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International News Networks / Re: Northfort News
« Last post by DaveIronside on Today at 12:12:08 AM »SISTERHOOD CELEBRATE "2MILLION"
Today marked the first day of the Sisterhood of Helus first conference. The religion, considered by many to be an offshoot of the Cult of Helus, has been steadily growing over the last four years and as such its founder and High Priestess, Jinny Denman, organised a conference in Northfort to support the growing Priesthood, plan for future temple construction and allow the faithful to meet. The religion also announced that it has now got two million members however this is disputed by many. Opening the conference Jinny Denman addressed an estimated 800 members of the faith and said, "In just a short time many of you have come to realise the truth of what we are establishing. At first those of us who lead the vanguard were called cranks, morons, even troublemakers yet now we are seeing our numbers grow and grow every single day. This year we've just hit two million members of the Sisterhood, and thats just in East Moreland, we have handfuls in various other nations around the world too." In a statement later Denman explained that the number comes from the number of people who attended Temple during the Feasts dedicated to the Gods and then considered that many regions of East Moreland lack temples dedicated to the Sisterhood. While Denman puts the number of faithful at two million experts believe it is likely the faith have less than 1.5million members. The High Priestess also explained that she intends to try and expand that number in the coming year. "It is vital we do all we can to help educate those who don't follow the Sisterhood of Helus find out more about the religion and then we can welcome them. The dream is that one day the Cult of Helus is no more as they have all seen the light our faith involves."
The conference is lacking perhaps the most prominent member of the Sisterhood of Helus, Queen Stasya, who converted to the faith after moving to East Moreland. The Queen is currently visiting family in Lodja and had been joined by King David until the situation in Troyes had him recalled yesterday. Queen Stasya did however have a video message for those attending the conference saying "I'm delighted that we as a faith can now gather in such numbers to make important decisions. My role as Queen of East Moreland means I must help ensure the freedoms of religion for all within my husbands Kingdom however I obviously share Jinny's dreams. That is something I think I am not the best person to be involved, that falls to you all for you are the life blood of Helus." During the first day of talks it was revealed that the Sisterhood currently has assets worth around $300million, mainly due to donations from prominent members of the faith as well as gifts of land for constructions of temples. It was revealed that the first overseas temple, built in Semelberg is due to be completed within the next month and that two more foreign Temples should be constructed this year, one in Bakkermaya and one in Lodja. It is believed that these two locations can see some success as Bakkermaya has large numbers of followers of Helus meanwhile the appeal of a female deity who is a strong leader may appeal to some Lodjains.
Tomorrow the conference is expected to discuss matters relating to a further formulation of rules for the Priesthood.
EMAC AND PORTWORTH DOCKYARD COLLABORATE
The Ministry of Defence have today announced that they have given funding clearance to a project from the East Moreland Aircraft Company (EMAC) and Portworth Dockyard. The project, which has yet to be given a name, will see EMAC develop an unmanned amphibious plane capable of landing on water or utilising airfields. This part of a project may be considered relatively simple enough for a company with EMAC's track record however this project will have a rather unique capability. The project calls for the aircraft to be able to land, launch an unmanned underwater vehicle and then recovery it before taking off. The Kingdom's Minister of Defence, Sir Harry Samuelson stated "The project is one that at this time is focused on helping us maintain our systems designed to monitor the nations EEZ. Our military has utilised a range of unmanned technologies ranging from traditional air vehicles to our RoboGuard land vehicle. This aquatic role for such technology is perhaps a new pathway but it could be an interesting one. What we have in mind is the idea that several of these autonomous subs can be carried, the crew come round and release them at the edge of the EEZ and then almost like a week later come and pick them up and replace them. The project is in its infancy but we're hopeful of its coming to fruition quickly as the technologies already exist, its just finding ways of moulding them together." It is believed that while the system may at first be designed to patrol the EEZ it is likely that more offensive versions may be created in the years ahead. There is also oppurtunity for the system to be used to help special forces infiltrate hostile waters.
The amount given to the project has not been confirmed.