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Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #90 on: December 01, 2018, 10:04:06 PM »




IRONSIDE MAUSOLEUM TO GET $10MILLION RESTORATION

The Ironside Mausoleum which was constructed in the 1300's to house the funeral urns of the Ironside family is to undergo a restoration project lead by Professor Maddie Howard of the Royal Merriman University. The circular building has undergone a variety of different remodellings and refurbishments in its history and the latest is "unlikely to change the cosmetics of the historic site" according to Professor Howard, who at one time was rumoured to be romantically involved with King David. The masoleum is home to the remains of all but three monarchs of East Moreland and many of their family members. The only monarchs not interned there are Kieron The Spineless (1437 -1439) whose own brother cast his funeral urn into the Illumic.  Kieran urned the nickname the Spineless after an assassination attempt on his life he gave territory around Keepton to the Borlanders and gave an annual payment to them in order to pay them off from attacking East Moreland. This saw taxes increased on those in the North and this made many nobles angry. In 1439 Kieron's brother Alfred launched a rebellion of his own and almost every Legion switched to give allegiance to Alfred. Kieron committed suicide by leaping from Ostlake keep before he could be captured. He is today the only monarch of East Moreland without a Royal Naval vessel named after him. The remains of King Jasper are also not contained within the roundal as he left in his will the decision to be buried in the Alps and has a shrine in Keepton.  The final unaccounted King is Paul the Explorer, the most enigmatic of Moreland monarchs, however his Achkaerin wives remains are contained within the Maousoleum. As Dr.Howard explained, "The search for the remains of Paul the Explorer will continue for many years, Dr.Merriman has exhausted what I believe are most leads and as such we've not much to go at for the time being. Things can change though."

The refurbishment is set to be in the region of $10million and will include a new vault for remains which will be climate controlled and have an air purification system. The cost of the work will be covered by the Ironside family from personal funds. The King will also spend this weekend at the building marking the anniversary of his son Caspian's death. It is reported he will be joined by his ex-wife the former Queen Matilda.





HONEYBADGERS TO GET "DOWN TO BUSINESS"

The East Moreland national rugby team, the Honeybadgers, have departed for Bakkermaya for the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup. The Honeybadgers are the defending world champions and are strongly fancied to retain the trophy. The team have been drawn in Group B where most games will take place in Paracambi where the team will be based initially. The team are lead by Eddie Johns who lead the team to victory in the last world cup and the majority of the squad are retained.

One of those selected amid much speculation was Rollo MacAllister who was rumoured to be considering an appeal to play for Seaforth who lost in the opening game to hosts Bakkermaya. MacAllister said, "I'm a Honeybadger, I've 24 caps for them, a world cup winners medal and loads of happy memories. Being in Team Honeybadger once more gives me the chance to be a double world cup winner and that means I'm one of a very select band if it happens." Several of the current squad already hold a winners medal including captain Will Greenward who will likely win his 100th cap during the tournament.

The team features three uncapped players, Kyle Sinclair, Jack Noelle and Joe Cockersonger, all of whom Head Coach Eddie Johns says "are primed and ready to set the rugby world on fire. Wearing the Honeybadger jersey brings a rather unique pressure and if you can't cope with that you get nowhere near it. I've every confidence that Kyle, Jack and Joe will add to the legacy of the red shirt and fingers crossed bring home another world cup victory for a rugby loving nation."

One unique moment of the World Cup would come if the Honeybadgers win as Martin Jonson, the current Forwards Coach of the Honeybadgers would become the first person to win the trophy as both a player and a coach. Jonson lifted the trophy in the inaugral World Cup but retired straight after at the age of 35 having won 102 caps for the Honeybadgers. Jonson said, "I love the game and need to be around it. To think I may once more get my hands on the trophy is why I left the Keepton RUFC set up when Eddie offered me this chance. We've a great team spirit as you'd expect and I can't wait to see the lads do their bit."

Another unique story could be if Lodja win the tournament, the team are rank outsiders but are coached by former Honeybadgers coach Sir Clyde Windward who lead the team to their first World Cup win. Speaking from the Lodjain teams HQ he said, " With my homeland in Group B I'll be keeping an eye on them and cheering them on. I know rugby is a growing sport in Lodja and we've a mountain to climb if we're to emulate East Moreland but stranger things have happened in sport, I mean Northfort United have got the the Champions League final twice, maybe Lodja can be the rugby equivalent and we'll work hard to make them proud. It'll help having some home support with hosting some of the games and we've a good young squad keen to learn." Should Lodja do what many believe is the impossible Sir Clyde would become the first coach to win the tournament with two different nations.

TEAM HONEYBADGER

Forwards:- Joe Marlow (Prop), Dan Coals (Prop), Jason Leeonard (Prop), Kyle Sinclair (Prop), Dillon Hartlee (Hooker), Tom Young (Hooker), Brian More (Hooker), Rollo MacAllister (Lock/Flanker), Joe Lunchberry (Lock), George Cruise (Lock), Courtney Law (Lock/Flanker), Chris Robsure (Flanker), Richard Hills (Flanker), Sam Overhill (Flanker), Mick Skinner (Flanker) Ben Murgen (No.8), Nathanial Hughes (No.8)

Backs:- Danny Kare (Scrum Half), Richard Wiggleswart (Scrum Half), Toby Floods (Fly Half/Centre), Jon Wilkins (Fly Half/Centre), Will Greenward (Centre), Elliot Daily (Centre/Wing/Full Back), Mike Tindale (Centre), James Daniel-Simpson (Centre/Wing), Joseph Jonathon (Winger/Centre), Jack Noelle (Winger), Jonny Mahy (Winger), Mike Braun (Full Back/Winger) Joe Cockersonger (Winger/Full Back)


Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #91 on: December 08, 2018, 08:32:45 PM »




TECHNOLOGY CITY TO CHANGE NAME

It has been determined that the nations specialist hub for high tech industry will have its name changed. The city was founded as a planned settlement centred around the Royal Institute of Technology which is a centre of excellence for skills such as aerospace engineering, biomedical sciences and many other specialist fields. The city is also a dedicated trade zone where companies pay no tariffs on imports and tax rates are lower than the national set ones. The city however has always been called Technology City and it has now been granted a new name. The city will from January 1st 2019 be called Chamwick, the name was selected by local history teachers one of whom was Mary Scott, "The name translate literally as Farm of Technology, the word Cham being the Morelandish word for Technology and Wick the word for the produce of a farm.

It was further revealed that the name change will also herald in another two changes. Olivia Cole, the nations Minister for Science and Technology, stated "In the new year we will launch Phase Two of the project. A new airfield will open this one unique for EMAC it will also be made avaliable to others who wish to make use of it. At present we've an airport being shared between EMAC and commercial flights. We will also have two office complexes set up, the project is now a city of 200,000 people and growing, originally it was designed for 150,000 people. As such we now need to start providing much more in terms of health care, education and retail services. As such we'll be opening up for more investers from both East Moreland and overseas."

The second change will be that a new Duchy will be created as a Duke of Chamwick will be created, many have speculated that this will be Alex Redfern, the King's brother in law who currently holds no official title.




Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #92 on: December 09, 2018, 08:33:29 PM »




FIRST CNN TECH EXPO DUE TO START SOON

The first CNN Technology Expo is due to start next week in the newly named city of Chamwick. The festival of science and technology is likely to see some of Mundus biggest names unveiling new projects and advances as well as giving investors from across Mundus a chance to see the latest in small scale opportunities. While the vast majority of exhbitors come from the CNN alliance there are some from outside this group also showcasing their latest projects. Among the presentations from East Moreland there will be EMAC giving a talk on "The Future of Speed" while SmartWar will be presenting work based on new developments in SwarmBots. There are a large number of foreign investors also giving talks including Lodja Maritime Concerns who will be talking about large scale drones while Dalton Motors will be presenting about some mobile research rovers.

The Expo is also set to feature a visit by King David III who will officially re-name the city in a short ceremony at the start of the expo. The King has been a large scale supporter of the technology sector of East Moreland and is often a visitor to companies such as EMAC. The Royal Press Secretary, Malcolm Tucker said, "I know the King is rather excited for what EMAC are bringing, he was onboard with SSC Honeybadger from the get go and today in his office he even has a coffee table made out of various parts of the project. His daughter is also a big fan of SmartWar's SwarmBots and has visited their exhibit in Northfort several times. Rest assured this kind of showcase will have large scale support from the royals here and I hope around Mundus."

It is expected that several deals may be done during the week long show as non-CNN nations get a chance to visit and explore the technology being developed within the Alliance.





HALLIDAY ARRIVES IN ACHKAERIN BRUISED

Rumours of a test crash filled the paddock at the Valkyria Grand Prix in Achkaerin as World Champion Rytol-EMAC driver Sam Halliday arrived with a black eye. The 27 year old driver was seen testing at the EMAC track midweek amid reports of the car experiencing some "back end twitching" according to some sources following an upgrade package. While no crash was seen there appears to be the evidence of one on Halliday.

The Rytol-EMAC team principle, Simon Toller, the son of team founder Ryan Toller spoke during the teams arrival press conference saying, "The car is as good as always and ready to go. Sam and Matt are in good shape and we look forward to yet another good hard race."


Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #93 on: December 14, 2018, 08:48:55 PM »




"EMIS MAY HAVE AIDED IWI RAID" SAYS LEAK

A disgruntled member of the East Moreland Intelligence Service has released documents that may suggest that the recent rescue of Maori slaves in Tamora recieved support from our nation. The source leaked a series of e-mails between the EMIS HQ and the Iwi in which it is suggested that East Moreland assets be used to help prepare for the operation. This aid included providing photographic reconnessance, satellite imagery and electronics surveillance. It is also suggested that the Ekrabadger was in the region at the time. The e-mails were leaked by an individual said to be "fed up with the way the Service promote on name not on talent" and who felt "risky operations by those wishing to make a name for themselves are putting our people at risk. The nation needs to know the gambles they are taking often without the King's say so."

Sir Harry Sameulson, the nations Minister of Defence was asked about the leak but simply stated, "Our forces of all kinds have a long established routine of sucking in informaion from many sources across Mundus. As such they don't bother telling me every tiny piece of data we have on file. I ask EMIS to find something out for me and moments later it appears. It's their job to know stuff and find stuff out. Did that information get passed on to The Iwi and help them with their operation? That's not my place to discuss. As for the Ekrabadger it is enroute to Nya Aland for routine exercises with Red Legion. I suspect several East Moreland ships were in the Kyne when this went down, so are we suggesting each of those was involved?" The Minister went on to say, "I can't blame the Maori for doing this and I wish those now in a new home all the best."

The King too played down the situation saying. "I know as much as the world does about all the ins and outs. All I know is the MCUR recently was amended to give every person on Mundus a nationality, to make them a citizen of a nation and give them the protection that status carries out. The ethnic Maori of Tamora are not Tamoran citizens and therefore must belong somewhere. Ethnically their Maori so I suppose the Iwi has as much a right to call them citizens as anyone. If a nation was holding Morelanders in servitude you can bet your ass it'd take Jekar himself to stop me doing everything I could to bring them home. Its a delicate situation and while millions remain in servitude I hope these kind of raids are not to be the norm now."

TITLE "BACK HOME" SAYS LEWING

Mundus Games Gold Medalist for Medieval MMA, Caitlin Lewing is today celebrating winning the Council of Sports Swordsmanship World Title. The 24 year old extended her record to 20 wins in 20 fights after stopping World Champion Sarah Pembroke from Bakkermaya in the second round. The fight was the first world title fight and first major event of the CSS to be held outside East Moreland or Bakkermaya following the Pelagiya family organising the event in Lodja. This now means all the world titles are currently held by Morelanders something Lewing describes as "the natural order" in a post match interview, "East Moreland founded the sport, we made it grow and we live and breath it. This is like trying to take away whiskey from Seaforth, heavy metal from Rokkenjima or food from Nemerie. The titles belong in East Moreland and I'm just happy that the title is now back home."

The fight was a rather brutal one with both Lewing and Pembroke leaving the ring limping following the fight, it later turned out Pembroke had a stress fracture in her foot while Lewing has simply sprained her ankle. The fight saw 35,000 in attendance as well as around 5million Pay-per-view orders from East Moreland. The Pelagiya family, whose daughter Stasya is currently dating King David of East Moreland, put up the fighters purse which is thought to have netted Lewing a cool $800,000, which would be the largest purse by a female fighter. After the event Tobias Pelagiya, the patriach of the family and Ambassador to Alba Karinya said, "I have seen the sport many many times in East Moreland and it is exciting, it looks dangerous and that brings something new to the crowd. It is my hope we can get more Lodjains competing and more events here."

It is likely Lewing will defend her new title in a rematch against Pembroke in February when the CCS put on an event in Ostlake. The CCS President stated, "As custom a contract for a title fight gives a losing champion the right to a rematch within six months. I'd expect Pembroke to use that and the most obvious time would be at Ostlake, for some reason should she not take up that clause then we'll be looking at Gillian Murphy to challenge for the title." The next major event for the CSS is the hotly anticipated Men's Heavyweight fight between World Champion and Mundus Games Gold Medalist Louis Blanche and challenger Tom Ridge, the only man to have defeated Blanche. This takes place in the King Robert Arena in Northfort on January 2nd an event that sold out within 3 hours with 80,000 tickets sold.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #94 on: December 16, 2018, 09:14:29 PM »




DENMAN OPENS TEMPLE IN SILVERHILLS

Breakaway religious leader Jinny Denman has today opened her sects latest Temple in Silverhills, this is the Sisterhood of Helus' 2nd temple after the first opened in a Northfort suburb some 6 months ago. The second one is much larger than the first something Denman explained is because of "the rapid acceptance our faith is gaining as we get more and more publicity." The Sisterhood differs from the Cult by believing that Helus was in fact female and not male and that Raimond Unasson, thought to be the ancestor of the Ironside family was born from Helus thus meaning the Ironsides are a direct descendent of Helus. A crowd of a few thousand attended the opening where Denman , the self styled High Priestess of the Sisterhood gave a sermon which included criticism of the King's current relationship.

"I know I have said this time and again but as a descendent of Raimond Unasson the King of East Moreland has a duty to protect the bloodline of the Gods. We have already seen one disasterous marriage, the first of a Morelander royal to a commoner and sadly his sister Princess Freya followed his example soon after. Time is not against us however, the King is in good health and could produce more children and should. He should find a nice Moreland noble woman who is as dedicated to Helus as she is to him and produce a proper heir." There was controversey however as several accounts proporting to belong to followers of the Sisterhood have been stiring up hatred against former Queen , Matilda Osman, as well as the legitimacy of Princess Rhiannon in succession to the throne. Several tweets with comments of "#Mudblood #NotMyPrincess " have been circulating following an incident in Neu Urburzis where Princess Rhiannon is rumoured to have been involved in an incident involving "Crocodiles"

Denman responded to the abuse saying, "Princess Rhiannon is from the blood of the King and sadly this makes her the heir to the throne. We need someone of purer blood though to lead our nation once King David has gone. This however is not the fault of the child. I am sure Rhiannon will make an excellent envoy of the Ironside family when older but she has no right being Queen." Denman went on to suggest that the daughter of Lord Jenson Matthews, 24 year old Abigail would be the perfect Queen. "She is a follower of the Sisterhood, just graduated with a degree in Veternary Medicine and the Matthews family are old and prestigious. She is much better candidate than this Lodjain Lady who while she is noble is no follower of Helus."

Denman also went on to explain that she intends to build a temple in Bakkermaya in the coming months.





NORTHFORT 2018 SURVEY PART ONE

The Northfort News 2018 Survey has been completed and the results are being poured over by the nation. Over the next few issues we'll explore some of the responses and what they reveal about East Moreland.

One of the first questions was about whether people still support the Monarchy, 59% either strongly supported or supported the monarchy while a further 11% were neutral in their opinions. This is down slightly from other years where the King enjoyed the support of around 62% of the nation. One explanation for the decline was given by one respondent who said, "The King seems a good guy but at the moment he's let us go quiet, the nation was a leading light at one point but we've started to become rather inward looking and limiting ourselves to working with a handful of nations. We've had very few national projects to make life better for the Morelanders, we need more things like when we had Carpenter as Chief Councillor."

The second question focused on the Representative Council where Chief Councillor Thomas More enjoyed only a 42% approval rating the lowest in his two year tennancy in the position. Many put this down to his losses in the CNN Referendum campaign as well as what one respondent described as "A lack of leadership charisma" One other respondent stated, "He's a clown, he let the youngest Councillor run rings round him and now is essentially a yes man to the monarchy" With elections two years away though it is highly likely that More will weather the storm.

An annual series of question focuses on East Moreland's foreign relations. The nations ranked as the Top Three Useful allies were 1. Ui Cenneslaig 2. Seaforth 3. Achkaerin, a change from last year when Achkaerin ranked second thus maybe highlighting the nations focus on security in the Illumic rather than wider global affairs. When asked to rank the nations as closest allies the order came out as 1. Lodja 2. Seaforth 3.Ui Cenneslaig, the Kings relationship with Lodja being a key reason for their high ranking while the personal friendship between the Ironsides and the Rhodes being a key in their position. When asked to rank the nations with which relationships were worst the order came in 1. Royal Seleucid, 2. Zimalia and 3.Rokkenjima. Rokkenjima making the bottom three comes after heated words earlier in the year from Empress Beatrice which saw the Tripartite collapse. One respondent said, " We see our King put aside personal feelings all the time for the sake of our Kingdom, what we saw from Rokkenjima was their Empress essentially saying she is Rokkenjima, we cant trust her so we can't trust their nation." Royal Seleucid remained as the lowest ranked mainly due to its involvement several years ago in the Cultist genocide.

In a new question the public where asked about the relationship of the King with Lady Stasya of Lodja, 36% approved of the relationship while 32% stated they didn't have an opinion. 32% however said they disapproved with one respondent saying, "The Queen of East Moreland should be a Morelander. Yes she's hot but there are plenty of sexy single Morelanders who'd make much better Queens."

Next issue we'll bring further responses on a range of subjects including foreign policy, military matters and the economy.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #95 on: December 17, 2018, 08:40:13 PM »




REDFERN REFUTES "ROKKENJIMA NONSENSE"

Following a reported leak by the Free Mundus Network it was left to Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker and well respected military man Alex Redfern of Red Legion to give East Moreland's response. The pair found themselves doing a hastily arranged tour of the various news programmes in what Tucker described as "a fire-fighting operation designed to put out the smouldering mess of fake news." Free Mundus Network reported that "An anonymous source familiar with the Rokkenjiman intelligence community has tied Morelander covert operations with the deaths of a number of Rokkenjimans abroad." If proven it could land the East Moreland intelligence community in hot water.

It was left for Major Redfern, who worked in the East Moreland Intelligence Service for a short time on secondment from the nations elite Red Legion to answer the accusers. "I can categorically state that these deaths have nothing to do with EMIS. Lets look at what we have, a Rokkenjiman Intelligence community that's about as water tight as an old sieve. Now yes we have been handed a list of the names of what we're calling rouge agents and should any have been discovered by ourselves in East Moreland then we'd have arrested them. Yet the very fact this has come from a leak shows there are countless ways this information can have spread to Helus knows who. Now picture the scene, you've a list of rouge agents out there and you've been running them. You know that sooner or later they're going to get caught and then talk, so what do you do if your their handler? You cut down your list of agents and in the world of rouges that means a bullet between the eyes if your lucky. We had no reason to kill them. Our operations are secure and I'm confident we have nothing to fear from Anauša angry at their Empress or whatever. We've been here with these black op assassination mumbo jumbo before, Princess Serenity in the past has accused us of operations in Safraen and not a shred of evidence exists except Borlander propaganda. It now seems this Rokkenjiman source is also taken in by these conspiracy theories. Frankly I'm flattered that people think we're capable of hitting potential enemies at any point on the globe so easily."

Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker also questioned the leak. "We all know from time to time leaks happen as a way of getting information out to the public in such a way as people get their hands clean. Here we see the Rokkenjimans doing nothing to mop up the mess that this leak is causing, instead their content to let it just sit out there gaining momentum. Its another case of Rokkenjima using the media to discredit someone who doesn't see them the way they see themselves."

Redfern concluded by saying that the leak highlights a more serious issue. "The FMN article states they picked up "increased chatter amongst Republican sympathizers indicating a level of organization not seen since the closing days of the Second Patriotic War." Our source now wonders if this chatter was a component of the Morelander operations which killed a number of Rokkenjiman nationals, mostly on foreign soils. " This indicates the Rokkenjimans are somehow monitoring members of the East Moreland Intlligence Service, something that is rather alarming for our nation. Essentially Rokkenjiman appear to be spying on us. It also highlights another issue if it turns out they are not spying on us, which I believe they are, it shows us that the Rokkenjimans will buy anything. I know first hand our Intelligence Services have carried out no such operations and I know that if we did we wouldn't be chattering in any way the Rokkenjimans would know and the Rokkenjimans know that. EMIS is one of the best if not the best Intelligence Service in Mundus. Weekly they stop tens of Borlander attacks and we've limited them to pointless swipes at targets of no significance, do you honestly think we'd be dumb enough to go bragging about a successful covert black op in a manner the Rokkenjimans would know? Seriously it wouldn't happen. This is just more Rokkenjiman nonsense. I believe the Achkaerin military are conducting a deep review of the Rokkenjiman Anauša and Intelligence Services. I'll save them the time, sack them all, start again."[1]

 1. OOC- Essentially the FMN article is true but there is no evidence tying EM to the deaths. The assassinations were carried out by a group called the Nightwitches which are a highly secretive group known only to Redfern, Grace Yacobs and one small squad of Red Legionnaires. They don't "chatter" though as all communication on operation set up and conclusion is done face to face verbally

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #96 on: December 23, 2018, 01:37:50 AM »




TOMB FOUND IN PORTWORTH CONNECTED TO KING PAUL

During an expansion of an office building in Portworth Naval Dockyards a small tomb has been found. The tomb seems to have been dedicated to one individual and rather than a funeral urn a large black sarcophagus made from granite was discovered. Famed historian Dr.Marcus Merriman has briefly examined the sarcophagus and says he is "reasonably confident" that the tomb was from the 12th Century. "The various objects we've found around the granite sarcofigus point to a date of around the 12th century, we have also spotted on it a symbol which is connected with the Horseman of Jekar, its something we're very excited about." The Horseman of Jekar where a group of nobles who feared that when King Paul the Explorer disappeared for a period that he had died and went searching for him, they also helped found Bakkermaya. "The Horseman are a valued part of East Moreland folklore and responsible in a large part for creating the nation of Bakkermaya, they are closely connected to Red Legion in their history and we will be working with institutions in Edwinstowe to see what we can learn."

The tomb also had an inscription on it that read "The Raven shall swoop across the lair of the Wolf. Beneath the Ravens wing in a great might which shall put aside the darkness." It is common for ancient tombs to contain inscriptions referencing nature and the land many of these where thought to be metaphors for events in the persons life or their families future. One of the most famous ones was found on the tomb of Paul The Explorer, the tomb was empty having been built for him when he first left East Moreland and rumours of his death spread, however he then returned before going on his final journey where he disappeared. He famously sent a message back which said, "Beyond the realms of East Moreland in the east lies a danger. The Stars of the East must not come to the land of the Alba Karinyan hills" This was taken as a warning about the Ardian Empire. Dr.Merrimen spoke of the new inscription saying, "These things are always a mystery, often until we can work out who the tomb belongs to we can't work out what these inscriptions mean. Its half the fun of archaeology."





PRINCESS "FIGHTS CROCODILES"

There have been thousands of social media responses to news that Princess Rhiannon was involved in an incident at Neu Urburzis where she was pictured throwing stones at crocodiles. It transpires two young members of the Neu Urburzis royal family had thrown a rabbit into the enclosure during the opening of the new Zoo where children where encouraged to visit with their pet. Princess Rhiannon was accompanying her Mother when the incident took place along with her pet Fennec Fox called Goldie. The Princess was originally criticised by Jinny Denman's religious foreigners for being "not fully noble" and some had said the incident showed "just how much her blood is polluted." However with further details emerging the full story now explains how the Princess was trying to help a local child. Alongside Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker we were allowed to speak with the young Princess and heir to the East Moreland throne.

"Daddy says that as Morelanders we should follow the Code of Canny and help people who need defending. The girls where mean to the boy and bullying is wrong, we get our dinner time taken away at school if they think we're bullies. I tried to climb in as well but my dress wasn't helping me and so I thought I'll just throw stones at them, I'm a good shot because I play Goal Attack at school in Netball. I think I got one Croccydile in the eye. Then Abby (Rhiannon's Security Agent) caught up with me because I'd run away from her, I got put on the naughty step for that. Abby is bigger than me and jumped in and saved the day. Abby is my hero because she fences really really well and fights Crocodiles."

The King was made aware of the incident and was said to be "concerned but relieved" and later in the day said, "Rhiannon needs to think sometimes before she acts. She means well and I'm proud that she thinks of others and tried to do something but she'd been told time and again about staying with adults, she's too quick and inquisative. We've had a talk and she's lost her sword lessons for a week but she has the makings of a great Queen." It is understood that the King has also instructed a review of security accompanying his daughter when staying with her mother.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #97 on: December 29, 2018, 01:08:35 AM »




TOMB TO BE STUDIED BY BAKKERMAYANS

Dr.Marcus Merriman of the Royal Merriman University has requested scholars from Bakkermaya come to East Moreland to help examine the recently found sarcofigus thought to belong to a Horseman of Jekar. The 80 year old former tutor of King David explained, "The Bakkermayans are the experts on the Horseman of Jekar, they carved out their nation and are revered even today. It makes sense for us to work together to explore the tomb and try and make sense of it." The team from the Professors University have released several images of the tomb on social media and have even been seen taking various devices in hoping to see inside. "Yesterday we found a small crack on the side that we can get a fibre optic cable inside, it's sadly revealed very little as we couldn't really manouver things around too well for fear of causing damage. Once we get it to a more controlled environment we'll open it safely and look inside." The Professor did reveal however that their glimpse inside revealed two things, "We know there is an urn inside the sarcofagus but the grave goods placed within kind of pinned us to one side of the box, we could make out some words on the inside of the lid but not enough to make any sense."

Hopes are already raising that the words could give clues as to the various destinations of King Paul's 12th century journeys. Dr.Merriman explained, "With Paul we have some of his earlier journeys and adventures well mapped, we know for example that he visited Achkaerin, took a wife and then returned to East Moreland for three months before heading off again. The Horseman once more went after him and again he disappeared but this time didn't resurface. Until word of his death emerged, perhaps those words were exaggerated, there were always rumours he'd simply been happy letting his son become King while he walked the face of Mundus. Some more exaggerated legends say he still walks ready for when we need him, but clearly thats nonsense."




KING TO MEET DENMAN

It was confirmed today that the King will meet Jinny Denman as part of the new year series of meetings the King holds. Traditionally the King has spent January 3rd meeting members of influential groups within East Moreland to discuss the year ahead. Denman is the leader of the breakaway group from the Cult of Helus known as the Sisterhood of Helus which believes the mainstream Cult has misinterpreted the sacred texts and that Helus is in fact female. They have been highly critical of the King in the past and so the meeting is something of a surprise. Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker explained her invitation saying, "Denman's religious views may have major differences to the Kings but she represents 1million followers at least, this means she has some influence and as such the King is interested in her voice. It's disrespectful to Morelanders not to consider a wide range of opinions and King David has never wanted to be surrounded by yes men. It will be an interesting conversation I am sure."

Denman will be given 40 minutes alone with the King and will be free to bring up any areas of concern or give whatever advice she wishes, as Mr.Tucker explained, "These meetings are mainly the King listening, making notes and asking questions." It is thought she will bring up the King's relationship with Lady Stasya of Lodja as well as increased religious education in schools. Other people invited for meetings with the King will be the leaders of each of the six political parties, the head of each of the armed forces, Sir Charles Townsend (Head of the Court of Canley) , High Priestess Skye Maddix and several leading business leaders including Sir Alan Maybury. The King is also expected to attend an invitation to members of the public and ambassadors to meet sometime in the new year as Tucker explained. "The King has witnessed the Lodjain Queen's hold open courts for people to present ideas or requests, its something a little nostalgic perhaps but the King thinks it important to do something similar to allow the general public of East Moreland to have their voices heard."





LUSK MAKES NEW YEARS HONOURS LIST

The traditional New Year's Honours list was released today and former Youth Minister and CTO Refugee Agency leader Melissa Lusk is among those to be honoured. The Freestone native is to be inducted into the Order of the Sword for what has been described as , "Inspirational actions to help promote an end to slavery across Mundus while at the same time making the safety of Lakhzovian Refugees her personal responsibility by not only acting as CTO Refugee Agency leader but personally voulenteering as an Air Force Reservist to work on the ground in a combat zone. Her selfless acts show a great dedication to her duties, her people and her faith." Along with Tim Carpenter she established the Freestone Abolitionist Society which created a system to tell consumers which products were made using slave labour as well as encouraging consumers to avoid products which used slaves. The Freestone Mark was later adopted by several nations as a qualification for the import of Tamoran goods. When informed of her award Lusk said, "I'm glad FAS has been seen to be so inspirational, the whole team really deserve this medal. FAS wasn't new, it existed in the 1700 and 1800's to end East Moreland taking in slave made goods and was successful, we just resurrected it on a global scale. It was those in the original FAS who should be honoured." It is expected Lusk will resign her Refugee Agency role in the new year and at that point will undertake a sword ceremony as High Priestess Skye Maddix says that between her reservist duties and role with the government and then CTO she will have fulfilled the requirement to serve her nation.

Tim Carpenter, who already has the Moreland Cross, is to be inducted into the Order of the Shield, an organisation that is made up of people who are not members of the military and have "undertaken actions to defend the nation and its honour" he too was rewarded for helping establish the FAS as well as according to the King, " Making the issue of mental health an international one by publically speaking about his own condition and acting as an example for many youngsters who feel they can not discuss mental health issues." Carpenters apparent breakdown while leading the CTO saw him replaced and treated for what he has described as "a long running, ever increasing case of PTSD" the regular posts he made about his condition in the aftermath saw the East Moreland sports teams wear pink socks for matches in support of mental health charities and was copied by several other nations. The HoneyBadgers at the rugby World Cup have even confirmed they will wear Pink socks for their final group game and in the final should they get there. Carpenter is also a member of the Court of Canley, the highest honour a member of the Cult of Helus can receive. Carpenter was asked to comment on his award but simply said, "The King has my thanks, but all I did was get better. The nurses and staff at the Freestone Hospital are the ones who did this not me."

Various other awards go to members of the science community and sports world. Medieval MMA fighter Caitlin Lewing is made a holder of the Moreland Cross following her victories at the Mundus Games and also bringing the World Title back to East Moreland. The sport is growing in popularity and Lewing is part of its appeal, she stated, "A Morelander getting a medal for being good at sword stuff is nothing new. I'm proud to follow a long line of Morelanders who have done it in the past."

One of the more amusing awards is to "Bob, Solo and Blinky" the three Swarmbots who captured the worlds imagination after spending over a year on the moon before being "rescued" by an EMAC probe. They are awarded the The Royal Moreland Cross, for "showing survival skills well beyond those expected of a Morelander in hostile conditions and inspiring a nation." The award was explained by Chief of Royal Household Quinn Germaine who is responsible for carrying out the Kings awards, "This may seem a strange one, but it keeps the idea of science and technological achievement in the press, once more we're talking about the Lunar Three and that is always a good thing. These awards were established back in the medieval period to inspire people and thats what this does. "

Following consultation with the High Priestess King David is also pushing for Joshua Rhodes to be inducted into the Order of Helus, an honour given to those who have given "Meritorious Service to the Religious life of the Kingdom or to the Cult of Helus " The King explained the decision saying, "This year the nation of Seaforth has thankfully risen from the ashes. At its heart was Joshua Rhodes looking after a small band of trapped survivors making their rescue his personal responsibility. That is something the Code of Canley approves of and so do I . We realise these actions were made possible by dedicated medical staff who cared for him and they too will be investigated to see if they merit some award of a religious nature. Joshua is a Cultist convert but holds the Code every bit as dear as myself and I would be proud to see him become the first of what I think will be a long line of Seaforthians to be members of the Order of Helus."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #98 on: December 30, 2018, 12:14:46 PM »




QUINTELIA SHOULDN'T "WASTE AIR FARE" SAYS PRINCESS

Following the Rokkenjiman press leak and subsequent arrest of a suspected Bene Gesserit sympathiser Quintelia have announced an investigation into the death of a supposed Rokkenjiman agent in their nation. Following which their Minister of Defence said " This would leave the Morelanders to be guilty if we get to know which of their citizens did this" and then announced that they will be sending an investigator to East Moreland. It was left to Princess Freya, who is overseeing the referendum in Academica, to respond to the news.

"The Quintelian investigators should have saved themselves the air fare. They are of course welcome to come and spend their time in Northfort enjoying the nice museums, cafes and bars, but when your chasing a lie there isn't much we can do to help. Whoever they send will just find themselves wandering Northfort with doors closed to them, much the same way East Moreland doesn't negotiate with terrorists we don't feel the need to disprove fairy tales. I look forward to when Quintelia announce their investigations into the Alucard Triangle, the Yeti and lock up the tooth fairy for stealing people's property. The fact that they have brought into this myth that East Moreland has secret killers hiding in every shadow ready to deal death to our enemies is absurd and its not the first time such nonsense has been peddled. We've had Princess Serenity accuse us of it in the past and now it seems the Quintelians have been infected with the same craziness. Lets look at it this way, a woman was found dead from poisioning in a water tank following a breaking and entry and somehow East Moreland carried this out. We've some of the most skilled operators on Mundus when it comes to covert operations, if we'd have done this you'd still be looking for the body. Frankly Quintelia needs to get itself sorted and check its water supplies rather than accuse us based on the ramblings of a disgraced Rokkenjiman Bene Gesserit terrorist loving sympathiser."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #99 on: January 03, 2019, 01:12:47 AM »




LEGIONS PLACED ON STANDBY

Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson today announced that following an incident in Royal Seleucid's Celtic Protectorate the nations military had been placed on standby. Speaking at a hastily arranged press conference the former Red Legionnaire marksman instructor said, "The Protectorate is a potential hot bed of trouble. We trust the Cenneg to keep a lid on the pressure pot that is building but on the other hand we can not stand back and watch should the situation boil over. As such we have placed Duke and People's Legion on standby for immediate deployment as well as cancelling leave for the Air Force and Navy. We are the nation that hosts the foundation of the Cult of Helus and we shall not stand back and watch our fellow Cultists get slaughtered."

High Priestess Skye Maddix also spoke on the issue in her sermon at the Temple of Helus today, "We know only too well the suffering of those Cultists who call Seleucid home. I pray that despite the provocation they've been given in the last few days they retain cooler heads and don't lash out. Each Cultist has a responsibility to defend those who can not defend themselves. It has always been our way to do everything possible to avoid unneccessary bloodshed, do not now tarnish our faith by striking at those Seleucid who wish you no harm. Do everything you can to find a way towards a peaceful future." It is understood that some 800,000 Cultists live in Seleucid and around 500,000 of these live in the Celtic Protectorate which has a total population of around 3.2million people. Following the Cultist genocide some 200,000 or so Cultists are thought to have been murdered however the true number is unlikely to ever be worked out.

It is also expected that King David will be requesting the activation of two of the Global Pre-Positioning Ships in the coming days. These ships are large cargo vessels maintained by civilain merchant seaman and spend most of the year at sea docking at several agreed locations for resupply. Each of the ships is stocked with enough food rations, ammunition and supplies to support a Task Force of around 2000 men for 30 days. One ship is currently close to The Iwi where King Piripi is unlikely to deny docking. The other is currently moving through the Alucard heading to one of the Bakkermayan islands. Sir Harry Samuelson explained the movements, "The GPPS system was set up to allow East Moreland forces to respond to any situation on the planet at a moments notice. The ships contain military supplies of course but things such as the high calorie food packs and water purifcation systems have also in the past been used for humanitarian efforts, we are moving them constantly around the globe and as such it is no surprise that with this situation we are looking to get them into the Kyne." The nation boasts four of the vessels, one is currently in the Cenneg dockyards for maintenance while another is in currently being audited in Portworth.





KING HOLDS MATILDA NOT UBURZIS RESPONSIBLE FOR PRINCESSES "TURBULENT VISIT"

Palace insiders have today suggested that King David is seeking to place more controls on his former wife Matilda Osman while responsible for their daughter Princess Rhiannon. The Princess was involved in an incident in Neu Uburzis recently where she ended up throwing stones at crocodiles after some then unknown children had thrown a bunny rabbit into their enclosure leading to Prince Augustin of Uburzis trying to rescue the rabbit. It was an East Moreland Close Protection Agent who eventually got Augustin and the rabbit out. Our source said, "The King was furious because of the backlash about Rhiannon's behaviour and how she was at risk. He's currently consulting with his security advisers about putting stricter security in place for Rhiannon's visits to her mother." Currently it is understood that Matilda Osman is reluctant to have high levels of security around herself and her family as she feels it is unneccessary and she doesn't want Rhiannon to miss out on time with the Osman side of her family because of strict security. In the past Matilda has said, "Rhiannon is first and foremost a young girl who should be free to enjoy growing up." However in the past the King has had her accompany him on small greetings of foreign guests. It is understood Matilda took her to an opening of a new zoo against the advice of the Royal Security agents.

The source also said the King didn't blame the hosts for what he described as a "turbulent visit that made our future monarch at first look like a violent thug." However the Princess, who has always enjoyed the support of the public even when criticised as being "unpure royalty" by religious leader Jinny Denman, has seen her popularity rise even more since the incident. The hashtags #OurPrincessFightsCrocodiles and #PrincessCrocKiller have featured heavily in the past few days. The King however is said to have "no ill will towards the children involved. He sees them as making very poor decisions but understands all children will make them and is certain appropriate action has been taken to help guide them." Meanwhile Princess Rhiannon was pictured leaving school yesterday early with a handkerchief under her nose. Royal press secretary Malcolm Tucker addressed the issue at his daily press briefing by saying, "The Princess had a rather severe nose bleed, it was not a crocodile related incident but did require medical attention. Last I checked she was relaxing at home enjoying hot chocolate."

However while the popularity of Princess Rhiannon is increasing it would appear her potential future Step-Mother's is declining. Lady in Waiting Stasya Pelagiya and the King have been an item for around six months now and originally the Lodjain noble enjoyed a high approval rating however following a fashion show in Neu Urburzis the 23 year old was criticised for using an image of the King in the launching of her fashion line. During the show the noble-woman walked down the catwalk in a figure hugging dress escorted by two men wearing masks of King David, at the end of the walk she passionately kissed one of them much to the amusement of the assembled crowd. The display however did not go down too well in East Moreland one commenter on social media said, "The King of East Moreland is not someone to be used to advertise your tarty clothing line" while another said, "Even jokingly kissing another man, even if he's wearing a mask of your boyfriend, isn't on. I've heard the Lodjain's are pretty liberal when it comes to romance and bedroom stuff but this is a King and deserves respect." The Palace have not commented on the matter.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #100 on: January 05, 2019, 05:59:32 PM »




LUSK RESIGNATION COULD BE DEATH KNELL FOR CTO

It was announced today that the CTO's Refugee Council Chairperson has resigned her position. Following her resignation she gave a short speech on EMTV in which she believes now the CTO will collapse. "The CTO has failed in its missions for a long time now. It was only by the force of wills of Achkaerin and East Moreland that it achieved anything, first Achkaerin went and then East Moreland remained, essentially using the CTO as a vehicle for our work with refugees. During my tenure as head of the Refugee Council we saw service in Mavrosia, Nya Aland twice, Lakhzovia and Zimalia. During that time the vast majority of staff in my department have been Morelanders and until they left Achkaerin. We are now officially flogging a dead horse. The only good in the long term that has come from the CTO is the Refugee Council and I have a plan in mind to ensure that this legacy continues."

The news was meet with a mixed response by King David who said, "Here in East Moreland we had Melissa Lusk as our first ever Youth Minister and she set a very high bar for everyone else to follow. She has been an outstanding leader of the refugee council and everywhere that she has sent staff she herself has gone, an example to anyone in a leadership role. Her remarks about the CTO are sad but true, and while our position in the CTO is under constant review you can rest easy knowing that East Moreland will support her initiatives going forward should they be along similar lines." East Moreland currently houses several thousand refugees from Lakhzovia in Hunters Vale, a former specialist warfare Air Force base converted into a refugee reception centre, it is estimated some 120,000 refugees from Mavrosia, Seleucid, Nya Aland and Lakhzovia have passed through the base in the last few years and that the majority of these people remain in East Moreland. "

Foreign Minister Edward Tamana said, "The status of these refugees is constantly on going, broadly speaking the Alanders are in the process of returning home as we speak, the Mavrosians are likely to be staying long term since the collapse of their homeland, meanwhile the conflict in Lakhzovia has only recently finished and we have heard nothing about the status of these refugees. Those from Seleucid are a different category all together and their case is likely to see a great many offered the permanent right to stay." Speaking on Lusk's resignation Tamana said, "Melissa has done an outstanding job, be it getting people to safety or her Refugee University initiative. She can lay her burden of public service down now at a very young age and people would think nothing less of her, however I know what she goes onto next will be a great success."




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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #101 on: January 08, 2019, 11:43:22 PM »




PRINCESS IN HOSPITAL DASH

The Palace this morning confirmed that last night Princess Rhiannon, the heir to the East Moreland throne, was rushed to hospital. The six year old Princess had apparently complained of feeling ill and was taken by military helicopter to the Northfort Royal Infirmary where her condition has been described as "non-threatening" . The Princess had also been taken home from school a few days previous due to feeling ill and having a nose bleed that required medical attention, Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker however said that the two incidents are non-related before saying, "Rhiannon is the heir to the throne of East Moreland, our future Queen and as such we need to ensure she is brought up in peace and allowed to learn and develop to be as strong a Queen as her namesake Rhiannon The Fierce. That has always been the reason His Majesty has tried to keep her out of the public glare as much as necessary. It also means that we need her fit, healthy and like all children in school. The King felt her health recently has been impacting her education and wants to ensure she is fit and healthy so that she can become the Princess we as a nation need."

It was revealed that a private OsmanTech helicopter also flew to the hospital taking Rhiannon's mother, Matilda Osman, to the hospital to be with her daughter. The former Queen was seen exiting the aircraft with Princess Rhainnon's half brother Oliver Halliday, the two year old suffers from the same genetic medical condition that Rhainnon's twin brother Prince Caspian suffered with until his death at age 3. Doctors have ruled out any similar condition for Rhiannon with Royal Doctor Felicia Henry saying, "The condition of Hunter's Syndrome only occurs in males, as such we can say for certain this is not anything connected to that. We are keeping the Princess in hospital for observation and request the media keep a respectful distance from the hospital for both patients privacy and security concerns."

Recently the Princess was involved in an incident while visiting a zoo in Neu Urburzis where she gained popularity on the internet when she was seen throwing stones at Crocodiles in an attempt to help a member of the Neu Urburzis Imperial family who had clambered into their enclosure to retrieve a pet rabbit. This lead to the hastag #OurPrincessFightsCrocodiles trending on social media within East Moreland. Soon after the news was announced of Rhiannon's hospitalisation the hashtag #GetWellWarriorPrincess began trending. One social media observer ssaid, "Our royal family have always been popular, but now we're seeing a Royal Family living their lives in the public eye like never before. King David, Princess Freya and Princess Joanna grew up at a time when the royals still maintained a distance from the general public, kept their lives as closely guarded secret as the old nuclear codes. Those days are gone and now the Ironsides are becoming more and more watched through the gaze of things like twitter and instagram. Rhiannon is firmly in that gaze and has now gone from a cute little baby to a kind of fearless little girl fighting Crocodiles. It plays into the East Moreland psyche and has endeared Rhiannon to her future subjects already." Even within an hour of the news being released well wishers were dropping off bags of sweets and toys for the Princess. King David, who did not speak to the media himself, thanked the people bringing gifts for their concerns but asked them not to. In a statement read by Malcolm Tucker the King said, "Rhiannon has plenty of toys and we try and limit her sweet intake. The thoughts are beautiful but please don't come to the hospital, staff are extremely busy and sadly don't have time to deal with these gestures. I would ask if people wish to do something for my daughter they donate any toys to a local children's home or something in her name."




TOMB CONTAINS MAP

Dr.Marcus Merrimen believes that the discovery of the tomb of the almost mythical King Paul the Explorer may be close to being found. In a recent discovery of a tomb belonging to a Horseman of Jekar, a group of soldiers who travelled off to find the King when he disappeared several times in hist travel, a stone map was discovered. This map contains descriptions of a known part of Paul's journey when he ventured to Achkaerin, he returned briefly to East Moreland before heading off to Ardia again. It was at this time the nation of Bakkermaya was carved out as the Horseman followed their King. The map also shows part of the journey across what is modern day Edwinstowe, the capital of Bakkermaya, a nation named for Paul's first wife. Dr.Merriman who has in the past stated, "Finding Paul's tomb would make the 50 plus years of my life dedicated to the study of history worthwhile. This is the closest we've been ever, a soldier known to have travelled with the King, a tomb and a map. We can now start exploring those places marked on the map for more evidence."

It is understood Dr.Merriman and his team are working alongside Bakkermayan experts in Edwinstowe to explore some leads they say they are not yet revealing. "The tomb has become almost a mythical object, a kind of Holy Grail for Morelanders." Dr.Merriman explains, "Paul left us many warnings about the world, many predictions that came true. He predicted the Ardian Empire's warmongering according to some and so as such he has been raised up to an almost prophet type figure. That means wherever this tomb his and whatever is contained within it will have collectors of East Moreland historical artefacts drooling. The last thing we want are grave robbers finding it before us."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #102 on: January 14, 2019, 10:17:03 PM »




ACADEMICA REFERENDUM CLOSES IN 24 HOURS

The referendum on the future of Academica closes in 24 hours and should the results go towards one of three option then the nation could become a limited part of East Moreland. The people of the once war torn nation have been at peace for just over a year now and have been under the protection of East Moreland military, and to a lesser extent a token force of Heyran peacekeepers. The protectorate has been under the guidance of Princess Freya and has been relatively peaceful allowing the referendum to take place, locals were given the option of becoming a semi-independent part of East Moreland, restoring the Academican monarchy or forming a Republic. Once the results are in a series of measures will be undertaken to help re-establish a manner of government for the nation and unless the nation elect to join East Moreland the military prescence will be withdrawn once asked by the new Head of State. To date some 12,000 East Moreland soldiers have been based permanently in Academica and a large prescence has been seen on the streets during the process, which has however been peaceful.

Princess Freya has been in Academica with her family, Alex Redfern and adopted daughter Evie, and has been overseeing the process saying, "The referendum has seen lengthy, often heated but never violent debate. The future of the nation will be known this time tomorrow and whatever the result the people will finally know the future of their homeland. I am confident whatever the result that the Academicans will find us good neighbours as we have always been to each other." There has been much speculation as to how the Academica situation will be handled should the people elect to become a semi-independent part of East Moreland, "Should the people elect that option my brother would become the Head of State however he would appoint a governor to take over day to day management alongside a democratically elected council. Should this happen I would be honoured if my brother selected me. Academica has been my home for the last six months and I have enjoyed my time here. I hope to work with the Academicans regardless of the results to get them the future they deserve."

Exit polls have been vague giving no real indication of the upcoming result.




TOMB REVEALS NEW CLUE TO PAUL THE EXPLORERS JOURNEY

As work has continued on analysing the recently found tomb near Portworth a new lead to the location of Paul the Explorer, the almost mystical King of East Moreland, has been discovered. The tomb, which belong to a Horseman of Jekar, has revealed several new objects, one being a kind of stone map that is currently being examined, as well as coins from across Mundus. As work has now been undertaken to examine wall markings a series of locations have been discovered on a list which is explained by Dr.Marcus Merriman. "The Horseman of Jekar, and many other knights from this time period, have their battle history inscribed on their tomb, their funeral urn or some kind of resting place. They act as a similar way as battle honours do on Regimental Standards. They are useful in helping us work out where and when a person was alive and their connection to various historical events. In this case we have seen a familiar list, across to the tip of Ardia, then across the islands of what are now Bakkermaya, we then however get two new places. The first is a place we are unsure of, it appears to say Barber Booth, however that inscription is rather damaged and we are unaware of a place called Barber Booth. The second is more surprising, Phukbridge, to our knowledge we know of only one place called that and its in Rokkenjima. What we need to do now is work through CETO to be allowed to send a team to investigate the settlement and see what other closes we can find."

The announcement is rather surprising as in is letters home Paul often talked about a "Threat to the East" which many implied was the Ardian Empire and now with connection to perhaps Rokkenjima it is leading some to speculate that it was them which he was warning of."





PRINCESS MOVED TO OSTLAKE HOSPITAL

Princess Rhiannon has been moved from Northfort to the military hospital in Ostlake in a move that suggests the six year old will be having an extended stay in hospital. The Military Hospital deals mainly with injured soldiers but does have facilities to also care for the families of the military personnel based at the four Ostlake bases. The move was said to be made for "Security and Convenience" reasons as explained by Malcolm Tucker, the Royal Press Secretary. "Ostlake Military Hospital, as the name suggests sits in the middle of a military base, as such it provides better security for the Princess while making life easier for the staff and patients of the hospital in Northfort. While the Princess has been staying there the staff have had to deal with bombardment from the press, there is a large media presence outside and many are hassled going into and out of work. Add to that constant deliveries by well wishers and it created an unnecessary and unwanted issue for the wonderful nurses and doctors." The base at Ostlake West where the hospital is located have already seen some well wishers arrive with gifts but these have been turned away with Tucker once more reminding people of the King's request, "While King David is grateful for the concern he urges well wishers to not buy gifts for his daughter but instead make donations to childrens charities or local hospitals childrens wards."

Tucker also revealed that the Princess had received a "Get Well Soon" message from a member of the Neu Urburzis royal family. "Prince Augustin sent the Princess a message from him and his rabbit, the two meet when the Princess visited Neu Urbruzis and the two got on well. It bodes well for our Kingdom that even the next generation of royals are seemingly skilled diplomats building relations with other royals of a nation King David has shown a great affection for. The video will mean a lot to the Princess and we thank Prince Augustin for his thoughts."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #103 on: January 22, 2019, 10:40:52 PM »




PRINCESS DIAGNOSED WITH LEUKAEMIA

Following several days in hospital it has been confirmed that six year old Princess Rhiannon has leukaemia. The Princess has been admitted to Ostlake military hospital after a series of medical issues in recent days following King David's return from the royal wedding in Lodja. The King was joined at the hospital by his ex-wife Queen Matilda as well as his sister Princess Freya. Dr.Felicia Henry, the royal physician stated "The leukaemia has been caught early we hope. This cancer of the blood is naturally something we are concerned about but something that we hope we can bring under control. Princess Rhiannon has always otherwise been in good health and we hope that she will soon be able to say she has overcome this horrible disease."

The King has refused to speak to the Press however Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker has made a statement on behalf of the family saying, "The Ironsides and Osmans are pulling together to support the Princess. We have seen in recent weeks that Princess Rhiannon is a strong and confident young girl, I mean what kind of six year old takes on Crocodiles. Doctors are confident that she can beat this and will be doing everything they can in the next few days to put together a care programme. The King will be moving to Ostlake until further notice and will be delegating a lot of his day to day duties to Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn.





CETO EXPLORATION DISCOVERS MANUSCRIPT IN REMOTE OUTPOST

Dr.Marcus Merriman and his CETO backed team have spent the last week working in Rokkenjima exploring avenues of investigation brought about by the discovery of the Horseman of Jekar tomb in Portworth. The team had been exploring the remains of what is believed to be a temporary 12th Century defensive works when in wax sealed packet was discovered containing a 20 page manuscript. The document is currently being explored however it is believed that Dr.Merriman will request permission from Rokkenjima to have the document sent back to Northfort as initial reports show that the document appears to be in Morelandish.

Dr.Merriman said, "The manuscript while being in Rokkenjima is clearly not of Rokkenjiman origin, its got several words in Morelandish on the front cover and the two languages are about as far removed from each other as can be. There is no chance that this is native and so I think the articles of CETO would mean we have a good case of Rokkenjima needing to hand it over. I hope however they'll agree and we can have the thing in Northfort within 24 hours." The document so far has not been identified by author nor dated to anything in particular but it is hoped to shed evidence on the travels of Paul the Explorer which now seem to extend to Rokkenjima.






CARPENTER TO BECOME AMBASSADOR TO THE CELTIC PROTECTORATE

The Foreign Minister, Edward Tamana has today confirmed that East Moreland will re-establish their embassy in Royal Seleucid, however rather than being in the capital Ipsus it will be in the Celtic Protectorate, he further announced that they had persuaded Tim Carpenter, former Chief Councillor and Secretary-General of the CTO, to become the Ambassador. The announcement comes amid growing tension in the region and Tamana explained the move as being "Neccessary to show solidarity to our fellow Cultists in the region. The embassy shall ensure that the people have a place to go and seek support if they need it. With tricky times ahead it was important that we get someone in position who can work well under pressure, maintain a caring response to those on the ground and stand by the Code of Canley. Mr.Carpenter has done that time and time again in his life and so I am confident that here we have the right man for this tough job."

Carpenter is expected to arrive with a staff of twenty or so tomorrow and made a statement via his social media saying, "I was once Governor of the Protectorate and have fond memories of working with the Celts and the people there. I'm excited to be going back but know large challenges lie ahead, we must get them right." The King has also requested that the Joint Emergency Team head to the Protectorate and support people lacking food there but at the time of going to press no response from other members has been received.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #104 on: January 24, 2019, 09:22:05 PM »




KING SENDS MESSAGE TO WMRA

Following the terrorist attack which killed the King and Queen of Vaguzia the King has left Ostlake Military Base  for the first time since his daughter Princess Rhiannon was diagnosed with leukaemia. The King visited the Temple of Rolaf in the city to offer prayers for the two royals. As he emerged later the King said "The people of Vaguzia and the family of King Leonard have my thoughts and prayers. This however is not worth a great deal as it will not bring back a good man and woman. Vaguzia have always been good neighbours and we shall do all we can to help them through this difficult time. The WMRA have carried out this attack and then had the audacity to seek to use my faith as a way of justifying their actions. I have tried over the course of my reign to stay away from religion in my statements as it is for High Priestess Skye Maddix to guide the faithful. Today however I shall change the habit of a lifetime. I am the descendent of Raimond Unasson, the words that the WMRA spoke refer to my ancestors actions against an enemy that no one alive can comprehend. The WMRA are not standing against an ungodly horde hell bent on the destruction of the human race, they are not outnumbered and seemingly doomed to die. They should remember the words spoken by Helus himself. " Be mindful of your deeds for when your time comes you shall stand before me and a horde of your ancestors. You must look each squarely in the face and tell them how you left your family name in a better place than you found it. " The only place you have left your family name is the gutter. Those associated with this deed are cowards, they do not work in the name of Helus and they make me feel sick using the word Moreland in their groups title. A true Morelander is a person who does not seek war, does not seek the death of good men and women. A Morelander does deeds that better the world not cause grief. From this point forward I will be instructing our military to double patrols along our border and take pre-emptive action against even the slightest move of aggression by WMRA, they want to talk about doing the work of Jekar, no-one does that better than the East Moreland military and we will do everything possible to destroy these wannabe Cultists."

Later in the day Skye Maddix herself spoke out saying, " Any individual found to be a member of the WMRA will be struck off from the Register of Swords at any place we find them, they shall not be permitted a Cultist funeral and they shall be until eternity known as Lackblade." The High Priestess went on to call for those in the area to do their "duty" as a good Cultist by, "handing over any WMRA member they know of, hiding a terrorist is as low and dishonourable as it can be, the Code calls for loyalty and that is exactly what the people should give their nation. The WMRA are merely establishing a situation where our faith is made to be seen as violent and uncaring for their neighbours, something I would not wish any Cultist to be."

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #105 on: February 05, 2019, 11:04:15 PM »




BONE MARROW DONOR REGISTRATION "THROUGH THE ROOF"

Across the nation the number of people signing up to be bone morrow donors has rapidly increased since Princess Rhiannon was diagnosed with lukhemia recently. Several hospitals have been putting on extra staff to deal with the increased number of people giving samples to go on a national register. Sadly however no match has yet been found for the Princess who is having treatment at Ostlake Military Hospital. The search for a donor has seen all members of the Royal Family give samples as well as the Osman family. The surge in voulenteer donors has also been seen in other nations as Neu Urburzis ran an animated TV advert on the subject clearly playing on the blossoming friendship between Princess Rhiannon and the younger members of the Imperial Family. Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker said, "The King is clearly keeping himself at Ostlake at the moment, as such he has asked me to pass his thanks on to everyone who has signed up as a donor no matter what nation they have done it in. For a young royal of a foreign nation to be so thoughtful and do such good is highly commendable and speaks volumes about the young man's character."

It is expected that the wave of new potential donors will see the search for a match for Princess Rhiannon extended beyond the Ironsides and Osmans. Dr.Felicia Henry the Royal Physician says, "Princess Rhiannon is responding well to what is a rather major treatment. Her biggest fears are not being at school or having her fencing lessons. We are hopeful of finding a match in the next few days."





CETO DISCOVER HORSEMAN BURIALS OUTSIDE PHUKBRIDGE

While investigating the recent manuscript that lead the joint Bakkermayan and East Moreland archaeological team to Rokkenjima a young student has discovered an interesting lead. A 22 year old Postgraduate student of the Royal Merriman University was out taking some elevated pictures of the fields around Phukbridge when he glanced at a farmers brick wall and noticed a familiar inscription on a brick. The inscription turned out to be the name of a Horseman and his steed meaning the brick probably came from some kind of tomb. Traditionally the horseman who died on campaign had a small tomb built which had a bricked up door with their names on and seemingly this is where this chance find came from.

Dr.Merriman and his team soon descended upon the farm and after speaking with the family who owned it they discovered the wall was built by the family some time in the early 1900's and the bricks had been taken from some, "dumped workings" at the foot of the hill. Dr.Merriman explained, "It is not uncommon for these old tomb doors to collapse, they were made in haste and usually by the Horseman and not skilled artesas, in East Moreland we've seen several of these structures collapse under the weight of the soil placed on them and then walls made from what remains so we shouldn't be amazed that a family in Rokkenjima have done the same." The name was discovered to be that of Sir Richard Thammers a little known noble from near Silverhills. He was the fifth of six children of Duke Stephen Thammers who at one point during the reign of Paul the Explorer was the Guardian of the Royal Mines. Dr.Merriman explained, "In medieval East Moreland only the first son was guarenteed to inherit anything, as such the younger sons often dedicated themselves to military service in the hopes of gaining patronage and land of their own. Some even more adventurous men took up the call of the Horseman and now we seem to have found where young Richard was laid to rest, or at least the vacinity."

Later that day a combination of aerial photography and ground radar showed two seemingly rectangular underground structures which the team are hoping to begin excavating tomorrow.





JOHNS CONTRACT ENDED BY "MUTUAL CONSENT"

East Moreland's Rugby Football Union today confirmed that Head Coach Eddie Johns contract has been ended by mutual consent. The announcement came just an hour after the team returned from Bakkermaya following a disappointing World Cup where the former World Champions lost to Lodja in the Quarter Finals. It was left to EMRFU President Andrew Robb to make the announcement saying. "Eddie has been a loyal servant to East Moreland rugby throughout his career. The World Cup campaign was a disappointment and while we believe Eddie is a great coach he believed that perhaps now was a logical time for a fresh hand on the rudder as we seek to build towards the next World Cup. Fans will always have a place in their heart for Eddie who brought us our second world cup success and I hope the Honeybadger fans join me in wishing him good luck in his next endeavours."

Bookies have already suggested that Sir Clyde Woodward, who masterminded Lodja's victory over his home nation, may be persuaded to return. Sir Clyde was the Head Coach of the Honeybadgers during their first world cup success but has spent the last two years transforming the Lodjain national set up. The Lodjian head coach spoke about this saying. "I feel I may have to sneak back into East Moreland, I felt a very definite pride and embarassment that day. Proud that the Lodjian lads had managed to overcome the dominant force in world rugby but also as a Morelander ashamed that our boys hadn't been victorious. While Lodja have come on leaps and bounds and fully deserve their 4th place finish I was shocked. I know people will talk of me making a return but in some ways I feel Project Lodja is unfinished business. I'll sit down on Monday with the Lodjain RFU and see what we all think."

It was also confirmed that the Lodjian team are to visit the Island of the Goddess where some believe Sir Clyde could even be given some Lodjain honour as one expert said. "Queen Klara is keen to promote sport in her homeland and no one expected the Lodjains to even get out their group, to mastermind a 4th place finish is rather amazing and I think she'll be keen to capture the nations imagination going forward and in Lodja that means someone gets a high honour, why not a Morelander?"

Several senior players have said they will be making announcements on their future career in the coming days. One player whose future however has been confirmed is Rollo MacAllister. The giant second rower has announced via Twitter that he is quitting the Northfort Royals for Keepton Harlequins, a second tier club. The 23 year old boyfriend of Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside said on a video he posted, "My military service now kicks in, my unit are based in Keepton and the Quins are the only club in the city I'd dream of playing for. Keepton RUFC are the Royal's biggest rivals and the Royals became my family when I moved here from Seaforth and I don't betray family. I'll spend at least the next two years at the Quins and I hope to be able to be part of the amazing project their establishing here. As the Honeybadgers face a period of rebuilding and reassessment it seems fitting to take on a bigger challenge. Sir Clyde told us it was our duty to leave the red jersey in a better place than we found it, this year we failed and so I have to now go and make sure the Quins jersey ends up in the Premier League and not the second tier." It is yet to be confirmed whether MacAllister will still be considered eligible for selection as Johns had implimented a strict policy that he would only pick players based in the East Moreland Premier League.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #106 on: February 13, 2019, 08:36:53 PM »




RHIANNON STILL IN HOSPITAL

Princess Rhiannon is yet to leave Ostlake Military Hospital where she has been receiving treatment for leukaemia. It has now been nearly two weeks since the diagnosis was released and while a search of potential bone marrow donors has begun none have yet been found. Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker stated, "The search to find Rhiannon a suitable donor continues, we've had a huge number of people come forward to offer samples and it takes time to process all the data, we are clearly keeping our fingers crossed. The nation of Neu Urburzis deserve special thanks, they too have been very active looking for a donor leaving no stone unturned, for that we thank them. " The nature of the search in Neu Urburzis has yet to be fully described but a TV advert supported by the royal family has been run.

The Princess was supposed to be taking part in a junior swordsmanship competition this weekend however she has been withdrawn. Tucker said, "The Princess is in good spirits all things considered, naturally she is frightened but the whole Ironside and Osman family are present and hoping for a positive outcome."





SPEARHEAD THREE UNVEILED

EMAC today have unveiled their latest development of the Spearhead Missile. The innovative multi platform missile has now undergone its third re-design in this case becoming a dedicated anti-ship missile. The latest redesign utilises light weight materials designed to absorb radar and is shaped to deflect the incoming radar waves. The missile also has reduced the size of the warhead and totally removed two unique kinetic impactors which will allow the missile to double the range of the Spearhead II. Sir Alan Maybury of EMAC unveiled the missile at Portworth Docks saying. "We have been asked to develop a missile capable of engaging shipping at extreme long range. To date the Kaitaine Zircon probably has the longest range of any ship killing missile, our beauty may lack the Zircons speed but we believe its stealth capability and its unique towed transmitter will allow it to get the drop on many air-defences and we have matched the range. Add to this its tracking software then I think we have a potent weapon that will allow us to protect our fleet to a greater extent."

The missile is to undergo testing in the next few weeks and at present is only capable of being launched from an aircraft. "The missile would fit in a ships launching system however the materials we've used wouldn't be suitable for the conditions of a vertical launch, at present an aircraft is required but that actually means aircraft carriers in the East Moreland fleet can extend the range of their defence out to a much greater distance." It is hoped the missile will enter service in early May should testing go to plan.





BURIAL URN FOUND IN PHUKBRIDGE

The CETO team have today uncovered a burial urn in the town of Phukbridge in Rokkenjima. The urn was found largely intact at the beginning of a passageway that leads towards a kind of small chamber. The team which is being lead by Dr.Marcus Merriman discovered the urn following a series of leads which have seen them follow the passage of a group of the Horseman of Jekar who appear to have been searching for King Paul the Explorer. The medieval King is one of the most mysterious monarchs in East Moreland history as he lead a campaign of hunting down Borlanders across the globe, his onw burial place is unkown however many of his letters and musings have been found hroughout East Moreland following him sending them back to his various wives and children. Paul was married to two East Moreland women, one dying at the hands of Borlanders the day he became King and the other being his final wife in the last few years of the reign, however he spent very little time in between in East Moreland. It was discovered a few years ago that Paul also had a previously unknown wife from Achkaerin during his travels. Her grave was discovered two years ago and her remains brought back to East Moreland ready to be reunited with her husband if his remains are ever found.

Dr.Merriman said, "The urn we have found needs cleaning up and analysing but its in very good condition and while we do not believe it to be a King's urn it is clearly of someone of high standing in society. We also have a chamber behind the debris of the first dig and tomorrow we hope to get into that as fibre optics suggest there is more to be found there."






 

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #107 on: February 15, 2019, 09:31:48 PM »




SIR JACOB SAYS "PUT UP OR SHUT UP" IN UNIVERSITY SPEECH

Sir Jacob Longe, one of East Moreland's most respected diplomats today addressed students of politics at Royal Northfort University. The 79 year old diplomat and former Prime Minister was asked to address students with his thoughts on the current international situation during which he urged nations to start taking action having made comments to do so.

"I have recently stood in the CTO for what could be our final meeting. A motion currently sits on the floor of that organisation that if it is successful would make us all unemployed. I sit in a very awkward situation, at the age of 79 years of age many say I should retire and so if the CTO goes maybe so will I, after all who is going to employ a man approaching 80,  but I still enjoy the excitement of the debating chamber and so for maybe selfish reasons I wish to see the organisation remain. It is however an organisation in ill health, what with a lack of engagement from many around the world, overinflated opinions of certain nations roles within the organisation and promises of action that never come it is highly unlikely that the CTO will survive this final challenge. The notion of the CTO however is a noble one, to get nations sat around the table discussing matters for the good of all involved rather than grabbing the rifle. The CTO has however been ponderously slow and that has seen debates still rage while others have taken action thus hamstringing the beast. We have now waited quiet some time for the CTO to be presented with proposals apparently in hand from the Empress of Rokkenjima, now is the time for these to be presented. If the Rokkenjimans are wishing to try and keep the CTO alive they need to do two things, first recognise that the organisation has actually been able to carry out operations successfully around the world without them, and then present their motions rather than leave the world waiting. Its time to put up or shut up. I have no doubt should the CTO cease to exist East Moreland shall continue doing what we have alwas sought to do, help those in need but if the CTO is disappearing then we need to know so we can make other plans.

It is not only here we see international politics at a critical cross point. LISA stands on a knife edge, three supposed allied nations unable to work together. We've seen it in the past, our own Triumpherate fell apart for similar reasons, however this time its different. The Seaforth-Rokkenjima-East Moreland arrangement was weak because of breakdowns in communication, then Seaforth were replaced with Dartfordia and still it seemed not to work, but never did Rokkenjima and East Moreland threaten to fire upon each other. We see in Midaranye a situation of unreasonableness. One nation unwilling to work as a partnership and forging its own way in a situation, meanwhile the others creating what I must call an impossibly awkward situation by demanding a bubble in the Kyne. For me LISA should dissolve and each nation needs to look at itself long and hard and think exactly what does it offer an international partnership as the Midaranye LISA situation should serve to all you students here as a way of not to do things.

Meanwhile I have seen a lack of understanding of global situations in LISA too. A recent report by the Rokkenjiman media on a speech made by Princess Evanthe describes the CNN as an example of a " large accumulation of military might". The CNN charter features 51 articles, four of which relate to CNN military endeavours, that's 7% of the CNN Charter. There are in the charter five articles relating to Education, six to Science and five to emergency aid. It would therefore have been more accurate for Princess Evanthe to be concerned in the CNN regard of it being a large accumulation of scientific might, or educational might. We have even seen the combined militaries of the CNN get smaller in recent times. Ui Cenneslaig have decomissioned several ships from their navy, Lodja have cut the size of their army while at the same time also losing several naval vessels, East Moreland has committed to rid itself of nuclear weapons and the Ecclesiastical State have withdrawn completely. It would therefore be logical to say the CNN has in fact decreased its military might since its inception. The CNN is a case study for the world on how an international organisation, alliance call it what you will should be run. It was formed not because of a desire to be a military force, but a friendship between nations, the thing started life as a rugby tournament after all. It however features nations willing to stand by the charter for which they agreed and pull their weight. The CNN have just recently hosted one of the largest showcases in science and technology in recent years welcoming exhibitors from across the CNN and even non member nations. The CNN in my view is not something Mundus need worry about, it is something supportive of measures taken to support the citizens of its members. I believe that the CTO should take a good look at just what can be achieved.

Mundus stands on a powder keg in the shape of Midaranye. A genocide is likely to happen with a perfect storm of religious differences, famine, police brutality, change in government and international stand offs. People have lost sight of what is important here, and that is the lives of the ordinary people. Everyone is too invested in being the big shot and projecting power that they have lost sight of this. A humanitarian and peacekeeping fleet ran by East Moreland is all that is needed in Midaranye. The crucifixion of Dilara was appalling but nations sending fleets there in response is going to achieve nothing other than further bloodshed. All international fleets sabre rattling does is make people dig their feet in. People need to oppose the slavery in Tamora by means of pushing the future of the Freestone Mark. The camps in Slava should be first inspected and then if found to be what we all believe they are, racist detention camps, Slava should find themselves isolated economically and politically until the people freed. Instead we have jumped straight for the war button on all sides and this time potentially millions are in the firing line. I would urge each of you here today to use social media, traditional petitions and protest marches to tell the nations involved what we think and show them what we want them to do. After all never forget old grey haired men like me work for you, so do your Kings and Queens, Emperors and Empresses. Make them accountable, make them be the reflection of the will of the people."
« Last Edit: February 17, 2019, 10:48:20 PM by DaveIronside »

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #108 on: February 18, 2019, 12:11:28 AM »




MISSILE DEFENCE TO BE SENT TO MIDARANYE

Following suggestions that Slava Lavosk are potentially developing nuclear weapons the CNN have put in place a number of measures set to try and reassure Midaranye and calm the situation down. Measures include monitoring of Slava Lavosk as well as requests for international inspections, further East Moreland has offered to loan its defensive missile system to Midarnaye nations. The move has however drawn criticism from Slava Lavosk who have described it as a "decleration of war" something that Minister of Defence Harry Samuelson described as "ridicoulous." Speaking at a press conference the former Red Legionnaire marksmanship instructor said. "The system we are sending is being deployed purely for self defence. We have a region where Cultists are living and we are asked where our code is? We are acting under the code. Nuclear weapons are the most devastating weapon mankind has ever invented, not only that they are they most indiscriminate. Our nations technological path has seen us try and develop weapons with unrivaled accuracy to avoid that level of indiscrimination. To use nuclear weapons means killing innocent people, there is no ifs, no buts, no maybes. As such protecting nations from nuclear weapons is exactly what Helus would have us do. The fact a weapon which has zero offensive capability is defined as an act of war is ridicolous. However I understand Slava Lavosk will need to rattle the cage with their propaganda. Let me therefore assure them that those weapons will remain under East Moreland control, will be taking orders from East Moreland only and will only fire on missiles suspected of carrying nuclear warheads."

It is likely a maximum of three systems will be taken to Tamora, two to Royal Seleucid and if requested one to Socram.





EXCITEMENT AT PHUKBRIDGE

A new chapter in the life of Paul the Explorer may be centred around the Rokkenjiman town of Phukbridge. Several days ago a burial urn was found and behind it a small passageway and now it has been excavated a sword was found behind it in the floor of the passageway. The sword bore two inscriptions, one on each side of the blade. The first stated, "A gift from your King on becoming a Horseman of Jekar" the other however is what has got Dr.Marcus Merriman excited. The aging head of the East Moreland CETO contingent explained, "The fact we've found a sword which seemingly was presented by King Paul himself is what we came here for, however the fact that we also have this message of "1140. Qij-Joh" which translates as the Black Prince. We believe therefore that we may have found another bloodline stemming from Paul. We know he had mistresses during his travels and acknowledged two daughters in Bakkermaya we will now investigate this potential new lead."

CETO have also officially requested today that a team of six Red Legionnaires joined by six Horseman of Jekar be permitted to join the dig team in order to provide a ceremonial guard to any human remains found. Brigadier Kelly commented saying, "We see the Horseman as like our little brothers. Any Horseman or Red Legionnaire are our brothers in arms. We have always done our best to use Red Legionnaires off active duty to form honour guards when needed. As I began asking our non-active Red's to volunteer we had lots of phone calls coming in as word got out what had been found. We now just need local permission as after all this is a squad of soldiers." Traditionally wounded Red Legionnaires still capable of ceremonial duty had undertaken duties including mounting ceremonial guard at the Ironside Mausoleum, attending veterans funerals and various other events. It is expected that Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn will personally write to the Rokkenjiman government in the next day or so.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #109 on: February 21, 2019, 12:02:19 AM »




AMAZING DISCOVERY IN ROKKENJIMA

Today the CETO team from Bakkermaya and East Moreland being lead by Dr.Marcus Merriman have made what has been described by the Professor as "The most significant find for East Moreland's history this century." The team have been celebrating finding what has been described as a "family tomb" which was being guarded by the burial urn of a Horseman of Jekar who had been named only as "The Black Prince." Traditionally medieval family tombs have had a burial of an urn from some respected family member at the entrance. This however is only the start of the amazing discovery.

Dr.Merriman spoke over Skype to students and media outlets in East Moreland and Bakkermaya as he said, "What we have here is the most concrete map of Paul the Explorer to be found in the last 25 years. We found traces of him in Achkaerin but we never had the details other than the family connection that was discovered there. Here again we see that Paul tried to assimilate himself into local culture. The tomb contains three urns as well as that of the "Black Prince. Each of the urns has a name inscribed on them, the first is Elise Koul. This urns inscription shows she died at the age of 26 in child birth and had three children, they are not named however we have been able to work this out from other evidence in the tomb. One of the pieces of evidence are the other two urns, one of a Edwina Koul, she is called the Black Princess on the urn and lived to be in her 60's, it also says she was a Mother but the tomb gives no other clues. The final urn is of David Koul who according to the urn must have been the child that was born to Elise and died at the same time as the mother. We then have lots of inscriptions in the tomb and these are even more exciting, in several notches cut in the tomb are panels giving details of the family and what has us excited is that Elise Koul's full title is listed as "Royal Mistress of East Moreland", a title given out only twice in history before now, and both to the lovers of the King. We believe we have found a new branch of the family of King Paul the Explorer. What we now need to do is trace this new family, there may be some more clues as we tidy up things. We also however have several inscriptions giving us details of the tombs construction, a timeline of it being ordered to be built by Paul under the command of the Horseman of Jekar, meaning some kind of Cultist presence once stayed in Rokkenjima, probably as a means of the Horseman moving across Ardia in support of Paul's journey of vengeance against those who killed his first wife and child. The insciptions also include mention of The Black Prince, whom we still have no first name for, returning to oversee his "Fathers orders" from Lodja this is the first confirmation that Paul was there. We are contacting King David as these urns will be some very distant relative of his and as such just like we did with Paul's Achkaerin bride provision to place the urns in the Ironside mausoleum may be an option."

A request has been made to the Rokkenjiman government to allow a Red Legion Honour Guard and a group of Horseman of Jekar to enter the country to help with ceremonial handling of the artefacts such as swords and the Urns. Minister for Culture and Tradition, Katy Garrett has stated, "We've been in touch with the Bakkermayan government and they will not make any challenge to East Moreland claiming the artefacts, we have an agreement that some of the goods will be put on display in Fernwood if possible and that modern day Horseman will be involved with any ceremonial occasion we have. I'd like to thank the Bakkermayans for this gesture. It is hoped that Rokkenjima will not put barriers in place for us to bring these artefacts home as the CETO charter does encourage the repatriation of cultural artefacts. At present there has been no confirmation from Rokkenjima.





HIGH PRIESTESS CALLS FOR "REFLECTIVE" FESTIVAL OF HELUS

The High Priestess of the Cult of Helus has called for people to perhaps change their attitudes this year during the Festival of Helus. Speaking at a press conference launching a new online teaching resource for those thinking of becoming a Priestess she said, "The Festival of Helus is one of the key events in the calender of our faith. It is important on that day that we give thanks to the God of Creation and our protector. This usually sees us gather in large numbers, stuff ourselves with his bounty, make our sacrifices and celebrate wildly. I do not want to curtail the fun and enjoyment of the day. I've already seen the Cultists in Vaguzia planning a large celebration and I wish them well. What we must do however is be reflective of the world we live in. While those of us in East Moreland, Bakkermaya, Seaforth and Vaguzia among others celebrate our victory from evil the Cultists of Royal Seleucid will have their mind filled not with celebration but on where their next meal will come from. We've seen nations begin to step up and take food in but our brothers in sisters there will not be enjoying the feast we here in Northfort can. As such I will be fasting during the day, a show of solidarity with those in Royal Seleucid, be them Cultist or not. I know people in Seleucid may be tempted to make their sacrifices with what little they have, I commend them for doing that, but if that thought has crossed their mind I would ask them to do something different. I would ask them to take what food they would have offered Helus and give to someone in need, give it to a neighbour, be them Cultist or not. Marissa, the lover of Helus said "One who has no love in his heart will try to possess everything for himself. One who has love in his heart is ready to sacrifice everything, including his own body, for the benefit of others." If you feel the need to make a sacrifice this year then let it be for the benefit of others and not Helus. The Lord of all Gods knows your heart, when you die and stand before Rolaf he will ask you what did you do to honor Helus and the Code, anyone doing this will be able to say I gave the food from my table to feed the needy, and even knowing you on one occasion did not make your sacrifice to Helus, Rolaf will be proud of you and welcome you to the home of the Gods. Those of us that that belong to what some have begun calling the Eldest Sons, the Lost Sons and the Born Again Sons of Helus have a responsibility. We must ensure the rituals take place, we must remind Helus of the sufferings of his Children in Seleucid and we must do what we can to help them. I know many families across the nation will make donations of money this day to good causes to please Helus, I would urge those doing so to donate their money to JET, GCI or a similar charity carrying out work in the famine hit areas. It is my hope that soon the food will flow into Seleucid and the people's hunger will disappear. May The Gods Watch Over You and Your Day be Joyous."

She was asked by the media her thoughts on the tensions in the Celtic Protectorate and said, "I trust the Cenneg government to make provisions to protect Cultists as well as they can. I have asked previously for the Cultists there to remain calm and take no action to inflame tensions. So far I think its working and the people have been remarkably restrained all things considered. I hear food is now beginning to get into Seleucid and I pray more will get there everyday ending the crisis."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #110 on: February 22, 2019, 10:45:03 PM »




KING SPENDS FEAST AT OSTLAKE

For the first time since 1983 there was no royal prescence at the Temple of Helus in Northfort for the Feast of Helus celebration. With Princess Rhiannon ill and in hospital the Ironside family spent the day at Ostlake where the Princess is being treated in the military hospital there. The most high profile attendee at the Temple of Helus was Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn who carried out the various rituals usually carried out by King David. Following the ceremony which saw gifts laid on behalf of the people of East Moreland, each branch of the military and the children of East Moreland, the Prime Minister said "I enjoyed being able to carry out the offerings today and address the crowd, distributing gifts on behalf of the royal family. Its a shame I had to do it though and on this special day I hope Helus will grant Princess Rhiannon with good health."

Later in the day as the nation took to the streets for street parties, gathered in Temples to share banquets and otherwise enjoyed the joy of the day the King did make his traditional address.

"Today I wish I was at the Temple in Northfort however as you are aware this year it is not possible. I wish everyone across East Moreland, and across Mundus all the best on this joyous occasion. Today marks the day that Helus lead humanity to a new future, today is the day that the greatest evil that ever faced us was defeated allowing mankind to rebuild ourselves and flourish into the civilisation that is now exploring the stars. How far have we come since those dark days at the beginning of humanity. It is however a shame that today we have not been able to use all this progress to ensure we live in a world where the peace won for mankind that day is enjoyed by all. We here in East Moreland know that our day will be one of spending time with family, eating wonderous home cooked meals safe in the knowledge that they and their family are safe to enjoy their day. I hope we will all spare a thought during our offerings to day for those that are not. The Cultists in Royal Seleucid are facing an uncertain future and we must be ever vigilant to support them. Not only that but they have the spectre of war hanging over them, trapped between the nation of Tamora and the allegedly nuclear developing Slava Lavosk. This region is one that is of deep concern and decisions regarding it have been hard to make. I wish to ensure that the people of Midaranye are safe, I hate the prospect of war and fear this is one that is coming about because of senseless pride and one up manship. Any war will effect the Cultists there and rest assured I will do everything we can to protect Cultist lives, as such we will provide the region with as much of a nuclear missile defence umbrella as possible. This had seen me come up with a plan to place Jekar's Shield Systems in Tamora under the command of the East Moreland military. This is a measure I can not now authorise. In the recent days Tamora have recognised the Free Theocracy of Kaitaine, a people who not long ago tried to steal nuclear waste, killing our citizens and then evading justice in the process. These people are terrorists who have attacked us without provocation. We knew little about them, we are an open welcoming nation and had they revealed their prescence to us we would probably have welcomed their people in our nation, instead they hid, infiltrated aspects of our society and then stabbed at us from within. This is something that is hard to forgive. I do not tar all Bene Gesserit with the same brush, however the leadership of this faith has many questions to answer and has come nowhere near answering them. We can not therefore in good concious place Jekar's Shield in a nation that is entertaining support for terrorists. I would try and reassure the people of that region that we will however be loaning two systems to the Ui Cenneslaig military who will place them in the Celtic Protectorate meaning that parts of Tamora will still be under its umbrella. We will still do what we can to prevent nuclear weapons once more becoming a spectre of Mundus. We once opened that Pandorra's box ourselves and now have realised the horrific cost those weapons bring and soon we can declare ourselves to be nuclear free, I had hoped that statement would extend to the whole of Mundus, making us safe from the evil, just as Helus wished us to be. Slava Lavosk however may be endangering that future and that can not and should not happen. I would ask the President of Slava Lavosk to work with the international community to bring about the dream of a nuclear free Mundus. Midaranye is a major area of concern for the world. As such I will today be signing the following orders for our government, security forces and military. First, that only humanitarian aid is permitted to be given to Tamora, no goods or services other than those required to relieve human suffering may be sent. In terms of imports from Tamora only goods bearing the Freestone Mark may be brought to East Moreland. There shall be similar measures on Slava Lavosk, until such a time that we see assurances supported by some form of international observation by a mutually appointed nation, that they do not possess and are not developing nuclear weapons, until that time only food stuffs and medical equipment may be sold there, additionally no products from Slava Lavosk may enter East Moreland. A Midaranye that is free of slavery, religious intollereance and nuclear weapons would be the dream of Helus and we must work to try and bring such a thing about.

Helus taught us that our actions are what we are judged on. We must display our intentions in actions and not words. As such I have issued instructions to help Pheubra by funding international aid organisations such as JET, GCI and various others. The Code of Canley talks of helping and protecting those who can not do so for themselves. It is my hope now the horrors of war have ended there that the people of Pheubra can rebuild, much in the same way the people of Nya Aland did. We shall stand beside them in peace and help them become a nation that meets the needs and dreams of its people free from evil.

While this talk of war looms over us we have much to be grateful for on this feast day. We have seen that nations will come together for great deeds, we see Neu Urburzis, our good friends, leading measures to create a database for bone marrow transplants, a matter close to my heart as my family struggle to find our own donor. I hear however the numbers of those willing to donate, to anyone not just my daughter, has increased. This is the living embodyment of the Code of Canley, one human being using their own body to protect and defend another human being. If you are one of those who has donated bone marrow, signed up to do so or even taken the time to research it then you have my deep appreciation and admiration. You are standing against an evil almost as deadly as the Underlords and just as Helus did we shall be victorious. Once I have seen to the health of my daughter I shall be contacting Emperor Orion personally and I believe East Moreland should fully support the actions of this young monarch. I believe between the two of us we can create an organisation that can tackle all forms of cancer and make a stand that Raimond Unasson would be proud of. We have improved our technology to destroy way beyond our technology to do good, it is time we right that wrong.

Finally today see's me rediscover a part of my family. Paul the Explorer is someone who fascinated the history nerd in me. I remember annoying my sisters Freya and Joanna growing up demanding our father tell me tales of the semi-mythical King. We always knew he was a man with a very unconventional past. We now know he had three wives, two Morelanders, and a Achkaerin bride, now we also know he took a Mistress, something today that would cause scandal but in the context of his time period not a surprise. We also now know their is a branch of the family somewhere out there maybe. With this in mind I would like to once again remind the people of Rokkenjima our nation bares you no ill will and now I hope we will be permitted to explore this shared past.  It shows that in our past, before we became paranoid the Cult spread far and wide across Mundus, integrating successfully in many nations beyond the traditional homes of the Eldest Sons and the Lost Sons, we have in recent years been joined by the Born Again Sons of Seaforth, we have almost lost our link to what I shall call the Resolute Sons of Royal Seleucid and then of course there are the Northern Sons in Achkaerin, and the Neighbouring Sons in Vaguzia the great centres of the faith in terms of numbers. Our faith lost its way slightly when East Moreland withdrew inwards. We now need to move outwards. As such I am proposing to fund five Universities across Mundus, the locations to be determined. They shall not be in the traditional homelands and will be specialist humanities and also technological institutes, they shall help share culture, and they shall be run on the lines of Cultist culture, but will not be exclusive to the faith. If our faith is to remain relevant it must do more globally. Helping people learn is a great way of doing this. I therefore look forward to seeing nations, towns and cities across Mundus take advantage of offer to build a University. Helus wanted us to come back from the darkness, knowledge illuminates the world and we shall work to seek that.


I wish you all a joyous and safe Feast of Helus.

May the Gods Watch Over You and The Light Bless You."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #111 on: February 25, 2019, 10:06:17 PM »




LODJIAN MINISTER RESCUED

It was announced this morning that Red Legion have rescued the Lodjain Social Affairs Minister Lady Anna Utkin. The Lodjain noblewoman was kidnapped by the Borland Sepratist terrorist group, allegedly with help from a rouge former Lodjain military commander. The Minister was then put through an internet streamed trial where she was found guilty by the Borlanders of "terrorist charges" and "sentenced" to death only for wanted terrorist Kyle Barren to "commute" her sentence. Her whereabouts had been unknown during this however acting on intelligence passed on by their Lodjain counterparts the East Moreland Intelligence Service tracked her down and Red Legion made a rescue attempt late last night.

Brigadier Kelly, the commander of Red Legion said, "I am not at liberty to disclose details of the operation however it was a hastily arranged operation that was pulled off with the exceptional levels of skill I have come to always expect from the men under my command. It was a dynamic operation with ever changing variables that saw four Borlanders killed and the Minister rescued. She was airlifted to Ostlake where she is currently being debriefed and given a medical check out. Unfortunatley a Red Legionnaire was killed in the rescue attempt. I have contacted their family but as is the case with the Red's operations names and details are not released outside the chain of command."

There were however a few eye witnesses of the operation which took place on the road between Rockhampton and Keepton. Thomas Macauley is a 17 year old rugby player who was travelling back to Keepton with his team following a youth rugby tournament in Rockhampton. "We were just heading down the road when all of a sudden a pair of cars zipped past us, they sandwiched a car in front, one in front and one behind, then as everyone came to a stop men got out shouting and screaming and we saw guns being fired, a helicopter landed on the empty road ahead and more men jumped out. It was all over in about a minute and then we saw someone being pulled out of the car boot as bodies lay everywhere. Someone just slung this woman over their shoulder and ran to the helicopter. The thing could only have been on the ground two minutes." Other witnesses said how the Police then arrived and began searching the car, "We were sat on a closed off motorway for a good 90 minutes once the soldiers had disappeared.

Princess Freya commented on the operation saying. "Once again we have shown that we will not negotiate with terrorists and that we will not let them simply go to ground. We will follow every lead and leave no stone unturned to fight these terrorists and I am now thrilled Lady Anna is safe and sound. We hope she can soon return to her people and continue the good works she is respected for."





EAST MORELAND FOOTBALLERS HEAD FOR WORLD CUP
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The East Moreland national football team today left Northfort for the World Cup in Krimeon. The 23 man squad lead by coach Gareth Northgate will represent the nation in the World Cup for the fifth time and will hope to emulate some of the past successes of the nations leading club side Northfort United who have reached two Mundus Champions League Cup Finals. The team is made up for the first time in the nations history of more professional players than amaturs as investment in the game has seen the vast majority of Premier League clubs go full time, something that gives Northgate hope. "In the past we've had to be reliant on being well organised and a spot of luck, now we've guys who dedicate their life to the game and I think that means we can start relying a bit more on skill and fitness levels. Often we'd blow up in the last ten minutes or so and see teams come back at us having nicked a goal early on. I think we've still a long way to go developing the game in East Moreland but I think we could do reasonably well."

The squad includes James Goddard, the 20 year old wonderkid who left Northfort United last season to go and play for Champions League winners IFK Krokom. The young playmaker has scored 8 goals this season in Nya Aland in 32 games and has spoke warmly of his time in Krokom. "I've developed a lot in the last 12 months, I used to mix time in the military with playing football and so I was fit but lacked some of the more technical aspects of my game. Playing with world class players each day and testing myself against quality opposition means I've had to mature and I hope I can now bring that experience to the East Moreland team."

The team will be lead by captain Andy Cullen, a former butcher who only quit his job a month ago to become full time. The AFC Roberton Centre Back said, "Its got to be a more serious world cup for us. Last time we all said that we'd be happy if we got out the group stage, now we're getting paid so we better up our game so I'll be setting my expectations out to everyone in the next day or so."

The full squad is below

GOALKEEPERS:- Peter Shillton, Russell Holt, Martin Tailor

DEFENDERS:- Nick Pickering, Andy Cullen, Rob Hindmarch, Andy Commin, Simon Coalman, Darren Wozzel, Jacob Lawson

MIDFIELDERS:- James Goddard, Gary Micklewait, Trevor Hebard, Paul Walliams, Lee Homes, Tom Hoddlestone, John Harks, Robbie Sevage, Will Hooges

ATTACKERS:- Dean Surridge, Paul Kitsun, Marc Wilkinson-Bridge, Mick Hardford

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #112 on: February 26, 2019, 11:30:26 PM »




SPEARHEAD III SUCCESSFULLY TESTED

The first test firing of the new EMAC Spearhead III missile was declared a success today following a demonstration of the missile at Ostlake. The new version of the Spearhead missile is designed specifically for anti-ship warfare and will utilise what Sir Alan Maybury, the CEO of EMAC, has called "stealthy misdirection" to attack targets as far away as 1000km. The missile takes the existing design of the missile, has removed some of the warhead, uses lighter materials to achieve the impressive range. The test firing however was only over a distance of 15km and was considered a "total success" by the EMAC staff. The missile will in the coming days be taken to the Mhorish where it will be evaluated in a variety of different scenarios. Sir Alan however did indicate that improvements still need to be made. "We've not seen the performance we want to achieve with the towed transmitter and some of the guidance data wasn't to the standard we expect." Later in the day Sir Alan confirmed that EMAC where now going to work with SmartWar to perfect these systems.

It is expected that the should the new systems be successfully adapted then the 2nd round of testing will take place in mid March with full range testing happening in early April.




"LOST ROYALS" TO BE BROUGHT HOME

A group of Red Legionnaires and Horseman of Jekar today took custody of three funeral urns in Rokkenjima. The honour guard were dispatched to bring back the remains of what has been confirmed as a mistress of King Paul the Explorer,  he also appears to have three children before now unknown of. Inscriptions found at the site confirmed a son whom we have yet to discover a name of and is being called simply the Black Prince. This Prince was also a member of the illustrious Horseman of Jekar, a group of travelling knights protecting the wanderings of King Paul and Cultists who followed him. Additionally an urn indicated King Paul had a daughter called Edwina with his Mistress called Elise, who died in childbirth. That child died soon after and is known to have been named David. Elise, who was officially named "Royal Mistress of East Moreland" belonged to a family known as the Koul family, something Dr.Merriman who has lead the dig stated explains the reason for the family being named Black Prince and Princess. "The name Koul generally is used commonly to refer to charcoal, or swarthy. We know of several families using the surname who ran businesses manufacturing charcoal or owning land where lots of woodland was cleared for this industry. It doesn't give us much of a clue as to this families future beyond the time of Paul. What we do know however is that Edwina lived to be 60 years of age and very well could have married, had children and done many other things in life. What I'm interested in now is finding out more about Edwina, this could give a clue as to the next destination of Paul the Explorer. We'd high hopes of what we would find in Rokkenjima, however this has been a magnificent find."

It is expected that the urns will be returned to East Moreland at the weekend and a ceremony undertaken to place the remains in the Temple of Helus. Dr.Merriman confirmed that he has asked for time to study them in more detail before a decision is made as to whether intern the urns in the Ironside family mausoleum.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #113 on: March 02, 2019, 08:17:59 PM »




HIGH STREET SHOPPING GETS BOOST

In recent years there has been a trend towards more and more on line shopping meaning that some high street retailers, particularly smaller ones have been struggling. The Minister of Finance, Stephen Finn, today announced a series of measures designed to help those on the high street. Speaking at a conference of small business owners the 44 year old former economics professor said. "Deals done with the CNN and various others have ensured good deals for consumers, however we need to also take measures at home to keep local businesses competative and appealing." The first measure he announced was a reduction in Sales Tax, "Currently sales tax sits at 15%, we will be reducing this to 12%. While this cut may not seem a huge decrease it will make a difference to businesses as they trade with each other.

The Minister then announced that business rates will be reduced by and various "Relief" measures introduced. Finn said, " Our nations business rates are paid on profits and on a silding scale. We will be reducing the rates people pay and increasing the thresholds, people will be able to keep more before paying a form of tax. We will also offer further reductions to companies in certain circumstances such as employing less than 100 people, being located in a rural area, or a traditional business. It is hoped that this will mean companies will have more disposable income meaning they are capable of making further investments into their business."

Minister Finn also announced that eight East Moreland cities will be part of new Enterprise Zones. "We have identified eight locations which see an abnormally high number of empty shop fronts. As such we are going to bring in a scheme to allow first time business starters to access these sites at very affordable rates, as such we hope that they will see new blood on our high street."

The measures however were criticised by Chief Councillor Thomas More who said, "I have seen some of the plans for Keepton's Enterprise Zone, these old traditional artisans shops are probably going to be turned into bars, coffee shops and discos. The high street will still be empty during the day as they only offer a role to the evenings. Beside we already have enough pubs and clubs and adding more is likely just see our city centres become full of drunks. Our cities are among the most beautiful on Mundus, old medieval buildings well preserved stand alongside tasteful and well thought out contemporary buildings which complement each other. Now however we'll see these buildings wasted."







OSTLAKE FILM AWARD VOTING BEGINS

With the Ostlake Movie Awards, more commonly known as the "Ozzies" due to take place in four days time the voting has been opened. The Awards which will take place in the Ostlake Opera House will this year be hosted by Alander actress Krista Rosendahl-Sunbrek and East Moreland band 2Cellos. Rosendahl-Sunbrek has been spending the last six months in East Moreland filming a documentary on the troops who undertook two humanitarian operations in her homeland and was invited to host having worked with the band on a music video. Stephen of 2Cellos said, "As a kid you'd wait for the Ozzies and see the best in East Moreland handed out each year, the past few years though I think its got better as we've seen things from abroad slowly get involved, so why not the host."

Rosendahl-Sunbrek says she has a deep connection to East Moreland after spending her honeymoon here as well as being a volunteer translator with JET during their deployment to Nya Aland. "The Ozzies are among the most prestigious movie and film awards on Mundus, I still hope to win one some day but until then being asked to host is just as good." It is expected that the award for best Domestic film will go to yet another adaptation of the King Paul story with the discovery of a new set of descendent being recently discovered. Actor Simon Gatteridge who plays Paul in the film "The Wandering Horseman" said, "It was some of the best publicity we could ask for, even though the discovery did mean our film was out of date. The problem with the Paul story is so many different theories exist so we have so many versions of the film, I suspect maybe 18 months from now you'll see our film being surpassed by something new and more up to date."

Various film professionals across East Moreland will now be casting their votes with the winners being kept secret until the night.





JUDO STAR STARTS RED LEGION SELECTION

Kristin Forester will become only the 2nd woman since the 16th Century to be part of Red Legions selection process. The almost year long selection process for the elite force is considered one of the most demanding on Mundus and the failure rate is exceptionally high, generally each year 200 potential Legionnaires begin selection with only around 10 making it in an average selection. The 32 year old Forester follows in the footsteps of Princess Freya who withdrew from selection two years ago because of injury and has not ruled out making her second and final permissable attempt. Forester is already held in high regard in the military having won a Judo Gold Medal at the Mundus Games in 2017 as well as having dominated the Armed Forces MMA Championships for the last three years. She is currently serving in the Royal Hussars, a regiment more at home to using Infantry Fighting Vehicles than special operations. She will be reporting to Oldfield Barracks in a weeks time to begin training and hopes to make history.

"Red Legion is a unit that if you become part of it everyone knows your the best. I like a challenge, that's why I wanted to go to the Mundus Games and bring back gold, I achieved that and I hope to achieve my next ambition. I understand there is every liklihood I'll not make it but you've got to be in it to win it and I'll be working hard to show them what I can do." The news of a second woman being admitted onto selection was welcomed by Princess Freya who upon hearing the news stated, "I wish Sergeant Forester all the best. Its not a competition and I'll be thrilled to see her, or anyone else, achieve their dreams especially if it means serving East Moreland. I've not ruled out a second attempt myself and who knows maybe we'll serve together in the future."

Brigadier Kelly was asked his opinion on women in Red Legion while attending a meeting at the Council Chambers, the commanding officer of Red Legion stated, "I don't care whether they are male, female, transgender, no gender, ratangender, if they can pass the selection process then I'm happy to have them onboard. No one gets any favours in Red Legion and as such if they make it past selection they deserve to serve." 







BETTER AUTO TO INVEST IN PORTWORTH

East Moreland's innovative electric car company Better Auto are to open thirty drive through battery exchanges in Portworth. The move comes following news that the city council plan to make the city emissions free within the next five years. The company have located thirty "brown" sites which means they are currently unused or underused sites that have been avaliable for at least three years. Simon Fadden of Better Auto said, "We've found sites ranging from a former drive in dry cleaners, an old fast food restaurant and a car wash in a multi-story car park. We believe we can convert these relatively easily and be operational in a short period of time. The battery exchanges will allow the people of Portworth to reliably use their cars without fear of having to find a recharge point."

Better Auto set up an innovative system whereby its cars are sold with a subscription to a battery exchange programme. The car drivers simply enter the exchange after swiping their membership card and park in a similar manner as they would at a drive in car wash. A robotic arm then removes their old battery placing it on charge for another user meanwhile replacing it with a freshly charged on. The whole process takes around two to three minutes and gives the driver a fully charged battery. The scheme has already been popular in Technology City where Better Auto first rolled out the system.


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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #114 on: March 06, 2019, 08:08:15 PM »




ROSENDAHL-SUNBREK ANNOUNCES THE OZZIE WINNERS

In a star studded evening at the Ostlake Movie Awards the Alander host Krista Rosendahl-Sunbrek announced the international awards, becoming the first non-Morelander to hand over one of the prestigious awards. The 34 year old actress, producer and documentary maker presented the awards alongside East Moreland's favourite classical music / rock star duo of 2Cellos.

The first of the foreign films was the Best Animated Short, this went to the Krimeon made film called "The Present" making it the first film from that nation to win any kind of award at the Ozzies. The film portrays a young boy who sits at home playing on his computer and is given a puppy that transforms his life thanks to them sharing a disability. The second award of the night went to Achkaerin, a nation that has over the last few years had a whole host of winners and nominations. This year the film "Be Yourself" ,  an inspiring short documentary about following people following their dreams at different stages of life took the award for Best International Documentary. The Achkaerin attendees soon found themselves another success when "Lego Camping" took Best International Short Film with its in vogue stop motion lego based approach to a family camping holiday.

The highlight of the evening however for the foreign attendees is the Best International Film, this year the politically charged and often harrowing film from Tamora took the best award. The Silence tells the story, if from a somewhat nationalistic view point of the executed young woman Dilara Haghighi. The film mixed both black and white, colour, authentic and fictional footage to make a gripping story. The award also marks the first occasion an Ozzie has made its way to Tamora.





LEAKED HOSPITAL NOTE ON FOXES FUTURE

There was outrage and concern today when a leaked note written by Princess Rhiannon was published by a internet gossip site. The note which was photographed on a mobile phone and showed the chart on Princess Rhiannons hospital bed appeared for several hours and was reuploaded across the web. It sparked concerns about the health of the six year old Princess as well as anger from the Ironside family. Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker took to the airwaves on a series of interviews saying, "The Princess is a child in a grave situation. She is in need of support medicially, emotionally and we would have expected that to come from this nation. The King has always accepted he and his family will be the focus of the media, and to some extent he has co-operated with them by allowing pictures to be taken, Princess Rhiannon even once giving an interview. In return he would expect privacy at key moments, and this is most certainly one of them. Thanks to some of the worst media decisions immaginable the Ironside family can no longer place their full trust in the very people who are supposed to be key in the treatment of Princess Rhiannon."

Hospital spokesman have said, "We believe a civilian member of staff working at the hospital was responsible and actions are being taken to establish this beyond doubt, at which point rest assured appropriate action will be taken. Meanwhile it has now been determined only military nurses will work with the Princess and we hope this will ensure her privacy is assured. We apologise to the family and will do all we can to support them through this difficult process."

The letter appeared to be written saying what she wanted to happen to her belongings when she died. One visible part of the letter talked about giving all her toys to the school she goes to, meanwhile she also wrote, "when I'm with Caspian I want Goldie to go to my friend Augustin but he has to promise not to eat him." The Princess recently returned from Neu Urburzis where accompanied by her pet Fennec Fox Goldie she spent time with the Imperial Family, the trip also saw her involved in an incident where she threw stones at Crocodiles to help protect a child who had fallen into their enclosure. The letter however would seem to indicate that the Princess is not getting better as a search for a suitable bone marrow donor continues despite global searches.

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #115 on: March 09, 2019, 10:01:54 PM »




REDFERN STANDS IN FOR KING DURING COUNCIL

With King David at the bedside of his ill daughter it was left to his brother in law Alex Redfern to deliver the King's monthly address to the Representative Council. The husband of Princess Freya read the speech prepared by King David and then answered a series of questions from the various Representatives. He briefly addressed the media as he left the Council building addressing the recent leak of a letter written by Princess Rhiannon. "The sensationalisation of a young girls medical condition is abhorent and I condemn any media outlet that prints the letter. The King has repeatedly co-operated with the press to allow them an insight into the Ironside family, now he needs the press to return the favour and allow Rhiannon her privacy."

In the address to the Council Redfern addressed a range of factors including the recent changes to various tax rates, the arrangements for the upcoming Feast of Jekar and the recent alleged chemical attack in Kaitaine. Redfern, a Major in Red Legion, said "There is naturally concern, we are in constant touch with the government of Kaitaine as we have an intelligence sharing arrangement following the discovery of sleeper cells within East Moreland. As a nation we, especially King David, co-authored the Uppsala Convention and we stand by it. We have sought assurances from the KDF about the incident and have been informed that the chemical used was Endosulfan. This is an insecticide that until 2014 was avaliable to buy over the counter in our nation. Many of us would have grown up consuming food that had been sprayed in it. While it has issues surrounding Bioaccumulation it is not in a single dose damaging to human health, despite the panic the Tamoran government are trying to create. Farmers who were exposed to the chemical on a daily basis have reported occasional isolated rashes which is why we have stopped using it in East Moreland. We will however be seeking confirmation of it being this chemical, we will until that point be suspending the intelligence sharing operation."

Redfern went on to also address the situation in Tamora stating, "It is my understanding that the food crisis there is being alleviated, the food stores we have donated to JET have been funnelling in through the Celtic Protectorate and it would now appear the situation regarding the accusations against the Cultists there are calming. The situation has been fast changing and has been confusing, I wish to pass on best wish to the new King and we are buoyed by the fact that the Cultists Priestess was involved in the coronation, something that would seem to show the Seleucid Cultist citizens are being made to feel part of their home nation. The East Moreland fleet will remain in the Kyne for a further week until we are confident the food crisis is in hand. At which point the ships there will make their way to Nya Aland where they will be involved in a small scale  exercise with some Red Legionnaires at the Red HQ there as well as elements of the Aland military. The ships will then head back to Portworth via Bakkermaya."

Finally the former Chief of Royal Household confirmed that the recently found funeral urns from Phukbridge in Rokkenjima will be interned at the Ironside masouleum on the day of the Feast of Jekar on the 19th of March. Representatives from the Horseman of Jekar will be part of the ceremony along with the traditional Red Legion honour guard. Redfern also said, "Should the blood line of the Koul's be discovered we'd also naturally wish to invite them however that is now a challenge for academics in Rokkenjima."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #116 on: March 11, 2019, 10:31:41 PM »




FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER DIES

Sir Robert Kennedy, the former Foreign Minister, yesterday passed away after a battle against Motor Neuron disease. The 44 year old retired from public duties three years ago and was replaced by Edward Tamana who today paid tribute to his predeccessor. "Robert was a gentleman who served two Kings of East Moreland most loyally. He first came to prominence under King Sven as a rather forward thinking young ambassadors aide and then a Junior Foreign Minister. It was when King David took the throne he took the full portfolio and helped guide the King in the early years of his reign as he sought to end the nations isolation. In short time King David had negotiated us into several key agreements and had helped shape global policy through helping author CETO and the Uppsala Convention, two documents that will not bare the name Robert Kennedy but whom the King constantly sought the advice of. Even in his illness he did what he could to help the nation, always being a willing sounding board for those of us less experienced with foreign matters. The man could have been a colossus of global politics had he not been cut down in his prime. I know this evening there will be people across the Kingdom and across the globe who will be praying for him."

The King made a short statement as he left Ostlake to return to Northfort for the afternoon saying, "Sir Robert was not only a friend of mine he was also a loyal subject, a wise teacher and a devoted servant to East Moreland. I pray the Gods welcome him now that he leaves us. To his family they are in my prayers and I thank them for supporting him through his work and the tremendous battle with his illness." The former Foreign Minister is set to be honoured as King David has put aside funds for Royal Merriman University to name their International Relations facilities after Sir Robert.




DENMAN CAUSES CONTROVERSY

Out spoken religious leader Jinny Denman has today once more stoked the fires of controversy. The self proclaimed leader of the Sisterhood of Helus, a breakaway branch of the Cult of Helus, was giving a speech at an educational conference for her organisation when she spoke about Princess Rhiannon's illness. During a speech about the importance of religious purity in family life the 46 year old said, "It is always sad when a child becomes ill and dies early. We sometimes however have to look at the parents and blame them for the childs suffering. Take the case of the King's children, his blood is as pure as possible and that should mean his children are healthy and strong. That is not the case, one child born with a genetic disorder and now the others unpure blood is killing her. Had the King not married into the Osman family and produced children there then Caspian and Rhiannon would have been born perfectly strong."

Denman went on to cause yet more controversy by stating, "Some nations media has started talking of an Empire of Helus, I think that would be a marvellous idea. Imagine it, a world were people lived true to the most perfect code ever created. A place where no evil was allowed to flourish. We would truly have banished the Underlords forever the day the only religion is that praising Helus. I would if I was King David unify with Seaforth through marriage, I believe Harper Rhodes is unmarried and she would make an excellent Queen, then West Moreland should be annexed, at the point of a sword if neccessary. Finally Bakkermaya I believe could easily be brought under the Imperial banner through simple negotiation. This would be a glorious start."

The self proclaimed High Priestess of the Sisterhood once again called for the King to consider his remarrying. "Lady Stasya is a beautiful noble woman but not a Cultist. Should she willingly and truthfully convert I would call upon the King to marry her tomorrow and produce many pure blooded children. If she doesn't however then I believe the King should leave her bed and find himself a useful wife."





HALLIDAY DENIED ENTRANCE TO OSTLAKE HOSPITAL

Formula Mundus driver Sam Halliday, who is romantically involved with former Queen of East Moreland Matilda Osman today announced on social media that he has been denied entrance to Ostlake Military Hospital where Princess Rhiannon is currently being treated. The former World Champion has been in a relationship with Matilda Osman for two years now and the pair have a son called Oliver who has just celebrated his second birthday. Oliver Halliday-Osman suffers from the same genetic condition that shortened the life of Prince Caspian and it is a gene carried by the women in the Osman family. Matilda Osman has been a constant visitor to the hospital over the period since Princess Rhiannon was diagnosed with leukaemia however following the recent media leak of what some are claiming is the Last Will and Testiment of Princess Rhiannon the racing driver has been banned from the base. Halliday has a very active social media presence and has often fallen foul of King David's anger because of including details about the time spent with Princess Rhiannon when Matilda has custody. Last year he found himself publicly criticised by the King when he called Rhiannon his "daughter".

Halliday used Facebook to say that he felt it "unfair that I can't see a child I care for, that I have bonded with and whom I wish to give support to during her illness. She's family to me and I'm being denied my right to see her." The 26 year old spoke further to the media during testing of the new EMAC-R Racing teams car when he said, "I'm consulting a lawyer to see if this is legal. The MCUR talks about a right to family life and the King is denying me this, I've not ruled out going to the courts."

Malcolm Tucker, the royal press Secretary stated, "As much as he uses terms like daughter, family, bonded, Halliday is not and will never be part of the Ironside family. Princess Rhiannon shares not one drop of DNA connected to Halliday and as much as he makes these claims he's talking non-sense. He's shown time and again that he does not value the privacy of this small girl and uses her to advance his own public image to earn sponsorship money. The King has every right to stop strangers visiting his daughter and every right to stop people setting foot on his military bases."

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #117 on: March 15, 2019, 11:03:07 PM »




NORTHFORT MILITARY PARADE FOR FEAST OF JEKAR

The military today confirmed that despite the suspected abscence of King David in Northfort the annual military parade for the Feast of Jekar will still take place. The parade is usually one of the highlights of the day and smaller parades take place across the nation. General Yacobs is expected to take the salute in Northfort in the abscence of the King. "The parade is a real spectacle and the men and women taking part enjoy the occasion. We do our best to ensure those parading are Northfort locals giving them a chance to march through there home town as well as spend the remainder of the day enjoying the festivities with their family."  Among those in the parade this year will be Rugby superstar Rollo MacAllister who is currently undertaking his National Service in the Army. The giant 2nd rower will be taking part in his first parade saying, "This is exciting. I converted to the Cult after escaping here from Seaforth. I just fell in love with everything about the Cult and life here. Of course I still feel the beating heart of a Seaforthian inside and I'm delighted that people back home are accepting the Cult."

The Feast will also see several sword ceremonies. Among them perhaps will be Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside, the 21 year old multi-Mundus games medal winner is currently serving as a dog handler in the Royal East Moreland Air Force and has now attained all four standards expected for a sword ceremony. The King's niece however may not ask for the ceremony, as far as we are aware she has not asked the Priestess of Jekar in Northfort for a ceremony as is usually expected of a member of the royal family. The Archduchess would likely have had her uncle King David and aunt Princess Freya involved however as the Ironside family go through a family crisis with the health of Princess Rhiannon it is unlikely they would be able to attend. Sword ceremonies can happen at any time so many believe the Archduchess will wait until all her family can attend.

Across the globe Embassies in allied nations will celebrate the Feast of Jekar by hosting a formal dinner for injured veterans, while in nations where there is no formal treaties members of local uniformed youth groups will be invited. Last year the Embassy in Krokom saw members of the Mjolnir, Alander Special Forces, who fought alongside the East Moreland military in Marseille attend the event and it is likely this year that will be repeated.





CNN SPACE STATION EXPERIMENT BEGINS

Today the first of two launches for the CNN Space Station has taken place. The launch took place at Technology Cities Space Centre and sent East Morelands most experienced astronaut Rachel Dixon back to the Mini Station which will become the base of a unique experiment which could change the nature of space exploration. Prior to blasting off for the forth mission of her career Dixon said, "The CNN Space Station is going to look at putting four of SmartWar's inflatable compartments onto the existing Mini Station. These things will cost only a fraction the price of an existing space and  station, will take up less space on the launch vehicle and will, we hope, be easier to get into orbit. If it works we could see these things being put into orbit around other planets to act as bases of operations for long term exploration. Its an exciting prospect."

Joining the Morelander astronaut is Cadoc McDougall, a Cenneg astronaut, who is making his second space mission. The pair will dock with the Mini Station and set up the first of the inflatable compartments. If all goes according to plan they will be joined by another two astronauts, one from The Iwi and one from Lodja, on Monday. The four astronaut team will run a series of experiments and drills before Dixon and the Lodjain return to Mundus on Wednesday. The Cenneg and Maori astronauts will stay on a week longer before hopefully leaving the station in a functional state ready for future missions. Should the mission go according to plan the station will become home to a team of twenty Swarmbots in mid April before hosting a long term team of three astronauts for a mission lasting from May through to July later in the year. 

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #118 on: March 19, 2019, 10:09:20 PM »




FEAST OF JEKAR SEES HUGE PARADE

Around 12,000 members of the East Moreland Armed Forces, past and present have paraded through the streets of Northfort today to celebrate the Feast of Jekar, the scared God of War in the Cult of Helus. The sight was replicated across East Moreland as thousands of other troops joined local parades, the Feast was even celebrated in space as astronaut Rachel Dixon made an offering of "Space Ice Cream" out of the mini-space stations air lock. The seasoned astronaut will return to Mundus tomorrow but from the CNN Space Station Experiment she said, "I wish everyone back on Mundus celebrating a joyous day. I'd like to thank every member of the Air Force who paved the way for me to be where I am. Their dedication to duty and their missions enabled us to achieve what we have so far and I hope Jekar will allow me to pave the way for future generations." The images of Dixon, an Air Force officer, making her offering started off the parade which saw representatives of all branches of the military as well as veterans groups.

The traditional royal salute was taken in Northfort by Princess Lily Ironside, the cousin of King David III who was at Ostlake making the most of the day with his daughter Princess Rhiannon. The 24 year old Princess also presented the 5th Royal Lancers, a mechanised cavalry unit, with a new Regimental standard which bore the battle honour Academica for their efforts there during the civil war that rocked that country. Minister of Defence Sir Harry Samuelson and Prime Minister Henrietta Quinn stood on the steps of the Temple of Jekar in the Temple District of Northfort accepting the offerings of passing units of soldiers, these ranged from traditional offerings of swords, shields, flowers, food and various other objects. The annual address which is usually given by the monarch was this year given via video link from the Celtic Protectorate by Tim Carpenter who is currently the ambassador to Royal Seleucid.

Quote from: Tim Carpenter's Speech

Today those of us who believe in the Cult of Helus believe that a God called Jekar, determined to beat the evil of the Underlords sat at a forge in Portworth and crafted a new weapon. That weapon was the sword, he learnt how to master this new weapon and then taught the first human, Riamond Unasson. This discovery turned the tide of the war against the darkness of the Underlords, and as Unasson and Jekar began to teach more and more humans how to use this weapon they taught them to the Code of Canley. It is our belief that these rules have helped mankind resist the evils sent to try us. The year ahead is yet another chance for us to commit ourselves to the service of the Gods, we must redidicate ourselves to ensuring that evil, no matter what form it comes in.

This year I am honoured to address you, I would rather not. I would rather know my monarch, a man I respect greatly , could be giving this speech but sadly as his daughter fights her own evil it falls to me. Princess Rhiannon is a young girl who should act as an example to us all. The press who have sadly invaded her privacy, showed us that despite her illness she is thinking of those she loves, her little fox and her friends from a far. She is putting their needs before her own and at such a young age. Be it fighting cancer, or fighting Crocodiles she has set a high bar for all of us, and we must now strive to meet it.

The year ahead is one that provides great oppurtunities. As we sit here on Helus' creation of Mundus we have four intrepid explorers above us. Four people of four different nationalities, four faiths. They are the perfect example for what we on Mundus should strive for. They are living, working and succeeding together. They are working to bring about a better understanding of the universe, and methods we can use to explore it. All people coming together for the betterment of humanity is exactly what Unasson and Jekar did so so long ago. It is my hope that the rest of us can begin to work towards creating an equal harmony here on Mundus. Jekar welcomes fallen warriors who have followed the code, it is my hope that if we are more like those four astronauts then the God of War will have a lean year, something I know he will welcome.

To those this year who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the East Moreland military I offer my prayers, my thanks and my respect. Small tokens but ones that must be given. They have gone willingly into the worlds most dangerous zones, be that Academica, or to protect refugees in Lakhzovia, never once thinking of refusing, never once considering the wisdom, just dedicating themselves to the ultimate part of the Code of Canley, protecting those who could not protect themselves. My own military experience was short lived and limited, yet long enough for me to know that these men and women who are the tip of East Moreland, and some would say Mundus' spear are heroes. On this day we dedicate it to them, to their families and to pray for each and everyone of them. On behalf of King David, East Moreland, and myself I thank you for your service.

Across Mundus the various embassies hosted events, in Nya Aland members of the Alander Armed Forces who served alongside East Moreland in Marseille joined the ambassador for a dinner. In Bakkermaya the embassy staff joined locals for the festivities and then hosted a party in the embassy grounds. It was also confirmed that Archduchess Sophie Harrison-Ironside has been granted permission for a sword ceremony however has elected not to have it on this day preferring instead, "To have my Sword Day at a time when all my family can be present"




KOUL REMAINS INTERNMENT POSTPONED

The funeral urns belonging to the companion of Paul the Explorer and the children they had were expected to be placed inside the Ironside family masouleum today. This ceremony was however postponed because of the illness of Princess Rhiannon and the discovery that the Koul family mentioned in the inscriptions is likely to be the fore-fathers of the current Cole family from Rokkenjima. This connection was discovered by Rokkenjiman experts and has since been confirmed by Dr. Marcus Merriman. The decision to postpone the ceremony was explained by Royal Press Secretary Malcolm Tucker.

"The funeral urns are a vital part of the history of East Moreland and there is no doubt they rightfully belong in the Ironside masouleoum. What we must remember however is that this is also the great-great, and so on, grandparents of the Cole family. As such they will get a chance to attend the ceremony and would be welcome to pay their respects to their ancestors. The ceremony will therefore be postponed until such a time as the Cole's have responded to this invitation and Princess Rhiannon's condition has improved."

While no member of the royal family has yet said anything there is also a fresh hope for Princess Rhiannon's condition as this connection is effectively a new branch of the Ironside family.

Offline DaveIronside

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Re: Northfort News
« Reply #119 on: March 24, 2019, 08:54:55 PM »




DIXON HAILS CNN SCIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Astronaut Rachel Dixon recently returned from her latest space mission having seen the East Moreland mini space station greatly enlarged. The mission saw her and a Lodjain astronaut return home having successfully added a series of inflatable, collapsable compartments to the existing orbiting space lab. Currently a Cenneg and Maori astronaut remain on the station for a few more days. Dixon spoke about the mission before praising the CNN for helping expand scientific understanding. "The CNN Space station has been successful so far, we have space to run a vast number of experiments now as opposed to the one or two in the mini station. We can also provision the thing for much much longer missions meaning longer term experiments can take place. We're lucky that the CNN has allowed this to take place, probably only the Cenneg could have done this but they lacked the SmartWar pods, pulling together our logistics and funding means quicker results and more consistent missions. I think the CNN has been painted as a military alliance and yes of course it contains a provision on that matter, but it also promotes, funds and encourages science and its study."

Dixon is set to embark on a tour of East Moreland Universities to promote science studies and to assess various experiments that have bid for their experiments to be taken to the new enlarged station. It has also been confirmed that plans are being considered to place an inflatable pod in orbit around the Moon. Dixon explained, "The Cenneg believe that it would be possible to put a series of these pods together in orbit around the Moon. We could essentially undertake a series of missions seeing numerous missions to the surface before returning to these pods for resupply. If this system works then there is the possibility of sending these to further out planets, effectively provisioning them for future missions and making deep space exploration more of a possibility." There has however been no confirmation of this yet but the idea has been voiced previously.




FOREIGN MINISTER SEES "RISK AVERSE" CTO AS FULL OF "BLUSTER"

Foreign Minister Edward Tamana has today urged the King to withdraw East Moreland from the Commonwealth Treaty Organisation. The move comes after Sir Jacob Longe, the ambassador to the CTO, gave notice of an impending referendum on the nations membership. Speaking to Shelly Coe on her weekly political interview show the Foreign Minister said. "The CTO started off well, but it became to risk averse, too many nations failed to commit when required and wouldn't stick their necks out for the good of peace and security. Take for example the Uppsala Crisis, the CTO pass resolutions calling for help, more non-CTO nations responded than CTO nations. Even when Secretary General Carpenter wanted to get ambassadors to go there and show CTO support his move was thrown out because the CTO had concerns over safety. If you want peace and security then at times your going to have to actually do something. East Moreland has been a workhorse of the CTO. We are the only nation to have taken part in every debate, every vote and every sanctioned operation. It has seen over five hundred Moreland Legionnaires lay down their lives, countless others suffering life changing injuries. We hear of nations making proposals to "save" the CTO. What was needed was to get rid of the bluster that the CTO is full of yet that has continued. I will in the coming days be making recommendations to His Majesty for us to leave the CTO and for provisions to be made to ensure Mundus has something that sees the spirit of the CTO continue in a much better manner. Nations like Rokkenjima have asked for time to make proposals, that has now gone of for a long time, the clock is ticking away its final seconds."