Harper Rhodes found herself to be in an unusual position...the first to arrive to a diplomatic event. As agreed between the members of House Rhodes, Harper would take the lead for this event. The official party was actually quite large this time around. Joshua, Harper, Evanthe, Josiah, Andrew and Camryn all made the trip to Avalon. As Harper looked over the itinerary, Andrew sat next to her.


"This is quite the honour for the Old Man." Said Andrew.

"Yes. I only wish he could have been here to see it for himself."

"Well, we definitely can refine the bauxite and it is only prudent to have language in our contract to account for evolving economies. As your economy evolves from raw materials into more refined and finished products, Seaforth would be keen to aid you in that."

Andrew paused as Emperor Benson explained the Vodou situation

"Ah. I'm sorry I misunderstood. Religion is a private affair here, now. There are no barriers to Vodou, it's practitioners or religious sites so long as they meet the requirements for immigration, VISAS, building codes, real estate laws or any other applicable convention. I can see that it would be a major victory for you politically and I wish you the best of luck in that regard."

Minister Ward,

My sister Harper and I are both humbled that the university would choose to honour our late father in such a manner. It gives me great pleasure on behalf of House Rhodes to accept this invitation. My father was a firm believer in life-long education and of all the acknowledgements and honours he could have or did recieve, I know in my heart that this would have been his most cherished.


Fair Winds,

General Joshua Rhodes
Duke of Somerset
Prince of Arovium

Dear Head of EMIS,

1) I am a worshiper of Materna. I am not nor have I ever been a member of the Sorority.

2) The Spice Harvest was hosted in a nation allied to East Moreland and a member of the CNN.

3) As I have not relinquished my titles, I am still Grand Duchess of Marseille albeit in exile.

4) With the poor showing of a so called intelligence branch, I request that you release the entire, unedited video so we confirm your assertations. Including the part where Mr. Redfern was manhandled off the estate.

5) For any other inquiries, please see my previous response. I believe it was recieved by your embassy in  Ui Cenneslaig.

Kind Regards,

Alys Arsenault
Grand Duchess of Marseille

" I believe an embassy in your capital will be sufficient for now, with independent offices for each principality under our ambassador. I will also instruct each representative of Seaforth to make weekly visits to each of their assigned principalities. I think this will be an excellent start and I am of course open to individual consulates at a later time, when our relationship has grown some."

"While our own aluminum industry is not as strong as yours, it is present. If it's just raw ore you are talking about..that I could do, but not processed aluminum. The fruits, vegetables, rubber, electronics, automobiles can also be accomidated. I believe we will be able to help you most of all with the refined chemicals. The major Seaforthian shipping corporations have recently partnered with PAL shipping from Quintellia to increase the security of shipped goods. I daresay joining that alliance would smooth over your relationship with customs to a very high degree."

"With our troubles with the Seaforth Catholic Church and the uncovered horrors it caused, we, as a people are very finicky these days about religion. We are a secular nation with freedom of religion, but a separation of church and state. What a person believes and practices at home is their own business as long as it does not violate any of our basic laws or human rights. There is no barrier to purchasing land or a building and making it a religious site of Vodou. Religious workers would need to apply for a work VISA the same as any other person, though in your case, since there are unlikely to be any Seaforthian Vodou instructors to compete with, I see that as a very small barrier to overcome."

Kravec listened to the young girl speak so succinctly, mentally gauging her points. He gave Sakura a sly smile when she hit on the attention the crucifixtion  garnered, acknowledging the astute observation...though she wasn't quite there all the way.

When Sakura had finished, Kravec hit a button on his desk and a female close protection agent came to escort her to a private washroom. This gave Kravec, Bathory and Radvak a chance to discuss the opportunity among themselves...another veteran move Kravec was mildly impressed with.

When Sakura had returned refreshed, Kravec offered her refreshments. That taken care of he casually leaned back on the edge of the large Presidential Desk and crossed his arms.  Slowly he began.


"Dilara Highaghi was tried, convicted and sentenced in a Slavan court. I merely confirmed the sentence. Slavery is an ancient practice, barbaric in it's existence. Crucifixtion is also an ancient and barbaric practice. The punishment must suit the crime. If Tamora insists on keeping alive this practice so will we. You see, the crucifixtion is much more of a statement than an execution. A sign that we will meet fire with fire, a sign we will not bow before the Manist disease that lives on the souls of those chained. This execution is our Oriflamme, our war banner. It is a our pledge to a new crusade, this one against the Manist slavers."

"I hope this DOES shout louder than the Tamorans. I hope it serves as a rally cry for all of Mundus! 40 Million slaves in Tamora and you come HERE to talk about one guilty slaver? Deus Vult! God sent you here for a reason! To witness the first day of a GREAT CRUSADE!"

Here Kravec scooped up her hands in his, his voice dropping to barely over a whisper.

"I know God sent your here to join us. The Holy Empire of Achkaerin will join us on this crusade of liberation...and I will give you this gift to seal our commitment. Dilara will die by crucifixtion, but I will give you the power of choice. We can raise her up and death will take days upon the cross, or...once raised we can break her femurs with sledges and she perishes within hours,"

The security guard nodded curtly at Cairan and waved him into the room. 599 was actually a security checkpoint where Cairan and his guest were searched and made to step through a scanner, extremely similar to the security checkpoints at major airports.

When they had passed, they were sent to the door to the adjoining room. It was not a room however, but a long hallway where rooms should have been. The hallway extended all the way to the corner of the hotel and then turned the corner and went down at least on more room-length before ending at a door.

Entering the door Cairan found more security and a staircase up to the next floor. From that "Room" Cairan was shown back the way he came to the corner suite once again. More security ushered him inside. There, Cairan was FINALLY introduced to Leary.


"Mr. Duggan. Sorry to have inflicted my security measurements on you, but a man in my position cannot be too careful. As one businessman to another I hope you can appreciate that. These are my private offices and only those special partners, or those I think could be are invited here. Now, can I offer you and you lovely guest a refreshment?"

So here Alys found herself, in the ass end of Albion. With the snowfall actually making it feel warm, the flakes fell fluffy and light upon her cheeks. As she exchanged pecks with Brassicus II, he then ran off to fetch her a coat, fur she hoped. Alys wondered idly if the man had some form of ADHD. It was no matter though, the man was charming and polite, something she had not seen much of in the last few years.

As Peter introduced himself, Alys smiled slyly to herself, clearly catching the false introduction.


"Why you must be Peter! Lahana has been telling me about his family. My name is Alys and I am a dear friend of your father's."

Seaforth Golden Bears are in.

With the further military escalation in the Midaranye Slavan military units are finally mobilized. The Slavan navy has put to sea in the Gulf of Aaraxis with the SLS Lavosk, the flagship of the Slava Lavosk Navy conducting a live fire missile exercise. That completed, the rest of the fleet has reportedly begun to mine the Gulf Of Aaraxis. Confirmed reports indicate the fleet is mining the edges of its territorial waters with unconfirmed reports that Slavan vessels are also dropping mines further out into the gulf, in international waters.


According to President Vaclav Kravec, the increased readiness comes directly as a result of the IRN Excelsior's announced deployment to the Gulf of Aaraxis and the subsequent response from Royal Seleucid. President Kravec also acknowledged the suspension of the SmartWar license, reflecting that the patrol buggies were "invaluable to the security of our border". The President thanked SmartWar for it's assistance and vowed to renew the business relationship when feasible. To Protect SmartWar property, President Kravec has ordered the withdrawal of the buggies from the border until such a time as they can be returned to SmartWar or the license is renewed by King David. With the resulting loss of detection and interdiction ability in the removal of the SmartWar buggies, the Slavan military has moved several artillery and air defense batteries in to cover "near-border" engagements.

Sadly, the highly effective patrol buggies are already missed. An incursion occured shortly after the withdrawal of the buggies. In the early morning hours, Tamoran citizens, who would have been detected and interdicted by the buggies were found deep within Slavan territory. These Tamoran civilians, beleived to be active in the slave trade, engaged with slavan troops and retreated to the Tamoran border. There, Tamoran Border Guards, believeing their people to be under attack, took the Slavs under fire. In the ensuing skirmish, The Tamoran Border Guards  crossed over into Slava Lavosk. The entire incident resulted in 3 Tamoran Border Guards dead in Slava Lavosk and once captured. The captured Tamoran soldier was returned, along with the bodies of the other Tamorans soldiers. The bodies of 2 dead Tamoran citizens were retained for identification and 7 Tamoran citizens were sent to the detainment camps for identification and questioning. Slavan authorities report 4 of thier own border guards were killed and another two injured.

Detainees at the Tamoran internment cap in Slava Lavosk descended into animal like behavior, throwing garbage, food and feces around thier camps, into guard shacks and at guards. The scene of anarchy caused several thousand dollars in damages and injured 3 guardsmen. In response, the Slavan guards were forced to protect themselves and the other detainees as well by actively suppressing the riot. The susequent violence caused by the detainees resulted in the deaths of 63 detainees and the further injury of two more guards.

President Kravec decried the violence accusing the Tamorans of showing thier true colours as a “pack of wild animals, with subhuman intelligence and no moral or higher purpose.” Kravec further commented “Is it no wonder they see no problem with slavery. They should all be in chains, no better then a manged dog.”

My Dear Lahana,

I would be delighted to come and visit you in Cabbagelandiet. Even now, I still think of our meeting at the Spice Harvest...a most wonderful happenstance. I have some minor errands to take care of in Seaforth, such as starting my son Raymond in his new school. Then I will be returning to Troyes to see to my affairs there. I will have my personal secretary contact your people to make arrangements for my visit.

Yours,

Alys

"I agree to both points. The exchange I had in mind was to attach these officers to various headquarters to facilitate the exchange of information, and Seaforth cherishes it's freedom of religious practice. Now, I think I am quite satisfied with the arrangement we have made here, Emperor Benson. Is there anything else my Kingdom can help you with?"

Grand Duchess,

I am delighted to accept your kind invitation and look forward to visiting Montsarre. The Foreign Ministry will contact your people to make the appropriate arrangements.

I look forward to meeting you.

Regards,

Andrew III
King of Seaforth

Following the Spice Harvest, Alys Arsenault had flown back to Seaforth. She missed her little Raymond terribly, but the danger to his life meant hiding him from those that would hurt him. The long flight did give her something precious however, time to think. Andrew was more clever than she had imagined and had boxed her out of Troyes fairly quickly, though she wasn't done there...and one or two moves could pay off at a latter date.

Speaking of dates, she though to herself, Brassicus II was a totally unexpected development...the potential...the power. He was an interesting little man...and the possibilites there were endless. Idly she mulled over the idea of the Trans-Albion Empire. One to rival any entity on Mundus....but that was the long game. She read Brassicus' invitation again, and sent off a quick acceptance. She had things to do in Seaforth first.



Undisclosed Location In Seaforth

The small country cemetery was quaint. Tall trees in red and gold walled in the residents, their leaves blanketing the ground and obscuring the stones. It was, in a word, rustic...and a far cry from where the person she came to see grew up. There was no need to read the stones as she walked, she knew exactly where she was going. She had visited many times over the past couple of years, spending many hours talking to the silent stone marking the grave of the person she both knew intimately and not at all, searching for...answers? No. Something else. Something she didn't know yet.  Reaching the gravesite, she kneeled down and brushed the leaves away from the headstone.


"Well, it's me again." Said Alys. "I can't stay and talk to today, but I wanted to see you. Things are moving fast, now. So much to do."

Standing back up she brushed the debris off her legs and contemplated the stone for another minute or two, gazing at the Seaforthian spelling. So troubled, the young woman had finally succumbed to her demons. Alys hoped in death, she found the peace she never could in life...but she could offer a small peice of that now.


"Don't worry, love. I will look after Raymond for you."

Dropping the roses she carried onto the stone, "Alys" turned and headed back.

---

Arc-Royal Bene Gesserit Gaelscoil


His mother had taken him to start a new school deep in the Seaforth country. She held his hand as they were shown the grounds and the classrooms and dorms. It was scary and exciting all at the same time. He knew momma would leave him there. It was ok, she often left...but she always came back when she said she would. Well, except for that one time. She was gone for a very long time then. But when she did finally come back things were so much better. They would read together, they would play together. Momma didn't sleep all day anymore.


The people at the school showed him all around. The playgrounds, the classrooms, the bunk houses. It was going to be like a camping school, all year round! Raymond was very excited to start school and make all the friends...just like the cartoons on TV. Momma hugged him tight before she left and promised to write. He knew she would, and he vowed to learn as fast as he could so he could write back. This was gong to be an awesome year!