Argena-Hersa
November 16th, 2016

It was a modest day in Eraphalia with the feeling of cool air rushing along the streets and roads. In Argena-Hersa, citizens began to wear more thick clothes in preparation for winter that was rapidly approaching. Yet, in this change of temperature, the city didn't lose its productivity. After all in order to live in Eraphalia one must be comfortable to the harsh winters that descend upon the nation during the last month of the year. People still traveled along their day with the daily harshness of reality and the slight shivers of cold.

Argena-Hersa International Airport or AHIA for short captured the busy lives of Eraphalians perfectly. It was organized chaos as planes landed, taxied, and took off. Along the great towers in the airport were the controllers working tirelessly to insure an efficient machine. The only part where there was not a single spark of activity was the one reserved for government usage. A single air traffic controller held onto the right piece of his headset as he glanced at the screens.

"This is AT-Gerosa," the man stated professionally into the communication lines that were busy with activity, "repeat this is AT-Gerosa, we have a VIP approaching from approximately west. Distance around a hundred-miles and approaching at standard speed. I need the airspace clear of activity for the duration of VIP descent over."

There was a pause in the communication lines before the rings of affirmation began to flow to the man. With that, the air was clear of activity for the arrival of one of their close allies.

At the entrance of the government sector of the airport is a single man with a security detachment with him. Walking along the windows inside the airport the man scanned the skies for Emperor Ollivier's plane. Every so often he would check his watch to confirm the time. On the right arm of the man was a simple patch denoting his position in the Eraphalian Government. There is a bird of prey carrying a document and a pen, one in each talon. 

Anyone that paid any attention to Eraphalian News would recognize the official as the Minister of Foreign Development. Usually he would be working in his office filling reports and discussing issues with his fellows and the director, he was strangely called out to greet the recently crowned emperor of Noveaux. As much as he would like to complain about the unique treatment of a person of his station the man can only sigh and impatiently wait. 

Talk about video games here. Tell us about your adventures in the RPG game you play, the results of a battle you conducted successfully in a strategy game, the fascinating feeling of eliminating five enemies within three solid seconds in your favourite FPS game, or maybe an exotic experience you've had with a bizarre indie game.
I didn't play all that many games lately, although I did get back into Terraria a few days ago. I also had fun messing around with the Age of Empires III ingame map editor.

The Lord
An Account of Duke William Charleston in July 27th, 1797

Quote:Dear Lilicia,

I’m afraid I will not be able to attend your eighteen-birthday tomorrow due to unfortunate accidents that are occurring in the capital right now. There seems to be disturbances that must be taken care of and I’m rather vexed right now with the conditions of the educated class that shadow us. I do know this isn’t the letter you were expecting or even want from your father today, but be warned.

There are forces in the empire lurking in the darkness. I know what they are but I don’t think I can write down who they are but do tell your mother and your brothers about this issue. I’ve arranged means of transportation for you both to retreat to the northwest part of the empire towards the far provinces. The lords of the place have been informed of this and they will be welcoming of you all.

I do not expect to be alive for very long. I’m sorry Lilicia.

Sincerely,

Your father, Duke William Charleston.

After the very aggressive comments of the Xialtan Socialists and the Xialtan government, stated in the latest article of the Red Mantle, which is the primary state-owned news outlet of Xialta, the C.F.R.T., with order from the Queen of Xialta, sent another diplomat to Qastari to discuss the situation of Socialists struggling in foreign nations and possibly sign a defense pact between the two nations, to guarantee both Xialta's and Qastari's safety against other major nations that might want to cause them trouble or harm.

Aethelia


Aethelia was formed when 7 cities with different interests came together to pool their strengths, forming a capital in the center.
Varied, and proud of it, Aethelians value creativity above all else. The worst thing you can be called in Aethelia is boring, as everyone strives to stand out. This results in a particularly strong culture, as the creative people put out many fantastic books, games, and other media appropriate for whatever technology level is appropriate for RP purposes. Encouraged to be individualistic, Aethelians are happy and healthy, though somewhat lacking in industrial power due to few being willing to do the boring but necessary jobs.


Government:
A parliamentary system. Features multiple parties of varying popularity.

30%: New Democratic Party - The largest and most broad party. Leans towards being Liberal, with emphasis on healthcare, personal freedom, and equal rights for all.
19%: Path to the Future Party - Favors massive spending in education and technology above all else.
12%: Peace and Love Party - Left-Libertarians whose main priorities are Aethelia's culture, tourism, entertainment, and uniqueness.
10%: Freedom Party - Right-Libertarians from the various outer cities who don't like the centralized Aethelian government.
9%: Nature's Way Party: Opposed to the PttFP Party, these Aethelians favor admiring and preserving nature first, and are particularly spiritual.
7%: Aethelia First Party: Opposed to the Freedom Party and holds power in the capital, they believe Aethelia's first priority should be it's own power.
6%: Ultor Corporation: Represent the Right-Authoritarians of Aethelia, they only care about money and oppose the New Democratic Party.
4%: Republican Party: Xenophobes and bigots who are opposed by every other party in Aethelia except Ultor. They typically just vote against everything to hold back progress.
2%: Selene Cultists: Non-violent religious group that believes in the power of the Moon.
1%: Adam is the Best Party: Someone named Adam started his own party and somehow got a seat in parliament. Not actually knowing how government works, he doesn't do much other than abstain from most votes. Nobody really likes Adam and everyone is sure this is just a joke that went too far.

The current leader is JEM, a member of the New Democratic Party, with votes from the PttFP, PaLP, and NWP as they saw her as weak enough to manipulate.


Military:
Being individualist, Aethelians do very poorly with formations, making them awful at open warfare. Each one would rather try to be a hero. At the very least, each individual in the small and undisciplined army is outfitted with advanced and often personally customized equipment, and they have high morale from how well they're treated, making them good at both urban fighting and specialized missions for small groups such as spying and assassination, making it dangerous to underestimate them in anything but open direct warfare where they will be overpowered.


Diplomacy:
Not very interested in hostility, Aethelia seeks to learn about the other nations of the world, looking for new ideas to help improve themselves. They expect JEM will excel at not making any enemies, though she is somewhat cautious at the moment as no solid alliances have been formed yet.
Open borders encourage people of all nations to come spend lots of money at cultural buildings and other entertainment in Aethelia, partly to make up for being behind in industry and partly because it's fun.


Life:
Depending on the choice of the parents, either the parents or the government raises children, with education supported that helps develop children based on their own needs, with freedom to choose subjects even at an early age. As Aethelians get older, they are encouraged to work on their own or with others if needed to start their own business or produce great works. Those that succeed continue doing what they do, while others resort to the jobs that must be done and keeping their creativity to hobby-level until they can afford to retire at one of many resorts for the elderly.

Some things that may be seen as odd to other nations are the clothing, which is meant to be as unique as possible, where multiple colors typically indicates wealth or power, where each person chooses a symbol to represent themselves, with JEM choosing a blue moon as hers. To wear a single color would indicate low creativity and thus little power in Aethelia. The exception being for those who choose to be nude or only wear body-paint, as that's not seen as wrong in Aethelia.
They also feel no need to restrict themselves to one partner, often having several of each gender, even the timid JEM has many women and a few men as partners, who themselves have other partners, including with each other. The government rarely restricts personal freedom as long as everything is consensual.
Valuing individuality but also wanting to be refreshed with the ideas of others, Aethelians live in groups of various sizes for various reasons.

Entertainment is important to Aethelia, and a greater than average number of buildings and shops are dedicated to various forms of it.
Not especially religious, though Aethelians do appreciate having unique religions around, as long as they don't hinder the creativity of everyone else, and thus encourages anyone with a fun idea for a cult.

Games usually involve the winner being the most creative. Aethelian children play something similar to Rock Paper Scissors, except that there are few restrictions on what can be played and the loser is whoever can't think of something that beats the other player's move.
Adults have a board game where each turn a player can move a piece, or come up with a new rule for the game that applies on the next turn, giving opponents an opportunity to counter it with their own new rule, often taking clever advantage of the wording, with it being an impressive feat to win without ever choosing to move a piece.





[I'm not sure what else to include right now, so if anyone has any ideas, or any questions for JEM/The Aethelians, I will add more info to this post.]

Zar, an officer of the Qastari Ministry of Internal Affairs, has been reassigned to a top secret operation. He has made his way to Extrithica via the most inconspicuous route possible on a mission after the Premier received intelligence from an unknown source to seek out a "Booker Comstock", who appears to be the " leader of the people's Liberation movement." Based on what the government knows about Nofreesonia, they approach the matter with great degrees of eagerness, curiosity and caution.

He has very few leads, but eventually makes his way to the underground of the city. "This is a truly depressing place...", he observes and mutters under his breath to himself. He wanders the underworld, looking for any possible clues that may lead him to his target. Anything out of the ordinary. A subtle voice from a dark alleyway signals him and draws him near. His hand is on his weapon, just for caution's sake.

"Is it raining below?", a woman asks him. "It's always raining there", he replies.