QUEEN ADDRESSES THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

May the 12 bless and watch over us all.

The Realm of Cassiopeia are a nation that have long held onto our deep rooted and proud traditions. We are a nation that was founded on the idea of self-sacrifice for the greater good, doing right by the Gods and attempting to leave the realm in a better place than we have found it. Sadly over the last few decades we at times lost sight of this. During the 19th Century we allowed our realm to become split, the south seeing land seized by the Ardians, and the North fearful of a Seleucid drive South from what is now the Iwi. Unlike our northern neighbors we freed ourselves from these chains in the 1930's and at that point should have aided the Maori to our North or the Ikhan to our East. In that regard our nation hesitated, we were fearful of more war and destruction and yet almost a decade later we found ourselves once more embroiled in conflict. To those we should have aided long ago I must on behalf of the Realm extend our sorrow. Time can not be reversed however and rather we must live in the present dealing with the hand we are dealt.

The hand I am currently dealt is one that has once more been isolated, this time not because of foreign invasion but because of our own weakness. In 2010 my cousin, the now deposed Queen Cassandra allowed her husband to corrupt our nation by permitting a handful of senior offices to operate her like a cheap marionet. For close to a decade they imposed upon us martial law, smashed down all that tried to oppose them and forced those who refused their military command into exile. While in Marseille I watched from the deck of the Okeanos as my brothers and sisters in the military were promised a better Realm and had their heads turned by broken promises. I then watched with horror as our safe haven was wracked with its own corruption and chaos as the Marseille nation faced its own religious breakdown. The Okeanos and the loyal crew then headed to the frozen south of Albion, to Runavik where we plotted and schemed to return our nation to its righful path. Almost three years ago we returned and under cover of darkness brave men and women of the Doru Hoplite smite the military junta in a single night. I was then thankful the now free Priesthood selected me as Queen and upon my coronation I vowed to never permit my people to suffer again. For two years of my reign I have looked inward. We have taken a clean broom to the military, those loyal to the old generals are gone and those who maintained their loyalty now have places of honour. We have fixed our nation but neglected the world.

In that regard I must now walk a fine line, a tightrope of global politics. I today make a promise to my people, my family. Never will I allow Cassiopeian authority over her own future to be usurped by those outside the nation. I know the ears of those around our borders will no doubt be listening intently to my words and to them I offer a hand in friendship. There will no doubt be an expectation that I now sign all these global charters, the FSC, the human rights charter, the Uppsala Convention and numerous others. This I will not do. These organizations believe that there is some authority over Cassiopeia that is more legitimate than that given to us by our ancient ways and traditions. While this may sound like I am placing us on a collision course with the international community that is not our choice. If they judge a nation purely on what pieces of paper they have signed rather than what their people experience and how their leaders actually act then they are a nation I do not wish to know. The borders of Cassiopeia are open and I urge anyone who believes that my refusal to sign the various charters shows that we are abusing our people to come and speak to them, unannounced, unplanned and unrestricted you will find the people here cared for and happy. In the coming days there will be perhaps pressure to join organizations such as the Ardian Assembly, or SANE, maybe even the CSTO. We shall, for now, ignore any of these. They are in our view attempts to enforce the will of others on nations and do nothing than engage in constant bickering as recent matters in the Ardian Assembly have shown. We believe though in nations seeking peaceful co-existance and will engage with nations who share our views or even those who wish to challenge us on our views in a case by case basis.

I do though understand the desires of my people to begin repairing the damage done by a period of relative instability within the realm and have listened to the calls of people to ensure we are open for trade, investment and tourism. I though desire more I wish to our businesses challenging on a global stage and so I fully intend to begin the foundations needed to put that in place. As things stand our former military junta excluded all foreign embassies from our soil in retaliation to both Marseille and Runavik providing safe haven for those of us unwilling to give up our struggle. I now formally invite all nations to return to the Realm and have instructed my civil servants to identify properties across the capital in which nations may establish an embassy, many will naturally simply be those used in the past. The first of these will, if my invitation is accepted, by formally handed over on the 24th October when I shall host an ambassadorial event as the Complex of the Queen. Once this step is undertaken I fully intend to accelerate the way we handle trade, travel and I hope co-operation on a wide range of matters. While we may shun the concept of blindly joining organizations just to fit in we do support what many intend. There are a handful that we support and as such we shall join. The CETO is one example. The realm is a nation steeped in its folklore, its temples and its crafts. Our very geography is determined by the traditions of our land and so we shall preserve them and share them with the world. In this manner over the next few weeks we shall navigate our way back to Mundus.

It is important that we also look to reform the way we ensure the stability of the monarchy in the long term. It was too easy for the military turn coats to corrupt the system and place a puppet on the throne in a manner seen as legal. This can not happen again. While I oppose automatically inherited crowns I believe a safeguard is needed and so to the people of the Realm I have an important announcement. During our Ambassadorial Dinner the Priesthood shall name three members of my family who shall be capable of inheriting the throne. Each of these three ladies shall be given duties and titles associated with what their destiny may become. It will be my hope that when I finally pass on to the Gods that I leave an experienced and prepared monarch in place.

To Mundus I wish you peace and happiness, to my people I wish you a glorious future and a pleasant evening. Thank you for your time and may the 12 bless you.