Lodja Times

[Libby]

QUEEN OPENS "PRINCESS FACTORY"

Queen Natalya today has opened the Royal Preparation Academy, a new educational institute which has been dubbed by many as the "Princess Factory". The Academy is located in Gaia and this year will be accepting 36 noble women at University level for a new course dubbed "International Leadership Studies" that will take in areas of study in economics, politics, history, disaster management and international relations. The Academy is designed to help prepare any future heir to the throne after Queen Natalya raised the age of inheritance of the throne from 18 to 21 in order to bring more stability to the throne on the death of the monarch. The school will also feature a variety of programmes to encourage sport, the arts and cultural pursuits on a beautiful campus that was once the property of the Hamsik family but was seized following the end of the recent civil war. The initial course supervisor is Dr.Maddie Howard of East Moreland who greeted the Queen and her entourage as they arrived. Queen Natlaya spoke with the first intake saying, "While I am hopeful of being on the throne for many years it is important we remember we are a Queendom, for a long time we allowed women to become those responsible for a narrow field and they were out of the Conclave for decades because of how Queen Sonya in her old age became hoodwinked. That's over. I intend for noblewomen to feature prominently during my reign and I want to equip them not to just look after family business while men run states, cities or even the Conclave. The 36 who make up the first class of the Academy are blazing a trail for that and will be our future ambassadors, Ministers or even Lord of the Conclave. While I am exceptionally grateful that Professor Howard has taken this role I believe it will be a one year role. She is the kind of bright, intelligent, beautiful and sophisticated woman we want the Academy to produce and we are lucky to have her but this project will eventually need to be run 100% by Lodjains only utilising global experts like Dr.Howard when it adds significantly to our offering."

The school will welcome 16 years olds in 2024 and offer Lodjian higher exams before those achieving well progressing onto degree level. One of those beginning this year is 18 year old Sabina Volkov, a cousin of Queen Stasya of East Moreland, the well connected student said. "I'm excited to have this chance to learn here. They've acquired an amazing roster of tutors, the lessons look very interesting and the facilities are out of this world. While the media may call this the "Princess Factory" it is nothing like that. To me this is an opportunity to get a degree from what will become a leading institute and as a result I'll be positioned to have an exciting career and if the Queen wills it a chance to be of service to the Queendom. I can't wait to get started."

Some though have criticised the Academy concept with one saying "If Queen Natalya was serious about making it easier to move between being a Pleb and a Patrician then why didn't they open the school to both classes. Imagine the leg up attending would have made to a Pleb, it would be life changing and inspire so many to know that they can become anything they set their mind on." Meanwhile the Lord of the Conclave  , Lubos Kubik, defended the decision saying, "It will eventually become the case that the future Queen will have to have been educated here. The class sizes are always going to be limited and we want as wide a pool as possible. Only a patrician can inherit the crown and so that naturally sets the field of who we can accept."

High Priestess Arina Maksimov blessed the facility and those attending for their first day and said "I'm thrilled that the Goddess will, a long time from now, have a well prepared, well educated and cultured protector to be her Guardian. This school is an amazing idea and will be a beacon in many ways for our nation. I'm hopeful that while its aim is to prepare diplomats, government officials and the like some may also consider entering the Priesthood as we always need a new generation to keep our faith strong. Its especially telling that this opening coincides with the comet NS-2013 arriving overhead. It shoots off into the heavens lighting a path in darkness, something of a good omen as this is what we hope this school will do."

[Libby]

FIRST FEMALE ROYAL GUARD APPOINTED

Following the end of the recent Lodjain Civil War the members of the Army responsible for the security of the Isle of the Goddess have undergone radical change. The 187 year old unit known as the Warriors of Gaia was disbanded and replaced with the new 1st Royal Guard Regiment. The new unit is not considered a special forces unit but just as its predecessor it does have higher requirements in terms of fitness and soldierly standards than the regular army. Since the formation of a specialist unit to guard the Isle, a role once undertaken by the Queen Marine Squadron, there has never been a female member. Today Lieutenant Violetta Matveev became the first to pass the final hurdle to enter the service, a 1km open swim followed by a 2mile run. This is undertaken across Gaia bay and then up the hill to the Palace itself. The 26 year old was formerly a member of the 2nd Horse Artillery and is the youngest daughter of the Sheriff of Karpovka, a small town in the North of the nation. In the coming days she will be formally inducted into the new regiment and presented the silver beret by Queen Natalya. Speaking following the announcement Lt.Matveev said, "A while back Queen Natalya spoke of the Queendom regaining its traditions of women taking the lead within the nation after for the last few centuries a corrupted priesthood and nepotism diminished most womens roles. I'm proud to be the first to join the Queen's guard and I now dream one day of being the commanding officer of it."

Queen Natalya has yet to meet Lt.Matveev but did say "I am very proud of Violetta and look forward to presenting her, and the other three new guards, their berets on Saturday. I have heard Lt.Matveev talk of her dream f one day commanding the Guard and I too look forward to seeing her achieve her dream. I pray that she is the first of many to walk this path."

FOOTBALL TRANSFER SPARKS DEATH THREATS

With the World Cup just a few weeks away it is expected that football will be in the spotlight of the media however today it is for the wrong reasons. 23 year old superstar of the Lodjain womens game Kristina Kovalyov first completed a transfer from Dynamo Gaia to local rivals CSK Gaia becoming the first player in either the mens or womens game to move between the teams. The news sparked an outcry online from Dynamo fans branding the winger a "Traitor" and calling for her to be targeted for "retribution" when the two teams next meet. That meeting, barring a cup tie, will not happen this season as Dynamo Gaia were relegated following a 10 point deduction last season for financial mismanagement. It was this relegation that saw Kovalyov push for a transfer. In August she went on record saying, "This coming world cup will see fierce competition for places in the womens team and I need to be in the top league for my chance to come about. Sadly that means leaving Dynamo."

Later in the day however CSK Gaia had police attending their training ground where Kovalyov was meeting fans for the first time. It was discovered that police had received warnings of at least six death threats against her. While many of these are likely to be simply angry fans using social media to vent their disappointment at what they perceive as a betrayal of their club the Police have said they will be giving Kovalyov a panic alarm for the time being. CSK Gaia have also confirmed that they will be providing her with security until those responsible have been caught.

[Libby]

NOBLE DUO BATTLE FOR EMPEROR

With the 20th birthday of Emperor Orion of Neu Urburzis approaching the traditional competition to become his wife and therefore Empress has begun and two Lodjain noble ladies have put their names forward. Ophelia Danialov and Angelika Kubik have both thrown their name into the metaphorical ring. The two girls face competition from a local ice skater, a noble lady from Asadal and rather ironically the Royal Ambassador to Lodja from Rokkenjima. The competition is to start in the new year but there have already been several social media posts referencing the competition with Princess Sophia, the Rokkenjiman ambassador, already posting criticism of a post on social media by Queen Stasya of East Moreland. In a picture of Queen Stasya and her close friend Lady in Waiting Jasmina Danialov, who is the sister of Ophelia, posted that she hoped Ophelie would "Bag" an Emperor, something criticised by Princess Sophie. The East Moreland Queen has however laughed off the criticism saying, "There is a great deal about Neu Urburzis society that is competative. Their school system has competition built into it and they even love summer schools that pit children into contests. If the Princess things a nicely nicely approach to the competition sanctioned by the nation she's applied to be Empress of is the way forward good luck to her. I'll be hoping Ophelia wins and if for some reason she doesn't then Angelika would be an excellent choice too."

The two Lodjain candidates are both well connected with ancient family connections to nobility. Ophelia is the sister of current lead Lady in Waiting Lady Jasmina while Angelika is the grand-daughter of the current Lord of the Conclave Duke Lubos Kubik. The two girls are also friends with both of them having spent considerable time on the Isle of the Goddess, where ironically one of their rivals, Princess Sophie, has also spent significant time. Over the current summer season it was reported that Angelika had received at least ten offers of marriage however these had been rejected as her grand-father felt they "were not of sufficient standing". Meanwhile Ophelia has recently begun campaigning for Wild Mundus Organisation following Queen Natalya stepping down as their junior ambassador.

The Queen has sent both competitors her best stating, "If one of the two win it is a positive result for Neu Urburzis and Lodja. The country of Neu Urburzis will get an elegant and beautiful Empress to support Emperor Orion. Meanwhile Lodja will naturally feel more inclined to seek ever closer relations with them." The Palace also confirmed that the two will be invited to spend time on the Isle as an "extended part of the royal retinue" if it helps them in their competition. Ophelia has however turned down the invitation in order to spend time in East Moreland visiting Portworth where the founder of WMO, Matilda Osman is based. In addition she will be spending time with family friend Queen Stasya.

[Libby]

QUEEN BANS FUR FROM ISLE

In a move sure to send the noblewomen of Lodja scurrying to their wardrobes the Queen of Lodja has today banned the wearing of real fur on the Isle of the Goddess. Traditionally as the winter months have hit the Isle the weather there can get rather cold, especially in some of the older parts of the complex which is home to the Queen, her court and various entourages. This has often seen many nobles opt for the warmth of thick fur coats, including several monarchs. This year however there will be a change following the Queen issuing an edict that real fur will not be permitted to be worn on the Isle at all. The move comes following discussions with Ophelia Danilov, the ambassador to the Wild Mundus Organisation in Lodja, the Queen has determined that she will support the noble-womans anti-fur campaign. The Queen posted pictures of herself wearing faux fur online while praising Ophelia's programme. The Queen stated, "Once upon a time fur was seen by many Lodjains as a necessity. It was the only way to stay warm in winter. We've seen bears decline, at one point the beaver was gone from Lodja and various other species faced farming of sorts which was cruel. Sessifet may have given us dominion over the animals but it doesn't mean we need to abuse them. I'm proud that we will do our bit on the Isle."

Ophelia, who is hoping to become the Emperess of Neu Urburzis, has been helping promote the WMO to younger Lodjains since being named as Queen Natalya's successor as youth ambassador to the body. She hopes to run a small fashion show in the next month which is totally dedicated to "non-animal but animalesque fashion." Explaining the concept she said "Our nation spends much more on average than most nations per person on fashion. We have a whole host of styles we all enjoy suede, leather, fur and various other things give us a beautiful luxurious feel. We can still achieve these without the use of animals. I hope we can show young people that as we are the major consumers of fashion." The show is likely to happen in the next few weeks as Opehlia hopes to capitlise on the Queen's support.

[Libby]

QUEEN TO PROPOSE TIZER AGREEMENT

Queen Natalya is due to travel to Bakkermaya in the coming week in order to meet with representatives of Bakkermaya and Paracambi in order to formulate what she is called the TIZER agreement. The Queen hopes that the agreement will allow the islands of the Northern Alucard to work together to boost each nations economy as well as support the growth of Water Nomad engagement in the region. "The Tri-Island Zone for Economic Relations will be primarily aimed at working together to ensure we can sustainably use the resources of the region to help all three of us. One issue that we have is that the involvement of the Water Nomad within the region can often make the situation regarding the movement of goods and safety of the environment an issue. So far we've largely turned a blind eye to working together and now we need to start making changes. If I get the deal I would like then I will be pushing to make it easier for business owners to move between the islands and also maximise the way these mainly small businesses can work."

The Queen is also expected to try and get a visit to Lymm into the coming weeks saying, "Lymm sits on the opposite coast of the Alucard and is a nation of great potential. I want to see if we can find ways of encouraging them to become an economic partner in the region and I intend to formally invite them to become a part of TUNA. I also desperately want to view more of Mundus and intend to in the coming months." The Queen is expected to also host one of the summer balls this year outside of Lodja. The Queen explained. "We have seen other nations have great success with diplomacy utilising what could be considered cultural exchanges as a way of forging friendships. I think our ball season is exceptionally well positioned to allow us to do this and while nations we've a friendship with like East Moreland, Neu Urburzis and Ui Cenneslaig it makes sense to try and take the experience to new nations therefore I would like to perhaps go to Tanith or Eborcium. Both are continental neighbours whom we have yet to become close friends."

The Queen is currently in the midst of drafting new legislation which, if it goes ahead, would change the nations education system. "We've allowed standards to be too low for too long and we've placed in the past far too much emphasis on nepotism. This is going to change if our economy is to keep growing. Currently we're seeing it slow as we have a shortage of high end skilled workers. " The Queen has yet to reveal any information on what changes she imagines are needed.

[Libby]

SUMMER BALLS GO "OUT OF THIS WORLD"

Every year at the end of May we see the beginning of the annual summer ball season. In Lodjain culture these serve as both a way of the aristocracy networking, arranging marriages for their newly adult daughters and celebrating the beauty of Sessifet. Since the reign of Queen Viktoriya the season has taken on much more of a modern feel with the Queen bringing in more modern music, fashion and encouraging them as a cultural form of foreign relations. As such the Summer Balls, while still very Lodjain in character have since become an annual event at places across Mundus ranging from Northfort Palace, where Queen Stasya of East Moreland hosts one, to next year going to Eboricum. 2024 will also mark the first time a ball has taken place outside of Mundus. With a scheduled addition of the CNN Space Station due in early May the crew will be formed of four Lodjains, with the daughter of the Duke of Demesk, acting as mission commander. Ludmilla Demeskov, the 38 year old former Air Force Officer, will lead the team utilising a Cenneg and East Moreland constructed rocket to the reilnflated modules that serve as the station. These are part of a long term research project to evaluate them as a potential tool for long range exploration. The proposed mission will be to take a third module up and install it. The four individuals will conduct a number of research projects as well as prepare the station for a much longer stay by a team later on in 2024. While there the four have confirmed that on the penultimate night of their stay they will have a ball, thus kicking off the Summer Ball Season.

Demeskov has said "My father usually hosts a big summer ball, in fact it's where I meet my husband. I always enjoy them and it'll be interesting to try and waltz in zero-g. I will also be back home for my father's ball so at least I won't miss out." For a Summer Ball to be classed as an official part of the Lodjain Royal Ball Season it must have a licence from the Queen. It is understood that Queen Natalya will travel to the Cenneg launch site to present the crew with the licence and to observe the launch.