####

[Nova]

—NOTHING—

[DaveIronside]

To President Blackwind.

The Alba Karinya organisation was a concept I hoped would bring our continent closer together, therefore I am delighted to recieve your expression of interest in it. I would therefore like to invite you to send a representative, or come in person, to Northfort where my sister Princess Freya would be happy to discuss all the measures you wish to. Furthermore I would like to offer your visit as an opportunity for other nations in Alba Karinya to attend and meet what I hope will be our newest member.

I must apologise that I will not be able to attend in person, however business in Lodja means I will sadly not have this oppurtunity. My sister is experienced in matters such as this having helped in the admitting process of several CIS nations.

I wish you a productive visit.

May The Gods Watch Over You and Your Nation Know Peace

King David III of East Moreland


With her brother in Lodja it was left to Freya to play host, she would have prefered to have been at what she considered her real work namely time with the Light Scouts, today they were having a shooting competition and she fancied her chances, instead she stood ready to greet representatives from Heyra and any other of the AKO nations that choose to turn up. There was of course the usual pomp and circumstance to go through, no visit to East Moreland was complete without the Red Legion welcoming them in their fancy red uniforms and polished silver breastplates, meanwhile the regular Red Legion looked as scruffy as ever, stubbly beards, ununiform clothing and they'd not even bothered washing their SUV. Freya knew though that they were in safe hands as she knew two of the four personally and reckoned them good soldiers.

She waited patiently in the airport lounge, enjoying a coffee and some walnut cake while she waited, she was just wiping the last crumb from her lips when her Chief of Household Rebecca Jarrett arrived, "Your Highness, the aircraft is inbound.....and Sgt Clements won the shooting" she added as the Princess got to her feet checked for crumbs and headed out the door alongside the former Medical Corps Corporal.

"We'd have both beat him" Freya moaned as she jogged down the steps just in time to see their guest touch down, by the time it had come to a stop Freya was in position waiting for them to descend the steps.

"Well one of us would have" Rebecca winked at Freya with a devilish grin leaving the Princess unable to answer as their guest drew near.

[The Young Pope]

President Marc-Antoine Lavaud was more than enough quite excited about the upcoming meeting with some of the AKO-nations, in particular the newcomer President Blackwind of Heyra. Baltic-Heyran relations have been throughout the decades quite strained since the end of the Great War when the treasounous socialist government basically backstabbed their once-before friends and switched to the Allied side officially (They had a fake neutrality whilst aiding Ardia), effectively dooming Heyra forever and causing so much damage on all planes of existence that it could consider to be unforgivable, the greatest sin ever committed in diplomatic affairs. But ever since 1981 when President Lavaud's grandmaother Bernadette Lavaud became President and successfully convinced many that the Future belonged to the Right...the socialist demons quickly lost their status and became the opposition in the first time since 60+ yrs back. Now it's 2018 and Lavaud himself realised that it's time to widen Baltikum's horizons and break that ancient, negative perception the Heyrans had to their Baltic brothers.

"Princess Freya...President Blackwind...How great it is to see you two. Three great nations and possibly more from the legendary AK continent meeting in the one and same spot once more...I can't wait for things to start kickin'"

[DaveIronside]

Freya greeted President Blackwind just in time for Lavaud to land so instead of heading straight for Northfort Palace they waited, she engaged her guest in small talk, the weather, the flight over, all things that frankly she often found boring but where the neccesity of such occasions. She waited once more for the band to play their new arrivals anthems before leading the two men along the line of ceremonial Red Legionnaires, their breastplates polished to mirror shines. Freya recognised one or two of them, one of them a tall Corporal had served with her in Safraen where he'd lost an eye, but it was the way of the Red's that you never truly left and those veterans still able to do paperwork found a home in the ceremonial guards at events like this, especially when the regulars where busy in places like Lakhzovia. Freya nodded and gave the man a smile as she passed. "I believe for both of you its the first time you've been to Northfort, at least in an official capacity." she waited for them both to enter the SUV that awaited them before taking her own seat. She spotted as the vehicle pulled away the first Red Legion vehicle pull in front of them while Freya's own protection unit took up position behind them. "I thought we'd head to the Palace straight away and get down to some business".

The vehicle followed a route that was only too familiar to Freya, along the main route into the city, past the old market square and then down the street that made up the Temple District, the eight Temples to the Gods looming each side of the street, all vastly different designs but none taller than the spire to Helus. Next the car turned right up Embassy Hill, the old 18th Century street made up of old town houses from which flags on many nations now hung, they made the slight right turn at the top skirting the edge of People's Park that backed onto the embassy street and lead into the Palace grounds. Freya heard the familiar crunch of gravel under their wheels as they drove down the long drive next to the Palace's own canal. The car pulled up straight outside the front door and Rebecca Jarrett opened it having made her way over from the rear vehicle, she handed Freya her papers as they walked up the small flight of steps that lead into the palace's front door.

Freya was checking the papers when suddenly she felt something collide with her leg followed by the sound of a thud on the ground. "Ouch" a familiar voice sounded, Freya looked down and saw her niece Rhiannon sat on the floor two wooden swords and a wooden case scattered around her.

"Rhiannon, what have we told you about racing around the Palace" Freya lifted the six year old up to her feet and picked up one of the wooden swords as Rhiannon scrammbled for the others. "You could have hurt our guests."

"I know...I know sorry" Rhiannon muttered as she took the sword from her Auntie, "Just I got kept behind after school and now I'll be late for Sir Charles' sword lessons and he doesn't like it when I'm late." she took a deep breath and looked up before closing her eyes her mind concentrating to find the right words, "Lateness is the sign of bad planning and...."

"Bad planning has no place in a fight" Freya finished the sentence, Sir Charles Townshend had trained her too, and most of the Ironsides in swordsmanship and he was full of various sayings, "Tell Sir Charles hello and be careful" Freya watched as oblivious to the words Rhiannon took off at break neck speed. "I sometimes wish I had her energy" Freya shook her head in amusement as she motioned for the two President's to follow her. "Either of you have children?" Freya asked as she pushed open her brothers office door, it was the best place for talks such as this. She didn't know a great deal about either of her guests beyond their political careers and she figured knowing the human side of them would be useful. She poured each of them a cup of tea from the pot. "My brother became obsessed with Green Tea after his first visit to Rokkenjima" she explained as she grimmiced at the tea she had expected to be of the traditional variety. "I'm told its a good detoxiant or something" she pushed a cup towards each, "We can find coffee if you prefer" she poured sugar into her own and sat back on one of the three couches arranged in a horseshoe around a table. "So, you're both interested in the AKO.....that's a good start....may I ask what you think of the charter?"

[Achkaerin]

"This hardly sets a good impression." Prince Robin Silverwood said as they were driven through Northfort, they'd arrived later than they'd originally thought, the flight down from Vafleon had been a relatively short hop but the complication had come before they'd gotten off the ground.
"I'm not responsible for the weather." Princess Elianor, Robin's younger twin sister said, it was highly embarrassing really, Elianor had had the inter high archery Oakshield City finals only a few hours earlier, sadly a bit of a heavy rainstorm had meant a delay of a couple of hours, the knock on effect being they'd been late taking off and then late landing in Northfort and now were naturally going to be late getting to this meeting about the Alba Karinya Organisation, something their older brother Manius had labelled as important.

This did extend a little further, well at least the hilarity of their situation did, Robin was wearing his school uniform which meant black trousers, a white shirt, a red tie with gold diagonal stripes and a black blazer. Elianor was in her PE kit which was black shorts and a red t-shirt. They joked and laughed for a few more minutes before they arrived at the palace, the pair somewhat glad of their youth as they lightly jogged up to the entrance and after making their apologies to the Palace Staff were shown inside to where Freya and the other two were.

"Our apologies Your Highness." Robin said addressing their host "We were somewhat delayed back home due to inclement weather. I hope we haven't missed an awful lot. My name is Robin and this is my sister Elianor."

[The Young Pope]

Lavaud thought that the little niece was too adorable, "You sure she can't come along and entertain us while we grownups stick to real business hehe?". He appreciated the somewhat relaxed nature of this entire visit, the environment was of the right calibre in other words. "Sadly am still a bachelor, the so-called right one is still out there, either she'll find me or I'll find her...in either case my VP Pomeroy has been in better luck, happily married and expecting his first kid in a few months time." Lavaud is always using the excuse that work is in the way for him to find a suitable partner he ciuld consider spending his entire life with, but now that he was the President of Baltikum himself...perhaps it was time to actually be active in the world of romance once and for all.

The princess showed them to a room where tea was served in right order, of good quality to add to that note. "Yes thanks, quite...aromatic, Rokkenjiman tea is pure excellence." he commented delightly and before taking another clunk the royal representatives from the Kingdom of Vafleon appeared,

"Oh hello there my friends from Vafleon, care to join our little tea party here and share us your most inner desires and carnal secrets? Hehehe, just kidding. Speaking of the charter, I don't have almost any objection for that matter, just question. What is meant exactly by each of us annually hosting a 'AK event' in our respective nations, is it to promote all the cultures of AK or only our own? Secondly, now that I stumbled across the section regarding internal, regional security...I would say it's good to be vigilant about the insurgency going on in the Germanic Kingdoms. As much as it's still an insurgency the Germans are dealing with, I might remind all the honorable guests here that these Sorans have threatened to eradicate everyone else here on Mundus including ourselves and what we've heard from our Germanic intelligence services, they wouldn't hesitate to for instance be attacking the baltic border. What I'm saying is if the GK fail to personally ask the AKO for aid and this entire insurgency apirales out of control and grows to much larger capacity...don't say the symtoms weren't there to be seen already. As for Blackwind's request on behalf of the great Heyran people, that it shall also include in the treaty to recognise their claimantship on that Island...personally I'm a supporter of such claim to begin with but I'm curious to see what east moreland and now, Vafleon, have their views regarding that".

He leaned in closer to Blackwind and whispered that he wouldn't mind also donating a hefty sum of $1 billion annually to fund the Heyran statesmanship.

[DaveIronside]

Freya listened to each of the various delegates talk after sitting the Vafelon royals down, it seemed that the broad conscensious was that the AKO was a decent charter, it was a little early however to begin plans when none of the three were even members. Freya stood and made her way to her brothers desk, opening the top right draw, she removed a small wooden boy and slid it onto the coffee table lifting the lid. "That is the Academica Star, it's the campaign medal awarded to any Morelander who served in combat during the Acdemica Crisis, I have one, Rebecca here has one, a total of 5,676 were handed out to homecoming soldiers, a further 328 were handed to next of kin of those who came home. Rebecca here even won a Distinguished Service Medal for covering the retreat of injured soldiers. To come here and suspect that East Moreland won't stand when threats are made is ridiculous, I'll remind you one of those we fought fired missiles into Vafelon, Nemeria and East Moreland, and it was us that took measures to protect the continent, even though some of those targeted were not members." She closed the box and returned it to the place in the draw. "The point I am making is that we'll defend anyone who feels they need it, however its not like we can simply cross the border of another sovereign nation without their permission. If the Germanic Kingdoms ask for help we'll listen. If those of you here wish help we'll listen, but we're not about to invade another nation." Freya believed that had explained that point as clear as she could.

"As for recognising Heyran authority over Barnacle Island that is something we need to give more thought to, historically I know they have had settlements there, but frankly being somewhere first doesn't make it your property, its been a long and complex history. Something that my brother as a history graduate would probably better understand. As it stands perhaps you could explain what the people living there want? We've long supported the right of people to choose their own future, if it were possible to prove that those living there wanted to be part of Heyra we'd be more inclined to support the claim."

[Achkaerin]

Robin and Elianor had sat and listened, they both remembered the consequences of the Silverdale missile incident back home, a school hit four hundred dead, two hundred more wounded and potentially much worse if it hadn't been for advance warning and a patrolling Achkaerinese vessel. Elianor had spent time visiting each victim's family and that had taken weeks. The pair weren't that impressed with what was apparently unfolding before them it appeared that President Blackwind was trying to establish support by proxy for a position that didn't even register on the twins radar and that was before the potential international complications were addressed.

"If I may this creates an unnecessary complication that creates significant implications for the organisation. Bear in mind that of the four nations represented here only East Moreland is actually an AKO member." Robin said "To therefore state that under the charter members of the AKO and therefore all subsequent AKO members recognize Nurashima or Barnacle island or whatever you want to call it as the sovereign territory of Heyra is not an acceptable position as it qualifies membership it effectively says "You can be an AKO member provided you recognize Heyran sovereignty over Nurashima." I therefore submit that this is not a matter for this occasion and should be considered at a business meeting of the AKO, so I would suggest that we deal with getting Vafleon and Balticum sorted in terms of membership first. Then if President Blackwind wishes to make the issue of those islands sovereignty a condition of Heyra's application the AKO can then more fully express its opinion. In short it needs to be dealt with at a later date in my view."

OOC- It's difficult to word this ICly but speaking OOCly my opinion is that we shouldn't really be discussing Nurashima until we know the post war history concerned, in short is there any post war agreement between Himeyama and Heyra?

[Achkaerin]

"With all due respect you did" Elianor said "You said that Heyra had no objection to the Charter As long as following Article 4 a, the rightfully Heyran island of Barnacle-Nurashima is included in our sovereign borders that implies clearly that if accepted it will be the position of the organisation and therefore the membership of the organisation that the island in question is within Heyra's borders despite any treaty or international agreement that presently exists between the parties. It also means that any nation wishing to join the organisation in the future would have to accept this understanding. Second as my brother correctly stated East Moreland is the only actual AKO member represented here so this is not the time or the place for this discussion, it should be a simple matter of admitting those nations that wish to join according to the charter as it stands and then inviting yourself or your representative to present Heyra's case for sovereignty to the AKO." 

[DaveIronside]

"I think many are putting the cart before the horse. At the moment there are three members of the AKO, us, Vaguzia and Alba Karinya City, we are currently being asked to make a decision on whether we accept someone's sovereignty over a piece of land, yet what should be asked is do we even wish to have the three of you within our organisation? That's the question no one has thought of yet. Now I simply asked what you thought of the charter, I got some response but then dragged into this discussion on sovreigenty of an island that appears at best to be in some kind of dispute. I would not be party to forcing sovereignty on any group of people without their consent. Look at East Moreland for example, four years ago we bring in our nations first constitution, and it was the people who approved it, therefore giving their consent to be governed. At present I see three nations all vary different propositions, first I see Vafelon, a nation with a young set of leaders and who haven't really started to set foot on the international stage, I see Balticum who have started this off by sounding us out for effectively invading another nation, and finally Heyra looking to find allies for its territorial claims, essentially three very seperate pieces of baggage the AKO would have to sort out if you became a member. So why should ourselves, AK City and Vaguzia even tie ourselves to this potential mess?" Freya leaned back in the sofa. "Consider this your job interview, why should I tell my brother to let you in?"

[The Young Pope]

"Well if I may start my dear comrades...let me first just say PRINCESS that you're the one with stepping on the wrong foot here. It's a similarly ridiculous and absurd idea that I would even want to insult the Morelanders and their friends for being lazy-ass about caring the well-being of our region. Let me correct you by stating that I wasn't yet for whatever reason it happened to be, not the first time the Balts have experienced such judgemental and biased attitude coming from foreigners. I truly respect for what EM stands for and its proud and noble people, nothing more and nothing less, but don't you think that by insulting my well-intentioned and meaningful concern for this region is some sort of mockery of your people and nation...*sigh* obviously I wasn't implying either an direct invasion of the Germanic Kingdoms, absolutely not, unless our ALLIES that is requires us to do so.

Alright with that apparent reason for showing disdain for us Balts for no apparent reason at all and with this picture removed from the scene...Let me tell you why we should be admitted into this regional organisation. Our ancient nation ever since it was founded by the very first of the creme de la creme of the Knights of Mountjoy, sent by his holiness Pope Urban II at the time in the Year of our Lord 1100 to rule in the Church's name, has always been a path on enlightenment, committed to strive for the very best of our region to begin, always looked after for what it was, is and ever will be...a continent where various cultures, colors and creeds co-exist and thrive together against what sinister forces might be pushed against us, always prevailing against no matter what is thrown against us.

Now the typical Balt, ...means that he is completely unselfish. It means that he starts thinking about the others’ needs, as the very essence works it in his heart: what is good and practical for them and what would benefit them. Then, then, according to his ability, he helps them to obtain it. Being a Balt is synonymous with serving and giving—giving of everything we have, both of spiritual and earthly goods.

A Balt is somebody that is not being influenced by the spirit of the times. A large number of people in the world are living in sin...in a relevant and symbolic sense of course, hehe. They follow their passions and desires and few think it is wrong. There is a spirit behind them, and this spirit is called “the spirit of the times.” It is particularly difficult to resist this spirit. What is commonly known as “fashion” is representative of this spirit.

*Oh God do forgive me for sprouting out nonsensical terms but I guess Christian schooling does you wonders, ok back to it...*

Being a Balt means that that person is righteous in all his affairs. Therefore if he has stolen anything or committed some other act of unrighteousness, he will make restitution. If he is in debt, he will make every effort to pay it back. There is no way around it. In this respect it does not help to appeal to the atonement.

Nevertheless, it is of the utmost importance that a Balt is not content with suffering defeat, and so becomes slack and indifferent. He must not lose courage and give up in his fight against sinsiter forces, because it takes time to become and to be an overcomer. He must continue to live in hope and faith, pressing on until he breaks through to a victorious life. This is all done by the assistance of and obedience to the Continent of Alba Karinya and her Peoples. It is especially blessed to be in a fellowship of Alba Karinyans that have the same desire and will to overcome. Such people are led by their great Shepherds—Such as your Brother, President Blackwind and the rest—as they are following us in our steps to show the Common Man what truly defines the Alba Karinyan spirit.

Finally, Having been faithful to AK by obeying its inner commandments and desires, an Baltic is synonymous with an Alba Karinyan and as such, will be rewarded with everlasting life...in a symbolic and relevant sense."

President Lavaud, finally finished with his unorthodox job-interview speech sat down again and took heavy sips, clearly he was slightly nervous whether that speech effectively doomed Baltikum's chances and at the same time embarassed the entire nation or vice versa.

[Achkaerin]

Robin and Elianor glanced at each other, they were both equals in that they were Prince and Princess and they were twins so seniority which was in Robins favour was only in his favour by a matter of eight minutes.
"Go on." Elianor said

"You're right Your Highness." Robin said "Vafleon lacks experience on the international stage as until the last few months of our father's reign isolationism was policy and had been policy for centuries, 'keep yourself to yourself and no one will bother you' not a view shared by myself, my sister or any of our brothers and sisters we saw the falsehood of that when a missile hit a school in Everstone. You're also correct that we are a young set of leaders in Vafleon, well at least within the Royal Family we are the nobility have a few years on us, however each one of us were children once, each nation by comparison has been where Vafleon finds itself - looking to take that first step out into the world, to make friends and to learn. If we're going to learn then we need people and nations to learn from and this is an organisation whose membership presently includes East Moreland and Vaguzia two nations that have done an awful lot on the international stage the example set by both those nations is unmatchable within the region. Naturally as a family of young leaders we're going to make mistakes, such things are inherent to human nature, and what's most valuable when making mistakes is having people around us who aren't afraid to tell us that we've made a mistake and what to look out for the next time to ensure we don't make it again. For Vafleon to grow onto the international stage and for myself and my siblings to walk before we can run membership of the AKO is a highly significant step why? Because it will allow our young leaders to be in the room when decisions are taken and discussions had, these we can learn from which in turn should promote Vafleon internationally hopefully attracting some interest from those citizens who apply for the fast track visa's.

Vafleon's more than ready to make the commitments laid out by the charter that was never in question, that was decided before we even realized we were running late for this meeting. Now clearly we're hoping you accept Vafleon as a full member but we acknowledge your concerns and we accept you don't know our country that well yet. So with that in mind we'd ask that should you turn us down for full membership that you grant us associate membership status until you have had the time to form a more informed opinion of us, judge us by our actions, that's all I can ask."

[DaveIronside]

Freya was rather pleased with the answers from Vafleon but found the Balticum one a little preachy, she wasn't as religious as her brother, she honoured the Gods of course but her daily rituals didn't usually involve the efforts David went to. She figured Helus would be watching her and as long as she wasn't a scumbag he'd be OK with her, "deeds not words" was her motto. The Heyran delegation were the biggest concern, Freya could work with nieve royals lacking experience, she herself had been one at some point, she could deal with preachy religious types, but it seemed Heyra's sole reason for joining the AKO was to force a claim over this Barnicale Island. "With respect to what President Blackwind just voiced I still have concerns and questions, but before I begin we have always done our best to help those in need, so if you have mines that need clearing our Royal Engineers Regiment is going to place a detachment at your disposal regardless of the outcome of this meeting. They're well equipped and experienced in such operations and they'll provide as much support and assistance as they can. I'd also like to offer some of your military a chance to come to Ostlake and attend our mine clearing section of training." She waited a moment. "My questions are this, what is the current standing of the EEZ situation under the FSC? Which regions of the island do your law enforcement patrol? After all the charter says to recognise the long standing sovereign borders, to me these are matters that would help determine that. Should the waters still be clouded I do see a potential route to still allowing Heyra membership while allowing the Barnacle situation to be returned to at a later date." She leaned forward.

"We admit today Vafelon and Balticum, should that happen we have enough people in this room to amend the treaty, we change the words of one of the articles. 2. The parties agree to respect the long standing sovereign borders of each nation and shall take no action to destabilise these long standing borders. Would be changed to 2. The parties agree to respect the long standing sovereign borders of each nations territory on continental Alba Karinya and shall take no action to destabilise these long standing borders. This would mean Heyra could walk away from the meeting today a member of the organisation. That solves your wish to improve trade and border crossing, it also allows us to carry out further investigation into Barnicle Island, yet you'd have the knowledge that potentially your claim would be backed at a future date by three more nations. Once the Barnacle question is solved we revert the Charter back to the current wording."

[Achkaerin]

"It doesn't matter whether Himeyama is a signatory of the Fair Seas Concordat or not what matters is that signatories respect it if you ask me." Robin said "I'm not a lawyer so my understanding is probably lacking something but that would imply would it not that whichever nation has sovereignty over the islands benefits from that respect? I would suggest that the last thing we need to be doing at this point is getting involved in a murky watered dispute, let's take the time to clarify the situation before we have to take a position on this. That's the basis of what Princess Freya has proposed and I agree with it, Vafleon would if admitted therefore support the amendment to the charter. Now it seems inevitable that this will be debated before the AKO and when it is I have no doubt that the legal eagles will come out and explain it in those lovely confusing sentiments they use to earn more money, but until we have a practical and legal understanding of the situation it is best that we avoid involvement, let us have the breathing space to make a decision after all the facts are gathered."

[The Young Pope]

"I agree with what our Prince said, better to take it easy and slowly before rushing into something potentially hazardous if not handled correctly to say the very least. Otherwise I don't have any objections to the current charter, as well as the proposed amendments, it's now or never that Baltikum may be admitted into AKO." President Lavaud replied, still wondering whether his Heyran counterpart would be interested in some financial goodies.

[DaveIronside]

"Very well, the situation is then that using the vote of East Moreland, and that of our nation being governor general of AK City we have in this room at present a majority enough to admit Vafelon, Heyra and Balticum into the AKO, however this will be on condition that they are now signing this charter.

Preamble

We, the occupants of the great continent of Alba Karinya, in order to create a supreme alliance of nations established into an order of peace, success, and prosperity, shall come together into a formal union of states guided by the principles of freedom, equality, and justice. This Charter shall describe the aforementioned organization, and detail the duties, rights, and obligations of its members.

Article 1

1. All sovereign states on the continent of Alba Karinya who ratify this Charter shall henceforth be subject to its terms

2. In order to join the Union of Alba Karinya, one’s nation must:

a. Have been approved by the majority of the organisations current membership.
b. Be permanently situated on the main island of the continent of Alba Karinya.
c. Have signed and ratified the terms of this Charter.

Article 2

1. The parties agree to meet twice a year to review, amend and reaffirm this treaty.

2. In addition, each Head of State shall act as chair of the organisation in a rotation, the chairperson changing after each meeting.

3. The chair shall have the power to call emergency meetings of the organisation.

4. The chair shall also be responsible for hosting the next meeting of the organisation.

5. Amendment shall be made only by unanimous agreement of the Heads of Government of all signatory nations.

6. Should a Head of State or Government be unable to attend, or in situations where it would be inappropriate to do so, an appointed person shall be permitted to debate and vote in their place.

Article 3

1. Any member of the organisation may draft and propose an amendment to the treaty for vote.

2. When doing so members should ensure that:
a. Amendments do not infringe upon any national law of a member .
b. Amendments must not directly oppress any person or group.

Article 4

1.The Parties undertake to settle any dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that the continents' peace, security, and justice are not endangered.

2. The parties agree to respect the long standing sovereign borders of each nation and shall take no action to destabilise these long standing borders.

Article 5

In order to achieve greater economic prosperity, the parties agree to remove all trading tariffs between their nations and not restrict the import/export of items unless these restrictions are in line with local laws.

Article 6

In order to achieve greater friendship between nations, the parties agree to fast track visas for any trip less than 30 days in length. Those applying for visa's must not have any criminal convictions within the last five years and have not served any sentence of more than 24 months within the last 10 years.

Article 7

1. In order to achieve greater security, the parties agree that they shall maintain capable militaries in order to defend the continent if they do not have so already. They shall consult together should a threat to the continent be presented; however nations will not be forced to respond with their military against nations that the nations in question had pre-existing alliances with.

2. Should one party be attacked, the other parties shall lend support to the nation being attacked within the above stipulated terms.

3. The parties agree to conduct annual military manoeuvres between their nations in order to promote military cohesion.



Article 8

In order to achieve greater cultural understanding, the parties agree that they shall host an annual Alba Karinya Festival with each nation taking turns to host.

Article 9

The parties agree to ensure they maintain at least one operational consular office in each of the other parties' capitals in order to promote diplomatic communication. Should both parties agree, other consular offices may be built outside the capitals.

Article 10

Each party declares that it will not enter into any treaty that comes into conflict with this charter.

Article 11

The parties agree to three levels of membership of the Organisation.

1. Full Member - Agrees to follow all parts of the Charter and has full rights to participate in meetings and vote on matters (including the membership of other nations).

2.Associate Member - Agrees to follow all parts of the Charter and has full rights to participate in meetings and vote on matters (excluding the membership of other nations).

3.Observer - Agrees to follow all parts of the Charter and has full rights to participate in meetings but may not vote. This status shall be given to nations from outside Alba Karinya who can prove to Full and Associate Members that they have a vested interest in the continent.

Article 12

1.The Union of Alba Karinya shall be founded on the day that the first member of the Union ratifies this Charter.

2.All potential members may participate in the pre-ratification amending of this Charter if necessary.

3. All states and territories who ratify the Charter of the Union of Alba Karinya are hereby subject to all of its limitations, rights, duties, obligations, laws, rules, and methods, save for instances where an autonomous, dependent or overseas territory, or any other form of devolved institution, is not responsible for a competence covered in this charter."

A copy of the document was placed on the table, "So signature time." Freya smiled as she removed a pen from her jacket pocket.

[The Young Pope]

As instructed, the President signed his himself on the charter, making Baltikum a part of the regional organisation which would hopefully prove invaluable in th long run.

Preamble

We, the occupants of the great continent of Alba Karinya, in order to create a supreme alliance of nations established into an order of peace, success, and prosperity, shall come together into a formal union of states guided by the principles of freedom, equality, and justice. This Charter shall describe the aforementioned organization, and detail the duties, rights, and obligations of its members.

Article 1

1. All sovereign states on the continent of Alba Karinya who ratify this Charter shall henceforth be subject to its terms

2. In order to join the Union of Alba Karinya, one’s nation must:

a. Have been approved by the majority of the organisations current membership.
b. Be permanently situated on the main island of the continent of Alba Karinya.
c. Have signed and ratified the terms of this Charter.

Article 2

1. The parties agree to meet twice a year to review, amend and reaffirm this treaty.

2. In addition, each Head of State shall act as chair of the organisation in a rotation, the chairperson changing after each meeting.

3. The chair shall have the power to call emergency meetings of the organisation.

4. The chair shall also be responsible for hosting the next meeting of the organisation.

5. Amendment shall be made only by unanimous agreement of the Heads of Government of all signatory nations.

6. Should a Head of State or Government be unable to attend, or in situations where it would be inappropriate to do so, an appointed person shall be permitted to debate and vote in their place.

Article 3

1. Any member of the organisation may draft and propose an amendment to the treaty for vote.

2. When doing so members should ensure that:
a. Amendments do not infringe upon any national law of a member .
b. Amendments must not directly oppress any person or group.

Article 4

1.The Parties undertake to settle any dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that the continents' peace, security, and justice are not endangered.

2. The parties agree to respect the long standing sovereign borders of each nation and shall take no action to destabilise these long standing borders.

Article 5

In order to achieve greater economic prosperity, the parties agree to remove all trading tariffs between their nations and not restrict the import/export of items unless these restrictions are in line with local laws.

Article 6

In order to achieve greater friendship between nations, the parties agree to fast track visas for any trip less than 30 days in length. Those applying for visa's must not have any criminal convictions within the last five years and have not served any sentence of more than 24 months within the last 10 years.

Article 7

1. In order to achieve greater security, the parties agree that they shall maintain capable militaries in order to defend the continent if they do not have so already. They shall consult together should a threat to the continent be presented; however nations will not be forced to respond with their military against nations that the nations in question had pre-existing alliances with.

2. Should one party be attacked, the other parties shall lend support to the nation being attacked within the above stipulated terms.

3. The parties agree to conduct annual military manoeuvres between their nations in order to promote military cohesion.



Article 8

In order to achieve greater cultural understanding, the parties agree that they shall host an annual Alba Karinya Festival with each nation taking turns to host.

Article 9

The parties agree to ensure they maintain at least one operational consular office in each of the other parties' capitals in order to promote diplomatic communication. Should both parties agree, other consular offices may be built outside the capitals.

Article 10

Each party declares that it will not enter into any treaty that comes into conflict with this charter.

Article 11

The parties agree to three levels of membership of the Organisation.

1. Full Member - Agrees to follow all parts of the Charter and has full rights to participate in meetings and vote on matters (including the membership of other nations).

2.Associate Member - Agrees to follow all parts of the Charter and has full rights to participate in meetings and vote on matters (excluding the membership of other nations).

3.Observer - Agrees to follow all parts of the Charter and has full rights to participate in meetings but may not vote. This status shall be given to nations from outside Alba Karinya who can prove to Full and Associate Members that they have a vested interest in the continent.

Article 12

1.The Union of Alba Karinya shall be founded on the day that the first member of the Union ratifies this Charter.

2.All potential members may participate in the pre-ratification amending of this Charter if necessary.

3. All states and territories who ratify the Charter of the Union of Alba Karinya are hereby subject to all of its limitations, rights, duties, obligations, laws, rules, and methods, save for instances where an autonomous, dependent or overseas territory, or any other form of devolved institution, is not responsible for a competence covered in this charter."

Signed,

President Marc-Antoine Lavaud of the Grand Principality of Baltikum

"I would like to thank her highness for letting Baltikum be a part of Alba Karinya's best and hopefully unlike the display which was show here today, Baltikum will commit herself with actions and not just words for this continent alongside her fellow friends and allies, it's our hope that it shall be an honor and pleasure."

[Achkaerin]

Manius and Elianor glanced at each other, after an awkward few seconds of silence Manius produced a one sovereign coin from his pocket
"Call." he said flipping it expertly
"Tails." Elianor said, Manius caught the coin and placed it on the back of his hand, he revealed it
"Tails it is." Manius said "All yours El."

Elianor smiled and took the pen, from where the Baltikum representative had left it, and signed her name to the treaty on behalf of Vafleon. So two down now she offered the pen to the Heyran representative.

[DaveIronside]

"President Blackwind you can have as many copies as you wish" Freya picked up the office phone and let it ring through to Rebecca Jarrett, her chief of household who was sat in the outer office, "Rebecca can you please ensure we have copies of the agreement in every language used by AKO nations for President Blackwind to take home" she got confirmation that it'd be done and hung up the phone. "Sorted" Freya smiled.

"Now clearly seeing as we have three new members I suppose we should look at whether there are any continental concerns we need to address"