Le Saboteur While the Keen provinces simmered from the growing potential of military conflict, a lone soldier by the name of Stefan Wagner meandered through the bustling Keen militia encampment that had over the previous month been built around the border checkpoints of the province of Lutol. Stefan was an ordinary, run of the mill soldier at first glance, clad in traditional chainmail and with no particular heraldry to it. The other soldiers would see him around the encampment, watching, blending in, nothing really too exciting other than the fact that the man was clearly a loner or hermit of some kind. At least, that was what was believed to be the case, none of them really paid much mind to the man as most were extremely eager to go to war and satiate an urge to fight that had been building since they had arrived in the area. Two weeks into Stefan’s tenure at the encampment, he was caught by two guards attempting to gain access to a senior member’s tent -- presumably to attack and or seize the Officer in charge of that region’s border regiment and communications. When other soldiers were ordered to look into Stefan’s history in the region, it turned up that there was no record of a Stefan Wagner at all. He was a rogue spy. Under interrogation, and torture, it was deduced that the man was actually a Slizzar. No real name was given, but the Officer during the torture was able to ascertain that this green eyed, black scaled Slizzar was operating under orders from Duchess Milena Cadieux, or so the spy would say. The Officer immediately sent word of this to higher command and prepped the spy for immediate and summary execution, which the Slizzar only narrowly avoided due to a minor riot that occured at the encampment when the untrained, undisciplined militamen began to squabble, giving the Slizzar a chance to slip through a guard patrol with their abilities and free -- though with serious lacerations to their face, right arm and right leg from their torture. Festival d’Lune The Duchess Milena Cadieux however was readying a huge festival in the province of Dinnan known as the Festival d’Lune. The sole purpose, aside from the obvious partying aspect, was to celebrate the region's culture with the local nobility, with imagery displaying the moon's significance front and center throughout the entire festivities. Among the guests made known, Florian Peirgarten, Berothric Greenwood and Manon Cadieux went about getting down with the local lords, drinking and eating their fill; dancing way into the night. Only some members of the commonfolk were able to attend, most of which being dismissed or fanned away by the Local Lords who didn’t think it fit to galavant with those of lower blood. The Duchess herself however organised a special observation booth and social area for the peerage, ensuring that no other disruption could occur but it understandably left some a little miffed, at least for a short while. The festival however took the minds of both the peasants that could attend and the rich off of the earlier squabbles, particularly the latter as Milena herself made sure that each and every Lady and Lord was tended to. Discussions of local politics ensued but with no real end sight, as most were more concerned with what was occuring abroad with the Sendrassian War and the possibility of another Elven Warfront to be established soon with the Allorn Empire’s rebirth. The festival would last all week, with moonlight bonfire parties, jousts, plays, operettas, orchestras, chess games, sculpture contests and more occurring throughout the day and night cycles. The festival itself was understandably costly, and again some of the peasantry complained that the funding could have gone into improving living conditions or establishing better lifestyles and education, but this was a common complaint by lowbloods who could only watch with wet mouths at the lavish lives of their Liege Lords. Special invites had been sent to House Ivrae de Sange, Kade and Howlester as guests of honor and despite House Ivrae de Sange and Howlester sending representation, it was not what the Duchess was likely expecting. From House Ivrae de Sange, some relatively unknown cousin twice removed made their attendance known -- and elderly Lady by the name of Clarence or the like, not very memorable and quite sheepish when she did attempt to socialise. From House Howlester, the recently returned rotund uncle of the Sovereign Prince, Warren Howlester, who seemed to only be there because he caught wind of a party for him to feast himself at. Which he did. Almost too well, and wasn't much help in the way of establishing better diplomatic ties to the Highlands in the North. Banquets were held in both families' honor nonetheless which went down well with the Howlester and Ivrae de Sange attenders. In the middle of the week, a fashion show showcasing all of the hot new fashion trends in haute couture occured, moon themed for the occasion and spectacular to the eye with many new dresses from the famed Stefan du Stefan showcasing for the first time in the Archipelago. The week ended with a grand stately Gala, used to announce the construction of a state of the art observatory in the province of Dinnan to further the study of astrology, to be commenced within the coming month. Overall, the local nobility were enamored with the showcase of wealth by House Cadieux, and the announcement of the observatory did excite some scholars in the region, yet the bumbling about the cost of it all would take some time for the peasantry to forget. The Fastest Game on Land In the Highlands, similar funding was set underway to be delivered by cart to the most populated areas of Wickthur and Dundarn. House Mac Conall was keen to invest in one of the lesser known land games within the Archipelago -- Cruicéad, a sport heralded by the people of Eriu-Innis as their symbolic past time and barely featured within the Highlands at all. The funding was specifically designed to create pitches for the game to be played, however a portion of the investment also went into production of ‘hurls’, an ashwood playing stick that averages between 18 and 38 inches long and is flattened and curved at one end -- along with the purchase of thousands of cork ball that would be used in the game alongside the hurls. The Highland population were skeptical of the game as most were more attuned to games of strength than skill, thus little interest came from the population outside of the small patches of Eriunin people who inhabited the region. Some interest did peak for a time, as the establishment of the game in the archipelago formerly did entice notable cruicéad player Anraí Shevlin from Tír na nÍriel to attend the opening ceremony, who even managed to get some of the female Highlanders to get involved. However, this spike in interest only lasted a few weeks and eventually fizzled out completely despite attempts by both Mac Conall Dukes to sponsor clubs and the announcement of an intercounty tournament with a substantial cash prize in the coming months. Some controversy did arise for Mac Conall and Cadieux with the Northern Highland Duke Don Koloch, when a letter seemingly scribed by Duchess Milena Cadieux arrived for the Duke Don Koloch’s court that detailed that Mac Conall had entered an offensive pact alliance with Cadieux who would assist Cadieux with taking the lands in the Villeroi holding if Cadieux assisted with an attack on Don Koloch’s lands. Both Villeroi then sent immediate communication to Cadieux to verify if this was true, while Don Koloch sent a diplomatic mission to Mac Conall’s capital demanding answers before war would occur. Both parties were demanded to make a stance immediately before military action was commenced. Keen on Reform While Keen’s officers had their hands full with the situation on the Lutol border, the Duke himself had his hands full with attempting to quell the rising tension relating to his military executive orders the month before. Immediately, Keen set about forming the recently conscripted individuals within his lands into a standing defensive militia who were given immediate weapon permits and access to such, and orders to report once monthly to their feudal Lord for maintenance and combat readiness, but would otherwise return to everyday life. In effect, what this did was arm untrained, undisciplined men and women who came straight from farm work, labor yards, mines and all other walks of life, some of whom did not want to be there, and give them free reign to continue being annoyed at being conscripted but now with legal access to open carry. The response was mixed. In land, in more centralised city areas, the Militias were kept under heavy watch and scrutiny by long standing City Guard organisations. In more rural villages, these now empowered militias threw their weight around, took up positions as faux city guardsmen, started charging illegal tolls and used their militia privileges to arrest individuals who supposedly did nothing wrong from taverns and have them beaten for being ‘opposed to his Grace’s rule’. This caused immense tension in smaller hamlets, who were effectively at the mercy of these militias now, and the local lords petitioned Duke Keen to act against them immediately. Alongside the recent proclamation, the recently retained veterans were granted positions as military Non-Commissioned Officers and advisors, which affected very little for the time being. Duke Keen also put a cap on weapons and armor production once it was decided there was an efficient enough stockpile, placing the onus back in the hands of private merchant guilds who had previously been tasked with armor and weapon production for the common class. Lastly, the Duke visited the lands alongside notable statesman Augustin Mohren, issuing commendations to Feudal Lords and Citizens for “cooperation with military preparedness exercises” many of which had no idea were occurring but were happy to take credit for, all while the Duke declared his satisfaction for such, despite the Feudal Lords having little to do with any of what had been occuring. Finally, Gottlieberberg was declared to be prepared for any foreign threat it may face in the coming months, and funding was put into adequate propaganda for such. This however still did not appease many who were still suffering under the same circumstances that had been noted the month prior, however this would be down to the Duke for review before anything significant arose from it. After all, until Keen arrived in the region, the region had practically no reason to fear its neighbours, but now, they were unsure. Unsure of whether to be afraid of the surrounding lands, or the Duke’s jingoistic stance. Funds also went into farm subsidies and expansions, but with a fraction of the labor workers down, the process would be much slower than expected. The Wonderous Cluckleston A grand journey funded by House Keen was about to unfold. However, due to the immense funding that House Keen had put into their recent endeavors, the coffers were running low for a Mister Ben Jones who was about to set out across the Archipelago with a retinue of 50 men to document the Empire’s Greatest Wonders in a Grand Exhibition. What this entailed however, was in lieu of the lack of funding, the caravan of explorers only made it a few provinces out of Alexanderburg, coming up on a small village hamlet of Wimpfen with little in the way of supplies and gifts. The only thing that Ben Jones was able to acquire from his journey for the time being, a journey with no clear roadmap, in terms of a wonder, was a chicken by the name of Cluckleston, who was spotted by Benjamin Syldove, who supposedly was able to solve any form of small addition and subtraction questions posed to it within a bell like contraption. Naturally, this disappointed Mister Jones, however, he did have enough on hand to purchase the chicken for a nominal fee and bring it back to Regalia, where it was explained to him that it was not a chicken at all, but a rooster, and that the entire set up was a hoax, that was a mere sleight of hand trick using the bells and chicken feed. The fate of Cluckleston is unknown but it's expected that Ben still has him in his possession. A Bird’s Eye View Elsewhere, Duke Klaus Falkenreich within the Falkenreich lands leads a great display of diplomatic and military action, focused prevalently within the province of Hinterberg. His speech begins with a declaration that he wishes to reinvigorate and formerly reestablish the Calemberg Jagers, a military group that will specialise entirely in scouting and intelligence for the Regalian military. It was additionally explained that as the previous leader, Albrecht Typhonus, was too old to remain active as the groups leadership, Klaus himself would be taking up the mantle with Albrecht and his former commanders acting as advisors, which notably ruffled a few feathers but would need to be handled internally. Job opportunities were made abundantly clear to those who wished to join, with no cap on race or gender, which resulted in many military inclined scouts to join up with the Calember Jagers. At the end of his speech, Klaus formerly announced the construction of a great watchtower in the region he aptly names “The Hawks Nest” which would be placed on the border of their lands, where was uncertain for now, that would be accessible to Drahl Ailors who wished to use and train their birds from but would primarily act as the Calemberg Jagers base of operations. Reginald Falkenreich stepped up as chief architect and construction would begin immediately that month. A Slave to Festivity Within the Cro-Maarx lands, festivities begin focusing on local exports based in the province of Rattora (please denote which province in future, as I default to the largest province if not) and a plethora of new legislative measures introduced by Digmaan Cro-Maarx himself. Firstly though, the festivities are opened with a lavish, luxurious feast with music and dance, ending with a large scale slave auction. Interest peaks, as the region still very much benefits off of the slave trade both at home and with the surrounding Dukes. However, a complete legislative ban on Allar and Ailor slaves is introduced, which puts some minds at rest, however local Altalar and other similar races begin causing a stir over clarification over whether their rights as citizens were going to be infringed, or whether the Digmaan’s new legislative measure follows the Empire’s pre-established Saffran Law slave trading rules. Military propaganda via posters and speeches, fliers and the like are distributed but are largely ignored for the sake of partying and feasting. Overall, there was ne'er a belly left unfilled, either by food and wine, or anxious uncertainty. The Tihndir Alliance While other provinces were feasting and celebrating, a different form of commemoration was occuring within the Avalleia lands. Laenrell Avalleia that week had recently returned from the lands of the Sollay of Athentol Talaan, one of the Duchess’s vassal provinces just North of the Avalleia capital. The Duchess makes a formal declaration of intent, providing lavish gifts and a grand display of diplomatic gesture to the ruling Feudal Lord throughout the day. Once the opening court conversations and socialisation came to a halt, Laenrell Avalleia was able to speak with the Feudal ruler of Athentol Talaan, formalising a courtship agreement, backed by the Mistress of Whistledown, with the Feudal ruler’s daughter -- who was notably not set to inherit anything major, but caught the eye of the unmarried Duchess. Despite the forwardness and spontaneous nature of the arrangement, an official announcement of courtship was made between Laenrell Avalleia and the Lord’s daughter within the lavish townland of Tihndir -- aptly termed “The Tihndir Alliance”after the cite where both were able to engage in their first official promenade through the areas lush green water gardens. The Trollstigelberge Summit In the North, House Sorenvik, specifically Duchess Kaya Sorenvik begins sending carts upon carts of her family's wealth throughout all four corners of her realm with the intent of providing some modicum of funding to the poorer areas of Drixagh. However, the issue was that in comparison to other areas of the Empire, Drixagh and the Sorenvik lands within were poorer than most. As such, the Sorenvik local rulers distributed the wealth to areas where the living conditions were at rock bottom, improving living conditions slightly and only slightly, as the Sorenvik lands were vastly large. What's more, House Sorenvik puts on a great display of Northern cooperation with House Viduggla on the borderlands between the two Houses in Trollstigelberge, with Kaya of House Sorenvik and Ardige of House Viduggla personally in attendance. Duchess Kaya commenced talks relating specifically to the lack of infrastructure in the Velheim lands and set out intention to garner more through improving business and trade -- explaining that the North cannot self-sustain its economy just through itself and must commence trade talks with Calemberg, the North's largest, closest non-Northern neighbour. Naturally, mumbling and concerned whispers ensued with some openly questioning if it was the right cause of action, especially with the Breizh and Anglia only a stone throw away across the waters. What's more, Kaya announces a system of standardized housing but would allow the Northern folk to continue building their traditional velheim housing if they so wish. Finally, the topic of military expansion arose which was the highlight of the entire summit. Outlining that the Northerners best asset was its military, Kaya dedicates that more Skagger lodges will be built and plans for a fully formal regulated army would occur. This seemed to go over well with the Northern folk, but the North's long time adversaries in Calemberg and the Highlands immediately went into protest, urging their respective lords to condemn such an action and involve themselves in the plans, as a united Northern army was a major concern especially after the recent rebellions. The ball was now in their proverbial court. The summit blew over well with the Northern people, if only as a declaration of intent, and now it relied on both Northern Ducal families to put the plans in action. Southern Sensibilities In the lands of de Azcoissia a huge festival was about to unfold. Both Madelyn and Violante of the ruling House were present and announced the Daen Holiday Semana de Libertad’s commencement within their capital with joyous fanfare and traditional Southern revelry. Throughout the festival, discussion and speeches relating to the recently resurfaced Allorn Empire were topics hotly debated and for the better part of the festival, a feeling and sense of Regalian pride between all races was a pinnacle point raised. It came as no surprise that the Daen people in the lands were hotly against the Allorn Empire as it stood, primarily for their claim over Daenshore and agreed predominantly that the Regalian Nelfin citizens must stand by their now homeland in defiance to the Allorn Empire’s expansion plans. However, as could be expected, especially after declarations in the capital by notable Elves who backed the Daenshore claim, some Altalar residents within the de Azcoissia felt justified in defending their stance that Daenshore was a rightful claim of the Allorn Empire, some vocally so, and some scuffles did ensew. Exacerbated by the Pro-Regalian Elven sentiment, these scuffles turned into bloody fights in the street which luckily the ruling family had presumed would occur and had a much larger guard force present to prevent turning into all out street riots. Though while the fighting was quelled, the Elves in the region could not help but feel troubled, as if forced to choose a side, and thus a huge rift began occurring within the Elven population. The actions of Violante and Madelyn were praised by most as a result of their overall sentiment of liberation and Daen protection, but it was no secret at this point that a minor portion of the regions population were less than content with being painted as the enemy and some theorised that these disenfranchised Elves may attempt to aid the Allorn Empire in the future should the Allorn armies turn their eyes to Regalia for further expansion. While the festival was underway, further inquiry and developments were happening in Costa Marca, Reguengos de Mourao and Terra del Corazon as House di Azcoissia delved deeper into their plans to expand the influence of their Magical Academy. From reports from their regional architects, depending on the size of the buildings, it was clear that only one satellite academy would likely be built with the Houses income per week if it were to operate like an actual educational facility. However, if it were merely a recruitment hub, the buildings need not be the size of anything more than a large home, and construction could allow for all three to be built at once. There were concerns over Costa Marca however, as some of the local gangs eyed the funding for the development with personal profit in mind, and it was assumed that some of the building material and supplies could vanish over construction time, but otherwise no violence was expected. Are you not entertained? In the Telarel ruled province of Sadeiennaar, the Duke Lithuandir orders the construction of a coliseum, the likes, size and grandeur of which had not been seen anywhere else in all of Anchal Sollen. The intent was clear, to combine architectural influences of Altalar and Solsthithar to enforce regional cultural cohesion with a large, grand statue of the Duke himself facing inwards from the top of the structure itself. While the sport of it went down well, the glamour of the Duke raised some eyebrows as many saw the project not as some sort of cultural boon but merely as a vanity project of the Duke himself, funding of which which could have been adequately spent on other similar projects to help unify the population and improve living conditions. Nevertheless, the Duke personally visited and communicated with the Sadeiennaar available, inquiring as to the wants and needs of the people from such a project and the overall answer was clear -- sport and distraction, with fighting and cross-culture sporting events illustrating the population's strengths at the forefront, such as the practiced ‘challenge hunts’ between soldiers. It was expected that due to the size of the build, it would take at least a month to complete. Furthermore, one Talisin, an ally of the Duke was sent to peruse the terrain alongside archaeologists, architects, geographers, economists and one Muzhu to oversee a suitable area for the construction of the coliseum but also to list and revise potential areas perfect for the building's foundations. It was deemed that the better regions for the build were likely a toss up between Muloon-Moor or Solmarse -- whichever the Duke preferred. The Barton Doctrine in Anglia Not all Nobility had grand plans of festivity and construction in mind. Duchess Haeddi van Hal, following up from her educational pursuit the month prior had been hard at work upon a new treatise to help better sway the people of her Anglian lands to adopt more educational pursuits. The publication of this ‘Barton Doctrine of Agricultural Expansion’ was quickly a hot topic of discussion throughout her lands, primarily the more rural areas where there was still uncertainty as to whether her ideas were for the benefit of the land as a whole. Some clarifications were made relating to the proposed school week, which was made clear to be a four day week -- Monday to Thursday, with a three day weekend with hopes that these additional days will help mitigate some of the struggles and hardships of the labor they were required for on their farms and work areas. What's more, all children would be provided meals while in education and finally a focus on literature and mathematics, which was seen as a means to help relieve the strain of farm management and the like. However, the same issues remained -- manpower. Even with a four day school week, farms would struggle with labour requirements and the response was thus -- find a way to bring in more affordable labor assistance otherwise it just could not feasibly work. Peace Talks and Captured Spies With tensions rising yet again in the Genevaud region, Duke Theopold Kreiburg releases a statement of intent to both Bade and Zerrick, guaranteeing that should either be attacked by a force outside of Genevaud, they could rely on Kreiburg military aid. Furthermore, the province of Langthal is offered as a sort of ‘neutral ground’ for emissaries of both regions to commence talks of diplomacy relating to the recent strife in their respective lands. However, no emissaries were forthcoming. What had occurred in the meantime was troubling, as the Canton of Zerrick intercepted a letters indicating that a Bade army was now rallying on the Zerrick Border and another correspondence indicating that a Zerrick army was crossing the border into Lorrach, which upon coordination with the defensive forces at their border was found to be untrue. For the first time in the growing conflict, both the leaders of Zerrick and Bade met in Lorrach to discuss what had been occurring and publicly announced suspicions of subterfuge and sabotage, though neither agreed to pull their forces from their borders for the time being, instead forming a sort of peace treaty while an investigation could occur as to where and whom the attacks and letters were stemming. Another fire then occurs in Lorrach, the culprit of which, one Hessolis is caught and put under interrogation who claimed a man in a Zerricken tavern promised a large sum of money to acquire one of Lorrach’s notable commanders documentation. It was deduced that that sort of funding had to come from someone significantly wealthy and what's more, someone who could benefit from both Cantons fighting amongst each other -- suddenly, talks in Langthal looked less appealing, as both Cantons looked to Kreiburg with suspicion. Hessolis is released after lengthy interrogation and marked as an enemy of the Cantons, with whomever harboring the individual also an enemy of both of their respective lands. Diplomatic Ducal Discussions Using wealth from the Delmotte coffers, the Duke Markus Delmotte invites both the Duke of Keesbroek and the Duke of Driepunte and their respective kin to Bastarion to a feast of Good Will on the 15th of March to foster cooperation between the Duke and his two neighbouring realms. At the feast, it was clear the atmosphere was tense, though with calm resolve, each party made it through the feast with only a few backhanded comments each other’s way. Revelry was high, with Marie-Paule Delmotte providing musical entertainment for the guests to enjoy which helped keep simmering tensions down. What's more, the daughter of the Duke of Driepunte and the son of Duke of Keesbroek publicly engaged in a waltz during Marie’s musical fanfare, an unexpected event that helped ease some of the spite between the two for the time being, though this came after both Dukes were publicly seen entering some drawing room in the Delmotte estate alone but having a relatively loud discussion about the boundary dispute which ended ten minutes before the waltz began. The feast was a diplomatic success for House Delmotte who appeared to be healing the wounds between the two Dukes. Much Confusion about Nothing It would appear that Haeddi van Hal was not the only member of the peerage pushing for educational advancement. Further south, Duchess Violetta de Piedmont proclaims intent to open up a maritime trade school to add to a list of ever growing academies in the region, though exact location and funding was yet to be forthcoming. For example, Natharia Mac Conall, Hans Nowotny, Anne de Piedmont, Noelle de Piedmont, Victane de Piedmont and Emile de Piedmont travel to Ithania to personally teach classes at the Academies there best suited to their respective skills, however once they arrive, the Deans of the respective schools find the sudden and impromptu arrival without prior communication suspicious and invasive and ask each politely to return home and have the Duchess herself engage in talks with the Ithanian hierarchy to clear such a thing instead of just ‘dropping on their doorstep’ in future. Whats more, the Duchess announces that mandatory military service is required from individuals aged 18 - 21, with no further clarification, causing uproar from local lords and aldermen due to the confusion surrounding the order. Was it all genders? All races? What are they preparing for? Is the Duchess intending to go to war? Are the men who have already joined the regalian army in Hadar not enough? What were the plans of sustaining that huge number of skilled workers leaving their jobs? Much confusion came with no explanation for the time being. Lastly, reformation camps are set up for aberrants which, instead of execution or imprisonment, they would be ‘reformed’ over a short 2 month period. Unlike the issue with the conscription, this had immediate ramifications with all forms of occult taking to the streets demanding that these ‘veiled faux Fort Loyalty torture camps’ be immediately scrapped and justice be restored. Munitions II Back in Athos, Duke Abelhard Latimer rallies a sizeable defence force around the area’s citadel as plans are put into place for a new ‘Wonder Weapon’ that would be used to replace the Athos Munitions that had been widely used on the warfront to date. With lead scholars Kopec and Ibrahim Batunoglu at the helm, it appeared the weapon was intended to be similar to its predecessor but pack more of a punch -- an explosive grapeshot. This was a risky endeavor, as the explosive nature of the weapon could potentially fail and damage Regalian vessels, so plans would need to be perfect. What's more, the Howlester Mining Conglomerate on behalf of the Royal House of Gallovia make it clear that their monopoly on gunpowder must not be floundered, and while they supported the endeavor for a swift end to the Sendrassian war, if Latimer hoarded any gunpowder not used for the creation of this weapon, then he would face severe legal repercussions. Latimer also approaches his feudal council to request 15% mobilisation on their border in case House Keen engages in war with Latimer, which is denied given the geopolitical situation in the North for Keen already. Keen had his hands full, and it was suggested that should Keen march an army without casus belli, the surrounding border Dukes would come down upon him with fire and brimstone. Secondly, they confront Latimer about the rising notion that Latimer was still keeping Slizzar within their family as rumors relating to such begin to circulate like wildfire throughout all of Latimer’s regions. Latimer was asked to make it clear to the public this was not the case by whatever means necessary and to take this matter with ‘utmost seriousness’ as any shred of doubt would most certainly bite in the future. Missionaries from Latimer lands head to try to convert Mazh-Zyaka and Ust-Esverh to Szabadok, but fail to create any sort of upward mobility for now. It is returned that the lack of Szabadok on the expedition and lack of planning and funding just was not decent enough to even create a foothold. Similarly, funding is sent to the lands of House Keen for some reason, but does not manage to enter the border which has been completely locked down by the border militia there and turned away. Northern Philanthropy Funding in Viduggla lands under Duke Ardige Viduggla are noted to be going toward combating the recent winter damages to the regions of Bergenhav, Novolgar and Beloyarsk which please the people of the region. While it was only a modicum sum, the show of forethought to lands so close to their border goes down well for the Duke. Duchess Tuija Viduggla also sets out alongside her palest, Aesgeir av Hedyrll to pursue artistic talent throughout the provinces of Halseberge, Rundehaugen and Sjoanvegan with desire to purchase with patronage their artistic abilities for the creation of notable cultural and religious art pieces, ranging from paintings to tapestries and wood carvings and so on so forth. This is widely received well by the more sophisticated in the land as another philanthropic endeavor by the Duke and Duchess to support Northern cultural integrity, and the funding for such creates a number of magnificent works of art which are displayed in their respective regions, all thanks to House Viduggla. On their visit, Tuija and Aesgeir also attend a number of Great Oak lodges in the Viduggla lands with whatever funds they had remaining, which wasn’t much after their patronage to the regions artists, to help purchase supplies for their journeys, which only had a minimal affect for the reason aforementioned. Tuija is unable to attend the Sorenvik Summit as she was still gallivanting on a grand adventure with Aesgeir through the Northern provinces, splashing money around befitting Nobles of their status. The Slumberwood Propaganda Machine In the Slumberwood lands, Duke Merdoc Slumberwood is noted having pumped a significant amount of funding from their House coffers into political cartoons depicting the House Keen militarization. Aimed predominantly at the Slumberwood province of Rumvalia, depictions of Alaric Keen as an overweight capuchini with a sword in both hands and clutched in its tail scarring off individuals within his feudal council is widely received and Alaric Keen becomes something of a laughing stock within the region. The phrase ‘why so Keen?’ becomes used as a means of berating someone who is overly angry or salty, in place of the formerly used phrases. Some cartoons were also poised to the New Regalian neighbours of Keen as well, which troubled some of the Slumberwood inhabitants who did not like the thought of potentially inciting strife with lands believed to be far more militarily capable right now. Adding to the worry, Duke Merdoc attends the philosophy clubs he had created the month before and declares his intent ‘not to militarise’ in favor of excusing his people from the usual brand of New Regalian hypocrisy where the man extols himself as a great Unionist but lies and actively seeks a war that would cost Ailor lives. He is immediately informed that war is not an anti-Unionist construct, as it is a Unionist belief that war is a necessary evil that only becomes wrong if the Emperor denounces a particular war or skirmish, which was yet to occur. It becomes clear that Merdoc intends to remove New Regalian influences from Baldmark, but the aristocracy wave off the remarks and wait for action that would speak larger than words -- otherwise, no additional response is forthcoming. Begone! In the Solisti lands, situations unfolding were less than fortunate for the recently re-ennobled Duke Valentino who had recently visited the local lords of the lands ruled by Duke Dugalis. Bringing wealth in the form of expensive gifts and ships, Duke Valentino made his intention of expansion in both the fields of education, trade and exploration known and entered talks about having the local lords defect under his leadership instead. He however did not get far in his endeavor, having only been able to discuss such with the Lords of Rio Major, Issboa and Macao before a military escort expelled him from the region into the de Azcoissia province of Reguengos de Mourao for ‘attempting to incite rebellion’. It occured that all three provinces he had visited had accepted the gifts and then immediately informed the governing Duke of what had been attempted. As the Duke had yet to do anything to display incompetence in his own leadership, bribery was not effective in any way shape or form and House Solisti is immediately barred from entry again into the region until adequate recompense is made for insulting the neighbouring Duke. Additionally, Sebastien Solisti goes about gathering a council of wealthy Bragacao merchants with the intention of trying to form them into a House of Trade to work as a collective to protect their trade power and increase competitiveness with outside competition. This fails however, as many of the merchants were in themselves, competing and some were unsure of what the retaliation would be from, firstly, from the Regalian Government for looking as if they’re attempting to form a non-approved monopoly on Bragacao trade goods and secondly, sanctions potentially being placed on them from their closest trade allies in Dugalis, Availlea and de Azcoissia lands. More attention would be needed here, as it was believed that the economic effects could prove disastrous if done wrong, thus the Merchants, for now, recused themselves. Lastly, Marissa Solisti is sent throughout the Solisti lands to discuss with notable naval leaders ways in which they can assist Daenshore with military preparedness but also to showcase that House Solisti stood with the Naval folk. Talks do not last long though, as although the representation is received and the Naval inclined did feel as if they were being represented, the captains and admirals made it clear that without the Minister for Foreign Affairs signing off on such a thing, they would not feel comfortable. After all, all it would take was a sign of aggression from Regalia against the Allorn Empire to start a potential war. Flouzz’s Adventures Part II Our good friend Flouzz was back at it again this month though this time sailing to regions Isla Carno, Isla Nublera, Porte Plaissis and Porte Pirtals, to observe the goings on and gather information about the regions military, economic and political capabilities. At first glance at each, it was clear that the regions were well off, if not cautious of the war in Hadar but also the potentiality of another war starting soon for the Empire. In truth, these were predominantly trade hubs so wealth was not an issue and most of the military seen by Flouzz were local guardsmen or halberd men who stood stalwart outside warehouses and tax offices. However, an extremely detailed report other than what was mentioned was unable to be gained as scouting four provinces at once was an arduous task indeed. Tenpenny Troubles Duchess Eponia Eledhwen, in keeping with her promises at the Lorhauser celebration the month before sets about this month funding the establishment of a number of academies and schools, or at least attempts to -- though it quickly appears that she was far too overly ambitious. Sending out three parties to achieve her goals, the Duchess firstly travels to the province of Elaine to oversee the establishment of a Tenpenny Academy alongside Alduir Stormblade and Michetta Gocciolo overseeing classes on Officer training and other staff. Construction obviously needed to occur first, and it quickly became apparent that to build an Academy, especially a Tenpenny Academy, the funding was significant and thus the other schools would not have enough funding left to even lay foundations. What's more, catching wind of the plan, the Duchess receives a letter from the Imperial Marshal, reminding her that the Regalian Marshals have governance over Tenpenny Academies and as such, if she is to create this academy, to relinquish Academic control to the Regalian Marshal Cabinet and to immediately send a letter to the Imperial Marshal indicating her and her assistants credentials to be allowed to even teach classes in line with the Tenpenny Doctrine. With funding extinguished, the groups consisting of Humaira and Eloise Reinard, Mezigati-Ts’ehayi and Hudil Eledhwen and Emil d’Kreiger return home with no progress. Academies were expensive and with the House’s current income alone, only one per month was likely to be built. The Duchess also intended to send wealth to the Silverhand labs in Regalia but as stated, little remained. Anglian Intellectualism Returning to Anglia, his Grace Reinard writes another overarching treatise called “Conversion is not necessary for cooperation” which largely explains that the cultural integrity of each locality is encouraged to remain distinct and is largely expected to do so, though intellectualism is encouraged as the basis for the unity with philosophical underpinnings being the search for Ailor transcendence and unity as mentioned in the Creeds, cooperation between its peoples and the rationalistic search for truth. One rather rude and boisterous Lord made his voice known, accusing Reinard of being a pseudo-intellectual and to just make his intentions clear without the treaties, without the philosophy because to him it just sounded like a reinterpretation of what already exists in some degree -- Imperial Culture. This was not to say that the Local Lords disagreed with what Reinard was bellowing with his actions, but rather it needed to be made crystal clear as the lines between what he was doing and what was effectively Imperial Culture were starting to blur and cause even more confusion. These Lords were by no means philosophers, just wealthy Anglians. They were by no means stupid either. If Reinard was attempting to invent a new culture, that needed to be stated, as any particular goal aside from progressing the idea of intellectualism, which was an idea liked prima facie, was absent from their minds. It was important to remember that these rulers have grown up with silver spoons, very few trained in statesmanship as much of their status barely had hands on leadership, whose wants were always going to be more powerful. If his Grace Reinard could somehow manage to dilute his ideals, they had the potential to grow exponentially. Lastly, House Reinard announces great works of culture for each of its people groups to come in future, which is widely well received and looked forward to.
