Kaiserplaza was a place in the centre of Altona's large sprawling city the old 18th Century buildings that had been rebuilt in the old medieval heart had replaced a tightly packed twisting maze of streets with a wide open grey stone paved square. On two sides it was flanked by buildings each grand and imposing. The one to the North was a squat square building with statues of warriors in chariots above the entrance. This was the Chamber of Swords, it was the building that was used when the nation needed tod discuss matters of the military and war. To the west was a domed building, its roof topped with a golden spike. This one was the Royal Chamber where the nations usual business was carried out. With the Lakhzovians having been given a police escort into the heart of Altona the run had been speedy and efficent, perhaps an advantage of the vast empty spaces beyond the city was having airports built relatively close to the edge of the city allowing greenspaces such as parks to act as a buffer between the aircraft and the population, it did make things rather speedy reaching the centre though.

As the car stopped a phalanx of black jacketed soldiers filed down the steps of the Royal Chamber, each carried a polished wood stock rifle appearing to be a good 80 years old at least. The tip of each had a silver bayonet attached and the large group of soldiers filed out the Chamber in pairs and marched towards the Chamber of Swords making a kind of human barrier across the bottom of its steps. Local Police ensured the crowds of people stayed back, until a few moments ago many had been enjoying a pleasant morning of people watching and pigeon feeding in the square but now stopped to watch a little pomp and ceremony. The soldiers formed now a kind of corridor down the steps of the Chamber and to where the car had stopped, one arm of this corridor joined up with those blocking the entrance to the Chamber of Swords.

This was the first time Rutger had hosted a foreign guest in the city itself and not on one of the small estates his family owned in the woodland that enveloped the vast majority of Altona. There had been some informality in that meeting but now Rutger knew he would be expected to look regal. As Nal and Erdan finally stepped out the car Rutger appeared to make his own way down the steps between the soldiers who saluted as he passed in a kind of smart military Mexican wave. At the bottom of the steps Rutger approached his guests. He was unsure which held senorirty and so with the economic related ministers holding higher rank in Altona he extended a hand to Nal Parnassa first and then quickly to Erdan Araval. "Welcome to Altona." Rutger said nervously. "I hope you forgive the large military assembly, they do love a good parade." A large crowd was gathered taking photos of the scene between the heads of the police who ensured a safe gap between VIP's and public. "Naturally we'll be meeting in the Royal Chamber here, we only use that building for times of war or miltary matters and traditionally the soldiers at the bottom of the steps send a message that we do not wish that to be used between us." It was until the early 1900's a case that a permanent guard prevented anyone from using the steps unless it was for those purposes however today the Chamber of Swords also housed a small museum and conducted educational tours for tourists and so the guard had gone.

Rutger lead them up to the Royal Chamber which as they entered was more a hive of activity as various Altonan government ministers were still going about the portfolios business. Their staff made way for the King and bowed respectfully as he passed towards a large red door which was flanked by two black jacketed soldiers who seeing him approach pushed it open. Inside was a room more like a library, on three sides of the room books filled shelves from floor to high roof. A large round coffee table dominated the centre of the room and armchairs surrounded it. The final wall was home to a huge window looking out into a courtyard where a small pond and fountain sat with benches around it. In summer it was a glorious place to sit and chat with others but today the autumn chills were beginning to set in. "Please be seated." Rutger gestured and waited for the men to take a seat before he himself did. As though perfectly timed the door they had entered through was opened once more and a middle aged portly man in a red waistcoat, white shirt and white powdered wig appeared. His back ramrod straight he held a silver tray before him and neatly approached the table deftly placing the tray down. Without interupting the King further he proceeded to arrange three delicate white cups and sauces before the men and then poured a steaming black liquid into each. He placed a cup and saucer of the black tea before each person present and then left in the centre of the table an ornate cream jug, a pot with perfectly square lumps of sugar and a saucer with silver tongues on and slices of lemon. He placed the tray under his left arm, bowed to the King and left. The King broke the small talk just long enough to say "Thank you Conrad" and the man left, pulling the doors closed behind him.

"Conrad is the Chief Steward, while he has many people working for him to make sure things here run smoothly he can't resist the old traditions and formalities." Rutger placed a slice of lemon into his tea and stirred with a silver spoon before placing the spoon carefully on the saucer allowing his tea to cool. " Now if I may begin by saying I'm rather looking forward to us working together. Our nation has often relied on our financial services, tourism and militaristic ways[1] to make things tick for us. I want that to change. We've developed a successful nuclear energy programme and our recent arrangements with Lijiang are seeing us use that as a kind of export. I want to further develop our wilderness, much to the annoyance of my sister and some environmentalists, but we have a growing population and this city can only get so big. I want us to utilise that space and so we'll be developing rather significant projects moving forward. I see a more connected infrastructure with yourselves, Eskdale and potentially Seaforth eventually as a key part of that. No point making things if we can't get them places. I also want us to be useful. I get the impression you're a nation that will outstrip its current energy production. We're a nation likely to outstrip our current energy use. It therefore seems ideal we team up, we get the potential to improve our economy selling you power or helping you overcome your problem if I've understood things correctly. You then get the reliable power you need to ensure your economy grows and people can run their factories and the like. I think it could be a certain win win if we get things right here. So I suppose my first question is have I interpreted the situation correctly, sadly I'm stuck with things from the media and we both are probably only too aware how wrong they can be so its better to hear it from the horses mouth so to speak." Having finished talking the King picked up his tea gave it a precautionary blow and then took a delicate sip, he determined the lemon needed more time to permeate its flavour and so drank no more while he listened to his guests.

1.	I've hinted at Altona having a significant number of PMC's and "Security" providers based here.

Rutger had to admit that Tielin had clearly grasped the bull by the horns and already made incredible progress in his attempt to bring nuclear energy to his nation. It was clear that regardless of what Rutger had to say on the matter Tielin would find someone else, be it a nation like Fleur or someone else. Altona was a nation that had committed to keeping nuclear weapons out of its arsenal very early on in their history for two reasons. The first was the belief that their power served no moral purpose in warfare, the second that for a nation of their size they were not practical anyway. While Tielin's move towards the MAEA suggested he too had no desire for nuclear weapons perhaps by being the ones to support Lijiang the Altonans could ensure a path of peace for their development. The arrangement could also be a nice money spinner for the nation.

"The idea your following can't happen overnight" Rutger stated the obvious. "It takes a good deal of time to learn the ins and outs of running a nuclear power station. I think we can make your first station operational but to keep it so would require continued input from someone, and we'd be the best placed, for a while. I'm going to make an opening suggestion. We construct a power station capable of powering some 700,000 homes. That would be around 1,100 MegaWatts. To build such a station costs around $7.5billion. A fair outlay. What I suggest is that we pay the initial outlay on the condition that Altonan Electrical Syndicate (AES), our nations biggest energy provider and operator of our nuclear power station are permitted to operate it for an initial 10 years. During that time they will be able to collect revenue in the same way your own domestic energy providers will do, if you have private businesses in that field. They will not be taxed on that income. At the end of 10 years they give up 20% of the ownership and a further 20% a year until the plant is completly in Lijiang's hands. Alongside this financial arrangement we wuld have AES train your staff so that each year the number of Altonans working there would be reduced until after eight years its 85% staffed by your countryman. I think this arrangement would fulfil your requirements."

Rutger had gathered the family for today's visit. It was after all the first by a visiting nation since his coronation and it would likely be one of the most controversial, or lucrative of his reign. With the international community seemingly wanting to make anyone not conforming to their MAEA an outsider Altona could find itself on the outside looking in if handled badly. Stood next to Rutger was his wife, the newly coronated Queen Heidi who was doing her best to stop 12 year old Prince Karl from annoying his nine year old sister Princess Matilda. As the Dragon-Emperor arrived Matilda was slightly disappointed in how un-dragon like he looked.

Rutger stepped forward and greeted Tielin with a handshake as he introduced his family. "Welcome to our Kingdom." The group began the journey to the Southern Palace. It had been Rutger's residence before assuming the throne but as the main royal residence was still being altered for the new family it would do. Rutger would miss its isolation but this would be a good chance to say goodbye to it.

Upon arrival Helena wished Tielin luck for the talks and took the children away. The room overlooking the lake was prepared for the meeting, strong black coffee, some biscuits and two fresh leather bound notebooks. "Please take a seat." Rtger waited for the Dragon-Emperor to sit. "When we heard of your issues with MAEA we thought perhaps you would give up on nuclear energy, when you have sought to still pursue peaceful use of this technology and had picked us as a potential partner I was rather excited. We are a nation that we hope will soon be powered almost exclusively by the atom and if we can help others we will as well as we can. I therefore look forward to hearing what you would like from us. "

The Altona's new monarch knew that the outcome of this meeting would be a really important one for his nation and therefore his people. Rutger was under pressure to come back having achieved something. What he was going to achieve though was somewhat unknown, security for Altona? Some kind of concession in return for support? Closer ties to his neighbours perhaps? Anything the media could be spun would be useful. He had brought with him the Junior Minister of Defence, Eduard Schnoor, a man that his brother Lukas has recommended for a role in the government and Rutger was almost giving a test drive to.

The duo arrived and crossed to the designated building. It seemed less regal than perhaps Rutger had anticipated. He had examined lots about East Moreland and admired the splendour of Northfort Palace or even Rockhampton Castle but this seemed a little, well minuscule. That changed once the full scene was taken in below ground. He wasn't sure Altona possessed such a complex but perhaps he'd change that upon his return. The only person he recognised was King David so he started by greeting him and then settled after introducing himself to everyone at one of the few remaining seats.

Tillo Hertz recognised that it was unlikely that he would get to see this coronation and that annoyed him. He took a breath and then recognised that such a decision on the future of the two royal guests would be above his pay-grade but at the same time he was certain they had no motive other than self preservation of their romance. "For now Your Highnesses we shall request that you stay within the walls of this castle. You will be granted rooms and if you require anything I am sure the staff here can accommodate you." He bid them farewell for now and headed off to make a few phone calls about the situation. In truth however it was likely nothing would be able to be done until after the coronation.

OOC- I suggest we perhaps make a new thread for this part of the RP.

---

Back at Jundt Schloss everyone was in position for the ceremony to begin. The sound of horses hooves on the roadway outside indicated the arrival of three carriages. Before their passengers could disembark a group of men wearing all black military tunics appeared on the walls of the castle and blew a fanfare hearalding the arrival of a trio of soldiers. The Red and Black Tower flag of Altona was carried centrally between two escorts armed with large axes, this flag with the port-coulis open was the current flag of Altona showing the nation at peace. A few steps behind them a 2nd trio entered, this time the port-coulis shown as closed, the nations flag of war. Further trios entered, first the King's Heavy Cavalry, then the Army, Navy and finally Flying Corps, bringing up the rear was the flag of the Sülldorf family. The flag were arranged with the current flag of peace behind the stone throne. Three flags stood either side. A further fanfare played, this one different to the first and a lady wearing a long flowing white dress walked in. Princess Constance was accompanied by her husband Duke Klaus who was carrying their two year old son Sigmund. Constance elegantly swept her dress across the wooden stool she gracefully lowered herself and waited as her husband and child made their way to seats further behind. Once in position Prince Lukas made his entrance hand in hand with his wife Kamille, his two elder sons and two young daughters followed them. Lukas was wearing his military uniform, his two sons in Army Cadet uniform while the girls and his wife wore white dresses similar to that of Princess Constance.

The final fanfare sounded and wearing a plain black suit but wrapped in a luxuiorusly furred red cloak the soon to be King entered. Rutger nodded respectfully to several of his friends in the crowd. The soon to be Queen Heidi entered just after him along with 12 year old Karl in a cadet uniform gripped her right hand and white dressed Matilda who was nine year old held her left. Rutger sat upon the centre throne and quickly and symbolically linked hands with his siblings in a gesture to show there was no hard feeling about the result.

The final person arriving did not come through the main gate but instead appeared from a tower of the castle. It was an old man with long grey hair covered by a black robed hood. He was a Wildhüter, a "game keeper" a priest of the faith of Sigyn. He carried a knife on his hip and a quiver of arrows on his back. The role of  "Game-keeper" was to help guide the souls of the faithful to good and honourable deeds ensuring that they had enough power in the after life to avoid the hunt that would destroy their soul. He stood before the throne and addressed the crowd.

"Today we are assured that King Gottschalk has escaped the pursuit of Her Holiness Sigyn. His soul was strong and full of good deeds and no doubt now having proved his worth he rides beside the Goddess in glorious beauty. He left us not long ago with a choice of who was the guide Sigyn's folk in the temporal world and we have made the decision to recognise Prince Rutger as our new monarch. Before we crown him we must however honour his siblings." Two other "game keepers" arrived each carrying a crown of iron. The man taking the ceremony took the first.

"Princess Constance. Do you recognise as your Lord and Sovereign your brother Rutger. Do you give him your loyalty as you should a King. Will you serve him and Altona however best you can." He held the crown forward. The Princess stood and bowed to her brother before saying loudly that she agreed to all those things. The "Game-keeper" handed a crown over which the Princess placed upon her head. The oath was repeated for Lukas who gave a salute rather than a bow.

Rutger seemed pleased and now it was his turn, a new crown appeared this one identical to the iron ones but in gold. "Rutger, your bloodline made you a candidate for the throne but your people have placed their trust in you. They have given you the rights and responsibilities of the King of Altona from now until you go to meet Sigyn. All your actions will govern whether your soul will have the power to evade her hunt and earn the right to ride alongside her or be destroyed for eternity. Your actions as King will weigh heavy in that determination. Do you accept these rights and responsibilities?"

Rutger stood. "I swear that I shall do my best to guide Altona forward and ensure all my subjects are able to save their souls. I humbly accept the responsibility of Kingship." The "Game Keeper" placed the crown on Rutger's head and then knelt before him. Rutger placed a hand on the mans head for a moment or two before helping him up and the two embraced. A hunting horn was blown from the castle's highest tower, a message to the Goddess indicating that Altona had a new King. The siblings all embraced and joined by their families posed for photographs before making their way to mingle with the crowd.

Prince Lukas made his way over to Secretary Burkhardt Kvalheim from Jugland. "I am grateful you've come." The Prince was still wearing the iron crown but had his military peaked cap tucked under his arm. "You must forgive me however, I believe you're the only non-monarchy here, may I ask why a Republic would be interested to attend our coronation.....not that I'm complaining."

Princess Constance headed towards the Cassiopeian delegation with Sigmund in tow. "Your Majesty" she bowed and had to catch her crown before it fell from her head, she was not yet used to the weight. "We're delighted you attended. I tried to persuade my father to allow me to attend your own coronation but sadly he didn't permit it. Such a shame. Perhaps we can discuss ensuring our nations can begin on better terms than we have." Meanwhile Sigmund was reaching a hand towards Lady Filippa's dog. "No Sigmund" Constance pulled him away and he looked like he was about to cry. "We have dogs at home and he plays with them all the time. I don't think he understands yours will be a working dog no?"

Rutger and his wife split up, Rutger approached the large Achkaerin delegation. "Thank you for coming" he extended a hand to the Emperor. "I understand you ride a bit?" he enquired, "Do you perhaps hunt?"

Queen Heidi was left to "Your Majesty" she was about to bow then realised that she was of equal status now to the Morelander. "Its a pleasure to meet you. May I pass on my congratulations to you and Queen Stasya on your impending arrival. You must be thrilled to have a second child arriving."

Altona was what some would consider nothing more than a sprawling city. It had been several small settlements that had grown out from their rather nicely preserved historic centres and become one. Surrounding that was a seeming green sea of forest and plains. While the country did have a nice international airport it was small. Altona enjoyed a reputation as a vibrant place for upmarket holiday makers, business trips and various other enterprises that required only small numbers of flights a day. Today though they were expecting several international VIP flights and so rather than fly them into the Edvin Junger International airport, named for a respected Altonan physicist, the VIP's were headed to the Royal Altonan Flying Corps HQ at an airfield about 10km further inland. As each visiting plane entered Altonan airspace a pair of F-14's appeared alongside, their tailfins specially decorated for today with the Sülldorf family crest. The pilots pulled up parralel with the arrivals cockpit and gave them a friendly wave before one pulled ahead showing the way into the airfield.

As the aircraft landed the F-14's peeled away ready to take up a position for the next if required or to head off and fly a patrol as part of the security of the day. Once on the ground the guests were treated to a choir made up of children doing their best singing their national anthem while the current Witan's oldest member, a 72 year old gentleman called Franz Schroder, usually a grand-father who spent his time making rocking horses in a shed, greeted the guests according to their rank and status. Having passed them off to the military they were whisked away in a fine air conditioned SUV to the venue of Jundt Schloss

The castle was the official seat of the Royal Family and a home had been here since the 14th Century. It had witnessed every coronation in the nations history and while the design and construction had changed the central courtyard was built around a stone throne where today's ceremony would be focused around. The guests would be sat along the left of the throne and various Dukes, Ministers, minor royals and a lottery selected group of commoners were filling the other three sides. A clearly flustered General Bertram dressed in his green and red dress uniform including cape. He greeted each guest, thanked them for coming and placed them in their seat. "The ceremony will begin in around ten minutes, following the formal section I know the new King would like to spend a little time meeting you before the formal celebration. In the meantime any questions, any requests please let us know."

3 x Type 108 Submarine

1. Béatrix Beck
2. Maja Beutler
3. Teresina Bontempi

3 x Type 107 Submarine

1. Erika Burkart
2. Martha Burkhardt
3. Dominique Caillat

5 x Type 208 Frigate

1. Corinne Chaponnière
2. Anne Cuneo
3. Suzanne Curchod
4. Laurence Deonna
5. Isabelle Eberhardt

6 x Type 302 Corvette

1. Marianne Ehrmann
2. Ruth Erat
3. Marie-Louise von Franz
4. Valérie de Gasparin
5. Marthe Gosteli
6. Emilie Gourd

2 x Type 400 Amphibious Ship

1. Anne-Lise Grobéty
2. Anita Hansemann

3 x Type 507 Mine Vessel

1. Eveline Hasler
2. Jeanne Hersch
3. Mirjam Indermaur

4 x Type 609 Missile Patrol Ship

1. Fleur Jaeggy
2. Zoë Jenny
3. Hanna Johansen
4. Isabelle Kaiser

6 x Type 701 Unmanned Patrol Ships (Type do not hold names)
3 x Type 702 Unmanned Patrol Ships (Types do not hold names)


Names of ship classes followed a rule since 1950. The class is determined by the type of ship and it's chronological order of introduction. For example all submarines begin with 1, the first submarine class brought in since 1950 was therefore 101. When a new type of ship is introduced that will feature the starting number of 8, for example should Altona acquire an Aircraft Carrier it would be Type 801.

Individual ships are named after significant female scholars from Altonan Universities. The next ship to enter service, regardless of class will be Agota Kristof

Altona specialism

Equestrian
Rowing

(due to size only having two)

Voting has now closed for the position of monarch of Altona. The voting was between the three children of the recently deceased King Gottschalk and as tradition dictates only those who have served in the military under voluntary terms were permitted to vote. With the final results collected and verified by the Witan it was announced by General Bertram, the commanding officer of the monarchs bodyguard, the King's Heavy Cavalry, that the youngest son and middle child of King Gottschalk was the winner. General Bertram officially announced the results from the steps of the Witan's building in Kaiserplatz.

Prince Rutger earned just over 40% of the vote and will be coronated next weekend. During the same ceremony his wife will be crowned Queen. Additionally his siblings Prince Lukas and Princess Constance will be expected to swear public oaths of loyalty to their brother in his new position as King. The 38 year old was very vocal in his televised interviews with the Witan in pushing for the Kingdom to take a larger part in regional politics and promoting closer ties with neighbours in the region. It is yet unknown whether the new King will immediately begin processes to join the various organisations he discussed such as MICA and the Council of Illumic Nations.

Traditionally any siblings who have been defeated in an election are assigned positions within the new monarchs administration. As of yet only Prince Lukas has spoken to the press about his future. Speaking from his home in The Hunting Palace Prince Lukas has stated. "I am naturally saddened that I have not been elected King. I believed I was a strong choice but I also believe my brother and sister could be equally as strong. I have spoken with my brother to pass on my congratulations and best wishes. During our conversation I have stated that I wished to retain my position as a commissioned officer within the Parachute Regiment. I am grateful that he has granted my request with a slight provision that I undertake a few special duties on his behalf. These will be confirmed in the coming days as my new King see's fit. Regardless of who you voted for or wished to win it is now vital we show support to the newly elected King as he leads us towards the future. Long Live King Rutger."

The funeral of King Gottschalk went ahead on Friday and went as smoothly as could be expected. The King died on the 1st June 2021 after battling liver disease for several months. The funeral procession left Kaiserplaza and made its way through several districts of the city before reaching the Temple of Sigyn. There the King's body was placed on a ceremonial pyre by members of the King's Heavy Cavalry. Prayers were said by the Wildhüter as members of the family placed items on the pyre to accompany the King. King Gottschalk's widow, Queen Agatha, placed leather saddlebags on the fire while his two sons placed a bow and a spear, Princess Constance placed a saddle on the fire. It is believed by the faithful that for the next seven days the spirit of King Gottschalk will be hunted by the Goddess Sigyn, should the King's spirit escape her then he will be permitted into paradise. The widowed Queen asked for the nation to pray for the spirit of her husband to remain uncaptured. Following the ceremony the Queen handed both her own and her late husbands crown into the keeping of the commander of the King's Heavy Cavalry. This marks the beginning of the process to elect the new monarch.

Over the next five days the members of the military who are serving by choice are casting their votes for which of Gottschalk's three children will succeed him. Should the vote be tied then it will fall to General Viktor Bertram to cast the determining vote. Until that time General Bertram and his men will guard the two crowns which will be on display to the public who visit Kaiserplaza. On Saturday the 26th of June the Witan's youngest sitting member will announce the election result and then Queen Agatha will crown the successor, from that point on she will assume the title of The Royal Lady.

Princess Constance

"If elected I see the path forward one of making Altona more than a mega-city sat on the Illumic coast. We have vast woodlands to our East and South that have contributed nothing to our nation since its establishment. Our population is growing year upon year and the density of the people living here is steadily moving ever onwards. Altona must therefore expand. I would make my priority the construction of a series of new towns, nothing massive, perhaps no more than ten. Each would be limited to around 200,000 inhabitants maximum. The construction of them would prevent a long term future for our nation. We need to utilise the space we have for a whole manner of projects to unleash the vast potential we have.

Prince Rutger

"Altona has just plodded through the last few decades. We've done great work building amazing infastructure to help our city become a bustling modern city with great public services, amazing service sector jobs and a good financial sector. What we lack though are markets beyond our own region. We sit on the Illumic, a busy waterway vital for trade. We need to capitalise on that and on the fact that the region enjoys so many organisations like MICA. We need to take a step my father never did and join bodies such as that. Over the waters we've an amazing potential partner in East Moreland. We have a ethnic kinship with Hassfurt and in Zimalia we have a nation that is stock full of natural resources. Over our Southern border Eskdale is building itself up and Lakhzovia to our East could be an interesting partner moving forward. These are people we need to work with."

Prince Lukas

"My father was a man who was happy to be idolised by the Altonans. He ensured that everyone of us had food on the table, money in our pocket and a work life balance that mean standards of living here are high. There are though Altonans left behind. We have a significant gap between the wealthiest of our nation and the least prosperous. While these enjoy a standard higher than many on Mundus we must do more to ensure every Altonan enjoys the bounty of our nation. To do this our sovereign wealth fund needs to be utilised more. We wisely never allowed our oil and gas to be owned by private companies and now we can ensure this is used wisely. I wish to fund more high standard education and open this up to Mundus. I want Altonan degrees to be the envy of Mundus, through knowledge we empower the people."

Up until 1st of June 2021 His Majesty King Gottschalk was the King of Altona. He had been monarch since 6th August 2014. The Sülldorf Family are the ruling dynasty and inherited a vast number of properties since taking the throne in 1941.

DETAILS ON MONARCH TO GO HERE ONCE ELECTED


Built in 1412 the Palace sits on the Western edge of the city and is surrounded by several acres of forest. It is possible to travel from the coast to the Palace via boat. Today it is the home of Constance Sülldorf and her family.


The site saw its first construction in the 12th Century. Since then the royals have used it as a retreat from the fortress within the city itself. The site saw massive rebuilding in the 1800's following fire damage. Today it is the home of Rutger Sülldorf and his family.

The military feature heavily in Altonan society. This is largely due to the fact that in the first century or so of the Kingdom's existence the monarch would regularly offer his troops as mercenaries. In addition it was not uncommon for Dukes, Lords, Barons etc to raise forces to sell off to foreign nations during wars. This practice meant that National Service of two years was expected from all able bodied male Altonans. This was later changed to include women in 1967. Upon completion of their national service an individual remains on a Reserve list until their 45th birthday. They are expected to attend a 48 hour refresher course every year to maintain their skill at arms. Each person on the reserve list is given a rifle and two magazines of ammunition which are expected to be stored securely and random checks by the military police are carried out to ensure security and that the weapon is being maintained.




The Army can trace its formal roots back to 1452 under King Gerhard who began organising what had been essentially a Feudal Army into a full time professional one. He formed the Army into Regiments under permanent commanders picked from within the ranks rather than by noble birth. Each Regiment today has a Battalion known as the "People's" Battalion and this is made up of those serving time under national service. Generally these Battalions are bigger in infantry regiments than in specialist groups like Engineers, Communications etc. Those doing National Service may not serve as officers.



The Royal Altonan Navy was formed in 1565 by King Gabriel. It had previously been a seasonal force that patrolled the coast line however King Gabriel briefly had considered expanding Altona to effectively try and form an Empire. Today it has a small number of National Service inductees serving, mainly these are taken from those who have opted to first study at University and quiet often have a background in maritime matters. Very few National Service people serve on long term patrols on boats and none on subs.



The Royal Altonan Flying Corps was formed in 1911 by King Torsten. It was originally the only force not to accept those undertaking National Service however since 1967 this has changed and has seen it become very similar to the Navy in so far that graduates from University with specialist skills can be sent there. The Air Force mains a reserve in which former pilots are expected to maintain their skills and so a large fleet of training aircraft are kept for them to maintain their hours. The RAFC also undertake flying operations for the Navy.



The King's Heavy Cavalry can trace its origins back to the foundation of the Kingdom when they were the personal guard of the King. In 1913 however King Thankarat remodelled the unit as a commando unit and enlarged them from 150 members to the current 800 or so. They do not accept National Service and anyone wishing to join must have served at least five years prior to joining. They maintain their own aviation assets and in effect a mini military in their own right. They also retain the function of their commanding officer having the determining vote should elections of monarchs even be a tie.

On the 1st of June 2021 His Majesty King Gottschalk of Altsona passed away after a long battle with liver disease. As is tradition in the Kingdom of Altona the children of the King will now be questioned by the Witan, a body made up of 100 randomly selected citizens. Then on the 19th June 2021 all currently voulentary service members of the military will vote for who they wish to be the new monarch.

OOC - I will be opening to forum votes on the 19th for who people want to be my new monarch. In the mean time I'm happy to answer questions as though people are part of the Witan.

	Constance Sülldorf	Rutger Sülldorf	Lukas Sülldorf
	Constance, otherwise known to family and friends as Connie was born in 1985. She attended the Queen Adelias Academy for her education and worn several prizes for artwork during her time there. In 2003 she attended University and deferred her National Service. She graduated in 2006 with a degree in Architecture and as legally required joined the military for two years. She served in the Royal Engineers for her two years. Following leaving military service she began working for her father King Gottschalk on a vision he had to return classical design to the capital which had begun to take on a more modern feel. She has been instumental in many of the nations more significant construction projects since 2009. In 2017 she married Duke Klaus Ruddenheir and the pair now have one child, Sigmund, who was born in 2019.	Rutger was born in 1983. He was educated at the prestigious Altona Grammar School for Boys where he graduated 18th in a year group of 45. Following his graduation he elected to complete his two years of manditory military service in the Air Force as a member of the Air Defence Guard which provide ground security for Air Bases. Following completion of this in 2004 he began to attend University where he studied History. Upon graduation he began working within the nations Sovereign Wealth Fund to help ensure family oversight. He was responsible for pushing for several investments into "Green" Technology companies. In 2016 he became the nations Minister for Tourism before switching to Minister for Security in 2019 as position he held until his father died. He is married to Heidi who is a Doctor at the Army Memorial Hospital specialising in brain injuries since 2007. They have two children, Karl who was born in 2009 and Matilda born in 2012.	Lukas was born in 1980 and is the eldest child of King Gottschalk and Queen Lucille. As with boys of the family he attended Altona Grammar School for Boys and graduated 33rd out of a year group of 49 students. He was not much of an academic and so voulenteered for regular military service rather than national service. He joined the Royal Parachute Regiment in 1998 and seemed to excel at soldiering. In 2003 he was transfered to the 1st Battalion which is in essence the elite of the Parachute Regiment. He served in that until 2010 when he took up a position in T Battalion which undertakes the administration of training new recruits. By 2015 he was Chief of Training for the unit. In 2015 he returned to regular service. Despite his father asking him to take up some government position he refused preferring to stay in the military. In 2003 he married Kamille who was the daughter of a prominent Wildhüter of the faith. The pair of four children, Gottschalk who was born in 2005, Hans who was born in 2008, Victoria who was born in 2011 and Gertrude who was born in 2015.

Altona largely clings to the belief in the Goddess Sigyn.

Sigyn is believed to have created the Universe as a place to hunt.

She is depicted as a a woman, usually naked except for a cloak, a cross belt for weapons and long hair. She often is shown riding a horse as though on a hunt or in battle.

Sigyn created all life as a form of entertainment for her hunts. However she took a liking to mankind and gave us special status among all other life.

In return for being given this special status mankind prays to her and hopes to one day join her in the hunt.

It is believed that at some point in the future a rival to Sigyn will appear with the intent of destroying all of creation and replacing it with their own version of the Universe. This will mean the destruction of humans.

It is believed that just as breeding strong livestock together Sigyn is capable of producing stronger beasts to hunt mankind can strengthen itself in a similar way.

All humans are born with Geisterkraft which is a form of spiritual power. During a persons life they can amass more  Geisterkraft through doing good deeds which is known as kraftesse and through doing other acts lose power known as schwächen.

The amount of Geisterkraft a person is born with is determined by the amount their mother and father have.

When a person dies their body is cremated and creates a new spiritual being made up of the Geisterkraft the person had on the day of their death. For the first week after a death all new spirit bodies are hunted by Sigyn. Those with a weak amount of Geisterkraft are destined to be slayed by Sigyn and their spirit body destroyed forever meaning they face oblivion. Those with a decent amount of Geisterkraft survive the hunt and are invited to join Sigyn in what is effectively a hunters paradise.

A family can improve a loved ones chances of surviving the hunt by cremating objects along with them which it is believed will help them. This includes such things as weapons, food, drink, clothing, boots and other such items.

The faith is managed by Priests known as Wildhüter which translates as Game-Keepers. They organise weekly prayers, carry out rituals such as naming ceremonies, weddings, funerals etc. They also help guide the faithful.