"I too have some concern" Avgusta of Themyscira added. "The existance of this organisation already could be perceived as a kind of us and them antagonism towards some nations. In the past we have seen Clysperis fall out with Royal Seleucid, East Moreland, and several others. At one point there was very much a narrative being put forward by yourself of a Occident V's Orient style clash on Mundus. As I look around the room I suspect most of us because of our connections, cultures and geography would fall onto the opposite side of this clash to yourself. Themyscira can not afford to get dragged into such an entanglement. Now while we've seen a less provocative stance of late I need you to explain how we progress here so that my 8million people don't end up having issues with say East Moreland you mentioned because you've resumed your issues with them."

Being a charter of the Reenbergs was an awkward situation at times but the people had done well. Lucille began to explain "The system is simple to those of us who understand it. We are forbidden from entering into any contract with another nation that goes against the Central Charter. That means that we can enter trade agreements, political agreements and various other elements as long as we don't fall into any arrangement that would go against basically the interests of the Reenberg family. Now we hope one day to reach an agreement where we transition to a more independent arrangement but we'll take whatever we can in January's negotiations. What I ideally would like to do is have our people able to move easily between nations. Our love of art, culture, music, beauty and the like make us nations I believe can be cultural partners and I'd love to see if that can happen easily."

On this the 30th day of October in the year 2023AD that the nations whose signatures are affixed to this charter have agreed to the following.

MEMBERSHIP

The Council of Small Nations and its associated bodies are open to any nation that meets the following criteria

1. Has a population of less than 15million according to its own census.

2. The Nation has control of its own armed forces.

3. The Nation has a Head of State who under their own laws can make agreements with other nation.

4. Any nation that is a member and due to a change in circumstances no longer fulfils these criteria will no longer be permitted to be a member but may become an observer.

5. Observer members may send diplomats to the Council of Small Nations but may not vote. They may send representatives to associated bodies who are free to establish their own systems of governance.

6. A nation may withdraw from this Charter at any time with no prejudice.

THE COUNCIL OF SMALL NATIONS

1. Any nation that is a member or observer may send a diplomatic representative to the Council which shall be headquarted in x x

2. The host nation shall, with reimbursement being shared equally among all members and observers, provide lodging, security and facilities deemed neccessary for this organisation.

3. The Council will be made up of one speaking member per nation per meeting.

4. Nations may send teams of advisers to support this speaking member but only the speaking member shall be permitted to talk during debates.

5. Any member nation may place before the Council a resolution for discussion. Any resolution must use the COSNAT template

6. Once the nominated chairperson believes an acceptable resolution has been drafted they may call for a vote of members. (OOC- No vote until 48hours with no reply or majority make it clear a vote is ready)

7. Should a majority of members agree with the resolution it shall be published on behalf of the Council.

8. Should a majority of members disagree with the resolution it shall be put aside. This does not prevent any member presenting an amended resolution on the same manner.

9. Any nation that is a member of the council that is a subject of a resolution is expected to comply with it, failure to do so will permit the other nations to exclude them from the organisation and/or impose sanctions upon them.

10. Any resolution that requires military action will be then sent to the COSNAT Military Office (COSNATMO) for further action.

SPOILER: COSNAT RESOLUTION TEMPLATE • SHOW


COSNAT MILITARY OFFICE

1. Each member nation shall appoint three representatives to the Office, these should be ranking officers representing each of the traditional branches of the military, Army, Navy and Air Force.

2. In a situation where a nation does not have such branches they are to appoint three officers representing however best they believe Land, Air and Sea operations would be represented.

3. Following the passing of a successful resolution the membership of COSNATMO shall formulate a leadership structure that is believed best for the situation.

4. Once a leadership structure is in place that leadership team shall present members of the Council with a formal request for assets.

5. It is expected members who voted for military action shall, within reason, supply military assets.

6. Upon the formal ending of military action the leadership team shall appear before COSNAT to give a full debrief and to answer any questions put before them.

7. While it is not expected that nations will have signed the Uppsala Convention this document shall be utilised as a standard for operations.

8. It is expected representatives of COSNATMO will share relevant intelligence so long as it does not impact their own national security.

ASSOCIATE ORGANISATIONS

1. Any member of COSNAT may propose the creation of an Associate Organisation.

2. An Associate Organisation shall be an individual body that shall have the aim of at least one of the following

i) Promoting global co-operation in a field
ii) Providing support for those in need
iii) Aiding nations to better defend themselves
iv) Furthering science and technology

3. Once a proposal is made to form an organisation it shall create a charter. Once a charter has been accepted by the majority of COSNAT members the organisation may be established. A proposal shall proceed in the same manner as perscribed in Article 5-9 of the COSNAT section of this charter.

4. Nations may opt out of an Associate Organisation regardless of how they voted however initially all nations who voted in favour shall be considered members.

5. Once an Associate Organisation has been approved it shall be free to establish its own procedures.

6. At least once a year all Associate Organisations are expected to give a report to COSNAT.


His Majesty King  Aldwin VI of Weißenwald
Lady Aurora, the Veiled One of Gusano
His Majesty King Rutger of Altona
Her Majesty Queen Lucille, First Daughter of Themyscira

Lucille was partly relieved at the answer, "You're remarkably well informed King Aldwin" she replied, "Yes we do have our own military, we are obliged to help the Charterlands Military recruit a set number of people each year for their military but those under arms in our own military are ours to command. I can, well along with advice from the other three Queens, utilise our military for many purposes so yes we are Commanders in Chief. She then realised that perhaps she had been a little too quick in praising Aldwin for his knowledge of the Themysciran military matters once he voiced his hypothetical. She stiffled the urge to chuckle, "Sadly our nation lacks a coast line however is a disaster happened and COSNAT existed and was getting involved in some kind of naval operation then we would seek to help as much as we could, be that for example sending medics to help work on other nations vessels, sending supplies or any other means. I believe then we've fulfilled the criteria and should the rest of the talks proceed to go to plan then I'd be happy to see this body formed." 

Xeleth was at one point just a record keeper in the underworld. He demonstrated a vast knowledge of the suffering of mankind and was therefore given a position of controlling knowledge in the underworld. He controls a group of demons known as Torturers who feed exclusively on the "energies" created by not pain itself but the fear of pain. As such his demons infiltrate the human world to establish scenarios for people in order to feed.

For souls who have been sent to the Underworld Xeleth is responsible for providing Draco and Ayanna with lists of humans who would appeal directly to their own particular desires and needs.

The fact they were a Charter was a bit of an issue, for Queen Lucille was a kind of sore point, in her first term as First Daughter in 2008 she had signed the current arrangement they had with the Reenburgs, she'd signed that on her word to the Four Gods Themyscira would honour the Grand Charter for the next 40 years, Lady Charlotte had wanted her to say 100 but negotiations and an agreement to up contributions to the Charters military and some concessions had reduced that number. Lucille hoped therefore it would be her daughter Anastasija who would perhaps be leading the nation to full independence. "We have some room to make arrangements for cultural, educational and certain trade deals. I suspect though that we would best include provision that any Reenburg family owned Charter may also opt into any trade arrangement that we make. In terms of embassies then of course we can make that happen. There are many Charters that have connections to other nations and therefore have close embassy connections too. I will for our first ambassador send my youngest daughter Princess Lysanne" Lucille looked at the others who had zero say in the matter and so didn't even try and protest. I hope we've not closed off any avenues for these talks?"

As the two Themysciran players who had been part of the Charterlands Rugby World Cup Winning team arrived home they were greeted by Queen Nympha of the Agelaus. Brothers Gianni and Vigalis Petsalgou were both parts of the Charterlands squad and play for Agelan University Old Boys RUFC, which is a university heavily backed by the Agelaus families. The Queen presented each of them with a Themysciran Honour Medal which is a national award given to those who have "represented the people of Themyscira with honour and dignity". An individual can be presented one for many different reasons but two Queens must agree to the presentation. Queen Nympha spoke proudly to the two saying, "It was one of the shortest discussions I think we've ever had in Council. The first two Themyscirans to be world champions. I'm desperate that we can now produce many many more."

The Queen and the Petsalgou brothers then presented various awards to students at the University which was celebrating its annual sports festival. Themyscira also hosted part of the World Cup and welcomed a large number of tourists in doing so. Queen Nympha also used the meeting to announce a new program for schools across the nation. Under the Schools Sport Showcase programme each commune will become part of an Under-18's sporting competition. School teams will act as feeder teams for this commune programme with an existing club or institute taking the lead as being the centre of excellence. It is hoped that this will increase the level of competition in a wide range of sports as well as helping develop the standard of players. Queen Nympha also confirmed that she and Queen Simin intend to discuss with Lady Charlotte of Reenberg, the Chater-Lord, the idea of a inter Charter extension to this programme. The Queen said, "We've had a small taste of success and I want there to be much more."

Ayanna is believed to originally have been one of the gods that reside in the human realm however attempting to take power from Aura and Harmony she was cast out of the human world and found a refuge in the underworld. She formed a ruling partnership with Draco as she was able to user her magic, particularly her control over the seasons and weather. She is known to be able to use magic to shape shift and despite being cast into the underworld is able to pass into the human world for short periods.

She resides in a palace made out of obsidian which is in a dark forest.

She is considered a Queen to a class of demons that, like her, can spend brief moments in the human world and this has made her extremely powerful as she is able to tell them ways to manipulate humans and these can in turn bring resources that demons feed upon such as emotional energy back to the underworld, meaning that in some ways she is in control of a kind of importation business in the underworld.

Koliada Fotias, or as it translates in the "Ancient Tongue" is the capital of what we may consider to be an underworld. The Ancient Tongue is a language, spoken by very few outside the religions priesthood, that is said to be the language spoken by the Gods, Arbiters and Demons. It is similar to modern Themysciran but different enough that most will not be able to accurately translate. Kolida Fotias means Valley of Fire and is a city where both Draco and Ayanna reside in separate palaces. Unlike Christian traditions of "Hell" the underworld is essentially a functioning world where people live, work and interact. There is a civilization there which some people claim they can interact with. Koliada Fotias is therefore believed to be an actual city in which demons have their own residencies and have employment. The underworld even has an economy where elements taken from humans are traded in much the same way a modern market economy might function. Much of this employment for demons revolves around extracting and trading things such as negative or positive emotions from humans cast into the underworld following death because of negative reports from their arbitors. Humans are therefore considered almost like cattle within this realm and exist to be farmed by the demons until they are used up and destroyed. Many elements of popular culture are thought to be influenced or inspired by this concept such as the idea that "The Matrix" would be similar to how this underworld lives and that the visions characters like Neo experience are actually controlled by demons as a way of manipulating what they can farm from us.

WIP

Today during a speech at the University of Zefyri's Midwifery graduation Queen Simin made an announcement that she is actively seeking to change the nations laws surrounding abortion. Currently a woman may have an abortion at anytime during her pregnancy so long as two qualified doctors agree that the pregnancy presents "a probability of damaging the mothers life or future reproductive health." This see's relatively few abortions carried out each year despite some critics of the law saying that there are a significant number of practiners willing to agree to this existing criteria without assessing sufficiently. Despite the total number of requests for abortions being relatively low, and the majority of those requests finding approval, Queen Simin has highlighted a few cases where the present law has, in her words, "Let women down.". She declined to name the women involved but pointed to a case in which a 17 year old girl had been raped and subsequently become pregnant. Another example she cited was one of a family where there child had a significant medical condition meaning the family had to find hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to care for their newborn, plunging the family into debt and negatively impacting their existing children. According to Queen Simin had the condition been known to the parents and the option of abortion permitted the family would have opted to terminate the pregnancy. Finally Queen Simin pointed to the death of a 22 year old woman last year who had opted for an illegal "backstreet" abortion and as a result of the unsterile conditions had died of blood poisoning.

The Queen went on to outline the initial ideas she has for the change in the law. "It is my aim to somehow, the actual mechanism I'm still consulting experts on, is to make access to abortion safer and easier. For me the current wording is to vague and narrow. The future of the unborn child should also feature, if the child is to live a short life full of pain and constant medical intervention then perhaps abortion is an option for that family. Likewise we should consider not just the physical health of the mother but also the mental health. I though oppose just a blank cheque approach to abortion where there are no limits or controls but our current system is killing people." It is however unlikely that Queen Simin will find changing the law a simple process. The Queen of the Naukles became a Tetrarch in 2017 and in 2021 election for First Daughter received just 1.8% of the national vote. She is seen as very liberal compared to the other three Tetrarchs and was not a direct descendant of the previous Queen of the Naukles and inherited the throne as a result of the Naukles ruling family being heavily male dominated and one of the few female cousins. This has lead to her popularity being low compared to the other three monarchs.

The announcement already drew criticism from some religious figures. Gianni Kopresia, a leading preacher in the faith known as the Balance, was one of the first to comment saying "It is very clear that The Arbiters consider the ending of a souls life to be an act worthy of our own souls destruction. Our faith teaches us that the soul is placed within a person when the two elements of life, what we understand to be the sperm and the egg, are joined. Now our faith also teaches us saving a soul is worthy of reward in the after-life. I believe our current abortion laws balance these two concepts fairly. What Queen Simin is proposing will swing the balance and sadly it is likely to be the younger citizens of our nation, corrupted by some new liberal mindset being imported and championed by Queen Simin, that pay the spiritual price for her guidance."

For the law to be changed Queen Simin must first present a draft legislation before the other three Tetrarchs and convince at least two of them to support her proposal. This is likely to fail initially however should Queen Simin then open a petition regarding the proposal and sees it gain significant support then traditionally the Tetrarchs who do not hold the role of First Daughter will support it. Many experts however believe that should Queen Simin present a petition on the matter a counter-petition is likely to be presented meaning that effectively a referendum will take place. Currently none of the other three Tetrarchs are on record as having made public statements about the abortion law however with Queen Lucille of the Corythia being considered very traditional in her outlook and having gained 56.3% of the national vote in the last election for First Daughter it is unlikely Queen Simin will see widespread support in fact already voices on social media are leaning towards her action failing. One Twitter user stated "This shows how out of touch with her people she is" while another user stated, "She is no Queen, she is a traitor to the Balance and should abdicate."

The Tetrarchs Council meets on Thursday and this is likely to be discussed.

---

There were celebrations in Tetradamos today as the Charterlands celebrated their first ever sporting success. The Charterlands defeated Lodja, a nation whose Queen is currently visiting Themyscira, in the final. The victory was even sweeter as it was hosted in the Charterlands with Themyscira hosting some of the teams who competed. Several Themyscirans were part of the Charterlands squad and are to be introduced to the Four Queens on Thursday.

Queen Avgusta of the Gygaea was in attendance at the final and spoke after the trophy was lifted. "I'm proud of our countryman who have helped contribute to this. The Charterlands are a unique collection of peoples and cultures and sport is a fantastic way of us having a common heritage. While of course we long for a day when Themyscira competes under own flag we are delighted to uphold our oaths and contracts and support the Charterlands. I'd like to congratulate our team and Lady Charlotte who organised a fantastic occasion." 

The TDF is made up of all volunteers and often that becomes challenging to achieve. The faith known as The Balance puts a rather large emphasis on maintaining a positive balance within your life and "ending a souls life" ranks rather highly. As such many Theyscirans shun military service. It is a profession seen as something done by those of other faiths or Theyscirans who may struggle finding other means of employment. It is not uncommon for judges to even offer to defer sentences for pesistant lower level criminals if they serve a minimum period in the military. To try and remove some of the stain of evil associated with military service the armed forces embrace the idea of using  the positive elements of the Balance to even out their fate. This means the TDF has produced a large number of musicians, artists and poets. As seeking knowledge is also important the TDF offers many educational opportunities. Another way that they've attempted to overcome these issues is by utilising a force made up of foreigners. Any individual who can prove they have not served more than 5 years in a prison may join the Theysciran Foreign Legion (TFL). If an individual completes a minimum of eight years of service and is honourably discharged they become Theysciran citizens.

TDF Ground Branch - 17,000 soldiers.
TDF Air Wing - 2,800 Airmen
Theysciran Foreign Legion - 2,800 Legionnaires

As Theysciran is land locked it has no Naval Branch

TDF Ground Branch Equipment

45 x Type 77 Main Battle Tank
80 x Type 45 IFV
50 x Type 46 APC
25 x Type 47 APC
150 x Type 21 Mobility Vehicle
100 x Type 20 Mobility Vehicle
20 x Type 6 Self Propelled Howitzer
20 x Type 7 Towed Howitzer

TDF Air Wing Equipment

10 x F-20 Multi-Role Fighter
25 x F-22 Multi-Role Fighter
8 x C-7 Cargo Plane
8 x C-72 Cargo Plane
2 x C-12 Cargo Plane
20 x A-4 Ground Attack Aircraft
8 x H-5 Scout Helicopter
20 x H-1 Utility Helicopter
4 x H-4 Transport Helicopter
5 x U-1 UAV
5 x U-2 UAV
5 x U-3UCAV

To - His Majesty King Aldwin VI

Currently it is my duty to represent the nation of Themyscira. I find the idea that you have put forward to be an intriguing one and regardless of its success as a Council I would certainly be interested in our two nations becoming better acquinted. I therefore happily accept your invitation and will be attending your gathering in person. I look forward to meeting you, and hopefully other national leaders.

On Behalf of All Themyscira

Queen Lucille of the Corythia
Tetrarch
First Daughter

In Themyscira the vast majority of the population follow a religion that calls itself The Balance. Its concepts are actually rather simple to understand. All things within the Universe must be kept in balance and humans are the ones tasked with ensuring that takes place. The religion has a heavy focus on nature and the idea of the meaning behind an action being significant. The belief is that there are four Gods, two responsible for acts of good, two for acts of bad. Neither are considered evil as they are simply maintaining balance in the Universe. The Gods of good control a paradise where those who achieve a positive balance in life are rewarded with fine banquets, love, dancing and joy for all time. Those who achieve a negative balance are cast into a realm frequented by demons. These demons feed upon certain human elements such as emotions, feelings and even the soul itself. The demons also inhabit a realm where there are demonic cities where the things they feed upon are used as currency. As such these demons seek to corrupt us.

To ensure the four Gods are able to make an informed decision on what happens to a human once they die each of us have an "Arbitor" sat on each shoulder. These are neutral spirits who exist within the physical world unseen. The one of the right writes down our good deeds, the one on the left the bad. These deeds are inscribed in two identical books of our life with the ink being considerably weighty. When we die the books are weighed by the Gods and the heavier one determines their fate. Should they be equally balanced then the person is held in limbo between the two realms for a year and further information added to the book based on what their family does in reaction to the persons death.

Places of Worship

The Balance have no single places of worship. Most things are done in nature and communities have built small stone shrines usually very simple in nature. Each tends to be just four standing stones, occasionally with a table between them. Often the stones are not even uniform but rather just the first four large stones found by the community in any area where they wished to worship. It is expected that on Friday evenings the faithful will gather at the stones and sing praises to the Gods while also meditating. During meditation they often will quietly explain the reasons behind actions they have taken that are likely to have been written on the negative list. They hope that the Arbitor on that shoulder will remove the negative deed from their book if they know the reason.

Arbiters


The Arbiters make a list of our deeds. The interpretation of what they write down have significant impact on peoples lives.


These rules have had significant impacts on the nations culture.

*The nation has found it hard to form an armed forces. In the past this has seen them rely heavily on a form of Foreign Legion made up of people who do not share their faith and who are paid. Military service has also been used as a form of judicial punishment. The concept of a "Enlightened Warrior" exists. This is where military forces as well as learning combat skills undertake courses in study in art, literature and music in the hopes that they may out weigh any evil caused by killing or injuring in combat and committing acts of violence.

* Vast investment in The Arts. The nation places great emphasis on music and dance in particular as well as encouraging art.

*Each year on the anniversary of a persons death people will make an item to place on their grave. In order to allow the body to be of use the person is buried without a coffin of wood but in a wicker basket. The basket is filled with wood chips and other organic matter designed to help the body break down. Seeds are contained within the burial, usually of a tree, in hopes that their body will create a thing of beauty or help grow nature.

*It is said Themyscirans fall in love very easily. This is because of a desire to have a significant person in their life. While the religion doesn't say you have to be married to the person you love that is seen as the surest way of getting favour from the Arbiter. The average time from a couple meeting for the first time to marriage in the nation is less than a year. Marriages do not always last long however as the idea of lying to a person brings with it negatives. The average divorce rate for the nation is around 12% and divorce is not seen as a negative as it ensure that you are not causing unnecessary pain or suffering and ending a lie which is the marriage.

Simin was born as the only child of a cousin branch of the Naukles family. In 2017 Yanna Naukles, her distant aunt, died without children and no obvious female descendant meaning Simin was promoted to be the main bloodline. Her parents, while minor members of the Naukles, were successful business people in their own right with several significant financial institutions having their name.

Simin however has received some of the lowest votes ever in election for First Daughter as many see her distant connection as an issue that she has yet to overcome. This is largely due to her lack of adherence to tradition expected from the royal lines. While the others are usually seen on their estates during down time Simin is usually being snapped at high profile events and parties. Before ascending to the role of Tetrarch she was running a business with several friends that allowed people to hire clothing for special occasions. She also contributed fairly often to lifestyle magazines.

In her spare time when not partying she is invested heavily into sports and considered a rather good high jumper and volleyball player. As well as sports she is also a keen photographer.

Since becoming Tetrarch she has maintained her party lifestyle and is seen by many of the nation as the most liberal of the four leaders. She is currently single

Born in 1991 Nympha is the eldest of four daughters. She became Tetrarch much earlier than expected following her mothers decision to hand over her titles in 2022 as she was "bored of the power". This resulted in Nympha inheriting the position perhaps decades early. At that time she was working as part of the Art Restoration team at the National Gallery of Fine Arts and helping run an Art Therapy charity designed to support children with mental health issues.

Since becoming Tetrarch she has begun to seek better access to arts for the poorest in society and has also looked to promote the nations deep religious reverence for art and music outside their homeland.

In her spare time she paints in water-colours, plays chess and learns folk dances.

She is currently single after her engagement to Eder Gygaea fell through when he was arrested for money laundering. Eder was a distant cousin of the Gygaea ruling family and has since been sent to prison for laundering money for an organised crime ring through one of the Gygaea families haulage businesses.