Speaking from the City of Setri Pharaoh Akasha Di-‘nh-mi-Re addressed the Kingdom following news from the Mundus Games Committee that Azarelia, Mktvartvelo had been selected to host the Summer Games. "I offer my congratulations to the People of Mktvartvelo and for those in foreign capitals expecting me to extend words of spite to Mktvartvelo, I'm not sorry to disappoint you. I look forward to the competition awaiting us in the Games. Though we shall not be competing upon Clysperi soil the spirit of our nation will be on full display throughout the Games nonetheless."
"In remarks to the Mundus Games Committee we saw Südmark play upon fears of stability and safety in Clysperis, fears which are wholly unfounded. Not too far in the recent past the Kingdom had the pleasure of hosting Emperor Peter Azurewind who, along with his delegation, moved throughout Clysperis without any obvious concerns for their safety beyond standard procedure. We have seen that justice is brought to those who raised arms under the banner of a terrorist while the Clysperi People have joined together to produce a miracle: not only in the reconstruction of Clysperis, but in the birth of an economic miracle which has lifted countless lives into a new standard of living. Our streets, villages, towns and cities are just as safe as those found across Mundus. This line, however, speaks to the fact that some people cling to certain prejudices regarding Clysperis and our very lands, yet it is sad to see them displayed before the Mundus Games Committee as we saw the other day."
"Concerns regarding our facilities are, likewise, another inaccuracy from those who haven't seen nor actually inspected them. Our teams went to great lengths in the rehabilitation of those facilities which were modernized, taking care at every juncture of the process to ensure, first, that rehabilitation was even realistic before work began upon them. These facilities were brought up to modern building code standards, countless days in some cases went into the removal of materials utilized by the Soviets in some facilities, while a combination of visual inspections, sample gathering, the employment of rebound hammers to gauge the strength of concrete structures in addition to testing the pH balance of the concrete itself. Due to the largely arid climate of the Khemnen-Setri area the carbonation levels of the concrete fell well within levels we felt comfortable with before proceeding. These are all questions which could have been answered via a simple letter, and while these may have been solely metrics announced by Südmark the potential for them to influence votes down the line cannot be discounted."
"The assumptions laid before the Committee from Nya Åland are likewise problematic: the Clysperi legacy of the Games was not political, but symbolic in many ways. Beyond inspiring the Clysperi to look beyond for cooperation and honest competition, bringing the Games to Clysperis would have shone a strong light upon a society which has rejected the cultural heritage of Midaranye, slavery, and while the opening ceremony which would have championed the cause of peoples in chains across Mundus will not be happening I at least take comfort that some of our plans in that regard were designed to move forward regardless of the outcome of the vote. Funds which were intended to cover certain expenses in hosting the Summer Games, totaling $2.97bn for needs such as security, performances, and the participation of many companies which would have been utilized during the Games have been redirected to supporting the victims and survivors of slavery not just in Clysperis, but those of any nationality who are victims of this inhumane practice. Accommodations for athletes, trainers and other Games officials are already being prepared for their intended second life: an affordable and supportive community for Clysperi and foreign victims of slavery and forced servitude to call home, with the involvement of businesses across Clysperis as well as the Royal Clysperi Government to forward their education and provide career opportunities to enrich their lives. In that light, I hold no regrets and all Clysperi should be proud of what we built because these assets can now be a force to change lives and lift people up."
"Nya Åland is also a state that has a record of taking severe actions against the children of the gods, their persecution of Christians and fear of foreign faiths leading them to being one of the most religiously oppressive states upon Mundus. Kemetic Orthodoxy faced several challenges, the most recent of them the Soviets who sought to impose state atheism upon our lands, yet somehow Kemetic Orthodoxy has found a way to live in harmony with Manists, Muslims, Cultists, and countless peoples of faiths other than Kemetic; our faith has survived and our People have joined hands, across lines of faith, countless times. I hope to see a day where Nya Åland casts off its paranoia and recognizes that people of faiths other than that of their Odin aren't some plot to remove Odinists from the world, or whatever their reason is, because it's all quite irrational if you ask me."
"Nya Åland was joined in this late voting by the Emirates, Royal Seleucid and Rayyu. I've already said enough on Royal Seleucid, offered them opportunities for rapprochement, but the ego of a King is something which is difficult to overcome. In a region where at least four out of two leaders are men I've come to accept that the level of respect I receive will never equal that of my male counterparts; it's played a large role in Clysperis looking beyond our region as, sadly, many of them are a century or two behind us when it comes to concepts such as equality between the genders, for example. We also had the Emirate of Rayyu join Royal Seleucid in voting against us, but I am quite fine with that. In a recent interview the Emir said to a bisexual woman that her and her partner, gods rest her soul, "could not have done this naturally". It boggles my mind, truly, as over a
thousand species have exhibited same-sex behaviour including sex and co-parenting. Beetles, fruit bats, dolphins, birds, sheep, orangutans, even the tiny flea are just a handful of examples of
God's creation or the natural world, which engages in homosexual behaviour so tell me, how is that
not the very definition of natural? Being gay is not a problem or challenge to be overcome, it's simply who you were meant to be and I imagine, perhaps after another thousand years or so, that the Abrahamic faiths will finally be where we are in realizing that the gods do not care who you love so long as you are honest and true in your interactions with every life you touch and leave them better off than when they approached you.
Naturally...." Pharaoh Akasha shook her head, "what will the next excuse be?"
"I'll gladly stand against powers which continue to represent the past," the Pharaoh continued, "as we look to the future. Midaranye is so much more than Tamora, Royal Seleucid and Rayyu, we have the potential to move beyond the constraints some powers would wish to impose upon us and I believe that if we move beyond the views espoused by Royal Seleucid, Tamora and Rayyu that we can see progress in our region, we can hold onto traditions without handicapping ourselves. Is it any wonder why I am the most targeted leader by states such as Royal Seleucid, Rayyu and Waddan? Tell me what the difference is between our heads-of-government, I'll even give you the first two guesses free. I won't stand down though, I will do all that is within my power to make this the century of the Midaranye woman and seeing that we're finally valued as men are and treated as equals. They may have sank our bid to host the Mundus Games, but I remain confident that in the long arc of history, they will ultimately be the losers."