Author Topic: Northfort News  (Read 92603 times)

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Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #120 on: March 30, 2019, 08:38:09 PM »




CAN OPENERS UNDERTAKE ALPINE STRIKE

It was confirmed this morning that a series of air strikes have been carried out by the Royal East Moreland Air Force squadron affectionatly known as the Flying Can Openers. The unit operated the Dragonbane II and is understood to have engaged a large number of targets in the region of Stoneton close to the border with Cyprix and Montsarre. The attack was confirmed by Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson who briefed the media saying, " Last night 10 aircraft from the 6th Squadron engaged a convoy believed to be transporting weapons for the Borland Seperatists. In addition to this a warehouse in an former mining complex and an old gas storage tank were also attacked as they were believed to contain caches of smuggled weapons. The targets where confirmed as viable by multiple sources of intelligence and the strikes were assessed by ground forces as being totally accurate and successful."

It was also confirmed that around eight Borlanders were killed in the strike. Local residents heard the strike and a few caught the explosions flashing over the hills on camera. One resident of Stoneton stated, "The first we knew about it was when the ground began shaking, we were about 10km away from the attack and as we looked out our window we could see flashes of light, I think it must have been the vehicles exploding. We then heard the aircraft flying over head as they returned to base. Its worrying to think the Borlanders were so close."

The Army have arrived in Stoneton early this morning to begin more patrols and reassure the people of the city which has a population of around 200,000 people.




ASYLUM SEEKERS REVIEW TO BEGIN AT HUNTERS VALE

The former REMAF Base known as Hunters Vale was converted into a refugee reception centre and asylum seeker centre three years ago and its combination of barracks style, family home and even an underground converted Nuclear bunker has housed some 40,000 people at any single time. The centre was used as a reception centre before sending people onto various other settlements and is now being used as a centre for the reviews of around 85,000 refugees who had claimed asylum.

East Moreland took refugees from Nya Aland, Mavrosia, Lakhzovia, Academica and Safraen in recent years and the Foreign Office now believe that the time has come for some to return home. Foreign Minister Edward Tamana explained at a recent visit to the centre. "We've given people fleeing some of the worst situations on Mundus a home, all be it not the most comfortable or luxurious, but at a time of crisis a warm bed, good food and a roof over your head that isn't likely to get bombed at any moment Hunters Vale served a purpose. We've tried building a school system there, we've even a small hospital and places of worship, but you can only sustain such a place for so long. In the coming few weeks we shall begin calling those from areas we believe are safe to return to and inviting them to either return home or present a reason why they should be permitted to remain. Each case is unique and shall be treated that way. Nya Aland should be perfectly safe to return to for example, however should someone make a convincing case for being allowed to remain in East Moreland we'll give them a fair hearing."

Melissa Lusk, who was responsible for getting many of the refugees out of their respective danger zones has also offered to help with the process. "At the CTO Refugee Agency we never planned these moves to be permanent and tried to put in place steps to help people return home. Should my government ask for help I'd be delighted to." Lusk also helped establish the Refugee University which has around 2,000 people in East Moreland enrolled. "I'm thrilled to see the success of the University and hope those enrolled will continue their studies wherever they end up."

Foreign Minister Tamana however says there may be some issues, "We've got some nations that are still a mess, some that the governments have not really taken an interest in the refugees, such as Lakhzovia. This may see the people involved caught up in an extended process but we shall do our best to get the best possible outcomes for those involved."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #121 on: April 04, 2019, 09:42:37 PM »




KING SEEN BACK IN NORTHFORT

King David was today seen returning to the Royal Palace in Northfort following spending almost two months at Ostlake Military base where he has been at the bedside of his ill daughter Princess Rhiannon. The return to Northfort sparked rumours that the Princess had received a bone marrow transplant and was beginning her recovery. This was confirmed later in the day by Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker who said " The Princess has been found a match from a donor from Rokkenjima following the work by Marcus Merriman there which identified a new branch of the Ironside bloodline. She was given the procedure several days ago and so far she is comfortable but remains in hospital as her immune system is compromised. For her safety she is still in a highly isolated ward where she has been for several weeks."

Dr.Felicia Henry, the Royal Physician, says "With fingers crossed the procedure will be a success. We will need to keep an eye on her for around the next six weeks until her blood cells hopefully return to normal levels, then she can begin returning to her normal routine. Naturally we'll need to ensure that she is kept away from infections and other problems for perhaps up to a year as it can take some time for her white blood cells to return to normal." It is likely that the Princess will not return to school in the short term and will be educated at home until her father is convinced that all is well. The Princess' mother, Matilda Osman, remains at Ostlake however Mr.Tucker explained that she will be permitted short term lodgings at the Palace while Rhiannon recovers. As Mr.Tucker explained, "The King has normal custody over the Princess because of an agreement between the parents. The King has always done as much as reasonably possible to allow Miss Osman access to her daughter on a very regular basis and this time is one where the more support the Princess has the better." Mr.Tucker however refused to be drawn on whether Matilda Osmans long term partner Sam Halliday is permitted to the Palace. The King and Halliday have clashed several times over the way in which the former Formula Mundus Champion has talked about the Princess being his "daughter" and various other issues.

It is thought likely that King David will begin recommencing his royal duties after the upcoming Feast of Melanor.




REMNS BORG TO BE LEASED TO LODJA

The Ministry of Defence today confirmed that the drone carrier REMNS Borg will be leased to the Lodjain Navy for the next eight years. The ship was one of three that entered service in 2015 designed to be a multi-purpose platform able to operate in  a wide variety of mission profiles. The ships featured a small number of guided missiles capable of engaging targets in the air or on land, torpedo launches and the ability to launch a variety of unmanned water and air vessels. The ships have seen active service during the Seaforth Eugenics War, the Marseille Crisis and both Safraen missions among others. The government have however indicated that with other naval developments and other military commitments the need for three of the vessels is now rather redundant. The decision was explained by Sir Harry Samuelson the Minister of Defence. "The three ships have been a vital backbone of our navy however they were commissioned at a time when it was believed that the East Moreland military would be isolated and have to stand alone. That has been proven not to be the case and as such we have looked now at making our navy more capable of being able to hold its own in naval combat. This means we are top heavy on amphibious style warfare vessels. The Lodjain navy is in need of help, we need to save some money in our budget and so this seems like the perfect arrangement."

The agreement will see the vessel under the command of the Lodjain military for the next eight years with a fee being paid each year. All maintainence will be carried out in East Moreland ports or by East Moreland technicians with the cost being absorbed by the Lodjian military. The ship will for the first 6 months be manned by a crew made up of 25% Lodjains, this increasing to 50% by the end of the first year, after 18 months just five Morelanders will remain onboard. For the final six years of the agreement the ship will be totally crewed by Lodjains. It is also part of the agreement that at the end of the eight year arrangement there is a possibility of Lodja purchasing the vessel outright should the East Moreland Navy consider it still surplus to requirements. The vessel will however come without any of its aerial drones which may see Lodja use helicopters instead.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #122 on: April 15, 2019, 12:10:42 AM »




KING DEFENDS SIR HARRY

Following an apparent leak of weapons system schematics and e-mails between Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson and SmartWar the King has seen fit to intervene in the situation where the Minister is under fire from people both at home and overseas. Following statements on East Moreland based news channels calling the leak "a disaster for national security" while others have called on him to resign saying that he has failed to "protect the nation from serious overseas threats." The Tamoran media have even commented on the leak attacking the former Red Legion marksman instructor over his question about the possibility of developing small scale nuclear missiles for the Land Portible Vertical Launch System. The King took time out from his daily visit to Ostlake to speak to the media over the situation and to offer his support for his Minister of Defence. The King said, "Sir Harry has been a servant to East Moreland since he was 18 years old. He served in the Army, then in Red Legion. Even when retired from front line service he remained an instructor at Red Legion before becoming a government adviser and our nations first Prime Minister forming an outstanding team alongside our first Chief Councillor Tim Carpenter. I firmly believe that whatever Sir Harry does is in the best interest of the nation. What people must remember is that I have the final say over our nations defence policies. I have firmly stated that East Moreland will be the first nation to have nukes to remove them and we are not far from that goal and by the end of 2019 all our devices will be installed in power stations as fuel. The tag line Make Tea Not War may be a light hearted way of describing our objective but the truth remains, that is exactly what our nuclear weapons will be making, cups of tea. Sir Harry is permitted to ask whatever questions he feels need to be asked but before any decision is made it will be Sir Harry presenting his findings, his opinions and his assessments to me in order to allow me to make the decisions  and my decision is that East Moreland shall not be a home to nuclear weapons."

The recent leak comes from a source that claims to be supporting the former self proclaimed Empress of Alba Karinya, the incarcirated Clarissa. The then 15 year old lead a rebellion against the government of Academica claiming to be a Goddess sent to ensure that Alba Karinya was returned to its rightful people and under the command of her. She is currently serving a minimum 25 years in prison in Academica. The source calling himself "Trajan" claims there will be further leaks in the coming days and that these are designed to "Bring Mundus to its knees surrounded by chaos."






PALACE TO GET NEW RESIDENTS

It was announced today that Northfort Royal Palace is set to welcome a series of new residents. The first will arrive on Tuesday in the form of a group of eight Otters. The rivers and small lakes that are dotted around the Palace, its woods and extended estate used to be home to Otters until the 1970's when the last one was seen, experts believe the Queen at the time, King David's grandmother Queen Phillipa, wanted to create a undisturbed fish stock for her husband to use as he was a keen angler. King David often spent time with his grand-father Archduke Joseph in the woods learning hunting and fishing however in the King's own words, "I can hunt and fish but its not something I see as a hobby the way my grand-father did. To me I prefer to just enjoy walking and experiencing the countryside than utilising it." It is believed that the lack of regular fishing by members of the royal household or their guests has seen fish stocks become too large. Head of Royal Household, Quinn Germaine is overseeing the reintroduction and stated, "The otters used to be part of the ecosystem of the Palace grounds and the rivers that flow through Northfort. We've sadly seen them dwindle in terms of numbers and so what better place than to return them than the centre of the Kingdom. We've allowed ecology experts to come in and set up artificial habitats to help them get started and we hope in years to come they will flourish." The Royal Palace is home to a number of species of wildlife as the sprawling estate plays home to a varied ecosystem of grassland, moor and woodland as well as the large lakes and rivers that dominate the entrance to the Palace that visitors see upon arrival.

The second new arrival at the Palace will be Princess Lily Ironside the cousin of King David. The 23 year old Princess has just recently completed a Masters degree in Biological Engineering and will be starting to undertake more royal duties in the coming months. She has been given one of the old hunting lodges on the estate as her private residence just a few hundred meters from Princess Freya's private residence which she shares with her husband Alex Redfern.

The final new arrival will be moving into the Palace itself. It was confirmed by Queen Klara of Lodja recently that former Lady in Waiting Stasya Pelagiya had been given a title of nobility in her own right and given the role of a Royal Envoy. The new Baronetess has selected to live in East Moreland, a decision that has come as no surprise as the 22 year old has been romantically linked with King David for almost a year. The Chief of Royal Household confirmed, "Lady Stasya will be given private rooms within the Palace. The East Moreland ambassador to Lodja has their own private rooms on the Isle of the Goddess and this is our opportunity to return the hospitality.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #123 on: April 17, 2019, 08:04:02 PM »




FORMER QUEEN REQUESTS KINGS LOVER KEPT AWAY FROM DAUGHTER

A report from the royal palace indicates that former Queen of East Moreland, Matilda Osman, has requested that King David's new partner, Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya, be kept away from visiting Princess Rhiannon in Ostlake. The 22 year old Lodjain former Lady in Waiting has recently been appointed as a kind of envoy to Queen Klara and is to be stationed in East Moreland. Almost immediately she was invited to reside in the Royal Palace in Northfort, leading to speculation that soon an announcement of a royal wedding could be coming. The news however was not welcomed by all as Matilda Osman is believed to be upset that Baronetess Stasya will be seeing Princess Rhiannon on a daily basis once she returns from Ostlake. The potential new Mother-in-Law has also apparently requested to visit Princess Rhiannon at Ostlake and it is this that has caused Matilda to seek to deny her that chance. It is understood that the King banned Matilda Osman's partner, Formula Mundus driver Sam Halliday, from visiting the hospital after a series of controversial social media posts. The move therefore to halt Baronetess Stasya from visiting is likely to be seen as tit for tat.

The formerly married couple have always generally got along reasonably well since their divorce and amicably agreed that because of her future role as monarch of East Moreland that the Princess should remain living with her father however many people believe this new development and the manner at which the Princesses treatment has been dealt with by the media that Matilda may seek to gain residential custody of the Princess so that she does not grow up in the public light.





OSMANTECH "REVIVE" DEAD PIG BRAINS

Following last years experiment success the biologists at OsmanTech have once more succeeded in effectively keeping brains alive outside of the body. In total 32 pigs brains were collected from an abatiour 4 hours after the pigs had been killed, the brains were transported to the OsmanTech labs in Technology City where they were connected to a state of the art system which pumped various drugs, chemicals and blood around the brains. This process continued for six hours while various readings were taken. The team, which was personally lead by Lord Lucas Osman the founder of OsmanTech made many important discoveries. They found that they were able to stop brain cells from dying and in some cases restoration of blood vessels, in around 50% of the brains they also observed brain activity. The brains absorbed medication at the same rate as a normal functioning brain as well as consuming the same amount of oxygen. Crucially there was no sign of the brain-wide electrical activity in an electroencephalogram (EEG brain scan) that would signal awareness or perception.

The experiment was hailed as a great step forward by Lord Osman who explained, " We've discovered several things that will change the way we think about the brain. For a start about how long it takes for a brain to die and the manner of death. It shows some of that process can be halted or in some cases reversed this could see a significant change in patient care in some circumstances. It also allows us to have better experimental conditions for testing drugs for conditions such as Alzheimers or dementia. Its a promising step forward." As with last years experiments however their are ethical issues with some calling the ability to keep brains alive cruel but Lord Osman assured people that there was no consciousness. It is expected that Lord Osman and his team will publish their findings in several journals in the coming weeks.





SISTERHOOD OF HELUS APPOINT FIRST PRIESTESS OF NORTHFORT

The breakaway religious sect known as the Sisterhood of Helus has today named its first Priestess of Northfort. The Sisterhood believes that the Cult of Helus has made several mistakes and most importantly the God Helus is infact female. The sect was set up by former Cultist Priestess Jinny Denman who uses the title High Priestess of the Sisterhood which makes its headquarters in Silverhills currently. The sect recently purchased an old school building just 200meters from the Temple District and intends to raise funds to convert it into a fully functioning Temple. The new Temple will be run by one of Denman's first converts among the Cults Priesthood, Samantha Lawley a 52 year old former Priestess of Frossaj will be in charge of the new complex. Denman explained, "Our faith is growing, we now have close to 1.1 million people following our faith and it is important we now have a base to preach from in Northfort and I can't think of anyone better than Sam in order to make it a reality." The faith has been highly critical of several aspects of East Moreland's Royal Family and the announcement today saw an olive branch offered. "As her first official duty in East Moreland I would like to invite Baronetess Stasya to come and visit our new Temple. She currently shares the bed of our King and while a woman of fine breeding and great beauty she does not share our faith. This is a chance for her to learn about Helus, and by that I obviously mean the truth of Helus. I would hope then that she would welcome this truth into her soul and so she could be a better companion to our King." No comment on the invitation has been made by the Lodjain envoy yet.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #124 on: April 26, 2019, 11:57:53 PM »




FAILED TERROR ATTACK IN NORTHFORT

On the eve of the Feast of Melanor a busy underground station in a suburb of Northfort has witnessed a failed terror attack. Alarms were raised when a explosives sniffer dog working the crowd alerted its handler to the prescence of a suspected device left in a waiting room. Army bomb disposal teams rushed to the scene and upon inspection there was a belief that the device could have been attached to some kind of chemical substance however this turned out to be a false alarm. The station at Byron Street was evacuated as a Red Legion Rapid Reaction team reached the scene to secure the area, the whole process went according to a military spokesman "smoothly and without incident. Terror threats are a regular part of everyday life in East Moreland and most people are very familiar and well prepared to respond to military instructions. The fact that almost without exception every citizen has experience of military service is also a great help." The station was closed for three hours and commuters had to make alternative arrangements to get home as other stations received visits from military teams as a precaution, with only one other station turning up any devices. The station at Titchfield was discovered to have a ball bearing bomb placed in a bin with a timer set to go off at 6am tomorrow morning. Both devices were neutralised and disposed of by the security forces without loss of life.

The Minister of Defence, Sir Harry Samuelson, made an announcement later in the day saying, "It is clear that this was another attempt to try and create fear in East Moreland. Such tactics do not work here. We've had military missiles destroy parts of cities, we've had mortars fired at us, attempts at mass poisonings and countless others yet each time we bounce back. Today has highlighted the measures we put in place for day to day security work and the response was in every way appropriate and perfectly carried out." At the moment no one has claimed responsibility for the attack however Sir Harry stated, "We never rule anything out, after all the attempt to steal nuclear material was the Bene Gesserit and not the Borlanders, however they do remain prime suspects as always. My fear is other terrorist organisations may think that as we have constant threats from the Borlanders our security and intelligence services will miss other groups plotting against us. Today shows this is not the case and rest assured when we discover who is responsible there shall be action taken."

Both stations are now open and normal services resumed. Passengers are reminded to remain as vigilant as ever and reminded not to leave belongings unattended.




PRINCESS HOME FOR FEAST OF MELANOR

As tomorrow marks the Feast of Melanor the Goddess of Life the King has announced that Princess Rhiannon has left hospital and has returned home. The Feast is used to symbolise new starts and new life as it is believed that it was her breath that gave life to the humans Helus had created. Her Temple is located in Freestone where people believe she made a heroic stand against a horde of Underlords and tomorrow will see thousands of pilgrims visit. This year the King has confirmed however that he will be celebrating the day in Northfort with the Princess. The King has however given his traditional Melanor Eve speech to the nation.

Quote from: King's Speech

The Feast of Melanor is the time of year those of us within the Cult celebrate new life and give thanks to the Goddess for our very breath. This year I am grateful to give special thanks to the Goddess as I am blessed to finally get my daughter home after her victory over leukaemia. For that I have to, as many Morelanders do, thank the wonderful medical staff that work in our nation. Their skill, dedication and hard work have given me my daughter back and I know countless others around our nation owe these amazing people a debt of gratitude for helping our loved ones. With this in mind I am pleased to announce that in the coming year East Moreland will be establishing the Melanor Fund. This will be a pool of money that will allow any independent researcher from any nation in the world to carry out research into one of four life threatening illnesses, HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Malaria and Diabetes. It is my hope that by funding more researchers we will be able to find new treatment methods to help combat these killers. It is my intention that $2million will be given to each of the four diseases and that within six months the first grants can be given out.

The Feast is also a time we think about the environment. Across East Moreland families will plant new trees, usually one for each person in their family and circle of friends who has passed away. This year we have seen a close neighbour King Leonard die in tragic circumstances. Vaguzia are a nation we consider friends and I hope that under a new monarch this continues. It is now an important time that our nation continues to seek out and encourage friendships with other nations. We are currently in talks with the Alucard nations to open up a trade deal and it is my hope that once this is completed East Moreland will have access to more trade blocs than any other nation on Mundus. It is my firm belief that barriers to trade being removed help everyone involved in trade and by being members of MICA, the CNN, the AKO and having trade deals with the CSU and soon TUNA we will be able to see the benefits of a truly global trade. What started with Vaguzia and our other Alba Karinyan neighbours is now spreading and that's exciting. We must not forget our neighbours in these new exciting futures. In order to show Vaguzia that we have not forgotten them we will on this feast day be planting a new grove of trees in the Alps on the border with Vaguzia. This woodland is one I hope will be added to each year until it flourishes into a forest of its own. This forest shall be given the name of Leonardhurst and will be among the first things anyone driving from Vaguzia into East Moreland sees.

The Feast is also a time when people make new starts, resolutions that many of us keep for a week, to go to the gym more, to stop eating chocolate or to lose weight. These new starts are important, they are us setting targets for ourselves and seeking to change our lives. If we fail that is fine, at least we've tried, but there are some measures that we can not afford to fail in. The environment is one such measure that we must not fail in, we must succeed in making changes that allow our nation, and the rest of Mundus to have a future. I seriously thought months ago that I would lose my daughter, now I have her back and must ensure that when she becomes an adult I leave her a world worth living in. As such East Moreland has signed an international environmental treaty, this shall be the minimum we must achieve. With that in mind I have today issued funding for an expansion of the use of the Solar Roadway Panels. We shall not be building major roads systems using them as was originally designed but we shall be making use of them in many urban areas. Plaza's, pedestrianised areas and outdoor hard sports courts will be among the places we target for the innovative solar panels. There shall also be a commitment that the military shall no longer waste a morsel of food. Any food unused will be given to homeless charities in order to provide food for the most needy in our nation. It is hoped by doing this no Morelander shall go hungry and that other institutions will follow. It is also my intention to ensure that all vehicles used by the Royal Family run on either electric power or biofuel by the end of 2019. The environment is a gift from Helus and must be protected, we must fight to save it as we would fight the Underlords.

Finally the Feast is a time to remember those no longer with us. This year has been a special time for that for my family. We have discovered a new branch of the Ironside family long lost through time. Our elusive monarch Paul the Explorer fathered children in Rokkenjima and now those descendents of the semi-mythical King are returning home. The people of East Moreland shall welcome back the blood of King Paul, we shall be joined by the people of Bakkermaya and I hope the Cole family whom it would appear are distance cousins of a kind of mine. These global connections however bring out of death a new start. For East Moreland that shall be a start outside the CTO. Today I have instructed our ambassador there to vote NOT to disband the organisation. I firmly believe that its purpose is noble and that should someone believe they can make it work they should have that opportunity. While it may appear strange to vote to keep an organisation in existance but then lave it there is method to this madness. East Moreland has suggested multiple paths forward and highlighted the problems we see however these have repeatedly not been addressed by others clearly showing that views are not aligned. The best chance therefore for the CTO is if those nations who do have aligned views work through how to make it work, and for that to happen East Moreland shall step aside. For the time being it is my belief a global organisation such as the CTO is doomed to fail as it is too unweidly, too slow and too unaware of the way it is perceived by the general public and those around the world. I have now taken the view that regional groups such as the AKO and rather impressively of late the Ardian Assembly are the way to go. Local figures leading solutions for the local region is the future and I commend Grand Duke Hugo Lascelles for his mediation of the recent crisis in Ardia. It is important the world has figures such as him acting in a manner reminiscent of our dear lost friend Willa Sunbrek-Rosendahl and I believe the Grand Duke to be a great friend and a great statesman.

I now wish everyone a joyous day for the Feast, enjoy the time with your family, your friends and your neighbours.

May The Gods Watch Over You and Your Life Be Long.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #125 on: April 28, 2019, 06:09:42 PM »




BARREN DENIES TERROR ATTACK. MAY BE TELLING TRUTH

In a statement released today the self proclaimed "King of Borland" the terrorist leader Kyle Barren has distanced himself and his Borland Seperatists from the terror attacks foiled yesterday. The fugitive leader said, "The Borlanders are not people to leave their weapons in bins. We are innovative and successful in our attacks. We also do not attack on days designated by the Gods as a time for prayer and reflection. While I wish at every oppurtuntinty to see East Moreland and those sheep like Morelanders who follow David Ironside destroyed I would not do it on a day designed to reflect life." The Borlanders have been carrying out attacks against East Moreland on and off for several hundreds of years in an attempt to restore the Barren bloodline to the throne following King Robert the Unifier, a disinherited brother of the Barren family, leading an uprising against tyrannical King Niall. In all that time the Borlanders have never carried out an attack during the day surrounding any of Cult of Helus' Feast Days. This along with forensic analysis lead to the nations Intelligence Services this time believing that the terrorists may be telling the truth.

A Intelligence Service spokesperson explained the reasons for this belief. "In the past the Borlanders have been very effective at making explosives that have not been discovered. There is a constant battle between them and us, we develop new ways to discover their devices and they develop new ways to try and hide them. This was a very basic attempt at hiding a bomb, something that someone who has engaged in this game of cat and mouse with us wouldn't do. We have also had an oppurtunity to inspect the device and it is clear that this was not done with the level of sophistication the Borlanders have done in the past. This lead us to conclude this is either some new off-shoot of the Borlanders or more likely a threat not usually seen. This is rather concerning as it would mean we are now targets of multiple groups, however we are a nation that is highly security conscious and highly alert and prepared for such threats."

The Borlanders have so far carried out around ten attacks this year with only a handful being successful. They have in the past acquired military grade missiles via a corrupt Achkaerin dealer which helped kill several hundred people in Freestone, as well as using improvised mortars to attack military bases in Dartfordia and Rokkenjima. The usual method of attack by this group is either armed ground units or the use of technology to gain an element of surprise. This latest attack however seemed merely to place a bomb in a bin. This did lead some experts to question whether the Borlanders are getting desperate. "The group are always looking for new ideas but the net is squeezing ever tighter around them." Explained Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson. "Perhaps what we are seeing is a group devoid of new ideas and oppurtunities to reverting back to old fashioned methods and now they've been caught out seeking to distance themselves from the failure." The Minister didn't however rule out foreign involvement. "Lets face it, our stance on helping friends around the world has created some enemies. We've seen the Gungnir attempt to attack people who are friends with Nya Aland and we do have a group of Red Legionnaires there training, they've been very vocal about wanting "outsiders" gone. Then of course we have this latest group from Academica as well as issues with the former Seaforthian Catholic Church. We as, as always, ask people to be super vigilant."




"FUTURE QUEEN" TAKES GIFTS TO TEMPLES

The woman many are tipping to be the future Queen of East Moreland today caused a little controversy during the Feast of Melanor. Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya has been in a relationship with King David officially just over a year and recently was made a Lodjain Royal Envoy opting to reside in East Moreland for her duties, a move many are seeing as Queen Klara allowing her ex-Lady in Waiting to spend time with what bookmakers are saying is her future husband. The 22 year old noblewoman was seen taking large bunches of flowers, a typical offering to Melanor, into the Goddesses Temple in Northfort just after sunrise. While many had suspected she may make her first official public appearance with King David she did in fact arrive alone wearing a rather dull black business suit not some stylish dress as she is often seen sporting. She spent around half an hour in the Temple where it is said she spoke briefly to some worshippers as well as with the Priestess of Melanor in Northfort Bree Jenning. Priestess Jenning said after the visit, "We were rather surprised, we knew Baronetess Stasya is dating our King but didn't expect her attendance without him. She seemed interested in the feast and rather knowledgeable out our faith. She asked questions about the day and left a beautiful bunch of flowers for the alter. She wished the worshippers a happy day and then left."

Several hours later she was seen arriving at the Sisterhood of Helus' first official temple in Northfort. While the Temple dedicated to Helus is still being converted from its former life as a school it is open to worshippers and has shrines to each of the eight dieties. The controversal sect of the Cult of Helus attains that Helus is in fact female and its leader, Jinny Denman, has been openly critical of the King and his former marriage, the Sisterhood is seen as heretical by some hardline Cultists. Baronetess Stasya was seen taking in an identical bunch of flowers and left an hour later. The Sisterhoods representative at the Temple is Priestess Samantha Lawley who informed us, "The Baronetess was lovely. She came and asked if she could leave some flowers and naturally we agreed. She had many questions about the Sisterhood and our differences with the Cult. I know our High Priestess has been critical of Stasya in the past and if she is to be our future Queen then she must embrace the truth of Helus, I think she is on that path judging by her questions today. It is my hope that she will become a frequent visitor to our Temple once converted and then with her beauty, fine bloodline and the true faith in her heart she would make an excellent Queen."

Baronetess Stasya however explained her actions later in the day saying. "I am a representative of the Goddess Sessifet. I believe however it is my job as a Royal Envoy to show respect to the nation I now live in. The people of East Moreland have made me feel very welcome on every visit and I thought today I was showing appreciation for that. I understand 1.2million people follow the Sisterhood, they may be a small number of the total but they have been just as warm in their welcome as the Cultists and so I did not wish to discriminate." It is understood that later in the day the Baronetess joined King David at the Palace where symbolic trees were planted by the Ironside family. Princess Rhiannon however remained indoors as she continues to recover from her recent bone marrow transplant.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #126 on: May 05, 2019, 11:20:52 PM »




CHARGES LEVELLED AT LAKHZOVIANS

It was confirmed today at the Northfort Crown Court that three Lakhzovian refugees are to be charged with multiple offences connected with terrorism. The three men were arrested at Hunter's Vale following a leaked e-mail indicating that Lakhzovian government officials were aware of impending attacks yet did not inform any nation. Several home-made explosives devices were found around Northfort in the proceeding 24hours. The three men face charges of attempted murder,  manufacturing explosive devices and carrying out acts of terror. If found guilty the prosecution could call for the death penalty as the crimes are connected to terrorism. For that to happen the jury must unanomously grant the judge permission to use the death penalty, something that has never been permitted in a case involving a foreign citizen. Minister of Justice, Darren Bone believes however that if guilty a death sentence should be used. "We have in the last few years seen a number of terrorists belonging to the Borlanders executed for crimes these men are accused of. If these men are convicted I firmly believe that a message needs to be sent that regardless of your nationality, background or other characteristic terrorism in any shape or form will receive the harshest penalty."

It is expected that the trial of the men will start at the end of next month. The East Moreland Intelligence Service have interviewed the men and believe that there may be other Khalinz Brigade members in the nation. A spokesman said, "To find a single cell would be very odd. Also if the leaked e-mail stating that the Lakhzovians knew of potential threats would indicate this is a problem beyond three people. It is vital now that the Lakhzovians hand over any and all information linked to these three individuals. At the moment their is a bankruptcy of trust. The Lakhzovians have shown little if any interest getting their refugees back, the various leaks from this group lead by "Trajan" have so far checked out as being accurate and the existence of this cell would also seem to back up "Trajans" e-mail leak. The Lakhzovians must now be eyed with caution."




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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #127 on: May 10, 2019, 11:23:20 PM »




SILVERHILLS BECOMES 2nd LARGEST CITY

Following the most recent data collection by Silverhills City Council it was revealed today that the city had overtaken the capital city of Northfort in terms of population. As of the end of April 2019 Northfort had a recorded population of 756,333 however following the recent review by Silverhills they have a population of 768,344. The increase in population from just over 700,000 in 2013 has been fuelled by investment in the cities service industry as well as the creation of several new suburbs aimed at drawing younger people to the city. The city of Silverhills was traditionally an old medieval mining community and became vastly wealthy based on the wealth of the silver, gold and iron ore discovered in the hills which gave the city its name.


The mayor of the city is Paul Telfer who has lived in the city for almost 40 years having first arrived to study at University. "Today I'm rather proud that people are choosing to make Silverhills their home. The city has worked hard to present oppurtunities for all. We've still a reputation for being the playground of the rich and famous and the money things like the film industry and music industry bring into the city is always welcome. What's started to happen however is we're becoming a tourist centre, a place for insurance companies to set up and seen some really innovative little tech start ups. We're proud to support new entrapernours."

The city however isn't completely taken on the new increase in growth. The Duchess of Silverhills, Kelly Cooper, has been critical of the rather rapid expansion of the city. "The city wasn't ready for this. Our schools have seen an increase in class sizes, I remember visiting schools five years ago and seeing 20-25 kids in a class, now I was in one a week ago and it had just over 30. That's not good for our young people. Add to that health care, we're struggling to get everyone registered with a doctor. We need to attract more health care professionals to the city but that will come, we're a city that earn roughly 10% more than the national average so we should be able to find the money to entice them. My biggest concern however is much of the city is made up of old medeval streets and that can be hard to move around. We need to come up with some kind of way to preserve the cities heritage but also allow the modern citizens to live a successful life. I believe now that we must impose some kind of population control for the next few years." the suggestion by Duchess Kelly has been meet with support by some others who have claimed relaxation of visa requirements has seen an increase in people living in the city however some believe that this may have artificially inflated the population of the city. One such example would be Baronetess Stasya from Lodja, the 22 year old partner of King David has purchased an appartment in the city yet spends most of her time in Northfort residing in Silverhills only at weekends. Many richer Morelanders are seeing the city as their get away from their daily homes and the city is becoming a kind of honeypot for the nations nightlife scene.

The growth of cities in East Moreland has in the past been rather slow as the largest city, Portworth, only has 1.3million residents, making it much smaller than many other cities across Mundus in nations often with smaller populations. The situation has been ascribed to the fact that traditionally Morelanders have lived off the land and therefore a lot still have small holdings, hunt and gather wild food in the woodlands and meadows. This however is beginning to change with younger Morelanders who are becoming more disconnected with the traditional methods of acquiring food. In a recent study it was revealed that only 32% of Morelanders aged 18-30 would know how to gut and skin a rabbit compared with 62% of those aged over 50. This "loss" of practical skills is something Youth Minister Amelia Merriman has said should be addressed, "Games consoles, mobile phones and the like are killing are nations skill base. I know my grand-father (Dr.Marcus Merriman) often talks of his students walking around like zombies with their phones and recreationally that is the case too. People are addicted to screens. We need to start finding ways to get young people back to the wild and I hope to work with various organisations to sort this in the next day or so."





FORMER QUEEN OFFERS TO BUY WHALES

Matilda Osman, the ex-wife of King David, has today made an offer to Nya Aland in order to buy a total of 90 Belugae Whales, 16 Orcas and 12 pilot whales which were kept at a "Whale Farm". The animals were discovered by animal rights protesters and the Alander government stepped in and has closed the operation while now working on what to do with the animals. It was announced in the Alander press that the government are considering euthanising some of the animals however an orca and two Belugae whales have been sold to various nations for water parks. The daughter of Lord Lucas Osman, founder of OsmanTech, is a Marine Biologist who meet King David while working as a researcher at the Portworth Marine Institute where she worked with Dolphins, she is also the founder of wildlife support group Wild Mundus Organisation. Matilda Osman made the announcement that she has offered to buy all the whales while visiting her former work place. She spoke briefly with the media saying " My fear is the Alanders need to get this things shut quickly because of the bad publicity. As such they'll simply open the pens to the sea for some while euthanias others not immediately capable of returning to the sea. I appreciate not every one of the whales will be able to go home but we can give them a chance with the right care, but that takes time." She has also put forward a call to voulenteers from WMO to go to Nya Aland, if approved by the government, to care for the whales until their future is determined. "I want to make sure they get the care they need while in captivity, we need to do what we can to keep their pens free from ice, ensure they are fed well and able to move as much as possible. I'm not confident locals will give it the time required because of publicity concerns."

The Queen has once more spoken out about the up coming whale hunt saying, "Animals are taken for food all the time but needs to be done in a humane way. Whales such as the pilot whale are a species we are still learning about. The manhandling and bloodletting is evil and should be stopped." In previous years Matilda Osman has organised attempts to disrupt the hunt however these have ended in failure as Alander naval patrols have been active in the area.

The Palace were contacted for statements on the situation and Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker said, "We wish Miss Osman well in her attempt to protect these animals but remind her that she must act within international law and respect Alanders sovereignty. We also wish to remind her that she is acting as a private citizen and not a spokesperson of the Kingdom of East Moreland."





"SWORDSMAN" MISSILE DECLASSIFIED

An EMAC made "Kinetic Strike Weapon" codenamed the "Swordsman" has today been declassified. The missile which is capable of being fired from all East Moreland combat aircraft is unique in the fact that it does not carry an explosive warhead instead it gets its killing power through a series of deployable blades. The missile is guided by laser designation or remote operator and when close to the target deploys six razor sharp blades which deliver a killing blow to the intended victim. The missile has now been confirmed as being responsible for the deaths of two Borlanders in the Alps when fired from Dragonbane II aircraft operated by the squadron known as the Flying Can Openers.

General Katie Yacobs, head of the East Moreland armed forces, stated "East Moreland has always looked at ensuring our weapons systems give us the ability to limit our risks to innocent civilians. Occasionally we have to strike targets in built up areas and while we have the variable yield and shape charged Brimstone Missile that can occasionally create collateral damage. The Swordsman missile creates damage kinetically and therefore limits damage to structures and therefore the risk to people around targets. We've worked with EMAC for quiet some time to produce this and we're proud of how its done. I'm confident it will prove another superb string to our bow."

The Ministry of Defence explained the weapon was kept secret originally as there were discussions internally about whether the weapon was humane. Sir Harry Samuelson explained. "We're hitting a target potentially 20km away with blades, when I heard of the concept I was not satisfied it would bring about instant kills and would leave an enemy combatant lying bleeding to death for a substantial period. Something I wasn't confident about in regards to the Uppsala Convention. We carried out extensive tests and in live operations that has not been the case. I'm confident that this weapon is every bit as humane as a Brimstone Missile." It is expected that the missile will now enter routine service within the next month.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #128 on: May 12, 2019, 08:29:21 PM »




GLASTOMUNDUS BEGINS TO GET READY

The annual Glastomundus Music Festival is beginning preparations for the upcoming extravaganza. The music festival is one of the biggest if not the biggest on Mundus and regularly sees 180,000 people enjoy three days of music. As usual bands and acts from across Mundus will be in attendance playing across three main stages located in the countryside near Silverhills. In the past the festival has seen headline acts such as The Who, Queen and Billy Joel entertain the crowd. The Eaves family who host the festival on their farmland have confirmed that this year the festival will "attempt to get back to its roots." By that 27 year old Emily Eaves explained, "When my grandfather started the festival it was one stage playing guitar based music, bands and acts that struggled to find other places to play. In the last few years we've started to see international artists coming over and we've become a bit more mainstream. I'm hoping this year that we have the old fashioned ethos return." Traditionally in the last few years there have been several acts from Achkaerin holding down the quieter Sunday afternoon spots with older style music and show tunes which has been relatively well received as Emily explained. "People do like to join in and songs from Disney or the like allow that. It wasn't what we had in mind when the festival began but you can never predict what happens."

It is hoped the weather holds this year as last year the festival witnessed heavy rain which saw festival goers caked in mud for the duration of the event, medical staff even reported having to deal with cases of hypothermia and trench foot. It is hoped this year measures in place will prevent that as Emily explained. " We've put in extra drainage, set up boarded walk ways and we'll be providing more facilities for people to get clothing dry and more indoor areas." The headline act for the year has not yet been confirmed however Emily did confirm that the Saturday night Main Stage headliner will be an act from East Moreland. It is also expected that a large overseas presence both in terms of acts and visitors will be present with around 35,000 tickets believed to have been sold overseas.





NEW ROYAL JET TO ENTER SERVICE BY THE END OF MAY

The EMAC have completed work on the new Royal Aircraft which is expected to enter service by the end of the month. The aircraft has been under development for several years and has finally been nearly completed. The new aircraft is considered to be needed for several reasons as Head of Royal Household Quinn Germaine explained. "When the previous aircraft was comissioned the royal family effectively only really travelled around Alba Karinya or across the Mhorish, lengthy cross globe flights were not on the agenda. Now King David regularly visits foreign nations and so something more fitting was needed." It is thought the previous Ironside One aircraft, which was also made by EMAC, is likely to have made its last overseas flight as the King has recently visited Nya Aland to spend time with Red Legion at their training area there. From Krokom the King is flying to The Orphela Imperium for East Moreland's first official diplomatic contact with the nation. It is expected that once back in East Moreland the old Ironside One is likely to be handed over to the Representative Council for use by Ministers and Councillors heading overseas on official business.

The new plane is around twice the size of the old one and will feature five unique cabin areas, a master suite with a queen-size bed and a walk-in shower,  dining room, office, kitchen and lounge areas. The aircraft also features several security features including an electronic warfare suite, integrated missile warning systems along with the ability to deploy missile countermeasures. The aircraft also features a coating on the fuselage designed to help absorb radar making the aircraft more difficult to track on radar by missiles or enemy aircraft. EMAC gave selected media sources a guided tour of the aircraft which saw a lounge with wood finish and white leather seats. The King will also have a private bedroom onboard which will allow him to arrive at meetings refreshed. The usual seats on the plane for staff and advisers can also fold down into beds ensuring everyone can get a good nights sleep on long flights.

The aircraft is expected to make its first official flight with the King when he visits Ui Cenneslaig to visit Morelander staff at the CNN HQ in the beginning of June.




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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #129 on: May 18, 2019, 09:28:36 PM »




MATILDA TRAVEL BAN "NOT OUR PROBLEM" SAYS TUCKER

It was announced yesterday that former Queen of East Moreland, Matilda Osman, has been refused entry to Nya Aland because of "national security" concerns. The Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker today stated, "The fact that Miss Osman can not visit Krokom is not our problem. She is not a member of our government nor does she speak on behalf of the Kingdom of East Moreland. There are avenues for any East Moreland citizen denied entry to Nya Aland to pursue and that is what Miss Osman must now do." The Alanders believe that Matilda Osman, who is also a patron and founder of the Wild Mundus Organisation, would be likely to cause disruption to the annual whale hunt which takes place in two remote Nordic villages. In previous years she has helped fund boats to sail in the area using several methods to try and disrupt the hunt by scaring away the whales or causing difficulties for those taking part in the hunt.

Instead of leading protests in Krokom the middle daughter of Lord Lucas Osman has been attending protests outside the Alander embassy in Northfort. The protest has seen around 200 people gathering outside the embassy and distributing leaflets as well as attempting to gather names on a petition calling for King David to take action against the Alanders regarding the whale hunt. Several people also arrived at the embassy with a giant inflatable whale which they then poured red paint over to symbolise blood. The Alander ambassador has yet to respond to the protest while the Royal Palace has simply said. "People are free to protest against whatever they feel is appropriate as long as they do not threaten anyone safety or break any of our laws." So far the Police have made one arrest and that was in connection to an outstanding warrant for a protester who had been connected with breaking into a livestock farm several months ago.




ALPINE GHOST SPOTTED AGAIN

Hikers near the city of Roberton yesterday snapped an image of a strange looking creature moving swiftly through the foothills of the Alps. The group where out taking photos as part of a group of University student when one of them spotted the all white shaggy looking creature. According to one of the students, "It seemed to be crouching behind some rocks and then it stood up. That was when we began trying to get our cameras out, some us managed to get blurred images of it hurrying away. It was like we frightened it or something."

Stories of the "Alpine Ghost" began in 1703 when Sir Charles Renshaw wrote about it in a book supposedly being a collection of diaries of a 18th Century scientist living in the Alps. While the work was a piece of fiction the Roberton based author did say it was inspired by real life events and this lead many people to begin claiming that the Alpine Ghost is a real thing. Some people believe that it is a kind of genetic missing link of some kind while others believe that it is a minion of the Underlords who somehow escaped being cast down by Helus and now wanders alone in the Alps searching for its fallen brothers. Several years ago motion capture cameras caught a strange looking white creature feeding on a sheep in a similar area and while at first everyone claimed it was a hoax several people have checked the footage and have verified it was not altered in anyway.





YOUTH MINISTER LIKELY TO BE REPLACED

Tradition dictates that the nations youngest elected Representative Councillor is named as the Minister for Youth and sits on the cabinet. This was a tradition that began when the first elections for the Representative Council took place and was first taken by Melissa Lusk who went on the work for the CTO Refugee Agency as their chairperson. The position is currently taken by Amelia Merriman, the representative for Freestone North, a largely student dominated electoral seat which was also the seat of Melissa Lusk. The neighbouring Freestone Wall and Bark District neighbours the North and will be having a by-election in the coming days following the resignation of Christopher Meadows, the 2nd youngest Representative Councillor. The current favourite to win the seat is the 21 year old recently graduated Sarah Andrews who is standing for the recently formed Freestone Party which despite its name is a national focused party. The Freestone Party was set up by Tim Carpenter and aims to be a "campaiging party relying on mobilising the passions of East Moreland citizens." and it was widely expected that Carpenter would contest the seat himself however Andrews was instead put forward. If she is elected she will replace the 23 year old Amelia Merriman who is the grand-daughter of respected academic Dr.Marcus Merriman.

The current Youth Minister said, "I'd be sad to lose my position in the cabinet but all things come to an end. I've been able to do a lot in my time, be it campaigning against prejudice against the LGBT community, or leading the referendum for the CNN, even attending sadly failed talks with Rokkenjima lead by Princess Freya. This experience is something I hope I can bring to use from the back benches of the Representative Council. I was encouraged to stand by fellow students and I understand the same is true for Sarah Andrews. I've yet to determine what I'll do in a years time when elections come up but if my time as Youth Minister is up, so be it."

Sarah Andrews, who will become the Freestone Parties first elected Councillor, has said, "I'm not elected yet and I will take nothing for granted. We've a campaign to see through first and then there is still nothing to say Amelia Merriman will be asked to stand down. She has done a great job and I wouldn't wish to lose her services if I was King David." The Freestone Party currently have two Councillors, both of whom left the Traditionalist Party to join in the days following Carpenter establishing the party, the first of those was Amelia Merriman and the second was the 32 year old son of former Chief Councillor Hugo McGregor, Jason.





LUSK TO MOBILISE IRSA RESOURCES TO AID FOSHIR

Former CTO Refugee Council Chairperson Melissa Lusk has today said that following reports in Novox Public Radio she is considering looking to utilise resources of the International Refugee Support Agency. The report said there has been a " 200% increase in young homeless kids." in the city of Foshir following cuts made by a new prefect to social security. The 25 year old Lusk stated, "The Refugee Council and then IRSA was established to try and make sure that no one was forced to live in danger. Kids on the street in my view are in danger and so that means in my eyes we have a duty to try and help them. The situation is exasperated because seemingly the city also faces issues relating to anti-LGBT practices if the media reports are to be believed. I appreciate their homeland have little contact with the outside world but I think we can and must do something to try and support getting children off the streets especially when many appear to be there through no fault of their own and, again as the media report suggests, are being targeted for being members of the LGBT community." It is unknown at the moment what Lusk can do to help the situation however she does have resources from several nations donated to the IRSA at her disposal should nations agree with her viewpoint.

Lusk has a track record of supporting refugees having personally spent six months working in Krokom during the disaster there as well as a week in Lakhzovia during the recent crisis there. She established the Refugee University and was also instrumental in the anti-KasierAdolf protest that supported the LGBT community there. Lusk was also spotted yesterday leaving the office building of IRSA with rainbow laces in her shoes, a symbol of support for the LGBT usually used by the sporting community, as well as wearing a pin badge of the Pride 2.0 protest.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #130 on: May 23, 2019, 08:20:45 PM »




NATION PARTIES FOR 1377th BIRTHDAY

The nation of East Moreland today celebrated its 1377th birthday as people took to the streets to commemorate the Battle of Greenflowers. The day celebrates the final battle in the five year long struggle between the Barren and Ironside branches of the royal family for control of the Kingdom. King Robert the Unifier was successful in the battle which hung in the balance but was eventually swung in favour of the Ironsides when an estimated 18,000 peasants arrived at the battlefield just as both sides had committed their reserves. The peasants came down on the side of the Ironsides largely because of King Robert's adherence to the Cult of Helus' Code of Canley and by the end of the day had helped carry him to the throne. The day of commemorations began at 6am when King David, Princess Freya, Archduchess Sophie and Princess Lilian, the descendents of King Robert, lead a sunrise memorial service at the battlefield site which is located some 100km North of Northfort. At the statue of Robert the Unifier King David laid a wreath and made an offering of bread, roast meats and ale. Following that Princess Freya laid a wreath at the memorial to the peasants memorial and was joined by Brigadier Kelly, the commanding officer of East Moreland's elite Red Legion. Following the Battle of Greenflowers the peasants plain white tunics were stained Red and as a show of appreciation for their sacrifice each was made a member of the King's Guard, a role which carried significant prestige in the 7th Century. It was from this unit that the nations elite unit evolved. As such Brigadier Kelly brought a fresh sword to lay on the memorial so as the peasants may always stand ready to defend their nation.

As the King dealt with matters at Greenfield the Temples of Northfort began to fill as people prepared for the traditional ceremony of Thanksgiving and having flown in by helicopter King David attended the ceremony at the Temple of Helus. He was joined her by his partner Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya who was seated in the front row beside the King as High Priestess Skye Maddix offered prayers for the safety of East Moreland and gave thanks to the sacrifices of those who died at the Battle. Following this the King, who is also celebrating his 37th birthday retreated to the Palace to enjoy the day with family. The people of East Moreland however had by now taken to the streets of cities across the country as street parties, music performances and fun fairs provided entertainment. One of the busiest bars in Northfort was the Roaring Honeybadger, an old cave cut pub which is run by Richard Andrews who said, "Today is our busiest day of the year, I remember the times before King David's reign and then Honeybadger Day was the busiest, but now we combine the monarchs birthday which was always huge with the nations birthday, its a landlords dream. We have to get treble a usual weekends amount of beer in and then I still predict we'll run out by 10pm."

Festivities were taking place to around Mundus as the various Embassies hosted events. Embassy staff in Bakkermaya joined small street parties in Edwinstowe, while those in Lodja hosted a ball in Gaia which saw Queen Klara make an appearence to issue Sir James Fitzroy with a gift of a glass sword to mark the day. Even the nations scientific research team in Hygelac celebrated with a feast of Wild Boer which had been flown in especially. Lead Scientist Wanda Somerton said it was "an unexpected addition to our monthly supply ship. As King David holds citizenship of Hygelac I suppose its a great place to celebrate our Kings birthday if we can't be back home."


At 4pm the King took to TV and Radio to address the nation.

Quote from: Kings Speech

1377 years ago 18,000 untrained and untested peasants made a march through the night to take personal responsibility for the future of their lands. Arriving tired and desheveled they wasted no time creating a better world for themselves and their families. In their actions they shaped our lives, our nation and our culture. As we live our lives today we owe each and everyone of those 18,000 a debt we may never be able to pay. My ancestor King Robert would not be the Unifier, he would not have been the first King of East Moreland and I certainly wouldn't be here today celebrating getting a year older. A duty falls to us to ensure that their dream of a nation devoted to the God Helus and his Code's is made a reality. We as a nation enjoy our festivals, we wear our swords and we we invoke the Gods often. But do we truly live the code? At times I have my doubts. We must do more to hold ourselves to the Code and as such I will be in the coming days authorising the creation of a new option for our young people to undertake their national service. When National Service was established in the mid 1800's it was an insular inward looking East Moreland, still gripped by our proud military culture, now we are a nation comfortable with standing on our coasts and casting eyes to the horizon, even further, casting our eyes deep into the Universe. As our nations outlook has changed, our National Service has not, this is the bedrock of where young Morelanders show they truly live by the Code, and so now is time to change this.

Today is also a day about fresh starts. I wish to thank the medical staff who cared for my daughter Princess Rhiannon for the best birthday present ever, my daughter back at home and on the mend. I appreciate this is a privledge that not all parents who find themselves in my situation enjoy and more must be done to ensure all parents have the same oppurtunity as me. No nation did more to support this than Neu Urburzis and despite his young age Prince Augustin was a rock in support of my daughter and as such I am honoured to announce that we shall be starting in East Moreland the Augustin Children's Cancer Centre, with funding provided by the Ironside family, OsmanTech and various other private donors we have raised £350million to open the centre. We have also raised a further £150million that we wish to donate to Neu Urburzis as part of the Augustin Children's Cancer Trust, a fund we will allow the royal family of that nation to administer to help support young people with Cancer. It is my birthday wish that soon we can eradicate this horrible disease and I hope the connection East Moreland and Neu Urbruzis have begun to create over this issue can flourish and together we can bring other nations on board.

I would like to finally thank the people of East Moreland, and our friends across Mundus for their birthday wishes for both myself and East Moreland. Here is to many more. May the Gods Watch Over You and Your Hangover Be Light.


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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #131 on: May 27, 2019, 09:32:55 PM »




MAYBURY RESPONDS TO FREE MUNDUS ARTICLE

In a recent Free Mundus article the East Moreland government and East Moreland Aircraft Company were part of a system were it appeared "the controls on the export of East Moreland's armaments do not fully vet to whom they are selling." In a recent interview on EMTV the CEO of EMAC responded to some of the points made as he appeared alongside Sir Harry Samuelson the nations Minister of Defence.

"You know the article in many ways is misleading. It calls us one of the largest exporters of arms, I think its safe to say when looking at our track record and our sales books that, at least when it comes to aircraft, we are THE largest in the world. As for not fully vetting whom we sell to not a single weapons platform sold by our company has been used in any incident that could be deemed to violate the Uppsala Convention, nor the MCUR. Infact with East Moreland's aircraft being the workhorses of aid operations in what was left of Uppsala, the refugee crisis in Mavrosia and Lakhzovia as well as the genocide in Royal Seleucid I think it would be interesting to see just how lives they have saved. Now I'm not sitting here painting EMAC as some hippy peace, love and understanding peddler, we make weapons of war.....among other things. I will make no excuse for leading a team that help make sure our nation is safe, and help support other nations. The article certainly made interesting reading though. The article does make issue of our nations ties to the Iwi and some raid, Sir Harry is better positioned to discuss that than me. But the only aircraft sales to the Iwi are of 10 training aircraft which certainly would not have featured in this operation nor made it possible. To my knowledge their is not a single East Moreland made item in the Maori's inventory which would have supported it. As for saying King David is involved in flooding the market with East Moreland weapons I wish the article had not said that, you see we haven't paid him a single penny and if apparently he's so central to our sales team I suspect he may pop by wanting commission. The reason nations around the world want EMAC equipment is for two reasons, one it is ground breaking , second they know we deliver an incredible value for money product that is tested by one of the best militaries in the world."

Sir Harry Samuelson then took over to address other points in the article. "The writer asked about sales to SCIR a nation that since signing their deal with EMAC has apparently got a plan somewhere for a first strike against Rokkenjima. The existance of such a plan shouldn't send anyone running for cover, I suspect somewhere in the basements of Rokkenjiman High Command there is probably a plan in place for a similar first strike against SCIR, maybe even Dartfordia. Its called worst case scenario planning. Hell I even asked whether our new missile system could be converted to fire nukes, not because I planned to, but because I needed to know what firepower we can lay our hands on if the world goes crazy. Until we see moves to actually have this plan capable of becoming a reality, or actually be used the SCIR are only guilty of having a military that has some pretty insane ideas. Now as for this Iwi raid this is old ground and as Sir Alan said not a single East Moreland asset was used in the planning, preparation or execution of that raid. I know the world love conspiracy theories but that's all this is. Now we do share information with the Iwi on ship movements in the Kyne after they were attacked by the Seleucid, was that data used by the Iwi, possibly as after all they'd need to plan when to time their attacks and a time when the patrols were absent or in a different location would be the best and we may have been able to confirm that for them because of the defensive nature of the data we provide. Now should the Iwi, or anyone else turn East Moreland made weapons against the innocent then rest assured we shall step in, and we have. Somehow, and we are still investigating, some of our weapons fell into the hands of the Bene Gesserit and have been used against the KDF in Kaitaine. We have taken steps to limit the chances of further supplies appearing there as well as share intelligence about the weapons systems and movements of key people. Should for example the Iwi start bombing Xaeth with their ten training aircraft then rest assured we would step in there as well. Lets not forget that when Verover turned weapons against Seaforth at a time when we were allies with both we had no hesitation in helping bomb the crap out of Verovian troops."

Sir Harry went on to say, "The author states that they wonder "Why should we expect East Moreland to honour its word" the answer is simple, because we always have. We promised to support the operations to remove religious extremists in Marseille and our troops lead the way in, we promised Krokom aid and we turned up, we promised to evacuate refugees from Lakhzovia, we still have tens of thousands in our nation. We promised to get the refugees out of Mavrosia, we turned up. There has never been a single case under the reign of King David where East Moreland has made a promise and not kept it and that includes putting the word given to our allies ahead of defeating our own terrorist menace the Borlanders. Now imagine that, a promise given to a then ally kept above the chance to deal the Borlanders a hammer blow, and we kept our word. Everyone who knows East Moreland well knows our motto is "Deeds Not Words." Our words become our deeds. Now as for weapons in the hands of the Bene Gesserit that represents a major security issue and the world has my word that East Moreland will get to the bottom of it and that will be sorted. As for Slava Lavosk they were given five unarmed roadbased remote vehicles to patrol their border with Tamora. Those were not sold they were loaned by SmartWar. When it became clear Slava Lavosk were not living up to the expectations we placed on them further supplies were stopped and the agreement cancelled, when word of them perhaps developing nuclear weapons came to light we even began moves to place on loan assets such as Jekars Shield into Royal Seleucid, a nation we share no great love for, and in Tamora under certain conditions. When that agreement faulted we ensured our naval assets with intercept capabilities could still provide an umbrella over a region that carried out a genocide against our faith and that permits slavery. Surely that very example shows that we shall stand by our code."

The article was written by an as yet unidentified author, as are many Free Mundus article, however Sir Harry Samuelson concluded saying. "It is a well written and thought provoking piece to be sure but as I hope we have now set the record straight the valid concerns it raised do not need to cause worry at all."

While being interview by EMTV's Shelly Coe Sir Harry was also asked about recent data from polling in Tytor that East Moreland has seen a "drop in popularity" in the Kingdom. "I must say I'm rather surprised. We're two nations that haven't really bothered each other much as of late but we do have a history of being productive together. We were both among the original members of JET and our two peoples have worked on numerous aid operations around the globe. We share little geographic or cultural similiarties but I had hoped our desire to be leading lights in helping some of the least fortunate people on Mundus would have made us get on better. So far the only explanation I can put it down to is the attitude towards us shown by Empress Beatrice of Rokkenjima, who I understand their nation is naturally close to, when she cancelled the Tripartite. I'd like to assure Tytor that our JET volunteers still look forward to working with their respected colleagues and perhaps that can be a focus for improved relations between our two populations in the future."

Sir Alan was also asked about the recent Speed Record set by an Achkaerin where a solar powered car set a new record of 58.318 miles per hour. "Its still got a long way to go before it worries the SSC Honeybadger but its an impressive bit of engineering. While I'm pleased their driver Megan Harrison came through the tests successfully I will be hoping the success doesn't follow her into the new Formula Mundus season. I think the fact we've two nations supportive of such interesting engineering achievements is a good thing for Mundus as ourselves and teams like Dawnbreaker seek to push what is possible. We're a planet in need of some radical solutions to problems and only by encouraging constant development will we get that. While Dawnbreaker was powering cars without petrol cutting emissions on our aircraft is our current priority. We hope to run a flight between Northfort and Gaia in the coming weeks using a newer version of one of our cargo planes that will have the lowest emissions per km of any conventional fuelled plane on the planet, but we know that is not enough so while we work on cutting emissions we're also working on removing them entirely."

Sir Alan then went on to offer support for another Achkaerin based project. "I understand Achkaerin are establishing the Legacy Sport Foundation, their version of our own Legionnaire Legacy programme. When EMAC were asked to support that project we jumped at the chance and as Achkaerin forces have stood side by side with those Legionnaires we feel we should do the same for the LSF. As such should they wish to accept the offer we'd be honoured to welcome the racing team their putting together to come and train their pit crews alongside ours. Additionally we would be thrilled if the team would accept our trailers from last season. In the past we've given them to our junior karting teams or converted them into hospitality however we've a full set of things like that so currently they are simply picking up dust in our car park. If it helps a team of veterans get started in this sport then they can have them."

The final word on the interviews went to Sir Harry Samuelson, the Minister of Defence who was asked about the recent CNN moon mission which saw a joint mission "bomb"the moon in order to retrieve fresh moon rocks. "I have no idea of the science behind it but it does sound impressive. I know Sir Alan here and Martin Dawson and SmartWar were both involved and as a nation we're proud of their ingenuity, as always. I hope we find something interesting out, all I know is that to hit a target that accurately from a distance of 384,400 km away gives me great confidence in what our Air Force can pull off."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #132 on: May 29, 2019, 09:22:06 PM »




OSTLAKE GAMES BEGINS IN TWO DAYS
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The annual Ostlake military games are set to begin in two days time. The event sees a combination of sporting and military focused events that has seen East Moreland's five Legions, the Army and Air Force compete against each other over five days, in previous years they have been joined by teams from "friendly" nations. This year however only East Moreland forces will be represented as a change to the schedule sees the annual Legionnaire Legacy games run alongside the competition. This will see injured servicemen and women compete with their performance contributing to the overall winners of the Ostlake Trophy. The news was welcomed by James Townsend who is a former Royal Marine commando who lost both his legs in Safraen, since being wounded he has competed in various sports for the Navy as well as East Moreland, he has previously won the gold medal in the triathlon at the games prior to his injuries. "The games are the highlight of a lot of people's sporting and social calendar. We've now got an oppurtunity to really show that once you've served your part of the military family for life. People who have never watched disability sports will now see us alongside the able-bodied and realise we're just as hard working, dedicated and committed to our events."

The games which take place at the military hub of the nation will see around 300,000 visitors watching events, enjoying live events and taking part in various memorials and celebrations. This year King David will return to action having missed the 2018 version of the Games. In the past King David has competed for Pegasus Legion in various running events but has never won a medal. This year he will compete in the rowing for his Pegasus' Legionnaire Legacy team. "Anytime I can pull of the Pegasus colours I do. Since injuring my back rowings been part of a rehab programme and while my back will never be perfect it has helped me cope. I look forward to winning my first medal." Another royal taking part in the Games this year is Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside who is expected to dominate the Cross-Country, the Ostlake Run and anchor her teams Ostlake Relay team. The 22 year old niece of King David was a highly celebrated runner before discovering she was a member of the royal family and has since won 7 Mundus Games medals, she was also the first person to win medals at both winter and summer games, she is currently serving in the Air Force as a dog handler. Other well known faces appearing in the games are rugby world cup winner Rollo MacAllister who will be playing rugby for Duke Legion, Daisy Greechan who is the most successful swimmer in the history of the Mundus Games who serves in the Navy as a rescue diver  and Royal Engineers weightlifter Eddie Hall who will compete in the tug of war for his team.

The games was launched by the Commander of Ostlake East, the soon to retire General Joseph Morris who said, "My final year in the military and I get to essentially host the Ostlake Games. Its a great event to bring our military community together and as life in East Moreland focuses so much on military service it has been a breeding ground for great success. Long may that continue. I wish everyone good luck and I look forward to hosting all our supporters."





RED LEGION "TRAITOR" IS IN KAITAINE

The Ministry of Defence confirmed today that it has "hard data" which places disgraced former Red Legionnaire officer James Gillespie in Kaitaine. The 32 year old officer disappeared when Bene Gesserit terrorists attempted to steal nuclear waste in East Moreland and was later tracked down to Vaguzia where he evaded capture and has not been since. It has however been long suspected that he was in Kaitaine where a male fighting force known as the Pangolin operate. The exact nature, size and make up of the Pangolin has yet to be confirmed but they are thought to not number more than 200 men who fight alongside the outlawed Truthsayers. The announcement was made by a spokesman just after the launch of the Ostlake Games when the media were told. "Gillespie, clearly not his real name, stole the identity of a Morelander in the late 1990's and at the age of 18 joined our Officer Training Cadets at Keepton University. He had an examplary military record until 2013 when he joined Red Legion. He was decorated for his actions twice, once for bravery in Marseille and then again for actions above and beyond that expected of a Legionnaire in the face of the enemy when he was part of anti-Borlander operations that saw 25 hostages rescued in the Alps. Until his change of heart there were no clues as to his true identity or allegiance."

The commander of Red Legion Brigadier Kelly condemned Gillespie but at the same time seemed to still be proud of his former soldier. "When you join a unit such as the Red's you realise you are joining a brotherhood and many times its not King, Country and Helus you fight for rather its the guys with you. Gillespie did that on many occasions and then to suddenly turn your back on them makes you one of the most wicked people it is possible to be. Your very word now means nothing. We now have the prospect of knowing the Truthsayers are not only a group of religious extremists who train children to die, they are now clearly going to be receiving significant input from one of the best soldiers on Mundus. This makes them very dangerous, Gillespie is a man who is inventive, determined and worth a platoon on his own. The fact the Bene Gesserit have so far taken two towns does not surprise me if they are listening to Gillespie. He is a marked man though and marked men tend not to grow old."

It is understood that all relevant information on Gillespie has now been shared with Kaitaine. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that it was the social media posts of several Truthsayers that lead to the discovery of Gillespies whereabouts. 




WHERE IS REMNS KING ROBERT GOING?

The flagship of the East Moreland Navy, the REMNS King Robert, was today seen leaving home dock in Illumic Command. The Amphibious Warfare ship had been undergoing resupply following the end of the crisis in Royal Seleucid and was not expected to leave port today leading to several media sources contacting the Ministry of Defence for an explanation as conspiracy theories swept the internet. Some believed that it was heading back to the Sea of Kyne to be prepared for actions against Royal Seleucid, meanwhile others believed that it was heading to support Lodjain search and rescue efforts. The true nature of its movement however was not confirmed by the MoD who merely said, "The King Robert is under taking a routine task that we can confirm will not be of interest to other nations. It is not unusual for ships to be assigned often menial or insignificant tasks as required by High Command. In this case the King Robert was the right ship in the right place at the perfect time."

The ship is also thought to have left harbour without its air wing something that is thought to have never happened in the history of its service.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #133 on: May 31, 2019, 02:56:30 PM »




THE FUTURE OF THE ILLUMIC
by King David
[/b]

Today we have bid farewell to the men and women of the Rokkenjiman Navy as they leave QAMB Naval base on the island of Rhisiri. While the island will retain some of its Rokkenjiman inhabitants they will now be part of an Illumic where the site of a Rokkenjiman ensign will be a transitory thing. That however is not something that should give them cause to worry. It is my belief that the Illumic's safest times are infact about to come and that is for several reasons.

The first is that since February 2014 the Royal East Moreland Naval Service has become more bold, more likely to venture outside our EEZ and as a result has expanded. Today we sit on a navy made up of two aircraft carriers, two drone carriers, an amphibious warfare ship, 10 Destroyers, 8 Frigates, 7 subs and numerous other patrol ships. While nowhere near the largest navy in the world it is a formidable force more than capable of ensuring the Illumic is safe. Something it has taken responsibility for on several occasions. July of 2016 saw a hugely unprecedented increase in piracy in the Illumic, at that point the East Moreland Navy was not the size it is at present and had duties keeping it in the Marseille yet single handed the problem was solved by the East Moreland Navy and maritime traffic was hardly disrupted. There was no involvement of Rokkenjima in this anti-piracy action and through constant communication with our friends in Seaforth we had contingency plans in place should the situation have become more difficult. Since that time we have developed new technologies, we have better RADAR systems, we have new aerial capabilities and as the only nation on Mundus to utilise military Ground Effect Vehicles we can put a force of 150 Special Forces soldiers and armoured vehicles at any place in the Illumic within four hours giving us the neccessary logistics to respond to any situation more rapidly than any other force. As such you could effectively say the REMNS is now all grown up and the stabilisers are off the bike.

The East Moreland Navy is now a battle proven, tried and tested machine. It sat off the coast of Marseille as an essential part of the CTOMM victory there that brought stability to that region. It has cruised the Alucard supporting aid operations in Nya Aland and it has helped evacuate perhaps hundreds of thousands of refugees across the globe. But let us know forget, alongside our cousins from Seaforth our Navy has done something unique. During the Battle of Illumic East in November of 2014 the East Moreland Navy and the Seaforthian Navy made history when captured an enemy aircraft carrier at sea. With the now failed state of Transvaal launching an attack against QAMB it was the then Tripartite forces of Seaforth and East Moreland that responded capturing the vessel with special forces after a sea battle lasting several hours. Imagine that, it sounds like a story of old when ships were regularly taken as prizes of war, in 2014 an enemy carrier being towed into Seaforthian harbour and since then the East Moreland Navy has only got better. Any nation believing that Seaforth and East Moreland are incapable of securing the Illumic should think hard on this.

The second reason why the Illumic is about to become safer is because we no longer will have to deal with outside influences. While Rokkenjima of the past were a nation that stood against the spectre of the USR that ghoul has gone. Since then its reason for this global reach has also gone. No doubt Rokkenjima has the most expansive naval base system of any nation, yet it has not served them well intervening in global issues. Safraen saw no Rokkenjiman prescence, their ships were able to operate almost soley in home waters during the Marseilles crisis and not a single Rokkenjiman hull touched Alander water. These bases across the world have become targets of critcism by many and at some points targets for attacks. We remember recently Borlander attacks on several targets across the world including the  Rokkenjiman naval base in Dartfordia. By removing QAMB we remove a target for those who do not see eye to eye with Rokkenjima. Look at the recent stand offs with SANE, demands that nations not approach the border with Rokkenjima yet here was QAMB, sat on the border of a foreign nation and bristling with firepower. Helus forbidding there is no reason why if things came to a shooting war between SANE and Rokkenjima for example that the Illumic would not become a battleground with SANE forces attempting to keep the Illumic Fleet from action.

We also have further reasons for better security in the days ahead. With East Moreland cultivating again the old friendship with Bakkermaya it means the Mhorish is going to be even more safe as joint naval patrols will ensure. This actually means more East Moreland vessels avaliable for patrols in the Illumic. At anyone time we will now be seeing 5 Destroyers, 4 Frigates, 4 submarines and a rapid response ground effect vehicle in the Illumic, as well as at least one platform capable of deploying long range air assets. Pair this with the fact that the Seaforthian Navy is treble our size and even the fact that Heyra have a navy big enough to protect their own interests then the coverage of security for civilian shipping is more than adequate. This will improve still further, with our nation seeking to construct a new X-Band RADAR platform that will be capable of tracking a baseball sized object from 4,700km awa, by parking this mid-Illumic we will essentially be able to build an amazing picture of traffic movement through the region both by air and sea. We are further expanding our Ground Effect Vehicle Fleet with the Ekrabadger II undergoing trials, add to this heavy investment into remote operated naval drones by East Moreland. This means we are constantly seeking to put our navy on the cutting edge in terms of technology which will allow for us to better police and protect the Illumic.

Now people may ask why should East Moreland be taken at their word and it is simple, when we give our word things happen. We promised the Tripartite an attack on QAMB would be seen as an attack on East Moreland and a captured aircraft carrier shows we kept our word. There has never been a time when East Moreland has failed to deliver on a promise made. Article 8.2 of the Council of Illumic Nations, an idea I pushed for, states "Each nation agrees to co-operate to keep the Illumic free of piracy." When have we not delivered on that? Meanwhile the MICA treaty begins promoting the aim of  being a place " To live in peace with their fellow Mhorish and Illumic nations" we are as ever committed to that role and now that the Illumic is made up entirely of Illumic nations I believe both these organisations can go from strength to strength and I for one look forward to a future where ourselves, Seaforth, Heyra and the many other Illumic nations can celebrate as many achievements as East Moreland has in the days since we did the grown up thing of taking responsibility for our backyard.
« Last Edit: May 31, 2019, 07:58:40 PM by DaveIronside »

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #134 on: June 01, 2019, 10:13:57 PM »




OSTLAKE GAMES BEGIN

The opening day of the Ostlake Military Games saw crowds pack the various arenas across the city as the annual sporting and military games began. As expected the Rugby 7's  saw the 60,000 seater Ostlake Arena filled to the brim as the days first round of matches took place. As expected Duke Legion dominated the day winning all three of their group stage matches thanks largely to world cup winner Rollo MacAllister. The 6ft 8inch tall start dominated every game for his team and looked like he had all day to make key passes. He scored two tries as Duke Legion defeated the Air Force 36-7, with girlfriend Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside in attendance, the King's niece was even seen booing him as he scored the second of his tries. With few overseas operations going on Red Legion also did well in their group qualifying for the finals on the Sunday for the first time in five years.

The first day also saw fine performances by each units marching bands who were greeted with warmth by spectators lining the streets of the city. The competition sees the the various Legions, Air Force and Navy bands march a 3km loop of the city playing as they go with five minutes between each band. It was however the Navies band that seemed the favourite among the general public and they qualified in 1st place for the finals tomorrow which will see four bands perform a 30 minute routine on the Parade Square at Ostlake East. One Naval bandsman said, "Believe it or not the performances are not far off being as athletically demanding as anything else. Imagine trying to carry a heavy bass drum 3km while banging the hell out of it. At times we double time too so you need to be able to essentially run with it. If your playing a wind instrument you also need to be able to control your breathing. The crowd though make it fun, you play a something they recognise and they sing along, and they give everyone a warm reception."

The days events were attended by King David who competes on Monday in the rowing on the lake Ost. He was accompanied by Baronetess Stasya who was attending her first Ostlake Games. The 22 year old Lodjain said, "Its something very different to home. Very exciting. Its like a combination between what I imagine the Mundus Games are like and a street party. I have heard that in the evening their are fun events going on and look forward to meeting the people of East Moreland. Naturally I'm hoping David brings home a medal on Monday but I wish everyone the best of luck." She was asked to comment on scandals currently going on back home but refused saying, "As you know I am based in Alba Karinya now and I'm not quiet briefed on things like that."

The King has also spoken saying that his daughter was sad not to be able to attend this year but was watching on TV. "Rhiannon is still not 100%, she has to be careful particularly around crowds. We have however been told that she should be healthy enough for the Festival of Sail which takes place in July. Its her favourite event of the year and she is hoping the Alanders bring their Viking ship again."




KING CONFIRMS ORPHELA DEAL

Prior to attending today's Ostlake Games King David briefed his cabinet on his recent visit to the Orphela Imperium. It was the first official state visit by a foreign Head of State to the Imperium as well as the first official visit overseas by King David since Princess Rhiannon's recovery from lukhemia. The King informed the cabinet that he had concluded a Treaty of Friendship with the Imperium which will see a gradual decrease in tariffs, a series of school and cultural exchanges as well as the establishment of embassies. Foreign Minister Edward Tamana gave his seal of approval to the deal saying, "We believe firmly that removing barriers of trade is generally speaking a good thing for all parties. Today marks yet another trade deal helping our nations businesses make incredible deals across Mundus. The Imperium are a nation that are emerging onto the international stage and I'm thrilled they elected to start that process with us."

The King later spoke of his visit saying. "I can see a lot of parallels between ourselves and the Imperium. They have a culture that is steeped in its history and still holds fast onto its traditions. My father wanted us to try and emerge out of our shell and that is what the Governess seems to want for her. I hope that in some small way we've helped them begin that process. They are now a nation that we call friends and I hope that if we can offer any support as they begin to do what we did at the start of my reign then naturally we will. I hope soon to welcome some of their youngsters to East Moreland and hope that the new friendships that form will be as strong as they have been between others we began with such treaties with." The King was also asked about the recent Soft/Hard power study that had been published ranking East Moreland first in each, he commented, "I have little concern over where we are ranked. I focus more on what we actually do in the world. In terms of soft power I take the ranking as a sign of confidence in our foreign office who do a lot to get us and keep us on good terms with many nations around the world. In terms of the hard power ranking I'm slightly disappointed. We are not a nation that uses our military aggressively. We have a record of overseas deployments yes, but never as a means of escalating situations. I've sadly sent young men and woman off to their deaths, its a curse of being a Head of State, but I have never sent them out of a sense of anger, revenge or cruelty. It has always been in an attempt to protect others. The fact the world seems to respect our military capabilities is for me a tribute to the hard work and dedication of millions of Morelander who directly or indirectly serve our nation."


Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #135 on: June 02, 2019, 08:21:07 PM »




EM-SEAFORTH TO BUILD "MIXAWS"

It was announced today that a joint project between East Moreland and Seaforth would see the construction of what is being called the Mid-Illumic X-Band Advanced Warning System (MIXAWS) the system is being built in two parts with Seaforth taking responsibility for constructing a huge self propelled oil rig type structure while SmartWar construct a giant RADAR dome that will be capable of tracking targets 4,700km away. This ability will mean that from a position in the centre of the Illumic Seaforth and East Moreland will be able to track targets over the whole of Alba Karinya and East Aranye allowing a response to any incoming missile attacks with plenty of warning. The X-Band radar system will also be able to tap into various other systems such as those on board naval vessels allowing incoming missiles to be shot down at an extreme range. The system is also mobile, though slow, and could theoretically be deployed to any point on Mundus with enough notice being given.

The new system was alluded to in King David's recent article on the future of the Illumic and the concept has been discussed before with several versions of the plan being considered however it is now apparent the project will be underway in the next few days. It is expected that the whole project will cost around $900million and it is expected that the costs will be shared equally between the two nations. It is also understood that the 90 person crew will be made up of a 50/50 split between the two nations. The decision to build the project was announced on Day Two of the Ostlake Games by Minister of Defence Harry Samuelson who said, "The project shows our commitment to ensuring the safety of not just Morelanders, not just Seaforthians, but of all people who live in the Illumic, be them from the Conglomerae, those in Rishiri or Zimalia among others. This system will allow us to have an unprecedented level of detection over the region and we have not ruled out placing another in the Mhorish perhaps sharing costs with the Bakkermayans, or even placing one in the North Sea to give a protective bubble over the whole of Alba Karinya.

King David was unavailable for comment on the system as he was competing in the games second day where as part of Pegasus Legion's Legionnare Legacy team he finished third in the eight man rowing. Other winners included the Navy taking the Rugby 7's crown, Daisy Greechan winning the open water swim and the Air Force winning the marching band competition.





OSMANTECH TO OFFER "MALERIA PROTECTION" TO ZIMALIA

A team of scientists based at Technology City have today confirmed that they believe they have successfully found a way to destroy the populations of mosquito that carry malaria without impacting other species. In a recent test in a warehouse in the science and innovation hub two test areas were set up which prevented any organisms entering or escaping. Each atmosphere was identical and had 1,500 mosquito of the species capable of carrying malaria inside. Additionally other species such as bees were included. One atmosphere was not interfered with while the other had a Genetically Modified fungus growing inside. It is common to find the malaria carrying mosquito infected with the fungus Metarhizium pingshaense and scientists realised this could be modified very easily.

One of those involved in the project is Professor Shannon Lennon who said, "We discovered that we could essentially reprogrammed the fungus DNA to produce the toxin from a spiders venom once inside the mosquito. We then realised that we could effectively limit the mosquito populations. We will not be able to wipe them out as their are always some that will be immune to the toxin. We then set up a test where inside these domes we had water sources, food for the mosquito and everything they would need to thrive. We however hung up cotton sheets soaked in these genetically modified spores in one of them. We then waited." It was revealed that 48 hours later the dome with no fungus in had seen population numbers increase however in the fungus infected dome only 13 mosquitos remained. Professor Lennon explained. "We had seen the complete collapse of the population in just two generations. It was exciting and we believe that if we were to effectively coat the outside of homes with these spores we could make settlements risks of contracting malaria reduce significantly."

Joanna Osman, the head of OsmanTech said, "When my father started the company he wanted OsmanTech to not just support his family financially but to also support the world. We've seen him release patents on life saving anti-retro viral drugs, we've seen him give away supplies to aid agencies. This will now be the latest in his legacy. I would like to have our people go to Zimalia and set up these spores to see if they can work outside of domes. We know the spores are harmless to humans and we know they are specifically targeting just this species of mosquito. If this works then I'd hope that we can put the process of how to alter the DNA of the fungus on the internet for any nation, any individual with the correct equipment, to use it to protect themselves or their people." It is estimated that around 400,000 people die per year from malaria and that around 219 million cases of malaria each year are contracted. "If we can put a dent in those figures this will be excellent. We may be a way of wiping out the disease fully but this could really help." said Joanna Osman.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #136 on: June 09, 2019, 02:46:57 PM »




DUKE LEGION WIN OSTLAKE GAMES

The nations week long sporting and military festival at the city of Ostlake has ended today with the Armies Duke Legion taking 1st place. It is the first victory for the Legion since 2003 and their commander General Richard Hamilton declared himself, "thrilled to have the trophy back at our HQ. The men and woman of our Legion have worked tremendously hard to get themselves ready for this competition and they've been a credit to themselves and their Legion." Red Legion, as is now tradition finished in final position something their commander Brigadier Kelly laughed off saying, "Most legions have around 20,000 people to pick from at any single time, we have 500 and a few veterans still on the books, so maybe like 800 if we're being generous. We are never going to compete for the overall trophy." The nations elite unit did however take victories in the Ostlake Challenge which sees teams of four swim, run and then shoot, they also took victory in four of the five shooting competitions however poor showings in many of the sporting events saw them finish last once more.

Despite saying that she is drawing a close to her sporting career Mundus Games swimming icon, Daisy Greechan dominated the open water swimming setting a new record in the 5km race and beating her nearest rival, also from the Navy, by nearly a full minute. After her race she was asked whether she still intends to stand by her statement of the next Mundus Games being her last, "We'll see, at present I intend to start focusing full time on my military career. I'd love one day to be a commander of my own ship and I've got permission to apply for my commission early next year. I think this will be my last Mundus Games but I've many more Ostlake Games left." As expected the King's niece Sophie Harrison-Ironside won gold in the Cross Country and a silver in the Orienteering. The 22 year old Air Force officer has however ruled out a return to the Mundus Games saying, "I'm scheduled to be on deployment when the Games come about so even if I wanted to take part I can't. Whether I come back in 2020 we'll have to see but for now I've several other challenges I want to focus on."

This year marked the first Legionnaire Legacy Games which saw wounded veterans compete in a series of sporting events which also fed into the competition scores. While the vast majority of those taking part in this were injured in the line of duty some, such as King David, had either been injured in terrorist attacks or by accidents at home. King David, who was competing in his eleventh Mundus Games won his fifth medal when he was part of the Eight man rowing team that took Bronze on behalf of Pegasus Legion. Speaking after the medal ceremony the King said, "Events like this are exactly what we need more of, spending time with old comrades helps you realise that actually there isn't much you can't do. Yes I got out the boat and had to crawl up the jetty but it was worth it. I intend to come back next year and I'm sure our team can improve."

The games saw over a million spectators over the week long festival and once more the businesses of Ostlake were thrilled. One hotel owner said, "We're already 80% booked up for the same dates next year and our restaurant had people coming in making reservations for their stay next year. Its a time of high demand and its great for business." Some spectators however have suggested something needs to be done about the pricing for hotels. One spectator who came for two days said, "I come to Ostlake two or three times a year, I enjoy hiking and fishing so the city and surroundings are a great base. When I came for the games though room prices had over doubled, its not fair the hotels are just ripping us off and taking advantage. A lot of us have family competing and we just want to show our support." The Mayor of Ostlake, Edward Daniels however said, "It comes down to basic supply and demand, we have a limited number of spaces for accommodation and so of course the price increases, there are however accommodation options to suit all budgets, several camp sites near the venues are available for just a few quid while the King Robert Hotel's Penthouse is going to cost you a small fortune at any time of year. I'm just thrilled once more the fans have come and found excellent hospitality and we've had a great games as always."

The games finished with a traditional officers ball at Ostlake East with a seperate ball for Other Ranks at Ostlake West. King David was, as tradition dictates, the only person to attend both. He first attended the Other Ranks ball where he started the dancing off when he partnered Legionnaire Ruth Caines of Duke Legion. The 19 year old was last year awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for her actions in Lakhzovia. The combat medic was accompanying refugees on a transport plane that went down and was one of the first out returning to the burning aircraft five times to help others out during which time her hands were badly burnt. " I got told the evening before that the King had selected me for the first dance. It's nerve wracking because I didn't realise my commanding officer had nominated me. I got told 24 hours before and then realised I don't really know how to dance to that kind of stuff so I had two of our Captains give me a crash course. We shared the dance and a bit of a chat about the games and things. Once the dance was over he thanked me for my service and gave me a flower brooch before saying goodbye. It was a nice way to end the games." Legionnaire Caines had been competing in the Assault Course for Duke Legion and finished 5th. The King then made his way over to Ostlake East were he was joined by partner Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya originally in controversial circumstances.




TALE OF TWO DRESSES CAUSES "CONCERN"

Following the King's arrival at the Ostlake East games Officers Ball there was rather a controversial entrance by his lover Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya. The 22 year old Lodjain former Lady in Waiting arrived via car at the Officers Mess where King David meet her from her diplomatic car. The waiting media snapped photos as a clearly rather puzzled and awkward King David escorted her from the car. Dressed in some rather revealling dress with winged headware the Royal Envoy of Queen Klara knew she would be likely to be trending on the internet in short notice. Some applauded her choice of outfit with one Twitter user saying, "Room full of dull boring gowns, at least its exciting." while others criticised it saying, "She is making a mockery of our traditions." While Officers Balls have a dress code which states serving officers must wear Dress Uniform while veterans may wear either Dress Uniform or males blazaar, trousers and shoes. Male guests must wear jacket, tie and trousers and single coloured shoes, for female guests such as Baronetess Stasya dress is required to be a dress that goes at least four inches below the knee and must be predominantly one colour. It is understood King David was not too happy with the dress and later in the evening Baronetess Staysa was spotted wearing a more conservative purple number.

The controversy on the internet was joined by Chief Councillor Thomas More who said, "This woman is likely to be our future Queen, she needs to realise that while in Lodja women can be whores the Queen must be an example for young girls to follow. Baronetess Stasya is a beautiful woman and does not need to make such odd fashion choices to catch our medias eye, simply being on the arm of the King gets her the attention she clearly craves." This was a sentiment echoed by Sir Charles Townsend, head of the Court of Canley, "Matilda Osman may not have been of noble birth but she always looked like a Queen, elegant, classy, regal and impressive. What this Lodjain Baronetess wore as nothing more than a cry for attention and not the good kind."

Back home in Lodja though the dress won approval from the general public who praised her for her daring and beauty. It was also spotted that within an hour of the Baronetess appearing at the Ball and pictures being posted by the media that copies of the dress were avalaible for people to buy via the Baronetesses own fashion company called Stagiya. It was taken down from the website two hours later at which point the site claimed 52 of the dresses retailing at $800 had been sold.
 


Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #137 on: June 21, 2019, 09:03:01 PM »




DENMAN NAMED CHAPLIN TO REMNS OSTLAKE

In a shock announcement today by the Ministry of Defence it was revealed that the new commander of the aircraft carrier REMNS Ostlake has appointed controversal religious figure Jinny Denman as the ships official Chaplin. The largely ceremonial role is left open to the discretional appointment of the ships commander and is responsible for supporting the "spiritual life of all on ship." The role sees the appointed person offer prayers before voyages begin as well as while the ship is at sea, additionally they bless new commissions and those departing service. Denman is a controversial choice as she is not a member of the Cult of Helus, rather instead she is viewed by many as a heretic having set up her own interpretation of the faith known as the Sisterhood of Helus. The main difference between the the Cult and the Sisterhood is the fact that Denman believes that Helus was in fact female and that the Ironside family are the direct descendants of the heroic Riamond Unasson and the Goddess Helus. Denman, who styles herself as the High Priestess of the faith, is currently constructing a large temple close to the Temple District of Northfort and her version of the faith currently has an estimated 1.2million followers.

The ships commander, Captain George Stewart, explained his appointment of Denman saying. "I have know Jinny several years and she is a person that I know values East Moreland military traditions, our heritage and is supportive of our veterans. She is someone I trust my soul to and as such the only person I would trust the soul of my ship to." The announcement has lead many to believe that Captain Stewart has converted to the Sisterhood which would make him the first senior military figure to do so. There has yet been no statement from the Palace regarding the appointment however King David has several times been the target of Denman's sermons, particularly his romantic relationships.



KING VISITS STONETON

In 2017 a group of thirty Borlanders seized the post office of Stonemill and raised their flag declaring the small village part of their territory. Over the next two days the 100 or so local residents cowered in their homes as armed men roamed the streets and strapped explosives to doors. After a stand off Red Legionnaires took the village back killing 26 of the Borlanders, one escaped the and remaining three were executed for acts of terrorism. The King visited the village today in order to present the village with a new East Moreland flag after it was revealed that the Borlanders had urinated on and then burnt the old one. The Lord of Stonemill, Elijah Patterson, was a former member of the King's old Army unit the Alpine Cadre and asked the King if he would come and make the presentation. A large crowd assembled to see the flag raised by the King who spoke after saying, "The fact that this small village which sits on the edge of an area known to be frequented by Borlanders is so keen to show its loyalty is inspiring. Its little acts of defiance against terrorism such as this that make us stronger as a nation. I'd like to thank all those Red Legionnaires who freed these people for their efforts. I'd also like to thank the people of Stonemill for acting in a brave manner while refusing to yield to terrorism."

The King later was quizzed by media sources on a variety of issues as the event coincided with his weekly press conference. Among those asking questions, including having the honour of asking the first question, was nine year old Katie Glass from the local schools newspaper. She asked the King, " How long will it be before Princess Rhiannon is back at school?" To which the King replied, "Rhiannon is still recovering from her illness but is getting stronger everyday. We've four weeks left until school finishes for the summer so I think we'll probably wait until September. I'd like to reassure Miss Meadows her teacher though that we've kept up with her homework and she shouldn't have missed anything." Katie then asked the King why he hadn't married Baronetess Stasya yet to which a blushing King replied, "Marriage between a Morelander and a Lodjain is likely to be complicated. We've things to work out, assuming she agrees to marry me." This is the strongest indication yet that the pair are indeed looking at marriage.

The King however faced more serious questions such as the future of MICA following his proposal to create Rapid Reaction Responsibility Areas, the King said. "The Mhroish and Illumic are key waterways for Mundus and we've shown time and again if need be we shall step up and do what needs to be done. We now have the nations of the region in a position where the security falls entirely to us, as a result we need to ensure the region is divided appropriately, there is no need to duplicate the work of each other. Why do we need two Destroyers, one from East Moreland and one from Seaforth for example, patrolling within a few kilometers of each other while perhaps further South no one covers an area. These areas make sense for everyone concerned."

The King was also asked about the recent announcement of Fleur that they would be categorising East Moreland as a "C3" nation which means they will ban sales of weapons, advanced technology and impose additional back-ground checks and controls on importations. King David said, "I'm disappointed. We're a nation that believe in free trade whenever possible and our policy has always been reciprocation. It would be my hope that within Fleur there will be people driving electric cars made by BetterAuto's, that people will be utilising products made by likes of EMAC or OsmanTech. As a result of this announcement we will from today be treating goods entering East Moreland with additional back ground checks and controls to ensure safety and complience with local laws. I do not know what would have made them suddenly introduce these changes and naturally no one is forced to trade with us. I am as always ready to discuss any issues with anyone."

The King was finally asked about the Lodjain Military Review to which he responded. "We have been asked to support an ally in improving their security. Naturally we shall do what we can to help them. We have a proud tradition of working alongside nations in Albion, Nya Aland, Dartfordia, Lodja, Bakkermaya and Arda Tuluva, I wish that continent every success in the world ensuring their security and if we can help bolster that then we're happy to do so. I will be meeting with Queen Klara face to face in a few weeks time and rest assured we will put time aside to discuss these issues."





KING TO GET "SKY PALACE"

Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker today announced that King David is spending £25million on what is being dubbed the "Sky Palace". The design will utilise an EMAC Heavy Lifter Airship and see its cabin turned into a luxury retreat in the sky. The Sky Palace will feature en-suite bedrooms, fine dining kitcen and seating areas boasting "horizon-to-horizon views". Much of the luxury main cabin is covered in glass, including a large portion of the floors which will allow passengers to take in the views from up to 16,000ft. The new Royal Vehicle will be able to accommodate 20 passengers and 10 crew for up to three days while remaining airborne. It is expected that the King would use it for special functions, state visits and would even perhaps take it overseas.

Sir Alan Maybury of EMAC stated. "The flexible nature of the envelope means it can be collapsed and fit inside two shipping containers, technically the King could take it anywhere he goes." It is believed the King was semi inspired by seeing those airships regularly used by Neu Urburzis as Sir Alan explained, "The royals have built a connection with the royals of Neu Urburzis and I am sure the King took inspiration from there. I'd like to think we're aiming to take luxury to a new level though and I am sure it will live up to its billing of being a real Palace that will impress everyone."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #138 on: June 30, 2019, 08:37:29 PM »




NATION CELEBRATE FEAST OF ROLAF

The nation yesterday celebrated the Feast of Rolaf, the God of Life and Death. As tradition dictates the King visited the Gods temple in Northfort to pray for the years dead and use his sword to place a drop of blood on the Gods statue, an offering for the God to take care of those who died in the last 12 months. The King then spent the day with his family at the Ironside mausoleum within Palace grounds along with his daughter Princess Rhiannon, sister Princess Freya and niece Archduchess Sophie. That evening the King attended a bonfire lighting in the People's Park which neighbours the Palace where Princess Rhiannon was seen, her first appearance in public since her battle with leukaemia. The Princess was still seen wearing a surgical mask as it is understood her immune system is still not 100%.

Across the nation people took advantage of the warm weather to head to cemetries where they had picnics at the tombs and memorials to their loved ones. An estimated 20,000 people were seen in the main cemetery of Northfort at lunchtime however many more came and went during the day. The festivities took place in other nations around the world. Members of East Moreland's Red Legion cooked a traditional meal at the site of the old Union of Nordic People's Rikstag building, now a museum. One of the NCO's explained. "We're in Nya Aland training at the moment and we had a day off. The Riksdag building saw around 20 members of the East Moreland military die within its walls during the first Uppsala disaster, victims of the Gungnir terrorists. The building became a makeshift field hospital. It is important we show the dead they are still thought of and missed. We felt it was as good a place to be on a day like to day as anywhere else." The group handed out free food to those waiting to enter the museum however had to refrain from singing traditional songs due to local religious observance laws.

In the Celtic Protectorate large numbers gathered at sites in woodlands to remember those who died during the genocide of Cultists. It was estimated that around 250,000 Cultists were murdered during the genocide which took place around four years ago. Events also took place in Safraen where picnics were held by embassy staff and some local Cultists around the capitals sports stadium. During the virus outbreak that brought the nation to its knees the arena was turned into a makeshift reception centre by East Moreland forces and it is believed around 10,000 people died there inlcuding around 15 East Moreland Legionnaires. One of those present was current East Moreland Fusilar Sergeant Robert Keane. "We were one of the groups holding the arena, we had people looting the surrounding areas and gun fights were not uncommon. We had a few lads get hit and then die a few days later. I try and come back every year at some point with some of the Regiment and pay my respects. Being here today though makes it especially important."




CARPENTER FAILS TO QUALIFY FOR GAMES

With the Mundus Games just around the corner qualifying competitions for the planets most prestigious sporting event has begun. This weekend saw the National Skate Championships take place in Freestone and among those competing was former Chief Councillor Tim Carpenter. It is well known that as a young man Carpenter was one of the many skaters in the city who campaigned for relaxation of skating rules and also helped set up the cities first skate park. The 33 year old national hero had entered two skateboarding competitions, the halfpipe and the Freestyle but came last in both meaning that he will not be representing the nation at the Games. Following the conclusion of the days event Carpenter said. "It'd be very easy to make excuses, my favourite board still being held hostage after all these years by Dartfordia, being out the country for so long in Royal Seleucid or maybe that everyone else knew the course better than me. All those would be a lie though, I'm just a basic skater these guys and girls are the real deal and I'm just glad to come and have fun. I'm excited to see a hobby I love now become a part of the Mundus Games and I'll be watching the event in person I hope. Its as close as I'm going to get."

The eventual winners of the events were Tom Hardcastle (Freestyle), Jenny Friend (Freestyle), Chris Marlow (Halfpipe) and Katie Mendham (Halfpipe) all of whom will be representing the nation at the Games. Selection begins for other events in the coming days with the National Cross Country championship taking place however Archduchess Sophie has ruled herself out of attending. Meanwhile the Ostlake Championship Swim takes place next weekend and sporting great Daisy Greechan will attempt to make it four years in a row that she takes 1st place, it is however likely to be the Navy Rescue Divers final Mundus Games as it is believed she has accepted the offer to begin Officer Training in the Navy following the end of the Games.

Meanwhile it has been confirmed that Rollo MacAllister has applied to play for Seaforth in the 7's. In a loophole in the rugby union governing body the two versions of the game are classed as different sports for the purpose of the Games. Speaking to the media the 6ft 8 second row world cup winner said. "This isn't me turning my back on East Moreland. Their a nation that took me in as one of their own and I will always be grateful. I mean I'm serving in their military I love the nation so much. As a Seaforthian by birth I could have skipped national service but I feel I owe a debt to East Moreland I will never be able to pay. As a little boy though I dreamt of wearing the Seaforth jersey and this is a chance to do that and fulfil that dream. I will always love my Honeybadger brothers and fully intend to bring the world cup back to East Moreland again, but I'm a child of two worlds." It is not yet known whether MacAllister will be considered for selection or make the Seaforthian squad.




DENMAN TO FUND FIRST OVERSEAS TEMPLE

Jinny Denman has today announced she has secured funding to build the Sisterhood of Helus' first temple to Thiban and that construction of a modern looking wooden stave Temple will begin in Bakkermaya in the next few weeks. The funding was provided by an anonomous donor and is thought to have been in the region of $6million. The wooden construction will seek to use entirely recycled materials, utilise wind and solar energy as well as contain no plastics. The Temple marks the Sisterhood's first temple to Thiban as well as its first Temple outside East Moreland.

The breakaway sect of the Cult of Helus believes that Helus is infact female and has grown to have some 1million followers in East Moreland since Denman established it in 2016. It is thought around 200,000 Bakkermayans have embraced her version of the faith and that perhaps one of those has funded the Temple. The construction will be in the province of Elmwood and is expected to take around three months to build as much of the wooden construction will be done off site and simply erected at the location.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #139 on: July 05, 2019, 10:29:02 PM »




SAMUELSON DENIES WEAPONS SALE

Sir Harry Samuelson the nations Minister of Defence today announced that claims by the Bene Gesserit terrorist group that East Moreland had permitted arms sales to Kaitaine are false. The former Red Legion sharpshooter appeared on  Breakfast news following the announcement in the Bene Gesserit's propaganda media in order to put the record straight. "The East Moreland intelligence services are working alongside their counter-parts in Kaitaine. In the Bene Gesserit we see a group that were willing to unleash nuclear terror upon someone, we have no idea who. In recent weeks we've seen several hardlines taken against Slava Lavosk for possessing nuclear weapons and their a sovereign nation not fighting a war with anyone. Meanwhile the Bene Gesserit are trying to wage a civil war against the Kaitaine government and have a track record of using under hand means. I don't think any nation with any sense would criticise us if we had sold weapons to the Kaitaine Defence Force. I can however confirm that not a single export certificate for weapons made by any East Moreland company has been issued. That means no weapons have been sold to Kaitaine by an East Moreland company including the East Moreland Aircraft Company. More must be done to combat the Bene Gesserit. Their propaganda mouthpiece is a joke, using young girls to glamorise war and add sex appeal. Anyone taking the world of a niave child soldier who is actually a wannabe model seriously when they make claims of identifying a weapons origin from a blast needs their head looking at. Kaitaine are a nation capable of making the Zircon missile system, it is not to hard therefore to imagine them making a small drone. Its not difficult."

Sir Harry refused to explain what kind of intelligence is being shared but did say, "The relationship is very much a two way street and the Kaitaine agencies have been very useful."

EMAC meanwhile confirmed Sir Harry's statement saying, "Any pieces of equipment that have a military application or will be operated by a military end user must have an export certificate granted by the East Moreland government. To date we have had no approach to buy our hardware from the Kaitaine government and therefore have not even applied for such a certificate yet alone been granted one." The device used is claimed to be a "Mini Dragon" a small infantry launched UAV with a small warhead designed to act as close combat support. To date EMAC have sold 300 to the East Moreland military and two have been used in action in the Alps against the Borlanders. It is also believed that a further 10 have been sold to the Ui Cenneslaig military for user trials. Sir Alan Maybury of EMAC explained that these would not be possible routes of the weapon finding its way to Kaitaine. "We have an agreement with Ui Cenneslaig that these Mini-Dragons are for trial purposes only and therefore they are not even fully under the command of the Cenneg military yet, our operators are still working with our nations allies to bring them up to speed." 







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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #140 on: July 20, 2019, 11:06:51 PM »




EMAC HAPPY WITH FORMULA MUNDUS START

Sir Alan Maybury was one of the very visible VIP's present at the East Moreland Grand Prix which marked the third race of a season that has got off to a great start for both EMAC backed teams. While last season EMAC began working with the historic Rytol Racing Team it also marked the final season where Rytol's legendary founder Ryan Toller was directly involved. EMAC took over full control of the team and renamed the team EMAC-Toller as a respectful nod to the teams principle. Additionally EMAC signed a "Development Deal" with a Lodjian team funded by the Pelagiya family. Both teams have made good starts to the season however it is the "Development" team that currently stand in first place in the Constructors table. The East Moreland Grand Prix saw hometown boy and former World Champion Sam Halliday finish 2nd but the point earned have meant that the two EMAC backed teams sit 1st and 3rd in the Constructors table. Sir Alan Maybury is the CEO of EMAC and despite not having any day to day input on the teams is a keen follower. "Motor racing is exciting and as the world knows, there is fast and EMAC fast. We've put together two teams of excellent technicans, engineers and analysist, what we learn through the crucible of motor sports helps us develop everything else we do, while having some fun." When asked how important winning titles is Sir Alan was however more serious, "We spend a lot of money in this sport and just like any business you want to see a return. We don't expect to make money but we do want to see some trophies. There has to be bench marks of success, for us its new patents, our speed records, world titles, whatever we can get. Silverware is good too."

The race was started by King David who is the Honourary President of the East Moreland Motor Sports Council and helped bring Formula Mundus to East Moreland. The King however was noticeably wearing a Matt Cooke cap rather than one supporting the teams principle driver. There is a history of dislike between Sam Halliday and the King following the former Queen, Matilda Osman, being in a relationship with Halliday and having a child. In the past some comments by Halliday regarding the King and Matilda's daughter Princess Rhiannon. The King also toured the pit lane prior to the start and undertook a lap of the course with the Safety Car driver. The King was however not joined by his partner Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya who is along with her father Duke Tobias, funding the Pelagiya-EMAC team. The former Lodjain Lady in Waiting was seen most of the weekend in and around the teams pits lane. Following the conclusion of the weekend the 22 year old spoke with the media saying, "To see the name Pelagiya speed past the start and finish straight looks amazing. I'm very proud of what our team have done, everyone expected us to be towards the bottom being the new guys on the grid but thanks to the help from EMAC and the spirt of the two guys behind the wheel its been incredible. We just need to keep the momentum going." It is understood that Princess Rhiannon was also at the event and was seen wearing a Sergei Ruznetzov t-shirt. King David said, "Yes, I believe my daughter may just have committed treason and a suitable punishment may need to be found." Meanwhile what many believe will be her future Step-Mother, Baronetess Stasya said, "The Princess obviously recognises quality. Sergei has a daughter of a similar age to Rhiannon and the two hung out a little in the pits the Practice days. Rhiannon's learnt a little Lodjain and Sergei's daughter a little Morelandish so it was good for them to practice."




BLANCH DEFENDS TITLE IN SILVERHILLS

Mundus Games and World Medeival MMA Champion Louis Blanch last night successfully defended his world title against Connor Drewitt in Silverhills. The fight went the distance with Blanch winning on unanamously on points. The 27 year old has now made three successful title defences in his 2nd reign as Champion having taken the title back from Tom Ridge who defeated him in early 2018. The Freestone native will now carry the momentum of this victory into the Mundus Games where he is likely to be heavily favoured to win the Gold medal. The nation will send three fighters to the games both the men who fought in Silverhills and Tom Ridge meaning fight fans are already suggesting that the next defence of the World Title will be against whichever of Ridge or Drewitt get further in the tournament. Blanch meanwhile has down played that. "The Mundus Games is a very different animal to the World Title. I get two, sometimes three months notice of who I'm fighting and then once we're done I get to recover and go again three months later. The Mundus Games is having to fight day after day, sometimes twice a day with maybe just 12 hours notice. The blows to the arms make the sword become heavier and even when you strike the impact on shields and counter strikes jars your hand and wrist and as a result things become tough. All it takes is someone to get a dead arm or dead leg and then their in worlds of trouble. Its exciting."

The next major event in World Medieval MMA is set to take place in Northfort at King Roberts Arena and will on the undercard feature a fight for the World Lightweight Title between Marcus Green and a yet to be determined Vaguzian fighter. "Its sad its only the heavyweights at the games" Green said, "But it just means we can enjoy the show. I understand the top two Vaguzians are fighting for their national title soon and we've agreed that the winner will come to Northfort. It shows the sport is spreading beyond its traditional boundaries of East Moreland and Bakkermaya and I look forward to seeing who gets the shot."




WAR HERO TO CARRY EAST MORELAND FLAG AT OPENING

Kate Stainsbury has been selected to carry the East Moreland flag at the opening ceremony. The 28 year old is a Sergeant in the Royal Army Medical Corps and recieved the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for bravery in actions in Academica. The then Corporal crawled some 400 meters across a market square in a firefight in order to get two Academican soldiers out of a crashed vehicle. She then carried one of them back across to safety before returning with an armoured vehicle to recover the second soldier. The CGM is the nations 2nd highest medal for bravery. Stainsbury also competes in the Sabre for Duke Legion at the Ostlake Games where she has 7 titles which includes two in epee and one in foil.

Speaking as the team departed for New Derusima Stainsbury said, "I feel extremely proud to carry the flag. It means a lot to me to simply be able to follow it into an arena once more, meanwhile to think I'll have the whole nations team behind me makes me feel a little sick. What if I drop it or something. Its a big responsibility but I'm sure I'll be fine." Stainsbury is competing in her second games having missed some previous ones because of deployment. She already has a Bronze to her name and is targeting a silver in these games. "You set targets high and go for them. Its nothing to lose and everything to gain. I'm hopeful of getting to the final so we'll see what happens."


Meanwhile Daisy Greechan was honoured with a promotion to Midshipman. Seen as one of the Mundus Games greatest competitors then long distance swimming specialist is likely to compete in her final games. Despite still being only 26 the Portworth native is currently a career member of the Royal East Moreland Naval Service where she serves as a rescue diver onboard REMNS King Robert. She has announced that she intended to apply for a commission after the games however the field commission was presented by her former boyfriend King David in a surprise as the team visited the Palace. Joined by REMNS King Robert's Captain Franklin Simpson the King presented the swimmer with an officers sword and commission saying. "Midshipmen Greechan has served in three major war zones, and two refugee crisis, she is an experienced member of our armed forces and a proven leader despite not having the rank to go along with these skills. In times of old an individual held in high regard by the ships crew and commander could be promoted in the field and having been told by Captain Simpson he was a Midshipman light and that Petty Officer Greechan was intending to apply for Commission we saw little need for the ship to lose such a fine member of the unit in order to complete training she could well receive at sea."

Greechan was responsible for the rescue of over 50 Mavrosian refugees who were washed into waters during storms and was one of those who attempted to recover Major Alex Redfern when he was washed away and later presumed dead. She is expected to compete in around eight events at the games however the Open Water swim is her preferred event.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #141 on: August 01, 2019, 10:27:53 PM »




MERRIMAN JOINS DIPLOMATIC SERVICE

The 23 year old former Youth Minister, Amelia Merriman will be joining the East Moreland Diplomatic Service. Following serving two years as the nations youngest elected Representative Councillor the Freestone University graduate will take up a position in the organisation which supports ambassadors and envoys across Mundus. The announcement was made by Foreign Minister Edward Tamana who said "Amelia will be a useful asset for our service, she's meet several key leaders across Mundus, had a chance to attend top end talks with His Majesty the King and was a key voice in the CNN referendum debate. For someone so young she has a wealth of experience and she is able to connect easily with youth matters across Mundus." It is expected that her first posting may well be Lodja as Foreign Minister Tamana explained, " Lodja are in the midst of their annual ball season. From our experience its a chance to meet and network with the nobility of Lodja and we know they are important in the government of one of our closest allies. To be able to make connections with the next generation of their nation is important."

Amelia has stated that she is also exploring studying her Masters degree in Geology while working and hasn't ruled out rejoining the military reserves. She served three years as a reservist in the Royal Foot Guards from the age of 18 and thus qualified for her sword ceremony more or less days after her graduation. She is also one of the three founders of the Freestone Political party along with Tim Carpenter and Melissa Lusk.

King David also spoke on the appointment saying, "East Moreland is a nation where we want to encourage talented youngsters in any profession to be the best they can be. We've a history of our Youth Ministers being given great opportunities to witness and experience high level diplomatic issues and that experience has helped in the past. Melissa Lusk was our first Youth Minister and her work helping in refugee crisis around the world has been awe inspiring. I wish Amelia well in her new career and know she will achieve great things."






GREECHAN MOVES ONTO 16

Swimming legend Daisy Greechan today took gold in the 1500m Freestyle to put her onto a total of 16 Mundus Games medals. The victory came as East Moreland sit sixth in the medal table. The Royal East Moreland Naval Service officer won her event by around six seconds. Speaking after the event she said, " I came here planning on using the pool as warm ups for the Open Water swim. If I managed to place then I would see it as a bonus but at the half way point I felt strong so thought I would just push my schedule a little and when I made my final turn I saw I was ahead and so just opened the taps. I hope now the other events I'm in see me feel so strong." When asked about whether this would be her final games, as she has hinted, the former girlfriend of King David just said, "I plan only for the next event. Once the games are over that's when I'll talk about that."

The East Moreland team have also clocked up medals today when 19 year old Chris Sabin took a Bronze in the Men's 800m Freestyle making it his first Mundus Games medal. Soon after Rebecca Charlton took Silver in the Women's event also earning a first medal at the Games. Royal Marine Officer James Ramsey took Bronze in 50m Pistol shooting to round off the medals for Day Four.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #142 on: August 21, 2019, 11:04:58 PM »




FORMER QUEEN TO OPEN "OCEAN SCHOOL"

The former wife of King David is to open a privately funded school that she is calling an "Ocean School" Speaking at Portworth Marine Institute she described the new educational establishment as being one to combine "a world class educational experience with a love of the oceans." The daughter of Lord Lucas Osman the founder of OsmanTech said, "The school will be split between an old naval facility we've purchased as well as naturally utilising a variety of boats. I grew up in Portworth and you can learn so much on the beaches and in the oceans and not just about the seas. As a nation East Moreland has not always embraced the ocean but those waters contain so much unknown knowledge. We've seen our nation try and lead the way in so many interesting engineering projects but we've neglected the oceans in that. I want to begin changing that."

The school will open at the end of September and will have 30 students aged 11 and 12. Each year it will add a further 30 students at that age until it features classes between the age of 11-18. The school will make it compulsory that all students will have to study a science subject from 16-18 when most students in East Moreland have a free choice of subject selections. The school also plans to make it compulsory that all students gain some kind of maritime qualification and undertake some kind of community service. The school is going to permit boarding and will be selective in its admission process. Miss Osman stated, "At least 50% of students will be given a scholarship funded by various sources including the Portworth Marine Institute, OsmanTech and several private donors."





NAVY EXPERIMENT WITH EMAC "MICRO-FIGHTER"

The Royal East Moreland Naval Service (REMNS) have today ordered 10 of EMAC's Microjets to use in an experimental role. The aircraft, just 5 meters long and with a similar wingspan is thought to be the smallest jet powered aircraft in the world. The aircraft would be capable of being carried inside the Ekrabadger and are small enough to operate off standard roads leading to the Navy considering using them in a spotter role. The move was explained by Admiral Jenner-Boyd who is in charge of the Navies aviation wing. "We're always looking at new ways to utilise technology. As such we have been looking for ways of using air power to support humanitarian operations where having an ability to deploy in the air can be vital in spotting areas in need of help. The Ekrabadger allows us to move large amounts of gear quickly and use it as a base. As a result we can't carry systems to control things like UAV's in areas with poor remote coverage. The speed of getting an aircraft carrier can also be an issue. If we can essentially just pull these things out, put them on a road and take off we have drone capabilities. While we're calling these "Micro-fighters" they will be unarmed scout aircraft. "

The aircraft will be flown for a month before an attempt at placing them on the Ekra-Badger will begin. Each of the aircraft costs around $140,000 and can allegedly be built from kit form in around 30 hours of work.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #143 on: September 01, 2019, 10:49:36 PM »




BARONETESS STASYA TO ARRANGE ROYAL FUNDRAISER BALL

Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker today announced in his daily briefing that the King's partner Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya is to arrange this years Silverhills White Ball. The annual event is a fundraiser for a variety of Royal Charities which include Legionnaire Legacy, the MPS Foundation and a range of others. The event has always been arranged by the Royal Family and this is the first time in its 120 year history that a non-Royal has been in charge. Mr.Tucker explained saying, "The White Ball is an event the Royal Family value greatly and is for some charities a vital source of annual income to fund their projects. This is not a case of the ball being seen as becoming less important in the Ironside families priorities, in many ways you can say its about elevating the event. After all there is probably no nation on Mundus who know more about organising a ball than the Lodjains and as a former Lady in Waiting its clear the Baronetess has attended a fair few. Added to that the fact that she is well connected in the world of social media, fashion and her family are involved themselves in several charitable endeavours the King hopes her involvement will make the ball an even bigger success."

The ball takes place at the Silverhills Military Academy and is strictly ticket only with those wishing to attend paying around $1,500 for the chance to attend. The evening see's around 1,000 people attend with dancing usually taking place in the ballroom, a specially erected marquee and the indoor parade square. In addition food from some of East Moreland's best known chefs is served along with entertainment provided from a variety of other people. Last year the charity auction that took place saw a finger painting of a Honeybadger by Princess Rhiannon fetch $500 while a signed steering wheel from the SSC Honeybadger land speed record car went for some $20,000. The event raised a total of $5,000,000 for various good causes however as Dr. Jack Beardmore the spokesman for the MPS Foundation explained it is often the chance to network that helps charities more. "Last year we got introduced to some rather wealthy individuals and were able to make arrangements for them to support our own fundraising efforts or to support our projects directly. I think we ended up bringing in about $1,000,000 in funding and even got donations of things such as mini-buses to help us support young people with this genetic illness." The MPS Foundation became an official charity of the event following the birth of Prince Caspian who died of complications from Hunter's Syndrome which is part of the MPS family of conditions.

The Baronetess later posted on social media that this year she hopes, "The Ball will break its own records. Its a chance for celebration of the excellent work charities do to help people of East Moreland and Mundus. I am proud to be asked to organise this years and will not let His Majesty King David down." The tickets have already been selling well and some items for the charity auction include a Personnel Training session with legendary athlete Daisy Greechan, a Pit Lane pass for the Silverhills Grand Prix and a three course meal at Northfort Palace with the King and Baronetess Stasya. The usual all pure white dress code will apply and all eyes will be on the Kings Lodjain partner who caused controversey at the Ostlake Games for being rather revealing.





SISTERHOOD HITS 1.5MILLION MEMBERS

Controversial religious leader Jinny Denman has today announced that her breakaway version of the Cult of Helus has reached 1.5million registered members. The Sisterhood of Helus was begun around five years ago after the self proclaimed High Priestess of the Sisterhood believes she discovered the "truth that Helus was infact female and that the other Gods are just different versions of the different facets of Helus' personality." The movement has slowly grown over that time and not in ways many expected. Experts suspected that the faith would see mainly female followers however Denman has revealed that around 40% of her members are infact men. She explained, "I think at first we did attract mainly women who believed a female Helus would be empowering. Its not a feminist thing at all, its a Truth thing. Once they realised that they naturally passed on what they had learnt to their families and husbands, brothers, fathers, sons accepted the true Helus into their hearts." The figures also according to Denman don't reveal the true extent of the faith. "Sadly we are still seen as crack-pots by many. As a result not many people will openly admit to being a member. I've had people in the military come up to me and ask for blessings and they've told me they still wear the Cults emblem in public despite not following it." Denman was made the official Priestess of the REMNS Ostlake aircraft carrier by its captain George Stewart. Cpt.Stewart has since her appointment neither confirmed nor denied that he is a member of the Sisterhood leading to speculation that he is perhaps the first commander of an East Moreland naval vessel to not be a Cultist.

The Sisterhood have also almost completed the first overseas temple in Bakkermaya where a Temple to Thiban was being constructed. Denman said, "I believe perhaps outside of East Moreland we have another million or so followers, everywhere you'd find the Cult I think you'd now find the Sisterhood. We generally see people start off trying to find ways of refuting what I say yet the more they investigate their ideas about faith the more they see I'm right. We need to try and support those who believe in the truth of Helus no matter where they are." Denman has also in the past called for King David to marry a Helus worshipping noblewoman and has made several suggestions, she still believes this is neccessary. "I've meet Stasya Pelagiya a few times and I like her. She is half way to being the perfect wife for our King, she needs to renounce Sessifet and embrace Helus and then I would gladly see her as my Queen. Ideally I would like to see a Morelander as Queen but Helus saw no boundaries when she created Mundus and so a convert on the throne is acceptable. In some ways it would be perfect as the Ironside bloodline is descended from Helus' herself through Raimond Unasson and it would support the idea that Helus is for all regardless of international borders which have arbitrarily been drawn on a piece of paper."

The faith is now calling for representation on the Cabinet. "High Priestess Skye Maddix gets regular invites to the King's Council and Cabinet. I know the King tries to uses the guidance of Helus in his life but it is clear not all his subjects see the guidance as accurate. I am not saying it should be me but a voice from within the Sisterhood should be in the room giving our views, I'd say probably 7 times out of 10 we'd agree with Skye but when we differ it can have major impacts on the life of members of the Sisterhood." Denman announced that she hoped to speak to the King about this manner at the Feast of Marissa where she had invited him and Baronetess Stasya to attend celebrations at the Sisterhood's original temple in Northfort. "The Feast of Marissa remembers the loving and romantic side of Helus personality. She helped bring about the existence of emotions in the human spirit which bind us together and allow us to continue to multiply so we can do Helus' work. We celebrate the fertility of our homeland and pray for the same across Mundus. I hope the King and the Baronetess will join us to help celebrate such a lovely day."

The Royal Press Officer Malcolm Tucker said. "The King has long standing and traditional plans for the Feast of Marissa. As with all his subjects, regardless of faith, he wishes them well at their special times of year and hopes they enjoy their celebrations."


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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #144 on: September 05, 2019, 09:27:31 PM »




PRINCESS RETURNS TO SCHOOL

Six year old Princess Rhiannon yesterday returned to school for the first time in just over nine months. The heir to the East Moreland throne had been hospitalised with luekhemia and then was kept off school until her immune system had strengthened. The King permitted the press to nominate a single reporter and photographer to spend five minutes with the Princess who sat for photos alongside her friend and adopted cousin Evie. The pair are classmates at Higham Primary School a state school for students aged between 4-11 years of age. The Princess was asked a series of questions by the reporter who was Shelly Coe for EMTV, a woman who has previously interviewed the Princess alongside her father.

HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL?

I'm excited and frightened. I can't wait to see my friends like Harry and Thomas and Claire and Beth again because its been forever but I know that I have to stay away from yukky germs or I can be ill and I hate being ill. I hope though I can still do my math because I haven't used it so I don't want to miss playtime to have to do times tables.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL?

Having afternoon playtime. When we have 2nd playtimes I can sometimes get to go on the climbing frame or see saw with Evie. Its lots of fun and I can hang the longest of all the people in my class. I also want to have Mrs.Peacocks treacle sponge again, we get it every Friday at lunchtime and get wobbly yellow custard with it sometimes if we help her tidy up all the plates at the end she lets us have a second piece so me and Evie always stay right until the end.

WHAT ARE YOU LEAST LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL?

On Tuesday we have PE, I don't like it because we play relay games and their boring. Just running backwards and forwards picking up a bean bag, or having to hop or skip. Its not a real sport like at the Mundus Games, we should do sports like they do. I want our PE lessons to be swimming like Daisy or fencing, or even that weird Quidditch thing. Daddy says he'll start to read me that Henry Potter stuff when I'm a little older and I know they play Quidditch there.

WE SAW YOU AT THE FESTIVAL OF SAIL. DID YOU ENJOY THE DAY?

It was great. I love the Festival because my friends from Nya Aland come over and we practice fighting with swords. This year they let me make a shield with my friend from Neu Urburzis called Augustin. We even made one for my brother Oliver but he's too small to be able to carry it yet. I also got to go for a boat ride with my Mummy and brother and we had ice cream on the beach. I think the Festival of Sail is the second best day in my year, I like the Honeybadger Day party best because Auntie Freya helps me dress up and we go dancing in the park.

The rest of the interview appeared on the EMTV website and other sources soon after. The Princess was then taken to school by her father who had insisted that the press not be at the school. The Headmistress of the school Mrs.Coulson also released a statement saying, "We are delighted the Princess has returned to school and rejoined her friends. She's missed a lot of her education and we will have to ensure that she catches up on anything she's missed. I know King David places a lot of importance on education and will have done his best to keep her up to date but a school is the right place for her to make progress. I look forward to seeing her smiling face back at her desk."





SUPEREYE DEAL MAY NOT TAKE PLACE

The Diarchy of Hassfurt have requested permission to buy a pair of Supereye satellites such as those recently tested by the joint CNN space programme. The satellites are capable of incredibly accurate imagery using various types of RADAR imgaging. The satellites also work in pairs to share data to ensure accurate 3D imaging. The satillites avionics package was manufactured by engeineers in the Unified Iwi while its launch and command systems were put together by Uni Cenneslaig. The processing system that handles the imaging was put together by SmartWar, the East Moreland company that have earned a reputation for rather unique applications of technology for the East Moreland military and East Moreland Space Programme. The Hassfurt monarchs had asked to purchase two however for the system to work Ui Cenneslaig, The Iwi and East Moreland must all agree to their individual parts being used. While this deal was potentially good news for SmartWar the deal may never even reach negotiations following the Maori's decision to not manufacture their parts for Hassfurt citing the nations religious policy of setting people in Strata according to their skin colour.

The CEO of SmartWar Martin Dawson stated " We have a process to ensure our technology is not used for purposes harmful to East Moreland. Once we are satisfied that essentially we are not selling to a nation or other entitity that could threaten our homeland then we assess the technology asked for, its role and the customer. For example we'd happily sell SwarmBots to most nations as they are essentially of little to no military use. However we would not sell our Thermalplate technology to anyone who hasn't signed the Uppsala Convention. The PHASER weapons system used by East Moreland police we wouldn't sell to nations such as Nya Aland for example because we don't believe their police deal with people equally. As such we would be required to undertake a much more detailed analysis of Hassfurt before we could make a decision even if the Foreign Office would grant us an export licence."

The Foreign Minister Edward Tamana also spoke saying, "Hassfurt have so far made an approach to the CNN Space Programme. This is merely a management entity and no CNN nation has say over its assets, additionally most projects undertaken by the CNN Space Programme use a combination of public and private industry, as such there is no way East Moreland's government could force SmartWar to manufacture these satellites even if we wanted. Hassfurt are a nation we know little about nor have they really given much detail on their desire for these satellites. Ideally I'd prefer to know a nation much better before giving any military capable technology over to them."

With the Maori having refused a sale it is unlikely Hassfurt will be able to secure a deal.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #145 on: September 12, 2019, 10:12:12 PM »




KING LEADS FEAST OF MARISSA CELEBRATION

The nation today celebrated the Feast of Marissa in a series of events across the nation. Marissa is the Goddess of Love, Health and Fertility and as such hundreds of weddings took place across the nation as the day is seen as auspicious. The day began for the King and his daughter Princess Rhiannon as they took flowers from the gardens of Northfort Palace to the cities Temple of Marissa. There at sunrise the congregation listed to a blessing from High Priestess Skye Maddix who also conducted a wedding immediately after. The young couple of Zachary Gibson and Martina Andrews was also witnessed by the King who acted as one of the witnesses to the oaths exchanged. The pair spoke afterwards saying, "To be officially married in the main Temple of Marissa with our King witnessing made the greatest day of my life even more memorable." said Zachary, "We applied a year ago to marry here today and never imagined we'd get the date." Martina added, "We then got asked by the Priestess if we'd be willing to have the King and Princess present and so naturally we said yes." Afterwards the King presented the new couple with a pair of swords before returning to the Palace.

It is understood that Princess Rhiannon spent the afternoon with her Mother as King David and his partner Baronetess Stasya attended various functions across the capital. First the King visited a lunchtime meal service in a local hospital where he and Stasya, who has a degree in Bakery Technology, helped prepare food for the staff. The couple spent some time then visiting with patients and staff before leaving to visit an urban farm in the city. There they each planted a some seeds expected to grow into feed for the farms pigs and cows. They also presented the staff there with gifts. It is then understood they flew to Rockhampton Royal Retreat where they hosted a gathering of the Ironside family at a banquet and then fireworks display.

Across Mundus East Moreland embassies also celebrated and as has become custom attempted to take the celebrations to the locals. In Royal Seleucid the East Moreland ambassador to the Celtic Protectorate, Tim Carpenter, hosted a farmers produce competition where awards where given for the size of various vegetables. Meanwhile in Nya Aland celebrations took place in the private garden of the embassy in keeping with local laws forbidding public religious services. In Nya Aland guests were invited to a banquet with donations being taken for a local specialist heart hospital. In East Moreland the feast marked a large turn out from the Sisterhood of Helus who celebrated what they called the Feast of Helus-Marissa. The faiths High Priestess Jinny Denman stated, "Today we celebrate the part of Helus where she craved love and so ensured humanity was capable of possessing that most amazing of emotions. Additionally today we remember that without Helus our crops don't grow, our bodies don't work and the world we live in would not exist." She officiated a marriage between Lady Anne Theakston and her partner Major Simon Unwin outside the main Temple of Marissa in Northfort. The ceremony took place on the street as ceremonies from the Sisterhood are not permitted inside Temples belonging to the Cult. Denman explained, "The site of the Temple in Northfort is a key one, its on the site of religiously significant events that we in the Sisterhood hold dear. We would have liked Anne and Simon to have had access but the Cult banned us. As such we got as close as we could to have the ceremony." At one point Denman was calling for King David to consider Lady Anne as a potential wife but ignored Denman's request. The breakaway religious leader stated, "No offence to Simon but today I would have loved to have been marrying King David and Lady Anne. They would have been the perfect couple to rule East Moreland and continue Raimond Unasson and Helus' bloodline. I don't blame Simon for wanting to marry such an amazingly devout, beautiful and intelligent woman and naturally she is not willing to wait for the King to come to his senses and leave his non-Helus worshipping partner." Denman did however wish the King well, "On this day we celebrate love I wish the King and Baronetess Stasya well. It is clear they are in love and as soon as Stasya accepts Helus into her heart I will gladly officiate their wedding."





SILVERHILLS WHITE BALL BREAKS RECORD

The annual Silverhills White Ball hosted by the Royal family for charity has broken its record in terms of charitable donations. The annual ball takes place in  Silverhills Military Academy and has been taking place for the past 150 years. Around 1,000 guests paid around $1,500 each for tickets with proceeds going to various Royal Charities. Following taking into account ticket sales, on the door donations, proceeds from a charity auction and pledges it is estimated some $11million was donated to charities beating the previous record by around $2million.

This year the ball was arranged by Baronetess Stasya on behalf of King David and featured a large ferris wheel, a magic show and midnight laser display. One of the main beneficaries of the evening was the MPS Society, a charity dedicated to researching genetic conditions as well as supporting families with children suffering from conditions. The King began working with the charity when his son Prince Caspian was diagnosed with Hunter's Syndrome, part of the MPS family of conditions. The MPS Society chairperson is Dame Charlotte Powell who said, "Events like this are vital to our organisation. We get around 50% of our funding either directly or indirectly because of this ball. Attracting philanthropists to the event is important and even after the event we still get donations. For example we have a few guests from tonight asking to come and see what we do and more often than not this turns into a donation. Thanks to this event we're able to fund respite care for parents, physiotherapy sessions and put money into research for finding ways to help those living with the conditions live fulfilling lives." It is thought around $2.5million will go to MPS.

Another charity that benefitted was Princess Freya's Legionnaire Legacy which helps support injured service members recover through the use of sport. The Princess was in attendance at the ball along with several veterans who had worked with the charity and now helped those in need. Princess Freya said, "Charities often find it hard to get time with people capable of funding their projects. Tonight is a way of being able to put those willing and capable of great work face to face with those capable of making it a reality. Tonight people who may never meet a wounded veteran have sat down eaten with them and even had a bit of a dance. It shows just how massive the progress we make has been and those people want to help that continue."

One of the highlights of the evening is a charity auction and it was here Barontess Stasya made one of the biggest purchases of the evening. The former Lodjain Lady in Waiting is thought to have paid around £200,000 for a set of office furniture made out of unused parts of the Water-Badger speed record vehicle. The furniture was a gift for King David. It is known the King already has a coffee table in his office made out of part of the SSC Honeybadger which broke the world land speed record in 2015 and it is a common piece of knowledge the King is a keen supporter of motor sports. The King was said to be delighted with the gift and the evening. "Stasya has done an incredible job. Its probably been my favourite ball and I've enjoyed the atmosphere, the entertainment and the company. To see so much raised for good causes and knowing in the coming days some direct donations will boost those funds even more makes me so glad we do this. I personally usually don't enjoy balls but the Lodjains do have a reputation for throwing great ones and putting Stasya in charge was a good move. I look forward to seeing where the charities make progress over the coming months." THe King is expected to open a new MPS Society respite home in the coming days which was funded last year at the ball.

Baronetess Stasya wore a rather high cut ball gown showing plenty of leg as she mingled with guests. Her dress was considered far more elegant than her attempt at the Ostlake Games which created a scandal for being what some fashion commentators described as "Barely there." The 22 year old however is set to make even more money for charity when she auctions off the dress in the coming days. She explained, "I know there are people out there who are "Royal watchers" and adore the Ironside family. I convinced David, Freya and Lily to all donate their outfits to auction and I suspect someone out there will quiet literally like to own a piece of royal history. I've been privileged to be trusted with such a project for my 2nd home and hope I've been able to make a small difference to some huge difference makers." Some had suspected the King would announce an upcoming wedding between himself and Baronetess Stasya however that was not forthcoming and royal sources suggest that the Lodjain Queen is blocking a marriage at this point. It is tradition that a Lodjain seek the permission of a noble of higher rank than themselves to marry and as a Royal Envoy the only person capable of granting that is the Queen.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #146 on: September 17, 2019, 10:42:33 PM »




HUNTERS VALE TO CLOSE TO LAKHZOVIAN REFUGEES

REMAF Hunters Vale has served as a refugee processing centre as well as a safe haven for those evacuated for some of the worst war zones. In 2017 it began accepting those being evacuated from Lakhzovia during what many have called the Utman-Lakhzov Conflict. Over several months of evacuations it is estimated around 80,000 Lakhzovians were evacuated and processed through the former nuclear protection site with many spending several weeks utilising the labrynth of old tunnel dwellings as a temporary home. However for around 30,000 people the base, the size of a small town, has remained their home. Local schools have struggled to cope both with the number of students and the fact that those students do not speak Morelandish. Additionally the local area, a largely rural community, has been unable to handle demands for General Practioner Doctors, Dentists and other basic needs. This has at times seen tensions raise in the area as locals feel their quality of life has been degraded by the large number of refugees who one local says, "should have been here months not years. We did our bit, we stopped them being caught up in a war and we gave them a safe roof over their head but now with the best will in the world they are a drain. They can't work, they clog up our public services and hold our children back. My daughter started Primary School with a class of 18 other children, now she's in a class of 30 and half of them don't even speak Morelandish." One local primary school has employed a Lakhzovian language specialist to try and help its refugee students adapt. However the local headteacher explains this is not the only issue, "Some of these children have lost siblings and parents to the conflict and are now what we would class as "looked after" children. Even without a language barrier this can cause problems beyond those you'd expect of a child from a stable family background. It means we're having to try and identify additional needs these students have and somehow try and fulfil them."

Foreign Minister Edward Tamana has indicated that the aim will be to clear the base by the end of the year. "The process has begun of trying to send some people home. Those with documents we have aided to return home. However the vast majority of refugees posses no documentation and as such have no passport, no ID cards or anything else. We have no way of them being able to return home unless the Lakhzovian government begin engaging in the process. At present we have very few options open to us. We could ask for Uppsala Passports to be issued but we have no guarentee that Lakhzovia would accept them. Otherwise we could perhaps issue the passports and see if any other countries would accept them. I've visited a few times and I know that some of the refugees have families and friends in other nations, if those accepted the Uppsala passport then that is an option for them. Additionally as I believe Lakhzovia is discussing membership of the Cross Straits Union we could see if that organisation would issue a CSU Passport and then the people would be free under CSU treaty rules to move back home or to a safe CSU nation. We also need to keep in mind that perhaps Lakhzovia are dragging their feet believing these people to be essentially outcasts and therefore trying to wash their hands of their responsibilities. It is my hope the CSU staff negotiating Lakhzovia's entry take this situation into account during their talks."

Around 2,000 of the refugees have been granted right to remain in East Moreland. One, who asked not to be named, has since found a job as a plumber in Rockhampton. "I came with my five year old daughter. She is now in a good school and I earn a wage that means we can have a small one bedroom flat. She is enjoying life here and makes friends everyday. I miss home but two years of waiting to see if we can return meant I had to do something to ensure we have a future not a potential future."

Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson commented saying, "In 2016 we converted Hunter's Vale into a kind of temporary community for disasters, either domestic or international. When places like Stoneton flood it gives us somewhere safe to put a few thousand villages while they wait for the waters to subside. We've lost that ability at the moment. Add to that the fact Tytor and Noobia face natural disasters then they're is a chance we may see a need for more refugee places soon. We need the capacity back and while no emergency exists in Lakhzovia their people's status needs addressing. They've help talks with several countries about treaties and the like since the end of the conflict. They have done nothing to support their own refugees."




INFLATABLE SPACE STATION SET FOR "ENDURANCE TEST"

Astronaut Rachel Dixon will return to space for her fourth mission as part of a three person team set to test the "Inflatable Space Station." The system see's two large collapsable domes attatched to the East Moreland "Micro-Space Station" making it almost five times the size. The technology was developed by SmartWar and EMAC as a way of potentially equipping long range manned space missions with habitats in orbit. While that is perhaps still decades away the technology is being developed to allow a cheaper space station to be built. Dixon spent 48 hours aboard a joint CNN mission earlier in the year and stated that the domes, "Feel just like being inside a ship or the micro-station. They just give more room for movement, a bit of privacy and most importantly experiments. Most equipment can be designed to essentially fold and the whole thing gets a blast of compressed air when you're in position and it expands to the size you need." She will be joined by fellow astronaut Chris Morrin and his brother a SmartWar engineer and recent astronaut training graduate Simon Morrin. The trio will carry out a variety of tests and drills designed to see how feasable lengthy stays can be. Dixon explains, "We've seen other stay many months onboard purpose built stations. The engineers believe this could do the job just as well and so we'll give it a go for 30 days and see what happens. We'll have the Micro-Station for emergencies and we know that works fine. The team on the ground will also be able to come and get us pretty quickly if things aren't working out. We're also thankful to the Cenneg who have said they'll also make their rockets avaliable should the need arise."

The nations most recently trained astronaut, Simon Morrin, is looking forward to the experience. "I don't get to see my big brother Chris that often. He was on the team that put Rachel on the moon and I know he's excited to return to space. All the stuff he told me I now get a chance to experience and can't wait." The team are set to take two experiments designed by East Moreland school children and will perform the tests live on the internet, something Simon is a little nervous about. "It'll be a cross between being a Scientist and a children's TV Presenter. I always get a little nervous when we test anything, but to do it in zero gravity adds another dimension. I think its important to do things like this though as it may inspire more youngsters in taking an interest in space or engineering and we always need more people in those fields." No date is announced for the launch however it is likely to come in around 30 days time.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #147 on: September 18, 2019, 08:35:29 PM »




ENTRY POINTS TO GET FACIAL RECOGNITION SECURITY BOOST

Minister of Justice Darren Bone has today announced that by the end of 2019 all airports, ports, train and bus stations in East Moreland will feature facial recognition cameras. The new technology will be connected to various databases and will alert security forces if a person who is wanted or deemed a security risk enters these high risk areas. The first airport to have the technology will be Northfort's KIng Robert International Airport. The Minister explained, "The new devices will be positioned so that everyone entering an airport terminal building will have to pass through areas where these cameras will be operating. Additionally cameras will be trained upon the bridges where passengers leave the planes so we can effectively pre-screen all incoming passengers." The cameras will be attached to a variety of databases including the East Moreland criminal database, various intelligence services ones as well as utilising data available through treaty obligations such as the CNN. Minister Bone believes that the new technology will help make East Moreland even safer. "The nation has a long history of having to combat terrorism and we believe this is now one more tool that will help make us a better defended nation."

It is thought that East Moreland will be the first nation on Mundus to utilise this new technology across all transport hubs and utilise such a massive database. The move has prompted some civil liberties groups to say it is an invasion of their civil rights to be monitored in such a way however the Minister explained that " No East Moreland laws or international agreements are being broken. Morelanders are used to stringent security checks and view them as a necessity. Yes the new cameras may make people think they are all being watched but the system will only alert authorities if you are on a database for things such as terrorism or smuggling. I am sure the people complaining about being monitored will also feel safer and will learn to cope with the idea of the increased procedures."




GREECHAN TO SWIM ILLUMIC

17 time Mundus Games medallist Daisy Greechan has announced that she is to attempt to swim the Illumic. The 2,750km journey will begin a month after she returns from the Mundus Games and will be expected to take her around 150days. The attempt will see her swim for around 12 hours a day before clambering aboard an anchored safety boat to sleep before beginning again. If successful she will become the first person to swim across the Illumic and will likely set a record for the longest open water swim. Daisy is no stranger to the Illumic waters having worked as a search and rescue diver for the Royal East Moreland Navy for the last four years. The 24 year old sports super-star is due to begin Officer training for the Navy however because of course start dates this will not be happening until February. Speaking from the Mundus Games where she took the Gold in the 10km Open Water swim she said, "The Navy essentially told me to go and do something to stay fit until February. If I don't have something to aim for then I struggle to train properly and with this Mundus Games probably being my last I needed a new challenge. Me and Sophie (Harrison-Ironside) rowed the Mhorish last year for charity and so I thought something like that was ideal. I sat with my coaches and we did some maths and think this is doable. I know its not going to be easy but that's half the point."

The swimmers rowing partner was Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside who is currently serving as an Officer in the Royal East Moreland Air Force and unable to compete at the games where she herself has five medals. The niece of King David said, "Daisy is someone who is mentally very very strong. If she thinks she can do this then its going to take something going very wrong to stop her. I'm wishing her good luck as this is an incredible thing to say you want to do." The attempt will see Daisy keep a video diary and she hopes to raise money for Legionnaire Legacy and the Joint Emergency Team, but organisations she has worked for in the past. "Daisy was part of the JET team that helped evacuate Mavrosian refugees and did some time running pool sessions at Ostlake Recovery Centre. These two charities are therefore very close to her heart and some of the money from our row went to the Legacy fund."

Daisy has hinted this may be the first of many attempts. "If things go right I should swim just under 3,000km. The Mhorish from our border with Nemerie to Bakkermaya is I believe 3,000km, so maybe the Mhorish could be next, you could cheat the Krimeon and Kyne to around 1,000km. I think with the exception of the Great North Ocean this swim could show its possible to swim every major ocean. I'm not promoting this as some climate change alternative, that we all swim instead of flying but it could be an interesting challenge to set myself. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself but I like to plan big."


Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #148 on: September 29, 2019, 10:36:35 PM »




LODJAIN INVASION OF HONEYBADGER DAY SPARKS WEDDING RUMOURS

With the nation celebrating Honeybadger Day on Saturday the parks of cities across East Moreland were taken over for huge parties in celebration of the nations national animal. Among the VIP's celebrating in Northfort were a huge contingent of Lodjains who had been invited over by Baronetess Stasya Pelagiya. In addition to the Pelagiya family, Princess Alana Tar, Prince Genadi Kohut (Queen Klara's brother) and several of their friends attended events in Northfort People's Park. It sparked rumours by some that Prince Genadi had brought permission for King David to marry. The pair spent the day in the park at a music festival which saw acts including 2Cellos, The Who, Frank Turner and Mumford and Sons play. During the day the two were seen canoodling in the VIP area while the rest of the Ironside family mingled with the Lodjains. Princess Freya was, as has become tradition, dressed in a Honeybadger onesie along with her adopted daughter Evie and niece Princess Rhiannon. At one point the King's former sister-in-law and socialite Erin Osman posted on Twitter that she had heard King David telling friends his marriage to Stasya was "weeks away." However Malcolm Tucker, the royal press secretary, has stated "Erin Osman's Twitter feed is not a particularly reliable source. Its great for make up tips not so great for royal news. Miss Osman has no access to the Palace and as far as I know she is not friends with Barontess Stasya. When Queen Klara gives her permission I'm sure King David will want to marry, however that would be announced publically from the Isle of the Goddess."

The Honeybadger Day event also took place in embassies across Mundus. In Bakkermaya a group of Morelanders living there hosted a Medieval MMA tournament and BBQ which raised $2,500 for local charities. In Lodja a beach party was hosted by embassy staff with a beach rugby game between locals and embassy staff.




NEW IRONSIDE ONE ENTERS SERVICE

The new EMAC manufactured royal aircraft has today been handed over to the Air Force. The aircraft which uses the callsign Ironside One is replacing a much smaller aircraft that has been used for over a decade. The aircraft will be commanded by Squadron Leader Christopher Greene who said, "We've worked with EMAC for the last month ironing out the final wrinkles with the aircraft, but to be fair there were not many. Its a lovely aircraft to fly and I'm looking forward to taking it across Mundus." The aircraft features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully functioning kitchen and lounge and is capable of functioning as a military command post. Ironside One also includes a system of missile defences and is hardened against electronic warfare.

Sir Alan Maybury of EMAC has stated, "I've been onboard for a few of the test flights. Its like a five star hotel in the sky. I'm proud of what we have been able to develop and I think for the next 30 or so years we potentially have the King in very good hands when he travels." The King had commented that the former aircraft was beginning to no longer be fit for purpose following injuries to his back. The King was shot by terrorists three years ago and lost part of his lower back muscle, as such sitting or standing in one position for too long causes him problems. The previous aircraft had very little space inside whereas the new aircraft has even had a treadmill installed. No word has come as to where the first journey will be however the King is scheduled to attend the closing ceremony of the Mundus Games so potentially a flight to New Derusima will be the first journey.




HONEYBADGERS TAKE GOLD

The nations rugby team took Gold in the Seven's at the Mundus Games. The Gold medal is one of the medals described by Team East Moreland Team Director Harriet Simpson as "a benchmark medal". At the outset of the games Simpson said "For national prestige we need to come away with Gold in the rugby, Medieval MMA and at least two fencing disciplines. Beyond that we need to ensure we collect as many medals as possible." The final match saw the Honeybadgers play Achkaerin to conclude a long and hard hitting tournament. The team was coached by former World Cup winner Rory Overwood who is tipped to succeed Eddie Johns after the next world cup regardless of the result. Overwood won 54 caps for the Honeybadgers scoring 27 tries and had picked a relatively young side. "We had an average age of about 23 and it gives a nice groundwork for them going on and joining the full squad and hopefully adding a World Cup winners medal to the Gold here."

The match was watched by the biggest audience of the games on TV in East Moreland with many gathering in city squares to watch the game on big screens. Rollo MacAllister, the boyfriend of Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside, was on the subs bench for the game but as all squad members earn a medal becomes one of a select band to win both World Cup and Mundus Game gold. This comes after he had asked permission to represent Seaforth in sevens, however this was denied. The victory cements the nations reputation as a rugby superpower having won multiple world cups and Mundus Games. The East Moreland Rugby Football Union however have announced that they intend to continue developing the game announcing that a new version of rugby, called Rugby X will be trialled in schools across the nation. The new version is 10-a-side , is played between touchlines in a half length pitch and does not feature penalty kicks or conversions. The new system of rugby in East Moreland will also trial a new idea of having players aged between 11-18 play in weight categories rather than age categories. A EMRFU spokesman said, "Our hope is this new game helps develop skills in a way that is more accessible to those new to the game. Its more like the 15-a-side game we love than 7's but retains the pace and excitement. By playing by weight not age we ensure tackling is learnt correctly. We all remember the big kid at age 12 who could run through everyone, that spectacle looks great for spectators but doesn't help anyone develop. We need to ensure we keep our edge as the most dominant rugby nation on Mundus."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #149 on: October 09, 2019, 09:42:28 PM »




EKRABADGER DEPLOYS TO KYNE

The Ministry of Defence have announced that following the hijacking of a Maori gas tanker by Royal Seleucid that they are deploying the nations Ekrabadger Ground Effect Vehicle to the Kyne. The part plane, part boat asset is used as a kind of high speed interceptor and response vehicle usually in the Illumic and Mhorish and has been involved in a number of piracy operations as well as search and rescue missions. The vessel which can reach speeds of around 400mph and has a range of around 1,500km can also carry approximately 200 troops. It has been exclusively used by Red Legion however it is understood in this case that a detachment of Royal Marines has been assigned to the vessel. Sir Harry Samuelson stated "The Maori are friends of ours and we have seen them target ted by the Seleucid. While it is important to note that the Ardian Assembly has been swift to act we know only too well organisations such as those can take time. We as CNN friends of the Maori will be utilising the Ekrabadger as a platform for anti-piracy operations just as we have in the Illumic. The unique nature of the Ekrabadger means it can be on the scene rather quickly meanwhile more conventional assets shall follow at slow speeds."

The lastest incident has broken out over issues with the discovery a secret military biological warfare facility in Paracambi. The facility is thought to have been the source of a potential outbreak of bubonic plague last year. "The prescence of this facility is dangerous. I have no idea if Paracambi knew it was there or not" Sir Harry Samuelson explained, "We must now make sure that the facility is not a threat. East Moreland has some experience with such weapons and facilities following our missions in Academica." The Minister of Defence has also spoken of working with friends Lodja and Bakkermaya through TUNA if need be to ensure people's safety.





RIDGE SETS UP MEGA FIGHT AFTER GAMES VICTORY

East Moreland's Tom Ridge has set up the biggest fight in Medieval MMA history after becoming the Gold Medalist at the Mundus Games. The Freestone native won his first Mundus Games medal despite it being World Heavyweight Champion Louis Blanche who was favoured to be the winner at the start of the Games. The event is one of those deemed a "Must win" for East Moreland and Ridge succeeded in working his way through the bracket before taking the final match. His rival Louis Blanche was in the crowd and was one of the first to congratulate the gold medalist.

Following the success Ridge stated, "I love the sport and see it as having two pinnacles, the first is the World Heavyweight title, the second the Mundus Games. To be a great in the sport you need both. I'm half way there, Blanche has what I want and so I need it." The duo have already fought twice with Blanch having won both, the first by stoppage and the second by a narrow points victory. "There has to be a third match now." Ridge explained, "I've just beaten every top fighter in the world in a tournament, that makes me the number one contender. Louis has always been one for facing the best and now that once again is me."

Blanche sent his congratulations to Ridge saying, "I'm delighted the gold is coming home. Me and Tom will be meeting again at some point. There is a big event coming up at King Robert Arena in December. I think I'll be ready, if Tom is and the TV networks find the right financial package for us then we'll see if Tom can take my title." In the women's event Alexandra Emery took silver losing to a Bakkermayan. She is scheduled to fight Louisa Shooter at the December event for the Women's World Title.





IS PRINCESS FREYA PREPARING FOR FINAL RED LEGION CHANCE?

Princess Freya today competed in the Ostlake Spartan race, a charity obsticle course marathon which involved climbing ropes, scaling walls and jumping over fire. She finished the event in 5th place among the women's competitors and raised an estimated $35,000 for her favoured Legionnaire Legacy charity which supports injured veterans. The younger sister of King David looked in good shape as she rounded the 25mile course and afterwards rumours began to circulate that the Princess was preparing for her second, and final chance to join East Moreland's elite Red Legion. Former Red Legionnaire Andy Henderson today runs a fitness bootcamp which he considers a "vastly watered down Red Legion selection" and was one of the Sergeants when Princess Freya failed the first attempt. "The Princess looked in the shape of her life when she arrived at Aldcliffe" the former Red began, " After she injured her ankle on the penultimate test she went away and you could see she didn't look as fit as she was then. It takes time to get back in condition. Seeing the footage of her in the Spartan race she looked back to Red Legion selection. I think she'd capable of getting in but it was luck that denied her the chance last time."

No woman has served in Red Legion and only Princess Freya and one other woman has even been permitted to begin selection. Mundus Games Judo medallist Kristin Forester became the second woman to begin Red Legion training and is currently on the 4th of 7 stages of selection. Previously Princess Freya had wished Corporal Forester well saying, "If she becomes the first woman in the Legion then I'm happy for her. Its not about who does it, its just about someone doing it. At one point there had been no women in the Air Force and during my secondment to them the other year I was one of many female pilots, one day it'll be the same in Red Legion."