Having reflected on the request from the nation of Samoslavia and the proposals put forward by King Aldwin the Republic of Holmvik are more than happy to welcome Samoslavia into the SOI fold on condition that they accept the proposal put forward. Should this happen I am delighted to see the project growing and look forward to seeing where else this fledgling programme can go.

Best Regards

President Haugen

President Sigmund Haugen glanced at his various advisers that had travelled with him as the Professor spoke, they all seemed to be nodding along giving him the impression that they were happy with the responses. "Thank you Professor Fritzel. I have to say the scope of the project is impressing me. Unlike their Majesties though I'm an elected official, I'll be expected to return home and stand in front of  our Republican Council and explain what I'm spending $100million on and why they should vote to approve it. Now if you were to address that Council what would be your key points. I also have one small concern, do these cables and nodes have any risk to the environment? For example is there anything on the nodes that could leak? Now assuming all this checks out I'd recommend the project to the Council back home but I would have two non-negotiable conditions. For any party not from our three nations to access the system each nation would have to approve. The second condition is that everything used on the project, down even to the nuts and bolts, must be manufactured in one of our nations. If I'm spending $100million I want to know the cash is at least staying in the neighbourhood."

Sigmund had the easier journey with Weißenwald being just next door. He was rather pleased to have an excuse to try out the nations new diplomatic aircraft and understood now why so many of the royals across Mundus had such an aircraft. As they touched down he grabbed his jacket from the chair next to him, folded his newspaper back into his battered brown briefcase and straightened the reindeer head tie pin he was wearing. He thanked the air crew for the trip and descended the aircraft steps. Sigmund gave the smallest hint of a bow to the Prince and then a firm handshake. "Its great to finally be in our neighbours land. Its been far too long that our governments haven't meet." He nodded a greeting to King Đurađ who was already being whisked away to the Palace.

As they arrived at the Palace Sigmund suddenly felt more nervous. Before his own nations brief civil war he had been a firm monarchist but the last monarch of Holmvik had been a murderer and now as a Republican Sigmund wondered if he was meant to hate all monarchs, just because? He thought that he had to accept the reality of Mundus that many nations retained their monarchs and that if Holmvik where to be a part of the brotherhood of nations he would have to work with some monarchs, each judged by their record and in King Aldwin he didn't know much and so had to give the man the benefit of the doubt. "Your Majesty its an honour to finally meet our neighbours." He accepted the flowers from the Princess and carefully removed one and thread it through his button hole. "Thank you Princess, I shall give these my wife and I'm sure she'll enjoy them. I hope that our two nations can be friends." He was happy to pose for the media before entering and meeting Đurađ. "Your Majesty" he exchanged handshakes. "I too am hopeful of a positive outcome. We've a lot to talk about it seems from King Aldwin's letter."

The biographical film "Dis Two" scooped best International Film at the recent Ostlake Movie Awards in East Moreland. The film, starring Ester Heimisson as national icon Rebekka Axelsen, is the first success at the respected movie awards for Holmvik. The cast of the film attended the awards and had invited Axelsen to attend with them but the reclusive pilot turned down the request. Accepting the award Heimisson thanked Axelsen for her bravery that helped form the nation. "As an actress we can only play the roles that are created for us and hope we fulfil the dreams of our creators. When we play a real life person like Rebekka it becomes even harder as we transform ourselves into them. With Rebekka that is impossible. I can never imagine what it takes to put the good of your people, your nation and your fellow man above your own life. To try and just imagine walking a mile in her shoes frightens me. I truly wish she would have come here today because without her us artists couldn't have made this film. This award belongs to Rebekka and all those who took up the fight so that people like me can be free to follow our own dreams. Rebekka is you are watching thank you."

The film has become the biggest grossing domestic film of all time and won several domestic awards. Ester Heimisson has confirmed that she is now preparing to reprise her role as Axelsen in a TV series about months leading up to the rebellion featured in the film. Her role has been described as "Minor but pivitol"

---

Unnamed sources inside the Ministry of Justice believe that the whereabouts of former leader of Holmvik, King Sven, is close to being revealed. The King, his wife and four children escaped the nation in 2000 and despite several reports from time to time their whereabouts have not been confirmed. The Ministry of Justice is therefore pushing the judicary to quickly examine the historic crimes treaty. Speaking last night a spokesman said "We can not confirm that we know where King Sven is, naturally any information relating to his location that leads to a successful extradition will be rewarded. We however want to be ready for when we do find the former ruler as we want him to face justice for the deaths caused in those days that saw violence erupt across the nation."

Currently a pool of $500,000 is available to reward individuals who have information of the whereabouts of the King, money is paid out should the information provided lead first to a successful discovery of his location and then further payments if and when an extradition takes place. President Sigmund Haugen said "The Historic Crimes Treaty gives us, if approved by the chief justices, a roadmap that would allow us to get Sven returned to Holmvik and face a jury for the crimes against his countrymen. We firmly believe that if put into a court room he would be found guilty and finally justice can be served." 

Nomination for Best Film



Name of Film:- Dis Two
Genre: Historical Drama
Nation: Holmvik
Brief Outline: The story of how the actions of a disenchanted Air Force pilot triggered a civil war that formed the Republic of Holmvik
Link to the trailer


The film starts in the present day. A group of young school children, around 8 years of age, are walking through a museum. Old Norse style artefacts line the corridor they walk through as a teacher reminds them to keep with their partner and to not touch anything. They gather in a large circular gallery and stand around a twisted hunk of grey metal and begin sketching. The only other person in the gallery is a woman, her face not visible but wearing a black hoody pulled up with just a whisp of red hair poking out. The camera goes behind her and shows the children cheerily drawing the twisted metal. From this angle its clear this is a tail fin and a large white number 2 is all that is clearly visible. A young school girl skips over, her sketch pad in her hand. "Excuse me lady" the girl says holding her picture up. "Do you like my picture."

The camera zooms in slowly towards the wreckage and slowly the tail fin morphs into one of a Fighter Jet sat on a runway. A pair of pilots dressed for a sortie make their way towards it, one male and one female. The female has strands of red hair sticking from beneath her pilots helmet. They are casually chatting as they approach. The date "17th July 2000" appears along the bottom of the screen. The pilots strap in, the girl boarding the fighter with a large white "2" on its tail, the other. They take off into a beautiful morning sunrise.

The camera switches to a cityscape. It is Klimpfjäll, the capital of the Kingdom of Holmvik. Two men walk along carrying placards protesting land reforms by the King. They seem nervous and talk about various government attrocities against protestors including the murder of 10 year old Jorunn Kristoffersen just a few days earlier. The group soon find themselves pinned in by security forces and it is clear tension begins to raise. Meanwhile attack helicopters buzz between the city skyscrapers.

The action switches back to the two fighter planes. They fly over the city with radio messages switching back and forth between the ground and the pilots, their told to stay flying over the city. The red haired female pilot is the clear focus of the camera and she begins to look more and more visibly upset by what she's hearing about the people on the ground. News comes in of the soldiers on the ground opening fire on the crowd and the scenes switch between the crowd being gunned down, attack helicopters firing machine guns and back to the pilot all with sombre music playing. Over the radio a message calls for "Dis One and Two" to attack the crowd. Immediatly Dis One confirms and begins to move while Dis Two hesitates. Several times Dis One asks his wing-woman Dis Two to follow him, a tear runs down the female pilots face before a more steely expression takes over. A flick of a switch she guns the trigger of her control column and a burst of gunfire takes out Dis One. For several minutes we watch as the camera switches back and forth between Dis Two attacking the helicopters, dogfighting with two other fighters and the reaction of the crowd on the ground who have begun fighting back against the security forces.

Suddenly the sound stops as we watch a missile eyed view streak from one fighter towards Dis Two. There is an explosion and suddenly alarms. A WHOOSH indicates an ejector seat going off and we watch as Dis Two floats down to the ground. She is rescued by a group of protestors who have now acquired weapons and the group fight their way to safety with the camera lingering Klimpfjäll University signs. Various scenes take place that show us a desperate siege takes place with the zenith being a new flag being raised and a radio speech (featuring the actual words of Sigmund Haugen, the first President of the Republic of  Holmvik) by one of the rebels. On the 10th day the University was captured and 189 members of the rebellion captured and executed by firing squad. A group lead by Dis Two manage to escape and are seen weeping as they watch. This execution see's a large number of serving army officers break ranks with the King and several scenes of battles. The camera pans out of one showing a bullet riddled city and leads to the steps of the Palace where the date 2nd August 2000 is seen. The flame haired pilot and rebel leader from the radio are seen walking up the steps looking battle weary and tattered. The two of them lower the old flag of the Kingdom and raise the new blue and white Reindeer flag of the Republic. In between scenes of celebration King  Sven XII is seen in a low flying helicopter heading towards the ocean.

The camera begins to fade back to the girls sketch. "I love it" the woman in the black hoody with red hair says as she handed the pad back to the young girl. She pushes the hood back from her head revealing she is Dis Two. She smiles at the children who are now handing their pads to their teacher who is praising what they have done. The camera follows Dis Two as she walks along the corridor that the children had entered by. As she walks several people enjoying the museum see her and recognising her turn and watch, a few pointing and whispering. She reaches the entrance to the museum, puts her hood up, tucks all of her red hair into the hoody's folds, turns and takes one last look at the twisted wreckage of her former aircraft, smiles and ventures out into the street the camera watching her as she disappears and blends into the crowd.

As the screen fades to and the words "This film is a tribute to those who died so the Republic could live." A few seconds later 189 names begin to scroll up the screen before finally the screen goes black.

25 x F-18 FjallabbMulti Role Fighters
25 x F-14 Fjallripa Fighter
25 x F-3 Fasan Strike Fighter
26 x C-27 Cettisangare Transport Aircraft
20 x C-17 Crex-Crex Transport Aircraft
3 x E-100 Enkelbeckasin AEWACS Aircraft
4 x K-78 Kornknarr Tanker Aircraft
3 x P-115 Papegojalka Maritime Patrol Aircraft
15 x H-1 Havssula Helicopter
15 x H-332 Havsorn Helicopter
10 x T-E Tomuggla Basic Trainer
10 x T-45 Tornskata Advanced Trainer
10 x U-1 Uvafluge UAV
12 x S-1 Skata Special Flight maintained for ceremonial purposes and historic events. Belong to "Dis" Squadron which numbers aircraft starting at 3.

The President was in two minds about what he had heard. On one side of the balance sheet was the fact that it was clear the Morelanders had offered a lot of support to Holmviks ethnic bretherin the Alanders. On the other hand they had shunned Norse cultural matters and it could be argued co-opted part of Alander territory. Perhaps though it would be expected to give something to get something.

"Its an arrangement that has clearly worked for the Alanders however I suspect that much of it will be irrelevant to our friendship. For example we don't eat whale in the quantities of the Alanders and as such there has not been a whale hunt in Holmvik for about sixty years now. As for the development fund I wouldn't like to think we would be seen as owing our successes to foreign money. What I would like however is the educational partnerships. I'd like to add Holmvik to the Refugee University plan, I think we could be a strong partner on that front. Furthermore I think some kind of trade arrangement rather than the development deal would be good. Is this a route we could follow. "

Rebekka was pleased to see Uppsala was recovering from its misfortunes. When she had agreed to take on the role of a kind of special envoy for the President she had not expected to be meeting someone in secret in a pub back room. Still she took it in her stride and first headed to the bakery and then followed the young doctor to the tavern. Once in the back room with the glass of mead in front of her Rebekkah relaxed a little. "The public are still not something I enjoy, but with time things will be forgotten so until then I'm content to just help out how best I can. For now that means trying to help you. We in Holmvik believe in largely the same faith as you. While you see Odin as the All-Father we believe that Freyja is the true power in the Gods, she after all taught the Aesir the power of seiðr. What worries us is that as we all are Nords the reputation the Alanders have gathered since the disaster here tarnishes all of our culture. We believe our fortunes would change if your nations stance also did. We think the best chance for that to happen is if Ulfsson is replaced, you seem like you might be capable of that so I'm here to see if we can help you. I can offer funding for your campaign depending on the rules your nation has, we can utilise online resources, whatever is within the legallities of your homeland. So what do you need?"   

HAND-DELIVERED


Dear Dr.Robertsson

As you will appreciate as you read this message we would like the contents to be kept between the two of us.

It has been a concern of our Republic that the ultra-strict interpretation of Odinism is in fact an insult to the other Gods. While we share the same pantheon as the Alanders we venerate Freyja above all. As such we believe that our nations could be very compatible as friends and partners however while members of our Republic visiting could blend into your society perhaps more easily than other faiths we would not be fully able to practice our faith. We believe though that you provide the best path for relations between our two countries and and for your own nations future. We would therefore like to see if we can help fund your upcoming political campaign or help in any other way. Should you be willing to meet with me I would appreciate a face to face meeting at a time and place of your choosing.

Best Regards

Rebekka Axelsen
Special Presidential Envoy

To many back in Holmvik there had been the expectation that the first real major overseas move by the Republic would be to a fellow Republic, a nation that had shunned the trappings and baubles of monarchy. That though was a path that on Mundus would probably leave you isolated if you followed a policy of ignoring monarchs. Sigmund Haugen had been pondering who should be his first big diplomatic push and then the Festival of Sail invite hit his desk. In the Herayn soft power study they'd been big hitters, their military was well respected and on a more personal level King David seemed someone that Holmvik could do business with. Sigmun had therefore crossed Mundus to meet the King on his festival day. The opening ceremony had been rather pompous but a grand spectacle. He had enjoyed watching it and then the trip to to Registory Building had given him a chance to see a little of Portworth. Sigmund had travelled with his Foreign Minister,Kine Carlsen. She was one of Holmvik's newer breed of politicans. She hadn't been in the capital of Klimpfjäll in 2000, in fact she was just 12 when the revolution had gone down and had been active in the various student political groups that sprang up with the birth of the Republic. The fact she had a lengthy resume of nations she'd visited in her youth had also helped her get into this lofty position at a relatively young age.

Once in the bar the pair enjoyed the view while they waited. They chatted with Blakeslee and the Archduchess. It was a chance to learn a little about their hosts. Kine was keen to learn about Blakeslee's role "Your King has a huge amount of power and yet you are the highest elected official, does this not annoy you just a little?"

Meanwhile Sigmund was more interested in questioning the Archduchess about her sporting background. "Any ambitions for this years Summer Games?" he asked.

When King David arrived Sigmund was willing of course to be respectful. They were in a way in the mans home and so the pair gave a small almost nodded bow to the monarch as he was introduced and then extended a hand. "We've been well taken care of" Sigmund responded once sat back down. It was the manner in which the discussion began that surprised Sigmund and had taken him totally off guard. The President laughed at first and then pointed to the turret on top of the coat of arms. "The turret replaced the crown after our revolution. It was seen fitting as we had defended ourselves and our freedoms. We however realise that our Republic is not perfect, it is incomplete and as such we must always strive to ensure that we work to complete that brick. I think though it will remain ever empty as we strive for perfection and we don't have any perfect nations on Mundus, as much as some leaders may wish us to think so."

Kine took over, "It is our hope that East Moreland could be one step towards helping replace that brick. We need to start making a network of contacts, we intend to re-establish the Network of Republics but before we do we want to send a message that we are not anti-monarchy. You have a large network of friends and so we would like to think that makes our chances of success here more likely. I assume you would have no issues being friends with someone in the Network of Republics?"

In 2019 six nations formed the Network of Republics, an attempt at bringing together nations in much the same way as monarchies had. The organisation attempted to be a political, economic, cultural and semi-defensive grouping and today the initial six sit at two, one of whom is much different in form to three years ago.

As a Republic that in the grand scheme of Mundus' history is a relative newborn it is my hope that such networks can be utilised to bring about greater support for those on Mundus. As such though I believe the initial failure and the existence of a vast array of regional partnerships and grand alliances have consigned the original Network of Republics to be a thing of the past. It is my hope however that like the phoenix something can raise from the ashes. With this in mind I propose that Republics who have in interest in developing relations come and join me and my government in Klimpfjäll to form an organisation that has a much narrower focus. Should we be successful it is my hope that we can develop a network that will support us all in the fields of education, humanitarian endeavours and culture. I wish this to be not some grand organisation akin to MICA or an alliance like the CNN, it will be simply a bedrock on which moving forward we can each build grand friendships.

I hope my invitiation is not viewed as disrespectful to those who have gone before me and pray you will accept my invitation.

Best Wishes

President Sigmund Haugen
The Republic of Holmvik

Sigmund cursed repeatedly with every pull of the rope. Each piece of strenuous effort brought more frustration just as it also brought more sweat to his forehead. After the tenth, or maybe twentieth, pull on the cord he gave up. "Damn thing is screwed" he dropped the chainsaw to the ground and kicked it. He'd have to head over to his neighbours place and see if he could borrow his. Walking back to the small whitewashed farm house he quickly found the keys to his small pickup and turned the key. With a pop, band and puff of smoke the engine turned over and Sigmund puttered off towards the farm just over a mile away. The bumps and bangs of the rutted track announced his impending arrival to Jonas long before he actually arrived however his kind natured neighbour was not alone. A group of men in military uniform were busying themselves in the farm yard with a large truck. Jonas was being held back by two of them as his wife sobbed from the doorway. Six men were trying to cajole and manhandle a large brown cow into the rear up a ramp but rather stubbornly it was edging backwards down the slope rather than climbing into the truck. "What's going on?" Sigmund enquired as he closed his truck door.

"Royal tribute being collected" A man wearing green and brown patterned camo informed him. "Mr. Faust here is late and so goods are being confiscated." The man returned his gaze to the cow that was now nearly back at ground level and so in a calm manner the apparent officer crossed to the beast, removed his sidearm and fired three bullets into the huge skull of the bovine. The cow slumped to the ground and Jonas let out a pained scream and broke free of the soldiers who had been holding him he managed to swing a punch at the shooter just as the two guarding him tackled him to the cow-blood soaked ground meaning the punch missed. "Hack it up, drag it, I don't care we leave in twenty minutes" The officer shook his head and walked back towards to Sigmund. "And pray who are you?" he enquired. Sigmund knew better than to cause further problems and so introduced himself. The officer flicked open a note book and traced his finger down a list of names before repeating the process. Satisfied that Sigmund was not on his list the soldier snapped the book shut with a clearly practiced motion and then wrapped the black elastic band round it to keep it neatly closed. "Excellent to see some around here are up to date on their payments." and with that the soldiers had attached a winch to the carcass and had now secured it as Jonas was allowed back to his feet.

"Bastards" he cursed. "I only owed $50 and that cow was one of my best. They've took much more." He shook his head in disgust.

---

The next day at the local inn the local farming community had gathered. In the region of Burgde there were 33 farms, 21 of them had been visited by the Army, another four were expecting visits that day. It was getting beyond a joke. All farmers in the Kingdom of Holmvik held their land for perpetuity but on a kind of lease from the crown. Up until 1997 that had been a single kilogram of produce paid each year, a mere token of respect for the crown. It had become a big event too. Each year the mayor would host a garden party at the manor house and the farmers would each come bringing their family along with their kilogram bag. A huge cart was placed on the middle of the lawn and each would place their bag and then enjoy some ales, roasted meats and dancing until the small hours. Under King Sven XII things began to change. In 1997 it was 100kg, then shortly after it was in cash and now that amount had become so high some farmers struggled to find it and that was when the seizures took place. Sigmund was lucky, his farm sat on a geothermal and so not only did he pay next to nothing for heating he had also allowed a small company to tap into it for electricity. It meant his income was keeping him afloat but he had sympathy for his fellow farmers. They talked through their problems and crisis' and determined that the next weekend they'd go to Nyksund and at their summer festival hold a protest and collect a petition. They'd heard the farmers there were struggling too and they would work together to make the King see sense. The problem was he didn't when the two villages farmers came together and began a protest outside the local council office. King Sven XII believed it was unacceptable and so members of the military had tried to disperse the crowd. It hadn't worked and even threats of arrests had failed. Soon the nations media arrived and the sight of hundreds of farmers, their families and neighbours were being beamed into the homes of people across the nation. It was then the screams began. First it was flashbangs whizzing and popping as they exploded in the crowd sending pockets of protestors running for cover. Moments later the "thunk" of rubber bullets firing and then the sickening thud as they hit people replaced the pops. Sigmund would never forget that moment, this most blood curdling noise he had ever heard as a young girl collapsed yards from him. Her mother had been running for cover when one of the bulbous projectiles had smashed into her daughters head. Now the 10 year old Jorunn Kristoffersen's lay motionless except for tiny convulsions as her deformed face spluttered blood. Sigmund was nearly sick and like many stood in shock as a comrade rushed to offer what aid he could. Jorunn became the first to go to Fólkvangr in the name of the Revolution.

Days later numbers had swollen and the capital itself was being marched upon. Farmers, fisherman, foresters and their friends had gathered just outside Klimpfjäll in a large field used for music festivals. Organisers from the Farmers Union had spent the last 48 hours frantically making phone calls and sending e-mail and as Sigmund looked around all he could see was vast swathes of banners, drums and angry people. The target was the Royal Palace, they'd march through the capital bringing it to a halt and then demand the King stop this insanity. All had seemingly gone to plan until they reached the central square of the city. Some historians today estimate close to a million people marched, to Sigmund though it seemed like the whole of Mundus was packed into that square. Time stood still as soldiers used tanks and other armour to block most of the routes out and then that fizz, pop, thunk and thud began and instantly Sigmund froze with fear remembering the face of little Jorunn. Soon she was being joined in Fólkvangr as people fell and others trampled on them as they sought safety from the mayhem. Things got worse moments later as the spinning rotar blades of helicopters began to fill the sky above the city and then a sound that still sends shivers down his spine. The whirl of canon fire. Sigmund ran for a shop door way as the street behind him was torn up by the gunfire. Soon though Sigmund realised the severity of what was happening. He was at the epicentre of a civil war. Three men appeared from the rear of the crowd and knelt calmly with rifles as they took careful aim at soldiers with radios sticking out the top of tanks. With poised practice they squeezed their triggers almost in unison and puffs of red mist emptied the spaces the tank commanders had once occupied. They slung the rifles on their shoulders and hurried to find more cover and soon there were hundreds of farmers with long hunting rifles. While the military might have the superior fire power the farmers had the superior marksmanship and each round fired resulted in an Royalist down. The helicopters were now flying laps providing support for pinned down units of ground troops. Sigmund knew everyone here was likely doomed and so picked up the rifle of a dead farmer and began taking his own pot shots at targets of opportunity. It had seemed like a life time but was in fact closer to ten minutes when he felt the wings of the Valkyries had come for him as he found himself almost face to face with an attack helicopter from the roof of a taxi office. He swore and closed his eyes waiting for the bullets but instead just felt a great heat, was this how it felt to take the journey? Not hearing Freja voice he opened an eye and saw mangled metal falling to the ground and the whoosh of a jet fighter curving through the streets. Soon people realised what they were witnessing, they weren't alone. Above their heads the skies saw a deadly ballet of aerial combat that ended the helicopter fight, each downed aircraft bringing a cheer from the farmers who did their best to push forward. Seemingly saved from the Valkyries for now Sigmund found himself with ten young lads in tow and they began assaulting a barricade manned by men with military rifles. It was an interesting stand off. If one of the farmers showed himself a shower of heavy but largely inaccurate rifle fire came their way, meanwhile the soldier firing it had just exposed himself and with a superior range and accuracy one of the farmers picked him off. Slowly but surely this dangerous game of cat and mouse whittled down the defenders numbers and just as the saviour in the sky was shot down they had cleared it. Sigmund looked up and uttered a prayer for its pilot. They had seemingly saved so many lives and when he saw the bright orange parachute he found himself smiling. "Come on, lets help them." he waved to his farmer boys and the group rushed to find Rebekka Axelsen slowly descending on a street with soldiers at the far end. "Tobias grab them, we'll cover you." Sigmund laughed as the stocky lad grabbed a large metal bin lid and holding it before him like a warrior of old he braved the street as the men behind him kept the soldiers at the far end of the street pinned down. Soon the man was back with a slender red headed girl half tucked under his arm. The group introduced themselves and explained they intended to try and reach the Palace.

"That's insane" Rebekka informed them. From the air she'd seen more and more armour mobilising and knew their best chance was to keep moving. "I got a message out about what is happening. I hoped we'd get someone outside the capital come." It was as good a plan as anyone had and so Sigmund relinquished his command to their sky saviour. For a tiring 12 hours they marauder the streets picking off soldiers were they could, stealing equipment and trying to avoid the armour. Soon it became clear though they were on borrowed time and so their officer friend took them to the University. It sat on an island and being a former fort its walls gave cover. For a moment it looked like the cadet force there would be an obstacle but with their officer murdered by his own cadets and their small armoury open it saw their numbers swell to over 300. For the next few days across the city they still heard gunfire and battles raged around their own perimeter. They endured shelling, mortar fire and snipers but still they held. Each morning at 7am and again twelve hours later Sigmund used the Universities radio station to try and broadcast to the nation, the wonders of the internet had certainly helped even after the radio mast had been blown up. "People of Holmvik. Our King has shown exactly what kind of man he is. He is happy to leave his people penniless with no chance to support their families. We, the farmers of Holmvik keep you fed, we are proud of our work and we are proud that you enjoy the fruits, quiet literally, of our labour. To put food on your tables is a great privlege and you have been denied that. Hundreds of farmers, fisherman, foresters, our families, our children and many good friends are now dead and more of us will die in the coming days. We shall march into Fólkvangr knowing we have fought for freedom and for you. When your time comes will you be marching beside us or when the Valkyries pass over Holmvik will they leave you as you coward in your homes. If we, the people of Holmvik stick together we can not lose. Come to the capital, bring your rifle, bring your courage and bring us victory."

Soon though the walls fell and 189 of the garrison were slaughtered. If Rebekka had given them hope it was this disaster that turned the tide. Fighting armed farmers who were crack marksman was one thing, lining up the wounded and those who had surrendered and blasting them in the back of the head was not honourable and so before Sigmunds eyes he witnessed those who had only moments earlier been firing into the University turn on their commanders, sergeants fought corporals, platoons picked sides and the military was broken.  It took only a few days now and on the morning of the 2nd August 2000 word came. King Sven and his family had fled, no one knew where too but across the country his loyalists laid down their arms. Sigmund knew the next moments were crucial. Rebekka had become a talisman to the cause of freedom and he woke her from her makeshift bed in the basement of a department store. Freedom Fighters filled the streets cheering and hugging each other. It seemed from every crater or makeshift trench a beaming farmer appeared, his trusty rifle in hand. "To the Palace" Sigmund declared. In his mind a race was on, he assumed who controlled the Palace and could get the people behind them would run the country and so he hoisted Rebekka on his shoulders. A few miles of rushing through the streets, pushing through crowds and singing songs they reached the Palace. Crowds had already gathered but the sight of Rebekka being carried saw the crowd split and as such Sigmund and his crew were inside and it was here the future of the nation was determined. Senior military officers who had fought against their King, a handful of politicians and now Sigmund of the Farmers Union talked long into the night and by the following daybreak a timetable for a new nation was in place. Rebekka would serve as the interim leader until elections. At least that had been the plan but as morning broke the room she had been given to sleep was empty, the window was open and the curtains billowed out into a crisp morning. As such Sigmund, an army officer called Bjorn Bjornsson and a member of the influential Green Party had been formed into a kind of three headed council.

The next months were very different to what had gone before. Sigmund had worked hard within his local councils, Farmers Union and the like but never imagined running a nation. He enjoyed it though and apart from the occasional thought of how his sheep were he busied himself with thoughts of constitutions, councils and elections and on the 6th November 2000 he found himself elected President. He had thirsted for the role once he had accepted the fact that his son would now be the head of the farm and he had half expected the missing Rebekka to resurface and run against him. She had all but disappeared. Rumour had it she was a student up at the university, she'd even apparently changed her name from Rebekkah to Viktoria and dyed her hair. One of his first duties as President was to honour her with a medal but she never collected it. He named a street after her and again nothing. She became a folkstory, the first ace of Holmvik since the Great War era, twenty helicopters shot down some said, while others said she wasn't even real and that she had been a Valkyrie who having seen the bravery of those fighting for freedom had stepped in. Sigmund however was content to let her live out a life in secret. He assigned a member of the intelligence services to keep tabs on her fearful that one day a Royalist sympathiser might seek revenge but those things never came. Sigmund spent his days for the next ten years forming a nation that he hoped people saw as fair, free and proud.

In 2010 his two terms were up and with a proud smile he handed the keys to his office over to his fellow Farmers Union friend, Preben. He too had been at the University a decade earlier and Sigmund sat back as an ambassador to the Union of Nordic People. He had been tempted to return for a crack at a third term but his wife had persuaded him not to. The Union of Nordic People was gone now, they'd thankfully been back in Holmvik when the Uppsala Disaster took place but now as Nya Aland shaped itself Sigmund began to fall out of love with the place. So when in 2021 his friend Ingebjørg saw her three year old son die he felt a call to return to the Presidency. As she resigned to mourn he stepped up and won by a landslide. It was then he realised the time was at hand. The Farmers Union had become the political powerhouse of the nation based on the blood of its members two decades earlier. The time though was to leave the past behind and create new memories. He made some decisions and the first was to sit and write a letter.

That letter lead to that meeting in July 2022. He had felt as nervous as he had that day he first meet his beloved wife Inga. He had heard from the Secret Service she was there and his motorcade and its escort arrived to find a crowd of the media already outside. Without acknowledging the press Sigmund made his way up the steps of the National Museum. There in the central hall sat the mangled wreckage of a fighter jet surrounded by a thick rope and messages not to touch. He could see the woman standing with her hand hovering as if caught between the morals of following the messages or touching the gunmetal grey craft. He watched for a moment thinking how much she had changed in these twenty years. Back at the university fortress she had seemed so confident, he knew it was a façade put on for their benefit but now she seemed meek. "Its yours do what you like" He finally broke the silence. He stood and watched as she gently ran a hand first over her name and then the rest of the plane. Sigmund saw the disapproving looks of one of the museum workers as he personally moved the rope. He stood next to her as she seemed to run her eyes over every inch of the aircraft that had brought a whole nation to this point. He heard her mutter a prayer to the Gods thanking the plane and then for the first time she spoke to him.

"I'm ready. I want my life back and I'm taking it. Sign me up." Sigmund felt a sense of relief that Rebekka had said those words. She would quickly fire orders at the Farmers 20 years earlier with the confidence of youth. They had found it amusing and each would give a sloppy salute and mutter "Yes Ma'am" before doing their newly appointed duty and with a smile Sigmund stepped back and with his right arm gave a very unmilitary salute. She was to be his envoy, she was to be once more lead the nation somewhere they hadn't been before. In the year 2000 it had been towards life as a republic, and now it would be towards Holmvik becoming a global player. Her name carried weight back home and people trusted her, if she came back from somewhere with a recommendation Sigmund was confident the fiercely loyal people would follow their hero. It was time to start aiming for a forth term.

Late last night the Citizens Assembly voted 46-3 for the Republic to sign the Historic Crimes Treaty recently authored in East Moreland. Just 48 hours earlier the Republican Council had agreed to approve the Treaty with a huge majority of 176-8. While it was expected that President Sigmund Haugen would sign the document early this morning that was not the case and instead the President opted to have the document reviewed by a judge. Mr.Haugen explained his rather surprising decision as he made his way to a meeting with the Cabinet and informed this publication that, "the basis of this treaty is one I think everyone on Mundus can agree with. I am though not entirely satisfied in my own mind that the Republic can comply with all parts of the Treaty and therefore it would be wrong for me to allow it to proceed. I have therefore put it into the hands of the judicary. The process now is that should the judge tell me the Treaty is compatible with our nations laws and procedures then I shall gladly sign it. Should that not be the case then I would ask the Republican Council to take steps to ensure we could at least support the Treaties aims."

Many members of the public have called for the President to sign the Treaty with one supporter saying, "In the year 2000 murderous officers of our own military turned on us and slaughtered people across the country. They need to be hanged but many are hiding across the globe." Others have stated that the Treaty could be used to bring former SKing Sven XII to justice. The exact whereabouts of the abdicated King are unknown as he escaped the nation with an estimated fortune of $50million. One citizen we interviewed said, "A time will come when Sven will be found and then I want to watch him get hung on the Councilhouse steps." Public execution has been banned in Holmvik since 1867 and the death penalty, while still on the law books, has not been utilised since the trial of two former Army officers in 2003, both were involved in the murder of sixteen prisoners in the July 2000 Revolution.

President Haugen has also announced that regardless of the outcome of the judicial review he will be creating a task force to help investigate the whereabouts of those who utilised the Revolution as a way of committing horrific crimes.

Following the revolution of the year 2000 a new constitution was put in place that made the nation a Republic with a President as Head of State. The Constitution put in place a system that still exists today. There are three layers of approval a piece of legislation needs to become law.

1. Pass through the 200 seat Republican Council.
2. Pass through the 50 seat Citizens Assembly.
3. Be signed by the President.

To understand Holmvikian politics then we need to examine the three steps.

1. The Republican Council

The Republican Council must hold elections at least every four years. When elections are held two ballots take place, the Regional and the Proportional. The nation is split into 50 areas each of which elect a Thane who is held responsible for directly representing the concerns of people from that region, this is known as the Regional ballot. On the same day the Proportional Ballot takes place which see's people vote for a party rather than a person. The 150 seats are split according to the outcome of the vote. Prior to the election each party must submit a list of no more than 200 names (in order of preference) which will fulfil the seats of the Proportional Ballot. It is possible to stand in the Regional and Proportional Ballot. For example a candidate may finish 2nd in their Regional Ballot and thus not win a seat but may be ranked 5tth on their party list and should their party gain enough votes to earn five seats could then be a Proportional Representative.

Once a Council has been formed the party with the highest number of seats nominates a member to be the First Minister. It is the First Minister who is responsible for determining what legislation is put before the Council to be debated and voted on.

2. The Citizens Assembly

Every six months a panel of 50 randomly selected citizens over the age of 18 are gathered. Exemptions are possible if studying at University, serving in the military or with a medical exemption. They meet once a piece of legislation has passed the Republican Council. They have three options. First they may deny the legislation meaning it can not proceed at all. Second they may amend the legislation at which point it returns to the Council who may either accept the amendments or the legislation must be withdrawn. They also grant approval or reject foreign agreements

3. The President

The President is elected every five years however elections can take place if they die, resign etc before that time. The President is the person responsible for conducting foreign diplomacy however any agreements he make must be approved by the Assembly. The President needs to sign any law into existence however once a piece of legislation arrives from the Citizens Assembly he has three options. Their first option is to approve it and in this case it becomes law 7 days later unless a date is given in the document. The second option is ask for a judge to review it and determine if it is constitutional if it is then he must sign it. The final option is a public referendum. Dates are reserved every six months for potential referendums. The President can be in power for two consecutive terms but may seek reelection following a term out of office.

List of Presidents

2000-2005 - Sigmund Haugen (1st Term)
2005-2010 - Sigmund Haugen (2nd Term)
2010-2015 - Preben Landvik (1st Term)
2015-2020 - Preben Landvik (2nd Term)
2020-2021 - Ingebjørg Pedersen (1st Term) - Resigned following death of 3 year old son.
2021-now - Sigmund Haugen (3rd Term)

The year 2000 marked a landmark for many across the world as Mundial entered the new millennium. The year though saw perhaps more importance in the nation of Holmvik. In early February King Sven XII introduced a series of land reforms which would have taken a lot of the land from farmers into royal ownership. As a result farmers began protesting across the nation. With these largely isolated protests easily being put down by the military it was likely nothing much was going to happen until in June 2000 at a small protest in Nyksund ten year old Jorunn Kristoffersen was killed by soldiers from the Royal Household Guard with a rubber bullet. In the weeks that followed farmers carried out various other protests and found more and more people come out. On the 17th July 2000 in the city of Klimpfjäll a crowd of around a million gathered to march for reform. They were instead meet with military roadblocks and were effectively kettled by heavy armour from the Royal Household Guard. Three days later on the 20th the Household Guard began firing shock grenades and tear gas into the crowd and commenced firing rubber bullets resulting in 18 deaths. Among the farmers were many firearms and by the evening of the 20th a battle had begun in the city. This soon became a full scale national uprising when members of the 3rd Attack Wing of the Air Force were ordered to take attack helicopters into the city to support Royalists. In the midst of this four of the Wings attack helicopters were destroyed when young Air Force Officer Conscript Rebekka Axelsen deserted while on patrol in a fighter jet and engaged the helicopters and some of her own squadron before being shot down. Having safely ejected she evaded capture by Royalists and joined the farmers. Where she helped organise the defence of the Klimpfjäll University campus. On the 22nd July forces there raised a new flag and declared the nation a Republic. For 10 days the defenders help the University until it was captured and many of its defenders executed. The desertion of Axelsen had also inspired several other military officers to follow her example and what was effectively a brief civil war began between military factions. On the 2nd August 2000 King Sven XII fled the nation having abdicated the crown when his son Alexander was captured by Republican forces and his Household Guard fled.

The nation held its constitutional conference utilising a randomly selected people's assembly on the 18th August 2000 and by the end of the month had in place a new constitution making the nation a Presidential Republic.

On 1st October 2000 the nation elected its first President, Farmers Union President Sigmund Haugen.

On the 2nd February 2001 the nation held its first elections for the Republican Council with the Agricultural Union Alliance taking the largest share of the vote.

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Population - 28,756,093
Capital City - Klimpfjäll (population 1,2million)
Official Languages - Whatever Norweigain is however several languages are spoken in day to day life.
Official Religion - None but the majority (70%) of the nation follow a form of paganism. The remaining 30% follow mainly Christian faiths.
Official Currency - The Holmbik Krona (HK) Assume 1HK = $1
GDP Per Capita - $28,981
Primary Industries - The 3F's Farming, Fishing, Forests.