nothing.) and its at the end of the day a website.  What I care about is creating a welcoming and creative region and we have bigger issues in that regard than Beatrice.

I'm happy to give Beatrice a month but I suggest we as a community get our act together and create the community we actually want ourselves rather than imagining one fictional position will solve everything.

The largest rock based live music festival on Mundus is back. Situated in the countryside just outside Silverhills the festival lasts three days across close to a dozen venues on the Marshall families farm. Every year (sometimes) the family use the three main stages to showcase the best in live rock, punk, metal, indie and various other epic art forms.

2020 Bands
2019 Bands
2017 Bands
2016 Bands
2015 Bands

In terms of signing up the Marshall family will have the final say, "guitar based" acts are generally given priority with a few quirky (code for Achkaerin) acts included to break it up. I'd love it if people could try and keep it semi-connected to their nation, so for example I would expect Bob Marley to come from East Moreland, which explains why he's probably from Paracambi. If someone has already claimed an act in previous years its still theirs, there are exceptions so for example me and Tytor have done some swaps in the past. If someone uses a band and you've used them elsewhere outside Glastomundus please just drop a message with the link so we know their off the table.

Sign ups until the 28th. Simply give names of the bands your using , nation their from and no more than four preferably youtube links to live performances of the songs. Then I'll post the line ups and make YouTube playlists of the running order. I'll also, if possible, make a Spotify play list this year and share the links.

The three stages are Main Stage (The biggest section of the festival), Pyramid Stage (Tends to be more dedicated to rock), The Big Top (indoor venue for more acoustic, alternative stuff). The Marshall family will determine what stage you're on. Word of warning a Morelander band always headlines the Main Stage on the Friday night, a foreign band the Saturday and then pot luck Sunday.

Name of Band
Nation:
Song 1
Song 2
Song 3
Song 4

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Two years of military service is compulsory for all citizens. While the regular force is a small, professional, volunteer force, this compulsory service gives the kingdom a very capable reserve force. The Seaforth Armed Forces consists of the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Army. Naval vessels carry the prefix CSS.

Royal Navy
Head: Grand Admiral Hannibal Kane
Regular Force: 128,540
Major Bases: SFB Eventide, SFB Halifax, SFB Illumic East, SFB Gibraltar, SFB Victoria

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Seaforth Army:
Head: Field Marshal Ulysses Scott
Regular Force: 280,654
Major Bases: SFB Eventide, SFB Scotia, SFB Northumbria, SFB Caledonia, SFB Halifax, SFB Arc-Royal, SFB Strathcona, The Citadel, SFB Gibraltar, SFB Illumic East, SFB Victoria

The Seaforth Army still uses the historical term and classification of regiment. A regular force regiment is composed of 3 battalions of 600 men, plus a reserve battalion (2400 Total). Army tactics are centered on speed, maneuverability and adaptability. The work horse of the Seaforth Army is the Mechanized Infantry Regiment. These regiments are composed of two mech battalions, a light infantry battalion and a reserve battalion. The light infantry battalion is capable of extended operations and may be deployed as an additional mech battalion, as an airborne battalion or as an air cavalry battalion.

REGIMENT	TYPE	COMMANDER
Somerset Legion	Combined Arms Brigade	Brigadier General Uilleam "Savage Bill" Prescott
Seaforth Airborne Regiment	Airborne Infantry	Colonel Eric Fallstaff
Seaforth Highlanders	Mechanized Infantry	Lt. Col Aidan Pryde
Royal Seaforth Regiment	Mechanized infantry
Lancaster Rifles	Mechanized Infantry
Glasgow Foresters	Mechanized Infantry
Sherbrooke Mounted Rifles	Mechanized Infantry
Eventide Lancers	Armour
Halifax Lancers	Armour
Lord Strathcona's Horse	Armour
Royal Scotian Dragoons	Armour
Arc-Royal Uhlans	Armour
Coventry Hussars	Armour
St. Catherines Armoured Cavalry	Armour
Stirling Lancers	Armour
12th Fusiliers	Infantry
OTHER	OTHER

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Royal Air Force: 58,853
Head: Air Marshal Roman Saratov
Main Bases: SFB Halifax, SFB Eventide, SFB Strathcona, SFB Arc-Royal, SFB Gibraltar, SFB Victoria
The Royal Airforce operates a number of air wings out of several main based. The Air Force is typically organized into Flights of 3 aircraft, Squadrons of 12 aircraft and Wings of 36. For ease, this list includes army and navy air assets.

AIRCRAFT	ROLE	IN SERVICE	NOTES
SF-22 Spitfire	Air Superiority	187	Raytheon (Seaforth)
SF-5 Dragonbreath	Multirole Fighter	80	EMAC (EM)
SE/F-5 Tempest	Electronic Warfare	30	EW version of SF-5, EMAC/Raytheon (EM/Seaforth)
SGR-10 Dragonbane	Ground Attack	72	EMAC (EM)
SGR-130 Grim Reaper	Ground Attack	24	Raytheon (Seaforth)
SC-130 Hercules	Transport	44	Raytheon (Seaforth)
SC/A-160 Globemaster	Transport	34	Raytheon
SCC-150 Polaris	Tanker	14	Raytheon (Seaforth)
CC-151 Oracle	AEWAC/EW	24	AEWAC/EW version of Polaris
SH-146 Griffon	Utility Helicopter	54
SH-147 Chinook	Transport Helicopter	44
SH-148 Cyclone	Maritime/ASW	80
SH-153 Stallion	Heavy Lift	64
SH-149 Cormorant	SAR/Air Ambulance	24
SC/A-140 Aurora	Maritime Patrol/ASW	24
SE-3 Sentinel	AEWAC/EW	24	EMAC (EM)
SF-187 Black Knight	Stealth Interceptor	80	Ratheon (Seaforth)
SHF-152 Foxtrot	Recon Helicopter	28	Rokkenjima
SHA-34 Saracen	Gunship	40	Dijel
SA-199 Jekar's Chariot	Strategic Bomber	28	EMAC/Raytheon (EM/Seaforth)
SCC-151 Polaris II	Stealth Tanker	24	Raytheon(Seaforth)

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The Kingdom of Seaforth is a country in north eastern Cotf Aranye.  The Kingdom is divided into six provinces. The coastal provinces of Caledonia, Northumbria, Seaforth and Scotia and the interior provinces of Strathcona and Arc-Royal.




Etymology And History
The Kingdom of Seaforth is named after Seaforth Castle, located in the capital city of Eventide in the province of Seaforth. The people of Seaforth are descendants of the people known as the Scoti and refer to themselves a Seaforthians. The Scoti themselves were a sept of Celts originating from Ui Ceinnselaig. These seafaring Celts raided and traded their way north eventually landing in what is now called Seaforth. These Celts continued to raid and pushed east from the shores, driving out the native tribes and permanently settling the area. Little remains of the original tribes, not even their names. The Celts were made up of clans and eventually organized into 6 Kingdoms. The Kingdom of Eventide, The Kingdom of Scotia, The Kingdom of Northumbria, The Kingdom of Caledon, The Kingdom of Arc-Royal and the Kingdom of Strathcona. In the early to mid 1100's, The Knights Hospitaller arrived in the Illumic. Refugee's fleeing their destruction at the end of the Vanoran Crusades. These Knights, led by Jocelyn of Rhodes, settled on the wild and uninhabited Island of Somerset. Just across from Somerset was Halifax Bay and the city of Halifax. From there ruled Ulric, King of Caledon. The King and his son, Prince Owen eventually befriended the knights and together, through war, diplomacy and marriage they united the six Kingdoms into the Kingdom of Seaforth. The former Six Kingdoms are still existing today represented by provinces of Seaforth.

Geography
The coastal mountains dominate the western edge of the kingdom. A solid wall of rock towering above the sea, only 2 natural breaks occur in the mountain chain. The northern break is located in the Bay of Eventide, where the capital city of Eventide is located. The southern break is located in a natural harbor in the province of Caledonia and where the provincial capital of Halifax sits. The area accounts for 25% of the kingdoms landmass.



East of the Coast Mountains are the foothills. Also known as the Ranchlands, these rolling hills stretch out from the Coast Mountains and are home to most of the livestock in the kingdom. These are also the original tribal lands of the Scoti people and account for 50% of the landmass in the kingdom.




At the far eastern end of the kingdom are the plains and farmlands which provide much of the agricultural produce in the kingdom and account for the remaining 25% of the landmass.



The Kingdom of Seaforth contains 8.2 % water which is made up of mountain rivers running to the sea and the foothills where it empties into a series of small lakes. Few rivers flow into the plains and the farmland is maintained by a series of irrigation canals.



The Island of Somerset is the traditional holdings of the Rhodes family, stretching back to the time of Jocelyn of Rhodes. The Seaforth section on the island contains the City of Bethesda and a joint service naval base. The eastern area of the island is leased long-term to Rokkenjima and consists of Urakawa City (Civilian) and Elpidiana a city for military personnel and dependents while the Office for Illumic and Tripartite Affairs sits semi between them. Somerset is an autonomous zone under the sole control and possession of House Rhodes. Somerset remains a part of the Kingdom of Seaforth.

The Rokkenjiman portion would then simply be known as the Rishiri Imperial Overseas Dependency.

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