WA International News

Isauria, Honorias: High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala ushered in her new policy of international participation by welcoming an ambassador from the Imperial Republic of Vitami to Isauria earlier today. Commander Erico Cas Riley of the Diplomatic Corps of Vitami arrived in Isauria at the High Queen’s invitation to discuss political and economic cooperation between the Crowns of Honorias and the Imperial Republic. Her Majesty furthermore publicly expressed her hope that establishing relations between Honorias and Vitami would be only the start of a long series of diplomatic successes in the coming weeks.


“Our government has been contacting various nations throughout the World Alliance in recent days,” Her Majesty told reporters prior to her meeting with Commander Riley. “Already we have encountered some success in this matter, and we have received nothing but positive responses in all of our endeavors. We are delighted with the situation in which our noble people will become known and valued throughout the world.”


Discussion between the High Queen and the Vitamin ambassador took place behind closed doors, but the government has since informed the media that Her Majesty raised mainly economic topics during the discussion. The Imperial Republic of Vitami is known for a militaristic outlook, and rumors suggested that the High Queen hoped to acquire the use of Vitamin soldiers in the Foreign Guard, but the information released to the press made no mention of an agreement of that nature. Instead it displayed a notable trade agreement, which should allow the Honorian government and its various services to access the advanced technology necessary to interact and compete with the rest of the world.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Household later commented, “Honorias has arrived on the world stage, and the world stage must not find Honorias wanting. Her Majesty will ensure that the World Alliance as a whole recognizes Honorias as a valued and honored member of its international society.”

* * *

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Civilized States Hidden from View? Mysterious “Federation” Rumor Grows

Continued Reaction to High Queen’s Election

Isauria, Honorias: Only days after welcoming her first international visitor to Isauria, High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala met with the first foreign royal to enter Honorias.** His Highness Crown Prince Lucifer of the Ravenholm Empire arrived in Isauria this morning at Her Majesty’s invitation, and spent the day in the company of the High Queen and Lord Commander Tolireo Hermatta, as well as a child identified by the Royal Household as Her Majesty’s daughter Oriea, as they toured Isauria by car and yacht before their official meeting at the Nerai Palace.

The High Queen and the Crown Prince of Ravenholm spoke with the press prior to their closed-door meeting, and Her Majesty hinted at the topics that would be brought to the table. “Honorias shares many similarities with Ravenholm, and it is our duty to support and, if necessary, reinforce these similarities while they are useful to our nations. Our monarchies are central to our very way of life, and it is our hope that the Crowns and the Empire can work together to ensure the continued preeminence of our nobility in the international arena. Yet our people should take heart that they are not forgotten by those who are born to serve their interests at home and abroad. Their defense will be guaranteed; their stomachs will be filled; their lives will be bettered. We believe that a partnership between Honorias and Ravenholm, carefully negotiated, will prove to be in the best interests of both of our nations.”

A spokeswoman for the Royal Household clarified the High Queen’s meaning later in the day. “Her Majesty is, as always, interested in developing friendships and acquiring trading partners abroad. The Honorian government is committed to playing its part in ensuring the continued peace and prosperity of the world as a whole, the membership of World Alliance in particular, and the nations and continents of the East especially. We are confident that violence is not in our future, but we are always aware that the diplomatic silence of the world’s foremost power and peacekeeper opens a path by which uncooperative elements within the international community may claim their part of the world’s future. Her Majesty’s government is fully committed to working with as many partners as possible to prevent such elements from causing harm to Honorias.

“In the Ravenholm Empire Her Majesty believes she has found a partner that Honorias can trust. Today’s discussion will test that theory, and we are confident that the results of that test will be positive.”

The Ravenholm Empire has already demonstrated its determination to affect world affairs with the founding of the Royalist Party of the World Alliance. The Royalist Party’s current membership stands at one—that is, the Ravenholm Empire—but there is little doubt among observers that today’s royal discussions will involve the possibility of Honorian membership in the organization. Commentators, including matriarchs and other important clanswomen, are divided on the issue of party politics, but most publicly agree that participation in World Alliance affairs will almost certainly require some form of international patronage. The High Queen’s opinions on the Royalist Party are unknown at this time.

**Correction: The Royal Household requires the Word to state that this is the second time that Honorias has hosted a foreign royal, but declines to explain more.

* * *

IN OTHER NEWS:

Lord Commander to Return to Tomelra Next Week; Honorian Media Invited

Clan Dimeria Matriarch Spotted in Gaivarvara Bar

Isauria, Honorias: In a continuation of the Honorian government’s new outward-looking foreign policy, Her Majesty High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala welcomed a newly-arrived diplomat from the Republic of Chivalry to Isauria earlier this afternoon. The unnamed diplomat and the High Queen, as well as Lord Commander Tolireo Hermatta and additional representatives of the Royal Household, toured the city of Isauria before entering the Nerai Palace for additional talks regarding the relationship between Honorias and Chivalry, the two neighbors of Olympia.


This meeting, like so many others in the past few weeks, comes on the heels of Her Majesty’s surprising election to the throne of Honorias and the Gaivarvara by the matriarchs of the High Clans. Her Majesty shifted Honorias’s policy toward outside contact immediately upon rising to the throne, possibly as a result of her own foreign marriage to Lord Commander (Archduke) Tolireo of Eslania, and has been hosting foreign diplomats and even royalty from abroad in a string of high-level meetings in Isauria ever since. Sources from the Royal Household indicate that more meetings are forthcoming, and add that even some of the old business has yet to be completely sorted, specifically referring to the late visit of Crown Prince Lucifer of the Ravenholm Empire.


The proximity of the Republic of Chivalry makes this meeting more important than most, however. Chivalry and Honorias share borders in the northwest, and the two are the only nations with active and internationally-responsive governments in Olympia. With Her Majesty the High Queen’s candidacy for the seat of Olympia in the World Alliance Security Council, the Royal Household acknowledges that the meeting between Her Majesty and the Chivalric diplomat is intended to sound out Chivalry’s view on the Security Council ahead of the coming elections. “Honorias has no choice but to campaign for Chivalry’s vote of confidence,” a spokeswoman for the Royal Household told the Word in a prepared statement. “Whichever nation takes up the seat of our continent must be able to speak for its neighbors, and of the four civilized nations capable of taking that seat, only Honorias and Chivalry are at all politically involved in the World Alliance. Honorias can only prove that it stands for Olympia if Chivalry agrees.” The spokeswoman added, “If Chivalry should not agree, or should Chivalry otherwise come to represent the continent instead of Honorias, we must ensure that we have good relations with the Chivalric government in order to obtain a fair hearing in the Security Council regardless of the election results.”

The Republic of Chivalry has thus far not begun to campaign for the seat of Olympia, but the Royal Household’s caution is sound. Legislation still pending in the transitional Security Council has set the upcoming election date as December 14th, so that the newly-elected members of that body can take their seats on December 21st. In the very likely event that the current resolution passes, the Chivalric government still has time to enter the race for the seat of Olympia. Honorian officials likely fear that the better-known government of the Republic can attract greater intercontinental support than the newly-revealed Crowns, and are planning for the future accordingly.

* * *

IN OTHER NEWS:

Gaivarvara Access Monitored After Clan Dimeria Embarrassment

Shahrani: Another Royal Visit in the Future?

What the High Queen Sees in Ravenholm

Isauria, Honorias: Late this morning, Isauria welcomed His Majesty King Mark Kuokkanen of the United Kingdom of Shahrani, confirming days of speculation that a diplomatic meeting between Honorias and Shahrani was in the works. Her Majesty High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala joined the King of the United Kingdom at the head of the Honorian Royal Household, in particular her husband Lord Commander Tolireo Hermatta and their daughter Oriea Enesa-Meridia. The gathering of this collection of royal and noble personages required more pomp and ceremony than Isauria has seen in living memory, but also caused delays in traffic as the motorcade made its way to the Nerai Palace to discuss Honorias’s growing friendship with the nations of the Asian continent and the continued silence of the Empire of Eurussia in diplomatic matters. This is the first time that a sitting head of state has visited Honorias with the exception of Lord Commander Tolireo, Archduke of Eslania, and the Royal Household was determined to make a deep first impression.


The arrival of the King of Shahrani coincides with High Queen Meridia’s highly anticipated push toward military modernization, a process begun with the visit of Commander Erico Cas Riley of the Imperial Republic of Vitami some weeks ago. While the focus of Honorian diplomacy between then and now has largely rested on developing international relationships and building Honorias’s stature within the World Alliance community, the military has been a prominent secondary concern. Honorias’s reliance on the Foreign Guard to bolster its native forces has been a long-standing source of concern among the leading figures of the High Clans, but the more powerful weapons and better training of Honorias’s neighbors have ensured that the Royal Household under Clan Thermala has refused to simply end the use of mercenary forces in the Honorian military. High Queen Meridia has seen the results of these weapons and improved training firsthand, marrying then-Foreign Commander Tolireo Hermatta after his distinguished career leading Eslanian contingents in punitive campaigns against desert raiders, and witnessing Eslanian training and arms during her four years in Eslania’s capital Tomelra as Archduchess. The Royal Household has confirmed that the High Queen refuses to see Honorias lag behind its neighbors in Olympia in this way, and furthermore intends to challenge the might of any intercontinental power that desires to cause trouble for Honorias in the future.

When High Queen Meridia appeared before the press beside King Mark of Shahrani, she reiterated her dedication to international partnerships, but emphasized that Honorias would be an equal partner to all of its friends abroad. “The Crowns of Honorias must have the power to enter into world politics on their own merits,” Her Majesty told the Word. “Honorias will not become a foreign dependency. Our relationships with the east will help us overcome this challenge, but obviously they in themselves pose certain risks to Honorias’s independent standing. I am nonetheless certain that the benefits of our new friendships will far outweigh the problems they may bring. The United Kingdom of Shahrani has agreed to play a part in Honorias’s modernization process, as have several other nations in Asia and elsewhere. Honorias is grateful to its friends and business partners for the opportunities they have provided.”


The Royal Household later released a statement clarifying the government’s main concerns. “Since Her Majesty’s election to High Queen, the Honorian military has been undergoing additional training under Eslanian instructors, and has furthermore accepted certain gifts of materiel from the Eslanian Archduchy. However, Her Majesty has no intention of subverting the existing command structure with the exception of the Foreign Guard, or in undermining the authority of the Council of High Commanders. Her Majesty fully intends for Eslanian training and purchased equipment to reduce any gap between the existing Honorian military and the rest of the World Alliance.”

The Royal Household also stated that High Queen Meridia and King Mark of Shahrani have negotiated a mutual exchange of embassies, with work to begin on the Shahrani embassy in Isauria as soon as the details are finalized.

* * *

IN OTHER NEWS:

World Alliance Transitional Government Passes Election Legislation

Talks with Togana “Absolute Necessity,” Royal Household Insists

Isauria, Honorias: As first reported by the Word late last week, Her Majesty High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala has ordered the Honorian government to establish contact with the People’s Republic of Togana in order to develop a harmonious relationship with all governments that have a say in Olympian affairs. But the Word has since learned that the reply from the People’s Republic, which is currently in the grips of a domestic political crisis, has caused alarm throughout the Honorian government. According to the Royal Household’s report, the government of Togana, represented in writing by Senate Majority Leader Alvin Waltz, has indicated its intentions to develop a military presence on its Olympian island possessions, which lie directly off of major Honorian shipping lanes which constitute this country’s only access to open ocean. With the Honorian navy having very little blue-water capability, the possibility of an overseas state controlling Honorian access to trade and travel has brought great concern to Honorians at all levels of society.

Despite her own concerns, however, High Queen Meridia insists that there is no immediate danger. “The People’s Republic of Togana provided this information at our request,” she said in a statement following the Royal Household’s report. “The government of Togana has assured Honorias that it has no territorial ambitions in Olympia, and that its actions are intended simply to defend territory previously taken in war against a nation likewise not native to this continent. Furthermore, as the news has already reported, we have reason to believe that Togana will be far too busy with matters closer to home to cause any real trouble to countries farther afield. Nonetheless, we have maintained our open channel of communication with the People’s Republic, and intend to continue negotiating until a solid agreement is reached by which we can be sure of our safety and the security of our trade.”


The High Queen added that her government has been seeking alternative viewpoints. “We have already initiated a new conversation with the Republic of Chivalry to determine how our Olympian neighbor views Togana’s political and military presence on our continent,” she said. “This is not just a national concern. It is a matter of continental importance, and we would be remiss if we did not court the opinions of our Olympian neighbors before making blanket declarations about the state of our continent and our shared place in it.” Nonetheless, as Her Majesty was quick to note, “Honorias will feel the direct consequences of these islands flying a foreign flag long before the Republic of Chivalry, and as such we will be sure to emphasize how important this matter is to our people so that our neighbors can appreciate it as we do.”

The High Queen added, “We will continue these negotiations for as long as it takes to come to an assured agreement.”




Isauria, Honorias: With the election for the World Alliance Security Council only a day away, the People’s Republic of Togana’s late entrance into the race has caused serious concern in the Royal Household. As previously reported, the People’s Republic of Togana owns several islands off the southern coast of the Olympian mainland very near to Honorian shipping lanes, and the government of Togana has expressed its intention to militarize the islands in the near future. High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala has entered into long-distance discussions with the government of Togana to develop an unshakeable long-term agreement between Togana and Honorias that will safeguard the Olympian coastline and the Honorian economy from any possible harm from outside forces. Togana’s candidacy for the Security Council, presumably for the Seat of Atlantis, adds a new wrinkle to the unfolding political drama.

One seat on the Security Council is allotted to each continent, making every sitting Council member the representative of his or her continent and all the nations and peoples that inhabit it. However, many nations in the World Alliance have extraterritorial possessions, and therefore deep political interests, in many continents at once. For continental representatives, it would be difficult under normal circumstances to gather a consensus among all the nations with an interest in one continent’s political situation. However, when extraterritorial possessions on one continent belong to the Security Council member for another, there is a fear (says a Royal Household spokeswoman) that undue influence can be utilized to secure another Council member’s vote.

This is especially the case for Honorias, which has been campaigning without opposition for the Seat of Olympia. High Queen Meridia has already discussed her government’s concerns with the Toganan possessions in economically-sensitive areas for Honorias, though the High Queen has repeated Togana’s assurances that those possessions will have no bearing on Honorian or southern Olympian security going forward. However, as Honorias comes closer to the possibility of continental representation, the idea that our nation is in a position of vulnerability to another likely Security Council member has added fuel to an already-heated controversy. Several clanswomen, notably Milana Trila-Careni Thermala and Morea Dya-Oriea Velremi, have called on the Royal Household to reveal how it will prevent foreign interference from undermining Honorias’s attempts to become a world leader. When pressed on the issue in front of the media, the High Queen said, “Negotiations are ongoing, of course. However, the world may be sure that the Crowns of Honorias will not answer to any nation that has not been legitimately elected or appointed to lead the World Alliance. As the world overcomes the sudden absence of Eurussian influence, a new balance of power will come into being, which will hopefully rest on the authority of an elected Security Council. If Honorias should be fortunate enough to join that body, our representative will act only according to her responsibilities to the Council, to Olympia, and to Honorias.”

* * *

IN OTHER NEWS:

Ravenholm Discussions Still Ongoing; Political Observers Astounded

Continuing Coverage of Security Council Election

Isauria, Honorias: The Crowns of Honorias and the Gaivarvara gained an important ally in their ongoing dispute with the People’s Republic of Togana yesterday, the Royal Household announced last evening. “Earlier today we received word from the Republic of Chivalry,” a spokeswoman said in a prepared statement. “In light of our concerns regarding the militarization of the Olympian islands to our south, the Republic has expressed its support for the Honorian people. The nations of Olympia are united against the Toganan proposal to militarize its corner of our continent.”

As part of High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala’s program of diplomatic outreach, a representative from the Republic of Chivalry arrived for direct talks with the High Queen and the Honorian government less than two weeks ago. That meeting established warm relations between the two nations that the High Queen believes to be necessary for continental harmony, especially when considering Honorias’s campaign to join the Security Council as Olympia’s representative. Diplomacy with the People’s Republic of Togana, however, has proven more difficult. As the Word has already reported, Honorias’s first messages to Togana were returned with thanks by Togana’s Senate, which explained that further diplomacy would have to wait until new elections were held in response to popular unrest against incumbent President Hammond. Nonetheless, Senate Majority Leader Alvin Waltz voluntarily explained that the Toganan government had plans of a military nature for its island possessions in Olympia, but specifically clarified that Togana had no ambitions for any additional Olympian land. The Honorian government objected to the Toganan proposal, but the People’s Republic has yet to respond to Honorias’s last communication according to the latest Royal Household reports.


In the meantime, High Queen Meridia has been pursuing alternative diplomatic avenues to bolster the Honorian position when the new President of Togana takes on the question that our government has raised. The Republic of Chivalry’s support ensures that the Olympian continent will present a unified diplomatic front to Togana, and will provide additional incentives for the People’s Republic to develop an alternative strategy for its eastern holdings. “One nation will not stand against the will of a continent,” the Royal Household’s spokeswoman added. “Nor are our diplomatic options exhausted at this point. Her Majesty firmly believes that Togana will agree with Honorias’s assessment and pursue other ideas.”

* * *

IN OTHER NEWS:

Ravenholm-Honorias Negotiations Finally Settled; Details Upcoming

Teddyland: Talking Rodent Advocates Exclusionary Language; International Observers Perplexed

Isauria, Honorias: Prolonged negotiations with the Ravenholm Empire have been raising eyebrows and questions ever since Ravenholm’s Crown Prince Lucifer arrived in Isauria two and a half weeks ago. These secret talks had extended well beyond the brief personal meetings between High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala and any of her numerous other international guests, and the Royal Household’s intense focus on these discussions only heightened anticipation among observers. However, no one could have predicted the result that was announced in Isauria earlier this afternoon: The Empire of Ravenholm and the Crowns of Honorias and the Gaivarvara have concluded not just a firm alliance, but have likewise negotiated a royal marriage to seal it.

The bride will be Oriea Enesa-Meridia Thermala, the High Queen’s two-year-old daughter and heir presumptive to Honorias, Gaivarvara, and the Archduchy of Eslania. Her prospective husband is young Prince Constantine Blackmore, a son of Crown Prince Lucifer, and likewise a prime candidate for the throne of Ravenholm. While neither party will stand to inherit the throne of the other, assuming that either inherits at all, the Royal Household clearly intends to increase the chances that each party will inherit from their predecessors by tantalizing the High Clans of Honorias and the Princely Council of Ravenholm with the prospect of each spouse’s titles and grants being used to benefit both realms in common.

The announcement is profound in several ways. In the first place, it firmly marks High Queen Desere Dya-Gomria’s decision to marry her daughter to the Archduke of Eslania as the beginning of a new royal policy—proclaiming, in essence, that High Queen Meridia benefited, and was perhaps meant to benefit, from an action that observers at the time believed was intended to punish her. However, Honorians should also remember that High Queen Meridia is Kaltra-Desere, fourth-born, and was at the time hardly believed to be in line for the throne. Her marriage to then-Foreign Commander Tolireo Hermatta had no impact on the assumed line of succession, regardless of opinions on her own ‘exile’ to Eslania. In contrast, the High Queen’s decision to tie her first and so-far only daughter to a foreign prince is an extreme departure from previous Honorian isolationism, much more than even the recent parade of international guests could have suggested.


Conservative members of the High Clans, including several who had competed in the royal election before High Queen Meridia’s surprise reappearance, have reacted angrily to this latest deviation from historically-accepted policy. Matriarch Saleria Enesa-Devona of Clan Doria was vocal in her condescension toward today’s announcement: “It is one thing to enter world politics, and indeed it is one thing to marry into the ruling family of a neighbor with whom Honorias has already shared warm relations for decades. It is quite another to tie one of the High Clans of Honorias to a country across the ocean, with a political and cultural history so distantly removed from our own that we can hardly contemplate what it will mean for the succession of either state. Far better to tie little Oriea to a common Gaivar [Gaivarvaran]! At least he would respect her for what she is, instead of treating her like a trophy like so many men abroad tend to do.”

The statement from the Royal Household, however, has made it clear that there will be no appeal to the High Queen’s decision. It further states that the alliance between Honorias and Ravenholm will come into effect immediately, and that Honorian diplomats at home and abroad are already being instructed to take Ravenholmer concerns into consideration in their efforts—while being sure to emphasize the close relationship between the two nations if necessary to bolster Honorias’s international position and reputation. The Royal Household’s spokeswoman concluded, “This is a proud day for the Crowns of Honorias and the Gaivarvara, as it must also be for the Empire of Ravenholm. When the time comes to seal this alliance in marriage and blood, our nations will stand together with pride, aiding our allies and facing our opponents with united purpose. We will do so comforted in the knowledge that we have been standing together for a decade and a half already, and that the entire world will have long learned to give us the respect we are due.”

It is sometimes hard to remember that this alliance and marriage contract, a product of High Queen Meridia’s initial flurry of diplomatic negotiations with the nations of Asia and the East, can still be considered one of the High Queen’s ‘first steps’ into the wider politics of the World Alliance. After this, there can be no telling what might be next.

* * *

IN OTHER NEWS:

Council of High Commanders Announces Military Purchases from Abroad; Details to Come

Overview of the Gaivarvara for the Curious Isaurian

Isauria, Honorias: With the public still in shock after learning about the betrothal of the High Queen’s daughter to a foreign prince, the Royal Household has taken pains to remind the Honorian people of the benefits gained through this and other international partnerships. Earlier today a spokeswoman for the Royal Household revealed that the first fruits of these labors were already on their way. “In conjunction with the Council of High Commanders, we have concluded an important contract of purchase with the United Kingdom of Shahrani to provide military equipment and training to the Honorian armed forces in the very near future,” the spokeswoman said to the press. “The Honorian Air Guard will receive a bulk delivery of aircraft for both home defense and longer-range missions, which will not only establish the immediate safety of our nation but will also allow our airmen to reach threats aimed at us from farther afield. The Honorian Sea Guard can also look forward to a singular addition that will radically change the nature of its mission: a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, complemented with a supply of naval aircraft. The United Kingdom of Shahrani fully understands our military’s necessities and has provided whatever it could to suit those needs.”


While the service of the Honorian Air Guard cannot be overstated, especially as an increase in desert banditry has required that additional sorties be conducted outside of Honorian airspace to support the efforts of the Foreign Guard in the east, the attention of insiders and observers alike has been focused almost entirely on the Nimitz-class carrier. The Honorian Sea Guard, so named because its capabilities restrict its operational parameters to defending the Honorian shoreline within the enclosed Olympian Basin, has never been able to move into open ocean to project Honorian power abroad. With any aircraft carrier fundamentally wasted within the confines of the inland sea, Honorias has made a declaration with its new purchase that it fully intends to join the rest of the World Alliance in defending its interests abroad as well as at home. Furthermore, as the Royal Household’s spokeswoman pointed out in her statement, “Our allies will not expect to fight for Honorias if Honorias is unwilling or incapable of fighting on our allies’ behalf as well. We will not be allowed to rest while others fight our battles for us, nor can we hope that our allies will ask nothing in return. Yet these responsibilities are coupled with boons for the Crowns and their people. We will not shirk our new duties, and we will certainly not abandon the benefits that they will bring to Honorias.”

The spokeswoman added, “We are in the process of negotiating other such purchases, and other deals of both a military and economic nature, with several other partners. We will have more to say in the coming days.”

* * *

IN OTHER NEWS:

Togana: Royal Household Confident in Renewed Discussions

No Word on Ravenholmer Reaction to Marriage Contract

Isauria, Honorias: In a flurry of long-delayed activity, the transitional Security Council has resolved a number of outstanding legal questions while simultaneously releasing the results of the elections for a new Security Council leading into the new year. As expected, the Crowns of Honorias and the Gaivarvara were elected to represent the continent of Olympia in the newly-constituted legislature. However, High Queen Meridia Kaltra-Desere Thermala’s speech to commemorate the historic election was dominated by stark warnings regarding the health of the international institution and Honorias’s newfound responsibility to support it, as the transitional Security Council’s last acts reveal fundamental flaws in the World Alliance’s constitutional framework that, while manageable under favorable conditions, could spell trouble in the long run. Furthermore, the High Queen has revealed that the Honorian government has already lodged a protest with the delegations of Shockwave and Snarfia, via the submitted Honorian ballot, regarding registration irregularities that caused confusion during the voting process and resulted in one continent’s overrepresentation in the new Security Council.


The election results were announced amidst the legally-required dismissal of several pieces of outstanding legislation, all of which had generated high levels of support among the transitional Security Council members who spoke in their respective legislative debates. World Alliance law requires sixty-six percent of the sitting Security Council to vote in favor of any proposed legislation for the proposal to pass, regardless of those Council members who abstain purposely or through inaction. The six-nation transitional Security Council could only pass legislation with the support of four nations in the final voting period.

Among eight legal votes cast for three separate pieces of legislation, only one, an abstention, was not in favor of the proposal in question. No negative arguments were made in any case. Due to a lack of cast votes, however, none of the three proposals received the four favorable votes required to pass. All three proposals were intended to clarify important administrative questions within the Security Council, including one proposal to allow unrecognized nations to apply for recognition and formal support from the World Alliance and its international government without delay. Unsurprisingly, these dismissals—which were long overdue according to existing World Alliance law—were met with dismay from the presiding transitional officer, the representative of the Federation of Shockwave. High Queen Meridia seconded the Shockwavean sentiment with Honorias’s concern over the current system. “It is only right that World Alliance law proves its widespread support through this process,” the High Queen allowed, “but it is not right that the silence of sitting Council members is capable of killing proposed legislation that encounters no condemnation whatsoever. As an elected Council member-state, Honorias will endeavor to remind its fellow Council members that their position is a call to action. If that is not enough, then, in conjunction with other sympathetic voices, we will endeavor to find a new route by which the World Alliance’s government and bureaucracy can function more efficiently.”

Sympathetic voices seem to include the Federation of Snarfia, which acquired executive authority over the World Alliance in the wake of the Eurussian Empire’s sudden withdrawal from international affairs and the diplomatic silence of its government. Earlier today, Snarfian leaders enacted the clauses of one of the dismissed pieces of legislation in order to make World Alliance recognition more easily attainable to unrecognized nations. Snarfia’s government released no statement, but the Word presumes that any justification will rest on executive privilege, which continues to rest with Snarfia as President of the transitional Security Council while the World Alliance engages in an unprecedented second election campaign to select a new executive officer.


Likely due in part to the confusion left behind by the diplomatic silence of Eurussia, the election of a new Security Council seems to have been fraught with irregularity. Eight candidates applied to sit on the Security Council, but none of them, including incumbent transitional members and experienced World Alliance leaders, applied or campaigned for the position of Security Council President; as a result, a second election was devised on the spot by the Shockwavean representative, who was responsible for the election of the new Council according to the authority invested in Shockwave by the transitional Council. The emergency suggestion was supported by the representative of the Federation of Serenarea, and received no public opposition. As of this article, only the Federation of Shockwave and the Democratic Republic of Teddyland Union, both former members of the transitional and elected members of the incoming Security Council, have applied to compete for the position, and only Teddyland has begun its presidential campaign.


“The Honorian government has no qualms with some necessary adaptations to World Alliance law,” High Queen Meridia acknowledged today. “These adaptations were discussed in a public forum, in which all member-nations of the World Alliance could express their concern. As no one raised any objection, Honorias included, the Honorian government sees no reason to pursue any argument against the abnormal presidential election process.

“However,” the High Queen continued, “the Honorian government does argue that other irregularities occurred that were born not from necessity but from negligence on the part of several parties. While only some of these irregularities can be said to have affected the election’s outcome, they are all identical in nature and must therefore be considered together.”

The Honorian government’s concern falls on the registration of several candidate nations for the Security Council, who applied to represent continents on which they did not possess territory. The High Queen named the following nations in her speech today:

• The Federation of Shockwave, whose government applied to represent Mnemosyne in the Security Council. Official World Alliance cartography demonstrates that Shockwave resides on the continent of Erythraea.
  
• The Ravenholm Empire, whose government applied to represent Mnemosyne also. The same official cartography shows the Ravenholm Empire—a transitional Council member listed in official correspondence as “Officer of Teatime”—as a resident of Asia.
  
• Kosmicheskaya Stantsiya, whose government applied to represent Iberia. The official cartography, which is provided by the Kosmicheskayan government in its role as the transitional Security Council’s cartographer, demonstrates that Kosmicheskaya Stantsiya is a resident nation of Erythraea.
  
• The Holy Empire of Anx Minor, whose government registered without continental representation, and was assigned to the continent of Magnesia at the suggestion of the Kosmicheskayan representative. Official cartography shows that Anx Minor resides on the continent of Arcadia, and the Shockwavean representative has since relisted Anx Minor as the Arcadian candidate.

The Honorian government’s greatest concern centers on the registrations of Shockwave, Ravenholm, and Kosmicheskaya Stantsiya, which created a contest between the first two nations that should not have existed, and allowed both Kosmicheskaya Stantsiya and the Federation of Independent Carolina, the latter of which correctly registered to represent Asia, to campaign unopposed.


During the election process, the Honorian representative requested clarification from the Federation of Shockwave and any other incumbent Security Council members. The Shockwavean response, which cited interpretive errors on the part of individual governments, also called for a “summit on clarifying the color code” used in a separate map that is intended to label each continent. High Queen Meridia seconded that call in today’s speech, and said that the Honorian representative to the Security Council will be instructed develop a proposal to that effect to be tabled as soon as the next Security Council President has been elected. However, the High Queen’s agreement was accompanied by vocal irritation. “That this mistake was allowed to go unnoticed by the World Alliance’s official cartographer is frustrating,” she said. “That the same cartographer’s representative actually committed that same mistake is a travesty. In four cases, nations only a few hundred miles apart failed to realize that their nearest campaigning neighbor had applied to represent a completely different continent than themselves. Honorias alone raised a voice in question, by which time the election was well underway and damage had already been done. As a result of this mistake, one continent boasts two Security Council representatives, neither of which even applied to represent it.”

The High Queen added, however, that “the argument put forward by Shockwave’s representative is all too plausible. Honorias has no doubt that this error was committed by mistake rather than by fraud. There is a reason, after all, that the Honorian government has never relied on the continental color codes for its own cartographic needs—not when other means of determining continental residency are not only available, but much more dependable as well.

“As such, the Honorian government has no desire to bring this matter to the World Alliance courts. Instead, our representatives in the Security Council will ensure that the lessons learned from these mistakes are put to use. Before the coming term is out, the Honorian government is determined to clarify any questions on the official World Alliance map, correct any mistakes or missteps by the Security Council before they can pose a threat to the smooth running of the international government, and—perhaps most importantly of all—encourage Honorias’s fellow member-states on the Security Council to actively improve the international community that we all have been elected to serve.”

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IN OTHER NEWS:

Togana Elected to Security Council; Royal Household Reacts

Ravenholm Marriage: Still More Reaction from Honorian Public

OOC: